Alive With Him

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0:00My name is Joel, in case I didn't introduce myself, I'm happy to be serving you all today and every day as pastor here and serving, of course, serving Christ at New Creation. On the Lord's Day here, this special Easter day, we're going to be talking about getting a fresh start. So I want to tell you a story about a guy who lived a few years ago in Boston. This was March of 2021. His name was Thomas Randell and he lived in Boston and he had terminal lung cancer. He had just a few months to live. One day towards the end of his life, he revealed something to his daughter in a private conversation between the two of them. His name was actually Theodore Conrad. He was in his 70s, but he changed his name 50 years earlier after he robbed $200,000 from a bank in Ohio. His whole adult life, he had been a hard worker, he'd been a faithful husband, a doting father, he'd been to nearly every soccer game his daughter had. He'd even donated to police charities. But meanwhile, he was a fugitive. He was hiding in plain sight. The case was still open.

1:29There was even a father-son pair of U.S. Marshals that had been in particularly focused on this case. In his 20s, he made a really big mistake. And he wanted a fresh start. He left behind his family, his hometown, everyone he knew, and even his name. He gradually established what he thought was a new self. But his past really hadn't gone away. It was still there. His old self was still there along with its criminal record. And finally, at the end of his life, it caught up with him. Now, today's passage is about getting a fresh start. I think at one point or another, nearly anyone daydreams about a fresh start. But listen, it doesn't happen. We all know this, but we lie to ourselves. It doesn't happen by running away. It doesn't happen by shoving things in the closet. It doesn't happen by taking a vow to myself, I'm never going to talk about the past. Those things don't really give you a fresh start.

2:47But the only way to get a fresh start, well, it happens through the resurrection of Christ. That's what we're talking about today in Romans 6. So turn with me there. It's in your bulletin. It's also up on the screen behind me. This is an amazing passage from an amazing book, fitting for an amazing day. And like any other passage in here, it's the Word of God. It comes to us with authority, with truth, infallible, unshakable truth, truth that you can build your life on. So let's receive it with reverence, with awe, with eagerness, like hungry people who are finally getting served a meal. Starting in verse 5. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

4:15Now if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all. But the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. And your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace. Pray with me. Lord God, we know that your word is living and active. Make it so in our hearts right now. On this Easter day when we celebrate the risen Savior, would you make that truth touched down in our lives so that we see how resurrection and specifically the resurrection of Jesus changes things for us when we are in him. These are important life-changing truths for us, God. And by your spirit, we want them to bear fruit in us and around us.

6:09And we pray this, Jesus, in your mighty name. Amen. Alive with him. The big point of this passage is this. Being united with the risen Christ gives us three things. A new self, a real freedom, and a holy purpose. Being united with the risen Christ gives us a new self, real freedom, and a holy purpose. If you're here today, if you're not a Christian, there's going to be things that you hear, there's going to be concepts and ideas in this sermon, in this passage, that are new to you, that might seem to be too good to be true. I want you to ask yourself, am I really listening? And I want to ask you this, as you hear these things, try them on in your mind. Sure, they sound too good to be true right now, but try them on in your mind like you're trying on some clothes. Think about them. Think about them landing in your life and ask yourself, do they connect with any longings that I have? If you're here and you are a Christian, I want you to use today's passage to shape how you view your faith, how you view your life, who you are now, and what God has called you to. The resurrection matters.

7:45We're going to talk about that today. For everyone, no matter who you are, today's passage and message is an invitation, and it's a message of hope. And it starts with being united to Christ. Let's talk about that, united with Christ. All the scripture readings in today's service, they tell a story. It's a true story. It's not a myth about resurrection and not just about a life coming somewhere when someone decided to make a change. I'm talking about someone who defeated death, literally came alive again. It was foretold by the Old Testament. It was spoken of by Jesus himself, and then it actually happened. It happened. The living, bodily resurrected Jesus walked around this earth and was seen by well over 500 witnesses. And it was written about to thousands of other people who lived among those witnesses who could easily go and ask them, is this really true?

