Sunday, April 12, 2020

THE POWER OF THE CRUCIFIXION IS THE RESURRECTION (b)

THE POWER OF THE CRUCIFIXION IS THE RESURRECTION (b)
Romans 6:1-6 (KJV)
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
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.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
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.

And then the Bible says, Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The power of the crucifixion is the resurrection.

This morning I spoke about how the resurrection applies to Jesus.
·   Jesus spoke about His resurrection
·   Jesus displayed His resurrection in the empty tomb and
·   Jesus proved His resurrection, being seen of them 40 days

Tonight, I want to speak
CONCERNING THE BELIEVER’S RESPONSE

The Bible says, Romans 8:29 (KJV)
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God’s plan in sanctification is to conform us, to mold us, to shape us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

If that is the case, then it seems reasonable to me that, what was true of Christ and the resurrection should be reflected in the believer.

As I had three observations this morning, I have three for you tonight:

Observe first that the believer is to,
I. LIVE OUT HIS RESURRECTION
Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Jesus said that His disciple has a Cross.
Matthew 16:24 (KJV)
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

But notice that Jesus did not say to lie down upon the Cross.

He said to take it up and follow Him.

We are sacrifice for Christ
Romans 12:1 (KJV)
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

But notice it is to be a living sacrifice, which is service.

We are to reckon ourselves to be dead
Romans 6:11 (KJV)
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But notice it is dead unto sin but alive unto God.

Paul said that he was crucified with Christ, nevertheless he lived.

How could that be? “…Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

The power of crucifixion is not in the death, but in the resurrection afterwards.

Your life as a Christian has meaning, power, influence only as you live unto God.

·   As you follow Him
·   As you serve Him

As you prove out your faith:
·   Being seen of others
·   Being heard by others
·   Having many people, sometimes one on one, sometimes in larger gathers, 

·   In different settings
·   Under diverse situations

·   When you are happy and
·   When you are terribly stressed

In all of it proving that you are dead unto sin, but alive unto God.

Observe secondly that, the believer must reflect the crucifixion and the resurrection as we,
II. PREACH HIS RESURRECTION
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (KJV)
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Notice what Paul said,
·   I declare unto you what 
·   I preached unto you

Just ask Jesus spoke often about His resurrection,
The Christian ought to not be silent about the gospel message, 
·   The death
·   The burial and
·   The resurrection 
of Jesus Christ.

·   We ought to tell people that it is good news
·   We ought to tell them that it is exactly what the Bible said would happen
·   We ought to tell them that it is faith in the gospel that cleanses their sin

It’s not just the preachers that ought to preach it either.

In the book of Acts, we learn of two deacons who preached the Word of God
·   Stephen preached with such power that the lost Jews, under conviction, stoned him to death.
·   Philip preached and saw a church planted in Samaria.

When persecution forced the believers in Jerusalem to scatter, the Bible says, Acts 8:4 (KJV)
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

And that’s not the Apostles. The Bible specifically says they stayed in Jerusalem.

There is no question that Apostle Paul did a great work and planted many churches.

But I suspect that much of the reason he was able to do that is that just about everywhere he went there would have been people who had already had the seed sow in their hearts through faithful Christians who, in the image of their Saviour, spoke about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I was saved watching a TV evangelist.
But I didn’t go to church for the first time until something like 3 years later.

Mike Riggs was my partner at work.
He invited me to go to church with him and, when I agreed, he spent the rest of the week talking to me about the Bible, the church, the things God did and did not want believers to do.

I tithed the first time I went to church because Mike Riggs had already taught me about tithing.

Imagine how much easier a pastor’s work would be if, when he got up to preach the Bible, visitors in the church would already know something about what he was preaching, because the Christians around him had already been teaching him those things.

Imagine what might happen if you brought an unsaved friend to church and, before they ever got here, 
·   You had already given them the basic plan of salvation
·   You had already explained how the service would be conducted
·   You had already told them about the invitation and encouraged them to come forward to get saved, or to follow in baptism, or to join the church

Observe finally that the believer has a Biblical means to,
III. DEMONSTRATE JESUS’ RESURRECTION
Romans 6:1-6 (KJV)
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
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.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
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.

Remember how I pointed out this morning that before Jesus showed Himself alive, He showed them the empty tomb?

He gave them this display, this symbol of the resurrection, before He proved His resurrection by being seen of them, living with them those forty days.

I want to liken Biblical baptism, to that empty tomb.

When a person gets saved, he is to begin his Christian experience through believer’s baptism.
The Bible says, …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.”

We don’t prove our salvation and then get baptized.

We are to demonstrate our salvation through baptism and then prove out our salvation, by walking the rest of our lives in newness of life.” 

Baptism is the very first step of Christian obedience.

I have discovered (am still discovering) that if a person: 
·   Balks at baptism
·   Objects to baptism
·   Questions baptism

If a person isn’t submissive and obedient to baptism, they are almost certainly going to:
·   Balk at
·   Object to and
·   Question
just about everything else to follow.

Baptism is the first step of Christian obedience.

·   We get saved through faith in Christ
·   We get baptized in obedience to Christ and
·   We become members of a local church because baptism is the door into the church

And in the church we are taught to observe “all things whatsoever [Christ] commanded.”[1]

Conclusion
The power of the crucifixion is the resurrection.
·   Jesus spoke about it
·   Jesus displayed it and then
·   Jesus proved it

And the power, the effectiveness of salvation is in the new life
·   When you live for Jesus day in and day out
·   When you speak of Jesus to everybody everywhere you go and
·   When you demonstrate your salvation through Christ, in obedience to believer’s baptism, and then faithfully attending church and learning to observe all that Jesus commanded you.




[1] Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

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