Who The Christian Really Is

By Bobby Blakey on February 5, 2023

Romans 6:6-11

AUDIO

Who The Christian Really Is

By Bobby Blakey on February 5, 2023

Romans 6:6-11

Isn't it great to see two of our young people getting baptized here this morning? Praise the Lord. You know, when I was in college, I went to a small Christian College, and I lived in the dorm. And they asked me one year if I wanted to be the RA of a wing, and did I want to disciple some of the guys – Yes! – that I want to come up with a theme verse for the wing – Yes! And then they're like, do you want to decorate the wing? And I was like, me? You want me to do decorations? You know, decorations is a spiritual gift; I have not been blessed with that grace. You know what I mean? And it's like we got, I walk into a room, and it's got white walls, I'm like, hey, this place looks pretty nice. I like it here, you know. So, I have to decorate a whole hall of the dorm. And so, me and some of my bros, we went to Party City, I remember this very clearly. We got a bunch of black plastic, like this roll of black plastic, and this big white marker. And we had all the guys who lived in the dorm lie down on the black plastic, and we outlined their body with the white marker like they were dead, like it was a crime scene, like it was chalk on the ground. And here's where their body was. And if you were a guy who played a lot of video games, yeah, bring your keyboard, bring your headset, we'll outline that too. Oh, you're on the soccer team. Great, you'll kick the ball. And so, then we put this black plastic up by everybody's door. We took all the white walls, and they were just covered with black and this white outline of all these dead bodies. It was the ugliest dorm you've ever been in in your entire life. And people would come in and they'd be like, why did you guys decorate it like this? And I would say, because that guy, he's already died. And yet he still lives right here on this wing. Because we're the dead when we consider ourselves dead to sin, and alive to God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, I want to invite you, to share that verse with you in Romans 6:6-11. This is something that I learned in college, and it completely has changed the rest of my life. And if you have learned this, I hope you're encouraged by it here this morning. And if you have not yet fully come to think the way that we're taught to think in Romans chapter 6, this could be one of the best days you ever have in your life. So, we're looking at Romans 6:6-11. I'm going to go ahead and read all the way from the beginning of the chapter to review what we studied last week, and I'll read through verse 11. And out of respect for God's Word, I'm going to ask if we would all stand up for the public reading of Scripture; even if you're watching this online, welcome, will you stand up and let's give this our full and undivided attention? This is going to teach you a way to think about yourself. So, this is Romans chapter 6:1-11.
“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, 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. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
That's the reading of God's Word. Go ahead and have your seat. That verse right there, Romans 6:11, that was our theme verse back on the dead wing, and that is the verse that gives us our first imperative statement. So, when you look at the verbs in the Greek language that Romans was written in by Paul when he wrote the letter to teach the gospel to the believers in Rome. There are different tenses you can use in the verbs. And the imperative is when you're giving a command, when you're telling someone something to do. And as we're going through Romans 6, this is the first thing that we're being told to do. Look at verse 11. It says, there's a way you've got to consider yourself. There's a way you need to learn how to think about yourself. And it's got three different components. You need to see yourself – we learned this last week – because of your union with Christ, that you are now in Christ. And that means you are dead to sin, and you are alive to God. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He rose again on the third day. You now, in Christ, are dead to sin, and you now are able to walk in a new life.
So, the first command here is you’ve got to learn to think about yourself like this. And those words there “consider yourselves” it's a word that we have become familiar with at least the Greek word Logizomai. You can even see in that word Logizomai, logic is there in that word. It's a way of thinking. Go back to Romans chapter 4. This is where the word Logizomai was used in almost every verse at the beginning here of Romans 4. Maybe you can remember this, if you've been going through Romans with us. In Romans 4:3, we saw what the Scripture says. And we saw back to Genesis 15:6 that Abraham believed God, and it was counted, see where it says counted right there. That's little kids. Oh, my, when Abraham believed God, and God counted to Abraham righteousness. God now considered Abraham righteous. We use words like he “imputed righteousness” to Abraham, he “credited righteousness” to Abraham's account. Look at Romans 4:4. It says, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.” If you do work, well, then you've earned your paycheck; and you get that money because you earned it. So that money is counted to you. It's credited to you. Romans 4:5, “and to the one who does not work, but believes in” Jesus, “who believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” God considers you righteous when you put your faith in Jesus. So, we've already seen this word used. This is how God now thinks about you. If you believe in the death of Jesus for your sin, God now counts you in the righteousness of Christ. God now sees you a whole different way; he doesn't see you and your sin and how you're going to die, and how you're going to have wrath for your sin on a Day of Judgment. No, now, because you've trusted in Jesus, God now counts you, he credits to you, he thinks of you a different way; God now sees you as righteous.
