I Am A Freed Slave

[0:00] Take your Bibles and turn to the book of Romans. Romans chapter 6. We're continuing our series on the Christian's identity. And now in chapter 6 verse 1 he says this.

[0:33] What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means. We died to sin. How can we live in it any longer?

[0:45] Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death.

[0:57] In order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father. We too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death.

[1:10] We will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. So we know that our old self was crucified with him. So that the body of sin might be done away with.

[1:22] That we should no longer be slaves to sin. Because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ we believe that we will also live with him.

[1:35] For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead. He cannot die again. Death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died. He died to sin once for all.

[1:47] But the life he lives. He lives to God. In the same way. Count yourselves dead to sin. But alive to God in Christ Jesus.

[2:01] Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body. So that you obey its evil desires. 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.

[2:20] And offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master. Because you are not under law but under grace.

[2:31] What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means. Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves.

[2:43] You are slaves to the one whom you obey. Whether you are slaves to sin which leads to death. Or to obedience which leads to righteousness. But thanks be to God.

[2:56] That though you used to be slaves to sin. You wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin.

[3:07] And have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and ever increasing wickedness.

[3:19] So now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin you were free from the control of righteousness.

[3:32] What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death. But now that you have been set free from sin.

[3:44] And have become slaves to God. The benefit you reap leads to holiness. And the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death.

[3:57] But the gift of God is eternal life. In Christ Jesus our Lord. Let's hear God's word preached. Identity theft.

[4:10] It's a growing problem in our computer age isn't it? The term was just first coined in 1964. A rather recent thing.

[4:22] Whereby hackers or thieves steal your personal information. Your full name. Your date of birth and place of birth. Maybe your social security number. Your passwords.

[4:33] Your bank routing information. And then they use that personal information. To steal money. Maybe to take out a credit card.

[4:43] Open a credit card and make charges on it. Or to withdraw from your bank account. Even to claim your tax refund before you do. And even if you recover the money eventually.

[4:55] Identity theft can be a real hassle. And takes a long time to recover. I'm told. But there's a far more dangerous identity theft that's been going on since the Garden of Eden.

[5:10] And it's not the work of some computer hackers. But the work of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Whereby they get you to forget your identity.

[5:24] To forget who you are as a Christian. And these identity thieves would rob you then of that true identity. And replace it with a false identity.

[5:35] And such identity theft carries far greater consequences than anything financial to your life or mine. Indeed, as we heard in the Sunday school hour, a man, as a man, thinks in his heart.

[5:51] So is he. And so your self-consciousness about who you are will affect the way you live. And that's why God is constantly reminding us in the Bible, Christian, of who we are in Jesus Christ.

[6:05] Who are you? That's an important question. Perhaps second only to who is God. And so that's where we're at in our study. Who am I?

[6:16] Who does God say that I am? Because my answer to that, as God's word shows, plays a powerful influence in how I live out my life.

[6:28] Now in this series, we're learning that our identity in Christ is not just a single factor. It's multifaceted. We've looked at maybe eight, nine different aspects of our identity in Christ.

[6:44] The Bible is full of this kind of talk. The last time, our last study of our identity was that I am a sheep in Jesus' fold.

[6:55] And how that sense of who I am is to impact my living and will, if indeed I'm aware of it. Now today, if you're a Christian, then you can say with me, I am a freed slave.

[7:11] Say it with me. I am a freed slave. Now to say that is to immediately admit that you were in bondage.

[7:24] That we were once slaves. And indeed, that is what the scriptures teach us. That we are born slaves to sin and to Satan. But that's a bit too humbling for proud flesh to admit.

[7:40] You remember in John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus told the Jews who considered themselves to be Jesus' disciples. Jesus said to them, If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples.

[7:54] And then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Well, they answered him, We are Abraham's seed and we have never been slaves to anyone.

[8:08] How can you say that we shall be set free? And Jesus replied, I tell you the truth. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

[8:19] Now that's a broad net, isn't it? Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

[8:31] So Jesus was teaching this crowd of people, You are slaves to sin and only the son of God can set you free from sin.

[8:42] A few verses later, he tells them that they belong to Satan. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's will. He's a murderer from the beginning and he's a liar.

