Intro … “Power Up!” … That’s the title of our current preaching series and
that’s what we are encouraging ourselves to do. Specifically we are encouraging ourselves to “power ourselves up” this Spring by plugging ourselves into some incredible insights for Christian Living garnered from some of God’s ancient saints.

Our theme verse for the series is Hebrews 11:1 …

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what
we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”

And those commendations were based upon the particular “actions of faith” that each of those ancient saints took and it’s those ‘actions of faith’ from which we draw these “insights for living powered-up lives”.

Speaker: Mark Mikels :: Passage: Hebrews 11:31; Joshua 2:1-24; 6:22-25; Matthew 1:5

Intro … This morning we continue in our little “POWER UP” series – a short series of message encouraging us to plug ourselves into some powerful insights discovered by some ancient saints.

Our theme verse for the series is Hebrews 11:1 …

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what
we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”

And those commendations were based upon the particular “actions of faith” that each of those ancient saints took and it’s those ‘actions of faith’ from which we draw these “insights for living powered-up lives”.

Speaker: Mark Mikels :: Passage: Hebrews 11:24-26; Exodus 2:11-15

Intro … This morning we continue in our little “POWER UP” series – a short
series of message encouraging us to plug ourselves into some powerful insights discovered by some ancient saints.

Our theme verse for the series is Hebrews 11:1 …

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what
we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”

And those commendations were based upon the particular “actions of faith” that each of those ancient saints took and it’s those ‘actions of faith’ from which we draw these “insights for living powered-up lives”.

Speaker: Mark Mikels :: Passage: Hebrews 11:8, 17; Genesis 12:1-5

Intro … This morning we continue in our brand new series of messages entitled “POWER UP” … plugging into some powerful insights for living provided by some ancient saints. This little series will take us right up to and through Easter.

Each week we will focus our attention upon one of those ‘ancient saints’ and the insight for living that can be drawn from his/her life. Initially we will work from the Heroes of Faith recorded in Hebrews 11.

Speaker: Mark Mikels :: Passage: Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 6:9-22

Intro … “Power Up” – that’s the title of this little series of messages that will take us right up to and through Easter. Look at the image on the screen (the plugged-in electrical cord) … that’s what I want each of us imagining ourselves
to be doing as we begin this new Church Year together. ‘Powering Up for Christ’ by plugging ourselves into some powerful insights for living provided by some ancient saints.

Speaker: Mark Mikels :: Passage: Hebrews 11:1-4; Genesis 4:1-7

Pastor Mark Mikels – February 28, 2010
“DUELING DYNAMICS”
(The Law and The Spirit)
(Romans 7:1-6)

Intro … Today in our journey through the Book of Romans we come to Romans chapter seven – a most challenging chapter; it’s a chapter that many find bewildering or even cause for consternation. They might say,

“I wish Paul had never written it” –
“It strikes too close to home”.

Others, however, find Romans Seven to provide a convenient excuse for them living a less-than stellar Christian life – for them, Romans Seven provides great comfort whenever they mess up as in …

“What did you expect? …
“None of us ever fully escapes sin’s clutches –
even Paul didn’t – just read Romans chapter seven!””

We will approach Romans Seven in neither of those two ways and when we are done, I want us to hold neither of those two attitudes.

I want us to emerge from this study clearly understanding just how absolutely vital Romans Seven is in our journey through this incredible revelation. – I want us to emerge with a deeper understanding of the way things work as we live out our lives in this fallen, sin-filled world.

Romans Seven tackles the incredibly important relationship between the Law and the Spirit … between “living in response to a written code” and “living in response to an indwelling Spirit” and how sin responds to and is affected by both.

Sound like a big enough task?

Today we begin with a look at the first six foundational verses upon which the rest of the chapter is built …

“Do you not know, brothers-for I am speaking to men who know the law-that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?

For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress.
But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that
we might bear fruit to God.

For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (NIV)

Three Key Realities contained in the first part of this brief passage …

Reality #1 … Laws Only Apply To The Living (vs. 1-3)
(Death eliminates the law’s authority and control)
* Example: The “marriage law”; the widow is free to re-marry
though she may chose not to.

Reality #2 … Believers have died with respect to the Law (vs. 4a)
“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ…”

(Romans 6:11 … “Reckon yourselves dead to sin” and to the
entire framework of things that has grown up around sin.)

There’s a vast difference between things that are theologically true and things that are experientially true – and the deeper we get into this chapter the more that will become apparent.

