Summary: Having died in Christ means to be alive in a new life, but the old nature tries for dominance and will not stay dead. Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ. The great victory is that we have died to sin in Christ and now walk in resurrection freedom.

26. ROMANS CHAPTER 6 VERSES 6-21 - MESSAGES IN ROMANS – CONTRASTS – IF YOU ARE DEAD TO SIN WHY IS SIN STILL RULING YOU? – MESSAGE 26

We continue this important Chapter 6 carefully looking at the great doctrines of sin and deliverance, and living the Christian life in the freedom won for us at Calvary. In a very special way Chapter 6 sets the stage for the misunderstood Chapter 7, so we are carefully working through this present chapter.

{{Romans 6:6 “KNOWING THIS, that OUR OLD SELF was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin,

Romans 6:7 for he who has died is freed from sin.”}}

[A]. THIS YOU MUST KNOW – YOU ARE NO LONGER SLAVES TO SIN

{{Romans 6:6 “KNOWING THIS, that OUR OLD SELF was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO SIN,}}

In chapter 5 Paul began the study of freedom, and many aspects are examined by him. Freedom in Christ is a fundamental teaching of the gospel. It was said earlier that Romans and Galatians are parallel in many ways and were probably written at much the same time, and freedom and bondage are covered in both letters. Here now in chapter 6, freedom is the theme as many points are woven around this idea.

Let us look at verse 6 that begins with “know this,” where Paul is more reminding the readers of this fact rather than introducing an altogether new subject. The verse is clear for all Christians. The old life is gone, and should be gone forever. The old self is the body of sin that is our old nature - corrupted and always working against us.

The old self is gone through crucifixion, for when the Lord took the sins of each of us, He was crucified for those sins and so the old nature each of us has; the old man; the old self, was crucified along with Christ. Paul speaks of his crucifixion this way (and so should we too) – {{Galatians 2:20 “I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”}}

When you are crucified you die, and this is what happens to our sins in a genuine conversion. We have died to the slavery of sin, the controlling influence of sin, and stand in the freedom given by the Lord. Our old selves were put to death at the cross, and that is applied at each conversion for the sinner coming to Christ.

These verses follow on from the teaching on baptism. What baptism is speaking of is death and resurrection, so this fact we must know, that in the new relationship with Christ, the old nature has been crucified. That nature, the physical, unregenerate, depraved “body” has now worn out and ought to be discarded. That means the sinful nature, or that body of death, or body of sin, is considered dead.

Union only with Christ has done this, baptism signifying the reality of the fact. Now with the full domination of the old, sinful nature broken or done away with, the believer has been endowed with A NEW NATURE that controls the new attitudes and behaviours in the life of a regenerated person. In Christ we are no longer helpless slaves of sin. The old nature is dead in that its unhindered sinful dominance is broken when the new Christ-nature became the gift from God. The old nature is rendered dead or ineffectual though not annihilated. The NEW NATURE has disconnected us from the dominance of the SINFUL NATURE, which had its operation through the physical body, and we must be careful not to keep wanting to reconnect. We must be VIGILANTLY CAREFUL!

This sixth verse ends with “WE SHOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO SIN,” meaning it is possible to place yourself back into that position. In Galatians we saw how there, the people placed themselves under the bondage of the Law. Christians can place themselves into slavery to particular sins in their lives, meaning that a specific sin or attitude of the old nature starts to control them. That must not be the case. All who belong to the Lord are delivered from the old self; dead to it. However some people like to keep resurrecting the old self. Are these people truly converted? I leave that to your own observation.

[B]. VERSE 7 – THOSE WHO HAVE DIED ARE FREE FROM THE CONTROL OF SIN

{{Romans 6:7 “for he who has died is freed from sin.”}}

This is a very specific verse. Those who were baptised, according to the opening verses of Chapter 6, are regenerated people and showed that in the waters of baptism as testimony of what the new birth did. However did all professions have saving faith; did all crucify the old self in a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2)? Those who genuinely come to Christ in a real conversion experience are free in the liberty of the Holy Spirit and do not return to sin to live under it.

The one who has died to that old life of habitual sin has done it once for all time through the believing faith that has transformed and given the new nature. Therefore in that transaction he has been acquitted or absolved from that sinful nature, being set free from that habitual domination of it, but it is his responsibility to maintain that freedom from it, moment by moment.

[C]. FOLLOWING THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ALL THE WAY

{{Romans 6:8 “Now IF WE HAVE DIED with Christ, we believe that WE SHALL ALSO LIVE with Him,

Romans 6:9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again. Death no longer is master over Him,

Romans 6:10 for the death that He died once for all, He died to sin, but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

Romans 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”}}

[1]. VERSE 8 - JOURNEYING FROM DEATH TO LIFE

Here is a set of scales, fully balanced, with death on one side and life on the other side. This verse contains an “IF” which is more in the sense of “BECAUSE”. Faith must always have an anchor, a locus, a nailing point, and of course Jesus is that, but also it anchors to the future life in Christ.

We know we have passed from death unto life (in the case of John’s readers, it was because they loved the brethren – 1 John 3:14). We know we have a certain future. Because we know the certainty of our deliverance, we know the certainty of our inheritance. We SHALL live with Christ because we HAVE died with Christ.

