Eternity Daily Bible Study: No. 526 Romans 1-8 - A Righteousness That Is By Faith Verses: Romans 6:5-10 Topic: The Old Man Is Crucified With Christ Date: 18th October 2005 Romans 6:5-10 MKJV For if we have been joined together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection; (6) knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin. (7) For he who died has been justified from sin. (8) But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, (9) knowing that when Christ was raised from the dead, He dies no more; death no longer has dominion over Him. (10) For in that He died, He died to sin once; but in that He lives, He lives to God. Our "old man" is crucified with Christ, so that the "body of sin" - that part of us that is sin-indwelt and perishing - may be destroyed. Why does this body of sin need to be destroyed? So that we should not serve sin. For Christ takes us from the service of sin, to the service of the will of God. Yesterday we saw that in our present state we are both a sinful person and sinless person. We have both a temporary sin-indwelt self that we see in the mirror and a perfect eternal and true self that is hidden in Christ with God. Colossians 3:1-4 MKJV If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. (2) Be mindful of things above, not on things on the earth. (3) For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. (4) When Christ our Life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 1 John 3:1-3 MKJV Behold what manner of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (2) Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He shall be revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (3) And everyone who has this hope on him purifies himself, even as that One is pure. Our true self is this Christ-like self which is raised with Christ and hidden with Him in Heaven and which is a child of God. We are not fully aware of this true eternal self or what it is like but when Chris returns we will "be revealed with Him in glory" and "when He shall be revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Now the gulf between the two states, between what we see in the mirror today and the eternal being of Christ-like glory that will be revealed, seems vast and unbridgeable. Yet a very great start on the process has been made. The old man has been crucified with Christ. The old sin nature was put to death when we repented and believed and its power is waning within us. Sin is no longer inevitable, sin is no longer our master, and we do not serve it. This all revolves around the believer's identification with Christ: For if we have been joined together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection; But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, Faith joins us to Christ in a deep abiding spiritual way. We become branches in the vine, the body under the Head, and stones in a living structure. This joining is so intimate that it is said that we are "in Christ". We become totally identified with our Living Head. So if Christ dies, we die, if He is raised, we are raised with Him, and if He should ascend into Heaven we are carried there along with Him. Now at our new birth we transitioned out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved son (Colossians 1;13) and our old man, our body of sin, was put to death on the cross and then by the grace of God we were resurrected by the infusion of new life from the Holy Spirit. This created a distinct break in our life, sin lost its appeal and its power and we became filled with a genuine desire for righteousness. What happened to Jesus was applied to us who follow Him. We died with Him and we rose to new life with Him. And this happened so that we could be like Jesus and be free from sin in every way. So sin can be conquered, in fact it has been conquered and we need to lay hold of that which is why Paul goes on to say "so reckon yourselves as being dead to sin" (Romans 6:11). Many Christians do not believe that God can kill the sin instinct in them and give them righteous impulses instead. Yet these same Christians will applaud an alcoholic who becomes Spirit-filled, loses all desire for alcohol and takes on a responsible job. Here is a very clear example of the sin instinct being killed off and replaced by righteousness through the power of God - and yet they do not apply it to themselves. God has given us the cross as the means to deal with sin and the Holy Spirit as the power of a righteous life. When Paul says: "that from now on we should not serve sin" he means that Christians can live without serving sin. We should not just aim to receive grace and be forgiven of our sins, we should also aim to be rid of them entirely. We should not ever say "I will never be able to deal with this sin" because that is to limit the power of the cross and of God. Such statements are without hope and without faith. They are the words of unbelievers. Instead we should say: "I have been crucified with Christ and I am dead to sin, and I will not serve it any more." It is as we focus on the reality of our new nature, and our status as children of God, and on our sin-free eternity of Christ-like living that we purify ourselves and become pure and He is pure. (see 1 John 3:1-3 above). Sin is "not really you". It is inappropriate, an intrusion, and even an impostor. Your real self is holy and you should be holy as well. That is why the Bible calls you a saint! (Ephesians 1:1, 1 Thessalonians 3:13) 1 Peter 1:13-16 MKJV Therefore girding up the loins of your mind, being sober, perfectly hope for the grace being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (14) as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, (15) but according to the Holy One who has called you, you also become holy in all conduct, (16) because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." Blessings, John Edmiston (johned@aibi.ph) REFER OTHERS: If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or family member that would like to start receiving this daily bible study. 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