In Him: Alive in Christ • 07.26.26
Nick Lees   -   July 26, 2026

In Him: Alive in Christ

Romans 6:1-23

Connecting your new identity to transformed living

  1. Understand the significance of your union with Christ
  2. Make it your aim to please your new master

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Good morning, church family! Welcome guests + introduce self

Announce Frasier as our pastoral intern

Ushers + Bibles (Romans 6; page 1120)

Today we are back in our summer sermon series In Him, which is a study on our union with Christ or, put another way, what it means to be “in him”. As Christians, we are united with Christ by grace through faith. We are no longer our own but have been bought with a price – the blood of Jesus. To be unified with Christ changes everything. Our standing before God. Our identity. Our lifestyle. Our expectations for eternity. It is safe to say that this topic is of the utmost importance!

This study of our union with Christ has been split into two different emphases. (Series Layout Slide) In the first three sermons we were focused on our identity in Christ in the book of Ephesians. Answering questions like:

  • Who is he? What has he done?
  • Who am I? What am I to do?
  • Who is the enemy? How do I think about this?

Today we are entering the second half of the series, which is emphasizing our life in Christ. These four sermons are focused on how Christians live because they are made new in Christ. Answering questions like:

  • Whose kingdom am I living for?
  • Where is my hope really found?
  • Am I maturing in Christ?
  • Do I make disciples?

As you can probably tell from the direction of these questions, there is an expectation of a changed and changing life when you are united with Christ. As we will learn in the book of Romans, God calls Christians to walk in a new manner of life; a manner consistent with the salvation they’ve received from sin and death! (Main Slide)

If your faith is in Jesus Christ, then you will not remain the same. You will go to war against temptation and sin. You will set your hope in the character and promises of God, that the work he began, of making you holy, he will complete. You will cooperate with God in this process of transformation by renewing your thinking, your speech, and your behavior to please him. Which includes being faithful to tell others about Jesus and to make disciples by helping them to follow Jesus. I’m looking forward to growing with you over these next four weeks! I hope you’ll make it a priority to be here and to put what you learn into practice throughout the week.

Let’s turn our attention to God’s Word. We are in Romans 6 today. Since we are dropping into a new letter, let me give a little context for us. In this letter the Apostle Paul is writing to the Christians at Rome, whom he has never met. He has been laying out a very systematic and thorough presentation of the gospel – that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. In the earliest chapters, he presents evidence of how everyone, both Jews and Gentiles, are dead in sin and in need of a Savior. He then proceeds to make his case for how salvation is by faith alone, pointing back to the example of Abraham in the Old Testament. He testifies that this is all due to God’s grace.

In fact, just last week, we heard a couple of passages from Romans 5, telling us that God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! And how we ought to rejoice in God through Jesus because Jesus is how we’ve received reconciliation or peace with God. Paul highlights that the Old Testament law couldn’t save anyone, it simply revealed the depth of our sinfulness and need for a Savior! Yet, in the face of our immense sin, God’s grace abounded all the more, so even though sin leads to death, grace reigns through Jesus Christ. Paul is highlighting the beauty of God’s sufficient grace for sinners like them and sinners like us!

Unfortunately, Paul’s opponents took his teaching on God’s grace and accused him of saying that we should sin more so that more grace might be poured out on us. As you’re about to hear, this is a ridiculous argument, and Paul will have none of it! Christians are not to continue in sin, but to live transformed lives in Christ. Let’s hear what he teaches in Romans 6.

Romans 6:1–23 (ESV)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul will not let the false teaching go unaddressed. He wants these Christians to know the truth about their salvation in Jesus and how it ought to transform their lives moving forward. The truth is that if you are united with Christ by faith, then you have been made new and are no longer slaves to sin! You do not have to give into temptation and sin and reap the fruit of death any longer. You have a new way of thinking and living, in Christ! That’s what we’re going to unpack together today…

Connecting your new identity to transformed living

Paul refutes the lies of the false teachers in verse 2 with an exclamation and a follow-up question. “BY NO MEANS!” aka “NO WAY!” “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” What is the expected answer? You can’t and you shouldn’t!

