Pardoned and Armed: Living in Resurrection Power

Romans 6 takes up the dangerous-sounding question that naturally rises after justification by faith: if grace keeps multiplying, should sin keep getting charged to Christ? Paul answers with a hard, emphatic no. Saving grace is not “all gas, no brakes.” Saving grace does not set a sinner free to enjoy sin. Saving grace sets a sinner free to fight sin.

Paul roots that fight in union with Jesus. Baptism pictures being plunged into Christ, immersed into his death, buried with him, and raised with him into newness of life. The word “united” carries the idea of being engrafted into Christ, so that everything about the cross becomes fundamental to everything in life. When God looks at the one joined to Jesus, God does not see sinful history first. God sees the obedient history of Jesus, the humble suffering of Jesus, and the payment already made through Jesus.

Romans 6 also refuses any shallow idea that sin has no influence left. Sin still works in a mortal body, and the old ruler still has pockets of guerrilla warfare along the borders. The kingdom has come, but not every territory has been fully conquered yet. That means Christ’s people are no longer enslaved, but they must live on guard, stay close to the King’s forces, and fight from victory rather than for victory.

Paul says the fight begins with knowing and considering. The mind must lock in on what Christ has already done: the old self was crucified, Christ was raised, death no longer rules him, and resurrection power now belongs to those united with him. That inward understanding becomes stronger than the outward pressure. Like a builder measuring everything by the blueprint, the life in front of a believer must be adjusted to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Romans 6 then moves from identity to action. Sin must not be allowed to reign. The body must not be handed over as a weapon for unrighteousness, but offered to God as a weapon for righteousness. Grace deputizes and arms the Christian for active obedience. The call is to patrol every street and back alley of the flesh, because sin thrives in the shadows.

The picture of Lazarus brings the point home. Christ does not raise the dead so they can keep dressing like dead people. Once life has come, the grave clothes have to come off.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Grace arms the fight against sin Saving grace is not permission to coast, excuse, or run up the bill on mercy. Christ’s saving work both pardons sin and gives power to fight every sin that still tries to reign. Grace is not a soft place for sin to hide, but the place where sin finally loses its legal claim and its ruling power. [37:11]
• 2. The cross rewrites sinful history Union with Christ means the death of Jesus counts as the believer’s death. God sees the obedient history of Jesus where guilt, rebellion, and shame once stood. This does not make sin imaginary, but it makes condemnation impossible and real resistance possible. [41:55]
• 3. Right thinking steadies the soul Paul’s words “know” and “consider” show that spiritual power is tied to what the mind keeps counting as true. Outward pressure can crush a soul that has no inward strength, but resurrection truth gives more than enough pressure from the inside. The Christian life keeps returning to the blueprint of Christ crucified and risen. [48:43]
• 4. Righteousness requires wartime vigilance Romans 6 will not allow passive holiness. The body’s members can become weapons for darkness or weapons for God, and grace calls for active patrol. Sanctification means turning down every street of the heart, refusing to wink at sin, and bringing hidden places under Christ’s rule. [62:17]
• 5. Grave clothes no longer fit Lazarus came out alive, but Jesus still commanded the grave clothes to come off. New life in Christ calls for a new way of being clothed, thinking, speaking, desiring, and obeying. Resurrection power does not leave people dressed like death still owns them.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:36] - Praying for Students and Men
• [33:48] - All Gas, No Brakes
• [36:54] - Grace Frees the Fight
• [38:07] - Dead to Sin in Christ
• [40:29] - Baptized Into His Death
• [43:31] - Living Near Unconquered Territory
• [47:03] - Knowing Resurrection Power
• [53:13] - Counting the Blueprint True
• [56:32] - Justification and Sanctification
• [60:21] - Weapons for Righteousness
• [65:18] - Patrolling the Flesh
• [69:32] - Take Off the Grave Clothes

Bible Reading

Romans 6:1-14
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” [38:07]

John 11:43-44
“When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out.' The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.'” [01:09:32]

2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” [45:42]

1 Peter 1:13
“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” [49:25]

Observation questions

1. In Romans 6:1-14, what words or phrases does Paul use to describe a believer’s connection to Jesus’ death and resurrection?
2. In Romans 6, what commands are given about sin, the body, and the way believers are to present themselves to God? [01:00:41]
3. What repeated words in Romans 6:6-11 show that Paul cares about how believers think as they fight sin? [47:05]
4. In the account of Lazarus, what happens after he comes out of the tomb, and what is still wrapped around him? [01:10:03]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul answers “By no means” to the idea of continuing in sin so that grace may abound. Why does union with Christ make that kind of thinking so wrongheaded? [39:41]
2. Romans 6 says believers must “know” and “consider” certain truths. Why does the fight against sin seem to begin in the mind before it shows up in behavior? [48:43]
3. Paul says believers are not to let sin reign in their mortal bodies. What does that suggest about the difference between sin still being present and sin still being in charge? [43:31]
4. Lazarus was alive, but he still needed to be unbound. How does that picture help explain why a real Christian may have new life in Christ and still need to put off old patterns? [01:10:25]

Application questions

1. Grace does not free a person to coast in sin; grace frees a person to fight sin. Where are you most tempted to treat grace like permission instead of power? [37:11]
2. Believers are called to consider themselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. What truth about Jesus’ death or resurrection do you most need to bring back to mind this week when temptation hits? [53:13]
3. Sin often works like guerrilla warfare near unconquered territory. What area of life feels like borderland for you right now—thought life, speech, desires, habits, relationships, or something else? [44:21]
4. The body can be handed over as a weapon for unrighteousness or as a weapon for righteousness. What part of your life—your eyes, mouth, mind, schedule, phone, or appetites—most needs to be freshly offered to God? [01:03:25]
5. Practicing righteousness requires patrol, not passivity. When was the last time you took an honest inventory of your flesh instead of winking at sin? What might it look like to do that this week? [01:05:30]
6. Grave clothes no longer fit someone Jesus has made alive. What old way of living are you still wearing that needs to come off? [01:10:54]
7. Fighting from victory is different from fighting for victory. How would your daily battle with a recurring sin change if you truly believed Christ has already broken sin’s right to rule you? [01:01:46]