Reality #3 … Believer’s have permission to bond with Christ (vs. 4b)
“that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead …”

(Romans 6:11 … “Reckon yourselves alive to God through Jesus Christ” and
to the entire network of things that such life provides)
In summary, our death to sin (our rebirth in Christ) has granted us the opportunity to either live under law or live under grace. The unsaved have
no such choice – they are not freed from the law and they have no way of escaping its authority this side of the grave.

So having a choice, let’s consider which is the better of the two
ways to live …

First of all, Consider with me The BENEFITS of Living Under Law …
That is, living LEGALISTICALLY.

* Everything is written down in BLACK and WHITE …
“Thou Shalt” and “Thou Shalt Not”

* Everything has already been THOUGHT out and SPELLED Out

*Very little need to MANEUVER – to adjust or adapt or even think!

* The Only RESPONSIBILITY I shoulder is that of COMPLIANCE.
(Just do what the law says and you’ll be fine.)

Some people think that “living under law” is just great – especially if they are the ones “making the laws”. There’s structure and orderly process. If everyone would just “follow the rules” everything would be fine.

In the religious world of Paul’s day, the Pharisees were such people.
In our day today they go by many different names.

But there’s a fundamental flaw in the “rule-run society” …

A LAW-BASED SOCIETY’S FUNDAMENTAL FLAW …

A Law-Based Society Gives Rise To REBELLION
for it directly challenges man’s fallen sinful nature. (vs. 5)

For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,
the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies,
so that we bore fruit for death.
For every law that says “Thou shalt not” there is a corresponding attitude in man’s sin nature that says …

“I will if I want to” – if I think that doing so
is in my own best interest.”

Now that attitude can stir man toward the most rebellious of actions -actions that might only be curtailed by force.

Frequently man’s rebellious spirit expresses itself more subtly as mere resistance.

For every law that prescribes a certain set of procedures to be followed in a given situation, there is a tendency in man’s sinful nature to question and challenge and find inconsistency and inadequacy.

Citizens do it; students do it; children do it; employees do it; in fact, all members of Adam’s Fallen Race do it – they resist and they rebel as a result of living under Law. It’s hard-wired right into them.

If they could, they would live absolutely “Above the Law” … they would be a
“Law to themselves” … they would obey the laws they agree with and they
would ignore the ones that they don’t agree with.

The truth is, they have no other way to live … they are rebellious human beings living in a Law-Based Society.

There’s a definite discernable Dynamic here …

The Law stimulates man’s inner spirit of rebellion which leads to
specific rebellious actions which the Law-Givers must address.

Ironically, the Law sometimes actually stirs man toward actions that he wouldn’t have even thought of if the Law hadn’t identified them and prohibited them.

The parent says “Don’t” and the child thinks …

“I don’t even know what it is but now I’ve got to try it.”
We’ll see Paul speaking to that scenario next week …

Generally speaking here’s how it plays out …

“The More Law – The More Sin and the More Sin –
the More Punishment and then generally comes More Law.”

It’s a discouraging dynamic but in a fallen world populated by fallen people,
it’s the best that we can hope for. It’s certainly better than just giving up and allowing everyone to live lawlessly, though there are some who have tried that.

Now here’s the point today … Christians don’t have to live that way; in fact, Christians are not supposed to live that way.

Christians do not have to live within the “Discouraging Dynamic” of a
Law-Based System …

Consider Today’s Incredible Reality

TODAY’S INCREDIBLE REALITY …

Christians have an opportunity to live “BEYOND LAW” …
not ABOVE the LAW but so in tune with THE LAW that they live
free of all feelings of resistance and rebellion and thus avoid
all the negative consequences of violating the LAW.

Now living that way is exactly the way Jesus lived.
He came as he said …

“Not to destroy the law but to fulfill the law.”
(Matthew 5:17)

And he made it through his entire earthly life without once violating the Law though he never seemed to be all that caught up in obeying it.

This now is what Paul is getting at in this passage when he says (vs. 6)

“… we have been released from the law so that we serve in
the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”
So here it is … Paul says that there is a whole “new way” to live and to serve God …

It’s what he calls “The way of the Spirit” and he contrasts it to the “old way of the written code” – the system of rules and regulations that have been printed and posted and are to be committed to memory and carefully followed.

Now a good part of the rest of the book of Romans is given to identifying and clarifying what that “Way of the Spirit” is and we will be discovering more
and more about it as we proceed but today we make a start …

And we start with Two Key Clarifications that distinguish these “’Dueling Dynamics” from one another

Two Key Clarifications…

* Whereas the Written Code (Laws written on the Wall)
Stimulates RESISTANCE, the Internalized Code (Laws
written on the heart) stimulates OBEDIENCE.

