I want to turn with me to the book of Romans,
to the seventh chapter, and the fourth verse.
The Lord willing, next week we will go on to
the next paragraph in Romans. I have been teased
somewhat by those who have noticed that I have
stayed in the first part of Romans 7 for three
weeks now, digging a little deeper. And they
say, what's the matter? Don't you know what you're
going to say when you get to the rest of it?
Well, I've been finding out the last few weeks.
And I'm looking forward to going on to the next
paragraph and the one after that because they're
so relevant and meaningful to the Christian life.
But this morning is the day of the resurrection.
We celebrate that. And in verse 4, there is a
sentence I'd like for us to think about in relation
to the resurrection. It says, to die to the law
through the body of Christ, that you might be
joined to another, to him who was raised from
the dead, that we might bear fruit for God. The
sentence I'm interested in, I'm readjusting the
words a little bit to make the right sentence,
is this, you have been joined to him who was
raised from the dead. Biblical Christianity is
unique in several respects, and I say it that
way, that is, calling it biblical Christianity,
because there is some Christianity today that's
not biblical. It's under the general umbrella
of Christendom, but it does not coincide with
what the Bible has to teach. But biblical Christianity
is unique in several respects. I'd like to suggest
four of them. First, it's truthful regarding
man's state. The Bible teaches us that we are
sinners and that we are basically wicked and
totally depraved. Having said that, it of course
reminds us of how worthy, unworthy we are of
salvation. And yet how worthy, how worth we are
rather. We are because God has given His Son
for us. So we are unworthy of salvation, but
we are filled with great worth as far as God
is concerned. So the Bible is honest with us
about man's true state, that we're sinners who
are unworthy, but worth a great deal to God.
Biblical Christianity teaches that. It's unique
in a second way because it talks about a personal
relationship with God by faith. Other religions
cannot do that. They talk about faith perhaps,
but only in conjunction with works that involve
ritual and good deeds and effort on the part
of the individual. The biblical Christianity
is unique in that it talks about a relationship
with God established simply on faith. A third
way in which biblical Christianity is unique
is that it claims to be a God -initiated and
God -centered religion. Every other religion
in the world is man -created and basically man
-centered, but not so with our faith. is that
essential to its truth is the literal historical
resurrection of its founder, if I may use that
term. No other religion in the world can boast
of that. Indeed, rather they boast, in many cases,
in the elaborate tombs of their founders. But
we rather boast in an empty tomb and a living
Savior. This Jesus of whom we talk is not a myth.
Nor is he an historical person who is irrelevant
to the 20th century. Indeed, he is the most relevant,
the most significant person in every century
and generation. He is timeless and changeless.
As Griffith Thomas said, he is the greatest influence
in the world today. And as George Bancroft said,
I find the name of Jesus Christ written on the
top of every page of modern history. This Jesus
stands as the Savior of all who will come to
him in repentance and faith, and as the judge
of all who reject or ignore him. But perhaps
the most wonderful and eternally significant
truth of all is that This Jesus loves you and
me. And he has proved that love by what he has
done for us. We find out in our text today what
he has done for us. There are three works suggested
here which demonstrate his incredible love for
every person. I'm thinking of certain words that
give us these clues. For example, first, the
word dead. Him who was raised from the dead.
And so the first work is his work in relation
to sin. He died. The second work that he did
for you and for me is in that verb phrase, who
was raised from the dead. This is his work in
relation to salvation. He was raised from the
dead. And the third work that he did for you
and for me, who have trusted him, is that he
joined us to himself. That is his work in relation
to the saved. I'd like to follow those three
works through this morning with some elaborating
comments. First, the work of our Lord Jesus Christ
in relation to sin. Again, I say it is suggested
by that word, dead. That Jesus Christ died is
not questioned by reasonable people. There are
those who espouse theories that Jesus did not
actually die on the cross. But in fact, those
who were responsible to see that he died, did
so. Turn with me to John chapter 19 for a moment,
as we read beginning in verse 30. When Jesus
therefore had received the sour wine, he said,
It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up his spirit. I want you to notice that Jesus
Christ died in a unique way. He chose the moment
of his death. He said, this is the moment I will
die. It is finished. My work is complete. And
he dismissed his spirit as an act of his will.
