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Romans 6:15-23 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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The personal work of Jesus Christ alone.
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And in chapter 6, he spends his time talking about how we are set free from the power of sin.
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We'll begin reading in verse 15.
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Beloved, let me remind you that this is God's word to us, written for his glory and our good.
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And so we would do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
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Paul writes,
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What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law, but under grace? By no means.
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Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey,
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either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
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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,
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and having been set free from sin have become slaves of righteousness.
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I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations.
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For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness,
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so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
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For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
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But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?
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For the end of those things is death.
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But now that you have been set free from sin and become slaves of God,
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the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
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For the wages of sin is death.
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The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
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Now there is a lot to unpack in this language of Paul's.
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Some of these sentences are a bit complex,
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and so sometimes when preparing sermons through texts like this,
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it seems helpful to try to draw just a clean, straight line through it.
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If we had more time, I would spend each phrase unpacking each thing,
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but we're going to have to kind of get a little bit faster than that
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and a little cursory if we're going to make it through the text today.
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And so I have a four-point outline for our study,
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which just for the fun of it, I've alliterated a bunch.
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So here we go.
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One of my favorite forms of music is rap music.
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It's a little-known fact about me,
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and I don't think I could ever pick up that skill,
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but this is my little way that I scratch that itch.
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Alliteration.
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So here we go.
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Number one, a question asked and answered.
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Number two, a principle presented.
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Number three, a principle practiced.
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And number four, a glorious future guaranteed.
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And I actually want to get us to point four fairly quickly this morning.
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Number one, a question asked and answered.
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Note there verse 15.
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At the beginning of our text, Paul asks another anticipatory question.
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He's been doing that all along.
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He's anticipating the objections,
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likely because he had already heard them many times.
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So as he sits down to write this letter to these Roman Christians,
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he's anticipating the kinds of objections that will arise.
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And so he's answering them as he goes throughout the letter.
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You do well when you read the book of Romans to read it in some swaths
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because you'll often arrive at those objections
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that you may be forming in your own thinking as you read it.
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And there he says,
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What then are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?
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Grace, which is the case that he's been making in the previous verses.
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And this question is really a restatement of the question he asked at the beginning of chapter 6.
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Notice verse 1 where he says,
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What shall we say then?
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Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
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The doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone
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and the person and work of Jesus Christ alone
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is often met with this objection.
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If we are saved by grace,
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if it becomes the ruling principle in our life,
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then what this bearing does,
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how does it have God's law act on our lives?
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On the one hand, you will have the legalist arguing
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that if you release people from the rule of God's law,
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then they will forsake it and live however they want,
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and this will never bring them into God's favor.
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On the other hand, you have the antinomian,
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which means without the law,
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argue that the rule of grace does, in fact,
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give them license to live however they want
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because they are in God's favor.
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And chapter 6 is dedicated to getting this relationship
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between law and grace right.
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So, Paul asks a similar question
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with a slightly different perspective.
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Are we to sin because we are not under law,
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the reign of law,
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but under grace,
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the reign of grace?
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Because those who are in Christ Jesus
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have been set free from sin.
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Notice verse 14.
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Sin will have no dominion over you
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since you are not under law,
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but under grace.
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And so Paul asks,
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so then can we just go on sinning?
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Can our lives not be transformed
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if we are in Christ?
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And his answer is, once again,
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an emphatic no.
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This Greek phrase is a strong no.
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By no means is the way it's translated here in the ESV.
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By no means.
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We ought not go on sinning
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because we have been set free from it.
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And he seeks,
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as he furthers his teaching in the text,
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to help us understand this
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by presenting to us a principle.
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Note it here in verse 16.
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So this is the second point.
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A principle presented.
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There he says,
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do you not know
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that if you present yourselves
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to anyone as obedient slaves,
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you are slaves of the one whom you obey,
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either of sin,
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which leads to death,
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or of obedience,
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which leads to righteousness?