Here’s the confession of one who has chosen this path …

”Rather than a focus on satisfying myself,
obeying the Lord is the very thing that I have on my heart to do –
I obey him because my heart is of that sort.”

This is the type of Heart that Jesus Himself had as he came to earth.

Hebrews 10:5-7 ..

“Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared
for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased …
(that is, not completely satisfied)

Then I said, `Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll-
I have come to do your will, O God.’”

Now that’s the attitude of the Spirit that has been placed within us and the orientation of the re-born spirit which has been granted to us …

“I have come (I exist for no other purpose than)
to do Your Will, O God”

Thoughts of resistance or rebellion are completely foreign – struggle with obedience is not an issue.

This is in keeping with the desire that God expressed long centuries before Paul ever picked up a pen …

I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.
(Jeremiah 31:33)

God knew the desirability of the “New Way” before he ever initiated the “Old Way” and through Christ we have an opportunity to live it.

Here now is our second Key Clarification …

* Whereas the Written Code (laws written on the wall) stimulates questions
like “How LITTLE can I get by with?” and “How MUCH can I get away with?”,
the Internalized Code (law written on the heart) stimulates questions
like “How can I do this even BETTER?” or “’What is the FULLEST
possible expression of this obedient action?”

It’s an interesting and revealing exercise to run those questions through your mind and sample those words on your tongue and see which set of them is the more familiar and “tastes better” …

It’s that “New Way Dynamic” that caused Paul to write these kinds of exhortations to the church …

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from
the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
(Colossians 3:23-24)

Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you,
but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
(Ephesians 6:6)

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,
do it all for the glory of God.
(1 Corinthians 10:31)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy –
think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard
from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.
And the God of peace will be with you.
(Philippians 4:8-9)

Doing things in the “new way of the Spirit” actually means doing them just
as if Christ Himself were doing them for (though His Spirit within us)
He actually is!

So here’s the Final Thot of this first message from Romans
Chapter Seven …

Final Thot …

Christians can CHOOSE to Live in the Old Way of the Law or
in the New Way of the Spirit – Which CHOICE are you making?

“HOW TO LIVE A GRACE-FILLED LIFE”
(Romans 6:11-23)

Intro … This morning we complete the message that we began three weeks ago … That message was titled:
“How To Live A Sin-Free Life.”

In that message we discussed both the problems and the blessings of living
“sin-free” – that is, living without any conscious, willful, overt sinful behaviors
in our lives. We concluded that that would be a very desirable way to live!

Also in that message, we discovered (with the Apostle Paul’s help) that the way to live such a “sin-free” life is to “Live every day as though we were already dead” … that is, dead to sin and to all its attractiveness.

That, in fact, is the very directive God gives us in Romans 6:11 when He says …

“Consider yourselves (count yourselves,
reckon yourselves) to be dead to sin …”

Now we pointed out in the conclusion to that message that the verbal key that can unlock the door to that wonderful sin-free spiritual reality is the simple phrase … “Thank God I’m dead to that”.

We can and should use that phrase whenever we are tempted by some sinful suggestion or impulse. That simple phrase can keep the old nature from rousing itself.

Without a doubt, living a sin-free life (a life free of conscious, willful, overt sinful behavior) is an incredibly wonderful thing – it’s something that God highly desires for us to experience.

But it’s not the ultimate thing – it’s not even the main thing. That “main thing”
is what we are going to talk about this morning.

Here’s how Today’s Key Concept expresses it …

Today’s Key Concept …
God doesn’t just want us to live SIN-FREE lives;
He wants us to live GRACE-FILLED lives!
(Lives stimulated by the Stirrings of Grace)

Key Clarification … Whereas the designation “Sin-Free” communicates the absence of something negative; the designation “Grace-Filled” communicates the presence of something positive.

In our passage of the morning, I find …
Three Great Positives Present In Such A Grace-Filled Life:

1. Wholehearted OBEDIENCE (vs. 17)

“Thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin,
you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching
to which you were entrusted.”

Wholehearted obedience is a wondrous thing … it’s wondrous in the eyes of the one being obeyed and it’s wondrous in the experience of the one doing the obeying. It communicates a unity of thought and will between the two; it communicates a soul-satisfying kind of harmony; it rises above mere self-interest; it unlocks passion and produces satisfaction.

