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A Pocket Paper Robert J.
Morgan Years ago I heard a little poem that I still remember. I don’t remember where I heard it, and I’ve never been able to find it since then. But somehow it has stayed in my memory all these years. It’s very simple: More and more of Thee And less and less of me. Till there is all of Thee, And there is none of me. The writer of that poem wasn’t saying that we should lose our identity or cease to exist; but that as we grow in Christ, we should display less and less of the old sinful nature and more and more of the Christ-nature. Last week I said that the Christian has two natures. We are children of Adam; and when we receive Jesus Christ as Lord, we become sons and daughters of God. We have a human nature and a Christian nature. There is an old self and a new self. A couple of people pointed out
to me—and rightly so—that when we come to Christ our old self,
our old nature, the flesh is killed off.
It is crucified. We have
died to self, and our new identity is in Christ. That’s true. But do you remember what the old King
James Version said in John 11, when Jesus told them to roll the stone away
from the mouth of Lazarus’ tomb.
They said, Lord, he has been dead four days—by now he stinketh. Well, the old self is dead, but it
still stinketh. Our old self has been crucified with Christ and we are new creatures in Christ, yet we still struggle with the old self. The apostle Paul refers to this many times in his writings. Look at the strange way he puts it in the book of Colossians, for example. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those
things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of
God. Set your mind on things
above, not on earthly things. For
you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears,
then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members
which are on the earth:
fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and
covetousness…. Isn’t that interesting? In verse 3 he says that our old self died. But in verse 5, he tells us to put to death our works of our old self. The NIV says: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature.” How can you put to death something that is already dead? In terms of our position, the old self is dead, crucified with Christ. But in terms of our condition, we still struggle with the remnants of sin in our lives. Galatians 5 says that the flesh wars against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. In other words, there is a conflict within us. And we’re to walk in the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. That’s what Romans 6-8 is all about. In our study through the book of Romans, we’re coming today to this powerful three-chapter segment having to do with sanctification, with Christian growth, with how the person who has been justified by faith deals with the sin-problem he or she still faces. We don’t have time to study these three chapters in great depth, but let’s see how they begin in Romans 6:1-14: What shall we say
then? Shall we continue in sin
that grace may abound? Certainly
not! How shall we who died to sin
live any longer in it? Or do you
not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
into His death? 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. For if we have
been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be
in the likeness of His resurrection, 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.
For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe
that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised
from the dead, dies no more.
Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to
sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves
to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 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. For sin shall not have dominion over
you, for you are not under law but under grace. A Question (v. 1) There are four elements of this
passage for us to consider today.
The first is a logical question.
Paul begins the chapter asking, What
shall we say then? Shall we
continue in sin that grace may abound? The word “then”
indicates that he is continuing to pursue the thought found at the end of
chapter 5. Look at Romans
5:20: Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded
much more. In other words, when God gave us the Ten Commandments and the Law, He provided a way for us to recognize and define sin. And so sin became more pronounced, more recognized, more defined, more real to us. Sin abounded. But grace has abounded more. The benevolence of God’s grace is greater than the malevolence of sin and self. So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. But that raises a question. If God’s forgiveness is so available, if His grace is so abounding, won’t we be more likely to sin? If we have constant, continual, and cart blanche forgiveness over all sin, why not sin freely? For example, if someone tells me I can use my credit card up to a million dollars a month and all my debts will be covered by somebody else, won’t I be more tempted to purchase things? If God’s grace is so abundant, doesn’t that just encourage us to sin all the more? “Oh, I know it’s a sin, but it’s all right. I’ll just confess it and draw on God’s unlimited forgiveness.” That’s the question Paul wants to address. Since we have been justified by grace through faith, should we go on acting like we did before we were saved? Should we continue in sin, trusting God’s grace to keep forgiving and forgiving and forgiving? Declaration (v. 2) Having asked the question, he then makes a vigorous declaration: Certainly not! I love how emphatically this verse states it. There’s no ambiguity, no hesitation, no amplification. Just--Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Let’s suppose that we have a family living in squalor. They’re the poorest of the poor, and they live in a cardboard box in a squatter’s village in a smoldering dump outside of a third-world city. They live in absolute filth. They have no plumbing. They have nothing but a few pieces of junk. They have no toys for the children. They are sick and starving. The stench of the place is overpowering. But suppose a benefactor shows up in their lives, loads them into a car, takes them to a beautiful new cottage in the country, gives them all baths, cleans them up, and provides a lovely new home for them with a kitchen garden, a little playground, a lovely lawn, and arching shade trees. Inside is a bed for every child. Inside is a bathroom with tub and shower. Inside is a pantry filled with food. Inside is a medicine chest packed with medicines and vitamins. He gives them the deed and pays the property taxes for the next twenty years. What shall we say then? Shall they continue to live in squalor? Shall they return to the dump? Shall they meander back to their old way of life? Certainly not! How shall they who left that kind of life live in it any longer? When we who are Christians are delivered from self and sin, when we find ourselves in Christ, how can we ever want to go back to our old way of life? How can we imagine continuing with our sinful ways? The question is: Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? The declaration is: Certainly not! Explanation (vv. 3-10) Now, the passage goes on with
an explanation. Look at verses
3-10: Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into His death?
