No More in Realm of Sin and Death
A Sermon on Romans 6:10-11
Originally preached Nov. 28, 1958
Scripture
10For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sermon Description
When Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and felt anguish, it was because He knew that the crucifixion would cut Him off from the realm of God and He wanted to be spared of it. However, Christ came as a volunteer and prayed that the Lord’s will would be done and that He would be restored back to the realm of God. Christ died once unto sin and He is finished with sin once and for all. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones outlines this in his sermon on Romans 6:10–11 titled “No More in Realm of Sin and Death.” Christ came out of glory only once, but He did so for humanity’s sake. Now that Paul has finished emphasizing this point, he moves on to how this truth can be applied. Dr. Lloyd-Jones notes that the truth about humanity has been shared repeatedly up until this point, but now Paul wants the listener to reckon this truth unto themselves. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains three principles that the Christian must bear in mind about these truths. He also explains the meaning and application of the word “reckon.” Therefore, may all reckon these truths day by day and live in thankfulness to the God who conquered sin and death.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle is asserting that what is true of the Lord Jesus Christ is also, in this respect, true of us, because we are joined to him.
- The statement in verse 11 is entirely nonexperimental. It has nothing to do with our experience.
- This verse does not deal directly with the question of our holy living and sanctification, but it does introduce us to a truth that will lead on to that, and which promotes that in a most wonderful manner.
- The word "reckon" means to regard one as something, to consider, or to conclude. It means accepting God's word and drawing the inevitable conclusion from it.
- "Ye yourselves" refers to our essential personality, our individuality and identity.
- The verse should read "in Jesus Christ our Lord," not "through Jesus Christ our Lord." We are in Christ, not just saved by him.
- We are to reckon not something that we want to be true about ourselves, but something that is true of ourselves: that we are dead to sin because we are in Christ.
- This truth is about our position, standing, and status, not our experience. We have been taken out of the realm of sin and death and now belong to the realm of God.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.