Wanted: Dead and Alive
Pastor KC Liu / Rm 6:1-11 / April 17, 2016
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6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. |
I have this wanted poster from One Piece. It has nothing to do with my sermon, but I thought it was fun just to show it for the youth who like Anime.
This morning we return to the Book of Romans. Let’s turn together to Romans 6:1-11. Since it’s been a few weeks since we studied Romans, let me do a little recap.
Paul was in Corinth around 57AD. By this time he has been traveling and preaching the Gospel as a missionary for 20 years. He wrote a letter to the Church in Rome, which was made up of Jewish believers and Gentile believers. These two groups were having conflict over theological issues and leadership issues, and a major split was about to happen. Paul was trying to be a peacemaker between the two groups.
In Chapter 5, Paul assured us that our new relationship with God will result in salvation from God’s wrath in the judgment. Paul knew how much of a sinner he was. He persecuted and killed Christians, he was really an enemy of God, he deserved wrath and judgment! But he knew that no matter how evil and sinful a person is, the all surpassing grace of God is much bigger.
So he wrote in 5:20 “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” And he meant it with all of his heart. I can picture him weeping as he writes these words on his papyrus scroll…”oh how great is the grace of God upon me, the worst of all sinners… Oh how I can rest in his tender mercies… I am so unworthy, yet He loves me, he really loves me… his great love overcame my great sins.”
Through his experience, he was formulating the Gospel of free grace. He taught that it doesn’t matter how good or how bad you’ve been - you are saved by grace alone through faith. He gives sinners hope by saying, “where sin increased, grace increased all the more”
However, Paul knew that there were going to be people who would misinterpret what he said. Some people will jump to the wrong conclusion that therefore it really doesn’t matter how you live. Critics will say “If it’s all about faith, and not about work, and all I have to do is believe - then it doesn’t really matter how I live. I can live a bad life. I can sin. After all, God will forgive me.”
In fact, one of my closest friends accepted Christ in the 90’s as a teenager. I prayed for him a lot. I was super excited that he started going to church. But soon after that doubt and unbelief filled his mind, and he gave up on God. He made a comment that I still remember, “If God is real, and all I have to do is believe, then I will just believe on my deathbed, say a prayer on my deathbed, and go to heaven.”
What he meant was, “I will live my life the way that I want to. I will be the captain of my own ship. I don’t want God to be in control right now. I don’t want to give up my sin stuff right now, I am enjoying them too much. But at the end of my life, I will say a prayer, and I will see you in heaven.” Needless to say, I was heartbroken over his decision to give up on God.
Back in the early 1900’s there was a crazy, mad, Russian monk named Rasputin. He had great influence over the Russian Royal family. He belonged to a mystic cult, and he taught this, “After you have received forgiveness go and sin again as soon as possible and then God can forgive you again, and then go on and sin again and God will forgive you again.” The advantage is this: the more you are forgiven, the more you will love him, so the best way to love God is to sin.
You see, both my friend and Rasputin totally twisted the meaning of “Saved by Grace”. And they are not a rare exception. Many people back in Paul’s day, as well as today, even here in this church have this mentality and mindset, even if they don’t say it out loud. I know that for myself, I’ve been through stages in my spiritual journey where I thought something similar. “I am just going to give in to this temptation. After all, God will understand and forgive me.” Or here is another common attitude that reflects this thinking: “How much can I sin, how much can I mess around, and still be a Christian?”
So Paul, being a really sharp fella, knew people were going to respond like this. He wrote a FAQ section in his letter. "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
It is very clear here that Paul’s answer to that question is a Big Fat NO! NO, you can’t keep on sinning so that God’s grace will increase! That’s the wrong logic!
By the way, did you know that there are two people who want you dead? The Devil wants you dead, and God wants you dead too! You might say, “I know the devil came to steal, kill and destroy. But God wants me dead too? What do you mean?” That’s right, God wants you to die to your old nature. God wants you to die to sin.
When you got baptized, something amazing happened. You were buried in the water, and your old man, old nature stayed underwater and died. But you didn’t stay in the water, I didn’t keep you under water too long did I? I wasn’t literally trying to kill you, I only killed you symbolically. In fact, your baptism was also a funeral service!
The moment you went under water, that’s where the funeral took place. We said goodbye to your old self, which is the part of you that desires to sin. We are saying goodbye to those sinful desires. They were buried during baptism. You are now dead to sin.
"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his."
Eventually, you came back up from the water. But the person that came back up was not the old you, it was the new you. Old you stayed in the water, the new you raised back to life, as Christ was raised to life. And your new desire is to live in freedom, to live for Jesus.