And so, Romans 6:11, if you want to turn back there, it's saying you’ve got to now look at yourself in a new way. You’ve got to now see yourself as God sees you. You’ve got to understand what it really means that you are in Christ. And so let's get this down for point number one, this is our thing that we're learning to do here from Romans 6:6-11, learn the new way to think about yourself in Jesus. You've got to learn the new way to think about yourself in Jesus. This is something every Christian has to do. They have a new identity. God now looks at you differently. The Scripture says, you have been changed fundamentally in who you are. You have to start thinking about yourself, not the way you used to think about yourself before you were in Christ, but the way you are now in Jesus. So this is something we want to make sure we all have in common here at our church is we all understand not just the doctrine of union with Christ, that you've been placed into the death and resurrection of Jesus, but that you would actually not just be able to say, well, this is something I believe, or this is something we teach at our church, that you would actually think this way about yourself every single day. That is the goal. You've got to learn a new way.
Go with me to Ephesians chapter 4. And all we're dealing with here this morning is how you think about yourself. We'll get to what you do in weeks to come as we keep going through Romans 6, but this is our take-home application. This is our homework from Romans 6:11 You need to consider yourself; you need to learn the way to think about yourself. And Ephesians 4 gives us a similar idea. Look at Ephesians 4:20-21. It says that that is not the way you learned Christ. You’ve got to learn Christ. And then it says assuming that you have heard about him, and we're taught in him as the truth is in Jesus. And then he's going to go on to say, you can put off your old self in verse 22 and in verse 24, you can put on your new self. And the reason you can put off the old you and put on the new you in Christ is because you've been, in verse 23, renewed in the spirit of your mind. You've learned a new way to think. But we're not going to get to the putting off and putting on yet we're just going to stick with this idea in verse 20. You need to “learn Christ.” And there's a way of thinking that you have to learn when it comes to you in Jesus. And verse 21 says, “assuming that you have heard about him.” Now really, if you're taking notes, you might want to write down “assuming” that the Greek there is “if indeed” you've heard about him, or you could even think of it like “since” you've heard about him. The reason they say assuming is because he's thinking the Ephesian church here that he's writing to, they had heard the gospel of Jesus. In fact, they had been taught this; they've been taught the truth that in Jesus we are all dead to sin. And in Jesus, we all have a new life. So, he's saying, since you guys already have heard this, you've already been taught this now today. I don't know everybody here this morning super well, I don't know even maybe some visitors that we have among us. I don't want to assume that you've heard this good news that Jesus, when he died… I mean, Dean was just preaching here a minute ago. When Jesus died, he didn't just die for a sin in general, Jesus died for your sin. And he paid it in full. Jesus, on the cross, shed his righteous blood to pay the price for your sin. And on the third day, does anybody believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day? and see, it's not just that Jesus is alive at the right hand of God forevermore, it's that Jesus is promising everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life and abundant life, a life that has power of God in your own soul. So, I don't want to assume that you know that not just Jesus do something awesome 2000 years ago, not just did the gospel happen, but the gospel can happen to you. And you can be dead to your sin in Christ. And you can have a whole new life all because of Jesus. And when you are placed into him, that's what everybody's got to learn. And this is a way now that you don't just like, yeah, I know that when I go to church, or when we talk about it at the fellowship group. I could kind of talk about that a little bit. I'm talking about when you wake up in the morning, when you think about your life, and somebody asks a question, well, what are you about? Do you think that I'm someone who's already died, and I'm now a whole new person? Is that the way that you have learned to think?
Go back to Romans chapter 6. And we're going to start going now starting in Romans 6:6, we're going to work our way all the way through these verses, now that we know that's the goal of our time together this morning is, that we would be reminded of this way to think, or we would get more clear in this way to think. I mean, after last week, talking about our union with Christ, I got a lot of different responses. I got some people, they've learned this, they love this. Other people you could tell it last week was the first time they really understood that they were dead to sin. And it was like I talked to one guy, he was bouncing off the walls, he was so excited. I was at one fellowship group where a lady shared, like it was so blurry before, and I'm now seeing it clearly for the first time in my life. So, for some people, this is very exciting to learn who we are really in Christ. This is who the Christian really is.