[8:55] When he speaks, he speaks his native tongue. He's a liar and the father of lies. So slaves of sin are slaves of Satan, who is the greatest tempter to sin.

[9:08] Now one of the reasons so few realize their slavery to sin is because sinning is what their sinful hearts want to do. So they don't feel like they're being compelled against their will to sin, as some slaves might feel.

[9:24] It's not that kind of slavery. They're only all too willing to sin. They want to carry out the desires. Of Satan and of sin. And that's the worst kind of slavery of all, isn't it?

[9:37] To willingly do what the master Satan wants. To be a slave. To sin and Satan and to think you're free.

[9:53] I'm free to do whatever I want. Not exactly. You're only free to sin. You're not free to not sin. Just try it. And see what happens.

[10:04] And you will learn. You will learn that you are a slave to sin. Second Peter 2.19. A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. Romans 6.16.

[10:16] You're slaves to the one whom you obey. Whether slaves of sin. Or slaves of obedience. You may stop one kind of sin.

[10:27] Only to revert to another kind of sin. But we're all born slaves of sin and Satan. And only Jesus can set us free. Now, believers, this is the gospel.

[10:41] This is the good news. That we are freed slaves. That we were the slaves of sin. Past tense. But we have been set free.

[10:54] This is part of our true identity in Christ. If you're in Christ this morning by faith. Then you can say, I am a freed slave.

[11:07] And you are to think of yourself as such. I wonder if you've thought about yourself in those terms lately. How long has it been since you've thought of yourself as, A slave set free?

[11:22] Well, it's, you see, the Bible. It keeps pulling us back to our identity. That's why we need to read the Bible. That's why we need to hear the teaching and preaching of. Because it brings us back. It's been a while since I've thought of myself as a freed slave.

[11:35] And I need to come back to such a passage as Romans 6. And remember my identity as a freed slave. Well, we're going to think about that this morning.

[11:47] It is a life-changing experience to realize that we are freed slaves. Come back with me to the early 1800s in our country.

[11:57] And consider yourself being born into an enslaved African-American family. And that means on the moment you were born, you were born a slave.

[12:10] You were owned by your master. And as you grew up, you served him all your days. Each day, from the moment you woke up in the morning and dragged your weary body out of bed, to the night when you fell into that bed, exhausted.

[12:30] All that day, you spent not doing what you wanted to do, but what the master says. Whatever he wanted. And fear kept you in line.

[12:42] He had whips for those who did not jump when he shouted orders. It was always, yes, master. Yes, master.

[12:52] And that's the way you spent your whole life. So now you're an older man, say in your 60s. And you're still slaving away for your master. And then one day, President Abraham Lincoln makes an executive order called the Emancipation Proclamation.

[13:10] And immediately, your status, your legal status before the law of the land, changes from slave to free.

[13:21] You're now a free man. From that point on, you're no longer owned by your master. You are free to go. And all the rest of your days are yours then to live as a freed slave.

[13:37] Well, believer, that's your history in a nutshell. Well, born a slave to sin, held all your life in its cruel bondage as it was dragging you to hell, until you were saved by the great emancipator, Jesus Christ.

[13:52] And he, the Son, sets you free. Free indeed. Now, we're freed from many things. The Confession of Faith has a whole chapter on Christian liberty, Christian freedom.

[14:05] And there must be half a dozen to a dozen different things that we are set free from by Jesus Christ. We're set free from the rules of men in religion.

[14:17] We're set free from the curse of the law. We're set free from the fear of death. And many other things. But what we're looking at this morning is the fact that he sets you free from the bondage and the reign of sin over you.

[14:35] We're not yet free from the very presence of sin. That's coming. But we are free from sin's dominating power that held you as its captive slave.

[14:47] No more are you in bondage to sin if you're a Christian. No more when sin comes calling must you say, Yes, Master, and fall in line with the temptation. And this is what God is telling us over and over again here in Romans chapter 6.

[15:02] If you don't have your Bible open there, please open to it with me. There's two main points here that I want us to see. And they must not be confused.

[15:14] The first thing we see in this chapter is a statement of your identity. That you are a freed slave. And then secondly, we see commands to live like it.

[15:26] Live in the light of what you are. You are a freed slave. Now live like it. First, the statement of fact. This is what you are. And then the commands to live in light of your identity.

