NOW THAT I’VE BECOME A CHRISTIAN, WHAT’S NEXT?

Romans 6:1-18

We are born into this world as a lost person.  Then there come a time in our life when we come to know that difference between right and wrong.  At some point in that time of our life we may become a “born-again Christian”.

What happens next?

Many baby Christian fall by the wayside because they don’t know what to do after their salvation experience and baptism.  They don’t receive any instruction or discipline in this matter.

There are some things we need to know about our walk in “newness of life”. Some of us older Christians need to be reminded of these things too.

1.   Believers Are Dead to Sin (vs. 1-7)

Verses 1-2:  What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  This means that we can’t practice sin in our life as a Christian; we can’t talk or act as we did before we met Jesus.

CHRIST-“I”-AN …… Christ first, “I” second, then “all else…..

Verse five says we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death.  Now we are no longer slaves to sin because our old self has been crucified with Him we are freed from sin.  (The penalty)

2.   We Are Alive to God

Verses 8-11:  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.  For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

In our newness of life in Christ we must understand that we have the power to say no to sin.  We cannot let sin be master over us if we are alive to God.  The key word is “Alive”.  This means we have an ongoing relationship with Christ.

Four Characteristics To This Relationship:

1.      We must live to please God

2.      We cannot obey the lust of sin

3.      We are under grace not the law

4.      Because we are freed from the penalty of sin (death), it does not give us the license to sin.

Verses 15-17……What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey….whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.

3.   We Are Servants of Righteousness

We are to present our members (body) as slaves of righteousness resulting in sanctification.

Simple terminology…..we must grow in Christ Jesus and not in the things of the world.

1.      We are dead to sin

2.      Alive to God

3.      Servants of righteousness

****End Result……”We belong to Jesus NOW, not the devil”!