We are in Romans, chapter six. And you’ll find that on page 1135. Page 1135. What we’ll do is I’ll point out some of these verses as we go through the passage together. But we believe this is God’s word. He speaks to us through the scriptures. So we’re going to ask for his help. We’re going to pray together and ask for his help to understand what we’re reading and studying. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Bible. Thank you. That in it you speak to us. Lord, please help us to understand what we’re reading this morning and what it means for us today. We ask in Jesus name, amen. So there was an article in the news recently, I wonder if you saw it, that revealed that foreign embassies in London owed a total of 140 million pounds in unpaid congestion charges. We used to live in the congestion zone, so I feel I have a stake in this story. Every time we drove our car out of the garage, 15 pounds before we’d even got a metre. Anyway, 140 million pounds, and the government is determined to collect it. But foreign governments are determined not to pay it because they say that it’s a tax and therefore their diplomats are exempt. So Togo owes the government just shy of 50 pounds. The United States, what do you think? A little bit more? 14.6 million pounds is owed by the us government. But why not? If you’re exempt, if you don’t have to pay, you can drive where you like, when you like, can’t you? Well, as I read that story, I thought about Romans, chapter six. Being a Christian. If the good news of Jesus is that by trusting that he died on the cross for us and he paid for our sins and there’s nothing left for us to do, can’t we just live however we like and know that we’re forgiven? That’s the question that Paul is going to answer in our passage this morning. If there are no consequences for you as a Christian, if your sin is paid for, why don’t you just live however you want to? Isn’t the gospel a free pass? That’s the title of our sermon, and we’re picking up a sermon series that we started back in January. If you were here, in Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul is in the greek city of Corinth and he’s writing to the Christians in Rome, and he wants them to share in a mission trip he’s planning to Spain. So in this letter to the Romans, he sets out the gospel in lots of detail because he knows that if the Romans really understand the gospel and get excited about it. They’re going to want to share with him in this mission trip to Spain. So that’s where we are. We’re picking it up and he’s saying, if salvation is free, as he’s explained so far in the letter, if Jesus has paid for our sins in his death on the cross, well, can’t we just keep sinning? What shall we say then? Chapter six, verse one. If you look down, chapter six, verse one. What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase if my sin shows up? How forgiving and kind and gracious God is, maybe I should just keep on sinning. A few years ago, when our children were very small, we had twins arrived and we had four children under the age of five. And life was a bit full on. We decided that we would pay for a cleaner for a little bit and our flat never looked better. Not because she was a great cleaner, she was a great cleaner, but we were so terrified of what she would think of us. Yeah. You know where this is going. That before she arrived on a Friday morning, we cleaned the flat like it had never been cleaned before. Imagine, though, that before our cleaner came each week, we wanted to show what a great cleaner she was. So we turned out all the drawers, pulled stuff out of the cupboards, made a huge mess around the flat. Because, after all, the greater the mess, the greater the cleaner. That’s Paul’s logic here. Should we go on sinning to show what a great saviour we have because he keeps forgiving us? Well, that’s the logic in verse one. Maybe you and I don’t think of it just quite like that, but how many times do we think, well, I know God’s going to forgive me. It’s what he does. So my sin doesn’t really matter. I know that I can sin and then afterwards I can ask forgiveness. At the end of the day, how many times do we think like that? Is the gospel a free pass to keep sinning? Well, look down at verse two. See Paul’s answer in verse two. He says, by no means how can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who’ve been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? 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. Paul is saying, don’t you know you’ve died? You’ve died. The moment you trusted in Jesus Christ for your sins, you were joined to him. Your life was united to his. And that union by faith in Christ was signed and sealed in your baptism. And we’ve just seen Elie and James baptism this morning, which has been wonderful. So we’ve seen a picture of the washing away of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we baptise little ones in this church, little ones who belong to Christians, because it’s like putting a uniform on them. And we pray that they’ll grow up into it and own it for themselves. That’s our prayer for Ellie and James. But Paul says, do you not know that all of us who were baptised into Christ, Jesus, united to him, were baptised into his death, so that united to Jesus, what happened to him is counted as having happened to us, because Jesus died on the cross. You too, you roman