Romans 6
In the mind of many Christians, the only difference between themselves and that of sinners is that they are “forgiven”. Grace is viewed as an insurance policy in which we can sin now and claim forgiveness later. Admittedly, whilst many would not be so brazen as to put it in those exact words; the sad reality is that in experience, this proves to be the policy under which many who name the name of Christ live! Paul begins the sixth chapter of Romans with a question; “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound”? He spends the rest of the chapter showing categorically that this cannot be the case. For Paul, the cross of Jesus Christ was more than a place where sins are forgiven but was the place of his own funeral and subsequent resurrection from the dead. The implications of the mystery that Paul presents in this sixth chapter are so profound and the ramifications so powerful, that if heeded, and acted upon, one’s Christian worldview and experience will never be the same again!
This sermon is a strong exhortation to holiness and a thorough refutation to the lukewarm, sin excusing breed of Christianity that seeks to comfort and assure men in their sin in the name of so-called grace.