 Romans chapter six. We're gonna be looking today at verses one through four. Originally I was gonna take you to verse 14, but you'll see in a moment why we're not going to that verse because there's so much in verses one through four that I want to give to you to lay a foundation for the verses that come after that and you'll see this in just a moment. So let's begin reading in Romans in chapter six. We'll begin at verse one. I'll read to verse four and we'll get into our study. Romans chapter six, beginning at verse one. Paul writes, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death. That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. And so chapter six actually begins with a question. Notice with me, it's a question that is a natural continuation of what he had just written in chapter five because in chapter five he had said in verse 20 where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. So the question obviously would be what does he mean by this? What did he mean when he said that sin abounded? Well one, we need to know or remember that the Bible, God's word reveals to us there's something called sin. It's missing the mark. And God reveals to us that it's not something that's simply incidental, it actually has a depth to it. So God reveals to us the depth of sin. He also speaks concerning its penalty and he actually identifies for us activities that he calls sinful. And so sin is something that is revealed in scripture and the Bible says there's a penalty to it and the penalty according to Ezekiel 1820, well it is the soul whose sin shall die. The wages of sin, Paul tells us is death. It's appointed unto men to die once after this judgment. And so Isaiah three 11 says woe to the wicked. It shall be ill with him for the reward of his hand shall be given him. So sin exists, it isn't just mental error or lapses of judgment, not simple mistakes, it's called sin in the Bible. And the Bible refers to it and also speaks concerning the reality as well as its penalty. But though the word reveals the reality of man's sin and its punishment, it also points to the grace of God. The word of God reveals to us that no matter how deeply a person has sinned, that person still has the potential to be redeemed. Psalm 103 verses two and three says bless the Lord O my soul forget not all his benefits who forgives all your iniquity who heals all your diseases. He forgives all your iniquities. God is capable through the blood of Christ to forgive us of all sin. In Isaiah 43 25 it reads I even I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins. And so grace is the backdrop that reveals the beauty of God to the sinner. But as in the day of Paul there is still a misunderstanding of what this grace is. Grace is a Greek word in the New Testament and it's the word carous and carous basically means undeserved favor from God. Christianity is completely built and permeated by the grace of God. It's built on the grace of God and permeated by the grace of God. And when you read your scriptures you'll see this where grace is mentioned in a variety of ways. The Bible teaches for example that we're saved through the grace of God. Ephesians two eight and nine says for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not from yourselves. It's a gift of God not by works so that no one combos. The Bible teaches we are spiritually gifted by the grace of God. Romans 12 six says having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us. We are set apart for ministry by the grace of God. Galatians one 15 Paul says it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace. We stand positionally justified and the Lord Jesus Christ by God's grace. In Romans five two we saw that Paul said through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and then we are to live separated lives by the grace of God. Second Corinthians one 12 says this is our boast our conscience testifying that we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially in our relation with you in the holiness and sincerity that are from God we have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace. So we're saved by the grace of God spiritually gifted by God's grace set apart from ministry by God's grace. We stand positionally justified in Jesus Christ by grace and we are separated by God's grace. So somebody asks the question since we're enabled to do all these things by grace are we also enabled to sin by grace? Does God give us permission to continue in sin so that grace may abound? Well some argued then and now that grace may be understood as permission to continue in sin and that's why verse one opens with the question what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Okay we're saved we have a free ticket to heaven everything's okay now God's grace unmerited favor undeserved favor is now enveloped us as air is to a bird and the water is to a fish so grace is to the believer and seeing that we are immersed in grace we live in grace we stand in grace we serve in grace we're gifted by grace and all of these things does that mean I can continue in sin and if I sin even greatly doesn't that magnify the grace of God because the worse I am doesn't that deepen the reality of God's grace as he saves me? Well that would have been the natural response when he asked this question what had been written regarding justification because he had said in chapter five verse 19 as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous and so the people would be arguing oh wait a minute disobedience demonstrates God's grace because he saves you even though you're extremely disobedient so doesn't that amplify the grace of God and so that's what gave rise to the perception that sin is permitted. Now this kind of mentality existed during the time of the writing of Paul obviously because he's dealing with it here in Romans chapter six but this kind of mentality is not limited to unbelievers it's an attitude that many professing believers have even to this day and there are those who've referred to that kind of mentality as cheap grace some of you have heard that term before cheap grace cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance baptism without church discipline communion without confession cheap grace is grace without discipleship grace without the cross grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate cheap grace we cheapen the grace of God when we give it give a definition that allows me as a professing Christian to continue in sin and that's why Paul in verse two gives his