WEBVTT 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:16.400 to anchor his church. It's time to get started this evening. If you would grab a hymnal and 00:07:16.400 --> 00:07:30.530 turn to him number 426, the bells on Christmas Day. Hymn number 426, 426, I heard the bells 00:07:30.530 --> 00:09:39.120 on Christmas Day. We'll sing there starting on the first. Heavenly Father, thank you again 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:43.350 for just another opportunity to gather together this evening. Pray that you'd be with those 00:09:43.350 --> 00:09:49.130 that were saved this afternoon and also those where maybe it was just a time a seed was 00:09:49.130 --> 00:09:54.300 planted. It would just help grow that into a full faith or that they'd be receptive to 00:09:54.300 --> 00:09:58.560 another soul winner that crosses their path. As I prayed this morning, I pray for the evening 00:09:58.560 --> 00:10:03.370 that you would be with us for the service, that everything's done decently and in order, 00:10:03.370 --> 00:10:07.630 that you open our ears to the message and fill pastor with your spirit and Lord that 00:10:07.630 --> 00:10:11.010 you would just be with us as the weather is kind of rolling in and keep us safe and have 00:10:11.010 --> 00:10:15.310 your hand of protection on us as we go our separate ways after the service this evening. 00:10:15.310 --> 00:13:36.670 We sing we pray in Jesus name amen for our next him 425 no room in the in 425 no room 00:13:36.670 --> 00:13:40.200 in the end 425 they're on the first no beautiful chamber these raise your hand bring you one 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:45.690 up on the front memory passage of the week which is Genesis chapter number one verse 00:13:45.690 --> 00:13:51.940 27 on the inside our service times are listed there Sunday morning at 1030 Sunday evening 00:13:51.940 --> 00:13:58.900 at 430 and our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 o'clock low there we do have our soul 00:13:58.900 --> 00:14:04.150 winning times and of course again just as a reminder this upcoming Saturday will be 00:14:04.150 --> 00:14:09.950 the first Saturday where we will meet on location so if you usually go Saturday to the Saturday 00:14:09.950 --> 00:14:15.500 soul winning time be looking in our signal group for that address this week and then 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:22.650 we have our year-to-date statistics for soul winning which we had it looks like eight salvations 00:14:22.650 --> 00:14:28.100 for today so great job soul winning there and then we have our upcoming events this 00:14:28.100 --> 00:14:33.370 upcoming Wednesday is our New Year's Eve party so if the men would like to participate in 00:14:33.370 --> 00:14:37.070 the men's preaching night you could still sign up I think there's three guys right now 00:14:37.070 --> 00:14:41.420 if I'm right about that so 15 minute sermons and if you'd like to sign up for that please 00:14:41.420 --> 00:14:47.320 do and then afterwards we'll get some food delivered and have games till midnight or 00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:51.470 as long as you want to stay oh also if you want to bring games please do that as well 00:14:51.470 --> 00:14:57.500 that definitely helps then a month from then January 31st will be our first soul winning 00:14:57.500 --> 00:15:05.550 marathon of 2026 in Lawton Oklahoma which is about what two hours ish southwest hour 00:15:05.550 --> 00:15:13.160 15 okay southwest of here so should be a good time we do have on the right our online visitor 00:15:13.160 --> 00:15:17.350 card which of course that's on the back of your invites as well so if you get people 00:15:17.350 --> 00:15:22.140 out soul winning to scan that get their email address have them subscribe to our YouTube 00:15:22.140 --> 00:15:26.830 it's a great way to stay in touch with people and then for those who prefer to give online 00:15:26.830 --> 00:15:32.530 that QR code below that is for our online giving platform and then below that lastly 00:15:32.530 --> 00:15:37.880 is our prayer list that we do update so if you have any requests that you'd like updated 00:15:37.880 --> 00:15:41.690 there please do email us and we'll be happy to add that for you and that's going to be 00:15:41.690 --> 00:15:49.940 it for announcements this evening we'll go ahead and go to our third song together for 00:15:49.940 --> 00:19:47.390 our third song number 429 429 Park the Herald Angels sing 429 429 there on the first good 00:19:47.390 --> 00:19:52.650 singing this evening as the offering plates are being passed turn if you would to Romans 00:19:52.650 --> 00:20:54.810 chapter 6 Romans chapter number 6 chapter 6 what shall we say then shall we continue 00:20:54.810 --> 00:21:01.300 in sin that grace may abound God forbid how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer 00:21:01.300 --> 00:21:09.130 therein knowing not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized 00:21:09.130 --> 00:21:16.740 into his death therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death that like as Christ 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:22.870 was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father even so we also should walk in 00:21:22.870 --> 00:21:31.150 newness of life for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall 00:21:31.150 --> 00:21:37.000 be also in the likeness of his resurrection knowing this that our old man is crucified 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:44.960 with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin for 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:52.550 he that is dead is free from sin now if we be dead with christ we shall we believe that 00:21:52.550 --> 00:21:59.670 we shall also live with him knowing that christ being raised from the dead dith no more death 00:21:59.670 --> 00:22:06.040 hath no more dominion over him for in that he died he died unto sin once but in that 00:22:06.040 --> 00:22:13.610 he liveth he liveth unto god likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto 00:22:13.610 --> 00:22:20.190 sin but alive unto god through jesus christ our lord let not sin therefore reign in your 00:22:20.190 --> 00:22:25.940 mortal body that ye should obey it in the lust thereof neither yield ye your members 00:22:25.940 --> 00:22:33.720 as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin but yield yourselves unto god as those that 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:41.100 are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto god for sin 00:22:41.100 --> 00:22:49.010 shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under the law but under grace what then 00:22:49.010 --> 00:22:55.950 shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace god forbid know ye not 00:22:55.950 --> 00:23:01.600 that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom you obey 00:23:01.600 --> 00:23:09.050 whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness but god be thanked that 00:23:09.050 --> 00:23:15.730 ye were the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which 00:23:15.730 --> 00:23:23.310 was delivered you being then made free from sin you became the servants of righteousness 00:23:23.310 --> 00:23:31.290 i speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh for as ye for 00:23:31.290 --> 00:23:38.640 as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanliness and to iniquity unto iniquity 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:45.390 even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness for when ye were 00:23:45.390 --> 00:23:52.870 the servants of sin you were free from righteousness what fruit had ye then in those things whereof 00:23:52.870 --> 00:24:01.800 ye are now shamed for the end of those things is death but now being made free from sin 00:24:01.800 --> 00:24:09.350 and become servants to God ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life 00:24:09.350 --> 00:24:14.490 for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ 00:24:14.490 --> 00:24:15.790 our Lord. 00:24:15.790 --> 00:24:16.930 Let's pray. 00:24:16.930 --> 00:24:17.900 Heavenly Father, Gracious Lord, thank you for the book of Romans. 