Romans 6:1-4 "Two Truths and a Lie"

1:24Well, that sounds like a good time, doesn't it? Well, one of our children was so disappointed. Distraught over the game's premise that when it came to their turn and they didn't have any of the proper cards to lay down, they just started crying because it seemed too much to their little soul to tell this fib in this game. And I must confess to you, as a parent, I just didn't fully consider the ethical challenges. I had never had a class like Grace in the Gray this morning at 11 a.m. over in the preserve.

2:08Perhaps you're more familiar with a different game of deception, as they are called, known as two truths and a lie. It's often used as an icebreaker in group settings. In this game, every player makes three statements about themselves. Two are true, and one is a lie. And the idea is you want to say three things. You want to make three statements that are either so believable or so unbelievable that nobody else in the group can figure out which one is the lie.

2:36Well, friends, in our passage today here in Romans 6:1 through 4, that's exactly what we're dealing with: two truths and a lie. Except in this case, it's not one person making all three statements. It's two different people. Or more likely, it's one group of people and the Apostle Paul. Now, this group could have been. Made up of Christians or non-Christians, people within the church or people outside of the church. But whoever they were, they were believing a lie about the Christian life. And so the Apostle Paul responds with two truths to counteract that lie, truths that set the record straight about the Christian life.

3:20So let's take a look now at verse 1 and chapter 6 here and start with the lie. Believers may continue to live in sin. Look at Romans 6:1. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Now you need to remember the context of this passage. It's been a couple of months since we've been in the book of Romans, and so let me just remind you where we're at. In Romans 1 through 3, Paul is making the argument that the entire world is under sin. The entire world is guilty. Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young and old, all people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

4:08And then in Romans 4, Paul is arguing that believers are justified by faith in Christ, not by works. In other words, we are counted righteous by God not because of what we have done, or because of what we are doing, or because of what we will do, but through faith in Christ. Alone. God counts us righteous when we trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus alone for the forgiveness of our sins. And then in Romans 5, Paul teaches that in the same way that we were all counted guilty in Adam because of his sin, we will be counted righteous in Christ by faith.

4:51Look at Romans 5:17 on the screen. This sums it up. For if because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. So, friends, that is the context. That's where we've been for the entire fall semester. That's the logical flow of Paul's argument. Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We will be counted righteous through faith in Christ alone, not by anything that we do, simply trusting in Him, His life, death, and resurrection. And so, at the very end of Romans 5, Paul makes this statement in verse 20. You can look at that in your Bible if you want to. It says, Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.

5:53Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. This is the good news of the Christian life, friends. Whether you perceive yourself to be a small sinner or a great sinner, whether you have actually committed many sins or only a few compared to your fellow man and woman in this room or anywhere in the world, God's grace abounds for sinners. That is a big statement. And so here in Romans 6, Paul is implying in verse 1 that there is a group of people in Rome, maybe Christians, maybe non-Christians, who are believing a lie about the Christian life.

6:31And that lie is stated right here in verse 1: that believers may continue to live in sin because that allows God to extend even more grace to us. In other words, repentance, changing our minds and our behavior toward our sin, is unnecessary. Now, if these people were non-Christians, they're essentially looking at believers and saying, well, how convenient for you? It's the best of both worlds, huh? You can sin as much as you like and still go to heaven.

7:12Must be nice. Well, that's not good. And so Paul is going to address their misunderstanding of the gospel if this is non-Christians saying these things. But if these people were professing Christians, it's not just that they've misunderstood the gospel. Is that they've misunderstood the gospel in a way that is going to leave them enslaved to sin. And they've misunderstood the gospel in such a way that's going to lead unbelievers to reject the Christian gospel as impotent, powerless to bring real change to real people in this life.

7:53Now, listen, this is not new. In every age, there have been people who believe that there is salvation without repentance. In other words, that you can be saved without ever changing your mind or your behavior toward your sin. In other words, that Jesus can be your Savior, but not your Lord. In every age, you've had people that have believed that. The question is: is that true? Can we be saved if we never repent of our sins?

