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Prepare

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:18:00 UTC +0100

‘For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3). Spend a moment reflecting on this verse.

Bible reading: Romans 6:1–14

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:17:00 UTC +0100

Romans 6

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

¹ What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Explore the Bible

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:16:00 UTC +0100

The old life is dead

Paul has gone to great lengths in his earlier chapters to explain the work of the cross. Here he reminds the Romans to understand that this work of salvation is more than a single event that permits them to return to their old way of life (v 2).

The old life is dead, crucified. All its bondage, its shame, its wrongdoing, and its guilt. The power of sin in their lives is completely broken. It is finished.

New life with Christ

That would be good news enough, but there’s more! Through the resurrection there is also the power to live a new life with Christ (vs 4,5,8,11). Our relationship with God doesn’t just mean the absence of sin, but also the presence of God himself to empower us for each moment of each day.

Do we know that every part of us has been crucified with Christ? Every part? The self-centredness, the greed, the past… even the addictive patterns that have enslaved us? And do we know that in every part of our life where we’ve felt like a hopeless failure or a hypocrite, we can now find hope?

Because since we died with Christ, we also live with him. We walk each day with his presence and power transforming our lives, enabling us to live a different way.

Respond

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:15:00 UTC +0100

Thank God for his power in you today, and ask him to make a difference in your life!

Introduction to Romans 6–8

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:14:00 UTC +0100

Often in the church we want quick remedies to problems, and are not keen on the long haul. We are impatient with anything complex or painful. Our attitude to Romans can be like that. We may have read the wonderful truths of chapter 5 about peace with God and his provision of grace and of righteousness, and we want to jump straight from this to the practical application of chapter 12. Tell me what to do – let me see how to give my body as a living sacrifice.

But Romans does not jump from chapter 5 to chapter 12. In particular, Romans 6–8 tells us that the authentic Christian life is not about fixing problems at a surface level. We need to ask God to lead us deeper into the roots of godliness and Christlikeness.

Romans 6–8 is actually both intensely theological and practical. We rejoice in the security of being joined to Christ and the new freedom this brings, but Paul perceives that his readers may have some questions about our time on earth. Do we have to wait for our death or Christ’s return to enjoy the full benefits of our new life? And if we already have eternal life, does it actually matter how we live in this present life? Yes, it certainly does, says Paul, and there is a battle with sin to be fought as we learn to appreciate what it really means to be free in Christ.

These three chapters tell us both why and how we may fight sin and live a Spirit-filled life. May reading these chapters give us not only a new depth of understanding about living the Christian life, but also a new awareness of our eternal security. We are infinitely valued! In this way may we gain a new determination to live and reflect God’s love in a life of trust and service.

Deeper Bible study

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:13:00 UTC +0100

What does being ‘in Christ’ imply for living daily under his rule (see Colossians 3:1–3)? Verse 6 talks about a contrast between our old self and new self. The old self indicates our relationship to Adam, and the new self denotes our relationship to Christ. When we are converted, we are transferred from the realm of Adam, one type of humanity, to the realm of Christ, another type. We have died and been raised with Christ (vs 8,9). Our status has changed, and we now stand on resurrection ground (vs 4,5).

Paul elsewhere uses ‘new self’ language to describe Christ (Ephesians 4:24) and the Christian community (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 3:10,11). Believers belong to a new regime, dominated by Christ, not by Adam. We are no longer at the beck and call of our sinful nature – it no longer has power to rule our lives. Now, says Paul, act on this. Learn to live out the new relationship God has put in us. That requires effort (vs 12,13) and a challenge – to avoid putting our bodies, faculties and gifts to ungodly uses, but use them in the service and worship of the God who has raised us to new life and gives us the power to fight.

We can look at this chapter like this.¹ Imagine two fields surrounded by high rocks. Everyone starts life in one of those fields, which is ruled over by sin. God in his mercy takes us out of this field and puts us in the adjacent field, ruled by righteousness: a decisive change. We can still hear Satan calling from that old field and sometimes we give in, but we overcome his temptations to sin by moving further from the wall that divides the fields so the voice of Satan becomes more distant.

¹ See Douglas Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans, Baker, 2002, p207,208

Bible in a year

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:12:00 UTC +0100

Read the Bible in a year. Today's readings are:

1 Kings 8,9

Psalms 56,57

Podcast

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:11:00 UTC +0100

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Sun, 19 May 2013 23:10:00 UTC +0100

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