“Releasing the Power of Life in You” // Romans 6:6–23 // Romans
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“Releasing the Power of Life But… But Paul realizes that the experience of every believer, including himself, is a brutal struggle against sin. He is going to talk about how even as an Apostle his life is a constant fight between In You” // Romans 6:6–23 // what he knows he ought to do and what his sinful body is pulling him to do. Romans #13 In chapter 7 he’ll get more into his own story, but here in chapter 6 Paul considers the question every follower of Jesus asks at some NACP Commissioning point: If resurrection power actually come into me, why do I still Script struggle so much with saying no to sin? Why does my heart still feel so stubborn? Introduction And how can I change? Easter: 16,352. 1 human reason: you brought your one. ● What has been so encouraging to me are the many stories I’ve Note, Paul is addressing his counsel to people whom he believers heard of people whose one came with them, many of whom came are very sincere Christians. Notice in vs. 17 he describes these people to faith in Christ. as those who “You obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching…” ● I saw a tweet from a girl who came to our first Easter service: ● These are not fake or insincere. These are the real deal. "Tonight i went to an Easter service by @SummitRDU on UNC campus and it felt like i was hearing God for the first time ever" Y’all, I find these chapters so encouraging. Some of the most ● But also, our church plants: Center Church: 224--2 POF. What was encouraging in the Bible! cool is that one of the guys whom they had just seen come to ● For those of you trying to follow Jesus: Don’t you find yourself Christ in January brought 36 people with him. frustrated, a lot, at your lack of gospel process? ● Wishing you loved God more; were more naturally generous; Open your Bible to Romans 6 as we continue our march through the more courageous with your convictions; that you cared more book of Romans. You enjoying this? (Journals: summitchurch.com) about people—or whatever? ● Last weekend we saw how in the first few verses of chapter 6, ● I do Paul established the point that a true believer won’t continue to willfully and habitually pursue sin, because a true believer is Chapters 6 and 7 (particularly chapter 7) are Paul at his most someone who has turned over control of their lives to Christ, and vulnerable. What he reveals about himself may surprise you, and when Christ comes, he takes over the seat of power and breaks definitely will encourage you. sin’s control over who you are. ● Thus, if you are still willfully pursuing a life of sin, that means you I love these chapters, if you can’t tell. never really turned over control to Jesus. ● My dad paid my kids $100 each to memorize this chapter. 1 ● Some of you are thinking right now, “That’s a scripture memory ● It’s an accounting term. It means you look at one thing and program I can get down with. Can I get your dad’s email consider it to be something else. address?” Yes, it’s o I’ve heard it described like a Wild Card in Poker: You take “[email protected]” something like a Joker and say, “This Joker is now going to count as an Ace.” (And for the record, I don’t play Poker, of In chapter 6, Paul lays out his theology for how to change. He says course. The only card games I play are Bible charades and the change begins by embracing, at your core, the new identity God has Left Behind edition of Uno.) giving you. ● In Romans 4 Paul used this word “logizomai” to talk about how ● Tony Evans tells the story of a guy who visited a nutritionist and God credits righteousness to when we trust Jesus as the said, “I need your help changing some dietary habits.” The substitute penalty for our sins. nutritionist said, “OK, what’s the problem?” And the man said, o When we lay claim to Jesus as our sin bearer, resting our faith “Well, every time I go by grocery store I find myself yearning to in him, God logizomai (reckons, counts) our faith as eat dog food. When I walk in I feel inexplicably drawn to the dog righteousness. food section. It’s just something in me says ‘You really need to go ● Well, now, in Romans 6, it’s our turn to do the reckoning. to that section.’ And when I’m there, I find myself staring at the o We are to count (reckon) ourselves as already dead to sin, like pictures on the dog food bags and thinking about how much fun it God has declared us to be in Christ, and when we do, God would be to play around with them. And then I’ll just rip open one infuses the power of new life into us. of the bags and eat a scoop. Sometimes I get so excited I bark and ● Just as faith is the means by which we receive justification; howl and I’ll lay on my back and try to get people walking by to continued faith is the means by which we access the power for scratch my belly.” sanctification. ● The nutritionist says, “Well, sir, that… that certainly sounds like a ● Here’s how it works: dietary challenge. How long have you been like this?” And the o When we put faith in Christ as the substitute for our sin, God man said, “Ever since I was a puppy.” reckons our faith as righteousness. ● “Some things,” Pastor Tony says, “require more than behavior o As we rest in the belief that he has done that, God infuses modification. They go back to how you see yourself.” into us the power of new life. o Just as we believe our way into justification, so we believe our This is what Paul is saying: Change begins with how you see yourself.” way into the power of sanctification. 11 Likewise you also, he says, reckon (logizomai) yourselves to be ● You say, “OK, well, I’m doing that, but I don’t feel resurrection dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV) power. I don’t feel dead to sin. Sin and wrong desires feel very ● “Reckon” is a word we’ve seen before. It’s the Greek word, much alive in me.” “logizomai.” o Right. But as you continue faithfully to believe it, God starts ● (Some translations say, “count” or “consider,” but I prefer infusing that faith into infuse his power into you. “reckon.”) It means “to consider one thing as if it were another.” o Abraham, you might remember from chapter 4, was our ● (This is not “reckon” like Southerners use it, “Well, I reckon it’s example… At 90, after a lifetime of infertility, God declared he gonna rain later.”) 2 would have a son—and not just any son, a son that would ● That’s a pattern for how he tempts us. Satan will do whatever he father a great nation. can to take your eyes off the new identity God has given you. o Now, when God said that, Abraham didn’t say, “You know, I o He’ll start bringing up past and present sins. And he’ll have been feeling unusually frisky for the last few weeks… so I whisper: believe you.” ▪ You really think you are a beloved son or daughter of God? o No, Romans says he believed what God said even though he No way. Not yet, at least. DIDN’T feel it, even though he knew his equipment was way o He might even dangle a carrot in front of you: You are almost past the expiration date. As he believed, Romans 4 said, he there, but not yet, and you still need to prove that you are “received strength.” worth loving, prove that you can make it; that you can be ● So we will receive the strength to walk in righteousness as we righteous… It can’t be as easy as just embracing it. So, try a believe that God has made us dead to sin like he said.. little harder; do a little better, and then God will love you. o Listen, this is not some kind of mental trick… where you tell ● And the moment you start believing that, he already has you-- yourself “I’m brave” enough times until you become brave. because he’s taken your eyes off of what he can do and put them o God gives you actual power when you believe that what he on what you can do. says is true. o The power of the Christian life begins by believing what God o Faith, Paul says in Romans 4, is believing God as he “calls has declared, the impossible--you are fully righteous in his things into existence that do not yet exist.” sight; you are dead to sin; and the power of the resurrection is o As you believe them, God gives you the power for them. inside of you. As you believe that, he releases in you the ● Listen: (We always want to feel first, and then we’ll believe. God power of new life. says, “No, sometimes you have to believe first, and only then will o You say, “I don’t have a righteous record and I don’t feel you feel.”) righteous.” That’s not what God bases his declaration on.