Monday July 12, 2021

Heavenly Father – help me start today with a clear heart and a clear mind ready to receive your word in a brand new way today. Amen.

Romans 6:1-14

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count 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 evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

For Paul, there is a stark contrast between the life we lived before we followed Jesus, and the life we now live as followers of Jesus. Baptism was and still is a sacred symbol of that transformation. To Paul, the understanding of Baptism was crucial to understanding what exactly Jesus did for us and what that now means in regards to the current state of our lives. We are to enter into Jesus’ death (the waters of baptism) so we can die to the sin that has wreaked havoc on all of humanity since Adam. Then we are raised into new life, becoming full participants in the resurrection of Jesus. Once we have died with Christ, we can now fully live with Christ. This means sin is no longer our master. We live fully under the rule and reign of the one who died to sin once for all, opening up the way to enter into a new life free from the bondage of sin. Just like Paul says, “…sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”
What sin(s) in your life need to die so you can fully enter into the new, resurrected life of Jesus Christ?
What are real, practical ways you can let Jesus reign in your life?

Lord, these are your words. This is our story. Help me live in a way that honors you today and everyday. Amen.