Well, this morning we come to the end
of chapter 6 in Paul's magnificent
letter to the Romans.
And although after today, we still have 10
chapters to go in this letter,
This is a wonderful letter. The Apostle Paul
has already in these these six chapters provided
some of the most profound theological insights known
to man. In Romans 1, verses 16 and
17, Paul gave us the thesis statement
for this entire letter.
He wrote that the gospel
is the power of God for salvation
to everyone
who believes.
Because in the gospel,
the righteousness of God is revealed from faith
for faith.
Paul then boldly echoed
the words of the prophet Habakkuk
declaring that the righteous
shall live
by faith.
So at the outset of this letter,
Paul displays before his audience the way of
salvation.
A person is saved
when God's power
works
through the gospel,
enabling the believer to appropriate
the righteousness of God
by faith.
We learned that salvation is accessible to all
peoples
whether Jew
or Gentile.
We learned that salvation is a work of
God's power.
We learned that the righteousness
necessary
for eternal life is received
by faith.
It doesn't matter who you are,
it doesn't matter where you come from,
it doesn't matter what you've done.
Paul says, Believe the gospel,
entrust yourself to God's power,
receive
God's righteousness by faith,
and you will be saved. You will enjoy
eternal life.
In just a few verses,
Paul takes us to a spiritual
pinnacle
placing before us the hope of eternal life.
It is within our reach in these opening
verses in Paul's letter to the Romans.
But then,
from Romans
118
to Romans 3:20,
Paul takes us from the heights
of the heavenly courts
down to the deepest
recesses
of the valley
of despair.
Indeed, he takes us to the very gates
of hell
as he outlines with devastating clarity
the wretched reality
of the humanist state.
And as Paul drags us through that dark
valley of gloom,
we learn that all human beings are by
nature
in rebellion against God,
that we worship and serve the creature
rather than the Creator,
that we celebrate and promote all kinds of
immorality,
that our minds are corrupt,
that our hearts are wicked,
that our eyes are blind,
that our lips blaspheme,
that our feet are swift to shed blood,
that along our path
we live nothing, we leave nothing but ruin
and misery.
We learn
that having knowledge of God's law will not
save us
because God's law only serves as a witness
against our disobedience.
We learned that circumcision cannot save us
because our hearts are uncircumcised.
They are filled with impurity
and wickedness.
We learned that there is not one person,
not one who is righteous.
No, not one Paul tells us. He stresses
that.
And thus it is apparent
that between the sinful estate of man
and the perfect righteousness
that is required
by God so that we can enjoy full
communion with Him,
there exists an insurmountable
chasm.
And the salvation that seems so close
at the beginning of Paul's letter
disappears
behind
the curtain
of God's perfect
justice.
But then
beginning in Romans 3/21, Paul introduces hope once
again.
He writes that God's righteousness,
which is the only righteousness that can save
us,
has been manifested
apart from the law,
that it has appeared
in history,
that it is attainable
to us.
In other words, Paul writes
that though we cannot save ourselves by obeying
the law,
since we none of us none of us
can offer the perfect obedience that the law
requires,
that nevertheless there is one
whom God has put forth
to accomplish
that very thing.
He writes that Jesus has fulfilled
the requirements of God's law in our place.
Therefore, in Romans 3 verses 23 and 24,
Paul offers these amazing words of hope.
He writes,
For all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God
and are justified
by His grace
as a gift
through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus.
And from that glorious statement
of the grace of God freely offered in
Christ,
Paul then bifurcates humanity
into 2 camps.
Those who are standing on their own
works and those who are standing on the
works of Jesus.
Those who are relying on their own merits
and those who are relying on the merit
of Christ.
Those who are united to Adam,
and those who are united to Christ by
faith,
those who are slaves of sin,
and those who are slaves
of righteousness.
And so we arrive
at our text this morning,
Romans 6 verses 20 to 23,
where Paul highlights
the transformative
power
of God's grace in the life
of believers.
We see in these verses that when someone
becomes a Christian
that person serves a different ruler,
that person walks
along a different road,
and that person ultimately
receives a different reward.
So these verses invite invite us today to
take stock
of our own lives
and to ask ourselves,
which ruler do I serve?
What road
am I traveling?
What reward
can I expect?
These are the questions I want us to
consider
this morning as we close Romans 6. So
let's look at the first of these questions,
Which ruler
do I serve?
In verses 17 to 19 of Romans 6,
which we consider the last time that we
looked at Romans,
Paul writes that before someone is united to
Christ by faith,
that person is actually a slave to sin,
a slave to impurity, a slave to lawlessness.
That is strong language from Paul. In fact,
he even apologizes for that language in verse
19 where he writes, I am speaking
in human terms
because of your natural limitations or literally because
of the weakness of your flesh.
