Romans 6:6-10
This is not the only time that Paul refers to our “old man”, meaning our old, corrupt nature of sin. He mentions it again in Ephesians 4:22, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts”. Again, he writes of the old nature in Colossians 3:9 “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds”.
In both the Ephesians and the Colossians reference, Paul is encouraging the church to put off the old ways, while his statement in Romans 6:6 shows the position of the believer, independent of his or her works. We are being encouraged to make the position that we have in Christ become evident by the lifestyle that we lead. Romans is the standing; Ephesians and Colossians are the application.
When we realize that we are dead to the old man, we see a new freedom from sin. The old man was led by his lusts and passions, and sin come second nature to him. Being dead to that old man through the finished work of Christ, we are now free from serving sin blindly. Does this insinuate that the believer will never sin again? Of course not, but it does promise us that we are free from living under the power of that sin.
Our death to sin is in Christ and His death as our substitute on Calvary. Sinners become saints by identifying with His death and accepting Him as their payment for sin. The moment that we accept this by faith, we are baptized into the same death, meaning that God now sees us exactly as He sees Jesus. Since we are dead with Him, then we have His resurrection power in us to bring life every day. Our new lives as believers are now lived with Christ leading the way; not with us trying to please God and do the right thing.
We have knowledge that Christ “dieth no more” (Romans 6:9). If we are dead in Him, and He is not going to die anymore, then we need not die every single day. There is no “re-crucifying” that needs to happen in the believer, for this cannot happen to our Savior. Our daily picking up of the cross is the knowledge that every day we stand to lose our life for the sake of the gospel, not the need to lose our spirit man in waves; a bit more tomorrow that we did today. You are completely and totally saved the moment that you accept Christ. Stop viewing the finished work as finished on His part, but unfinished on yours.
Verse 10 promises us that when Jesus died, He died to sin. He had no sin of His own, so whose sin was He dying out to? It was our sins and iniquities! Jesus had our sins condemned in His body (Romans 8:3), so that we would never have them condemned in ours. If He died to your sins once, then you need to give Him your heart once, and let His work do the rest.
The glorious final promise of this portion of scripture is that now that we are saved, we are living “unto God” (Romans 6:10). Our lives are no longer about living according to our lusts and desires, but are lived according to His perfect plan and will. Only Christ living His life through us can possibly bring about this perfection and glory, which is why the resurrection of Jesus is so vital and so awesome.
He whom the Son sets free is free indeed!
This is not the only time that Paul refers to our “old man”, meaning our old, corrupt nature of sin. He mentions it again in Ephesians 4:22, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts”. Again, he writes of the old nature in Colossians 3:9 “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds”.
In both the Ephesians and the Colossians reference, Paul is encouraging the church to put off the old ways, while his statement in Romans 6:6 shows the position of the believer, independent of his or her works. We are being encouraged to make the position that we have in Christ become evident by the lifestyle that we lead. Romans is the standing; Ephesians and Colossians are the application.
When we realize that we are dead to the old man, we see a new freedom from sin. The old man was led by his lusts and passions, and sin come second nature to him. Being dead to that old man through the finished work of Christ, we are now free from serving sin blindly. Does this insinuate that the believer will never sin again? Of course not, but it does promise us that we are free from living under the power of that sin.
Our death to sin is in Christ and His death as our substitute on Calvary. Sinners become saints by identifying with His death and accepting Him as their payment for sin. The moment that we accept this by faith, we are baptized into the same death, meaning that God now sees us exactly as He sees Jesus. Since we are dead with Him, then we have His resurrection power in us to bring life every day. Our new lives as believers are now lived with Christ leading the way; not with us trying to please God and do the right thing.
We have knowledge that Christ “dieth no more” (Romans 6:9). If we are dead in Him, and He is not going to die anymore, then we need not die every single day. There is no “re-crucifying” that needs to happen in the believer, for this cannot happen to our Savior. Our daily picking up of the cross is the knowledge that every day we stand to lose our life for the sake of the gospel, not the need to lose our spirit man in waves; a bit more tomorrow that we did today. You are completely and totally saved the moment that you accept Christ. Stop viewing the finished work as finished on His part, but unfinished on yours.
Verse 10 promises us that when Jesus died, He died to sin. He had no sin of His own, so whose sin was He dying out to? It was our sins and iniquities! Jesus had our sins condemned in His body (Romans 8:3), so that we would never have them condemned in ours. If He died to your sins once, then you need to give Him your heart once, and let His work do the rest.
The glorious final promise of this portion of scripture is that now that we are saved, we are living “unto God” (Romans 6:10). Our lives are no longer about living according to our lusts and desires, but are lived according to His perfect plan and will. Only Christ living His life through us can possibly bring about this perfection and glory, which is why the resurrection of Jesus is so vital and so awesome.
He whom the Son sets free is free indeed!
