How Does a Christian Actually Live Free From Sin’s Control? Yield
Romans 6:12-16
July 16, 2023
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I. Introduction and Review (Romans 6:6,11,13)
A. Three Simple Words in this chapter: Know, Reckon and Yield
1. Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
2. Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
3. Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
4. KNOW + RECKON + YIELD = VICTORY! (IN THIS ORDER)
5. These three truths, add up to victory over the dominion of sin in your life
B. Some of the greatest Bible truths are behind each word
1. KNOW that you are now free – if you are born again, you are free at Christ’s expense!
2. RECKON it to be true enough to believe with all your heart – that’s right YOU are free
3. And then YIELD to the right way of living, free from sin’s control, and instead, free to do the right things now! Live as free now!
a. Sin and temptation will always be present with you until you reach heaven…
b. But sin’s penalty, and its power over your life is now gone! Because of Jesus Christ
II. Review
A. Romans 5 proves sin can't damn a Christian anymore (Romans 5:15,21,8)
1. The law of God exposed all the sins in us and in our hearts, and our minds
2. Sin ruined us.
3. Even the smallest of sins separated us from God, and made us UNFIT for heaven
4. But then the grace of God was given to us sinful people
a. Romans 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one [ADAM] many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
b. Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
c. Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
d. JESUS was God’s undeserved KINDNESS towards us, TAKING OUR PLACE!
B. So Why Not Just Keep Sinning? (Romans 6:1-11)
1. Let’s let the Bible answer that (Romans 6:1-11)
2. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him 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 newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
3. #1 Because sinning is still wrong – God’s Laws say we should not do as we please
a. Some people think that things have changed over time
1) That living together is not fornication anymore
2) That smoking is not a sin anymore, or drinking
3) That it is okay now to do whatever we please… because God loves us!
4) And sin doesn’t affect us or God anymore, right?
5) Nope!
b. A wrong is still wrong even if 99% of the population vote that it is okay to do something that God says is wrong… it is still wrong!
c. God's Laws clearly define right and wrong.
1) We would not know it's wrong to covet except that God says, thou shall not covet.
2) People may be more and more comfortable with porn, and lying, and stealing, and being rude, and cruel, and selfish, and neglegent of worship…
3) But those things are still absolutely wrong – even for Christians to do
4. #2 Second reason why we shouldn't keep sinning is because of Grace.
a. Titus 2:11,12 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world
b. The grace and kindness of God is WHY we should not keep sinning.
c. God’s grace and kindness is NOT permission to sin. It is NOT a license to sin.
d. It is the very reason why we can live free from sin’s dominance!
5. Paul says there is a third and best reason why we do not just keep sinning.
6. #3 It is the fact that we are dead to sin and alive to God now.
a. This great truth is what we have been focusing on learning these past few weeks
b. Whether you understand it or not, dear Christian, this is your reality.
c. It is something that you need to hold onto and live by as a believer.
d. The moment you repented of sin and believed on Jesus Christ was when you were placed NOT into a church, or a religious order, but INTO Jesus Christ Himself.
1) It is like you've been given a new identity, new citizenship, a new family with a new last name. You've been given an entirely new life – the Christian life!
2) And the believer receives the benefit of everything that Christ did - especially his death, burial, and resurrection.
C. So, since Jesus is alive now, we should live as new people with a new life
1. Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him 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 [LIVE] in newness of life.
2. We Christians live new lives, different lives because:
a. The old me is dead (2Cor 5:17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away [DEAD]; behold, all things are become new.
1) You need to know that your old man (the old you) is crucified with Jesus on that cross. It is a done deal. The source of all my problems is dead, and I'm not a servant of sin anymore.
2) Why? Because of what happened at the cross!
a) Jesus was Not defeated. Death was!
b) And the dominance of the Roman empire wasn’t defeated, SIN’S DOMINANCE was defeated! Far more important!
b. A new me is living now! (Galatians 2:20)
1) Because Jesus rose from the dead. We too will be physically resurrected one day, but until that day, we can enjoy a life free from the dominance of any sin.
2) Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
D. But, knowing all this does you no good until you reckon it to be true for you (Romans 6:11,12)
1. Romans 6:11,12 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
2. Since Christ was dead and is now alive forevermore…
3. We should see ourselves ALSO as both dead, and alive forevermore!
a. What are we dead to? Sin! EVEN LUSTS!
b. Who are we alive to? God
c. How? We're not victorious over sin through our will-power our through our best efforts, but through what Christ did for us.