8:58They were still able to be questioned about it. Now listen, any event in history that can be attested to by hundreds of eyewitnesses should be taken seriously, don't you think? The resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact, but it is not just a fact. It has spiritual meaning. Look at verse 9. Paul unpacks the work of Christ. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. You may remember the story of Lazarus. We touched on it earlier in one of the scripture readings. You may know that he died and was brought back to life by Jesus. Well, Lazarus died again. One of the only people on earth to die twice. But Jesus didn't die again. Jesus will never die again. Well, what makes him different than Lazarus?

10:09Look at verse 10. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all. Once for all. Jesus didn't deserve death, but he died in the place of sinners like you and me. For our rebellion against God, our wrongdoing against our neighbor. For the big ways and yes, even the small ways that we put ourselves above him. All of those things rightly deserve God's punishment and Jesus took it. That is the reason, that's the only reason why he cried out on the cross, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? How else could the father turn away from the son if it weren't for him bearing our sins?

11:00But he said something else, didn't he? He said, it is finished, right? It is finished. The punishment was completed. The penalty was paid once for all. And that was proven when he walked out of that grave.

11:19That's why death has no dominion over him, because the debt that he took on, it's been paid in full. Now years ago, I finally learned what happens when you make your last car payment. Some of you know this, some of you are still looking forward to that day. It's not really all that, there's no balloons that fall down from the ceiling or confetti that pop, that would be great. It's just a letter that arise from the bank. The bank letter says the lien has been released. L-I-E-N, the lien has been released. I had to look that word up. I was like, what does this even mean? A lien is the right of the bank that it has over your car while you're paying off that debt. When I got that letter, I realized this whole time I've been driving around, I thought it was my car. It wasn't. It was the bank's car.

12:29They could have taken it any minute that I missed one payment. They could take it, because they are the ones that really owned it. They're loaning it to me while I pay off a debt. But once I made that last payment, the lien was released. The bank has no dominion anymore over my car. It can't come and claim it, no matter what I do. It can't come and take it away from me, because I got the letter, and in that letter it said, paid in full. Paid in full. In the same way, death can never seize Jesus again. It has no dominion over him. It can't come and take away life from him anymore, because the debt has been paid in full. But here's the thing. I've been talking about Jesus. But if you belong to Jesus, if Jesus is your Savior, the same is true for you.

13:32The debt has been paid in full. Death has no claim over your life. Sin has no claim over your life, because you are in Jesus. You've been united with him. Look at verse 5. If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

14:00Paul very rarely, if ever, refers to Christians as Christians. Even though he ministered in the city where the word Christian originated, what he uses to describe Christians are phrases like those in Christ, those with Christ. Read your New Testament and look for all the times that Paul uses with Christ or in Christ or with him or in him. Just as Jesus said you must be born again, Paul says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. Paid in full. Now here's the thing. That union means that you died with him and you rose with him. That's the union we're talking about. Think of it like tandem skydiving. Here's a picture. In a tandem, the person on the back does the jumping. The person on the back pulls the ripcord. The person on the back steers the parachute. The person in the front gets the view, right? There is not an equal amount of work between these two people, but there is an equal amount of participation with those two people. One person does the work. The person in the front gets the results. That is you when you are united with Jesus.

15:52He does the work and you get the view. He jumps out of that plane. He pulls the ripcord and you get the experience that he has done on your behalf because you have been united with him, strapped in with him, safe with him. Though you are soaring through the air, you are safe. This is what Paul is getting at. This union with Christ is what he's getting at in verse six. We know, he says, we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing.

16:40Crucified with him. It's like a tandem crucifixion and a tandem resurrection. And what of us was put to death at that moment? Our old self. The self that was ruled by sin, the self that was opposed to God, the self that viewed self as authority and lived that way. Salvation in Jesus means the death of our old self with Jesus. It has died. Listen, becoming a Christian is not a method of self-improvement. You can't think of it that way. It's not a tidying up program for your life. It is an invitation to die and to live spiritually in Christ Jesus through repentance and faith. Because with this death, with Jesus comes real life with Jesus. Look at verse eight. If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. The power of the resurrection inhabiting us.

