Dead to Sin but Alive to God in Christ
Scripture Passage: Romans 6:1-14 (NASB)
1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for the one who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body’s parts as instruments of righteousness for God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.
SUMMARY
Paul states that even though we are saved by grace, that does not give us an excuse to sin. We are baptized into Jesus’s death. That means our old, sinful self was crucified with Jesus so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Although Christ died once for all time, he now lives with God. So we also are dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Paul therefore exhorts the Roman church not to let sin reign, but instead to present themselves to God as an instrument of righteousness.
REFLECTION AND MEDITATION
Although Jesus freed me from the death that I would otherwise suffer as a result of sin, that doesn’t mean that I’m free to sin however I please. I’m dead to sin but I’m alive in Christ. That means that Christ’s power lives in me, including His power over sin. In verse 14 it says that “sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.” So the Holy Spirit gives me the power to conquer my sin.
When I think of my sinful nature, I either focus on the fact that God saved me despite my sin or the fact that I’m still utterly sinful. But I don’t really think about the power of the Holy Spirit to conquer my sin. Without the Holy Spirit, I couldn’t overcome my sinful nature. In the Old Testament we’ve read so much about God’s command to his people, but the Israelites kept sinning and kept suffering the consequences despite God’s commands. Knowing that I shouldn’t sin doesn’t stop me from sinning. But through Christ, now I’ve died to my sin and am reborn in Christ. So His power flows through me.
APPLICATION
I need to think differently. I often go through cycles of hope and then frustration. For example I promise that I will not get angry or annoyed about petty things. Then something happens and my sinful nature surfaces, and I get discouraged because I still haven’t changed. But that’s because I’m just relying on myself. I need to pray to the Lord to change me. I can’t “solve” the problem of my anger or selfishness just by trying harder. I need to come to the Lord and ask Him to scoop out my old self and help me to be reborn anew. I need to pray consistently to the Lord about my sinful self, about the things about me that need to change.
PRAYER
Lord, I want to stop relying on myself. Over and over again I become discouraged because I can’t change my fundamental flawed character. Why am I still trying to accomplish things through my own strength when I know I cannot do this on my own? Please mold me into Your likeness. Help me to overcome my fear of change. Help me to embrace Your Spirit and not to fight Your Spirit’s work. Help me to simply trust You with whatever work You want to do in me. You alone have the power to change me into the character of Your Son. Help me to rely on You alone.
In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.
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