4. Water baptism is the first time a believer does just that! They are applying what JESUS did for them, to themselves, and showing it! Living it!
E. Reckoning means… (Romans 6:11,12,14)
1. To keep in mind (take seriously), to add up all of these truths and conclude, believe, accept with all your heart that they are true for you.
2. So understand, agree with and believe in with all your heart what God has told you!
3. And then APPLY what the Bible says to yourself! No one does that anymore!
4. Romans 6:11,12 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
a. Believe with all your heart that, when you believed Jesus died, YOU died too
b. That when Jesus rose again, YOU resurrected as well!
c. That every sin has been defeated and dethroned by Jesus Christ already
1) My sin nature did not abrogate like king Edward VIII did in 1936, but it was crucified and removed from power over me by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
2) My belief in the power of the crucifixion (not the fact it happened, but believing WHY it happened) cut the grip that sin had on me.
d. Sin and death have no more power over Jesus, so it has no power over you
e. That I should not permit sin to reign anymore in my life (Romans 6:14)
1) Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
2) You do NOT have to obey sin’s pull and push anymore!
3) Sin used to tell you what to say, what to do, where to go, what to drink, what to watch. And it gave you great pleasure doing it.
4) But Christians don't let wrong reign over them anymore.
5) Because we have chosen to let Jesus reign over us now!
5. A lot of Christians know a lot of facts, but they don't believe them.
a. Hebrews 4:1,2 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them [THE JEWISH PEOPLE FLEEING EGYPT]: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
b. So, RECKONING is not just at work of the mind but of the heart because it's the heart that affects or controls the mouth, and your hands and your feet, and your thoughts and your attitudes.
1) A sinful heart, a dark heart, makes for very dark thoughts and dark words.
2) An angry heart makes for angry hands, and angry fists.
3) You must be born again where you get a new heart, which is salvation.
6. So reckoning is very important because, as long as you think sin has power over you, you'll give into it. As long as you believe your past, your weaknesses define you, then you will give into every sin the devil tempts you with!
F. So we've come to the third point, which is to yield.
II. Message
A. Yielding is where a lot of people stop in their Christian life (Romans 6:13-18)
1. Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
2. Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
3. Romans 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
4. Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
5. Romans 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
6. Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
7. They sit in church like you are doing this morning
8. They hear and learn the truths of this Bible
9. They even believe some of the truths
10. But they won’t live the truth – let that sink in!
11. You do realise that the only difference between a successful Christian and a failure is whether a person steps out of the boat and lives their faith!
12. It is so much easier to just continue to live the way you always have
13. But continuing in sin, in a sinful lifestyle, in doing what God has shown you is wrong to do, will catch up with you one day, and hurt you and those around you! If God is your Father, then he will NOT let you continue in sin!
a. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
b. Proverbs 3:11,12 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
B. To Yield Means… (Romans 6:16-18)
1. To give into, to obey, to let someone else tell you what to do
2. Romans 6:16-18 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
3. THERE is your freedom! Yielding as a servant of a new master
4. And there is the struggle! Yielding as a servant of a new master, when you are so used to the old masters of your life
5. It is not automatic that a Christian yields to God
a. We need to be reminded to obey God, and encouraged to yield to Him
b. That’s why God calls men to stand up and preach what I am saying to you
c. That’s why churches used to be started – to tell people these life-freeing truths, and tell them God expects them to LIVE by them!
C. Who are You Yielding to? (Romans 6:16)
1. The Bible says that we are NOT supposed to yield to the power of sin, even though it is very powerful
a. Sin, culture, and life pressures are like a speeding lorry on a highway full of lorries.
1) Modern music is very powerful
2) Drink and drugs are incredibly powerful
3) What your friends think of you is a very powerful force
b. But in your Christian life, you need to stand your ground and press on anyways and not let anything cause you to yield to any other power than God Almighty.
c. 1John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
2. But Yield the members of your body to God. Submit them to God’s use – let HIM have them!
a. Look at 1 Corinthians 12:12, 14. “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. … For the body is not one member, but many.”
b. The members of your body are your two eyes, your two hands, your mouth, tongue, mind, feet.
c. Let God have your voice – you have one don’t you?
d. Let God have your hands, your eyes
e. Let God have everything you have
f. Let Him have everything in your past
g. Let God have your future!
3. The members of your body are not sinful. Your hands are not wrong to have. It is a good thing to have feet, and eyes, and a mind, and an imagination, and reproductive organs! It is a good thing to have hair!
