How shall we continue living?

I was browsing through some old sermon notes this morning and came across this sermon I preached thirteen years ago :
Kampar Chinese Methodist Church (Morning) 09Mar2003
Bandar Baru Methodist Centre (Evening) 09Mar2003

How shall we continue living?

Romans 6: 1 - 23

Introduction

Christians are often ridiculed

• for being easily forgiven by merely believing in Jesus Christ without any need for punishment or retribution and
• for being dogmatic about everybody as sinners regardless of how good or bad a person is.

Let us ask ourselves two questions for today's Christian living:

• verse 1 - shall we continue in sin?
• verse 15 - shall we continue to sin?

This passage from Romans 6 tells us that there are three things which form the basis for a Christian to continue living as a new person in this world:

I  He shall perceive himself

 - as alive to God

verse 11 - reckon (recognise, consider) himself as dead to sin and alive to God - through Jesus Christ.

The rationale for verse 11 is elaborated in verses 1 - 10, where the apostle tells us that as a result of being baptised into Christ we have already been

• buried with Christ  - verse 4
• planted together with him in death -  verse 5
• crucified with him  - verse 6

Likewise, we shall also be

• raised from death  - verse 4
• in his likeness  - verse 5
• freed from sin, will live with him - verse 7, 8

A significant observation is that Christ has been resurrected from death, never to die again - death has no more dominion over him  - verse 9

Hence verse 2 and 11, a Christian must continue living by perceiving himself as -" we have died to sin, we consider ourselves a dead to sin and alive to God, in Christ."

II He shall present his members

 - as instruments of God

verse 13 - instruments, and verse 19 - servants

There are teachings from of scripture which teach us how we should put to use various parts of our bodies:

A. Our Eyes

Matthew 6: 22 - the eye is the light of the body.
Matthew 5: 29 - if your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away ...
1 John 2: 15, 16 - the lust of the eyes is one of the desires of the world which does not belong to God.

e.g. we are quickly evolving from a listening and talking, reading and reasoning people into a "watching and wowing" people - TV, movies, videos, computer games, even simple lessons for school-children are being embellished with bright, colourful, rapidly moving pictures accompanied with enthralling sound effects etc to provide the "wow, that's cool man ..." factor.  It is easy for our eyes to cause us to sin.  Are we gradually getting addicted to colourful visuals and computer graphics and animations, making us feel bored with merely reading, or listening or talking face to face? Do our eyes lust for the things of this world?

In contrast, Christians are to present their eyes as an instrument of righteousness for God's use in this world.

B. Our Hands

Matthew 5: 30 - and if your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off . . .

I'd like to tell you a story of a man whose wife was a gambler ...

• frequent quarrels, children neglected, a daughter who became mentally retarded after suffering from prolonged high fever while mother was busy gambling.
• she had a gambler's hands.

Subsequently, the man separated from his gambling wife, and he went on to marry another woman:

• took care of step children well
• planted vegetables, sold them at nearby market to supplement family income
• later, went to church with husband, bought a Bible and a hymn book,
• this good wife had a mother's hands.

Eventually the man passed away after a long battle with liver cancer.  By then the good wife was already suffering from cancer but she did not let her step-children know.  Last week, she, too, passed away after the doctors at LamWah Ee Hospital, Penang failed to save her.  When my wife and I went to pay our respects, at her house,

• her step children were ungrateful
• threw out all her belongings, including her Bible and Hymn Book by the road out side her house, even before the funeral wake began
• they had ungrateful hands

This morning, what hands do we have?  Do our hands offend us, causing us to sin?

C. Our Feet

Isaiah 52: 7 - "How beautiful are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings ..."
Ephesians 6: 15 - " ... your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace"

Where do our feet bring us? to what places? for what cause?

Narrate: conversation with friend who is a direct sales agent, who commented on Kampar folks being greedy for "small benefits" - by walking all the way to a new housing area to attend Japaneses style sales talks, submitting to demands to line up, bow and make greetings in Japanese, in return for free gifts of household utensils, groceries etc.

D. Our Tongue

Matthew 5: 37 - " . . . but let your communication be yea,yea, nay, nay"
James 1: 19 - "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . . ."

James 3: 3 - 8 - our tongue: a little member of our body, but causes great damage.  Likened to a small bit that turns a big horse, or a small rudder that turns a big ship, or a small fire brings great destruction. " . . . defiles the whole body, sets our life on fire."

Observation: growing up in poorer parts of downtown KL, heard frequent use of harsh words, condemnations, even some cursing, by angry parents on their mischievous children.  Today, the trend appears to be reversed, there is increasing prevalent use of harsh words, swearing, and cursing by young people, sometimes children, in public and among friends.

Question

A Christian must continue living by presenting his body as instruments to serve God - Have we yielded the members of our bodies to God?

III He shall partake his gift

- as everlasting life from God

verses 22 and 23 of tonight's passage:

• we are free from sin
• we have our fruit unto holiness
• as much as we received death as "wages" from sin, we now receive eternal life as "gift" from God through Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

Let us recognise ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God through Our Master the Anointed One. Let us continually yield the members of our bodies to become servants of God and, in doing so, continue living by receiving, partaking together with all fellow Christians this gift of eternal life from God.  In this manner, we do not come under reproach of others.

Also: see my notes on the same topic posted in Dec2013

Shall we go on sinning because we are under grace?