You see, you were united with Christ in his death, and also united with him through coming alive. So in that way, God wants you dead and alive at the same time! Dead to sin, Alive in Christ!
The truth of this passage can be confirmed through the teachings of Jesus. He asks us, Do you want the secret to abundant life? Yes? Then, die to yourself. “If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.” (Luke 17:33) The Kingdom of God is really upside down. If you want to save your life, die to yourself. If you want to be first, you have to be last. If you want to grow up in faith, you have to be like a little child.
"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Many of us like to binge-watch Crime TV Series, like Homeland, Law and Order, NCIS, 24, Blacklist, Breaking Bad, Sherlock Holmes, etc. We love it when the good guys take the whole season to catch the bad guy, and put him on trial and give them a life sentence or the death penalty. We feel like, “ahh, justice is served!” But what happens when that bad guy gets killed at the end of the season? Do the good guys take his corpse to the courtroom and give him the death sentence again? No. He’s already dead, the law cannot punish a man who has died. The law no longer applies to a dead man. The trial is over. The jury no longer needs meet anymore. They can go home. Case closed.
In the same way, God’s law cannot punish you when you have been crucified with Christ. You’re dead with Him. You’ve been buried with Christ. The law can’t touch a dead man. Remember, the purpose of the law was to show us how we fall short, and how much we need God. The law condemns those who can’t keep the law. But if we are already dead, the law cannot condemn us anymore.
And in the same way, Satan can’t touch you because you are dead to your sin. Satan no longer has leverage over you. He has no power over you anymore. As a dead man, Satan the accuser cannot bring you before the judge and accuse you of your failures and mistakes. You already died. He has no power over you. And that is wonderful news!
However, he will have power over you if you let him. If you open the door to a lifestyle of sin in your life, where you habitually sin and show no remorse, Satan will come in and put the chains on you. Don’t let that happen. Please repent and turn to God if you are in that situation.
Let’s assume that we want to die to sin. How do we do that in a practical way? You see, the secret to defeating sin and temptation is not trying to change our behavior directly. No, we have to change our beliefs first. The stronghold is in our mind, not in our behavior. Whatever we believe in our mind, our behavior will follow. If you are a Christian, but you believe your old self is still strong in you, you will never be able to defeat temptation. You will keep on struggling because you believe that’s who you are fundamentally. You can’t think wrong, and try to do right. You must think right at the very core, then you will do right. ”Right believing leads to right living.” A popular author also said, “I do not fix problems. I fix my thinking. Then problems fix themselves.” Every battle starts in the mind. Be sure to feed your mind the Word of God rather than the propaganda of the world.
The Word of God says, “you are a New Creation, the old has gone, the new has come!” You must realize your true identity in Christ in order to live victoriously. Let God define who you are and you will be strong. God says to you “I love you with an everlasting love!! You are my beloved son, you are my precious daughter! I would leave the 99 sheep just to go and look for you. I would stand outside the house in the dark to wait for you to come home. I will throw a party for you and celebrate you with the angels! That’s how much you mean to me!”
But if you let the world define who you are, you will be very weak. The world will say to you, “You are not good enough. Your grades are not good enough. Your family is messed up. You don’t make enough money. See how successful other people are? They are much better than you. You are worthless. You don’t matter. Just give up. It’s not worth the effort. Why don’t you do whatever make you happy. Just give in to temptation. It’s not going to hurt anyone. Nobody is watching…” Let me tell you, that is the voice of the devil. Do not listen to him. Do not entertain his whispers.
Next time you hear that voice, this is what you tell him, “Listen to me Satan! You have no authority over me! My old self died when Christ died. I gave in to you before, but I will not give in now. I am dead to sin! Today, I am alive with Christ. I am a new creation! I belong to Jesus! He is my master, not you! Satan, I resist and rebuke you, get out of my life! In the name of Jesus, amen!”
Go ahead, pray this prayer next time you are tempted and see what happens. There’s actually a very popular book ‘Listen to me Satan!’ that teaches you how to resist the enemy. Pastor Carlos Annacondia was a key revivalist that brought the great revival in Argentina. I have that book, and it’s filled with unbelievable stories of deliverance and breakthrough.
In conclusion, Paul is saying God wants you, all of you. You are on His most wanted list. God wants you both dead and alive. He wants you dead to sin, and alive in Christ. For some of you, you have not been baptized yet. Some of you are still carrying around your old self. It’s time to bury your own self through baptism. God promises to give you a new life through genuine faith. And Baptism is an outward expression of an inward reality. Would you take the step and get baptized? I am extending this invitation to everyone, especially to the seniors going off to college. If you would like to get baptized before going to college, please come and talk to me afterwards. We will arrange a special summer baptism for you.
