Romans chapter 6 is classic Paul. This passage from Romans 6
is so jam-packed with theology that no one sermon could cover it all. This
passage contains some of Paul’s strongest teaching on the ethics of
the Christian life. Paul says the past work of Christ—His death, His
resurrection, and our baptism into that reality—have present and future
effects on the way we live. To continue in sin is to reject Christ’s
work of redemption. For Paul, if justification has no moral dimension in the
present and future, the resurrection has no real meaning. “The life
he lives, he lives to God” (6:10, nrsv) or it is no life at all.
I have added verses 12-14 to the lectionary text for this week
because they offer the key to living out the life of faith. Paul reminds us
that as Christians, our bodies have a new purpose, and a new master. Instead
of being instruments for sin, we become instruments for righteousness. As
we offer our bodies this way, remembering the work Christ has done for us,
God creates something new in us each day. As God sets us free from the dominion
or lordship of sin (v. 14), we are set free to “walk in newness of life”
(v.4, nrsv).
This is another passage that deals with the problem of hypocrisy.
While they might not be living like complete pagans, many professing Christians
live their daily lives as instruments of sin. We deceive ourselves if we think
people outside the Church do not take notice of our behavior. They see the
way we react under pressure, the way we interact with our neighbors, and the
way we act in traffic with our “W.W.J.D.” sticker on our bumpers.
A generation of young people has come to the place where if
Christianity is not the authentic, life-changing encounter with God it professes
to be, they will not engage it. In short, Christians must either be the real-deal,
living out their faith, or they risk losing not only their own faith, but
the faith of generations to come. Practical atheism has no place in authentic
Christianity.
God’s answer is a call to remember what salvation really
means. It is the passage from death to life. It is dying to sin so that we
might live to God. The catch is, it is impossible to live one part of our
lives toward God and another part toward sin and still call ourselves genuine
Christians, let alone holiness Christians. We must either live like the Christians
we profess to be, or stop calling ourselves Christians.
The good news is that God gives the grace and strength to live
out our faith. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is offered to
us. The grace that brings us from death to life is available to empower our
daily living so that sin might not have lordship over us.
This passage calls us to remember who we are and what Christ
has done (and is doing) for us. We must live as if we really are dead to sin
and alive in Christ. We are called to seek and expect miracles of God’s
transforming grace to empower us for holy living. This means we must raise
our standards. We cannot afford to wink and turn the other way when professing
Christians have sinful morals and ethics. We must call ourselves and our people
to accountability. The world is watching.
(For the full manuscript of this sermon
go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons.”)
My sermon sentence for this passage is “Remember who you
are.” While brainstorming the possibilities of how to narratively preach
this challenge, the movie The Lion King leapt immediately to the forefront.
In this sermon, I tell the Lion King story up to the place where Rafiki, the
baboon, challenges Simba, the lion cub prince, to remember who he is. Then
I tie it in with the passage from Romans 6, which challenges us to remember
who we are.
In preaching this passage, it is again important to help our people connect with concrete ways of living out our faith. Simply calling for a mental, emotional commitment to live differently is not enough. They need to see themselves interacting differently with their co-workers, neighbor, and schoolmates. They need to imagine what life lived toward God looks like, and leave the gathering with some real ways to live it.