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Paul employs here a principle
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in the form of a question.
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And the question begins with,
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do you not know?
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Suggesting that what Paul is saying
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is known.
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The principle here is axiomatic,
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or it's widely understood.
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He's saying,
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you know this is the way the world works.
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If a person, he says,
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willingly offers themselves as a slave,
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then they are bound to their master.
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Perhaps we could think in terms of
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being employed someplace.
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If we go to work,
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and we say to somebody,
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you are my boss,
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then you do what you're told to do,
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until you change the nature
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of that relationship.
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Notice how Paul seems
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to personify sin,
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and to personify obedience,
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as if they are slave masters.
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Sin is a master that promises
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the payment of death,
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but obedience is a master
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that leads to righteousness,
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and promises the payment
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of life everlasting.
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So Paul is saying,
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if you have been united to Christ,
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then God is your master.
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So you should not have the attitude
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of the antinomian,
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thinking that you can go on sinning
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because you are not under law,
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but under grace.
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You have been bought
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with a price.
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You belong to God,
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and therefore,
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he is your master.
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It makes no sense
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that you would go on living
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how you want to.
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It only makes sense
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that you would press on
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living how he would have you live.
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Beloved, we were not created
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to be without authority
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in our lives.
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We are people
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meant to be reigned over.
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Before the fall,
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we were to be reigned over by God.
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This was the state
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of Adam and Eve
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in the garden,
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and what was the very temptation
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presented to them
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before they ate of that fruit?
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That they would be like God.
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Now we are image bearers of God,
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which means we are also rulers ourselves.
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We are given authority
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over other things.
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But we are not meant
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to have ultimate authority
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over ourselves.
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We are meant to be brought back
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into relationship with God
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by the gospel of Jesus Christ
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and submit ourselves
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once again to him.
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We are, at our very core,
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all slaves to something.
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You will serve something.
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And so you will either be
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a slave of sin
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or a slave of obedience.
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That's the principle
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that Paul is presenting to us here.
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So, which one will you
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submit yourself to?
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Jesus presents the very same principle
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in Matthew chapter 6
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and verse 24.
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There he says,
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No one can serve two masters,
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for either he will hate the one
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and love the other,
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or he will be devoted to the one
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and despise the other.
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And if you're familiar with that,
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verse 24 goes on to say,
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You cannot serve God and money.
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This could be principle applied
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anywhere in our lives.
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Devoted to one,
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despise the other.
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Hate one,
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love the other.
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We're all slaves to something.
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So what controls you?
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So there's a principle presented here,
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and it's a principle,
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Paul tells us,
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is an accommodation
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to our limited understanding.
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Notice verse 19,
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he says,
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I'm speaking in human terms
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because of your natural limitations.
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It's as if he's saying
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the allegory falls apart
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at some point,
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but it's meant to help you
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understand a bit
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of the nature of this relationship
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in which you once walk.
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This is a simple principle
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that is worth wrestling with.
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I know that some of you feel
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like it is difficult
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to understand.
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Your experience complicates
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the simplicity of it.
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You desire to do good,
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yet you find yourself doing things
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that you do not want to do.
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And Paul feels this alongside us,
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and we're going to look at it
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at length
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in his coming writing
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in chapter 7.
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I must admit,
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I often do a lot of helpful planning
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in our Lord's Day,
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and I get songs sent to me
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that are planned to be sung,
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and I didn't even look
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at the song that we sang
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just before coming up here,
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but John Newton is with you
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if you wrestle with this idea
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of no longer being a slave to sin
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and rather being a slave to God,
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submitting yourself to him.
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Why is it still so difficult?
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Having been set free,
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being under grace
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and not under law,
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why is our life still hard?
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But that does not change this truth.
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Experience does not define
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the truth for us.
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Scripture defines the truth for us.
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And the work, then,
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the labor is to bring ourselves
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into conformity with it.
