[Biblemat] S) DEATH AND LIFE

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
files.  Use to the glory of God.

DEATH AND LIFE

     The apostle Paul faced many critics.  Some disputed his
authority since he was not one of the original twelve apostles.
Other people questioned his sincerity, and still others criticiz-
ed him for his personality and style.

     Among the harshist critics were those who said that Paul's
gospel of grace would encourage people to live sinfully, rely-
ing on grace to keep them saved.  That is, Paul's critics argu-
ed that salvation by grace would lead people to abandon right-
eousness.  Since we are saved by grace, and not by our own
efforts, then what we do doesn't matter.  But Paul will respond by talking of 
life and death.  And, in truth, this whole
issue is a life and death issue.  Listen as Paul talks about our
death and new life in Rom. 6.

We Died To Sin: -- "What shall we say then?  Are we to contin-
ue in sin that grace might increase?  May it never be!  How 
shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (Rom. 6:1,2).  Some
would say that grace leads to an increase in sin.  Paul says
that  is impossible, since we have died to sin.  How can you
go on living in sin if you have died to sin?  In other words, when we become 
Christians we leave the old life behind, it 
dies in our submission to Jesus.

     Paul's analogy is powerful when we understand it.  When
something dies, it no longer has life, or energy or ability to
act.  So, dying to sin, means sin no longer has life in us.  It is
dead to us.

     So, instead of letting sin increase in our lives, it should be
dying out.  It should have no more influence, control or impact.  Sin loses 
its appeal when we die to it.  It looks dead,
decaying and disgusting.  That is why Paul reminds the Rom-
ans and us that we died.  Why would we want to go back and
live in death?

We Were Baptized Into Christ: -- "Or do you not know that all
of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been
baptized into His death?  Therefore we have been buried with
Him through baptism into death" (Rom. 6:3,4).  The second
argument Paul makes takes the Roman Christians back to 
their conversion.  They recalled what happened when they
were baptized.  The experienced a burial into death.

     This tells us several things.  First, everyone in the church
at Rome had been baptized.  The New Testament just doesn't
consider anyone who has not been baptized a believer.  Sec-
ond, it tells us that the method of baptism had more than sym-
bolic meaning.  That is, the believer was buried (immersed) in
water.  There was no sprinkling or pouring or dipping water.
The person had been BURIED in baptism.

     But, Paul's main point is to remind us all that our baptism
was a moment of death, when sin died in us.  Sin died becau-
se we joined Jesus in His death.  That means Jesus took 
away our sins at the cross.  When we join Him in death at baptism, our sins 
are taken away.  So, we cannot go on living
in deth once we have allowed the death of Jesus to free us
from sin.

We Share In His Life: -- "Therefore we have been buried with
Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we
too might walk in newness of life.   For if we have become
united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall
be also in the likeness of His resurrection" (Rom. 6:4,5).  This
is why baptism is so important.  It not only is a burial into the
death of Jesus, but it is a resurrection through Him that gives
us a different kind of life.  It is no longer a life lived with sin at
the center, but a life lived with Christ at the center.

     Again, this leads to some important results.  First, our new
life is unlike our old life.  When we sere living in sin, we tend-
ed to ignore God and live for self.  In the new life in Christ, we
think of God first and others second, and self last.  Again, this leads us 
away from sin, it does not encourage sin.

     Second, this new life points us to an everlasting life with
the Lord.  If we have been in His death (baptism), we will be
in His resurrection.  Paul is reminding all of us who have been
immersed that our death and new life are preparing us for a 
resurrection with the Lord that will allow us to live with Him
forever.  This eternal life will be without sin as well.  And so,
grace doesn't encourage us to sin, since we are living a whole new life with 
a whole new focus and an incredible prom-ise of eternal life.

We Were Crucified With Christ: -- "Knowing this, that our old
self was cricified with Him, that our body of sin might be done
away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he
who has died is freed from sin" (Rom. 6:6,7).  We don't go on
living a sinful life, because the body of sin has been crucified
with Jesus.  Just as He was nailed to the cross and suffered
death, so we too were nailed to His cross and experienced the death of the 
old man.