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. When we received Christ as our Savior, what happened? We entered into His death and resurrection. There is a sense in which we were crucified with Him and raised with Him. We identify with His death and resurrection. When we are baptized, it is simply the outward, symbolic declaration we make to all the world that we have been buried with Christ in death and raised to walk in newness of life. Verse 6 goes on to say: 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. For he who has died has been freed from sin. So you see the progress of Paul’s thinking here. The question: Should we continue sinning now that we are under grace, now that we are Christians? The declaration: Certainly not! The explanation: We have been crucified with Christ and raised with Him to live a new kind of life. Instruction (vv. 11-14) Now, in the last section of this paragraph, Paul gives us seven wonderful instructions, and here’s where I want to spend the rest of our time. If we have died to sin, how can we live victoriously over temptation? Think of a temptation that bothers you. It might be your thought life. It might involve the words you speak. It might be an attitude of heart. It might be some habitual behavior. How can you have victory over these temptations? Paul gives us seven steps here in verses 11-14: First, reckon yourselves dead to sin (v. 11). The word “reckon” means to “consider” or to “regard.” It has to do with the mental image we have, with the way we think about something. Paul begins here by telling us we need to change the way we think about sin. We need to reckon or consider or regard ourselves as dead to sin. Along those lines, I think one of the most powerful tools for overcoming temptation is to memorize this very Scripture, Romans 6:1-2. When temptation stares you in the face there’s nothing more powerful than to remind yourself that you have died to sin. You have to reckon yourself dead to that temptation. I’ve found these two verses to be very powerful in defeating temptation: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may about? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” God’s Word is our most powerful tool in fighting and overcoming temptation. All temptation begins in our minds, for the mind is the spiritual battleground for the soul. If, therefore, we want to have victory over any sin, it begins by remolding our minds. That means changing the way we think about ourselves and about sin. Reckon yourselves dead to sin. Second, reckon yourselves alive to Christ (v. 11). Our ability to overcome temptation is in direct proportion to our fellowship with Christ. If we are walking with the Lord each day, if we are having our daily quiet time, if we are memorizing Scripture, if we are praying without ceasing, if we are enjoying unbroken fellowship with Christ, if we are abiding in our living Lord, temptation is going to lose much of its power. I’ve noticed that there are some buildings that are very thick and insolated or filled with electronic devices. As a result, it’s hard to receive a call on your cell phone. The radio waves have a difficult time penetrating the walls and the electronic field within the building. Think of that as an illustration. When you’re in the center of Christ, it’s harder for the devil’s radio waves to reach you. They’re weakened by His overwhelming power. The closer you are to the Lord, the stronger you’ll be over temptation. Reckon yourselves alive to Christ. Live in unbroken fellowship with Him. Third, do not let sin reign over you (v. 12). In other words, make up your mind you’re going to overcome that stubborn temptation through the power of Christ. Even if that sin is habitual. Even if it is addictive. There is victory in Jesus Christ; and you have to make up your mind that you’re going to be an overcomer. I just finished a wonderful autobiography of the Christian composer John W. Peterson. He wrote such great classics as “It Took a Miracle” and “Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul.” In his book, Peterson acknowledged his terrific battle with pride, jealousy, and envy. He had become one of the most popular Christian composers of the 20th century, and he was reveling in the way God was using him. But just at that moment, he began to sense that jealousy was nibbling away at him. He was afraid that newer, younger composers were going to rise up through the ranks and invade his “territory.” When he’d be a meeting and someone would sing something by another popular composer like, say, Ralph Carmichael, it would frustrate and frighten him greatly. But Peterson acknowledged his sin of envy before God and prayed for deliverance. One night at two or three in the morning, he was unable to sleep. He finally came to grips with it, confessing his sin of pride and envy to God, and then he began to pray for those whom he had envied. “Lord, bless Ralph Carmichael. Bless Kurt Kaiser. Bless Otis Skillings—he’s been writing some wonderful music. Bless Bill Gaither….” Peterson said that although the temptation hasn’t gone away completely, he has achieved a breakthrough in his attitude through prayer. Now “when Satan lights his fires of resentment and jealousy, I can put them out by thanking God for my fellow writers, asking