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So Paul, we're going to see
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in chapter 7,
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helps us to see
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and helps us to understand
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what is happening
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as we battle against our flesh.
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But before he does,
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he works out this principle
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a bit for us
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in today's text.
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So you see beginning in verse 17,
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this principle practice.
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This is point number 3.
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Let's note this morning
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how this principle is practiced
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in two ways.
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First, let's notice
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how it's practiced
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as we were.
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Now, when I say it that way,
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as we were,
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I'm speaking of the Christian.
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If you have not repented
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of your sin
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and turned by grace
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through faith
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to Jesus Christ,
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then this is the present state
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of your soul.
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For those who have repented
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of our sin
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and turned by grace
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through faith
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to Jesus Christ,
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then this is who we once were.
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And that is the way
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Paul is addressing us
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in his letter.
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Verse 17, he says,
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But thanks be to God.
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Why?
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Because we are justified
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by grace alone,
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through faith alone,
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in Christ alone.
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If we have been changed
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from one nature to another,
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we're not the ones
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who did the changing.
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God changed us.
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We were once slaves of sin
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and have now become
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slaves of obedience.
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It was a work that God did
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in our hearts.
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So notice who we were,
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right?
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Verse 17,
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slaves of sin.
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Verse 19,
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we once presented
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our members
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as slaves to impurity
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and to lawlessness,
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leading to more lawlessness.
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Verse 20,
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we were slaves of sin.
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We were free
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in regard to righteousness,
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but we were slaves of sin.
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And notice verse 21,
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the end of those things
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is death.
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So rebels,
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cut off from God,
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right?
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Presenting ourselves
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for things that are
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unpleasing to God.
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Before Christ,
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we were slaves of sin.
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Our old self
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was obedient to sin,
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and we loved it.
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Notice that we presented
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our members as slaves
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to impurity
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and to lawlessness,
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leading to more lawlessness.
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That is,
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we willingly gave ourselves
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to this activity.
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The phrase impurity
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and lawlessness
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refers both to an inward
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and an outward sinfulness.
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Every ounce of our being,
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Paul doesn't leave
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any of it unattended to.
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Every bit of us,
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our being
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and our doing,
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was given
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to sin.
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Paul tells us
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this lawlessness
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leads to more
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lawlessness.
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It just compounds itself.
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John MacArthur,
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in his commentary
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on this phrase,
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wrote,
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like a cancer
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that reproduces itself
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until the whole body
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is destroyed.
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Sin reproduces itself
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until the whole person
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is destroyed.
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Now,
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your experience
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may not feel this way.
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You perhaps
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were converted early
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in your life.
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I believe that I was.
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But it's
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but for the grace of God
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that I didn't become
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worse and worse
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and worse and worse
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in my sin.
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Some of you have felt
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the weight
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and the depth
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of your sinfulness.
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Thanks be to God,
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right,
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that we are now
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set free
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from that power.
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Oscar Wilde,
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the 19th century writer
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and deviant.
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You can look up
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why he was a deviant.
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When his rebellious
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lifestyle was made,
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Public wrote this,
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I forgot
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that when a man
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is in secret,
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he will someday
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shout aloud
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from the housetop.
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Become proud
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of our rebellion.
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And let's be careful
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not to forget
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who we once
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were.
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I think it's problematic
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if we read
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verse 17
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and don't find
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some pause
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in our souls
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at the phrase
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but thanks be
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to God.
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Let's go back
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to Romans chapter 1
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verse 28
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and following.
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Paul includes
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us
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in this text.
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He is not
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excluding us
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from it.
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And since they
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did not
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see fit
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to acknowledge God,
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God gave them up
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to a debased mind
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to do
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what ought not
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be done.
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They were filled
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with all manner
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of unrighteousness,
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evil,
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covetousness,
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malice.
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They are full
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of envy,
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murder,
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strife,
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deceit,
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maliciousness.
