Bill Acton :: Romans 6:15-23 - The Fact of Justification by Faith

Sermon Outline for Romans 6:15-23

1. Review
   1. The fact of justification by faith
   2. The guarantee of sanctification
2. The Anticipated Question: “Shall We Sin?”
   1. The grace system
      1. We should hate sin more and more
      2. We should have new confidence because of our position and resources
      3. We should live out of appreciation for God’s grace to us
   2. Shall we “sin”? – Rom 6:1
      1. Deliberate and persistent sin
      2. Continuance in a state of sin
      3. Sin as a habit
      4. Sin in control
      5. We cannot set ourselves free from sin
   3. Under law
      1. Our salvation does not depend upon our keeping the law
      2. We are not striving to justify ourselves
   4. “God forbid” – Rom 6:2
      1. It is unthinkable
      2. It can never be
   5. True teaching of grace always raises questions by legalists and moralists
3. The Appeal to Common Sense – Rom 6:16
   1. Paul’s reasoning, persuading, apologetic approach
   2. The terms
      1. Know ye not – a favorite expression
      2. Yield, present, hand yourself over
      3. Servants – slaves
         1. Servant – voluntary
         2. Slave – not voluntary
         3. We are a slave to sin or a slave to grace
      4. Sin versus obedience – not faith
         1. Sin unto death
         2. Obedience unto righteousness, not unto life
      5. Not being under law is not being lawless, it is being under obedience
   3. The propositions
      1. If we present ourselves as slaves to any power, we become the slaves of that power
      2. There are only two ultimate powers
         1. One is sin – in Adam
         2. The other is obedience to God – in Christ
      3. These two powers, sin and obedience, are entirely different and absolutely opposed to each other
         1. Sin, Satan, Hell, Rebellion, Death
         2. Obedience, God, Heaven, Holiness, Righteousness
      4. It is impossible to be slaves to both masters at the same time, they oppose each other – Mat 6:24
      5. We proclaim what our position is and who our master is by what we do – Mat 7:15-23
         1. Profession is not authoritative
            1. If a man continues in sin he is not under grace
            2. Whoever continues in sin – is the slave of sin
         2. Obedience is authoritative
            1. To be a Christian is not merely saying so
            2. It means we are born again
               1. We are in Christ
               2. We have a new nature
               3. The new nature expresses itself
                  1. In obedience
                  2. In righteousness
                  3. In holy living
               4. The slave owner insists upon a certain type of conduct; therefore if you look at a man’s conduct you can tell who is his master
         3. The Scripture is authoritative – Jhn 8:32-45, 1Jo 1:6, 1Jo 2:4
         4. The test – what is being produced through our life
            1. Slavery to sin produces sin
            2. Slavery to obedience produces righteousness
               1. The person who has been justified by faith through the grace of God has a power in him that produces good fruit. It is inside – in the man
4. The Thankful Spirit – Rom 6:17
   1. God be thanked – by grace through faith
   2. You have changed positions and behavior
      1. You were
      2. You have
         1. You have obeyed – the will
         2. From the heart – emotions
         3. That doctrine – the mind
   3. A total change of the total person
5. The Change of Ownership
   1. The fact
      1. What you were
      2. What you have
   2. The result
      1. Freedom from sin
      2. Servants of righteousness