Freedom in Christ

Romans 6:3-14

Paul's emphasis in this passage is the transitional nature of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus and how that transition changes the nature of our relationship to God.  It is a reminder that not only has the world changed with Christ’s sacrifice, but that we, as followers, must change as well.  This change, both in the external world and in our internal relationship with God, is central in the understanding of Christianity and our purpose as believers.  The change that comes from death.

v10-11:The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

As anyone who has experienced it can attest, a person’s Death separates that person from the world. Those that have died have passed on to a place that is unreachable by us in this world. Our corporeal death frees us from our corporeal debts, nullifies our worldly contracts, and eliminates any obligation we have toward another person. In the same way, Christ’s death, and our incorporation into that death, separates us from sin and the entangling power that sin has over us.  And since we are also identified with Christ’s Resurrection, we are not only part of this separation from sin, but also part of His mastery over sin.

v14: For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

It is by the grace of God, and by his grace alone, that we are free.  And we ARE free, free from the great burden of our own mistakes and our own willfulness.  We will still fail, and we will still struggle, but as long as we admit our failures, and struggle toward perfection, we honor Christ's sacrifice for us.

Written by Daniel Sprinkle