DEAD TO SIN

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“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 baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized 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.”

“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 6:1-4, 11-14

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“You’re dead to me!”

It’s a statement used commonly in modern times to signal that a person has found such disfavor with another that they are considered as if they are non-existent. In other words, a relationship that once existed is now “dead”.

As we turn to the opening verses of Romans, chapter 6, we see how this expression can be applied in a spiritual way to the matter of sinfulness. Look again at these words from the Apostle Paul:

“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 baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized 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.”

“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 6:1-4, 11-14

When a person accepts Jesus as Savior, they are to change, to become a new person in Christ. Paul said it this way in another letter he wrote, this time to the Corinthians:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

So what falls under the “old has gone” part of this verse?

Well, the main thing is sin. A Christian chooses to exchange the sinful life they lived in their worldly existence for the righteousness found through living as Jesus did.

In other words, for a Christian, they should be saying this to sin:

“Sin. You’re dead to me!”

In our Romans passage, Paul reminds the Christians in Rome that they have “died to sin” and therefore should not be living in it any longer.

To further emphasize the matter of leaving one’s former self behind to become someone new, we find Paul also bringing the matter of baptism to light. The sacrament of baptism doesn’t save a person but it is a public display of one’s commitment to be new in Jesus. As a person goes under the water, they are dying to their sinfulness before emerging from the water to gain a new life, one that brings with it the promise of a future resurrection to eternal life “through the glory of the Father”. They are dead to sin but very much “alive to God in Christ Jesus”.

Now, all Christians need to be aware that accepting Jesus isn’t a panacea for avoiding temptation. Satan never gives up when it comes to dragging the righteous in Christ back into the pit of transgression.

This is why Paul includes a warning for Christians, exhorting them to not allow sin to regain a foothold and “reign” in their “mortal body” so that they would “obey its evil desires”. Paul commanded the Romans to “not offer any part” of themselves “to sin as an instrument of wickedness” but instead to “offer” themselves “to God as those who have been brought from death to life” while offering “every part” of themselves “to Him as an instrument of righteousness”. All this was to make sure that Jesus was their Master and not the sin He saved them from.

Today, nothing has changed. These timeless words from Paul still speak to the hearts of Christians more than 2,000 years later. We’re to die to sin so Jesus can live within us and lead us to the righteousness that defines Him. If we model our lives after His, we’ll always make sure we do just that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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