Dead to Sin, Alive to God

Today's Reading

Read Romans 6:1-14: "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?"

Then read Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."

Reflection

Paul anticipated the objection before it was raised: "If grace increases where sin increases, should we keep sinning to get more grace?" His answer is emphatic: "By no means!" The suggestion reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of what has happened in justification.

When you were united with Christ through faith and baptism, you did not merely receive a pardon. You died. The person you were — the "old self" enslaved to sin — was crucified with Christ and buried. And you were raised to a completely new life. Sin's power over you has been decisively broken.

N.T. Wright explains the significance of baptism:

"Baptism is the sign that the old self — the person you were in Adam — has been crucified with Christ and buried. You emerge from the water as a new person, sharing Christ's risen life. Sin's power over you has been broken."

Paul's logic is not "try harder not to sin." It is "recognize what has already happened to you." The imperative grows out of the indicative. Because you have died with Christ (the fact), consider yourself dead to sin (the response). Because you have been raised with Christ (the fact), present your members to God as instruments of righteousness (the response).

"For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." This is a declaration, not an aspiration. The power structure has changed. You were a slave to sin; now you are free. You were under the regime of law, which could command but not empower; now you are under grace, which both commands and empowers.

Calvin articulates the inseparability of justification and transformation:

"We are not merely forgiven and left as we were. We are united with Christ in his death and resurrection. The old person has died; the new person lives. Sin is no longer our master."

Going Deeper

The key verb in Romans 6 is "consider" (v. 11). "Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." This is not wishful thinking. It is faith — believing what God says is true even when your experience does not yet fully match. Sin will tempt you. Old habits will call. But the power that once enslaved you has been broken. You are free to say no. Today, practice "considering" — every time temptation arises, remind yourself: I have died to this. I am alive to God.