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ROMANS: THE GOSPEL OF GRACE (TALK 10/12: SLAVES OF GOD) SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

CONNECT: How can you embrace the life found ‘in Christ’ to the fullest this week?

WARM-UP Questions

1. Why do you think we so readily would prefer to follow our own desires rather than God’s?

Read Romans 6:1-11 2. Why would some people think that we should ‘go on sinning’ in order to increase grace? Why would

some have been concerned that this would have been people’s response to justification by faith alone?

3. How would you – as per this chapter – explain to someone that Christians should not keep on sinning?

4. Is it possible for us to not sin at all? When we sin, what should be our response? Does this mean – if we trust in Jesus – that our salvation is ever in jeopardy?

5. What is Paul referring to when he talks about baptism? (Think about what he means along with the image that we are to have in mind.) How does baptism reflect both a death and a resurrection?

6. What does it mean that we are ‘dead to sin’? What does this mean to you personally?

7. How does being ‘alive to God in Christ’ have both a present and future reality?

8. If we are dead to sin, and if our resurrection is as certain as Jesus’, how should this change how we approach our lives (i.e., joys, problems, temptations) today?

9. What does Paul mean by counting ourselves dead to sin but alive to God? What is one way, each day this week, that you could do this?

Read Romans 6:12-23 10. If sin has been defeated and we know that we should not sin, why do we find it so difficult not to? 11. If we no longer live under the reign of sin, under whose rule and in whose kingdom to we reside?

12. Why are our sins bigger than just a personal moral failure? How does our obedience to sin point to a reign of a kingdom that has already been defeated?

13. What does Paul mean by ‘instruments of wickedness’? Can you think of any examples of how – even your greatest gifts – can be used for evil instead of God?

14. How is carrying on in sin like obeying an old landlord who has no power over us? 15. In what way does Christianity involve a ‘taking on’ and a ‘taking off’? How have you experienced this? 16. What does Paul instruct us to obey? What does he mean by this? What are some examples? 17. How does our obedience to God point to the future that we await to be made complete?

APPLY (this week): Confess to God any area of sin that you have been holding back. What is an area of your life that can be transformed into an instrument of righteousness?

PRAY: Gracious Father, we are so sorry for the sin in our lives that reflects a disobedience to you. Please help us to submit our entire lives to your rule, seeking to live in accordance with your Word, that our lives might be for your glory and kingdom alone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

For sermons and additional resources, visit STBARTS.COM.AU

ROMANS: THE GOSPEL OF GRACE

(TALK 10/12: SLAVES OF GOD) GOING DEEPER RESOURCES

Video • A great video to watch with your children and grandchildren, on “The Salvation Story”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHE1yKuz1vI

Audio • “Not Under Law by Grace” by Christopher Ash

https://resources.thegospelcoalition.org/library/romans-6-not-under-law-but-grace • “Dead to Sin” by Kent Hughes (Romans 6:1-14):

https://resources.thegospelcoalition.org/library/dead-to-sin • Dick Lucas on Romans 6 (two parts):

http://www.st-helens.org.uk/resources/media-library/src/talk/3032/title/11 http://www.st-helens.org.uk/resources/media-library/src/talk/3033/title/12

• William Taylor on Chapter 6 (in two parts), “Slaves of Grace”: http://www.st-helens.org.uk/resources/media-library/src/talk/7418/title/talk-3 http://www.st-helens.org.uk/resources/media-library/src/talk/7439/title/talk-4

Helpful Books and Articles • Two Very Helpful Books by Rory Shiner on what it means to be ‘in Christ’ through his death and

resurrection (highly recommended): Raised Forever: http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/raised-forever One Forever: http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/one-forever

• “Whatever Happened to Pursuing Godliness” by Matthew Payne https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/whatever-happened-pursuing-godliness/

• Romans (Read, Mark, Learn Series) by William Taylor (St Helens Bishopsgate): https://www.koorong.com/search/product/romans-read-mark-learn-series-helens-bishopsgate-st/9781845503628.jhtml

• Romans (The Story of God Bible Commentary Series) by Michael Bird: https://www.koorong.com/search/product/romans-the-story-of-god-bible-commentary-series/9780310327189.jhtml

Talk 10/12 (ROMANS SERIES): 23/09/18 “Slaves of God”

by the Rev’d Adam Lowe

Bible Passage: Romans 6

Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? (v.1)

That might seem like a crazy or convenient question depending on where you’re at today, but it’s the logical question following the previous chapter. • In Chapter 5, Paul established the radical relationship between sin and grace:

that just as sin entered the world through one man, that’s Adam, with his disobedience becoming our disobedience, that is we followed in his likeness,that remarkably grace has also entered through one man: Jesus,with his righteousness becoming our righteousness.

• Our disobedience is exchanged with Jesus’ obedience,Our unrighteousness is exchanged with Jesus’ righteousness,Our guilt is exchanged with his innocence,Our punishment is exchanged with his forgiveness,Our sin is exchanged with his grace.Our death is exchanged with his life.

