Dead to sin, alive in Christ
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:1-14)
In this chapter, Paul moves us along to the practical ways in which we should live as Christians. The key principle involved is expressed in this way:
we too may live a new life
Living (or some versions have walking) is a ‘faith’ activity. It means we have to choose how we live. ‘Faith’ is not a passive activity but a divine motivation. The opposite of faith is unbelief. The chief characteristic of unbelief is fear. Unbelief probably explains why there can be so much difference in the spiritual quality of the lives of different Christians. In fact, I’m convinced growth is primarily connected to faith and not just enthusiasm or duty. We should not forget that unbelief was one of the things which most upset Jesus, as in this instance in the Gospels:
‘You unbelieving generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?’ (Mark 9:19)
This is one of the tough comments which Jesus made regularly; but they can be easily ignored or overlooked by bible readers.
grace
In an earlier chapter (3:8) Paul wrote about the way in which he was slandered and misunderstood regarding grace. And now in this chapter he begins by putting grace in context:
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:1-2)
The real meaning of grace was subtly twisted in order to justify a lower standard of Christian life. It was this that Paul was disputing. This is also a trend which can be seen in Christianity today. Even the most popular leaders can go down this path. Jesus did not promise the blessings of grace without the challenge of getting to grips with our sin.
Through the gift of undeserved grace, God is able to work to free us from the practice of sin: mercy forgives sin; grace overcomes sin. God gives us grace to achieve something, not simply to make us feel better. It is wrong to think that sins do not matter to God anymore, since He only now views us through the lens of grace. This is not what this chapter teaches, nor in fact the whole New Testament. This is ‘convenience Christianity’ or ‘cheap grace’. It is as though no effort is required, as grace does it all – but, in reality, grace is the enemy of sin. Grace and faith are being confused: faith does not come by exerting effort; but grace is only effective where effort is applied. This is how the Puritan, Thomas Watson, put it:
“a man may as well expect a crop without sowing, as grace without labour.”
(more on grace in the interlude on Sin, Law and Grace)
dead and buried
Paul’s answer to this misunderstanding is to create the context in which the Christian truly lives:
We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
When Jesus took our sin and died on the cross, we too were dying with Him. This is all part of the miraculous work of God in us – we were in Christ as He died on the cross. He rose from the dead to a new quality of life in which sin had no access to Him. In the same way, as Paul explains shortly, we have been raised to a new quality of life in Christ. Before we became Christians, sin was natural to us. This is not just because we are born in original sin, but also can include how we might have been taught to sin by others. This is especially true where false teaching suggests that certain sins are ‘allowable’. In contrast, for the Christian, sin becomes a contamination which is foreign to our new nature. ‘Contamination’ is the best way I can express what it means to have a genuinely changed heart and nature: we hate sin, not ourselves.
Paul explains this new reality for the Christian in this way:
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:3-4)
He shows that baptism in water is an outward demonstration of the inward change. Baptism represents the inward change. In the same way that marriage is a public declaration of a lifetime commitment to one's spouse, so baptism should demonstrate a lifetime commitment to Christ. Baptism does not of itself produce inward change, but speaks of what has happened within the believer. It is a full character change: in the heart, will and motivation of the Christian – we died (as Christ died); we were buried (as Christ was buried); and we were raised to a new quality of life (as Christ was raised). And this new quality of life is practical and observable – ‘we too may live a new life’. Conversion changes our choices – it does not, of course, make us instantly perfect.
freed
The question is often asked whether or not baptism is just a sign of grace or an actual working of grace. The urgency with which Paul writes about this, suggests there is in baptism an actual working of grace which should change our lives. Grace is activated by serious commitment – it is not some kind of hypnotic control over a passive person. Paul’s baptism implies that this was what happened to him:
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptised and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16)
The debate about whether or not children should be baptised, or whether they should wait until they can make a choice to leave sin, is an important one if we believe in Christian conversion.
[We won’t get hung up on this question here though!]
Paul is keen to assure us that we do not live the Christian life simply by our own efforts (which would be doomed to failure), but we live because of what God does in us as we respond through faith:
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:5-7)
Being a Christian means identification with Christ in his death and resurrection. Identification is living in the day by day freshness of what Jesus has done for us. But it has a practical fruit in nullifying the power of sin. Sin's power comes from ‘our old self’. This is another expression Paul uses to describe the complex relationship between sin and our human character. It is not easy to tease out why we have such a desire to sin. Conversion changes our character balance so that living to please God becomes our priority. In the same way that there is ‘old Adam’ and ‘new Adam’, so there can be ‘old self' and ‘new self'.
mastery
It is wrong to think that we have two personalities – a Christian one and a sinful one: we are one complex person. Paul also alludes to the connection between our mortal body – the body ruled by sin - and our predilection to sin – what he describes as ‘slaves of sin’.
[I am trying to avoid the use of the term 'slave': see my comments under Rule 6: Serving, for more details].
So many sins are from the body including ones such as pride. Christians know they are more than just their bodies. When we eventually physically die, we stop sinning:
because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
The point he is about to explain is how we can live in these present bodies which are disposed to sin without being under sin’s mastery anymore. We become obedient to God’s will as it is revealed to us: it is a change of master.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. (Romans 6:8)
The key to the rest of the chapter is ‘believe’: our walk is by faith in what Christ has done for us which is the most powerful force in the universe and it cannot be overcome. Our effectiveness in escaping the mastery of sin is proportional to our faith. This is a biblical principle of proportionality as per Romans 12.6 for instance:
let us prophesy in proportion to our faith
choice
If we recognise that we need to grow in faith then we shall recognise too that living free from the mastery of sin is something we must grow into. The power of the resurrection was not a one off. The glory of the Father which resurrected Christ is always present. It is that same power into which we tap, by faith living the Christian life, walking in the Spirit.
But this new life only works after recognising the effect of Christ’s death upon us.
