You Were There

No him as the question. Were you there when they crucified my Lord and the answer is for the believer. Yes I was there in the mind of God at the crucifixion were you there when they laid him in a tomb. Yes, were you there when he rose up from the grave. Yes, we were incarcerated because of sin. We are liberated because of our Savior. We were bound in the kingdom of darkness and we have been set free to live in the kingdom. Today, it comes from Romans chapter 6 dear member in the book of Corinthians when Paul reprimanded that church for their inability to receive meaty doctrines will apparently the church in Rome didn't have that problem in most of the book of Romans, and especially here in Romans six Paul dives deep into some rich theological truth were going to explore that together as Stephen teaches through this section of God's word in the days ahead.

This message is called you where there, having finished his declaration of justification by faith alone to the grace and effort of the second Adam, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Paul anticipates the next kinds of questions that will come from his readers that we would probably have the same kinds of questions.

Something along the lines of well since we didn't earn our salvation by good works, and since were taught in Romans chapter 5 that even the worst of sinners can be saved.

In fact, the worse to send the greater the demonstration of God's grace than what would be so bad about sin.

If it allows God to demonstrate his grace we don't get saved by being good and we can't lose our salvation, then by being bad, why not be as bad as we want the poll begin the answer these questions by dealing with that first one, can a believer live in sin with the Romans chapter 6 and refresh our memories. Let's go back for a limited time to verse one where Paul writes all right what we got to say all you continue in sin, the grace might increase. May it never be. How shall we die to sin still live in it that we spent a great deal of time and I just want to quickly review this morning a number of years related to Paul's phrase. What did he mean when he said we died to sin. While some believe the apartment we died to the allurement of sin is that correct will all we have to do is pull the audience. After the service and asked them to sin still alluring to you as a believer you would answer yes that pretty much answers that you others argue that Paul means we are supposed to die daily to sin. They take Paul's words and first crickets 1531 out of context what Paul said, I die daily.

They take that and attach it to something like Romans chapter 6 they come up with his doctrine that it's all up to you and you gotta get up every morning and you gotta die if you're ever going to have victory. Problem is that's focused on us that in addition to that, that is what Paul said in first screen is 15 the context of that paragraph Paul was actually talking about being willing every day to physically die. He talks about being in danger every single hour of the day that paragraph later on I paragraph he talks about being willing to fight the beasts in Ephesus is literally saying every day I get up and I have to be willing physically die with these talking about a Romans chapter 6.

Furthermore, Paul. Romans six will not talk about something we do every day. But something we've already done something that is already happened to us in the past. Another view is that the believers sin nature has been eradicated. That is that a person becomes perfected a righteous and righteousness in the sin nature is eradicated and you having problems Cindy Morgan. I think we could pull the audience and ask you for like us nature's been eradicated, but he still struggled with. I think the answer would be unanimous. I still struggle with sin. Another view teaches that Christians are supposed to simply renounce sin they reach a stage in our sanctification or they just reached the point where they can renounce sin and they will never do it again is that working for you will have and we all said, Lord, I promise this is the last time and then what happens, we realize again were deeply in need of his grace on our behalf interpretation that I believe is correct and consistent with the letter of Paul especially in chapter 6, seven, eight, is that he is talking about a believer dying to the rain of sin looked up at chapter 5, verse 21 as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In other words, we died to the dominion to the rulership to the power of sin.

We don't have to sin that we do.

We don't have to. We can never blame God when we do, we died to the dominion power of sin and death doesn't mean extinction.

It means separation.

In fact, it's used throughout the New Testament refer to separation when Paul says we died to sin.

He doesn't mean that sin ceases to exist, he simply means that we are now separated to this rule of sin, the power has been broken by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so we have died to the ruling power of sin. In fact, you can translate the word rain, noun form, you could translated as king or kingdom. We died to the king of sin, we have been delivered from the kingdom of sin. Paul is going to help us understand what he means by taking us to the two places will take us to a graveyard and that'll take us to the vineyard notice first three do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death whenever a word is repeated in the New Testament God is not running out of vocabulary.

He wants to emphasize something in that word baptized is a critical word that appears twice in that verse. The trouble is, it isn't translated for its transliterated.

