Death to Sin

Scripture Verse: Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of our body to him as instruments of righteousness. Romans 6:13

Materials Needed: None.

Notes to the Leader: This is a discussion-oriented study.

No one likes to admit it but we all do bad things. Yes, under God's watchful eye and, in spite of our love for Christ, we are sinners. This study looks at the relationship we have with our Savior and how it affects our thought processes. Do we become perfect? No! Instead, we become those who seek perfection.

Once someone sets a goal, you need a plan and it helps to have a partner to help you along the way. This study looks at how Christ becomes our partner and we gain strength to achieve our plan.

Introduction

How would you describe a partner?

Dictionary: A sharer or partaker. A partnership expands to consider such concepts such as joint interest.

How is the relationship we have as a saved Christian the same as that of a partnership?

Our partner is Christ.

Section One: How We Die To Sin

Have someone in the group read Romans 6:1-4.

How would you describe the symbolism of baptism?

When someone descended into water and the water closed over their head, it was like being buried. When they emerged from the water, it was like rising from the grave. The person dies to one kind of life and rises to another.

Note: The Greek word for baptism is baptidzo, originally used to describe the process of dipping something into liquid for the purpose of dying, soaking, or washing something.

How would this definition help describe the sacrament of baptism?

It means to be placed into Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. The only bath able to do that is clearly spiritual. Hence, the symbolism of the sprinkling of water. We should also respect the rituals of those who seek to reproduce the original concept of immersion into death and the rising into a new life.

What is spiritual baptism?

Baptism into the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Acts 1:5; 11:16)
Baptism into Christ (Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12)
Baptism into Christ's body of believers (1 Cor. 12:13)

How can we, 2000 years after the event, say that we have died and risen with Christ?

Spiritual baptism put upon us a state of conformity with and participation in Christ. This state involves a death to sin even as He died to sin.
When we bow our heads under the water (of spiritual baptism), our old self is buried as in a grave, and having been immersed below, is wholly and once for all put out of sight.
The baptism with the Spirit vitally relates the believer to Christ. In that baptism as in no other the Christian partakes of all that Christ is, and all that Christ has done.
The act which in its nature was dying to sin was our accepting Christ as our Savior. The act involves not only a separation from sin but a deadness to it.
The person who enters upon the Christian way is committed to a different kind of life. He has died to one kind of life and been born to another.

What does the word "grafted" mean?

It is used to mean interlinked, meshed, inseparably woven together as one.

Have someone in the group read Romans 6:5. Paul uses the Greek word symphutoi, meaning planted together.

What does it mean to be "united with Christ?" NIV

We become closely knit parts, not loosely connected. Like a broken bone that is healed, we become one again. We are fused together so that all He experience, is ours: death to sin, burial, and resurrection.

Have someone in the group read Romans 6:6-7.

Describe in your own words, what Paul meant by the following phrases?

"The body of sin" - another name for our old self.
"Done away with" - from the Greek word katargeo, it means to paralyze; render idle, inactive or ineffective; bring to an end; abolish; destroy; remove; take from the sphere of influence; or simply end.
"No longer slaves to sin" - This is the ultimate accomplishment of Christ's death and our participation in it. It is to destroy the inner principle of rebellion against God and set us free from sin's tyranny.

Section Two: Sin Isn't In Charge Any More

Read Romans 6:7 again to the group. The Greek word for "freed" is dedikaiotai, meaning "justified." When by faith a person identifies themselves with Jesus' death, they are immediately declared righteous. Sin is no longer inevitable.

Have someone in the group read Romans 6:8-9.

How does dying free someone from sin?

In a literal sense, when you are no longer, you can not sin anymore. Hence, the relation to Christ. He experienced the full impact of dying and death, then rose from the dead, escaping the power of death forever. Christ can never die again.

So what is the benefit of dying with Christ?

We will live with Christ also.

What proof can you see of this?

The regeneration of a dead person starts immediately upon accepting Christ. We begin to experience the recreation, rejuvenation, restoration, of our lives. Look into the eyes of someone who loves Jesus. You can see the proof.

Spend some time here. Discuss the evidence that exists in the life of a Christian. Use as a discussion question, "If you were to be convicted for being Christian, What evidence would the prosecutor have against you?"

Have someone in the group read Romans 6:9:13.

How is it that we gain this freedom from sin in our lives?

If you said self-denial and self-effort, your on the wrong track.
Step 1: Know - "Knowing" is the launching pad to victory. Two Greek words are used: oida means knowing the facts. Verses 9-10 summarize the facts we must know in order to break the reign of sin. Knowledge, however, is not enough. The word, Ginosko, is a word that goes beyond the intellectual grasp of facts, emphasizing an intimate relationship to the thing or person known. Liberation from sin requires a personal relationship with Christ.
Step 2: Rely - Paul uses the Greek word logidzomai which was also used to describe how God saw Abraham's faith. When Abraham took God at His word, God refused to credit him with sin. Instead, God credited Abraham with righteousness and accepted him because he believed. We must count on Christ as Christ relied on God.
Step 3: Sacrifice - Steps 1 and 2 are activities of the mind. Step 3 involves the mortal body. It calls for physical effort. It involves choices. We must act upon what we know is right.

Read Romans 6:14 to the group.

What law is Paul referring to in this verse?

It is not the Mosaic Law, but rather the principle behind it and all laws; trying to win acceptance by God on the basis of conformity to an external standard of righteousness. We no longer are bound by our ability to adhere to rules but, instead, we are under the gracious dispensation of our God who dispenses pardon freely. The principle for obeying God, then becomes love and not fear.

Section Three: Long Live the King

If my ticket to heaven is assured, why bother with obedience and holy living? God will forgive us, right?

The answer follows in Romans 6:16-19.

Have someone in the group read Romans 6:16-19.

If a person has accepted Christ and is assured salvation, does Satan still do battle for ownership of their soul?

Very much so. While most would view bondage of any type undesirable, when we become slaves to God, we are placing our lives into the hands of a Master who loves us more than any other human master ever loved his most favored slave. We cannot have but one master and that master must be God. When we are "owned" by God, we are under His protection. So when God wants you to do something, just do it!

Have someone in the group read Romans 6:20-23.

What are the results of serving sin versus righteousness?

Sin - The minimum wage paid is death. When someone sins, something dies. This death separates us from God. Paul's biggies were: impurity; ever-increasing wickedness; freedom from the control of righteousness and shame.
Righteousness - The compensation for being "slaves of God" is wages. It is a gift. It is the free, undeserved, love-gift out of God's sheer grace. The benefits are: holiness; freedom from sin and it's wages; and eternal life.

The process of converting sin's reign into righteousness is not an immediate process. How then does our baptism into Christ work to change us?

To be apart from Christ makes us subject to "ever-increasing wickedness. Sin begets more sin. Sin never gets harder. Guilt loses its edge, and conscience becomes seared (1 Timothy 4:2). On the other hand, "righteousness leads to holiness." The Greek word for holiness is hagiosmos. All Greek words that end in asmos describe an incomplete state, something in process.

Bible Truth Being Taught: Through faith, Christians enter a relationship with Christ, enabling them to break free of sin in their lives and to live consistent with the will of God.

Our Response: To discover how to break free of sin and live the "good" life.