The Practical Application of Being Crucified with Christ

I want you again to turn to Romans chapter 6 tonight in our Bible study in the Word of God. We're going to continue on from Sunday morning. I'm not going to go to buried with Christ.

I'm going to wait for that to next Sunday morning. But I want to deal here with the rest of the message from Sunday morning. I've just called this part four.

As we deal with the importance of water baptism, I'm calling this the practical application of being crucified with Christ. On Sunday morning, we dealt with crucified with Christ. That is what's represented by water baptism.

But what I want to deal with here tonight is the practical application of this truth. Because I don't want you to think this is just a symbol, that this is just something we do. And it's mystical, and it's vague, and it's theological, and it's doctrinal.

But it has no relation to real life. I don't want you to think that. You dare not think that.

And so I've called this the practical application of being crucified with Christ. Because you're going to see the truth that we dealt with Sunday morning. The fact, the doctrine, you are, were, finished, complete.

Nothing to add to it. You were an entire, complete, finished work by the Spirit of God. I want you to see that that is taken by the Spirit of God, and it is applied very practically.

Reading from Romans chapter 6, Romans chapter 6, verse 1 to verse 14. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.

Know this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.

Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth unto God. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Amen. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for the word of God, the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

This is not man's teaching. Man never created it, invented it, or gave it, but this was birthed as fact, as truth, as reality out of the very heart of God through your penmen. Lord God, I thank you for the teaching, the instruction of the Holy Spirit.

Lord God, we know he leads unto holiness and righteousness. He is not a God who excuses sin or iniquity or evil or failure, but Lord God, we serve a God that shows us the pathway of the cross to victory, to overcoming. Lord God, to defeating sin in our members, to crucify the old man with its lust.

Father, we're asking that your Holy Spirit would teach this church. Lord God, its new converts, the young believers, my God, those that desire you and hunger. Lord God, those that are wrestling over indwelling sin, who are wrestling with the old Adam, the old man, the flesh.

Oh God, I pray that you would encourage those that are facing their flesh, the old nature, oh God, that are finding another law within their very members, within their body. Lord God, lusting, desiring, driving, urging, my God. And Father, we're asking that your Holy Spirit would open up an answer, that you'd bring encouragement, that you'd bring strength.

Lord God, that you'd restore the joy of our salvation. Lord God, that you'd bring peace to souls. Lord God, that you'd wash us in the blood of the lamb.

My God, more than that, more than forgiving, more than washing, more than cleansing. Lord God, that you'd lead us forward. Lord God, into the finished work of the cross, that we'd know this victory over the flesh.

We'd know this real, effectual, practical, and personal death to self. Lord God, that we'd see our old man, our old life. Lord God, that fallen nature crucified with Christ, that we'd believe it, reckon it to be true, and then yield up our members in obedience unto you.

That we'd be taken captive by righteousness in the mighty name of Jesus. Thank you for the word of God. Father, I know it stirs faith.

Lord God, I know it brings hope. Lord God, I know it brings it. Lord God, it leads us into light and liberty and freedom in the Holy Ghost.

And Lord God, so we're asking of you, even tonight, send out thy light and thy truth. Let them lead us to the altar of God. Even our exceeding joy in Jesus' mighty name.

Let Christ be glorified in our bodies this night, in Jesus' name. Amen. And so we're dealing with the practical application of being crucified with Christ.

See, the Christian life is practical, very real. It's not make-believe. It's not mind over matter.

It's not trying to believe something that's written in the Bible that isn't practical and real. It's not. You're going to find the Bible the most practical, real, honest book in our entire world.

No book reveals human nature, character, the inward parts of the soul like this book. No book on earth. When you come to Romans 6, where we find the glorious truth that we've been baptized into Christ, meaning we've been crucified with him, buried with him, and raised again with him.

When you come to this glorious chapter of Romans 6, do you know what else you find there? You find the word sin mentioned 17 times. That's very important. Every chapter in this book is different.

Every portion of Scripture is different because it's dealing with different things. So why is the word sin mentioned time and time and time again? Remember, sin, you haven't committed sin. Needing forgiveness was dealt in chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5. You're justified by faith.

You're born again. Your sin has been forgiven by the blood. The blood was the answer.

Now in chapter 6, we're dealing with the cross, not the blood. The blood doesn't get mentioned in this chapter. The blood was mentioned in chapter 3 and 4 and 5. You are justified by faith.

You're forgiven. You're free. You're cleansed.

You're set at liberty. Your past is gone. You're in Christ.

You're in his righteousness. But when you come to chapter 6, it's dealing with something more. It's not dealing with the sins of a sinner.

Not dealing with your sin as in your past life. No. Do you know what it's dealing with now? The sins of a saint.

Not the sins of a sinner that would send you to hell. No, it's the sins of a saint, a born again man and woman. Their sin.

And so you see, as we're taught remarkable truths in chapter 6, you almost don't even see the word sin because it's so amazing, so powerful, so dynamic. There's dominion. There's victory.

There's overcoming. There's triumph. But yet, look at the theme.

The word sin mentioned 17 times. Do you know chapter chapter 6 is a help to you and encouragement because it's pointing the finger at this issue of sin in a Christian's life. No more than that.

Not just sin. The sin nature. The old man, the flesh of a believer.

