Law & Grace - Romans 6:11-13 Consider
Romans 6:11-13 · Vern Peterman · Aug 26, 2012
Law & Grace, No. 79
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926325304206

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Good morning. Having read the Expand and Explain version we've included on the top part of the first page of your handout the Expanded and Explained version of Romans 6, 1-10 from the prior two times that we've taught on it. I'll leave that as kind of background and reference for you, but we'll be proceeding into this Romans 6, 11-14 that Brad read for us. One of the things I want to do first is just kind of review where we've been.

We saw in Romans 5 that we who believe have been made to stand in grace permanently. God is the one who made us do the standing in grace and it's not temporary. It's not going to fade. We stand in grace permanently is the implication there. One of the things we've been saying as an analogy is, we drink from the Niagara Falls of grace.

And then in addition to that, Romans 5, 20 and 21 said that the law increases sin. And this is something, frankly, poorly understood among many Christians. That the law actually increases sin and stimulates it. The law allows also the categorizing and quantifying of sin. so they can be put to account.

The very last verse there, Romans 5.21, says that grace is the reigning principle. Grace is the principle that governs and reigns in our lives and in our time. One way you could put it, if you're familiar with computers at all, is grace is the operating system. Grace is what we boot up under.

The next thing we saw there is that the sin nature did abound, grace superabounded. Now, I'll put it this way, you can't out-sin grace. Now, it's not an encouragement to sin, but you can't out-sin grace. Grace superabounds when the sin nature abounds. Also, we have in the passage we've been looking at previously, Romans 6, 1-10 We ask the question, I put this as sort of a paraphrase, should we put the sin nature in gear in order to increase grace? And Paul's answer is, no way, not a chance.

So now we come into the truth that was presented and kind of considering, pondering, what does that mean? He says, all of you who are baptized into Christ, you now share Christ's history. This passage we've been looking at focuses particularly on the first three parts of Christ's history, his crucifixion, his burial, and resurrection. But we now share Christ's history. You spiritually share the same spiritual history as he had in his crucifixion, his burial, his resurrection, ascension, and seating. That is your new spiritual history.

Now, these verses that we're going to be looking at here have the first things to do in all of Romans. Paul has been going through laying down truth and laying down, as we saw in chapter 5, an understanding of grace. right here in the first part of chapter 6 he still hasn't given us anything to do he's been giving us who we are in Christ. Now in these verses he begins giving us something to do after five and a half chapters. And the one principle is that as we look at this, as we look at books like Ephesians, where Paul goes over halfway through the book before he gives anybody anything to do, everything that God asks us to do is based on what God has already done, is doing, or will do. God has not given you an independent assignment. Go back and do this and then check back with me when you're done. That's not how God operates. God has laid the foundation for everything he has asked you to do.

God wants us to understand all the key principles of the relationships in our identity so that we act based on these. One of the ways we could put it is we're painting the spiritual landscape as we go through these passages so that we can act within that spiritual landscape. That's what God is doing. At the center of that spiritual landscape is Christ. So, he says in verse 11, and we put it this way, you must consider yourselves.

King James has reckoned, and either way, it's from a Greek accounting term that means consider it, calculate it, add it up, figure on it. It's that idea. It's an accounting term. And one of the things that I think is valuable for us to look at, why is all this emphasis here on you yourselves, because actually the original language says you yourselves consider. I mean, he's double emphatic. The reason why he's doing that is not because he's wanting to all of a sudden get focused on ourselves. He wants us to do that because he's turned a corner.

In Romans 4, for instance, God has been doing the considering, the reckoning, the calculating, all the way through the chapter. Romans 4, verse 3, verse 4, verse 5, verse 6, verse 8. Romans 4, 9 I have here on the screen. Is this blessing then on the circumcised or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, faith was credited. That's the same word. to Abraham, and who did the crediting? God.

