Adrian Rogers: Romans 6 – How to Live Victorious in Christ

The grace of God enables us to live godly lives in Christ Jesus, and empowers us to live in victory. In this message, Adrian Rogers explains how to live in victory, as identified in Romans 6.

Any Christian who’s saved by grace who continues to live a life of sin is a disgrace to grace.
Now we are saved by the grace of god, but after we’re saved by the grace of god, we need to learn, to live in victory.
And so the grace of god is an inducement to live a godly life, and it also supplies the power to live.
Godly life.
ProFound Truth simply stated. This is love worth finding with pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers.
Today, we’re talking about god’s amazing grace and how to turn grace into victory.
Now folks, We are saved by grace. That means there’s absolutely nothing that we do.
In order to earn our salvation.
As a matter of fact, um, uh, Dwight El Moody, who was an evangelist, very much like, uh, Billy Graham, who lived in another era, said he he heard a man stand up in a testimony meeting, and this man said, I have, uh, lived for I’ve been 42 years learning 3 things, 42 years learning 3 things.
When Moody said to himself, if this man has been 42 years learning those 3 things, I better pay attention.
And here’s the 3 things the man said he learned. Number 1, I can do nothing to earn salvation.
Number 2, god doesn’t require me to do anything. Number 3, Jesus has done it all.
Now, well, that’s wonderful, but it doesn’t take 42 years to learn that.
You can learn it in in, uh, 30 minutes or less this morning We are saved by the sheer grace of god, but let me say this, folks, because salvation is a gift, And it roots not in the merit of man, but in the mercy of god, not in the goodness of man, but in the grace of god.
Does that mean, therefore, It doesn’t make any difference how we live. Well, Paul puts the death to that lie.
Look in chapter 6 verse 1. What shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
And then Paul says, God forbid.
That is any Christian who’s saved by grace who continues to live a life of sin is a disgrace to grace.
Now we are saved by the grace of god, but after we’re saved by the grace of god, we need to learn to live in victory.
And so the grace of god is an inducement to live a godly life, and it also supplies the power to live.
Uh, godly life. Now we’re talking to you today about victory, constant victory, conscious victory, conspicuous victory.
Are you ready for it? Now there are 3 basic words that I want you to see today in god’s word and the passage that we have before us.
And if you get these three words down in your heart, you’re gonna learn how to walk in victory.
So don’t miss it. Are you ready? Look, if you will, in in chapter 6 verse 6.
Knowing this underscore the re the phrase knowing.
I have a circle drawn around it in my Bible, and I also have it highlighted and yellow, knowing this.
And then skip on down to verse 11.
Likewise, reckon also yourselves to be dead and to sin to be dead, indeed, unto sin, but alive under god.
Underscore the word reckon. First of all, the word knowing Secondly, the word reckon.
And then finally, I want you to look on over to verse 13, if you will.
And underscore the word yield, neither yield you, your members as instruments of unrighteousness, under sin, but yield yourselves under god.
No reckon. Yield. Now just write that on your heart.
Get that in your mind. Don’t check me out. Don’t say that doesn’t make sense to me.
Well, it may not now, but now you listen.
No reckon yield, no, reckon, yield.
Now if you will get these 3 words in your heart, in your mind, you’re going to learn the secret of living in victory.
And as grace abounds, righteousness will also abound and that imputed righteousness will become imparted and practical righteousness in your life.
And you will live day by day, week by week, year by year, in victory, the kind of life that you really want to live and perhaps have not yet found the secret to living.
Now I was pastoring a church. Before I discovered this truth.
To be very honest, I love the lord, and I wasn’t living what you would call a a bad life.
But I had not really learned how to walk in victory. So I wanna share these 3 words.
Now let’s take the first one. Are you ready for it? Look at the word no.
Now that word no deals with your identification with Jesus who gave himself for you.
May I say that again?
It deals with your identification with Jesus who gave himself for you. Now what does identification mean?
Well, it just simply means that we are in Jesus He has acted on our behalf.
Uh, he is our representative. And what happened to the lord Jesus happens to us.
He chose to be one with us.
It is a tremendous blessing because you see when Jesus came to this earth, suffered blood and died.
We suffered blood and died with him because Jesus died for us. Now you’ve got to know that.
Notice verses 6 and 7 of this chapter. Look look at it, if you will.
Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him. Do you see the word with? That’s identification.