00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:18.860 We pray that you just help us to set aside the cares of the weak coming up so we can 00:24:18.860 --> 00:24:20.320 focus on the preaching of your word. 00:24:20.320 --> 00:24:21.300 Apply it to our hearts. 00:24:21.300 --> 00:24:22.280 We pray that you fill the past with your spirit, Lord. 00:24:22.280 --> 00:24:23.260 Help us to focus on the message. 00:24:23.260 --> 00:24:24.240 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.170 Amen. 00:24:26.170 --> 00:24:34.780 Man, Romans chapter number six. 00:24:34.780 --> 00:24:39.820 We took a break on Wednesday to have a Christmas sermon so I want to continue through our Bible 00:24:39.820 --> 00:24:44.390 study through the book of Romans and we're in Romans chapter number six this evening. 00:24:44.390 --> 00:24:45.540 We'll start out in verse number one. 00:24:45.540 --> 00:24:48.450 The Bible says, "What shall we say then? 00:24:48.450 --> 00:24:53.440 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" 00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:58.000 To kind of refresh us of why he's asking this question, look back at Romans chapter 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.020 five and verse 20. 00:25:00.020 --> 00:25:04.440 He just got done saying, "Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:09.670 where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." 00:25:09.670 --> 00:25:14.220 So he just got done explaining to us in Romans five, a lot about salvation, that it's by 00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:20.650 faith alone, and that whenever we sin, grace is going to abound over that sin. 00:25:20.650 --> 00:25:24.560 And throughout the entire book of Romans, the apostle Paul, he keeps confronting these 00:25:24.560 --> 00:25:26.910 questions even before they're asked. 00:25:26.910 --> 00:25:31.570 He's thinking of these theoretical stumbling blocks that people can have in their mind 00:25:31.570 --> 00:25:34.050 and he's preemptively answering those. 00:25:34.050 --> 00:25:37.230 And so he does that in Romans six, one, "What shall we say then? 00:25:37.230 --> 00:25:40.900 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" 00:25:40.900 --> 00:25:46.860 He's saying, "Hey, just because grace is going to abound, just because we're saved by faith, 00:25:46.860 --> 00:25:52.040 just because that when we sin, grace is going to cover that sin, should we just go on sinning 00:25:52.040 --> 00:25:53.390 flippantly? 00:25:53.390 --> 00:25:54.620 Should we just not even care? 00:25:54.620 --> 00:25:56.710 Should we just not even try?" 00:25:56.710 --> 00:25:59.220 And of course, the answer to that is, "God forbid." 00:25:59.220 --> 00:26:04.360 Now, let me explain to you what this is not saying first, because this verse has been 00:26:04.360 --> 00:26:09.060 preached earlier this year by one of these ex-new IFB losers. 00:26:09.060 --> 00:26:10.050 They read it this way. 00:26:10.050 --> 00:26:12.000 They said, "What shall we say then? 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:15.150 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 00:26:15.150 --> 00:26:16.140 God forbid. 00:26:16.140 --> 00:26:19.410 How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?" 00:26:19.410 --> 00:26:23.050 And this person said, "See, it's literally impossible." 00:26:23.050 --> 00:26:28.650 They'll say, "Romans 6, verse 1 and 2 is teaching that once you're saved, it's impossible to 00:26:28.650 --> 00:26:30.110 go on living in sin. 00:26:30.110 --> 00:26:31.800 It's impossible to sin." 00:26:31.800 --> 00:26:36.540 And they even use this example of them committing all these sins, and God looks down from heaven 00:26:36.540 --> 00:26:39.570 and just says, "All I see is my son. 00:26:39.570 --> 00:26:40.570 That's my son." 00:26:40.570 --> 00:26:43.000 But that is not what this is saying, okay? 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:48.580 What this is saying is that should we continue just going on sinning, being flippant, not 00:26:48.580 --> 00:26:53.520 even caring about our sin, just because we are saved by grace, and of course the answer 00:26:53.520 --> 00:26:55.240 is no. 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:59.690 We should not abuse the fact that God is gracious to us. 00:26:59.690 --> 00:27:03.170 When we sin, will God always cover that sin with grace? 00:27:03.170 --> 00:27:04.420 Yes. 00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:05.410 What's the limit on that? 00:27:05.410 --> 00:27:06.400 There is no limit. 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:10.370 God will always cover our sin with His grace, but does that mean we should just abuse His 00:27:10.370 --> 00:27:14.330 long-suffering, abuse His gentleness, abuse His kindness? 00:27:14.330 --> 00:27:15.800 Absolutely not. 00:27:15.800 --> 00:27:16.790 Right? 00:27:16.790 --> 00:27:19.830 We're saved by faith, but should we just keep on going, living wicked lives? 00:27:19.830 --> 00:27:21.330 The answer is absolutely not. 00:27:21.330 --> 00:27:26.490 What's funny is people will say, "Oh, teaching that you're saved by faith alone, what you're 00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:29.320 doing is you're giving people a license to sin." 00:27:29.320 --> 00:27:32.200 And it's like, where did you get that from? 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:36.600 First of all, you don't have to give people a license to sin because people just sin on 00:27:36.600 --> 00:27:37.680 their own. 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:41.690 And it's usually the people who think that they are the most righteous and who think 00:27:41.690 --> 00:27:46.770 that they're living the cleanest lives that often have the most sin because they're prideful 00:27:46.770 --> 00:27:48.280 and they're blinded. 00:27:48.280 --> 00:27:53.420 But notice the apostle Paul, he makes it super clear that salvation is by faith alone, yet 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:55.650 he does not give a license to sin. 00:27:55.650 --> 00:28:03.850 He says, "Hey, God forbid," in verse two, "how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer 00:28:03.850 --> 00:28:05.130 therein?" 00:28:05.130 --> 00:28:07.910 What does it mean to be dead to sin? 00:28:07.910 --> 00:28:11.970 What that means is that sin no longer has dominion over us. 00:28:11.970 --> 00:28:14.780 It no longer has that rule over us. 00:28:14.780 --> 00:28:17.800 Let's remind you of something in Romans five. 00:28:17.800 --> 00:28:21.460 Go back and look at verse number 14. 00:28:21.460 --> 00:28:27.340 Notice it says, "Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses. 00:28:27.340 --> 00:28:32.710 Even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is 00:28:32.710 --> 00:28:36.210 the figure of him that was to come." 00:28:36.210 --> 00:28:39.130 So we see death reigning there. 00:28:39.130 --> 00:28:40.600 Death is in charge. 00:28:40.600 --> 00:28:43.410 Death has dominion over people there. 00:28:43.410 --> 00:28:45.910 Then look at verse 21 of Romans five. 00:28:45.910 --> 00:28:53.240 "That as sin hath," there it is again, "reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through 00:28:53.240 --> 00:28:57.790 righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." 00:28:57.790 --> 00:28:59.470 What changes when you get saved? 00:28:59.470 --> 00:29:04.850 You went from having death and sin reigning over you, having control over you, having 00:29:04.850 --> 00:29:08.690 dominion over you, having power over you, to now what is over you? 00:29:08.690 --> 00:29:10.330 The grace of God. 00:29:10.330 --> 00:29:15.730 So how shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 00:29:15.730 --> 00:29:22.840 Why would we go on sinning when that sin and death no longer has any power over us? 00:29:22.840 --> 00:29:31.390 Verse three says, "No, ye not, that so many of us, as were baptized into Jesus Christ, 00:29:31.390 --> 00:29:34.620 were baptized into his death." 00:29:34.620 --> 00:29:39.780 Now keep your place there and go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 12, because here the idea of 00:29:39.780 --> 00:29:45.500 baptism is being brought up, but I don't believe this is referring to a physical baptism, though 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:49.190 there's definitely lessons that can be drawn that applies to that. 00:29:49.190 --> 00:29:52.620 But what he's saying, hey, you're baptized into Jesus's death. 