The death he died, he died to sin once for all (Romans 6:10)
Being dead to something means you have no reaction to it. This is an achievable goal. We can feed the remnants of sin or we can die to them – we have a choice. If you have lost your feelings for something, it weakens its control over you. The work of love and conversion in the heart makes us dead to the things we once loved, worshipped, adored, lived for, envied, coveted, lied for, manipulated for, threatened for, were passionate for, etc. This is the secret – the disposition of the heart – we must be revived every day through spiritual exercises: bible reading, prayer, praise, books, conversations, friendship, etc:
but the life he lives, he lives to God. (Romans 6:10)
The old cravings are replaced by new passions inspired in us by the Spirit of God. Christian maturity is the replacement of worldly and fleshly passions with godly ones.
accounting
Paul now uses a word to express this attitude of faith regarding the work of Jesus and how we implement it practically:
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11)
The word ‘count’ (or ‘reckon’ in other versions) is actually a word used in financial accounting. Paul is expressing the non-emotional, thoughtful, considered part of walking in the Spirit. Before calculators and computers we used to have ‘ready reckoners’ to help us work out costs, etc. Counting or reckoning is a statement of fact – “1+1=2, I am dead to sin and alive to God”. This is not measuring effort but the confession of a converted heart. Counting is stating our spiritual position in Christ – dead to sin and alive to God. The expression, in Christ, is referencing the most powerful force in the universe.
Our position in Christ is reinforced by the fresh, new passions which now motivate us. We are motivated by passion (emotion) and counting (mind) both charged by faith (proportionally). And so, Paul writes:
but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. (Romans 6:13)
His words here emphasise choice, planning and the teaching of right and wrong. There is choice: we can now walk away from situations where sin always used to capture our passions and actions. This may prove easier to do physically than mentally. Our minds must be trained by ‘taking thoughts captive to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5) in the same way that our bodies can be trained by exercise to perform at new levels.
under grace
Being a Christian means making changes in one’s priorities, friendships, haunts, habits, etc:
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)
There needs to be a clear understanding: grace means being relaxed in what Christ has done for us knowing that we receive mercy and forgiveness through faith. Being under law is by comparison a stressful way of living. It means you are trying to impress God (and other people) with how good you are. There is no relaxation in this because if you fail you will be condemned for not achieving the expected standard. In fact, it is pointless and impossible – 'all fall short of the glory of God' – it produces condemnation.
What God expects of us is unpicked in the next section. It is a standard of holiness relating to our faith, to our knowledge and to our spiritual maturity. It should also be a growing and more demanding standard. As a weightlifter begins with light weights then with practice takes on heavier ones, so, the Christian matures in holy living. The higher standards are revealed by the Holy Spirit as one grows in grace as we shall now see. These standards can be helpfully understood as being bespoke. This is a reflection of how we are growing according to our faith, and according to our openness to the Holy Spirit.
“I find then a law; that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:21–25
The lament of Romans 7:24 is the cry of no less than the great Apostle Paul, who groans, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” He says that his situation makes him “wretched,” and sadly many Christians live in this condition day after day, and even year after year. The word wretched is translated from the Greek word talaiporos, which has the idea of bearing a trial and can be rendered “miserable.” But the question at the end of the lament does not go unanswered. Verse 25 begins, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” So no Christian needs to live in the wretched, miserable state described in Romans seven. He has a Deliverer, and it is Jesus Christ! This is clear from the context.
I clearly remember the first time I read Romans chapter seven as a believer. I was new in the faith and very new at reading the Bible. That day I was shocked that the words I found in verses 18 through 23 were actually in the Bible! They gave an exact description (it seemed to me) of my own unhappy experience as a Christian trying to live the Christian life. I just couldn’t do it with any consistency. What I did not want to do I did, and what I wanted to do for Christ I was somehow often unable to do. It was as if verse 24 were the conclusion of the chapter. Somehow I missed the impact of verse 25. Who shall deliver me from the power of my sinful human nature? Jesus will do it.
Romans 7:24 is about three-quarters of the way through the section of the book of Romans that teaches about our deliverance from the power of sin. Romans 1 through 5 explains in exquisite detail how Christ has delivered us from the penalty of our sin. Then Romans 6:1 through 8:15 (and perhaps through verse 27) reveals how Christ has also delivered us from the power of our sin. In Romans 8 we are taught the certainty of the eventual deliverance believers in Christ will have from the presence of sin (when we are glorified). So the context of Romans 7 indicates that we are not left to live and struggle in the wretched state described there. Christians can overcome sin.
When this Biblical truth is taught, sometimes good people worry that the doctrine of sinless perfection is being preached. This is not the case for Baptist fundamentalists. I do not know of any Baptist today who teaches the Wesleyan doctrine of sinless perfection. A. J. Gordon, the great Baptist preacher of the late nineteenth century, said appropriately that although he rejected sinless perfection, he did not advocate the opposite extreme. He wrote, “If we regard the doctrine of sinless perfection as a heresy, we regard contentment with sinful imperfection as a greater heresy” (emphasis his). The truth that Christ delivers us from our flesh and from sin is a clear Bible doctrine and does not mean that there is anyone on earth who actually never sins any more. This truth simply gives us the right approach to doing battle with the sin that so easily besets us.
The wretched state bemoaned in verse 24 arises from the conflict in a man’s life between two laws: the law of God (which is in his mind because he has learned it, and has been his delight ever since he was regenerated—verses 22 and 23) and the law of sin (which dwells in him, in his flesh, in the body he inherited from Adam—verses 17–20 and 23–24). The laws are contrary to each other and exert great influence on him all the time. One cannot be fulfilled without the other being violated, leaving the man frustrated, defeated, and wretched.
What he needs is deliverance from his own body. Somehow it is in the body that the sinful nature resulting from the fall of man has been passed down from Adam to each of us. Sin is in us, in our very body, in our flesh. We find ourselves in the predicament summarized at the very end of chapter 7: “So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” What Christian does not know this predicament? What we need is deliverance from the flesh.
Throughout the Bible, we find that God is our Deliverer. Think about it. He delivered Noah from the flood, Jacob from the famine, Joseph from the prison, Israel from Egypt, David from the giant, the Hebrew children from the furnace, and Daniel from the lions. Deliverance is a great theme of the Bible, and God is the Deliverer. Jesus taught us to pray every day, “Deliver us from evil.” We need deliverance every day even from ourselves, from this body, which is a body of death. Thankfully, Jesus Christ has provided this deliverance for every person He has saved.