This morning we return to the Book of Romans. Let’s turn together to Romans 6:1-11. Since it’s been a few weeks since we studied Romans, let me do a little recap.
Paul was in Corinth around 57AD. By this time he has been traveling and preaching the Gospel as a missionary for 20 years. He wrote a letter to the Church in Rome, which was made up of Jewish believers and Gentile believers. These two groups were having conflict over theological issues and leadership issues, and a major split was about to happen. Paul was trying to be a peacemaker between the two groups.
In Chapter 5, Paul assured us that our new relationship with God will result in salvation from God’s wrath in the judgment. Paul knew how much of a sinner he was. He persecuted and killed Christians, he was really an enemy of God, he deserved wrath and judgment! But he knew that no matter how evil and sinful a person is, the all surpassing grace of God is much bigger.
So he wrote in 5:20 “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” And he meant it with all of his heart. I can picture him weeping as he writes these words on his papyrus scroll…”oh how great is the grace of God upon me, the worst of all sinners… Oh how I can rest in his tender mercies… I am so unworthy, yet He loves me, he really loves me… his great love overcame my great sins.”
Through his experience, he was formulating the Gospel of free grace. He taught that it doesn’t matter how good or how bad you’ve been - you are saved by grace alone through faith. He gives sinners hope by saying, “where sin increased, grace increased all the more”
However, Paul knew that there were going to be people who would misinterpret what he said. Some people will jump to the wrong conclusion that therefore it really doesn’t matter how you live. Critics will say “If it’s all about faith, and not about work, and all I have to do is believe - then it doesn’t really matter how I live. I can live a bad life. I can sin. After all, God will forgive me.”
In fact, one of my closest friends accepted Christ in the 90’s as a teenager. I prayed for him a lot. I was super excited that he started going to church. But soon after that doubt and unbelief filled his mind, and he gave up on God. He made a comment that I still remember, “If God is real, and all I have to do is believe, then I will just believe on my deathbed, say a prayer on my deathbed, and go to heaven.”
What he meant was, “I will live my life the way that I want to. I will be the captain of my own ship. I don’t want God to be in control right now. I don’t want to give up my sin stuff right now, I am enjoying them too much. But at the end of my life, I will say a prayer, and I will see you in heaven.” Needless to say, I was heartbroken over his decision to give up on God.
Back in the early 1900’s there was a crazy, mad, Russian monk named Rasputin. He had great influence over the Russian Royal family. He belonged to a mystic cult, and he taught this, “After you have received forgiveness go and sin again as soon as possible and then God can forgive you again, and then go on and sin again and God will forgive you again.” The advantage is this: the more you are forgiven, the more you will love him, so the best way to love God is to sin.
You see, both my friend and Rasputin totally twisted the meaning of “Saved by Grace”. And they are not a rare exception. Many people back in Paul’s day, as well as today, even here in this church have this mentality and mindset, even if they don’t say it out loud. I know that for myself, I’ve been through stages in my spiritual journey where I thought something similar. “I am just going to give in to this temptation. After all, God will understand and forgive me.” Or here is another common attitude that reflects this thinking: “How much can I sin, how much can I mess around, and still be a Christian?”
So Paul, being a really sharp fella, knew people were going to respond like this. He wrote a FAQ section in his letter. "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
It is very clear here that Paul’s answer to that question is a Big Fat NO! NO, you can’t keep on sinning so that God’s grace will increase! That’s the wrong logic!
By the way, did you know that there are two people who want you dead? The Devil wants you dead, and God wants you dead too! You might say, “I know the devil came to steal, kill and destroy. But God wants me dead too? What do you mean?” That’s right, God wants you to die to your old nature. God wants you to die to sin.
When you got baptized, something amazing happened. You were buried in the water, and your old man, old nature stayed underwater and died. But you didn’t stay in the water, I didn’t keep you under water too long did I? I wasn’t literally trying to kill you, I only killed you symbolically. In fact, your baptism was also a funeral service!
The moment you went under water, that’s where the funeral took place. We said goodbye to your old self, which is the part of you that desires to sin. We are saying goodbye to those sinful desires. They were buried during baptism. You are now dead to sin.
"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his."
Eventually, you came back up from the water. But the person that came back up was not the old you, it was the new you. Old you stayed in the water, the new you raised back to life, as Christ was raised to life. And your new desire is to live in freedom, to live for Jesus.
You see, you were united with Christ in his death, and also united with him through coming alive. So in that way, God wants you dead and alive at the same time! Dead to sin, Alive in Christ!
