Union With Christ - Raised With Christ

In this message, we explore what it means to be raised with Christ and how that transforms the way we live every day. Looking at Romans 5, we see that through Jesus we are not only forgiven but empowered to reign in life through grace, righteousness and a restored relationship with God.

What does it look like to live free from guilt, to rise above circumstances and to walk with confidence even in uncertainty or failure? Through the life of David and the truth of Scripture, we’re reminded that reigning in life is not about perfection but about dependence on God.

This message invites you to take your next step with courage, living boldly in the grace that has already been given to you.

Transcript

Ah, it's fantastic. I was thinking in the first meeting that the weird prophet Balaam in the Book of Numbers, whether he was a prophet or false prophet, I don't know, but he'd been hired by the King of Moab when Israel were on their route to invade the Promised land. He hired them to. He hired Balaam to curse the people. And as Balaam stood on a high point so he could see the whole crowd of Israel, he started to open his mouth and he said, I bless you, because who God has blessed will be blessed.

Is that right? The word of God, it says, is taken with a vow by himself. What he says is true. Is. Amen.

Is. Amen. Is. Yes. Is.

Yes. Amen. We are a blessed people today. Let's just pray. Father, we thank you for your blessing and your goodness and your mercy, which follows us every day of our lives.

And today I pray you'll open up your word to us. Help us to understand, help us to have your word embedded into our heart and into our mind. In the name of Jesus, Amen. Now we're continuing the series, Union with Christ. And I've got to say, when I was starting to think about this whole phrase, union with Christ, and it's coming from different references, Philippians and Romans, etc.

Romans 5. Today we're in. I was thinking, this subject seems so ethereal. We know that we united with Christ if we're Christians and if we've been born again, but somehow or other, we've got to get that off the page and into our heart. Is that right?

We've got to live it. We've got to not just feel it, but know it. And I was sharing earlier, you know how many people who drive here? Anybody? Drivers.

We've got plenty of drivers. You got a car parked in the car park or in the other car park so you can drive. When you went to your driving test, first of all, you had already digested the highway code and it seems to be changing. Some of us, if we had to take our test again, might not pass it, I don't know. But remember when you were coming up to a junction and you were going to turn right, you had to do.

What was it? Mirror, signal, manoeuvre. That's what they taught me anyway, when I was 17. Mirror, signal, manoeuvre and all sorts of other things that you had to take into account. Now, of course, we've got a few more things to contend with.

Reversing cameras and sat nav and all sorts of things. But once you've learned to drive. Once you've got past that initial stage, you don't think, do you? All the time, oh, now I must look in the mirror. I must change gear, do a manoeuvre, I must.

No, because you're driving from within, is that right? You've digested the facts, you've digested the reality of driving and now it's part of you. And that's what it should be like for us in Christ. It should now be part of us. So we don't have to say when we come to a situation, what would Jesus do?

Now, I know there have been books written about that. What would Jesus do? But listen, don't say that because Christ is in us. Is that right? He is in us.

And so the law, no longer written on tables of stone is now written where our hearts. So because he's embedded that within us and because we are united with Christ now, we should be able to live out our life from within. And that's where we want to get to today as we just come to these verses. We're going to pick up verse seven of chapter five of Romans, chapter five. It says this is where we're going to get to.

And we're going to do a bit of geography. I like doing that. A bit of history before we get then a bit of theology. But when we get to it, this is where we'll end up. We'll end up in this verse.

For if by the trespass of one man, death reigned through one man, how much more, how much more? How much more will those who receive the abundance of God's grace and provision and righteousness reign in life through one man, Jesus Christ? And the subheading of my short speak today is about reigning in life. It says, we've been saved, but that will make us, give us the ability to reign in life as kings, as priests. Okay, let's just look at some of the scriptures then.

So we're going to find out who said it, why he said it, who he said it to, what was the context, what was the background. Because that's very important to understand that who he was writing to were real people. He was writing to Romans, Roman Christians in the time of Nero. Nero had come to the to be emperor at the age of 16. So that was in AD 54.