And so, let's go through it in Romans 6:6. It's assuming, in fact, if you've got your handout there, you may want to circle this. In verse 6, you might want to circle how it says, “We know.” Circle that because, see, he's saying there's something you're supposed to know. And he says it there in verse 6, there's one thing you're supposed to know. And then look at Romans 6:9, he says, “We know” again. So, that's a little breakdown of our text two times. He's assuming we know something about what it means to be in Christ. And this is what changes the way that we think because we know these things. In Romans 6:6, he's saying, “we know,” and he's going to break it down three different ways here. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Here are three things that you're expected to know. What does it mean to be dead to sin? It means that your old self was crucified with Jesus. It's not just the Jesus got nailed to that cross and he bled out on that tree. It's that you died in Christ. That's what it's saying. You have been crucified with Christ, and your body of sin, that way you used to live where you just felt like this is who I am, this is what I do, I can't help myself, I can't stop myself. That body of sin, look what it says, it has been brought to nothing. And in fact, sin used to reign over you, sin used to have some power and authority in your life, but you are no longer enslaved to sin. Do you know this about yourself?
Go back to Romans 5:21, because this was the thought that he ended chapter 5 with, that launched him into this union with Christ discussion in Romans 6. But look back at Romans 5:21, where it says, “so that as sin reigned in death,” see, that's the problem. Sin had the power, sin had the authority, sin was the thing driving your life, and the wages of that sin in your life was going to be why you would die. And then after death, you are going to be judged according to the sin that you had done. So, sin was actually destroying and driving everything in your life. And now in Romans 6:6, he's trying to say we know three different ways sin no longer has power over you. You've been crucified with Christ. Even your body of sin, it doesn't have power, it's been brought to nothing. In fact, you used to be a slave to it, where you couldn't help yourself. Now you can say no to it because it's not your boss anymore, is what he's saying. So, this is what we're supposed to know about ourselves. And I can just tell you right now, not everybody at our church knows this. People don't know that we have been crucified with Christ. I hear people regularly say here at our church, things like, well, I'm just dying to sin. No, no, no, you are dead to it is what it's saying. This isn't some ongoing process. This has already happened. I'll hear people saying, well, I'm just trying to die to sin. Like they have to somehow go put their sin to death. We're going to get to verses later on that tell us to put our sin to death. You know why the reason we can put our sin to death is it's already dead. And that's why it's already been crucified with Christ. So, I see a lot of people, instead of being victorious because their sin is already dead, they feel like they have to somehow go and do it when it's already happened. But even more than that, I regularly hear people say, stuff like, well, that's just who I am. That's just how I've always been. And it's like, you can tell when Thursday comes, they're expecting to sin in their life, they don't think they can stop it. Like they're already talking like the next time they get tempted, they're going to fail and fall into sin again. And people are saying this to me here at our church on a regular basis. And I'm the pastor. You know how people kind of clean up what they're talking about when the pastor walks up. Have you ever been a part of one of those conversations? Hey, everybody, how's it going? Why all of a sudden did the conversation die? This is the story of my life. Right? Hey, how's it going, everybody? What are you guys talking about? Oh, well, Oh, yeah. I mean, so people are telling me that I'm planning to sin on Thursday. And that's just who I am. And you can't stop it. Nobody can stop it. I can't stop. If that's what they're saying to me, what are we saying here at this church? Are we saying I've died to sin, I've been crucified to my old self, my body of sin and has no power, it's been brought to nothing? And I used to be a slave to this. But now I can look it in the face. And I can say no to it, because I am dead to sin. This is what we're supposed to know. And the question is, do you know this? Do you believe this? Now look at Romans 6:7, we're going to have to really pay attention. I know it's a Sunday morning. Right? Right. You're not working. You're not at school. But let's put our thinking caps on here for just a moment, at least. Because look at verse 7. And I want you to notice how the whole tone shifts in verse 7. It says, “For one who has died.” So, it's like now we're just talking about someone who has died. Now if you look back at Romans 6:6, it started out “We know,” and it's our old self. And if you look at Romans 6:8, it's like now if we have died with Christ. Right? So, this passage, the tone is like, we are the church, and we are dead to sin. But in verse 7, the tone shifts. Hey, let's just now talk about someone who has died. Someone who has died, it says has been set free from sin. Someone who has died, now basically what it's saying, it's there outside the reign of sin.
Oh, this is going to be hard for us to understand because we have not died yet, at least in the physical sense. We haven't died yet. But if I just start thinking about it, do dead people pay taxes? Do dead people have to pay off their debt that they accrued? Are dead people still married? Once you are dead, you are outside of certain things that you used to be legally obligated to do. And what it's saying here is once you have died, you are now outside of the reign of sin because sin reigns in death. That's the wages of sin. That's the consequence of sin is death. And so, after death, there would be no realm of sin anymore. No power of sin. You would be now outside of that. That's the thought that it's giving you in Romans 6:7. If you have died and you have died, if you're a believer in Jesus, you have died in Christ, you are dead to sin. And now as someone who has died, you have been set free, you are now outside the realm of sin. Is that the conversation we're having here at our church? Well, why are you playing into sin? Bro, you're outside of that. You already died to that. Is this how you think about yourself? Do you think of yourself as when it says, well, one who has died, that's me, I already died?