Salvation (deliverance) from the power of sin comes by two great works of Christ:
1. THE WORK OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS
This is what Romans 6 and about half of chapter 7 is about. When Christ died for us, we died with Him. When He rose again, we rose with Him to walk in newness of life. When we believe this truth (as mysterious as it is) and yield to God at the moment of temptation, we experience practical deliverance from sin.
Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Twice in Romans 6, God says that believers in Christ are “free from sin” (see verses 18 and 22). We are not free of sin, but we definitely are free from sin. The chains are broken. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
Trusting in Christ is the way to victory while trying harder is the way to defeat. Romans 7 opens by saying that we are free from the law through the sacrifice of Christ. The way of bondage through seeking to please God by measuring up to His standard is no longer the way of the Christian. He is free from both sin and the law, and by reckoning this to be true and by yielding to God instead of sin when temptation comes, he experiences deliverance (study Romans 6 and 7 again).
2. THE WORK OF CHRIST IN SENDING US THE HOLY SPIRIT
In Romans chapters one through seven the Spirit of God is only mentioned twice (in 1:4 and 5:5). Then in chapter eight, the Holy Spirit is named nineteen times! The Christian life is to be lived in the victory of Christ on the cross and through the power of the Spirit within us.
Jesus asked the Father to send us the Spirit in order to give us deliverance from our flesh and empower us to live holy lives (see John 14:15–17). Romans 8:2 says that this deliverance happens by one law overruling another: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Jesus taught us that He would send the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter (helper) to aid us in obeying His commandments. By depending on His strength instead of our weakness, we can see our flesh overcome by the Spirit, and succeed in living right by His power! “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16) really works! And it’s the only thing that does. If we try to live the Christian life by determination and self-discipline only, we will fail. But we will experience victory when we start depending on the Holy Spirit to supply that victory.
Overcoming is by faith alone, faith in Jesus Christ (1 John 5:3–4). Let’s recognize that victory over sin is to be had by the work of Christ. It is the victory described in Galatians 2:20 and we can have it today!
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I 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.” Galatians 2:20
The Christian life is Christ living His life in and through the believer. It is the life of Christ reproduced in the child of God by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within the believer.
The doctrine of sinless perfection in this earthly life is not taught in the Scriptures. But neither is once saved always saved and now I can live my life any way I so please because I know all my sins are under the blood of Jesus. However, the emphasis in the New Testament is for the believer not to continue in the habitual practice of sinful behavior. Our strength to not continue in the habitual practice of sin is found in this vital union in Christ.
Handly Moule reminds us: "To the last it will be a sinner that walks with God. To the last 'will abide in the regenerate' that strange tendency, that 'mind of the flesh,' which eternal grace can wonderfully deal with, but which is tendency still."
"To the last, the soul's acceptance before the Judge is wholly and only in the righteousness, the merits, of Christ.
"To the last, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. . . We yet need to the last the blood of propitiation, to deal with sin."
God's solution to the problem of sin in the believer's life is based upon our identification with Christ. God has changed our identity by forming a new union with Jesus Christ.
Because the believer has died with Christ he is now freed from the obligation to obey sin when it issues orders to him.
A. T. Pierson states the reformed doctrine of justification and sanctification correctly when he writes, God "first reckons or counts us holy in Christ, and then proceeds to make us holy, until at last we are presented before the presence of His glory, without rebuke, or spot, or wrinkle, blame or blemish, unrebukable and perfect."
In this intimate relationship with Christ we find the sole basis not only for our justification, but also for our sanctification. "As Christ does away with the penalty for sin by His death, so by His life he puts an end to its power over the true believer." God "counts the sinner now dead in sin to be dead to sin and alive to God, counts him as righteous, and then proceeds to make him what he at first only reckons him to be (Romans 4:4-8, 17, 21-22)" (Pierson).
We died with Christ in order that the body of sin, or the sin nature, might be set aside as the master that controls us. Because we died to sin and were buried we are no longer obligated to serve our old master. This death and burial does not mean that sin or sin nature has been eradicated. Nor does it mean the believer will no longer commit sin.
"Our death with Christ delivers us from compulsory obedience and submission to the sin nature which once dominated and controlled us. . . By our resurrection with Christ, death has no right to lay hands upon us, for we have been made alive in Christ Jesus" (Dwight Pentecost).
We are not compelled to submit to temptation. We have been set free from the obligation to serve the sin nature in the same way that a wife whose husband dies is set free from the law of marriage so she can marry another. The apostle Paul tells us there is only thing that can break sins' control over us and that is death. Then he goes on to tell us that we have already died! When Jesus Christ died, you, as a believer in Jesus Christ, died with Him, and that death broke sins' control over you. Now you can walk in the newness of life through your resurrection with Christ.
Judicially every believer has died to sin.
The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:11, "Even so consider yourself to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." In Galatians 2:20 he wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."
Paul is not referring to an experience in these passages. He is referring to our position into which we have been brought through our union with Christ in His death. He is not even referring to some special "blessing" for a select few of believers. Both of these passages including Colossians 2:2; 3:3; Galatians 6:14; 5:24 speak of our union with Christ that is true of all believers. The "flesh with its affections and lusts" has positionally been crucified with Christ. It is a judicial fact in the past and not a spiritual experience.
We are never called upon to crucify ourselves, but to "mortify" or reckon to be dead. This is only possible by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:13, "for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Those who are being led by the Spirit are the sons of God.
The crucifixion was accomplished once and for all. In view of this fact the believer is to "reckon," "yield," "mortify," "count as dead," "cut off," "put away," "put on the whole armor of God," "set your affections on the things above," "put on the new man," "deny himself," "abide in Christ," "fight the good fight," "run the race," "walk in love," "walk in the Spirit," "walk in the light," "walk in the newness of life," etc. This is the believer's responsibility in our abiding in Christ.