That's what it's dealing with. Listen to what Paul the apostle writes. He's talking about this sinful nature and sin that comes out of that.

Romans chapter 6 verse 1. Shall we continue in sin? Talking to a Christian. You as a Christian, will we just continue in sin? Verse 2, it says we have died to sin. What did you die to? Sin.

That's the experience of a Christian. This death, this crucifixion is to sin of the old man, the flesh. Then it says verse 6, it talks about the body of sin.

We said that's another name for the flesh. Verse 7, it says we are freed from sin. What a glorious message.

There is freedom from sin. Not just forgiveness. Forgiveness is in chapter 5 and chapter 3 but there's more than forgiveness here.

What you're seeing now in chapter 6 is freedom from sin and it's not the blood that gives you freedom from sin. It forgave you for your sins. Now it's the cross that brings freedom.

Then verse 10, it says Christ died unto sin. Verse 11, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. So we see this being crucified with Christ has something to do with dying to sin in your life, in your members, in your body as a Christian.

It's not dealing with your past sins. No, it's dealing with something at work in a Christian's life. Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.

Verse 12, let not sin reign in your mortal or physical body. Verse 14, sin shall not have dominion over you. Verse 15, what then? Shall we sin? Verse 17 and repeated again in verse 20, it says ye were the servants of sin.

Past tense. You were a slave of sin. You had no freedom, no liberty.

You couldn't do anything but sin. Then verse 18 and verse 22, being then made free from sin. Verse 23, the wages of sin is death.

Every sinner will get paid fairly for his sin. Death is the payment. Death is the reward.

You don't want to go the way of Christ, then you will go the way of spiritual, eternal death. And so we see in chapter 6, 17 times, and I'm repeating it for the third time, 17 times the word sin is mentioned. Do you see how he's dealing with sin in the life of a Christian? Do you see how he's giving you the answer to sin in your life? Do you see how we constantly live as Christians so easily? I sin, I run to the blood.

But we haven't learned there's an answer. It's in the cross. Being crucified with Christ.

Do you understand why I'm calling this the practical application of being crucified with Christ? Do you understand that? See, sin is a very real problem. We don't ignore it. We don't pretend, oh, it's under the blood and then keep moving on.

Some Christians, like a little mouse getting on its wheel, doing the circuit, sin, forgiven, sin, forgiven, sin, forgiven, going back to the blood. Why not move forward? Or no, better, let's go back to Calvary, to the cross. There's a provision.

Yes, the blood is there for your sin. But don't you know there's a provision in the cross to kill, crucify, mortify your old nature who is called Adam? Look at what we dealt with on Sunday morning. And if you haven't heard it or you weren't there, please listen Sunday morning.

It's so important. But let me remind you, we first dealt with this important word, no. See, it's a chapter dealing with your crucifixion with Christ.

And he gives us three words connected to that. First word is no. Second word is reckon.

Third word is yield. And here I'm going to deal now with the word reckon and yield. But on Sunday morning, I dealt with that word no.

What did it say? Verse three, no ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. Water baptism represents our immersion, our baptism, our being put in Jesus Christ. What does that mean to be in Christ? What does that really mean? What does it mean to be baptized in water? What is it a symbol of? Well, the first great truth that we dealt with Sunday and we're dealing with tonight is that you're baptized into his death to be born again, to be a Christian.

Your old man was crucified with Christ. And so it says, you've got to know this. Remember, we emphasize that you've got to know this.

The word no means to be conscious, to become aware of, to perceive it, to resolve it, to have a full comprehension and understanding of facts, of doctrine, of truth, of God's perception. You have been crucified, not going to be, not our being, but it's a solid fact past tense. It's already accomplished.

You're crucified with Christ. Some of us were still wrestling. We don't even know.

We don't even stand. Do you see the order of this? First notice you've already been crucified. Christ crucified your old man.

He nailed you to that cross. You've got to know the saints of God. It's not a feeling, but I don't feel crucified.

I don't feel dead. I know none of us too. I don't think you're going to get people stand here, testify and say, I feel so crucified.

And if you do just wait till Monday morning or Thursday morning. I can tell you saints, it's not a feeling. You don't perceive this merely by experience.

You start with knowing, not feeling, not experience. See, we're going to deal with experience tonight because it is practical. It is real.

It can be experienced and walked in. But first of all, we've got to have the doctrine right. You are crucified.

It's a subtle fact. That's where you start. God never does end in your life that he doesn't finish, right? The word go, it's all finished.

It's complete at the beginning. You are perfectly righteous. The first day you get born again.

Now I'm telling you, you've got a lot to sort out in your life. But that first day Romans teaches chapter three to chapter five, you're perfectly righteous in Christ. He has given you the free gift of his perfect righteousness.

That's being in Christ. But there's more in Christ. There's something more here in being in Christ, being baptized, being put in Christ.

Do you know what else you get? You're crucified. You are crucified. Why is it we can believe I'm forgiven in Christ, but we find it hard to believe we're crucified in Christ as a complete finished work.

Isn't it amazing that he gives me his perfect righteousness, that I'm forgiven. All my sins are forgiven. Wash clean.

I accept that by faith. Why do we make being crucified with Christ something else? It takes the same faith. We look back to the same cross, the same miracle of what Jesus Christ done.

And so you can see it as a fact, the fact to know that you've been crucified with Christ. It is a fact. That's where you begin, not experience, not feelings, not emotions, not your perception, not praying.

