Expound: Romans 6-7 - Part B

Who is your master for you serving. What is your master passion. You can tell your master is by finding out what your master passionate. What is you love to do more than anything else. You gravitate more than anything, it always eventually get sent to this issue. As you really think about Bolshevik someone or something. So really in control of your life today on connect shears.

What's better for you to be a slave of Christ than a slave of anything or anyone else right now to tell you about a resource that will encourage you even more in your faith trials, temptation, and the tone those of the mega themes of three booklets from when you were making available this month@connectwithskip.com here's one with more of this bundle and I handed the keys to unlock the thought stances and fears that can cause you to give into temptation and speak no evil. I encourage you to avoid setting fires with your word and instead use them to bring showers of blessing when you height six booklets go to sleep, speak no evil unhappy trials provides help hope and encouragement in dealing with life's challenges. This bundle of three booklets or years for a gift of $20 or more to help keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air did yours when you get to the by calling 800-922-1888, or give online securely connect with script.com/offer that's correct was.com/off chapter 6 Skip today's message is a song I remember Harriet as a new believer, but I come to find out it was written to sort of an old hymn, but it gets really released in every generation, Lauren Daigle, just a beautiful cut of its turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. I think this that sorta captures this idea of giving yourself, presenting yourself as instruments as members for God to use remember hearing a story about a little girl who is being tucked in to bed at night and it was successful. The little girl went to sleep. Couple hours later, mom heard a thud on her daughter's bedroom floor, followed by a huge whale try.

She had fallen out of bed. Mom crushed and picked up her daughter comforted her and tucked her back in Benson sweetheart.

Why is it you fell out of bed and she said I don't know mommy, but I think I stayed too close to where I got in I find that's our problem were in Christ that we stay right on the edge we want to live on the edge man we want to stay close to the border. No, no, move in closer to the heart of Christ. Get away from the borderlands go deep in and the deeper you go when you do that by presenting yourself to God. Lord, I'm I'm yours to use, what then verse 15 what that shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace. Since were not governed by the law anymore were dead to that that's over, shall we continue in sin because were not under the law.

Same idea, certainly not. No way José God for bid. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one slaves whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness. The Jewish rabbis had an idea saying about the law. The Torah, the commandment of God. They referred to the law as a sea dog in a sea dog is the Hebrew word for a fence it's offense to God is given us to protect us and so if you say were not under the law you're calling for the fence to be removed. Paul, you're saying there's no protection. There's no parameters God is given us the Siya of the protection the fence and so if you take it away were just going to perform lawlessness pulses, God forbid, do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as slaves to obey, you are that one slaves whom you obey. Paul would say this to those who would say that he would say the best fence is a decision that you make that leads to a destiny that you undertake. You make a choice you make a decision to present yourself to God. When you do that over and over. It leads to a destiny you become a slave that you we understand what slavery is like, especially if you have struggled with addictions. You make a choice choice leads to another choice to another choice to another choice.

Pretty soon you have you have something that is routinely set up at your go to response. You can become addicted to a number of things you can become addicted to your phone as I fear so many have that screen is and in front of them. Anyway, I'll get off of that. So what happens in any form of addiction. After you make a choice in a series of choices. Those choices become easier to make resistance becomes harder. Pretty soon you find yourself powerless.

Jesus even talked about this, he said, don't you know that whoever you you commit yourself to become a slave of that person. Those that person slaves are that things slaves you are so the ideas you is is who is your master who are you serving a what is your master passion. You can tell your master is by finding out what your master passionate. What is you love to do more than anything else would you gravitate toward more than anything else and it always eventually gets down to this issue who owns you. Who really owns you who's calling the shots, so all I am not a good choice. The hardest deceitfully wicked above all else who can know it that that old little saying that is so true, so I thought, reap an action.

So an action, reap a habit. So a habit, reap a character so a character, reap a destiny. So the best fence the best per ramp parameters in your life is to make a decision that leads to a destiny I'm his slave. He's my master.

He calls the shots.

But verse 17 God be thanked, that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine or teaching truth to which you were delivered and being set free from sin, he became slaves of righteousness that is righteous living is what you lived to do that said righteous living a righteous lifestyle is what you lived to do. You woke up in the morning after your say Lord, how can I please you today.