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They are gossips,
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slanderers,
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haters of God,
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insolent,
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haughty,
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boastful,
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inventors of evil,
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disobedient to parents,
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foolish,
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faithless,
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heartless,
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ruthless.
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Though they know
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God's righteous decree
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that those who practice
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such things
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deserve to die,
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they not only do them
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but give approval
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to those
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who practice them.
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If we're in Christ,
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that's who we once were,
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presenting ourselves,
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presenting our members
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as slaves
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to impurity
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and to lawlessness,
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leading to more
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lawlessness.
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But,
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thanks be
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to God.
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By God's grace
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and only by grace
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through faith
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are we no longer
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slaves to sin.
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Praise God
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that in Christ Jesus
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we have been set free
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from its tyranny.
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So that's how you see
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in this text
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that principle
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practiced
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as we
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were,
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but you also see it
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and more importantly
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you see it
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as we now
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are.
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So again,
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look through
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these verses
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with me,
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verses 17 through 22.
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Again,
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thanks be to God
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that you who
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were once
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slaves
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of sin,
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no longer
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slaves of sin
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but we were
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once slaves
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of sin,
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have become
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obedient from
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the heart
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to the standard
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of teaching
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to which you
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were committed.
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We have been
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changed in our
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very nature.
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This language
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from the heart
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means at the very
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core of
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who we are,
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we have been
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changed.
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And out of us
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therefore comes
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good and proper
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things.
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And,
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verse 18 says,
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we've been set free
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from sin
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and rather have
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become slaves
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of righteousness,
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committing ourselves
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to it.
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And so the
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encouragement becomes
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in verse 19
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that we are to
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present our members
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as slaves
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to righteousness
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which leads
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to sanctification,
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the setting apart,
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the ever-growing
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holiness that exists
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in those
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who belong
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to Christ.
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When we are
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converted,
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we are changed
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in nature,
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we are set free
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from sin,
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we become slaves
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of righteousness,
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but we do not
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become perfect.
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I wish that we did.
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I think that God
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in His sovereignty
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means to work out
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in us
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our great need
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for Him.
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He means to help
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us recognize
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the sinfulness
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of our sin.
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One day we'll be
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delivered from it
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and we'll praise
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Him for eternity
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because we'll
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understand some
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measure of its
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depth.
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I think that He
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means for us
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to relate to
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others,
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not to present
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ourselves as
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perfect because
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we're not,
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but to say,
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yes,
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yes,
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this is who I
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once was,
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and now being
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set free from
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sin,
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I still go back
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to that sin
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and I need
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Christ as much
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as you do.
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We are to
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present ourselves,
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we are to
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submit ourselves
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to God
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as a slave,
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Him giving to
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us good
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and proper
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direction.
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Verse 21,
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notice one of
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the marks of a
20:34
converted person
20:35
is that the
20:36
things we once
20:37
did,
20:38
we are now
20:39
ashamed of.
20:41
We don't
20:41
desire to do
20:42
those things,
20:43
although we do
20:44
still do them,
20:45
but we are
20:46
ashamed of those
20:47
things that we
20:48
once did,
20:49
willingly presenting
20:50
ourselves to
20:51
sin in this
20:53
way.
20:54
But now,
20:55
verse 22 says,
20:56
we've been set
20:57
free from it
20:58
and we have
20:58
become slaves
20:59
of God.
21:01
The fruit you
21:02
get leads to
21:04
sanctification
21:04
and its end,
21:07
eternal life.
21:08
Having changed
21:09
hearts,
21:10
God brings
21:10
forth from
21:11
who we are
21:12
good fruit.
21:15
and this
21:16
evidences the
21:17
faith that He
21:18
is working
21:18
in us.
21:20
It's important
21:21
that we get
21:21
this balance
21:22
right.
21:23
Law and
21:25
grace.
21:25
We're saved
21:26
by grace
21:26
alone,
21:27
through faith
21:27
alone,
21:28
in Christ
21:28
alone.