Our model for such wholehearted obedience is of course Christ himself:

“I have come to do your will, O God”
(Hebrews 10:7)

Doing the Father’s Will was Christ’s highest motivation and his greatest source of joy and satisfaction … He obeyed wholeheartedly even when such obedience brought hardship and pain. Doing the Father’s Will and the knowledge that he
was in fact doing it he found nourishing.

Here’s how he expressed it in John chapter 4 … (v. 34)

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

Can you imagine yourself saying …

“Obeying God is as satisfying to me as eating my favorite meal”?

Jesus could and did … Apparently the believers in Rome had tasted of that meal as well, for Paul commends them for having …

“wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which they were entrusted.”

What a thrill it must have been for the Apostle Paul to write those words – to be able to commend them in that way – for in the opening verses of this great letter, he had pointed out that the ultimate goal of his apostleship was to call people from all the nations …

“to the obedience that comes from faith”
Romans 1:5

This call to obedience the Roman believers had heeded and they had heeded it wholeheartedly … not reluctantly, not out of feelings of necessity but eagerly, exuberantly, perhaps even ecstatically – realizing that they had been granted the privilege of ordering their lives according to the Will and the Ways of the
Living God Himself!

That kind of obedience is inevitably discovered in a Grace-Filled Life.

Now here’s a second great Positive discovered in such a life …

I’m calling it this morning simply …

2. Slavery To RIGHTEOUSNESS (vs. 18)

“You have been set free from sin and have become
slaves to righteousness.”

In a truly Grace-Filled Life, Godliness (Righteousness/doing the right thing) becomes habitual, that is, “Righteousness becomes our default position”. The more we “wholeheartedly obey God’s Word”, the more doing things God’s Way begins to seem like the only way to live.

We develop in our lives what my old Seminary Professor used to call “Grooves of Grace”. By the way, it’s our “wholeheartedness” for the things of God that keeps these “Grooves of Grace” from becoming simply “Ruts of Routine” so there’s a sense of progression here.

But you tell me … isn’t it freeing to do almost automatically the very things that you (in your best moments) have decided should be done?

When righteousness really becomes our master much of the pressure of life is removed … the old sin nature doesn’t have much of a chance to reassert itself and the world and its values are clearly seen as cheap imitations of the real thing and the Devil’s challenging voice is nearly silenced.

And as a result … we discover more and more within us this third and final
reality … the third and final “positive” that is always present in one who is “grace-filled”.

I’m calling this one this morning …

3. The Experience of ETERNAL LIFE (vs. 22-23)

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have
become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness,
and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul identifies the entire progression in these two verses …

First … we have been “set free from sin” … that’s of course the result of Christ’s death on the Cross but it is also the outcome of “reckoning ourselves to be dead to sin”.

Second … We have become “slaves to God” – we have placed ourselves under His Lordship and have surrendered our own will to His and thus the type of life that pleases Him is becoming more and more habitual and seeming more and more normal and natural to us all the time.

Third … And as that sense of “Divine Slavery” settles us into a pattern of obedient behavior that is seeming more and more natural, we actually arrive
at a lifestyle that can be considered “holy” … at least one that is more godly
than it is ungodly.

Fourth then … the end result is the experience of what Paul calls “Eternal life” – the kind of life that characterizes God and all who share His Spiritual DNA.

Jesus gave a wonderful definition or description of this life in his great prayer recorded in John chapter 17 … Here’s what he said:

“Now this is eternal life that they may know Thee,
the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
(John 17:3)

Eternal life – the life that God the Father sent His own son into the world to provide – is life immersed in the knowledge of God … it’s the end result of all the efforts that God has made on our behalf – it’s the end result of all the efforts that we have made to bring ourselves into compliance with His Ways.

Now here’s the point that we don’t want to miss …

The experience of eternal life (intimate fellowship with God) begins in this life; it’s the experience of being so absolutely enslaved to righteousness that righteousness completely controls our every action and it’s the experience of obeying God so wholeheartedly that nothing else could even attract us – that’s the Grace-Filled Life!

That’s the life God has planned for every believer … it’s the finest form of living that human beings can ever experience …

It was demonstrated perfectly by Jesus and experienced by countless others in varying degrees over the years.

Surely it’s the form of life that we would all desire …

And so we come to Today’s Key Question …

Today’s Key Question …
So how does the Grace-Filled Life become a REALITY for me?

Answer: CONSIDER it to ALREADY be yours.

