Instrument of Righteousness: Living a Transformed Life in Christ
Romans 6:1-14
Key Verse 6:13
#“Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.”
We want to give thanks to God for allowing us to have this wonderful Conference here at Starlake Camp. How has it been for you? Have you received much grace through the conference? Have you heard Jesus’ word to you? Last night, we learned about Jesus’ forgiving love on the cross saying, “Father, forgive them”. Then Jesus died on the cross for our sins. When Jesus died, did you die with him? When Jesus died, we died, and our sins died. And now, it is the time for us to be alive again because Jesus has risen from the dead! Amen. # I give thanks to God for all who are attending this conference, especially the 12 young men and women who were baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection, publically confessing their faith and dedicating their lives to Christ. They decided to offer themselves to God as instruments of righteousness. We thank and praise the Lord! Hallelujah! May God bless their journey of faith in the many years to come.
In Romans 5, the previous chapter to today’s passage, Paul preached about the amazing grace that we have received through the one man Jesus. Through this amazing grace, we have received forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. God’s grace is so great! But, there is a danger of misunderstanding this grace, or even of abusing it. In today’s passage, Paul opens up with a very important question. He asks, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” The answer is very clear: “By no means!” Yes, the sinful nature in us is very strong and devious! It entangles and hinders us from living a godly life. Yes, we are still vulnerable to the temptations to enjoy a sinful life, thinking that the holy life is too restricting. But we do not give in to these temptations and continue to hold on to God’s deep grace.
Through today’s passage, we learn we can endure, fight a good fight, and win the victory because we have died to sin through our union with Christ (1-4). Our old self was crucified with him so that we would no longer be slaves of sin and death (5-7). We are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Our new identity in Christ compels us to live as a new creation. (8-11) And practically, we pray to offer ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness. Let us decide that we may fully surrender ourselves to God so that He can use us for His good purposes, to be the messengers through whom His love, grace, and truth flow to others (12-14). Amen
1. #Be united with Jesus (1-5)
#Let us read verse 1 together. “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” The Apostle Paul begins by addressing a potential misunderstanding: that grace gives us the license to sin. For example, in the parable of the prodigal son, the father lavished love upon his second son, who just returned from living a wild life. Then the first son may have felt that to receive grace, he, too, should go and live a wild life. And after receiving much grace, the second son might have lost his gratitude and thought that if he lived a wild life again, he could receive more grace. It is so easy to take God’s boundless love and amazing grace for granted and become overconfident. Someone said, “God will surely forgive me again because that is his job.” Towards this corrupt way of thinking, Paul says clearly, “By no means!” Then, he explains why.
#Verse 2 says, “By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” What does it mean that we have died to sin? This means that our old sinful and disobedient self has been crucified with Christ through his death. Therefore, to continue living in sin after receiving God’s grace would be inconsistent with our death in sin. Verse 3 writes, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” Here Paul speaks about baptism. Last night, we had the beautiful baptism ceremony of the 12 young men and women. Baptism symbolizes being united with Christ in his death and resurrection. Going under the water signifies the death of the old person. Coming up out of the water signifies the birth of a new person. Baptism is more than a ceremony; it is a profound spiritual reality. It symbolizes union with Christ in his death and resurrection. It means that when Jesus was nailed to the cross for the sins of the world, my sins were also there, nailed together with him. Therefore, because we died to sin, we should not live in it any longer. Amen?
#Look at verses 4-5. “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” The purpose of union with Christ is not just to terminate our sin, but “to live a new life”. New life is a totally transformed life with new thoughts, new words, and new deeds. It is very meaningful and exciting because Christ gives us new spirit, new hope, and new vision to live a purposeful and dynamic life. Look around you. We have so many brothers and sisters whose lives were transformed through their union with Christ. A former sissy boy who was fatalistic became a servant of God’s word and a leader of the church. Former Samaritan men and women who chased after the lustful satisfaction of the flesh became disciples of Jesus who now fish for people. A former lazy and selfish sinner who used to steal money and belongings from others became a man of sharing by offering his 5L2F to Jesus. Let us pray that we may be baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection and live a new life. Praise the Lord!
2. #Alive to God: New Identity (6-11)
In verses 6-7, Paul further elaborates on our union with Christ, emphasizing that our old self was crucified with Him so that we would no longer be ruled by sin. This radical change in our identity frees us from the power of sin and empowers us to live in obedience to God’s commands. Sin is still strong. But sin no longer has the power to control us, and we are free to live in righteousness. We can say to our old sinful self, “It’s been fun, but I have found somebody else who truly loves me. His name is Jesus. So long!” There is a song called “So long self” by MercyMe. It goes something like this.
#
Mercy Me- So Long Self with Lyrics
So long self
Well, it’s been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long self
There’s just no room for two, so you are gonna have to move
So long self
Don’t take this wrong, but you are wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don’t cry
Oh, so long self
Farewell, goodbye
Oh, so long self (Repeat)
This freedom from sin’s dominion does not mean that we will never sin again. But it means that sin no longer reigns over us. We are now empowered by the spirit to resist temptation and walk in obedience to God’s Word. Amen!
#Look at verse 8. Let us read it together. “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” Those who died with Christ are resurrected and live with him forever. It is possible because of Christ’s resurrection, which is different from Lazarus’. After Lazarus came back to life, he had to die again. But Christ cannot die again because he defeated the power of death completely when he rose again (9). The glorified Jesus declares in # Revelation 1:18, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades”. In the past, the power of death strongly ruled over us and caused us to suffer under the fear of death, emptiness, and fatalism. Because of this, we lived dark, negative, and fatalistic lives. Christ, however, defeated the power of death through his resurrection and grants us resurrection life! So now, we can live our lives to the fullest!