And so one of the reasons why this is emphasized here in Romans 6.11, you yourselves, is because all the considering, all the reckoning, all the crediting, all the accounting, spiritually speaking, that's been taking place has been God's doing. Romans chapter 4 continues on in verse 10, 11, 22, 23, and 24 with that same word being used again. So now, when it's for the first time used as something you do, that's why the emphasis on you now do it, God has been doing all the crediting, all the figuring, all the reckoning, all the calculating. Now, so what are we to consider or reckon or figure on or calculate?

We are to consider the truths that were given in those first 10 verses in the chapter and They know it, Paul writes, and we know it, having studied it. We have been crucified and buried and raised with Christ. Those truths in summary. Paul in verse 3 said, or do you not know, and the implication there in that statement is, and of course you do.

So now as we look at this passage, one of the things we notice is I have it here in this expanded translation, you must You must. You must. And there's a few places I could have put it as well. But the point for bringing that up is let's talk about must. Are we getting musty here? All right.

Since this is the very first thing to do in the Book of Romans, it's important to talk about what this must is. What kind of a must is this? It is a must based on the logic of our position in Christ. That's why he says calculate it. That's why he says consider it. Figure on it. It's based on the logic of our position. So Paul lays it out. Look, you have been identified with Christ in his death, in his burial, in his resurrection. Figure out what that means. That's what he's saying. Figure out what that means.

It is a must that is grounded in and motivated, and I could add a few other words, like surrounded with grace. It's not a must, boy, you'd better do this or else. It's a must that is full of grace, lots of grace. Grace is the reigning principle, a grace in which we've been made to stand.

It's the atmosphere we breathe. It's the operating system. It's also a must that is very practical. It's not hypothetical. It's not theoretical. It's very practical. It is God's intended way for us to deal with the sin nature, and it's God's intended way for us to be alive to God. And as a matter of fact, as we'll emphasize, alive to THE God.

Notice how he's been sowing grace into this, Romans 5.2, the grace in which we stand.

Romans 5.21, grace, the reigning principle, and then in verse 14, we're not under law but under grace. This must is also, by the nature of the Greek grammar, is an act of the will of the believer. Whether we're aware of that act or not, it's still what it's called for. But that act of will is a response to the immense grace shown to us by God. It's a response to God's grace, God's amazing grace.

Secondly, it's knowing the truths that have been set before us, as we've seen in Romans chapter 6 so far. It's knowing those truths. It's a response to knowing these truths and understanding them. And thirdly, as we'll see in Romans chapter 8, it's a response to the ministries of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

So this is not something that we just do a bunch of willing. It is something that God has accomplished. It is something that God has revealed. It is all within grace. And it is a response to God's expression of grace. It's a response to the ministries of the Holy Spirit. Now, what are we to consider, calculate, and figure on?

The first thing is we're dead in relationship to that sin nature. The sin nature is no longer the ruling monarch. It does not mean that the sin nature is not around anymore, not present. The sin nature is and will be as long as we're in these bodies. But the sin nature is terminal. The sin nature is terminal. It has been put offline. Let's look at this, we are dead in relationship to the sin nature. You may be familiar with the movie, or the stage play, Fiddler on the Roof. And there is one place, I'm not going crazy here, there is one place that I think has a point really relevant.

Towards the end of the movie, Golda runs up, Tevye, Tevye, and Tevye says, what is it? It's Chava. She left home this morning with Fyedka. What? I've looked everywhere for her. I even went to the priest. He told me they were married. Married? Well, go home, Golda. We have other children at home. You have work to do. I have work to do. Go home. But Havilah! Golda says. And Tevye says, Hava is dead to us. We'll forget her. Go home. Go home, Golda. Now, this was a tragedy.

But it is a recognition of dead to. Does it mean that Havilah did not exist anymore? No, it didn't mean that at all. But dead in relationship to. So at least the people who wrote this understood what this dead to means. But there's a big contrast. Havilah created a tragedy.

