Christian, Thou Art Loosed!

David J. Jefress: Hey, podcast listeners. Thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jefress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
Dr. Robert Jeffress: Hi, this is Robert Jefress, and I'm glad to study God's word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory.
Dr. Robert Jeffress: Before we're saved, we'd rather be any place in the world on a Sunday than in God's house worshiping with God's people. But after we're saved, there's nothing that can keep us away from being with fellow saints. Before we're saved, sin is the rule of our lives. Sin is our master, but after we're saved, sin becomes our slave.
David J. Jefress: Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jefress. It's a common question. If God is willing to forgive all of our sin, past and future, then why can't Christians just keep on sinning after they've been saved? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jefress turns to Romans chapter 6 to explain why Christians and sin don't belong together. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.
Dr. Robert Jeffress: Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Those who criticize the Christian faith often do so from the platform of ignorance. They see Jesus as nothing more than a moralist who calls his followers into a life of perfection. But that's a gross misunderstanding. When we open the Bible to the book of Romans, Paul explains the liberating freedom of God's grace to those who are willing to confess their need. You see, Jesus doesn't require perfection. He grants it. Well, at Pathway to Victory, we're intent on showing people from all walks of life that the Christian life may not be what they expect. The truth is found in the Bible. And in a moment, we'll be looking for answers in Romans 6 together. But first, I want to invite you to travel with me and Amy this coming May 2027 on the Pathway to Victory Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. The dates are May 14th through the 23rd. Together, we'll trace the very footsteps of Paul, the man who wrote the letter to the Romans and so much of the New Testament. We'll walk the ancient streets where he preached, sailed the same waters he sailed, and stand in the places where the early church was born. I promise you, once you've been there, you'll never read Paul's letters the same way again. Reserve your cabin today by going to ptv.org. All right, let's turn our attention now to Paul 's Letter to the Romans chapter 6. After hearing this presentation, Christians should feel a deep sense of relief and gratitude for our amazing freedom in Jesus Christ. I titled today's message Christian, Thou Art Loosed. It was a few years ago that the movie Lincoln was released. Many of you may have seen the movie. It chronicled President Abraham Lincoln's attempt to gain passage and ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which would abolish slavery. Interestingly, Lincoln had proclaimed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier on New Year's Day 1863. But it took more than two years and the death of Lincoln himself for the states to finally ratify this 13th Amendment. When it happened, the news was big. It spread throughout the country that slavery had been legally abolished. But in the one of the great ironies of history, many, many of those who had been declared free from slavery chose to live on as slaves in the deep South. One slave was interviewed and he was asked, what do you think of the great emancipator Abraham Lincoln? His response, I don't know nothing about Abraham Lincoln, except they say he set us free. And I don't know nothing about that neither. As church went all rights, what a tragedy. A war had been fought, a president had been slain, a constitutional amendment had been ratified. But the majority of once enslaved men and women continued to live as slaves. As tragic as that is, I can tell you something even more tragic this morning. And that is Christians who have been freed from the power of sin and death through the death of Jesus Christ, who choose to live as prisoners as slaves of sin. That's the greatest tragedy of all. People who have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, whom God has declared, you are free from the consequences of sin and death, still allow slavery, spiritual slavery to be the rule of their life. And it's that tragedy that Paul addresses in Romans chapter 6. If you have your Bibles this morning, I want you to turn to Romans chapter 6 as we see God's message, his emancipation proclamation, so to speak, to every believer in Christ. And it is this, Christian, Thou Art Loosed. Turn to Romans chapter 6. Because we have been justified, because we are being sanctified, what place should sin have in a Christian's life? And so he begins in verse 1 of chapter 6 with what seems to be an awful law question. He says, what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might abound? Remember, Paul was a champion of grace. Our righteousness, our right relationship with God is not based on works or ritual. It is based on the grace of God we receive through faith. That was Paul's message. He was a champion of grace. And because he was a champion of grace, he was always battling the enemies of grace. You know what the enemies of grace are? On one hand, those who would deny grace. People who would say God's grace is not enough. We need God's grace plus our works or our rituals or our keeping of the law. The second enemy of grace Paul did battle with were those who abused grace. That is those who