Romans Chapter 6:10

Alright, so we're outside the Mamertine prison here, and I want to talk to you a little bit more about Paul and about Rome. We're looking at the book of Romans here in Rome. Let me remind you that Paul wrote the book of Romans before he'd actually been to the city. We see in the book of Acts, when Paul comes in, they all are celebrating and recognizing and think, well, if he's not been to the city, how were they aware of Paul?

Well, they were aware of him through this epistle or this letter that we're reading now in the book of Romans. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David Magee. David is the senior pastor of the bridge near Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Let's join Pastor David in the service as he continues in the book of Romans, chapter 6. Coming to you actually from Rome today, and we're going to be talking about the book of Romans, a life-changing experience.

It's been changing lives for 2,000 years, and it could change yours. So grab your Bible, sit down, and let's go through the book of Romans together. Turn with me to the book of Romans.

We're going to be in chapter 6. And again, coming to you from Rome. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to talk a little bit about the Scriptures and also talk a little bit about the historical setting because in the background what you see is the Arch of Constantine. Now, the Arch of Constantine is pretty famous because of Constantine who was a Caesar. And Caesar, he was a Caesar who was at this battle called the Battle of Melvius Bridge. And he was a good politician. Now, there's some debate on whether he was actually a Christian.

I'll talk about that in just a second. But at this Battle of Melvius Bridge, he was fighting against somebody else and a lot of pagan idolatry. There were some people who persecuted Christians, some who did not. And Constantine, what he said is he saw a sign in the heavens and in this sign, conquer. So he was able to enlist the aid of all the Christians. And so they had this battle and Constantine won and he became emperor. So this arch behind us kind of records that victory and some other victories.

It's kind of interesting. There's a mix of some idolatry with some Christian symbolism on the arch. But the thing is, and people say, well, was he a Christian? Well, actually we don't know.

We're not sure. Some people say he was never baptized. But there was kind of the belief of the day that when you were baptized, you were forgiven of your sins, washed clean. So he waited until his deathbed to be baptized because, you know, he didn't want any sins between his point of death and the baptism.

So that's part of it. But he was a very good politician. Now, under this, under his rule, you know, Christianity now enjoyed this endorsement, if you will, of the Roman government.

And so everything kind of changed. Now, Constantine did not make it the official religion of the state. That was done years later by this man Theodosius. When he made it the official religion of the state, you could actually be martyr for not being a Christian. In other words, everybody had to go to church.

Now, although some of you might want to try this new system, I don't think it would work. And here's the thing that's interesting about the Roman culture. 300 AD, you could be killed for being a Christian. 400 AD, you could be killed for not being a Christian. And so the churches all of a sudden were populated with people who didn't care anything about the Bible, were not saved, were not born again. And this indoctrination of all these pagan elements became mixed into the Christian church at that point.

And some of it, to be honest, continues until this day. So this arch of Constantine reminds us of the rule of Constantine. And, you know, it was amazing because when Constantine did this, it's reported that up to 50% of the Roman Empire was actually believers.

Now at the height of the Roman Empire, the man was leading 50 million people all around the Mediterranean. They actually named the Mediterranean. They called it Maranoistrum, meaning our sea. This is our sea.

We own everything around it. And so they actually had so much territory and so many people. And this was the way that Christianity influenced.

God knew in the timing because all these things happened. And of course, you know, in the building of Rome, the 500 BC, they built a septic system in here, coicus maximus, and it still works today. 300, they built, started building the aqueducts, built the roads. This Via Appia that alongside me now was used to export Christianity from this center all around the world.

And to be honest, everything in Christendom forever changes from that point forward. We're on part of the Via Appia or the Appian Way. And I understand that built about 300 BC, we take roads for granted, but these roads were built a long time ago. And until the Romans built roads, there wasn't anything like roads. There were ruts, there were muddy trails paths, but they laid this out with excellence. Again, remember in the Romans were great engineers. So there's layers upon layers and these roads still exist. This is 2,300 years later.

I'm going to go out on a limb in here and say, yeah, if Jesus doesn't come back, I don't think our highway system in the United States is going to be there 2,300 years from now, still in this kind of condition. And this again was significant because it built the way that not only travel could happen, but the gospel could be spread. So we've talked a little bit about the Colosseum and the fact that it was built by Vespasian, started about 72 AD, finished in 80.

He died a natural death in 79. In 80 Titus came in. Titus actually was the one who completed it, but Vespasian built this over Nero's golden palace. And so we're going to talk a little bit about Nero, but in order to do that, let's go through the Mamrentine prison right now. We're right at the entrance of the Mamrentine prison. And speaking of entrances, this is the grand and glorious entrance to the dungeon below. And this is probably a place that Paul and Peter were incarcerated. They didn't have a big gate you would go in. They'd simply drop you down in there and then drop food and whatnot if days were good to you. And once you were in that hole, you were in that hole. So this was a tough way to be living. But Peter and Paul in their last days were probably in this very place.

