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Wednesday, January 11, 2023

A Strategy to Fight Sin

In Romans 6 Paul asks, "How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" (Rom 6:2-3) He then goes on to explain that, being baptized into Christ, we were also immersed into both His death -- dead to sin -- and His life -- newness of life (Rom 6:4). He explains it further (Rom 6:5-10) and then issues his very first instruction to the Romans.
Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:11)
As Christ died and was raised we, too, ought to do two things. First, "consider yourselves to be dead to sin" and, second, "consider yourselves as alive to God in Christ Jesus." (There's that "in Christ" thing again.)

It isn't a complex sentence, and, yet, it contains the simplest instruction on how to fight sin. First, "consider yourselves ..." That "consider" means to think, to reckon. It was used to speak about calculating from facts and figures rather than feelings. That is, "You have died with Christ and been raised again ... now see yourself that way." What way? First, dead to sin. Note, it's not that sin is dead to you. You can still sin. It's that you no longer have to. Think of yourself that way. Second, alive to God. Paul puts the process in two directions. Dead to sin; alive to God. Set sin aside and live to God. Stop considering ways to sin; consider ways to serve God. Stop thinking about self-gratification in all its forms; think about living and working with God. It is accomplished "in Christ Jesus," so you're not on your own. You're not working on your own power or by yourself. You're not thrown into the deep end and expected to swim. You are in Christ.

Frankly, most of us don't think that way. We don't see ourselves as dead to sin. We don't see ourselves as alive to God. We lie to ourselves and think we are still under sin and unable to live to God. We are ignoring the facts. We sin because we lie to ourselves and think we are sinners, but we are in Christ, and "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Consider yourself that way. Flee sin; pursue God. In Christ.

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