19 Jun 2005

Moving from Sin to God's Kingdom

Romans 6:1-11

A few years ago our President said that he wanted Osama Bin Laden "dead or alive." The phrase dead or alive, of course, brings us back to the Wild Wild West, when posters of wanted criminals were all too familiar. There a lot we can deduct from what our President said, as there is much to say about Osama Bin Laden and why he hasn't been captured. However, that conversation is for another day.

What I would like us to think about today, though, is how we understand our physical reality. The phrase "Dead or Alive" tells us that we can either be dead or alive, but not both. We might talk about Vampires and Zombies, those who are dead but seem to be alive; however, we do not believe they really exist. You are either dead or you are alive. If you are alive you are not dead, and if you are dead you are not alive. It is possible that you can be clinically dead and then brought to life. We call that resuscitation. But it is impossible to be dead and alive at the same time.

Therefore, our understanding of our own physical reality makes it difficult to understand what Paul was talking about in his letter to the Romans. He writes a rhetorical question that he answers for himself. How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Interesting question! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?

His question assumes one thing: that we can die to sin. The phrase "how can we who died to sin..." assumes we are dead to sin. In other words, the question is not how can we die to sin, but because we have died to sin, why are we living in it? I do not know about you, but when I look at my life and the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ (not that I am judging- I am only making a simple observation), I do not always see ourselves dead to sin.

Therefore, there has to be more to it than that. There has to be something we do not quite yet understand. Paul's words do not match well with our own reality.

To understand what Paul is trying to tell us, we must first understand what he meant by sin. John E. Toews, in his commentary on Romans writes, "Sin for Paul is a power that enslaves. It is bondage at one level to the power of the flesh. But it goes deeper; it is bondage to the power of the flesh which completely enslaves people and the world. Sin, in other words, is not simply a deed, but a power-force that conquers and enslaves all creation and all human beings... Sin is a cosmic and powerful magnetic force that seeks to pull everything into its field."

This is an important clarification. When Paul talks about being dead to Sin, he is not talking about living a sinless life. He is talking about dying to the power of Sin. Within Paul's context, therefore, it might be helpful to see Sin (capital "S"), not as an evil deed, but as an evil power or a cosmic magnetic force that enslaves people.

With this new understanding of Paul's concept of Sin, let us read his question again. How can we who died to sin go on living in it? His question could be re-written: How can we, who have been freed from the power of Sin, continue to sin? This is a good question.

According to Paul we are dead to Sin because Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead. By dying and rising Jesus conquered Sin and Dead. Sin and Death could not enslaved him, could not retain him. And because He conquered Sin and Dead, we too have conquered. Verses 8-10 read, "But 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. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives he lives to God."

In many ways this is what Salvation means to Paul. Because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, we are saved from the power of Sin and Death. We are liberated from the power of Sin that enslaved us, kept us powerless and unable to fully experience God.

However, the question still remains unanswered: How can we who died to sin go on living in it? We have said that Sin (capital "S") is more than sinful deeds, but a powerful evil force. Dr. John K. Toews also believes that "Sin is both a ruler and a kingdom, which dominates humanity." This means that we can be liberated from the powers of Sin, liberated from the kingdom of evil, but still act as if we are enslaved by it. In other words, we are no longer slaves of Sin, but we continue to act as if we were. When slavery ended in America many former slaves did not know how to live as free people. So, many of them began to work for their former owners. The same thing can be said about Christians. We have been liberated from the kingdom of Sin, yet we do not know how to live our lives as free people. We continue to have a slave mentality. We continue to be slaves to our former owner.

This is why verse 11 is very important. It reads, "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." In other words, we must stop thinking we are slaves to Sin. We are no longer controlled by this evil power, this evil kingdom. We no longer have to do what the kingdom of evil would like us to do, as if we had no choice. We do not have to pay evil for evil. We do not have to succeed in life by stepping over other people. We do not have to be selfish and accumulate wealth while others died of hunger. We do not have destroy nature in order to have a more comfortable life. We do not have to put others down in order to feel good about our selves. We do not have to hurt anyone, or do anything evil in order to live. We are no longer controlled by this evil power, this evil kingdom.

We must consider ourselves "dead to Sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." This means we must consider ourselves free from the kingdom of evil in order to enter the kingdom of God. Verse 4 reads, "Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." Again Dr. John K. Toews writes, "Baptism into Christ defined as baptism into Christ's death means that the Christian has been incorporated into Christ as an inclusive and corporate person who represents a new kingdom. Christians are people who have made a radical break, they have died to Sin; they have been transferred from one ruler and his people to another ruler and his people."

We, who have been "buried with [Jesus Christ] by baptism into death," have been raised from the dead to end our alliance to the kingdom of evil and pledge our alliance to the kingdom of God. This is what Paul means by walking "in newness of life." We are in deed dead to Sin; the kingdom of evil has no control over us. However, we must now fully embrace the kingdom of God. We must accept and follow God's kingdom principals. We must love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. We must overcome evil with good. We must cloth the naked, feed the hungry, free the captive, and bring healing to the sick. We must humble our selves, and put others before us. We must be peacemakers. We must be healers and messengers of good news. We must accept and follow God's kingdom principals. To do otherwise, is to be dead to Sin, but continue to live in it.

We have talked much about our Vision Statement. I hope we continue to talk about it. Thank you to whoever made the sign in the back with our Vision Statement. I hope that we read it every Sunday as we come in. I hope we keep it fresh in our minds. Being Transformed by God to Transform the World, is a great statement. The first part of our statement reads: Being Transformed by God. And, the verses that we have read in Romans speak to that transformation. God has given us Jesus Christ. He has taken us from the evil hands of Sin. He has liberated us from the kingdom of evil. Therefore, Sin and Death can not kill us. They have no power over us. We are free people. However, God has not liberated us from the kingdom of evil to leave us homeless. He has given us a place and a home. Our home and our place are with His Kingdom. We belong to Him. Therefore, we must begin this transformation. As we change alliances from the kingdom of evil to the kingdom of God, we must begin to make this transition in our minds and hearts. We must leave the slave mentality. We must act as free people, and boldly and unashamedly proclaim God's kingdom, and live up to His kingdom principals.

By doing so, and inviting others to join us, I have no doubt that our families, our communities, our city, our nation, our world will begin to be transform as well.

You know? It is impossible to be dead and alive at the same time. However, according to Paul there are plenty of Christians who are dead to Sin, but who are still living in it. They are free from the power of Sin, but continue to act as if they are not. However, I venture to say that there are a lot more people who are enslaved by Sin and therefore are dead. The kingdom of evil dominates them. They kingdom of evil controls them. They might be living, but are enslaved to Sin. They are alive, but because they belong to the kingdom of Sin, they are dead. They have not recognized the freedom that comes through Jesus Christ.

Let us therefore, embrace our freedom in Jesus Christ. Let us fully embrace our liberation from the kingdom of Sin.

Let us therefore, stop acting as slaves. Let us end our slave mentality. We do not have to do what the kingdom of evil would want us to do. The kingdom of Sin has no power over us.

Let us therefore, embrace the kingdom of God. Let us live according, not to the rules of the kingdom of Sin, but according to the rules of the kingdom of God. Let us end our alliance to the kingdom of Sin, and pledge our alliance to the kingdom of God.

We belong to God now. We belong to His kingdom. Let us therefore, make that transition in our hearts and in our minds.

Amen.