[15:41] Now this freedom from sin, as Romans 6 shows, is due to your union with Christ. You're joined to Jesus Christ. When by faith you trusted in the Lord Jesus, from that moment on, you and he were joined together.

[15:57] Like a marriage union. Only this union is never to be separated and never can be separated. And so there you are. Joined to Jesus Christ.

[16:10] And what that means is that everything that was yours becomes his. And everything that was his becomes yours. So his death becomes your death. And his resurrection becomes your resurrection.

[16:21] And that's what we're told here in Romans 6. So sin was your master. But now you're united to Christ. And that means that Christ's death to sin is now counted as your death to sin.

[16:35] It's as if you have already died to sin. Now what happens to a slave's relationship to his evil master when the slave dies?

[16:45] So here's the master, here's the slave. What happens when the slave, to this relationship of slave master, when the slave dies? Well, it's ended, isn't it?

[16:58] He's finally free. He's no longer in the realm of the authority and the dominion of that master. He is escaped by death.

[17:11] Master can yell his commands all he wants. The slave's done obeying, isn't he? A dead slave is out of the jurisdiction and grip of the master.

[17:23] At death he is free at last. Well, in the same way, we were counted to be dead with Jesus Christ to sin.

[17:34] Jesus died to sin once. And his death is now my death. So I am dead as to the jurisdiction and the authority and the reign of sin over me.

[17:46] I no longer am its slave. That authority has been broken by death. Jesus' death that is made mine. So never again do I have to obey sin's commands.

[18:00] I've been set free from its claims and rule over me. But united to Christ means more. We saw it in the Sunday school hour.

[18:11] For the Christian, just as for Christ, every death has a resurrection. And so we were not only united to Christ in his death, we've been united to him in his resurrection. And so Christ's resurrection from the dead to new life is your resurrection from the dead to a new life with a new master to serve.

[18:32] No longer sin and Satan, but now God himself. I just want you to notice how often this point of being set free from sin is made in Romans 6.

[18:43] Let me just dip in at verse 6. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

[18:57] Why has Christ died and joined us with him to his death so that we might, what? No longer be slaves to sin. So being crucified with Christ has secured that result of no longer being slaves to sin.

[19:15] Because, verse 7 says, anyone who has died has been freed from sin. And Christian, you have died with Jesus Christ.

[19:25] So you are freed from sin. You see, that's your identity then. There's the statement of the fact. It's the indicative mood, which is the mood in the Greek language to make a statement of a fact.

[19:39] It's not the imperative mood, which is a command, a way to express a command. No, this is stating what you are.

[19:49] You are freed from sin's bondage. It's not saying you need to break away from sin's bondage. We don't have any of that talk in Romans 6. You're not breaking away from sin.

[20:00] You are already free from sin's bondage. Now live like it. That's what we'll hear later. But the first thing we see is you have been freed from sin.

[20:12] That's your new identity in Christ. It's what you are. Sin's bondage and oppressive rule has been broken by Christ's death.

[20:24] Verse 14, for sin shall not be your master. That's not a command. That's not an imperative. That's another indicative. It's saying what shall be. Sin shall not be your master.

[20:37] It won't happen. In the same way that Psalm 23, verse 6 says, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

[20:47] That's not a command. That's just a statement of reality. A fact. It will. And that's what we have in Romans 6. Sin will not be your master. Because you're not under the law but under grace.

[21:01] You're under a new covenant. Sin's legal rights over you have been stripped. Verse 17, but thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin.

[21:15] You see, not anymore. You used to be. But you wholeheartedly obeyed that form of teaching to which you were entrusted. Verse 18, you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

[21:29] Verse 19, I put it in human terms because you're weak in your natural selves just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever increasing wickedness.

[21:40] You used to. Verse 20, when you were slaves to sin. Verse 22, but now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God.

[21:53] You see, over and over we're being told what our identity is. We were once slaves to sin. It's important that we realize that. If you want to understand yourself, you need to remember that you were once a slave to sin.

[22:07] But you also need to go on and remember that you are no more. It's no longer your master. That has been broken by the death of Christ, which is now yours since you're united to him.

[22:21] So it's repeated so often in this chapter that we can't miss how important it is for us to think this way about who we are.

[22:35] Again, as I read chapter 6, I thought, wow. That's like, what, some eight, nine times we're told you're a freed slave.

