Sunday Sermon – WANTED … DEAD, BUT ALIVE – Romans 6:1-11 | SS20260621

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  

⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,  ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin. 

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.  ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  ¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, butalive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What is Paul saying?  He is saying a lot ….

But I want to focus verse 7 ,,, which I believe is like a linchpin in the passage … ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin.   

What does Paul mean by freed from sin?   How have we been freed?  And why have we been freed?   

What does Paul mean?

• He means we have been freed from the mastery of sin … from slavery to sin.
• To understand … it may help to think of the 3 ‘P’s associated with sin … the Penalty, the Power and the Presence.

How did that happen?  How have we been freed?  

• By us being joined to Christ. 
  • • Notice Romans 6:3-4 and 5.  
      • Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  
      • ⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 
• To understand … it may help to remember the hypostatic union.

But … why?   Why have we been freed?  Why did Christ free us from sin?

• Romans 6:6
  • • ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him,that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.   
• We have been freed from slavery to sin.
• We have been freed … so that  we can stop being slaves to sin.

The next question, then, is … How?How do we stop being slaves to sin?

• Paul will go on to tell his readers how, later on in his letter (see chapter 8, esp. Rom.8:26).
• But, here, he gives us a good place to start …
• Romans 6:8-11
  • • ⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.  ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  
    • ¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, butalive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• God wants us to live with Christ, who lives to God.  
• The way way we start is by reckoning ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God.  

What does dead to sin mean?  

What does alive to God mean?  

CONCLUSION   

A. Remember the poster … with the modified caption … WANTED … DEAD, BUT ALIVE.   

B.  Sounds paradoxical … but that’s what God wants.  

C.  The key … Consider yourselves … dead to sin … but alive to God.