Romans 6:1-23 Sin’s Power Is Broken

Sin’s Power Is Broken
Romans 6:1-23

Intro Questions

 #God            #People     #Time         #Place        #Obedient faith  #Sin  #Key Idea 

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self^a was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free^b from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

• God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
• We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
• 
  
• I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
• 
  
• You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.

Slaves to Righteousness

15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in ^b Christ Jesus our Lord.

• God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
• We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
• 
  
• I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
• 
  
• You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.

https://www.youtube.com/c/edmondchurchofchrist

https://youtu.be/Mx8Z9rTLFyU

https://youtu.be/PvAHPSW8OsY

Salvation By Christ Alone - Part 6 from North Boulevard Church of Christ on Vimeo.

Practice Makes Perfect

 

            On the evening of October 25, 2017, Kenneth White had finished up another day in construction and was riding home in a work van. About 80 miles north of Detroit, the driver was cruising down I-75 while White rode in the front passenger seat. As the van passed beneath an overpass, a six-pound rock smashed through the windshield, hitting White in the face and chest. A gaggle of five teen-agers sped away from the overpass and Kenneth White, a father of four, died before an ambulance could arrive. As police investigated, they found 20 rocks scattered below the overpass, one weighing 20 pounds.

            The bunch was quickly found and arrested. Four pled guilty and were sentenced as juveniles, but the fifth, Kyle Anger, was 17 years old and the one who tossed the rock. Charged as an adult with second-degree murder, he pleaded guilty in exchange for sentencing under lesser guidelines. Judge Joseph Farah explained his sentence in court: “There was nothing unintentional about this. The intention was to throw the rocks down and hit the cars.” He noted that the teens had thrown items off overpasses several times before, including rocks, auto parts, a couch and a grocery cart. The rocks were loaded into a car trunk and brought to the scene of the crime. So, Judge Farah sentenced the killer to 39 months to 20 years in the state penitentiary. Then he rejected the plea deals of the other four so they could be sentenced as adults instead of juveniles. Crimes unpunished earlier escalated to murder and mayhem. The survivors’ lives will never return to normal.

            “I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness” (Romans 6:19 NIV).

            One of the problems with evil behavior is its effect within our own souls. As we tolerate and then accommodate sin, we cultivate it until it twists our own humanity. Once unthinkable, the vicious becomes inevitable as cruelty and selfishness increases within us. Unchecked, malicious impulses grow and spread until we convince ourselves that evil is good and good is evil. The result is unimaginable catastrophe in our own lives and the lives of many, many others. It is impossible to guess the ultimate consequences of our deeds and it’s fruitless then to declare that all the mayhem was unintentional.

            By the grace of God, good behavior will work in precisely the same way. As we imagine works of righteousness, we cultivate goodness within us until it shapes our own humanity. First in small ways, then in ever-increasing kindness our compassion and selflessness results in dozens of graces scattered in our wake. Confirmed in our knowledge of good behavior, we bring light and blessing and joy in our own lives and in the lives of many, many others. It is impossible to guess the ultimate consequences of our gracious actions and the gratitude to God that can result from our obedience. If we practice goodness, day by day in small and large ways, we’ll get better and better at it. And our own souls will get better and better, too, to nobody’s regret! If practice makes perfect, it only makes sense to practice what we want to perfect!

Other Resources: 

Grace Romans 6

"Dead"
Reckon Yourself Dead...And You Will Appreciate Freedom

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YA5BXFXozDs

Romans 5:12-21 Adam and Christ Contrasted

Adam and Christ Contrasted
Romans 5:12-21

The Reign of Sin and the Reign of Grace (Romans 5:18-21)

https://youtu.be/idwlwMg09CA

Aug 17, 2025 = Paul spoke of sin and death reigning like a king (like Pharaoh) and enslaving all of humanity. Through Jesus, people are liberated from the reign of sin and death. This liberation is a gift; it is by God’s grace. It isn’t Torah observance that liberates people; it is God’s grace. In Christ, we live under the reign of grace. However, many in the “weak” group seemed to push back on this idea, suspecting it meant a sinful and lawless disregard for righteous living. However, Paul argued that living under grace means we are free to live according to God’s will. Are we willing to allow ourselves, and especially others, to live under the reign of grace? Or do we try to enslave one another with new laws, because we do not trust the sanctifying work of the Spirit?

