Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ - (Rom 6:1-4), Part 3/4

The question sounds reasonable until you follow it to the end: if grace is real and God forgives freely, why not keep sinning? We open Romans 6 and take Paul’s answer seriously, because he does not respond with a motivational speech or a threat. He responds with identity and union: if we belong to Christ, we have died to sin, and that changes what “continuing in sin” even means.

From there, we slow down on a phrase many of us have heard but not fully weighed: “baptized into Christ.” We talk about why Romans 6 cannot be reduced to water baptism as a saving act, even while still honoring baptism as a commanded and beautiful ordinance. We lay out the biblical distinction between the outward sign and the inward grace, point to examples like Simon Magus, and explain why Paul’s argument depends on a real spiritual union with Christ by the Holy Spirit through faith. Along the way we connect “in Christ” language across the New Testament, from no condemnation to new creation.

We also get practical about sanctification. Yes, believers struggle with sin, but the fight is not you trying to earn a win that Jesus has not secured. It is the lived out fruit of a victory already won at the cross and confirmed in the resurrection. Finally, we move into Romans 6:4 and the burial imagery that seals the point: the old life is consigned to the grave, and we are raised to walk in newness of life. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who wrestles with baptism and assurance, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

Transcript

Grace And Sin The Hard No

SPEAKER_04 0:00

But he's making the argument. Shall we continue in sin that grace be abound? The answer is an irrevocable no. No. How do we know? Because he answers it in verse 2. He says, God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? So verse 2 already assumes that believers have already died to sin. But verses 3 and 4 explain. Verses 3 and 4 explain how they died to sin. They have been united to Christ in his death and in his resurrection. So the baptism here spoken in verse 3 and 4 cannot merely mean the outward right of water baptism. Because not everyone who receives the external ordinance of baptism is necessarily dead to sin or raised to the newness of life. This is the mistake that many Christians make. Because you can be born, you can be baptized in water and yet not be a believer, not be one who is dead to sin. Even the most staunch believers and people who believe that if you're not water baptized, you're not saved, even they have to admit that there is the possibility, a grave possibility, that a person can be water baptized and yet not be dead to sin. Now we already established the context here that Paul is speaking to believers who have died to sin and can no longer live therein. In verse 1, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? He's talking to those who have already been justified and are being sanctified. So Paul's logic is it reads this way. Verse 2, believers have died to sin. Verse 3 and 4, they died. Why? Why did they die? Because they were baptized into Christ's death. Therefore, they cannot continue living in sin. So this baptism in three and in verses three and four is not just the outward rite of baptism, because not everyone who receives baptism as an ordinance, which is what it is, they're not necessarily dead to sin, and they're not necessarily raised to the newness of life. But Paul is talking about those who have been.

Dead To Sin What Paul Assumes

SPEAKER_04 3:15

Paul's entire argument will fall completely apart. It falls completely apart, it collapses totally. If baptism is only being referred to as the external ceremony, which, by the way, every Christian should desire to be baptized and should be baptized. So in verse 3, Paul says, Do you not know that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Pay attention to this phrase. Into Christ Jesus. Baptized into Jesus Christ. Everywhere else you look in the Bible. To be in Christ is synonymous with being saved. There is no place in the scriptures where you can be in Christ and not be saved. No place. That's an impossibility. So we read in Romans 8, therefore, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are what in Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. So to be baptized into Christ is to be brought into union and communion with him. The language that Paul uses here is covenantal and redemptive, not just ceremonial. Ceremonial is the celebration of that which was done spiritually and that was done to the believer inwardly. So the ceremony is a celebration, it is a it is an outward expression of an inward change. In verse 5, you get another parallel, because verse 5 confirms what I'm saying is true. When Paul says, for if we have been planted together, Christian, listen to this. He says in verse 5, if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. What does planted together mean? Sister Vanessa, what do you think? Again, one.