I am not the person I used to be. I see in life there are two very important days we understand. Your birthday and the day that you die. Usually when we see somebody’s picture, their name, and there's their birthday and their death day. What we believe is that there's a most important day in your life. It's the third day, it's the day in between when you physically are born and when you physically die, it's the day that you are placed into Christ, that you come to believe in him. And on that day that you put your faith in Jesus, on that moment that you transfer your trust to him, you are dead to sin from that point on. You have been set free from it. You are outside the reign of sin and death.
Let's get that down for our first dash here, if you are taking notes. You now live outside the reign of sin and death. That's what we're supposed to know in Romans 6:6-7. You now live outside the reign of sin and death. The word here is translated “set free.” Now you might have noticed there's a footnote on this, that you have been set free from death because you've already died. So how could sin have reign and death, and you're already dead, then sin and death. Now, they can't get you anymore because you're already dead to that. But the word here “set free” actually is the same word we've been seeing throughout Romans, dikaios in the Greek. It means righteous. So, I don't know why they decided to translate it “set free” here. But we've learned a lot about God declaring us righteous by our faith in Jesus. That's called justification. And when God says you are righteous, and this is how God sees you, this is what God says is true about you. When you are righteous you are now outside of the of the reign of sin and death. You have already died and so death no longer has any Dominion any power over you
Go to Colossians chapter 3 with me. Here's another passage where we can see this same idea in Colossians 3:3. Look at how it says it here and this is again talking about you have been raised with Christ, you have a new life in Christ, and later in Colossians 3 it's going to say, put to death. This put off this put on, it's going to start talking about how your life can really change. But look at what it says here in Colossians 3:3. “For you have died.” Could everybody underline that, circle that, write that down? Maybe that's even what you want to talk about after the service while you're having a doughnut this morning. Hey when did you die? I had a lot of fun asking people this last night after church hey when did you die, bro? When were you dead? When was it that we should have been outlining your body because you had died but yet here you are now alive. It says you have died and look where your life is, “your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Jesus who resurrected, Jesus who got raised up, seated in the heavenly places, he's been exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on high. Jesus is in the place of power. Power and authority at the right hand of God. That's where your life is. Your life is no longer under the reign of sin, leading to death, leading to condemnation. Your life is now in Christ at the right hand of God. And because you've died to sin, death has no authority, no power over you anymore. Is this good news for anybody here this morning? Is this how you've been thinking about yourself, that I'm already dead? And because I've already died, I'm out of the realm of sin. I'm out of the realm of death. All of that curse of the fall, all of that bad news In Christ, I've been removed from all of that. In fact, my life is now with Christ. And look what it says here in Colossians 3:4, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” You already have a life in Christ. And you need to get your mind on that life that you have, and stop thinking about your old life that is no longer you. So, it's assuming here that we know our old selves have been crucified, our body of sin has been brought to nothing. And now I'm no longer a slave of sin. Why? Because I've died, and been removed from all of that. Is that how you think? Is that how you talk to your brothers and sisters? Next time you hear somebody say, well, that's just who I am. No, no, no, no, that's who you used to be, before you died, before you were placed into Christ, and now your life is with him. And remember that you died. That's not you anymore. This is the conversation we need to have with one another. This is what we know.