Our old man, that is the old Adrian is crucified with him, with Jesus, that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth, we should not serve sin.
For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now what does that mean?
Well, it means that when Jesus died, he died for me. He died as my substitute.
His death had my name on it.
Not only did we die with Jesus verses 67, but we were buried with Jesus.
Look, if you will, in verses 34.
No you’re not that so many of us as we’re baptized into Jesus Christ, we’re baptized into his death.
Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death.
When when, uh, Jesus was buried, I was buried.
We say, why is the burial Did you know that the burial of Jesus is part of the gospel and put in your margin 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verses 34?
Paul said for I delivered under you, that which I also, 1st 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 3rd day according to the scriptures.
Not only is the death of Jesus a part of the gospel, burial of Jesus is part of the gospel.
Now in Bible times, when a man would die, our woman would die, the dead were put quickly out of sight.
They were buried. Now why why does, uh, why does the Bible say, not only did we die with Jesus, we were buried with Jesus.
Because you see Jesus carried our sins into the grave of god’s forgetfulness.
The devil would love to intimidate you with the bones of your old life, but your sins are in the grave of god’s forgetfulness And when Satan comes looking for the old Adrian, he said, where’s my buddy, Adrian?
I haven’t seen him for a while. Well, he’s he’s dead.
Safe, and you don’t have any more power over him. Well, where is his body? Uh, I wanna torment it.
You can’t torment it. It is buried. It it it’s gone.
Now you see, look, we died with Jesus. We were buried with Jesus.
And we have been raised with Jesus. Look again in verses 45 of this same chapter.
Uh, and and it goes on to say in the last part of verse 4, that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father.
Even so, we also should walk in newness of life.
Now Jesus had a life that the grave could not keep.
And while he carried my sins to the grave and left them there, Jesus came out of that grave, living, risen, victorious.
And when Jesus rose from me 2000 years ago, I rose with the lord Jesus Christ.
And now the the Bible says I’m crucified with Christ. Escalations 220. Nevertheless, I live.
Yet not I, but Christ that lives in me. Now Christians are not just nice people.
They’re new creatures. We have the same power that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead.
We have that power in us. We are new people.
We have come out of the grave of the old life. Our old master has no more hold over us.
The old debt has no more penalty that we have to pay.
Our sins are buried in the grave of god’s forgetfulness.
And then when Jesus came out that Easter morning of that grave, we came out with him and we have been raised to walk in a new life.
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But now look, what’s the second word? Reckon. First word knowing the second word is reckon.
Let’s look at that second word now.
And if if if knowing deals with our identification with Jesus, reckon deals with our appropriation of Jesus.
Now you have to know your identification before you can make that appropriation. This follows 123.
Now look, if you will, uh, at at the scripture here, and and he says this in verse 11.
Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed under sin. But alive unto god.
Now the word reckon here is a bookkeeping term.
It what it literally means is that you count on it, not because you feel it, uh, not because you guess about it, Not because you desire it or because you imagine it, you reckon on it because it is true.
This word reckon means count on it. This word reckon means calculate upon it.
Now, uh, it reckoning is not just closing your eyes and pretending it to be true.
It it is acting by faith acting on what you know to be true.
It is appropriating what you know to be true.
Now if you have some money in the bank, You get your bank statement, and it says you have x number of dollars in the bank, then it doesn’t matter if you feel you have more or if you don’t think you have anything, you just look at the bank statement and you reckon on that.
Not a matter of feeling.
You know, so many of us want to say, well, whether I feel victorious or not. Hey, folks.
Your feelings are the shallowest part of your nature. Salvation is the deepest work of god.
He doesn’t do the deepest work in the shallowest part. He doesn’t say feel it. He says calculate it.
Reckonate to be true. Remember now, this is a book keeping turn.
And and, uh, and it your feelings don’t matter.
A woman Woke up one morning and, uh, the alarm clock went off.
And it seemed like she just going to sleep.
Have you ever had one of those nights to just pass it just like that and that you’re sleeping especially sound and seem like you close your eyes and the alarm clock goes off?
She says it could not be 6 o’clock in the morning, but she she looked at the alarm clock.
It said 6. She turned on the radio The 6 o’clock programs were playing.
She opened the window and looked out, and the sun was coming up. No.
The radio said it was 6. The clocks said it was 6.