21:28
And that
21:29
is a faith
21:29
that works
21:30
out in
21:31
our lives.
21:33
And it
21:34
happens and
21:34
ebbs and
21:35
it happens
21:36
and flows.
21:37
That's why
21:37
if you're here
21:38
this morning
21:39
and you're not
21:39
a member of
21:39
a local
21:40
church,
21:40
you need to
21:40
be a member
21:41
of a local
21:41
church because
21:42
this is one
21:42
of the
21:42
authorities that
21:43
God has
21:43
given to you
21:44
to help
21:45
you discern
21:47
whether or
21:47
not you
21:47
are in
21:48
fact in
21:49
the faith.
21:50
To help
21:50
you examine
21:51
your life.
21:53
When you
21:53
join a
21:54
church,
21:54
the church
21:55
is saying
21:55
to you,
21:56
with the
21:56
kind of
21:57
judgment
21:58
we can
21:58
pass as
21:58
people,
21:59
we believe
22:00
that you're
22:00
in Christ.
22:02
We see
22:03
faithfulness
22:03
coming out
22:04
of you.
22:04
We are
22:04
bearing
22:05
witness to
22:05
the good
22:06
fruit that
22:08
exists.
22:08
We want
22:09
you to be
22:09
called
22:10
gods.
22:12
In the
22:13
same way,
22:13
we practice
22:14
discipline.
22:15
To say
22:16
to people
22:16
who we
22:16
once had
22:17
a confidence
22:17
they were
22:18
in the
22:18
faith,
22:18
we're not
22:19
as sure
22:19
as we
22:20
once were.
22:21
We no
22:21
longer think
22:22
we can
22:22
call you
22:23
brother.
22:25
For your
22:25
sake,
22:26
we're not
22:27
going to
22:27
let you
22:27
go on
22:28
thinking
22:28
that you're
22:29
in Christ
22:29
because all
22:30
of the
22:30
fruit that
22:30
you're
22:31
bearing
22:31
runs in
22:32
contradiction
22:32
to that
22:34
profession.
22:36
John Calvin
22:37
in his
22:38
commentary on
22:38
Romans wrote
22:39
the following
22:40
quote,
22:40
as soon
22:41
as the
22:42
godly
22:42
begin to
22:42
be
22:43
enlightened
22:43
by the
22:43
spirit of
22:44
Christ
22:44
and the
22:45
preaching
22:45
of the
22:46
gospel,
22:47
they freely
22:48
acknowledge
22:48
that the
22:49
whole of
22:49
their past
22:50
life,
22:50
which they
22:51
lived without
22:52
Christ,
22:52
is worthy
22:53
of condemnation.
22:55
So far
22:56
from trying
22:56
to excuse
22:57
it,
22:57
they are
22:57
in fact
22:58
ashamed
22:59
of
22:59
themselves.
23:00
Indeed,
23:01
they go
23:01
farther and
23:01
continually
23:02
bear their
23:03
disgrace in
23:03
mind so
23:04
that the
23:04
shame of
23:05
it may
23:05
make them
23:05
more truly
23:06
and willingly
23:08
humble
23:08
before God.
23:11
To give you
23:12
my simple
23:12
summary of
23:13
what he's
23:13
saying,
23:14
he's going
23:15
to this
23:15
little phrase
23:16
in our
23:17
text,
23:18
verse 21,
23:19
the things
23:20
of which
23:20
you are
23:21
now
23:22
ashamed.
23:24
And he's
23:24
saying that
23:24
this becomes
23:25
a fuel
23:26
for us
23:27
to not
23:28
do those
23:28
things any
23:29
longer,
23:29
to not
23:30
return
23:30
to those
23:31
things,
23:32
to make
23:33
us humble,
23:34
but by
23:35
the grace
23:36
of God.
