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Ben Fetterolf
Follower of Jesus | Husband | Father | Pastor at Hampton Park Baptist Church of Greenville, SC
User since 2019
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The gospel is a comfort. But the gospel is also a call on our lives as believers. We need to hear both: the comfort AND call of the gospel.
Romans 8:1-9
How do you view God? Do you view him as angry at you? Or committed to you? This prophet helps us see how we *should* view God.
Obadiah 1-21
Livestream is a technological gift. But have we adequately thought through the potential downsides to this particular methodology?
Hebrews 10:24-25
There are two realms (or kingdoms!) in which to live. The realm where death reigns and the realm where righteousness reigns.
Romans 5:12-21
Most conversations about biblical manhood/womanhood go to a few NT texts. But what God says in the very beginning sets a solid foundation.
Genesis 2:18-25
In what or whom do you find your joy? Does it last through the varying circumstances of life? Where can true, enduring joy be found?
Romans 5:1-11
"No list of sins I have not done; no list of virtues I pursue; no list of those I am not like can earn myself a place with you..."
Romans 4:1-12
What do your words say about your heart?
James 3:3-12
Trials bring dark days. But those times are most important to remember who God is and who we are.
Hebrews 10:32-39
What do you feel you are lacking today? Are things spinning out of control? Anchor yourself in God's character and promises.
Psalms 23:1-6
How do you respond to disappointments and discouragements? Do you run from them? Avoid them? Paul teaches us how God intends to use them.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Grace, gift, faith. These are the words that dominate this foremost text on how to be made right with God.
Romans 3:21-31
What is the role of the law in the life of a believer? And what does the law teach us about God?
Romans 3:1-20
How highly do you view your words? Are you more likely to encourage others to listen to you or to listen to God?
James 1:19-21
Why do you call yourself a Christian? Your answer to that question is significant and identifies where you rest your hope.
Romans 2:17-29
Have you ever thought about how many sermons you've heard in your lifetime? Knowing is useless apart from faith and repentance.
Romans 2:1-16
We often think of God's wrath on the last day. But how is his wrath manifest in the present day?
Romans 1:18-32
Why do you like spending time with other Christians? Because you have mutual interests? Or because you long to see God at work among them?
Romans 1:8-17
Why did Paul write Romans? What is Romans about? These important questions are answered from the very start of the letter.
Romans 1:1-7
What role, if any, do works play in being made right with God?
Romans 4:1-5
Does God keep you in His love? Or do we keep ourselves in His love? Jude answers this very specifically.
Jude 17-25
Contending for the faith initially seems external. But the greatest battle for the faith may need to happen in my own heart.
Jude 8-16
You're probably familiar with loving others on Sunday. But what does love look like on Monday through Friday?
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
Has your evangelism been fueled by guilt? Why not fuel it with joy?
1 John 1:1-4
view all (25 total)
Dead and Alive
Romans 6:1-14
I have died. The significance of that statement can't be overstated. I must believe it and live in light of it in order to truly live.
#light
Published May 29th, 2020
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Main point summary
Arc
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notes
Main point summary
We must consider ourselves dead to sin because we have died with Christ in order to live with him.
Arc
editing
NT
Romans 6:1-14
esv
What shall we say then?
m Are we to continue in sin
that grace may abound?
actionpurpose
By no means!
How can n we who died to sin still live in it?
ideaexplanation
questionanswer
Do you not know that all of us o who have been baptized p into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were q buried therefore with him by baptism into death,
in order that, just as r Christ was raised from the dead by s the glory of the Father,
we too might walk in t newness of life.
comparison
For u if we have been united with him in v a death like his,
we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
conditional
ground
We know that w our old self 1 x was crucified with him
in order that y the body of sin might be brought to nothing,
so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
series
For z one who has died a has been set free 1 from sin.
Now b if we have died with Christ,
we believe that we will also live with him.
inference
We know that c Christ, being raised from the dead,
will never die again;
d death no longer has dominion over him.
For the death he died he died to sin, e once for all,
but the life he lives he lives to God.
alternative
negativepositive
So you also must consider yourselves f dead to sin
and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Let not g sin therefore reign in your mortal body,
to make you obey its passions.
h Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,
but i present yourselves to God
as those who have been brought from death to life,
and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
progression
For j sin k will have no dominion over you,
since you are not under law but under grace.
bilateral
discourse
Meditations
What is the kind of thinking that goes into what v.1 says: "Are we to continue in sin in order that grace may abound?" I don't think most people are saying: "I'm going to sin right now so that God's grace will be evident." Most people have enough of a conscience and understanding of truth that they would know this is not the way grace works. However, I do think many of us think in this way, which is very similar: "I'm going to sin right now because I'm assuming grace will abound." It seems to me that what Paul is getting at in v.1 is that we should not go on sinning assuming grace will abound. As if sin is not a big deal, since we can just claim Christ's blood on our account after we sin. That view of sin is ignoring what the rest of the passage goes onto argue about the nature of Christ's death and our union with him. This kind of thinking misunderstands the gospel. It makes the gospel merely a "get out of hell free" card. As opposed to the gospel being that which transforms me from a sin-loving hater of God into a righteousness-loving follower of God, making me someone new, a different person, a new creation. The command in v.11 is significant: "You must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." Much of the battle against sin happens in our minds. We think about what we could do; we talk ourselves out of it. We talk ourselves back into it. We consider the cost. We think about what might happen if we get caught. We feel like we can't say no. We think that sin is too powerful. We believe a lie that this will satisfy. We believe a lie that this is what we actually want. Paul's words are to think something else. Sin has no power over you (6:14). Sin does not reign in my heart. I am absolutely free to say no to it. In fact, that is what I must do. I must consider myself dead to sin and alive to God. Since I'm still living with sin as a reality (in this world all around me), I must continually and constantly remind myself that it had no dominion over me. This is a daily, moment-by-moment truth-reality that I need to speak to myself.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions expressed on this page are those of the author and may or may not accord with the positions of Biblearc or Bethlehem College & Seminary.