NEW BEGINNINGS

NEW NATURE - Romans 6:1-15

Introduction

Frank Koch tells this story in the magazine of the Naval Institute. He says:

Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported,

"Light bearing on the starboard bow."

"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.

The lookout replied, "Steady Captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.

The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal taht ship: 'We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees."

Back came the signal, "Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees."

The captain said, "Send: I am a captain, change course twenty degrees."

"I'm a seaman second-class," came the reply. "You had better change course twenty degrees."

By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: 'I'm a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.'"

Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."

We changed course.


It's a fact of life that there are some things that hold we stubbornly hold tightly on to.

The fact is, we could spend every waking moment for the rest of our lives battling against our old sin nature. But it will not give way to prayers and fasting, sabbaticals in the desert, mortification of the flesh or careful obedience to the law.
That's the bad news.

Fortunately, there's also good news. The good news is that you can be free from sin by remembering that Jesus' death and resurrection has connected you with God.

That is God's promise which is found in Romans 6:1-14.

But in verse one we read. . . .
Rom 6:1
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?


1. PAUL’S QUESTION OF FREEDOM
Now, throughout his writings, Paul very clearly taught that God's grace is an absolutely free gift - He taught that it is void of any kind of works, that it has no hidden requirements and it contains no silent implications about the need of personal reform before coming into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

And Paul's opponents understood this. Therefore, they pushed free grace to logical absurdity by declaring, "If this is the case, then Christians should sin freely because increasing sin results in more abundant grace, which results in God's greater glory." After all, if God loves to forgive, why not give him more to forgive?

So I guess our question could be:
If forgiveness is guaranteed, do we have the freedom to sin as much as we want?

Paul’s answer is a categorical no way!

To have an attitude like this—deciding ahead of time to take advantage of God—shows that a person does not understand the seriousness of sin.

God’s forgiveness does not make sin less serious; his Son’s death for sin shows us the seriousness of sin. Jesus paid with his life so we could be forgiven. Therefore, the availability of God’s mercy must not become an excuse for careless living and moral laxness.

It saddens me to see Christians still living lives that are not worthy of God. Is it any wonder that many people who are not Christians say, "They are just a bunch of hypocrites".

What Paul makes clear in the following verses of this passage is that we have a new life and new nature in Christ.


2. LIVING BY THE NEW NATURE
Verses 2-11 convey three basic truths.

Paul begins this portion of his argument by telling us, in verses 2-4, . . . .

We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? 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.

a) IDENTIFIED IN CHRIST
In the church of Paul’s day, immersion was the usual form of baptism—that is, new Christians were completely "buried" in water. They understood this form of baptism, just as we do today, to symbolise the death and burial of the old way of life. Coming up out of the water symbolised resurrection to new life with Christ.

If we think of our old, sinful life as dead and buried, then we have a powerful motive to resist sin. We can consciously choose to treat the desires and temptations of the old nature as if they were dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our wonderful new life with Jesus (see Galatians 3:27 and Col. 2:12 and Col. 3:1-4 for more on this concept).

Galatians 3:27
for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Col. 2:12
having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
Through this, we are also…


b) UNITED WITH CHRIST
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

We can enjoy our new life in Christ because we are united with him in his death and resurrection. Our evil desires, our bondage to sin, and our love of sin died with him.

Now that we are united by faith with him in his resurrected life, we have unbroken fellowship with God and freedom from sin’s hold on us.

Ephes. 4:21-24
Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

c) WALKING WITH CHRIST
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-- 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

The power and penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross. Our "old self," our sinful nature, died once and for all, so we are freed from its power.
Now the phrase the "body of sin" in verse 6 isn’t referring to the human body, but it is referring to our rebellious sin-loving nature inherited from Adam.

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 body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

You see, our old nature no longer needs to rule our lives because the new nature, that comes with our identification with Christ brings incredible change, when we let God bring that change by obeying Him.

There was a man who sold wood to his neighbours. He always took advantage of them by cutting his logs a few inches under the required four feet.

