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?
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• I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
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• 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.

RESISTING SELFISH DESIRES

Do not give in to sinful desires. Romans 6:12

People sometimes explain a struggle or desire by saying, “It’s just the way God made me.” The statement may sound persuasive, but does it accurately distinguish between God’s design and the effects of sin and selfishness?

God made us in His image, but we are also broken and sinful. Some of our selfish desires are what we want to “be of God”; however, they aren’t. And as hard as it is to accept, they need to be resisted.

Paul writes: “Consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ… Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires… or let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God.” (Romans 6:11–13)

If we let it, our heart will lead us astray. It has certain appetites which are always ready to respond to surrounding stimuli, all of which are terribly appealing and temporarily satisfying.

Chuck Swindoll writes: Life on earth is really nothing more than a string of moments… And I don’t want my testimony for Jesus Christ to be shattered by a single moment of indulging my flesh. I don’t want one moment of rage or pride or lust to cast a shadow over a lifetime of walking with my Lord. Frankly, I fear that possibility. And do you know what? I want to fear that possibility. When we stop fearing it—we’re in grave danger.

So how do we deal with our carnal appetites? The only way is to make God’s Word our code of conduct and refuse to compromise. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves.” (Matthew 16:24)

Each day, look for an opportunity to deny yourself in some small area. You may be surprised how hard it is! But the payoff comes later when you need to deny yourself in a big area of life that has much more riding on it.

Thought of the Day: What selfish desire do you need to resist today, and what specific choice will help you give that area of your life to God?

 

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