The passage I read
was Romans 6:4-14
You can find that passage here:
The verse that most
stood out to me:
6 For
we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin
might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves
to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set
free from sin.
As I reflect:
Paul (in his longest
epistle yet) covers all the salvation bases in this detailed letter to the
roman church (the saints in Rome). In
this particular passage of that epistle we find him talking not only about
physical baptism but more importantly a spiritual baptism which occurs in those
who are born again.
Dying to old –
The first concept is that what we were before salvation was
a person driven and controlled by sin.
We were not simply in the flesh that wraps our spirit but we were
controlled by it as our spirit also desired what our flesh desired. We lived in sin, making daily choices to
continue in sin and being in our very hearts sin filled as beings who were
slaves to sin. Our actions, words, thoughts, and even our very inner being was
sinful and we obeyed it’s every command as we were daily led in
temptation. Even those said by man’s
standards to be of upmost integrity and character were born into sin and lived
lives of sin (and still do if not yet re-born). The idea of dying to this very nature in us
isn’t as simple as it is often put and I seriously doubt in my own ability to
so thoroughly explain it here as I reflect.
My reflection is also a fairly simple explanation of it. When one is baptized they are laid down into
the water symbolizing the death of the old man.
This is only symbolic and the act in itself is not what saves or changes
us in any way. The symbol must stand for
a conviction and changes which occurs inside our heart of hearts. We are told that the Lord removes our cold or
hardened heart (the idea being that which allows us to so ignorantly live a
life as slave to sin and satan) and He gives us instead a new heart (covered in
the next part of the process). That is
the symbolism of going down into the water, and when one is brought back up,
the old man remains in the water having been washed off of the new man. This can also be seen in parallel passages
where we are told to daily crucify the old man.
It means that we don’t just do this once, but rather that daily we are
putting off the old sin nature and making a conscio0us choice to battle against
it. We have to chose not to sin as an
evidence of the putting off the old man.
This becomes easier in time as habits of the flesh are broken and the
mind is given new food by which to act on.
It is easier still when we daily remember why we are saved, Who saved
us, how He did it, why it had to occur no other way, and how we can relate to
Him and Him to us. Even as Christ was
crucified on the cross, let the old sinful man that we were be crucified daily
in our walks.
Becoming new –
Simply dying of our old sin nature is not enough. That’s like deciding to go somewhere, getting
dressed, getting into a car, and then simply sitting there. That’s great that you got ready to go
somewhere but you have to start driving forward now. When one is brought into the water as a
symbol of the death of their sin nature, they aren’t left there. They would drown. There is no life being beneath the water,
just as there was no life in the tomb for Jesus to remain there. We are raised back up from the water to
become a new creation, just as Jesus was raised back from the dead. As He overcame death so must we overcome the
sin nature which leads to death. We must
live in such a way as to daily chose to reign over the mortal body and it’s
evil desires. We have a new heart now
but are still in the flesh. That’s why
it’s a battle. Many of us spent a
lifetime teaching our flesh to sin and it will be a struggle to retrain it, but
it must be done. We have to teach our
body to be obedient unto God. We daily
read the word and pray for Holy Spirit guidance and empowerment that we might
live in such a way that is un-natural to the sinful flesh we are in. We are not natural beings that occasionally
have a supernatural experience, but we are supernatural beings having a natural
experience. We must chose to identify
with that supernatural, our spirit, and the Holy Spirit working in unison. We must recognize that we are daily under the
attacks of the enemy and move forward in resisting those attacks and furthering
the kingdom of God. If we are in fact
born again, new creations, a new man, then there ought to be ample evidence of
such a change in our lives. Let us live
daily as those that have been raised from their death in sin and now live dead to
sin instead.
Dramatic change –
Now, being under grace may we offer our lives as an
instrument of righteousness for God’s use.
Now that we have been given understanding of the scriptures and have received
the truth that is there in contained, may we live in such a way that gives
evidence to that truth. If we then
profess salvation from death in sin, shall we not live in accordance with that
profession and indeed live dead to sin?
Spurgeon said it well, “If God has given to you and to me an entirely
new life in Christ, how can that new life spend itself after the fashion of the
old life? Shall the spiritual live as the carnal? How can you that were the servants
of sin, but have been made free by precious blood, go back to your old
slavery?”
May we not go back to the old man but be actually changed
daily giving evidence to the work the Lord is doing in and through us.
My response:
My Lord, I offer myself to you as one who has been brought
from death to life. Every member of my
being is yours to be used as an instrument of righteousness in doing your
will. Help me daily Father I pray, for
this flesh was trained well in the sinful desires of this world and it holds
too tightly to my spirit. Father I cry
out daily for crucifixion of the old me and the resurrection power of You
working mightily in the new me. Remind
me that I am under grace and not the law of sin and death. Keep close to me through your Spirit that I
be led away from sin and act instead in a way that brings glory to your
name. In Jesus’ name who was crucified
and rose again that I may live. Amen.
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