Lord, if I'm forgiven, let a bird fly over my head. Now I've heard it all. I've heard it all and more.

I want to tell you, but you go to the word of God and you say, what does doctrine say? So that's a word. No, no. Let me move you to the word reckon.

It's not enough to believe the truth of God, the doctrine of God, sound doctrine. See if you want sin to be dealt with as a power, as a force in your life, as an influence in your body, in your members, with lusts and desires, longings and pushings. If you want to deal with that, you've got to know what I'm saying here tonight.

It's not enough to say I'm forgiven by the blood. There's something more. And so the second word we're going to look at here is the reckon.

Look at chapter six, verse 11 with me. It says, likewise, reckon. Or in the same way, it says likewise.

It means in the same manner, in the same way. Don't think there's a whole new strange doctrine. You reckon a lot of things.

Reckon yourself righteous. Well, look what else it says here. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead.

Do you know when you're born again and forgiven, you reckon, you reckon, you believe that Jesus died for you, that you could be forgiven. You reckon that to be true and you're forgiven. All of you have done that.

The greatest miracle that a man or woman can experience, you experience. But look what else it says. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead.

Not only to know this fact, I know I'm crucified completely, totally. The old man, the old Adam, the flesh. But we're to reckon.

This is something you're to do. This isn't the miracle of God now. This is getting practical.

He done the work. Now, what are you to do? You are to reckon yourself dead. Now, this word reckon is used 41 times in the New Testament.

19 of those times, almost half of them are mentioned in Romans. And this is a word used by Paul the apostle all the time. So let me explain what the word reckon means.

Because you're to reckon yourself dead. What he said in doctrine, you are dead. You're baptized into Christ's death.

You're immersed. You're submerged. You're hidden in his death.

You're to reckon this to be true. You're to reckon. It's not enough that God done that.

Now you are to be active, be involved. You're to work with God. You're to reckon that you're dead.

See, that's where you get into a battle. Okay, so we know doctrinally it's true. It's in the Bible.

We're crucified. We are dead. That's a fact.

It's sound doctrine. You are dead. No one can argue with us.

But see this part now, what do you do with that? You've got to reckon yourself. Let's look at this word reckon. Usually it's translated in the English of those 19 times in the book of Romans.

11 of those times it's written in our English Bible is counted. Reckon yourself dead. Count yourself to be dead.

This word counted or reckon is actually a banking term. Brother Souffle know all about this. When you get involved in banking, you look after the church accounts of this church.

Do you know what you start doing? You're using all these charts, lines, numbers. Everything's got it. I hate this stuff.

That's why never let me near the bank account. I don't mean the money. I just mean all the lines.

I'll get it all mixed up. I want to tell you. You've got to have the right numbers and the right lane, right line.

You've got to make sure it's all in order. This poor guy has to do this every year, looking at our accounts, making sure it's perfect. Then we have guys from the outside come in and look at every number, every statement, every receipt, everything.

They're scrupulous. Do you know why? Banking is a very exact art. Mathematics is an exact art.

It's got nothing to do with feelings or emotions. Imagine Brother Souffle saying, oh, but I just feel it's okay. Just trust me.

No, we're going to look at the bank accounts. So this word reckon or counted, and this is what it means, to put to one's account, to put it in the right lane, the right line, the right spot to say that's yours. This belongs to you.

It's yours. You have access to it, rights to it. You can withdraw it.

Imagine trying to withdraw something that's not rightfully yours in a bank account. If I go in tomorrow and say, I want to draw out 50,000 euros, 100,000, 150. They'd say, hold on, sir.

They'd be very polite. Look at my account and then burst out laughing. That's what they're going to do and say, this is either a con man or he's escaped or something, but this man doesn't have that money.

They're either saying he's playing a joke on me or he's trying to trick me. But you see, mathematics and banking is exact. They deal with facts, with details, not suppositions, not ideas, not emotions, not feelings.

They're telling you the facts. And so this word in the New Testament is translated reckoned, counted, imputed. It means to take into account, to calculate, to estimate.

It's not a feeling. It's not just something you believe. It is a fact.

And so to reckon it, you actually put it to your account. To reckon something, you say, that's mine. That's true.

That's real. I have a right to it. I'm not claiming something that isn't mine.

I'm actually claiming something. And so in the earlier chapters he said, the free gift of Christ's righteousness is ours. We reckon it to be true.

You count yourself to be righteous, justified, forgiven. Haven't you received that? Haven't you found that's in your spiritual bank account? I'm forgiven. Thank God.

God has actually said through the blood, through the shed blood, I'm forgiven. But here's another truth. You're dead.

You're not only forgiven through the blood, you're dead through the cross. It's in the bank account. Go and look for yourself.

You've got a Bible. Don't go to the local bank and ask them about this. They'll look at you like you're crazy.

Sir, am I dead? No, you absolutely are not. Don't ask your family, your wife, your husband, or anyone else. Don't ask your work friends.

You know what? You go to scripture and you find the Bible says, likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead. Now look at this. The Bible is telling us it's not a feeling.

It's not an emotion. This is a fact of truth in your spiritual bank account. It means more than merely to accept this.

It means to accept this truth in a way. You begin to act like this. You begin to believe it, to receive it, to understand it.