Christians, you too, died there. Now I’ve got an illustration. We don’t always have illustrations at 1115 services, do we? Here we go. Here’s my illustration. A needle. A needle and thread. If you can’t see it, don’t worry. I made a bigger one last night. It’s got a bit bent. There we go. Here’s my needle and thread. If you can’t see this one, take it as a prompt to make that optician’s appointment. This is a needle and thread. And Paul is saying, the moment you were baptised, in those days when you became a Christian, you were baptised. Like that was the sign of it. The moment you were baptised, you were joined to Jesus, like a thread threaded onto a needle. And where the needle goes, the thread always follows. And if your life is joined to Jesus, what happened to him happens to you. So he died on the cross, and there’s a sense in which you died there too. And he rose again on Easter day. And if your life is joined to his, then you were raised spiritually, too. And one day, when Jesus comes again, your bodies are going to be raised physically, because by faith and signified in baptism, you are united to. To Jesus. Paul is saying, don’t you know? You died. You died there on the cross. You were buried, verse four with him. You were raised with him to new life. Where the needle goes, the thread follows. Where Jesus goes. Those who are joined to him follow after him. So the Christian not only says, jesus died for me on the cross, but the Christian says, and I died there as well. I died there with him. To my old self, I died with Christ. It was a once for all event, as Paul calls it in verse ten. But it wasn’t the end of the story if you look down back to verse four. Paul says we were therefore buried 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. Don’t you know, Paul says, that old life of yours is gone. You died with Christ when he died on the cross, you died there too. And you have been raised to new life with Christ, because he was raised. Verse five. For if we have been united to him in a death like his, we certainly shall 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 the one who has died has been set free from sin. Now our sinful bodies are alive and kicking. You don’t need me to tell you that every day you and I struggle with sin. And we’ll find out more about that in a couple of weeks time. But Paul doesn’t say our bodies of sin have died until we die and our coffins are put in the grave. Or until Jesus comes back and gives us resurrection bodies, raises us to eternal life. Physically, we will always be fighting against sin. But something happened outside Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Paul says you died. You died there. You Roman Christians, under the judgement of God, your sin was paid for, but you died. Your death with him means you share in the death of that old humanity in Adam, that body of sin that you and I have in Adam. Paul is just telling us the facts. He’s not telling us to do anything yet, he’s just saying the facts. You died. You died there with Christ and you were raised to new life. Think of it like this, before being joined to Jesus Christ, before becoming a Christian. When I sinned, I was like the prisoner who tries to escape over the prison wall. And when sin, the prison guard, catches up with me, he takes me back to prison and I have no choice but to go with him, because I’m guilty and I haven’t finished paying my sentence yet. But when I become a Christian, my life is joined to Christ’s. I’m like the man who’s been let out of prison, out of the gates, because my sentence has been paid for. I’m free. Now the prison guard might shout out the gate after me for me to come back, but I dont have to, because hes not my master anymore. Paul says in verse seven. The one who has died has been set free from sin. Sin tries to call us back every day, but it no longer has authority over you and me. Because we died. We died with Christ to sin. Well, you might be thinking, well, thats all very well, that just sounds like fancy footwork to me. My sin still feels very real. So follow Paul a little bit further down to verse nine. He says in verse nine 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. It’s regime change, he says, you have a new master. Once there was a time when we couldn’t help sinning. It was our nature. But on Good Friday, that old me was nailed to the cross. And my union with Christ means that we share in the death of that old humanity. But our union with Christ, united with him by faith, sealed in baptism, means that we have been raised to new life. We’ve started to live new life in old bodies, and we’ll keep doing that until the day when we die. But for now, for the person united to Jesus, sin is no longer inevitable. It’s no longer compulsory. Sin is not our master anymore. Satan can’t make you sin. Every time we sin, it’s because we choose to. Now Paul has just been telling us the facts. In verse eleven, he cashes it in. Have a look down at verse eleven. He says, in the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. This is the truth. Now live in the light of it. The war is won at the cross. The battle now, he says, is a battle for hearts and minds. I have to see myself as I now am. Paul says, you are free, so stop living like a prisoner to sin. You have been cured, so stop behaving like the invalid. You are a millionaire, so stop acting like a beggar when we are