The only path to true freedom is finding the right authority to serve. We examine the stark reality that we will all be servants of something—either sin leading to death or righteousness leading to life.
• Paul confronts the misconception that grace gives us license to sin
• Christians have both a positional righteousness and a progressive righteousness
• True freedom isn't found in having no master but in having the right master
• Our past sins don't define us—our new identity in Christ does
• The free gift of salvation truly has no strings attached
• Christian obedience should flow from delight rather than duty
• We follow God's commands not because we "have to" but because we "get to"
• Serving Christ transforms our perspective on obedience
If you want to explore a relationship with Christ or join our church family, please come to the front after the service and speak with Pastor Taylor.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado.
Will you join me now inlistening to our sermon from
this week?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You open your Bibles with me this morning to Romans,
chapter 6.
We'll be in verses 15 through23 today, as we see the second
half of chapter 6 that we beganlast week.
Let me pray for us.
Lord Jesus, thank you so muchfor your word this time in your
(00:52):
word.
Thank you for our worshipleaders that have faithfully led
us this morning.
Thank you for the picture ofthe gospel that's already been
proclaimed through baptism, andthank you for what you're doing
in this church in this time.
We lift this time up to you.
Would you speak your words byyour spirit.
We ask, in Christ's name, amen.
(01:16):
I think it's fair today that welive in a world of extremes.
A world of extremes.
It seems like everywhere youlook, more and more things are
pushed to the extreme.
Examples you think ofpoliticians in 2025.
There was a day when to be amoderate was actually something
(01:38):
many people desired to do andthey thought that would get them
more of an audience stillcertainly within their political
party, but maybe closer tocenter.
Now it kind of feels like a lotof the politicians, on any and
every side, that make the mostheadlines are the furthest
extreme.
You think in sports.
(01:58):
Think about the coach of yourcollege team, your professional
team.
You've got two options, twoextremes.
You can win the whole thing oryou can be looking for a job.
That's how we define your roleand your time as our head coach.
We live in a world of extremes.
Now, usually I would tell youand tell myself to be careful
(02:22):
going out on the extremes.
Usually somewhere in the middleis the safe place to be, is the
wise place to be, not all theway one way or another.
And yet there are times whereit's important that we see the
extremes that exist.
And there are times Paul wantsto show us that we go towards
(02:43):
one extreme or the other, onedirection or the other, and
there is no in between.
And that's exactly what we seethis morning.
And really chapter 6, the secondhalf is really a continuation
of the first half.
If you hear this message thismorning and you say, taylor,
(03:05):
that really sounds a lot likewhat you said last week, you're
going to have to take it up withPaul, because I was reading
Paul this week and it soundedlike what he said last week.
And so he's making thisargument throughout Romans 6,
that we're going to serve onemaster master, and it can be the
(03:31):
master of sin, or it can be themaster of life in Jesus Christ,
and Jesus can be our master.
We've got two options and thereis no middle ground.
What I want us to see first isthis you will be a servant of
something.
You will be a servant ofsomething.
Look with me at verse 15.
What then?
Are we to sin because we arenot under law but under grace?
By no means, just like lastweek.
(03:53):
Once again, paul isanticipating the question.
This sounds almost exactly likewhat he said in verse 1 last
week.
Last week, he said this whatthen?
Shall we continue in sin?
That grace may abound.
If God's grace abounds over allsin, then won't that mean, as
we talked about last week, won'tthat mean that more sin equals
(04:13):
more grace?
Paul says by no means.
That's not how we're to thinkabout it.
Today, the question is almostthe same, slightly more general.
Well, if, in general, we're notunder the law but under grace,
can't we just sin, just likelast week?
Doesn't this give us a licenseto sin?
(04:34):
And just like last week, I'dsay this hopefully none of us
would say that out loud.
Hopefully none of us out loudwould look to the Lord and say
God, I know how gracious you are, I know your forgiveness is
going to be there, and so I'mjust going to go ahead and
commit this sin, because I knowyou've got me on the other side.
Lord willing, all of us in thisroom would not say those words
(04:57):
out loud.
And yet, just like last weekwhen we talked about it, do we
not say it with our actions allthe time, anytime we, as
believers, walk into willful,intentional sin?
Is that not us, at least withour actions, saying God can
(05:19):
forgive this?
Is that not us treating graceas a license to sin?
Paul says by no means are wegoing to do that?
Verse 16 do you not know that ifyou present yourself to anyone
as obedient slaves, you areslaves of the one whom you obey,
either to sin, which leads todeath, or of obedience, which
(05:41):
leads to death, or of obedience,which leads to righteousness.
And there's the two extremes ofthe day that you can be
obedient to sin, which leads todeath, or you can be obedient to
obedience, which leads torighteousness.
So which one do we pick?
(06:02):
It's easy to say the answer outloud.
It can be a little tougher inthe moment.
But I want to talk aboutsomething at the end of this
verse before I look at it as awhole, it's interesting.
At the end he says this that aslave, a servant of obedience
that leads to righteousness.
Now, if you really think aboutthat, does that sound off to us
(06:25):
to righteousness?
Now, if you really think aboutthat, does that sound off to us
that I'm a servant of obediencethat will lead to my
righteousness?
Now, what does that mean?
Because it feels like all ofRomans has led up to the point
to make the point to us that wedon't live in a works-based
faith kind of economy.
That's not what our faith withthe Lord looks like.
And so why, all of a sudden,are we serving obedience that
(06:48):
will lead to righteousness?
That sounds like what it'ssaying is that our obedience
will make us righteous.
So let's take an excursion.
You've been on a cruise shipbefore you go to your port.
You take a quick excursion, youget off the boat, you go
snorkel, you go swim with thedolphin, and then you get back
on.
Let's take a quick excursion.
You get off the boat, you gosnorkel, you go swim with the
dolphin, and then you get backon.
(07:08):
Let's take a quick excursion atthat word righteousness, and
we're going to get back on theboat in a second.
But as we think aboutrighteousness in the Christian
life, I want to talk out of twosides of my mouth, but I believe
I'm justified in doing so.