So you've got to know it first. Then you've got to reckon it to be true. I reckon it.

It's in my bank account. It is here. It's not mythical.

It's not me trying to accomplish something. It's already here. I possess this just like I possess the perfect righteousness of Christ.

Our forgiveness for all of my sins, our justification. What's justification? Just as if I'd never sinned. Are you kidding me? That's impossible.

Outside of this book, that's impossible. How could you gain such a gift of being totally forgiven of all of your sin, accepted in Christ, and when God looks in you, he sees you perfectly righteous. How is that possible? You're not perfectly righteous.

You're not sinless. But you have to reckon that and believe that to be true. Why not do the same about this death? I'm trying to provoke you, encourage you, and stir you.

Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead. It's not positive confession. It's not denial of your reality.

You know, we're living in a generation to talk about your reality, my reality, my identity. I self-confess as this or that, and we'll get on to that, I assure you, in the next message. Who you are.

I believe I am this. Saints of God, we need to realize what our identity in Christ is. You have been crucified.

You have been buried. You've been raised again. But you know what? You not only need to know this, you need to reckon it to be true.

You need to say, it is in my account. God has transferred this over to me. I am dead.

He crucified me with Christ. Crucified who? Your old man, your flesh, your Adam nature, that enemy of God, who you were pre-Christ, BC Christ, before you're born again. Now you've got to understand your Christian maths.

I'm dealing, I never thought when I was at school, I'd do a maths lesson, but I'm doing it tonight. See, I'm trying to calculate here. I'm doing spiritual mathematics here.

My maths teacher would drop dead, I want to tell you, if she knew Malcolmson was teaching a maths lesson in Limerick City, of all places, I want to tell you. But I'm dealing with this. I'm telling you, no one can say 2 plus 2 is 3. No one.

No one can tell me 2 plus 2 makes 5. It's an eternal truth. Nothing changes it. Not the 21st century.

Not society. Not world politics. Not the condition of the church.

2 always. 2 plus 2 always equals 4. Always, without fail. And I want to tell you, this is always the truth.

A born-again Christian who comes to faith in Christ, you are crucified with Christ. That is a fact. You say you're struggling.

I know. This Bible is the most honest book imaginable. You've got to believe that you died with Christ, through Christ, and in Christ.

Look what it says in verse 3. Know ye not that so many of us, as we're baptised into Jesus Christ, we're baptised into his death. We've got to know it. We've got to reckon it to be true.

First you know that this happened. Then you begin to take it as your own. Say, this is mine.

My inheritance in Christ. This is what I got in salvation. The day I got born again, I got this, but I didn't know it or understand it.

Here I am sitting on a Wednesday night, weeks, months, years later, and it begins to dawn on you. This is my inheritance. You're not reckoning towards a future death.

Oh, I'm trying to reckon. One day I'll be crucified with Christ. One day I'll be dead.

One day the old man will stop bothering me. Oh, one day. Oh, it's like a carrot, just out of reach, always reaching for it.

You know what most Christians do? As they face the flesh, as they sin or something else comes up, they begin on the journey or by their own manpower, willpower, strength, busyness, or something else. They look forward, trying to accomplish this. It doesn't happen.

So they get discouraged, frustrated with themselves, with the Christian walk. Some begin to fall off sin. It's impossible.

Some say, I don't want to play the hypocrite. Therefore, I'll leave the church and go back to the world. I don't want to be a hypocrite.

Others stay in the church and go, aha, everyone is just playing a big game. We do continue in sin. We do live in sin.

There's no victory over sin. And so they settle down. They're ignorant.

They're rude. They're proud. They're selfish.

There are a thousand things. They're angry. They're liars.

They're gossips. There are a thousand things. And they say, sure, we're all playing a big game.

And it's all theological. Do you know what? Both of those things are wrong or error. I'm going to give you the third way.

The third way is reckon yourself to be dead. It's a living reality. It's by faith.

You don't look forward trying to accomplish this. You look back to the cross. You've got to know that this is true, but you've also got to reckon it to be true.

You've got to look at your bank account and say, it's in there. It's in my bank account. Have you been trying to live the Christian life? And yet you're not reckoning on your death.

You've got to identify your old man or else you think it's just you. One person, me, and I'm not doing too good. God's trying to kill me.

I'm running from God. You've got to go back to sound biblical teaching and doctrine to begin understanding this. It says in verse 12, let not sin therefore.

It's a command. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body. You know, the preachers always say when you find the word therefore in the Bible, you ought to ask what is it therefore? No, why is it therefore? Why is therefore therefore in verse 12? Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body.

Do you know what he's saying? That's connected to what I've just said. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, in your physical body, with your eyes, your ears, your tongue, your hands, your feet, your body. Don't let sin reign, control, steer, direct, enslave.

Don't let that happen. Therefore, in other words, don't let this be your reality. Why? He said, let not sin therefore reign.

It's connected to the verse before. What's in the verse before? Likewise, reckon yourselves also to be dead. Let not sin therefore.

Do you see the connection? He's saying, because you reckon yourselves to be dead, you're commanded to do this. Not an option denied if you're born again. You're commanded, reckon yourself.

You've got to go to war tonight. You've got to make a decision tonight before I finish preaching. You've got to resolve and say, I'm going to reckon myself dead and what a battle you're going to face.

