Todays’ message is from our Series CHRISTIANS OUGHT TO and
is titled CHRISTIANS OUGHT TO - Be Free from All Sin (Part II of III)
Romans 6:10-14 (NKJV)
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives,
He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin,
but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members
as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
We are to be “dead indeed to sin.”
But “alive in Christ Jesus.”
We “therefore” are NOT to “let SIN REIGN” in us
Why? We would then OBEY the LUSTS of SIN.
And we are NOT to use any parts of our body as
“INSTRUMENTS of UNRIGHTEOUSNESS” to SIN
And finally, “SIN shall NOT have DOMINION” over you and me.
Let’s try to put this into a simple list for us to understand and follow:
1. DEAD to SIN
2. ALIVE in CHRIST
3. SIN shall NOT REIGN
4. DISOBEY the LUSTS of SIN
5. Keep our body PARTS from UNRIGHTEOUS things
6. SIN can NEVER DOMINATE
The key here seems to be DOING AWAY with the SIN in our LIVES!
How many of us find that easy to do?
I mean completely divorce ourselves from SIN?
Most likely if you said “YES” you probably just told a FIB!
Paul presents to you and I several good arguments in two categories
concerning this exoneration (to be vindicated; acquitted) of SIN.
1. Mortification [more-tiv-eh-cation] (embarrassed and to rid or subdue)
2. Vivification [vive-eh-cation] (to be re-vitalized, brand new)
Mortification
1 Peter 4:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who
has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in
the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in
doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in
lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties,
and abominable idolatries.
Peter agrees with Paul and goes on to tell us that
we have spend enough of our lifetime SINNING and
it’s high time to CEASE all the SINNING…
NO MORE SINNING… NOTHING but the WILL of GOD
According to verse six we are to DESTROY the old self…
HARSH words
BUT necessary words
We are to NOT only CEASE from the ACTS of SIN
BUT we MUST ARREST those vicious HABITS and
INCLINATIONS
Our motivation should be SERVE GOD not SIN
Thus…WE MUST be dead to SIN and let it GO!
Allowing it NO LONGER to REIGN in our LIVES
It MUST never RULE over your LIFE or your DECISIONS
We must never HASTEN to the VOICE of SIN and its LUSTFUL thoughts
And don’t forget about the MEMBERS in verse 13.
NO PART of us should be INFLUENCED by SIN
Don’t TOUCH, Don’t SPEAK, Don’t HEAR, Don’t TASTE
And Don’t WATCH
Instead be SANCTIFIED!
Before going on to Vivification, let’s once again make a list
of what we just covered so that we never forget:
1. CEASE and DESIST SINNING
2. DESTROY the OLD SELF
3. ARREST OLD habits
4. SERVE GOD NOT SIN
5. KNOCK SIN off the THRONE
6. SIN will NO LONGER RULE
7. MIND the MEMBERS (the five senses)
Can we remember them? We can if we keep going over them…
And making them part of our NEW SELVES
Vivification
We need to be REVITALIZED… we need to be ALIVE in CHRIST!
We are to be NEW CREATURES
Like with the bath water… OUT with the BAD and IN with the NEW
This NEWNESS includes brand new… shiny NEW HABITS
Like reading His Word each day
Finding NEW COMPANIONS that want to SHARE in your NEW WALK
You SHOULD be what you were NOT and DO what you DID NOT
You MUST DELIGHT in the LORD and NOT be COMPLACENT
Your HEART should BURST with the LOVE of CHRIST!
REMEMBER: Anima est ubi amat, non ubi animat…
The SOUL is WHERE it LOVES, rather than WHERE it LIVES.
Our SOUL is to have a DEEP DESIRE towards GOD
We should WANT… FEEL the NEED… to HONOR and GLORIFY Him
And we MUST GIVE ourselves to Him… to DO His WILL
We are to SERVE Him… NO LONGER OURSELVES (2 Cor 8:5)
When Paul said “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?” in Acts 9:6…
He was YIELDING himself to God
This includes those MEMBERS we talked about (v.13)
Those MEMBERS, our hands, fingers, feet, legs, toes…
And any other appendage I have failed to mention…
We are to YIELD them to HIM for His SERVICE…
NEVER to lie IDLE
STRIVING to DO His GOOD WORKS
He SHOULD be in COMMAND… NO LONGER that old self
These things are the EVIDENCE of CHANGES made
EVIDENCE that our OLD SELVES have TRULY been DESTROYED
UN-CHRISTLIKE CHRISTIANS
A couple of months ago, there was a story on CNN of a Christian
school basketball team that beat another team (another Christian
school, I think) by the score of 100 to 0. It was a slaughter. The
coach of the winning team, even though it was clear that the
other team was no match, kept a full-court press going. He kept
pushing his players to keep scoring and humiliating the other team.
The coach was unapologetic about it and was fired. The school
administration realizing how un-Christ-like the game had become,
opted to forfeit the win. But the coach didn’t seem to see that anything
wrong had been done. He was unteachable.
BEING CHRIST-LIKE CAN SPEAK FOR ITSELF
“A well-known professional golfer was playing in a tournament with President Gerald Ford,
fellow pro Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham. After the round was over one of the other pros
on the tour asked, ‘Hey, what was it like playing with the President and Billy Graham?’
The pro said with disgust, ‘I don’t need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat!’
With that he headed for the practice tee. His friend followed, and after the golfer had
pounded out his fury on a bucket of golf balls, he asked, ‘Was Billy a little rough on you
out there?’ The pro sighed and said with embarrassment, ‘No, he didn’t even mention religion.
’‘Astonishingly, Billy Graham had said nothing about God, Jesus, or religion, yet the pro
stomped away after the game accusing Billy of trying to ram religion down his throat.’
What had happened? Simply this: The evangelist had so reflected Christ-likeness that
his presence brought the same feeling to the pro as experienced by Isaiah. He knew
he was ‘lost, a man of unclean lips, and living among a people of unclean lips.’ In the life
of Billy Graham, the lost pro had sensed the presence of our Holy God.”
I have always imagined and strive for… to walk away from someone…
Or some persons… and have them think or remark…
There is truly something different about that man…
He lights up the room… He makes me feel so warm…
There is something about him…
I need to visit with him and find out what it is
If we are truly CHRIST-LIKE… shouldn’t it be that way
There are multiple occasions in the Bible where people…
Just dropped what they were doing when Jesus entered the courtyard or home
That should be our goal
They should look at each one of us and see “HOLY”
They should hear us speak and think “HOLY"
And NOW… before we go… Let’s create our last list…
That deals with VIVIFICATION
1. Be REVITALIZED
2. Be NEW CREATURES
3. Make NEW HABITS
4. Read His WORD DAILY
5. Get a NEW WALK and NEW COMPANIONS
6. DELIGHT in the LORD
7. Feel the NEED to HONOR and GLORIFY Him
8. Do His WILL
9. YIELD ALL to Him
10. Be the EVIDENCE (New vs. Old)
