Sermon draft: Buried and Raised with Christ
Main passage: Romans 6:1–11
Big idea: In Christ, we have died to sin and been raised to new life, and baptism publicly proclaims this hope.
Introduction
Today we gather around the water of baptism. We will see people step into the water and come up again. It is a simple act, but it points to the heart of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ died and was buried, and on the third day he rose again.
Baptism is not a performance by which we earn God’s love. It is not a claim that we have become flawless. It points away from us and toward Jesus: his death for sinners, his resurrection, and the new life he gives to all who trust in him.
The apostle Paul explains this in Romans 6. He has been proclaiming that we are justified by God’s grace through faith, not by our works. Then he raises a question: if grace is so abundant, should we keep on sinning so that grace may increase? His answer is emphatic: “By no means!” (Romans 6:2, ESV).
Paul does not say that grace makes sin unimportant. He says that those who belong to Christ have been united with him. His death and resurrection change our relationship to sin and give us a new life to live.
1. Grace does not give us permission to remain in sin
Paul begins: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” He answers, “By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1–2, ESV).
Paul knows that people can twist the message of grace. If God forgives freely, someone might reason, then sin does not matter. But grace is not God’s permission slip to keep living as we please. Grace rescues us from sin’s guilt and begins to free us from sin’s rule.
Notice the way Paul puts it: “we who died to sin.” He is not saying that Christians never sin again. We know that is not true. He is saying that sin no longer has the rightful mastery it once claimed over us. We belonged to its realm; now, through Christ, we belong to God.
Think of someone leaving a former home behind. They may still remember it; they may even feel the pull to return. But they have been given a new home and a new place to belong. In Christ, we are not told to make ourselves acceptable before God. We are welcomed by grace—and that grace calls us into a new life.
So, to those being baptized: baptism does not say, “I have never struggled.” It says, “My hope is Jesus, and I belong to him.” And to all of us: do not treat grace as an excuse to make peace with sin. Bring your sin into the light. Confess it. Ask God for help. The same grace that forgives also teaches us to walk in a new way.
2. Baptism points to our union with Jesus
Paul writes, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:3, ESV). He goes on to say that we were buried with Christ through baptism, “in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead … we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4, ESV).
The center of this passage is not the water. It is Jesus. Paul’s language is striking: baptized “into Christ Jesus.” Baptism points to belonging to him—to sharing in the story of his death and resurrection. The water portrays burial and rising; the gospel tells us that Jesus truly died for sinners and truly rose again.
Baptism is a visible proclamation. It says, “Jesus died, and I am trusting in him. Jesus was raised, and my hope is in his life.” Christians have different understandings of how baptism relates to faith and God’s grace, but we can all hear Paul’s central emphasis: salvation is found in Christ, and baptism directs us to him.
A wedding ring offers a helpful comparison. A ring does not create the love or make a marriage true by its own power. Yet it is not meaningless. It is a visible sign of a real commitment and relationship. In a similar way, baptism matters because of the reality it proclaims: the baptized person is identifying with Jesus and his people, and the church is bearing witness to the gospel.
As we watch baptisms today, we are not applauding someone for having everything figured out. We are giving thanks for Christ, whose death and resurrection are enough for sinners. And we are reminded that the Christian life is not about standing at a distance from Jesus. It is about belonging to him.
3. The old life has been crucified with Christ
Paul says, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6, ESV).
“Old self” means the person we were under sin’s dominion, living apart from God. Paul says that this old life was crucified with Christ. Jesus did not die merely to improve our old life a little. He died to break sin’s claim and bring us into a new relationship with God.
That does not mean temptation disappears. A person who has been set free may still hear the old master calling. The call may sound familiar: “You need this. You cannot change. Hide what you have done. You are defined by your worst failure.” But sin’s voice is not our lord. Jesus is.
Imagine a person being released from prison. The prison door is open, and the sentence has been served. Yet that person might still think and act as though the cell were locked. Freedom has been given, but they need to learn to live in it. Paul wants Christians to understand that, through Christ, sin is no longer our master. We are called to live from the freedom Jesus has won.
That freedom is not self-reliance. We do not overcome sin by pretending to be strong. We turn to Christ, seek help from the Holy Spirit, and walk with God’s people. We make honest confession. We seek wise counsel. We put away what leads us back into sin and practice what is good.
For anyone carrying shame today, hear this: Jesus does not ask you to save yourself before you come to him. He calls sinners to trust him. His cross is sufficient. And for those who already belong to Christ, do not let a past failure tell you that you can never change. Your hope is not your record; your hope is Jesus.
4. In Christ, we are called to walk in newness of life
Paul says that just as Christ was raised from the dead, “we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4, ESV). Then he says, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11, ESV).
“Consider yourselves” does not mean pretending that sin is gone or that life is easy. It means reckoning with what God has done in Christ and living in light of it. We are alive to God—not because we have earned a place with him, but because we are joined to Jesus, who lives.
New life is often lived through ordinary steps: telling the truth when a lie would be easier, asking forgiveness, forgiving someone who has wronged us, turning from a habit that harms us, praying when we feel weak, and serving someone who cannot repay us. These actions do not purchase our salvation. They are the fruit of the life Christ gives.
A seed buried in the ground may look like an ending, but in time new growth appears. Paul’s picture is even stronger: Jesus truly passed through death, and God raised him. Those who trust in Christ have a sure hope because their Savior is alive. We may still grieve, struggle, and face death, but death does not have the final word over those who belong to Jesus.
This is good news for every age. Children and adults, those new to faith and those who have followed Christ for many years: all of us need the same Savior. And all of us are invited to keep walking in the new life he gives.
Conclusion
In a moment, we will see people go down into the water and come up again. Let that picture remind us of the gospel. Jesus died for sinners. He was buried. He rose again. Everyone who trusts in him is welcomed by grace, forgiven, and called to new life.
Baptism does not point us to human achievement. It points us to Christ. The baptized person’s hope is not, “I am good enough.” The Christian’s hope is, “Jesus died for me, Jesus rose again, and I belong to him.”
Call to response
If you have never trusted in Jesus, you can turn to him today. You do not need to clean yourself up first. Admit your need, turn from sin, and trust that Jesus died and rose again to save you. Ask him for forgiveness and new life.
And if you already belong to Christ, remember who you are in him. You are not called to make peace with sin. You are alive to God in Christ Jesus. Take the next faithful step, trusting not in your own strength but in your risen Lord.
Closing prayer
Father, thank you for your grace in Jesus Christ. Thank you that he died for sinners and rose again. Help those being baptized to rest their hope in him, and help all of us remember that we belong to Christ. Forgive our sin, free us from its power, and teach us to walk in newness of life. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.