answer when he says certainly not how shall we who died to sin live any longer in it listen if we've been saved we are not to be walking in sin that's what Paul's saying that's what he's making that's his point shall we abuse God's grace and continue to sin to our heart's content his answer would be of course not now some confessing believers have taken advantage of the grace of God they live in what has been referred to as a fools paradise they believe that they're saved but they live in sin continually and habitually they're involved in sexual immorality they're addicted to internet porn they're greedy they're always angry they're still doing drugs and drinking they're still fighting and lying and cheating and all the while they're claiming that they know the Lord Jesus Christ some of us have been like that on occasion some of us have friends who claim to be believers who are like that right now have no sense of walking with God have no desire for his word have no Christian fellowship of any sort and yet if you ask them are you a Christian are you a believer they'll say oh yes I went forward at Calvary Chapel and I got saved but they're still living in sin and they're deceiving themselves in 1 Corinthians chapter six verses nine through 11 Paul said this he said don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the kingdom of God don't fool yourselves those who indulge in sexual sin or who worship idols or commit adultery or are male prostitutes or practice homosexuality or are thieves or greedy people or drunkards or are abusive or cheat people none of these will inherit the kingdom of God some of you were once like that but you were cleansed you were made holy you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the spirit of our God so Paul has already rejected this notion recognizing that some could not grasp the idea of grace you see there are there were those who thought that grace was not capable of producing motivation for holiness and so what they wanted to do is they wanted to regulate all of your behavior if you do this you're good don't do this you're bad so they want to give you rules and regulations to motivate your behavior grace is deeper than that when you come to a knowledge of the grace of God it humbles you it awakens you to your own sinfulness and his greatness it causes you to say God you've been merciful to me and with that mentality you make a decision that you want to serve the Lord for the rest of your life doesn't mean that you become instantly perfect it doesn't mean that you become as righteous as God would have you to be eventually it simply means that you've turned the direction of your life and you begin to forsake those things that at one time had held you in bondage and you're now walking as one who's made free by the Lord Jesus Christ you say they misunderstood grace and what they were doing is they were they were arguing that Paul was preaching what we call license that's why in chapter 3 verse 8 he'd already addressed this but that's why he said why not say let us do evil that good may come as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say so they've been arguing that Paul says oh you can do anything you want because now you're walking in grace and so the legalists would be saying well you're giving them permission to abuse God and to not live a holy life but the fact is grace is the motivator for us to live for Christ it's the motivator that causes us to turn from sin and to live for him that's why he asks the question how shall we who died to sin live any longer in it now when he speaks of dying to sin he's speaking concerning being dead to the dominance of sin in our lives and we are dead to the dominance of sin in in our lives because we've been made alive by Jesus Christ now we we're still prone to sin but by exercising faith we can have victory through Jesus Christ we know that he died in our place and we also know that we are recognized as being dead with him it's like what he said in Galatians 2 20 I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ lives in me in the life which I now live by faith the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith by the Son of God in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me so I live by faith in Christ because he gave himself for me but I recognize myself as being crucified in Christ yet I'm still alive I recognize the reality of the fact that when I gave my heart to Christ when I was converted when I was born again I recognize that when Jesus died on the cross he was dying for me and when I recognize that he died on my behalf not because of sins he committed but in order to atone for the sins that I have committed in order to pay the price that I should have been paying for myself when Jesus died in that way for me and I acknowledge that by faith and confess my need for Christ and ask for forgiveness that was not to continue in sin but that was in order that I might be set free from the bondage that I was already living in and then God by his Holy Spirit takes residence in the believer and when he takes residence within us we we are now made alive by the spirit of God and we have his power and now we can live victoriously 2nd Peter 1 3 says his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue and so we're dead to the dominance of sin and also to the judicial guilt which brought judgment because we've been made by we've been saved by grace and have been made righteous through Jesus Christ now this doesn't mean that we'll never sin again because none of us is sinlessly perfect outside the rest of you are just terrible sinners obviously we're all sinners all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, there's not a single one of us in this room outside of Jesus' spirit who is sinless in 1st John 1-8 it says if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves the truth is not in us so we have victory in Christ and we can have victory over sin's domination grace gives us freedom from sin but it does not give us freedom to sin you see some have misinterpreted grace to mean permission to sin and still be righteous that's something that the early church had to deal with when you read the book of Jude for example in verse 4 Jude said I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives the condemnation of such people was recorded long ago they have denied our only master and lord Jesus Christ so he says they wormed their way into your churches and they say God's grace allows us to live immorally now by God's grace we're