But our being dead to the sin nature is no tragedy. No tragedy at all. It is good news. The sin nature has not been eliminated or eradicated in the believer, but Christ is now the believer's rightful new master. So while the sin nature is still associated with this fleshly human body, this body of the believer, until the day the Lord takes us home, there is no basis for the sin nature to call the shots in our lives. There is no basis for the sin nature to order us around. It is no longer the reigning monarch. Now the other part of that, and this is very important, is alive in relationship to the God. And we put the definite article in there in our Expand and Explain version, and we'll talk about that in a minute.

It's more than just a truth to be believed, it's a personal relationship to be enjoyed. It's not simply hypothetical that we're alive to God. But it means, since we are alive to God, that we have ongoing personal relationship with Him forever. Now, let me make a distinguishing point here. We continue in our position to be alive to God. If we are believers, we are always alive to God in our position.

As believers, however, the question in our condition is one of, do we have fellowship? So the distinction between relationship and fellowship. And I'll give this analogy. Randy will always be my son. I will always be his father. That's the relationship that we have. However, it's possible that I might do something that greatly offended him. And he might call me up and say, Dad, don't come over for several weeks. You really offended me. What have I done?

I've broken fellowship, even though the relationship remains. So the distinction between relationship and fellowship. We are alive in relationship to God. The question is, is one of fellowship at any time? Being alive in relationship to God is the spiritual open door to fellowship. and intimacy with Christ and spiritual growth. Now, THE God.

A lot of our translations drop out the definite article from the Greek when they translate it over into English. I prefer to see it back in here because the Apostle Paul was writing to people in Rome. Their pagan culture believed in a whole bunch of gods. Their pagan culture believed in a pantheon of gods. But, while that's what the pagan culture taught, Paul put the emphasis, and he actually did much more often than our English translations bring forward, he put the emphasis on THE God, THE one, not just this pantheon, not just one of these gods, THE God, THE one single God.

It's also, as we look at this, being alive in relationship to God. It's essential for dealing with sin in the life of the believer. It's not enough to just reckon ourselves dead to sin. And stop there. But alive to God, that part of the verse is critical for dealing with sin. A lot of Christians will wrestle with some point of sin chronically in their lives, and they're constantly trying to not sin. They're working on not sinning. I've used the comparison before. If I were to tell you, do not think of a pink hippopotamus. Under no circumstances are you to think of a pink hippopotamus. I do not want you thinking ever about a pink hippopotamus. Now what are you thinking about? That's the problem.

We need to not just simply look at undead to the sin nature, but be and reckon ourselves and consider ourselves alive to God. We need to turn to the Lord and live out that life with Him. Enjoy fellowship with Him. That is going to be the answer, not just trying to keep from sinning. God does not want us to just keep from sinning. He wants us to have fellowship with Him.

The verse ends up with, In Christ Jesus. The only way that any of the truths from verse 1 down to verse 11 make any sense at all is that we are in Christ Jesus. If you take the In Christ Jesus and snip it out from the first part of this chapter, to this point, if you snip it all out, it all falls apart. Why? It's because in Christ Jesus is exactly how God works. It's how God gets things done in the spiritual realm.

So when we're alive to God, we're alive to God in Christ Jesus. Not simply alive to God, but in Christ Jesus. And that doesn't change, it doesn't diminish, It doesn't vary. We are 100% totally all the time in Christ Jesus. And that is the key to being alive to God.

In Christ Jesus is also entirely out of grace. Did you earn your way into Christ Jesus? No. Are you working to get there? Are you increasingly growing? No. You are in Christ Jesus 100%. Now there is growth in that, but you don't vary your being in Christ Jesus. You are entirely in Christ if you're a believer. Grace is the grace that we've been made to stand in and the reigning principle, the operating system. It's the spiritual atmosphere that we breathe.