00:29:52.620 --> 00:29:53.980 What does this mean? 00:29:53.980 --> 00:30:01.230 Look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12, it says, "For as the body is one and hath many members, 00:30:01.230 --> 00:30:08.720 and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:16.980 For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:23.230 whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit." 00:30:23.230 --> 00:30:29.570 So here it's talking about how we are baptized into one body by the Spirit of God. 00:30:29.570 --> 00:30:34.750 So there is no such thing as the universal Catholic Church, but there is the body of 00:30:34.750 --> 00:30:35.740 Christ. 00:30:35.740 --> 00:30:36.730 And what is the body of Christ? 00:30:36.730 --> 00:30:40.260 It is every single person who believes in Jesus Christ. 00:30:40.260 --> 00:30:44.700 And when you believe, you are spiritually baptized into that body. 00:30:44.700 --> 00:30:48.280 You are fully put into that body of believers. 00:30:48.280 --> 00:30:50.700 So go back to Romans 6. 00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:54.190 That's why He's saying, "No, you're not," that so many of us, as we're baptized into 00:30:54.190 --> 00:30:59.110 Jesus Christ, we're baptized into His death. 00:30:59.110 --> 00:31:01.650 His death is counted towards us. 00:31:01.650 --> 00:31:05.010 His sacrifice is applied to us spiritually. 00:31:05.010 --> 00:31:09.360 And of course, this is where we get the picture, this is what baptism pictures, is that you're 00:31:09.360 --> 00:31:15.450 standing in the water and you're put under the water picturing the death of Jesus Christ. 00:31:15.450 --> 00:31:23.270 And it says in verse number four, therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death 00:31:23.270 --> 00:31:30.000 that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father, even so, 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.870 we also should walk in newness of life. 00:31:34.870 --> 00:31:40.350 Now keep your place there and go to Galatians chapter number two, Galatians chapter number 00:31:40.350 --> 00:31:42.000 two. 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:47.410 So it says there that we are baptized into his death, that we're buried with him by baptism 00:31:47.410 --> 00:31:51.330 into death, that we should walk in newness of life. 00:31:51.330 --> 00:31:56.000 This reminds me of Galatians chapter number two, verse 19. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:32:01.350 Notice what it says, for I through the law am dead to the law that I might live unto 00:32:01.350 --> 00:32:02.720 God. 00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:11.250 Notice I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. 00:32:11.250 --> 00:32:17.000 And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God who 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:21.200 loved me and gave himself for me. 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:26.140 Notice that because Christ was crucified when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, it's 00:32:26.140 --> 00:32:29.440 like we are crucified with Christ. 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:33.040 Christ has died, it's like we have died with Christ. 00:32:33.040 --> 00:32:39.260 And as Christ was buried and rose again, so we too should walk in newness of life as Romans 00:32:39.260 --> 00:32:43.650 chapter 6 says, and I also like to go back there to Romans 6, that word there is very 00:32:43.650 --> 00:32:47.790 important where it says that we should walk in newness of life. 00:32:47.790 --> 00:32:52.840 See, there's a false doctrine out there that just teaches when you believe in Jesus Christ, 00:32:52.840 --> 00:32:54.730 everything in your life is going to change. 00:32:54.730 --> 00:32:57.920 You're going to stop the sins that you're doing in time past, you're going to start 00:32:57.920 --> 00:33:00.470 doing everything that's right just automatically. 00:33:00.470 --> 00:33:01.860 That's not the case. 00:33:01.860 --> 00:33:07.250 The case, the reality is that we should walk in newness of life. 00:33:07.250 --> 00:33:08.190 And this makes sense. 00:33:08.190 --> 00:33:13.950 You know, if we're spiritually dead to the law, if we are crucified with Christ, if we 00:33:13.950 --> 00:33:17.330 are risen with Christ, the Bible says we should do what? 00:33:17.330 --> 00:33:19.750 Seek those things that are above. 00:33:19.750 --> 00:33:23.140 I like to use this illustration of a person who literally died. 00:33:23.140 --> 00:33:27.100 Think about Lazarus, Lazarus literally died. 00:33:27.100 --> 00:33:28.760 And what did Jesus do to Lazarus? 00:33:28.760 --> 00:33:31.660 Lazarus brought him up from the dead. 00:33:31.660 --> 00:33:36.020 And what would, what should Lazarus do now that he is come back from the dead? 00:33:36.020 --> 00:33:38.530 Now that he's alive, he should live his life. 00:33:38.530 --> 00:33:40.490 He should walk in newness of life. 00:33:40.490 --> 00:33:41.960 He should be thankful to Jesus. 00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:47.330 He should serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and it would be silly and ridiculous and such 00:33:47.330 --> 00:33:50.710 a waste of the great gift that God has given him of life. 00:33:50.710 --> 00:33:52.860 Imagine Lazarus is dead in the tomb. 00:33:52.860 --> 00:33:57.880 He's laying down and Jesus says, Lazarus come forth and Lazarus stands up. 00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:01.570 And then he just lays back down and he's just like, I'm, I'm just going to lay down. 00:34:01.570 --> 00:34:02.550 I'm just going to do nothing. 00:34:02.550 --> 00:34:04.530 It's like, what are you doing? 00:34:04.530 --> 00:34:07.520 You know, Jesus just brought you back to life and you know what? 00:34:07.520 --> 00:34:12.840 Just as silly as it would be for Lazarus to just get back in the grave clothes, stay down 00:34:12.840 --> 00:34:16.500 in the tomb, just stay there and stink for a few more days. 00:34:16.500 --> 00:34:21.140 That's as silly and foolish as it is for us to not walk in newness of life. 00:34:21.140 --> 00:34:22.140 But here's the thing. 00:34:22.140 --> 00:34:23.130 It is a choice. 00:34:23.130 --> 00:34:25.280 It is not automatic. 00:34:25.280 --> 00:34:29.060 If Lazarus wanted to be, you know, foolish, he could have just laid back down. 00:34:29.060 --> 00:34:31.690 He could have just wrapped those grave clothes around him. 00:34:31.690 --> 00:34:32.680 But what should he do? 00:34:32.680 --> 00:34:33.680 He should get up. 00:34:33.680 --> 00:34:35.230 He should go live his life. 00:34:35.230 --> 00:34:37.850 He should walk in newness of life. 00:34:37.850 --> 00:34:42.650 And a Christian that is saved, that has had their sins forgiven, whose spirit has been 00:34:42.650 --> 00:34:47.630 quickened by the Lord Jesus Christ, if you're not going out and serving God, if you're not 00:34:47.630 --> 00:34:50.570 reading your Bible, if you're not praying, if you're not soul winning, if you're not 00:34:50.570 --> 00:34:54.800 going to church, it's like you just got back down in the grave and just wanted to stay 00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:55.820 dead. 00:34:55.820 --> 00:34:57.100 It makes no sense. 00:34:57.100 --> 00:35:02.280 You know, if you've been brought back to life, you should walk in newness of life. 00:35:02.280 --> 00:35:08.310 And of course, these scriptures are talking about a spiritual truth, and baptism is simply 00:35:08.310 --> 00:35:13.230 a physical thing you do that illustrates that spiritual truth. 00:35:13.230 --> 00:35:17.250 That is why we literally say when we baptize someone, we ask them, have you trusted in 00:35:17.250 --> 00:35:19.080 Jesus Christ for your salvation? 00:35:19.080 --> 00:35:24.240 Yes, then I baptize you, my brother or sister, in the name of the Father and of the Son and 00:35:24.240 --> 00:35:29.370 of the Holy Ghost, buried in the likeness of his death, raised to walk in newness of 00:35:29.370 --> 00:35:30.730 life. 00:35:30.730 --> 00:35:34.730 When you get baptized, you're identifying with a death, burial and resurrection of Christ. 