Sermons
Freedom From Sin
Romans 6 God has promised that through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, sin's curse no longer has a grip on His children. Knowing this, may it never be that the truth of God's word fails to move us emotionally. For it is only when we fully grasp the magnitude of God's sacrifice that we can truly learn what it means to live outside the bondage of sin. In light of this, Romans 6 shows us how to gain freedom from sin. Just as in the early days of our nation, the practice of slavery came into question and was eventually settled by the outcome of a civil war, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ brought about freedom to sinners who place their faith and trust in Him. However, in much the same way that freed slaves were reluctant to begin living out their newly won freedom after the Civil War, many who have been liberated from sin by the blood-bought freedom provided by Jesus Christ are hesitant to leave the shackles of sin that tend to keep them enslaved. In the verses of Romans 6, Paul teaches us three things we need in order to experience freedom from slavery to sin in our lives. We need to 1) Know (comprehend) that we have actually died to our sins when we are saved. In a practical sense, we must break the habitual cycle of sin by the grace of God; 2) Consider that we really are dead to sin, which includes acting on God's promise that we have already been freed from sin at the moment of justification.Christ not only conquered death, but sin as well; 3) Present (consecrate) our lives to sacrificially serve Christ Jesus. This is the key to liberation in that one cannot present the sinful members of your body to two masters. By doing these things, we can match up our lives with what is true about us and claim the promises we have in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. As Paul cautions however, we are not freed to sin because of this, but rather, we are freed from sin so that we may fully serve Christ as our rightful master. For when we were saved, we exchanged masters - from Satan and sins of the flesh to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who we serve with love. It is through the demonstration of our love that we present and consecrate the members of our body to Him. The Lord Jesus Christ not only frees us from sin but keeps us from sin, so we must flee from sin and run to Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. We should place all of our trust in Him so that we might know the joy of living to sin less!