Romans 6:3-12 Know ye not,that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:(6) Knowing this,that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. (8) Now if we be dead with Christ,we believe that we shall also live with him:(9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;death hath no more dominion over him. (10) For in that he died,he died unto sin once:but in that he liveth,he liveth unto God. (11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Continuing our look at Romans chapter 6 we see the importance of death in the life of the Christian. It is only through death that the Christian can truly experience life. The death,burial,and resurrection of Jesus Christ ensures those that believe on Him to have eternal life. And daily the believer is exhorted to take up their cross and follow Jesus Christ. The only way that anyone can take up their cross is to forsake their own wants and desires for the sake of God and others. Remember the acronym JOY:Jesus,Others,You. When we have the proper order in our lives then we will be following Jesus Christ. When our focus is on ourselves first,then we will have difficulties in being obedient to God and loving and serving others. From an unknown source comes an article titled,“How To Be Miserable.”It says,“Think about yourself. Talk about yourself. Use “I”as often as possible. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others. Listen greedily to what people say about you. Expect to be appreciated. Be suspicious. Be jealous and envious. Be sensitive to slights. Never forgive a criticism. Trust nobody but yourself. Insist on consideration and respect. Demand agreement with your own views on everything. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them. Never forget a service you have rendered. Shirk your duties if you can. Do as little as possible for others.”
Death to our desires is not an easy thing,but it is the mark that every believer should be pressing toward. Remember again the lesson taught by Jesus Christ in Luke 9.
Luke 9:22-26 Saying,The Son of man must suffer many things,and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes,and be slain,and be raised the third day. (23) And he said to them all,If any man will come after me,let him deny himself,and take up his cross daily,and follow me. (24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:but whosoever will lose his life for my sake,the same shall save it. (25) For what is a man advantaged,if he gain the whole world,and lose himself,or be cast away? (26) For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words,of him shall the Son of man be ashamed,when he shall come in his own glory,and in his Father’s,and of the holy angels.
The order for Jesus Christ was:Rejected,slain,raised and that is the same order for the believer:Rejected,slain,raised. It is going to hurt when we are rejected by family,friends,neighbors,strangers,but remember,Jesus Christ was rejected first and if people are going to reject you,it is because they have rejected Jesus Christ. He said in John 15:
John 15:18-19 If the world hate you,ye know that it hated me before it hated you. (19) If ye were of the world,the world would love his own:but because ye are not of the world,but I have chosen you out of the world,therefore the world hateth you.
J. Vernon McGee wrote:Notice what will happen if you are a child of God. The world will hate you. I believe that a Christian’s popularity can be an indication of how he is representing Christ to the world. I do not believe a Christian can be popular in the world. No Christian has any right to be more popular than Jesus was. Beware of a compromising position in order to be popular. The world will not love a real child of God. The world will love you if you are of the world. John 15:18 If the world hate you,ye know that it hated me before it hated you. Charles Spurgeon said this about verse 18:Therefore there is nothing to wonder at when men slander and abuse us;it is their ordinary manner of saluting every vessel which bears our great Captain’s flag.
Yes,the cross of Jesus Christ is rough and it has splinters. The cross is not the smooth fancy things that we see in stores – no,the cross that Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself on was rough wood and when believers take up their cross it is rough on them too. There will be rejection and there will be pain,but,in the end,it will be worth it. And remember,the cross must be taken up daily by the believer. Francis Schaeffer wrote:In Luke 14:27 Jesus says: And whosoever doth not bear his cross,and come after me,cannot be my disciple. He is not saying that a man cannot be saved without this,but that you are not Christ disciple,in the sense of following Him,if this is not your way of life:rejected and slain daily! We are in an alien world built upon man’s rebellion against God,and in this life the Christian himself is not yet totally free from elements of this rebellion within himself.
Romans 6:4-7 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:(6) Knowing this,that our old man is crucified with him,that the body of sin might be destroyed,that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Please note that the first half of verses 4-6 deal with death for the life of the believer. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death Knowing this,that our old man is crucified with him. The only way for anyone to get to the second part of these verses is by going through the first part. There is no skipping ahead. Death must happen in order to have new life. Death must happen in order to be born again. And then after being born again,the believer must take up their cross and follow Jesus Christ. But the believer does not have to take up that cross alone! Jesus Christ will help every believer with their burdens! Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me,all ye that labor and are heavy laden,and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you,and learn of me;for I am meek and lowly in heart:and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy,and my burden is light.
But in order for Jesus Christ to help us with our burdens,believers must humble themselves before God and ask for His help. I cannot do it alone,I need His help every day. Remember the hymn: I Must Tell Jesus. I must tell Jesus all of my trials;I cannot bear these burdens alone;In my distress He kindly will help me;He ever loves and cares for His own. O how the world to evil allures me! O how my heart is tempted to sin! I must tell Jesus,and He will help me Over the world the victory to win. I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! I cannot bear my burdens alone;I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! Jesus can help me,Jesus alone.