That is simply they had the Greek letters exchanged for English letters and they have created an English word that means nothing to us because all were saying is the Greek word baptism by or in the English language baptized.

We still don't know what it means. What is it mean to be baptized. Well, there are two meanings for the word. One is a literal meaning, and the other is a figurative meaning the literal meaning of the word baptism is to immerse or to dip some refer to it as being done, whatever you want to use to remember. That's what the literal meaning of baptism. I therefore to literally baptize someone with water you would literally immerse them to not immerse them is to not have baptized them to have not been immersed means you have not been baptized. That's what the word means you may have been sprinkled or maybe get some water poured on your some touched to your four head. There are Greek words for sprinkle and poor and they are never ever, not even once used in the New Testament reference to a believer being baptized is one I was identifying with Jesus Christ never it is always the word baptism. I can remember as a young seminary student wondering about this issue.

Fact I was somewhat sure that you could probably pour or sprinkle or immerse a believer with water really didn't matter how it was an ordinance. It isn't an issue of heaven or hell that I can remember taking my first semester of Greek exegesis and in recognizing the consistent use of that verb through every instance every New Testament passage dealing with a believer in the believer's baptism.

I can remember one point going to the seminary library of the campus of Dallas seminary and they have all hundred thousand plus volumes. I remember going to the lexicons and pulling down a pile of lexicons to see if I can find one that would tell me that the literal primary meaning of baptism. I was something other than to immerse the lexicons are simply dictionaries of Greek words. They are nondenominational, you have a Baptist lexicon in a Methodist lexicon in a Presbyterian lexicon use of a lexicon. Greek words mean what Greek words meaning no matter what kind of church you go to, and in every instance it always men the same thing to immerse or to dip within US what all the Episcopalians and all the Methodists and Presbyterians do this work will they choose to apply the word, not in its literal sense, but only in its figurative sense, the word literally means to immerse figuratively, the word can mean to identify with another. In this case it would be to identify with Jesus Christ. So these churches might put a little water in your four head or sprinkle a little water, they would say, then you are identifying figuratively with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We happen to believe and teach that we hold to both the literal meaning in the figurative meaning of the word in the life of the believer. So we literally immerse the believer in water and we then literally are able to experience the full measure of the figurative meaning whereby they actually identify with the death and the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The water becomes an analogy of the grave. A believer is buried into as Jesus Christ was buried and then praise God we believe in the resurrection we pull them back up out of the water and how much relatives pay. We count real slowly and hold them down and then we bring them up and identifies with the literal death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Any other way is to simply ignore the literal meaning of the word and the depth of the figurative meaning of the word knife Presbyterian friend Methodist friends fact, I've had some interesting debates over the years about this and it isn't an issue that has any kind of saving affect when those are baptized as we observe on Sunday mornings at times being baptized, they are not becoming Christian, they are simply outwardly demonstrating what is already happened inwardly to them. They don't become say they identify publicly with Christ through that method that marking of the disciple telling us. I have already been set and it is an issue of quite some debate, I did something about 10 years ago that was really mischievous. I haven't done anything mischievous since no. Was it a large Presbyterian Church for training conference in the South. This church is on television coast-to-coast and it's a beautiful sanctuary sees probably five or 6000 people in. I remember going in the first time and seeing if the ceiling probably is about 100 and 5000 2550 feet high. The stages in ornamental marble and they got these massive pipes for the pipe organ all over the place and over to the side or stairs leading up to a private balcony up there is this huge pulpit with a canopy over to just absolutely massive and I'm not gonna take the name of the church. A quick run to guess at any rate, I was in there with his friend affect another member of our church went for training and we happen to show one night early and there was in the buddy else and we're just sort of sitting there and all looking around and then the thought came to my mind is my only chance.

I told my friend from church as I'm in a go up there and on the climb up the stairs and get in the pulp. Snow stealing. I said no, it's okay.

Trust me I'm your pastor wasn't too sure then the thought came to my mind this is mischievous, but is it when I get up from us a word that is never been uttered in this magnificent auditory face of what you gonna say something to tell you. So I looked around. Nobody was there. I slipped up to the stage and and up the stairs.

