Resurrection Realities ~ 20210404 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
03/28 Resurrection Realities - Romans 6; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20210404_resurrection-realities.mp3
Resurrection Realities
Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Here’s the cool thing about Christian holidays; they are not merely commemorative; they don’t merely look back and remember some event in the past. Christmas, Good Friday, Easter; they don’t merely look back with fondness and sentiment on an historical event. No, they powerfully change our present reality! If we merely look back at the incarnation, the cross and the empty tomb as facts of history, we are missing out! These are present realities we as believers live in.
Christmas means that the God who is, the God who created everything, so loved us that he came down, he became one of us, so as one of us he could die in our place. That’s what Good Friday is about, that he took my sins on himself, that he died the death I deserve, that he paid my price in full. Easter Sunday is the Father’s seal that the finished work of Christ on the cross was accepted, that what he did was sufficient.
Romans 6:4 tells us that 'Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father', and the rest of Romans 6 tells us that the resurrection of Jesus has implications for us today in how we live our lives. Romans 6 also connects Christian baptism (which we are going to witness today) with Christ’s death and resurrection. Listen to Romans 6:4-5
Romans 6:4 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. 5 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.
The resurrection of Jesus is where we as followers of Jesus find the power to live for the glory of God. Let's look at this passage, at the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, and at what this means for us today.
Raised by the Glory of the Father
Romans 6:4 says that Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. This is a unique expression, probably not what we would expect. We might expect him to say that Jesus was raised by the power of the Father, but what does it mean to say that Jesus was raised by means of or through the glory of the Father? The glory of God is the outward manifestation of who God is; his splendor and power and greatness that causes us to be in awe and wonder. And Romans is all about God's glory.
The Glory of God in Romans
Romans begins by condemning us, who suppress the truth about God, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature (1:18-20). We did not honor God as God or give him thanks, but instead exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images (1:21-23). We were meant to reflect the glory of God, to bear his image, to put on display his invisible attributes, in the way that Jesus described:
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
But we all fail to do this properly. We fail to live for the glory of God.
Romans 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
We don’t naturally give God glory; we are inclined to steal glory for ourselves or to glorify lesser things.
In Romans 4 Abraham’s faith is held up as an example of a life that brings glory to God. We are told that Abraham ‘believed God’ (4:3); he did not work.
Romans 4:5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
Romans 4:20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
If he worked, if he earned something, he would have ‘something to boast about’ (4:2). But depending on the finished work of another gives glory to the one who does the work for him.
In Romans 5, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
In Romans 8, we look forward to being restored to the glory for which we were created, the glory of properly reflecting God's image in such a way that he gets all the glory (Rom.8:17-30).
In Romans 11, Paul interjects this doxology:
Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
In Romans 15, he points to practical ways to live life to bring glory to God (Rom.15:5-9), and he closes the book with this doxology:
Romans 16:27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
We were created to reflect God's glory. In our self-seeking, we failed to glorify God with our lives. Jesus came to defend the honor of his Father and restore us to our proper place in his creation, to bring glory to God. Jesus took our sins, paid the ultimate price to demonstrate the magnitude of our dishonor toward God and the infinite worth of God, and God’s glory was put on display in raising Jesus from the dead.
Romans 6 in the Argument of Romans
In order to understand these verses in Romans 6, we need to locate them in the flow of thought of the book of Romans. Paul has demonstrated in chapters 1 and 2 that although we were designed to reflect God's glory, we have miserably failed. Both Jews and non-Jews have failed to live up to the standard they had been given. No one is righteous; all fall short of giving God the glory that is his due.
In the middle of chapter 3, we are introduced to a different kind of righteousness, a righteousness not our own,
Romans 3:22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
This is a righteousness that comes to sinners as a free gift from God, paid for in full by our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
Chapter 4 shows that this gift of God's own righteousness given to all who believe is not contrary to, but connected with the Old Testament examples of Abraham and David. Righteousness does not come from keeping the law, but even the law points us to this alien righteousness that is graciously credited to our account.
Chapter 5 revels in the fact that the peace we have with God by God’s grace is so unshakable that no trial, no sin, not even death can now separate us from God. Chapter 5 concludes by pointing to the fact that the law was intended to demonstrate our sinfulness by increasing our trespasses, and this dark soil of our sinfulness was the very place where God's free grace could thrive.
