Romans 6:1-14 – The Death of Sin
Week 7 - April 6-12
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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.
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. 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. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 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. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. ”
We are now approaching the end of the Lent season. As we look to the end of it, we see the death of sin in the death of Christ and life extended to us in His resurrection. This is why Good Friday is so good! As we close out Lent together, let’s reflect soberly on what Jesus did for us, but never without the resurrection in view. The cross of Christ was an act of victory over death.
This is the beauty of what we see in baptism, captured powerfully in our text for this week. Baptism shows unity with Jesus in His death, as we are placed beneath the water, and then unity with Jesus in His resurrection as we are raised up cleansed in a newness of life. Baptism itself does not save us, but it shows a portrait of the reality of our salvation. Your baptism, then, serves as a marker in your life that you can look back to and find assurance to ground your faith throughout your life.
Questions to Ponder:
How has this Lent season helped you in your understanding of what Jesus has done?
How has your love for God been strengthened and stirred over these weeks?
What is the most exciting part of looking ahead to Easter this week?