He chose the moment of his death. Now it goes
on to say, the Jews therefore, because it was
the day of preparation, So that the body should
not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that
Sabbath was a high day, ask Pilate that their
legs might be broken and that they might be taken
away. The breaking of the legs of one who was
crucified hastened the death. In order for one
who was crucified to catch his breath, he had
to be constantly moving on the cross. He would
raise himself up in order to exhale. And then
he would, because of the severe pain, have to
slump again. And then again he would have to
raise himself up in order to exhale. It was a
terribly tortuous death. And if they wished to
hasten it, they broke the legs so that the person
would actually suffocate, be unable to breathe.
So that was the thought here. Break their legs
so that we can get their bodies off of the crosses
before... The Sabbath begins. The soldiers therefore
came and broke the legs of the first man and
of the other man who was crucified with him.
But coming to Jesus when they saw that he was
already dead they did not break his legs. But
one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear
and immediately there came out blood and water.
And he who has seen has borne witness, and his
witness is true, and he knows that he is telling
the truth, so that you also may believe. We don't
have time to go into the medical background of
the coming out of the blood of water, but that
too indicated death. And so there is no question
in the minds of reasonable people that Jesus
Christ actually died. And not only did he die,
but he died in the prescribed manner. prophesied
by the prophets. In Psalm 22, David pictures
the death of the Messiah in such a way as can
only be fulfilled by crucifixion. And then in
his death, according to the Old Testament law,
his blood had to be shed. It was not sufficient
that he be stoned to death or killed in some
other manner than that his blood had to be shed.
In Hebrews 9, it says, without the shedding of
blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. And so
in his death, he had to die in such a way that
his body would be literally drained of its blood.
And that, of course, was accomplished thoroughly
by the method of crucifixion. And so he died.
Our study in the book of Romans has given us
insight as to the meaning of his death. We have
been studying about the law of God in the Old
Testament, which establishes his righteousness.
and witnesses to it. The law sets a standard
of perfect moral righteousness for man. The problem
is that man cannot live up to that standard,
and the law cannot empower him to. It only tells
him what the standard is. The reason that God
gave that law was so that we might see how far
short we are of perfect righteousness. The purpose
of the law is not to save us, it's to bring us
to the Savior. God prescribed death in the law
for those who could not keep it. But then, in
a marvelous act of grace, He provided His Son,
Jesus Christ, to pay that price of death. I ask
you to turn to Romans chapter 3, just to look
at one verse in the way of review. After speaking
about our sin and the fact that we are all under
the law and that through the law comes the knowledge
of sin, personal sin. And by the way, we'll get
into that some more next week in our text. But
he goes on to say in verse 25 regarding Christ
Jesus, whom God displayed publicly. Romans 3
.25, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation
in his blood through faith. The word propitiation
means satisfaction. In other words, God's offense
because of my sin and your sin was satisfied
by the shedding of his blood. And so he is the
propitiation or the satisfaction for our sins.
And not for ours only, but for the sins of the
whole world. Through that bloody sacrifice, God
himself provided the one to pay the price for
your sin and mine. His death is a demonstration,
my friend, of his love for you. In chapter 5
of Romans, do you remember that verse that many
of us have memorized? But God demonstrated his
love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners,
four words, what? Christ died for us. He died
on our behalf. The minister asked one day, what
work of man will there be in heaven? And immediately
a man shot up his hand and said, There will be
no work of man in heaven. And the minister said,
Ah, yes, but there will. For throughout eternity
to come, Jesus Christ will bear the prints of
the nails in his hands and his feet. And that
is the work of man. But being the work of man,
yes, it is also the provision of God for our
sin. And so his work in relation to sin is that
he died for sin. He died to sin, as we have also
seen. But let's go on to the second work that
we talked about, and you can follow it there
in your outline in the worship folder. It is
this, his work in relation to salvation. You
see, the sacrifice of his blood paid the price.
But there could be no salvation without his resurrection
as well. And that's why at the end of chapter
4, the apostle says what he does. He who was
delivered up because of our transgressions and
was raised because of our justification. He ties
together Christ being delivered up as the sacrifice
with his being raised. And he says both of these
come together when it comes to our transgressions
and our justification. Let me repeat. The sacrifice
of Jesus Christ on the cross paid the price for
our sin completely. But without his resurrection,
there would be no salvation. Paul makes that
clear, doesn't he, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15,
where in several verses, verses 14 to 17, He
says, without the resurrection, there is no hope
for us. We are of all men most miserable. Christ
has died in vain without the resurrection. Now
why is it that he had to be raised from the dead?
Well, it was because it was part of God's plan.