We can think, the Christian ofrighteousness in two kinds of
ways A positional righteousnessand a righteousness that I am
(07:29):
still growing into, that I amrighteous and I am becoming
righteous.
Think about this Last July yougave me the great privilege
outside of being Katie's husbandand James and Olivia's father.
You gave me the greatestprivilege of my life to be the
senior pastor at First BaptistChurch of El Dorado and when
(07:50):
that happened, a few thingshappened very, very quickly,
very quickly.
When that happened, the titlesenior pastor was put behind my
name.
That instantly the name tag wasprinted.
Put behind my name.
That instantly the name tag wasprinted Taylor Guerin, senior
pastor.
The business cards were there.
(08:12):
I got an email address.
You can go to the website.
It says senior pastor, you cango.
You gave me a new kind ofaccess.
You gave me keys.
In fact, you gave me more keysthan I even know what they go to
and every door I have to tryall seven of them, about seven
times each.
You gave me an office.
There's things that come withthe positional standing of being
senior pastor, and when youcalled me here, you gave me that
(08:35):
title and instantly thatstanding was achieved.
Now, why am I saying that?
Is that just a power trip thismorning, you know who's the boss
type thing?
It's not.
No, not at all.
There's also a sense in whichall the time I've been here and
(08:55):
still time that is to come I'mneeding to grow into the
position of your senior pastor.
There's dining room tables I'vegot to get around and you've
got to get around mine.
There's hospital rooms thatI've got to sit in with you.
There's funerals I've got topreach, maybe of your family
(09:17):
members.
There's weddings I need toofficiate, maybe of your son and
daughter.
Being a senior pastor is morethan just the title.
It's something you live andgrow into.
So think about this In theChristian life.
Taking that illustration, ourjustification in Christ Jesus
(09:39):
has made us righteous, and so ifyou are in Christ Jesus, you
are righteous.
You have that positionalstanding.
If you had the name tag and thebusiness card, it would say
your name and it would sayrighteous before the God of the
universe.
And yet, even still.
That's your positional standingand that cannot and will not
(09:59):
change.
At the same time, here in thislife, you and I are continually
growing in our righteousness inthe here and now.
Positionally, it's a done dealIn Christ, forever righteous In
the here and now.
Sanctification is still ongoing.
We're still growing more andmore in our faith, in our
(10:20):
righteousness, growing more intothe image of Christ.
So in verse 16 at the end, whenhe gives us the second option,
that we can be servants ofobedience which leads to
righteousness, what he's talkingabout in this moment is this
obedience that leads to thatcontinual pursuit of
righteousness in our lives, sothat we can be a servant of sin
(10:41):
which leads to death, or we canbe a servant of sin which leads
to death, or we can be a servantof obedience that will
continually sanctify us throughthe Holy Spirit and will cause
us to look more and more likethe Son, jesus Christ.
And what a gift that is.
But think about verse 16 againas we get back on the boat here.
There's no third option.
(11:03):
Back on the boat here, there'sno third option.
There's no other opportunity.
You can be a servant of twodifferent things, but there is
no third thing, and it'sinteresting how sometimes we
think of freedom that you and Ithink of.
(11:23):
The free life of.
That must mean the absence ofserving anything or anyone.
But I would argue this we findour freedom not by getting no
authority, but by finding theright authority.
We find our freedom by findingthe right authority.
We find our freedom by findingthe right authority.
(11:44):
Think about the country we areso blessed to live in.
We are the land of the free.
I'm thankful for the freedomswe have.
We're the most free country inthe world.
Freedom that's just a word thatis in our vocabulary, always
has been, always will be.
That doesn't mean that we don'thave an authority.
I'm thankful for the authoritywe have, but we still have an
(12:06):
authority.
If you go 80 miles an hour in a30 mile an hour zone, you'll
learn quickly.
There is an authority andthat's a good thing.
That's actually a beautifulthing that law and order exist.
It's a beautiful thing thatthere is a country that protects
our interest and our safety,and so we have freedom.
(12:26):
In the context of our authority,I think of Luke, chapter 15,
where I go all the time.
Maybe you say too much, but theprodigal son.
He thought freedom would befound outside the father's house
.
If I can get away from therules of the father's house,
then I will find freedom.
What did he find?
(12:46):
In the far country that he wasstill enslaved?
He was still a servant ofsomeone, of something, whether
it was his money, whether it washis friends, whether it ended
up being the pig farmer where hehad to live in the pig pen and
feed the pigs.
This was his life.
It wasn't until he got homewhen he realized true freedom
(13:10):
looks like being a servant ofthe Father.
Jesus.
In Matthew 6, he's talking aboutmoney and says this that you
and I, we can't serve twomasters.
We'll love one and hate theother, but we can't serve both
at the same time.
Both can't be ultimate in ourlives.
Joshua 24,.
(13:31):
Towards the end of Joshua,joshua looks at the people of
God and gives them two options,and there's no other options.
You've got to choose this daywho you're going to serve.
If it's going to be thelowercase g gods that you served
in Egypt, it is what it is.
But he says this but as for meand my house, we will serve the
(13:51):
Lord.
There are two options and thereis no in between.
We will be a servant ofsomething.
Will it be sin leads to death,or will it be obedience which
leads to righteousness?
Paul's going to give us a quickanswer Verse 17,.
But thanks be to God that you,who were once slaves of sin,
(14:12):
have become obedient from theheart to the standard of
teaching to which you werecommitted and, having been set
free from sin, you have becomeslaves of righteousness.
So you're still a servant, butnow, because you've been set
free from the sin of the past,you are a servant of
righteousness.
You have a new authority.
(14:34):
You have a new Lord of yourlife, and the Lord of your life
is no longer the sin and deaththat it used to be, but instead
it is Christ Jesus.
This is really good news forthe believer.
Just like we talked aboutmultiple times last week, if you
are in Christ Jesus, you nowhave a new address, a new zip
(14:59):
code.
You don't live where you usedto live.
You used to live there.
You used to know the place well, we all did.
