Dead to Sin, Alive to God
Scripture Reading: Romans 6:1–14 (ESV)
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Paul answers the question that naturally arises from the teaching of grace: if grace abounds where sin increases, should we keep on sinning? His response is emphatic—absolutely not. We have died to sin and been raised with Christ to live a new life.
Baptism is a vivid picture of this reality. We were buried with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. Sin is no longer our master; we now live under the reign of grace. This does not mean we will never struggle, but it does mean that sin’s authority over us has been broken.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to present ourselves to God, offering every part of our lives as instruments of righteousness. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in us, enabling us to live for Him.
Prayer Points:
Thank God that you have been set free from sin’s dominion.
Ask Him to help you walk daily in the newness of life.
Pray for strength to offer every part of your life to God as an instrument for righteousness.