“Count (Reckon/Consider) yourselves DEAD to sin
but ALIVE to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:11)

In the same way that we must first of all “Consider ourselves to be dead to sin” so we must also “Consider ourselves to be alive to God” and to the things that God commands and approves.

Now if the result of the “first” consideration is that we can respond “Thank God I’m dead to that” whenever we are confronted with some sinful opportunity, then the result of the “second” consideration is that we can respond “Thank God I’m alive to that” when presented with an opportunity to function in some godly way.

And so … with every opportunity to obey God’s Word, with every awareness of some righteous action that might be taken, with every insight into the mind and heart of God himself … our joyful response becomes …

“Praise God … I’m alive to that – I’ll do it …
for that’s the very kind of thing I’m living for!”

That’s the very essence of “Grace-Filled Living”.

Three weeks ago I suggested that a great way to start the day is with a “funeral service for our old nature” – we “died to sin” – let’s commemorate it … Let’s “reckon ourselves to be dead to sin”.

Today I would suggest that we follow up that “funeral service” with a “birthday party for our new life in Christ” – we are alive in Christ –let’s celebrate it. Let’s “reckon ourselves to be alive to God”.

Final Thot …
He who “reckons” BEST – lives MOST.

Intro … Have you checked out the title of today’s message?
It’s “How To Live A Sin-Free Life” …

Today’s message is actually the first of two messages arising from Romans Chapter Six (one of the greatest chapters in all the Scripture). Romans Six is one of those chapters that we could profitably read every single day.

Romans Chapter Six contains revelations from God that open the door to
the fullness of the Christian Life – revelations that point the way to a life of abundance and blessing, a life of fellowship and satisfaction, a life focused on spiritually profitable actions and attitudes – a life that senses God’s Smile of Pleasure upon it … or as we put it this morning – A Sin-Free Life – not a perfect life – but a life that has been “purged of all overt sinful behaviors”.

Now before we get into this message – before we begin to delve into this incredible passage – I would draw your attention to Today’s Introductory Question … a question that might seem on the surface to be completely unnecessary and maybe even a bit offensive – but I draw your attention
to it nonetheless.

It’s formatted diagnostically – It’s in the first person – It’s focused upon each one of us individually. And here it is …

TODAY’S INTRODUCTORY QUESTION …

“Do I WANT to live a SIN-FREE Life?”
(A life that has been purged of all overt sinful behaviors)

Do I want/is it my desire/would I be delighted … to be “living sin-free”, that is, living a life that has been purged of all overt sinful behaviors.

Now some of you might be thinking – “Who wouldn’t?” … “Why even ask such a question?” … “Can’t we just assume that the answer is yes?”

Well … not really and the reason that a “yes” answer to this question is not simply automatic, even for a professing Christian, is because …

GOING SIN-FREE COULD BE PROBLEMATIC (because, you see …)

* Some Sins Are Completely ENJOYABLE

This past week at one of the Cell Groups I lead we raised the question (growing out of last Sunday’s message) “Why do some people continue to live ‘messed up lives’ when there’s a way for them to get “fixed up?”

One of our ladies leaned toward me and said …
”Pastor, I think some people just really enjoy sin.”

Going “Sin-Free” would remove those things from your life if in fact you are harboring any.

Now I’m not going to share a list of such sins, lest someone feel like they ought
to give them all a try! Besides you know what they are: They are the things that make you feel both good and guilty at the same time.

* Some Sins Seem Absolutely UNAVOIDABLE

These are the less than stellar behaviors that we excuse by saying,
“That’s just the way I am” or “That’s just the way things are”.

“I’d prefer to not act like that but I have no choice – if I don’t do what everyone else
is doing, I’ll be looked down upon and maybe even over-looked for advancement. I just happen to work in a rough environment, I just happen to have a quick temper, I just naturally seem to “rub people the wrong way” … these things are pretty much unavoidable. Going Sin-Free for me would necessitate a pretty complete overhaul.”

Now here’s one more problem with going “Sin-Free” …

* Some Sins Are Actually Quite BENEFICIAL

To some degree this is actually the “reverse angle” view of the previous one … You see, there are certain “sinful behaviors” that can help advance me in my job or business or personal relationships.

“Strategic Truth Arranging” can be very beneficial – Deliberately misleading people can be most useful; Participating in activities that are sinful can cause others to accept me as “one of the gang” – as one who can be “brought into
the loop” safely.

Going “Sin-Free” might actually cause me to “lose my edge” or worse yet move
me “to the edge” of the group I associate with.