00:35:34.730 --> 00:35:39.220 You're making this public profession that, hey, I believe in Christ and what you should 00:35:39.220 --> 00:35:43.550 have as your attitude is, hey, now that I'm coming up out of this water, I want to go 00:35:43.550 --> 00:35:49.850 forward and walk in newness of life and not just be stuck being the same person you were 00:35:49.850 --> 00:35:54.250 when you were dead, when death and sin had dominion over you. 00:35:54.250 --> 00:36:00.460 Look at verse number five, it says, for if we have been planted together in the likeness 00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:05.510 of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. 00:36:05.510 --> 00:36:11.130 See, Jesus died and his body was buried. 00:36:11.130 --> 00:36:17.250 And someday, unless we live through the tribulation and to the rapture, we are going to be planted 00:36:17.250 --> 00:36:19.030 in the likeness of his death. 00:36:19.030 --> 00:36:24.420 We are going to be buried, which by the way, the Christian practice is to bury our dead. 00:36:24.420 --> 00:36:26.560 Do not go get cremated. 00:36:26.560 --> 00:36:29.250 That is an ungodly pagan practice. 00:36:29.250 --> 00:36:32.080 We believe in burying our dead, why? 00:36:32.080 --> 00:36:37.930 Because we believe that like as Jesus died and was buried, but here's the thing, rose 00:36:37.930 --> 00:36:43.770 again from the dead, we believe that we also will be in the likeness of his resurrection. 00:36:43.770 --> 00:36:44.770 How so? 00:36:44.770 --> 00:36:46.570 Number one, we're coming back to life. 00:36:46.570 --> 00:36:51.950 Number two, Jesus came back in a glorified state and today is in a glorified state. 00:36:51.950 --> 00:36:55.470 And the Bible tells us that we will also be in that glorified state. 00:36:55.470 --> 00:37:00.880 We will get new bodies that will never get sick, that will never get injured, that will 00:37:00.880 --> 00:37:02.760 never get old and die. 00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:07.840 We will receive that likeness of Jesus's resurrection, which is another great thing that baptism 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:13.500 pictures is saying, Hey, we believe that we'll be risen again from the dead someday. 00:37:13.500 --> 00:37:21.140 Notice verse number six, knowing, knowing this, that our notice this old man is crucified 00:37:21.140 --> 00:37:29.680 with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 00:37:29.680 --> 00:37:36.610 We know that this body of death that we have, this flesh someday will be completely destroyed. 00:37:36.610 --> 00:37:41.340 And from that point, we'll have no sin because the only reason that we sin now is because 00:37:41.340 --> 00:37:45.670 we still have the flesh and we still have the old man. 00:37:45.670 --> 00:37:50.500 Once we have the old man completely shed from us and the flesh, there will be no sin. 00:37:50.500 --> 00:37:52.820 There are no people sinning in heaven. 00:37:52.820 --> 00:37:57.140 There is no lustful temptation in heaven or anything like that. 00:37:57.140 --> 00:38:03.180 Go to, if you would, Ephesians chapter number four, Ephesians chapter number four, because 00:38:03.180 --> 00:38:09.350 the Bible brought up this idea of the old man and the Bible teaches that we have a dual 00:38:09.350 --> 00:38:11.970 nature after getting saved. 00:38:11.970 --> 00:38:18.230 You have the old man, the sinful part of you, and you have the new man, which is renewed, 00:38:18.230 --> 00:38:21.510 which walks in perfect holiness. 00:38:21.510 --> 00:38:29.770 Look at verse number 21, it says, "If so be that you have heard him and have been taught 00:38:29.770 --> 00:38:37.330 by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning the former conversation 00:38:37.330 --> 00:38:42.610 the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts." 00:38:42.610 --> 00:38:48.600 Notice, if we want to live a godly life, we have to intentionally put off the old man 00:38:48.600 --> 00:38:52.540 because the old man is just completely corrupt. 00:38:52.540 --> 00:38:57.850 And here is the truth about human nature, is that even if you are saved, if you decide 00:38:57.850 --> 00:39:03.240 to just walk in the flesh, if you decide not to crucify that old man, you will be exactly 00:39:03.240 --> 00:39:06.340 the same person that you were before you were saved. 00:39:06.340 --> 00:39:12.380 And any natural sin that exists in this world is on the table for you if you do not walk 00:39:12.380 --> 00:39:16.450 in the spirit, which motivates me to, "Hey, I want to walk in the spirit because I don't 00:39:16.450 --> 00:39:21.370 want to be that person that I was before and potentially even get worse down the road if 00:39:21.370 --> 00:39:23.860 you just stay in that state." 00:39:23.860 --> 00:39:31.420 Notice verse 23, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man, 00:39:31.420 --> 00:39:36.750 which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." 00:39:36.750 --> 00:39:41.330 So when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are made a new creature. 00:39:41.330 --> 00:39:43.320 You get that new man. 00:39:43.320 --> 00:39:48.090 Notice that new man is created in righteousness and true holiness. 00:39:48.090 --> 00:39:50.680 Your new man does not sin. 00:39:50.680 --> 00:39:56.330 Your new man desires the things of God, desires to walk in the spirit. 00:39:56.330 --> 00:40:03.050 Then notice it says, "Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, 00:40:03.050 --> 00:40:05.030 for we are members one of another." 00:40:05.030 --> 00:40:08.720 So what does it look like in practicality to actually put off the old man? 00:40:08.720 --> 00:40:12.370 Well, you start by putting away lying, right? 00:40:12.370 --> 00:40:13.480 Don't lie. 00:40:13.480 --> 00:40:17.220 Verse 26, more examples, "Be ye angry and sin not. 00:40:17.220 --> 00:40:21.280 Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. 00:40:21.280 --> 00:40:23.450 Let him that stole steal no more. 00:40:23.450 --> 00:40:27.560 But rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may 00:40:27.560 --> 00:40:29.380 have to give to him that needeth. 00:40:29.380 --> 00:40:33.280 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the 00:40:33.280 --> 00:40:37.270 use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 00:40:37.270 --> 00:40:41.580 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 00:40:41.580 --> 00:40:47.690 Let all bitterness and wrath, anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with 00:40:47.690 --> 00:40:54.060 all malice, and be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God 00:40:54.060 --> 00:40:56.950 for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. 00:40:56.950 --> 00:41:01.120 So what does it look like when a person actually is walking in the new man, when they're actually 00:41:01.120 --> 00:41:02.860 putting off the old man? 00:41:02.860 --> 00:41:04.950 What will that person's life actually look like? 00:41:04.950 --> 00:41:07.090 Well, they won't be lying. 00:41:07.090 --> 00:41:09.550 They won't have unrighteous anger. 00:41:09.550 --> 00:41:11.900 They will not be stealing, okay? 00:41:11.900 --> 00:41:17.120 You're going around lying, having unrighteous anger, going and stealing people's bikes. 00:41:17.120 --> 00:41:18.110 Who's had their bikes stolen? 00:41:18.110 --> 00:41:19.100 I've had my bikes stolen. 00:41:19.100 --> 00:41:20.090 It's annoying. 00:41:20.090 --> 00:41:21.080 Right? 00:41:21.080 --> 00:41:23.840 Someone who's doing these type of things, they are not walking the new man. 00:41:23.840 --> 00:41:25.810 They are not putting off the old man. 00:41:25.810 --> 00:41:26.780 What else? 00:41:26.780 --> 00:41:33.530 Corrupt communication, railing, blasphemy, gossip, these type of things, bitterness, 00:41:33.530 --> 00:41:36.990 wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking. 00:41:36.990 --> 00:41:40.610 When you see someone that is just filled with these characteristics, you're looking at a 00:41:40.610 --> 00:41:43.410 person that is not walking in the spirit. 00:41:43.410 --> 00:41:45.930 Does not mean that person's not saved. 00:41:45.930 --> 00:41:51.790 There could be a person who is stealing, has corrupt communication, is angry, is bitter, 00:41:51.790 --> 00:41:53.790 has all these things and they're saved. 00:41:53.790 --> 00:41:56.640 The problem with them is that they've not put off the old man. 00:41:56.640 --> 00:41:58.510 They've not crucified that old man. 00:41:58.510 --> 00:42:02.080 They've decided to walk in that old man and not walk in the new man. 00:42:02.080 --> 00:42:04.960 Look, they're going to look exactly like the unsaved. 