18:07Now, listen, he is not just talking about the future. He is talking about the future. Our bodily, physical resurrection, just like Jesus experienced a bodily, physical resurrection. But it's not just that. And that's really why Paul wrote this. Because it's not just the future. It's the present. It's right now. That's what the whole rest of the passage is talking about. If we are united to the risen Christ, Paul says that we have three blessings, three particular precious blessings in Christ right now. Because we are united with the one who is resurrected. And here's the first one. A new self.

18:57If you know anything about Romans, you know that it is a meaty, theologically rich book. We are in chapter six. For five chapters, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul has written many important things. But there's one thing that he hasn't done in this whole book up to this point. He has not given a single command, a single command, a single instruction of what to do. The very first instruction he gives comes in chapter six, verse 11. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Now let that sink in for a second. Five chapters of rich teaching of earth-shaking good news. Under the inspiration of the Spirit, Paul is revealing the mysteries of God.

20:06The things of God. About sin and salvation in Jesus. About who we are as people. About what it all means. About the work of God. And his first instruction is not action. It has to do with thinking. He doesn't say stop sinning. He doesn't say love your neighbor. He doesn't say go to church. None of those are Paul's first instruction. All of those are important. And he'll get to all of those. But he starts with an instruction on how we view ourselves. How we look at ourselves. He says, brothers, sisters in Christ, you have to realize that you have been changed. That word consider means careful thought. Listen, people change, don't they? But sometimes we get stuck viewing them as they used to be. I remember getting frustrated when I was in my 40s and I felt like there were some members of my extended family that still viewed me like I was a teenager.

21:26I was like, why are you viewing me that way? Why are you treating me that way? I've changed. At a high school reunion, I had to remind myself to keep an open mind. I hadn't seen most of these people in 20 years. They've changed. They're not the same. But we also get stuck in our own minds of how we view ourselves. We view ourselves like we used to be. Apart from Christ. That's just who I am, we say. I've never known any different. Those in Christ should actively see themselves as new.

22:18I'm taking time on this because I think it's really important. How often do you think of yourself as new? Because you're in Christ. Completely different. There is a new self that has come to life. Your old self died with Christ and you are putting it off. And you are putting on something new. Something that God has done in you. You're new. You're dead to sin. You're alive to God in Christ Jesus. It's new now. Do you see yourself that way? And if you're not in Christ today, do you want to see yourself that way? Do you want a new you? It can happen today. And then the rest of your life can be coming to embrace and see what Christ has done today. Because in Christ you're new.

23:21Consider yourselves. Your old self is sin, is dead to sin, and your new self is alive to God. This is true no matter what your circumstances are. No matter how much progress you think you've made. The more you consider yourself to be new, the better off you'll be. And listen, this is not just wishful thinking. This is not just if I think it hard enough, maybe it'll come true. It's coming to see what already is true. That we just have so much trouble seeing and believing. This is grasping it because the one that died is the one that you are united to. And the one who lives is the one that you are united to. Here's the second one. The second blessing through being united to the risen Jesus is a real freedom. Now we all, I'm sure, value freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion.

24:31But there is a freedom that we all should be more concerned about. And it is ours in Christ alone. Verse 7, one who has died has been set free from sin. Now that is the most important freedom. I tell you the truth, a North Korean who puts his faith in Christ is more free than any non-Christian in this country. If you're united to Christ, your sinful nature, it is not in charge anymore. It doesn't rule you. It has no authority. It doesn't control your future and it doesn't control your present. It's not your master. But we forget. Sin still seems so persuasive sometimes. We look at it and we think, well, but that gives me something that I kind of want right now. How can I keep waiting for what God might provide? It still seems to offer satisfaction and good for our lives, but it is lying to us.

25:50It wants nothing but your death and destruction. Paul knows this and he's telling us to fight back in verse 12. Let sin, therefore, let not, I messed it up again. Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. This is a practical call to resist passivity. My friends, we need to stop making excuses. Stop rationalizing. Well, I guess we all struggle with it, with sin. So who cares if I do this? No. Fight back against that. You ever heard the advice that if you're swimming and a shark gets near, you're supposed to not play dead like with a bear. You're supposed to fight back? That shark, I've never, it's never happened to me. Lord, hopefully it never will.

