Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. If you've been raised in the dead as never to die again, death is no longer master over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. When Christ was raised, you and I are raised.
That's our identity. That's why when I'm baptizing someone, when I put them in the water, I say buried with Christ in his death, raised to the newness of life. That doesn't raise you to the newness of life, but it's a picture of what being a Christian on the inside is, what a spiritual Christianity is.
I'm raised to the newness of life. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. He's been speaking for a long time, but as he brought this to culmination, people believe in him. Now watch what happens. So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed, if you continue in my word, then you are truly my disciples of mine, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you what?
Free. Wow, you follow me, you'll know the truth. The truth makes you free. He goes on and he says, they say to him, by the way, when you start talking about stuff like this, religious people never get it. It's just like if you start talking about grace. They don't get it. They just can't understand it. So his enemy said to him, look, we are Abraham's descendants, have never been enslaved to anyone, how is it that you can say you will become free? Now this is funny.
What did they say? We're Abraham's descendants. We've never been, no one has ever, we're always free. Wait, wait, why don't you go ask the Roman soldier over there?
See all these soldiers here? These are Romans. You're property of Rome.
Rome taxes you. That's why you have zealots you're trying to fight. Right now you're in bondage and you're pretending you're not. You see, that's what they said to him. Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever.
The son does remain forever. So if the son makes you free, you're free indeed. So what did Jesus say you and I are free of? Sin. We're free.
Wow. We're free of sin? Is that how you see yourself? How many of you see yourself as if you're victimized by sin?
You see, I'm trying, I just can't get over the hump. Is Jesus lying? You see, this is interesting. What does he mean by this? What he means is this, one thing's for sure, you and I are free from the penalty of sin. That's called justification. You're free from the penalty of sin. What are the wages of sin?
Death, separation from God, eternal judgment. You're free of that. You're called justified by God in Romans.
You're a justified people. As soon as you came to Christ, you are free from the penalty of sin. The second stage of your life is called sanctification. That's how we live out our lives.
That's what we're living in right now. And we are being freed from what? The power of sin in our lives. And as you know, it's a tough work, isn't it?
It's quite a job for us to go through this. One day, we'll be absent in the body, present with the Lord, and that's called glorification, and we're free from the presence of sin. But right now, we're in sanctification. Now, I want to explain it more from a theological point of view, so go with me to Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 6. Verse 1. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase?
Now, this is funny in its own way. Paul makes a statement that no matter how much sin accumulates, there's always more than enough grace to compensate. The more sin, the more grace. So, Paul anticipates what some people may think. Well, then why don't we sin more? I mean, if that's true, let's just keep sinning, and then God can keep giving us more and more grace. You see, that's a good deal.
He's happy, we're happy, everybody's happy. But Paul's going to answer that. That's not true at all.
That's not the case at all. But is it true that grace overcomes all sin? Yes. All sin? Yes. No matter how many?
Yes. I remember way back in Pennsylvania teaching a Bible study, and an older woman was in the study, and she said, Hold it, hold it. Are you saying that no matter how much you sin, you're still going to go to heaven? And I said, that's exactly what I'm saying. She said, that can't be right.
That can't be right. If you sin, you can't do that. She said, that's just what it says. I mean, read it again, do you? You see, grace overcomes sin. That's a fact. Now, Paul says, may it never be.
Meganoita is the word. Absolutely, positively, no. He shows, why would we, people who have been freed from the penalty of sin, and can be freed from the power of sin, why would we sin? Why would we do this? He says, how shall we who died to sin still live in it? Uh-oh, where'd that come from? How many of you feel like you died to sin? You did. He just said that.
What's he mean? You say, what do you mean we're died to sin? Well, remember, when you became a Christian, the Bible says a couple things happened. One is, Christ now resides in you. It says, the scripture says, Christ in me, the hope of glory. Okay, Christ is in me, and I am in him. Ephesians chapter 2 says that you and I are seated in the heavenlies with Christ. Now, I know you're seated here, but you're in Christ. So, where Christ is, you are. Where you are, Christ is.
It even goes further, though. Where Christ will be, you will be. It even goes further, where Christ was, you were.
That's what he's going to say. So, when Christ died on the cross, you died on the cross because you're in Christ. That's the identity that it means to become one with Christ.
Now, watch how this plays out. He said, or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? He doesn't mean water baptism here. He means spiritual baptism, the real baptism. The moment you became a Christian, baptism means to identify with. The moment you became a Christian, you identify with Jesus Christ.
You see that moment. Now, what we do up here, when we baptize you, is it doesn't do anything to you, except it lets everybody know what's happened to me on the inside. First, I was spiritually baptized. Now, I'll be physically baptized so that people will see my decision to follow Christ.
It goes on. He said, therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death so that as Christ was raised in the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in the newness of life. 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, 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. It's why he died. That's why you died and I died in Christ.