God's goal is that we may "walk in the newness of life." We have the enabling power of the Holy Spirit because of our union with Christ. Because of our relationship with Christ our bondage to sin has been broken. We have been liberated and set free to live the Christian life through the indwelling power of God. Through this new vital relationship with Christ the Spirit of God can operate through the new divine nature to produce His righteousness in us. The important question is am I walking in the Spirit now?
"We are all of us conscious of no such actual identification with Christ in death and burial. We have never yet really died or been laid in the grave." This is "a judicial act, something counted or reckoned or imputed to our account by the sovereign mercy and grace of God" (Pierson). God reckons the believing sinner to be one with Christ so that His obedience is imputed to the sinner as his own. Moreover, Christ's sacrifice is reckoned as the sinner's own death for the claim of the penalty for sin.
In this great exchange "the believer is in Jesus, in the sight of God, and is so judged and acquitted as clothed with God's righteousness" (Pierson). His righteousness is imputed to the believing sinner's account in heaven.
Many professing Christians fail in their spiritual walk because they do not appropriate by faith what it means to be dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul declared, "I have been crucified with Christ."
In Romans 8:3 we discover that Jesus Christ condemned sin in the flesh. "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh . . ."
The incarnate Son of God lived a perfect absolute sinless life and by that life condemned sin in the flesh. No one could point their finger and convict Him of sin. He was sinless, pure and holy in the eyes of the Lord God. His pure sinlessness condemned sin in the flesh. When we as sinful men stand in the presence of the Lord Jesus we are condemned. His holy presence brings conviction and condemnation to our sinful hearts (John 3:19-20).
Carnal Christians rebel at the idea that God condemns all our sinful fleshly efforts. To trust in sinful flesh reveals a shallow understanding of the sinfulness of our hearts. "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," said Jeremiah (17:9).
Our only hope is to rest in our position of complete acceptance in the Lord Jesus. Self-effort produces the works of the flesh. Paul experienced the same struggle we do. He said, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want" (Romans 7:18-19).
It is "not I, but Christ." Paul cried out, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin" (vv. 24-25).
God has to bring us to the end of ourselves and reliance upon our fleshly nature. It is not "wherever there is will there is a way." It is in Christ alone that we accomplish His will. We do not understand that lesson until we learn to die. Sadly, many sincere believers never seem to learn that truth. Our self-efforts produce corruption.
F. F. Bruce reminds us, "Paul is not thinking of the body of flesh and blood; the evil was more deeply rooted. 'The body of this death,' or 'this body of death' (RSV), is, like the 'body of sin' (6:6), that heritage of human nature subject to the law of sin and death which he shares with all sons of Adam, that massa perditionis in which the whole of the old creation is involved, and from which, for all his longing and struggling, he cannot extricate himself by his own endeavors" (Romans, p. 155).
Paul made a complete break with the law when he put his faith in Christ. It was the tutor that led him to Christ. Its demands upon him were all fulfilled when Christ died for him. Christ perfectly fulfilled the law in His life and His death.
"All believers were identified with Christ in His death, and resurrection and thus have passed out of the realm of divine law as its legalistic aspect is concerned," says Kenneth Wuest. He has died to the law in order that he might live to God. Paul stresses that you cannot have both legalism and Christ. Paul no longer tries to draw near to God by means of his self-righteous attainments. "The new life is a Person within a person, living out His life in that person" (Wuest). Instead of living by rules and regulations he "now yields to the indwelling Holy Spirit and cooperates with Him in the production of a life pleasing to God, energized by the divine life resident in him through the regenerating work of the Spirit" (Wuest).
Instead of a totally depraved sinner trying to please a holy God by attempting to live by a set of laws "it is now the saint living his life on a new principle, that of the indwelling Holy Spirit manifesting forth the Lord Jesus" (Wuest).
No wonder Paul wrote with excitement, "The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." This is the Christ–life. It is an exchanged life. It is "not I, but Christ." It is "Christ in me, the hope of glory." He could write with security and conviction, "To me to live is Christ. And to die is gain."
Our old self was crucified with Christ.
We have become permanently united, "grown together," in an intimate union with Christ in His death. Romans 6:5, "For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death . . . "
What was crucified? Paul says, "our old self (lit. man) was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin" (v. 6). The "body of sin" is the body belonging to or ruled by the power of sin. The dead person sins no more. He is released, legally dead, no guilt, no power, but stands perfect, justified. He "who has died once for all is freed (justified) from sin" (v. 17).
Colossians 3:5-9 gives us an example of this death to the old man. Paul gives us a list of sinful behaviors to be ridden of like taking off old dirty clothes. "You laid aside the old self (lit. man) with its evil practices and have put on the new self (lit man) who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him" (vv. 9-10).
"We have been crucified" is in the perfect tense indicating it is a completed action in the past with permanent results.
Our judicial or positional crucifixion of our sinful flesh took place when Christ died on the cross. Our death dates from the death of Christ (Col. 3:3).
When Christ died He died to sin once and for all (Romans 6:10). Christ paid in full our penalty for sin. Moreover, He broke the power of sin over the believer.
When Jesus Christ died, I died, and I am now set free. That is my present spiritual status in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of Christ's death on my behalf as my substitute I am identified with Him by faith. God is not going to condemn me (Romans 8:1). He has just acquitted me! He has already condemned Christ who died in my place.
Faith reckons us to be one with Christ in God's sight. What is literally true of Christ becomes judicially and representatively true of us. We died when Christ died; we were buried when He was buried. God reckons us to have died and been buried when Christ died and was buried. This is true judicially because what happens to our representative is true of all whom He represents. All that Christ did was representative of every believer (Colossians 2:10-13; 3:1-4).
In Christ the believing sinner finds himself dead and buried and left in the grave. In Christ the believing sinner assumes a new life with his whole inner life quickened with resurrection power. In Christ the believer has an ascension at God's right hand, a life of spiritual privilege and eternal life.
I am dead to sin through Christ because in His death I died. I am justified by grace through faith in Christ.