23:38
Paul says
23:39
of himself,
23:40
a sure
23:41
and confident
23:41
thing,
23:42
that he is
23:42
the chief
23:43
of sinners
23:43
and we
23:44
all ought
23:44
to feel
23:45
the same.
23:46
If it
23:46
weren't
23:47
for the
23:47
grace
23:48
of God,
23:48
I would
23:49
be the
23:50
worst.
23:51
So back
23:51
to the
23:52
beginning
23:52
of verse
23:52
17,
23:53
but thanks
23:53
be to
23:55
God.
23:56
He's
23:56
given us
23:56
such reason
23:57
to present
23:58
ourselves
23:59
to him
23:59
and to
24:00
pursue
24:00
holiness.
24:03
And on
24:03
top of
24:03
all of
24:04
that,
24:04
right,
24:05
this changing
24:06
in our
24:07
nature,
24:08
this has
24:08
promised
24:09
for us
24:09
something
24:10
to come,
24:11
which is
24:11
our last
24:13
and final
24:13
point,
24:14
a glorious
24:14
future
24:15
guaranteed.
24:18
Verse 23,
24:20
for the
24:20
wages of
24:20
sin is
24:22
death,
24:23
but the
24:24
free gift
24:24
of God
24:25
is eternal
24:25
life in
24:26
Jesus Christ,
24:28
our Lord.
24:30
Before we
24:30
can address
24:31
the glorious
24:31
future guaranteed
24:32
in this text,
24:33
we must
24:33
first address
24:34
the absolute
24:34
truth that
24:36
those who
24:36
continue in
24:37
their sin,
24:38
those who
24:38
do not,
24:39
by grace
24:40
through faith,
24:41
turn from
24:41
their sin
24:42
and flee
24:42
to Christ,
24:43
deserve the
24:44
penalty
24:45
of death.
24:47
It is the
24:48
wage that
24:49
they have
24:49
earned.
24:51
That is not
24:52
how I want
24:52
to spend
24:52
the last
24:53
moments of
24:53
our time
24:54
together.
24:54
Rather,
24:54
I want to
24:55
remind you
24:56
a future
24:57
reward.
24:58
Those of
24:59
us who are
24:59
in Christ,
25:00
I want
25:01
us to
25:01
drink
25:01
deeply
25:02
at the
25:02
well of
25:03
God's
25:03
grace as
25:03
we remember
25:04
what he
25:05
has granted
25:06
to us
25:06
in Christ.
25:09
I think
25:09
that we
25:10
understand
25:11
that a
25:12
gift is
25:12
free,
25:14
but lest
25:14
Paul leave
25:15
us with
25:15
any doubt
25:16
of God's
25:16
gracious
25:16
kindness
25:17
toward us,
25:17
he says
25:18
the free
25:19
gift
25:20
of God.
25:21
It wants
25:21
to be so
25:22
clear that
25:22
we are
25:23
saved
25:24
by
25:24
grace,
25:26
right?
25:27
Undeserving.
25:28
And that
25:29
free gift
25:29
is eternal
25:30
life.
25:30
In Christ
25:31
Jesus,
25:32
our Lord.
25:34
The scope
25:35
of eternity
25:36
future is
25:37
incomprehensible
25:39
for our
25:40
feeble minds.
25:41
What will
25:41
that look
25:42
like?
25:42
Life
25:43
forever
25:43
more.
25:46
But the
25:46
glory that
25:47
is found
25:48
in it is
25:48
not diminished
25:49
by our
25:50
weakness to
25:51
comprehend it.
25:52
It is an
25:53
incredible,
25:53
vast thing
25:54
for us
25:55
to think
25:56
about.
25:57
This is
25:58
the promise
25:58
that pulls
25:59
us through
26:00
the trouble
26:00
of this
26:02
life,
26:02
the pain,
26:04
the persecution,
26:06
the problem
26:07
of our
26:07
flesh,
26:08
the sickness
26:09
and the
26:10
sorrow,
26:11
the weariness
26:12
and the
26:13
wars,
26:14
the destruction
26:15
and the
26:17
death.