empowered to live lives that glorify God and to be victorious over sin we're able to overcome our desire to practice sin because we've been born again the bible makes it very clear that he has given to us all things that pertain to life in godliness the Holy Spirit lives within me I'm the temple of the spirit of God I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and yet there are people who run around saying well I just can't help myself it's part of my nature I don't have self control even though Galatians 5 tells us the fruit of the spirit is self control we say I don't have self control I'm incapable of actually controlling myself that's what myself that's why I continue to drink that's why I continue to be violent it's because it's just part of my nature and I can't help myself it's the individual who says that they cannot help but sleep around they don't have the control of themselves to be able to keep from doing that it's the guy who goes to a bar dance or wherever you want to go club and he's there to find somebody and he picks her up and as he's with this girl she becomes obviously open and willing to accompany him back to his apartment or his house or wherever and she goes with them and he takes her there with this mentality that he's going to have a sexual intercourse he goes with that mentality now he's a believer you know he'll be in church on Sunday but this is after all Saturday it's a different day so there he is at the club and he's he's doing his best to be able to to get into bed with this girl and when you talk to him and you say to him this isn't right bro you know it's wrong the Bible teaches us that fornication is a sin he says well you know what I'm a man and God's grace and I don't have self-control and and he understands and he loves me anyway and I can't stop myself once I begin I'm not I'm I'm unable to control myself I have no control over this so he's with the girl so the question has to be asked what if he's about to involve himself sexually with this girl and the girl says to him and he need to know that I have HIV and I'm infectious and if we continue and actually have intercourse you will be infected do you think the guy will say oh that's cool no problem I'm in the grace of God I don't think so do you I don't think so do you think suddenly he's going to have self-control I think so I suspect but here's the problem guys here's the problem the fear of AIDS in him is greater than the fear of God he's more afraid of AIDS than he is of God because he knew all along God's word said you cannot fornicate God's word makes it clear you cannot fornicate the one who does will will perish no I'm in grace no wait a minute apply that grace to fornicating with that woman with AIDS oh no I now exercise self-control how's that work because you are more afraid of a venereal disease or HIV then you are of God himself what's that tell you it tells me at least as a pastor it tells me that you really don't understand grace you don't understand God and that's why Paul would say do not fool yourself if you continue in sin it's because you haven't been redeemed if you continue in sin it's because that's your natural lifestyle if you can sin without any sense of remorse or any sense of pain over it then it's obvious you have not connected to the one who died on the cross for you there are quite a number of people and no I'm not calling your salvation into question but perhaps you need to think about this there are a number of people who have deceived themselves into believing they're saved because they said a prayer or they went forward at a church service or a crusade no changes have ever taken place in their life they're not hungry for the word of God they're not hungry for fellowship with God's people they're not hungry for prayer they never share anything with anybody else concerning the things of God that doesn't exist in their life they simply took a 30-foot walk and now they're thinking that they're going on to heaven when in reality they may be self-deceived because they've never really repented because if sin is their lifestyle choice it's quite obvious they don't know the God who saves us from sin in first John chapter 3 verse 9 it says it like this those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning because God's life is in them so they can't keep on sinning because they are children of God now again this doesn't mean that after being born again we never sin again but it does mean that we can have victory in Christ and over its domination I can have victory through Jesus Christ through faith in him and by the power of his spirit in 1 Corinthians 15, 57 Paul said it like this he said thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ so we can be victorious but we need to exercise our faith and do that which is pleasing to him called obedience now as Paul is speaking he wants to amplify this by using an illustration so in verse 3 he asks a question or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life Paul is using water baptism to teach concerning a believer's union with Jesus Christ water baptism represents Jesus' death burial and resurrection when we're baptized we are identified with those events the word baptism as it's translated in English is the Greek word baptitso and the word baptitso speaks of dying something it speaks of we'll say I have a I have a a woolen cloth and it's we'll say it's white and I drop it into some dye and I pull it out it has been baptized it has been immersed it has taken on the color of purple and so immersion is the picture baptism is a picture of us being immersed in Christ so we're taking on new nature it's a picture of us taking a new nature now we don't get this new nature by being water baptized alone we actually have this new nature through being born again in the spirit of God dwelling within us but it's a picture when you're water baptized of what Christ has done for you so when we have baptisms here and we'll have one in June at the end of the month on a Sunday night when we have baptisms here I'll teach on baptism and I speak concerning the fact that they're going to go into that water they're going to go into the pool and I'll say you're going to step into the water we're going to talk for a few minutes I'm going to ask you your name and then I'm going to say to you I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit I said and then you're going to go down I'm going to release you because I'm not going to let you drown me you're going to go down on your own now some of you