Let's go down and take a closer look. So we're inside the Mamrentine prison. It's not a historical fact that Peter and Paul were incarcerated here, but we're fairly sure.

Historians are fairly sure. There's not very many prisons here. If somebody had done something illegal, usually they were executed.

So this is one of the few places that it's shaped like a cistern, but it was used as a prison. And so we believe that both Peter and Paul would have been incarcerated here right before they were executed. Paul would not have been under house arrest here. If you remember in the book of Acts, he was imprisoned in Rome, but under house arrest, was able to come and go as he pleased.

So this would have not been this place at that time. But the second imprisonment, because Titus speaks about Paul going to Crete. So what we believe happened is Paul was imprisoned under house arrest here. He was released for a few years, but under the more intense persecution under Nero.

That's when he was brought in as a Roman citizen. He wouldn't have been strangled. He wouldn't have been crucified.

He would have been beheaded to Capitola. So if you look over here, this is Peter. This is a fountain that they say miraculously sprang up in here so that he could baptize prisoners. This is Paul. This is the way that people prayed a Jewish prayer blessing. You've probably seen me raise my hands like this. This is Paul with his hands raised, Peter beside him.

And this is where the spring, they say, came up. And also you see the upside down cross here. When Peter was executed, they were going to crucify him.

And he said he was not worthy to die the same death as Jesus Christ. So he was executed upside down is what history records. So we'll walk back outside and have some more time together. But also notice the hole. This would have been the entrance. Once they dropped you in the hole, you were kind of down here. It was not like our present day jails or prisons.

All right. So we're outside the Mamertine Prison here. And I want to talk to you a little bit more about Paul and about Rome. We're looking at the book of Romans here in Rome. I'm going to remind you that Paul wrote the book of Romans before he'd actually been to the city. We see in the book of Acts when Paul comes in, they all are celebrating and recognizing and think, well, if he's not been to the city, how were they aware of Paul? Well, they were aware of him through this epistle, this letter that we're reading now in the book of Romans. So Paul wrote this to the church at Rome and to the believers in Rome.

And again, Paul was in prison the first time under house arrest. And we see that in the book of Acts in Acts 28. We don't see him released, but we know that Paul was in Crete. He speaks about the ministry in Crete in the book of Titus. And Acts doesn't record him being in Crete. So we think that these things happened actually post the book of Acts that he was released. And then what happened was after his release, when the persecution intensified under Nero, after the fire in 64, that he was rounded up again. And this time he would not be free. You're listening to David Magee on Cross the Bridge.

He'll be back with so much more in just a moment. Let's face it, some of us just don't want to open our Bibles. Why? Because when we know what the Bible has to say, then we know how we should live. Yet letting God transform you is how you can honor Him and experience His blessing. That's why Pastor David Magee's devoted an entire three CD series to it called, Transformed, Living Out the Change Within, which we'd like to give you as a way of saying thanks for your donation of support to this Cross the Bridge broadcast. So call today. Our number is 877-458-5508. That's 877-458-5508.

Or visit us online at crossthebridge.com. Now let's return to David Magee as he continues his walk through the book of Romans. So we're looking in Romans chapter 6, and we kind of went through 7, 8, and 9.

Of course we're getting less verses covered kind of sitting in the historical context here. But let's read verse 10. It says, For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all. But the life that he lives, he lives to God. So these are the words of Paul. And they're of special significance here, because when he talks about the death that he died, notice the capital H, so we're speaking about Jesus.

But it says that, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Now speaking again about Jesus, but these words also were deeply meaningful to Paul. Paul who was incarcerated in, we believe, the place behind me, the Mamertine prison. So we think about our life, and you think about the life of this man Paul. Now Paul, who was this Jewish rabbi from Tarsus, and yet he got radically saved, met Jesus on that road to Damascus. And on that road, it says that Jesus told him he was going to have to suffer for his name's sake to get the word out. And Paul throughout his life was just the spiritual energizer bunny. Just kept going.

Just kept going. He suffered beatings, whippings. He was in jail. He was mobbed. He was in a shipwreck.

He was snake bit. All these things, and yet he kept going. Because Paul wasn't interested in avoiding pain. Now a lot of times we want to avoid pain at all costs, but Paul wasn't interested in really getting the pain out. Paul was interested in getting the word out. And he lived a life that was really sacrificed for the Lord, living for the Lord. And this town, this city of Rome, still bears the marks of the ministry of Paul and of Peter. But we're speaking of Paul specifically today.