Uh, the the sun in the east said it was 6 o’clock in the morning.
Now, folks, I submit to you. It really didn’t matter how she fell.
All of these facts were something she just had to reckon on.
I it’s it’s a fact no matter how you feel about it.
Now we need to get our our salvation out of the realm of fickle emotions and begin to reckon and account on god’s facts.
You see, the fact of the matter is you have been dead for 2000 years.
Don’t you think it’s time you had your funeral? Now now look if you will in verse 6.
Look at it. Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him.
Now that and I don’t wanna get too technical, but that is in the Greek tense, the ARIST tense.
And what does that mean? What it means it is done, it is once for all, never to be repeated.
That happened. That is a fact. That is done. It is finished.
But now notice as we continue to read here, reckon the word reckon is in the present tense.
Now what does that mean? Well, that means that day by day, you count on what happened 2000 years ago.
Day by day, every morning, you wake up and you say, hey, Uh, I am dead to sin.
I’m alive in Christ. I know it is a fact he died for me.
Now I reckon it uh, by not only by my identification with Christ, but now just by my appropriation of the lord Jesus Christ who not only gave himself for me, but Jesus now has given himself to me and the life I now live, I live by the faith of the son of god.
Now I must count on the life of Christ in me daily. Are you with me so far now?
Let’s move on to the third word. Because here is where the rubber meets the road.
This is where most of us fail. Uh, most of us get 2 thirds of the way there.
And we never ever live in victory.
The first word with Christ who gave himself for us.
The second word is the word reckon. That deals with our appropriation of Christ who gave himself to us.
You see, he gave himself for us that he might give himself to us. He lives in us now.
We are alive in him and he in us. Now the third word is yield.
And that word deals with our emancipation through Christ who lives his life in us.
He gave himself for us that he might give himself to us that he might live his life through us.
Now how do you yield? Well, let me mention 3 things. First of all, there is the dethronement of sin.
Like if you will in verses 12 through 13 now of this same chapter.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body. Now just look at the first two words, let not.
Do you see that? Let not send therefore rain in your mortal body. That is you don’t have to.
You don’t have to. That that means that there is a way for you.
Let not sin, therefore, rain in your mortal body. Why can’t sin rain?
Because when you die, your old master lost all control over you, and you have to dethrone, uh, uh, sin.
You must choose against your old master. You have to say Satan.
No longer will these eyes be your tools. No longer will these ears be your instruments.
No longer will these hands, uh, do your bidding I am not going to let you have your way in me.
Now Satan doesn’t want you to learn what I’m teaching today.
And Satan will say, you know, all that’s just preach a talk.
You don’t have to pay attention to that.
Uh, uh, Rogers is just going through the book of Rome and this is all just religious, gobbling goose.
Now you listen to me. You don’t have to let Satan have his way in your life.
Now before Calvary, before your identification with the lord Jesus, Uh, and and before your appropriation of the lord Jesus, there’s no possible way that you could live the victorious life even if you wanted to.
Now you don’t have to let sin rule in your body. You just don’t have to. You have within you.
All it takes, it is there. But you’re gonna have to use your power of authority.
You’re gonna have to know it, and you’re gonna have to reckon it, and you’re gonna have to yield to it.
Now number 2, not only there there is there the dethronement of sin, but there’s the enthronement of the savior.
Look now if you went in verse 13.
Neither you, g, your members as instruments of unrighteousness understand but yield yourselves unto god as those that are live from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto god.
Now it’s it’s not just enough to say Satan be gone.
Not only do you dethrone sin, You enthroned the savior. You say, lord Jesus.
Right now, this moment I enthroned you. I put you upon the throne of my life.
Now this word yield is a is an interesting word.
As a matter of fact, over in in Romans chapter 12 and verse 1 that we’ll get to later, the Bible says neither present, uh, present your bodies present your bodies under god a living sacrifice.
The word present there in Romans 121, and the word yield here in Romans 6 is the same word.
You just come to the lord, and you say lord, here I am. I just present myself to you.
Satan, I will not obey you. I don’t have to obey you. The world. I don’t have to obey you.
The flesh. I don’t have to obey you. I am dead. Your hold on me has been gone.
I was crucified with Christ. Your old servant is dead and buried.
And all the charges against me are gone because Jesus died for my sins, and I died with him.
And the law cannot bring me into double jeopardy. And it is done, and I don’t have to obey you.
