We Are Free
Romans 6:12-23
1.
Last week we learned some powerful truths:
a.
When a person enters into a relationship with
Jesus Christ, that person is born into a new reality: An eternal link to
Jesus Christ.
b.
Because of that relationship with Christ,
everything that is Christ’s is now available to that new Christian
c.
Christ died, we died, and thus sin no longer has
any power over the Christian.
d.
Christ lives, we live; The Christian
has been given new life, they’re alive to God!
e.
The Christian has been set free from the bondage
of sin, and the bondage of the law!
2.
Last week: "Sin is dead!"
3.
This week: We are free!
4.
It’s critical that the Christian not only KNOW
these things, but that we accept them as FACTS, and walk in FAITH based on
these facts
a.
Remember what happens when Faith takes his eyes
off of Fact!
b.
We have a NEW REALITY “in Christ” and we can now
walk in that new reality!
c.
That’s why Paul tells us...
12 Therefore do not let sin reign
in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not
present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present
yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments
of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you
are not under law but under grace.
5.
Instruments could be better-translated weapons.
The parts of our body are literally weapons in battle
a.
When they are given over to sin, they are
weapons for evil
b.
When the parts of our body are given over to
righteousness, they are weapons for good.
6.
Our members, our bodies, have been indwelt with
NEW LIFE, to be used for the glory and works of God!
Does a spring send forth
fresh water and bitter from the same opening? James 3:11
What then?
15 What then? Shall we sin because
we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
7.
In verse 1 Paul used the phrase “Shall we
continue in sin that grace may abound?”
a.
The Greek tense gives us the idea of
"continual sin"
b.
Here “Shall we sin” - Occasional sin, Greek
tense gives the idea “are we to sin even once?”
c.
No!
8.
This is where many Christians get in trouble.
They’ve experienced the life-changing effect of the gospel,
a.
God has delivered them from the bondage that
they were in, and they’ve been walking free for days, months, perhaps even
years!
b.
But one day a temptation pops up: An old
friend or flame shows up, or they get a racy email inviting them to a web site,
and the wheels begin to turn…
9.
Hey it happens to all of us, temptation knocks
every day, (As they say,
"Opportunity knocks once, but temptation beats on the door every
day." )
a.
And it’s not the temptation that gets us, its
WHAT WE DO with the temptation that gets us!
The Five Steps of Sin
(Greg Laurie)
James 1:14–16 "But each one is tempted when he is
drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it
gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."
1. The temptation itself. "But each one is tempted . .
."
- · The evil thought knocks on the door of your imagination.
- · At this point there’s no sin here yet, this is just the bait, the lure.
2. Contemplation
"Drawn away by his own desires . . ."
- · You are now "taking it for a test drive in your mind," thinking it over, perhaps fantasizing about the experience.
3. Setting the stage
"…and enticed." You’re getting closer, you’re almost hooked.
- · This is “setting the stage,” where a person begins to position themselves for the act, moving away from God and closer to the sin.
- · They might distance themselves from their support systems. They stop attending bible study, stop coming to small group, start missing church.
- · They might open a chat session with an old acquaintance, stop by an old watering hole, of course “just to check in and see how they’re doing.”
- · Like the fish that has swam away from the school and right up to the lure, it looks so shiny, you know it’s going to taste good!
4. The hook "Then, when desire has conceived, it
gives birth to sin." The hook is now been set.
- · The fantasy has been acted upon, and the sin is now conceived; the process is in full swing.
- · At this point there’s a sense of euphoria, the rush of doing something you know is wrong, but it feels good! The instant gratification is experienced.
- · But it doesn’t last long...
5. The
consequences "And sin, when it is
full-grown, brings forth death." Finally, the deadly effects of sin
kick in.
- · The guilt, the shame, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the feeling of separation from God,
- · Not to mention the outward consequences. There are always consequences
- · Damaged relationships, damaged reputation, physical and emotional consequences, sin always destroys something - count on it!
- · If you continue in this pattern, it could destroy you.
10. Now,
as I hope you know that at any point along the line here a Christian can turn
to God and repent, but the farther you go in the process, the harder it becomes
to repent.
a.
The longer you go in the process, the more
collateral damage is done.
b.
when would be the BEST time to act? STEP
1!
11. Exactly
what Paul is telling us; we don’t have to go any further than step one!
a.
At step one we can make a determination what we
will give ourselves over to, because:
16 Do you not know that to whom
you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17
But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the
heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set
free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
12. Paul
is using the illustration of a being a slave because many of his readers were
in fact slaves!
a.
