In a California neighborhood in 2009 one resident decorated his lawn with a depiction of Jesus shooting Santa Claus with a double-barrel shotgun. Fox News had reported that Jesus points the weapon at Santa’s dead body while Rudolph lays sprawled across the hood of a pick-up truck. The creator, Ron Lake, says the work of art represents the commercialization of Christ. From the outlandish to the simple, however, your family celebrates Christmas, and whatever your history or your memories of Christmas, I want your celebration to value Jesus. Christmas is about the incarnation of Jesus Christ – where God becomes a man. Yet, many have focused on the commercialized aspects of the season so as to dilute the very message of Christ’s arrival in order to suit our own tastes.
The truth behind Christ is that Jesus Christ requires a great deal more than believing in the spirit of Christmas. The first Christmas represents real people who had their lives turned upside down – Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds, and the magi. The first coming of Jesus Christ was a disturbing event of the deepest proportions. Jesus did not come simply to add something extra to life. Instead, He came to deal with your spiritual insolvency where people rightly recognize the debt of their sin is overwhelming. And He intends to dominate more of your time than a two-hour Christmas special once a year. Jesus Christ is none other than God Himself. He came on a deliverance mission, to save sinners, in order to destroy the works of the devil.
Here is Today’s Big Idea: God’s Grace is Effective in Defeating Your Sinful Habits. CHRISTMAS Grace is Effective in Defeating Your Sinful Habits.
Many people, as you know, celebrate not much more than “roasting chestnuts by an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at their noses.” But Christians surely know enough to know that Christmas means more than that. It surely has something to do with Jesus, doesn’t it? But what? This is what Christmas is about: “You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). John says Christ’s purpose in coming to Bethlehem in one sentence: “You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). The reality of Christmas is that God’s grace does not produce Christians who are cavalier about sin.
Today’s Scripture
“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification” (Romans 6:14-19).
Verse fifteen is a question, which we’ll get to next week. It just about the same question as Paul entertained in verse one. Both verses one and verse fifteen ask, “Doesn’t the grace that Christ offers encourage people to continue to sin?” The question of verse fifteen arises because of Paul’s statement in verse fourteen. It’s verse fourteen that I want us to focus on for the next few minutes.
Even if your fairly new to the Bible, a careful reader will observe Paul sees two distinct alternatives at the end of verse fourteen: “under law” and “under grace.” Verse fourteen presents two ways to live… You can believe in Christmas or you can believe in yourself. You can rely on Christ’s performance or you can rely on your own performance. But you cannot mix and match. You cannot believe in Christmas and yourself. You are either “under law” or “under grace.” But you cannot travel down both roads simultaneously. You must choose your direction at the fork in the road. Paul is writing to believers in Rome with the same intent that Jesus had when He came to Bethlehem – to stamp out sin.
Think of Christmas as firemen coming to extinguish the fire called sin. Jesus’ intention is to extinguish sin. Paul’s intention is to extinguish sin. Or we can say it this way… The intention of the incarnation was to extinguish sin. Christmas is to extinguish sin. So I say again… The reality of Christmas is that God’s grace does not produce Christians who are CAVALIER about sin.
1. Believers Desire Purity
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification” (Romans 6:17-19).
I want to examine closely the three words that make up this first point this morning in succession.
1.1. Believers
This passage (all of Romans 6) is written to believers in Jesus Christ.
Ask yourself, “How do I Believe in Jesus Christ? Do I believe in Jesus Christ?” What is the difference between a believer in Christ and an average Joe? Remember the two alternatives of verse fourteen: “under law” or “under grace.”
Here are four crucial statements you need to embrace: 1) God is the loving ruler of the world; 2) We all reject the ruler God by trying to run our lives without Him; 3) God will not let us rebel forever as He punishes rebels with judgment; 4) God’s love is displayed by sending Jesus Christ who was punished in our place.
His death on the cross brings believers in Christ forgiveness from the sin of ignoring God. So, you are presented with two ways to live: “under law” or “under grace.” You can reject the ruler – God – and try to run your own life your own way. The result is you will be condemned by God and you will face His judgment. That is what verse fourteen call “under law.”
Or, you can submit to God’s loving rule and rely totally upon His death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. The result will be that God will forgive you for ignoring Him and you will be given eternal life with Him. Again, that is what is referred to in verse fourteen as “under grace.” You can believe in Christmas or you can believe in yourself. You can rely on Christ’s performance or you can rely on your own performance. You don’t believe in Christmas because you are better than others, or smarter, or even more pure. Instead, you believe simply by the grace of God.
Notice the words found in verse seventeen: “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17). You are a believer in Christ this morning because of God’s grace and Christ’s performance – so thank Him and don’t congratulate yourself.
The Majority of People believe they can climb a moral ladder to heaven. The Majority of People think they can climb a moral ladder to heaven. But Christmas sends this giant message into the world: it’s not about your moral performance. Christmas is not about Jesus Christ, a biblical Santa Claus, asking you, “If you have been good enough.” That is not “under grace.” That is not Christmas.
