Liberated Living

Sermon OverviewScripture Passage: Romans 6:1-19The grace of God enables us to live godly lives in Christ Jesus and empowers us to live in liberation. Romans 6 gives three basic principles for liberated living.First, we must know our identification with Jesus, who gave Himself for us.“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:5-6).Adrian Rogers explains, “Calvary not only deals with the sin; Calvary deals with the sinner.”Jesus has acted on our behalf; when He died for us, we died with Him. When He was buried, we were buried with Him. And now, in us, we have the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.Second, we must reckon our appropriation of Jesus.“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:11). Reckoning is acting by faith, on what we know to be true, which is that we are dead to our sins and alive in Christ.Third, we must yield our emancipation to Christ.The victorious life is God’s work in us; we cannot do it without Him, and He will not do it without us. Yielding begins when we dethrone sin. We must choose against our old master. No longer will our eyes be a tool for sin, nor our ears be sin’s instruments, nor will our hands do its bidding.Next, we must enthrone the Savior.“...but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13). We must make Jesus Lord of our lives, enslaving ourselves to Him, as Romans 6:18 explains: “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”When we become slaves of Christ, we receive new freedom, faithfulness, and fruitfulness. God will begin to live His life in us, claiming victory every step of the way.Apply it to your lifeDo you know that you identify with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection? Have you reckoned your life to what you believe? Have you yielded to Him?