Now if we be those who have died with Christ; those, who through death to themselves, have become recipients of Christ’s new nature, we then are following His path. Therefore after death comes resurrection as it was for Christ, so we also then shall live with Him in a new life with His new nature. We will be delivered from sin and its reach forever.

Of course there is a very real present tense of life here also. If we have died with Christ we should be living RIGHT NOW in the power of His resurrection. We ought to be the sweet smelling aroma of Christ in the world. The journey we are on is not an easy one, for those who live for Jesus will suffer persecution and this can also come from people associated with churches, judgemental people and pharisaical people.

[2]. VERSE 9 – THE MASTERY OF DEATH IS DEFEATED

{{Romans 6:9 “knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again. Death no longer is master over Him,”

Paul is spending a bit of time on this truth of passing from death to life. Now the focus is on resurrection. Is death the end of it all? Many people in the world think that for it is the devil’s lie spawned from humanism and now conveyed through socialism and atheism. It is not what Satan puts into the heart of man but what is God’s truth that counts - {{Hebrews 9:27 “Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to DIE ONCE and AFTER THIS comes judgment,”}}

Christ was raised from the dead and there were over 500 witnesses to testify to that. He rose with a resurrection body, a marvellous wholeness of divinity and humanity as the resurrected God-Man. He is the forerunner for us, having passed through death to resurrection, so we shall follow in like manner.

For certain we know this, that Christ having been raised from the dead will never die again but lives in resurrection life. Death can never again exercise any lordship over Him, so our salvation rests in Him eternally. Death will not separate us ever from Christ; it will never have lordship over us for we are in Christ. Nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The word used at the end of the verse is “master”. It means the one controlling the situation. Death is the master for death reigned from Adam to Christ, but the hold of death is broken so all those in Christ have overcome death through Him. We now live in resurrection life, though still in our earthly bodies. In future we will live in resurrection life in our new bodies. Death still is master of those not in Christ.

Death no longer has control over Christ and has no mastery over us as well. The Lord has broken the bands of sin and death.

[3]. VERSE 10 – JOURNEYING THROUGH DEATH TO THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD

{{Romans 6:10 for the death that He died once for all, He died to sin, but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

There is a comparison here measured on the scales again of death and life. Death – sin; Life – God. Christ once died to sin. That means He died to meet the penalty of sin which was death, fully satisfying the righteous demands of a holy God. But that death was a once for all time occurrence, for by one offering forever He has purchased our salvation and freed us from the claims of death and has broken the dominance of the sinful nature in us. The life Christ lives now He lives with respect to God. He lives in resurrection life as we do through Him who has translated us from death to life.

Some fear death, especially non-Christians, but some Christians do also. They need not. The Lord who passed through death will hold your hand through death to pass instantly from death into His presence. The bible is most certain about that – {{2 Corinthians 5:6-8 “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord - for we walk by faith, not by sight - we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be ABSENT FROM THE BODY AND TO BE AT HOME WITH THE LORD.”}}

In the darkest night what a comfort it is for one to lead you along a dark forest path, one who knows the way expertly. All you need do is place your care into his hands for he know best and the way he had trod many times. Jesus is such a One. He has entered death and defeated the stranglehold of death, so now all you need to do is allow Him to lead you on and conduct you through that forest path. Jesus has done all things well.

Because He lives we live also and in the future glory coming, we shall live in Him forever. That is more than we deserve. It is grace upon grace that has done so much for unworthy sinners who ran from God to hide in the darkness of Satan’s realm. How we should love Him who first loved us.

[4]. NOW WE HAVE THE RESULT OF ALL THIS

{{Romans 6:11 Even so CONSIDER YOURSELVES TO BE DEAD TO SIN, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”}}

There is just one thing for us to do. Because we have died to sin inwardly, and our baptism (assuming all believers have gone through immersion by baptism) showed that outwardly, the RESULT is something God asks us to do. Jesus has done it all but we need to do one thing. That is trust and faith in what was accomplished for us. We MUST consider ourselves dead to sin – put it to death; stomp on it and keep it underfoot so it can’t rise up from there.

Not only do we consider ourselves dead to sin but we are to go forward - “alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The AV translates as “reckon yourselves” and Strong’s says of this the following:

[[“MUST COUNT - ?????es?e (logizesthe) Strong's Greek 3049: To reckon, count, charge with; reason, decide, conclude; think, suppose.]]

English is a difficult language because of the immense number of words it contains with so many of them having slight shades of meaning. The words from Strong’s all have slight differences in meaning but all are relevant. Take time to get aside with the Lord – just you and the Lord and go through those words and examine yourself in regard to each one and the end of it all, is where you should be in the matter of considering yourself dead to sin.

It is one thing to kill off the sin practice of habitual sin, but it is bad when you let it revive. You won’t have the strength to overcome the old nature if you are not properly committed or walking by faith giving the Lord His proper time. If you live a selfish life to yourself you are going to struggle with this verse.

In conclusion to our standing, Christians are both dead and alive. It is a wonderful position to be in, but we must appreciate what it is to be dead and to be alive. That is what Paul has been teaching in his letter.