That's what he's trying to say. He says, now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised in the dead, is never to die again. Death is no longer master over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. When Christ was raised, you and I are raised.
That's our identity. That's why when I'm baptizing someone, when I put them in the water, I say buried with Christ in his death, raised to the newness of life. That doesn't raise you to the newness of life, but it's a picture of what being a Christian on the inside is, what a spiritual Christianity is.
I'm raised to the newness of life. Now, he says something really important for us. Even so, consider yourself dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. There's the hard word, consider. In other words, if you don't consider it, you'll never benefit from it. You see, what does consider mean?
It's translated into King James reckon. I'll say it this way, believe it. You have to believe this. You see, if you don't believe this, it's of no advantage to you at all.
It won't help you at all if you don't believe it. You see, the idea that, wait a minute, I actually died to sin? I've been raised to the newness of life?
Yes. Remember Paul said you're a new creature in Christ, everything's passed away, what do you think he meant by that? I think he meant you're a new creature in Christ, everything's passed away, but what if you don't believe it? Then you'll live just like an unbeliever.
You'll be just like them, you'll do everything they do, you'll be victimized by everyone around you in every set of circumstances, and you'll never move forward in your faith, because that's what you believe. He said, no, you have to consider it, you have to reckon this so. So, he says, let me be clear, therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lust. Don't let sin reign in your life. But it's hard. Yeah, let me explain this. It's not hard for you, it's impossible for you.
What do you mean by that? You don't do this by willpower of your flesh. This is Christ in you.
Jesus would say to you, I got that, that's why I put the Holy Spirit in you. Remember what Paul said? I can do all things through him who strengthens me. You know why Paul said it? It's true.
You see, it's true. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. How much can you do on your own, Paul?
Nothing. I can't do anything on my own, but I can do all things through him who strengthens me. You see, but I have to believe this. You see, and it's interesting for me as Christians, think about how did you come to Christ? You see, how did you come? By faith, right? Someone told you the truth about Christ, who he was, how he lived and how he died, and they said if you believe that and put your trust in it, you'll be born again into the kingdom of God.
And what did you do? I believe that. Well, the way you came is the way you live. You see, when the scriptures tell me this, when Christ tells me the truth, you have to believe it. And I can tell you whether I believe it or not, not because I could get an A on a test. Can I apply this to my life?
Do I believe it? You see, if Jesus says you're going to have all this freedom if you follow me, what do you have to do? Follow him. You see, I have to. I have to follow him. If I'm not following him, none of this is going to happen to me.
That's not the way any of this is going to work at all. And you see what happens here. I'm freed. He says in verse 14, For sin shall not master over you, for you are not under law, but you're under grace. Sin should never master you and me.
I have to consider this. If that's the case, then what am I really free of? I'm free of sin, but something more important. I'm free of the consequences of sin. You ever feel guilty of something you did? Shame, fear, anxiety, worry?
That's all the consequences of sin. He's telling me I can be free of that. Who doesn't want to be?
You see, who doesn't want to be? I can be free of all those negative aspects of sin. I can actually be free enough to enjoy the positive blessings of righteousness. Jesus said, My peace I give to you. Wow.
Paul called that a peace beyond all comprehension. Wow. Do you ever feel anxious? You see, do you feel anxious? Why? Jesus told you he's going to give you his peace. You see, he said, I'll give it to you. Paul said it's beyond all comprehension.
It's not related to circumstances in any possible way. Think of joy. Paul said this in Philippians 4, he said, Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. Now you say he's a positive thinker, that's all. He's in prison.
He's waiting to see whether he's going to live or die. And he said, Paul, how do you feel? Ah, joyful. What do you mean how do you feel? You feel joy. Sure I do.
Why? I'll tell you what he'd say. I believe him. And if you believe, then that's how you'd feel. James wrote this in James chapter 1. He said, Consider it all joy, my brethren, when various trials come upon you.
How many of you are in that club? Man, you get really into it. All right, the worse it gets, the happier I am. I feel this joy deep in me. We should. You see, we should. That's the point.
I don't look at the trial. I look at my Lord. You remember what he said about the world? Be of good cheer.
Why? I've overcome the world. He said, In the world you're going to have all kinds of trouble, but you can be of good cheer because I've overcome it.
You see, that's the idea. That's why he can say, I can give you my peace. I can have peace in any and all circumstances.
That's an amazing thing when you think about it. I can experience hope, future certitude. I see so many people hopeless. That's why I say those things all the time.
The worst thing that can happen to you can't happen to you. Why? I have hope for you and me. I read the end of the book. We win.
You see, that's the point. Why? I need to feel peaceful about that. I need to have hope, and that's a future certitude. We all face difficult trials. I don't know about you, but on the fleshy level, I've been overcome by the possibilities that I'm trying to work through at a time. And I think, What am I doing?