Intro Questions

 #God            #People     #Time         #Place        #Obedient faith  #Sin  #Key Idea 

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

13To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

18Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

20The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

• God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
• We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
• 
  
• I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
• 
  
• You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.

https://www.youtube.com/c/edmondchurchofchrist

https://youtu.be/VGg0OJQvht8

Other Resources: 

God's Love Romans 5

Romans 5:1-11 Faith Brings Joy, Peace and Hope

Faith Brings Joy, Peace and Hope
Romans 5:1-11

Intro Questions

 #God            #People     #Time         #Place        #Obedient faith  #Sin  #Key Idea 

Peace and Hope

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we ^a have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we ^b boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we ^c also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

• God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
• We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
• 
  
• I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
• 
  
• You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.

https://www.youtube.com/c/edmondchurchofchrist

https://youtu.be/g-mpk-m-jH8?

Treading Water - Romans 5:3-5

https://youtu.be/9-EZKHpmza8?list=PLhYtut3yPj985SSv2lVAUQwrsPyVaMNKJ

Jul 27, 2025 = Pleasant Ridge exists to lead people into a life-changing walk with Jesus Christ!

https://rrffh.blogspot.com/2025/08/deeper-waters.html

This is Who God is.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0bN6io-dP-k

https://youtu.be/VGg0OJQvht8

Salvation By Christ Alone - Part 5 from North Boulevard Church of Christ on Vimeo.

Psalm 34:1 “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.”  NIV

     

Praise for God your Father should be the easiest thing that flows from your heart and mouth.  The pure recognition of you not only being God’s creation, but also being the recipient of His love and grace through your redemption in Christ Jesus should flood your heart with praise for Him.  

Romans 5:8 say, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Your praise should not be limited to when you receive something from God, but praise Him for the reality that God Almighty even considers you.  Your praise should not be limited to when you come out of hard times, but just for the normal things in your life.  Your praise should not be limited to when you get a raise or promotion, but for the very job you have.  Your praise should not be limited to when God heals you, but for the very breath of life itself.  Praise should not be limited to

Sunday morning, but to every waking moment.  Praise is the inexpressible recognition of Who God is in your life, His immeasurable love for you, His never exhausting patience with you, and His unfathomable capacity to cover you with His grace.  Your praise is not dependent on how good times are, but how GOOD YOUR GOD IS!  

Romans 5:6 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”  The world’s affect on you is probably crowding God out of your life when your praise becomes limited to the events of life itself and not your life in communion with God.  It is out of your intimacy with God that you begin to see and experience God in every detail of your life.

Philippians 1:9‐11 “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.”  NIV

Romans 11:33, 36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”  NIV

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Expert Salvation 

Like many cities, Grand Rapids, Michigan, has a recycling center where residents can drop off paper, plastic and metal products for reuse. Employees staff a processing line to sort things properly. Last spring, the line had to be stopped and evacuated because a metal sphere turned in for recycling was actually a six-pound cannonball from the Civil War. Those would typically have been used in small field pieces with a range of only about a mile—and they were replaced for Union use in 1862. 

The six-pound cannonball was an antipersonnel charge fired into enemy infantry. The exploding ball would spray out 37 musket balls. So this cannonball had been quietly deteriorating and becoming more unstable for at least 158 years. The Michigan State Police bomb squad disposed of it before it could kill anybody. Folks aren’t always so lucky: Sam White died when he accidentally set off a cannonball in his driveway. From time to time, explosives surface even far from battlefields. In 2016, a pile of 16 Civil War cannonballs was uncovered by a storm on a South Carolina beach. Old explosives actually become more dangerous; the detonators deteriorate into unstable conditions that might not work at all—or might go off with the slightest disturbance. There is no do-it-yourself plan to make them safe; they must be expertly rendered. 

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8 NIV). 

