Alive unto God
A Sermon on Romans 6:5-8
Scripture
5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve …
Sermon Description
What fear should the Christian have? In what ways ought the believer be gripped with worry or anxiety? Unruly fears, anxieties, and worries lead the believer to spiritual depression. This need not be. In this sermon on Romans 6:5–8 titled “Alive Unto God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones declares the believer’s sure hope: they are raised with Christ. What one believes must be driven by facts. The fact is that Jesus was raised from the dead, and all who have died with Him have the confidence that they are raised with Him. In the face of temptations, these facts lead the Christian to an unshakable certainty: death has no power over them. As the believer is dead to sin and alive to Christ, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that their future is absolutely certain. They cannot continue in sin, and will never again submit to the slavery of sin and death. Worry, fear, and anxiety are wrapped up in death. Death is rooted in sin. If Jesus has dealt with sin, He’s dealt with death. If death is no more, everything changes. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones leads to the truth that calms all fear: Christ has been raised from the dead, and the Christian life is hid in Christ with God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a historical fact, not an idea or metaphor.
- The Christian faith is based on historical facts, not ideas. We must always start with the facts of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection.
- The resurrection has profound implications for believers because of our union with Christ. His resurrection means our resurrection.
- We have been "planted in the likeness of his resurrection" (v. 5). This means we have new life in Christ. Our old self has died and we have been raised to new life.
- We are "alive from the dead" (v. 13). Though we were once dead in sin, we have been made alive in Christ. We have passed from death to life.
- "If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his" (v. 5). Christ's resurrection guarantees our own resurrection.
- "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him" (v. 8). Christ is our life. We share in his resurrected life.
- We must "count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (v. 11). We must reckon ourselves to be dead to sin's power but alive to God's power.
- "Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace" (v. 14). Sin has lost its dominion over us because of God's grace.
- Nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ (Rom. 8:38-39). Our salvation and future glorification is assured because of our union with Christ.
Sermon Q&A
Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Spiritual Depression and the Resurrection
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the chief cause of spiritual depression among Christians?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, "perhaps the chief cause is a failure to understand the message of the scriptures." This failure might be due to not reading the scriptures diligently or systematically enough, or reading them without taking sufficient trouble to understand them. He compares modern Christians to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to whom Jesus said, "O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the scriptures have to say."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the relationship between historical facts and Christian doctrine?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that Christianity begins with historical facts before moving to doctrine. He states: "That is the thing that marks off the Christian faith from every other faith and teaching that it starts with historical facts and then, and then only goes on to its teaching, to its doctrines, to its deductions." He insists that Christianity doesn't start by offering an experience but by telling us about the historical person of Jesus Christ - His birth, life, death, and resurrection as literal historical events.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by our "union with Christ" in relation to the resurrection?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that believers are united with Christ in such a way that what happened to Him has happened to us. Just as we died with Christ (as discussed in his previous sermon), we have also risen with Him. He states: "If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." This isn't a future event but a present reality - believers have already participated in Christ's resurrection spiritually and are now "new creations" with a new life.
According to the sermon, what does it mean to be "alive unto God"?
To be "alive unto God" means more than just being aware of God or interested in spiritual things. Dr. Lloyd-Jones uses the illustration of an electric wire: just as a wire is "dead" until connected to a power source, we were spiritually dead until connected to God through Christ. Now we are "under the power of God" in the same way sin once controlled us. He explains: "The power of God is working in you...You're alive electrically, if you like. Spiritually. That's the meaning of the phrase alive unto God."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean when he states "sin shall not have dominion over you"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes this is a categorical statement, not just an exhortation. He explains: "He doesn't say, sin must not have dominion. He shall not." This means that for true believers united with Christ, it is absolutely certain that sin cannot ultimately control them. This certainty comes from their union with Christ and the power of God working in them. Lloyd-Jones connects this to the perseverance of the saints: "If you are in Christ, my friend, I say there is no power in hell, nor anywhere else in the whole cosmos that can prevent you as standing perfect and entire before God."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the continuing presence of sin in the Christian's life?
While the believer as a person is dead to sin and alive to God, sin still remains in what Paul calls "the mortal body" or "the members." Lloyd-Jones clarifies: "I am outside the realm of sin, but sin is still here in my members, in my mortal body." He quotes the apostle Paul's instruction not "let not sin reign in you" but rather "let not sin reign in your mortal body." The believer as a new creation in Christ is separate from sin, but must still battle against sin's presence in the physical body.
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasize the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes the literal, bodily resurrection because the entire Christian doctrine depends on it. He states: "If all that is not true, well, then everything the apostle argues in this 6th chapter is wrong and is a waste of time." He specifically counters modern theological movements that deny the literal resurrection while trying to preserve some "principle of resurrection." For Lloyd-Jones, the resurrection isn't merely a spiritual idea or principle but a historical fact that Jesus "literally arose in the body out of that grave."
Spiritual Depression
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.