8:27Can we be saved if we tell God that we want Him to forgive our sins, but we don't want Him telling us how to live our lives? Let's go to the Bible and see what the Scripture says. Take a look at Mark chapter 1. It says this. Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.

9:05So, right here, you see at the outset of Jesus' ministry, when he is beginning to preach the good news, what is the message that Jesus Himself is preaching? Repent and believe. Okay, so how about at the end of his ministry, when he's giving the disciples their marching orders, what does he tell them before he ascends into heaven? Look at Luke 24. Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them, Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

9:52So here he is at the end of his ministry. Jesus is about to depart this earth to go take his seat at the Father's right hand, and he tells his disciples to preach repentance. Okay, well, what did the disciples actually do? Did they actually do that? Take a look at Peter's first public sermon in Acts chapter 2. Here's the end of that sermon. And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

10:31Now, faith is clearly implied here in Peter's statement. That's what it means to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. It means that you are putting your trust in him, not in yourself. But what is explicitly stated by Peter is what? Repent. Change your mind about your sin. Turn from your sin and turn to Jesus Christ in faith. So, friends, nothing could be more clear from the Bible than this. The message that Jesus actually preached, the message that Jesus commanded his disciples to preach, and the message that his disciples actually preached is repent and believe.

11:19The idea that a believer can continue to live in sin is a lie. That is not what the scriptures teach. It is a complete misunderstanding of the gospel message itself, which is repent and believe. And it's a complete misunderstanding of the result of the gospel, which is not freedom to sin, but freedom from sin, from its dominating, enslaving power over our lives. And we're going to get to explore that theme a lot more in the coming weeks.

12:00So, if you're asking the question like some of these people were, are we to continue in sin that grace may abound, you have misunderstood the gospel and the result of believing the gospel. So, friends, that's the lie that believers may continue to live in sin. So, let's look now at the first truth. Believers have died to sin. Take a look again at verse 1. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death.

12:57I want to pause there. In the ESV, Paul's response to the lie, should we keep on sinning so that grace may increase, is by no means. That phrase can be translated a lot of ways, like absolutely not. May it never be, even God forbid. He follows up with the rhetorical question: how can we who died to sin still live in it? His logic is very simple. If you're dead, you can't live. Can't do anything. So if you've died to sin, then obviously you cannot go on living in it. So here's the question for us this morning. What does Paul mean when he says we have died to sin?

13:49Does he mean that we've died to temptation? Well, he can't mean that. Both the Bible and our experience confirm that even after we repent of our sin and believe in Jesus, we are still tempted to sin. Look at 1 Corinthians 10.13. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. Paul is talking to believers, not to non-believers. Look at Hebrews 2.18 on the screen.

14:33For because Jesus Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. So, friends, Paul can't mean that we have died to temptation. Jesus was perfect, and yet he was tempted in every way. So, the scripture cannot mean that. But does Paul mean that while we will still be tempted to sin, We won't actually fall into sin anymore? Is that what he's getting at? Again, the Bible and our experience confirm that even after we repent and believe, we're going to be tempted, and sometimes we're going to fall into sin as Christians. Look at what James chapter 5 says. He commands us, therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

15:35Or look at this even stronger statement from 1 John chapter 1. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. So if Paul does not mean that we've died to temptation, and Paul doesn't mean that we've died in the sense that we will not sin anymore, what does he mean when he says that we've died to sin? Look again at verse 3. Paul says, Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death.

16:25You see, in many churches today, baptism has been reduced to a public profession. Of faith. You ever heard that term before? People talk about baptism, they talk about it as a public profession of faith. I would say that's the primary way in our day and age, that's the way people talk about baptism. They would say, like, what is baptism? Baptism is a public profession of faith. Well, that's true. It is a public profession of faith. When you are baptized, your baptism is witnessed by the church body and anybody else who is there present at your baptism. It is certainly a public profession of faith.

17:02But I think it's very important for us to recognize that the Bible never defines it that way. How does the Bible talk about baptism? What is it? What does it symbolize? I want to highlight three things for you that baptism symbolizes. It symbolizes more than this, but with respect to the context of the passage, I want to point out three things. First, baptism symbolizes salvation from judgment. Salvation from judgment. Take a look on the screen at 1 Peter 3.

