Mark 5.1-20

Title: A Proper Response

Text: Mark 5.1-20

This message can be viewed on YouTube on the Tarpley Church Channel

Introduction: Thank you, John, for reading Scripture this morning.

Let’s begin: We’re in the 2^nd miracle in this particular passage on the Authority of Jesus. Last week we saw how Jesus exercised his authority over the natural realm (4.35-41). Today, we’ll see his authority over the Spiritual Realm. In subsequent weeks, we’ll look at his authority over the physical realm, and even death.

      As we begin today, I’d like to offer a quick summary of what John read: In today’s passage, the disciples arrive on the other side of the sea with Jesus in the boat. Immediately, as he is getting out of the boat, Jesus is confronted by a demon-possessed man. Mark takes time to tell the readers how dangerous this man has become (1-7). The demon identifies Jesus and Jesus then confronts the demon inside the man. It turns out that there are many demons inside this man, for the demon’s name is Legion (8-9). Added to this, it appears the demons understand their fate is sealed and they beg Jesus to not send them out of the country, but rather into a herd of pigs nearby. He grants their plea. Coming out of the man and entering into the herd, about 2,000 pigs rush down the steep hill and drown in the water below (10-13).

      At this point, the herdsmen flee back to their village where they report what has happened. The people come out to personally take in what they’ve heard. When they arrive, they find the man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind. I’m not sure why, whether from fear or anger, but they beg Jesus to leave and he obliges. As he boards the boat, the healed man begs Jesus to allow him to follow along. Jesus, however, refuses the man. And, instead of urging silence, Jesus tells the man to go home and share of the mercy of God in his life. And so he does throughout the whole region of the Decapolis (14-20).

      There are certain words that are repeated and stick out: tombs; bind, bound, could not be bound; beg or begged. I find that interesting. For me, this helped shape my message for this morning. Here are my three points:

1. The Response of the Gadarene Demoniac to Jesus (1-7)
2. The Response of Jesus to the Gadarene Demoniac (6-13)
3. The Response of the people to Jesus (14-20)
   1. The People – the herdsmen, the vilagers
   1. The Man (formerly known as the Gadarene Demoniac

Transition: let’s begin with this 1^st response…

I. The Response of the Gadarene Demoniac to Jesus (1-7)

exp.: I call him the Gadarene Demoniac, because that is the way I learned it. from the KJV; rd v 2; At 1^st glance, it appears this man is responding to the arrival of Jesus; however, a closer look reveals that the response is really the demons within this man; What we see here is that Satan has been at work in the life of the Gadarene Demoniac! We see this in verses 1-5:

• Possessed by an unclean spirit – a demon – in v 2
• Living among the dead; this isn’t really a play on words in the original language, as far as I can tell, but it is for us, isn’t it? rd v 3a;
• Driven away by the town’s people because he was mad, and, he could not be restrained; rd 3b-4
• Crying out and Cutting himself; v5; this is something we hear about today; people cut themselves because of the pain they’re in. It’s one of the ways they deal w/ their pain;

ill.: A couple of years ago I came across an interesting article that got my attention: It was a NY Times article about the spike in US Deaths – First Rise in US Death Rate Surprises Experts.

What the article brought out is that every decade or so, we see a spike in the death rate. The death rate rose in 1993 because of AIDS and the flu. In 2005 there was another spike because of an outbreak of the flu. In 2016, it was particularly troublesome because…“We are not accustomed to seeing death rates increase on a national scale,” said Andrew Fenelon, a researcher at the C.D.C. who did not work on the paper. “We’ve seen increases in mortality for some groups, but it is quite rare to see it for the whole population.” And just what is the reasoning behind these deaths? The US saw a spike in deaths in three categories:

1. Suicide
2. Drug Overdose
3. Alzheimer’s

The article went on to say that other parts of the world were not seeing decrees in their death rates rise, making the US spike even more surprising.

I expect to see results very soon about the spike in deaths over the past 18 months. I’m sure the proponents will say it is COVID’s fault, but I’ve heard stories of an uptick in suicides. But can I just say…

app.: That is what Satan does: he comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. His purpose and goal has always been the same. He was being successful with this man. He seems to be accomplishing his goal in the US, too.

My guess is that this is just where this man is headed, but something happens when he meets Jesus. Look at his next response. In verse 6…

• He saw, he ran, he fell down before him. This word translated fell down is sometimes translated worship. Like in Mt 2.15; Now, whether this is the man or the demons who are in possession of this man, the response is correct. Jas 2.19

t.s.: So we see 1^st, the response of the demon-possessed man. Now, look at the response of Jesus to this man…

II. The Response of Jesus to the Gadarene Demoniac (6-13)

exp.: the very 1^st thing Jesus says to the man is; rd v 8; immediately Jesus recognizes the work of the devil – so Jesus goes to work right away! Two thoughts: 1) I wish I had that type of spiritual discernment. I tend to be gullible. 2) I said Jesus goes to work right away… really, this is not cumbersome work for God.

1. Legion vs. Christ; We might think: this is A Heavy Weight Fight like Frazier and Ali, Like Tyson and Holmes; Thousands of demons vs. Christ. But really this is No contest. No battle. Jesus doesn’t even need to break a sweat! Here is something to note:
   1. Each time we see a demonic encounter in Mark, they accurately identify Christ for who he is.
   1. When they encounter him, they begin begging (10, 12). Jesus hasn’t fully stepped out of the boat yet and they’re screaming Uncle. Knowing their fate is sealed… they begin to plead for mercy.
2. Jesus asks the unclean spirit his name in v9. Some say this is how you gain mastery over the demon. I don’t know about that. I fear if I did that, they’d say: Jesus we know, Paul we know, But who are you! This would be a great discussion for WEBS: Is there a difference between demon possession and mental illness. BTW: Jesus heals them both if he desires. And that is just what he does here…
3. Christ sets the man free in v 10-13; however, the pigs meet a destructive fate (which again, is their goal, their purpose – to steal, to kill and to destroy! rd v 12-13;

Ill.: every so often we hear about some idiot going to the zoo and climbing into a lion’s den or a gorilla’s habitat for a picture, thinking that those wild animals are really tame. A few years ago, there was a video circulating on social media of a boy that fell into the moat between the observation deck and a certain gorilla’s habitat. The Gorilla moved quickly to the little boy (I think he was like 4 years old) and began to sooth and comfort that little boy who had no idea what was going on. I’m guessing he was knocked out when he hit the water/ground.

The Zoo quickly moved into action and shot and killed the Gorilla. Now, the Gorilla appeared to be no threat, but they didn’t know what the Gorilla would do when they moved in to care for the boy. Man, the outcry from Liberals for that Gorilla was amazing. Not for the boy, mind you, or, for the workers who needed to get to that boy.

app.: Daniel Akin, president of SEBTS says of what Christ does in this passage: the event demonstrates that God cares more for man whom He created in His image and recreates in salvation, than he does for animals which do not bear his image. Satan is a murderer of human beings, but Jesus is their Savior.

app.: It appears to me in Revelation, that all things end in a moment. There is fighting, battles, killing. The enemy is doing all he can, and then, boom! It all ends. Jesus just speaks.

t.s: Finally, #3

III. The Response of the People to Jesus (14-20)

exp.: Let’s look at these varied responses from the people:

1. The Herdsmen; in v 14… they fled (fugitive); “they told”; they announced or proclaimed; this story is pretty much unbelievable. So, they have got to go and see for themselves;
2. The Townspeople; come to see; 15a; they came to see Jesus; and interestingly enough, they see the ‘demon possessed man’;
   1. This word ‘see’ here, isn’t your typical word for ‘see’. It means more like ‘to gaze upon’; the idea is that they’re standing there with their eyes and their mouths wide open! But, he’s not demon possessed anymore!
   2. This is a result of what Christ does as he works in the lives of people. We see this in Luke 1, when Elizabeth, who is clearly pregnant is described as the one who was barren. Also, in Acts 9 when Paul got saved and wanted to visit with the disciples. When Ananias was summoned by the Lord to visit Paul, he was like, “Um, Lord, did you know this man is bad?” When Christ changes a heart, it leaves people staring in disbelief! Even now, I’m going to struggle to identify this man to you as I preach. I’ll still call him the Gadarene demoniac. But he isn’t anymore!
   3. Then they get to hear the story again in v 16; I love it when someone’s life has been so changed, that others tell their story, too. rd v 17; their response: fear! They beg Jesus to leave their region. And, I guess as is his practice when not wanted, he obliges them.
3. The Man
   1. Sitting there – restrained no more – actually, he wasn’t restrained before, remember he would break the chains; now he is captured by the love of Christ;
   2. Clothed – no longer naked; This one surprises me, because we don’t learn from the text that he was naked – that is, until now; Now, we want to focus on Mark, and avoid the other gospels, I was curious to find that Luke does tell us that he wore no clothes in 8.27;

ill.: When I read this, I couldn’t help but think of Adam and Eve; Gen 3. ²¹ And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. I wonder where they got these clothes for this man. Did the disciples carry around a change of clothes? Probably. Did they put together something from different sources? Great discussion for Wednesday night!

But this is the gospel – a changed heart is displayed externally…

3. Right mind – I suppose this would be in opposition to living among the dead, sleeping in coffins, cutting himself and screaming.

We see: The response of the people, the herdsman, the people from the village, and 3rdly, the man himself, in v 18-20

• He begs Jesus to let him stay with Jesus. Rd v 18

ill.: This is for me, the most beautiful part of the story. Maybe because I can relate. Oh, I was never as bad off as that man, but I was bad off. I look at who I was and shudder. And now, I only want to be with him. And this is where it is different for me. Christ has ascended to be with the Father and he has poured out his Spirit into my heart. So, I’m not without him.

app.: And you don’t have to be either.

But there is more here; rd v 19-20

• He becomes an evangelist!

Conclusion: Ok, so I’m translating this verse… 19, and it reads this way: and he said to him, ‘Go to your house, to those who are yours… most translations insert friends. The Texas translation would be “you and yourn”. There are people who belong to him, who are related to him.

Now, I know who my people are. But, who were these poeple for this man? Did he have a wife at home? Children? What about his extended family? What about those who were his friends? What would that reception be like for them – when they thought he was lost forever? And what was it like for him? No longer held captive by Satan, he had been set free. What would he say? Can you imagine the tears of joy for them all?

How? How is this possible? What has happened to you?

I met a man named Jesus. Let me tell you what he has done for me?

There is a video on YouTube – a testimony about a man, who abused as a child, and grew up with difficult struggles. His name is Walt Heyer. After getting married and raising a family, he transitioned to become a woman – way before it was in style – I’m talking 80’s. But after losing his family and living an alternate lifestyle for a couple of decades, this man met Jesus. He transitioned back – as best he could. He is now a living testament to the work of God in the heart of a sinful man.

And there are many like him. Maybe they don’t want to be the opposite gender, but they want to be someone else – someone who isn’t them, someone who doesn’t hurt so bad, someone who is loved, someone who has friends, someone who…

Take-a-ways:

1. When it comes to the spiritual realm verses Jesus, there really is no contest. There is for you and me! But not for Christ.
2. I’m not who I used to be. We may still have tags or labels, but when Jesus comes into our life, he changes us!

Question: Might you be someone who is hurting? Maybe you’re wishing you could be someone else? Would you trust Jesus to change you into the man, the woman, the father, the mother, the husband, the wife, the person you were created to be?

• Will you be like this man and go to those who are yours and share with them the tremendous change God has brought into your life? If so, will the change be evident?

1 Timothy 4.1-5

Title: The false appearance of godliness

Text: 2 Timothy 4.1-5

Introduction: We’ll begin in 2 Timothy 4 and at some point look at 1 Corinthians 7 & Mark 7. So, go ahead and find those other texts. We all filter our experiences through our worldview. You have one, whether you know it or not. Hopefully, it is a Biblical Worldview. That is the main reason I love Starting Points. It is a great class for helping your children develop a Biblical Worldview. In that class, a student creates a filter, a colander of sorts. This filter is based upon God’s Word. Then, as life goes by and these students watch movies or read books or articles, they will filter what they hear through their worldview.

Story of Peter: This is what happens to Peter in Acts 10. God is at work in the lives of two individuals: Peter and Cornelius. Tell the Story.

God is changing Peter’s worldview. He is seeing that Gentiles could get saved. He’s seeing that Gentiles could get saved and not have to become Jews first.

That illustration, that example, that story was experienced and written down for your and my benefit. The Holy Spirit was at work in the lives of those men to teach us. If you keep reading in Acts 11, you’ll see that Peter reports back to the leadership in Jerusalem. By the time we get to Acts 15, so many Gentiles are being saved that the Jews must deal with this issue of OT laws. Their worldview was changing.

But not everyone could get on board with this new way of thinking. Too many Jews, who had become Christians, just couldn’t give up the law. For one reason or another, they held to their Jewish worldview of legalism.

Now, fast-forward a couple of decades to where the Gospel has spread… well, all the way to Rome. And even though it had been concluded that Gentiles did not have to become Jews before they could get saved – the old worldview still corrupted the church through false teaching.

Henry has set us up nicely as he teed up our topic for us last week… Let me share with you his summation and how that fits with where we’re going as we make our way through July.

Henry said: Right actions of a right people flow from a right devotion to a righteous God revealed in His Son. I don’t know if this was his intention or not, but he described godliness. You might even say it is a great definition for godliness. Godliness is doing the right thing for the right reason.

• Right actions: your behavior, what you do
• Of a right people: Christians, made right through Christ. Forgiven. The actions of these people…
• Flow from a right devotion: this is one’s intentions, their aim, and purpose in life. What they do isn’t motivated by selfishness or self-service in any way.
• To a righteous God: No, it isn’t self-serving, it is all for God and his glory. That is their joy, their satisfaction.
• (As) revealed in His Son: I added the word “as” for convenience. Jesus has demonstrated with his life what godliness looks like. He is the embodiment of godliness. We do what we do because we believe he would do that, too. We act like him, we talk like him, we serve like him, and we sacrifice like him. We do everything to the best of our abilities to be like him.

And when we do, they call us “Christians”. You’re just like your ‘Savior’, Jesus.

But there is a problem, in our text – this isn’t what the false teachers were preaching and teaching! Their view of godliness was earned. Godliness came through regulation and rules, through abstinence and denial. So Paul gives Timothy three actions of the believer to combat against False Godliness (Asceticism). Look with me at our text in 1 Timothy 4.1-5; So Paul says to Timothy that Ungodliness will infiltrate teaching in the church. Expect it to be taught, here are a couple of examples, and recognized the error in that teaching by knowing the Truth. Repeat. False Godliness

• Expect it to be taught
• Identify it when you see it. Here are some Examples of it (What it is…)
• Understand what it does: it steals your joy! (What it does…)

Transition: So, let’s take these actions one at a time.

Three actions to combat against False Godliness (Asceticism):

1. Expect it (1-2)

exp.: rd v 1; Really? People will actually do this? Yes, and you know this because the Holy Spirit has told you so. You should expect this false teaching promoting false godliness. It will be preached and taught and there will be those who will listen and follow – and as a result, they will be led away. The Holy Spirit expressly says, declares, and makes it known to us. It is going to happen, so don’t be surprised, expect it. Timothy repeats this in his next letter: cf. 2 Tim 3.1-7;

This is the beauty of our faith: we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. We don’t walk alone and we don’t walk in ignorance. When you become a believer by faith, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your spirit. This is one of the foundational, rudimentary doctrines of our faith. And we experience him in various ways as he guides, directs, teaches…

A thing or two about false teachers and those who follow them:

2. They don’t lose their salvation – they leave the faith (1a); is there a difference? You bet there is! 1 John 2.19 – ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
3. Their devotion is toward deceitful spirits and teachings of demons (1b)
4. They ignore the foundation of truth and they follow the insincerity of liars (2)
5. Their false doctrine leads to your false godliness: these people devote themselves to the wrong people and wrong actions thinking that those actions or behaviors are what makes them godly.

Transition: as a Christian, you’ve been forewarned of this invasion of the enemy: Expect it. Now that you know it is going to happen, how do you prepare for it? And this is our 2^nd Action:

2. Identify it (3)

exp.: You should be aware of what this false teaching looks like, in order that you might avoid its pitfall. Rd v 3; these folks were told that marriage was forbidden and sinful, as well as, they were required to abstain from certain foods. For sure, this isn’t an exhaustive list, it isn’t every doctrine that is false – it’s just two of them.

• Lies about marriage: Celibacy/Single; today it would be cohabitation; sex outside of marriage; Gay marriage

exp.: We see this doctrine of marriage being misunderstood from the beginning of Christianity. Consider Paul’s counsel for people to remain single – in order that their devotion might be single-minded. 1 Cor. 7.1-9; rd v 1; just that alone, appears to say that marriage shouldn’t happen. But, when you read more, you realize that just isn’t the case. Rd 2-5; Sex is to be enjoyed within the confines of marriage. Outside of that context and you have misery. Look at 6-9;

Paul says within the confines of marriage, sex is good. But false teachers say, no – sex is bad. This is Satan’s greatest victory over Christians: he takes what God gives us and perverts it in one of two ways. First, he takes the gift of God and expands the boundaries to include everyone and everything. Or, 2^nd, he goes the other way and limits the gift of God to the point that you never find joy in God’s gift.

Did you know that throughout most of the history of Christianity that sex has been seen as bad? R Kent Hughes has done some great research on this subject. He identifies many teachings throughout Christian history which identify sexual love as being wicked and evil. Tertullian, Ambrose, and Augustine wrote of the evils of sexual love. He quotes Ambrose: married people ought to blush at the state in which they are living. Augustine said that the sexual relationship in marriage was innocent, but the passion which comes along with the act is always sinful. The early church fathers praised virginity as superior to marriage. The Council of Trent denounced any who would deny such a thing. And the reformers didn’t help matters! Do you know who actually began to turn the tide on this thinking? The Puritans! Hughes quotes Dr. Leland Ryken: The Puritan doctrine of sex was a watershed on the cultural history of the West. The Puritans devalued celibacy, glorified compassionate marriage, affirmed married sex as both necessary and pure, established the ideal of wedded romantic love, and exalted the role of the wife.

I’ve got to be honest – I was so not expecting that! To be declared Puritanical is to declare a rigid, frigid, and presented in a negative way. When one thinks of Puritans, they don’t think of sex education. So, to clarify: I like what the Puritan’s had to teach! Let’s get this straight. Sex is great when understood as within the context of God’s design. That’s right, I said that from the pulpit. Sex is a wonderful gift from God. Enjoy it within the confines of marriage. Here is your warning: If you engage in this activity outside of that context, then you will experience pain, destruction, sorrow, depression, and all such misery. If you’re listening to me right now, please identify this false doctrine.

Paul then gives us a 2^nd doctrine to identify.

• Lies about foods: Don’t eat and Don’t drink

exp.: These two examples seem to be right out of the beginning of Genesis, don’t they? I think of Eve’s words – Don’t eat it, don’t even touch it. There are denominations that exist today that take the Old Testament Laws on forbidden, unclean food and apply it to their people. It is a lie that has been perpetuated throughout time. And Southern Baptists aren’t any different. We still apply traditional prohibitions to people – we say if you’re saved you can’t… eat this or that, or we say you can’t drink this or that.

It reminds me of the old country song from the ’70s that was sung by the Imperials as a dig toward conservatives: if you have long hair, then you can’t be saved. That was the big thing in the ’60s and ’70s: cut your hair and shave your beard! Some of you know what I’m talking about…

ill.: the big joke was of the boy who wanted to get a car. He begged his dad. His dad said that his grades were low, his room was a mess and his hair was too long – it needed to be cut. The son agreed to work on those things. Next report card came out and he had all A’s. His father acknowledged his room had been clean and looking really nice. The Dad said, but son, you didn’t cut your hair. The son said, “Yes, sir, I know, but Jesus had long hair. And without missing a beat the Dad said, “Yeah, but he walked everywhere he went, too.”

app.: I’m so glad we’ve moved beyond the coat and the tie requirement. And I’m glad you don’t have to cut your hair and your beard to be saved. But we still aren’t there if we put requirements of food and drink on people to declare their salvation and godliness.

Transition: Teaching on False Godliness – expect it, identify it and 3rdly…

3. Understand what it does:

exp.: it steals your joy – You should know the truth about these doctrines. You should know and identify their parameters for your own health and safety; whether marriage or food – both are created by God and to be enjoyed by his people! Rd v 4-5; Everything God made is Good! Everything! ³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Turn with me to Mark 7.14-23; rd Mk 7.14-23; when you choose to put limits on what God’s gifts, then you miss out on the joy God intended for you to experience. Here’s our problem: we over-indulge in the gifts of God – and that can be a bad thing. Whenever you over-indulge in the gifts, you begin to seek the gift more than the giver of those gifts. Over-indulgence is a bad thing, just as exclusion is a bad thing. There is a happy medium that we need to find.

So, let’s bring the pendulum back to the middle. Let’s stop the extremes of God’s gifts: denial and abstinence or license and debauchery. And instead, enjoy all that this life offers as given by God. Amen?

Truth:

• Fasting can bring you closer to God. But this is a serious endeavor and should not be embarked upon without preparation. May I be bold enough to say, yes – many of us need to fast.
• Paul said in 1 Cor 7 that abstinence from your marriage partner for a time can be beneficial to your soul. But don’t use this as an excuse and don’t hurt your spouse with it. Sex isn’t a tool to use for getting what you want. It is a wonderful experience of intimacy in the marriage as created by God.
• But God gave you these gifts to enjoy in life. Wow… go figure, God wants you to find pleasure in this life and you will find your pleasure in life when you are most satisfied in Him.

Take-a-ways:

1. If you are not enjoying God’s gifts, get some help. Get help for the sake of your marriage. Get help for the sake of your sanity. Get help for the sake of your family.

I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met with and offered counsel to over these issues. Many of us bought into the lies of the world and the false doctrines brought into the church and we experienced the depression, the sadness, the anger, the abuse, and the emotional rollercoaster that comes with disobedience. And, we carried that baggage into our marriage. Husbands and wives have fought over these issues because they still feel guilty. Hey get help, get forgiveness, forgive yourself and live life to its fullest. Stop wallowing in your misery. It’s not healthy.

2. Understand the beauty of moderation – The pendulum extremes are indulgence or abstinence. No, let’s find a happy medium here.

Here’s the thing about moderation – don’t impose your rules upon others. And, don’t confuse your activity or your inactivity with godliness. Just because you’re skinny doesn’t mean you’re godly. Just because you don’t physically cheat on your spouse, doesn’t mean you’re godly. Here’s the big problem with these false teachers – they impose a set of rules as requirements for godliness. Don’t do the same thing.

3. Never confuse godliness with ritual or routine. Yes, it is important to come to church every Sunday, but that doesn’t demonstrate godliness either. Don’t confuse the two.

I wonder if it saddens the Father to see us missing out on the wonderful life he has designed because we fall for the lies of Satan? I wonder if he thinks that he made it so simple and we complicate it all. I wonder if it breaks his heart to see

• a young woman destroyed by her decisions;
• a young man suffering from his decisions;
• a family, broken apart by another person’s decisions;
• a person’s understanding that they are godly because they do this or that and avoid this or that.

Can I just conclude with this plea: God has created life to be enjoyed to the fullest possible extent. He created it, he designed it and wrote the manual on how it should be run. Will you trust him with it all?

If you’ve been trying to obtain godliness through all of your action or inaction, can offer you a moment to repent of that? Maybe you’ve never come to Christ and found the forgiveness of your sins. You’ve played the game of life and you’ve lost. Come to Christ. We’ll have a moment of silence and then we’ll be dismissed with a word of prayer. We’ll gather in the back for a time of fellowship – come to talk to someone about how to live this life to its fullest.

Romans 6.1-12

Title: Don’t live like you are dying!

Text: Romans 6.1-11

Introduction: We begin a new section of Romans this morning. I don’t know that I’ve ever enjoyed going through a book more than this, but it does seem that I say this same thing every time I go through a new book.

In case you’ve missed it before, here is a rough Outline –

• Romans 1-2: Sin
• Romans 3-5: Salvation
• Romans 6-8: Sanctification (How now do we live)

Paul ends chapter 5 with sin being so great and bringing so great a death, but God’s Grace is even greater and superabounds to cover sin. That final section starts with Adam’s trespass (5.15, 16, 17, 18, 20), his one sin and explodes onto humanity bringing death to all. But, the grace of God through his Son, Jesus super-abounds to an even greater degree, covering that sin and bringing life where sin once brought death.

Now, someone in Paul’s past must have argued or debated with him and asked the following question: rd 6.1; What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

We probably think this is absurd, but that’s because we’ve been studying this for … well, our whole lives. But in that 1^st century, when Jews would confront Paul about this new life in Christ, they were thinking of the law. The Law was everything to them. Paul was teaching what the church had already decided some years before as more and more Gentiles were being saved: we don’t have to follow the law anymore – we’ve been set free from those burdens. The church said, there are four areas of concern from the Law that Gentiles who have become Christians should follow. This is a great personal study if you’re interested. You can line up Acts 15 with Leviticus 17-18- and 19. (Give a brief history).

But that isn’t our purpose this morning. Today, we want to focus in on this question someone might have given Paul during one of his times of teaching: Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

Let me show how Paul develops his answer:

• Paul answers with 4 questions:
  • two in v 2-3 and
  • two more in v 15-16;
• After these questions, which are really answers, he expounds to clarify for us what he means.

So, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to give a basic overview of this first section by outlining it for us. Then, I’d like to make a few points from the outline.

If you skip to the end, you gain tremendous perspective of where Paul is headed. Let me show you what I mean:

• He asks the question in v1: Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
• He gives his answer in v 22: ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. The end is eternal life – the process is Hence, the 3^rd part of our outline in Romans: Sin, Salvation, Sanctification.

So you have your answer: No, you don’t go on sinning, because God is sanctifying you, preparing you for eternal life. Now, how did Paul get there? We won’t get the full answer this morning, but let’s begin with v 1 and follow his logic…

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? (1-3)

exp.: Should we then sin all the more that Grace may abound all the more? No; His answer is straight forward and to the point: μὴ γένοιτο; Lit.: not become; May it never become; Or May it never be.

Paul presents two questions to refute this line of thinking:

• First, he asks: How can we who died to sin still live in it? Implying that we can’t. He will expound on this in a moment. For now he continues with his 2^nd question,
• ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

The answer is in the question. The first question demands a negative response: He can’t. She can’t. The 2^nd question has the answer in its presentation. You have been baptized into Jesus and into his death.

ill.: And then he explains in 4-11; for brevity’s sake, let me show you the flow of his argument.

• Therefore (His answer) – v4
  • For (Because) – v5
    • We know (Reason) – v6
  • For (Because) – v7
    • We Know (Reason) – v9
  • For (Because) – v10
• So (His Answer) – v11

⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

app.: Paul asks if we should continue in Sin so that Grace may abound. His answer: No, we have died to sin and it’s lordship over us. The person who was that way has died – he or she is no longer alive. The new person is alive in Christ and has surrendered to his Lordship.

Here then are the Four parts to beginning your walk with God. These are actions you take:

Note: Some of you have been doing this already for decades; others of you have only been living this new life for a few days. But, in each instance, whether decades or days, the new life is the same:

1. Death of Old Life

Death is in every verse: ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s point is clear: we must die to sin and self!

2. Burial (comes to nothing); ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

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.

Ill.: The old self is put to death and buried. It must come to nothing. We can’t feed it. I think this is an important part of our new walk. Young believers, listen up! You must not give the old self any breathing room.

I wish that sanctification was a one and done scenario, but it isn’t. While it is true that your sins are forgiven – all of your sins – it is also true that the old self must be crucified each and every day. Crucify it and bury it. Third, …

3. Resurrection: ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

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.

Once the old life is dead and buried, we are raised to a new life.

4. New Life: rd v 4

⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

⁶ 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. *This new life is a life that is liberated – no longer held captive!

⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

1. Death
2. Burial
3. Resurrection
4. New Life

Ill.: Some people think this is just too harsh of Paul to say. But, I don’t think he’s being hyperbolic in his teaching.

Too many of us as new Christians don’t kill the old self, but in truth, are held captive to sin. This year marks three years ago my sister died of an overdose. I’ve not talked about it publicly. I don’t want to today, either. There is a real problem in America today, an epidemic, a plague. There is a pharmaceutical conspiracy that is killing thousands upon thousands of people in the US. Did you know that as many people die from overdoses to Opioid Addiction every 10 months as died in the Vietnam War?

My sister was one of those people. Her friends tried to help her, but she chose drugs over them. She went from working for the Governor in Austin to living in a bedroom in my mother’s house, selling drugs through her window. She had a little slit in the screen where transactions could be made. She stole my mother’s life savings and spent it all on drugs. She pawned anything worth any value, jewelry, antiques, you name it.

She went to rehab so many times. Let me stop there… Someday, I want to talk about it, but not today. Today I just want to mention it and say..

app.: Satan comes to kill, to steal and to destroy. But Jesus has come that we might have life. If you don’t destroy your old self, it will dominate you. If you open the door for something, it will take over your life. Whether it is drugs or pornography or food. You have to say no to the world and what it offers and say yes to Jesus, every single day of your life.

Luke 9.23-25: And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

We’ve run out of time this week, we’ll pick up here next week and continue our study on Romans 6.1-14