Romans 6
So the question we find at the beginning of chapter 6 flows out of this truth.
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
If God’s grace is magnified by the black backdrop of my sin, if an increase in sin causes grace to abound, then should I continue in my sinning to increase the glory of God? Paul's answer to this is the strongest possible negative.
Romans 6:2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Choosing to continue in sin would actually detract from the transforming power of God's grace. That is the truth he takes us to in Romans 6.
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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. 5 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.
The fact that Paul points us to is that we who are believing in Jesus and receiving the free gift of his righteousness are not only forgiven of all our sins and declared righteous before God (we are justified by faith) but also that the power of God's free grace in our lives actually changes the way we live. When we believe, we are united with Christ, and that extends to his death and resurrection.
The Greek word ‘baptizo’ means ‘to immerse.’ When we believe in Jesus, we are immersed into his death. That’s the spiritual reality. Water baptism is a picture of what has happened to us spiritually. We were baptized into Christ Jesus, or immersed into Christ Jesus. We become connected with Jesus, united with Jesus, saturated with Jesus. We are united with him in his death. What this means for us right now is that we have died to sin, so we cannot be at home with it. We were buried with him in his death. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we are given the power to walk in a new kind of life. Since we have died to sin, and since we have been raised with Christ, we today can live different. Christ Jesus is alive in us. He continues in verse 6:
Romans 6:6 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. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
God's grace has broken the power of sin in my life. The me who did the sinning is dead and buried. I am no longer enslaved; I have been set free from sin. Because I am united with Christ, the me I used to be is crucified and gone. If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. We look forward to the day when we will be raised from the dead and live with him for eternity. His death killed our sin. His resurrection promises our resurrection. This truth breaks the power of sin in our lives.
Imperative follows Indicative
His question was 'should we continue in sin', and his answer was an emphatic no, and he gave solid theological reasons; our union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection.
So far this is all theological truth. Paul is telling us what has happened to us when we believed in Jesus. He hasn't told us to do anything yet. That comes next. But it is essential to see that everywhere in the Bible our action is the fruit of theological truth. The imperative always flows out of the indicative. The Bible lays out the indicative, the facts, the truth of who we are in Christ, of what Jesus has done for us, and then, in response to that we are given the imperatives, the commands, how we are to live our lives. All Christian action is rooted in and flows out of the theological truth of what God has done for us. Here is our action that flows out of the truth of Jesus' crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and our being united to him by faith.
Romans 6:11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
First, we are commanded to believe the theological truth. I don't feel very dead to sin. Most days, I feel that sin still has a lot of power over me. But that is not the gospel truth. The good news is that Jesus died for me, and the sinful me died with Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead and because I am united with him by faith, I too will certainly be resurrected to be with him forever. First, I must believe the gospel truth, that in Christ I am dead to sin and alive to God. And because this is true of me, I can begin to live out this truth. Because this is true, I can rebel against sin. I can reject its authority. I can refuse to obey sin's passions. I can refuse to use my body to do evil; instead I can take this body that has been given new life as a free gift from God, and present my body back to God as a tool to do what is right. I can do this because of my union with Christ in his death and resurrection. Through the power of the resurrection, I am now alive to God.
Romans 7 says:
Romans 7:4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
Because of my death and resurrection, I am under new ownership. I am free from my old master - free to bear fruit for God.
Romans 8 says:
Romans 8:10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
This is life-transforming truth. The resurrection life giving Spirit of God lives in me. He gives life to this body of death. I am animated by the Spirit of God. The resurrection is not just an historical fact; it is a present reality. I have resurrection power at work in me. The Spirit of God gives life to me right now to live a transformed life.
If
As we close, I want to draw your attention back to a very important little word that shows up in 6:5 and 8 and 8:10 and 1l. That word is 'if'.
Romans 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his… 8 Now if we have died with Christ...
Romans 8:10 But if Christ is in you,… 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you...
This 'if' is crucial. 'If' asks a question. Is this true of you? If you have not been united with Jesus in his death, you will not be united with him in resurrection. If you have not died with Christ, you have no reason to believe that you will ever live with him. You only have a fearful expectation of the judgment and wrath of Almighty God against your sin. Have you received his free and gracious gift by faith? Have you stopped working, stopped trying to earn and started trusting in the finished work of Jesus? Have you been united to Christ by faith?
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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org