And now, lord Jesus, I present myself to you. I yield myself to you. Now here’s the third thing.
First of all, the dethronement of sin Number 2, the enthronement of the savior. And number 3, the enslavement.
Now listen carefully, the enslavement of the saint. The enslavement of the saint.
Now looking, if you will, in verses 1718, of this same chapter. Are you reading with me?
But god bethink that ye were the servants of sin.
And the word servant there means bond slave of sin.
But ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine, which was delivered under you, being then made free from sin, ye became the slaves of righteousness.
Now there’s the there’s the dethronement of sin, the enthronement of savior, of the savior, and the enslavement of the saint.
You become Jesus slave Uh, you say, well, pastor, I I don’t think I wanna be a a a a slave.
Well, you’re gonna be a slave of Jesus or slave of Satan. Everybody’s a slave to something.
Everybody is is either in in, uh, Adam or in Christ.
But when you say lord Jesus, I I heal myself to you. I become your bond slave.
You have a right to tell me what to do.
You have a right to tell me when to wake up, when to go to bed, what to eat, what not to eat, what to wear, what not to wear.
You have a right to tell me anything you want.
You have a right to all of my possessions, I am a bond slave.
Remember, Paul began this epistle by calling himself a bond slave of the lord Jesus Christ.
Now it is that enslavement, listen carefully, that brings perfect liberty.
Now what do you get when you enslave yourself to the lord Jesus?
Well, Look at look if you get a new freedom because looking at verse 18 being then made free from sin.
Send that and have any more dominion over you. Uh, you get a new, uh, faithfulness.
Look if you will in verse 19. He says, even so now yield your member’s servants to righteousness under holiness.
You have a new fruitfulness look in verse 21, what fruit had you then in those things where you’re now ashamed for the end of those things is death, but now being made free from sin, and become servants to god, you have your fruit under holiness.
So when you become a slave to the lord, you get a new freedom.
You get a new faith, a faithfulness. You get a new fruitfulness.
Is this making sense to you? I hope so.
Not, you know, I realize I realized that we could be talking about, uh, prophecy or something.
You’d be all ears. But, folks, this is where we live. Now listen. 1 three words.
You know it. That is your identification with Christ who gave himself for you.
Number 2, you reckon it. That is your appropriation of Christ who gave himself for you.
And then number 3, you yield. That is your emancipation.
Through Christ who lives his life in you.
Do you know what I do a lot of mornings when I wake up?
I I kinda feel silly telling you this, but I’ve told enough folks now I just let the cat out of the bag.
Let let me tell you something to do in the mornings, and it deals with these three words.
When you wake up in the morning, I mean, when you get out of bed, on your way into the bathroom or wherever, Just lift your hands to god and praise him.
I mean, first thing, just just praising and say, lord, I praise you that you gave yourself for me.
Okay. That’s knowing. And then take those same hands and turn them up and say, lord, not only did you give yourself for me, but you gave yourself to me.
Lord, this morning, I receive of your fullness. Oh, here’s what you got.
I just I just receive your fullness. You see, identification is lord. I praise you.
You gave yourself for me, but appropriation is lord. You gave yourself to me.
And and lord, what I know now I reckon I I just I just receive lord of your fullness.
Thank you, lord. You’re pouring your life into me. And then do this.
Then put your hands up like somebody had put a gun on you.
Bow your head and surrender and say, now, lord, I yield to you.
Live your life through me.
See, he gave himself for you, that he might give himself to you, that he might live his life through you.
Just say I’m yours. I am your slave. Live your life through me today.
And when you’ve done that, just spread out your hands and say, it’s gonna be a great day.
It’s gonna be a great day. There is something to know.
There is something to reckon, and then you must yield to what you know You must dethrone, Sam.
You must say safe, and I’m not gonna let you do that. You have no right.
Your trust on my father’s property and in the name of Jesus and the authority of a word of god.
Leave me alone. And then you say, lord Jesus, I put you on the throne of my life today.
And, lord, I am your slave. I’m here to do your will.
And you’re gonna find out, friend, that god will begin to live bless his name.
He’ll begin to live his life in you.
In ways that you never dreamt of.
And it will be supernatural all the way.
He didn’t save you and say now, go out there and do the best you can.
There’s something to know identification There’s something to reckon appropriation.
There’s something to you, emancipation.
God help you to understand this.