This was the headline from a newscast on April 8, 2019:
“Lion Attacks Trainer During Performance in Ukraine”
I would like you to watch this video clip and then think about all the things that are wrong here. It’s only 30 seconds, but after seeing this, I have some questions.
(play “Lion Tamer” video)
I don’t own a lion. I have never trained a lion, but I have cats, and I know cats are untrainable. They do what they want when they want, and sometimes my little 5 lb cat bites my leg when she wants attention. I’m trying to imagine what that would look like if she were a 550 lb, full-grown male lion instead of a 5 lb house cat.
There are so, so, so, many stories about trainers being attacked by their big cats that you would think people would have stopped doing it, but no!
“No big deal”, he said. “It’s happened before.”
So this guy is right back in the ring with the cat that tried to eat him. That’s the big head-scratcher for me. That doesn’t seem like a good decision to me.
1 Ptr 5:8 (CSB)—Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
Peter warns against the devil, who, like a roaring lion, is trying to devour you. The devil can’t take away our justification. He can’t change how God sees us. Once we have given our lives to Jesus, we are his, and when God looks at us, He doesn’t see our sin; He only sees the righteousness of Jesus.
Nothing can change that, not even the devil. But he can keep us from experiencing the abundant life Jesus promises us, and he can keep us from being effective in our walk with Jesus.
How does the devil do that? He lies to us and convinces us to allow sin into our lives.
Heb 12:1 (CSB)—Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us.
Sin can easily ensnare us and can hinder us from living the life that God wants us to live, the abundant life Jesus has promised.
The Devil is sneaky and has convinced us that sin is like a 5 lb house cat when, in reality, it is a 550 lb full-grown lion. We ought to treat it like the dangerous animal that it is instead of pretending that we don’t have to worry about it eating us while we try to give it scritches.
And here’s the thing. We’ve been attacked by that big cat many times. We have the scars to prove it. Yet, we still climb into the ring with the lion that attacked us. What do you think will happen if you climb into the ring with a cat that has already had a taste of you?
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We are finishing up chapter 6 of Romans today. We started back into Romans last week. In case you were not here, let me give you a quick recap.
In the first five chapters of Romans, Paul clearly states that forgiveness for our sin and finding peace with God is a free gift. It happens when we, by faith, acknowledge that Jesus is God’s Son, that He died on the cross to cover our sin, but three days later, He rose from the dead. When we believe this and give our lives to Christ, we are justified, which means we are not just forgiven, but when God looks at us, He sees us as if we never sinned. We are forgiven for our past, present, and future sins. It is by God’s grace we are saved.
Paul begins the next section of Romans by saying that, just so there is no misunderstanding about our forgiveness, being forgiven does not mean we can continue sin. Now that we belong to Christ, we are new creations and have received a new identity. Like Christ was raised from the dead, we have been raised to live a new life. Not only do we have a new identity, but we have also been freed from the power that sin has over us. Now, armed with the knowledge that we have a new identity and are free from the power of sin, we can choose not to let sin rule us.
Why is all of this important? Because sin equals death. Sin equals heartache. Sin equals separation from God. Sin equals brokenness. Jesus died to free us from those things and allow us to experience the abundant life He promised us.
The title of today’s sermon is Free From Sin to Serve New. Not only have we been freed from sin to live new lives, but now we are free to serve in a new way.
When we talk about avoiding sin, it is not that God wants to put parameters on the kind of fun we have. The bottom line is God is protecting us from the results of allowing sin to rule us.
God wants to keep us from climbing back into the circus ring with a 550 lb lion that has already gotten a taste of us and is hungry for more.
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Rom 6:15 (CSB)—What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Absolutely not!
Like verse 1, Paul asks another clarifying question so there will be no misunderstanding. He says now that we no longer follow a list of dos and don’ts, which is what the old law was, we have been given freedom because of God’s grace. Should we use that freedom to sin?
What is Paul’s answer? Absolutely not! Just because you can climb in the circus ring with that cat that wants to eat you, should you? Absolutely not!