Oh, did you think it's going to lessen after tonight? Maybe I'll intensify before you lay your head in the pillow. Because you go, I'm going to reckon. I'm going to reckon.

I'm going to counter the reality. What a war could explode in around that. Now, don't get scared of me.

Okay. Smile as I'm preaching, please. Let us, let not sin therefore.

See, sin is a real thing. It's a practical reality. It's substantial.

It's in your face. It's there. Let not sin therefore reign or dominate.

Notice where he says in your mortal body, in your physical body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. This word lusts, it means passion, strong urges or strong desires. You need to be very careful that you don't say, oh, but this is who I am.

All through the new Testament to every real Christian, it notes you have lusts. Don't think of sexual lust all the time. The word doesn't just mean sexual lust.

That could be a lust to pride. A lust to say, I will not forgive. A lust to say, I'm so angry.

I feel like I could throttle them. That's a lust. And so it says lust in your body.

This is the answer to reckon yourself dead. Do you want victory? Do you feel helpless? This lust in your body. So you go, this is who I am.

Who told you that? All through our world, they're just saying, oh, this is who I am. This is my nature. I think I'm a man trapped in a woman's body or a woman trapped in a man's body or a dog trapped in a tree that's still acting like a human.

I mean, it gets so crazy. We are in a crazy age. And you know the world out there, they accept that.

They say, I'm a tree actually. Oh, I better not tell them otherwise. Oh, I think I'm a dog.

I better not say anything. A little girl said, actually, I'm a boy. Or I'm non-binary.

This is my reality. This is what I feel. I have urges.

You've got to accept that this is who I am. Sing to God. You were crucified with Jesus Christ.

And I don't care the lust or the burdens or the things that begin to burn in your bosom. You can either think that's reality, or you can say that isn't. It's sin.

It's in Adam. It's in my flesh. And you know what the Bible says? I reckon that I am dead.

Do you see the battle for your mind? You see the battle that's raging for your emotions. What are you going to? Do you believe that this is reality? Sin, raging in the members of my body. Or do you believe the word of God? The teaching of the Bible? Do you see what's raging here? And the devil will accuse you.

There's a raging war in your members. And then the devil comes say, you're some Christian. You hypocrite.

Now, if you let off your tongue all the time and demolish people and lie and do whatever. And then come and say, oh, I'm a Christian. Don't be playing that game.

I'm not giving you room to do that. But don't think because you're tempted and you're fighting and the battle is raging that you're not saved. The devil say, you're not saved.

No, I'm in a hand-to-hand battle. Hey, when I was a sinner, I didn't find myself in this war. When there was only Ishmael and Abraham's tent, there's no war.

Everyone lived at peace in that home. Sarah, Abraham, young Ishmael growing up. Now he's a young teenager.

Here comes baby Isaac. Now you've got a war in that tent. There was no war, no revolution, no civil war until Isaac was born.

You know, when you got born again, then comes the war. All those years you thought you're okay and you knew truth or you're fine as you were. You get born again and the devil comes and says, look at you doing that.

Sure you hate the thing. You're trying to get victory over the thing. You're condemned over the thing.

So we have, you've got to know you're crucified with Christ. Second, you've got to reckon it to be true. Third of all, we have in verse 13, it's the word yield.

I told you this message is the practical application of being crucified with Christ. This third word yield, verse 13, neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness on the sin. You've got to know that you're crucified with Christ.

Then you've got to reckon it to be true. This is true. This is who I am.

Oh yes, I have my battles, but sure the Bible talks about it. Talks about sin in this chapter. Look at the glorious truths in Romans chapter six, and it keeps dealing with this issue.

Sin. 17 times it's mentioned. You've got to know you're crucified.

You've got to reckon yourself dead. I am dead. That isn't trying to believe something that's not true.

It's you accepting the truth of what God says about you, like forgiveness, like justification, like redemption. Were any of you there? Did any of you see the blood? Any of you see the man of Calvary hanging there? Were any of you there as witnesses? None of you. It's by faith you believe through the word of God, but as a work of the Holy Spirit.

And so this third word is to yield. Yield ye your members. That means parts of your body.

Yield. The Greek word for yield used here, it means to stand beside the offering, to exhibit, to command, to present, to offer up. It's actually used five times.

Yield. Five times in verses 13, 16, 19 in this chapter. Five times.

Yield. Yield. Don't yield to the wrong thing.

You can yield to the wrong thing. This actually means stand by your body and yield your body up, yield your eyes, your mind, your ears, your mouth, your feet, your entire body. It's talking about the lust of the flesh in your mortal body, your physical body.

Don't let sin reign in your body. So here's the third word. And this all revolves around our being crucified with Christ.

We know it. We reckon it to be true. Then we begin to yield.

Don't try to yield if you don't know and you're not reckoning. This is true. This is reality.

This is correct. This is my inheritance in Christ. Then on that basis you yield up.

There's certain things you don't yield and other things you do yield. You stand by your body like you're a worshipper of God. Bring in a sacrifice and you offer up.

Here's my body. Here's my tongue. You're struggling with your tongue.

Do you have a problem with your tongue or your ears or your eyes? Where's your battle? It says that you present. In Romans chapter 12 verse 1 it uses the same word, that you present your bodies. Yield up your bodies.

