Bible Passage: “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:11)
Scripture Reading: Romans 6:6-7; 1 John 3:9
My sister-in-law’s family hails from Romania. In the 1980s, her father gathered his family and fled the brutal rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Communist dictator who reigned over Romania with a vicious iron fist—curbing rights, violently suppressing dissenters, and brutally persecuting Christians. The family fled the violence and arrived safely in Canada.
Ceaușescu’s reign was not eternal. The tides turned against his brutal regime in the late 80s, with massive demonstrations reaching the capital city, forcing him and his wife to flee.
They were captured and put on trial for crimes against Romania, of which there were many. He and his wife attempted to dismiss the court, arguing that it had no jurisdiction over them and that he remained firmly in charge of the country.
He was wrong. The court found them guilty and swiftly executed them.
Ceaușescu thought he was still calling the shots, and either didn’t realize or couldn’t acknowledge that someone else was now in charge.
When Jesus died on the Cross, Scripture says that we metaphorically “died” with Him; our old selves died, as we discussed yesterday, and our sin also died, as today’s verse says.
Men who follow Jesus live with our new identity, part of which is that while we were once identified primarily as sinners, we are now identified primarily as saints—a word that means, “holy ones.”
In this new life, God strengthens men to resist and break from sin, declaring that sin is no longer our master (Romans 6:6-7). Once we were bound, helplessly captive to our sin that ruled us, but now we have been set free and raised up with a new Master, Christ.
Sin no longer calls the shots. It can be resisted, and it can be beaten.
It isn’t a non-factor in the Christian man’s life—the struggle is real. Temptation is real. We still wrestle and stumble. We are not perfect yet.
But like Ceaușescu, sin’s rule has been shattered.
A new rule has entered our lives, and a new Ruler who is good, strong, and more than able to not only forgive our sins, but purify us from its lingering effects (1 John 1:19).
Prayer: Lord, thank You for breaking the back of sin through Your death and resurrection! Grant me the fullness of resurrection strength to stand against any sin that tempts me, and to walk in the holiness that You have raised me for. Amen.
Reflection: Where is your greatest sin struggle these days? Find a brother that you trust and share it with him, and pray for one another, that God’s strength would lead you forward.
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