You see, he not only had to die on earth, but
he had also to enter heaven to present himself
before the Father, indicating the sacrifice had
been made. You see, we needed a perfect sacrifice
for our sin, but we also needed a perfect eternal
high priest who could perfectly sympathize with
us before the Father. So we needed one who could
sacrifice for us on earth, but who could stand
before God in heaven on our behalf. And so if
he had died only, then that work on the earth
would have been completed, but there would have
been no one to go before the Father as our intercessor.
There would be no salvation. And so the two are
linked together. They cannot be separated. Of
course, it was impossible for the grave to hold
him. He broke up every funeral he ever attended.
You see, death cannot exist where Jesus Christ
is. In fact, he gave himself to death, as we
noted earlier. Death did not claim him. He gave
himself up unto death. And he said, I lay down
my life and I take it up again. In other words,
he had a part in his own resurrection. He raised
himself from the grasp of death. Now what of
the resurrection? Let me suggest to you this
morning four assurances that you and I can gain
by his resurrection. The first assurance is this,
our justification. Now if you've been with us
in the study of Romans, you know that the word
justification means that we are declared righteous
in the sight of God. It's a legal standing that
we gain by faith. Because of the resurrection,
I can have assurance that I am justified. If
he had not been raised from the dead, I would
not have assurance that the price had been paid,
you see. But because he was raised from the dead
and proved to be who he claimed to be, and because
he said it is finished and then rose from the
dead after that to apply the price he had paid,
we can have assurance of our justification. God
does not intend for us to crawl through this
life not being assured that we're saved. Do you
have that assurance this morning yourself? After
I was saved, I was not in a Bible teaching church,
and I have shared this with some of you. I went
through several years wondering if I was really
saved. I was on a roller coaster ride up and
down, and I remember many times crying out for
Christ to save me. And then came the blessed
day when for the first time I understood that
I only had to ask Jesus Christ to save me once.
And after that, I could have assurance of my
justification. Maybe you're on that rollercoaster
ride today, and what you need to do is to claim
your justification. Having received Jesus Christ
as your Savior, now to believe that He will keep
His promise, that whosoever will call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. God wants you
to have that assurance. You may have it because
of the resurrection. A second blessed assurance
we may have is that of our sanctification. Look
in chapter 6 of Romans for a moment and look
at verse 4. It says, Therefore we have been buried
with him through baptism into death, in order
that as Christ was raised from the dead through
the glory of the Father, so we too might walk
in newness of life. Do you know that because
Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, you and
I can be assured of victory over sin? God wants
you to experience that victory. It is not the
will of God for you to go through your life defeated
by sin. If you choose to do that, you may experience
defeat. Or perhaps out of ignorance of what the
Bible teaches, you may experience defeat. But
that isn't what God has provided. Because Jesus
Christ has been raised from the dead and you've
been united with him, now you may walk in newness
of life. You may have assurance about that. You
may know today that God wants you to experience
consistent victory in your life. Not that we
ever get to a point in this life that we are
totally apart from sin. There is still that flesh
in us, that humanness that we're going to be
talking about in the next couple of weeks. We
still struggle with the power of sin that resides
within us. But, oh friend, God has provided for
you and for me victory over sin. Are you experiencing
it? Or are you defeated by sin? Are you struggling
with it and often experiencing the nosedive of
falling into temptation? Well, then know this,
that because Jesus rose from the dead, there
is provided for you victory. And then a third
assurance that we may have is that of our own
resurrection. I'm getting older. Have you noticed
that process in your own life? You don't when
you're young. Youth is kind of a luxury, I guess.
But as you get older, you begin to think about
the fact you're not going to be here forever.
I think that's one of the reasons that so many
people face what is called a mid -life crisis.
Because suddenly it dawns upon them that their
dreams and aspirations in life are not going
to be totally fulfilled. In fact, they may not
even be mostly fulfilled. Death is going to claim
every one of us unless Jesus comes in the rapture
before that time. We cannot escape it. But my
friend, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead,
we have the assurance, as Job said of old, that
still in our flesh we shall see God. There is
no question about the fact that our bodies, though
death may indeed claim them someday, That we
will be resurrected from the grave. And in the
meantime, of course, we go to be with Christ.
Our soul does. But even this body will be raised
from the dead. Not just like it is now, thank
God for that. But it's going to be raised a new
body. This body is like the caterpillar, whereas
the new body will be like the butterfly. The
Bible compares it to that transition. It's a
metamorphosis that takes place. So that there
is identity between the body I have now and the
body I will have then. But they won't be identical
either. There will be differences. Now because
he lives, we too shall live in the resurrection.