[22:46] I thought, how often have I thought of myself in those terms? You see, God wants to marinate your mind in that reality.

[23:00] In this fact that you are set free from sin. Now, what's the purpose of soaking meat in a marinade? Is it not so that the flavor of the marinade works its way through the whole chunk of meat so that every bite bears its flavor?

[23:19] Why is God wanting to marinate our minds in the fact that we have been set free from sin's bondage? It is so that the whole of our life, every part of our life, might bear something of the flavor of that in our lives.

[23:33] He's wanting this fact to rule our minds the way we think of ourselves, and especially when sin comes calling. Make sure this is a part of your self-conscious identity.

[23:50] No longer sin's slave. It's a happy thought. It's worth waking up to every morning this week. And after reminding you of who you are, Romans 6 goes on to give some commands then to live in the light of who you are.

[24:06] You are a freed slave. Now live like it. That's the whole layout of the passage. Since we died to sin, verse 2, how can we live in it any longer?

[24:19] That's the question being answered in this chapter. And the answer is, well, since you're dead to sin's authority and bondage, live free.

[24:30] Live free. You see how the imperatives are built upon the indicatives. The commands are built upon the statements of fact.

[24:42] There's three commands in verses 11 to 13. I'm going to put them in three R's. Reckon, reject, and refuse.

[24:54] First of all, reckon. Verse 11. Here's the command. Count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

[25:04] Someone has pointed out that this is the first command that we have in the book of Romans. You can read chapters 1 through 5 and start into 6, and it's only when you bump into verse 11 that you come to the first command in the book of Romans.

[25:23] And what we find is it's a command to think, isn't it? It's a command to think a certain way about yourself. To think about your new identity in Christ as dead to sin's mastery.

[25:38] That you were a former slave, but now you've been set free. It's no longer your master. He's told you this multiple times already, that sin is no longer your master.

[25:48] And now he's saying, consider it to be true. Count on it being true. Reckon it to be so. So there's your first application of the message this morning.

[25:59] Be thinking of yourself as dead to sin's reign. Rather consider yourself alive to God as your new master. There's been a total shift in your world.

[26:14] You've been taken out of the realm, the kingdom, where sin reigns. And you've been translated into a kingdom, a realm where Christ reigns.

[26:28] So you're no longer under the realm and reign and kingdom of sin and Satan. You are now in the realm and the reign of God and Christ. And the Holy Spirit.

[26:41] That's true. You have a new king. A new master. So reckon it to be so. That's the first command. Reckon it to be so.

[26:55] Now this is, I say, especially needful when sin comes around tempting you. Call on you to do what it says. To serve it. Because the reality is that though sin no longer has any legal claim on you as your master.

[27:10] It will try to reassert its claim. It will try to call you back into its bondage. Count on it. It will be back.

[27:21] Shouting its orders. Just as before. As if you were still its slave. But remember what God says you are. And reckon it to be so.

[27:33] I'm not your slave anymore. I don't have to obey you. I'm God's slave now. So remember the slave. He's labored under the bondage of his master for some 60 years.

[27:47] Served that evil master. That's who you are. You've served your evil master all your days from birth. And then when you heard that emancipation proclamation.

[27:57] You realize that your legal status changed from slave to free. Well, I need to consider that true then. And arm myself with that truth.

[28:10] As a freed slave. So what do you do? You pack your bags. And you tell your kids and your wife. Come on. It's time to go. Get your stuff. We're out of here.

[28:20] This isn't our home anymore. We don't belong to this man anymore. And just as you've got it all packed. And you're heading out the door.

[28:31] The old master shows up in your hut. Says, where do you think you're going? Get back out in the field. Start picking cotton.

[28:42] At once. And he shouts the orders to you. Even shakes his whip under your nose. As he's done for 60 plus years. That's sin's tactic.

[28:53] To bully you. And rob you of your new identity in Christ. So what do you do? When sin comes back. And tries to reassert its reign. And tempts you.

[29:04] And orders you. And pressures you to sin. Well, you start by remembering your new identity. You see, it starts in the mind. You reckon it to be true.

[29:15] I'm not a slave of sin anymore. I'm a slave of Christ. However powerful his pull and push is. I give him the cold shoulder that a dead slave gives to his master.