But we don't live there anymorebecause a new thing has
happened, and in Christ Jesus ithas happened, and now we are
able and empowered not to beobedient to death, because
(15:19):
that's the old way, but we canbe obedient to Christ Jesus,
leading to the life ofrighteousness.
But I do want us to see this aswe look at 19 through 21.
You were a servant of sin.
Paul reminded us that just averse or two ago.
But I want to remind us againthat you and I do have a past.
(15:39):
We used to be a servant of sin.
There's no way around it.
I don't want to hurt yourfeelings this morning, but the
truth is.
Outside of Christ, we were aservant of sin.
We were in rebellion to the Godof the universe and serving our
sin.
And don't underestimate sin,don't sell it short.
(16:03):
I think of Ephesians 2, anotherpassage I bring up often.
What does Paul say?
That you were dead in yourtrespasses and sins.
I think of Ezekiel, chapter 37.
God is showing Ezekiel thepeople of God and what they look
like in this moment, giving avision of who the people of God
(16:24):
are.
And he shows Ezekiel in thisvision, the people of God.
And what does he see?
He sees a valley of dry bones.
There's no life.
God asked the question canthese bones live?
Bones live?
(16:46):
Ezekiel knows that only theLord is the one that can make
these live.
They are dead in their sins.
No small fix will do it.
You can't give an antibioticand a steroid to a corpse.
It's got to be resurrection.
And in this vision, the Lordknows.
The Lord is able.
And what does the Lord do?
(17:06):
He brings life.
Don't underestimate our sinVerse 19, I'm speaking in human
terms because of your naturallimitations.
Thank you, paul, for that.
For just as you once presentedyour members as slaves to
impurity and to lawlessness,leading to more lawlessness, so
(17:27):
now present your members asslaves to righteousness, leading
to sanctification Verse 20.
For when you were slaves of sinnot if you were, but when you
were, we all were you were freein regard to righteousness.
But what fruit were you gettingat that time from the things of
which you are now ashamed?
(17:48):
For the end of those things isdeath In the world you used to
live in in the old way, thesinful life.
Paul asks a haunting questionabout our past.
What fruit were you gettingfrom those things of which you
(18:10):
are now ashamed?
Of the things from our pastthat?
We look back on our livesbefore Christ and obviously many
of us as Christians have sinnedgreatly but we look at our past
and there are things of whichwe are ashamed of.
(18:31):
Let me ask you this questionhow do we reckon with the
reality of our past?
How do you reckon with thereality of your past, of sin in
your past?
How do you reckon with thosetimes in life when you have
maybe not walked closely withJesus?
(18:52):
How do you move along in thislife of these things, like Paul
says, of which you are ashamed?
My question are the bricks evil?
That was the title of an articleI read a couple weeks ago in
the New York Times.
Are the bricks evil?
It was an interesting articleand what it was talking about is
(19:12):
this a beautiful village likepicturesque, unbelievable
village in Berlin.
Many families lived here.
It's everything you want to see.
It's like a magazine villagefamilies, little children
running around.
We'd probably all move theretomorrow.
Here's the problem, thoughEveryone who lives there doesn't
(19:35):
know how to deal with the factthat they live there, because
when this beautiful village wasbuilt, it was built for leaders
within the Nazi regime, for themand their families to live in
this utopia, while devastatingevils are carried out elsewhere.
And that's the questionfamilies ask are the bricks evil
(20:00):
?
How do we reckon with a past?
Put that illustration aside fora moment, because obviously
that lives in its owncompartment.
But for all of us trying toreckon with the past, you read
any biography of any individual,unless it's someone that's just
(20:22):
writing for the sake of showingsomeone as an absolute saint.
Any biography you read, whatyou're going to find is that
even the best among us, ourgreatest leaders, our greatest
heroes, our greatest men andwomen, we're very flawed.
You go to Scripture itself.
You see the heroes of the faith, and I praise God for the
(20:46):
heroes of the faith.
I praise God for theseindividuals in scripture that
give us such a beautiful pictureof what a faithful life looks
like.
But then you also see portraitsof these individuals that
they're not as proud of.
You see even the best among us,of Abraham and Moses and David,
(21:06):
and certainly our author here,paul.
My goodness, how does he reckonwith this past?
You see these things that theywould look with Paul, that.
What fruit was I gaining fromthose things of which I was so
ashamed?
And so, as we think about thepast of even our own lives, how
do we reckon with it?
How do we live in light of apast of which we are ashamed?
(21:31):
Verse 22 tells us but nowanother conjunction.
But now you have been set freefrom sin and have become slaves
of God.
The fruit you get leads tosanctification and its end
(21:53):
eternal life.
How do we reckon with the past?
Let me give you the point.
You are now a servant of Christ.
If I hadn't done it right, thenI was going to forget it.
You are now a servant of Christ.
And so, in this, how do youreckon with the past?
You tell yourself the truth.
You tell yourself the truth ofthe situation, the truth of
(22:18):
verse 22,.
But now that you have been setfree from sin, you become slaves
of God.
The fruit you get leads tosanctification.
It's in eternal life.
You preach to yourself thattruth.
Hear this.
Even when you don't exactlyfeel that truth, you let the
facts of the situation weigh out, even over a certain feeling,
(22:42):
in a situation, even when itmight feel like, lord, have I
sinned too much?
Lord, could you really forgiveme?
Lord, could you really call mea child of God?
You run to God's word.
You preach that over yourself,that even when I don't feel my
best and even when it feels likemy sin is just too much, I run
(23:04):
to the word of God.
And I see those words, but nowthat I have a new standing, that
the facts now speak louder thaneven my feelings at times, that
in Christ our life now getsproperly oriented.
I love the story of MartinLuther, you know, 500 years ago,
(23:26):
and he talks of a night whenthe accuser, the evil one.
It just felt like he was on hiscase and he just felt like in
the night that the evil one wasjust reminding him of all of his
past sin, all of his past sin,and it felt like he just kept
bringing his past sin to hismind.
And finally Martin Luther, asonly he could, just yells out
(23:50):
into the night to the evil one.
He says this I know all of thatsin.
And then he says this in fact,I know even some sin that you
(24:13):
didn't name.
