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We think, “If only I had enough money, my life would change forever,” yet even a life-altering jackpot can’t easily eliminate the old self. Romans 6:10 tells us the death Christ died, He died to sin once for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God.
The following study questions are AI generated and may contain errors.
The sermon uses James Shannon Farthing’s story to illustrate how difficult it is to break free from old identities even when circumstances change dramatically. What does it mean practically to “consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus,” and how can this truth help us resist returning to old sinful habits?
What does the phrase “once for all” in Romans 6:10 and Hebrews 7:27 reveal about the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice, and how should that truth affect our tendency to try to add to or re-earn salvation?
The sermon contrasts the temporary and often destructive nature of wealth with the permanent transformation that comes through salvation in Christ. In what practical ways do Christians sometimes live as though God’s provision in Christ is not enough, and how can we instead more fully embrace our new identity?
Paul says in Romans 6:10 that Jesus “died to sin once for all” but “the life he lives, he lives to God.” What is the connection between Christ’s finished work and our daily sanctification, and how should this affect the way we live?
The sermon warns against three mistakes: thinking we need to re-earn salvation, believing we can contribute to our salvation after it’s secured, and cutting short what Jesus has done by living as though we don’t need to reflect Christ’s character. Which of these do you find most personally challenging, and how can we help one another resist these errors?
This transcript has been automatically generated and may contain errors.
Have you heard about a man named James Shannon Farthing? He has an interesting story, and the part that you’re most likely to have heard about is the fact that he won, with his mom and girlfriend, $167 million on the Powerball last year. Most of us will never see such a sum in our lifetimes—maybe several lifetimes, perhaps eight billion of those lifetimes—$167 million dollars.
His mother, Linda Grizzle, and his appropriately named girlfriend, Jacqueline Fightmaster, won this money. I say “appropriately named” because something you need to know about Farthing is that when he won the lottery at 50 years of age, he had spent 30 years of his life in prison. And not just for one crime, but crime after crime, including the crimes he committed while in prison that prolonged his incarceration. Think about that—spending all that time in prison, and then having a chance at something new. At 50, how does one get back on their feet? Winning $167 million seems like a good way to do that—completely new life, no debts, no challenge, no need to worry about work—just do something enjoyable. You’ve been in prison; now go see the world, do whatever you want.
What did Farthing do? Well, he and his family—his girlfriend and mother—went to Florida. And this is where the girlfriend’s name becomes quite fitting, because he got into a fight with a police officer there and briefly found himself back in prison. That was last year.
This year, he made headlines again after deciding to burgle a house and steal $12,000. He is currently awaiting court charges for this burglary, despite having won $167 million—the contrast is striking. As I thought about his life, I considered how difficult it is for us to escape our old identities and sin. Here is a man—whatever happened before, whatever he faced—who had the opportunity for a brand-new start, right? Yet many of us would say, if only I had enough money, I would do something different. Fill in that blank with all kinds of wonderful possibilities. If I only had that, my life would change forever.
I bet, sitting there in prison, Farthing might have thought, if only I had some money—then I would have a totally different life. And with $167 million in hand, he went and still stole $12,000. It’s so hard to escape our old identity. Mr. Farthing needed to realize he was a new person—that things had changed—yet he returned to his old ways. Sadly, it’s often the same for us.
Jesus offers us something far better than $167 million—something incomparably greater. While I can’t quite fathom it, history shows that winning large sums of money doesn’t bring happiness—they often lead to disaster. Stories of lottery winners frittering away their wealth abound, leaving only a Farthing in their name. But we cannot fritter away what Jesus does when He transforms us.
Just like Farthing, we sometimes go and burgle instead. That’s what Paul will discuss tonight as we continue in Romans 6. Let’s pray that God will help us recognize those areas where we revert to our old identities, living as if we still need to rely on our past efforts, rather than embracing the new life Christ has given us.
Father, thank you for this evening, for your Word, and for knowing us. As we reflect on the wonder and majesty of your salvation—spanning the ages—we’re reminded that you, as the Creator of the world, sent your Son into this world knowing exactly what we would do, how we would fail. We pray that because of your incredible love, you would help us realize what you’ve done for us and live accordingly. May we not continue living in our old lives, but in the new life that you have provided. We pray this in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
Now, turn in your Bibles to Romans 6:10. Here’s what Paul says: “For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.” Sometimes, I think we go back to our old life before Christ because we don’t truly believe it’s enough—that Jesus only needed to go to the cross once because that is all the universe ever needed. Paul emphasizes here that He did it once for all; there’s no need for another. It’s a completely unique event in history, because nothing about it can be repeated.
I wonder what was going through Mr. Farthing’s mind. Perhaps he still thought, even with $167 million, that he had nothing. Maybe he felt he needed to break into this house because he was worried about how he’d get by next week. It sounds ridiculous—yet that’s often how we live. We operate as if God’s provision isn’t enough, thinking, if only I had more money or status, then everything would be better.