[29:32] Before Augustine was converted. He lived a very immoral lifestyle for many years as a slave of sin. And the story is told that after his conversion. That as he was walking down the street.

[29:43] His former mistress called out to him. Augustine, it is I. To which Augustine replied. It is not I. And continued walking by her.

[29:56] Where does the battle with sin begin? It begins with your new identity. I'm not the I that you once knew.

[30:07] I'm not the I that used to be a slave to sin along with you. That Augustine is dead. He died with Christ. And a new Augustine now lives through the resurrection life of Christ.

[30:22] To serve a new master. To walk a new way. And I'm as dead to sin's reign. As I am now alive to God's reign in Jesus Christ. Christ. That's where the battle starts.

[30:33] With you reckoning it to be true. That you. You do not owe that sin. Master. Anything anymore. It's not your master. Secondly.

[30:43] After reckoning yourself. To no longer be sin's slave. You go on to. Reject. Sin's temptations. That's verse 12. Do not let sin reign.

[30:54] In your mortal body. So that you obey. Its evil desires. Sin is no longer your master. So don't let it reign as master. You see how it follows.

[31:06] The first is to reckon. It's not your master. Now he's saying. So don't obey it. As your master. And notice. Where sin.

[31:17] Would reassert its reign over you. It's by appealing to your evil desires. Of your mortal body. Every sinful desire.

[31:30] Is your old master's voice saying. Serve me. Serve me. Do what I say. Shape up. Follow what I'm telling you. Your evil desires.

[31:43] Or sin. Seeking to reassert. Its reign in your life. And you must reject them. Out of hand. And not obey them. And rarely will one time be enough.

[31:54] Haven't you found that to be the case? The rejection. Is not just once and done. Rather. As sin seeks to reassert.

[32:06] Get its mastery. Over and over. And gets you back in line. It seeks to wear down your resistance. Until your no.

[32:16] Becomes a. Well. Let's think about this. And then. It's too late. And you finally cave in. To its will. No. Keep remembering your identity.

[32:27] As a freed slave. And keep rejecting its offers. Don't allow yourself. To be brought back. Into bondage. And notice.

[32:39] It's in your mortal body. That sin wants to reassert. Its reign. It's in your body. And with your body. That sin wants to operate. And so the third command. Is refuse.

[32:50] Verse 13. Do not offer the parts of your body. To sin. As instruments of wickedness. So kids.

[33:00] What he's saying is. Don't bring your body. To sin. As your master. And say. Here. Here I am. Reporting for duty. Master. Here. Here. Take my tongue.

[33:11] To say that unkind word. Or that untrue. Or slanderous word. And here. Here's my mind. To dwell on. That unclean. Unworthy thought. And here.

[33:21] Take my hands. To do what ought not to be done. And here's my eyes. To look on forbidden things. And here's my feet. To walk in forbidden paths. Along the broad road.

[33:32] That leads to destruction. Take all these parts of my body. And use them for your purposes. Master. Master. No. No. You don't do that.

[33:43] You. You refuse to offer. The parts of your body. To sin. Sin is done in the body. And that's where Satan wants to establish his reign.

[33:56] That's where sin wants to rule. So don't let it reign in your mortal body. And don't offer the parts of your body. To be used by sin. For its wicked purposes.

[34:08] Peter's argument in his first letter. We've taken these physical members of our body. And served sin long enough.

[34:18] It's high time to start serving the Lord. With these body parts. Our whole existence until conversion. Was wrapped up with giving our. Parts of our body.

[34:30] To serve sin. And from here on out. God says. Offer yourselves to me. Your new master. As those who have been brought.

[34:41] From death to life. And offer the parts of your body. To me as instruments of righteousness. You see. Your body parts are either going to be used. To serve.

[34:52] Sin. And wickedness. Or they'll be used to serve. Christ. And righteousness. The body. And what is done in it. Is critically important.

[35:03] To biblical Christianity. Christianity. The Gnostics. The Greek thought of the day. Often dismissed the body. It didn't really matter. What you did in the body. That's.

[35:14] That's really. Neither here nor there. The important thing is your spirit. And so on. That's not biblical Christianity. What you do with your body. And in your body. Is terribly important.