     So, while we once lived as slaves to sin, doing what it wanted and 
struggling with the consequences of our failures,
now we live in freedom from sin.  We no longer have to sin,
we no longer have to respond to its leading.  Sin is no longer
our master, because we were crucified with Jesus when we 
were baptized.

We Will Live With Christ: -- "Now if we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been 
raised from the dead, is never to die
again; death no longer is master over Him.  For the death that
He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives,
He lives to God" (Rom. 6:8-10).  Jesus died once.  When He
died, He died to sin for everyone.  But, Jesus was raised from
the dead, never to die again.

     This same principle should apply in our lives as Christians
We died once to sin (at baptism), we were raised to walk in a
new life.  Jesus lives for God, having taken our sins and died
in our place.  Just as Jesus lives a new life for God, so should we.

     But, even better, is the assurance that this new life will be
like that of Jesus, that is, it will be eternal life.  One death for
all, so that all of us could enjoy eternal life.  When we died to
sin, we were given a new way of living, a way that was no
longer obligated to sin and its control.  Now we live a new life
and that points us to our eternal life.

We Count Ourselves Dead To Sin: -- "Even so consider your-
sellves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus"
(Rom. 6:11).  This is the most important aspect of Paul's argu-
ment about grace and sin.  We must experience a whole new
attitude toward sin and God.  We must live each day as if we
are dead to sin.  That means we no longer make room in our 
hearts for sinful, selfish, proud feelings.  All that belongs to
our former life.  Instead, we must live each day with God in our hearts, 
resisting temptations and doing what is good.

     The bottom line for Paul is that only grace will allow us to
live for God.  We must die to sin, something we could never
do on our own.  We must experience a new life; again, some-
thing we cannot do on our own or by ourselves.  Without
grace, and depending on our own goodness, we are destined
to fail.  But, in grace, we die to sin.  In grace, we gain a new
life in Christ.  Now, and only now in grace, we can live as if we are dead to 
sin.

     Therefore, Paul's conclusion is that we must consider our-
selves dead to sin.  We cannot look at sin as appealing, but
decaying.  We cannot give in to sin, since we now live for the
Lord.  We must reshape our mind so that we live the new life,
and don't go back to the old.

We Offer Ourselves To God: -- "Therefore do not let sin reign
in your mortal bady that you should obey its lusts, and do not
go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instru-
ments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as
those alove from the dead, and your members as instruments
of righteousness to God.  For sin shall not be master over
your, for you are not under law, but under grace" (Rom. 6:12-
14).  Once in Chrsit, we are under obligation to God, not sin.
So, each day we offer ourselves to the Lord to be used for
His purposes.  We no longer have to cave in to lusts and de-
sires that were part of the old life.  Instead, we are freed from
sin so that we can live under grace.

     This offering yourself to God begins the moment you are
baptized.  Baptism, instead of being something you do, is
something tht is done to you.  Another person immerses you.
And Jesus cleanses you.  God gives you new life.  Too many
think baptism is a work.  It is not.  A work, or good deed, or
kind act is something I do.  All of that won't save me.  But, 
when I offer myself to God, I am baptized by a believer, forgiv-
en by Jesus, and accepted by God.  I did nothing but surrend-
er.  There is no work of merit in baptism.

     But, baptism is vital.  For, it is here that you die.  It is here
that you are given new life.  It is here that you are given assur-
ance of eternal life.  And, it is in baptism tht you are freed from sin and 
empowered to live as God wants you to live.
Why not offer yourself to God?  Why not die to sin?  Why not
be freed from the misery and heartaches that come with sin-
ful living?  "And now why do you delay?  Arise, and be baptiz-
ed, and wash away your sins, calling on His name" (Acts 22:
16).      ------- David Thurman in Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No.
13, Mar. 26, 2008.   </HTML>
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