00:42:04.960 --> 00:42:06.750 And so what is the solution to these things? 00:42:06.750 --> 00:42:10.630 You put off the old man, you walk in the new, you be filled with the spirit. 00:42:10.630 --> 00:42:11.620 How? 00:42:11.620 --> 00:42:15.980 Singing to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, going to church, reading 00:42:15.980 --> 00:42:20.810 the Bible, praying, you know, praying and just asking God, God, fill me with the spirit. 00:42:20.810 --> 00:42:25.540 God, please give me wisdom, Lord, you know, help me to avoid temptation, Lord, help me 00:42:25.540 --> 00:42:27.570 to be walking in the new man. 00:42:27.570 --> 00:42:31.770 Something as simple as that could really help you actually walk in the new man. 00:42:31.770 --> 00:42:37.620 Go back to Romans chapter number six, Romans chapter number six. 00:42:37.620 --> 00:42:40.580 So that's what it's talking about there in verse six, knowing this, that our old man 00:42:40.580 --> 00:42:45.620 is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should 00:42:45.620 --> 00:42:50.840 not serve sin, verse seven, for he that is dead is freed from sin. 00:42:50.840 --> 00:42:55.490 Hey, when you die someday, you will never sin again. 00:42:55.490 --> 00:43:00.720 And likewise, when you crucified the flesh, when you crucified that old man, you can walk 00:43:00.720 --> 00:43:03.170 in the spirit and overcome sin as well. 00:43:03.170 --> 00:43:05.750 Obviously you're never going to be sinlessly perfect. 00:43:05.750 --> 00:43:09.100 Obviously there's going to be times in your life where you're walking in the spirit and 00:43:09.100 --> 00:43:14.330 then you mess up and you get backslidden, but you can do that and you can be free from 00:43:14.330 --> 00:43:15.310 sin in that way. 00:43:15.310 --> 00:43:21.480 In chapter 8 it says, "Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we also shall live 00:43:21.480 --> 00:43:22.800 with Him. 00:43:22.800 --> 00:43:29.360 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieeth no more, death hath no more dominion 00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:30.910 over Him." 00:43:30.910 --> 00:43:36.850 So notice, Jesus Christ died for our sins one time, right? 00:43:36.850 --> 00:43:41.740 So there's no such thing as losing your salvation and getting it back. 00:43:41.740 --> 00:43:46.470 Christ is not being crucified afresh, right, as the Bible talks about in Hebrews. 00:43:46.470 --> 00:43:50.580 He died unto sin once, He's a once for all sacrifice. 00:43:50.580 --> 00:43:55.450 And now that He has died and risen again, death hath no more dominion over Him. 00:43:55.450 --> 00:43:56.810 Why? 00:43:56.810 --> 00:44:02.040 Because for a short time, death did have dominion over Him when He was in hell. 00:44:02.040 --> 00:44:06.030 But He did not stay in hell, He rose again, of course, the third day. 00:44:06.030 --> 00:44:09.800 Verse 10, "For in that He died, He died unto sin once. 00:44:09.800 --> 00:44:13.420 But in that He liveth, He liveth unto God." 00:44:13.420 --> 00:44:19.690 Now here's the application for us, verse 11, "Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be 00:44:19.690 --> 00:44:26.920 dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." 00:44:26.920 --> 00:44:33.620 So notice, again, serving God, walking in the Spirit, putting off the old man is a choice 00:44:33.620 --> 00:44:36.270 that you have to actively make. 00:44:36.270 --> 00:44:37.530 That's what it's saying, reckon. 00:44:37.530 --> 00:44:38.520 What does that mean? 00:44:38.520 --> 00:44:39.710 Count. 00:44:39.710 --> 00:44:40.690 Right? 00:44:40.690 --> 00:44:46.900 Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God. 00:44:46.900 --> 00:44:52.480 Look at verse 12, "Let not sin, therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should 00:44:52.480 --> 00:44:56.080 obey it in the lusts thereof." 00:44:56.080 --> 00:44:59.160 You actually have control when you are saved. 00:44:59.160 --> 00:45:01.570 You have the ability to walk in the Spirit. 00:45:01.570 --> 00:45:06.080 So every single time that you sin and that I sin, you know whose fault it is? 00:45:06.080 --> 00:45:07.630 Our fault. 00:45:07.630 --> 00:45:11.720 Every single time someone sins, they have made the decision to do that. 00:45:11.720 --> 00:45:16.330 Because here's the thing, you have the option to let not sin, therefore reign in your mortal 00:45:16.330 --> 00:45:17.830 body, right? 00:45:17.830 --> 00:45:23.380 The apostle Paul talks about how he keeps his body under subjection, lest when he preaches 00:45:23.380 --> 00:45:27.000 to others, he himself should be a passed away, right? 00:45:27.000 --> 00:45:29.170 He's disciplined in that way. 00:45:29.170 --> 00:45:34.840 And so when those lusts of the flesh arise, that crossroads is a moment where you could 00:45:34.840 --> 00:45:39.560 either walk in the Spirit, pray and ask God to help you with that temptation, with that 00:45:39.560 --> 00:45:44.620 issue, singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs, or you could allow sin to reign in 00:45:44.620 --> 00:45:45.810 your mortal body. 00:45:45.810 --> 00:45:48.320 But if you do that, that is the decision that you have made. 00:45:48.320 --> 00:45:50.440 It is not automatic. 00:45:50.440 --> 00:45:58.080 Verse 13, neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves 00:45:58.080 --> 00:46:04.640 unto God as those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness 00:46:04.640 --> 00:46:05.630 unto God. 00:46:05.630 --> 00:46:11.690 Again, notice how there is human volition involved when it comes to sin or when it comes 00:46:11.690 --> 00:46:13.570 to serving God. 00:46:13.570 --> 00:46:17.970 It's not like we are the Calvinist puppets that the Calvinists talk about how everything's 00:46:17.970 --> 00:46:22.870 preordained and God's just controlling what we do and we're just kind of these robots 00:46:22.870 --> 00:46:24.200 that exist. 00:46:24.200 --> 00:46:29.720 That word yield, we use that word in our modern vernacular when we're driving. 00:46:29.720 --> 00:46:35.490 And here's the thing, even though the law may say yield, the sign may say yield, aren't 00:46:35.490 --> 00:46:37.330 those those people that just refuse to do it? 00:46:37.330 --> 00:46:41.490 I mean, the law says to yield, the sign says to yield. 00:46:41.490 --> 00:46:42.490 What does that mean? 00:46:42.490 --> 00:46:45.130 Let that person merge, let that person go. 00:46:45.130 --> 00:46:50.360 But aren't they aren't there those jerks usually from Texas, no offense, people from Texas, 00:46:50.360 --> 00:46:53.660 that they just don't care what the law says, they don't care what the driving rules say, 00:46:53.660 --> 00:46:55.170 and they're just not going to yield. 00:46:55.170 --> 00:46:58.510 Okay, that was a decision that they made. 00:46:58.510 --> 00:46:59.490 Right. 00:46:59.490 --> 00:47:03.680 So you have the decision, you have the free will Calvinists. 00:47:03.680 --> 00:47:09.010 It says, neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness. 00:47:09.010 --> 00:47:11.850 What is your members, your body parts? 00:47:11.850 --> 00:47:16.280 You do not have to yield your tongue to speak evil, right? 00:47:16.280 --> 00:47:21.400 You could yield your tongue as a member to serve God, to be righteous. 00:47:21.400 --> 00:47:23.820 You could use your tongue to preach the gospel. 00:47:23.820 --> 00:47:27.130 You could use your tongue to pray for your brethren. 00:47:27.130 --> 00:47:30.540 You could use your tongue to praise the Lord in song. 00:47:30.540 --> 00:47:35.460 You could use your tongue to preach a sermon, or you could yield your tongue as a member 00:47:35.460 --> 00:47:42.950 of unrighteousness, and lie, and gossip, and blaspheme, or preach false doctrine. 00:47:42.950 --> 00:47:47.960 These are things that people do, and at the end of the day, it's a decision that they 00:47:47.960 --> 00:47:49.220 made. 00:47:49.220 --> 00:47:51.020 It wasn't predetermined. 00:47:51.020 --> 00:47:52.010 What should we do? 00:47:52.010 --> 00:47:54.880 We should yield our members as instruments of righteousness. 00:47:54.880 --> 00:47:55.860 Notice verse number 14. 00:47:55.860 --> 00:48:03.240 It says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under the law, but 00:48:03.240 --> 00:48:05.040 under grace." 