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Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; (Romans 6:6) |
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Notice carefully the two entities mentioned in the above verse. One entity is "our old self." The other entity is "our body of sin." |
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The old self is to be crucified with Jesus. The body of sin is to be done away with. |
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The purpose of crucifying our old self and doing away with our body of sin is that "we should no longer be slaves to sin." |
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Slaves of sin! Whoever sins is the slave to sin! |
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How can we avoid being a slave of sin if sin is not defined? As soon as we define what sin is we are into what popularly is termed "legalism." |
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Is attending X-rated movies sinful or not? What does the Bible say? The Bible says the immoral have their place in the Lake of Fire. |
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Yes, any behavior that in any manner participates in or endorses sexual behavior not in the confines of marriage is sinful according to the New Testament. |
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Is preoccupation with professional football sinful? Yes, it is. The Bible commands us to be not conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our mind. |
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Is cursing and filthy language sinful? Yes, it is. The Bible commands us to say that which will build up the hearers, even avoiding coarse jesting. |
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These behaviors are sinful. Whoever practices them is the slave of sin. Today we justify such behaviors claiming that eternal life is an unmerited gift operating independently of our conduct. But this is not what the Bible teaches. It is this misunderstanding of the Divine salvation that is making our nation a moral cesspool. The Christian churches are not bearing a true witness of God, His Person and His ways! |
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Our old self is crucified that the body of sin might be done away, the purpose being that we might be set free from slavery to sin. |
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We can get nowhere at all in God until we are willing to count ourselves crucified with Christ. The reason our entire adamic personality is crucified with Christ is that the Holy Spirit may be able to destroy the "body of sin" that resides in our first nature. The Spirit can't get at that snake until our personality is hanging on the cross. |
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As long as we remain "alive" we will protect the sin that dwells in us. Adam is hopelessly intertwined with his own worldliness, lust, and self-seeking. |
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There is some human good in our adamic nature but no good at all in our body of sin. However, the adamic nature was not formed from eternal substance but from red clay. Our adamic nature has served as a sponge to collect sin. Now we are to crucify the sponge and the sin with it so that the holy, pure Divine Nature of Jesus Christ may take its place. This is eternal life and the born- again experience. |
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And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (Galatians 5:25) |
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Neat, huh? |
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For he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:7) |
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What is the meaning of "he who has died is freed from sin"? It could have several meanings, such as dead people do not sin because they have been immobilized. Remember, however, sin began in the spirit realm so dying and passing into the spirit realm does not solve the problem of sin. |
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It appears that the expression "he who has died is freed from sin" is an integral part of the preceding verse. Our adamic nature has been crucified so the body of sin may be destroyed, the purpose being that we should not be the slave of sin; for, or because, he who has thus died on the cross with Christ is no longer guilty of infractions of the Law of Moses, the law that defines sin. |
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How do you put this together? |
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From our point of view the meaning is as follows: If we are willing to count ourselves dead with Christ on the cross we no longer have to deal with the requirements of the Law of Moses. In addition we have been forgiven our sins as defined by any other law. |
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A study of Paul's epistles will reveal he often referred to the Law as the background from which he was advancing. Paul viewed sin, on the one hand, as any transgression of the Law of Moses. Then Paul viewed sin, on the other hand, as the works of the flesh without reference to the Law. It is important when studying Paul to keep this distinction in mind. Otherwise, we conclude that it is not important whether or not we gain victory over sin. |
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Paul is saying, "We can forget about circumcision, the Sabbath, and the dietary laws. The old nature is reckoned dead with Christ." The concept of freedom from the Law on the basis of death is elaborated in the seventh chapter of Romans. |
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We are completely justified and acquitted as far as the guilt of sin is concerned sin as defined by the Law of Moses and all other moral law. |
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Christ has borne our judgment on the cross. We now are totally without condemnation and are free to proceed with the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. |
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I think Evangelical teaching sees this part clearly. The problem has arisen over what comes next. Does our freedom from condemnation signify we now are without a sin nature or that the actions of our sin nature are not judged as sin by the Lord? Hardly this, for then the remainder of the chapter would make little sense. |
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Remember, the purpose of our crucifixion and the doing away with the body of sin is that we not be the slave of sin. Now we are speaking of sinful behavior as defined by the eternal moral law of God, not necessarily the ordinances of the Law of Moses. |
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Our adamic nature has been crucified with Christ. The purpose is that the body of sin may be destroyed. The further purpose is that we not remain as a slave of sin. We no longer need be concerned with the finger-pointing of the Law of Moses because the Law does not address those who are dead. |
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What comes next? Newness of life. Freedom from the bondages of sin accomplished initially by obedience to the commandments of the Apostles and finally by the formation of the Sinless One in us. All of this without further reference to the Law of Moses. |
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If newness of life does not follow our crucifixion with Christ, then we hang there on the cross without bringing forth the righteous fruit of the new creation. We have been forgiven but the program of redemption has been aborted. |
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Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (Romans 6:8) |
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Here is the point we shall live with Him. |
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Crucifixion with Christ frees us from all condemnation. |
