December is always such a busy month. And we look at all these announcements and everything that's going on and it can get really confusing. But I just want to say that we are excited and looking forward to having the whole church at our house on December 31st to celebrate New Year's, to sing some hymns, have a time of fellowship, and encourage each other. And so just put that on your calendar in addition to everything else that you got going on.
But we are definitely looking forward to that. And I'm sure that you'll get more details in the coming weeks. It'll come out in email. All right, I'd like to speak to you this morning about a very practical subject.
The subject that I want to share with you this morning is how does a believer deal with sin? How do I, as a believer in Jesus Christ, overcome sin in my life? If you are here today and you're thinking that after you get saved, there's no more struggle with sin. Then I think you are blissfully ignorant.
Because the truth is that every single one of us, every single day, we struggle with sin. It's part of our nature. And the scripture actually says, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But then it also says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And I think that a lot of new Christians that are newly born again will really have doubts, and will struggle with this issue in their life, and think, well, how could I possibly be tempted to sin? Because now that I'm saved, does it sin go away? Sin does not go away. But we have given very clear teaching how we as believers can have power over sin, can have victory over sin.
And that's what Romans 6 is all about. And so we're going to look at this topic today of Romans chapter 6. And so I'm going to invite you to turn in your Bibles to chapter 6 of Romans, and we're going to read the first 14 verses together. Romans 6 and verse 1, what shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Or in your Bible, it might say by no means. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer in it?
No, you not. Or do you not know that as many of us, as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death. And as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man or our old self or unregenerate self is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed. That henceforth, we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, die of no more. Death have no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once.
And the thought is once for all time. But in that he liveeth, he liveeth unto God. Now here's the truth of that. Likewise, reckon yourselves also to be dead unto sin.
But alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you.
For you are not under the law. You're not under the law, but you are under grace. Now if you drop down to verse 20, I'm going to read verse 20 in the ESV because I really like the translation. Romans chapter six and verse 20.
It says, for when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at the time from the things which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit that you get leads to, sanctification.
That is the key word. The fruit that you get in becoming slaves or servants to God is sanctification and its end eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord. So as we move through the book of Romans, you'll remember that in chapter five, Paul is discussing the doctrine of justification.
And he's very clear in that chapter that every person who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is declared righteous in the sight of God. That is a pronunciation. They are no longer under the condemnation of their sin. They have passed from death unto life, in the words of John 5 and 24.
And they are pronounced righteous in the sight of God. Amazing truth that before God, when I have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, I am declared righteous by the Almighty God. So why do I still struggle with sin? And why is there still that issue in my life?
Because when we get to chapter six, Paul is really outlining the progression of the practical outworking of this amazing truth of sanctification in a believer's life. How does a believer overcome sin? How does a believer have victory in sin? Well, Jesus actually spoke about this.
And if you permit me, I'm gonna read to you what Jesus said about this very clear subject in John chapter eight. Just turn to John chapter eight for a second. Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees. And the Pharisees are those that are following the law.
And they're really under the burden of the law. They're trying to live the way they should live with no power to actually do it. And Jesus said this, John chapter eight and verse 12. Jesus said, I am the light of the world.
He that follow with me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will no longer walk in darkness, but they will have the light of life. How does that work? Look what he said in verse 34.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. So whoever is committing sin is actually a slave to sin. But then he says, verse 31, if you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed. And you will know the truth, the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
What does Jesus say? He is saying that if you believe in Jesus Christ, you're no longer condemned. You are in the light of God's presence and the power of the word of God in you and the truth will set you free. And so we learn a very basic truth about sanctification.
First of all, I want to say that it's a battle of the mind and it is real. And if you're in the audience today and you're struggling with sin, you're not alone. You're a believer in Jesus Christ. You've put your faith in him and you still have this temptation of the lust of the flesh.
You still wrestle and you're working through these issues in your life. This is a real true battle and it is a battle in the mind. And the power to overcome sin comes first of all, from the Holy Spirit, which is within you. And the Holy Spirit within you is able to give you power and victory over sin.
But it requires faith. It requires faith and the word of God. Believing the truth of the Holy Scriptures will give you power and victory over sin. And I believe that doctrine is essential.
And I think that at this church, we want to just speak clearly the word of God. And we want to teach doctrine. Because if you understand doctrine, it will give you a framework. It will give you a foundation so that you can overcome sin in your life.
