By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Sermon Text: Romans 6:1-14
Sermon Theme
Paul deals with the obvious question, if grace abounds in the midst of sin, should we therefore continue to sin so we can receive more grace? For Paul, this is thinking backwards. The power of grace far exceeds that of sin, death and the law. Grace brings us freedom in Christ. This is freedom from the sin and death that defines us in terms of Adam. Having been rescued from the futility of Adam into the liberating power of Christ, why would we want to go back to the life lived under Adam? To be free from the power of sin, quite frankly, is to be free from having to commit sin. In our lives in Christ, we are between the cross and the resurrection. We have been crucified with Christ. For Paul, the cross is a source of great power. We have not yet been raised from the dead, but we will be. In this in-between state, we still experience the power of sin. However, we are not dominated by that power. To be in Christ is to be free from the law, sin and death.
Sermon Outline
- Lie. Paul says that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). If this is the case, why don’t we just keep sinning so we receive more grace? Paul dismisses this idea completely . The essential lie in this view is that grace makes no difference in the way we live. For Paul, grace is the guarantee of our freedom in Christ. Sin is a form of slavery. Therefore, grace and sin are utterly opposed to each other.
- Law. Paul’s view of the law would have sounded strange to most of his Jewish and Christian contemporaries. The Jewish leaders in particular did not believe they were saved by keeping the law. They believed that God, through his compassion and mercy, had called them into his covenant. This means they initially depended on God’s grace. However, once they were in the covenant they believed their continuing status depended on keeping the law. Paul completely rejects this idea both for Jews and Christians. The law (the ten commandments and all the related requirements) is an expression of God’s will. However, because we stand under Adam’s sin, the law does us no good. Rather than keeping us from sin, the law only leads us into sin. The real value of the law is that it leads us to Christ.
- Lord. The question Paul presents is, how do Christians deal with the problem of sin? There are two false views here. On one side, we may think that being saved by grace through faith means we don’t have to worry about sin at all. The other is that we need to go back to the law. Paul reminds us that we have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. Christ has freed us forever from the power of sin. Because we retain the heritage of Adam, we often desire to go back to sin. For Paul, this is to throw away the freedom we now have in grace. We have been brought from death to life. Only through God’s grace can we live life to the fullest.
Questions for Us
- Why do you think sin remains so attractive to us even after we have come to Christ? Why is it that sin can still entice us?
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a famous quote warned against "cheap grace." This basically means taking grace for granted. How do we fall into the trap of "cheap grace"?
- How do we experience the freedom we have received in Christ's death and resurrection? Can we experience this freedom apart from other Christians? Why or why not?
