The Lord's Day Bible Message Outlines
June 13, 2010
Pastor Dana Johnson
"Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound?
"
-Romans
6:1
What shall we say then? Shall we
continue in sin that grace may
abound?
1. Notice in the context how grace is
contrasted with:
a. Primarily, sin and
death.
Romans 5:15, 17 -
But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the
one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God
and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ,
abounded to many. 17For if by the one man's
offense death reigned through the one, much more those
who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus
Christ.
b. Secondarily, the Law, as
God’s good but temporary tutor to reveal God’s
righteousness and man’s unrighteousness.
Romans 5:20 -
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound.
But where sin abounded, grace abounded much
more.
2. Let’s not forget the overall
theme of Romans: salvation. And it is salvation FROM sin.
Sin is the problem. The purpose of grace is to save us from
sin; not to enable us to sin. Grace enables us to live
righteously.
Romans 5:21 - So that
as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through
righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
3. In spite of this clear teaching on
the purpose of grace, Paul’s question reveals that
there were some strange and unbiblical conclusions being
made about grace:
a. Some were objecting to
Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith ALONE,
arguing that it would lead to unrighteous living. (See
3:8)
Romans 3:8 - And
why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"?; as we
are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say.
Their condemnation is just.
b. Some people incorrectly
concluded that freedom from the Law meant they had no
more obligations to the righteousness of the Law. (But
see 8:3-4)
Romans 8:3-4 -
For what the law could not do in that it was weak through
the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in
the flesh, 4that the righteous requirement of
the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit.
c. Some deviously twisted grace
into a human, liberal, tolerant, accepting view of sin.
Jude 4 - For
certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were
marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn
the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord
God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. Consider Paul’s response to
these strange notions about grace. First, his short answer:
Certainly not! Literally, in the Greek: "May it not
become."
5. Next, consider the longer answer
and explanation:
a. At salvation the Holy
Spirit “baptized” us into Christ and into His
death and resurrection.
Romans 6:3-4 - Or
do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (4) Therefore
we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.
b. Thus, we experienced in our own
lives the "likeness" of His death and resurrection.
Romans 6:5 - For
if we have been united together in the likeness of His
death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His
resurrection.
c. As a result, the old man
(pre-salvation life) died and we became a new man.
Romans 6:6 -
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him,
that the body of sin might be done away with, that we
should no longer be slaves of sin.
d. The new man is no longer a
slave of sin.
Romans 6:6 -
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him,
that the body of sin might be done away with, that we
should no longer be slaves of sin.
e. The new man has new
responsibilities:
1) Reckon (understand,
conclude) yourself to be a new man.
Romans 6:11 -
Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed
to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
2) Do not let sin reign in your
body.
Romans 6:11 -
Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed
to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
3) Present yourself to God and
your body as instruments of righteousness.
Romans 6:12-13 - Therefore do not let sin reign in
your mortal body, that you should obey it in its
lusts. 13And do not present your members as
instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present
yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and
your members as instruments of righteousness to
God.
(All
Scripture quoted is from the New King James
Version)
|