Dr. Cecil A. Fayard - 2001 Sermons
Sunday, May 6, 2001   

INTRODUCTION: In the first five chapters of Romans, we have sinful man, the total depravity of man, and the justification of sinful man by faith (justification by faith). Now in the sixth chapter of Romans, we have another great truth, a truth illustrated by the ordinance of baptism, that truth being the believer's spiritual union with Christ. Galatians 2:20 says "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

Our message deals not only with the Gospel of "How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures," but how that the believer has been buried with Him by baptism and raised again to newness of life. Baptism pictures what Christ has done for us.

1. VERSE 1, AN INQUIRY
   1. "What shall we say then?"
      
      1. Say to what? Say to those who were distorting the doctrine of salvation by grace.
         
      2. Even in our day, we hear people say: "If I believed what you Baptist's do (once saved always saved), I'd go out and sin to the full".
         
         1. I have often said to those who use such thinking that, "I live the way I do because I am saved...not in order to be saved."
            
         2. Believers "are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
            
         3. Right doctrine and holy living are liked together. Those who cannot truly understand salvation by grace misrepresent the doctrine of grace.

   2. "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" Just as the new birth and faith are gifts of God so is holiness.
      
      1. An unchanged life, a life that does not have any marks of holiness, has no title to salvation.
         
      2. Believers are not sinless, but their lives are different because of belief in the Gospel message.
         
         1. Anyone who claims to be saved yet willfully disobeys and disregards the clear teachings in God's Word on holiness has no business saying he is a Christian.
            
         2. II Corinthians 5:17.
            
      3. The true believer cannot continue in sin.

2. VERSE 2, THE REPLY
   1. The reply to the enquiry of verse one is plain, and it is strong. "God forbid, May it never be." Paul's reply carries with it a sense of outright outrage. Outrage that anyone could think in such a way and claim to be saved.

   2. "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
      
      1. The person who is born again, alive in Christ, is dead to sin.
         
         1. The believer cannot live in sin. He cannot go on living in it as a habit (I John 3:9).
            
         2. It is not possible for a child of God to remain in a perpetual state of sinfulness.
            
      2. We, believers, are dead to sin.
         
         1. In the physical realm, death and life are as widely apart as you can get.
            
         2. In the spiritual realm, spiritual life and spiritual death cannot co-exist.
            
         3. To say that a child of God can go on in and live habitually in sin is both unbiblical and irrational. Yes, Christians do sin, but they are not able to live in sin continually as they did before new birth (Romans 5:20b).
            
         4. The unregenerate man cannot keep from living in sin. The regenerate man cannot but abhor and leave sin behind.
            
         5. Salvation is a transaction and a transformation (Colossians 3:3).

3. VERSES 3-4, A MEMORANDUM TO REMEMBER
   1. Here (verses 3-4) we have a good reminder.
      
      1. I am justified; I am saved because of two things that Christ did for me.
         
         1. Verse 3, He died.
            
         2. Verse 4, He rose again.
            
      2. Paul by the inspiration of God says: "I want to give you a picture of your salvation; it is based on two great truths.
         
         1. Verse 3, First death and burial.
            
         2. Verse 4, Second, the resurrection from the grave.

   2. Does baptism picture the truths set forth in verses 3 and 4? The answer has to be yes.
      
      1. Baptism does not save us, but it pictures our salvation.
         
      2. Our water baptism drives home the fact of our death to sin and our resurrection to newness of life.
         
      3. Just as God raised Christ from the dead, He has raised the one who has trusted in His Son (Ephesians 2:1; John 5:24-25).
         
      4. You can never be what you ought to be as a Christian until you have followed Christ in believer's baptism (Acts 2:41).

4. VERSES 5-7, THE OUTCOME OF SALVATION
   1. Verse 5, Note the phrase, "We shall be." There is an outcome to our salvation.
      
      1. In a real sense, the believer was crucified with Christ at Calvary (Galatians 2:20). Not only is this true, but our resurrection spiritually to a new life is real.
         
      2. Water baptism pictures our death with Christ, "planted," immersed. It also pictures our resurrection with Him.
         
         1. The burial of Christ was our burial.
            
         2. The resurrection of Christ was our resurrection.
            
      3. Baptism is by immersion:
         
         1. Mark 1:9-10, "...Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up, out of the water....'
            
         2. "...And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water..." (Acts 8:38-39).

   2. Verse 6, Positionally, the old man is crucified with Christ. Again we look to Galatians 2:20 that so beautifully illustrates this fact.
      
      1. Crucifixion produces death; to be crucified is to die.
         
         1. The old man, of the believer, is crucified with Christ.
            
         2. If the old man is not crucified, you are not saved. When you are saved, your attitude toward sin changes (Galatians 5:24).
            
      2. "Destroyed", "done away with, to render inoperative, ineffective."
         
         1. Regeneration results in death to self and sin.
            
         2. Salvation releases us from the control of sin, "that henceforth we should not serve sin.

   3. Verse 7, "Freed from sin," is to be freed from the slavery of sin. Sin shackles man; it binds him in irons (Psalm 107: 10-11).

5. VERSE 8, A BELIEF
   1. If we believe that Christ died for our sins and "if we be dead with Christ," we also "believe that we shall live with him."

   2. We will one day live in the very presence of Christ because of the Gospel. Not only will we live in His presence, we shall live holy lives.

6. VERSES 9-10, PROOF POSITIVE
   1. Verse 9, Christ arose to never die again.
      
      1. He is alive.
         
      2. The tomb is empty forever.

   2. Verse 10, Christ died to sin. He died because death is sin's penalty (Romans 6:23). He broke the power of sin and the grave because He arose and is alive. He lives unto God.
      
      1. His victory is our victory.
         
      2. We have victory in Jesus.