I climbed up to that massive pulpit and I stood, looked around again to make sure. Then I said loudly. The one word emerge. I ran downstairs and hopefully no one would take me so I had to confess that there are some that avoid the debate entirely by saying what Paul is saying or talking about the Romans chapter 6 is not water baptism at all, the spirit that I believe Paul was probably thinking about boats because both are intricately related in the language is so similar.

Paul ready for screening chapter 12 verse 13 by one Spirit we were all baptized same number. We were all immersed into the body of Christ that happened in salvation. The agency of the Holy Spirit immerse you baptized you into the body of Christ.

She didn't feel it say it tasted touch and it was one of those magnificent things that we read about that happened to us. We were immersed into Christ body and the language is similar to Romans 63 we have been baptized into Christ Jesus. I have charismatic friends who would say you have you been baptized by the Holy Spirit, and I would answer absolutely yes it is impossible to be a believer and not have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. So anybody could ever ask you some friend or coworker.

Have you been baptized by the Holy Ghost. Your answer is yes no probably well and he explained it to you have been. It's impossible to be a believer without having been baptized you are, literally, as it were immersed into the body of Christ, not halfway, not allaying on her arm all you went into his body and the mystery of it all is that he came to inhabit us without that. When I say pretty I think Paul has in mind also readers experience of this analogy of water baptism. I think that's his emphasis in verse four look there. Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father so we to walk in newness of life, literal baptism, ladies and gentlemen is a wonderful, in fact, it's a perfect analogy to identification with Christ, which is its figurative meaning the water again identifies the believer, just as Christ was in the hands of another. When he died he was in the hands of his father. So the one is being baptized in the hands of the pastor or elder who is administrating this ordinance, a person is identifying with Christ's burial as he is literally placed under the water and then he literally identifies with Christ in this great figure or analogy is he is risen, as it were from the grave by the power of another, just as Jesus Christ was brought back to life. The power of the father, and it certainly wasn't a new concept in Judaism or the world in which Paul lived when Paul talked about immersion. We talked about baptism people had an idea what he was talking only that by the time Paul begin to describe what really meant it had Artie been perverted and twisted ruins as it were by the enemy. And so Paul is explaining his word, the meaning of this. In Judaism, the rabbis taught that any Gentile who wanted to leave his pagan idolatry and convert to Judaism went through a number of things and one of those initiations was baptism by immersion in fact they specified how much water was supposed to be in the tank and after a person was baptized in the Judaism, the rabbis would teach that he was a quote newborn child. In fact they held. They believed and taught that if a man had a child after his baptism, even though he may have had older children that child that he had after baptism was considered his firstborn so new was in life.

Obviously there are kernels of truth but yet the distortion which makes this a saving effect which is not true to Paul's teaching.

The Greeks would've also understood the concept. As well there. Mystery religions involve this initiatory right of of baptism by immersion.

In fact, one Greek newsletters was discovered going back to the time of Paul talks about how he underwent listener. This quote I underwent voluntary death and thereby obtain my spiritual birthday and I was reborn. Only the enemy can use language that is specifically that of gospel language and so distorted that by the time you get the gospel you can see the confusion that would rent the Phrygian mystery religion had the initiate after his immersion. The initiate was given milk to drink, symbolizing the fact that he was a newborn quote babe when the apostle Paul describes the idea of baptism. The concept has already been twisted and counterfeited by the enemy.

According to Scripture, baptism is not the means of salvation. It is the demonstration of salvation, if the water over here in this tank wash sooner. Why we have to drain it and refill it before anybody knew got in. It has no even mystical power.

This is the demonstration. The outward expression of that which is happening inwardly already. Just as we were in Adam when he sinned. We were also in Christ when he was buried, and rose again and thus water baptism becomes that external testimony of that internal transaction that has already occurred as a wonderful phrase there. This very challenging and convicting to every believer. We've been raised to walk and what in newness of life been raised to walk in newness of life.

He is talking about a new leaf is talking about a thank you, can render this you could translate this to walk with a new principle of living to walk with a new dynamic for life.