So it's now AD 57. So it's only 1920. Very young emperor in his early days. Okay, not too bad. He was still counseled by Seneca, some of the wise leaders his mother had manipulated him into the throne her husband was Claudius, the emperor, who you've heard of, I'm sure.

And Claudius was one of those who, you know, sponsored the invasion of Israel, of Great Britain. Claudius had been poisoned by his wife, gave him a dish full of lovely poison mushrooms. And so. And Nero was now on the throne, 16 years of age. And Claudius had ejected all the Jews from Rome and now they were coming back again during the reign of Nero.

And there were Christians in Rome. Remember, this is only, what, 20 or so years after Jesus death and resurrection. So the Gospel had spread miraculously all over the world. And we know from Paul's writings in Philippians that there were also Christians in Caesar's household. Whether they were high officials or slaves or servants, we don't know.

But there were Christians permeating the atmosphere. Isn't that great that the Gospel had spread so wide? But these Christians during the reign of Nero were just ordinary people like you and I. And if you looked into the history of Rome at that time, it was a very unequal society. They had the political elite, the Senate and the political leaders.

Then there were the equestrians, the landowners, who had no political influence but were rich and wealthy. And then there was a third level of people called the plebeians, from we get our word what plebs.

The plebeians were the common people. They were not wealthy, but they weren't slaves. So the bottom layer were slaves and household slaves. So we don't know who these Christians were that he was writing to. He was writing from Corinth in Greece and he was saying, I long to come to Rome to see.

He hadn't been yet. He was still on his second missionary journey. He was going to go to Rome, but he was going to go in chains as a prisoner, remember, because he appealed to Caesar and went to Rome, but he hadn't been yet. So he writes to Rome and if you read the Book of Romans, there's no mention of Peter. Whether Peter ever went to Rome, we don't really know.

Did he found the Roman church? Well, if he did, there's no mention of him in the Book of Romans. He doesn't say, greetings to you, Peter. How are you getting on? He never mentioned him at all.

Let's not be controversial, though. But there's no mention in the Book of Romans about him. But there was a thriving church there. But they were ordinary people. They would get up in the morning, they would have to put their sandals on with or without socks, I don't know.

And they would have to get up and walk through the streets of Rome or serve their masters or whatever they were doing. There was no Coliseum then, because the Colosseum wasn't built until AD 72 under Vespasian. But there was a Parthenon. The Parthenon. Anybody been to Rome?

Yeah, a few people. You should go, if you can go. It's interesting to see. And the Catacombs, where some of the Christians used to reside and have their meetings down in the. In the catacombs of Rome, just down the Appian Way somewhat.

So it's worth going. So the Parthenon was there. So it's like you get up in the morning, you're walking past Tesco's or Waitrose or city centre or whichever part of the city you work in, or maybe you're commuting out to London or something, but you're. It's every day. Ordinary people.

That's who he was writing to and that's who we are, ordinary people.

But he wants us to reign in life. So let's just look at Romans chapter 5 as we build up the context of this. Romans, chapter 5, verse 1. So he says, therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I'll read that again.

Listen. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And my English teacher said to me, if you see a therefore, you've got to know what.

What it's there for. If you see a therefore, you've got to know what it's there for. And so, well, that means you have to say, okay, what happened in the previous verse then? Because this is a therefore, because of that, this is true. Because of that, we're justified by faith.

And if you read back in the previous chapter, which we will in a minute, there are a few more therefore, you have to keep going back and back and back to Romans chapter one to find out what he was talking about. And we haven't got time to go into all that today, but just go into the previous verse of the Last chapter, chapter 5, chapter 4, verse, last verse. And it says, this is why God credited. It was credited to him, that is Abraham, for righteousness. The words it was credited to him were not written for him alone, but for us, to whom God will credit righteousness.