Go back to Romans chapter 6. And look with me at Romans 6:8. That's the first thing we're expected to know as we learn this new way to think about ourselves in Jesus is we are we are outside the realm of sin and death. They have no reign over us anymore. Now look at verse 8. Everybody will notice this. Now, if we have died with Christ, which we just were taught again, yes, we have died with Christ. Or you could translate it “since we have died with Christ,” we believe that we will also live with him. So hopefully this is repetitively becoming very familiar to all of us. This idea, if I've died with Jesus, then I also live with Jesus. Have you felt like you've heard that before at this point in the sermon or especially if you were here last week, that's because verse 8 is the same thing as verse 5. Go back to Romans 6:5, for if we have been united with him and a death like is where you placed into the death of Jesus? Yes, you were. Well, then, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection. Like, as if we've died with Jesus, we will rise with Jesus. It says it in verse 8, it said it in verse 5. And really, verse 3, and 4 was the first time it said it, like, don't you know this, that we were baptized into Christ, we were buried there before with him into death, that just as Jesus was raised, so we also? Do you see, three times in eight verses, it says the same thing. Because this is a way that you have to learn how to think. It's like, Paul, he understands it might be blurry, it might take a minute, so he gives it to us not once, not twice, but now in verse 8, he's giving it to us a third time. Hey, don't you understand how this works? We have died in Christ to sin. And if we died with him, we will also live with him. And notice what it says very important there in verse 8, “we believe that we will also live with him.” It's expecting you to have your faith in this, to trust in this. And we got to make sure that you understand not just that Jesus died and rose again, but that in Christ, we have died with him. And if we died with him, are we going to live with him? The answer is, yes, we are. Yeah, I believe it. I trust in it. It is my expectation. I'm not expecting sin on Thursday. I'm expecting resurrection. That's what it's saying. We're supposed to learn how to think, have you died to sin with Christ? Well, then you will also live with him. And this is what we believe. I love this phrase. If you can see that, in verse 8. It says, “we will also live with him.” Do you believe that Jesus is alive right now? When I say that they went to the tomb on the third day, there was no body there because Jesus had risen from the dead just as he said, and he went up into the clouds; he ascended into heaven, and God was so pleased with Jesus, he wanted Jesus to get all the glory. And so, the Father, he looked at his son, and he put him on his right hand, and he gave Jesus the name of the Lord. He gave him the name above all names. He put him with all the authority over heaven and earth. Do you believe that Jesus is alive today? Do you believe that? You see what it says, we will live with him? Like, take that life that you see Jesus having right now, and put yourself with Jesus. That's what it's teaching us to think. It's like the Greek word here is sun (syn) and sun is this little, little word in Greek that you can attach to any word. And so, it's like you live together, that's what sun is. Or sun you could translate it “with” as they do here. So, do you believe that Jesus is alive and glory at the right hand of the Majesty on high? Will you live with him? That's the Greek word sun. When you think of Jesus being in that glory, you should see yourself with Jesus because you have now been placed into Christ. And if you're learning the new way to think about yourself in Jesus, wherever Jesus is, that's where you are too. That's what it's saying, we believe. Do you see a person who's thinking I'm with Christ in glory? is not someone who's thinking it's inevitable that I'm going to fall into this same sin again, on Thursday? No, who are you? Are you the person who's going to keep on sinning on Thursday? Or are you the person who's living with Jesus in glory because you've died, and if you've died with him, then you're going to live with him? Who are you? And this is what it's teaching you to think. I'm not the person who's inevitably going to keep on sinning. I'm the person who's inevitably going to live with Jesus and glorious splendor forevermore. That's who he saved me to be. That's what's true about him. And now I am with Christ. This is so important that you think this way, because when you say you're a Christian, and then you say, you're going to sin on Thursday, you're dragging Jesus out of his glorious spot in the presence of God, and you're saying, yeah, you know Jesus dying for me, and Jesus rising again. And all this, like power and glory and authority, doesn't really make a difference, doesn't really mean anything. So, you understand. You're just keeping it real, and you're just being a human. And you're just saying, hey, this is how I feel. This is my experience. This is who I am. But if you're claiming to be a Christian, and you're saying who I am, as somebody who's inevitably just going to keep failing, and sinning, you're bringing the glory of Jesus down into your reality, when Jesus came to save you, and bring you into his reality. So Don't diss Jesus like that. Put Jesus up where he is. Believe that Jesus is where he is, and believe, as the Scripture is teaching us that you are there with Jesus and you've died to this sin, and you now live with him.
See, there's a logic to it. Jesus came and died, Jesus rose again, therefore, we have died with him, and that certainly, we will also live with him. That's what we're supposed to believe. That's what we're trusting. That's what makes me think when I wake up on Thursday, this week, I'm going to seek the Lord, I'm going to spend time in the Word, I'm going to remind myself that I've already died, and I've got a new life, and I'm going to go live that day for Jesus, not for who I used to be. That's what we can do because we live with Jesus. And that's why here in Romans 6:9, when he gets to, we know, look, what he's going to talk about in verse nine, he's going to say we know something about Christ. So, at first, this might feel like it's not about you, but it's about Christ. And he just said that we are living with Christ. So now when he says something about Christ, we should see ourselves in that as well, because we live with Christ. And he says that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. So, we've made it very clear that we're dead to sin. This verse now, verse 9, wants to make it very clear that we are now dead to death is the point here. You have nothing to fear when it comes to dying in your physical body, because you are now outside of the reign of sin and death and Jesus, when he died and you're with him in this, it says he will never die again because death has no power, it has no authority over Christ.
Go to Hebrews, chapter 2 with me. Hebrews 2:14. And there are many passages we could turn to where Jesus says that his resurrection is the foundation of our faith that you, if you don't believe Jesus rose from the dead, that is what Christianity is. That's the core of what we believe, that on third day he arose with a mighty triumph over his foes, and he defeated sin. And he won a victory over death and even destroyed the work of the devil. It's because Jesus rose. But Jesus is trying to tell us that, hey, his resurrection is our resurrection. Jesus said in John 11, “I am the resurrection and the life and everyone who believes in me, even if they die, or they will live.” In fact, he who believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Jesus didn't just say, hey everybody, looked at me, I rose from the dead. He said, hey everybody, believe in me and you will rise from the dead. In fact, you will never really die.