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world. This word present or yield, it can be speaking of your eyes, your ears, your mouth, your hands, your feet, the entire body, your physical body.

None of you's ever do anything apart from your physical body. If you didn't have a physical body you would never sin again. You wouldn't do any good again.

You need your physical body. God not only redeems your spirit and your soul, he redeems your body. None of it gets lost.

You're going to have the same body but perfected in an absolute state of perfection. Your body actually matters here and now. And so he says yield up your body.

Act as a worshipper that takes your body. Says it's not going to be under the control of sin. It's not going to be ruled by lusts and urges.

Sin isn't going to reign over me. The body is important. Don't think you can have a right spirit but you just give your body over to sin.

You cannot do that. There is a battle raging in the members of your body. The body must not rule.

You know why? Your physical body is lazy, greedy, lustful or competitive. Don't let your body domineer you. Your body will give you orders.

I don't want to get up. You are getting up. Rule over your body.

Don't let your physical body. How do you yield? The alarm clock goes off. Oh I can't get up.

You command your body. You yield your body up. You can't get up at six if you've stayed up to two or four or whatever.

I can do that pretty well to be quite honest. But most who stay up to two aren't getting up at six. Do you see the body can rule you? And so verse 14 it says, for sin shall not have dominion over you.

What a strong statement when it's dealing with sin in a Christian's life. It shall not have dominion. Dominion means absolute control, absolute sway.

It's going to dominate. He'll tell you what to say, to think, to act, to listen to, to watch, what to give your time to, what to allow to mold you and influence your life and all of your decisions. Don't let sin dominate you, domineer over you.

You know if you were in a relationship with someone and they're dominating you, abusing you, whether your husband or boyfriend or a friend or a neighbor, your father or your sister or your brother or your children and they said don't go to church. If they start becoming an influence on you, not to be in the house of God, not to do the will of God, you know what they're doing? They're dominating you. There's something seriously wrong and I'm telling you, you don't let anyone dominate you into sin.

Well, guess what? Your body does that. Your body will say, I don't feel like it. I'm lazy.

There's an excuse. Do you realize where that's coming from? Your flesh. You can tell Elisha it's okay.

You don't need to take responsibility. That's fine. You can blame everybody else.

You know what you're doing? You're yielding up your members. You're allowing the flesh to rule you, dominate you and yet he says, sin shall not have dominion over you for a year. Not under the law, year under grace.

The mark of being under the grace of God. There's a lot of talk in the church. We're under grace.

No condemnation in Christ and then they live like the devil. They can't get victory over sin. They're lousy and loose and carnal in their speech and their words and their attitudes.

They manipulate and maneuver in the church. I've heard the pastors. They say 20 years ago, I was proud and arrogant and all like this.

Big names, important people. Now they're in positions that, oh, but I come to realize under grace I'm free. I was a legalist then.

I was under law then. No, the Holy Spirit was convicting you of your lousy attitude and now you think, I'm under grace. You know what you're saying? You're excusing your attitudes and your sin.

Oh, I don't feel bad now about that. That's not grace. Look what it says here.

Let not sin have dominion over you. Why? Because you're under grace. See what the mark of grace is.

If you find yourself where you're in utter defeat as a Christian, you need to come into the liberty of grace because when you come into grace, you're going to find you've got a victory over your flesh. The old man, the old Adam, that's the mark of the grace of God upon our life. No longer a servant of sin and the lusts that drive your body.

Boy, I could keep going for three, four hours on this. Saints of God, there's so much in this that Paul begins to deal with. Let me just expand it before we close.

My before we close could be two hours, okay? If I wasn't getting a flight early in the morning. Boy, this is dynamite. But do you know what? This is simple, basic doctrine.

This is the mold you're being poured into. This is the doctrine of this church. You could follow all manners of new revelation.

Who do you think the antichrist is? Do you think the white horse has been released yet? And everyone's alive. Everyone's got an opinion. I could conjure up titles for videos.

I could do subjects that'll get watches on YouTube. But I preach on crucified with Christ. See, that doesn't stir the flesh.

Gotta be so careful. This is doctrine. This is the important issues.

These are the most vital things I can ever preach in this church to us. But listen to what Paul says elsewhere surrounding this. Because I'm dealing with the practical application of being crucified with Christ.

I know it. I reckon it to be true. I yield my members up.

I say my eyes are going to live in the present reality. This is my identity. This is my reality.

This is who I am. I am dead to sin. My old man's crucified with Christ and I'm going to act like that.

It'd be like a pauper who doesn't have a penny in the bank acting like the richest man in Ireland. If he really believed that, he would take on a poise. He could convince everyone.

He could be there worse than a poor church mouse. But yet he could convince you because of his attitude, his conviction, his belief, his demeanor, his carry, his poise, his walk. See, believe in that.

He could convince you. He takes on a whole manner of lifestyle. Why? Because he believes something.

Or at least he's trying to make you believe it. See, a Christian is someone who's victory in Jesus Christ. My old man is crucified.

But we're not living in non-reality. Chapter 5, Justification by Faith. Chapter 6, Crucified with Christ.

Baptized into his death. Chapter 7, you have a civil war. Look at the order.

Then chapter 8, the pathway to holy goose victory. Notice he doesn't put chapter 7 before chapter 6. Justified by faith. Crucified with Christ.