Rom 6:16-18 (CSB)—Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.
No matter how independent you think you are, or how in control you think you are or how much you think you are the master of your destiny, the real truth is that we all build our identity on something, and we all choose to serve something or someone.
I’ve shared this lyric line before from the Bob Dylan song, Gotta Serve Somebody:
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
—Bob Dylan
Paul says, “you are slaves of that one you choose to obey.” But thank God you listened to the message of the gospel and have now been set free from your old master, sin. Now, you have a new master, righteousness.
Rom 6:19 (CSB)—I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification.
It is difficult sometimes to put these spiritual truths into language, but he says I’m trying to explain this in a way you can understand.
Ravi Zacharias had a very true saying:
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
― Ravi Zacharias
The irony of this statement is that after Ravi’s death, it was revealed that he was using his ministry to lure women and sexually abuse them.
It’s too bad that he did not heed his own words. Instead, he allowed sin to be his master. But his words still ring true. The sin he allowed to rule him too away his reputation, shamed his family, and ultimately cost him his legacy.
Paul’s point in verse 19 is that in the same way that sin leads you down a path that results in a price you don’t want to pay, righteousness also leads you down a path. The path of righteousness leads us to sanctification.
Verse 19 says, “now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification.”
Sin leads to more sin, but righteousness leads to increasing righteousness.
Sanctification: Hagiasmos ἁγιασμός = being made holy, or purified, becoming more like Jesus.
Becoming more like Jesus is the goal of our faith.
The Apostle John puts it this way:
1 Jn 3:2-3 (CSB)—Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.
We can never be like Jesus in His deity, but we can share in His holiness. One day we will be perfected in holiness, but until then, we should do our best to follow His example of obedience to the Father.
In Romans 6, in the first 14 verses, Paul says that we were given a new identity when we gave our lives to Chris,t and we have been freed from the power that sin once had over us. Now we can choose a new way of living. We can turn our backs on sin and allow God to help us make new choices.
Now, in the last section of chapter 6, Paul is saying that when we begin making those new choices, a change begins to happen. This change is called sanctification; we begin to look more like Jesus.
Rom 6:20-21 (CSB)—For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death.
Before we gave our lives to Christ, when we were enslaved by sin, we had no obligation to righteousness or obedience to Christ. The result of that way of life was shame. Our enemy, the Devil, loves shame. It is one of his sharpest weapons against us. Ultimately, that way of life leads to brokenness, heartache, and eternal separation from the God who created you and loves you.
Rom 6:22-23 (CSB)—But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the outcome is eternal life! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“But now!” Paul wants to make sure we understand the contrast. Why? Like I said last week, turning your back on sin and choosing life is a moment-by-moment, decision-by-decision, day-by-day process. It does not happen overnight.
If we look in the mirror today and then look again tomorrow, we may not see the change, but all of us who have followed Jesus for any time can testify to the fact that we are not the same people we were when we started following Jesus. He has changed us, and he continues to change us.
And it is so important to realize the process of sanctification is not us simply saying no to that list of no-nos. Sanctification is us saying yes to the God who brings us eternal life.
The goal of our faith is not that we would sin less; the goal of our faith is that we would become more like Jesus.
Sanctification happens as we focus on Him. It happens when we understand His character, what He did, and how He lived, and then imitate Him. We do the things that Jesus did.
Look again at the writer of Hebrew’s challenge to us:
Heb 12:1-2a (CSB)—Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
As we keep our eyes on Him, we find that we are free to serve new; we are free to serve righteousness and holiness.
Before we knew Jesus, when we served sin, the fruit or wages of that life was death, but now that we serve God, the fruit of our lives is eternal life. He’s not talking just about the length of our lives but the quality of our lives. Eternal life here is not just life forever but an abundant life of love, peace, and joy.
How about you? Are you free to serve new? Have you been set free from the power sin has over you? Have you been forgiven for your past, present, and future sin and found new freedom because of what Jesus did for you on the cross?
Chris Hankel 
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