Romans 181: Romans 6 - Can You Clean Up Your Act?Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a worldwide Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.
One of the hardest things for Christians to accept is really one of the easiest things to accept…we are totally dependent on the Lord. We need Him to do all the things we can’t do, and there are so many things we can’t do. Fortunately for us, the Lord is always listening to us…Lamentations, Chapter 2, Verse 19…
LAM 2:19 “Arise…cry aloud in the night at the beginning of the night watches; pour out your heart like water (in prayer) before the presence of the Lord; lift up your hands to Him for the life of your little ones who are faint because of hunger at the head of every street.”
God is expecting us to share our innermost thoughts and our innermost emotions with Him in the matter of everything that is a concern to us. Look at Psalm 28, Verses 1 and 2…we cry out when the dangers of life are breathing down our necks…when death and fear are at the door…
PSA 28:1 To You, O Lord, I call; my Rock, do not be deaf to me…
PSA 28:2 Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
In eager anticipation, we believers in Christ know that the Lord is always ready to answer our plea and to hear our voice. Isaiah, Chapter 40, Verse 9…
ISA 40:9 Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; lift it up, and do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
The Lord is always ready to restore us from the depths of despair. He is an ever present help in times of trouble. Welcome to a place where you can lift up your hearts, lift up your hands, and lift up your voices to the Lord, knowing that anything you ask of Him, you have a right to confidently expect that He will keep His Word and that He will answer your prayer in due time.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
Shout to the Lord
Let’s listen to June Murphy sing the opening song…SHOUT TO THE LORD.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful to you, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Thank you for hearing our fervent prayers of supplication at the time of intense need…show us Your mercy…give us Your comfort…deliver us from the evil one…help us take advantage of the filling of Your Spirit and the power of Your word so that we may be edified in the tough times in our lives…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY Can You Clean Up Your Act? We are studying the second passage in Romans, Chapter 6, Verses 12 to 14…and here’s what they say…
ROM 6:12 Therefore do not keep on letting sin reign as if it were king in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts…
ROM 6:13 …and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but keep on presenting yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead would present themselves, and keep on presenting your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
ROM 6:14 For sin shall not be master (a lord) over you, for you are not under law but you are under grace.
Let’s continue our deeper look at this passage…Romans, Chapter 6, Verses 12…
ROM 6:12 Therefore do not keep on letting sin reign as if it were king in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts…
A few interesting points as we look at this verse…first, the Greek of the New Testament is EMPHATIC…it says, in effect, “God forbid that you would EVER allow sin to reign!” So for those Christians who are in a quandary about the whole idea of sinning while simultaneously being residents in the sphere of grace, just be clear what God wants from you. God does not want you to sin…EVER! Can you grasp this idea? To bring this to a human analogy…a basketball coach or a football coach does not EVER want you to turn the ball over to the defense. EVER! Of course you do, just as sure as Christians sin. The basketball coach or the football coach knows you WILL turn the ball over to the defense. But they DON’T want you to do that.
What exactly is the point of the player who pouts after a turnover? What exactly is the point of the Christian who, when he sins, stomps his feet, and pouts, and beats himself up with a rubber hose for sinning? There is no point. It has no value. What is the point of the Christian that wants to “should” all over himself about sinning by saying things like, “Well you ‘should’ want to never sin…” These Christians want to show God how sincere there are, even as they keep on sinning all the time. Of course they are correct…no one could ever argue about the idea that we ‘should’ want to never sin. But it IS a guilt trip in the making because you are holding yourself to a standard you DO NOT achieve. Please don't forget that your sins were paid for in the past at the Cross. First John, Chapter 2, Verses 1 and 2 say…
1JO 2:1 My little children (believers in Christ), I (John) am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, and all believers do, we have an Advocate with God the Father, Jesus Christ, the ONLY righteous ONE…
1JO 2:2 …and the Christ Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only (as believers), but also for those sins of the whole world.
I had a believer in Christ ask me this week…so if what you are saying is true about sin not being the issue in the Christian’s life, what’s the point? The point is Christ. The point isn’t you. The point isn’t how diligently on guard you are against paid for sins. As Christians, we have such a hard time accepting the fact that God has done everything for us…that Christianity has little to do with what we do for God, and everything to do with what God has done for us. It requires quite a shift from the religious mentality, the legalistic mentality, and the lascivious mentality (sex, drugs and rock and roll).