And 1 Corinthians 15, which is the longest chapter in the Bible about the resurrection is the theme of the whole chapter, very long chapter about the resurrection. At the end of it, it's like taunting, it's like saying, “O death, where is your sting?” “O death, where is your victory?” Thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us victory over death. Look what it says here in Hebrews 2:14-15, it's talking about us. It says, “Since therefore, the children share in flesh and blood,” that's us, flesh and blood human beings, he” Jesus “himself likewise he partook of the same things, that through death, he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subjected to lifelong slavery.” You see, there used to be this fear that reigned, and you could see this so clearly, maybe, more clearly than ever, in my lifetime, at least you could see this during COVID, we were slaves to the fear of death. People were so afraid of dying, that it just reigned over their life. That's what this Scripture is talking about, that people are afraid to die, there is a power there that it has and Jesus, by becoming a human, by humbling himself, by being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. When Jesus died, it goes so far as to say he destroyed the power that Satan had when Satan deceived Eve, and there was the fall into sin, and the wages of that sin was death. And so now there's sin, and death and judgment, and Satan, he's got power over that. When Jesus comes, and he dies, he destroys all of that, and he now can deliver you from the fear of death, he can deliver you from being under the reign of death. You can now have no fear of death in your life because you have already died and already been raised with Jesus. I mean, is that how it is? No, I'm not I'm not trying to diminish the reality of death, I understand that death might not be something you're looking forward to. I understand a lot of people go through physical pain and suffering. I understand there's something about dying that should cause all of us to think in a very sober-minded, and it's a very serious kind of a thing, but are you living like I am afraid of dying. I mean, when people live with anxiety, and fear, and it goes back to what if I die, and that becomes a controlling, reigning influence in their life. And it is saying here that you have already died, and you have been raised with Christ, that you are outside the realm of death. There is nothing for you to fear in dying because you've already been there. And Jesus already did it for you. He destroyed the power of death. Does anybody here relate to what I'm saying? Anybody here like hey, dying, it doesn't sound like a negative thing to me. Dying sounds like I get swallowed up by life, dying sounds like I go from this long-distance faith relationship. I get to go see Jesus, my Lord and Savior, and I get to share in the life that is right now hidden with him. That life will be revealed to be absent from this body, I will be present with the Lord on the day that I die. I will be more alive than I have ever been. I'm not afraid of it. I'm kind of really looking forward to it, actually. Right. That's what we're supposed to be thinking, that I have been. I am so convinced by what the Scripture tells me about myself in Christ that just as he was raised, surely as he lives, I will live with him. And actually, whether he comes back to get us or whether I die, I can't wait for that moment. I love the appearing of my Lord Jesus. I want to be with Him in his glorious presence and to see the fullness of my salvation and what life is really like when you get to share it with Jesus? I'm not afraid of it anymore because I believe that he has already died, and he already defeated death. See, so I expect to live with Christ. Is that your expectation? Is that what you're seeing here?
Go back to Romans chapter 6, when it's saying that Jesus will never die again, and death no longer has dominion over him. Do you see yourself like, yeah, because Jesus did that, I'm now with that, I'm with him? Just as I've died with him, I will also live with him. And then it says this beautiful phrase here in Romans 6:10. This is what we're supposed to know about the resurrection of Jesus. And for the death, he died; he died to sin. And then this idea “once for all,” it's really just one word in the Greek “once for all.” But the life he lives, he lives to God. See, the reason I think that I'm dead to sin, and I'm going to live is because Jesus, when He died to sin, he did it once for all, and he now lives a life to God. And that's now the life that I have. And that's what it says I'm supposed to think about myself. In Romans 6:11, consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God. And the reason that I think that is because when Jesus did it, it was once for all time. But once for all people, that's when Jesus did it, that's when I did it. That's what it's teaching me to think. That's how in Christ, I really am okay.