1.2 Desire
Every Christian finds himself or herself in a battle. Every person who has come to the fork in the road and chosen the path marked “under grace” finds themselves tempted to desire forbidden fruits. It’s a battle of desire. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions” (Romans 6:12). We either have a desire to fully follow Jesus Christ in purity or a desire to succumb to fleeting and short-lived pleasures of sin. Remember Today’s Big Idea: God’s Grace is Effective in Defeating Your Sinful Habits.
In order to defeat Sinful Habits, you must get behind the habits to your desires. This passage is written to wedge itself as a crowbar into your soul where the desire for Christ and holiness have room to grow. With all the temptations that face us, your desire to follow Christ and pursue holiness are constantly under pressure to be smothered out. Yet, Paul asks that Christmas grace be given oxygen so that this fire may take off.
Passions have a way of enslaving us: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness” (Romans 6:16)? The word “slaves” is used six times in this passage. Paul sees our passions as potential slave masters. In order to defeat sinful habits, you must get behind them to the desires that cause them. “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin’” (John 8:34). And your desires will cause you to be enslaved to something. Either you will be slaves to sin or you’ll be set free from sin by Christ and then you’ll become slaves to righteousness: “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).
This is a battle for your passion and for your desires. Sin attempts to come into your life and turn your God-given passions around in order to defeat you.
Think of your body as a castle. Sin comes into your castle in the hopes of commandeers your desires against you. Your desires are like canons pointing out from your castle in order to defeat the enemy, sin. Yet, sin finds a back entrance in your castle, where it commandeers your “passions” for its own purposes. Your desires and your “passions” are not bad. They’re neutral. You have a passion for sleep and to eat and for sex. None of these “passions” are bad. Yet, sin comes in to commandeer them where sleep turns into laziness. And your desire to eat becomes gluttony. And your desire for drink becomes drunkenness. And your desire for sex becomes fornication or adultery or pornography. And this where Christmas becomes obscured – where Santa Clause arrives comes simply to bring greater pleasure to a darkened heart. Sinful passions attempt to enslave us. But Christ comes to set us free from the slavery of our twisted passions and return the castle back to its rightful ruler.
1.3. Purity
Paul uses a word in verse sixteen that has nearly disappeared from our Christian vocabulary – it’s the righteousness. “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness” (Romans 6:16)? People are happy to talk about spiritual growth or their spiritual development, but few people want to be described as righteous. We dislike the word probably because of its association with self-righteousness and we want to distance ourselves from that as far as possible. Despite any hatred we have for self-righteousness, God intends for every one of His children to be righteous.
Purity is to be prized. Everything in Romans 6 is written for this purpose – for believers to desire and practice purity. That is what Christmas is about. Mary and Joseph make a trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem to give birth to a Son. This son comes into the world in order to save people from their sins. The angel told Mary and Joseph to name Him Jesus because He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
When the real meaning of Christmas is discovered by a person and they begin to treasure Jesus Christ as the greatest gift of Christ, they become a believer in Jesus Christ. You can tell a real believer in Christ when you examine their life.
Verse sixteen describes a Christians as enslaved to righteousness: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness” (Romans 6:16)? The Bible makes this extremely clear.
“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:4-10)
Again, the Bible couldn’t be any clearer. Purity is to be prized by categorically every one of God’s children. The last text I read puts it in stark terms: If you don’t prize purity, then you’re not a child of God. This is a hard point to communicate in the Bible best South where everyone grew up in church. People talk about making decisions to believe Christ years ago, yet we see so little evidence that Christ makes a difference in their lives today. He’s not the Treasure about everything else. Christ isn’t really relevant to any aspect of life.
Look carefully again at the Bible’s words in 1 John: “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10). Now how can this be? How can Christianity be about grace and yet God expects us to behave?
Let’s review: I’ve said that Christmas is about extinguishing sin. Christ came as a fireman to a fire called “sin” and He seeks to extinguish it: “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
Again Romans 6:14 presents two ways to live: You can believe in Christmas or you can believe in yourself. You can rely on Christ’s performance or you can rely on your own performance. But you cannot mix and match. You cannot believe in Christmas and yourself. You are either “under law” or “under grace.” Christianity isn’t about climbing a moral ladder to heaven. Instead, Christianity is a ladder that Christ descends to us.
Galatians 4:4-5 is a Christmas verse: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). You should recognize the words “under the law” from our passage we’ve been focusing on this morning in Romans 6:14. Christ came to earth at Christmas and successfully climbed the ladder to God. Christ did not sin. That’s why it is important that Jesus was born of a virgin. His virgin birth (when Mary had not slept with a man) gives Him the opportunity to live a life without a sinful nature. Jesus didn’t inherit the sinful nature you and I did. Jesus was born “under the law,” He lived perfectly and accomplished perfection. His perfection is the greatest gift of Christmas. His perfection is a gift He wishes to give any who would believe on Him and treasure Him as their greatest gift. His perfection and your treasure of His work on the cross, cuts the chains of your slavery. Only then, do you have the ability to do 1 John 3:10: “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10).