Glorious thought, my sin, notin part, but the whole.
Where is it?
It's nailed to the cross.
I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, oh my soul, forthe believer.
Will you let the fact that youare justified, that you are
(24:34):
forgiven, would you let the factspeak louder than maybe even
the feelings that the evil onewants to come at you with when
the accuser comes to you toaccuse you?
Would you let the facts of lifein Christ Jesus, that you are
forgiven, would you let thatspeak louder?
(24:55):
That you are now a servant ofChrist?
Verse 23,.
For the wages of sin is death.
What do you get for sin?
From the very beginning,genesis, chapter 3, death.
Man and woman cast out of thegarden.
(25:16):
Spiritually death separatedfrom the communion they had with
God.
Certainly, death entered theworld.
They would one day die.
So the wages of sin is death.
Nothing has changed.
What we get for our sin isdeath.
But look at this but the freegift of God is eternal life in
(25:40):
Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Is there such thing as a freegift?
Does that really happen?
Hgtv every year gives away theHGTV Dream Home.
You've seen this the HGTV DreamHome.
They've been doing about 25years and it's just this
beautiful property somewhere,unbelievable.
(26:04):
I mean, they furnish it sobeautifully and every year
someone's name gets chosen andthey get the HGTV Dream Home In
2023,.
Just one example a lady fromSouth Carolina won the HGTV
Dream Home, a $2.7 millionproperty in Morrison, colorado.
What a joy that is that thislady from South Carolina now has
(26:26):
this beautiful, again almost $3million property.
I'll tell you who was equallyas excited as the lady from
South Carolina is the USgovernment and the friends at
the IRS, because that $2.7million property is now taxable
income.
And so for this lady to stepfoot in her free dream home, it
was $900,000 to the federalgovernment.
(26:47):
It was $120,000 to the state ofSouth Carolina and $20,000 to
the federal government.
It was $120,000 to the state ofSouth Carolina and $20,000 to
the state of Colorado.
So she was about $900,000 justto get her free dream home.
Is there really such thing as afree gift?
Is there really such thing as agift where, quite literally, no
(27:10):
strings are attached?
I'll tell you this this morningthere is one.
There may be only one, butthere is one that the free gift
of God, eternal life in ChristJesus, our Lord.
(27:30):
If you want proof, there are nostrings attached.
You and I are so unable of evenhandling any strings that are
attached.
You and I are so unworthy ofthis gift.
The second strings wereattached, we'd fall apart of
(27:52):
this gift.
The second strings wereattached, we'd fall apart.
In fact, if anything I've saidit before we come into as
recipients of this gift, we comein the negative.
My sin already puts this behind.
I don't deserve this gift.
And yet the free gift that hasbeen given that is the fact of
the situation, of your situation, the free gift of God it's
eternal life in Christ Jesus,our Lord.
(28:13):
But let's say one other thingand anticipate the objection.
Well, taylor, you call it a freegift, but what we've talked
about now is a life of obedience, that, once we have the gospel,
we are called to be obedient.
We are called to do good worksfor the sake of Christ.
In response, now, aren't someof those good works?
Isn't that way?
Maybe back pay, we could callit, maybe just paying God back
(28:35):
for all that he has done for us?
Again, we've got to structurehow we view our obedience.
Let me ask you a question.
When my son James comes intothe living room and he asks me
Dad, it's a nice day, not today,but on a nice day he says it's
(28:58):
a nice day, could we go to theplayscape?
That conversation has happenedbefore.
Could we go to the playscape?
And let's say it's a good timeto go, we're going to go.
And I look at them and I saythis let's do it.
I say this I say run to yourroom, get your shoes on and meet
(29:18):
me at the front door.
Let me ask you a question.
That command I just gave him togo get his shoes, does that
sound more like duty or delight?
Does that sound like rule orregulation?
Or does that sound like adelight that leads to absolute
(29:41):
freedom and joy and time withhis imperfect earthly father?
When the Lord gives us from hisword these beautiful words of
life for how to live and how togrow, and how to grow in our
sanctification in him, wesometimes think of duty, I have
(30:05):
to, I must, I better, I thinkeverything changes when we think
of it in terms of delight.
I get to, I desire, because myperfect heavenly father has
given me all things in ChristJesus, the free gift that I
(30:28):
could not, cannot, will not everbe able to repay, and out of a
love and obedience for him.
You know what I want to do.
I want to follow.
That's the life in Christ Jesus, the life that has moved from
being a slave to sin to a slaveof righteousness, a servant of
(30:50):
obedience leading tosanctification, knowing that, at
the end of all things, life isours in Christ Jesus, not just
now, but for eternity.
Believer, what would it looklike today To move from duty to
delight, to spend time gettingto know the Lord in his word,
(31:15):
not because you have to butbecause you get to to, but
because you get to by lovingsomeone, helping someone,
serving someone who certainlycan't do anything in return for
you.
Not because you have to, butbecause you get to by praying
for that individual and let thatindividual know you're praying
for them, not because you haveto, because you get to by
(31:38):
serving.
This is not some shameless plug.
This is real.
By serving at VBS next week,not because you have to, but
because you get to, by prayingfor VBS next week, not because
you have to, but because you getto, but reorienting everything
in your life Because I don'thave to obey so that I can earn
(31:58):
my way.
I get to love and serve andobey and it is my delight.
Why?
Because the fact is this thatin Christ Jesus I have moved
from death to life.
And maybe for the unbeliever inthe room, if today is the day
you want to get to know ChristJesus, I'd love to introduce him
to you.
(32:19):
Maybe you want to join thischurch family?
I'd love for that to happen.
But however you need to respond.
I'll be right down front in amoment, if I can pray over you
in any way.
But however you'd respond, Iask that you do that in just a
moment.
Let me pray for us.
Lord Jesus, thank you, thankyou for your word, thank you
(32:40):
that we no longer have to beslaves of sin because we now are
servants of you.
And so, lord, teach us more andmore what that means.
Teach us more and more what itmeans to serve you, to love you,
to love others.
Well, not out of duty, but outof delight.
Well, not out of duty, but outof delight.