SPEAKER_07 6:16

All in one Christ Jesus. Yeah, we're all in one.

SPEAKER_04 6:19

All in one, planted together. Look at verse five. Look at verse five. Planted together. It literally means to be united to Christ, to be joined with Christ, to be grown together with Christ. So Paul is speaking of an organic participation in Christ's death and in his resurrection. So the baptism in verse three and four needs to be interpreted by verse five as have as being in union with Christ. Does anybody disagree? Anybody. Feel free if you do. I'm okay with it. All right. Plant it together. Planted with Christ. Yet Paul mentions baptism because the sign and the thing signified are closely joined. But again, the outward baptism is a signification of being planted together with Christ. Just nowhere around that. Verse 5 makes it clear. And Paul, he can speak this way because scripture often attributes to the sacramental sign the name of that thing which is signified, meaning the inner work of conversion and being in being brought into Christ. Brought into Christ. Just as in the case in Exodus 12, in Exodus chapter 12, verse 11, it says the Passover lamb is called the Lamb's Passover. Circumcision in Genesis 17-10 is called the covenant. It's called the covenant. So baptism can be spoken of as the participation

Baptized Into Christ Means Union

SPEAKER_04 8:30

in Christ, the in Christ that it signifies. Baptism signifies being in Christ. It is a sign that you are in Christ. Anyone want to add anything? So Paul refers to baptism because every Christian who was baptized had professedly entered the covenant community and had received the sign and the seal of union with Christ. So he is appealing to their baptism because it visibly proclaimed the very truth that he is teaching us in this word, in this chapter. Does this mean that every person, that every baptized person is united to Christ? No, it doesn't. Being water baptized does not mean that every person who does so is in Christ. It doesn't mean that. But the scriptures clearly distinguishes between one, the outward administration of baptism, which may be received by hypocrites and unbelievers, but the inward grace signified by baptism, namely union with Christ by the Holy Spirit through faith. Through faith. So it is important. For example, Simon Magus in Acts 8, 13, and 23, he was baptized, right? He was baptized, but it says that he was still in or he remained in the gall of bitterness. He was baptized, but he wasn't justified. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 2 through 5, the wilderness generation who were figuratively baptized unto Moses, but they most of them perished in unbelief, even though they were baptized unto Moses. So water baptism, when joined to the heart of a soul that is put in Christ, is a valid baptism that is evidence of the inward baptism that has been taking place in that soul who is now, after having received faith, has been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and put into and brought into Christ. And brought into Christ. So there's a presupposition here when we look at verses 3 and 4 of Romans 6. One, regeneration. Believers are alive unto God. Number two, saving faith. They belong to Christ. Number three, union with Christ. They participated in his death and resurrection. So when you go into the baptismal waters, when you put underneath the water, it symbolizes that you have died with Christ. And when you come out of that water, it signifies that you have been resurrected or raised to the newness of life and been placed into Christ. And then there is justification, which means they've been declared righteous and therefore they are no longer under condemnation. No longer under condemnation. That means that condemnation can never approach their door. It's an impossibility. And then there is sanctification. They now walk in newness of life. So baptism here is mentioned because it is the divinely appointed sign and seal of these realities. So why any Christian is not baptized, I'll never know, outside of conditions that prevent it. Health, whatever it may be. Baptism is something that a Christian should desire and be excited to do and to participate in. Because it shows that there is a thankfulness, there's a gratefulness, and there is this outward testimony. We have a tendency to give testimonies. Baptism is the ultimate Christian testimony. We're telling the world that we are in Christ. That's what we're telling the world. We belong to Him. And so this is the appointed sign and seal of a spiritual reality that has already taken place in us and having put us in Christ. And so Paul is not teaching that water baptism unites a person to Christ. But he presupposes, he presupposes that those who truly belong to Christ have been united to him by the Spirit, and he appeals to baptism because it visibly signifies and seals that saving union. Again, every Christian should want to be baptized. But it is not the instrument whereby you are saved. And it is not the instrument whereby you have been baptized into Christ.