What does Romans, Chapter 6, Verses 12 mean when it says “mortal body?”
ROM 6:12 Therefore do not keep on letting sin reign as if it were king in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts…
We are still in our mortal bodies after salvation. In First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 53 to 57, Paul illuminates the issue of our mortal body as he taunts death and sin… 1CO 15:53 For this perishable (the mortal body) must put on the imperishable (a resurrection body), and this mortal (the temporal life on earth) must put on immortality (the permanent life for all eternity…no more death).
1CO 15:54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
Death’s power is permanently removed.
1CO 15:55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
Satan has achieved many temporary victories…he has won many battles with us…but he did not win the war.
1CO 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law…
Death came because of creature rebellion…sin…the transgression of the commands of God, His requests to creature free will. The law, which represented the commands of God, shone a mirror in the face of creatures… God says, “I asked you to do something for your benefit…you refused… now look at yourself…what do you see?” Correct creature answer? “I refused to be influenced by your request.” When you sin, you need a Savior.
1CO 15:57 …but thanks be to God the Father, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God cleaned up our error, sin, at the Cross…God cleans up our act…we don’t…mainly because we can’t clean it up ourselves. In our mortal bodies we have the flesh indwelling. If we choose, even though we are dead to sin and dead to the flesh, we can allow this force, “the flesh,” that is more powerful than our will, to reign as king. All believers do at some point in their lives. We are being encouraged, in this passage, not to allow such kingship. God, through Paul, offers a simple choice to our free will
ROM 6:13 …and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but keep on presenting yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead would present themselves, and keep on presenting your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Our bodies lust. A powerful Christian lets God the Holy Sprit war against the lusts of our body. A powerful Christian lets the indwelling Trinity handle the flesh. Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 17…
GAL 5:17 For “the flesh” sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit sets its desire against “the flesh;” for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
YOU do not war against the flesh. It is more powerful than you. Instead, you let God the Holy Spirit do His job on your behalf. You simply activate His work by asking Him to work on your behalf.
The smart believer rejects the invitation from the kingdom of death to commit a personal sin…First Peter, Chapter 5, Vzzzerses 8 and 9…
1PE 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1PE 5:9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
Take a five-minute break.
BREAK Be Glorified
Welcome back! Romans, Chapter 6, Verses 12 and 13…
ROM 6:12 Therefore do not keep on letting sin reign as if it were king in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts…
ROM 6:13 …and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but keep on presenting yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead would present themselves, and keep on presenting your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
In these, the first commands in the book of Romans, God makes requests to your free will…
THE “DO NOT’s”
Do not…
…keep on letting sin be the king in your mortal body
…keep on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness
Now the “do” commands…
THE “DO’s”
Do…
…keep on presenting yourself to God
…act as if you are alive from the dead, because you are
…keep on presenting the members of your body as instruments of righteousness to God.
The knowledge Paul presents in the first eleven verses of Romans, Chapter 6 is directed to your faith…it is God telling you, “This is what is true as an established and irrevocable fact. Do you believe me?”
IRREVOCABLE FACTS
You have been baptized into Christ’s death
You have been buried with Christ
You are resurrected in Christ
You died to sin
The question of knowledge is simply, “Do you believe what the Lord is telling you?”
As we move into the commands of Romans, Chapter 6, Verses 12 to 14, your will is being exhorted to use what you believe. For example, how do you present your mind as an instrument of unrighteousness? Well, do you believe the best about people? Do you expect people to gravitate toward the right things? Knowing people as you do, it’s easiest to answer these questions with a NO. No…we don’t believe the best about people. We believe the worst. No…we don’t expect people to gravitate toward the right things…we expect them to gravitate toward the wrong things. Those are easy thoughts to adopt. Are these the thoughts that God has about you? Hardly. So don’t give your mind as an instrument of thinking the worse about people. We do it because we think it will keep us from being disappointed in people. It won’t.