I'm addicted to pleasing you. I'm addicted to blessing your heart by obeying your commands. I speak verse 19 in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness pretty straightforward for when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness what fruit then did you have in the things of which you are now ashamed for the end of those things is death, but now having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Satan always pays his slaves. He always pays his servants. If you work for him.

He'll never miss payday guarantee he'll pay up. But in contrast to that God wants to give you a gift not give you what you deserve to see sin will pay you what you deserve. The wages of sin is death, it's what you deserve. It's only fair paydays here you go you get paid.

Death God is willing to give you what you don't deserve wages of sin is death but the gift of God. What you don't deserve is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The first, we do deserve the second the gift we don't deserve. Now, having said all that, it's one thing to know all these wonderful truths is one thing to say. You know what II I'm supposing that I'm going to look good semi that I'm gonna reckon that to be so and I'm a do my best to resist temptation and present myself about all that's great. And yes, we should those are important steps. However, don't think that this is some little formal formula that when you walk out of here life now to be perfect.

You still have to live with you. Yeah I know see I still have to live with me wherever I go, I I take myself with me. So all of that baggage from the past those habits those things I'm I'm used to the way of thinking and doing the comes from the from the old manner of life comes with me. That battle never ends that flesh and spirit battle in Galatians that we talked about last week and continue to talk about this week goes with us. But Paul wants to make a further point here so I I said talk verse 14 in your mind, so go back to verse 14 says for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. Then in verse 15 to the end of the chapter he takes a little bit of a detour and gives a parenthetical statement the parenthetical statement is back is over.

Now he goes right back to the principle that he was getting out in chapter 6, verse, verse 14, and that is that the law doesn't have its grip on SMU any longer were dead also to the law so notice in verse one do you not know, brethren, for I speak to those who know the law that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives for the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband so then if while her husband live she marries another man, she would be called an adulterous.

But if her husband dies, she is free from that law. So she is no adulterous though she is married another man now. The intention of this text that I just read is not to go through marriage and divorce. Too many Christians get sidetracked and that that this is that simply an illustration to form a point about the law in general or law in general and marriage is an illustration. Slavery was an illustration he just used the previous chapter uses another illustration of marriage.

It's a pretty straightforward one. While a husband is alive gal is married to her husband if he dies, she's free to remarry. If if he's not dead, but she marries somebody else.

I wouldn't you just committed adultery. You can do that right is pretty plain, straightforward analogy. Marriage binds a person here's the point that Paul is making death and is a person's responsibility to the law right make sense. So let's say somebody is speeding. Let's say let's this is a get this illustration you leave church and I you 100 miles an hour on the freeway you get pulled over. You get a ticket you take your ticket but within this week, God forbid you die. We get a phone call. We did a funeral account for sure will do it so the day comes rear funeral. They will your cascade down to the front casket is open.

People can comply see if that's you, let's say I walk up and I happen to have a copy of your ticket and I looked down to you and in the castle, you know what you haven't paid your ticket. Don't think you can get out of this got for you still owe this ticket does he owe the ticket. Why is dad exactly death ends moral responsibility to law every legal system recognizes that. So in a marriage.

If the husband dies, she's free to remarry. She's free from the law right okay death ends responsibility.

We died in Christ.

That's Paul's point. We died in Christ, we identify with Jesus death burial and resurrection.

Just as Jesus died, he died for all who believe in you believe in him. His death means your relationship to the law is over.

That's the idea that Paul is making you your identification with Christ.

I want to unravel something because the Bible does sort of mix its metaphors and confuse some of us so so let me explain this a little bit we backtracked when you were born into this world you were born alive.

Obviously, right obviously because your your here was a live birth to successful birth. Here you are you all grown up, though you were born and alive. Physically you were dead spiritually that the moment you were born in Concepción you were already dead spiritually pulses at Ephesians 2 and you he has made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. You were DOA born, you were dead on arrival.

So you're physically alive spiritually dead okay you gave your life to Christ. The moment you gave your life to Christ, you were alive to God, but dead now to sin.

