ADDRESSES ON ROMANS
Will you read with me now verse 3? Read it carefully. Then read verse 6. Our "old man" is everything we are ac~ cording to Adam. Everything he was in his sinful state he bequeathed to us. In other words, when the "old man" was crucified, he was baptized into the death of Christ. ( Paul is not talking here about water baptism, although the ordinance of baptism is an outward sign of that inward change of heart which takes place when the sinner is crucified with Christ. Paul is talking here in Rom. 6:4 of baptism into death, not into wate I know many people who have obeyed the teaching of the Lord in water baptism who do not know of this baptism with Christ into death. My dear friends, what God said about the people in the days of Noah is what He says about you and me. The whole world is guilty. God judged all flesh in the days of Noah with the flood, the waters of judgment. When you are baptized with water, you are only illustrating the fact that the righteous judgment of God should fall upon you, but that in His death Christ bore that judgment in your place. .He died not only because of what you had done, but also because of what you are. Remember; Paul is not talking here about baptism into water; he is talking about baptism into death. Our Lord has given two ordinances-the Lord's Supper and baptism. The one speaks of what Christ did for us when He gave His body to be broken for us, His blood to be shed for our sins. But in baptism we have illustrated what takes place in the economy of God when a man takes Christ as his Saviour. It is a picture not only of his sins being buried with Christ. but also of the sinner himself thus identified with Christ in His death. All of this is to teach us that we should no longer serve sin. Sin is likened to an old master who has slaves bound to him; but when the bond is loosed, the slaves are free. Paul says we have died to our old master; he can no longer claim us as his slaves. We do not have to serve sin. When I went to Australia sixteen months ago and visited [Page 97
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