Dead to Sin
A Sermon on Romans 6:1-2
Scripture
1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Sermon Description
Should the Christian continue in sin so that grace may abound? God forbid. Aided by their natural minds, some in Paul’s day made it a habit of using grace as a cloak for sin. Paul argues against this mindset as he refutes those who charged him with preaching antinomianism—the belief that the gospel absolves any obligation to keep moral law. In this sermon on Romans 6:1–2 titled “Dead to Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones contends that anyone who lives according to that belief has not yet begun to understand basic biblical doctrines. Instead of rightly living by grace, there were some in Rome who lived in depression as they sulked in their continual failures. Dr. Lloyd-Jones applies the timeless text in Romans to the many Christians who suffer from a sin-laden depression today. In this Palm Sunday sermon, he shows that the beautiful remedy for such a miserable depression is a true understanding of the cross of Christ and the union of the believer with Christ. Everyone is either in Christ or they are not. They have either been crucified with Christ and died to sin, or stand condemned in their sin.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul knew that many Christians were raising the question "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" in response to his teaching on grace and imputed righteousness.
- Paul rejects this notion with horror. Grace does not incite one to sin but rather makes sin impossible and delivers us from it.
- Many Christians experience spiritual depression and a lack of victory over sin due to a failure to understand their relationship to Christ's death.
- To understand Christ's death, we must understand the biblical doctrine of the covenant between God the Father and God the Son.
- According to this covenant, God gave certain people to the Son to be redeemed. These people are united to Christ.
- Everything that happens to Christ also happens to those united to Him. When Adam sinned, we sinned in him. When Christ died, we died in Him.
- We were crucified with Christ, died with Him, were buried with Him, and have risen with Him.
- We are dead to sin, dead to the law, and dead to the world. Our old self was crucified with Christ.
- We are never called to crucify ourselves. That has already been done in Christ. We only need to realize this fact.
- The old sinful man we were in Adam is dead. We are new creatures in Christ.
- The law that condemned us is no longer over us. There is no condemnation for those in Christ.
- We no longer belong to the realm of sin or the dominion of Satan. We have been translated into Christ's kingdom.
- When Christians sin, it is not the new self that sins but rather the sin that remains in our flesh. The new self has died to sin.
- We must stand on the truth of our co-crucifixion with Christ and consider ourselves dead to sin but alive to God. This is how we battle the sin in our flesh.
Sermon Q&A
How Does Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Explain Christians' Death to Sin?
What does Lloyd-Jones say is the main cause of spiritual depression in Christians?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the main cause of spiritual depression related to our struggle with sin is "a failure to realize our true and full relationship to the death of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ." Many Christians feel depressed because they have a "sense of failure in living the christian life" and feel they are "being conquered by sin rather than conquering sin."
How does Lloyd-Jones explain the biblical concept of the covenant in relation to the cross?
Lloyd-Jones teaches that we cannot understand the cross without understanding the covenant. He explains that "a great covenant was made between God the Father and God the Son before the very foundation of the world." In this covenant, God gave certain people to the Son who were to be redeemed. Christ came into the world to rescue these people who are in union with Him. This is comparable to how all humanity was in union with Adam and fell with him.
What does it mean that believers have "died to sin" according to Lloyd-Jones?
Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that believers have "died to sin" as a completed fact, not an ongoing process. He notes the revised translation is better: "how shall we that have died to sin live any longer therein?" This death to sin happened when Christ died on the cross - our "old man was crucified with him." It's not something we need to accomplish; it has already happened. The Christian's old Adamic nature died with Christ upon the cross.
How does Lloyd-Jones refute the charge of antinomianism against Paul's teaching?
Lloyd-Jones explains that Paul anticipated the criticism that his gospel of grace would encourage sin (antinomianism). He points out that Paul rejects this idea "with horror" saying "God forbid." The apostle argues that true understanding of his doctrine shows that "grace does not incite one to sin" but rather "makes it impossible for one to sin" and its ultimate purpose is "to deliver us entirely from sin and all its consequences."
What does Lloyd-Jones mean when he says "I am as much in Christ now as I shall ever be"?
Lloyd-Jones makes this bold statement to emphasize that being in Christ is a fact, not a process of becoming. He explains: "I am as much in Christ now as I shall be when I'm in the glory." While our knowledge and realization of this fact can grow, the fact itself cannot develop - "you are either in Christ forever or you're not in Christ." He points out that confusion between the fact and our consciousness of it causes much of our spiritual depression.
According to Lloyd-Jones, why should Christians never try to crucify themselves?
Lloyd-Jones insists that Scripture "never calls upon me to crucify myself" or "to crucify the old man that is in me." He states this approach is "totally and completely unscriptural" because: 1) It's something we cannot do, and 2) It's unnecessary because "it's already happened." When Christ died, believers died with Him. The "old adamic man" is already dead and "no longer in existence."
How does Lloyd-Jones interpret Romans 7:17-20 in relation to a Christian's struggle with sin?
Lloyd-Jones interprets Paul's statement "it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" to mean that while the believer is "dead to sin," there remains what Paul calls "a body of sin" in the flesh. This is "a kind of relic or remnant of sin left in me" - not in the true "I" but in the flesh. The Christian's true self is dead to sin, but this "body of sin" remains and must be combated from this position of understanding our death with Christ.
What practical advice does Lloyd-Jones give for overcoming sin based on this doctrine?
Lloyd-Jones advises Christians to "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God." This doesn't mean persuading yourself of something untrue, but standing on the doctrinal fact that you are dead to sin. He advises believers to "stand upon your doctrine" and tell yourself, the devil, and every temptation these truths. Because of our death to sin, we should reject the influence of the "body of sin" that remains, saying: "I am not going to be foolish enough to allow a thing like that to control me."
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.