{"id":1811,"date":"2025-09-23T13:03:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T13:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/?p=1811"},"modified":"2025-09-23T13:03:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T13:03:06","slug":"alive-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/2025\/09\/23\/alive-to-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Alive to God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Text:<\/strong>&nbsp;Romans 6:1\u201311<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Theme:<\/strong>&nbsp;Dying to sin and rising to new life in Christ<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Key Scripture References<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Romans 6:1\u201311<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Baptism as dying to sin and living to God.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Romans 1\u20135 (summary)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Humanity accountable before God; salvation by grace through Christ; justification by faith.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Psalm 51<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 David\u2019s prayer of repentance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Acts 23\u201324<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Paul\u2019s witness before Felix.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Main Points of the Sermon<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Freedom from Sin<\/strong>: Paul compares liberation from sin to Roman\u00a0<em>manumission<\/em>\u2014the legal freeing of slaves. In Christ, believers are freed from the mastery of sin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Baptism as Burial &amp; Resurrection<\/strong>: Baptism signifies death to the old life and resurrection to a new one, reflecting Christ\u2019s death and resurrection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>New Identity<\/strong>: Just as freed slaves took on new names, Christians bear Christ\u2019s name\u2014our lives now represent Him.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transformation from Within<\/strong>: True change begins internally before it is visible externally, like metamorphosis of a caterpillar to butterfly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Danger of Delay<\/strong>: Felix heard Paul\u2019s testimony but postponed a decision. Salvation requires immediate response.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Our Message<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Grace is not a license to continue in sin but a call to holiness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Believers are a\u00a0<strong>new creation<\/strong>\u00a0in Christ\u2014our old self is buried, and a new life begins.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We are called not only to be freed but to live as part of God\u2019s royal priesthood.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Reflection on Our Conduct (Questions)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If baptism symbolizes death to sin, in what practical ways should your daily life reflect resurrection into newness of life?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What \u201cold identities\u201d or habits still try to claim authority over you, and how can you actively \u201creckon\u201d yourself dead to them?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can we, as representatives of Christ\u2019s name, ensure our actions honor Him in workplaces, homes, and communities?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5. Practical Application (Questions)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Transformation begins inside\u2014what areas of your inner life (thoughts, desires, attitudes) need the Spirit\u2019s renewing work today?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Like David, do you truly abhor sin, or do you sometimes look back on it with nostalgia? How can prayer help shift your heart to hate what God hates?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Felix delayed responding to Paul\u2019s message\u2014what spiritual decisions might you be postponing that need to be made today?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>6. Personal Commitment (Questions)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Am I ready to identify fully with Christ, even if it means letting go of old desires, reputations, or relationships?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do I live daily with the awareness that I am part of a\u00a0<strong>royal priesthood<\/strong>, called to serve God with honor?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will I choose to \u201creckon myself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus\u201d not just in words, but in consistent action?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>7. Prayer Points<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Thanksgiving for New Life<\/strong>: Thank God for the freedom from sin and the gift of new life in Christ.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inner Transformation<\/strong>: Pray for the Spirit\u2019s work of true metamorphosis\u2014deep inner change that produces visible fruit of holiness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Courage to Decide Today<\/strong>: Ask for strength to avoid delay like Felix, and instead to embrace full surrender to Christ now.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Text:&nbsp;Romans 6:1\u201311 Theme:&nbsp;Dying to sin and rising to new life in Christ 1. Key Scripture References 2. Main Points of the Sermon 3. Our Message 4. Reflection on Our Conduct [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jeff Kern","author_link":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/author\/jkern\/"},"featured_media_urls":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1812,"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811\/revisions\/1812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lw-sda.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}