Foundations of Truth

Guest (Male): Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the Biblical Teaching Ministry of Dr. Timothy Man. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshakable foundation of God's word, rooted in scripture, anchored in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each week, Dr. Man opens the Bible to bring clarity, conviction, and encouragement for everyday life. Today on Foundations of Truth, we continue our series from Guilty to Glory, a journey through the Book of Romans. And here now is Dr. Timothy Man.

Dr. Timothy Mann: Verse 1, and we're going to read all the way down to verse 14. Chapter 6, verse 1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. And now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion 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. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lust. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace. This is God's word.

And we come to this passage, and the Holy Spirit of God is answering how do those of us who are saved by grace after we've repented of our sins and we've genuinely placed our faith in Jesus Christ, God has saved us. We're born again. God has saved us by his grace. Now that we're under grace, how do those of us under grace actually live without being characterized by sin? How do we have freedom from sin? How do we live lives of victory? And we see here a clear answer to that question. The very first reality that we see from verses 2 through 10, the Apostle Paul is saying the way we're going to have victory over sin, the way our lives are going to be able to not be characterized by sin is we need to understand and know the nature of our identification with Christ.

That's what this is all about. That's the picture. And as I did some cross reference study about this idea and began to look at it in other places, I I knew they were there, but it was good to be reminded of them that the scriptures boldly affirm this in a number of places. As a matter of fact, Galatians 3:27 says, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. That is to say that so close is our identification with Christ that we are so to speak robed in him. That's how close our identification is with Jesus.

1 Corinthians 12:13 adds, for we were all baptized by one spirit into one body, the body of Christ. There could not be a more profound identity or union than that. Couldn't be a more profound identity. Let me let me try to state this union more concisely. But for those of us who are believers, those of us who are identified with Jesus, our spiritual history began at the cross, and actually began at the cross. We were there in the sense that in God's sight, we were joined to him who actually suffered on it. Now the time element shouldn't disturb us at all because if we sinned in Adam, like we've been reading about in chapter 5, if we sinned in Adam, it's equally possible to have died to sin with Christ.

This is our position. This is what we've been talking about as we've studied Romans. This is our position. We do not have to be conscious of it anymore than of our conscious participation in Adam's sin. This is it is a fact. It's not based on how I feel. It's a fact. We are identified with Christ. The specific emphasis, digging a little bit deeper here, the specific emphasis of verses 3 through 5 is that we are so profoundly identified with Christ's death and resurrection that we actually did die with him and truly was raised with him so that we now share in his resurrection life.

The scriptures actually attest to this as well. Galatians 2:20 says, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live. But Christ lives in me. Galatians 6:14, the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. And so just as we died with him, we were also resurrected with him. And Colossians 3:1 says, since then you have been raised with Christ That's past tense. Now here I am on planet Earth still walking around, but that says past tense. Since you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

So whereas before before that before we only had identification with Adam's sin, we only had solidarity with Adam's sin. But now that has been broken and we have a solidarity with Christ, the second Adam in his death and his resurrection. Here's where this really begins to get real. If we're going to experience victory over sin, really, then we need to know and count on this. We need to know this and we need to count on this if we're going to experience victory over sin. What that means practically in life is this. As Christ did not serve sin, neither must we.

Verse 6 and 7 goes on. Look what it says. Knowing this that our old man, our old self was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now that old man, that old person, that old self was the kind of person we were before our conversion. That self was crucified with Christ. And this body of sin it's talking about here it doesn't mean it's been annihilated when it says to be done away with because we still have it, right?

We're still walking around in it. But but it says basically the body of sin, the body as it was prior to our conversion, this vehicle of sin it was rendered inoperative. It was rendered inoperative. And so Paul concludes the explanation here of our deliverance and our union with Jesus in verses 8 through 10. He says now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion 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. Now Paul emphasizes here that when Christ died, he died once for all. It doesn't talk it's not talking about the extent of his death. It's talking about the finality. The finality, that's a technical term that speaks that's used over and over in the Book of Hebrews by the way to emphasize the finality of Christ's work. The Holy Spirit of God through Paul is making this emphasis to the believer, you must have absolute full confidence that the captain of your salvation will never again come under the power of sin and death.

It's done. Once and for all.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Foundations of Truth. At the heart of Romans stands the Gospel, the good news that God saves sinners through Jesus Christ. That same Gospel remains the heartbeat of Foundations of Truth. In a world overflowing with competing voices, shifting values, and spiritual confusion, this ministry exists for one purpose, to faithfully open the scriptures and proclaim the truth of God's word without compromise. If God is using the teaching of Dr. Timothy Man to strengthen your faith and deepen your understanding of the Bible, would you prayerfully consider supporting Foundations of Truth financially? Your gifts help us continue taking sound Biblical teaching to people who need to hear the life-changing truth of the Gospel.

Thank you for praying, for giving, for listening, and standing with us. If you'd like to give a gift, you can go online to foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net. Now let's return to Dr. Timothy Man and the Gospel that shook the world.

Dr. Timothy Mann: Now at the beginning of this message, I emphasized the fact that in dealing with the problem of those who turn grace into a license, the Apostle Paul would insist that the place to begin is actually in our knowledge and what we know. We must know two truths. We must know two truths. The first one is that we must know something of our immense identity with Christ. And though we cannot fully understand it, we actually did die with him and were actually resurrected with him in the historical events. We must know that. Secondly, we must know we must know it and understand it that this shared death and resurrection means that the dominance of sin has been broken and that we are freed from sin.