You know, when we look at this topic of sanctification, it's a big word and you might say, well, what exactly does it mean? It means holiness. It means to be set apart from sin and set apart to God. And that is the practical outworking of salvation in the life of every believer.
And it is a process. So as I unpack this truth of sanctification, there's various elements to it that I want to be able to share with you. I believe that this passage is teaching in the book of Romans that we are either a slave to sin or a servant of God. That's a very, very stark contrast.
Either a slave to sin or a servant to God. And the difference is if sin has dominion over us, then we are slaves to it. But God has given us truth. And He's given us the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin in our lives.
This is the victory that overcome at the world. What is it? Even our faith. Faith in the operation of the word of God, combined with the power of the Holy Spirit, will give us victory in living a life that God wants us to live.
Are you experiencing it today? Or are you struggling? I would say if we're open and honest, a lot of us go through these waves in our life where sometimes we have victory, we're walking on the mountaintop with God, and it's all good. Sometimes we have struggled with sin, and we can get bogged down under it.
And God does not want you to live in sin. He's given you the power and the victory to overcome it. That's what this passage is all about. So you're either a slave to sin or a servant to God.
That's what we read in Romans chapter six and verse 20. So here's three questions. Who is your master? You're either gonna serve sin, or you're gonna serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who's your master? Well, for believers, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. And we don't need to serve sin. Even though it's possible, we could, but we don't need to, because the Lord Jesus has set us free from sin.
What are the obligations? Well, either you're going to be addicted to sin, or you're gonna follow a path of obedience to God. What is the end? Everyone that serves sin, the end of sin is death.
The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. A slave to sin or a servant to God. That's a real challenging question.
Let's talk a little bit about what sanctification is. It means to be set apart from sin. It means to make holy, and it means to be set apart to God. This is the work that God does in a believer's life.
Now, God knew that we would struggle with sin. God knew that sin would deeply affect our lives. And God has made provision, incredible provision, and it's available to everyone today. You know, when you think about sanctification, there are many things in the Bible that God says are sanctified.
Starting with the dwelling place of God is sanctified. God said that Mount Sinai was sanctified. Jerusalem was sanctified. The temple was sanctified.
God says in the New Testament that the church of believers is sanctified. Ephesians chapter five and verse 26 says, The Lord Jesus Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it that he might sanctify it, and cleanse it by the washing of the water by the word. This is how we are sanctified. We are in Christ, but when we focus on the truth of God, and we let the word of God into our soul with the power of the Holy Spirit, it will wash us.
It will cleanse us. It will sanctify us. Amazing truth. Our sanctification comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Doesn't come from a church. It doesn't come from a ritual. It comes from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. First Corinthians one and verse two says this.
Onto the church, which is at Corinth. Hang on a second here. What's this church like at Corinth? Wow, well, they're full of division.
They've got immorality in their midst. There's drunkenness at the Lord's Supper. There is fornication and incest. There is dreadful wickedness and sinfulness that is actually in that church.
But yet he says this. He says onto the church at Corinth, which is sanctified in Christ Jesus. Sanctified, set apart onto God, called to be saints. Amazing truth.
This is amazing that God can look on a church that was in that condition and say to them, they are sanctified. Why is that? Because there is positional sanctification and there is practical sanctification. And we're gonna unfold that for you.
First Corinthians one and verse 30, he says you are in Christ Jesus, which is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Where does sanctification come from? It comes from being in Christ. And if you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are in Christ.
And because of his holy character, because of redemption, you are set apart for God. You are sanctified. You are cleansed from your sin. But what we need to do in the practical outworking of our life is we need to live what God says.
We need to accept that truth by faith and live in it. We are both sanctified in Christ positionally and we are being sanctified daily by daily experience, walking in fellowship with God. How do we know? Just turn to Hebrews chapter 10 for a second.
Hebrews chapter 10, and again, I'm gonna be reading from the ESV. And it says in verse 12, but when Christ had offered one single sacrifice for sin forever, one single sacrifice for sins for all time. He sat down at the right hand of God. Verse 14, it says, for by the single offering, he has perfected for all time, those who are being sanctified.
Now in that verse, you have both positional sanctification and practical sanctification. The very moment that you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you accepted him as your substitute, that he died on the cross for my sins. And I place my faith in him. I am sanctified because by one single offering, he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
That's amazing truth. And that's what is found in Romans chapter six. No, you not, that as many of you that were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death. And so our past life and all that we were before conversion, God sees us as dead.