So, I want to take you to the book of Hebrews, because it takes this idea of “once for all,” and it makes it a theme. And I want to invite everybody to turn to Hebrews 7:27. And I'm going to go through these pretty quickly here. But I want to invite all of you to read the book of Hebrews with us, it's our next book we're going to be reading. Well, it's a book, we're starting this week, we're starting it on Wednesday. In fact, there's a calendar on your way out at the table by the door, you could grab a calendar, and it'll show you our schedule for reading through the 13 chapters of Hebrews together this month. And this book will tell you about your salvation. The book of Hebrews is written to the Jews who had the old covenant through the law of Moses. And the point of Hebrews is we have a new covenant, that's even better, because we've got something greater, and his name is Jesus. And so, Hebrews is going to really encourage you, and what you have in Christ, if you want to read it with us. And look, here's a preview and Hebrews chapter seven, verse 27. Remember, we're here in Hebrews, because of this phrase, “once for all,” which is used a few times here in Hebrews. Look at this. Hebrews 7:27. This is talking about the high priest, if you go back to the tabernacle, or the temple, and the Law of Moses, he has no need, like those high priests to offer sacrifices daily. A high priest used to offer sacrifices every day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people. But Jesus doesn't need to do that, since Jesus, he did this once for all when he offered up himself. See, they used to do sacrifices every day, as this symbol that we either it has to be atonement for sin, that the wages of sin is death, that there's a consequence for sin, to show all of that you would sacrifice these animals as a blood-shedding life-giving atonement for sin. Well, we don't have to do that anymore. Because when Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice, when he gave his life, when he shed his blood, Jesus did it once for all. That's what it says.
And go over to Hebrews 9:12. You'll see this same idea. It's trying to help you realize that this happened for you in Christ. And so, this is talking about the high priest going into the holy place. Look at Hebrews 9:11. Let's take it from there when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come then through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands that is not of this creation. So, they used to have a holy place in the tabernacle, and the high priest would go on one day, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Maybe you've heard about that. Jesus, he didn't go to some place made by people. When Jesus, he ascended he went straight into the place the presence of God that's he went into the real holy place. And so, Hebrews 9:12, says, he entered once for all. So, when Jesus goes into the presence of God through his resurrection, yeah, “he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” When Jesus went into the holy place of God, he did it for you and he has thus secured your eternal redemption. It's like there's an anchor in the holy place, from your soul to the presence of God, and you will be secure in your salvation. your life is hidden with Christ in God. Look what it goes on to say here in Hebrews 9:13, “if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer.” These ways they used to do it in the Law of Moses. If those things sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God? How much more will Christ purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Say, I love this because it says that what Jesus did when he offered himself as a sacrifice, it gets you out of just these dead works, going-through-the-motions religion, where people think I'm a good person, because I go to church, and I read the Bible, and I try not to do the bad things. And so therefore, I must be good. But really, it's just dead works. It's just religiosity. It's just you trying to be a good person. Yeah. Jesus, when he shed his blood, he saved you. So, look at you now you serve the living God, you worship God, like you know him, you are now alive to God, you now have the life of God in you, and you've been brought into a relationship with him. See, Jesus didn't just save you so you could be a good person and go to church. Jesus saved you so you could actually know who God is. And his power could work in your life, that you could enjoy the glory of God with Jesus forevermore. That's what it's saying here.
Look at Hebrews 10:10, is another verse. Let's start in Hebrews 10:8. There's so much we could get into here in Hebrews, but these are all “once for all” passages. And it talks about how they used to do the sacrifices over and over they offerings, verse 8, when he said above, “you have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings. (These are offered according to the law.)” See, God didn't just want people going through the motions, I sin, now I’ve got to go do this sacrifice. I sin again, now I go do the same sacrifice. God wasn't concerned about people just going through the motions of the sacrifices. No, when Jesus came, this was the quote here,” Behold, I have come to do your will.” See, when Jesus came, he lived a life of perfect righteousness. Whatever the Father sent Jesus to do, he accomplished it. Jesus didn't come for his own will. Jesus came to obey God, and to do what God told him. I came to do your will. And so, Jesus, “He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” And so, by the will of Jesus to want to lay down his life, to want to die as a sacrifice for our sin, we have now been sanctified once for all; we've been set apart from sin. We've been made right with God. When Jesus did it, he did it for all. Look at how it goes on to explain it here.
Hebrews 10:11, “every priest stands daily at his service.” And these priests, they're offering the sacrifices day after day after day, the sacrifices which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he then sat down at the right hand of God, and he's waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time, those who are being sanctified. I know I've been to a lot of churches, I've been to a lot of fellowship groups. I don't think I've ever heard somebody quote Hebrews 10:14. Have you ever heard somebody quote that verse? Hey, brother, we've been “perfected for all time,” all of us who are being sanctified. When Jesus died for us, he did it once for all; you've been made perfect. And now you're being sanctified because Jesus already did it for you, and you now live with Christ. This is how we're supposed to learn how to think. Now where Jesus is at the right hand of God, you are now alive to God. You can think of him as the high priest who went in the holy place. You can think of him as the sacrifice who shed his blood. Because of what Jesus did once for all you can now go to God, you are now alive to him. You can serve him and worship him anytime you want.