He's not simply saying that we sometimes
choose to sin
or that we might occasionally and maybe even
accidentally
stumble in such a way that we transgress
God's law.
No, he writes that we are slaves to
sin, and to impurity, and to lawlessness.
He asserts that sin has mastery
over us.
Paul continues this line of thought in verse
20 where we read,
For when you were slaves of sin,
you were free in regard to righteousness.
Notice therefore that Paul in no uncertain terms
defines the condition of fallen human beings
as one of bondage.
Bondage, we are slaves.
Now in many ways, this seems rather counterintuitive
to us.
After all, the assumption
that we modern human beings make
which we might even call a basic
western
tenet, certainly
an American ideal
is that human beings are essentially
free.
We affirm that our will is free,
that we are free to think whatever we
want,
and to believe whatever we want,
and that this natural and one might say,
inherent liberty
ought to be protected.
Our founding fathers enshrined this sentiment in the
aptly titled
declaration of independence
where they affirm that every human being
has the right to life,
liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
The notion that human beings are by nature
under any kind of bondage is entirely
foreign
to this document and to this idea.
And the truth is that for most of
us,
before we come to know the Lord, we
don't feel like our lives
are hindered in any way, that our will
certainly is hindered
in any way, do we?
Unless
someone forcibly interferes with us,
we have the freedom to do
whatever we want.
Yet Paul writes that as unbelievers,
the only freedom we had is that we
were free in regard
to righteousness.
In other words, righteousness had no claim upon
our hearts.
We did not find
righteousness
to be compelling
in any way.
Now that does not mean that we were
not capable of doing nice things or even
good things,
like acts of kindness, or of charity, so
on.
What it means
is that since our allegiance was not to
God,
since we did not have Him as our
Lord,
certainly we didn't view Him as our Lord,
since we did not consider ourselves to be
under His authority in any way,
we never did anything, not even good things
for the glory of God.
And yet as our middle schoolers and high
schoolers have been learning in their study of
the Westminster Shorter Catechism,
our chief end,
our main purpose as human beings
is to glorify
and enjoy
God.
Paul himself teaches this in 1st Corinthians 10:31
where he writes,
So whether you eat or drink
or whatever you do,
do all
to the glory
of God.
Therefore, when it comes to our thoughts,
to our actions,
to our way of life,
the motive behind them ought to be
God's glory.
That's why we exist,
that's why He made us, that is our
purpose.
That is an imperative from God's word to
every creature in His image. Whatever you do,
do all
to the glory
of God.
But before we were delivered by Christ,
we served another Lord.
We were slaves to sin, Paul says. And
we were both uninterested in serving God, and
in fact we were incapable
of doing so because our hearts belong to
another master.
Notice, however, that in Romans 622,
Paul writes that now
we have been set free from sin and
have become slaves of God.
That is what he didn't write. He didn't
write, now that you have liberated yourselves
and are free to do as you wish.
It's not what he said.
He writes,
now that you have been set free
from sin
and have become slaves
of God
In other words,
human beings are either slaves of sin
or
slaves of God.
There's no third option
that is presented for us here.
Look at what psalm the psalmist writes in
Psalm 49
verses 7 to 8, says this,
Psalm 49 7 to 8,
Truly
no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his
life,
for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never
suffice.
We're slaves to sin,
and cannot purchase our own freedom.
No matter how many good things we might
do,
the price that we pay will never
suffice.
Furthermore, no one else can purchase us
because they also
are enslaved
to sin,
and they cannot afford their own price much
less our price.
But look at what the psalmist then writes
in that same Psalm, Psalm 49
verse 15.
He writes,
But
God will ransom my soul from the power
of Sheol,
for He
will receive me.
In other words, only God
can ransom our soul because He does not
have any debt of His own.
And that is exactly what God has done
for us
through Jesus Christ.
Look at what Jesus says in Mark 10
verse 45.
He says, for even the Son of Man
came not to be served,
but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom
for many.
Christ has purchased us
by His blood. He has purchased our life
with His own life.
He alone was able to do this because
He is entirely sinless, and therefore He has
no debt of His own.
And because
at the incarnation he really
assumed
a human nature
and became like us,
he is able to represent us before God.
That's what Paul himself asserts in 1 Timothy
chapter
2 verses 5 and 6
where he writes,
For there is one God
and there is one mediator between God and
men,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave
himself as a ransom
for all.
So the first question for you this morning
is this, which ruler
do you serve?
If you don't serve God,
then you're a slave
of sin.
Where's your allegiance?
What drives you?
Who or what
are you living for?
Are you living for yourself?
Are you living for worldly things? Things that
rust will destroy?
Things that
moss will eat up
and deteriorate?
Or are you living for God? Do you
have your eyes set on heavenly matters, things
that will endure?