17:36Peter writes, God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a Good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We heard last week Pastor Joshua preached on Noah. And in Noah's day, God judged all of the people of the earth for their sin and rebellion against him through the flood. But Noah and his family were saved.

18:21They were saved how? Through faith in God and His Word. Noah and His family believed God, took Him at His Word, and they were saved through their faith. And friends, in the same way, we are saved from the flood of God's judgment, which is symbolized in the waters of baptism by faith in Jesus, the Word made flesh. So baptism symbolizes salvation from judgment. Second, baptism symbolizes dying to our old way of life. Symbolizes dying to our old way of life. Look at Colossians 2.

19:06In Jesus also, you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead. Now, in the New Covenant, baptism has replaced circumcision as the sign of belonging to God's people. You were initiated into the people of God in the Old Covenant through circumcision. That's how you and your family came to be known as part of the family of God. That's how you are marked off and identified. In circumcision, flesh was literally cut off from the body, and it symbolized that God's people were cut off from the sinful ways of the world and set apart to live holy and distinct lives before him.

20:12So, friends, now in the new covenant, baptism has replaced circumcision as the mark of God's people. And in baptism, we have a picture of our death and burial symbolized in going underneath the waters, which shows that we have died to our old way of life. We have put off the body of the flesh. That's who we were. That part of us is dead and gone. It is no more. It is left symbolically under the waters of baptism. So, baptism symbolizes dying to our old way of life.

20:51And then, third and finally, baptism symbolizes Christ clothing us in righteousness. Take a look at Galatians. 3 Paul says, For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. In another letter in Colossians, Paul says that our lives are now hidden with Christ in God. They're hidden with Christ in God. See, when we repent and believe, we put off our sinful flesh and we put on the righteousness of Christ. We are now clothed in His righteousness. We're not seen by God as dirty, as filthy, as unrighteous, as people who are unable to come before Him. We are now seen as righteous as Jesus Christ. We are hidden with Him. We are clothed in His righteousness.

21:52And so, when Paul says that we've died to sin and reminds us that we've been buried with Christ in baptism, He is saying to us, since we've been saved from God's judgment, since we've died to our old way of life, since we've put on Christ, since all of those things are true, of course, we can't continue to live in sin. We've died to it. How could we live in it any longer? We are no longer identified with our old way of life and our sin. We are now identified with Christ. It is an exchange of identity, which is so important. Because I think there are so many Christians, you still identify yourself as a sinner.

22:47And if by that you mean you still struggle with sin, amen, we all do. But friends, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, that is no longer how God views you. He does not view you as a dirty sinner, he views you as a righteous saint, washed clean not by the waters of baptism, but the blood of Christ, which is applied to you through faith and symbolized in the waters of baptism. So the lie is that believers can continue to live in sin. The first truth is that we have died to sin. And the second truth is that believers have been raised to walk in new life.

23:38Let's take a look now at verses 3 and 4 again. Paul says, Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried, therefore, with him. 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. If Jesus is not alive, we are wasting our time here this morning. More than that, if Jesus is not alive, every Christian in this room is wasting his or her life.

24:36Does that sound extreme? A little over the top? You might hear that and think, well, come on. I mean, even if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, he still taught us to be nice people, taught us to share our food, taught us not to play games like fibber. Surely if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, it's not all bad. Let's see what the Apostle Paul thought about that. 1 Corinthians 15. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. That means worthless in the Greek. And you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are. Of all people, most to be pitied.

25:35Friends, let Paul's words sink in. If Jesus isn't alive, your faith is worthless. My faith is worthless. We are still guilty before God. Faith in Christ did nothing in terms of our standing before him. The people who have gone before us and who have died believing in Christ, they are suffering eternally for their sin. And we are the laughingstock of the entire world. And this is what many people think of us when they look at us anyway. We're the laughingstock of the whole world. Why? Because we could have spent our lives eating and drinking and being merry, and instead we gave them up for a myth, for a story that wasn't true.