So it’s not such an irrelevant question after all, is it? Going Sin-Free
can be quite problematic … It can drastically change one’s life!

However … and here’s the point Paul’s making in this incredible chapter

STAYING SIN-FULL BRINGS ITS OWN SET OF PROBLEMS (for you see)

* Sin Tends To ENSNARE And ENSLAVE (vs. 16)

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey
him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey?

Sin is a relentless master … It is never content with the amount of us
it possesses or with the frequency at which it is expressed.

Sin wants all of us and it wants unlimited opportunity to express itself. That’s why so many of those “enjoyable sins” turn into addictions – sin is never satisfied.

I’m reminded of an answer my dad once gave to a co-worker …

(It was a hot day – they were laboring men taking their lunch break – his co-worker offered him a beer and said, “Give it a try, Bob, you might discover
you like it,” to which my dad replied, “That just the point, I might.”

He stopped short of saying “And then I might turn into a boozer just like the rest of you guys” but he thought it. Sin tends to ensnare and then enslave … Playing with sin is always akin to playing with fire.

Well, that could be reason enough to seek to live as “sin-free” a life as possible but here’s another problem of living a “Sin-Full” life …

* Sin Brings Your SALVATION Into QUESTION (vs. 2)

“We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

Salvation involves (what Jesus called) a “new birth” (John 3:3) and
(as Paul put it) the process of becoming a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).

It challenges logical thought for a person to experience something as drastic
as a “new birth” into a “new life” or to be completely transformed into a “new creation” and yet persist in willful, overt sin-full living.

Paul’s somewhat exasperated question stems from the illogic and inconsistency of just such a situation …
“We died to sin – how can we live in it any longer?”

The expected and implied answer is (of course) … “We can’t.” We can’t embrace such a lifestyle of sin and true born-again people don’t … but any sin that we tolerate (let alone harbor) in our lives can bring our salvation into question …

“Am I really saved since I relish and delight in this sin-full behavior?”

And that question undermines the assurance of our salvation that our Heavenly Father wants all of His Children to experience and the loss of that assurance can create all kinds of unsettledness in our hearts.

Now here’s another problem that sin-full living would bring you …

* Sin Leads You To A Place of SHAME And To The DEATH
Of Many Things That Might Have BEEN (vs. 21)

“What benefit did you reap at that time from the things
you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!”

Here’s actually the worst of the problems that sin brings in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ …

Sin re-enforces SHAME in our lives … that painful feeling that we have loss respect in the eyes of others – that we have brought discredit to the name of Christ and perhaps to His Church. We are properly “Ashamed of Ourselves”
and it feels horrible.

There have been prominent ministers of the Gospel who have “resigned from their ministry in shame” because of some sinful action or pattern of living.

Sin brings DEATH to many things that might have been … now that doesn’t mean that God’s Grace can’t enter in and help us overcome but it does mean that Sin can forever alter the way our lives play out.

Young people who fall into sexual sin can have (will have) their lives forever changed; a married man who cheats on his wife or who becomes ensnared in gambling or addicted to on-line pornography will find his life forever changed
and things will die – things that might have been will never be.

Sin is a robber – Sin works in the employ of the greatest thief of all time –
The Great Destroyer – Lucifer Himself.

It’s an ugly scene that sin leaves in its wake … Being forgiven is wonderful … living “sin-free” is even better.

“Living Sin-Free” – living a life that has been purged of all overt, sinful behaviors is the only way to truly live – such a person avoids the slavery of thought and action that sin would create; such a person does not lose the wondrous assurance of salvation that is so vital to one’s spiritual equilibrium, and such a person avoids ever coming to that place of public or private shame and such a person avoids as well the death of possibilities that sin would bring.

Can there be any doubt … “Sin-Free Living” is the only way to live – it’s in fact the very way that God wants His Children to live … someday in heaven it will be the only way that there is to live but here in this world it’s a choice to so live – it’s by no means automatic though it (by now) should be seen as highly desirable.

By this point I trust that the answer to our introductory question (Do I want to live a sin-free life) has become (if it wasn’t before) a Resounding “YES” …

“Yes, I do want to live a Sin-Free Life!”

And so we transition to …

TODAY’S ULTIMATE QUESTION …
“HOW (then) can such a sin-free life be EXPERIENCED?”

Now that’s the question isn’t it? How can it be done? How can I actually live a life that has been purged from at least all overt, sinful behaviors … a life that is not ensnared or enslaved to any such behavior, a life that is not forfeiting its future, a life that is not causing me endless shame and regret.

