Sermon 10: Romans 6

  The sixth chapter of Romans commences with a continuation of the argument that is contained in the fifth chapter.  That argument is that the life of Christ is given to us for our justification.  Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.  Grace is favor, and the psalmist tells us that in His favor there is life; and so "being justified freely by His grace" is simply the bestowal of the life of Christ upon us.  That life is a sinless life.  Christ in us obeys and by His obedience we are made righteous.

  "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?  Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized unto Jesus were baptized unto His death?  Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism unto 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.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection."

  Now this chapter shows us how we make the connection with Christ, and what that connection does for us.  In the preceding chapter we learned that judgment had passed upon all men unto condemnation and that the sentence of death had gone forth upon every man in this world.  The death sentence has been pronounced, and death works in men.  Why does death work in men?  What is the peculiar power of death?  It is sin!  "The sting of death is sin."  Therefore sin working in men is simply death working in them.  Men who are sinners are stung by death.  Death is in them already and it is carrying on its work in them, and it is only a matter of time till it shall hold them in its grasp forever.  But while probation is continued there is a possibility that men may escape that sting and the execution of that penalty.  Nevertheless God must be just, even while He is the justifier of them that believe on Him.  Sentence of death has been pronounced upon every man, and that sentence will be executed.  Every man must die, because that all men have sinned.

  But there is given to every man a choice as to when he will die. Christ died for all men.  We can acknowledge His death and die in Him and thus get His life, or on the other hand we may, if we wish, refuse to acknowledge Him and die in ourselves.  But die we must.  Death has passed upon all men and all men must die.  The life of every man is forfeited; of ourselves we have no life at all.

  The Scripture plainly says, "He that hath not the Son of God hath not life."  1 John 5:12.  Now seeing that we are in that condition, when death claims her forfeit, what are we going to do?  Don't you see that we are left lifeless?  If I owe a thousand dollars and I have just exactly a thousand dollars in my possession, when I pay that debt, I am left penniless am I not?  So it is with this life of ours.  We all have a life here in our possession, but it does not belong to us.  It is forfeited to the law.  It does not belong to us at all.  When the law exacts that forfeit and that life of ours is gone, and then there is nothing left to us but eternal death.