Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.Now to understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to understand what the phrase died with Christ means. This phrase refers to a follower of Jesus mystical death with Jesus. In other words, mystically and spiritually, as followers of Jesus, we died with Christ on the cross. We were identified and were spiritually present with Jesus when He died on the cross. Paul then explains that not only were followers of Jesus mystically and spiritually identified and present when Jesus died on the cross; followers of Jesus were also mystically and spiritually identified and present when Jesus was raised from the dead, never to die again.
And because of that reality, just as death no longer has mastery over Jesus, death no longer has mastery over Jesus followers. As followers of Jesus we can have confident trust that we will live forever in the relationship with Him that we were created for, because death no longer has mastery. Death no longer dominates the lives of followers of Jesus, just as death no longer dominates the life of Jesus.
Paul then explains that the reason why death no longer dominates the life of Jesus was due to the fact that “the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” But what does that mean? Paul’s point here is that Jesus death on the cross for our selfish rebellion and sin resulted in Jesus being separated from the destructive and evil power of selfishness and rebellion. So instead of being dominated by the destructive power of selfishness and sin, Jesus lives to God. In other words, Jesus now lives for all eternity by conducting Himself in a life and lifestyle that brings God the Father glory and honor. Jesus lives for all eternity with a lifestyle that enhances God’s reputation and advances His kingdom mission.
And because of the lifestyle that Jesus lives that is focused on enhancing God’s reputation and advancing God’s kingdom mission, in verse 11, Paul states “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The word consider here is a mathematical term that means to consider or calculate by adding up all the facts. Paul is saying in light of the all that Jesus has done for you; in light of the life that Jesus lives; as His followers you need calculate the facts and then respond to the facts by living a life that is separated from the evil and destructive power of selfishness and sin, but that lives a lifestyle that reveals and reflects Christ in a way that enhances God’s reputations and advances God’s kingdom mission in this world. And it is here that we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us the reality that we should be separated from selfishness and sin because we live with Christ.
You see, there should not be a desire to embrace the evil and destructive power of selfishness and sin, because the fact that we live with Christ should result in separation from selfishness and rebellion. So is that the case? Does the fact that you live in relationship with Christ result in a life that is separating from selfishness and sin? Does your life with Christ result in God’s reputation being advanced and God’s kingdom mission advancing? Paul then concludes this section of his letter by revealing a fourth reason why our rescue should result in separation from selfishness and sin in verse 12:
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.Paul begins verse 12 by stating that, in light of the fact that we should be separated from selfishness and sin because we are identified with Christ, we have been freed by Christ, and we live with Christ, followers of Jesus should do two things. First, Paul commands the members of the church at Rome, and us here today what not to do: “do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts”. The word reign here conveys the sense of letting something exercise rule and authority. Paul is commanding followers of Jesus to not allow the destructive and evil power of selfishness and rebellion to exercise authority so that we follow its evil and selfish desires.
Paul then reinforces this command in verse 13 by stating: “do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness;” The word present here conveys the sense of placing something beside or putting something at someone’s disposal. The phrase “instruments of unrighteousness” if expressed in the language we use in our culture today, would sound something like this: “do not be a tool that is used in a way that makes you at odds with God and the truth of God so as to be not be right with God. In other words, Paul here is commanding followers of Jesus to not place you body at the disposal of the destructive and evil power of selfishness and sin so as to be a tool that does things that are not right in God’s sight and are at odds with how we are to live as followers of Jesus.
Instead of being a tool that is under the authority and follows the evil desires of selfishness and sin so as to live a life that is at odds with God and the truth about God, Paul commands followers of Jesus to present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Followers of Jesus are to place their body at the disposal of God in a way that lives a life that is separated from selfishness and sin and is growing in Christ-likeness. Instead of being tools of selfishness and sin that place us at odds with God, we are to be tools for Christ that are living in a growing and right relationship with God and others.
Paul then concludes this section of his letter in verse 14 by providing the reason why we are to be tools for Christ that are living in a growing and right relationship with God and others. “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Paul’s point here is that the destructive and evil power of selfishness and rebellion should not dominate your life in a way that results in slavery. The reason why we are not to be dominated by selfishness and sin as followers of Jesus is because we are not under the Law.
As we discovered in the previous sermon series, the Law, or the first five books in our Bibles, was not given for our justification, or to rescue us from selfishness and sin. Instead, the Law was given to reveal our condemnation, that we are guilty of having a problem with God that requires rescue. The Law reveals the reality that the destructive and evil power of selfishness and sin dominates our life apart from Jesus. But as followers of Jesus, we are no longer under the Law. It was not what we did for God by keeping the commands of the Law that made us right with God; it was what God’s transformational intervention and activity through Jesus Christ that rescues us from domination of selfishness and sin.
And it is here that we see Paul reveal for us the reality that we should be separated from selfishness and sin because we are under new leadership. We are no longer under the leadership of the Law, which revealed our condemnation and our domination by selfishness and sin. Instead, as a result of God’s grace; as a result of God’s transformational intervention and activity through Jesus Christ, we are to be under the leadership of Jesus Christ. And because we are under the leadership of Jesus Christ, there should not be a desire to embrace the evil and destructive power of selfishness and sin. So is that the case? Does the fact that you live under the leadership of Jesus Christ result in a life that is separating from selfishness and sin?
Because the timeless reality is that God’s rescue should result in separation from selfishness and sin. We have seen that we should be separated from selfishness and sin because we are identified with Christ. We have seen that we should be separated from selfishness and sin because we have been freed by Christ. We have seen that we should be separated from selfishness and sin because we live with Christ. And we have seen that we should be separated from selfishness and sin because we are under new leadership.
So how are we doing? Are we living our lives as followers of Jesus that is separating ourselves from the destructive and evil power of selfishness and sin? Or are we still tempted to embrace selfishness, rebellion, and sin?
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