Wuest translates verse twenty, "With Christ I have been crucified, and it is no longer I who live, but there lives in me Christ. And that life I now live in the sphere of the flesh, by faith I live it, which faith is in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself on my behalf."
"I am crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20a). The verb is in the perfect tense indicating a past-completed action having present finished results. Paul is saying the believer is identified with Christ at the cross. It is a fact to be relied upon and now we experience spiritual benefits through this identification.
This explains how Paul died to the law. He died with Christ when He died for the penalty of sin. Because the law demands for the death penalty were satisfied it no longer has any claim on the believing sinner who has put his faith and trust in Christ's death.
God's answer to the problem of sin in the believer's life is based on our identification with Christ. God calls us to reckon, to believe on an acceptance of an accomplished fact.
Paul is referring to our identification with Christ when he wrote, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me."
Literally, "I have been crucified with Christ." Paul tells me I am to believe in this fact that I am identified with Christ in His crucifixion.
When Jesus Christ died, we died together with Him. But my identification with Christ not only means we died with Christ, but we were buried with Christ, resurrected with Christ, ascended and glorified with Christ. We have been so identified with Him that God reckons us as having experienced co-crucifixion, co-burial, co-resurrection, co-ascension and co-glorification.
You ask, how can it be that Christ lived 2000 years ago and I am crucified with Him? How is it possible that I have been resurrected with Christ? How can it be said that I have ascended and have been glorified with Christ when I am living here on the earth today?
The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:13 the believer in Christ has been joined to the body of Jesus Christ who is the living Head so that all that is true of the Head is true of each member in His body. God has changed our identity by forming a new union with Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit baptized the believer into one body, they were baptized into Christ's death, burial, resurrection ascension and glorification.
All that a sinner needs has been fully provided for in the death of Jesus Christ. Christ died to pay the price for our sins. He has set us free from spiritual death and has made us alive. The obligation to obey sin has been cancelled. We have a new lover, a new relationship with a new master.
This is true because when Jesus died, I was so identified and united with Him that I died also. I was crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). When Christ died, we died with Him. Have you recognized and appropriated your identification with Christ? "We were identified with Christ in His death, so that when Christ died, we died." No, we were not consciously present when it took place, but it was nonetheless a real death.
"We were baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ Jesus." By that baptism we were identified with His death. Cf. Colossians 1:21-22; 3:5, 9; Romans 6:3.
In that vital union we were also identified with Christ in His burial. Burial is the consequence of death. We who have died with Christ have also been buried with Christ. No, we were not conscious of our burial. We had no sense of the tombstone being rolled against the opening to seal us in. Yet, our burial is nonetheless real. It is a fact to be believed and reckoned upon as true. Cf. Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12.
Our identification with Christ is so complete that we were identified with Christ in His resurrection. We, too, have been raised by God's power. We were identified with Christ in His resurrection. Every believer has been resurrected with Christ. Any child of God can experience the power that brought Jesus up from the grave. Now tell me why you cannot deal with sin in your life? Cf. Romans 6:4-5; Ephesians 1:19; 2:1, 5; Philippians 3:10; Colossians 3:1. Because of this identification with Christ we are no longer under the control of our sin nature. We have been crucified with Christ in order that Christ may live His life through us. We experience power to overcome sin when we act upon this truth by faith. We are identified with Christ's resurrection that we may walk in a new life with Him.
I appreciate the way Dwight Pentecost expressed this great truth in Designed to Be Like Him. "God, in order to terminate sin's control over you, put you to death with Christ. In order to remove you from that old sphere in which you operated, God put you into a grave with Christ. And in order to bring you into a new kind of life, God brought you in resurrection power, out of the grave with Christ, and raised you to glory with Christ. We have this identification with Christ in order that we might walk in newness of life; in order that Christ who lives in you, might live His life out through you."
The apostle Paul admonished us to "reckon," count upon the fact that we are dead unto sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Believe on that fact. Act on that fact that you are liberated from the obligation to serve sin.
Moreover, this identification with Christ in His death also meant death to self. Is this not the whole crux to our sin problem? We are basically selfish. We see things my way. We must do thing my way. We must have it my way. We lookout for I, me and mine.
Saul looked at his old life up to the moment he put his faith in Christ and saw that it was buried, the dominating control of his old nature under the control of Adam was now broken. The self-righteous Pharisee died that day (Philippians 3:8–8). Now his life is dominated and centered in Christ. It is a Christ–centered life. His new life is in a Person. The Lord Jesus Christ lived in Paul just like He lives in Wil Pounds.
In Romans 8:13 the verb is in the present tense. We die to sin daily. Luke 9:23, Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me."
Am I willing to accept all that the death of Christ demands in my life today? Am I willing to be crucified today? Am I willing to die to sin, self-interests, selfish pleasures, self-rule, etc.?
Christ bids us come and die to our reputation, to our rights, to our riches, etc.
How do I crucify myself?
I can't. The cross is never self-inflicted. We die to self by submitting to the Holy Spirit who applies the power of the cross to our sinful self. We rely upon the Holy Spirit to "put to death the deeds of the body" (Romans 8:13). Cf. Romans 6:14; Philippians 3:3.
The apostle Paul is saying we are legally and judicially declared dead the moment we identify ourselves by saving faith with our Savior and Lord.
However, Martin Luther put it well when he lamented, "The old man dies hard." It is a daily battle to put the old man to death and rely on the indwelling Spirit to enable us to reckon on the all sufficiency of Christ.
Who or what circumstances reminds you of the nails of the cross? It is a constant reminder that I can do nothing in the flesh that pleases God.
We must reckon on our oneness with Christ in death to sin. "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" Romans 6:11 tells us to reckon on the fact that we have died to our sinful self. We must reckon on the fact of our identification with Christ (6:11-13).
When we reckon upon the fact of our oneness with Christ in His death to sinful flesh we can act upon the reality that we are dead to every temptation to sin. We have a choice and now the power to go ahead and choose to sin or refuse to yield to temptation and to yield to the power of the indwelling Spirit who resides within us. We can now repudiate every beckoning of sin to seduce us. "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:2). We now have a choice. We are no longer spiritually dead. Christ lives in us and he is our new master. He has given us spiritual life and power to face temptation and conquer sin. Since we are dead to it we no longer have to respond to it. We can now refuse to make any provision for the flesh and yield to its temptations (Romans 13:14).
