Christ Jesus Obeys on Our Behalf and Shares His Life With Us

Introduction

Have you ever noticed how often the Bible uses the word “therefore”?

A simple rule of reading Scripture is this: whenever you see “therefore,” ask what it’s there for. It points backward before it points forward. It tells us that what God asks of us is always grounded in something God has already done.

That matters deeply, because many people hear the Christian life as a list of demands: obey more, try harder, sin less. But Paul does not begin there. He begins with grace. He begins with what God has already accomplished for us in Jesus Christ.

Last week in Romans 6, Paul reminded us that in our union with Christ, we died with him and were raised with him. Sin no longer defines us. Our old humanity has been crucified, and now we are alive to God through Christ.

So today’s passage asks the natural question: If this is true, how do we live now?

Here is the heart of the message:

Our obedience matters, but it is not the source of our salvation. Christ Jesus has obeyed on our behalf, and by the Spirit, he shares his obedient life with us.

That changes everything.

Expository Walkthrough

1. We Are Not Earning Life — We Are Living from Life Already Given

Paul says:

“Do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies… present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.”

Notice the order. Paul does not say, obey so that God will bring you to life. He says obey because you have already been brought from death to life.

That’s the gospel.

Jesus did not simply show us how to obey. He obeyed in our place. In his incarnation, he entered our humanity, lived our life faithfully, trusted the Father completely, and through the Spirit remained perfectly responsive in love.

That means our obedience is never isolated. We do not obey for Christ. We obey in Christ.

This is what theologians like Thomas F. Torrance described as the vicarious humanity of Jesus: Christ has lived the faithful human life on our behalf and shares that life with us.

So Christian obedience is not performance. It is participation.

We are not trying to become accepted by God.
We are learning to live from the acceptance already given in the Son.

2. Sanctification Is the Spirit Teaching Us to Live What Is Already True

Paul uses difficult imagery here—slavery to sin and slavery to righteousness.

We should acknowledge that this language is painful because slavery in human history has caused profound evil. Paul himself says he is using “human terms because of your limitations,” recognizing that the metaphor is imperfect.

The point is not ownership in a cruel sense. The point is allegiance.

Before Christ, our patterns, habits, and desires often produced harm—to ourselves and to others. But in Christ, our deepest belonging has changed.

We belong to the Father through the Son in the Spirit.

Paul calls this process sanctification. That simply means God is shaping our lived experience to match our true identity in Christ.

That means sanctification holds a paradox:

• We are already free from sin.
• We are not yet fully mature in living that freedom.

That tension is not failure. It is Christian growth.

Think of a child learning to walk. The child already belongs to the family before taking a single step. Walking does not make them a child. It expresses who they already are.

That’s sanctification.

The Spirit patiently teaches us to walk in the life Jesus has already shared with us.

Over time, our choices change:

• bitterness gives way to forgiveness,
• self-protection gives way to generosity,
• suspicion gives way to trust,
• selfishness gives way to love.

And slowly, obedience stops feeling like burden and begins to feel like freedom.

3. The Church Is What Collective Obedience Looks Like in a Divided World

Paul ends with one of the clearest summaries in Scripture:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Sin pays wages. It gives exactly what it produces: brokenness, alienation, and death.

God gives a gift. Not something earned. Something received.

And eternal life is not merely endless duration. It is participation now in the life of the triune God—life marked by joy, peace, communion, and love.

That life is not private.

It becomes visible in the church.

The church at its best is not just a place people attend. It is a community where Christ’s obedience is shared among us. It is what collective obedience looks like in a fractured world.

Imagine a congregation where everyone seeks the good of the other:

• serving instead of demanding,
• forgiving instead of keeping score,
• speaking truth with gentleness,
• carrying one another’s burdens,
• loving across differences.

That becomes a living witness.

In a world shaped by division, the church becomes a sign of the kingdom.

Conclusion

So Paul’s invitation is simple:

Consider yourself dead to what harms.
Present yourself to the God who gives life.
Live the life Christ is already sharing with you.

You are not alone in this.

The Father has called you.
The Son has obeyed for you.
The Spirit is forming Christ’s life in you.

That means your obedience is never about proving yourself. It is about participating in the love that already holds you.

Call to Action

This week, ask yourself:

Where am I still living from old patterns that lead to harm?
And where is the Spirit inviting me to join Jesus in choosing love?

Perhaps in your family.
Perhaps in a strained relationship.
Perhaps in how you speak.
Perhaps in how you serve.

Bring that part of your life to God.

Because Christ has already made you his own.

Closing Prayer

Gracious Father,
Thank you that you have not left us to obey on our own.
Thank you that your Son has lived faithfully for us and shares his life with us.
Thank you that your Spirit is at work in us, shaping us into the image of Jesus.

Teach us to trust your grace more deeply.
Free us from old patterns that wound and divide.
Form in us the fruit of your kingdom—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and faithfulness.

And make us, as your church, a living witness of your love in this world.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

Click on link to see original sermon: https://equipper.gci.org/2026/05/sermon-for-june-28-2026-proper-8