00:48:05.040 --> 00:48:06.190 What then? 00:48:06.190 --> 00:48:10.940 Should we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? 00:48:10.940 --> 00:48:11.900 God forbids. 00:48:11.900 --> 00:48:13.600 It kind of reiterates this question. 00:48:13.600 --> 00:48:15.740 Yes, grace is going to cover our sin. 00:48:15.740 --> 00:48:17.090 Yes, we are under grace. 00:48:17.090 --> 00:48:21.690 We are not under the law, but should we just keep on going, sinning because we're under 00:48:21.690 --> 00:48:22.680 grace? 00:48:22.680 --> 00:48:23.670 He says, "God forbid." 00:48:23.670 --> 00:48:25.200 Why? 00:48:25.200 --> 00:48:31.160 "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves, servants to obey, his servants ye are, to 00:48:31.160 --> 00:48:37.050 whom you obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness." 00:48:37.050 --> 00:48:42.250 This is a really important concept that the world just does not understand, and the Apostle 00:48:42.250 --> 00:48:44.040 Paul is trying to get people to understand this. 00:48:44.040 --> 00:48:49.960 Look, should you just continue to sin just because we are under grace, no, here's why. 00:48:49.960 --> 00:48:54.960 You are going to be a servant to something in this world, and whatever it is that you 00:48:54.960 --> 00:49:01.020 yield yourself to obey, whatever it is that you allow your body to do, if you allow your 00:49:01.020 --> 00:49:07.430 hands to be instruments of murder, if you allow your feet to be swift in running to 00:49:07.430 --> 00:49:12.310 mischief, if you allow your tongue to be used to lie and to blaspheme, okay well here's 00:49:12.310 --> 00:49:16.520 it, at the end of the day, you are going to become the servant of sin. 00:49:16.520 --> 00:49:21.890 You are going to be brought into the bondage of the corruption of sin, and you know what? 00:49:21.890 --> 00:49:27.200 You're free from righteousness, you're free from all the rules, you're free from the sticklers 00:49:27.200 --> 00:49:30.570 at church and the backwards fundamentalists, but you know what you are? 00:49:30.570 --> 00:49:35.950 You are in bondage to your own sin, and a lot of people today, they look at church, 00:49:35.950 --> 00:49:39.820 they look at serving God, they look at the preacher, they look at the Bible, and they 00:49:39.820 --> 00:49:44.580 say, "I don't want all those rules, I don't want the strict lifestyle, you know, Baptists 00:49:44.580 --> 00:49:49.080 don't have any fun, Christians don't have any fun, I just want to be free." 00:49:49.080 --> 00:49:54.410 And so they go out and they live a life where they yield their members instruments of unrighteousness, 00:49:54.410 --> 00:49:55.460 like doing what? 00:49:55.460 --> 00:49:59.430 Like going and committing fornication, and they think, "Hey, I'm free, no one can hold 00:49:59.430 --> 00:50:04.330 me down, the rules can't hold me down," until they get brought under the corruption of bondage 00:50:04.330 --> 00:50:10.180 of STDs, and it's like, "Okay, you're going to be the servant of something, you're going 00:50:10.180 --> 00:50:16.580 to be under bondage in a sense to something, and I would rather submit myself to the rules 00:50:16.580 --> 00:50:22.500 of the Bible, to God's commandments that are always there for our betterment, for our protection, 00:50:22.500 --> 00:50:28.570 and be the servant of God, rather than I'm brought under the slavery of an STD." 00:50:28.570 --> 00:50:32.730 And here's the thing, people, once they go down that road and they get the STD, you better 00:50:32.730 --> 00:50:37.670 believe that they wish they could undo that, but a lot of actions people do in this world 00:50:37.670 --> 00:50:41.190 have lifelong permanent consequences. 00:50:41.190 --> 00:50:46.260 You know, you think you're so free when you go out and you drink alcohol, and you get 00:50:46.260 --> 00:50:49.950 in the car, and you're drinking and driving with your buddies, and you're having such 00:50:49.950 --> 00:50:53.760 a fun time, and hey, no one at church can tell you what to do, your parents can't tell 00:50:53.760 --> 00:50:57.610 you what to do, the Bible can't tell you what to do, and then you wake up, and you killed 00:50:57.610 --> 00:50:59.110 someone. 00:50:59.110 --> 00:51:05.240 Oh yeah, I want to undo that, I don't want to have to be in bondage, literally in prison, 00:51:05.240 --> 00:51:06.250 for killing someone. 00:51:06.250 --> 00:51:11.430 I mean, it could lead to literal bondage, literal imprisonment, the sins that people 00:51:11.430 --> 00:51:12.750 do in this world. 00:51:12.750 --> 00:51:17.430 We talked about this morning, adultery, oh I don't want to be chained, don't people call 00:51:17.430 --> 00:51:21.720 their wife the old ball and chain, oh I don't want to be chained down, I don't want to 00:51:21.720 --> 00:51:26.990 be tethered to my wife, so I'm going to go be free and commit adultery, and it's like, 00:51:26.990 --> 00:51:33.020 does that actually bring liberty to your life, or does it also bring STDs, bastard children, 00:51:33.020 --> 00:51:38.510 ruined home, the wrath of God on your life, the apostle Paul is saying, look, know ye 00:51:38.510 --> 00:51:43.490 not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are, to whom you 00:51:43.490 --> 00:51:49.370 obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness, what's the difference, 00:51:49.370 --> 00:51:55.260 you're going to be under bondage in some sense of the word, either way, but one is sin unto 00:51:55.260 --> 00:52:01.420 death, right, nothing profitable is being done by living a life full of sin and wickedness, 00:52:01.420 --> 00:52:05.810 nothing that's going to, you know, turn into something good, nothing good ever happens 00:52:05.810 --> 00:52:11.410 when you're drinking alcohol, nothing good ever happens from a fornicating relationship, 00:52:11.410 --> 00:52:17.200 nothing good ever happens from being a prostitute, nothing good ever happens from getting a tattoo, 00:52:17.200 --> 00:52:21.580 none of these things bring anything good, it brings death is what it brings, or when 00:52:21.580 --> 00:52:26.560 you obey God of obedience unto righteousness. 00:52:26.560 --> 00:52:33.600 Verse 17, but God be thanked that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from 00:52:33.600 --> 00:52:38.610 the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 00:52:38.610 --> 00:52:40.640 How is it that you obey the gospel? 00:52:40.640 --> 00:52:44.950 It's an imperative, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. 00:52:44.950 --> 00:52:47.830 We have obeyed that form of doctrine. 00:52:47.830 --> 00:52:55.290 Genesis 18 being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 00:52:55.290 --> 00:53:00.920 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh for as ye have 00:53:00.920 --> 00:53:08.680 yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now 00:53:08.680 --> 00:53:13.480 yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 00:53:13.480 --> 00:53:19.180 Again, how in the world could you get around the idea that having good works after you 00:53:19.180 --> 00:53:21.860 get saved is not automatic? 00:53:21.860 --> 00:53:24.490 Why would the apostle Paul have to even say this? 00:53:24.490 --> 00:53:27.330 If it was just automatic, you're going to change automatically. 00:53:27.330 --> 00:53:28.460 Your life's going to turn around. 00:53:28.460 --> 00:53:33.430 He's saying, look, in time past, you yielded your members instruments to wickedness, to 00:53:33.430 --> 00:53:34.830 evil, to sin. 00:53:34.830 --> 00:53:39.190 Now just yield those same members to doing something good. 00:53:39.190 --> 00:53:43.300 He's telling them this because it is not automatic. 00:53:43.300 --> 00:53:49.460 Notice here's another reason why verse 20, for when you were the servants of sin, you 00:53:49.460 --> 00:53:51.840 were free from righteousness. 00:53:51.840 --> 00:53:57.970 You know, some people get this idea that there's people in this world that are not saved, but 00:53:57.970 --> 00:54:00.820 they're righteous people, they're good people. 00:54:00.820 --> 00:54:02.400 That is a lie. 00:54:02.400 --> 00:54:04.320 The Bible says there's none good, but one that is God. 00:54:04.320 --> 00:54:09.060 First of all, second, when you are not saved, you are not being righteous. 