The Christian Mind

Romans 6:1-13
What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life. For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. For we know that our old self, was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin’s claims. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over Him. For in light of the fact that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in light of the fact that He lives, He lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.

The Christian life is largely a life lived in the mind. For instance, the text tells us that we died to sin. Have we actually died to sin, or do we still sin? It tells us that all of us who were baptized into Jesus were baptized into his death. It tells us we were buried with Jesus by baptism. It tells us we have been joined with him in the likeness of his death. It tells us our old self was crucified. It tells us that sins dominion has been abolished over our body. 

Are all of these statements true? Absolutely they are. But they are stated from the perspective of God from heaven. It is true that we have died to sin if we are in Christ Jesus. If we are in Christ, God will never count any of our sin against us because it has been paid for in full. So, as far as a God is concerned, we have died to sin even though we will still commit actual sin while we are here on earth. From heaven’s looking glass, sin’s dominion over us has been abolished. Jesus broke the power sin has over us to condemn us to death and hell. Jesus abolished it’s ability to bring any judgement upon us in God’s courtroom. Yet Paul in Romans 7 tells us that he himself struggled to do the things he knows he should. He says that his flesh is a slave to the law of sin. This certainly does not sound like the dominion of sin has been abolished in Paul’s life. But again from God’s perspective, there is no condemnation that can be brought against us if we are in Christ. 

So why did I say that the Christian life is largely a life lived in the mind? Because these perspectival truths from God’s eyes are to be the guiding truths for our lives. We are to see all of life through the eyes of Jesus. We are to see ourselves as God sees us. We are to see the world as God does. And the Bible is absolutely necessary to instruct and guide us in these truths. Paul tells us near the end of our verses quoted above that we are to “consider ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This is our duty before God, to CONSIDER. Instead of considering things from our perspective, we are to consider them from Gods. And this is what I mean by the Christian life is lived in the mind. We have the mind of Christ. It is written down for us in the Scriptures. Our lives are to be in the continual process of taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and not the obedience of Scott.