Watch as Ray David opens Romans 5:18–6:14, and shows us the abounding grace of the Gospel.
Real Change
The good news of God’s grace to you in Christ is not just an abstract concept – it brings real, concrete change in your life. You, as a Christian person, are no longer the person you used to be. You’re not destined to remain stuck in the repeated patterns of brokenness, sin and destructive behaviours.
Sin’s Power Has Been Cancelled
The free gift of God’s grace is the removal of guilt, but it also cancels sin’s power in your life. So now you are set free to see real change. You are no longer accursed to relive groundhog day.
A deeply changed life is rooted in two things – there has been a change in the dominion, rule and reign over your life, and you have been given a changed self. A real change happens in your life from the Gospel when you realize whose you are, and who you are.
Sin no longer reigns over you; you no longer live under its dominion. You now live under the rule and dominion of grace. You are now working for King Jesus – the old tyrant is gone, and Christ’s reign in your life is governed by grace. You used to live under the tyranny of sin and that sin produced insecurity, fear, and self-absorption. But now you live enslaved to love that is overflowing in God’s grace.
Enslaved to Love
Have you ever thought about being enslaved to love? If you have ever fallen in love, then you have experienced the feeling of being enslaved to love. Every thought, every moment, every effort, every penny is enslaved to the object of your love. It is a joyful enslavement. In the same way, in the Gospel, we are now joyfully enslaved to the loving, graciousness of God in Christ.
New Management
If you want to see the Gospel change your life, it is critical that you get this – your life is under new management. It is still management, but it is management whose service is perfect freedom. When you were under the old management of sin and death, all it brought you was insecurity and fear. And because of this insecurity, you could never take the risk of admitting that you were wrong. And admitting that you’re wrong is a necessary precursor to change. But under this new management of abounding grace, you are now safe to change by admitting that you were wrong. Because even when you’re wrong, grace abounds all the more.
Why Not Keep Sinning?
If the more we sin, the more God’s grace abounds, then why not keep sinning? But if you understand how sin leads to death, and how grace leads to life, then why would you ever choose sin?
You would only ask this question if the free gift of God’s grace is just a hall pass or a get-out-of-jail-free card for you, but if you understand that the free gift of grace is the release from the tyranny of sin in your life that leads to death, then why would you ever want to go back to death? God’s grace is not just a hall-pass, it is the canceling of the destructive forces in your life.
Perpetual Spiritual Adolescence
Far too many of us are stuck in a perpetual spiritual adolescence. The truth of the Gospel isn’t that you have to change – it’s that you get to change. All of those desires and affections that pull you off into the weeds can now be changed, so why wouldn’t you want to? Immaturity says, ‘what can I get away with’; maturity says, ‘I see that those things were inherently destructive and I’m glad to have them out of my life.’ You have the opportunity for real change in your life and it’s all because you are under a new dominion. Real change happens when you remember whose you are.
A New Self
You have been given a new life and a new self. You are not the person you used to be. That old self is gone and buried with Christ. It doesn’t exist anymore. The power of that old self has forever been cancelled in your life through Jesus’ death. Because Christ became the curse of sin on the cross, and put it to death, in His death, you can have victory over your besetting sin.
Sin is External
The sin that you see in your life is now external to you – that’s not the you that God sees anymore. It’s not who you are. It’s outside of you. It’s not your master. You’re free to take a step back within yourself and condemn it and put it to death, because when you condemn the sin in your life, you are no longer condemning yourself. You can stamp it out as an external defeated foe. The foe has been defeated, not by anything you’ve done, but by what Jesus has done for you. In the Gospel we can change, not just hang on until the last day.
Wrestling a Corpse
Because Christ died the death that buried sin in your life, when you wrestle sin – you are wrestling a corpse. It is powerless. But sometimes when you’re wrestling a corpse it will roll over on top of you. But the good news of the Gospel is that even in those moments you are not defined by that failure. It no longer reigns over you. You are not defined by your old self.
A New Trajectory
You have a new trajectory, because you have been given a new master and a new self. You have been set free to change and grow in godliness. You are free to wage war against the old tyrant and its reign. There is a struggle, but the struggle is the evidence that you are growing in godliness. You don’t have to be subject to destructive, death-wielding sin anymore. And when you fall short, this side of glory, grace will abound and increase all the more.
That’s Not Who I Am Anymore
The God of the Universe no longer looks at you and sees you enslaved to sin. He has given you a new identity. When you see the sin in your life, you can confront it with confidence and boldness. You can see it as a powerless pretender. You can see it as something external to you. You can actually say out loud, ‘that’s not who I am anymore.’