The truth of this passage can be confirmed through the teachings of Jesus. He asks us, Do you want the secret to abundant life? Yes? Then, die to yourself. “If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.” (Luke 17:33) The Kingdom of God is really upside down. If you want to save your life, die to yourself. If you want to be first, you have to be last. If you want to grow up in faith, you have to be like a little child.
"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Many of us like to binge-watch Crime TV Series, like Homeland, Law and Order, NCIS, 24, Blacklist, Breaking Bad, Sherlock Holmes, etc. We love it when the good guys take the whole season to catch the bad guy, and put him on trial and give them a life sentence or the death penalty. We feel like, “ahh, justice is served!” But what happens when that bad guy gets killed at the end of the season? Do the good guys take his corpse to the courtroom and give him the death sentence again? No. He’s already dead, the law cannot punish a man who has died. The law no longer applies to a dead man. The trial is over. The jury no longer needs meet anymore. They can go home. Case closed.
In the same way, God’s law cannot punish you when you have been crucified with Christ. You’re dead with Him. You’ve been buried with Christ. The law can’t touch a dead man. Remember, the purpose of the law was to show us how we fall short, and how much we need God. The law condemns those who can’t keep the law. But if we are already dead, the law cannot condemn us anymore.
And in the same way, Satan can’t touch you because you are dead to your sin. Satan no longer has leverage over you. He has no power over you anymore. As a dead man, Satan the accuser cannot bring you before the judge and accuse you of your failures and mistakes. You already died. He has no power over you. And that is wonderful news!
However, he will have power over you if you let him. If you open the door to a lifestyle of sin in your life, where you habitually sin and show no remorse, Satan will come in and put the chains on you. Don’t let that happen. Please repent and turn to God if you are in that situation.
Let’s assume that we want to die to sin. How do we do that in a practical way? You see, the secret to defeating sin and temptation is not trying to change our behavior directly. No, we have to change our beliefs first. The stronghold is in our mind, not in our behavior. Whatever we believe in our mind, our behavior will follow. If you are a Christian, but you believe your old self is still strong in you, you will never be able to defeat temptation. You will keep on struggling because you believe that’s who you are fundamentally. You can’t think wrong, and try to do right. You must think right at the very core, then you will do right. ”Right believing leads to right living.” A popular author also said, “I do not fix problems. I fix my thinking. Then problems fix themselves.” Every battle starts in the mind. Be sure to feed your mind the Word of God rather than the propaganda of the world.
The Word of God says, “you are a New Creation, the old has gone, the new has come!” You must realize your true identity in Christ in order to live victoriously. Let God define who you are and you will be strong. God says to you “I love you with an everlasting love!! You are my beloved son, you are my precious daughter! I would leave the 99 sheep just to go and look for you. I would stand outside the house in the dark to wait for you to come home. I will throw a party for you and celebrate you with the angels! That’s how much you mean to me!”
But if you let the world define who you are, you will be very weak. The world will say to you, “You are not good enough. Your grades are not good enough. Your family is messed up. You don’t make enough money. See how successful other people are? They are much better than you. You are worthless. You don’t matter. Just give up. It’s not worth the effort. Why don’t you do whatever make you happy. Just give in to temptation. It’s not going to hurt anyone. Nobody is watching…” Let me tell you, that is the voice of the devil. Do not listen to him. Do not entertain his whispers.
Next time you hear that voice, this is what you tell him, “Listen to me Satan! You have no authority over me! My old self died when Christ died. I gave in to you before, but I will not give in now. I am dead to sin! Today, I am alive with Christ. I am a new creation! I belong to Jesus! He is my master, not you! Satan, I resist and rebuke you, get out of my life! In the name of Jesus, amen!”
Go ahead, pray this prayer next time you are tempted and see what happens. There’s actually a very popular book ‘Listen to me Satan!’ that teaches you how to resist the enemy. Pastor Carlos Annacondia was a key revivalist that brought the great revival in Argentina. I have that book, and it’s filled with unbelievable stories of deliverance and breakthrough.
In conclusion, Paul is saying God wants you, all of you. You are on His most wanted list. God wants you both dead and alive. He wants you dead to sin, and alive in Christ. For some of you, you have not been baptized yet. Some of you are still carrying around your old self. It’s time to bury your own self through baptism. God promises to give you a new life through genuine faith. And Baptism is an outward expression of an inward reality. Would you take the step and get baptized? I am extending this invitation to everyone, especially to the seniors going off to college. If you would like to get baptized before going to college, please come and talk to me afterwards. We will arrange a special summer baptism for you.