Romans #13 – Good Gifts: New Life

Good Gifts: New Life (6:15-23) – Romans #13

• Avg person 1600-3000 calories day. Athletes like Michael Phelps 12,000 calories day
• What is true physically is also true spiritually (sermons, notes, devos)

Freedom/Free Will

• Free will – 1). Neutral Nature 2). Open Options
• Only God truly has total free will
• Adam and Eve had free will by 1). nature BUT NOT 2). options
• Erasumus (1524) “Freedom of the Will” vs Luther (1525) “Bondage of the Will”
• Non XN has no free will

1). Non XN mind

1:18 “suppress the truth”                                            1:21 “futile in their thinking”

1:22 “claiming to become wise, they became fools” 1:28 “debased mind”

2). Non XN will

3:10-11 “none is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God”

• XN has more freedom as they have a new nature (& the flesh), Holy Spirit, more options

= We do make choices we are responsible for – captain and ship analogy

Freedom is not freedom to sin, but freedom from sin

Romans 6:¹⁵ What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

No one is truly and totally free

·         We all live for someone or something that rules over us and we serve as “slave”

·         Who or what rules over us controls us, or to use a Bible word is our “Lord”

1. Work? workaholic sacrifices time, health, family
2. Success: driven to burnout, fatigue, exhaustion, unwell
3. Approval: wrecked by criticism & living for people’s approval
4. Needed: gathering needy people & wearing yourself out unable to say no
5. Money: greedy, use people to make more
6. Control: hyper vigilant, driven by fear & do not trust others
7. Safety: driven by fear, sacrifice fun to reduce risk

-Free people can stop doing anything anytime, and start doing anything anytime

Under Law: You – Jesus = Judgement

Under Grace:  You + Jesus = Blessing

Freedom is not doing what you want, but doing what God wants 

Romans 6:¹⁶ Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

• Righteousness has become so connected to self-righteousness we avoid it
• Holiness is internal condition, Righteousness is external action
• Matt. 5:20 “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

a). They tithed (Lk. 11:42)      b). searched Scripture (Jn. 5:39-40),

c). prayed (Matt. 6:5-6)           d). evangelized (Matt. 23:15)

1. People are a product of their teaching
2. God uses Bible teaching to make “obedient from the heart”
3. God doesn’t need you to obey, but your neighbor does
4. You don’t need to obey to be saved, but you do need to obey to be free

Freedom is Not You Choosing to Go Down, But God Choosing to Pull You Up 

Romans 6:¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Slavery: Not endorsing. Ancient Roman Empire (120 million people) roughly 1/2 population was in the legal category of slave at some point. 1. Forced (e.g. war). 2. Volunteers (indentured servitude).

• Spiritually we are enslaved to things that are 1. imposed on us and 2. invited by us.
• You either get better or worse
• You either get pulled down by sin, or pushed up by the Spirit

Freedom is Not Falling Back, but Running Forward

Romans 6:²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 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.

Slavery & Freedom

1.    You can be a slave to someone/thing & think you are free. (many non-Christians)

• slaves to sin – ashamed/death

2.    You can be free to someone/thing & think you are a slave. (many Christians)

• free from sin – God/sanctification (more like God), eternal life (w/God now & forever)

Freedom is Not Freedom from God, but Freedom to God

Romans 6:²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Two Ways

1. Sin pays wages (e.g. karma) = all sin can pay is death
2. God gives gifts

• Acts 20:35 the Lord Jesus…said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

God’s gifts should cause us to live with 1). Gratitude 2). Generosity

Why is God’s Rule Better Than Anyone or Anything?

1. Jesus rules with grace (6:15)
2. Jesus rules with righteousness (6:16)
3. Jesus rule changes our heart (6:17)
4. Jesus rule sets us free (6:18)
5. Jesus rule keeps sanctifying us (6:19)
6. Jesus rule bears fruit in this life (6:22)
7. Jesus rule extenders into eternal life (6:22)
8. Jesus rule gives free gifts starting with God (6:23)

Everyone Looking for Freedom Is Looking for Jesus Whether They Know It or Not

John 8:36 if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

1. Jesus is free
2. We are not free
3. Jesus sets us free

• Rebellion today is seen as the path to freedom, but it is the path to slavery.
• Jesus is the path to freedom.

Rom. 6:4 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.