The believer has not turned over a new leaf. He has been resurrected as it were, to a new life but worn where's B was helpful as he illustrated the truth of this with the life of Lazarus in John 11 you remember when Jesus came to Bethany, the two sisters of Lazarus and begged that he come earlier because Lazarus was was dying and Jesus tarried. He waited until Lazarus had been in that tomb for four days. Why four days, probably because the rabbis it held that the superstition were teaching and to the people that the spirit of the deceased hovered over the body for three days, hoping to reenter Jesus knew that superstition writing.

That's why he waited four days so that no one could ever say Lazarus wasn't dead on the fourth day he came in he remember by the power of his word.

He said Lazarus come forth.

And Lazarus appeared in the doorway that tomb, he was bound, and remember the Lord commanded lose him let him go why I let him walk walk around and then later in chapter 12 of John we find Lazarus seated at the table with the Lord eating fellow shipping with Christ worn where's he says do you see dead raised from the dead freed to walk about in newness of life and seated with Christ having fellowship with him. The amazing thing.

Ladies and gentlemen about all of this is that we are even yet discussing another truth and that is not only is the believer been buried with Christ, and resurrected with Christ. He has already ascended with Christ in the mind of God.

Our position is that we are already seated with Christ in the heavenly's figure that out. It's an amazing mystery. The mind of God we have had our records swept clean. He sees no beginning and end. He sees both beginning and end. He is without time and he sees is already in this state of perfection in Christ seated fellow shipping with him in the heavens know we struggle with here. That's why we need explanation give us in chapter 6, seven, eight, Paul wrote to the Colossians again in chapter 3.

Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

You were liberated from the kingdom of sin by death death in Christ, which also is resurrection in Christ, so that goes back to the original question, can a believer live a lifestyle of sin. Now we can comprehend of this Paul says God for bid you a dime to the old life you been raised with this new principle of life. This new dynamic for living the true believer doesn't want to go back into a lifestyle of sin anymore than Lazarus would have volunteered to go back into the tomb and get all wrapped up Lazarus you want to go back in there no, so also the believer when he does sin finds himself out of place turning over a new leaf is like putting makeup on corpse at make it look more alive, but there's no life principle therein.

It would be like going out to a dead apple tree in your yard and gluing apples to the limb. It might make it look like there's sap flowing through the trunk and into the branches and twigs and leaves to create and produce this fruit, but it's cosmetic. That's the idea of Paul's next illustration very quickly. I want you to notice he takes you from the graveyard to the vintner. Look at verse five, he says, for if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall be also.

Again, implied, united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. The word united some food thoughts is a wonderful word. It's taken right out of the vineyard where the husband would graft into the vine a branch tie it, it would become part of that again receive a life from the vine. There are passages of Scripture. Of course the tell us about this being our union with Christ. Paul has in his mind, a branching bound in Galatians 3, Paul says, our union is so close.

For all of you who were baptized into Christ are also clothed with Christ is not only dwelling within us, but he is our closing is in and around and above and within and beneath the he is all of our life so close is our identification with Christ, the Paul would say the Christ is our clothing. We walk around in this new dynamic of living, knowing he is our clothing, as it were, so wherever we go we take them with us. Could we ever go back into the old lifestyle of sin. Now we have Christ in us, clothing us, we could never live the kind of life again. We walked about now in newness of life.

So what is new with a new identity weave a new destiny weave a new master weave a new purpose, weave a new heart weave a new spirit.

We have new battles.

We have a new song that all him asked the question. Were you there when they crucified my Lord and the answer is for the believer.

Yes I was there in the mind of God at the crucifixion in him.

Were you there when they laid him in a tomb. Yes, were you there when he rose up from the gray yes we say with the apostle Paul, I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not on the life that I now live in the flesh I live by this principle of faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 220. We were imprisoned because of Adam.

We are delivered because of Christ we were incarcerated because of sin. We are liberated because of our Savior. We were found in the kingdom of darkness and sin and we have been set free to live in the kingdom of light. I hope that the truth we've seen from God's word has encouraged you this was less than one in a six part series called delivered from the kingdom of sin will be bringing you the remaining lessons in this series over the next several broadcasts.

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