How can Paul say this with such confidence? Because of what he argues next in verses 3-14. Christians have believed in and been baptized into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection! Baptism is an act of faith that symbolizes the spiritual reality that has taken place within us, that our sinful nature has died with Christ, and we have been made alive to righteousness in him. We are a new creation! Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too walk in newness of life.

Paul’s whole argument revolves around your union with Christ. Did you notice how many times he said phrases such as “with him” or “united with him” or “with Christ” or “in Christ Jesus”? 8 times in 11 verses! Which tells us a transformed life requires you to…

  1. Understand the significance of your union with Christ

When you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you are united with him. And that changes everything for you! And, as we have just heard, this beautiful reality is shown in the act of believer’s baptism.

I don’t address this often, but today’s text makes it inescapable. A Christian’s faith is expressed in believer’s baptism. It is a public identification with Jesus. You are showing the world what is already true of you, that you have died to your sin and old identity (going under the water), and that you have been raised to new life in Christ (coming up out of the water). In the Scriptures, this is portrayed as one of the first acts of faith as a Christian. Being baptized is how men and women, young and old, responded after realizing their need for faith in Jesus. They obeyed Jesus’ Great Commission to be baptized as followers of the One, True God.

If your faith is in Jesus Christ, but you have not been baptized, why not? What is keeping you from obeying the Savior and Lord that you say you follow? There is no good excuse for delaying this act of obedience. Embrace it as a grace of God to publicly identify yourself as his disciple. Parents, if you have children who profess faith yet are not baptized, please teach them the significance of this matter.

May we learn from the Ethiopian eunuch who, upon hearing the good news about Jesus, responded like this:

Acts 8:35–38 (ESV)

35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

Embrace this beautiful expression of your faith and union with Christ! It is a reminder that you are dead to sin and made new in him. And it is a powerful testimony of what Jesus has accomplished! If you would like to be baptized, please talk with a pastor or contact the church office; what a delight it would be to celebrate with you!

Paul goes on to develop his argument in verses 5-11. He appeals to the power of our union with Christ. If you have been united with him, then your sin nature has been crucified with Christ. This is wonderful news! Christians are no longer enslaved to sin!

Now this may sound too good to be true. It does not mean that Christians will never struggle with temptation or sin again. Rather it communicates that we are not ENSLAVED to sin. Christ has broken the power of sin over us.

The language in the Greek speaks of being justified. Justification means we are declared righteous, not guilty, innocent of transgression. This is how God views Christians because of the finished work of Jesus. Our old identity – as a sinful man/woman – is dead and in the grave. Now we are made new – as a redeemed man/woman – and we are to consider ourselves as such! That is what Paul commands them to do in verse 11.

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This is only possible because of what happened in verses 9-10, that Jesus died to sin, once for all, and now lives to God. Christian, because of what Jesus has accomplished, you must consider or believe that you are dead to sin and alive to God!

The word translated consider refers to the process of reasoning or calculation. You are putting effort into thinking correctly about who you are – in Christ. If your faith is in Jesus, then you ARE dead to sin and alive to God. You ARE justified. Take time to carefully consider that reality over and over again in your life. Allow it to change your life! This is who you are now – in Christ! We’ve said it in the earlier sermons of this series, in Christ you are forgiven, redeemed, set free from sin and death. That’s the same argument Paul is making here.

And then, in verses 12-14, he provides commands for how you are to live in light of this reality.

Romans 6:12–14 (ESV)

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Because you are made new in Christ and you are dead to sin, you must not let sin reign in you! It is no longer the ruler of your life. You are not a slave of sin anymore! You do not have to obey its passions/desires.

Though Paul has not explicitly mentioned this in his letter to the Romans yet, in chapter 8 he will speak of the helper, the Holy Spirit, who enables us to put off temptation and sin. By the power that God provides, Christians can say “No!” to temptation and sin. What a blessing! You can have self-control. You can choose not to give into the things you used to be ruled by before Christ. This is why so many people experience such incredible transformation when they become Christians. Their slavery to sin is broken. They are suddenly able to live much differently than they used to! By God’s grace and power, they can choose to present their members (body) to God as instruments for righteousness! In fact, this is what they must do!