tempted. Now as Christians, we should say, that’s not me. I don’t have to sin. The old me died and I’ve been raised to new life. I don’t have to sin anymore. He goes on verse 13. Do not present your members, your body to sin as instruments for unrighteousness. Present yourself to God as one who has been brought from death to life. And present your body to God as an instrument for righteousness. For sin shall have no dominion over you since you are not under law, but under grace. Now I am a Christian. I have to be like the person in the gym, struggling to make their bodies do what it’s never done before, what it was designed to do but has never done before. It’s still possible for me to go on sinning, and every day I will, as I battle with it and fall into temptation. It’s still possible to live like that. But now I’m a Christian, it’s no longer inevitable and it’s not appropriate because the old me died and I’ve been raised to new life. Let me illustrate as we come to an end. When Katie and I got married, the old single me came to an end, died. But as all married people know, being legally married doesn’t mean I’m incapable of living like a single person. I could still have gone on living as I used to, live, on a diet of microwave meals and weekly washing up. I could have spent my money, as I always used to spend it, on the things I wanted to, and gone on holiday to the places I wanted to visit. But that would be inappropriate because my life was united to Katie’s. And because of that union, the old me is gone and a new me has appeared. Now Paul is saying, when you put your trust in Jesus and you are united to him, the older you died, you can’t go on living as you used to just for yourself anymore. You’ve been given a new life now live that new life. Reckon yourself dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. I can still go on sinning, it’s possible, but it’s no longer inevitable. When I sin now, it is not a natural thing for me or for any Christian to sin. Or maybe you’ve been a Christian for a very long time, but you feel that when it comes to sin, you’re still at square one. You know you’re forgiven, but it has no impact on your life. Sometimes you feel stuck. And some Christians, you know, go through life waiting for God to deliver them from struggles with particular sins. They sort of wait for, I don’t know, a rush of spiritual adrenaline. At some point, they imagine they will overcome this sin dramatically and Jesus will win the battle for them. And other Christians go through life thinking, well, it’s just down to me. What is needed is a bit of good old fashioned hard work. Battling against sin directly or believing that they have to surrender themselves completely to Christ, and only then will they have victory over sin. Either way, it is a crushing burden to follow Jesus because it’s your responsibility. But maybe the way of romans six is that united to Jesus Christ, you and I have died. The old you has died and united to Jesus Christ, you have been raised to new life, the life of the Holy Spirit, the life of God. New life in old bodies, for sure, but it is new life. He has given you all that you need to battle against sin. And now he says, now live it. Say no to sin. And when you do fall into sin, which is inevitable from time to time, when you do, then come to the cross and ask forgiveness and start again. And do it day after day after day for the rest of your life. The story is told of a great eagle that was kept tethered to a post, walking sadly round and round. And one day the new owner announced that he would release this bird. So a crowd gathered and the rope was cut, and everybody waited to see the eagle launch itself into the sky. But the eagle just walked round and round. And that is like the Christian who continues to sin. We don’t have to live like that anymore. United to Jesus in his death and resurrection. We’ve been set free to live that new life. We’ve been set free from the jailer. Sin is the good news of Jesus. Just a free pass to keep on sinning. Well, when we become a Christian, we don’t want to sin anymore. We’ve got new desires, a new life. We have to reckon ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus, and do that day after day. I love the words of John Newton, the 18th century. He was a slave trader in the 18th century until he became a Christian. Then he became a church of England minister. But he wrote this. He wrote the hymn amazing grace. Maybe you know it, but he wrote these words when he became a Christian. I am not what I should be. I am not what I wish to be. I am not what I shall be, but by the grace of God, I am not what I was. We were buried 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 may walk in newness of life. Let’s pray, and then we’ll sing our final hymn. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have saved us, and there was nothing that we could do to contribute to it. That you have united us to Jesus Christ by your spirit. We thank you for his new life in us. And we thank you that one day when he comes again, these bodies of ours will be made new, and sin will be a thing of the past forever. So please, Lord, help us this week to keep our hearts and minds fixed on Jesus and to remind ourselves more and more of what we now are in him. Dead to sin. But alive to you. And this week, may we live for you in the power of the spirit. For Jesus sake, amen.