One day a report circulated that the woodchopper had been converted.

Nobody believed it, for they all said that he was beyond being reached.

One man, however, slipped quietly out of the grocery store where the conversion was being discussed.

Soon came running back in excitement and shouted: 'It's true! He has been!'

They all asked, 'How do you know?' 'I measured the wood he cut yesterday, and it's a good four feet long!'

That convinced the crowd.


The moral to this story is that the woodcutter's changed behaviour revealed a changed life. That is part of our new nature - our behaviour changes when we are listening to and being sensitive to God’s leading.

This is what God has done for us, by His Holy Spirit and through Jesus Christ’s life in ours. But there is also a responsibility that we have….

Romans 6:8-13
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. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, 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.

3. RESISTING THE OLD NATURE
The message is resist the old nature.

I guess we could liken temptation to a person who is battling against alcoholism. The person may have gone dry for a period of time. In this way they have a ‘new life’ but this does not mean that they should let down their guard to alcohol, because the temptation is always lurking around the corning, just to have a little drink. The problem is that the little drink can easily lead on to a big drink.

Likewise, we have a new life in Christ, but the temptation of the old life is not completely gone, though we have the power, from Christ, to resist it. We can fall back into the dictates of sin when we say things like:

· Oh, just a small lie won’t hurt, or
· I don’t care what I say about him, he deserves every bit of it, or
· Oh, I’m not gossiping, I’m just filling you in a bit about Jane’s bad habits, or
· It’s only a TV show, and it’s not real anyway, so it can’t hurt.

By making the small steps, or taking the little drinks, we then fall into deeper temptations of sin and disobedience to God.

Basically we are saying to the Lord. No, my agenda is more important.

Col. 3:3-15
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Note our responsibilities in this passage in words like:
· Put to death your earthly nature (v.5)
· Rid yourself of these things (v.8)
· Do not lie (v.9)
· Clothe yourselves
· Bear with each other
· Forgive
· Let Christ’s peace rule in your hearts
· Be thankful

All these are elements of our new nature. Note verse 9
"9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."

This verse is saying your old nature and way of living has been taken away and a new nature has been put on. Because of our union and identification with Christ, we are no longer obligated to carry out the old motives, desires, and goals.

What I love with this verse is that it states that not only has a new nature been put on, but it is continually being renewed as you grow in the image of God - in other words, living the life He desires you to live in obedience to Him.

The power of sin has been defeated. Paul has already stated that through faith in Christ we stand acquitted, "not guilty" before God. Therefore, don’t give in to the temptations and corruption of this world. "In Christ" we have been given the power to resist it - that is part of our new nature.

Let’s consider ourselves to be what God has in fact made us. We have a new start, and the Holy Spirit will help us become in our daily experience what Christ has declared us to be.

We have assurance of life.

Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we, as His followers, need never fear death. That assurance frees us to enjoy fellowship with him and to do his will. This should affect all our activities if we are walking with Him in our lives, letting Him be boss. It will effect our—work and worship, play, Bible study, quiet times, and times of caring for others. We experience a new vigour in life, a new purpose, a new goal, a new means of living a fulfilling, productive life.

Col. 3:1-4
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

In Christ, we can live a victorious life.

· Where we were once separated from God we are now regarded as being His temple - His place of residence 1 Cor. 3:16-17
You realise, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? 17No one will get by with vandalising God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.
· Where we were once regarded as His enemies we are now identified as His children Romans 8:16
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

These are just a couple of the incredible promises the Bible gives us about our position with Christ.

· He has saved us from eternal death
· He has taken away our old nature
· He has given us a new nature
· He has placed in our hearts a heart of love and compassion - part of His image
· He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and protect us
· He has given us the power and ability to resist temptation and sin
· He is currently preparing a place for us - if we are His child - in paradise

Who then are we going to let be Lord of our lives?

Will it be resisting the devil and obeying God? or
Will it be being led by the devil and disobeying God?

Romans 6:14 says,
14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace

and

James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 

By Scott Douglas, Burdekin Baptist Church, 4th January 1998