BOOK OF ROMANS CONTINUED

Rom 5:20-6:2 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

I. GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND

Mat 9:11-13 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

• Jesus came because man was not righteous
• He showed that ALL need to repent.
• He did not treat religious leaders better than publicans
• Publicans considered lowest since they worked with Rome to collect unfair taxes.
• The man that was a publican was a severely greedy man.
• FORGIVENESS was needed, not religious Law.
• Jesus concentrated on sinners and publicans because there is more grace where there is more sin.

HARLOT:

Luke 7:47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

Where sin abounds grace does much more abound

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

• Grace ABOUNDS more
• Life came by one man's act
• death came by sin

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

1 Tim 1:13-16 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Titus 3:3-7 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

• God's kindness and love came to us not due to our goodness.
• good deeds did not help
• His mercy did it
• Grace will reign through righteousness unto eternal life
• we are heirs

CHAPTER SIX

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

• Is Paul saying that grace works by abounding whenever sin abounds, so we therefore should let sin abound?
• If grace abounds more where there is sin, does grace therefore let us sin more?
• People accused Paul of saying we can sin.
• They say that if we teach you are not to make yourself good or do good deeds in order for you to be righteous, then we are teaching that we can do evil.
• They think if you do not have to do good to become righteous then you can be bad.
• Their mistake is in not realizing that we do not do good TO BE MADE RIGHTEOUS.
• We must do good as Christians, but not to become Christians. You do NOT EARN salvation by good deeds.
• Remember, God is not going to weigh your good deeds beside your bad deeds to see which is more so that you can go to heaven or not.
• The truth is that WE do not do either good nor bad to be saved.
• Others think that Paul was incorrect because they believe nobody can stop sinning.
• They cannot imagine a person actually having victory over sin.
• They are convinced they can never stop sinning.
• Paul shows GRACE takes care of that, too.
• Grace not only SAVES us, but frees us from sinning.

Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

• GRACE made us dead to sin
• But some do not know grace did this.
• Paul introduces a subject MANY believers know nothing about.

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

• Paul begins saying we do not need to sin.
• And why.
• Chapters 1 - 5 showed we are righteous by FAITH alone.
• Chapter 6 begins telling how we also do not have to sin.
• If you think verse 1 is true, then you do not know the truth of verse 3.

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

• If the only victory we will have is sinning and being forgiven, sinning and being forgiven, then we actually think we must sin so that grace may abound.
• We do not realize we are dead to sin.
• If you think you can continue in sin, and are never meant to live any more victorious than being forgiven of sin all the time (one man told me that the only victory we have over sin is when we are forgiven each time we sin) then we "KNOW NOT"
• JESUS experienced DEATH
• Baptism puts you into Him so that you can say you experienced HIS death - you are immersed into His death.
• You are so immersed (baptized) into His death that it has become YOUR death.

Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

• We are buried so that we can rise from the dead and likewise walk in newness of life as He did after the resurrection.
• Paul is saying that our goal is to walk in newness of life.
• Not every believer is walking like that.
• Newness of life is their's, but they are not WALKING in it.
• WALKING IN IT means enjoying it.
• If we sin in order to receive more grace (v. 1) we are not walking in newness of life.
• Newness of life is A NEW LIFE being LIVED.
• LIVE LIKE IT!
• Sinning is OLD LIFE.
• Jesus whole point in dying for us is for us to be made NEW.
• it was so we could become DEAD TO SIN

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

• Do we realize this is our goal???
• Do you think you are supposed to wait for the rapture to occur, and not live victoriously over sin in the meantime?
• What is your concept of Christianity?
• Is there not more victory in Christ than simply a heaven of no failures, before which we will fail and live so low like the rest of the unsaved world?
• We are New CREATURES in Christ.
• WE MUST SEE THIS!
• Many have lost sight of this.
• Many do not know why we must study Romans
• There is more to church than getting saved and getting others saved.
• There is GROWTH in grace and in the knowledge of God.
• He bore our sins on the cross.
• That takes care of our past
• He also BORE US on the cross
• That takes care of the future
• But we never knew much of this second work!
• Most are only aware of the first work.
• After He took your sins away, you did not say, "Lord, please take away my sins" all your life.
• You THANKED Him that He took your sins away.
• SO.... there is no need to pray, "Lord, crucify me."
• HE ALREADY DID IT!

Psa 106:12 Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.

• When you believe this, you will praise GOD!!!! ...not ask Him to do what has already been done.

Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom 6:6-8 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

• It is a historical fact that He died.
• So, if we died with Him, and it is a historical fact that He died, then it is just as much a historical fact that we died.
• Believe you died because the Bible says you did!
• Not because you need to feel it!
• Even if you do not feel you died, you STILL DIED.
• No self-effort crucified you or ever will crucify you.
• We must understand that God removes the SINNER in order to deal with sin.
• He does not make us suppress it.
• The key is not that we must get stronger so that we can stamp it out.
• The key is we must KNOW SOMETHING.
• Paul did not say, "Did you not make yourself resist sin with your will power?"
• No, he said, "KNOW YE NOT?"
• This is not intellectual knowledge.
• It is REVELATION.
• LIGHT
• We need Eph. 1:17-18 to happen to us.

Eph 1:17-18 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

• We need to SEE this!

WHY should we walk in newness of life simply because we were buried in His death? (Why is Ro. 6:4 true?)

Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

• Resurrection is NEWNESS OF LIFE
• You are automatically resurrected from the dead as Jesus was, IF YOU'VE BEEN BURIED WITH HIM and received the Holy Ghost.

Rom 6:6-7 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

• Our goal should be to not serve sin.
• If you goal is LOWER than that, then you are living a lesser life than what the cross gave to you.
• You have been unaware of the FULL VICTORY Jesus gave to us - unaware of the riches of His inheritance in the saints (Eph. 1:17-18).
• All your success in living above sin depends upon your discovery of this FACT.
• YOU ARE DEAD TO SIN.
• One man explained it this way: It is like trying to get sap from the vine.
• that was not the key.
• The key was that JESUS is the Vine, branches, twigs, leaves and all.
• No need to make myself a branch - I already am one, Jesus said!
• Just need to believe it now.
• I am a part of Jesus. Now I must go from there and act upon it. EXPECT power over sin to come.
• If I wait until I FEEL it before I will risk acting upon it, I will never have victory.
• I seen it a long time in the Bible, but NOW I believe it is a reality.
• Once I was blind, but now I see!
• God reckons and considers me crucified, buried and risen
• Now I must reckon and consider it so.
• We've been blind to what we are and have wasted so much time trying to be what we already are!

1 Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

-blameless in spirit, soul and body

Eph 5:26-27 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

• WORD will wash you.
• acts of obedience will not wash you.
• scales must be washed away from your eyes by the WORD.
• Word will do what NOTHING else can do.

"God make me die! Crucify me!"

• prayer of nonsense. Like a tree crying, "Make me a tree!"
• it already is a tree!
• no need to pray for it, need to SEE IT!
• realize it!
• we must recognize what is DONE.
• your victory depends upon recognizing it and KNOWING it
• be CONVINCED of it!

• Faith must lay hold on something.
• How can you use faith unless you have a word to apply it to?
• That something is KNOWING WE ARE DEAD.
• Faith in our DEATHS with Christ. We are like factories of sin.
• if we banned alcohol and rid every store of alcohol, the breweries would fill the shelves again
• must close down the breweries
• did Jesus deal with sin and leave the factories open?
• No. But do we KNOW that?
• Did we GET what He was saying?
• are you ignorant of this, as in verse 3, or do you KNOW it as in verse 6?

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

WHY is verse 8 true?

• HOW will we believe we can LIVE with him in that kind of victory if we are dead with Christ?
• what does death with Christ have to do with LIVING with Him?

Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

• We KNOW we can LIVE like Him since we know that, in Christ's case, His death caused Him to never have to die again.
• and if we shared His death, then we shared His life, too, automatically!
• Why does death have no more power over Him?

Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

• It is apointed unto man ONCE to die.
• No one has to die more than once.
• we pay the price of sin by death
• ONE payment.
• No more price to pay for sin.
• So... your LIFE is now free for God.
• You do not have to dread the payment of death to come.
• No responsibility to deal with sin now!
• You paid the price by having DIED IN CHRIST.
• It freed you from sin's debt which you owed.

Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

• RECKON is an ACCOUNTING TERM
• Let us say that someone puts 1 million dollars in your account.
• According to the bank you are a millionaire.
• But if you are unaware of how much a man put in your account, you will live only according to what you believe you have for money.
• You will not buy a million dollar house if you do not think you have a million dollars.
• Until you are fully aware of all that the man put in your account, you will not enjoy the fact that you have a million dollars.
• RECKON it to your account and REALIZE the wealth you have.
• Spiritually speaking, realize what death to sin means!!!!
• Reckon it to your account!!!!
• Change your CONCEPT now!
• ACT on the total victory you now realize you have!

2 Cor 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Cor 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: