Resurrection Sunday
Introduction
Today, we take a break from our regularly scheduled programming in the book of Exodus to return to the book of Romans. Right. There you go. Thank you, Arden. Romans—Paul's magnum opus, if you will. It's been a minute since we've been in Romans, so let me take a very short time to catch you up on what the book of Romans is all about.
This summary can be found in chapter 1 of Romans, verses 16 and 17. Paul says there:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as it is written, 'the righteous shall live by faith.'"
From those heights, Paul descends into the depths of our depravity and our deplorable sinful nature, showing us that we are not sinners because we do sinful things; we are sinners because it's who we are. We are dead by nature spiritually. We don't just need resuscitation. We don't just need a life raft thrown to us. We need resurrection. And this is Easter hope.
Paul stays in the depths for the first three chapters, and then right there as chapter 3 ends, he brings in the great remedy for man's sinful plight in the gospel of Christ. In chapter 4, he explains how this is not new—this was given to Abraham and to David. Then in chapter 5, verse 1, we get the great sentence:
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Because we have peace with God, we are then filled with the peace of God. This is Paul's argument. In these first five chapters, he explains the gospel and describes how it changes and transforms us. But when he gets to chapter 6—where we're going to be today, specifically verses 5 to 11—he shifts from describing the gospel to applying the gospel.
Isn't this wonderful that the Bible talks to us like this? Here's what it is; here's what you do with it. We need this. I know I need this, and I'm not alone. You're like me. We need to be talked to like this: "Here's the truth. Here's what you do with the truth."
How wonderful to see that when he's describing how we apply the gospel to our lives, he brings up who we are—our identity. So, a question as we begin here this morning: Who are you?
I'll begin. This might seem strange. Hello, my name is Adam. I am a man. What a statement in today's modern culture! Son to Holly, father to Jack, Luke, and Piper. Being born in 1983, I grew up with mentors like Rocky, Rudy, Rambo, Top Gun, and Terminator. Naturally, I like waking up early, energy drinks, black coffee, lifting heavy weights, and doing it again and again—doing hard things, climbing high mountains. This was the 80s.
Now hear me out. I think these things are awesome, and you should too! But hear me—this is not what makes me, me. Let me try this again with Paul's verbiage:
"Hello, my name is Adam. I believe in Christ. Therefore, I died with Christ, and I have risen with Christ, and I now consider myself to be two things above and beyond all other descriptors: dead to sin, alive to God."
This is what I want to show you today from Romans 6:5–11. Two headings are before us.
I. We Know Death (Verses 5–7)
Listen to Paul in verses 5 to 7:
"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him, in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin."
Verse 5 begins our passage by summarizing as if it's a hinge. It takes verses 1 to 4, summarizes them into a few words, and prepares us for verses 6 to 11. It's an "if this, then that" kind of argument. For example, if you come to church on Easter, you will hear about the resurrection. Paul is saying: if we've been united with Christ in a death like his, then we shall certainly—not maybe, not probably—be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Verse 5 is basically saying everything that you have ever needed has been richly given to you in Christ: both death and crucifixion for all your sin, and life and power and resurrection for all that you need to walk with the Lord day to day. We can't have one without the other. They go together like pineapple on pizza—they just go together.
You can't feast upon the reality that you're covered in the blood of Christ and forgiven, and then do whatever the heck you want to do. The cross leads to resurrection. If we enjoy the bloodshed for forgiveness of sins, we ought to then enjoy the application of that blood to live differently.
How do both of these become ours? Is it simply by coming to church? If just coming to church means you're a Christian, then go stand in your garage—it doesn't mean you're a car. It's by banking on Christ. It's coming to Christ knowing that you are bankrupt in and of your own stuff.
I saw a shirt the other day that said "You are enough" on the back. I thought, "Wait, I believe the Bible—that's a lie!" I'm not enough; Jesus is enough. These things become our own when we no longer bank on ourselves but bank on Christ by trusting Him, following Him, and clinging to Him for everything. Then all that is His becomes ours. His death becomes our death; His resurrection becomes our resurrection.
Right now, these are spiritual realities. We weren't there when these events took place, and Jesus' human body is at the right hand of the Father. But one day, all that is spiritually true of us will become physically true of us when another death and another resurrection occur.
In verses 6 and 7, Paul says, "We know that our old self was crucified with Him." He clarifies that our "old self"—the "body of sin"—was brought to nothing. This isn't just the physical body; it's the whole of who we were before we were converted.
What did this death bring about? Freedom. Paul says sin was a master over us, keeping us bound and enslaved. We know what slavery to sin looks like: it's alluring and tempting, but it leads to shame, guilt, despair, and emptiness. It stinks like death.
Christ died so that our slavery to sin would be brought to nothing. Verse 7 is the great pronouncement: "For the one who died has been set free from sin." This is the deepest kind of emancipation. It's not a call to do anything yet; it's a call to tell you what has already been done. If you are in Christ, the sin that once gripped you no longer binds you. You are free.
II. We Know Life (Verses 8–11)
Paul wants us to know more than just death; he wants us to know life. Listen to verses 8 to 11:
"Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. So also, you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Verse 8 follows the same pattern as verse 5. It begins with "We believe"—a statement of confession and sure hope. Because Jesus rose, we believe we rose with Him.
In verse 9, we see that Christ will never die again. This is "bonkers," isn't it? It is finished. Contrast this with Lazarus. Jesus raised Lazarus, but Lazarus eventually had to die again. He had to go through that twice! But when Jesus walked out of the tomb, He never re-entered it. His resurrection is greater; His life is stronger.
Death no longer has dominion over Him. How could death ever have authority over the King of Kings? Only one way: Jesus allowed it to. He willingly submitted Himself to the power of death for us. Because He submitted to death, in His resurrection, He was enabled to kill death forever. It hit Him so it won't hit us.
The life Jesus lives, He lives to God. That same life that created the world and called dry bones to life is the life that fills a sinner the moment they turn to Jesus in faith. If the Bible didn't say this, we wouldn't believe it.
So what does this mean for us? It leads to verse 11: "Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Application: Be Who You Are
Paul is telling us: "Christian, how do you live the Christian life? Be who you are." You are free. Live in that freedom.
To the Christian
We need so much gospel repetition. We need friends to look us in the face and say, "Don't be dumb. You're not a slave anymore. You're a cherished son or daughter of the King. Don't go back into the grave."
Does your inner dialogue match this? Are you just beating yourself up all the time? You are likely your own worst enemy. No one lies to you or breaks promises to you more than you do. Learn verse 11. Preach this to yourself: "I died with Christ. I rose with Christ. The old self is gone; newness of life has come."
For some of you, the resurrection has become monotonous because you've heard it year after year. But have you ever called the sea monotonous? You've seen the tide and the waves thousands of times, yet it's always a fresh thing of wonder. Why would we call the resurrection monotonous? It is always a thing of wonder with fresh grandness to grab hold of.
To the Non-Christian
I don't want to be rude, but I want to be honest: none of these glories are for you yet—but they could be. The gospel is what you need. You are far more sinful than you could ever imagine, but in Christ, God has loved you more than you could dare hope.
Sin is your biggest problem. Sin doesn't just make you bad; it makes you dead. The world isn't full of "bad" and "good" people; it's full of dead sinners and Jesus. You are your own worst enemy, but you're not just a "train wreck" who needs a life coach. You're a dead sinner in need of resurrection.
Jesus loves the sinners, the down-and-out, and the outcasts. He loves His church, as messed up as we are. May you see this Savior with fresh eyes today and walk in the power of His resurrection.