God expects this from us…
ROM 6:13 …and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but keep on presenting yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead would present themselves, and keep on presenting your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
…the Lord’s commands call us to our highest and best, regardless of whether or not He thinks we will actually agree with his requests.
As Christians, we are to adopt an attitude consistent with the facts. Whenever I have a choice, a request to my free will, whether from the kingdom of death or from God Himself, I have the power to decide…the choice to give the victory to one request or the other. And that is what I always do. I always decide. What does it mean to decide?
DECIDE To arrive at a conclusion that gives a victory to one side or the other.
For example…pornography…writings, pictures, films, and all other things designed to stimulate counterfeit sexual excitement…when presented with the request to free will to engage in the use of pornography…you can give the victory to the kingdom of death and indulge…presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness…or you can refuse to indulge…presenting the members of your body to God as instruments of righteousness. It’s your choice. Whatever you choose…and don’t get too excited by a victory this time…for next time always lurks around the corner to entrap the smug among you…you still are a resident of God’s sphere of grace.
“Keep on presenting yourselves” means to report for duty to God. Most Christians report for duty with an opinion. Imagine the new Marine who presents himself to the drill sergeant with an opinion about how he ought to be treated…that’s not going to go very well. Most Christians report to Christianity with an opinion about how they ought to think, how they ought to act, how others ought to act, how the world ought to run. They seek to influence God with their wrong opinions. But in Isaiah, Chapter 55, Verse 9, God straightens it out…
ISA 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
God doesn’t need our help nor our opinions. We are simply to report for duty to someone who knows a lot more than we do about how to be righteous, especially in light of the fact that He is the ONLY righteous One ever.
We concern ourselves with what Pastor’s think as they wrongly interpret the bible, with what churches think as they struggle to change the bible to fit their lifestyles, and with what people think as they batter us with their religious and legalistic neuroses. Most of the thoughts of these entities is, “This is what I want to believe…I just wish I could get the bible to agree with me.” So they take the bible out of context, distort it, and bathe themselves in pseudo spirituality for the purpose of gaining pseudo serenity. It never works. We don't clean up our acts. In light of that, we are to take on an attitude that is consistent with the facts. We are risen ones, in union with Christ. We are to think like it. We are to act like it.
Satan wants to make Christianity a legal system. We let him. In Galatians, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 3, Paul admonishes the believers in the Galatian region…
GAL 3:1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
GAL 3:2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the baptism of the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing the gospel with faith alone in Christ alone?
GAL 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun your salvation by the baptism of God the Holy Spirit, are you now being perfected by “the flesh?”
In the matter of our “act,” in the matter of presenting ourselves, we do not need to clean up our act, nor can we. We simply present ourselves to a Superior Authority and He does His job. For the Christian Way of Living, the Superior Authority we depend on is God the Holy Spirit, our Mentor, our Teacher, our Guide. On Him we depend. Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verses 14 to 19…Paul’s prayer…
EPH 3:14 For this reason I (Paul) bow my knees before God the Father…
EPH 3:15 …from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name…
EPH 3:16 …that He would grant you, according to His glorious riches, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit indwelling the inner man…
EPH 3:17 …so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love…
EPH 3:18 …may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth (of God’s unconditional love)…
EPH 3:19 …and to know the unconditional love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
God the Holy Spirit will clean up your act. God the Holy Spirit will fill you up to all the fullness of God. God the Holy Spirit will create the desire in you for rejection of the flesh. And He has never failed at His job. Luke, Chapter 14, Verses 28 to 30…
LUK 14:28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?”
LUK 14:29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him…”
LUK 14:30 “…saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’”
God the Holy Spirit is someone on whom a Christian can depend. He ALWAYS finishes the job.
The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ are Guarantees!
1PE 5:8-9 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.\But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren (other believers) who are in the world.
1PE 5:10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
1PE 5:6-7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,\casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
CLOSING SONG The Humility Song
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION
And we pray that You continue to shape the messages from this pulpit that are an accurate reflection of Your unconditional love, Your glorious Person, Your lucid thinking, Your impeccable work, and Your magnificent essence...we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit, in Christ’s name, Amen.
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening!
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