Are you living the crucified life? (Part Three)

From the desk of Dr. Robert L. Taylor, Th.D. To help us understand and embrace the crucified life, we’re carefully examining the text of Romans 6:1-4. Romans 6:1–14 (the context) explores how believers in Christ should think about and respond to sin now that we are in Christ and our sins are forgiven. In explaining this, Paul reveals new information about what happened when we put our faith in Jesus. In a spiritual sense, we died with Him, and to our sin. We were then resurrected to a new spiritual life. We read, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). Paul rhetorically asks if we should continue to sin so that grace can increase, just as the more a child disobeys his parent, the more opportunities the parent has to show grace toward the child’s disobedience. However if the child continues to disobey, they are missing out on doing what the parent wants. In the same way, believers miss out on the good works God has prepared for them if they continue to sin. Paul says, in no way is the increase of God’s grace designed to encourage sin. Then Paul explains why such a thought can’t be entertained. The fact is every believer has “died to sin.” This action occurred at salvation. But what does this mean? In Scripture death, whether, physical, spiritual or eternal, means “separation, not no longer existing.” Spiritually dead people are separated from God. Physically dead people are separated from their bodies. Eternally dead people are separated from God forever. Death to sin is separation from sin’s power, not that sin no longer exists. Obviously a believer “who died to sin” (separated from sin’s power) cannot live in sin! Be encouraged! We’ll continue in part four.