(33:02):
Not out of a have to but a getto, a desire to Lord.
Teach us what that looks like,day by day, to follow your
commands for your glory.
And, lord, if there is one, ifthere is more that now needs to
(33:23):
respond, I pray that they woulddo it.
I pray this in Christ's nameAmen.
Would you stand now as weworship together?
1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado.
Will you join me now inlistening to our sermon from
this week?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You open your Bibles with me this morning to Romans,
chapter 6.
We'll be in verses 15 through23 today, as we see the second
half of chapter 6 that we beganlast week.
Let me pray for us.
Lord Jesus, thank you so muchfor your word this time in your
(00:52):
word.
Thank you for our worshipleaders that have faithfully led
us this morning.
Thank you for the picture ofthe gospel that's already been
proclaimed through baptism, andthank you for what you're doing
in this church in this time.
We lift this time up to you.
Would you speak your words byyour spirit.
We ask, in Christ's name, amen.
(01:16):
I think it's fair today that welive in a world of extremes.
A world of extremes.
It seems like everywhere youlook, more and more things are
pushed to the extreme.
Examples you think ofpoliticians in 2025.
There was a day when to be amoderate was actually something
(01:38):
many people desired to do andthey thought that would get them
more of an audience stillcertainly within their political
party, but maybe closer tocenter.
Now it kind of feels like a lotof the politicians, on any and
every side, that make the mostheadlines are the furthest
extreme.
You think in sports.
(01:58):
Think about the coach of yourcollege team, your professional
team.
You've got two options, twoextremes.
You can win the whole thing oryou can be looking for a job.
That's how we define your roleand your time as our head coach.
We live in a world of extremes.
Now, usually I would tell youand tell myself to be careful
(02:22):
going out on the extremes.
Usually somewhere in the middleis the safe place to be, is the
wise place to be, not all theway one way or another.
And yet there are times whereit's important that we see the
extremes that exist.
And there are times Paul wantsto show us that we go towards
(02:43):
one extreme or the other, onedirection or the other, and
there is no in between.
And that's exactly what we seethis morning.
And really chapter 6, the secondhalf is really a continuation
of the first half.
If you hear this message thismorning and you say, taylor,
(03:05):
that really sounds a lot likewhat you said last week, you're
going to have to take it up withPaul, because I was reading
Paul this week and it soundedlike what he said last week.
And so he's making thisargument throughout Romans 6,
that we're going to serve onemaster master, and it can be the
(03:31):
master of sin, or it can be themaster of life in Jesus Christ,
and Jesus can be our master.
We've got two options and thereis no middle ground.
What I want us to see first isthis you will be a servant of
something.
You will be a servant ofsomething.
Look with me at verse 15.
What then?
Are we to sin because we arenot under law but under grace?
By no means, just like lastweek.
(03:53):
Once again, paul isanticipating the question.
This sounds almost exactly likewhat he said in verse 1 last
week.
Last week, he said this whatthen?
Shall we continue in sin?
That grace may abound.
If God's grace abounds over allsin, then won't that mean, as
we talked about last week, won'tthat mean that more sin equals
(04:13):
more grace?
Paul says by no means.
That's not how we're to thinkabout it.
Today, the question is almostthe same, slightly more general.
Well, if, in general, we're notunder the law but under grace,
can't we just sin, just likelast week?
Doesn't this give us a licenseto sin?
(04:34):
And just like last week, I'dsay this hopefully none of us
would say that out loud.
Hopefully none of us out loudwould look to the Lord and say
God, I know how gracious you are, I know your forgiveness is
going to be there, and so I'mjust going to go ahead and
commit this sin, because I knowyou've got me on the other side.
Lord willing, all of us in thisroom would not say those words
(04:57):
out loud.
And yet, just like last weekwhen we talked about it, do we
not say it with our actions allthe time, anytime we, as
believers, walk into willful,intentional sin?
Is that not us, at least withour actions, saying God can
(05:19):
forgive this?
Is that not us treating graceas a license to sin?
Paul says by no means are wegoing to do that?
Verse 16 do you not know that ifyou present yourself to anyone
as obedient slaves, you areslaves of the one whom you obey,
either to sin, which leads todeath, or of obedience, which
(05:41):
leads to death, or of obedience,which leads to righteousness.
And there's the two extremes ofthe day that you can be
obedient to sin, which leads todeath, or you can be obedient to
obedience, which leads torighteousness.
So which one do we pick?
(06:02):
It's easy to say the answer outloud.
It can be a little tougher inthe moment.
But I want to talk aboutsomething at the end of this
verse before I look at it as awhole, it's interesting.
At the end he says this that aslave, a servant of obedience
that leads to righteousness.
Now, if you really think aboutthat, does that sound off to us
(06:25):
to righteousness?
Now, if you really think aboutthat, does that sound off to us
that I'm a servant of obediencethat will lead to my
righteousness?
Now, what does that mean?
Because it feels like all ofRomans has led up to the point
to make the point to us that wedon't live in a works-based
faith kind of economy.
That's not what our faith withthe Lord looks like.
And so why, all of a sudden,are we serving obedience that
(06:48):
will lead to righteousness?
That sounds like what it'ssaying is that our obedience
will make us righteous.
So let's take an excursion.
You've been on a cruise shipbefore you go to your port.
You take a quick excursion, youget off the boat, you go
snorkel, you go swim with thedolphin, and then you get back
on.
Let's take a quick excursion.
You get off the boat, you gosnorkel, you go swim with the
dolphin, and then you get backon.
(07:08):
Let's take a quick excursion atthat word righteousness, and
we're going to get back on theboat in a second.
But as we think aboutrighteousness in the Christian
life, I want to talk out of twosides of my mouth, but I believe
I'm justified in doing so.
We can think, the Christian ofrighteousness in two kinds of
ways A positional righteousnessand a righteousness that I am
(07:29):
still growing into, that I amrighteous and I am becoming
righteous.
Think about this Last July yougave me the great privilege
outside of being Katie's husbandand James and Olivia's father.
