Romans 6

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Revelation 1:5

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

Romans 6:11

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Consider is an interesting word. It is a word surrounded by faith because it believes without any evidence to support it other than the Word of God and His promises.

2 Corinthians 4:18

as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Are we convinced or convicted about sin? If I am baptized into His death, He who died to free me from sin, then I am convicted and executed. I must by faith consider myself dead to sin.

That does not convince me that I am dead since I am alive, so what is this death we speak of here? God told Adam that the day Adam would disobey God he would die. Adam lived another 800 years after he begat Seth according to Genesis 5:4. Adam the day he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was  was separated from God. That is spiritual death not physical. 

This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again, to become alive in Christ by faith.

Born of the spirit restores us to a position where we stand with the Father in Christ, free of the guilt of sin because we have been convicted and executed with Christ by faith.

“How can we who died to sin still live in it?” That is the question Paul asked us all.

What do we consider when sin confronts us? That is just me asking.

• 1 Corinthians 6:12
  Flee Sexual Immorality
  “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
• 1 Corinthians 10:23
  Do All to the Glory of God
  “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.

I left the context headers in these verses in order to demonstrate what is at stake in reference to Paul’s saying all things are lawful. His reference to lawful is a spiritual element not a legal argument.

Man makes and amends laws on a wide area of concerns over how society acts. In spiritual terms it is often considered making sin legal. In a society where majority rules, influence peddlers spend enormous energy and money to remove morality from the law because the US constitution has an amendment stating that the government shall not be a theocracy. 

Just because our laws say that you will not be arrested and punished for a certain sin does not alter mankind’s final judgment being settled in the courts of heaven. When a majority does not believe in God’s authority over their lives, they refuse to listen to any truth that is called absolute. 

I believe in the separation of church and state. I believe in the separation of legalities and moral absolutes. I do not want to live in a theocracy. I want to live in Christ without the constraints of the government telling us how to worship.

Politics and religion are said to be strange bedfellows but the truth is that God wants us to love Him and each other by the law of love which is not legislated by man.

Galatians 5:22-24 English Standard Version

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

The flesh doesn’t like to be crucified. 

“What is dead may never die.” The Iron Isles slogan from Game of Thrones