Let's get this down for our second dash. You now live in a relationship. You now live in a relationship. Because of what Jesus did once for all, you can now draw near to God. Jesus, he's your high priest, he's your sacrifice. But he's already done all of the work. And so that's why Hebrews 10 goes on to say in verse 19, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain.” You see what it's saying? You live with Jesus. And if you believe that Jesus died once for all, and Jesus rose, and he's at the Majesty of God at his right hand, then you now can go right where Jesus is, because you live with Jesus. You are now alive to God. You're not just going through the motions, God's done a work in your soul, and you're no longer who you used to be. In fact, you can't even be by yourself anymore. It can't even be you always trying, but never getting there. It can't even be you feeling alone and crushed, and under the weight of so much that you have to do in life. You can't even be alone anymore because you are alive to God in Jesus Christ. Loneliness is an impossibility for you. Because you now can draw near into his presence, you can boldly go where people would have never dared to go until a holy place of God through the new and living way of Jesus. you can live with him. You are alive to God. If you're a believer in Jesus, and you go talk to God today, he will listen to what you say. He will hear your prayer. And you will realize that you're not alone. But God is there with you. See, this is what we have. We have access to the holy place because Jesus did it once for all. And when Jesus did it, it now applies to you. So, do you think this way? Do you think of yourself as someone who has died? And do you think of yourself as someone who now lives with Jesus, considering yourself dead to sin, and alive to God? You know, my parents, they pitched in a lot of money for me to go to that Christian College. And I had to work a lot of hours to pay for going to that place. And I took all these different classes, and I got this degree. And I'll tell you right now that the most important thing I ever learned in my four years of college was in a bunch of black plastic with a white marker that I'm already dead, and I've got a whole new life. And there's nothing stopping me from living that life this very day, because Christ already did it for me.
So, you go with me to Galatians chapter 5, there's a verse here that often gets left out. That's a verse you might want to memorize, Romans 6:11, you might want to memorize this verse Galatians 5:24. And it's in a classic passage, a passage that Dean was even talking about, where there's the deeds of the flesh, and there's the fruit of the Spirit. And the deeds of the flesh are things like sexual immorality, anger, drunkenness, and the fruit of the Spirit, it's like love and joy and peace. And it's like, which one are you still living in the old life of sin in the flesh? Or do you have the new life to God through His Spirit working in you? And then because it's such a powerful thing to think about the deeds of the flesh, and the fruit of the Spirit? We don't always get to the punchline here in Galatians 5:24. What a precious scripture when it says to you, “those who belong to Christ Jesus,” does that sound good to anybody right there? I belong to Jesus. I am in Christ. I'm not who I used to be. I now live with him. Those “who belong to Christ Jesus,” what a sense of relationship that is, those who belong; I'm with him. They have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Crucified means got nailed to the cross, means bled out, means died. Hey, if you belong to Jesus, you are dead. To whom you used to be, to the old passions and desires that used to reign over you, they used to have authority and dominate. You were enslaved to them. No, now that you belong to Jesus, you have been crucified, to your flesh to your old passions, and desires. What an encouraging word! I pray that all of us who are believers will learn to think this way. And if this hasn't happened to you, if you're still in your sin, you could believe in Jesus today, and you could be dead to sin today. Could be that third day for you, where you would die to your sin, and you would have a new life where you're alive to God. Let me pray.
Father, I thank you so much that we could gather together and we could be taught who we really are in Christ. Father, I pray that all my brothers and sisters at this church, that we would hear Paul's repetition in Romans six, and we would honestly evaluate ourselves like, do I really think of myself as someone who is dead to sin? And do I really think that I'm alive to you, Father, because I live with Jesus? I pray that we wouldn't just even know this is true. We wouldn't even hear this preached, but that we would think this way every day. So, teach us. Let your Holy Spirit make it clear to us. Let those who are being reminded, be built up, and let those who are learning this for the first time, let them be so encouraged in their souls, Father. And so, Father, we just come to you, and we want to worship you, we want to respond to you, we want to say wow, it is well with my soul here today because I'm out of the reign of sin, and I have no fear of death. And I already have this life with Jesus hidden in your presence. And so, Father, I pray that we would respond in worship. And I pray that you would really hear from our hearts how thankful we are for all that you've done for us in Jesus, that Jesus when he did it once, he did it for all of us. And now we would overflow in a response to you of worship, and love. And Father, I pray that you would really be pleased as we sing this song to you now, that you would hear the cry of your people, people who know they're dead to sin, who are alive to you. And right now, we're going to let you know what we think about it. We're going to give you all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise. So, hear this as we sing to you now in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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