Does HE See A Death, Burial & Resurrection?

-Introduction

-Matt 27:1-2

-It was early Friday morning when the Jewish leaders led Jesus to stand before Pilate.      

     -They had already unjustly determined that He was worthy of death.  Nothing could

       have been further from the truth.

     -However, they needed Pilate’s involvement to accomplish what they had been

striving for for quite some time - the death of Jesus.

-Not only were they set on having Jesus killed, they were determined to have it carried

  out in the worst way known to man - crucifixion.

     -Even though Pilate found nothing in Jesus that would deem Him worthy of death -

 and even though Pilate seemingly tried to generate a degree of mercy in the people

 toward Jesus - he eventually gave into their demands and turned Jesus over to be

 crucified.  Within hours, Jesus would be dead.

      -The world had a crucified Savior.

-Matt 27:57-60 - Joseph requests the body of Jesus.  His body is placed in Joseph’s tomb.

-Matt 27:62-66 - Despite the Jewish leaders efforts to disguise, suppress or prevent the

            resurrection, Jesus came forth on the first day of the week in victory.

            -Matt 28:6 - The world had a risen Savior.

-So, of course, when one considers the life of Jesus, he sees a death, burial & resurrection.

-However, what each of us needs to consider and seriously contemplate is this:  When

  Jesus considers my life, does He see a crucifixion, burial and resurrection?

-Our Own Death, Burial and Resurrection - Rom 6:1-11

-Within the N.T. we find several passages wherein obedience to the Gospel and Christian   

  living are presented in terms of a death, burial and resurrection.

-Rom 6:1-11

-context:  Paul has shown that all are under sin (Rom 3:23).  He shows the superiority

 of God’s system of faith over that of the Law of Moses.  While addressing the problem

 of sin (Rom 5), Paul indicates that God’s grace is greater.

-vs 1 - Should we keep on sinning in order to provide greater opportunity for the grace of

            God and therefore greater opportunity for God to be glorified?

-vs 2 -Paul’s response:  God forbid.  Absolutely not!  God is not glorified through sin.  He

           is glorified through man’s submission to His will.
     -Jesus died on the cross.  We are to be dead to sin.  We’ll talk more about this in a

 moment.  But, here, we find the required step of repentance - represented as a death.

-vs 3-4 - Baptism:  “buried with him by baptism”

      -Just as Jesus was buried in the tomb, we are to be buried in the waters of baptism.

      -Also in vs 4, we find the imagery of a resurrection - rising to “walk in newness of

        life.”  Just as Jesus came forth from His burial in the tomb, we are to come forth

        from our burial in baptism to live a new type of life.

-vs 5-11 - The themes of death, burial and resurrection continue.  We are to be dead to sin. 

       We no longer serve it, but we serve God through Christ.

-Additional Passages

-Let’s quickly consider a number of other passages to show that this imagery of our own

  death, burial and resurrection (spiritually speaking) is common in the N.T.

-Gal 2:20, 6:14

-Eph 2:1-6

-Col 2:20

-Col 3:1-3

-1 Pet 2:24

-Dead To Sin

-Here are a couple of things to consider about being “dead to sin.”  1.  What does that mean?

  and 2.  Why did Paul list it before baptism in Rom 6? 

-Does being dead to sin mean that one cannot sin anymore?

     -1 John 1:8 - John’s statement written to Christians.

     -I’m afraid too many people have the false idea that to be a Christian a person must
       live perfectly.  That’s simply not the case - not possible.

     -Being dead to sin does not mean that we do not commit sin.  Instead, it means that

       we do not serve sin.  (Rom 6:2 - We no longer live in sin.)

-Why is this listed prior to baptism in Romans 6?

     -This brings about an important point:  Baptism does not render us “dead to sin.” 

       Baptism does not make us dead to sin.  At the point of baptism we are forgiven of sin.

-So, being dead to sin does not mean that we no longer commit sin and it is to take place

  before baptism.  So what is it? - It is a mindset - a new purpose.  It is repentance.

     -Luke 13:3,5

     -Eph 4:22-24

            -Repentance first takes place in the mind and is then reflected in our actions.

-We should have the desire to be dead to sin. 

     -a point of great emphasis for proper Christian living - Sin shouldn’t be taken lightly.

     -Sin should deeply bother us.  When we are guilty of it, we should have sorrow.

            -2 Cor 7:10

-Summary and Invitation

-It is a good thing to reflect upon the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. 

     -It should have an impact on our daily lives.

-It should motivate us toward our own death, burial and resurrection, spiritually.

-What about you?  Have you have a mindset of being dead to sin?  Have you been buried by

  baptism into Christ? 

     -If not, obey the Gospel?  Believe in Jesus (John 3:17, 8:24), Confess your faith (Matt

10:32, Rom 10:9-10), Repent of your sins (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 17:30), Be Baptized into

      Christ (Matt 16:16, Acts 2:38, Rom 6:3-4)

-Are you living a resurrected life - a new life - a faithful life in service to God?

      -If not, confess your shortcomings, repent of your sins and pray for God’s forgiveness

        (1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24).