Alive For Him

Alive for Him (Romans 6:11-14)
I. Introduction. A. Orientation. We saw this morning, Jesus can save you from death. Hes the only One who can Because Hes the only One who conquered death By rising from the dead. He has for you, if youve trusted Him. B. Preview. But when you trust Him Something happens: You die To what once were, To yourself. You are buried with Christ But you are also raised with Him To a new kind of life.
On basis of this, Paul says there are certain things you should do: 1. Consider yourself dead to sin, but alive to God. 2. No longer submit to sin, but now only to God.
And that you can do this, because 3. Sin is no longer your master. Lets think about each for few moments. II. Sermon. A. First, you must consider yourself dead to sin, but alive to God. To save you, Jesus actually had to kill you. Dont be too shocked or alarmed Because the you He killed Is the old you.
The old you threatened your life. Because all he wanted was evil, All he thought was evil, He might have done some things right, But he always did them for the wrong reasons.
He was Gods enemy, He was guilty, He was under sentence of death.
To save you That old man had to go. And so God did away with him.
He nailed him to the cross, And buried Him with Christ So that you might be free. Paul writes, Our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin (Rom. 6:6-7).
Is this true? God says it is. Does this mean the old you Is completely dead? Sadly, no. If it was, you wouldnt have to struggle with sin.
But it does mean His power is broken, So that you are no longer a slave to it. You have died to sin.
If you died, How can you still be alive? Because He also raised you again to life As a new creature in Christ. Paul writes, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Gal. 2:20).
He didnt leave you in the tomb, He raised you with Himself. He made you into a new creature. He broke the power of sin in your heart By giving you His Spirit.
Does this mean youre perfect? No. But it does mean That a real change has taken place In your life for the better.
Paul is speaking here of A spiritual death and resurrection You didnt die physically, You werent raised physically Though one day, Both will be true You were dead spiritually, But Jesus raised you to spiritual life As He said He had come to do. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself (John 5:25-26).
If youve trusted Jesus
For the forgiveness of your sins, This is true of you: You died, And you are now a new creation.
B. And so what should you do? The Lord calls you to live In the reality of this death/resurrection As a new creature in Christ.
You are no longer To let sin reign in your heart You mustnt let The old man Control you any longer.
Jesus dealt it a mortal blow on the cross. Its dying, But it still has some life left in it. Its like the glowing embers that remain After a fire is put out. If you pour the gasoline of temptation on it, It could fan again into a flame. If you play around
6 With these sinful desires, They will grow stronger And you will eventually succumb to them. What Solomon says of sexual lust Is true of every sinful desire, Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? (Prov. 6:26-27). You must be careful not to feed it With things that fuel it, So that you dont do What it desires.
You died with Christ Your old man is dead And you were raised with Him Pour the water of the Spirit On those embers And put them out You live now only for God, To yield your body Only to your Head The Lord Jesus As His instrument, To use as He wants.
Sin is not an option Only doing what is right!
C. Finally, why can you do this? Paul says, For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace (v. 14). Why cant sin control you? Heres another way To look at this: Because you are no longer Under the Covenant of Works.
The Covenant of Works Was fine for Adam. He had the power to obey God. But it isnt fine for us, Because we dont. The problem with law With any law, Even Gods Law Is that it can only point you In the right direction, It cant give you the power to keep it.
That was the problem with the Old Covenant.
Its not that the Law was bad Paul says, The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good (Rom. 7:12) Its just that it couldnt Give those commanded The power to keep it. The Lord said, They did not continue in My covenant, and I did not care for them (Heb. 8:9).
In the New Covenant God gives a greater grace. He writes His Law on your heart by His Spirit. He gives you the power to keep it, By giving you the desire to keep it. That new desire Is what sets you free From your bondage to sin. You are not under the Law, But under grace.
Remember, what would have happened to you If Jesus hadnt broken that power If He hadnt killed your old man If sin still controlled your body It would have steered you
Straight into hell Actually, you would have driven yourself Straight into hell That old man was you And you wouldnt have listened To anyone who tried to stop you.
But He did. He killed you He killed the old man Who threatened your life And He raised you up again He made you a new creature Now you are free Not to sin, But to do good And He did it Because of His great love for you.
And so as you remember in a few moments The death of your Lord In the Lords Table, And as you remember His resurrection this Easter Day
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Or more properly On this Lords Day Remember that this Is how He once and for all defeated The sin that would have killed you, And how He raised you again to life To give you a future and a hope. And purpose that you will no longer Give into your sin, But now live for Him, Because of the great love He has shown you. Amen.
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Alive For Him

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Alive for Him (Romans 6:11-14)

He was Gods enemy, He was guilty, He was under sentence of death.

If youve trusted Jesus

Sin is not an option Only doing what is right!

That was the problem with the Old Covenant.

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