26:24We are of all people most to be pitied if Jesus didn't raise himself from the dead. But according to the Apostle Paul, according to all of the disciples, according to many women who were present there on the third day after he was buried, according to more than 500 people who all saw him and talked with him and ate with him after his resurrection, Jesus did rise from the dead. And friends, Because Jesus rose and because the entire Christian faith hangs on that truth, we have to remember that we cannot live in sin because we have died to it. And because just like Jesus was raised from the dead, you and I have been raised to walk in new life. That fact is symbolized when we go under the waters of baptism and then come up out of the waters of baptism. You see, Jesus did not stay dead, and neither do we. Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.

27:41And in the same way, through faith, his resurrection becomes our resurrection. The old has gone, the new has come. And here's the thing about resurrection: it is obvious to everyone. If someone is dead and then they're not dead, everyone knows that. Everyone can see that. The person who was dead and is now not dead, and everyone who can see that the person who was dead is now not dead. In John chapter 11, Jesus' friend Lazarus got sick and he died. He was buried and he was laid in a tomb for four days, long enough, as we know in the KJV for Mary to say that he stinketh.

28:27It was obvious to everyone that Lazarus was. Lazarus was dead. And after Jesus came and he called Lazarus out of the tomb, it was equally obvious to everyone that Lazarus was still alive. That this was not a magic trick that Jesus performed, a sleight of hand. No, after he came up out of the tomb, days later he's eating and drinking with Jesus and his disciples, the Pharisees hilariously are planning to put Lazarus to death again. This time they're going to kill him until he really dies.

29:05They're planning to put him to death again because so many people are believing in Jesus because of Lazarus' resurrection. Resurrection is obvious to everyone. And friends, the same thing is true about our spiritual resurrection. It is obvious when a person is dead in sin, and it is equally obvious when they are resurrected through faith in Christ. This is what Paul teaches in Galatians 5. Take a look on the screen. Paul says, now the works of the flesh are evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

30:10You look at Paul's words there, and what he's saying is the works of the flesh are evident. It is obvious. It is very clear when a person is not going to inherit the kingdom of God because they are dead in sin. To put it in some of Jesus' other words, you can judge a tree by its fruit. And Paul says it's equally obvious when a person is spiritually alive, has been raised from the dead through faith in him, and is going to inherit the kingdom of God. Look what Paul says again in Galatians 5.

30:51He says, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. You see, Paul teaches: if we truly belong to Jesus, if we have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires, then it will be obvious. That we have died to sin and do not live in it any longer. Why?

31:36Because we belong to Christ. Romans 6:4 says it. We have been buried with Him by baptism into death in order that, here is the purpose: in order that just as Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Newness of life. What a phrase that is. A new life that is not like our old life, where we were slaves to sin, where we had no power over the sin that was ruining our lives and also many people's lives around us.

32:23Newness of life, where it's obvious to us and to everyone around us that something has changed, something is different. What is it? It's that God Himself has taken out that heart of stone and He has replaced it with a heart of flesh. It is that we have been born again, born from above. What's different is that we now have the Spirit of God living inside of us through faith in Jesus Christ. Friends, believers can't. continue to live in sin because we have died to it and because we have been raised to walk in a new life. This new life is not only free from the penalty of sin in the future, this new life is free from the power of sin today.

33:23Paul opened Romans 6 with two truths and a lie. The lie may have come from inside the church or outside the church, but that lie is that believers may continue to live in sin. The truth is that we've died to it and we've been raised to walk in a new life, which is symbolized in baptism. And so this morning, if you say that you believe in Jesus, you've got to ask yourself two really important questions. The first question is this.

33:59Have I been baptized as a follower of Jesus Christ? Have I been baptized as a follower of Jesus Christ? See, friends, baptism is not a suggestion. It is a command from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not for exceptionally holy or especially committed Christians. Baptism is a command for every follower of Jesus. Baptism is not having a little bit of water sprinkled on you or a little bit of water poured on you at the request of your parents.

34:42Baptism is being completely immersed under the water because, as we see clearly in the Bible this morning, it is a picture of dying and being buried with Jesus and then being raised to walk in a new life. That is what baptism is. It is being immersed in water completely to symbolize what has happened to you through faith in Christ as a result of your profession, not as a result of a decision anybody else made on your behalf.