That's what it means to be born again. It means to have new life. It means that all things are passed away. All things are become new.
And we are raised with Jesus Christ to walk in newness of life. Amazing truth. Okay, so how am I sanctified? Practically speaking, how am I sanctified daily?
I wanna show you what Jesus said in John 17. Turn to John 17 for one second. John 17, and we're gonna read at verse 15. This is the prayer of the Lord Jesus.
And in John 17, just before going out to Gethsemane, he's on his way to the cross. He's about to die for sinners. He lifts his eyes up to heaven and he prays. And this is what he prays.
Verse 15. I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Look at verse 17.
What's his prayer to God for us? Sanctify them. Sanctify them. How?
Sanctify them through thy truth. What did Jesus say? The truth shall set you free. How am I gonna be sanctified through the truth?
You wanna have victory over sin? Read the word of God. Believe it, take it for yourself. It is truth, stand on it.
He says, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou has sent me into the world, even so also have I sent them into the world. And then he says in verse 19.
For their sakes, I sanctify myself. That they also might be sanctified through the truth. It is the truth of God. It is the words of this book that will cleanse you from sin.
It is time alone with God. When I am tempted, not if, when. When I am tempted to sin, read the words of the living God. When I am tempted to sin, read Romans chapter six, and accept this truth.
And ask the Holy Spirit to give you power and victory over whatever temptation that you're dealing with. This is a real practical outworking of salvation in a believer's life and every single one of us deal with it. And Jesus knew that we were gonna deal with it. That's why he prayed in John 17.
Sanctify them. He says, I'm not taking them out of the world, but I wanna keep them from the evil that is in the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. In a very practical way, I wanna say this.
The best thing that I can do as a believer to live a spiritually victorious life is to get alone with God every day. Every day. I'm sure that all of us have busy lives. One practice that I try to do is I get up every morning at the same time.
And I get my cup of coffee, and between six and seven AM, I turn my phone off, I don't wanna be disturbed, I wanna read the scriptures, I wanna pour my heart out to God. I want God to speak to me. I want the Holy Spirit to take the truth of God and pour it into my soul. What did the psalmist say?
Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. What did the psalmist say? Where with all shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.
I don't know about you, but I know for me, I am a sinful nature, and there is a struggle. There's a battle of sin going on in every one of our lives. And if I go out into that world, and I face the temptations that are out there, without having the word of God in my heart, I will not be able to overcome sin, and neither will you. And I just think that's a very, very practical thing.
The doctrine of sanctification, it is positional, it is practical, and it is progressive. Now, we've already read John 17 and 15, that sanctification comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. Positionally, the sin question in your life is settled forever, okay? If you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you have eternal security.
It's not in question where you're going to be. You cannot lose your salvation. I give unto my sheep, eternal life, and they will never perish. Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.
However, you can have broken fellowship with God because of sin in your life. You can struggle with living and doing things that you don't want to do. We're going to get into this in chapter seven. What I would do that I do not.
What I hate that I do. I see a law within my members when I would do good. Evil is present with me. Oh, wretched man that I am.
Who shall deliver me from this body of corruption? Who? The Lord Jesus Christ, the great high priest. He is our advocate.
We sing that. He is our great high priest. He is available. Do you come to him or do you battle through the struggles of sin in your own power?
You got no power to overcome sin. So, positionally, we're in Christ. How do we literally do this? Well, I know that you're familiar with this, but I'm going to remind you about it.
The practical application of sanctification comes from Ephesians chapter six. And you can read it. It's verse 10 to verse 17. Here's what it says.
Having done all to stand, stand, stand. Having your loins girded with truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, the shield of faith. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities in high places. Wickedness, and it's only going to get worse.
It's bad now. It's getting worse. The evil that is permeating this whole world and this country that we live in. Morality is gone.
People have completely lost their way. And you're sending your kids out to this world. And some of them go to school. And the school system is dreadful.
It is anti-God. How are we going to equip ourselves to stand in this world? By taking practical sanctification, having done all to stand, we need to think properly. We need to understand that his righteousness is given to me as a gift by faith, not of works, by faith.
We take the righteousness of God and we put it on ourselves. And we take that shield of faith so that we can fend off the wiles of the devil when he throws those darts at us. Do you ever feel the darts of Satan? I do.