would say, well, look, if I'm saved by grace and it has nothing to do with works, why shouldn't I keep on sinning as a Christian? I mean, if my sin causes God to pour out his grace and if God is glorified when his grace is poured out, why shouldn't I keep on sinning? But Paul says, a true understanding of grace does not encourage sin. It encourages obedience to God. He asks the question, shall those of us who have died to sin continue in it? What is his answer to that? Look at verse 2. May it never be. Shall we continue to sin? No. May it never be. And then he asks the follow-up question, how shall we who have died to sin still live in it? The answer is it's impossible. In 1 John 3:9 the apostle wrote, no one who is born of God practices sin. That word practice, it means habitually participates in sin. No one who is born of God practices sin because his seed abides in him. God's seed abides in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. Again, this doesn't mean the Christian doesn't occasionally stumble. But sin is the exception in his life rather than the rule in his life. Now, I want to clear up a misconception here, and I want to be sure you don't hear something I'm not saying. I am not saying that you have to clean up your life in order to be saved. There are a lot of people today that teach something that is called lordship salvation. If he's not lord of all, he's not lord at all. And they give a list of things you have to do in order to be saved. You need to trust in Christ as your savior. You need to turn away from sin in your life. You need to give up this habit and that habit. You need to do all of these things to be saved. No. The unregenerate non-Christian person is only capable of doing one thing when the Holy Spirit gives him the ability to do so. And that is trust in the name of Jesus for salvation. You cannot clean up your life to make yourself worthy to be saved. The cleanup operation, the process of sanctification does not start before justification, but it does start immediately after justification. When the seed of the Holy Spirit of God comes into a Christian's life, when he is that new creature, the Holy Spirit of God begins shining his spotlight, convicting him of things that need to change and giving him the power to change. And that's what Paul is saying here. If you have truly been saved, not only have you been justified, but you immediately begin in the process of sanctification. If there's no sanctification, it means there was no justification. How can we who have died to sin still live in it? We can't. We would never want to go back to our old way of living if we have been truly saved. If you've become a Christian, you've been exposed to a whole new way of living. Why in the world would you ever go back to the old way? How can those who have died to sin still live in it? What is the place of sin in a Christian's life? Easy. It has no place in a Christian's life. Well, what is the remedy for sin in a believer's life? That's what he begins discussing in verse 3 of chapter 6. And if you want to know how to deal with the subject of sin in your life, Paul says there are three words and principles you need to understand. The first word is no. Verse 3, no that we have been baptized into his death. Know the condition of your sin nature. Now, there are some Christians who deny that Christians even have a sin nature any longer. I remember in one of my previous churches there was a leader who would argue with me incessantly about this. He would argue that Christians don't have a sin nature any longer, pastor. After all, Romans 6:6 says our sin nature has been done away with. I remember sitting out in the front of the church in his car after lunches arguing with him about this day and night, but he absolutely denied that he had any remnants of a sin nature within him. One morning, this leader awakened and he decided he was tired of being married. So he left his wife, left his five children, turned his back on everything he said he believed in. He did have a sin nature. And not recognizing the sin nature, denying the sin nature can lead to disastrous consequences. In Galatians 5:16-17 Paul talks about this sin nature. He calls it the flesh in this passage. He says, but I say walk by the spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. For these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things you please. There is a civil war that goes on inside every believer between the desires of God and the desires of that remnant of the old nature within us. It is wrong to deny the existence of a sin nature. You still have a remnant of it left inside of you. But an equally lethal mistake is to exalt your sin nature. And frankly, that's the thing we're more in danger in doing. Again, in the evangelical church and certainly in the Baptist church. I remember hearing this growing up all the time, this kind of false teaching that exalted the sin nature. It went something like this. Well, as long as you're on planet Earth, you're going to have this old sin nature in you and you're never going to be able to gain any victory over it. You'll never be able to have victory over sin until you see Jesus one day. But until then, you're going to live defeated lives. No, the apostle Paul says. You don't have to wait till you get to heaven to experience victory over your sin nature. Why is that? Because your sin nature has been crucified. That's what he says in verse 3. Your nature has been crucified. Look at verse 6 of Romans 6 as well. Knowing this that our old self was crucified with him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. That's significant. He uses the word crucified to describe what happened to our sin nature. What happened to a victim of crucifixion? He didn't disappear, but he was rendered powerless. And that's what Paul says has happened to our sin nature. What confuses people is this phrase, it has been done away with. He doesn't mean disappeared anymore than a victim of crucifixion disappeared off the cross. He simply says it has been rendered powerless. When you become a Christian, your sin nature is crucified. Sin has no more power over your life than you choose to allow it to have. How is the power of our sin nature destroyed? Look at verse 4 of Romans 6. Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism and death in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. And when he talks about we were buried with him through baptism into death, he's not talking about water baptism. What you saw a few minutes ago over there was a symbol, a picture of a spiritual reality. And the spiritual reality is this. Just as Christ was crucified and was buried, when we trust in Christ as our savior, our old nature is crucified and it's buried. And just as Christ was raised to a new resurrection life, we are raised to a new way of living as well. When Paul writes in Romans 6 we are raised to a newness of life, he's not just talking about some future resurrection of our physical bodies from the dead. He's talking about a new way of living that begins the moment we are truly saved. What does that mean practically? It means before we are saved, we have no desire to read the Bible. It's boring to us. But after we're saved, we have an insatiable hunger for the word of God. Before we're saved, would rather be any place in the world on a Sunday than in God's house worshiping with God 's people. But after we are saved, there's nothing that can keep us away from being with fellow saints. Before we're saved, sin is the rule of our lives. Sin is our master, but after we are saved, sin becomes our slave. If you're going to have any victory over sin, Paul says first of all, know the condition of your old nature. It has been crucified. It has been rendered powerless. Secondly, he says the second word is consider in verse 11. Consider the power of your new nature. Consider the power of your new nature. Look at verse 11. Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. That word consider means to accurately calculate the true condition of something. So Paul says, know that our old nature has been crucified, but calculate the power of your new nature. Now, here's what's important to understand about this word consider. Consider doesn't mean just positive thinking. It means to calculate what is really true. For example, let's say you go to your accountant and you say, I want you to calculate my net worth. I want you to tell me how I'm doing financially. And so your accountant adds up all of your assets and he subtracts all your liabilities. And he said, I've got some great news for you. You're to the plus. You're in the green, $100,000. Well, you felt great about that. And so you go down to the car dealership and you buy a new car. The dealer calls you the next day and says that your check just bounced from here to the moon. So you go back into your account and you say, what happened? I thought you calculated my net worth and you said I have $100,000. He said, well, not really. I actually did the calculation and you're in the hole $250,000. Well, why did you tell me I had $100,000? Well, I wanted you to feel good. I wanted you to feel positive. If you felt positive, maybe you would start to act in a way that would make you financially prosperous. Listen, when you want an accountant to give you a rendering of your financial position, you don't want him to tell you what you wish were true. You want him to tell you what is actually true. And it's the same with the apostle Paul right here. When Paul says consider the power of your new nature, he's not saying just think positive thoughts. Don't act in such a way in accordance with what you wish were true. He's not saying that just theoretically your old nature has been crucified and God's given you the power of the Holy Spirit to obey him. That's not what he's saying at all. He's saying you are to act as free men in regards to sin, not because you want to be free from the power of sin, but because you actually are free from the power of sin. Like what John MacArthur says about this. He said this, this declaration that we have been freed from sin, it's not just a forensic declaration, it is a for real declaration. Paul is telling us what is actually true. Our old nature has been crucified and now the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in our lives giving us power over sin. What's the remedies for sin in our life? He said, first of all, know the condition of your old nature. Secondly, consider the power of your new nature. And thirdly, present your bodies to God. Look at verses 12 and 13. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts. And do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Paul says, now that you know what is really true about your old nature and your new nature, start acting in accordance with what is true. Stop presenting your body as an instrument of sin. Start presenting it as an instrument of righteousness. Demartin Lloyd Jones used this great illustration to show the difference between our old nature and our new nature by imagining two different fields that were separated by our road. One field was the field of sin and Satan was the master over that field. The other field on the other side of the road is the field of righteousness and God is the master of that field. When we are born, we are born into the field of Satan. We are his slaves. The rule of sin controls what we do and we receive the consequences every day for it. But when we become a Christian, God transfers us from the field of Satan to his field, his field of righteousness where we serve him. And once we are in God's field, Satan has no power over us whatsoever. Oh, sure, he may yell at us from across the road. He may try to cajole us into being distracted or even coming back over to join him, but the truth is his jurisdiction over us has ended. We are in a new field, a new way of living with a new master. You say, well, pastor, what happens though if after being saved I find myself back in Satan's field serving him in sin? One writer says it this way, if you find yourself as a Christian in Satan's field again, one of three things is true. Number one, you won't want to stay there. Secondly, God will intervene in your life. That's another possibility. He'll bring such hard things into your life if you're back in Satan's field that you will voluntarily remove yourself. And if you don't remove yourself, in some instances God will remove you. He will take your life physically to be home with him rather than left here in the world to bring shame to his name. The third possibility, if you find yourself in Satan's field is you were never saved to begin with. It doesn't mean you lose your salvation. It simply means you never had it to begin with. Again, 1 John 3:9 says, no one born of God persists practices sin because God's seed abides in him. Paul asks the question, how can those who have died to sin still live in it? His answer, it's impossible. It's impossible. The message of the Bible over and over is this. Only those who are saved are truly free from the power of sin. And only those who are free from the power of sin are truly saved.
David J. Jefress: It's so important to understand these deep theological principles because they unleash God's grace in our lives. And I hope this clarity from Paul's letter to the Romans inspires you to embrace your freedom in Jesus. Without Christ, we are slaves to sin. With him, we are free. Now, earlier in today's program, I mentioned a brand new resource from Pathway to Victory called Divine Invasions. It's a book that features seven chapters, each one drawn from the teaching series we just completed last week. In these pages, I don't shy away from the hardest questions of the Christian life. I show you how God still works miracles today and I help you discover the purpose behind them. I'll teach you how to discern between authentic and counterfeit miracles so you're never deceived. And I tackle the question that haunts so many believers. What do you do when the miracle you've prayed for doesn't come? This book called Divine Invasions offers hope for anyone longing for God to act, for those who feel forgotten, discouraged, or disappointed. And I've been so encouraged to see it already rising as a bestseller because that tells me people are hungry for this truth. But here's what matters most. When you give a generous gift to support Pathway to Victory, your gift does more than put a book in your hands. It ensures that bold biblical teaching keeps going out every day on every broadcast to people who need hope, direction, and truth. Because the word of God doesn't just change lives, it saves lives. And your gift makes that possible. Here's David with all the details. You're invited to request a hard cover copy of Dr. Jefress's brand new book Divine Invasions when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Just call 866-999-2965 visit ptv.org or text ptv to 78800. And when your gift is $100 or more, we'll also send you in addition to the book this month's teaching series on audio and video disc along with the companion study guide. To request these resources, call 866-999-2965 or make your request online at ptv.org. You could always write to us if you'd like, PO Box 223609 Dallas, Texas 75222. That's PO Box 223609 Dallas, Texas 75222. I'm David J. Jefress. In the United States, we are blessed with liberties like freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Yet the Bible teaches that every person is held captive by an unseen master. Join us for the message Take Me to Your Master Wednesday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jefress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. And we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in his word. To become a pathway partner, go to ptv.org/donate or you can follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Oh, and one last thing before we go, don't forget to reserve your spot on the 2027 Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. Now, you've heard me and Dr. Jefress talk about this Bible conference at sea and cabins, well, they're going quickly. Just picture yourself aboard the beautiful Celebrity Infinity sailing round trip from Athens. Now, each day you'll gather for biblical teaching, worship, and fellowship. And then you'll step ashore to stand where Paul stood in Ephesus and walk the streets of Thessaloniki where his letters still speak to the church today. Nine unforgettable nights with more biblical destinations along the way. Every meal prepared, every detail taken care of, plus the joy of traveling with like-minded believers. There's also an optional pre-cruise extension in Athens. To book your spot, go to ptv.org.