From verses 1-8, the words “with him” seem important: it was repeated 5 times. # Sometimes it is hard for us to resist the pattern of this world which is ungodly and wicked. Wherever you are, peer pressure is strong. The environment we encounter in school and work is often against Christian values and beliefs. We wonder how we can survive in this mess and also raise our children as servants of God. Here the words “with him” encourage us to have an ongoing relationship with Jesus. He is the source of our strength, and he can help us overcome all challenges before us. He can even train us to say “no,” to ungodliness and to live upright and godly lives in our day-to-day lives. He also helps our children overcome the world and live God-pleasing life. # In John 15:5, Jesus declares, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” When we are with Jesus, we can do more than just survive; we can thrive and live victoriously. Amen.
Today’s passage is not the easiest out there. # In fact, it was one of the most difficult passages for me to put a message together. How can we fully understand, accept, and practice today’s passage? Paul began this teaching in verse 3 by saying “Don’t you know?” Also, he said, “we know” in verses 6 and 9. We need to know why Jesus died and rose again from the dead because it is the core of the gospel. But knowing is not enough. Verse 8 says that we must “believe”. So we humbly pray that we may know, believe, and practice the words of truth.
#Verse 11 says, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The word “count” is a commercial term that refers to keeping records of accounts. When we pay off a debt, our obligation ends and we are free from the debt. This is how we should view our old self. We should put our old self in the “dead” category and regard our new self in the “alive” category. “Count” means we must intentionally see ourselves through the gospel. We should not reminisce about our old self but count ourselves dead to sin and be alive to God. # In Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul said, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”. This new life is not something we can achieve through our own efforts but only by God’s grace and the help of the Holy Spirit. We are alive to God in Christ Jesus: that is our new identity. Let us live it out.
3. #Instrument of Righteousness: Living a Transformed Life (12-14)
#Let us read verse 12. “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.” We should not let sin reign in our bodies so that we obey its desires. Fundamentally, we have received forgiveness of sins and were set free from sin. Yet, we are like the Israelites who were set free from Pharaoh’s bondage by the power of God, but wanted to go back to Egypt to become slaves again. For example, though some people were saved from sin of selfishness, they still act selfishly. It takes a long time for the elements of sin to be overcome, just as one who has been healed through major surgery requires physical therapy and a long recovery period. We need to fight against our sinful nature throughout our lifetime. We are weak; therefore, we sometimes fall. But whenever we fall, we should depend on God’s grace and stand up and fight against our sinful desires again. When we continue to struggle without giving up, the Holy Spirit helps us to make our inner person strong and grow to be like Jesus.
# Look at verse 13. “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” In the past, we followed evil desires: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. When we did so, we became instruments of wickedness. Instead of giving in to sin, we should offer our bodies positively to God as instruments of righteousness. Since we are alive to God, it is only appropriate that we should offer our bodies to him. Here, ‘bodies’ means not only hands and feet, eyes and ears, but also thoughts, talents, and so on. It means our entire life and everything we do. it means surrendering every part of our being—our thoughts, words, and actions—to God’s control, allowing Him to work through us to accomplish His purposes. We turn from living a self-centered life to a Christ-centered one.
# The word “instrument” means tool and weapon. Depending on who uses it, the result can vary. While a knife may be used to save life when a skilled surgeon uses it on his patient, it can also be used to kill when a murderer uses it. Likewise, if we offer our bodies to sin, they become instruments of wickedness. On the other hand, if we offer them to God, they become instruments of righteousness. Verse 14 explains why we should offer ourselves to God. It is because sin shall not reign over us, for we are not under the law, but under grace. Here we can find the secret of overcoming our sinful desires. We don’t need to live like a monk or condemn ourselves. All we have to do is offer ourselves to God.
# How would you like to offer every part of yourself to God? Instead of speaking words of profanity and hatred, we can offer our mouths to God to sing the praises of God and share the words of the gospel with our neighbors and campus students. Instead of watching pornographies and worldly entertainment, we can offer our eyes to see God’s beautiful creation and give thanks to Him. Instead of going to bars and wild parties, we can offer our feet to God come to church to worship, and go out to the campus with Bible messages.
By the grace of God, we are united with Christ. We have died to sin and have been raised to new life with him. But this new life is not a license to sin but a call to live in obedience to God. As we further meditate on this passage, let us remember that our old selves have been crucified with Christ, and we are no longer slaves of sin. Instead, we are now servants of righteousness, empowered by God’s grace to live holy and obedient lives. May we, therefore, choose to offer ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness. May our lives be a reflection of God’s love and mercy, bringing glory and honor to His name. May we continually rely on His grace and the Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us to live God-fearing and God-pleasing lives. Amen
(Baptism is the beginning of our journey with Christ. It is a public declaration of our faith and a sign of our commitment to follow Jesus all the days of our lives. It marks the beginning of a new life in Christ. It is the starting point of a lifelong journey of discipleship and growth in our relationship with Jesus. Let us pray and struggle together. Let us fight a good fight and experience Jesus winning the victory in us. May God be with you and bless you.)
Let us say the underlined part of the key verse altogether. “…Offer yourselves to God…as an instrument of righteousness.”