By some estimates 40% of the Roman population were
slaves!
b.
They were well aware of what it meant to be a
slave.
13. Now,
there is no argument that slavery is a crime against humanity, and many slaves
were treated horribly…
a.
But the essence of the wrong of slavery is that
the slave no longer has a will.
b.
They don't have the freedom to make choices
affecting their life
14. And
Paul is using this as a backdrop to teach us a powerful truth about sin...
a.
Without a relationship with Christ, a human
being is a SLAVE to sin.
b.
That doesn’t mean they sin every second of every
day, it means that because of Adam, they inherited a sin nature; they had
NO CHOICE, they can’t change that fact.
c.
The only defense they have against sin is their
own willpower, which we all know is not enough!
15. But
what happens when a person is “in Christ?”
a.
The power of sin is broken!
b.
They are declared righteous, made a new
creation, and they are released from the power of sin!
c.
The Christian has a choice - we can choose to
obey their flesh, or obey God.
d.
And … whatever a person chooses to obey, they
become slaves to that choice.
“Don’t you realize that you
become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?” Rom 6:16 NLT
16. Think
about that for a few seconds, let that statement simmer in your mind…
a.
Maybe you can think of a time in your Christian
walk that gave in to a temptation, and allowed some sin that Christ had freed
you from…
b.
You pulled the old man back out of the casket,
“Hey lets take one more spin…” and HOW QUICKLY IT ENSLAVED YOU! (i know I
can)
c.
Maybe you even thought “how did this happen????”
17. Paul
is telling us right here how it happened, the cold hard facts:
a.
When you choose to obey sin, you are enslaving
yourself to a master who will beat you, make your life miserable, and
ultimately destroy you.
b.
We can choose to be slaves of sin, or we can
choose to be slaves of God, who loves us, cares for us, and who rewards us with
righteousness and eternal life.
c.
It should be a no brainer!
18. Now
I don’t know if you knew this or not, but there is a “good” form of slavery...
17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin,
yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were
delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of
righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.
For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of
lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves
of righteousness for holiness.
19. Understanding
the reality of our new life...
The Reality for a human slave:
- One born into a condition of slavery
- One whose will is swallowed up in the will of another
- One who is bound to the master with bonds only death can break
- One who serves his master to the disregard of his own interests
- The slave can choose to willingly obey his master, or to rebel against his master.
Our reality before Christ:
- We were born as slaves to sin
- Our will was swallowed up and captive to sin within us
- Our bondage to sin was so strong that only death - spiritually dying with Jesus on the cross - could break the bondage
- We were so enslaved to sin that we served it to the disregard of our own interest, even when sin destroyed us.
- We were willingly obeying our master, sin, and were in rebellion against God.
Our new reality in Christ
- We are born again into new life, and are now slaves to righteousness
- Our will is now aligned with the will of God. His purpose, His plans for our life.
- We are bound to Jesus with bonds that only death can break; but since He has triumphed over death and given us eternal life, those bonds will never be broken!
- We now willingly chose serve and obey Jesus instead of our flesh and sin
- We can still rebel against God, and go back to our old master, but the results will be the same: Death and destruction!
20. Reality
Check - We are all under authority
a.
We are all under some authority. You might
say “no, I live in America, I’m free!”
b.
No, your not! Yes you have rights that are
guaranteed in our constitution, but you are under the authority of the
government and it’s laws (try not paying taxes!).
c.
So you say “I’ll go live on a deserted island
that has no sovereignty, then I’ll be under no authority!” (sealand – Roy Bates)
d.
Wrong again, you exist on planet earth, which
God created!
21. While
there are multitudes of nations that have authority over people, in the
spiritual realm there are only TWO authorities that a man or woman can submit
to:
a.
The Kingdom of God - which is heavenly,
righteous and eternal
b.
The kingdom of Satan - which is earthly, wicked,
and which has a one-way ticket to the eternal lake of fire (look it up,
Revelation chapters 19-20)
22. A
person may not like this fact, or choose to not believe it, but it doesn’t
change the facts!
a.
FACT: God created this world, and
everything in it.
b.
He formed man, and breathed the breath of life
into us - gave us a soul.
c.
He is worthy to be worshiped, and He is gracious
and kind to give us the opportunity to become part of His kingdom, to serve
Him!
23. Look
at it this way: Say you had a job, and it was H-E double-toothpicks…
a.
Your boss was like the devil! Driving you
to do things that were unsafe, your job was destroying your marriage, your
relationships, your health…
b.