need to stay for a long time when you're half dead I'll pull you out when you go down that's a picture of death and burial when you come out of the water that is a picture of resurrection newness of life it's an enacted parable it's a drama with great beauty I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live I have been buried in him but I'm alive because of him it's a beautiful picture and that water when you go down is a picture of you entering in to a grave it's an open symbol of a person's faith in Jesus Christ it dramatizes the fact that the old nature is crucified with Jesus and now we are alive in him there's a finality by the way that's associated in burial those of you who have gone to funerals know exactly what I'm saying many years ago my grandmother who was 92 years old at the time my grandmother died at the age of 92 and I went to my grandmother's funeral and my dad and I were there standing next to my grandmother my father's mother's casket and as he and I were standing shoulder to shoulder and a last moment just viewing the remains of my grandmother my father who was very strong, a very strong man emotionally didn't show his emotions very well and very easily my dad was looking at his mama and he turns to me and he says look at her hands now my grandmother was 4'10 she was very small and her hands had been been harmed by arthritis so her hands were very very twisted and my dad drew my attention to my grandmother's hands and he says you see those hands and I said yes dad and he said to me they made a lot of tortillas in her lifetime and I said I know I remember because we would go to my grandmothers when we were little and every Saturday she would make us fresh tortillas she made them every day and we would go I don't even know what you call it it's like a hamper but it wasn't my grandfather had made her she had 50 pound bags of flour that she would dump in it and she had 12 kids and so she would make tortillas all the time right so my dad draws my attention to that made a lot of tortillas in her day and I said yes I know I remember he said she used them on my head more than once and finished that part of the service and went to the grave site dad and I are standing next to the grave of his mother as they drop the casket in dad hasn't said anything hasn't really made any noise of any sort hasn't spoken to me just quietly watching as they drop the casket in but when that skip loader came and pushed the dirt onto that casket my dad suddenly let out a moan from the deepest part of his heart because it's over mom is dead that's what burial is it's over when you excuse the emotions I'm thinking of that I'm thinking of my dad and when you go into the water you are dead and buried it's over that's what paul wants us to know it's over do not let the old life resurrect be alive in Christ and that's why he's saying do you not remember your own baptism do you not remember what it meant dead buried but alive in Christ so if we are dead and buried in Jesus why would we want to live in sin any longer why would we continue and say we have permission to continue in sin do we not understand our own baptism when you receive water baptism you are dead you are buried you are alive live by the power of the Holy Spirit walk in the newness that God has given to us by his power we don't have to go back to the old life we don't have to return like a dog returns to its vomit or a pig returns to the mire that it's been washed from we don't have to do that we have power in Christ to live victorious lives we don't have to go back my old nature is crucified with Jesus Christ there's death, burial and resurrection and because it's true then it is not part of a believer's life to continue in sin in Galatians 5, 24 and 25 it says those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires if we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the Spirit Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we shall also be raised and so we should walk in newness of life when it speaks of Jesus being raised from the dead by the glory of the Father the glory speaks of the exercising of his power through resurrection that produces glory God raised Jesus from the dead and God imparts his life to us we walk in resurrection power Romans 8 11 says if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies the Spirit who dwells in you do not quench the Holy Spirit do not grieve the Holy Spirit walk in newness of life people are looking at you and me we're not paranoid it's just true you have claimed to be a Christian what is a Christian they're not going to read the Bible but they will read you they will read you on the job site they will read you in the classroom they will read you in family get-togethers they watch you you claim to be a Christian so they're going to watch you you're the living Bible to them they want to see what a Christian really is all about sometimes they provoke you sometimes they want to argue with you sometimes they just they speak evil of you sometimes they may even physically harm you they want to see what you're made of what are we made of well Paul is saying listen if we've been renewed in Christ let us not use grace as an excuse to continue in sin let us not act like the world and be as the world and think like the world let us live holy lives for the Lord Jesus Christ let us follow him with all of our hearts yes we're going to fail yes I don't want to teach you to fail but I accept the fact that I do fail it's just a fact of life I can't be as good as I want to be not this side of heaven but I don't want to use it as an excuse to continue in sin either we need to humble ourselves we need to seek God's forgiveness we need to repent from our sin we need to dust ourselves off and begin to walk with them again and move forward but let us not use grace as an excuse to continue in sin I know of some people who party on Saturday and serve in children's ministry on Sunday and that just doesn't make sense to me we need to live for Jesus in these last and dark days don't we need to live for him people need to see that God is alive and God is alive in us may we live in such a way that we understand our own baptism that we understand that I have died yet I'm alive in him when I went into that water that was my burial but I came out as a living brand new individual in Jesus Christ may we live as those who really understand that today may we not cheapen God's grace may we just live in his grace and let him work in us and move in us to his own glory and his own praise