And those of us who go out on the street to tell people the gospel, sometimes I just feel like a complete target. And I feel weak. And I feel tempted. And I struggle with issues because I know that Satan hates the word of God that's going out there.
And he will do everything he can to trip us up, all of us, to make us stumble, to make us feel unworthy, to make us feel inadequate. He is the accuser of the brethren. That's what Satan is, is one of his names. We need to take the shield of faith.
We need to have the sword of the spirit. Listen, if you're not memorizing scripture, you're not equipping yourself. You should have the scripture in your mind. It should be on your tongue.
What did the Lord Jesus do when he went through those 40 days in the wilderness? And he's tested of the devil. It is written. It is written.
Do you know the word of God? Do your children know the word of God? Do you teach it to them? We are living in a day when we need to be equipped with the spirit of God, the word of God, it needs to be in our heart, in our spirit, or we will fall into sin.
I'm not up here telling you that I don't struggle with this. I do. And I think that you do too. This is a real issue.
And we have an adversary who goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Practical sanctification is taking the truth of Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10 to 17. OK. I believe that in a believer's life, there is spiritual immaturity and there's spiritual maturity.
And so when Paul writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, he says, I cannot write unto you as unto spiritual, but I write unto you as unto carnal. Babes in Christ. What was this all about? It was spiritual immaturity.
And sometimes in our lives, if we are not feeding on the word of God and we're not building strong spiritual character, we will be overcome with sins that will bog us down. And so when you get to the end of 1 Corinthians, he says, I counsel you to act like men. Spiritual maturity. Why?
So that we can overcome the wiles of the devil. You know what spiritual maturity is? It's found in Romans chapter 12, verse 1 and 2. When we understand the entire truth of the Epistle of Romans, number one, there is universal depravity.
No difference. Jews, Gentiles, heathen, we are all under sin. We are all guilty. Romans chapter three, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.
There is nonrighteous, no not one. Total depravity. That's the foundation. We get to the next part.
It is justification by faith alone, apart from works, by faith alone. Now we have this standing in Christ. We are no longer condemned. We have been declared righteous.
Our sins are gone forgiven. We have peace with God. There is working through this sanctification, the practical outworking of Christian behavior that God gives us power to. And then when we get to chapter 12, he looks back on all this doctrine, all this truth.
And he says, here is spiritual maturity. I beseech you, therefore brethren, therefore, therefore what? In light of all that he's taught, chapter one, right through to chapter eight. Chapter 9, 10, 11 is a parentheses about Israel.
We'll get to that when we get there. But chapter one to eight, all the outworking of the truth of God, capped off with this beautiful chapter eight about the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He says, because of all of this, I beseech you that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and perfect and acceptable will of God. That is the epitome of sanctification.
It is a surrendered life to Jesus Christ. Are you there? Am I there? Well, in my own experience, there have been times in my life when I've been there, but I've regressed.
I don't know if you've experienced that either. But this is not reaching the epitome and staying there on cruise control for the rest of your life. This is an ongoing struggle. And so spiritual maturity is understanding truth, applying it to my heart, living it out and surrendering my life to God.
Positional, you are in Christ, you are sanctified, you will never be lost, your sins are forgiven. Practical, there is the ongoing struggle with the flesh. You're working that out, you're working through that. The Holy Spirit gives you power.
The Word of God, read daily, put into your mind, putting the whole armor of God on gives you the ability to stand. Okay, you have a responsibility. I have a responsibility. And I think there's four things in this chapter that give us responsibility.
Point number one, you need to know the facts. That's what you need to know. You need to know the facts. What are the facts?
Verse three, do you not know that everyone who is baptized into Jesus Christ was baptized into death? Now, this is a metaphor. This is not water baptism. This is not believers' baptism.
It's the teaching, the truth of what happens, the moment that I repented of my sin, put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, I was immersed into Jesus Christ. Literally, I was taken, my old self died. My unregenerate man was crucified, and I was immersed into Jesus Christ. And I was raised to walk in newness of life by the resurrection, the life that God has given me.
I read this this morning. It's the truth of Galatians two. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I.
That's my old man, my unregenerate man, yet not I, but the new life that I live in Christ. I live by faith. I've been talking about faith. Taking the word of God, applying it to your heart.
I live by faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Know the facts. Here's the facts. Whoops.
Sorry, I definitely apologize for that. The facts are that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, I died in him. And God has seized me as having died. So this doesn't mean I won't struggle with sin.