[35:25] In God's. Order. Of things. That's not only emphasized here. In Romans 6. In. Our service to God. As our new master.

[35:36] But even in the last judgment. For we must all appear. Before the judgment seat of Christ. So that each of us may receive. What is due us. For what?

[35:47] The things done. While in the body. Whether they be good or evil. What you do in your body. With your body. Is. Of absolute importance. So don't.

[35:58] Give your body parts. Over to Satan. And sin. As his instruments. Of wickedness. But rather. Offer them.

[36:10] Up. To God. Who's being served. By your. Parts of the body. When's the last time.

[36:20] You've offered yourself. To God. To serve him. How often. Do you. Do that. Well you say. I didn't. I do that. At my baptism. Then I say. Okay. I'm done serving.

[36:31] Satan. And the world. And the flesh. And now. I'm. I'm living. A new life. I was. I was. I'm dead with Christ. I've risen. To this newness of life. And Lord. I'm going to serve you. Here.

[36:41] Here. Take my life. I hope you did it then. But. How often. Do you do that. Sort of thing. Of just. Offering yourself.

[36:53] Up to God. To serve him. As your new master. That's at the heart of holiness. That's what it means. To be devoted to God. It's to say. Say to him. Here God.

[37:03] Take my life. I wonder. If there's any reason. It shouldn't be done. Regularly. In our lives. Even morning. By morning. As our feet hit the floor. Here I am Lord.

[37:13] Take me today. Use me as you want me. I'm here. I'm here. To serve you. To do your righteous will. And notice. We're to do this. As those who have been brought.

[37:24] From death to life. That's a wonderful reality. You should be in hell. Now. And forever. But. But because of the death.

[37:34] And life of Jesus. Being yours. By faith. You have been brought. From death to life. And now you are to. Present yourself. To this. New master. Who died for you.

[37:46] And rose for you. To give you this new life. And it's only right. Isn't it? That. That we should come. And present ourselves. Take this life. That you redeemed. And use it for your glory.

[37:58] As you want. We do it as those. Who have been brought. From death to life. You see how. The death and resurrection. Of Jesus. Are to have a motivation.

[38:09] And impact. In. Offering ourselves up to him. To serve him. And it's not. Just to offer yourself. The whole package. Yes. He says that.

[38:20] But he goes further. Doesn't he? He says. And offer the parts of your body. As instruments of righteousness. Again. It's to be as specific.

[38:30] As you used to offer. The parts of your body. To sin. To serve impurity. And ever increasing wickedness. Now. Offer the parts of your body. To your new master.

[38:42] So when's the last time. You've considered. The specific parts of your body. And said to God. Take them. Take them. And use them.

[38:53] For your holy purposes. Today. Lord. Take my life. And let it be. The whole of it. Consecrated. Lord. To thee. For you alone. Take my hands.

[39:04] And let them move. At the impulse. Of thy love. Take my feet. And let them be swift. And beautiful. For thee. Carrying the good news. Of the gospel. Take my voice.

[39:15] And let me sing. Always only. For my king. Take my lips. And let them be filled. With messages. From thee. Take my intellect. And use every power.

[39:26] As you shall choose. Take my will. And make it thine. It shall be no longer mine. And take my heart. It is thine own. It shall be thy royal throne. Take myself.

[39:37] And I will be ever only. All for thee. What is Frances Havergale doing? She's obeying Romans 6.13. She's offering the parts of her body.

[39:51] As instruments of righteousness. To serve God. Her new master. And I'm asking you. Do you do that sort of thing? When have you last done?

[40:03] And if you don't. And haven't for a long time. Do it today. Do it tomorrow again. Get into a habit. Of taking your body.

[40:14] And offering it up to God. Or in the midst of the battle. When the temptation comes for your eyes. To gaze on some forbidden food. Right then.

[40:25] To deny the use. And say no, no. These eyes are not for you sin. These eyes are given over. To my new master. And to present them right then. To the Lord Jesus.

[40:36] And to turn away. And to reject. The use of that body part. For sin. And we're to do this. Remembering our new identity.

[40:46] As a freed slave. Remembering what it cost. The new master. To set you free from sin. It was by his death.

[41:01] And his resurrection. That we've been set free. So what does Paul say in Romans 12. In verse 1. I urge you therefore. Brothers. In view of God's mercy.