• And this extraordinary exchange, is not earned through our efforts, nor conditional on our obedience, but received as a gift by trusting in the one who gives it.

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Therefore, in light of ALL of that, it’s very natural to ask…

• If grace is free to us,If grace is a good thing, If grace is poured out abundantly relative to sin, THEN hang on, I’ve got a great idea - should we, sin more, in order to increase grace!?

• You might be thinking two things… • Paul, this is MADNESS! If grace is dependent completely on what Jesus has done,

if grace is guaranteed simply by trusting in Jesus, what will possibly stop people sinning!? • There’s no necessity for people to stop, because their future is guaranteed. • But you also might be thinking… • Paul, this is BRILLIANT! If where sin increases, grace increases more,

does that mean if I just go for it, that I’m not actually doing something wrong, but I’m doing something good, because my sin is increasing God’s grace!

I wonder if you’ve ever said to a a loved one, when you’ve mucked up, or when some of your character flaws have risen to the surface, well darling my failure is just an amazing gift to you to develop your forgiving character even more. You’re welcome!

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• If forgiveness is guaranteed, why not sin as much as we want?If God loves to forgive, why not give him more to forgive?

• Well, before you get creative in your thinking, Paul wisely doesn’t let us ponder that for too long, so the answer is swift and emphatic: verse 2, “NO, BY NO MEANS!”

• Not because we need to earn salvation, but because when you put your trust in Jesus, you’re not just given a new status, but because your given a new life.

• With… a …New BASIS …New BATTLE and …New BOSS.

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#1 BASIS: DEAD TO SIN, ALIVE TO GOD \\ VERSES 3-11

So first, we have a NEW BASIS: We are Dead to Sin and Alive to God.

[Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?] By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (vv.2-4)

• When Paul speaks of baptism here, he is not saying that the act of baptism, that is, the dunking or sprinkling of water, is what saves, but he’s referring to the act of regeneration that begins at conversion.

• We are baptised into Christ from the moment we put our trust in Jesus, with the act of baptism being an outward sign and seal of that inner reality.

• However, as we seek to understand who we truly are, Paul also wants us to have the symbol of water baptism at the forefront of our minds.

• There’s two key elements: that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ.

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When he says that we are dead to sin, he is literally saying, that our old self, before becoming Christians, is dead. It no longer exists. //

• One of the most cruelest things that you can say to a person, is: you’re dead to me. • But this is not just the new Adam saying to the old Adam, “you’re dead to me”,

but that actually, the old Adam IS dead. • That previous person, who stood awaiting condemnation is dead and buried! • The word for baptism here is linked with the idea of being overwhelmed by water.

The word can be linked with drowning or a ship being inundated with water and sinking. • Paul is drawing our attention to the reality,

that when we are baptised, it’s symbolising that a death is taking place. • Paul even invents a word, saying that we are co-buried with Christ. // • I once heard of a minister who said, when doing full immersion baptisms,

that when the person went down under the water, he always wanted to prolong that a bit, in order to give a proper sense that a death was taking place. //

• The point is not simply that we’re opposed to sin, which of course we are,or that we do not continue to sin, which of course we do,but that the era of living under the condemnation of sin is dead, and therefore we have a whole new life to live, growing into that reality. //

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We are ALIVE in Christ.

• There is not only a fundamental connection between Jesus’ death and ours, but there is also a fundamental connection between Jesus’ resurrection and ours.

• That as surely as we have died to Christ, we are also alive in him. That’s what is symbolised in baptism in the coming up and out of the water.

• v.4 just as Christ was raised from the dead… we too may live a new life. v.5 for if we have been united in a death like his,we will certainly also be united with him in resurrection like his.v.8 For if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

• There is both a now and not yet. • That right now, if you put your trust in Jesus, you are dead to sin,

and right now, if you put your trust in Jesus, you are alive in him, for the condemnation for sin no longer hangs over you,but we still await that final victory over death.

• We were Dead but now are alive; We were under sin but now are set free;We have been Crucified and will be resurrected.

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And therefore, Paul urges us, as we await the final destruction of death, to, verse 11…

…count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

• The word ‘count’ means that we are to work it out, do the sums, realise who we are, think about the implications, thank the one who made it possible!

• That in light of the amazing news that we have died to Christ and are alive in him, and that the day will come, as surely as Jesus was raised, that death will have no hold on us, that we are to remember who we are, in what era we now live.

• As we await the final fulfilment when Jesus returns, we right now are to grow into that reality, in anticipation of the future to which we belong.

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#2 BATTLE: NOT LETTING SIN REIGN \\ VERSES 12-14

Therefore, because we have a NEW BASIS, it also means that we have a NEW BATTLE: we are to resist the reign of sin.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. (vv.12-13)

• Despite being free from the consequences of sin, whilst we remain in Christ,we are still - obviously - very capable of committing sin.