And what he was talking about was the fact that Abraham in his old age and his wife past the childbearing years, had a promise from God that they would have a son called Isaac. His name means laughter because she laughed when she Heard it because he thought, ha, I'm 90, how am I going to have a baby?

But it says that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. And it says it was not written for him only, but for us who would later believe. Now the theologians call that imputed righteousness. It's not something we earn, it's not something we develop. That's sanctification.

This is imputed righteousness. It's suddenly given to you when you became a Christian. Isn't that amazing? He puts it on as like a garment clothed in righteousness. So when God looks at us, he doesn't see sin, he sees the purity of Christ.

He sees the righteousness that God has counted towards us. That's what it means to be justified by faith. We have peace with God, access to him and so on. Okay, then we go to the build up as we're rushing through this text. Verse 6, it says, just the right time, when we were enemies of God, he came to us and rescued us.

God's never late. Did you know that? He's never late.

In verse 10 it says, the hard work is done. I'll have to read this to give you the context. Chapter five, verse. How many people bring real Bibles to the meetings? Anybody got one?

You got one with you?

Verse 10. Where is it? Here it is. In the old days, when we used to go to Sunday school, we used to have sword drill. Did you have sword drill?

Used to bring your Bible. Everybody brought a Bible. You put it under your arm and then the leader would say, okay, Matthew or Romans, chapter 5, verse 10. And the first one, read it, flick through, find. Taught you to learn the books of the Bible, where they all were.

You could also recite them now, can't you? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Could you remember them all?

If you don't learn them, it's good. It's worth doing. So it says, for if while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled through his life. So if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through His Son, how much more, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life? What's that mean?

That means the hard work is done saving us when we were enemies. That was hard. Because we were dead in sin. We had no inclination to search for Him. And to be honest, we had no ability to even look.

It was the awakening of the Holy Spirit that makes us even curious. We were dead, but now we're saved. It's comparatively easy for him to keep us Saved. Did you know that? See, what did God not say to Noah?

He didn't say, noah, there's going to be a great flood. He did say that bit. I want you to build a boat. He did say that. And I want you to nail on the outside eight great big stakes and hooks so that when the flood comes, you can hang on.

Did he say that? No. He says the ark was built, the animals were on board. Noah and his family, eight of them, all in total, went in and God shut the door and they were in that ark, saved by the grace of God. I was sort of brought up to believe.

If you happen to be in the pictures on the day when Jesus came back, you might be left behind. You ever hear that one? If you were in the dance hall when Jesus comes back and he is coming back, you could be left behind. What nonsense.

Incidentally, if we ever get a chance to talk about it, in Matthew 24, when it says, one will be taken, the other left, it's nothing to do with rapture, it's to do with judgment. Because it says, as in the days of Noah, one will be taken, the other left. Taken in judgment. Anyway, that's another story that just throw that one in for you to think about. So anyway, we've got a few minutes to talk about the life of how to reign in life.

So reign in life is freedom from guilt. Romans 8. One says, There is, therefore there's another therefore, there is, therefore because of all that there is. Therefore now what? No condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Because of all that, there is no condemnation. And way back in the book of Psalms 103, it says, as far as the east is from the west. So as far as he removed our transgressions from us. And then in the other reference, it says that though our sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Isn't that wonderful?

So we live freedom from guilt. There may be people in here harboring feelings of guilt. Let it go. It's not yours to carry. There is no condemnation.

You are blessed, not cursed.

And we live above our circumstances if we reign in life. Paul said in Philippians, I know how to abound. I know how to have nothing. I know how to have lots. I know how to have nothing.

He worked with his hands. He was a tent maker as well as a preacher. And that's a good lesson for us.

When it says, with both he had learned, and it wasn't instant, he learned to be content. That's godliness. With contentment, it says, is great Gain. And lastly, it says, we'll be king priests. Now, we haven't got time to talk about Melchizedek, but he appeared this mystical king, King of Salem, King of Jerusalem before it became Jerusalem, King of peace.

