Text: Romans 6:1–11
Theme: The Reality of Christ
Other Lessons: Genesis 1:1–5; Psalm 29; Mark 1:4–11
(A) In the Name of the Father…Amen.
(B) Romans 6:1-11 serves as our sermon text for this morning, which reads
as follows:
Romans 6:1–11 (NASB95)
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may
increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus have been baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so
that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so
we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death,
certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our
body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves
to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with
Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die
again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life
that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in
Christ Jesus.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
(C) Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
(D) Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
Psalm 29:1–11 (NASB95)
1 Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and
strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy
array.
3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The
LORD is over many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces
the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the
wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests
bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
10 The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.
11 The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His
people with peace. Amen.
Introduction
(A) The Amazing Race. Survivor. Cops. The Deadliest Catch. Nightwatch.
(1) What do each of those things have in common?
(A) They are all “reality shows”.
(1) For example, if you want to get a “feel” for life as one fishing for
crabs off the coast of Alaska, watch the Deadliest Catch.
(B) What about our lives as Christians?
(1) What would a reality show profiling our lives as Christians look like?
(I) The reality is, every one of us is dying . . . and dying to fill holes
in our lives.
(A) So, let’s be real.
(1) Our lives are temporary.
(2) No one knows when they will die.
(3) Everyone is looking for something to fill a void they have in their
lives.
(4) Each one of us has a void that we don’t like to talk about.
(5) This void has various forms:
(a) Loneliness
(b) Insecurity
(c) Fear of the unknown
(d) Unspeakable loss
(e) Need
(6) In this void:
(a) Children are afraid of the future
(b) Widows and widowers who grieve the loss of their spouse.
(c) Women who feel unappreciated
(d) Men who think they have failed their children.
(e) One dealing with guilt, shame, and regret.
(f) Those who have “everything” and that still is not enough.
(g) One has no sense of purpose, so just let them die!
(B) Everyone has holes they want to fill and need someone to do it for them.
(C) Everyone is dying to live!
(D) Is all this real enough for you?
(II) We need something real to fill those holes within us.
(A) Trying to fill that void with things that are fleeting, always changing:
(1) Entertainment
(2) Sports
(3) Technology
(4) Achievements in your life
(5) Money
(6) False spirituality
(7) “Sex, drugs, and rock and roll”
(8) Looking to be noticed by others
(9) And the list goes on…
(B) Your purpose of filling the void?:
(1) Ease the pain of loneliness
(2) To answer our questions
(3) To make the pain go away!
(4) But all this comes back!
(C) We need something real.
(1) Not found in our elected officials.
(2) Not found on your favorite news channel.
(3) Not found in social media
(4) Not found in self-help books.
(D) The real things that fill the void:
(1) Flesh and blood found in bread and wine.
(2) Wood, water, and dirt.
(3) Life and death.
(4) The truth
(a) Not lies
(b) Not half truths
(c) Not one’s interpretation
(E) To hear the real truth:
(1) Listen to the Word of God!
(III) Holy Baptism connects us to Jesus.
(A) Listen again to what Paul says in our text for this morning:
Romans 6:3–4 (NASB95)
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus have been baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so
that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so
we too might walk in newness of life.
(B) Paul reminds us of things we can hold onto:
(1) Washed with real water
(2) Spoken over with real words.
(3) This is a real event with real witnesses.
(4) It happened to you!
(C) What happened when you were baptized?:
(1) The old died.
(2) The new was born.
(3) Real event with real witnesses.
(D) Your future has completely changed:
(1) Connected to Jesus’ death and resurrection.
(a) Jesus died, you died.
(b) Jesus rose from the dead, you rose from the dead.
(E) Everything about you is now different.
(1) Identity
(2) Value
(3) Hope
(F) It Is Hard to Live in This Fallen World, but the Reality of Our Baptism
Gives Us Forgiveness, Identity, Salvation, and Hope we so desperately need.
(IV) God gives us very real things to fill our senses and strengthen our
faith.
