Alive to God
Scripture Reading — Romans 6:8-14
Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
In today’s verses, Paul responds to a question he asked earlier: “[We] died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:2). The simple answer is this: We can’t. If we have died with Christ, who died and paid for our sin, then we can’t live in sin.
At least we shouldn’t. And here is where this can get complicated.
I love God. I want to live in a way that reflects what God has done in me. I don’t want to live in some remnants of my old self. I want that stuff nailed to the cross and hung out to die. I want to be alive in Jesus.
But I still sin; what do I do with that?
I need to check to make sure that I honestly love God and want to live in Christ. And then I need to understand this: Being alive in Christ does not mean I will be totally free from sin (1 John 1:8-10). It means sin can no longer run or ruin my life. It means I don’t treat every choice as an option, but I ask first, “What would Jesus have me do?” It means I start my day by asking God what I can do to serve him.
Being alive in Christ means I will fight for him. And when I fail, I will be honest and confess to him, and then, with his help, I can get up and serve him again.
Lord, because I belong to you, I do not want sin to reign in my life. You are my Master; I want to be your servant. I offer myself to you this day. Amen.
About the author — Henry Kranenburg
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