26:18
The future
26:19
reward is
26:20
what spurs
26:21
us on.
26:23
This life
26:24
is but a
26:25
vapor.
26:26
we can
26:28
bear up
26:28
and we
26:29
can press
26:30
on.
26:31
We can be
26:32
ashamed of
26:32
those things
26:33
we once
26:33
did and
26:34
present
26:34
ourselves
26:35
as slaves
26:36
of righteousness
26:36
that we
26:37
might press
26:38
on to
26:39
the end,
26:41
kept
26:41
by our
26:43
God.
26:44
So we
26:45
are to do
26:45
this,
26:46
present our
26:47
members as
26:47
slaves to
26:48
righteousness,
26:49
which leads
26:51
sanctification.
26:55
I want to
26:55
read from
26:56
you just a
26:56
little bit
26:57
from,
26:57
this is
26:58
John MacArthur's
26:58
commentary,
26:59
this is a
27:00
quotation
27:02
inception,
27:03
because I'm
27:03
going to
27:04
read from
27:04
John MacArthur's
27:05
commentary,
27:05
him citing
27:06
Dietrich
27:06
Bonhoeffer from
27:07
his book,
27:08
The Cost of
27:08
Discipleship,
27:09
in which he
27:10
quotes Martin
27:12
Luther.
27:12
Bonhoeffer,
27:17
I commend
27:17
the book
27:18
to you,
27:18
Bonhoeffer
27:18
wrote a
27:18
book called
27:19
The Cost
27:19
of Discipleship,
27:20
and it was
27:20
just easier to
27:21
find this
27:21
quotation in
27:22
MacArthur
27:23
than in the
27:23
book,
27:24
but in
27:26
there he
27:26
juxtaposes
27:28
cheap grace
27:29
and costly
27:30
grace,
27:31
and he
27:32
does this
27:32
at great
27:33
length,
27:35
and you've
27:35
heard me
27:35
present this
27:36
idea to
27:36
you before,
27:37
the difference
27:38
between cheap
27:38
grace,
27:39
people who
27:40
think that
27:41
they are
27:42
saved,
27:42
therefore they
27:43
can live
27:43
however they
27:44
want to,
27:44
the antinomian
27:45
he would
27:45
have called
27:46
cheap grace
27:47
Christians.
27:49
So he
27:50
says this,
27:52
Cheap grace
27:53
amounts to
27:54
the justification
27:54
of sin
27:56
without the
27:57
justification
27:57
of the
27:58
repentant
27:58
sinner who
27:59
departs from
27:59
sin and
28:00
from whom
28:00
sin departs.
28:03
Cheap grace
28:04
is not the
28:04
kind of
28:04
forgiveness of
28:05
sin which
28:05
frees us
28:06
from the
28:06
toils of
28:07
sin.
28:08
Cheap grace
28:09
is grace
28:09
without
28:10
discipleship,
28:11
grace
28:12
without the
28:12
cross,
28:13
grace
28:13
without
28:14
Jesus
28:15
Christ.
28:17
Costly
28:17
grace,
28:18
on the
28:19
other hand,
28:20
is the
28:20
call of
28:21
Jesus
28:21
Christ at
28:22
which the
28:22
disciple
28:22
leaves his
28:23
nets and
28:24
follows him.
28:26
When Martin
28:26
Luther spoke
28:27
of grace,
28:28
he always
28:28
implied as a
28:29
corollary that
28:30
it cost him
28:30
his own
28:31
life,
28:32
the life
28:32
which was
28:33
now subjected
28:34
to the
28:34
absolute
28:35
obedience
28:36
of Christ.