Because we are forgetful, we lose track of the sin buried in our past. If it came to our minds, we would assume it lost beneath the sifted dust of time. And since its results were no longer seen by us, we would consider it effectively neutralized. In truth, it waits right where we left it, quietly nursing its fatal purpose. It is impossible for us to undo our history and unmake the terrible choices in our past. We are truly powerless in the face of our own decisions and their savage consequences. There is no do-it-yourself plan so that we might correct our actions and survive our past. Left to our own ingenuity and efforts, we are inflexibly self-condemned and doomed forever. 

And yet there is hope for our survival in the expert rendering of sin’s lethal power by the sacrifice of Jesus. It is a simple thing to understand: I deserved to die for my sin but Jesus paid the penalty and suffered that death in my place. He didn’t do that because I’m such a great person; I was a contemptible piece of work that didn’t deserve so much as a sideways glance from Him. The reason He did that was that He chose to love an unlovable waste like me and release me from the catastrophe I had constructed by my terrible decisions. And what He did for me, He’ll do for you, if you’ll allow Him. When you realize you’re a “dead man walking,” the promise of expert salvation is really good news!

Other Resources: 

God's Love Romans 5

Romans 4:1-25 The Faith of Abraham

The Faith of Abraham
Romans 4:1-25

Intro Questions

 #God            #People     #Time         #Place        #Obedient faith  #Sin  #Key Idea 

Abraham Justified by Faith

1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 

4Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7“Blessed are those

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

8Blessed is the one

whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” 

9Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

13It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, 15because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

16Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”  He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

• God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
• We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
• 
  
• I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
• 
  
• You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.

https://www.youtube.com/c/edmondchurchofchrist

https://youtu.be/kkJJqfilHUU

https://youtu.be/rQ0G7uNO1qU

Salvation By Christ Alone - Part 4 from North Boulevard Church of Christ on Vimeo.

Other Resources: 

There Are No Atheists in Foxholes Romans 4

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Document for DBS

Series: Connected “Abiding in Christ”

In a time of growing isolation and individualism, we are reminded of how important it is to stay connected to God and to each other. Jesus’ metaphor of the vine and branches calls us into a life of connection over production as we abide in Him.

Title: “Grafted & Growing” (Romans 4:16-25)

Bookmark: Click Here

Opening Thoughts: God specializes in giving life to the dead. When we lose our hold on the true vine, God can graft new life into our connection with Jesus.

v  Randy’s Cut finger.

o   It will either grow back or it won’t.

o   Doctors can reattach parts of our bodies.

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Text: Romans 4:16-25

¹⁶ Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷ As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

¹⁸ Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. ²⁰ Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²² This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” ²³ The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴ but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

 

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Summarize the main story: Describe the events of the story in your own words.

v  Review and retell the story.

Reflections for applications:

v  John 15:5-6 John 15:5–6 NIV - "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

o   We go from being a “branch” to quickly becoming a “stick”

·         Good to be put in a fire.

·         How strong is your connection to Christ? Are you a branch or a stick?

o   Storms have a way of making branches into sticks

v  Romans 4:18 NIV - Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

v  Romans 4:19–24 NIV - 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." 23 The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

o   There is always hope with God

v  Romans 4:17 NIV - As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

o   A dead stick in the hands of God can become a living branch!

o   God can graft you back on the Vine

 

1 Peter 5:8–11 NIV - Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

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Digging Questions:

·         How will you respond to making “Connection to Jesus”? What transformative move needs to be made?

·         What do these biblical texts tell you about God and His nature?

·         What is God calling us (me and you individually) to do?

Take Away Challenges

·         What has the Holy Spirit revealed to you in this passage? How will you apply it to your life this week?

·         Whom do you know who needs to hear this?

·         What is God bringing to your attention in this discussion? What beliefs, thoughts or actions need to be addressed or changed?

Hashtags #Connected #Grafted #

Sunday sermon link          https://youtu.be/dTCEzh00V8Y

Kevin’s Blog Link to more resources: Click here for Kevin’s Blog Notes

Comments and resources with some more resources:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+12%3A4-13&version=NIV

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