He says in verse 12, the sin nature must not reign. You see in the unbeliever who is an Adam, the sin nature most certainly reigns. The sin nature is a dictator, a tyrant that dictates every thought and every move of the unbeliever. Calls all the shots. Nothing gets happening in the unbeliever's life without the sin nature being in gear. Hardwired in. mechanically connected. The sin nature is doing and driving everything for the unbeliever. But for we who are in Christ, for we who believe, the sin nature has no right to reign in our bodies. That right has been purchased by Christ. He purchased it on the cross. We are not our own. We have been bought with a price.

That's stated in 1 Corinthians 6.20 and also in chapter 7 as well.

Now, there's this word obey. the sin nature there. Here's again one of those things where I get a little puzzled by some of the translator's choices of words. Our English translations just simply use the word obey, but the Greek has a combination of meanings there, two words that are compounded, that's important for us to look at. It means to listen and to place oneself under. It's stated, listen under. Listen under.

And that contains a critical truth. The critical truth is this. The problem that we have with the sin nature begins by our listening to its siren song. This is important. It begins by listening to the siren song of the sin nature. if we understand, instead of just lumping this word obey and seeing that, but if we understand that it's listening and placing ourselves under two-step process. It's the listening in the first place that's the problem. It's the listening in the first place that's the problem. I think Mike has put it, you know, the best thing to do with the sin nature is to pay it no mind. It's the listening that's the problem. Once we start listening, then we've got a problem. Dead in relationship to is important there. If we don't listen, we won't place ourselves under the sin nature.

Then the next thing in verse 13, we're going to present our bodies as military assets. It's only a question of where. Where are we going to present our bodies as military assets? In verse 13, Paul tells us that we present our bodies as military assets in a spiritual battle. A lot of our translations have this as instruments, but Paul is writing to the church in Rome where they have lots of Roman soldiers and even the Praetorian Guard that Paul himself encountered later. And so this word is actually military assets. you are going to be a military asset, period.

And the question is, on which side? The only presenting that makes any sense is that we present our bodies to God as military assets for Him. What he's saying is that it is possible for a believer who has engaged the sin nature to be military assets in a spiritual battle on the wrong side. As a believer, when the sin nature is engaged, that's what's happening. So the perspective Paul is conveying here is that we're picking sides in spiritual battle. The only side that makes any sense is the Lord's. You are going to be military assets. of one or the other.

Isn't it amazing that a believer can be military assets for the sin nature? And we're going to find out at the last part of this chapter that a believer can be paid wages by the sin nature and those wages are death. Wow! As a believer! So how do you like that? perspective. A believer can be military assets for the sin nature and get paid death wages.

We'll get to that later on in the chapter. Christ died on the cross for several purposes and one of those purposes was to take the sin nature offline of the believer so that the sin nature is no longer in charge. The sin nature is not accumulating you as military assets. The sin nature has no power or right to power in believers unless we grant the sin nature that power by a huge mistake. Jesus Christ has purchased the right to be the master of our hearts. He bought it with his own blood, with his own life. So, in which chair are you going to place your faith? Which one do you like?

You see, the sin nature is old and worn out. The sin nature is broken down. And in fact, it's terminal. It's going to be trashed. It's already been condemned, the Bible says. God condemns the sin nature in the flesh. It's already been condemned. It's like this. This is ready to go to the trash heap. You can pick that one or the other one. It's a question of where you're resting. It's a question of where you're resting. The only thing is, the sin nature, good luck resting. Good luck. And verse 14 tells us that the law is no help. The law, any law-based approach is no help in this. Not the law of Moses, not some small subset that somebody has snipped out, not some customization of it. You know, people will go and, hey, ten commandments. Yeah? How many of them do the Sabbath? No, they won't go and modify that. Oh, and they want to add the tithing to it, too. And then various other rules.

The law, any law, even if it's man-made and invented, is no help with this. The law of Moses is good and righteous and holy. We'll see that in the next chapter. Neither the law of Moses nor any subset of it Nor man-made law can help. No principle of law will help. The law does not help. As we saw back in Romans chapter 5, grace doesn't need any help from the law, but the law does help sin.