00:54:09.060 --> 00:54:10.740 You are not doing good. 00:54:10.740 --> 00:54:13.510 People say, oh man, Mohammed Gandhi was such a good person. 00:54:13.510 --> 00:54:14.900 No, he wasn't. 00:54:14.900 --> 00:54:17.650 Oh, Martin Luther King was such a good man. 00:54:17.650 --> 00:54:20.490 He was an evil false prophet and an adulterer. 00:54:20.490 --> 00:54:22.170 No, he was not a good man. 00:54:22.170 --> 00:54:24.420 No, he was not being righteous. 00:54:24.420 --> 00:54:25.400 And you know what? 00:54:25.400 --> 00:54:28.820 Before you and I were saved, we were not righteous people. 00:54:28.820 --> 00:54:30.460 What does it mean to be righteous? 00:54:30.460 --> 00:54:32.420 To do right. 00:54:32.420 --> 00:54:33.660 How do you do right? 00:54:33.660 --> 00:54:36.160 You walk in the new man. 00:54:36.160 --> 00:54:37.650 How can you walk in the new man? 00:54:37.650 --> 00:54:39.490 You have to have the new man. 00:54:39.490 --> 00:54:40.970 You have to be saved. 00:54:40.970 --> 00:54:45.270 Look, this world is not filled today with good people. 00:54:45.270 --> 00:54:47.770 It's filled with evil, wicked people. 00:54:47.770 --> 00:54:49.820 Read Romans chapter three again. 00:54:49.820 --> 00:54:53.440 This mentality of, you know, I think everybody's just good deep in their core. 00:54:53.440 --> 00:54:54.460 No, no, no. 00:54:54.460 --> 00:55:00.520 Every human being is evil and needs to get saved so that we can walk in that new man. 00:55:00.520 --> 00:55:02.650 Notice verse 21. 00:55:02.650 --> 00:55:08.770 What fruit had you then in those things where you are now ashamed for the end of those things 00:55:08.770 --> 00:55:09.930 is death? 00:55:09.930 --> 00:55:16.590 He's like, what benefit did you produce with your life before you were saved? 00:55:16.590 --> 00:55:19.160 What was the fruit of those things that you were doing? 00:55:19.160 --> 00:55:21.190 What was the benefit to the world that you were doing? 00:55:21.190 --> 00:55:25.950 Note, he says, those things where you are now ashamed and look, it's great when people 00:55:25.950 --> 00:55:32.470 get saved really, really young in life as children, as young teenagers and they're walking 00:55:32.470 --> 00:55:36.420 in the spirit, they're in church, they're doing that, which is right, because hopefully 00:55:36.420 --> 00:55:40.210 you want to have this testimony that you just got saved young and you just started serving 00:55:40.210 --> 00:55:42.860 God and you just continue to serve God. 00:55:42.860 --> 00:55:43.850 But you know what? 00:55:43.850 --> 00:55:50.730 Who we got saved in our teen years or late teen years, some people 20s, 30s, 40s or whatever. 00:55:50.730 --> 00:55:55.110 And if you're honest, if you looked back at your life, you look back at the person you 00:55:55.110 --> 00:56:00.680 were before you got saved, you know what you would have is a feeling of shame. 00:56:00.680 --> 00:56:02.390 At least you should. 00:56:02.390 --> 00:56:07.390 You know, the wicked have no shame, the Bible teaches, but you should look back at the things 00:56:07.390 --> 00:56:12.550 that you did before you were saved and not wallow in self-pity and not move on for Christ. 00:56:12.550 --> 00:56:17.040 But you know what, you should not glorify how your life was before you were saved. 00:56:17.040 --> 00:56:22.410 And some people think it's kind of cool to like brag about what a messed up life that 00:56:22.410 --> 00:56:24.740 they had before they were saved. 00:56:24.740 --> 00:56:29.580 And you know, modern, New Evangelical churches will do this where they'll bring in gangsters 00:56:29.580 --> 00:56:35.730 and mobsters and MS-13 and prostitutes and they'll bring them up on the stage and say 00:56:35.730 --> 00:56:41.140 like, you know, I murdered, you know, 700 people in MS-13, but I believe in Christ now. 00:56:41.140 --> 00:56:43.870 And everyone's like, oh yeah, it's so great, it's so wonderful. 00:56:43.870 --> 00:56:47.780 It's like, no, no, no, you had no fruit in your previous life. 00:56:47.780 --> 00:56:49.520 It's not something to glorify. 00:56:49.520 --> 00:56:51.500 It's something you should be ashamed of. 00:56:51.500 --> 00:56:54.820 And the gospel, your testimony is not about your changed life. 00:56:54.820 --> 00:56:57.010 It's about believing the gospel. 00:56:57.010 --> 00:57:00.890 You know why we don't have testimony night here, where we share our testimony? 00:57:00.890 --> 00:57:03.690 Because we all have the same testimony. 00:57:03.690 --> 00:57:07.140 And if you have a different testimony, we definitely don't want to hear it because it's 00:57:07.140 --> 00:57:08.480 probably full of false doctrine. 00:57:08.480 --> 00:57:13.250 But really, do you want us to just all get up here and be like, I am a sinner. 00:57:13.250 --> 00:57:14.730 I deserve hell. 00:57:14.730 --> 00:57:19.680 I heard the gospel, that Jesus died for my sins, that he was buried, that he rose again. 00:57:19.680 --> 00:57:24.430 I heard that if I just put my trust in him and call upon his name, then he'll save me 00:57:24.430 --> 00:57:26.370 for forever, for all of eternity. 00:57:26.370 --> 00:57:27.760 And so I did that. 00:57:27.760 --> 00:57:28.750 Next. 00:57:28.750 --> 00:57:32.740 I was a sinner and I heard, you know, like, wouldn't that get old really quick? 00:57:32.740 --> 00:57:34.550 Yeah, it does. 00:57:34.550 --> 00:57:37.870 And that's why we don't constantly preach about salvation and we don't constantly preach 00:57:37.870 --> 00:57:41.850 about our testimony because everyone in here is saved. 00:57:41.850 --> 00:57:44.460 Now we're talking about a little more because we're going through the book of Romans and 00:57:44.460 --> 00:57:47.310 it's definitely a heavy topic in the book of Romans. 00:57:47.310 --> 00:57:52.350 But really we emphasize this where to the world out soul winning, right? 00:57:52.350 --> 00:57:56.920 But when we look back at our life, when we look back at the person that we were before 00:57:56.920 --> 00:58:02.450 we were saved, you should not look back at those things with rose colored glasses because 00:58:02.450 --> 00:58:07.450 there is a danger and you saw this with the children of Israel in the Old Testament where 00:58:07.450 --> 00:58:13.370 God parts the Red Sea, he brings them into the wilderness, he delivers them from bondage 00:58:13.370 --> 00:58:18.180 of the Egyptians, but they just started losing their contentment and they looked back at 00:58:18.180 --> 00:58:22.670 the things of Egypt and they're like, "I miss the leeks, I miss the garlic, I miss the melons, 00:58:22.670 --> 00:58:24.750 I miss all these things." 00:58:24.750 --> 00:58:28.090 But here's the thing, what profit did their life have back then? 00:58:28.090 --> 00:58:30.200 Was there anything good back then? 00:58:30.200 --> 00:58:31.190 Absolutely not. 00:58:31.190 --> 00:58:34.530 And you know what, you need to remind yourself too, don't sit here and look back on your 00:58:34.530 --> 00:58:39.250 college days and say, "Yeah, I mean it kind of was fun going out to the bar with the girls 00:58:39.250 --> 00:58:41.950 and drinking and doing all these things." 00:58:41.950 --> 00:58:43.440 Don't think that way. 00:58:43.440 --> 00:58:47.650 You're deceiving yourself and especially don't talk that way in front of your children and 00:58:47.650 --> 00:58:50.070 in front of the next generation. 00:58:50.070 --> 00:58:55.190 We need to make sin exceeding sinful because oftentimes what the parents do in moderation, 00:58:55.190 --> 00:58:57.370 the children do in excess. 00:58:57.370 --> 00:59:02.090 And if you just excuse sin a little bit, if you tell them drinking's not as bad as Pastor 00:59:02.090 --> 00:59:06.600 Oz makes it out to be, "Look, I fornicated, I didn't get a disease," or something like 00:59:06.600 --> 00:59:09.290 that, you know, you can make your children just go crazy. 00:59:09.290 --> 00:59:12.190 That's obviously not something that we would want. 00:59:12.190 --> 00:59:16.020 Notice he says, "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? 00:59:16.020 --> 00:59:20.220 For the end of those things is death. 00:59:20.220 --> 00:59:28.790 But now, being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness 00:59:28.790 --> 00:59:31.640 and the end everlasting life. 00:59:31.640 --> 00:59:37.700 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ 00:59:37.700 --> 00:59:39.700 our Lord." 00:59:39.700 --> 00:59:45.830 We have a choice to make when we get saved, and we can either look at our life that we 00:59:45.830 --> 00:59:50.660 had before we got saved, and we could be foolish and we could kind of exalt that and think 00:59:50.660 --> 00:59:54.490 highly of that and walk after that, but here's the thing. 