Sign Versus Reality In Baptism

SPEAKER_04 14:51

But it is emblematic of a work that has already been done. And you are saying that you are now in Christ, you are a believer, you have died with him in baptism, and you've been raised again in the newness of life. So to be baptized into Christ is to be joined to him, how? By faith. And represented by him in his saving acts. And so this is this is something that every Christian should want to do. The death of Christ was not merely an example of self-sacrifice, it was a judicial and it was a redemptive act by Christ for us on our behalf. And his death, his death bore the penalty of sin. He satisfied justice on our behalf. And going back to verse 2 or verse 3, you see that. Or verse 2, I'm sorry. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? We don't. We can't. We won't. We won't. All who are united to Christ share in the benefits of his death, burial, and resurrection. And the old man is viewed as belonging to the realm of Adam and sin. It has been condemned by the death of Christ. And this is what is necessary for us to believe. We need to understand this if we're going to really maximize the comforts that the Lord has provided for the believer. We must believe these things. We must believe that we stand before God as one whose former life has been brought under the judgment and was executed at Calvary. We died when Christ died. And when Christ was put into that tomb, our sin was buried in that tomb with him. When he came out of that tomb, the sin that was taken from us and put on him remained in that tomb. And when he came out, he was alive forevermore and imputed to us his righteousness, whereby we are able to stand until the final day when we are glorified. And this truth is the foundational, this truth is foundational for the Christians and for Christian holiness. This belief and this truly being believed is what promotes the desire to live holy, godly lives. Do believers struggle? Yes. Believers struggle against sin. We do. But that struggle is not an attempt to secure victory that Christ has not yet obtained. And we look at it sometimes that way. But it is the outworking of a victory already won by our crucified Redeemer. He's already done it. And sanctification proceeds from participation in Christ's death before it proceeds to the participation in his resurrection life. And man, do we look forward to that. So if water baptism saves, and yet anyone can be baptized, whether they be a believer or not, not only the only distinction in this rite that is salvific is if baptized persons are genuinely and authentically converted already. Already. Your thoughts.

SPEAKER_06 19:18

I'm just following along and agreeing with everything you're saying, Jonathan.

SPEAKER_04 19:23

Come on, there gotta be, there's gotta be something. Come on now. Something. Come on. I'm teasing you, sister.

SPEAKER_06 19:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 19:30

I'm teasing you. I was like, let me make that, let me say that out there right now. Miss White, your thoughts.

SPEAKER_07 19:41

I have nothing to say. I mean, I agree with everything you're saying. I can't. It's good stuff.

SPEAKER_04 19:48

Anyone want to say something different? Feel free.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Yeah, I'll say. A lot of the time people act like Jesus did not speak about the baptism, his death as a form of baptism. And he spake about this when he was talking to James and John, and they asked to sit at his right and left hand, and he began to tell them that it's not his to give. He said, Are you able to drink from the cup that I am going to drink from? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I am to receive? And they said yes. And then he said, Indeed, you are going to drink from the cup and be baptized with the baptism. But he did not speak in this way when he was baptized by John. That's not what he said that we shall be receiving, but what we shall be receiving is the his the baptism of his death. And so I think that this needs to be spoken more about because a lot of times the Christian community

Why Christians Still Get Baptized

SPEAKER_01 20:55

gives so much power to where it should not be given. You know, Jesus Christ's death on the cross means everything for us that he took upon his sins, but even so much more that he rose again to life. So I just want to encourage people to maybe just look into these things that were spoken about his death and how he spoke of it as a baptism.

SPEAKER_03 21:20

Amen, sister. Excellent, excellent uh response. Brother Jeffrey, man of God, any thoughts?