And we have this cartoon here. Here's this guy standing next to a sign, absolutely no machete juggling. And he says, suddenly I have an urge to juggle machetes. It's just the way the law is, right? You never had any urge to juggle machetes before, but now all of a sudden with the sign, boy, do you want to juggle machetes.

Okay. No, absolute, pure, total, pedal to the metal, full on, full out, 100% grace is exactly what we need and that's exactly what God gave. Full on, full out grace. Nothing less. Not contaminated grace. Not a little bit of law mixed in. Pure grace, that's all. So, which tier do you like?

Now, we need to talk about what God does not intend. God does not intend that we simply will to do the right thing. I'm going to do the right thing, I'm not going to do the wrong thing. God does not intend that you do that. He does not want you to will to do the right thing and will not to do the wrong thing. That is not how He's designed for us to live. That will not please God. In fact, Romans 7, 15 through 21, and we'll be getting there, and Galatians 5, 17, both say we cannot do that. And yet I would guess probably a great Many Christians try to live life that way. I'm going to try to do the right thing and try not to do the wrong thing.

That's the problem with trying to live by the law, any law. Law will present what is the right and wrong thing to do, leaving us to do or not do the things stated in the law. There's a song that goes like this. Do this and live, the law commands, But gives me neither feet nor hands. A better way His grace doth bring, It bids me fly and gives me wings. And that is the contrast between law and grace. Is the law good and righteous and holy? If God gives it, yes it is. Problem? We can't pull it off. Grace is exactly what we need.

The law offers no help, but it does help this in nature. We never stand in some neutral place simply deciding what to do or what not to do. There is no neutral zone. for the Christian, it will do no good to be depending upon the sin nature and also trying to do the right thing. How's that going to work? It won't.

These verses tell us that the priority issue is where we will place our faith. That's the priority issue for the Christian. You see, it's easy for Christians to get into, this is the list of things to do, this is the list of things not to do. Do the things you're supposed to do and don't do the things you're not supposed to do. It's easy for Christians to fall into that.

That's not what God wants. He wants us to see that the priority issue is where we place our faith. And he's saying the sin nature is not the place. We are dead to the sin nature. Alive to God in Christ Jesus. Faith in the Lord is the only thing that makes spiritual sense. Anything else is spiritual insanity.

Other passages paint a similar picture. We won't go into the detail of them all. But Jesus, with the invitation to his disciples, abide in me. This is a similar kind of message. Abide in me. Walk by the Spirit, twice in Galatians 5. 2 Corinthians 3.18, but we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord. That is alive to God. That is alive to God.

In 1 John 1.3-7, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

Or you have here on the last slide in the handout, Galatians 2.20, expanded and explained. I'll read through that and you can follow with me if you'd like. Since I first believed the gospel, by God's doing, I have been made to be in Christ, so that I was crucified, get this, I was crucified together with Christ, and I died with Him.

And having also been raised with Christ, and since Christ also is made to dwell in me, it is no longer I who do the living. It's not my job to do the living here. That's not my job. I'm done here. It's his job to do the living here. It's no longer I who do the living, but Christ who indwells me does the living in me. Ah, this is big.

And the life which I now live in this body here on earth, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me immensely and who expressed that immense love in that he gave himself up willingly for me, voluntarily dying in my place. It's his job to do the living here. And just to make sure that things came out exactly right, he had us die with Christ. Die with Christ. To be dead to the sin nature and alive to God. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for these rich, marvelous truths.

The frustration of trying to do the right thing and trying not to do the wrong thing, it doesn't need to be with us. Matter of fact, it ought to be left behind. You intended to do the living here. You intended to live your life through us. That's what you did this all for. And so faith in you, trusting in what you've done and who you are and who you will be in us makes a whole lot more sense. Thank you for what you've done, are doing, and will do. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.