What Does Your Connection to Jesus Mean?

6th Sunday after Pentecost, 7/12/20
Romans 6:1b-11


What Does Your Connection to Jesus Mean?
I. You’re dead to sin.
II. You’re alive to God.


I have connections to certain people and organizations that I hardly give any thought to. For instance, by virtue of the fact that I have a savings account at a local credit union, I’m a member of that organization. And I’m reminded of that fact about once a month when I receive exclusive offers for products such as life insurance. But my membership in the credit union means only one thing to me: I want a no-fees account.

The same goes for my auto club membership. I only want to have the benefit of calling for roadside assistance when I need it. That’s what my connection to that organization means to me. I’m not at all interested in the promotions that club offers.

How about you? Do you share that same outlook on some of the connections in your life? You just want a good return on the company stock you own. You don’t care to spend even a minute voting for its company board members.

And I get why you and I feel that way. We have to set boundaries. These connections that we have can expect this much out of us and no more. We have other things we want to do, other things that are more important to us.

One of the reasons most of you are here today is because you are a member here at Resurrection Lutheran Church. You have a connection with this church and the other members of it. But rather than discuss right now what that connection means to you and the possible boundaries you set for it, let’s raise this discussion up a notch or two or more.

Let’s consider your connection to Jesus, because that should be the reason you’re here today. That should be the reason for your connection to this congregation. You are connected to Jesus by faith in him. It’s the most important relationship you’ll ever have.

But what does your connection to Jesus mean? St. Paul leads us into considering that question here in his words to us from Romans 6. So, let’s keep that question on our hearts and minds.


Part I.

According to the Addiction Center’s web site, as of last month 21 million Americans are addicted to some form of substance abuse, but only 10% are seeking treatment. And those numbers don’t include people who succumb to self-destructive behaviors. Such people say and do things that bring harm to themselves or to people with whom they have a relationship.

So why don’t these people stop the behaviors that are actually harming them? Because they can’t—at least not on their own.

Have you ever tried to stop committing a certain sin? I’m sure you have at some point or other in your life. It might be trying to stop committing a “simple” sin such as worrying, or it might be a much more difficult situation, such as stopping the sin of substance abuse. How can you be successful at stopping it? We’ll talk more about that in a minute.

Paul begins our text with the opposite situation: Christians who know they are sinning, but make no attempt to stop. Listen again as I read what he wrote, “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?”

Paul cites a very specific situation—a person who wrongly thinks that the more they sin, the more forgiveness they will receive. But his words also remind us of the power of sin in our lives. The first step in dealing with sin is to recognize fully that what we are thinking, feeling, saying, or doing is a sin. We need to stop thinking that sin is actually good for us. But there are far too many people—including Christians—who are guilty of thinking that way. This is what they want to do. It makes them feel good. So, it must be OK, at least for now. Later in this text Paul would call that being a slave to sin. Not “free to sin,” but “a slave to sin.”

But doesn’t being free mean the freedom to do as I want? Ask the person addicted to substance abuse. They aren’t free to indulge in it. They’re a slave to it. It has mastered them.

Any sin has that power—even worry, greed, or lust. And I realize that there are therapies available to help with overcoming destructive behaviors. But there’s no way to overcome sin on your own. There’s only one way to overcome the power of sin in your life, and that’s through a miracle performed by your God.

Paul states it like this, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Paul states that you were buried with Christ. How so? He gives the answer—at your baptism. At your baptism your sinful nature was drowned—it died—by the power of the risen Lord Jesus. That means it no longer has complete control over you.

But it still lives in each one of us. The temptations that surround us often seem so appealing to us because that’s what our sinful nature wants every day, all day long. We’re fighting a spiritual battle on two fronts. How can we possibly win?

By the power of the risen Lord Jesus through his means of grace—his gospel of forgiveness in his word and in your baptism and in the Lord’s Supper. There’s the power to be the person Jesus made you to be, the person you want to be—dead to sin. That’s what your connection to Jesus means.

Imagine this. Imagine if I said, “I want you to raise your hand right now if you are completely happy with every aspect of your life.” Do you think a single hand would be in the air? I doubt it. And if there was, wouldn’t you question that person’s honesty? I know I would. Because the truth about every one of us is that we’re frustrated in life with at least one thing, often many things. We try to say the right thing in a volatile situation, but we end up spewing sinful anger and resentment. We try to be patient with others, but let’s be honest—our patience runs thin far too often. We try to think of others in a charitable way, as Jesus calls for us to do, but look how hard that is to accomplish in our current situation here in the USA in which people are verbally attacking others all day long. And even when we do the right thing, we feel is if we’re being used and abused.

So, what should a Christian do? Recall what your connection to Jesus means. You’re dead to sin. Everything you face and fail to handle correctly, your Savior faced and handled perfectly for you. And when he died, he did so for all your sins, including your resentment, anger, impatience, and sinful judgment of others. In fact, he made you dead to sin at your baptism and made you his own so that you can live for him. That’s what your connection to Jesus means every day of your life.

Part II.

Aren’t you tired of the way people in our world are behaving? If I asked for a show of hands now, I’ll bet every person here would have a hand raised. I’ve never seen anything like it and I pray every day that it ends soon. I’d like you to do the same.

But then be a part of the solution. Be the person Jesus made you to be. Listen to Paul explain who that is, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Jesus brought you to faith in him at your baptism so that you could live—live a new life. Ever since your baptism you have had the Holy Spirit living in you. He empowers you to live as the person Jesus made you to be—a child of God. The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers you to produce the fruits of faith such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Ga. 5:22). Who wouldn’t like to possess and display those qualities all day long? What a lovely person that would be! And that’s who you are. That’s who Jesus made you to be and that’s what he empowers you to be. And that’s exactly what our world needs now more than ever.

So, be alive for Christ! The solution to this ugly world we’re living in is Jesus Christ. And he doesn’t change masses of hearts all at once. He does so one heart at a time as he uses you to share the love of Christ with others. Enacting laws and establishing policies only go so far. They only curb the sinful heart; they don’t change it. Only Jesus does that, and he uses you and me to do so. Be alive, alive for Christ. That’s what your connection to Jesus means.

Like you, I’m hoping and praying things get better soon in our world. But I also realize they will never be perfect. That won’t happen for you until the Lord calls you home to him in heaven. But, until then, he has made you alive in him. He has called you and me to share the love of Christ with one and all. He has made you to be his child to be the salt and light of the earth. And as we do that, Jesus will work through us to convert one person at a time—to change their heart just as he has changed yours.

So, dear Christian friends, let’s be part of the solution. Live each day for Christ. That’s what your connection to Jesus means. And may the Lord richly bless you and others each day as you do just that! Amen.