The whole world bears the mark of what Paul did for the Lord. And it's amazing, because a lot of times we think, well, can I really make a difference? I mean, will it really change anything if I get on the sparkle team? Will it really change if I pray for the pastor for the missions or missionaries? You know, how can I, one person, make a difference? Can I really make a difference working in children's ministry and helping to serve?

Well, the answer is an emphatic yes you can. See, because what happened really with the crucifixion of Jesus and the birth of the church in Acts chapter 2, and it was timed again. We timed perfectly according to the prophetic fulfillment. Jesus died on Passover. Then the birth of the church happened on Pentecost. Now, Pentecost, interestingly enough, was the only of the seven Jewish feasts that included not only unleavened bread, but also leavened bread.

So we have the mix of the leaven and the unleaven, which of course is symbolic of those people who were unclean coming into the church and being cleansed and forgiven of their sins. So the birth of the church with Pentecost, and it's also significant that the feast of Pentecost was a harvest feast. That beginning of the feast of Pentecost was the beginning of the harvest that we're still now 2,000 years later still enjoying. But at some point, friend, the harvest comes to a close. And what we want to do is look back on our lives, which pass like vapors, like grass that withers, and know that we really live for the Lord, that not only He was our Savior, but He was really our Lord, and that we impacted this world, that the world will be different because we passed through. And we want it to be that way days or weeks or years from now.

We need to live that way now. We need to live to make a difference now. Understand, you can play a part. You can make a difference. But, you know, the real question is, will you? Will you play a part in this end-time harvest? Will you pray for this ministry?

Will you help support this ministry? But also, friend, do you know the Lord? I mean, because the first change that needs to happen is really the biggest, and that is that you accept Jesus as your Savior. Jesus died for our sins, that we could be saved, that we could be forgiven, that we could be set free from them, that we don't have to live the old life, but we can live the new life. That's what Paul's talking about in this epistle, this letter to these people here in Rome. That's what he was talking about, that you don't have to be enchained to the old life. It's not about seven promises.

It's not about 12 steps. It's about getting saved. It's about walking in the newness of life and the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's what Paul is speaking of in Romans 6. And Paul isn't just presenting some academic enlightenment here. This is the way he lived, and it's the way he died. This prison behind us is a reminder of that. The life lesson here is that if we live for God and not ourselves, we can change the world we live in. If we live for God and not ourselves, we can change the world we live in.

Paul lived his whole life sacrificing for the cause, living for the cause. It seems like the older you get when you travel, it's kind of a hassle, I guess. You don't have your hairdryer or your coffee maker. The bathroom is always different. Here in Europe, you've got to figure out how it works because it's completely different. These things seem such a hassle.

And at the end of this, getting back home, it's going to be a joyous thing of seeing friends and walking into the house and the bathroom and these things that are like I'm used to. Because traveling is hard, and this life is hard. And Jesus never said you weren't going to have any problems, that there wasn't going to be any difficulties. But difficulties aren't necessarily something to be avoided.

They're something to go through. Paul understood that. Again, the prison, stark reminder to that. Paul didn't avoid these things. He could have avoided them. If you remember, even before he went to Jerusalem, they prophesied and said, hey, you're going to have some problems in Jerusalem. And Paul said several times, hey, I've prayed about how to get to Rome. Well, God answered that prayer in a way probably a little bit different than Paul might have envisioned.

But he didn't shirk, he didn't shrug from that. He walked into it. And as the mob happened in Jerusalem, recording the book of Acts, and then he went to Caesarea, Maritima, and from there to the different islands and whatnot, to Sicily, and then to here where, again, he was released, but he was brought back. He was brought back for those final moments. And while in Acts, he talked about being under house arrest, there was kind of the understanding that there was going to be a release.

There was an imminent, if you will, upcoming expectation of release. We don't see that later on when he wrote to Timothy. His words are recorded in 2 Timothy, if you would. Turn with me there to 2 Timothy chapter 4. And this is the final farewell, if you will, of Paul.

And, you know, for a life, so much suffering, so much hardship, you would think that at this point he was going to talk about woe is me and, you know, you guys didn't treat me right and I can't believe God did me like this. But we see anything but that from… In chapter 4 of 2 Timothy, it says, I charge you, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead and his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers. I'm not sure even Paul himself could have envisioned how far this city would drift from sound doctrine. It's interesting because one of the things that we'll see in the book of Romans and we've already seen is Paul preaching against works and justification by our deeds. It's not about a completion of our deeds. It's about an omission of our need for Jesus. And yet this whole town, so much of the religious nature of this town is built on man-made works. Paul continues, verse 4, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.