Dead to the past life dead to the law make sense. So think of it this way in first Thessalonians 5, Paul said.

May God sanctify you completely and may your whole body soul and spirit be preserved blameless there. Paul talks about the three parts of a human body soul and spirit.

When you were born you were born physically, your body, you had a soul that your conscious mess that's your ability to make decisions and reason that your soul but your spirit was dead dormant because of what Adam did by one man sin entered the world, and death through sin does spread wealth so you were born, body, soul and spirit, your body was on top ruling dictating everything baby says I want this. I want that you know cries for whatever needed has right and and that that behavior persists through a lifetime and until it is curbed by all sorts of social pressures, etc. family pressures, but your body is on top. Your mind is under it so you have the mind of the flesh. Paul calls it the mind of the flesh your spirits dormant as soon as you come to God you come to Christ. You give your life to Jesus Christ gets flipped. Now you are as God intended. You are spirit, soul and body. Yes, you still have a body issue. Still, the soul, but now you have the mind of the spirit, the spirit is in control even though the flesh still is around and fights the spirit and buys for the control of the minus for the battlefield as far. So you're born physically alive spiritually dead. You come to God, you are spiritually alive, but you're dead to the past, dead to sin. Dead to the law that stuck the metaphor wanted to unravel that because it gets a little mystifying, you're dead.

What will I be what so do you not know, brethren, verse one, for I speak to those who know the law that laws dominion over men as long as he lives.

A woman has a husband who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives.

But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then, while her husband lives. She marries another, she will be called an adulterous husband dies, she is free from the law so that she is no adulterous, even though she is married another man okay the illustrations done. Here's the application. Therefore, my brother and you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that is Jesus death on the cross that you may be married to another even date him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. In most legal systems there is the law of double jeopardy. You can't be tried for the same crime and sentence for it twice so if you died in Christ and your death sentence was on him, you can't stand in judgment for your own sin in the future that's in the that's the law on most systems of jurisprudence as well as in God you died in Christ, you're alive because of the resurrection that you should bear fruit to God.

For when we were in the flesh, flesh, meaning the living in the old nature according to the dictates of the flesh. The older you the old manner of life under Adam for when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death describing you before salvation. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. The proof that you are dead to the old and alive to Christ is by the fruit right that's what he says here in verse four that you should bear fruit to God. Jesus in John 15, you know, go home and read that don't do it.

Now go home and read John 15 write a little note look look it up later. Jesus talked about abiding in him, that the branch abides in the vine that the branch is a constant close living connection with the branch and in so doing, there's fruit bearing that takes place, and he talks about bearing fruit very much a more fruit very much fruit and and that's God's intention for life stick to bear fruit by Jesus at some 30, some 60, some hundredfold you can bear as much fruit as you want as as you want. That control is in your decision-making. It is, and of course God has God will add to that Hillel send trials to prune you so that you bear more fruit, but the decisions that we make on a daily basis and the choices that we make during those trials will determine what kind of food were to bear, but his intention is that we bear fruit to him. Okay, I don't want to. I don't want to lose this.

Yes, he's making an analogy about being married but dumb just just get the. The weight of this in verse forces that you may be married to another, even to him who was raised from the dead. The analogy is marriage okay but just for a moment think of yourself as being married to Jesus.

So here's what I want to get another. There are lots of analogies. The New Testament uses about a relationship with God and are there put there so we have an understanding of them were called the sheep is called the good Shepherd I were called the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of the body. That's the relationship we are called children of God. He is the heavenly father all sorts of different analogies to portray the relationship but I gotta tell you, there's none more precious than the idea of intimacy as portrayed by a marriage relationship where the bride of Christ were married to him.

That speaks of intimacy. It speaks of the kind of intimacy that I think God wants is not only to enjoy, but to portray. If you if you read Ephesians about the husband and wife husband's otherwise wise with your husband talks about marriage being a horizontal microcosm of a vertical relationship we have with God. We have a relationship with God. The best portrait of that process is in a marriage relationship under wraps of Skip a text message from the series expound right now we want to let you know about a special opportunity you have to pursue biblical studies in a way that works with your schedule.

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