P084_011025 Rom.. 6:1,2 Freed From Sin? What Does That Mean?

SPEAKER 01 : 0:05

So now we move to chapter 6 of Romans, Paul’s great message in the book of Romans of the gospel, the good news of our heavenly Father’s love for us through Jesus, his Son, and all that he is doing through his Son to bring us to his home again. We’ve looked at chapter 5, which was about the freedom from the judgment of God and returning us to his home, his heart, his throne room. We are freed from wrath, and just as the kingdom of Adam came in and brought sin and death to all people, so the kingdom of Christ brings righteousness and life to all peoples also. So Paul described in chapter 5 life in the kingdom of God, the kingdom of grace, as a reconciliation to our heavenly Father through his Son. Now then, we come to chapter 6. Not only are we in chapter 5 freed from the judgment and wrath of God, we’re also freed from sin in chapter 6. Now that scares people a great deal. Because Christians are facing sin every day, and they are facing their failures. And if some of you have addictions, in reality, really all of us are addicted. We’re addicted to our escapes from God. then when we see this message of freedom from sin, we say, oh boy, that cuts me out. There’s no chance for me. But I’m asking you now to bend your mind, to expand it beyond all you can imagine by faith, because Paul is not talking about individual sins primarily. Paul about the moral lapses that we make, the moral sins and misbehaviors we do. He is talking about the sin kingdom of Christ. He says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Well, now, why does he ask that question? because of what he has said previously in chapter 5. So let’s go from verse 18 of chapter 5 down to 21 and see its connection with 6 verse 1. Remember that the chapters of the Bible, that is the chapter headings and the chapter divisions and the verse divisions, do not exist in the Greek. So this is a continual demonstration or a continual presentation of the gospel here. Verse 18 then of chapter 5, Therefore as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, that’s Adam’s sin and fall of course, even so through one man’s righteous act, that’s Christ, his righteous life and death and resurrection, the free gift came to all men resulting in justification of life. For as through one man’s disobedience, that’s Adam’s, many were made sinners. Of course, many there means everyone, because everybody was made sinners. Even so, also, by one man’s obedience, many will be made righteous. That’s the parallel to the many who were made sinners. So that’s all of them. All will be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound. We explored that the other day. The law enters to make us aware of our sins and to cause us to return to Jesus and to the mercy of God. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. Wherever there is sin, there is much more grace that you need to take personally into your heart when you’re struggling with difficulties and sins. So that as sin reigned in death, so then sin isn’t simply something we do. It’s a kingdom that reigns. As sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign. That’s Christ’s righteousness. through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And then 6 verse 1, what shall we say then shall we continue in sin? So do you see how the connection is here? He’s not talking about individual sins. He is talking about the kingdom of sin and death that Adam brought to the world. And he’s saying, are we going to continue in that kingdom of sin and death, in our spiritual life, in our faith life? Do you see what this is asking us? It’s a fantastic question. Many Christians, surrounded by their familiar settings, their wounded life, their damaged emotions, their broken sinful habits, their families that are perhaps partly dysfunctional, their job situation, their finances, their health, everything, surrounded by all of that, they are pressured by it to continue living in the sin kingdom of Adam, which is the kingdom of sin and death. Which implies what then? that there is no grace, that there is condemnation and judgment, that we’re all the time being condemned for our behavior or our failures, that everything that we do will end up in disaster and death and loss. You see, if you’re living that way, you’re still living in the sin kingdom of Adam. Now look at the whole verse. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Oh, now he’s adding another phrase to this, well, actually a clause to this sentence, which gives it a different kind of twist. You see, why does he ask us, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Because he has just said, Moreover, the law, in chapter 5, verse 20, Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more. In other words, God always outdoes sin. He reveals his love and his mercy and his grace to us, right in the midst of the kingdom of sin that’s surrounding us. And he’s telling us, don’t by faith live in it, because my grace abounds much more. Whenever you sin, my grace comes in with greater mercy. well, then our minds might be inclined to say, well, then why not continue in the sin kingdom of Adam, because grace abounds all the more, and God is all the more graceful to us and merciful to us. No, he says, don’t take advantage of God’s grace by continuing to live in the sin kingdom of Adam. And then he says this, Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Now, why does he bring up baptism? Because baptism is a symbol. It represents something. It’s a type, if you like. Well, not really a type. It’s a symbol. And what is it a symbol of? It is a symbol of us going down into the water as if we were dying, going down into the earth like the water. and then rising up to new life when we come up out of the water. So he says, don’t you know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Why does he ask that question? Because the death of Jesus Christ is the central point. I want another word there. It is the demarcation line between the old form of living in the sin kingdom of Adam, and the kingdom of sin and death, and the new kingdom of life and peace. It is the most major historic point and historical event that redefined the world. Before Christ is the sin kingdom of Adam, which brings death. After Christ is the kingdom which brings life and resurrection. But don’t be confused with before and after, because it doesn’t mean in time. That is, before Jesus came, that was the sin kingdom of Adam, and after he came, that’s the sin kingdom of Christ. He’s not talking about time, and we will see that very clearly as we go along. He’s talking about spheres of existence. He’s talking about The way the mind lives without faith in the sin kingdom of Adam where there’s only judgment, condemnation, death, disappointment, discouragement, the wrath of God, all of the things that have troubled us throughout our Christian life. And that’s one realm of existence, a sphere or realm of existence, the kingdom of existence in Adam. But we, by faith, no longer live there. We live now with a new, renewed mind. It’s a mind of faith that directs and instructs our regular mind. And it says, well, though things went badly at work today, though things have gone wrong in my family lately, though one of my children is now addicted and I didn’t know that, and now I understand what the disaster was all about, and I am deeply troubled by that condition my child is in. Nevertheless, this is happening in the kingdom of Christ, not in the kingdom of Adam. Lord God, I therefore lift up my heart to you and give you praise that you are taking my child through the darkness in order to bring him or her into the light. This is how we pray now, now that we’ve discovered that there is a new sphere of existence, a new realm of existence, a new kingdom we are in. Yes, we still have our feet in the kingdom of Adam because we have a natural, fallen, broken body and mind. But by faith, we live in the sphere, the kingdom of the realm of Christ’s righteousness and life, in which there’s no judgment and no condemnation. Now, this is the big, big idea of Romans chapter 6. Yes, it affects our personal sins, but that’s not where it begins. There are so many Christians who’ve lost their way in chapter 6 of Romans, because they think Paul is talking about their individual sins, and they say, well, I haven’t died to all my sins. You have died to your sins. You have died to the kingdom of Adam, the kingdom of sin and death. How? By your conversion? By your new birth? By your sanctification? No, by the body of Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ died took you by his death out of the kingdom of Adam, which is the kingdom of sin and death. How did he do it by his death? In that his death was on behalf of you. And that death that he suffered was a judgment. And God took the judgment away. your judgment upon his son so that you could be removed from the kingdom of Adam into the kingdom of Christ in which there is no judgment and no condemnation. So start lifting up your heart and training your faith in the reality of that kingdom. Thanks for listening today, everyone. Colin Cook here and how it happens. This program comes to you on KLTT AM 670 in the Denver and Colorado and surrounding states areas, which you can hear at 10 o’clock in the evening, repeated at 4 in the morning for those of you who can’t sleep or get up early. And you can also hear it, though, any time of the day or night on your smartphone. Simply download a free app, soundcloud.com or podbean.com. and key in how it happens with Colin Cook when you get there. And if you would like to make a donation to this listener-supported radio, simply make that donation at faithquestradio.com or send your donation to Faith Quest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. Thanks so much. See you next time. Cheerio and God bless.