Dead to Sin

Dead to Sin

The apostle Paul wrote of Christ, “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:10-11).

The believer’s “old man” or “old self” is what he was spiritually before he believed on Christ when he was still under sin, powerless, depraved, ungodly and even an enemy of God.

Our fallen nature was not changed at conversion. It was not annihilated, but it was “rendered inactive, made of no effect” (Rom. 6:6). Our physical body is not sinful. It is neutral and can be controlled by sin or by the Holy Spirit. It was controlled by sin before we trusted Christ for salvation.

“In Jesus Christ we died to sin, and the old nature was crucified so that the old life is rendered inoperative.” This is a great fact for the believer to rely upon.  Now that we have died with Christ the power of controlling sin is broken and is rendered powerless or ineffective (Rom. 6:3-5).

There is a change in relationship with God and sin. Because of this new living union with Christ the believer now has a new relationship with God and different attitudes toward sin. Sin is no longer his master. Christ is the new master. We no longer want to continue in sin. Now because we are in Christ we have a choice whether we choose to sin, or choose to obey our new Master.

In our unregenerate state we were slaves to sin. Now that our old self was crucified with Christ we have been delivered from this slavery. “Anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” We have been declared righteous, “freed,” with the result that sin no longer has the legal right to force us into its slavery. Sin no longer is the master of the believer because he has died with Christ and risen with Him “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” (Rom. 6:6).

Not only did Christ die for me, but I died with Him. That is my new identification. I am no longer identified with the first man, Adam, but with the Second Man, Christ. Christ paid my sin debt and broke sin’s power over me. By His substitution for me on the cross Christ charged my account with His own imputed righteousness. By identification with me He imparted or made that righteousness a part of my daily life. Justification is also a living relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a justification that brings life. I am in Christ and identified with Him and whatever happens to Christ now happens to me. When Christ died, I died. When He rose from the dead I arose in Him. It is now a fact that I am now seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:5-6; Col. 3:1-3).

The believer is “dead to sin.” “I am crucified with Christ.” In Jesus Christ we have died to the power of sin so that we no longer want to continue in sin. It is no longer our master. Before we were saved we had a cordial relationship in which we were fully yielded to and dependent upon that sinful nature. We were under the control of the power of sin. It was our habit of life. We are now alive in Christ. Christ raised us up from the dead and now we walk in the power of His resurrection. The issue is the believer no longer chooses to continue in a cordial, dependent fellowship in sin.

The death of Christ not only paid our penalty of sin, but God also used it to break the power of indwelling sin in our life.

The Christian is under no compulsion to live his life under the control of evil nature again. We remain a free moral agent capable of choosing good and evil, but it is impossible for the Christian to habitually sustain a relationship to evil which he sustained before he was saved.

The Christian now has the authority and the power to say no to sin. You do not have to obey the sin nature. You now have a divine nature you can choose to respond to which is alive in Christ. You are free to choose. You do not have to do what you do not want to do. You can be as holy as you choose to be.

Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006