Perhaps the best way to answer
these questions is to look at our second
question
which is
what road
am I traveling?
In Matthew 7/21, Jesus gives us one of
the most terrifying
warnings. Matthew 7/21, he says this,
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord'
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but the one who does the will of
my Father who is in heaven.
Therefore, the distinguishing feature for the believer,
for the one who serves God as his
ruler
is not what he is willing to say
about God,
but rather
that he does the will
of God.
Now, this does not mean that Christians always
do God's will, that we always do God's
will perfectly,
that we never sin. That's not what this
means. And in fact in fact, the very
next chapter in Romans,
will make it very clear that this life
is a struggle,
can be characterized by the struggle of the
Christian against sin.
The struggle is real and it is fierce
as we will see.
But here but that's the point
in fact.
The Christian actually
does struggle against sin. The Christian does battle
against sin because sin is no longer
his master.
That's why there's a struggle.
Therefore, the Christian, because he has been delivered
from the domain of sin, is now capable
of walking
in the path
of righteousness
and of bearing fruit for God's kingdom.
Look at verses 21 and 22 of Romans
6.
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.
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.
Paul writes that while we were in bondage
to sin,
we would bear fruit
that now as we look back on it
would actually make us ashamed.
He writes that we were on a road
that led to death.
But now that we belong to God,
Paul writes that our fruit leads to sanctification.
He writes that we are now on a
road that leads to eternal life.
I can't help but think
of Psalm 1
as we look at these this contrast that
takes place between the unbeliever and the believer.
In Psalm 1, the Psalmist describes the downward
path
of the wicked man.
We first find the ungodly man walking
when he decides to give his ear to
the counsel of the wicked.
Then the ungodly man stops walking,
and he gives his allegiance to sinner to
sinners unashamedly
standing with them.
Finally the ungodly man
stops standing.
And we find him sitting in the miry
bog as it were, and scoffing
at God even as a squealing pig
wallows in the mud.
It's as if he has succumbed
under the weight of the chains
of his bondage
to sin.
You see, sin is neither pointless
nor static.
It purposefully,
intentionally,
and relentlessly
drags you down
to the grave.
The psalmist writes
that the wicked will not be able to
stand
at the final judgment, but will be like
chaff
that the wind drives away.
How different on the other hand is the
destiny of the righteous man in Psalm 1?
The righteous man delights in God's law, and
he meditates on God's Word
day and night.
The psalmist compares him to a tree that
is planted by streams of water,
always yielding its fruit in season,
his leaf does not wither. In fact, in
everything that he does,
he ultimately
prospers.
So on what road are you traveling?
Whose counsel
has your ear?
Who are you believing
about life,
about reality,
about truth?
What role does God's word play in your
life?
Do you meditate
on God's word?
Do you let it shape you, shape your
worldview the way you think,
the aspirations of your heart?
Do you teach it to your children?
Do they know that it matters to you?
Do they know that that word is no
ordinary word, but that it is your very
life?
Whose dreams
are you pursuing?
And who is shaping your children's dreams?
Are you pursuing the happiness
that the American dream dangles before you, if
it still does that?
Or are you pursuing the blessedness
that is found in God's will?
In Matthew 7, Jesus says that many travel
on the wide road that leads to destruction.
He says it's easy to travel on that
road.
You won't find much opposition to it. In
fact, the world will push you along.
It will cheer you on
while you're on that road.
It is a popular
path
indeed.
But on the other hand, Jesus says that
few people travel on the narrow road that
leads to life.
He says that traveling on that road is
not easy.
He says it's hard.
You'll be opposed.
People will revile you for it.
They will call you all kinds of names.
They will scoff at you.
They will mock you.
All this to say,
the right path is not necessarily the most
obvious,
nor the most popular,
nor the most advertised,
certainly not the most comfortable.
In fact, chances are that the right path
is the one least traveled,
is the least popular,
is the least recommended,
and the one with the most opposition
and risk.
But Jesus calls you
to pick up your cross
and to follow him.
So on what road
are you walking? Yes. To follow Jesus is
to receive persecution. They persecuted him. They will
persecute you. He tells us that.
But what road are you walking
on? The road you walk on is a
clear indication
of your marching orders.
It bears witness to the ruler
that you are serving.
Don't be afraid to walk
in the footsteps
of Jesus
because life is only found
along that narrow and difficult path.
This is why Paul writes that the fruit
that one bears in God's service leads to
sanctification.
Because you see when you walk in Jesus'
footsteps,
when you march according
to His orders which are found in the
Bible,
that's where we get it, the marching orders
from our King. When you do that, you
become more and more like Him. That is
to say, you grow in godliness. That's what
sanctification means. It means that you are growing
in godliness,
in holiness. You are resembling Jesus more and
more. You want to resemble Him? You walk
in His footsteps.