Remember,Jesus Christ humbled Himself for my sin. Paul wrote:Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man,he humbled himself,and became obedient unto death,even the death of the cross. If the Creator of the world was willing to humble Himself in front of His creation,then I,as a believer,should be willing to daily humble myself in order to love and serve my Creator and to love and serve my neighbor. We would not worry so much about what other people thought of us if we knew how seldom they did. The apostle Peter wrote:1 Peter 5:5 …God resisteth the proud,and giveth grace to the humble. When we try to avoid being humbled,we are avoiding a means of grace. Andrew Murray said this about humility:Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is for me to have no trouble;never to be fretted or vexed or irritated or sore or disappointed. It is to expect nothing,to wonder at nothing that is done to me,to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace as in a deep sea of calmness when all around is trouble. It is the fruit of the Lord Jesus Christ’s redemptive work on Calvary’s cross,manifested in those of His own who are definitely subject to the Holy Spirit.
In order to truly follow Jesus Christ,believers must be willing to take their crosses daily and follow Jesus Christ. How can we know what God wants us to do? Through His Word and through prayer. Here is an illustration of how to find God’s will that has been useful to many:There was a certain harbor that was treacherous and dangerous. In order for the captain to guide his ship safely into this harbor,he had to be very attentive to the three lights that were used to guide him. When all three lights lined up as one,he knew it was safe to proceed. Then,and only then,would he be able to bring his ship safely to port. As we seek guidance,we,too,have to be attentive to three lights that are used to guide us into the harbor of His will:the Word of God,outward circumstances,and inner conviction. When all three of these lights line up,we can proceed with assurance that we will be led safely into the harbor. The apostle Paul wrote:Ephesians 6:5-8 Servants,be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh,with fear and trembling,in singleness of your heart,as unto Christ;(6) Not with eyeservice,as menpleasers;but as the servants of Christ,doing the will of God from the heart;(7) With good will doing service,as to the Lord,and not to men:(8) Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth,the same shall he receive of the Lord,whether he be bond or free. To do the will of God,believers must be willing to set themselves aside in order to please and glorify God first.
A lady had a little gold cross,on the upright part of which the words,“God’s will,”were engraved. On the crossbar were the words,“My will.”At the touch of a spring the cross disappeared and left only a straight beam bearing the words,“God’s will.”Thus,when our will is lost in God’s and we are indeed dead unto sin,it is no longer a cross to follow Christ. We shall no longer complain that we do not get our own selfish way,because we shall not have any. When our will is contrary to God’s will,then we have a cross to bear.
The believer must be rejected and slain before being risen. Listen to this illustration by JM Boice:During WWI,Donald Grey Barnhouse,led the son of a prominent American family to the Lord. He was in the service,but he showed the reality of his conversion by immediately professing Christ before the soldiers of his military company. The war ended. The day came when he was to return to his pre-war life in the wealthy suburb of a large American city. He talked to Barnhouse about life with his family and expressed fear that he might soon slip back into his old habits. He was afraid that love for parents,brothers,sisters,and friends might turn him from following after Jesus Christ. Barnhouse told him that if he was careful to make public confession of his faith in Christ,he would not have to worry. He would not have to give improper friends up. They would give him up.
As a result of this conversation the young man agreed to tell the first ten people of his old set whom he encountered that he had become a Christian. The soldier went home. Almost immediately–in fact,while he was still on the platform of the suburban station at the end of his return trip–he met a girl whom he had known socially. She was delighted to see him and asked how he was doing. He told her,“The greatest thing that could possibly happen to me has happened.”“You’re engaged to be married,”she exclaimed. “No,”he told her. “It’s even better than that. I’ve taken the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.”The girls’expression froze. She mumbled a few polite words and went on her way. A short time later the new Christian met a young man whom he had known before going into the service. “It’s good to see you back,”he declared. “We’ll have some great parties now that you’ve returned.”“I’ve just become a Christian,”the soldier said. He was thinking,That’s two! Again it was a case of a frozen smile and a quick change of conversation. After this the same circumstances were repeated with a young couple and with two more old friends. By this time word had got around,and soon some of his friends stopped seeing him. He had become peculiar,religious,and —who knows! —they may even have called him crazy! What had he done? Nothing but confess Christ. The same confession that had aligned him with Christ had separated him from those who did not want Jesus Christ as Savior and who,in fact,did not even want to hear about Him. I am not sure who wrote this:
My precious Lord,for thy dear name – I bear the cross,despise the shame;
Nor do I faint – while thou are near;I lean on thee;how can I fear?
No other name but thine is given – To cheer my soul in earth or heaven;
No other wealth will I require;No other friend can I desire.
Yes,into nothing would I fall – For thee alone,My All in All;
To feel thy love,my only joy;To tell thy love,my sole employ.
Luke 9:22-26 Saying,The Son of man must suffer many things,and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes,and be slain,and be raised the third day. (23) And he said to them all,If any man will come after me,let him deny himself,and take up his cross daily,and follow me. (24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:but whosoever will lose his life for my sake,the same shall save it.