You gave me the greatestprivilege of my life to be the
senior pastor at First BaptistChurch of El Dorado and when
(07:50):
that happened, a few thingshappened very, very quickly,
very quickly.
When that happened, the titlesenior pastor was put behind my
name.
That instantly the name tag wasprinted.
Put behind my name.
That instantly the name tag wasprinted Taylor Guerin, senior
pastor.
The business cards were there.
(08:12):
I got an email address.
You can go to the website.
It says senior pastor, you cango.
You gave me a new kind ofaccess.
You gave me keys.
In fact, you gave me more keysthan I even know what they go to
and every door I have to tryall seven of them, about seven
times each.
You gave me an office.
There's things that come withthe positional standing of being
senior pastor, and when youcalled me here, you gave me that
(08:35):
title and instantly thatstanding was achieved.
Now, why am I saying that?
Is that just a power trip thismorning, you know who's the boss
type thing?
It's not.
No, not at all.
There's also a sense in whichall the time I've been here and
(08:55):
still time that is to come I'mneeding to grow into the
position of your senior pastor.
There's dining room tables I'vegot to get around and you've
got to get around mine.
There's hospital rooms thatI've got to sit in with you.
There's funerals I've got topreach, maybe of your family
(09:17):
members.
There's weddings I need toofficiate, maybe of your son and
daughter.
Being a senior pastor is morethan just the title.
It's something you live andgrow into.
So think about this In theChristian life.
Taking that illustration, ourjustification in Christ Jesus
(09:39):
has made us righteous, and so ifyou are in Christ Jesus, you
are righteous.
You have that positionalstanding.
If you had the name tag and thebusiness card, it would say
your name and it would sayrighteous before the God of the
universe.
And yet, even still.
That's your positional standingand that cannot and will not
(09:59):
change.
At the same time, here in thislife, you and I are continually
growing in our righteousness inthe here and now.
Positionally, it's a done dealIn Christ, forever righteous In
the here and now.
Sanctification is still ongoing.
We're still growing more andmore in our faith, in our
(10:20):
righteousness, growing more intothe image of Christ.
So in verse 16 at the end, whenhe gives us the second option,
that we can be servants ofobedience which leads to
righteousness, what he's talkingabout in this moment is this
obedience that leads to thatcontinual pursuit of
righteousness in our lives, sothat we can be a servant of sin
(10:41):
which leads to death, or we canbe a servant of sin which leads
to death, or we can be a servantof obedience that will
continually sanctify us throughthe Holy Spirit and will cause
us to look more and more likethe Son, jesus Christ.
And what a gift that is.
But think about verse 16 againas we get back on the boat here.
There's no third option.
(11:03):
Back on the boat here, there'sno third option.
There's no other opportunity.
You can be a servant of twodifferent things, but there is
no third thing, and it'sinteresting how sometimes we
think of freedom that you and Ithink of.
(11:23):
The free life of.
That must mean the absence ofserving anything or anyone.
But I would argue this we findour freedom not by getting no
authority, but by finding theright authority.
We find our freedom by findingthe right authority.
We find our freedom by findingthe right authority.
(11:44):
Think about the country we areso blessed to live in.
We are the land of the free.
I'm thankful for the freedomswe have.
We're the most free country inthe world.
Freedom that's just a word thatis in our vocabulary, always
has been, always will be.
That doesn't mean that we don'thave an authority.
I'm thankful for the authoritywe have, but we still have an
(12:06):
authority.
If you go 80 miles an hour in a30 mile an hour zone, you'll
learn quickly.
There is an authority andthat's a good thing.
That's actually a beautifulthing that law and order exist.
It's a beautiful thing thatthere is a country that protects
our interest and our safety,and so we have freedom.
(12:26):
In the context of our authority,I think of Luke, chapter 15,
where I go all the time.
Maybe you say too much, but theprodigal son.
He thought freedom would befound outside the father's house
.
If I can get away from therules of the father's house,
then I will find freedom.
What did he find?
(12:46):
In the far country that he wasstill enslaved?
He was still a servant ofsomeone, of something, whether
it was his money, whether it washis friends, whether it ended
up being the pig farmer where hehad to live in the pig pen and
feed the pigs.
This was his life.
It wasn't until he got homewhen he realized true freedom
(13:10):
looks like being a servant ofthe Father.
Jesus.
In Matthew 6, he's talking aboutmoney and says this that you
and I, we can't serve twomasters.
We'll love one and hate theother, but we can't serve both
at the same time.
Both can't be ultimate in ourlives.
Joshua 24,.
(13:31):
Towards the end of Joshua,joshua looks at the people of
God and gives them two options,and there's no other options.
You've got to choose this daywho you're going to serve.
If it's going to be thelowercase g gods that you served
in Egypt, it is what it is.
But he says this but as for meand my house, we will serve the
(13:51):
Lord.
There are two options and thereis no in between.
We will be a servant ofsomething.
Will it be sin leads to death,or will it be obedience which
leads to righteousness?
Paul's going to give us a quickanswer Verse 17,.
But thanks be to God that you,who were once slaves of sin,
(14:12):
have become obedient from theheart to the standard of
teaching to which you werecommitted and, having been set
free from sin, you have becomeslaves of righteousness.
So you're still a servant, butnow, because you've been set
free from the sin of the past,you are a servant of
righteousness.
You have a new authority.
(14:34):
You have a new Lord of yourlife, and the Lord of your life
is no longer the sin and deaththat it used to be, but instead
it is Christ Jesus.
This is really good news forthe believer.
Just like we talked aboutmultiple times last week, if you
are in Christ Jesus, you nowhave a new address, a new zip
(14:59):
code.
You don't live where you usedto live.
You used to live there.
You used to know the place well, we all did.
But we don't live there anymorebecause a new thing has
happened, and in Christ Jesus ithas happened, and now we are
able and empowered not to beobedient to death, because
(15:19):
that's the old way, but we canbe obedient to Christ Jesus,
leading to the life ofrighteousness.
But I do want us to see this aswe look at 19 through 21.
You were a servant of sin.
Paul reminded us that just averse or two ago.
But I want to remind us againthat you and I do have a past.