00:59:54.490 --> 00:59:55.590 What's the end of those things? 00:59:55.590 --> 00:59:57.120 Death. 00:59:57.120 --> 01:00:02.140 What do you have to gain if you yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness? 01:00:02.140 --> 01:00:06.700 You have absolutely nothing to gain, nothing is going to come from it, and you know what? 01:00:06.700 --> 01:00:13.570 Life is just too short to waste it on the temporal pleasures of sin for a season. 01:00:13.570 --> 01:00:18.350 Life is fleeting, you never know when your last day is, and people oftentimes make all 01:00:18.350 --> 01:00:23.060 these plans of some day in the future I'm going to serve God. 01:00:23.060 --> 01:00:27.990 Some day in the future I'm going to yield my members as servants of righteousness and 01:00:27.990 --> 01:00:30.310 I'm actually going to produce something with my life. 01:00:30.310 --> 01:00:37.260 Notice what it is, verse 22, you have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting 01:00:37.260 --> 01:00:39.130 life. 01:00:39.130 --> 01:00:44.120 You either serve sin and you produce nothing, in fact the wages of sin is death, or you 01:00:44.120 --> 01:00:49.610 yield your members instruments of righteousness and you have this thing called fruit. 01:00:49.610 --> 01:00:51.940 You actually could live a profitable life. 01:00:51.940 --> 01:00:57.460 And I think oftentimes Christians today, their minds are just so carnal, they're just so 01:00:57.460 --> 01:01:03.560 interested in living for the things of this world that you lose the big picture of eternity 01:01:03.560 --> 01:01:08.610 and you're just stuck in this mundane rut of life and it's just wake up and make money 01:01:08.610 --> 01:01:13.860 and wake up and save vacation time and wake up and buy the new cool toy that I want, not 01:01:13.860 --> 01:01:19.300 even realizing that your days are just ticking away, ticking away, ticking away, and someday 01:01:19.300 --> 01:01:24.150 you are going to stand literally before the Lord Jesus Christ and He is going to judge 01:01:24.150 --> 01:01:27.970 you according to your works and you are going to be given rewards that are going to be 01:01:27.970 --> 01:01:32.570 yours for all of eternity and once you are dead, it is over. 01:01:32.570 --> 01:01:36.770 You don't get any more opportunities to earn rewards for Christ, you don't get to produce 01:01:36.770 --> 01:01:43.230 any more fruit for the kingdom of heaven, it is now, it is right now. 01:01:43.230 --> 01:01:46.990 That's why the apostle Paul is trying to wake people up in this chapter, look, will grace 01:01:46.990 --> 01:01:51.750 cover your sin, yes, but you know what, if you go out and live a wicked life, the only 01:01:51.750 --> 01:01:55.000 thing that you are going to bring forth in that is death. 01:01:55.000 --> 01:01:58.520 You are going to destroy your life, you are going to destroy other people's life, there 01:01:58.520 --> 01:02:02.700 is going to be nothing profitable for you in the kingdom of heaven, whereas when you 01:02:02.700 --> 01:02:08.360 yield yourselves servants to righteousness, you have this thing called fruit. 01:02:08.360 --> 01:02:11.460 You are going to be the servant of someone, you are either going to serve sin and have 01:02:11.460 --> 01:02:15.080 nothing to show for it, or you are going to be the servant of righteousness and you know 01:02:15.080 --> 01:02:18.020 what, you could have great rewards in heaven. 01:02:18.020 --> 01:02:22.780 We need to constantly remind ourselves that we really are just pilgrims on this earth, 01:02:22.780 --> 01:02:27.370 that we really are just passing through and you need to wake yourself up out of this normalcy 01:02:27.370 --> 01:02:33.470 bias that people have where they think, hey, I'll die when I'm 80, I'll die when I'm 70, 01:02:33.470 --> 01:02:34.460 I'll die when I'm 100. 01:02:34.460 --> 01:02:36.750 Look, I literally pray that God lets me live to 100. 01:02:36.750 --> 01:02:41.220 I pray that regularly, but you know what, I'm not going to live my life just banking 01:02:41.220 --> 01:02:42.590 on that. 01:02:42.590 --> 01:02:48.160 I want to go full throttle, yielding my members as instruments of righteousness because I 01:02:48.160 --> 01:02:52.610 don't know how much time I have, but what I know is that whatever amount of time God 01:02:52.610 --> 01:02:57.150 gives me, he is going to judge me for how I stewarded that time. 01:02:57.150 --> 01:03:03.130 And however long or little of time I have, I don't want Christ to see my job resume and 01:03:03.130 --> 01:03:07.160 say, what's this huge gap in your work history, right? 01:03:07.160 --> 01:03:10.280 You see a lot of people, sometimes they get on fire. 01:03:10.280 --> 01:03:11.730 Sometimes they get in church. 01:03:11.730 --> 01:03:13.140 Sometimes they're like, yeah, you know what? 01:03:13.140 --> 01:03:14.250 The world is worthless. 01:03:14.250 --> 01:03:15.750 There is nothing for me there. 01:03:15.750 --> 01:03:17.480 Maybe I should go serve God. 01:03:17.480 --> 01:03:22.230 And then the cares of this world just come up and choke their heart and they quit. 01:03:22.230 --> 01:03:23.710 They stop serving God. 01:03:23.710 --> 01:03:25.200 They stop going to church. 01:03:25.200 --> 01:03:29.010 They end up just living for the flesh, living for this world, and you know what? 01:03:29.010 --> 01:03:32.920 Sometimes that's a month, sometimes that's a year, sometimes that's decades, and they 01:03:32.920 --> 01:03:37.640 just have this giant wasted opportunity in their life of years and years and years that 01:03:37.640 --> 01:03:38.910 God has given us. 01:03:38.910 --> 01:03:39.900 And you know what? 01:03:39.900 --> 01:03:44.320 The Christian that does that is like the Lazarus that gets raised from the dead and instead 01:03:44.320 --> 01:03:47.890 of walking in newness of life, he just lays back down in the grave. 01:03:47.890 --> 01:03:51.280 He just covers himself with the grave clothes and just goes right back to sleep. 01:03:51.280 --> 01:03:52.260 You know what that person would be? 01:03:52.260 --> 01:03:54.180 A fool. 01:03:54.180 --> 01:03:55.550 A fool. 01:03:55.550 --> 01:04:01.800 And I submit to you today that the Christian who is saved has the new man and just willingly 01:04:01.800 --> 01:04:04.830 yields their members instruments to unrighteousness. 01:04:04.830 --> 01:04:07.420 I submit to you that person is a fool. 01:04:07.420 --> 01:04:12.440 And I submit to you when you stand at the judgment seat of Christ and you receive the 01:04:12.440 --> 01:04:17.300 things done in your body and you face eternity and you're dirt poor spiritually, you're going 01:04:17.300 --> 01:04:18.910 to regret that. 01:04:18.910 --> 01:04:24.400 And so my job now and what the apostle Paul's job was is to get you to wake up and actually 01:04:24.400 --> 01:04:28.580 make the decision, hey, I'm going to yield my members servants to righteousness because 01:04:28.580 --> 01:04:32.150 that's the only thing in this world that actually has profit. 01:04:32.150 --> 01:04:33.100 Let's pray Lord. 01:04:33.100 --> 01:04:34.580 Thank you so much for your word. 01:04:34.580 --> 01:04:36.020 Thank you for the book of Romans. 01:04:36.020 --> 01:04:40.030 I pray that every single person in here would not just have a normalcy bias about their 01:04:40.030 --> 01:04:45.960 life thinking they have so long to serve you and they'll just focus on our own lives first 01:04:45.960 --> 01:04:47.830 and then think about you Lord. 01:04:47.830 --> 01:04:51.370 Help us to make the decision to walk in the new man daily. 01:04:51.370 --> 01:04:56.880 Help us to yield our members servants to righteousness and I pray Lord that you would just give us 01:04:56.880 --> 01:04:59.600 the strength along the way to do that. 01:04:59.600 --> 01:05:03.880 Help us to be long suffering and merciful with each other but Lord please just give 01:05:03.880 --> 01:05:08.450 us the strength to serve you and to bring forth fruit with our lives in Jesus name we 01:05:08.450 --> 01:05:13.260 pray. 01:05:13.260 --> 01:05:19.920 Amen. 01:05:19.920 --> 01:05:59.860 This evening will be number 427 we three kings of orient are on the first we