Then a civil war. Let's look at the civil war for a moment. Paul says in Romans 7 verse 4, Wherefore my brethren, ye also are become dead.

Practical reality. It's not just theology or sound doctrine. It's more than that.

My dear brethren. Who's he speaking to? Sinners? No, Christians. My dear brethren, ye also.

In other words, he's in that condition. But ye also are become dead. Now this word dead's different than the word dead used in chapter 6 in verse 2, 7 and 8 and elsewhere.

It's a different word dead. It doesn't mean you're just dead. That's chapter 6. But now we're into chapter 7. It's a different word.

It means to make to die. Not that it's already accomplished. But you're to kill.

You are become dead. You are to kill. And now it's saying that you are to do this.

Now we're coming on to practical reality. You are crucified with Christ. You're dead.

The act is done. Now he instructs you, we as Christians are become dead. We do kill.

We do mortify the flesh. The Greek word used here is a different Greek word dead than in chapter 6. Listen to what it also says in Romans chapter 8 verse 13. For if you live after the flesh, ye shall die.

But if ye through the spirit, notice this, if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. That's the same word mortify. It means to crucify, to kill, to make to die.

So it's saying this is a part of what we're to do. Not only are we crucified by Christ. That is his work.

We're already dead. We're dead with Christ. But there's a work now we're to work out in our Christian life.

Mortify the deeds of the body. The doings of the body. Everything your body does, you're to mortify.

You're to put to death. You're to crucify. Listen this carefully what I'm about to say.

You won't read this in any book. Your old fleshly inward man was crucified 2,000 years ago. But you're to mortify the body.

Do you see the difference? You're to mortify the deeds of your physical body. That's different. Christ crucified your old man.

You are there watching over your body, the actions, words, deeds of your body. That's where you mortify. That's where you crucify.

That's where you put to death. Or listen to this in Galatians chapter 524. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Do you see there's a work for you to do here? It's a reality that Christ has crucified your old man. But the mark of a real Christian is you now crucify the deeds, the lusts, the affections. There's a real application of this for your life.

Now in chapter 7, have you got the order? Chapter 6, crucified with Christ. Chapter 7, the civil war. Then chapter 7, the Holy Spirit's not mentioned once.

And I'm going to leave you with this, what chapter 7 is. But the Holy Spirit's never mentioned in this. But in chapter 8, 15 times in the first 16 verses he's mentioned.

15 times in 16 verses, but he's not mentioned once in Romans 7. This isn't accidental. This isn't being smart with my Bible verses. It's written in a certain way by the Holy Spirit.

So you're given the truth of being crucified with Christ. You've got to know this. You've got to reckon it to be true.

You've got to yield your body. You come on to 7 and you've got a war, a ferocious war. And if you're not careful, you'll get discouraged.

You'll begin to almost believe chapter 6 isn't true. When you find yourself in chapter 7, you forget what has just been taught. In fact, certain things happen in your life and in your body that almost contradict what chapter 6 says.

This is a raging war. But you know what we have in chapter 8 verse 2, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Two laws.

There's two laws operating. What's a law? A law is something brought into by the government and it's a command with punishments. What is a law? It's a command.

It's an urge. It's an instruction. It's a force.

It's got power and authority. So there's two laws operating in the Christian's life. There's a law of sin and death, but there's another law, the law of the spirit of life.

Two laws. And in chapter 7, listen to this carefully. You read the words and this Paul writing.

He writes the word I, me and my almost 40 times. In chapter 7, he mentions the word I 31 times. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, etc.

It dominates chapter 7. Personal experience. You need to be careful of your personal experience. Oh, this is who I am.

Really? Really? Do you see how you can come through chapter 5, chapter 6? If you get stuck in chapter 7, God help you. You could get stuck in the muck and the mire. See Paul is showing us something.

That's why I'm saying this Bible is the most honest book on the face of the planet. It'll show you the battles Peter had. Show you what these men went through.

Very real. And then chapter 7, just note this down. Chapter 7 verse 7 to 9, that's Paul before the law.

Then verses 9 to 13, that's Paul after the law, living under the law. Then Paul changes from the past tense. You know, a lot of people argue over Romans 7 and say, it's not about a Christian.

That's Paul unsaved. That's Paul in his old life. No, it's not.

Well, actually it is up until verse 13. It's Paul in his old life, but then it changes. So it's all in past tense.

Then suddenly it comes to the now tense. So listen to what changes here in the present tense from verse 14 to 25, 14 to 25. Listen to what he begins to say.

Verse 14, for we know, we know the law is spiritual. Some people say the law is bad. It's spiritual.

It's good. The law is spiritual, but I am. It was always in past tense before.

I was, I was, I was. Now he says, I am. I am carnal, sold under sin.

He's in a war. Do you know this word carnal? It means that you're in a war. This word carnal, sorry, let me say that again.

This word sold. The word sold there, sold under sin. It means, it's an old word used for when you're in a condition of war and you've been taken as a prisoner of war.

You've been there fighting. You're in the battle. It's raging around you.

There's an enemy and you've got a uniform on and you're fighting. And then you get caught in the midst of a battle and you're taken as a prisoner. That's what the word sold means.

It's not your entire life. You've been in the battle. You've been fighting in the battle, but you know what? You got sold.

You got taken prisoner. You got taken alive. Verse 23, bringing me into captivity to the law of sin.