I will, but judicially and positionally, God sees me as having died to sin, died to self and alive to Christ. I need to see myself as God sees me. I need to live out this truth that God has given me. I need to accept it as God says it.
So number one, know the facts. Number two, count them as true. Consider yourself dead to sin. So what happens when all of a sudden you get this thought or you're tempted to do something that you know is wrong.
You're struggling with this. You need to readily bring to mind the word of God that says you are dead to sin. Count this as true. Consider yourself dead to sin.
Thirdly, we have a responsibility to yield our body. Not as instruments of unrighteousness, but yield our body as instruments of righteousness. Present yourselves to God. We talked about that from Romans 12 and one.
I present my body, a living sacrifice. So know the facts, count them as true. What God says in this book is true. I am dead to sin.
I was crucified with Christ. I'm walking in new life with Christ. I got the power of the Holy Spirit. How do I know that?
Because God says it. And I believe it. And that settles it, right? God says it.
I believe it. God settles it. It's not how I feel. I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning and I'm probably not going to feel saved.
Does that mean I'm not saved? No, because I know the facts. The facts are Christ died for my sins. He was buried and he rose again.
And I believe it. And God says everyone who believes this will never perish by everlasting life. And I need to go back to the word of God and I need to say Satan, these are the facts. Christ died for my sin.
I died with him. I'm risen to walk in newness of life. Oh, obey your new master. That's your fourth responsibility.
We're not slaves to sin anymore. You know what? True believers hate their sin. They hate their sin.
Doesn't mean they don't sin. They do sin. In fact, if we say that we don't sin, we're actually lying. But when we do sin, we have this terrible feeling of disgust about our sin.
You know what that is? That's evidence of the spirit of God within you. An unbeliever lives in sin and for the most part is blissfully unaware and has no conscience of it until the Holy Spirit of God awakens them and convicts them of their sin. But if you have sinned in your life as a believer, the spirit of God will convict you and you will have this awareness of hating your sin.
And so God has given us a choice and a power to make that choice. Unsaved people have no power to overcome sin. They can't. Believers can sin or they can apply the word of God, believe the truth of God and have the power of the Holy Spirit to make the right choice and overcome sin.
And so we have a responsibility to obey our new master and our new master is Jesus Christ. It's not sin. Sin shall not have dominion over you. You can say to sin, I will not open that door.
I will not go there. And you know what? Many times we do, but you have the power with the Holy Spirit and the word of God to make that right choice. And we have a responsibility as believers to obey our new master.
Look at this verse that I have up here, Romans 6 and 20. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from righteousness. You couldn't do any righteousness when you were unsaved. You just a slave to sin.
And most people are walking around slaves to sin blind it because of the God of the ages blind of the minds of those that believe not. Less the glorious light of the gospel shine in. But when the gospel shines in and you trust in Jesus Christ, you are no longer a slave to sin. See, it says, but now being made free from sin, you have become the servants of God.
We all have a choice. We can live our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit, in a victory over sin, reading the word of God and enjoying this divine presence of God in our lives. Or we can choose to sin. And at the end of that is just misery in your life.
So I just want to encourage us all today. You don't have to live in sin. Know the facts. Count them as true.
Yield your body and obey your master. And I want to encourage everyone of us today to read Ephesians chapter six. Put on the whole armor of God. And before you go out to face this evil sinful world, get equipped spiritually and focus on the right truth.
It's a wonderful truth that Christ died for our sins. And the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God. You can't pay for this. Cost you nothing.
It cost Christ everything so that we can be washed, cleansed from our sin in the precious blood of Christ. And so I've presented to you today, the doctrine of sanctification, and mostly from a context of believers. But if you are here today and you're an unbeliever, and you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your savior, today's the day, get right with God. Repent of your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ and you too will have everlasting life.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the word of God. We thank you Lord for the victory that we can have over sin. And we thank you for the cross.
We thank you Lord that Christ has freed us from the law and he has set us free from the condemnation of sin. And Lord, we can live lives of victory. And so I just pray for everyone here, this whole church, all of our families, our children, and our grandchildren. And I pray, oh God, that you would preserve us all to live and walk by faith and enjoy the victory of living a life that's pleasing to God.
Thank you for your word. Thank you Lord for this beautiful day. And just commend us to you for the remainder of it as we part and give thanks in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Amen.