(15:39):
We used to be a servant of sin.
There's no way around it.
I don't want to hurt yourfeelings this morning, but the
truth is.
Outside of Christ, we were aservant of sin.
We were in rebellion to the Godof the universe and serving our
sin.
And don't underestimate sin,don't sell it short.
(16:03):
I think of Ephesians 2, anotherpassage I bring up often.
What does Paul say?
That you were dead in yourtrespasses and sins.
I think of Ezekiel, chapter 37.
God is showing Ezekiel thepeople of God and what they look
like in this moment, giving avision of who the people of God
(16:24):
are.
And he shows Ezekiel in thisvision, the people of God.
And what does he see?
He sees a valley of dry bones.
There's no life.
God asked the question canthese bones live?
Bones live?
(16:46):
Ezekiel knows that only theLord is the one that can make
these live.
They are dead in their sins.
No small fix will do it.
You can't give an antibioticand a steroid to a corpse.
It's got to be resurrection.
And in this vision, the Lordknows.
The Lord is able.
And what does the Lord do?
(17:06):
He brings life.
Don't underestimate our sinVerse 19, I'm speaking in human
terms because of your naturallimitations.
Thank you, paul, for that.
For just as you once presentedyour members as slaves to
impurity and to lawlessness,leading to more lawlessness, so
(17:27):
now present your members asslaves to righteousness, leading
to sanctification Verse 20.
For when you were slaves of sinnot if you were, but when you
were, we all were you were freein regard to righteousness.
But what fruit were you gettingat that time from the things of
which you are now ashamed?
(17:48):
For the end of those things isdeath In the world you used to
live in in the old way, thesinful life.
Paul asks a haunting questionabout our past.
What fruit were you gettingfrom those things of which you
(18:10):
are now ashamed?
Of the things from our pastthat?
We look back on our livesbefore Christ and obviously many
of us as Christians have sinnedgreatly but we look at our past
and there are things of whichwe are ashamed of.
(18:31):
Let me ask you this questionhow do we reckon with the
reality of our past?
How do you reckon with thereality of your past, of sin in
your past?
How do you reckon with thosetimes in life when you have
maybe not walked closely withJesus?
(18:52):
How do you move along in thislife of these things, like Paul
says, of which you are ashamed?
My question are the bricks evil?
That was the title of an articleI read a couple weeks ago in
the New York Times.
Are the bricks evil?
It was an interesting articleand what it was talking about is
(19:12):
this a beautiful village likepicturesque, unbelievable
village in Berlin.
Many families lived here.
It's everything you want to see.
It's like a magazine villagefamilies, little children
running around.
We'd probably all move theretomorrow.
Here's the problem, thoughEveryone who lives there doesn't
(19:35):
know how to deal with the factthat they live there, because
when this beautiful village wasbuilt, it was built for leaders
within the Nazi regime, for themand their families to live in
this utopia, while devastatingevils are carried out elsewhere.
And that's the questionfamilies ask are the bricks evil
(20:00):
?
How do we reckon with a past?
Put that illustration aside fora moment, because obviously
that lives in its owncompartment.
But for all of us trying toreckon with the past, you read
any biography of any individual,unless it's someone that's just
(20:22):
writing for the sake of showingsomeone as an absolute saint.
Any biography you read, whatyou're going to find is that
even the best among us, ourgreatest leaders, our greatest
heroes, our greatest men andwomen, we're very flawed.
You go to Scripture itself.
You see the heroes of the faith, and I praise God for the
(20:46):
heroes of the faith.
I praise God for theseindividuals in scripture that
give us such a beautiful pictureof what a faithful life looks
like.
But then you also see portraitsof these individuals that
they're not as proud of.
You see even the best among us,of Abraham and Moses and David,
(21:06):
and certainly our author here,paul.
My goodness, how does he reckonwith this past?
You see these things that theywould look with Paul, that.
What fruit was I gaining fromthose things of which I was so
ashamed?
And so, as we think about thepast of even our own lives, how
do we reckon with it?
How do we live in light of apast of which we are ashamed?
(21:31):
Verse 22 tells us but nowanother conjunction.
But now you have been set freefrom sin and have become slaves
of God.
The fruit you get leads tosanctification and its end
(21:53):
eternal life.
How do we reckon with the past?
Let me give you the point.
You are now a servant of Christ.
If I hadn't done it right, thenI was going to forget it.
You are now a servant of Christ.
And so, in this, how do youreckon with the past?
You tell yourself the truth.
You tell yourself the truth ofthe situation, the truth of
(22:18):
verse 22,.
But now that you have been setfree from sin, you become slaves
of God.
The fruit you get leads tosanctification.
It's in eternal life.
You preach to yourself thattruth.
Hear this.
Even when you don't exactlyfeel that truth, you let the
facts of the situation weigh out, even over a certain feeling,
(22:42):
in a situation, even when itmight feel like, lord, have I
sinned too much?
Lord, could you really forgiveme?
Lord, could you really call mea child of God?
You run to God's word.
You preach that over yourself,that even when I don't feel my
best and even when it feels likemy sin is just too much, I run
(23:04):
to the word of God.
And I see those words, but nowthat I have a new standing, that
the facts now speak louder thaneven my feelings at times, that
in Christ our life now getsproperly oriented.
I love the story of MartinLuther, you know, 500 years ago,
(23:26):
and he talks of a night whenthe accuser, the evil one.
It just felt like he was on hiscase and he just felt like in
the night that the evil one wasjust reminding him of all of his
past sin, all of his past sin,and it felt like he just kept
bringing his past sin to hismind.
And finally Martin Luther, asonly he could, just yells out
(23:50):
into the night to the evil one.
He says this I know all of thatsin.
And then he says this in fact,I know even some sin that you
(24:13):
didn't name.
Glorious thought, my sin, notin part, but the whole.
Where is it?
It's nailed to the cross.
I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, oh my soul, forthe believer.
Will you let the fact that youare justified, that you are
(24:34):
forgiven, would you let the factspeak louder than maybe even
the feelings that the evil onewants to come at you with when
the accuser comes to you toaccuse you?