26:46I hope I have the courage to fight back. I'm sure that shark is going to startle me. It's going to scare me. It's going to have big teeth. But I need to remember, I need to punch it back. Right in the gills, right in the eyes. Punch that shark. Don't let sin scare you with its teeth. Punch back. You can do that now because you're in Christ. Imagine a really horrible boss, someone who intimidated and controlled and treated people badly. And suppose finally he gets fired, but he manages to keep his little ID badge. So he keeps coming around and starting in with his usual domineering behavior.

27:39You'd feel intimidated probably, maybe just out of habit. Right? You'd have to steel yourself and have courage and tell yourself and tell him, I don't report to you anymore. You don't even work here anymore. I'm calling security. Right? Because the risen Jesus is inside you and you're united to him, you can say that to sin. I don't work for you anymore. I don't report to you. What are you even doing here? I'm calling security, the Holy Spirit, to kick you out of my life. Through Christ, you enjoy a glorious thing called agency. You can resist sin. You have the Holy Spirit inside you now.

28:34You're empowered with the resurrection life of Jesus. You can actually fight back against the bully of sin. You couldn't do that before. You didn't even want to do that before. But now you can, and now you should. Don't let it reign over you. Now finally, to go along with a new self and a real freedom, in Christ we have a holy purpose. Look at verse 13. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness. That's nearly identical to what he said before about letting sin not reigning. But present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. Now any tool ever invented from a hammer to a crane, it can be used for either destruction or construction. It can be used to break and it can be used to build. Likewise, every faculty we have, our creativity, our rationality, our actions, our words, they can be used for either unrighteousness or for righteousness.

29:53They can be used to avoid God in his kingdom or to seek God in his kingdom. They can be used to build a life apart from God or they can be used to build a life with God.

30:13United to Christ, we are called to present ourselves to God. Everything that we are, everything we have, we bring it all before the Father and we say, here am I. Here am I, Lord. You know me completely, my past, my present, my future. Direct all of me. Make something good and beautiful come from these members that I used for unrighteousness before. Presenting ourselves to God. It's done in prayer, but it's also done through hard work on our part, through seeking change. It comes with the help of the Spirit and talking to other people. All the while, we are reminding ourselves of what's true. I am different now. Sin no longer is in charge. God is. And he will do good in me and through me. That's the new life in Christ that the risen Jesus has purchased for us and gave to us in him. Whatever struggles you've had, whatever your past, whatever your family story, you need to remember nothing is impossible for God. Nothing. You can leave behind old ways and you can start new ones. It doesn't matter your age. It doesn't matter your story. It doesn't matter your past. You can leave behind old ways and start new ones only through union with Christ because that's where the power lies for real change. In Christ, real change is possible. And I tell you this, not only is it possible, it's inevitable. He is making all things new. He already is. It's already begun. And when he returns, we're going to experience our own bodily, physical resurrection. Like him, we will rise. Everything about us and everything in us and around us will be set right completely and

32:39permanently. As Isaiah wrote, it will be set on that day. Behold, this is our God. We have waited for him that he might save us. And indeed he will. Hallelujah. Pray with me. Lord, your word says it was impossible for death to hold Jesus because he paid for the debt completely. And when he was raised to new life, that will never, ever change. Lord, we know because you have told us the same thing is true for all of us who are found to be in Christ through repentance and faith. We've died to sin. The debt has been paid. We've gotten that letter. And we will never, ever lose the new life that you have begun in us.

33:44You will carry it forward and bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus when we see him face-to-face, our risen, resurrected, glorified Savior. Jesus, we worship you today. We are so grateful to be strapped to you. Lord, you did the work and we get the view. Thank you, Lord, for empowering us. Help us to consider ourselves to be new, to kick out the bully of sin in our lives, and to present ourselves to you for the good work you have for us.

34:22Jesus, for those who are here, who are listening and who are not Christians, who don't belong to you, who've not put their faith in you, would you please show them, give them a glimpse, Lord, of how great and glorious you are, how great of a master you are, how it is far better to leave behind anything that they have been clinging to, that might seem to give them life and instead receive life from the only one who has it to give, the risen Jesus.

34:55It's in his name we pray.