SPEAKER_05 21:27

Oh, is that thoughts? Sorry I wasn't here. I was engaged in conversation with this interesting Christian sister who actually still speaks Italian. From learning Italian. But, you know, it's you know some people say, you know, I mean, the Church of Christ believes that you have to be baptized for your sins to be forgiven based on Acts 238. But, you know, basically it's an ordinance, it's a sign, it's a sign of the death we undergo. You know, old person or old nature dies and we become a new creature. It's a symbol. I can tell you when I finally was immersed, I was sprinkled and immersed. And I can tell you the experience, the experience of immersion baptism for me was outstanding. I mean, it I I really felt exhilarated going through it and coming up out of the water and just, you know, I believe I was already saved. I did it because I wanted to be a member of this Baptist church. So I immersed. But the, you know, I think that we shouldn't, you know, that again, you know, every time somebody says, Well, you got to be baptized, I go, Okay, thief on the cross. You know, go ahead. You know, and some people, some people actually, I I've even read this recently. Some people say they think the thief on the cross probably had John's baptism, so he was already baptized. And I'm saying, there's nothing to indicate that. That's just trying to justify baptism as necessary for salvation, and it's not. No problem.

SPEAKER_03 23:04

I hear you. I hear you. So we'll get we'll get through one more verse, verse four.

SPEAKER_04 23:12

Paul says, therefore, verse four, he said, well, verse three, know ye not that as so many of us believers, as we're baptized into Christ Jesus, we're baptized into his death. Therefore, verse four, we are buried with him by baptism into death. So keep in mind, verse three, he clearly indicates in the first four three verses that he's talking to and about believers. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death. That, like Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life. Sister May, go ahead.

Jesus Calls His Death A Baptism

SPEAKER_00 23:59

That we were baptized into his death. This is every single thing that he accomplished. He was he was of perfect obedience because all of this demands 100% perfection. He was the obedient person we couldn't be.

unknown 24:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

He he fulfilled the law that we couldn't fulfill. He died the death that we couldn't die. He raised up, he was raised again, something that we could not do. He he did all of these things. And so when we think about this in relation to the obedience to the gospel, it's truly believing what he did. And this is why when Paul in his epistles talks about being in Christ Jesus, all of the things that Jesus did when we are in him, has he now accomplished for us when we believe in him? And I think this is super important to remember the obedience is to the gospel. The gospel is what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us. He was someone we could never be before or after salvation.

SPEAKER_03 25:12

Right. Now, his his his obedience, and I know you, I know, I know what you meant, but what I want to say is that it it and make sure that we that for sake of people who may be listening, Christ's obedience was to the law.

SPEAKER_04 25:27

Right? His obedience was to the law. I mean, he was the only one that could do it because the the because it is it was the disobedience to the law which required the debt that we garnered. So, but I know what you meant, and you know, but and so that thing, so that because he would would certainly not need to be he certainly would not need to be obedient to the gospel because he himself was the gospel and he was in the midst of living out the gospel, you know, which was completed upon his ascension. And now

Christ Obeys The Law For Us

SPEAKER_04 26:05

we know is also continues in his mediatorial reign, where he stands at the right hand of his father. So, so, and yes, this that's a that's a great point. I mean, Christ's obedience to God's law is how we who believe in him are justified because his righteousness was imputed to us. Sister Terry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_06 26:28

Yeah, you said he he he he is the gospel, and I just this is a question. Is he also the law?

SPEAKER_04 26:37

I think that we I think that it I think that, you know, I w I don't know. I don't know how I don't know what that would mean to say that, so I'm careful, but it it we can say that he obeyed the law perfectly.

SPEAKER_06 26:54

And he's the author of the law. He's the author of the law as well, certainly. So so the word that became flesh, I'm I'm I'm thinking maybe as he is the the gospel, he is also the law.

