“What We All Need to Know”
Romans 6:1-14
(Civil War) When a young man first goes into combat: “baptism of fire” he
is so marked by the experience that it changes his life forever. He is
never the same again. That is a classic expression based on what
happens to us when we come to faith in Christ. The theme of Chapter 5 is
assurance and the certainty of salvation 1Therefore, since we have
been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this
grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory
of God. In Romans 5:20 Paul makes the statement: But where sin
increased, grace increased all the more... He asks the question in
vs.6:1 Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Since
God’s grace is abundant and free why not sin all we want? Eternal fire
insurance. Since we are covered by grace doesn’t that encourage
people to sin all the more? His answer and explanation are vital facts we
need to know about our new life in Christ  our union with Christ.
I. Our Baptism He answers the question of 1What shall we say, then?
Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? With an emphatic
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By no means! Strong negative  absolutely not! “It is unthinkable.” We
died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Total misunderstanding
of our union with Christ. Key: 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Don’t you
know what happened when you placed your faith in Christ? We are in
Christ, and because we are in Christ all that belongs to Him will become
ours, even as all that belonged to Adam had become ours. When we
were joined with Him we were baptized into Christ Jesus (“in” Christ)
“baptizo”  verb meaning “to dip in or under”, to “dye”, immerse, sink,
drown, go under, sink into. The idea is to so identify with something that
it becomes part of – one and the same (tee shirt). We were baptized in
Christ. Not “baptismal regeneration” In this context  not referring to
water baptism but the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a
pictorial representation of union with Christ in His death, burial and
resurrection. The thing we need to know is that when we came to Christ...
A. We Died with Christ 2…We died to sin; how can we live in it
any longer? Distinction: “sin”  sin nature; “sins”  acts of sin
which are manifestations of that nature. We died to sin Aorist tense:
something that happened at a precise point in the past once and
for ever. As Christians we have died to sin why should we be slaves
(live in slavery) to it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us
who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We have been identified with Christ in His death on the cross. When
He died – we died. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ
and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the
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body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me. We died out of Adam’s family. Jesus Christ died
physically and spiritually – took on our sins because we died with
Him. We are joined with Him through Spirit baptism  mechanism of
salvation, how we are joined with Christ I Corinthians 12:13 For we
were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or
Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to
drink. Baptism by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:4 For he chose us in
him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in
his sight. We are out from under the rule and reign of sin’s
territory. We are now dead to the rule and reign of sin. Two kinds of
people: those in Adam (sin nature) & those in Christ (Spirit alive).
B. We Were Buried with Christ 4We were therefore buried with
him through baptism…  our sins were buried with Christ. Our
baptism joins us in our death and burial with Christ. When He was
buried – we were buried. Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from
the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Our
individual sins were buried with Christ. That’s not all:
C. We Were Raised with Christ 4We 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. 5If we have been united with him like this in his
death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
Because we are united with Him; everything that happened to Him
happens to us. The same was true when we were united with Adam.
Because of our union with Christ were are joined with Him in His
resurrection II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he
is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! We are not
what we were! (Butterfly) This new identity with Christ brings...
II. Our Freedom from Sin vs.6-10 we were born with an “unfortunate
inheritance” (Chapter 5), captive to our sin nature we got from Adam.
When we were baptized in Christ 2We died to sin; how can we live in it
any longer? What does it mean to be dead to sin? To begin with:
A. Sin Nature Destroyed 6For we know that our old self was
crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,
the sin nature that we were born with; our “old man” – old self,
died (done away with, rendered inoperative) when we were joined
with Christ. Spiritual circumcision: Colossians 2:11-14 In him you
were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not
with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the
circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in
baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of
God, who raised him from the dead. 13When you were dead in your
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sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made
you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled
the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that
stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Since
we were crucified with Christ  our sins were nailed to the cross
with Him. As a result our:
B. Slavery to Sin Ended 6…that we should no longer be slaves
to sin—7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
We are no longer slaves to sin and we have been freed from slavery
to living in sin. Dead people are free from the temptation of sin
(body in morgue). But we still feel tempted. You can still be a slave
experientially, even when you are not longer a slave legally. You can
be a slave in your feelings when actually in respect to your
position you have been set free completely.
C. Our New Life 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we
will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised
from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery
over him. Since we died with Christ and were resurrected  we
live with Him. Jesus Christ’s resurrection proved His power over sin
and death I Corinthians 15:55-57 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the
power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Because our sin nature is
done away with and we have been freed from slavery to sin  sin and
death have no power over us. We don’t have to fear death... we’ve
already died and been reborn. We not only will live with Him in
eternity... we live with Him now: 10The death he died, he died to sin
once for all… “once and once only” the life he lives, he lives to God.
That is our new identity: II Corinthians 5:14&15 For Christ’s love
compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and
therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should
no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and
was raised again. We are joined with Christ now. Our eternal life
started when we were “born again”  “baptized in the Holy Spirit.”
(Two fields; Satan shouting) Because of the old habit, the old
influence, like the slaves that had been set free, we tend to forget it,
and when he speaks we listen to him and fall under his spell… but
we don’t have to! Instead we can begin…
III. Acting on What We Know 11In the same way, count yourselves
dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Jesus has died to sin 
now lives to God. In Christ...
A. We are Dead to Sin 11…count yourselves (reckon: “act on
what you know to be true”) dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
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Jesus. Act on the truth of what you know 6For we know that our
old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be
done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin... This
is true about me! I am dead to the power of sin. The choice now is...
B. Don’t Give Sin Power 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. “Let not sin continue
to reign as it once did”  self indulgence is inconsistent with the new
nature. We now have a choice. 13Do not offer the parts of your
body to sin, as instruments of wickedness… Stop presenting your
members  “do not have the habit of doing so” as instruments of
wickedness... “tools” or “weapons”  mind, hands, feet, eyes.
C. Yield to God 13…but rather offer yourselves to God, as those
who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of
your body to him as instruments of righteousness. “Yield
yourselves” - do it now and completely. A continuous choice to yield
to the power of God over sin in our lives now. Remember, because of
your new nature you don’t have to be a slave to sin. 14For sin shall
not be your master “shall not lord it over you.” We are out of the
kingdom, the realm, the rule and reign of sin. Not “God help me
not do this”  we don’t need God’s “help” we need to yield to God’s
power alive within us: “Thank you that I have been freed from sin’s
power and I now choose to yield to you.”
These are the facts that we need to know about who we are now in
Christ Jesus. “Much more” than a “sinner saved by grace” but a new
creation to walk in newness of life in His resurrection power.
Whatever you may feel, whatever your experience may be, God tells
us here that if we are in Christ we are not longer in Adam, we are no
longer under the reign and rule of sin. We are in Christ, and we are
under the reign and rule of grace. We are dead to the rule of sin now if I fall into sin now it’s because I forget who I really am. Realize it 
choose to walk in that reality.