• Whilst we await a future in which we will be without sin, that reality has not yet dawned, which means that part of the role of every Christian, in light of being dead to sin, is to resist the reign of sin in our lives, in order to point to the reality of the kingdom to which we already belong.

• Because of what God has done and will do, it shapes what we ought to do today.

Martin Luther, the great reformer, apparently, when tested inside and out, in the face of temptation, would shout - perhaps surprisingly - “I have been baptised”!

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• Of course, he didn’t mean that in the physical act of baptism something magical had happened that somehow made him immune to sin, but that because through his trust in Jesus he’s was under new management! He was dead to sin, alive in Christ.

But whilst that may sound great theory, it’s no small feat in practice!

• I want you to note just how exhaustive Paul’s imploring to us not to sin is! • Not just do not let some sin reign, BUT “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body…”;

Not just do not offer some of your life, BUT “do not offer ANY part of your body…” • When Paul refers to the ‘mortal body’,

he is not saying that the body is inherently sinful, nor that physical desires are always sinful,but that we have a choice NOT TO LET sin be expressed through us.

That is not so that we might earn our salvation, it’s not moralism, nor is it to make us feel good, it’s not moralistic therapy, but because there is a battle of kingdoms going on, and we have a choice regarding who we obey.

• When Paul says, do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness,the words for instruments can mean a tool or a weapon.

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• And thus, he’s saying, that with all that we have, we can decide to offer it either for good or for evil. //

• When we make a choice to sin, it’s not just some personal disobedience, but a choice as to which kingdom reigns.

Imagine for moment that having rented a house, you pay up all the rent owed, finish the lease and you move to a new house with a new landlord. You’re finished with the landlord - they have no rightful power over you! Yet despite that reality, they keep turning up at your new place and demanding that you pay rent and do what the tell you to do! If that happened, you’d be quick to show them the door.

• Yet when tempted by sin, and obeying its demands, we’re giving reign to the defeated one to whose kingdom we no longer belong. and denying the reign of the victorious one to whose kingdom is also ours.

• It’s not that we’re just no longer under any obligation to obey the old landlord, we’re under an a new obligation not to obey them, and obey the new one instead.

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#3 NEW BOSS: SLAVES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS \\ VERSES 15-19

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? (v.15)

No, because a freedom from the law is not a license to do whatever we want, but a freedom to obey our NEW BOSS: we are slaves to righteousness.

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (v.18)

• We don’t go from having sin as our master to becoming masters of ourselves, but we go from having sin as our master to having God as our master. As we hear that, that we are enslaved to God, it can sound really offensive. It’s right at the heart of being human that we long for our autonomy, we long to be boss.

• But there’s no middle position: we’re either slaves to sin, which leads to death; or we’re slaves to God, which leads to life. And what it comes down to is, which master are you serving? //

• Think for a moment of an area in which you might struggle with sin. What would it look like to offer that part of your body or your character, not to the reign of sin, but the reign of righteousness - you’re new boss - instead?

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When we choose to follow God as our master, we express that by obeying his will and his ways. • Of course we don’t get that perfect,

Of course we can still run to him for forgiveness,But we have a whole new incentive to obey.

• What are we to obey? v.17: The pattern of teaching that has now claimed our allegiance! • That is, Paul is referring to God’s Word, especially the GOOD NEWS.

That we would seek to let God's word shape and form our lives. • Not because we’re saved by obedience,

but because our obedience reflects that we are saved! • And how are we to do that? Wholeheartedly! • Not when we feel like it, not half-heartedly, not when convenient,

but with all of our resources: head, heart, and hands. • Being willing to put off our old ways and put on the new. //

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CONCLUSION \\ THE RESULT

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (v.22)

• Paul doesn’t mean that: you put your trust in Jesus, try to be really holy, and then you’ll earn eternal life.

• No, he’s saying… from the moment you put your trust in Jesus, you have a whole new incentive to live according to God’s ways, because we know the eternal life that awaits us.

• We can know right now that we’re saved, We know we’re works in progress right now,We know the future awaits us.

• Christians have the most amazing incentive to live differently, because we belong to a whole new kingdom, that will come in full, in which sin and death will not only be defeated by also destroyed.

• And today, whenever we deny the reign of sin, we’re not only becoming that which we are to become, but we’re showing whose rule we’re under today.

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Imagine you drew two circles, each representing two kingdoms. • One is a kingdom in which sin reigns, it can only lead to death.

The other kingdom is in which Jesus reigns, it leads to eternal life. • Which circle do you put yourself in? Do you know who you are? • We are free to choose between the two maters,

but we are not free to adjust the consequences of that choice. // • If you’re a Christian today, rejoice that we have a whole new life,

with a new basis, a new battle, and a new boss. • Use all of you, hands, heart, head, passions, skills, talents for that kingdom! • And if you haven’t yet put your trust in Jesus,

if you want to belong to that new kingdom,it’s only a prayer away.

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