[41:12] To offer your bodies. As a living sacrifice. Holy. And pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. There it is again. To offer.

[41:23] To present. To God. What? Your body. Why? Because of all the mercies. That he's shown you. Saving you. Romans 1.

[41:34] Through chapter 11. Such grace. And the response is. In view of those mercies. Lord. Take my body.

[41:45] And let it be used for you today. This week. Your old slave master. Is going to be back. Wanting to reassert.

[41:57] His. Mastery. Over you. To bring you back. In. To bondage. And to use your. Body. In service. To him.

[42:09] He'll be after your mind. Your mouth. Your eyes. And your ears. Friends. So remember. Your new identity. As a freed slave.

[42:21] Who now belongs. To a new master. And then reckon it. To be true. Count on it. Consider it. To be. Fact. It is a fact. And you reckon it.

[42:32] To be so. And then. Reject its temptations. To sin. And refuse. To give. Your parts of the body. Your parts. Of your body. To serve sin. Instead.

[42:42] Offer them. To the glory. Of God. I'm not my own. You've paid a. High price. To purchase me. Therefore. Glorify God.

[42:53] In your body. Which is his. Well the rest of. Chapter six. Just gives. Further motives. For serving God. Instead of sin. And. The whole layout.

[43:04] Is kind of like. Compare the fruits. Of. Of serving. These two masters. Every one of us. Need to make that comparison. There's just the two masters.

[43:16] There's. Sin and Satan. The flesh. It's over here. And then there's. God. Righteousness. Christ. The Holy Spirit. Just the two sides. Well.

[43:28] Paul is a realist. And he says. Well. Consider. What is the result. Of serving. These two different masters. Compare these. The fruit. Of serving.

[43:40] These. Two masters. What. What. What came of serving. The old master. And. And what comes. From serving. The new master. And he ends with this question.

[43:50] Then for us to consider. And again. He calls us to think. You see. We're. We need to think. To. To compare these two. When you were slaves to sin.

[44:01] When sin was your master. He asks in verse 21. What benefit. Did you reap. At that time. From things you are now ashamed of. In other words. He's saying. What good did it ever do you.

[44:11] That old master. That you served. What did you reap. Things that you're now ashamed of. Things that result.

[44:23] In death. So sin came promising the world. As it always does. If you would just serve him. And he gives you a few short lived pleasures. And then he leaves you with worse than nothing.

[44:33] He leaves you with regret. With shame. With guilt. And after. A life. Of shame. And guilt. And guilt. Eternal. Death. The second death.

[44:45] Which is the torments. Of the lake. Of fire. Now. The wages of sin. Is death. That's what sin. Pays you. He says it three times. In this chapter. That serving sin.

[44:58] Gets you death. That's the wage. You get for serving. That's all sin's ever paid. Whatever it's promised.

[45:10] Be sure of this. James says. That when sin is finished. It brings forth death. So don't go back. That's all the old master pays.

[45:22] What a wage. That's all sin ever paid me. Don't go back to serving sin. Remember it's wages. My lost friend.

[45:32] Let me just say. You are way underpaid. Why are you serving this master? Have you considered the wages lately?

[45:45] I dare say. If Friday came. And you went to your boss. And expected an envelope. If you would ever apply that same logic. That you do. You would get a new job.

[45:57] Wouldn't you? If you saw the wages. That your boss paid. And it was terrible. You'd say. I'm after a new job. And yet. Some of you. Are taking the envelope.

[46:08] Of the wages of sin. And inside that envelope. It's death. It's death. It's damnation. And you're still.

[46:19] Working for him. You're still serving him. You're still saying. Here Lord. Here Lord sin. Here master sin. Take my mind. My eyes. My money. My hands. My feet.

[46:29] Take my will. And I'll serve you. Why? You're being cheated. You're being robbed royal. You're selling your soul.

[46:40] To the devil. For a pittance. When eternal life. Could be yours. Now that's the way it was. Believers. Remember what it was like. To serve. Your old master.

[46:50] That. This is a call. To remember. Remember. You're a slave set free. But you were a slave. And that's where you were headed. And that was the wage. You would have received.

[47:00] For all eternity. But now compare. The benefits of serving God. You will not appreciate. The benefits of serving God. Unless you. Think for a while.