See, there's a law bringing me into captivity. Is it possible for a genuine born again Christian to experience this battle? Being taken prisoner, experiencing captivity? Yes, it is. It absolutely is.

Listen to what Paul then says. For that which I do, I allow not. For that what I would, not do I not.

But what I hate, that do I. He's talking about a born again Christian. The things I hate, why have I done it? Maybe I'm not saved. Maybe I'm not born again.

Maybe I'm playing the hypocrite. If then I do that which I would not. I hate it.

I don't want to do it. You weren't like that as a sinner, were you? I consent not unto the law, but that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in us.

Do you know what the word sin there? He's now calling the flesh of the old man sin. A person, a whole life. He said that's not me sinning.

Do you think Paul's making excuses? No, absolutely not. Do you know what he's saying? There's two of me. I sin.

I hate it. I don't want to do it. And yet he's talking about these momentary captures in the battle, being taken a prisoner.

You know when I'm a prisoner, I don't stop being a soldier. I was in the battle. I got taken a prisoner.

I haven't joined the enemy. I haven't become a turncoat. I haven't joined the Germans.

If I was in the second world war, I'm a prisoner in a cell. They won't let me out. You know why? Because as soon as they get out, I'm going back fighting against them.

I'm an enemy. I don't want this. They're not a friend to me.

Do you see the terrible battle you get into? For I know that in me, notice how he qualifies it. Do you see Paul's talking about being a believer? So he says there, for I know, same word new. I know that in me, now he's talking about personal experience of this war.

I know that in me, but let me qualify that. That is in my flesh. There is no good thing.

Dwelleth no good thing. There's no good thing in me. No in my flesh.

I know this. For do well is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would do, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Now if I do that, I would not. It is no more. He sounds like a Christian having a battle.

Maybe sounds a bit Irish as well. It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. You know what he's saying? I'm in the battle.

I'm finding the things I'm hating I have done. I hate this. I don't want it in my life.

Do you know in this chapter he says he's got a new heart? A new heart. Look at verse 21. I find there then a law.

So he finds it's an experience. All this chapter is experience. I find a law.

In other words, something very powerful. I find a law. Where does he find it? That when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Have you found that law yet? Any of you found this law? Since being a Christian in Christ, crucified with Christ, and yet you find a law. There's power in it. And you know what that law does? I would do good, but evil is present with me.

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. Look at him. My inward man is for the law of God.

I hate what is wrong, but I see another law in my members. Where is it? It's not the inward man of the heart. In my members, in my body, in my senses, in my emotions.

Another law. So there's two laws. There's a law.

I delight in the law of God after the inward man. I want God's word. I want to obey him.

But I find another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind. The law of my mind is the inward man, the born again man. The law of my mind is what is good.

It's the new creature. But see, this other law in his members wanted to do sin and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. Oh, wretched man that I am.

Who shall deliver me from this body of death? And then he has the last answer before he moves to chapter 18. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind, with the inward man, I myself serve the law of God.

But with the flesh, the old nature, that wretched man, sin. Do you see he's talking about two different things here? And there's a clash practically. First, you get the doctrine.

I am crucified with Christ. Amen. I'm dead to sin.

Praise God, brother. Praise God, sister. Now let's get into Romans 7. I've got these two laws, these two powers.

What do I do? What do I do if I'm a real born again Christian? And I know Romans 6 is true, but I find myself in Romans 7. What do I do? You move into Romans 8. That's what you do. The Holy Spirit is there. There's a walk with God.

There's a war raging by the end of chapter 7, warring against each other, attacking. It's a military term. The law of my mind is the spiritual mind, the inward man, the new creature, the born again person.

We're told put on Christ, put on the new man. Mortify the deeds of the flesh. Renew your mind.

Take captivity every thought. Let this mind be in you. And then finally, Paul says, and I'll close with this last scripture, Galatians 2.20, I am crucified with Christ.

Nevertheless, and watch this, I am crucified. Do you mean everything of you, Paul? No, the old man, Adam, the flesh, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live.

How can you be crucified yet live? Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Praise God.

We're going to deal on Sunday morning, buried with Christ, crucified with Christ, then buried with Christ, and then next Wednesday we'll deal with raised with Christ. Do you see how glorious these truths are? This tonight, we're dealing with the practical reality, the practical application, the practical living out of being crucified with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray together.

Father, we love you. We bless you. Lord God, we're looking to be melted and poured out into the mold of sound doctrine.

Lord God, this doctrine held in Romans 6, that we're to know that we're crucified with Christ. We're to reckon ourselves dead. Lord God, that we're going to be raised to new life in a spiritual experience of being victorious, not by our own efforts, not by our own strivings or warring, but oh God, through the glorious liberty of the Holy Spirit of God.

Father, I pray, bring us into liberty in this church. Bring us into glorious freedom. Lord God, those that have been discouraged or weary or tired, confused, asking questions, Lord God, minister to their hearts.

Pour in the oil and the wine. Make their hearts to be glad again. Make them to get back their dance and their shout and the joy of the Lord.

My God, help them to put on the garments of praise for a spirit of heaviness. Lord God, anoint their head, anoint their faces. Lord God, grant them, oh God, to sing the songs of Zion.

Lord God, make us to live out the reality of what this book says about us. In Jesus' mighty name. Hallelujah.

Amen.