Are you tired of being a slave to the world, the flesh, and the devil? Good news! Romans 6:1-13 has the key to set you free.
If you are a Christian, it is because you have received God's riches at Christ's expense. That is something to know, reckon, and yield to in your life.
There Is Something to Know:
Your Identification with Jesus Who Gave Himself for You
Romans 6:1-10
You died with Him. Your identification is with Jesus who gave Himself for you. When Jesus died, you died with Him. You are no longer a slave to sin. Since He was your substitute, you were on that cross. His death had your name on it and the old person that you were was nailed to the cross with Jesus Christ. You see, if all He did was to forgive your sin and doesn't deal with you, then He has not delivered you from your worse enemy (see also Galatians 2:20).
You are buried with Him. Baptism symbolizes that you have been buried in a liquid tomb and your sins are in the grave of God's forgetfulness. You not only have died with Christ; you've been buried with Christ (see also 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). When the devil comes looking for the old me, I can say, "He's not here." "Well, where is he?" "He's buried. When Christ was buried, I was too."
You are raised with Him. You are not with Him in the grave because He is no longer in the grave. He arose from the tomb! The grave could not hold Him. He has given that life to you and you are a new person.
Immersion baptism is a picture of a death, burial, and resurrection. Every time somebody goes into that watery grave, we can picture the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
There Is Something to Reckon:
Your Appropriation of Jesus Who Gave Himself for You
Romans 6:11
Reckon is a bookkeeping term, which mean something you can count on as fact. It is not a matter of clenching your fists and trying to do better. It is acting on faith what you know to be a fact. Christ died for you and you died with Him. Now you must reckon this as fact.
You are not told to feel it. You are not even told really to understand it. You are told to reckon on it (see also Colossians 3:3-5).
Dr. Stephen Olford once said, "There is no demand made upon my life that is not a demand upon the life of Christ within me." Jesus Christ is alive in you. You are alive with Him.
There Is Something to Yield:
Your Emancipation through Jesus Who Lives His Life in You
Romans 6:12-19
What does it mean to yield? You are to yield your life to His. When He died for you, He imputed His righteousness upon you. It cannot be done without Him. He will not do it without you.
The Dethronement of Sin. Sin does not have to be on the throne of your life. You have the authority to impeach sin. You can tell Satan, "I am no longer your slave. The person I used to be is dead, buried with Christ and resurrected in Christ. You have no right or authority in my life."
The Enthronement of the Savior. Nature abhors a vacuum so when you dethrone sin, you must enthrone the Lord Jesus Christ (see Romans 6:17-18). That word servant literally means bondslave. "Well," you say, "I thought I was going to be free?" No. You become a slave to Jesus Christ. You say, "I don't want enslavement." Friend, this enslavement brings liberty. There isn't anything like it to compare in this world.
Would you like to be free from Satan? Would you like to be faithful to God? Would you like to be fruitful in the things of God?
Let me tell you what you get when you become a slave of Jesus — you get a new freedom, faithfulness, and fruitfulness. Romans 6:18 tells us that we are free from sin! Romans 6:19 promises a new faithfulness. And Romans 6:22 promises a fruitful life.
Come to God as a beggar and you will walk away as a prince. Salvation is by God's amazing grace. Will you pray? Thank you, Lord, that you gave Your life for me, that You might give Your life to me, that You might live Your life through me.