Well, before we give Paul’s answer let me just mention a few ways that it can’t be done …

You Can’t BEAT yourself into it … that is, punish yourself so badly every time that you sin that you say to yourself, “I will never to that again”. Once you get ensnared you are ensnared and no amount of punishment will deter you.

You can’t LEGISLATE yourself into it … You can’t simply define all the things that you should not do and put them on the list and just resolve not to do them. Most human beings do not possess the necessary will power to refrain from everything and besides no list is ever complete. Sinful options are always appearing that aren’t on the list and before the “list” can be revised, you are enticed and ensnared.

And you can’t just REASON yourself into it … that is, convince yourself that the way that God says to live is actually the best way to live and so therefore it only makes sense to live that way.

Such an approach assumes that we are all primarily rational creatures and that we are guided through life by the dictates of our mind. The reality is that many sinful impulses are stirred from places other than the mind and generally the mind is no match for aroused emotion.

So what is the answer … How can we in the midst of a fallen sin-filled world manage to live Sin-Free Lives?

There’s only one sure way … It a technique based upon Paul’s clear teaching in Romans 6:7 … Here it is …

ANSWER: “LIVE as THOUGH you were DEAD!” (vs. 7)

‘Anyone who has DIED has been FREED from Sin.”
(vs. 6 and vs. 8 and vs. 2 and vs. 11)

“Anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” What a thought!

As we said a few weeks ago … “Dead men can’t sin.”

Of course, dead man can’t enjoy the blessings of life either so we don’t want to really be dead, not totally dead, not completely dead, not absolutely dead. But if we could live as though we were dead, we would be immune to the sinful things that so easily allure and ensnare the living.

Listen to the way Paul puts it … Here’s the verse we looked at earlier (verse 2)

“We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

Or verse 6 …

“For 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 …”

What Paul is saying is that spiritually speaking there actually has been a death
of our old sin nature … We don’t have to just act like it has been put to death,
it actually has so therefore we can live sin-free lives since the very part of
us that has been so prone to sin has been put to death and no longer dictates
our behavior …

So then in a practical, how do I do it kind of way, Paul says in verse 11 …

“Count yourselves dead to sin”

“Count yourselves – Consider yourselves – Reckon yourselves (KJV) to be dead with regard to sin! “Man, I’m dead to that!”

This is an ongoing, continual process – this counting or considering or reckoning –

“Start every day with a funeral service for your old sinful nature”
Don’t give it an inch – don’t allow it to stir – keep the lid tightly
closed on the casket and place that casket deep in the ground.”

And if it somehow pushes its way back into your life during the day and suggests something of a definite sinful nature to you, look it right in the eye before it makes any headway in your mind or heart and say …

“No thanks … “I’m completely dead to that.”

It’s ironic but true what our final thot says …

Final Thot … Only the DEAD can experience real sin-free LIFE!
May that kind of life be our experience every day!

Intro … The title of today’s message is “History’s Two Most Significant Men” … Now for those of you who have not already sneaked a peek at today’s sermon outline and figured it out, I would like you to take a moment and write down on the top of your outline, the names of the two men that you believe to be the subject of this message … Who would you say are history’s two most significant men?

I raise the question because in our passage of the week, the Apostle Paul identified those two most significant men in the process of further explaining
the wondrous work that God’s Grace has begun in our world.

Let me read the passage to you … And keep in mind that this is one of those places where our English language is a bit hard-pressed to keep up with Paul’s exuberant and complex Greek.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned -for before the law was given, sin was
in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin
by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one
man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So did you identify them?
History’s Two Most Significant Men are ADAM and JESUS!

And from this most unique New Testament Passage arises …

Today’s Key Concept …
Just as the actions of ADAM have MESSED us up
So the actions of JESUS would FIX us up!

This entire passage is focused upon the incredible contrast displayed in the actions and in the consequences of those actions of these two most significant men. Included as well in its focus is the revelation that every single human being on the face of the earth is this very moment either “messed up” or “fixed up”.

