7.22.13 — Sin Looses It’s Power At Death

Romans 6:1-14

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. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace.

The picture of the events leading up to, and the actual crucifixion of Christ, are vivid images for us to see the power of sins dominion. Even though Jesus never sinned, the whole crucifixion account is to remind us of the power of sin. The Jews and Romans were the image of sin. They had dominion (on a human level) over Jesus. They did to him whatever they wanted to. This is a picture of the power and dominion of sin; for sin has desires.

Then comes the last moments of Jesus’ life. He looked up to heaven and declared that it was finished. He breathed his last breath and lowered his head in death. Do the Romans and the Jews still have dominion over him? They have absolutely none whatsoever. Sin looses it’s power at death.

We are to have a certain mindset for living in victory over sin on this planet. We are to consider ourselves to have died with Jesus. When Christ died to sin, so did we. It lost it’s dominating power and control over the lives of those who were buried with Jesus. Then when Jesus rose from the dead, we were given power to walk in a new way of life; not under the power and dominion of sin, but freedom to live as a soldier of righteousness. Instead of sin having dominion over us, we now have dominion over it through the gospel.

You are no longer under law but grace. For sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law.