Christians are not to continue in sin. You must stop giving your bodies over to the lusts of the flesh, of the old man/woman. You don’t have to live that way anymore!

Consider the beautiful truth of verse 14, that sin has no dominion or mastery over you now, because you are under grace. You are one of the redeemed. You have been a recipient of God’s lavish grace! Therefore, as you abide in God’s grace, offer your body for righteousness.

Do you see how your identity is directly connected to how you live? These wonderful realities that are ours in Christ change us. You are not the same anymore! In Christ you have been made new! Do you believe that? Live like it! LIVE IN LIGHT OF YOUR NEW IDENTITY! Embrace the joy of being dead to sin and alive to righteousness.

Consider the question we’re seeking to answer today – “Whose kingdom am I living for?”

There are only two possible answers: the kingdom of God or the kingdom of self. Those who are still dead in sin and outside of Christ can only live for the kingdom of self. But for those who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, you are set free from that kingdom! You get to live for the kingdom of God! But do you? Are you living in light of your new identity and union with Christ?

Kids, how might you put off selfishness and put on living selflessly to God and others?

  • Making it a priority to draw near to God (Word + prayer)
    • Word – what does he say?
    • Prayer – talking to him about all of life
  • Looking for what He says about how you should live
    • Honor your father and mother
    • Submit to your authorities
    • Hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good
    • Repay no one evil for evil
    • Live in harmony with one another
    • Rejoice in what is good
    • Be patient in tribulation

Adults, how might you put off selfishness and put on living selflessly to God and others?

  • Making it a priority to draw near to God (Word + prayer)
    • Word – what does he say?
    • Prayer – talking to him about all of life
  • Looking for what He says about how you should live
    • Raise up the next generation to know and obey Him
    • Submit to your authorities
    • Hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good
    • Repay no one evil for evil
    • Live in harmony with one another
    • Rejoice in what is good
    • Be patient in tribulation

They are the same callings because they are ours in Christ. However, it will play out in different scenarios and circumstances or relationships based on our stage of life. Hopefully you’re beginning to see how your new identity transforms your way of life. After giving these commands to the Christians at Rome in verses 11-14, Paul then goes back to addressing false teaching in 15-23. Let’s hear it again:

Romans 6:15–23 (ESV)

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The structure at the beginning of this section is very similar to the start of the chapter. Paul presents the ridiculous assertion of the false teachers and passionately rejects it! God’s grace is not a license for us to sin. It is not opening the door for people to live however they want because God will just forgive it anyways. That is wrong thinking! And he refutes it first in the form of his own question – “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

Paul is saying that is not who you are anymore! If your faith is in Christ… You WERE once slaves of sin. But NOW you have become obedient from the heart… you have been set free from sin… you have become slaves of righteousness… This is New Covenant language. God had promised that he would give his people new hearts that would know and obey him. He promised to forgive their sins and remember them no more. They would be completely transformed by the grace of God, and they have been in Christ!

So, when it comes to Connecting your new identity to transformed living…

  1. Make it your aim to please your new master

Or as Paul said it in verse 19 – “Present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.” In Christ you serve a new master, righteousness/God.

Let’s make some observations from this section of Scripture.

First, Christians are not to take a lax view of sin! If we give our bodies over to sin, we willingly enslave ourselves to sin again… which is completely contrary to who we are in Christ. In Christ, we have a redefined relationship to sin. We have been “set free from sin.” (22) Paul is using the language of slavery intentionally. When you believed in Christ, he rescued you from your shackles of sin. You no longer HAVE to sin. You are dead to that!

In fact, you ought to viciously oppose sin! I love the works of John Owen on this topic. His 3-part series Overcoming Sin and Temptation has been so helpful for me in learning to go to war with sin in my own life. I’ve often shared his quote – “Be killing sin lest it be killing you.” (Owen) It is such a great reminder that we are in a war against sin, and we must not make peace with it! If this size of book intimidates you, then an author named Kris Lundgaard has written an abbreviated version of it called The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin. Both are great resources in this battle!

