The Resurrection Gives Us a New Way to Live

In Daily Devotional by Steven Mathewson

Theme of the Week: Why Easter Changes Everything

Bible Verse: “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.” Romans 6:4 ESV

Scripture Reading: Romans 6:8-11

Do you ever wish you could start over with your life? Do you ever wish you could change your identity?

The good news is that if you are united with Christ, then you are not the old person you used to be. You are new and alive because of Christ’s resurrection. The good news, according to Romans 6:4, is that “just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Literally, that last line reads: “we too may walk in newness of life.” The basis for this, according to verses 5–8, is our union with Christ. But what does it mean to walk in newness of life? Our experience will be like Christ’s experience in two ways. First, we will share in Christ’s resurrection and thus share in his defeat of death. Paul’s verb “will live” in verse 8 suggests that this experience is a future reality for us. “But this future life of resurrection casts its shadow into the believer’s present experience.”1 So we are also affected in our present reality.

According to verse 10, the second way we walk in newness of life is to live life “to God.” That is, we live life for the glory of God. Now when Paul says in verse 10 that Christ “died to sin once for all,” he is not implying that Christ ever sinned. Rather, as a man who lived in the old age, Christ was subject to the power of sin even though he never gave in to it. But as a result of dying to sin, Christ lives to God—and so do we as a result of our union with Christ!

In essence, Paul tells us that being raised to walk in newness of life should make a huge difference in our lives.

This week, we will explore why Easter changes everything. We don’t have a secular life from Monday to Saturday and a spiritual life on Sunday. No, the resurrection of Jesus must change all of life, in all aspects and circumstances. This week, we will explore how the resurrection:

  • makes us fruitful
  • delivers us from self-indulgence
  • gives us hope in hard times
  • gives us greater purpose in life
  • reorients our desires
  • continues the mission of God

Join us this week and come to be encouraged as we prepare our hearts for the greatest event in the history of the universe – The Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Share this devotional with your friends. And if you have not subscribed to our online devotionals, subscribe here.


1 Moo, Douglas, The Epistle to the Romans, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996)

Some content taken from Risen: 50 Reasons Why the Resurrection Changed Everything. Copyright © 2013 by Steven D. Mathewson. Used by permission of Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

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About
Steven Mathewson
Steven D. Mathewson is senior pastor of CrossLife Evangelical Free Church in Libertyville, Illinois, and director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Western Seminary, Portland. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Moody Bible Institute. He is the author of several books including Risen: 50 Reasons Why the Resurrection Changed Everything.
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Steven Mathewson
Steven D. Mathewson is senior pastor of CrossLife Evangelical Free Church in Libertyville, Illinois, and director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Western Seminary, Portland. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Moody Bible Institute. He is the author of several books including Risen: 50 Reasons Why the Resurrection Changed Everything.