Death will not be able to keep you. It's impossible
that death would keep you now if you belonged
to Jesus Christ. There is no way your body will
stay in the grave. It will come forth when he
shouts and the trumpet sounds. And then a fourth
assurance that we may have is our representation.
I didn't give you the key verse, did I, on that
third assurance. It's Romans 8, 11. Let's just
read that. It's so great. It says, but if the
spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from
the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through his spirit who indwells you. That's the
resurrection. But now look down a few more verses
and look at the key verse for this fourth assurance.
Verse 34 I'm thinking of, where it says, who
is the one who condemns? Will Christ condemn
us? Will God condemn us? He says, look, it's
Christ Jesus who died. Yes, rather, who was raised.
Who is at the right hand of God who also intercedes
for us. That's the assurance of our representation.
My friend, you have an advocate who stands before
God in heaven. That word advocate found in 1
John 2 .2 is, well, it's kind of like an attorney.
It's a lawyer. He stands before God and as the
accuser of the brethren, as Satan would come,
to cast upon you guilt before God and condemnation
because of your failures as a Christian. There
is one who stands before God as our advocate
and says, Father, I've paid the price for that
sin. And Satan has no choice but to leave in
a situation like that. You know where he usually
goes then? He usually comes to you and he says,
Now, I can't talk to God about your sin, but
I'll talk to you about it. Look how terrible
you are. And he begins to throw guilt and condemnation
upon you. And you know what you need to do then?
You need to remind him of your advocate also.
And say, Satan, there's one who stands before
God. And you're right, those things I did. But
that one who stands before God is the propitiation
for my sins. And what he'll do then? He'll leave.
He has to leave. He won't bother you anymore
about it. He may come back, but you can send
him away again by pointing to your advocate.
And so you and I have the blessed assurance of
representation before God. And our high priest
does not get sleepy. He does not get weary and
tired. He is not on an eight -hour shift, so
He's off 16 hours a day, as though there were
days in heaven. But rather, He eternally intercedes
for us before God. There is no diminishing of
His alertness to our needs. There is no diminishing
of His power to intercede in our behalf. He is
eternally. our high priest. Oh, what great assurance
that is. So that even when I do fail, and I do
fail miserably sometimes, when I fail, I know
I have one who stands before God, who understands
and who sympathizes, who's paid the price for
my sin, who's able to meet my needs where I am.
That's an assurance we can have, my friend, because
he rose from the dead. And he knows what it's
like to be a man. A person. He knows what it's
like to be tempted because he was tempted in
every way like you are. But he didn't sin. And
therefore he's able to intercede perfectly when
you're tempted. But we have to go on. And so
we have two of his works. The work in relation
to sin, he died. His work in relation to salvation,
he lives. He was raised from the dead. And finally,
his work in relation to the saved. Now I'm going
to talk only to those who know the Lord Jesus
Christ. Because this third work does not apply
for you. If you do not know Christ today, I want
you to know that he died for you, he rose again
for you, that you might be saved. But this third
work is only for those who have trusted him.
It is his work in relation to the Savior, and
it's found in that single word, joined. Joined.
It pictures the most intimate of unions. In fact,
back in chapter 7, verse 4, you'll see the word
joined. In the previous verse, you'll notice
the same word in the English. Talking there about
the analogy of marriage. She says, so then if
while her husband is living she is joined to
another man. At the end of the verse it says,
she is joined to another man. It's the same Greek
construction that's found in verse 4 when it
says, you might be joined to another. In other
words, it means that you and I who have trusted
Christ. have come into the most intimate possible
kind of union with Him. It is like the union
of marriage, except for one essential difference.
And that is in marriage, two become one what?
One flesh. Whereas in this union, we become one
spirit with the Lord. I have not been able to
probe the depths of that with my finite mind.