[47:12] Christian. Think for a while. Lost person. About. The wages of sin. Well. Let's come to this new master. God. Verse 22. But now. Now that you've been set free.

[47:24] From sin. Believer. And have become slaves to God. The benefit you reap. Leads to holiness. And the result. Is eternal life. What a different benefit.

[47:36] Serving sin. Led to shame. Guilt. Remorse. Regret. And then hell. But serving God. Leads to holiness. That's nothing to be ashamed of.

[47:48] That's what you were made for. To be like God. Christlike. Holiness. That's what you get.

[47:58] From serving God. Holiness. And the end. Eternal life. Instead of. Eternal damnation. Of the second death.

[48:15] What a comparison. From the two masters. And what you receive from them. Master sin pays you what you deserve. Death.

[48:27] The wages of sin is death. But you notice verse 23 doesn't end by saying. But the wages. Of God. Are eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[48:41] No it says the gift of God. The gift of God. Sin pays you what you deserve. The wage of death. And God gives you.

[48:54] What you don't deserve. Everlasting life. With him. And it's all in Christ Jesus our Lord. Isn't it? This is.

[49:05] This is. Because you are attached to Christ. Because you put your faith in Jesus. You were married to him. And with him. What did you get? You got a new master. And serving him. What do you get?

[49:15] You get the free gift of eternal life. But it's found nowhere else. But in Christ. This is the testimony. That God has given us eternal life.

[49:26] But this life is in his son. So that he who has the son. Has life. But he who has not the son. Has not eternal life. You rather.

[49:38] Get what you deserve. And sin will pay you. Death. So Christ has. Has taken the wage of sin.

[49:48] For us. Hasn't he believers? He's let it be exacted from him. And because he died. And we died with him. We share. In the benefits of his death.

[49:59] And resurrection. Which is to be set free from sin. It no longer is my master. So let's live like it. Who would not serve such a master? I want to close with a page out of Pilgrim's Progress.

[50:11] Christian's making his way. To the celestial city of heaven. And he meets up with Apollyon. This hideous monster. And he straddles the path. And stares at Christian.

[50:22] With a most horrible look. And asks stranger. Where did you come from? And where are you going? And Christian said. I am from the city of destruction. And I am going to the city of Zion.

[50:34] Apollyon said. Then you're one of my subjects. For all that country of destruction belongs to me. I'm the prince and God of it. Why have you run away from your king?

[50:46] Were it not that I might get more service out of you. I would strike you down right here. Oh I was indeed born in your dominion. But your service was too hard.

[50:57] And your wages were such that no one could live on them. For the wages of sin is death. Therefore when I had opportunity. I did like many others. I left that miserable country for something better.

[51:10] You must know that no prince gives up his subjects willingly. And neither will I give you up. But since you complain of the service and wages. We can fix that. You go back.

[51:21] And whatever the country can afford in the way of pay. I promise you shall have it. Oh but I have now given myself to another. To the king of all princes. And I cannot go back.

[51:33] Oh you've gone from bad to worse then. But it's ordinary for those that have professed themselves to be his servants. That after a while they give him the slip. And return again to me.

[51:45] You do the same. And all will be well. Oh I have given him my faith. And I've sworn my allegiance to him. If I go back now I should be hanged as a traitor.

[51:57] Well you did the same to me. And yet I am willing to forget it. If you will go back. And be loyal to your former master. A Christian responds.

[52:08] What I promised you was in my youth. And besides. The prince I serve is able to forgive me. And pardon all that I did while in your service. And besides to tell you the truth.

[52:21] Oh destroy Napoleon. I like his service. I like his wages. I like his servants. His government. His company. And the country.

[52:32] His country. Much better than yours. Therefore save your breath. Trying to persuade me further. I am his servant. And I will follow him.

[52:43] Who would not serve him? Here is a man who knows his identity. Once a slave of sin. Sin and Satan. Now set free.

[52:54] Now a slave of God. And he counts that service a joyful privilege. Who knows the benefits are far better under his new master. And so he is armed with powerful motives.

[53:06] To reject the offers. To refuse the service of his old master. If this isn't your master. Come to him. He is willing to forgive all of your service.

[53:18] To the other master of sin. He is willing to forgive it all. If you will but trust in his son.