Him to bless them, and taking delight in their success.” Whatever your temptation or sin is, there is victory if you approach it seriously, with determination, and in the power of Jesus Christ. We can have consistent victory over all known sin. So the Bible says, Reckon yourselves dead to sin. Reckon yourselves alive to Christ. And do not let sin reign over you. Fourth, do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness. The word “members” here refers to the parts of our bodies. I said earlier that the mind is the battleground for the soul, but every sin manifests itself in a physical way. Perhaps your sin is with your mouth. Maybe you say things you shouldn’t, or maybe you fail to say things you should. Maybe you eat or drink unwisely. Perhaps it’s with your eyes. Perhaps it’s with your fingers. Perhaps it’s where you feet are taking you. Perhaps there are sexual sins in your life. We must refuse to let our bodies be conveyers of sin. This was a great theme of the apostle Paul’s. In his letters, he talked about the body nearly 100 times. He said: · Romans 8:13: For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. · Romans 12:1: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. · 1 Corinthians 6:13: Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. · 1 Corinthians 6:19: Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. · 1 Corinthians 9:27: I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. We could go on to other verses, but these are enough to see the emphasis of Scripture on this point. Do not present the parts of your body as instruments of unrighteousness. In my reading this week, I ran across a good example of this. Years ago, in 1971, I read a little book by F. B. Meyer called The Christ Life for Your Life. This week I’ve been re-reading it in preparation for this message, In one chapter, Meyer wrote: “I was once staying with another man, a pastor. I had said nothing about smoking—I never do single out sins—I had not alluded to the habit; but one day we were walking along a street that led over a river, and to my surprise as we got to the apex of the bridge he took his tobacco pouch and pipe and threw them over, and said, “There, I have settled that.” Then turning to me, he said: “I know, Mr. Meyer, you have said nothing about it; but for the last few months God has been asking me to set a new example to my young men, and said, ‘Why should not I do as I like, and they as they like?’ God was searching me, and I was fighting Him; but it is all settled now, sir, it is all done now.” So reckon yourself dead to sin. Reckon yourself alive to Christ. Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness. But… Fifth, present yourselves to God. Come to Christ in full surrender. Come and let Him have all there is of you. The famous British army chaplain, Bishop Taylor Smith, put it this way in his personal testimony: “As soon as I awake each morning I rise from bed at once. I dress promptly. I wash myself, shave and comb my hair. Then fully attired, wide-awake and properly groomed, I go quietly to my study. There, before God Almighty and Christ my King, I humbly present myself as a loyal subject to my Sovereign, ready and eager to be of service to Him for the day.” Sixth present your members as instruments of righteousness. Lord, here is my mouth, my eyes, my ears, my hands, my feet, my brain. I dedicate my body as a living sacrifice to you. Seventh, remember that sin shall not have dominion over you. Why? Why shall sin not have dominion over us? It isn’t because we have superhuman personalities. Not because we’re able to defeat Satan, sin and self on our own. It’s because Jesus Christ has broken the back of Satan, sin, and self on the cross. When I was in college, I had a Dean of Men and coach who lived on campus with his family. His child had purchased a snake for a pet, a boa constrictor. It became as domesticated as a boa constrictor can become, and, of course, it was a real conversation item. They were sort of proud of their unusual pet. But one day, Coach Matthews returned home to find the boa constrictor had wrapped itself around his child and was in the process of squeezing the child to death. It was only the grace of God that brought him home at that moment. With a mighty rush of adrenaline and superhuman strength, he managed to extricate the child and destroy that serpent. Sometimes we think that we can domesticate sin. We think that we can entertain that temptation. But sooner or later, it always turns on us, and we don’t have the power within ourselves to break free. But Jesus Christ enters our lives, and with His superhuman righteousness He extricates us, destroys that old serpent, and because of Him sin shall not have dominion over us. He breaks the power of cancelled sin And sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may about? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to Christ. Do not let sin reign over you. Do not present your bodies as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourself to God and present your bodies as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the law but under grace. More and more of Thee And less and less of me. Till there is all of Thee, And there is none of me. 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