And just like the rigorous regiment
of discipline and training prepares a soldier
to be victorious in battle,
so too your commitment to be trained by
righteousness,
to train in the righteousness of God's word
will fully equip you for every good work.
Now, before moving on to the third and
final question this morning, it's worth noting that
Paul gives you a very important and tangible
way
to discern
which road you're traveling.
He writes that when you were in bondage
to sin,
you bore fruits
that you are now ashamed to even think
about.
Perhaps there is sin in your past,
even perhaps in your recent past.
And perhaps that sin is the kind of
sin that still brings shame to you.
Well, what a great comfort
to know that such feeling of shame instead
of weighing you down,
and demoralizing
you,
is actually
evidence
of your deliverance
through Christ blood
from the domain of sin.
You don't boast in sin anymore,
but you are ashamed of it, and that
is the fruit of God's spirit working in
you. It's a painful fruit,
but it's fruit nonetheless.
So let us heed the words of the
author of Hebrews,
who in chapter 12 of his letter calls
us to lay aside every weight and sin
which clings so closely,
and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us,
looking to Jesus,
the founder and perfecter of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross,
despising the shame,
and is seated at the right hand
of the throne
of God.
The final question I want you to ask
yourself this morning is this,
what reward
can I expect?
We already saw that the road under sin's
domain leads to death,
and the road under God's rule leads to
sanctification and eternal life.
In verse 23, Paul explains why this is
the case.
He writes,
For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
What we have here is a statement
so theologically
rich,
so profound
that the entire sermon
could have focused just on this verse, and
we would not exhaust its meaning
today.
But at the same time,
the majesty of this verse consists in the
fact that its meaning is so simple
and so clear.
Sin is most certainly
a harsh taskmaster,
But it always pays its slaves the wages
they deserve.
And the wages they deserve
is death.
They can count on their payment.
They can count on it in full.
They shall get their due.
And it's not simply that payment will come
on the day of judgment,
but the disbursements
have already begun.
They're on schedule.
You see the Greek word Paul uses for
wages refers primarily
to the daily rations or the daily provisions
of food that a Roman soldier would receive.
They would typically be paid in cooked meat,
usually
fish.
So too,
sin pays the soldiers in its army
with daily
rations.
It pays with food that never satisfies,
with rations that never fill,
with provisions
that leave the soldiers more poor,
more weak,
and more dependent than ever.
It would be unjust for the subjects of
sin to not receive their reward. But one
must not hope
that sin
will be unjust. Sin always
exhausts its subjects,
but it always pays its wages to the
last penny.
In contrast to the wages that are rightly
exacted by the slave of sin,
the slave of God does not receive a
wage.
He certainly and mercifully
does not get what he deserves.
Instead,
the slave of God receives a free gift.
The slave of God receives eternal life.
It is the most amazing reward anyone could
ever hope to receive.
Yet amazingly,
it is not earned
by the recipient. It is a free gift
from God.
The reason this is possible, indeed the reason
this is certain
is that such a marvelous reward
is only free for the recipient,
but it was purchased
at a humanly speaking
impossibly
high
price.
The gift of eternal life
cost the Christian nothing,
but it cost God everything.
The father gave up his son
to secure payment for such a gift.
The son gave up his life
as a ransom
for many.
Thus in his high priestly prayer Jesus says
in John 17:3,
And this is eternal life,
that they know you,
the only true God,
and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.
The free gift of eternal life was purchased
by God,
so it cannot be experienced outside of a
covenant
relationship with him. You must know God and
he must know you covenantally.
If Jesus tells you, on the last day
I never knew you, you you shall not
have eternal life.
This is why in verse 23,
again we read, for the wages of sin
is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal
life
in Christ
Jesus
our Lord.
It is only in Christ Jesus
that the gift that this free gift
is found.
It is only under his lordship
that such a reward
can be enjoyed.
Thus we find the resurrected King of glory
cooking fish for his soldiers
as the sun rises upon them by the
Sea of Galilee,
and they prepare to receive their marching orders.
So you see in Romans 6
verses 20 to 23, Paul speaks of 2
rulers,
of 2 roads,
and of 2 rewards.
But he only speaks of 1 redeemer,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
So I've asked you which ruler do you
serve,
and what road are you traveling,
And what reward can you expect? But I've
saved the most important question
for now.
And the question is,
is Jesus Christ
your Lord?
If he was willing today to lay down
his life to redeem you,
won't you entrust your life
to his care?
The chains of sin's bondage subject you to
misery
and to death.
But the chains of Christ
are the unbreakable
bond of his love.
They are the precious wedding band
of your faithful bridegroom.
If you're his,
he will never leave you
nor forsake you. His yoke is easy
and his burden is light.
And where he is, there you shall be
also.
For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God
is eternal life
in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Let us pray.