Abandon all practice and plans for sinning.
The apostle Paul admonishes, "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts" (Romans 13:14).
If you knew that at midnight tonight you would die you would stop making any provisions for your life. A coffin and grave cloths are all you would need. God would have you count yourself dead to sin and make no more provisions for it. He tells us to reckon ourselves dead, no longer alive to it. Stop making any provisions for it. Instead, make plans for the power of God in your life.
"Your expectation has everything to do with your actual life," warned Pierson. "If you expect to sin you will sin. . . To count on sinning is itself a form of sinning; it is reckoning the flesh, the world, the devil, mightier than the Spirit of God and the Son of God, whose very office is to overcome the flesh, deliver us from this present evil age, and destroy the works of the devil."
Don't go through life prepared to sin. Paul said do not go on making provision for the flesh, to yield to its temptation.
Because of our vital union with Christ we can now rely on the power of our oneness with Christ overcome the sin of the flesh. We go on putting to death the sins of the flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit who now lives within us.
"Whenever we deliberately count on our union with Christ in His death, the Holy Spirit instantly applies the crucifying force of the cross to the ever-reviving flesh, that makes the life of victory a reality in our experience," writes Stephen Olford.
When the sinful flesh rises to tempt you nail it to the cross by the power of the Holy Spirit.
How do I take up my cross daily?
"If our old self is condemned and crucified, then we can venture out on the sound assumption that the 'body of sin' is done away with, rendered powerless, inoperative, put out of business (Romans 6:6)" (Olford).
The apostle Paul, observed Leonard Ravehill in Why Revival Tarries, p. 172, was a man who "Had no ambitions––and so had nothing to be jealous about. He had no reputation–and so had nothing to fight about. He had no possessions––and therefore nothing to worry about. He had no "rights"––so therefore, he could not suffer wrong. He was already broke––so no one could break him. He was "dead"––so none could kill him. He was less than the least––so who could humble him? He had suffered the loss of all things––so none could defraud him."
The only way we can mortify the "flesh" is by walking in the Holy Spirit. Only by abiding in Christ can we put to death daily the temptations of the "flesh." God has provided the power in the Spirit to die daily to sin.
Experience proves that if we live by the flesh everything will wither and die. However, if we live by the Spirit we will put to death the deeds of the flesh and we will live to the glory of God. Pentecost writes clearly:
"The secret of the Christian life is not repeated crucifixion––putting to death again and again and again in order to be delivered from bondage to sin. Rather, God's secret is found in Romans 6:22, where you read that you are to reckon or count it to be a fact that you are dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. When you were joined to Jesus Christ in His death, it was once for all. The apostle did not write in Galatians 2:20, "I crucify myself, again and again and again and again, so that I might be free." But he says, "I have been crucified with Christ," and the effects of that crucifixion continue on and on and on. God is asking you to stand off and look at yourself as one who has died, and to deem yourself as one over whom sin's authority has been broken because when Christ died, you died; when Christ was resurrected, you were resurrected; and now you have been set free to walk in newness of life––resurrection life under control of the Spirit of God.
"This is a fact from the Word of God. And like every fact, it is to be accepted and believed. . .
. . . God says you are crucified, and in God's sight you are a crucified one. God is not asking you to add to the value of the death of Christ by crucifying yourself again and again. God is asking you to accept His judgment on the sin nature and to reckon the fact to be true that you were joined to Christ in His death because God says it is true; also that death with Christ has broken sin's power over you so you have been liberated to walk in the newness of life. Such acceptance will change a man's whole attitude to the sin nature within him.
We sin because we choose to. Christ set us free and now we can choose to follow Him. We choose to sin because we do not reckon ourselves to have been crucified with Christ and empowered by His Spirit to allow Him to live His life through us. The truth is I do not have to serve sin because I have been set free. God has set us free to walk in righteousness and true holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God is not asking us to break the power of sin because Christ has already done that for us. Paul is telling us that Christ has set us free, and this freedom is ours in Christ. It is a walk of faith. Just as we have been justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone we are to reckon on this great truth of our sanctification. Sin's power over us has been broken and we can now walk in newness of life.
What Paul Says
Here is what Paul says in Romans 6:11 —
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
But what does that mean? In what way am I dead to sin?
Some say that since Christ died on the Cross, and I am trusting him, therefore I am dead to sin and sin has no power over me.
And they conclude that the way to battle sin is to believe it has no power over me. And if I will just believe this strongly enough, then it WILL have no power over me.
But that can’t be what Paul means.
Put Sin To Death
The reason is because in Romans 8:13 Paul says we must put sin to death —
If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
So it’s not as simple as just believing that sin is dead. If I must still put sin to death, then there is a sense in which it is still alive.
Which means there is a sense in which my sin HAS BEEN put to death (Romans 6:11), and a sense in which is HAS NOT been put to death (Romans 8:13).
Already Dead — But Not Yet Dead
So how is sin ALREADY dead? It’s already dead, because Christ’s death broke sin’s power for all who trust him.
That does not mean I don’t need to battle sin. But it means Christ has done everything necessary so that I can, by the Spirit’s power, conquer every sin I face.
What has Christ already done? He has —
- paid for all of my guilt of my sin (1 Peter 2:24)
- purchased for me the gift of the sin-conquering Spirit (Galatians 3:14)
- granted all the faith and strength I need to conquer every sin (Jude 1:24-25)
- guaranteed that I will persevere (not perfectly, but persistently) in faith to the end (Philippians 1:6)
- secured my future sinlessness with him in heaven (Jude 1:24-25)
Because of what Christ has already done, I am assured that by the Spirit’s power, experienced through faith, I can conquer this sin.
And how is sin NOT YET dead? It’s not yet dead in the sense that when it arises, I need to fight. If I do nothing, it will not be put to death. I must, by the Spirit and through faith, put it to death.