Paul reminds us that what Jesus has provided is far superior to any jackpot. Research shows jackpots do not make people happy; in fact, many stories tell of winners suffering disastrous consequences. The riches don’t change who we are—they often exacerbate our old habits. But Jesus’s transformation is permanent. It doesn’t come in bits like a lottery payout; it’s complete.
The reality is that Jesus only needed to die once—His work is finished. He isn’t re-crucified every year on Easter to “bring forward” His wounds. His sacrifice was perfect and complete. Hebrews 7 confirms this: “He sacrificed for sins once for all, when he offered himself.” Priests in the Old Testament had to repeatedly offer sacrifices because their sacrifices and they themselves were imperfect. But Jesus, being perfect, offered Himself once and for all. His sacrifice doesn’t need to be repeated because it’s enough.
We should understand that. When we call on Jesus, He has paid it all—your debt, my debt—completely. Many of us, however, try to treat salvation as if we need to add to it, to keep earning favor with God. That’s where the second error often comes in: thinking we need to re-earn salvation or do enough good works to maintain it. But Paul makes it clear: Jesus did it all, once for all, 2000 years ago.
He presents that idea vividly by referring to Hebrews 7: “He did it once for all when he offered himself up.” No repeated sacrifices, no ongoing installments. Once and done. That’s the sufficiency of Christ’s work.
Another mistake is to believe that we can somehow contribute to our salvation after it’s been secured. That we are like venture capitalists, starting the “business” of salvation—Jesus gives us the resources, but it’s up to us to make it work. That’s incorrect. Hebrews makes clear that Jesus, as the perfect high priest, offered a perfect sacrifice—Himself—for sins once for all, unlike the imperfect sacrifices of the priests.
We don’t contribute to our salvation; Jesus’s work is enough. It’s complete. When we call on Jesus, He’s already done everything necessary. We shouldn’t live as if we’re still trying to earn His favor. No—when we trust in Christ, we are fully saved because of His righteousness, which we have been given. It’s His holiness that now works in us.
There’s a third mistake: cutting short what Jesus has done (Romans 6:2). Some may think this means they don’t need to look like a Christian at all, or that they shouldn’t do what God calls them to do because everything’s been paid for. But Paul corrects that misconception: salvation is “once for all,” and yet the Spirit continues to work in us daily to sanctify us.
Romans 6:10 reminds us: “When he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.” So we too must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. What that means is that, now that our sins are paid for, we should stop feeling like we need to sin to make life work. Not for salvation, but to live in the fullness of salvation.
It’s not about striving to earn divine favor—God loves us because He has called us. Think of a brand-new computer: no spyware, no viruses, just ready to operate perfectly. Why would we then go and use an old, broken device, doing the opposite of what it was made for? We’d never do that intentionally. Yet, many of us keep trying to operate with our old, sinful software, crashing and failing.
But Jesus offers us an upgraded system—one that never crashes, filled with His righteousness. When we live in the truth that we aredead to sin and alive in Christ, we can operate in freedom. We don’t need to fear failure. Joshua 5:15 reminds us: when Joshua encountered the commander of the Lord’s army, he was told, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” Coming before God with humility and recognizing His holiness is essential.
Romans 8:31 offers profound assurance: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Just as Joshua’s enemies learned, the key is to be on God’s side. And the incredible news in Romans is that God has brought us onto His side through calling, redeeming, justifying, and sanctifying us. Nothing can separate us from His love—He will carry us to glorification.
That means we are on His side, not because of our own efforts or righteousness, but because of what Jesus has done. We are made into new creations, fully accepted, fully loved, and fully justified. Nothing else can determine our salvation—our failures do not define us.
If you haven’t called on Jesus today, you can do that now. His work is complete; He has paid it all. You can be fully forgiven and redeemed, not by earning but by believing. Living in this truth frees us from the burden of trying to earn God’s favor or revert to old habits. Instead, we can walk confidently in the new identity He has given us—dead to sin and alive in Christ.
Every day is an opportunity to experience God’s mercy anew. We can come before Him, confess our sins, and ask Him to guide us. We don’t need to fear failure or think we’re beyond His reach. His love and salvation are complete, and His Spirit is at work within us, transforming us from the inside out.
Remember, Jesus is the firstfruits—He was resurrected to life to continue His work in us. His resurrection guarantees our own. We are not merely acting like Christians; we are new creations, justified and sanctified by His finished work. Our past failures don’t determine our future—His salvation, His work in us, does.
So let us live boldly, confident in who we are in Christ. Let’s trust in His power and grace, knowing that He is for us and has already secured our place with Him. As we go forward, may we not live in fear, but in faith—redeemed, loved, and equipped to do what He calls us to do. Amen.
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