And so the argument that that we should continue in sin because we're under grace is absolutely ludicrous. I mean, it's just nuts. In truth, the reverse is true. It is impossible. This is what the Bible teaches. It is impossible to continue living unchanged when you become a Christian. It's impossible. In fact, I'll put it even stronger. Those who argue that somehow grace allows a buffer for sin, that their sin somehow will ultimately glorify God anyway, what they're doing is they're actually revealing that they're not under grace. I would say those are not genuine Christians, no matter how much they argue otherwise according to the scriptures.

I mean, when we have experienced truly identification with Jesus, when we are in union with Christ, we've experienced the solidarity with Christ, our lifestyle is affected. Just as much as it was by our solidarity with Adam. And if one's life has not changed and if there is absolutely no impulse for further change toward Christ, then here she is probably not a Christian according to the Bible. Well now, we have considered the truth Paul's arguments here in verses 3 through 10 about our union with Christ. Let's be real. How do we make this work? Right? I mean, okay, we know that.

We understand these truths, but what how how do we make this work? Well now we come to the practical application of everything we've said. And it has to do with the second key word of the text in verse 11. Look at verse 11. Likewise or in the same way, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. That word translated reckon. And some of the other translations it's count or consider. It this word is actually one of the most important words in all of the Book of Romans.

He uses it 19 times in this letter. And if you do not understand what it means, you're not going to understand the Book of Romans. Period. This word reckon or count or consider it's a commercial term. It's an accounting term, a banking term which literally means to put into one's account, to impute, to credit your account. Consider it as such. The idea is we are to so reflect on our position in Christ in this way. We're to actually believe what God has said. That's what this means. So much so that we reckon it as true for us.

I reckon it as true for me. I consider it as true for me. And he says right here in this passage, there are two things that we are to actually set into our account. And one is this, that we are dead to sin. We must put that into our account. We got to believe that that we are dead to sin. And secondly, that we are alive to God in Christ Jesus. I want to ask you. Have you actually ever taken the time to consider the facts that you participated in the events of the cross, that you died, and that you were resurrected with Jesus?

Well if not, why not do so right now? Think about your own hands being nailed, feet inside, crown of thorns. Think about you being laid in that borrowed tomb coming out on that third day, that Sunday morning, that first day of the week. So much of our time is spent in corrective theology, you know, what to do when we sin, right? That 's what we that's how we kind of how we live. We're going to do it anyway, right? What to do when we sin, that's kind of how we think. We spend all our time in corrective theology.

For example, like 1 John 1:9, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just, he will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. This is good. Amen. And this is necessary. But I want to suggest to you this morning that actually reflecting on and believing upon our identification with Christ 0 is even better because it actually curbs our sinning. It's preventative. Preventative is so much better than corrective. And this reckoning to our account is something that we're to constantly do all the time. As the as the present tense of the verb here actually indicates in the original language where he says, likewise you also reckon yourselves, consider yourselves to be dead indeed to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In other words, it means keep on counting yourselves as dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Keep on counting yourselves. Keep on counting yourselves. Don't ever stop counting yourselves as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. That's what that means. And so the Holy Spirit has taught us here what we must know about our union with Christ. Then he's explained the necessity of reckoning it as such, considering it as true. And now he tells us verses 12 through 13 that we must act. Theory must produce action. We not only have to know about the nature of our identification with Christ, we must not only consider it as true, but we must yield.

Verse 12 commands. Look at the command here. It 's not a suggestion. It's not it's an imperative. It 's a command. Verse 12. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lust. Exactly what does that mean? What does that mean? Well Paul's very precise. He's very clear. And his answer falls into two corresponding halves. Look at verse 13. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

And so the first is negative. It's a don't, right? It says do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness. That is to say do not keep on making the parts of your body, your tongue, your hands, your feet, your eyes, you name it, comprehensively. Do not keep on making the parts of your body available as tools of unrighteousness. Stop doing that. Be on constant guard against doing this. Don't we need to do that? And while you're doing this, take positive actions. Negatively stop, but while you're doing this, take positive actions.

But rather, instead of that, rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. That's the positive side. And by the way, this is very interesting. Unless you study the original language a little bit, and you can do that by the way. There's all kinds of good tools available for the Greek and Hebrew that you could use. The tense here of the verb actually demands a decisive once and for all act. It's a decisive once and for all act.

In other words, all of us, every single one of us in this room who are believers, who are true followers of Jesus Christ, all of us must come to a time when we present everything to God for righteousness. Now this does not rule out subsequent commitments as well, obviously. But this initial time of surrender must come to all of us. Lord, here I am. Alive from the dead. I've died with Christ and now I've been resurrected with Christ. Praise your name. Thank you for it. And now here is my body, my arms, my voice, my feet, everything.

Take all of them that they might be instruments of righteousness and not of sin. I need to ask you. Have you done this? Perhaps you've done the no. You know, they're refusing to yield your body to the service of sin. That's good. But it's not enough according to what the Bible says. There must be the yes. Take and use my entire life, Lord. All of it. Everything. The logic of our passage is compelling in its three words. No, count, yield. No, count, yield. I mean, do we know something of our amazing solidarity with Christ that we actually participated in his death and his resurrection?

I mean, we do not completely understand it, but do we at least understand that the scriptures make this claim for us? And then have we consciously actually set to our account? Have we actually believed it for ourselves? Have we consciously set to our account that we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus? And finally, have we yielded our entire lives to him? Have we yielded our entire lives? And you'll have to do that more than once. But there must come a point where you have the attitude of once for all. And if so, if you know and you consider it to be so and you yield, if so, then we know the answer to those who argue that grace encourages sin, don't we?

We know the answer. And verse 14 tells us, for sin shall not have dominion over you. For you are not under law but under grace. Grace delivered us from the old system. And now let us let me let you continue and never stop considering ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. And only that brings freedom from sin. Nothing else.

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