4. What we do with them becomes sin when they're used for wrong.
5. Some of you haven’t yielded to God in a long time
a. You have resisted yielding to His will
b. To His promises – so you live in constant fear and stress
c. To His peace
d. To His power
e. So you instead live as a failure all the time
f. And you continue to do the lusts of the devil, instead of the will of God (John 8:44) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
D. Discerning the Influence of the Holy Spirit of God
1. The most important ability a Christian has to develop is the ability to discern the influence of the Holy Spirit in their life and yield to Him.
a. We hear the world, and our culture, and our own bodies screaming at us!
b. But Jesus is speaking too! (John 10:27,28) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
c. He is QUIET – a gentlemen
d. That’s why everyone in this room needs a QUIET time, listening to God’s voice as you read through every page of this Bible!
e. That’s why we make time to ask God for wisdom, and help knowing what is the right thing to do
2. It is the Holy Spirit that changes us! AS WE YIELD TO HIM!
a. Did you know that when a person yields to God, they are yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit in their life to transform them into godly men and women?
b. God’s work in us transforms us like a caterpillar is transformed to a butterfly
c. Only with a Christian, it is not a physical or a chemical change, but definitely spiritual and emotional.
d. It is a change that breaks us free from sin’s grip
e. Yielding to God’s kindness transforms you, better than fear could, and better than punishment does, and better than yelling!
3. We all used to yield our body members as tools of the devil…
a. Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members [BODY PARTS] as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
b. Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
c. Romans 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
d. Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
e. Our Mouth used to be used to say such filthy things, hurtful, rude, cruel
f. Hands used to steal, and physically hurt other people
g. Feet were swift to run to where we could sin
h. Eyes full of adultery and pornography
i. Mind full of wicked imaginations and dark pleasures
j. All tools of the god of this world…
1) “It’s amazing, ’cause sometimes when we’re on stage, I feel like somebody’s just moving the pieces. ... I’m just going, ‘God, we don’t have any control over this.’ And that’s magic” (STEVIE NICKS OF FLEETWOOD MAC, April 14, 1971).
2) ANGUS YOUNG, lead guitarist for AC-DC, is called the “guitar demon”; and he admitted that something takes control of the band during their concerts: “... it’s like I’m on automatic pilot. By the time we’re halfway through the first number someone else is steering me. I’m just along for the ride. I become possessed when I get on stage” (Hit Parader, July 1985, p. 60).
3) “We receive our songs by inspiration, like at a seance” (KEITH RICHARDS OF THE ROLLING STONES, Rolling Stone, May 5, 1977, p. 55).
k. I have a list of almost 100 different Rock Stars claiming the same thing!
4. The different parts (members) of your body should now be used as instruments of righteousness – and they can be!
a. The mouth, saying encouraging words, helpful words, truthful words, Bible words
b. The voice praising God instead of complaining
c. The hands working hard, building things for God, doing things for others
d. The feet going everywhere, taking the Gospel where people have never heard
e. The eyes, seeking for opportunities to show compassion, and support, looking at what other people need instead of only at what I need
E. It is a choice we make, every day – to yield to God instead of to ourselves. (Joshua 24:15) And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
1. A long time ago I made a big decision to let a different kind of music affect me – Hymns, and Spiritual Songs – not rock music
2. A long time ago, I chose to let God decide my life’s career – called me to preach
3. A long time ago, I yielded my body to live and die doing that career
4. I still choose to yield to God’s words, and God’s will, every day!
F. We will continue to study Yielding some more, in two weeks – stay tuned!
III. Conclusion…
A. How does somebody get saved?
1. By learning that Christ died, and was buried and rose again in your place, to take the punishment of your sins…
2. And if you will simply Believe / Reckon that He did all that for you…
3. You will be saved! Right here and now!
4. Romans 10:9,10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
5. Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
6. THAT is salvation from the punishment of your sins
B. After a person gets saved, they are now free from every sin’s grip
C. But most don’t live like they are free – live like they are still enslaved to temptations
D. Until they reckon their freedom to be true, not just their forgiveness
E. And then yield to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ
F. You just need to now live FREE, yielded to God – deciding to let God decide
G. Some of you haven’t yielded to God in a long time – you are blaming everyone and everything else
1. What are you fighting against God about? Your marriage problems, finances?
2. The call to preach the Gospel?
3. The burden to go soulwinning?
4. Some of you could make a huge difference in people’s understanding of the Gospel – IF you would just start telling the Gospel!
5. Some marriages could be saved if some of you yielded to God instead of to your anger
H. Some of you are fighting against the Gospel itself – holding onto your own self-righteousness. Stop fighting God! You are not fighting me!