But because of what Christ has already done, I am assured that by the Spirit and through faith it can and will be put to death.
Encouraging
I find this approach deeply encouraging.
Because in the past it never worked to fight sin just by believing that I was dead to sin.
No matter how much I believed I was dead to sin — I could still feel sin yanking at me, pulling at me, tugging at me.
Believing I was dead to sin did not overcome the power of sin.
It IS crucial to believe that Christ has already broken sin’s power, as Paul says in Romans 6:11. But that’s NOT ENOUGH, as Paul says in Romans 8:13.
So here’s what I believe is a biblical approach —
Consider Yourself Dead To Sin
Whenever you face any temptation, start with Romans 6:11. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.
Believe that no matter how strong that temptation feels, Jesus broke its power on the Cross.
Believe that by the Spirit’s power, through faith, you can be dead to that sin.
Believe that Christ did everything you need in order to put that sin to death and be fully alive to God.
This is the crucial first step. But there’s more —
Then Put Sin To Death
You are feeling the tentacles of jealousy wrapping around your heart. You know Jesus broke the power of those tentacles. You know he has done everything necessary for those tentacles to be killed.
But still, you must kill them, as Paul says in Romans 8:13. So how do you do that?
By fighting the fight of faith until you once again see and feel Christ as your all-satisfying Treasure.
This must be the focus of the fight, because what powers every sin is the promise that something else will satisfy you more than Christ himself.
Take jealousy as an example. Jealousy promises that the promotion, or more people in your church, or the new lawn will satisfy you more than Christ.
So the only way to overcome jealousy is to have the Spirit once again help you see and feel that Christ is your all-satisfying Treasure. But this happens only by the power of the Spirit, as you look to Jesus Christ by faith.
So turn to Jesus Christ just as you are, confessing your jealousy, and trusting his forgiveness.
Then pray and ask for the work of the Spirit to satisfy you so fully with Christ’s glory that jealousy disappears.
And then, set your heart on verses describing Jesus’ glory. Recently I’ve been using John 1:14; John 20:30-31; and Luke 13:11-13.
This will probably take time, with earnest prayer and passionate battle.
But when you look to Christ, fighting to see and feel his glory, the Spirit will so satisfy you with the glory of Christ that you don’t care about the promotion, more people, or a new lawn.
Because you have Jesus Christ.
And you will be free from jealousy.
Sin (lust) is hidden in the body. Temptation stirs up sin, but we must never allow it to reign. As soon as we become aware of a lust, we must reckon ourselves dead to sin. (Romans 6:11.) This is how we can always live a victorious life. Every person is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. (James 1:14.) However, to be tempted is not sin.
As Peter says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials [temptations], that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7.
“Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28. Notice: “to lust for her.” The law said: You shall not covet [lust]. (Exodus 20:17.) But this man looked at a woman to lust for her. He agreed with the lust in his members instead of reckoning himself to be dead to sin, dead to this lust. He served the law of sin with his mind, and for this reason he committed adultery in his heart. The apostle Paul said that he served the law of God with his mind. (Romans 7:25.)
James asks, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have.” James 4:1-2.
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Dead to sin means actively resisting sin
Lusts wage war in our members to such a degree that there is fighting and striving in Christian assemblies because people do not reckon themselves dead to sin – dead to these lusts. We have to actively resist sin as soon as we become aware of it, and we do this by resisting the lust. We were unable to do this under the law, because the law only becomes effective after sin is manifest. “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3.
God’s work in Christ went deeper than the law; this work took place within Jesus’ body. There the lust itself (or sin in the flesh) was condemned. That is why Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28.
Those who are dead to sin get the victory
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. He did this by overcoming in every temptation He met, through the power of the eternal Spirit that dwelt within Him. In this way He suffered death in the flesh (He suffered when He was tempted), but in return He was made alive by the Spirit.
All through our training in godliness, as we fight the good fight of faith against the lusts in our members, we have Jesus Christ as our faithful High Priest, because He Himself was tempted and can therefore come to our aid.
Only those who are crucified with Christ experience this battle and this victory. No one else can become one flesh with Him, neither in His reproach nor in His glory. This is a great mystery: The bridegroom and the bride – Christ and the church – one flesh.
The verb reckon (Greek logizomai, “consider” ESV) is an accounting term that Paul used 11 times in Romans 4. The meaning of the term there, where God did the reckoning, is that God deposited righteousness into the accounts of people on the basis of their faith. Now the reckoning is our responsibility. Paul commands us to reckon that what God has placed into our account is truly ours so that we properly appropriate its riches.
Paul began verse 3 with “Do you not know,” and he began verses 6 and 9 with “We know.” In verse 8 he spoke of our life with Christ as something “we believe.” By the process of reckoning, we position ourselves to act on what we know and believe: We are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. Let us seek to understand this often neglected yet powerful tool God has given for our sanctification.
Reckoning as a prelude to action
This verse marks a transition from truth to action, from statements of what is to what ought to be (from indicative to imperative, as theologians like to point out). The remarkable thing about reckoning is that it is a command not to do but to think. Paul sees this kind of thinking as a necessary prelude to the action he commands in the following verses. Thought is father to the act. As I say in my book, “Reckoning stands at the nexus between accomplished fact and commanded action.”
Reckoning engages the mind, heart, will, and imagination. It combines active thinking with insistent faith and willing cooperation to help us imagine our present and future life in Christ. Through it we enforce in our experience what God declares about us. As Everett Harrison points out, reckoning makes the fact of union with Christ operative in our lives.
Because this declared righteousness seems contrary to our experience, reckoning puts us in the frame of mind to enforce that reality in the way we live. You can explore the meaning of this word here, and you can learn how to apply this verse to your life in my book.
The following four translations of the verse draw our attention to several important details (see my underlining).
Like Christ, dead to sin’s power
The opening phrases “In the same way” (NIV) and “Likewise you also” (NKJ) make clear Paul’s comparison with Christ. Just as Christ died to sin and lives to God (verse 10) so we enjoy this status through our union with Christ.