Consider then with me the incredible contrast between the Action of Adam (which Paul calls “the trespass”) and the Action of Christ (which Paul calls
“the gift”). … (verse 15, 16)

But the gift is not like the trespass …
Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin:

Four Gospel-Worthy (Good News Worthy) Distinctions can be drawn from this passage – distinctions (as it’s on your outline this morning) between the results of the Trespass of Adam and the Obedience of Jesus …

First of all then …

* Whereas Adam’s TRESPASS Brought SIN and DEATH
Jesus’ OBEDIENCE Brings GRACE and LIFE!
(verses 12, 17)

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned …

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Now there’s a powerful image … Adam is the door by which Sin entered into the world and by which every one of us has entered into the world as well. And as a result, every one of us has been born into a world that is infected and affected by sin and none of us can escape those affects – the greatest of which is death.

The truth is … we are “born in sin” and that is why we sin – it’s in our nature as children of Adam. And as Paul would spell it out in the very next chapter
(Romans 6:23) … “the wages of sin is death”.

Now that pay check is coming to all of Adam’s progeny and sooner or later
every single human being will cash it in. Being children of Adam puts us in
a very precarious position.

On the other hand (as we saw last week) Jesus is also a door but through him comes grace and life not sin and death. All human beings who exercise faith in him may pass through and gain “access” into the fullness of that Grace.
(Romans 5:1-2)

Adam’s trespass has brought sin and death while Christ’s obedience has made possible grace and life.

Here’s a second distinction we can draw from this passage …
* Whereas Adam’s Trespass Brought CONDEMNATION
Jesus’ Obedience Brings JUSTIFICATION!
(verse 18)

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.

Now here we drive the point just a bit further … all human beings are sinners because they are born into a sinful human race … they are born spiritually separated from God with an inner bias toward disobedience and as a result
they come under God’s condemnation.

This condemnation is spelled out most graphically in Revelation 20:15

“Now if anyone’s name was not found written in the Lamb’s
Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire.”

That’s the final destination of Adam’s race … experiencing the Condemnation
of a Holy God – Condemned to Hell for all Eternity. Thanks a lot, Adam!

However, here again we see the awesome contrast in destiny wrought by the sinless performance of Jesus …

“so also the result of one act of righteousness was
justification that brings life for all men.”

Jesus’ “one act of righteousness” was in actually an entire life lived obediently which culminated in his sacrifice of himself on Calvary.

His “one act” – his “perfect performance” – his “amazing sacrifice” purchased unlimited “Get Out Of Jail Free Cards” which he makes available to all of
Adam’s fallen race who request them.

Now whereas Adam’s trespass brought condemnation upon all men, Jesus’ obedience brought them the possibility of complete justification – a rearranging the record to make it appear like they had never sinned at all … like they had been sinless children of God the whole time! Thank you so much, Jesus!

Here’s now a third distinction that I find suggested in this passage …
* Whereas Adam’s Trespass Brought SINFUL LIVING
Jesus’ Obedience Brings RIGHTEOUS LIVING!
(verse 19)

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Paul’s going to get into this in much more detail in the coming chapters but I believe this verse can give us a jump start on the discussion.

Because of Adam’s sin, all human beings are born into sin and are therefore under God’s condemnation from birth. However, because all human beings are born into sin, they do in fact become sinners – that is, they sin … willingly and frequently – sometimes ignorantly but more often than not knowingly.

The bottom line is … “You can always tell one of Adam’s Kids”.
The same process happens (though in complete reverse) with those who become identified with Jesus … through faith in Him they are born into Life and are therefore declared Righteous from birth on.

And … because they are born into Christ, they do in fact (sometimes slowly but nevertheless surely) live more and more righteously as time goes by. And here the bottom line should be the same (that is) …

“You should always be able to tell one of God’s Kids”.

Now these first three Distinctions lead very naturally to our fourth
and final one …

* Whereas The Results Of Adam’s Trespass Come NATURALLY
The Benefits Of Jesus’ Obedience Come SUPERNATURALLY!
(verse 17, 21)

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

No human being needs to “work at” being a son or daughter of Adam – it just comes naturally. On the other hand, no human being can work at being a son or daughter of God – it comes supernaturally!

It is designed by God – It is produced by Christ – It is provided by the Holy Spirit but it must be requested by the sons and daughters of Adam if they
are to receive it.

Now that’s the ultimate bottom line … Men and women can escape the destiny that Adam’s trespass has created for them by receiving the destiny that Christ’s Obedience has provided for them!

And so we come to this morning’s Final Thot …

Final Thot … Only a FOOL would continue to live MESSED up
when there’s a way to be FIXED up!
ROMANS 5:12-21

(12)Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (13) for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.

(14) Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
(15) But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
(16) Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
(17) For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

(18) Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that
brings life for all men.

(19) For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners; so also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made righteous.

(20)The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more; (21) so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.