He had no ancestry that we know about, and he was used as a type of Christian because Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, not from the tribe of Levi. All priests came from the Levitical tribe down the family line of Aaron. Jesus was not from the Levitical tribe. He was from the tribe of Judah, where King David was. But he was a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

And we are king priests. And it says this. We are a royal priesthood. We are a holy nation. Do you feel like a king or a queen today?

Maybe not. When you got up early this morning to come to the meeting, you thought, oh, no. Or yeah, I don't know what you thought. What will you think tomorrow morning when you get up for work? Oh, different story.

Yeah, I'm ready for it. But whether we feel it or whether we don't, the Bible says we are a chosen people. We are a royal priesthood. We don't have to wear garments to prove it. We have the garments of righteousness.

Is that right? We are king priests because we have access to God. We are king priests because we can reign in life through Jesus Christ, our Lord, above our circumstances, getting rid of that guilt out of our mind. The Bible says if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ, the righteous in 1, chapter 20, John 1, John chapter 2. Is it?

He says, if we do sin, I write this to you that you might not sin because that was the norm. The norm is that we don't. And some of the stuff that we call sin isn't that fleeting thought. It's like a bird flying over the head. It's not a sin.

It's an invasive thought. And some of us have those invasive thoughts. And the principal of the Bible College, years ago, when I was there 50 years ago, said to me, you can't stop the birds from flying above your head, but you can stop them from nesting in your hair. Is that right?

Now, we haven't really got a lot of time to say this, but I'm going to say it in the last few minutes. From the life of David, the psalmist and the king and the prophet. When he was with the sheep, he reigned in life. When he was fighting Goliath, he reigned in life. When he was misunderstood by Saul, who thought he wanted his job, when everyone was praising David but Not praising Saul and said.

The women said, whoa. Saul's killed his thousands and David is 10,000. And Saul was angry and tried to kill him. It says what? He acted wisely.

That's a Hebrew word, and it means with prudence, with discernment, with integrity.

Acting wisely and reigning in life when he was on the run, acting wisely when he'd made a big mistake and his massive mistake, which we won't explain today. But he had sinned, he'd fallen short, he committed adultery and indirectly, murder. And Psalm 51, and I find it on my little book here, instead of a big Bible, which I could find it in very quickly, it says this. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion, blot out my transgression. Wash me from all iniquity and cleanse me from sin.

And he goes on to say, cleanse me with hyssop. That was a little herb that they used to sprinkle things with. And I will be clean. Wash me and I'll be whiter than snow, creating me a pure heart. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Don't cast me away from your presence. And he says, you, God, you don't delight in sacrifice. If you did, I'd give it. You're not interested in burnt offerings. Remember, he was an Old Testament character.

When these were going on all the time, he said, lord, I can see past all that. I know that you're not really interested in burnt offerings. If you did, I'd give it to you. But what you want is a broken spirit, a contrite heart that you won't despise.

So if we have made any errors, we can still reign in life. David went on to be one of the greatest kings, if not the greatest. And God called him a man after God's own heart. Heart. These are the main takeaways today.

You can see them on the screen now.

If you feel forgotten, wait. He's never late. If you're in a battle, he'll help you. If you're not sure what's happening, act wisely. And if you have made a mistake, come to God and he'll give you all these things.

Now just pray, Father, I pray your word will settle in every single heart. We all have different circumstances today, but thank you, Lord, that these things we've said today are true. Whatever our circumstances, these things are true. We are kings and we are priests. In your sight.

We have your righteousness clothing us. Now Lord, help us to know that in our inner being. In Jesus name, amen. If anybody needs prayer for any of those things that we've talked about or. You've never given your life to Jesus in the first place, but there's an awakening in you.

Come now. There'll be people on my right and my left to help you, pray with you, guide you, answer some questions. But have a great day. God bless you. Thank you.