What am I trying to do? And I tell you what I'm doing. I'm trying to say, What would be the best way to act if Jesus were dead? He's left it to me.
I'm going to figure this out. So how should I act with Him being dead? He's not dead. He also said to me in Hebrews 13, 5, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. I'm right here. You see, I don't have to be full of the anxiety and the stress. You see, He's right with me. See, that's what He promises me.
You look at James, who said, like I read before, he says, And James, trials are good for us. Is that your first thought? You get a terrible diagnosis.
Well, this is going to be good for me. You know what, though? It is.
Yeah, it is. Yeah, but what could happen? I'll tell you what would be the worst prognosis possible. You're going to die. But the Scripture says, Death is lost that sting, and if I'm absent from my body, I'm present with the Lord. How bad is that? Explain what's wrong with that to me.
Because here's the truth. We're all going to die. You see, if not now, it's going to be then. If He doesn't come back, we're all going to die.
The difference is I don't have to live in fear of it. If I believe Him, then, you know, if I believe Him, let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.
My Father's house or many dwelling places, if it were not so, I would have told you. But I go and prepare a place for you so that where I am, you could be also. And I can receive you to myself. So, the worst thing that could happen to me, it can't happen to me.
What would that do to me? It'd give me peace. You see, but it's a matter of whether I believe it or not.
I mean, that's what this goes on and on and on. Romans 8, 28. All things work together for good, or those who love Jesus.
How many things can work together for good? Well, do you believe that? You see, is it hard? In my flesh, it seems impossible at times. You see, I've been with people.
I'll say, I can't, like you, I can't see how this is ever going to work for good. You know what God says to me? Did I ask you to see it?
I said it. Is that enough for you? See, is that enough for you? Well, I'd like it. Have I ever seen it work together for good? Yes. I've seen really good things turn out of really bad situations. But a lot of them, I never see them. And he says, well, why do you have to?
Do you believe me or not believe me? You see, that's the whole point. We could be freed from sin and its consequences. I don't know about you, but I can't even imagine any kind, any kind of freedom that would be better than that. Shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, worry, all those kind of things that have an incomprehensible peace, a joy in any circumstances, a certain certitude, hope for the future.
Those are what we want. And he says, I've got it here, right here for you. But you have to consider it. See, I'll tell you the truth, but I can't make you believe the truth.
That's going to be up to you. So, when I came to Christ, it was my Independence Day. And it's been my Independence Day every day since.
And it should be for you as well. By the way, it cost a great deal to my Lord. It wasn't free.
You know, it cost. And he loved me enough as a sinner to go and die for me so that I could be with him. I can now live a life free of worry and anxiety and shame and all those things. I can live a life of peace and joy and hope. But I have to follow my Lord. I must trust the things he's told me.
I must walk with him in the same way that I came to him by just faith. I love celebrating the freedom we have in America. But I realize the country's changing. And I hate to say this, I'm not a prophet, but it's going to get much worse. We live in now a completely post-Christian country.
And we're going to see more and more ramifications. But our role hasn't changed at all. Our influence, we're salt and light. We're not trying to be, he said you are.
Are we good salt and good light or not? Our mission hasn't changed. We're to go and make disciples. And I can joyfully do that because my ultimate freedom has come to me as a gift from my Lord Jesus Christ who died for me. Happy Independence Day.
Let's pray. Father, we are grateful for this country. We are grateful for the freedoms that we've had as Christians. We are grateful for the ideals that this country was founded on.
What a blessing to be able to be born and live in such a place. But Father, even if it changes, you don't. Even if it changes, you can have impact in this country. We can be salt and light. We can have influence. We can share the hope that is within each and every one of us and give people the good news of Jesus Christ and have them be born again into your family.
Father, we are so thankful for this unique opportunity. Our culture is falling deeper and deeper into sin. We see it all around us. But there's one thing we know.
You're not mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap. And so we're very much aware that our culture is going to reap a lot of heartache.
We already know what's happening, Father, just by how medicated our culture is, by how many suicides there are. There's no joy in the consequences of sin. But there is joy in putting your faith in the Savior, and that's where we come in. So Father, I pray with all my heart that this day is a day that we honor our country, but every day is a day we honor you because you have set us free. And that freedom, Father, is something we never take for granted. We are forever grateful.
In Jesus' name, amen. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.
At that website, you will find not only today's broadcast, but also many of our previous audio programs as well. At Fellowship in the Word, we are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help this radio ministry continue its broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly or with just a one-time gift. Support for our ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word 4600 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, Louisiana 7006. If you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format, that is as a sermon that Pastor Bill delivered during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible Church, then you should visit our website, fbcnola.org.
That's fbcnola.org. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online, or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word. ... ... ...