The NLT rightly specifies that we are dead to “the power of sin.” I noted in the previous message that Paul speaks of sin as a ruling power, which he again makes clear in verse 12 with the command to not let “sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions” and in verse 14 with the statement that “sin will have no dominion over you.”
As the New King James and Young’s recognize, Paul included a word to emphasize that we are “dead indeed,” or truly dead, to sin. We cannot make ourselves any deader to sin than we are in Christ. Met with any temptation, we are to regard ourselves as a corpse, insisting, “I am dead to that through Christ!”
If you are in Christ, the positions of power are reversed. Sin no longer has power over you. You have authority over it, no matter how long it has been in your life.
Living to God
The phrase “alive to God” is literally “living to God” (see Young’s). The difference is minor, but the present participle emphasizes continuing action. We reckon ourselves to be in constant fellowship with God, worshiping and serving him and finding out what pleases him so we can satisfy his desires and make his passion our passion.
Reckoning ourselves dead to sin and alive to God may seem contrary to the way we feel or the circumstances we find ourselves in, but Paul’s command underscores the necessity of living not according to how we feel but in alignment with truth. And remember, reckoning is not a command to die to sin and live to God; it is a command to think of ourselves as now dead to sin and alive to God. Through reckoning we enforce truth that God has already brought into existence, and this is a truth that “leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (6:22).
Paul applies the pattern of Christ's life to our Christian lives. Paul enables us to get a grasp of this through the picture of baptism - the down and up. Baptism doesn't mean to sprinkle but to immerse.
A Christian does not merely acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, he also follows Christ. He acknowledges both the value of what Christ has done on the cross and the importance on how Jesus redeemed us.
We often focus on what Christ has accomplished through His death. Paul speaks clearly of this in chapters 3 and 4 of Romans.
Chapter 5, however, develops the basis of our union with Christ. We are united with Christ by our faith. Starting in chapter 6, we see how this identification with Christ affects our life.
The picture of baptism includes three aspects: the going down, being under and the rising. We might think of rinsing a cloth. We take it from the air, submerge it under water and then bring it out to be used. Humility speaks of the first two steps.
Many would like to avoid the implications of these first two important steps. They want to claim to have eternal life with no sense of repentance - no dying. They have not died to themselves. There has been no funeral. This concept is key to living a fulfilled Christian life.
The Problem
Paul seems to have discovered a group of people that claim Christ's death but deny any real identification with Christ in the death process. Christ merely paid for their sins as some historical fact (which it was of course). They want to forget about their close identification with Christ in this process.
If we consider Christ's death to be all so important (and it is), then we need to realize its effect on our lives. When Jesus died, He not only bore our sins, but He also was, in a final way, saying "no" to sin. After death, sin had no part of His life. He had no earthly flesh that begged to be given special preference.
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So we, as His disciples, must identify with Christ's death and resurrection. We must say "no" to our former allegiance to sin through our faith and "yes" to our allegiance to Christ. We now have a new focus on life. Because of this new allegiance, we are not to sin but to live for God.
For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts (Romans 6:10-12).
Pride: Hate it!
We will never be able to die to ourselves unless we are convinced that serving the flesh (our old nature) is totally unprofitable. We have to see that it has absolutely no worth. We need to come to detest its very presence.
On the other hand, we must come to love the Spirit's ways. We are to see the glorious work of the Spirit in contrast to the flesh. By seeing their contrasting ways, we hate one and love the other. We refuse to serve our own self's preferences and become wholly loyal to the Holy Spirit's work in our lives.
We cannot rid ourselves of the flesh on this earth. This is what Jesus referred to in 6:10 when he says, "Consider yourselves to be dead to sin." It is still there. If we are not careful, we will serve it. But we don't have to. By voiding our allegiance to our flesh, we can, by Christ's grace, be set free to serve Christ. How do we void our former allegiance to our flesh? Paul says death is the only means and explains it carefully in Romans 7:1-6.
The point is that unless we are absolutely convinced the flesh is a destroyer, we will continue to listen and follow it. We will, in essence, continue to serve it. As Christians we are technically free from its ruling over us, but we still could serve the old self. The follow up question is whether we really hate the flesh.
Are we really convinced?
Paul convincingly set forth this case in the last part of chapter 7 and the early part of 8. Whenever he would go by the old nature, he would serve his own self and bear evil results. But he wanted to serve Christ (Romans 7) which bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5). The flesh always brings about death because it is hostile to God (Romans 8). We ought not live for our bodies. We do not need to live for ourselves.
We need to humble ourselves by stating that serving ourselves is not good. In a sense this is what 'dying to self' essentially means. We recognize serving self is no good and so we choose to serve the Spirit. These chapters provide a lot of help in convincing us of the horrible nature of the flesh and the glory of the Spirit.
Commitment to saying "no" to the old nature comes only as much as:
1) We are sure of the old nature's total rebellion against God and
2) We desire to serve the Spirit.
Our growth comes as we recognize the complete rebellious nature of the flesh and power of the new life through the life of Christ.
Dying to self means simply a mental check on our determination not to live for oneself and to live for Christ. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:31 say, "I die daily."
This is a regular battle. A daily battle. Paul, as a veteran apostle, witnessing many miracles, seeing a revelation of Christ, still had to personally die to himself. We do too. We cannot afford not to.
Here is a possible prayer for your early morning meditation.
"Dear Lord, my allegiance to You will be tested today. Right now, I am stating my faithfulness to you. You are the One I love forever. At the same time, I will clearly state that I want nothing to do with serving my self. I have had enough to do with that selfish ego of mine that tries to get all the attention it can. Your principles of love and giving are what I want. Radiate in my life through acts and words of kindness. Forgive me of my sin and cleanse me. I make myself totally empty of self so that You can fill me with your precious Holy Spirit. Lead me forth. I will follow in your humble paths of love."
The Christian needs to acknowledge the flesh, declare its lousy nature, reject its promptings, acknowledge the Lord's presence, the beautiful nature of the Spirit and affirm one's total heart and will to the Spirit's leading.
Christian life is based on humble living. When we are willing to humble ourselves by looking at the facts of what self-service does, then we are willing to walk in that path.
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