28:38
Happier
28:39
they who,
28:40
knowing that
28:40
grace,
28:41
can live in
28:41
the world
28:42
without being
28:42
of it,
28:43
who by
28:44
following
28:44
Jesus
28:45
Christ are
28:45
so assured
28:46
of their
28:47
heavenly
28:47
citizenship
28:48
that they
28:49
are truly
28:50
free to
28:50
live their
28:51
lives in
28:52
this world.
28:54
Costly
28:55
grace that
28:56
grants us
28:57
a sure,
28:58
a guaranteed
28:59
reward.
29:03
Revelation
29:04
chapter 21
29:05
verse 1
29:06
through 4,
29:07
John gives
29:08
us a
29:09
glimpse of
29:10
what will
29:10
come.
29:12
There he
29:12
says,
29:13
Then I
29:13
saw a
29:14
new heaven
29:14
and a
29:15
new earth,
29:16
for the
29:17
first heaven
29:17
and the
29:17
first earth
29:18
had passed
29:18
away and
29:19
the sea
29:20
was no
29:20
more.
29:21
And I
29:22
saw the
29:22
holy city,
29:23
new Jerusalem,
29:24
coming down
29:25
out of heaven
29:25
from God,
29:26
prepared as a
29:27
bride adorned
29:28
for her
29:28
husband.
29:29
And I
29:30
heard a
29:30
loud voice
29:31
from the
29:31
throne saying,
29:33
Behold,
29:34
the dwelling
29:34
place of
29:35
God is
29:35
with man.
29:36
He will
29:37
dwell with
29:37
them and
29:38
they will
29:38
be his
29:38
people and
29:39
God himself
29:40
will be
29:40
with them
29:41
as their
29:42
God.
29:43
He will
29:43
wipe away
29:44
every tear
29:45
from their
29:45
eyes and
29:46
death shall
29:47
be no
29:48
more.
29:49
Neither
29:49
shall there
29:50
be mourning
29:50
nor crying
29:51
nor pain
29:51
anymore,
29:52
for the
29:53
former things
29:54
have passed
29:55
away.
29:58
And so we
29:58
have in this
29:59
text a
30:00
question asked
30:01
and answered.
30:02
Should we
30:03
go on
30:03
sinning?
30:03
Absolutely
30:04
not.
30:06
A principle
30:06
presented,
30:07
like we're
30:08
all slaves
30:09
to something.
30:10
To what
30:11
do you
30:11
present
30:12
yourself
30:14
and a
30:15
glorious
30:16
future
30:16
guaranteed?
30:19
So,
30:20
some brief
30:21
application.
30:22
Firstly,
30:23
if you have
30:23
not repented
30:24
of your
30:24
sin and
30:24
fled to
30:25
Christ for
30:25
the salvation
30:26
of your
30:26
soul,
30:27
do so
30:28
today,
30:29
for the
30:30
wages of
30:31
sin is
30:32
death.
30:33
Secondly,
30:34
if you
30:34
are in
30:35
Christ,
30:36
and I
30:36
do hope
30:36
that you
30:37
are,
30:38
remember
30:38
who you
30:39
once
30:40
were,
30:41
be ashamed
30:42
of your
30:42
former sins
30:43
and do
30:44
not return
30:45
to them.
30:47
Hold in
30:48
your mind
30:48
that you
30:48
have been
30:49
set free
30:50
from your
30:51
past
30:52
sinfulness.
30:54
And third,
30:55
if you are
30:55
in Christ,
30:56
and I hope
30:57
that you
30:57
are,
30:58
remember
30:59
who you
31:00
are.
31:00
you
31:01
have a
31:02
glorious
31:02
forever
31:03
future
31:03
awaiting
31:04
you.
31:05
Let this
31:05
wonderful
31:06
future
31:06
truth
31:07
drive
31:08
your
31:08
pursuit
31:09
of
31:09
holiness
31:10
now.
31:11
Let's pray
31:12
together.
31:12
Let's pray
31:12
together.
31:12
Let's pray
31:12
together.