I am not sure all that that means when it says
in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 that we are one spirit
with him. But this much I know, it means that
there has been a miracle take place so that we
human beings who have trusted Christ have undergone
a radical change so that now it's not just you
or just me, but it's Christ in you and Christ
in me. We are one spirit with Him. It doesn't
mean that we are God, but it means that God has
united Himself with us in salvation. He has joined
us with Himself. If Christ is still dead, then
what we are talking about is a joining only in
memory or in ideal. And there are a lot of people
who teach that these days. They say, oh yeah,
we're one with God in some mystical, ideal sense,
like God is in everybody. But that's not what
this is saying. This is saying that God is actually
in the believer. That there's a real, not ideal,
a real union that has taken place. So that that
innermost part of you called the Spirit, the
real you, that innermost self of you, is now
united, it's one with Jesus Christ. And that
union brings about all kinds of results. All
kinds of them. Let's just look at one. That's
all we have time for. Romans chapter 8, verse
17. He says, if we are children of God, we are
heirs also. Heirs of God and fellow heirs with
Christ. That's such a significant word, fellow
heirs. And there is implied that union, we are
one with him, fellow heirs with Christ. If indeed
we suffer with him in order that we may also
be glorified with him. What that means, there
is one sense in which Jesus Christ has entered
into his glory now. But there is coming a day
in which he will enter fully. into the glory
that is rightfully His. Not only in the heavenly
realm, but in the earthly realm. His glory is
going to be manifested and established and proclaimed
throughout all the earth. And what this verse
is telling us is that you and I who are one with
Him will share with Him in that glory. It's true
we suffer now if we're faithful Christians. For
all that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution. But we suffer now so that then we
will be glorified together with him. Fellow heirs
of his glory. And so as we talk about the resurrection,
let's remember. that God has done a marvelous
thing for us in Jesus Christ. He has joined us
to himself like a vine is joined to the branch.
Now, if you have never trusted Jesus Christ,
you're not a genuine Christian. You may be a
cultural Christian. You may have grown up in
a Christian home or in a so -called Christian
country. but you've never come to that place
in your life where you've personally received
Jesus Christ as an act of your own will, then
let me read to you the words of Charles Swindoll.
To live without faith in the resurrection is
to deny biblical evidence. To die without hope
of the resurrection is to face a barren eternity.
Do you have assurance that you're going to heaven
when you die? Do you have assurance that your
body is going to be resurrected? That someday
it's going to be brought forth from the grave,
glorified and fitted for eternity? Don't you
want to live forever? One thing I'm discovering
is that life is awfully short. I'm not going
to get it all out in this life. And I've talked
to people who who've been in their 70s. I remember
one person in particular said, you know, I'm
73 years old, but I'm a young person inside of
an old body. Well, I tend to resemble that remark.
The older I get, and so do you. And the fact
is that one of the blessed things about being
a Christian is that we're going to get to live
forever. Forever. And even though death may come
and claim the shell we live in, so what? We'll
get it back one of these days in better condition,
more than repaired. And we're going to get to
live on and on and on forever and explore God's
universe and be one with Christ and reign with
him. That's fabulous. But the Bible says that
the person who's not born again, who's never
trusted Christ, won't even get to see the kingdom
of God. Consigned to separation and loneliness
and suffering forever in hell. If you've never
trusted Christ, today's the day you need to do
it. What an appropriate day for you to do it.
For those of us who know Christ, there's great
comfort in the concept of a future reunion and
resurrection. A dear friend of mine who's been
an evangelist for almost 45 years in the South
primarily, his name is Fred Brown. Some of you
may know him or heard of him. Fred's wife got
cancer. last year, went home to be with Christ
a week ago this past Thursday. What joy Fred
has because she knew Christ and he knows Christ.
And because someday he knows he's going to see
her again. And they're going to be together.
Though the relationship will be a little different,
they're going to be together in heaven. What
a great comfort that is. And it only, I suppose,
really reaches home when you've been to the grave
and you've laid into the ground someone that
you've loved. And you've had that hope. There's
so much to experience and to learn of God. I'm
excited about eternal life. And I tell you, realizing
the one to whom you're joined is exciting too.
But it brings a probing thought. Is your life,
is my life reflecting his? Am I living like a
branch that's joined to that vine? Is my life
but the extension of his character and his life?
Or am I living for myself as a Christian? Not
bearing that fruit that I ought to be bearing.
Oh, how he wants to live that resurrection life
through us. Are you letting him do it, Christian?
Or are you struggling to do it all on your own,
as we talked last week? Will you allow the Holy
Spirit to empower you to produce that life of
Christ? Only he can do it. Is that where you're
living today? Is he in control? Father in heaven,
thank you for what you've provided through the
resurrection of Christ. We thank you that we
who've been saved have been joined to him who
was raised from the dead. Hallelujah. May we
live in the reality of that. May we be branches
bearing much fruit that remains. because we're
abiding in the vine. And Father, if there be
some friend here today who's without Christ,
who's facing a barren eternity because of no
hope, I pray that that one will trust the Savior
today. In Jesus' name, amen.