Would you let the facts of lifein Christ Jesus, that you are
forgiven, would you let thatspeak louder?
(24:55):
That you are now a servant ofChrist?
Verse 23,.
For the wages of sin is death.
What do you get for sin?
From the very beginning,genesis, chapter 3, death.
Man and woman cast out of thegarden.
(25:16):
Spiritually death separatedfrom the communion they had with
God.
Certainly, death entered theworld.
They would one day die.
So the wages of sin is death.
Nothing has changed.
What we get for our sin isdeath.
But look at this but the freegift of God is eternal life in
(25:40):
Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Is there such thing as a freegift?
Does that really happen?
Hgtv every year gives away theHGTV Dream Home.
You've seen this the HGTV DreamHome.
They've been doing about 25years and it's just this
beautiful property somewhere,unbelievable.
(26:04):
I mean, they furnish it sobeautifully and every year
someone's name gets chosen andthey get the HGTV Dream Home In
2023,.
Just one example a lady fromSouth Carolina won the HGTV
Dream Home, a $2.7 millionproperty in Morrison, colorado.
What a joy that is that thislady from South Carolina now has
(26:26):
this beautiful, again almost $3million property.
I'll tell you who was equallyas excited as the lady from
South Carolina is the USgovernment and the friends at
the IRS, because that $2.7million property is now taxable
income.
And so for this lady to stepfoot in her free dream home, it
was $900,000 to the federalgovernment.
(26:47):
It was $120,000 to the state ofSouth Carolina and $20,000 to
the federal government.
It was $120,000 to the state ofSouth Carolina and $20,000 to
the state of Colorado.
So she was about $900,000 justto get her free dream home.
Is there really such thing as afree gift?
Is there really such thing as agift where, quite literally, no
(27:10):
strings are attached?
I'll tell you this this morningthere is one.
There may be only one, butthere is one that the free gift
of God, eternal life in ChristJesus, our Lord.
(27:30):
If you want proof, there are nostrings attached.
You and I are so unable of evenhandling any strings that are
attached.
You and I are so unworthy ofthis gift.
The second strings wereattached, we'd fall apart of
(27:52):
this gift.
The second strings wereattached, we'd fall apart.
In fact, if anything I've saidit before we come into as
recipients of this gift, we comein the negative.
My sin already puts this behind.
I don't deserve this gift.
And yet the free gift that hasbeen given that is the fact of
the situation, of your situation, the free gift of God it's
eternal life in Christ Jesus,our Lord.
(28:13):
But let's say one other thingand anticipate the objection.
Well, taylor, you call it a freegift, but what we've talked
about now is a life of obedience, that, once we have the gospel,
we are called to be obedient.
We are called to do good worksfor the sake of Christ.
In response, now, aren't someof those good works?
Isn't that way?
Maybe back pay, we could callit, maybe just paying God back
(28:35):
for all that he has done for us?
Again, we've got to structurehow we view our obedience.
Let me ask you a question.
When my son James comes intothe living room and he asks me
Dad, it's a nice day, not today,but on a nice day he says it's
(28:58):
a nice day, could we go to theplayscape?
That conversation has happenedbefore.
Could we go to the playscape?
And let's say it's a good timeto go, we're going to go.
And I look at them and I saythis let's do it.
I say this I say run to yourroom, get your shoes on and meet
(29:18):
me at the front door.
Let me ask you a question.
That command I just gave him togo get his shoes, does that
sound more like duty or delight?
Does that sound like rule orregulation?
Or does that sound like adelight that leads to absolute
(29:41):
freedom and joy and time withhis imperfect earthly father?
When the Lord gives us from hisword these beautiful words of
life for how to live and how togrow, and how to grow in our
sanctification in him, wesometimes think of duty, I have
(30:05):
to, I must, I better, I thinkeverything changes when we think
of it in terms of delight.
I get to, I desire, because myperfect heavenly father has
given me all things in ChristJesus, the free gift that I
(30:28):
could not, cannot, will not everbe able to repay, and out of a
love and obedience for him.
You know what I want to do.
I want to follow.
That's the life in Christ Jesus, the life that has moved from
being a slave to sin to a slaveof righteousness, a servant of
(30:50):
obedience leading tosanctification, knowing that, at
the end of all things, life isours in Christ Jesus, not just
now, but for eternity.
Believer, what would it looklike today To move from duty to
delight, to spend time gettingto know the Lord in his word,
(31:15):
not because you have to butbecause you get to to, but
because you get to by lovingsomeone, helping someone,
serving someone who certainlycan't do anything in return for
you.
Not because you have to, butbecause you get to by praying
for that individual and let thatindividual know you're praying
for them, not because you haveto, because you get to by
(31:38):
serving.
This is not some shameless plug.
This is real.
By serving at VBS next week,not because you have to, but
because you get to, by prayingfor VBS next week, not because
you have to, but because you getto, but reorienting everything
in your life Because I don'thave to obey so that I can earn
(31:58):
my way.
I get to love and serve andobey and it is my delight.
Why?
Because the fact is this thatin Christ Jesus I have moved
from death to life.
And maybe for the unbeliever inthe room, if today is the day
you want to get to know ChristJesus, I'd love to introduce him
to you.
(32:19):
Maybe you want to join thischurch family?
I'd love for that to happen.
But however you need to respond.
I'll be right down front in amoment, if I can pray over you
in any way.
But however you'd respond, Iask that you do that in just a
moment.
Let me pray for us.
Lord Jesus, thank you, thankyou for your word, thank you
(32:40):
that we no longer have to beslaves of sin because we now are
servants of you.
And so, lord, teach us more andmore what that means.
Teach us more and more what itmeans to serve you, to love you,
to love others.
Well, not out of duty, but outof delight.
Well, not out of duty, but outof delight.
(33:02):
Not out of a have to but a getto, a desire to Lord.
Teach us what that looks like,day by day, to follow your
commands for your glory.
And, lord, if there is one, ifthere is more that now needs to
(33:23):
respond, I pray that they woulddo it.
I pray this in Christ's nameAmen.
Would you stand now as weworship together?
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