8 Sept. Dead to sin but alive in Christ
"So do you think we should continue sinning so that God will give us even more grace? No! We died to our old sinful selves, so how can we continue living with sin?"
"Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ when we were baptised? We shared his death in our baptism. When we were baptised, we were buried with Christ and shared his death. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the wonderful power of the Father, we also can live a new life."
"Christ died, and we have been joined with him by dying too. So we will also be joined with him by rising from the dead as he did. We know that our old life died with Christ on the cross so that our sinful selves would have no power over us and we would not be slaves to sin. Anyone who has died is made free from sin's control."
"If we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. Christ was raised from the dead, and we know that he cannot die again. Death has no power over him now. Yes, when Christ died, he died to defeat the power of sin just once - enough for all time. He now has a new life, and his new life is with God. In the same way, you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus."
"So do not let sin control your life here on earth so that you do what your sinful self wants to do. Do not offer the parts of your body to serve sin, as things to be used in doing evil. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used in doing good. Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law but under God's grace."
(Romans 6:1-14)
Confronted by reports that some of his readers in Rome are falling short of good Christian moral standards, Paul uses the analogy of baptism to show how believers have 'died to sin'.
He explains how being baptised is similar to sharing in Christ's death and resurrection. As believers are immersed under the water at their baptism, it's similar to their dead body being buried under the ground as their old sinful life has ended. As they rise up out of the water it's like rising from the dead (as Jesus did) as the body takes on a completely new life empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Paul goes on to show that believers are ‘dead to sin’ and act differently once they are put right with God. Believers are “made free from sin’s control” (Romans 6:7) and are “alive with God” (Romans 6:11) because the Spirit of Christ lives in them.
As a result, physical death is not the end for believers: “When people sin, they earn what sin pays – death. But God gives us a free gift – life for ever in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
The photo shows an open-air baptism.
You can read more from Paul's Letter to the Romans @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/new-life-in-the-power-of…/