35:20So, if you have not been baptized by immersion in water after putting your faith in Christ, I encourage you to register for our next Explore Baptism class. That will take place at the end of February. It's under featured events on Church Center. If you want to know more about baptism, if you're new to Christianity, if you're new to this kind of teaching about baptism, come and learn more in February. But we want to help you understand and believe and ultimately obey the command of Christ in this area. So, first question: if you say you are a follower of Jesus, have you been baptized as a follower of Christ? Here's a second question.

36:03Am I continuing to live in sin? Am I continuing to live in sin? Remember what we talked about at the beginning of this sermon? The message of Christianity, the message that Jesus preached, that his disciples preached, and that we preach, is not learn some facts about Jesus and you get to go to heaven when you die, no matter how you live. That is not the message of Christianity. The message of Christianity, the one that Jesus preached and the disciples preached and that we preached, is repent and believe the good news. That is the message. That means you agree with God about your sin, that it is rebellion against him and worthy of eternal punishment. That means you see you must turn from your sins and turn to Christ in faith, because he doesn't just promise you insurance from hell.

37:08The message of the gospel is not just that you will be saved one day from the penalty of your sin, but from the power of sin in your life today. Are you continuing to live in sin? Now, listen, until Jesus returns and gives us our new bodies, as we saw earlier, we are all going to be tempted to sin. We are going to be tempted to tempt you. To fall into sin from time to time. That is what the Bible affirms. That is what our own experience confirms. But, friends, being tempted to sin and falling into sin from time to time is very different than living in our pet sins over and over and over again. Saying essentially with our actions, I know this is wrong, but God will forgive me.

37:57Christians cannot have that attitude toward their sin. We've died. We've been buried with Christ and we've been raised to walk in new life. Think about that. We've been raised to walk in new life. Why would we ever go crawling back to our old sins? This morning, if you know that you have not put your faith in Jesus, or if you aren't sure whether you have, I want you to know this: Christ lived for you, He lived every day of His life in perfect obedience to His Heavenly Father, carrying out every command of the law perfectly. He lived for you. Christ died for you. He went to the cross and took your place. He took all of the punishment that you deserve for your sin. He took it upon himself and he bore it all.

39:00died for you. And friend, Christ rose for you. On that third day, he took a deep breath and he sat up and he walked out of that tomb for you so that you could walk in new life. Now listen, you may not believe that yet, and that is okay. You are welcome here. You keep coming. You keep reading that Bible. You keep asking questions. You keep talking to other Christians. You are welcome here. But I want you to know that I believe you are here because God is drawing you to himself. That he intends to give you the new life that you have always wanted and that he promises to give you.

39:58If you do believe that good news today, if you put your faith in Christ this morning, I want you to tell somebody. Tell the person that you came with. Tell somebody on our Connect team, find a leader here at the church, fill out the card in the back of the seat in front of you, but tell someone, I want to die to sin. I want to live for Christ because he lived and died and rose again for me. Don't walk out of here without telling somebody that you want to follow Jesus this morning because we want to help you walk. In new life.

40:32That's our hope. That's our prayer. Let's pray. Father, we read this passage and see this question about sin. And I think every one of us has wrestled with this or is wrestling with that question. We thank you for the clarity of your word. We thank you, Jesus, for dying and rising so that we could die with you and rise with you. God, forgive all of us who are believers for settling for less than walking in newness of life at times, for crawling back to our old sins. I pray this morning that you would set us free. For those who are struggling with a particular Sin, set them free this morning. For those who have been struggling with a particular sin for many, many years, set them free this morning, God.

42:13No Christian has to walk in bondage to sin. And I pray that we would hear amazing testimony of you setting your people free because that is what you have always been doing. And God, for some in the room today, I pray that you would bring new life. Would you cause some to be born again, born from above? Would you cause them to see the beauty of Jesus, the love of Jesus, the sacrifice of Jesus for them to turn from their sin and to embrace him this morning? We pray that many would come to faith in Christ today.

43:00God, we thank you for your word. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We pray that you would illuminate the way forward for every person this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at New Life CS. Dot net.