(A) Paul gets real practical:
Romans 6:8–11 (NASB95)
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with
Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die
again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life
that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in
Christ Jesus.
(B) Paul here connects two historical events:
(1) Christ’s death and resurrection
(2) Your baptism
(a) Connected to the Cross
(b) Jesus’ real flesh and blood nailed to:
1) A real cross
2) Real nails and wood was used.
(c) Jesus died a real death
1) To pay for your real sins
2) To save you from the real place called hell.
(d) Jesus rose again:
1) To give you eternal life in heaven
(C) Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God knew that things were going to
be too tough for us to go around thinking abstract thoughts about
salvation.
(1) That is why God connects heavenly things to earthly things.
(a) To give you something to hold on to
(b) The worship service:
1) You see
2) You hear
3) You are not alone
4) You’re in a hospital filled with God’s broken but beloved children.
5) Confessing your sins before God and man.
6) Confessing your faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
(c) Where else will you find an altar, a baptismal font, and a pulpit?
1) God bringing His means of salvation to you!
(D) When you confess your sins and I announce God’s forgiveness of sins to
you, it is not a different forgiveness than what you receive in your
bedroom, but God wants you to hear it.
(1) He wants you to hear that you are really forgiven.
(2) In the words of the sermon and the liturgy that we speak together, you
hear that you are a sinner, but that you are also saved by God’s grace
alone.
(E) Long ago, church used to have a smell attached to it as well.
(1) It was not the Roman Catholics or the Eastern Orthodox who originated
the use of incense in worship;
(2) it was God in the Old Testament.
(3) The burning of incense in the tabernacle was commanded by God
(4) and the psalms were prayers rising like incense from the temple to
heaven.
(5) That meant church used to smell different from the world (and it still
does in some places), and that helped to create a different state of mind.
(F) God brings real things together to bring about real change for us.
(1) His real body and blood connected with real bread and wine.
(a) His Real Presence
(b) His forgiveness that is not only heard, but tasted.
(2) What then is this “real” change I speak of?
(a) The Lord gives us real:
1) Life
2) Strength
3) Renewal
(b) Clinging to faith in Christ
(G) The worship service is all about:
(1) Seeing
(2) Hearing
(3) Smelling
(4) Eating
(5) Drinking
(6) These are all real things from a real Savior
(a) Jesus fills the void we can’t
(b) Christ alone is the One who makes us complete.
(V) Jesus Christ is the very practical solution to the way sin has made our
lives unreal.
(A) The Christian life is filled with paradoxes.
(1) Loneliness and fear
(2) Your sin, my sin
(3) Assurance and hope
(B) As you live your lives, remember:
(1) Your Baptism
(a) Real water was applied
(b) God’s real Word spoken to you
(c) You were once dead in your sins, now made alive.
(d) Guilt washed away, regret and shame pardoned.
(2) At the Cross, you find:
(a) Jesus’ mercy
(3) In your Baptism, there you find:
(a) Your identity
(b) Your connection and history to people both past and present
(c) The reality of Christ
Conclusion
(A) Pastors sometimes get attacked for preaching “impractical” sermons.
(1) We’re accused of preaching about things that are too much in the
abstract, or things that’ll happen after we die.
(2) We’re sometimes told that we spend too much time preaching about
doctrine and not enough time preaching about what people “really need.”
(3) We’re told that if we’re to remain relevant to people, we must address
things that people are going through on a day-to-day basis.
(4) We don’t need “old stuff”; we need “new stuff.”
(5) We need to preach something more “real.”
(B) With all that was said during this sermon, who says preaching doctrine
isn’t practical?
(1) In the name of the Father…Amen.
(C) Let us pray:
Thanks and praise be unto You, our God and Lord, for sending us the Gospel
of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in which You teach us the way of salvation and
comfort us with the hope of everlasting life.
Make Your Word in us a power of salvation, and the anchor of our souls in
life and death.
Cause also the voice of Your Word to be sounded abroad, that the nations
that do not know You may come to Your light. Amen.
(D) The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
(E) In the Name of the Father…Amen.