The point is to be actively resisting sin and temptation in your life. Learn how to recognize it for what it is. Each one of us is likely tempted by different things. You need to become an expert in spotting your specific temptations. Here are some reflective questions to help you identify these:

  • What do you believe will satisfy you, outside of God?
    • “If I just had ____, then life would be good.”
  • When your thinking is not controlled, where does it wander?
    • Thoughts of vanity
    • Thoughts of impurity
    • Thoughts of discontentment
    • Thoughts of anger/bitterness/despair
  • Where am I tempted to live contrary to God’s Word?
    • Apathetic about time with God in his word or prayer
    • Failing to prioritize leading/loving my spouse or family
    • Having a lazy work ethic
    • Not keeping commitments

Now, I need to point out that temptation and sin are two different things. Temptation gives birth to sin, but it is not sin. So, if we can learn to go to war with temptation, we can choke it out before it becomes sin in our lives! This is the appropriate response to temptation. And that is not anything for us to be ashamed of. Temptation can come unsolicited to our minds. How you respond to the moment of temptation is what matters! (Main Points)

As we said earlier, our aim must be to please our new master. A second observation from this text is that we are not under the master of sin any longer, we are under God and slaves of righteousness leading to sanctification (holiness)! So, not only do we actively oppose temptation and sin, but we also get to do the positive work of putting on righteousness or growing in holiness!

This is a fruit of our salvation from sin. Let’s think through some specific ways this might play out in our lives:

  • While others may be willing to cheat on their test, their taxes, or even their significant other…
    • Christians have the joy of walking in the light and doing things righteously. They take the test the correct way. They submit accurate taxes to the IRS. They cultivate a healthy relationship with their significant other by seeking to do good to them and serve them.
  • While others partake of substances that lead to impairment, whatever they might be…
    • Christians have the joy of living by the law and avoiding anything that would lead to drunkenness and impairment. They get to enjoy clear thinking that enables them to act righteously, rather than opening the door for increased temptation and folly.
  • When you’re choosing media to consume, while others may excuse the presence of inappropriate materials…
    • Christians have the joy of choosing something that will edify and build up rather than tempting anyone towards sin. They have the blessing of a clear conscience that allows them to minister to others without regret.
  • While others are content to talk badly about someone else behind their back…
    • Christians have the joy of speaking words that give life and refusing to participate in sins of the mouth, such as gossip/slander/false witness/lying. They either confront the sinful speech, redirect the conversation to edifying content, or walk away to preserve righteousness.
  • When our society promotes ungodly values or tries to normalize sin and force it on others…
    • Christians have the joy of taking a public and private stand for what God says is right and good. They do not “go with the flow” of public opinion, but allow God’s Word to drive their convictions and stances. They seek to use their influence wisely and winsomely for the righteousness of God.

I’m sure you can think of many other scenarios. There are many ways that we used to sin before Christ that we are now seeking to put off and replace with living righteously. It is an everyday battle in our thinking, our speech, and our actions. But, as Paul so helpfully put it, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We know that our old ways of life only produced shame and death. Why would we want to go back to them? We have been made new in Christ, and we have the privilege of pursuing righteousness! As we do this, offering our bodies as slaves to righteousness, we grow in holiness and receive its outcome, eternal life!

What a blessing. I don’t know about you, but I want eternal life, not death. I’ve had enough time in my life to pursue sin and taste the awful consequences of it. I don’t want anything to do with that anymore. But that means I must be ready to fight temptation and sin daily! It’s an ongoing battle for every Christian, myself included. Are you ready to go to war? Are you excited to make it your aim to please your new master? These promises given by the Apostle Paul are beautiful – those who are in Christ have been set free from sin. Those who are in Christ have the hope of eternal life. So, let’s live like it… today! This week! In our households. In the public square. Wherever God takes you and in whatever relationships you are involved in.

Let’s pray.

Pray

Closing

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