We see that in our day as well. Verse 5, but you will be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. And verse 6, Paul writes, for I'm already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight. I finished the race. I have kept the faith. Those three I haves in verse 7 are so deep and so meaningful. I fought the good fight.

I finished the race. I've kept the faith. And let me simply ask you, do you know Jesus as your Savior?

I don't mean you think you know Him. I don't mean you visited a church a couple times. No, I mean have you personally said to Jesus, Jesus, please forgive me of my sins. I believe you died for me. I believe you were resurrected so that I could be forgiven of my sins. I confess that I've sinned. I ask you to forgive me of all of my sins and give me the power to live for you.

If you've not said that, then today can be your day. You can pray that prayer and everything can change. You've probably been thinking that it's tied to some completion of your deeds or something.

No, it's an admission of your need is what it is, of saying to Jesus, Jesus, I need forgiveness. I've said that prayer. Paul said that prayer. Peter said that prayer.

Many people in history have said that prayer, and quite frankly, history itself has been changed through these people. It starts there. And really, to a certain extent, it ends there because then your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You're assured of heaven. But you don't have to wait to get to heaven to enjoy God.

God speaks in this word that we are to follow him and live for him and even these things that happen in our life. Bad things happen to Paul. Bad things happen to Peter.

Bad things have happened to you. But you don't have to give in to those things. You can go through those things. You can go through those trials, through those tribulations, through those temptations. Friend, as we sit outside this prison that reminds us of Peter, reminds us of Paul, in this city, the sacrifices that were made, that we could hear these things, that we could live according to the newness of life. It's kind of a sobering thing, a thought-provoking thing. And I would encourage you, don't sit on the fence any longer.

Get off the fence. Because the pasture on the side of the Lord is awesome. Living for God, there's no adventure like that in the world. And if you're not living that life for God, friend, you're getting ripped off. Who knows? My life may end in a place like the Mamertine prison.

I don't know. But I know that one day, hopefully many days from now, I look forward to hearing Jesus say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Friend, if you want to hear that on that day, today, make a decision to follow the Lord, to say goodbye to the old life and live for God, live the new life. If you're listening and you're not sure if you know the Lord or not, today can be your day. But if you've also been on the fence with the Lord, again, don't wait another minute.

The enemy's already ripped you off from so many things and so many blessings from following God. Make the decision right now to really begin to live for Him and experience the fullness of the joy of the Lord. I'm asking you to come to Him right now.

Let's pray. Lord, thanks. Thanks for these awesome reminders of the sacrifices that others have made, living for you to spread your Word and to spread the good news. And, Lord, the good news is that you died for us, that we can be forgiven of our sins. Lord, even though we've messed up, we can come to you and be forgiven, and we have a clean slate. And at that point, Lord, we need your help to live for you. But you've offered your help and you've offered your power. Lord, you've done everything except make the choice for us. And, Lord, that choice is ours to make.

And I ask that the people listening right now would make that decision. First of all, to make the decision to ask you to forgive them of their sins and also to begin living for you, to stop living for themselves or materialism, but to live for you. Lord, through the power of your Holy Spirit, through the power of your Holy Word, Lord, I ask that you would draw them to yourself that, Lord, even as you told us in your Word that whosoever will, whoever would come to you, Lord, your hands are outstretched now, outstretched through the century over time to each person listening right now. I want you to ask Him to forgive you of your sins completely. Start living that new life. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short, simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking Him to help you to live for Him. Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me that I could be forgiven, and I believe you were raised from the dead that I could have a new life, and I've done wrong things. I have sinned, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things.

Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus' name, amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer, according to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again.

Jesus said He would not turn anybody away who comes to Him, and He came for those people who knew they needed forgiveness, those who were sick, not the righteous. So congratulations, friend. You just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If this was your first time praying that prayer with Pastor David, we would love to hear from you. You can call us toll-free at 877-458-5508 to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ. You can live a transformed life or not. It's your choice.

You can live for God and be changed by His Spirit, or you can live for yourself and struggle with your flesh and the situations you find yourself in. Pastor David McGee feels so strongly about helping you choose to live for God that he wants to send you his three CD series called Transformed, Living Out the Change Within, as thanks for your donation to support this Cross the Bridge broadcast. You can reach us at 877-458-5508.

That's 877-458-5508. Or go online to crossthebridge.com. While there, take a moment to sign up for David's free email devotional or browse our large library of teachings. Again, our website is crossthebridge.com. Join us next time on Cross the Bridge with David McGee as he continues his verse-by-verse study in the book of Romans. We'll see you then.