SPEAKER_04 27:08

I don't know. I wouldn't I wouldn't argue against that at all. I I wouldn't. I mean I think that it it it just depends on how you how you look at that. You know, it it might be it might be a a a liberal approach to to assessing that, but I certainly wouldn't argue with it to the degree that he is the one who gave us the law for sure. So I think there is a sense in which we can say, yes, he is the law, he is the God, he's he's he's all of it. Because we know that the whole, we know that the word of God is all in its totality is about Christ. Right? All of it's about him. And so, like I said, I wouldn't argue against that at all. You know, you know, you you get these people who who like to nitpick, and that's not something that I would nitpick.

SPEAKER_06 27:52

I don't think it really matters.

SPEAKER_03 27:53

No, it it it it it it it it doesn't, but I I don't think it's wrong either, though. So I'll I'll say that. I don't think it's wrong either. Sister Lisa, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 28:03

Well, I was just gonna add that I would I would not argue with Sister Terry said either, but with the way things are now, if we were to express that as Jesus is the law, therefore somebody could easily say, Well, see, you still have to be obedient to the law. Yes. If Christ is the law, and again, I know what she's saying, and you know, we we can sit here and you know, we can agree. I mean, what did Christ say that you know, love God and love people upon you know, on these two things lies the law. So he's really commanded us to do a certain thing. But I I would be I don't know. I don't think I would be saying that that Christ is is the law.

SPEAKER_06 28:50

I never even thought of it before. I the thought just popped into my mind, and I wanted to ask Jonathan's opinion. I don't when when he said, you know, I it just was a thought. That's all. I think that I think I think it's amazing.

SPEAKER_04 29:04

I think that in as much as he obeyed the laws, like I said, you know, it wouldn't be it wouldn't be, and I think that Lisa posed a really good point. It's a good point. Because it, you know, people have a tendency to run good things. And and and so it's it's a it's a it's it's safe,

Buried With Christ Walk Newness

SPEAKER_04 29:20

it's safe to be stick to what we understand him and him to be. And and I think that's I think that's an excellent observation from from both from both of you, Terry and from Lisa. And I think that that again, this is one of the great things about you know getting together and having these conversations because you vet you vet through these things, and very often you can come up with the conclusion pretty s pretty quick. Pretty quick. Brother Xavion, you want to say anything? I know you just popped up, but I'm assuming you might have been listening for a while. Anything you want to add before I move on? Oh, no, no, I'm just listening. I'm at work just listening. All right, brother. So in verse four, I'll read it again. Therefore, we are buried with Christ by baptism into death. That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life. So now Paul goes from the imagery that he was already talking about in verse, I think it's verse three. Yeah. He talks about us in verse two being dead to sin, and in verse three, we were baptized into Christ Jesus and baptized into his death, but now he's moving on to the burial aspect, to the to the burial. And so burial confirms reality and the completeness of his death. So we know that when Christ was put in that tomb, he was buried, and that completed his work when it comes to death itself. So to be buried with Christ shows a definitive separation from the old realm of sin and condemnation. So it shows that we no longer belong to death. We no longer live in that old realm. We've been taking out, we've been taking out of this world, this world of sin and death and darkness, and we have been translated into the kingdom of Christ. No condemnation, no more sin. And see, this is important because again, for those people who put so much of an emphasis on their works, on their works for salvation as a as a means to salvation, this again shows the error of those assessments. It shows the error of those assessments. The the former standing that the believer had before they became a believer was in Adam and has been left behind. We're no longer dead in sin and trespasses. We never we know we no longer have that death that passed from Adam as a federal representative, and that is no longer a part of our current existence. The old life has been consigned. It's been consigned to the grave with Christ. Man. And that's what we have to understand, and that's where it remains. Brother Jeff, man of God, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 32:29

Well, I had a I had a scenario come up in my mind is you know, let's let's imagine that heaven is an exclusive like nightclub or a club where you would have members and everything. And there's certain requirements to go in, and the father is the gatekeeper, he's the guy at the door. And, you know, the way, you know, the way I see the gospel is none of us are worthy to be in.