And your pay was pitiful...
24. But
one day another man offers you a new job, one that had great pay, great
benefits, heavenly work environment,
a.
Your boss was like ….Jesus!
b.
How weird would it be if one day you didn’t show
up for work, and so your boss goes out looking for you, and there you are, back
with the old slave driver…
25. Sadly,
that is exactly what some Christians do!
26. Why?
Too many Christians have fallen into the lie that they aren't strong
enough to overcome some sin in their life.
27. There
are only two reasons for a Christian to remain stuck in some sin...
a.
#1 they haven't understood or accepted the fact
that the power of sin has been broken in their life.
i. So
they keep looking back to feelings, instead of keeping their eyes on fact.
b.
#2 they haven't fully surrender their heart to
God. A part of their heart is still in Sodom.
i. In
Gen 18-19 you can read through the account of Lot and his family, who lived in
the city of Sodom.
28. Sodom
was where it was at in 2,000 BC; it was a wealthy, advanced city with a leisure
lifestyle, and Abraham’s nephew Lot moved his family there.
a.
But it was a sick city...
Sodom’s sins were pride,
gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She
was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 NLT
29. God
sent some angels to check things out before destroying the city, and Abraham convinced
the Lord to spare the city if there were only ten righteous people there
(thinking of Lot and his family!)
a.
You may know the account, the angels came into
town, and Lot invited them to stay in his house, and all the men of the town
came to his door demanding Lot send the men out so they could rape them (great
welcoming committee Sodom had!)
b.
The angels convinced Lot, his wife, his two
daughters to flee the city, and they told Lot “don’t even look back.”
c.
Lot’s wife did, after they had reached the nearby
town of Zoar, she looked back and BAM - she turned into a pillar of salt.
30. Wow
- turned into a pillar of salt just for being curious? No…
a.
The reason Lot’s wife was included in the
destruction was because her heart was still in Sodom.
The Key:
31. Paul
said “yet you obeyed from the heart” - THIS is the secret of walking the
Christian life.
a.
Willingly surrender to God, just like we did to
sin!
32. If
I’m honest, when I sinned before becoming a Christian, I knew what I was doing
was wrong, but I still willingly surrendered.
a.
I gladly surrendered, because I was a slave!
33. But
once I became a Christian, I experienced something I had never experienced
before, something in me now had the power to willingly surrender to
righteousness!
a.
Because the power of sin had been broken, and I
had been given “newness of life,” I was now “alive to God…”
b.
All I had to do in that moment of temptation was
to immediately surrender my heart to the Spirit of God that now lives in me...
c.
When I did that, I experienced a peace and a
power...
d.
The more I surrendered, the easier it became
34. TRUTH:
The more you surrender, the more future victories you’ll experience
a.
Like gaining ground in a war or a sporting
event, you start building momentum.
b.
It’s like when your team builds a 20 point lead,
suddenly things began to click, everyone is confident, the whole dynamic of the
team changes!
c.
Its the same in our walk with the Lord:
The more we surrender, the more distance we put between our sinful past,
the stronger and more confident we become in our faith!
35. Its
the same for the losing team; Once they get behind by 20 or so, they lose
heart, they start making mistakes, in their mind the game is over.
a.
Saints, the more you surrender to sin, the
deeper you’ll find yourself
b.
The farther you go in sin, lose choices, lose
relationships, farther from God
c.
It can get to the point a life is destroyed, a
faith is wrecked.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard
to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you
are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been
set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to
holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
36. When
you work, you earn wages...
a.
If you serve sin, your wages are pain, misery,
destruction, and eventually, death;
b.
if you serve God, your wages are holiness and
everlasting life!
c.
… it’s not that difficult!
37. Can
we stop saying “it’s hard being a Christian?”
a.
Its harder being an unbeliever who is a slave to
sin, and has no hope of eternal life.
b.
We’ve been set free!
c.
And the key – is KNOWING
38. Shuttle
Columbia Feb 1st 2003
Copyright © 2014
Clay Ritter. This data file is the sole property of Clay Ritter. It may be
copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies
of this data file must contain this copyright notice. This data file may not be
copied in part, edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any
commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or
other products offered for sale, without the written permission of Clay Ritter.
Requests for permission should be made in writing and addressed to Pastor Clay
Ritter, c/o Calvary Chapel of Wilmington, 2831 Carolina Beach Rd, Wilmington
NC, 28412.
No comments:
Post a Comment