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Where do we go from here? Contemporary teaching is that we now have received the unmerited gift of eternal life and are to wait until we take up our eternal residence in Heaven after we die. Of course there are Christian duties to perform, but salvation really is a separate issue. We stand in grace. Whether or not we serve Christ diligently we still possess the unmerited gift of eternal life meaning we shall go to Paradise when we die, there to live forever in a mansion amid various forms of material wealth. |
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This understanding is almost totally in error. |
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Salvation is not a ticket to Paradise. Salvation is living with Jesus Christ and is not referenced to Paradise at all. |
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The purpose of the Christian redemption is to free us from slavery to sin (actually, not just in the sense of freedom from guilt) and to bring forth in our personality a whole new creation, a creation in Christ's image, a creation dwelling for eternity in untroubled rest in the bosom of the Father for this is where Christ dwells eternally. |
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Our transformation into Christ's image has nothing to do with Heaven! Heaven is a place of rest for departed spirits until the Day of the Lord and also a staging area for the army of the Lord as it is being organized in preparation for Armageddon. |
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Christ is destined to sit on the throne of His father, David, in the city of Jerusalem in Israel. We are destined to be with Him where He is, not stuck in the spirit realm in a silly mansion which we won't need anyway because we will have a glorified body. Anyway the weather is so nice there you don't even need a house. |
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In order to be with Christ in Jerusalem on earth we will have had to learn to live with Him now. We are to walk with Him, partaking continually of His eternal Life, His body and blood. As we live with Him the Holy Spirit busily deals with our worldliness, lusts, passions, and self-will. Until we have been transformed through our continual association with Jesus Christ we neither are authorized nor competent to rule with Him from Jerusalem. |
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We have been crucified with Him. We now are living with Him. We are sharing His resurrection life and His sufferings. We are being conformed to His death and His resurrection. Conformation to His death and resurrection signifies a complete transformation of our personality such that a new creation is produced old things have passed away; all things are new and are of God. This is salvation. This is the new covenant. This is eternal life and the Kingdom of God. |
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As we said previously, crucifixion and resurrection are the mainspring of the Christian salvation. It is only as we experience crucifixion and resurrection that we participate in the new covenant. All of our other Christian activities and implements are scaffolding. |
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The joy, the romance, the salvation, consists of living together with Him. It is as simple and straightforward as that. All else is a means to this supreme end. |
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Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (Romans 6:9) |
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When Christ said, "It is finished," He meant the work of atonement, the Law of Moses, and the whole material creation. The material creation, described in the early chapters of Genesis, was viewed by the Lord only as a prototype. God understood well that the natural world was soon to be folded up and tossed in the hamper like dirty clothes. The present heaven and earth are not at all God's final environment for His children. |
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The present heaven and earth are a setting for a huge drama to be played out before the angels. During this drama the folly of Satan and his followers is portrayed. |
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We humans, although in the image of God to an elementary degree, are also to a great extent an animal creation. In addition we are born bound with all sorts of lusts and passions that are not pleasing to God. |
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If we are born in sin with two strikes against us, what is this all about? |
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It is a time of testing to see who is worthy of the Kingdom, the true and eternal environment God sees in His timeless vision. God wants to know who it is that thinks He is able to make a better world than this. |
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The greatest mistake any human being can make is to clutch the present world to the neglect of the Kingdom that is coming. This miserable world is doomed to pass away. The Kingdom to come is marvelous beyond description and will survive in righteousness for eternity. |
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Are you clutching this present world and all your stuff? Not a smart move! |
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The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was the beginning of the Kingdom of God, the new eternal age. Death cannot touch Christ. He already has overcome it and holds the keys to it. |
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As long as you are in your original adamic state you and all that you possess are subject to corruption and dissolution. |
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There is only one way you can gain eternal life. You must take your place with Christ on the cross. All your relationships, things, and circumstances must with crucified with Christ on the cross. All you are and possess must be brought down to death if it is to live! |
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As you submit to crucifixion God begins to raise to eternal life that part of your personality, relationships, things, and circumstances that are worthy of the Kingdom of God. As soon as something has been raised it is yours for eternity. It has become an integral part of Jesus Christ. |
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Never fear to give everything to God. You will get back all that will bring you eternal peace and joy. You will lose forever that which is harmful. |
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Right here the battle is joined. "What if I never get back him or her or this or that or it?" It's true, Isaac may die on the altar never to be returned. |
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So you have to decide: "Does God understand the details of my life? Does He care how I feel? Is He seeking my good? Does He have the power to deliver me and bring me to peace and joy or do I have to take matters into my own hands?" |
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Until you have faith that God is good and all- powerful you cannot possibly be an overcomer. You will not place your idols (and that is what they are idols!) on the altar. You will cling to your rags when Christ would have clothed you with the robe of the royal priesthood. |
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It is your call! Clutch this world and end up spiritually threadbare. Put all on the cross with Christ and trust Him for your welfare. You cannot have it both ways. |
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If you want to break the hold death has on you, you are going to have to take your place on the cross with Christ and be raised together with Him. |
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For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:10,11) |
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How did Christ, who had no sin, die to sin? Christ kept the Law of Moses perfectly and then took on Himself the guilt of our sin. He bore the penalty for sin and died in one decisive act. |
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As far as God the Father is concerned, the penalty for sin has been paid for all people. This is part of the good news. Whoever will choose to do so can appropriate the forgiveness by asking for it in Jesus' name. God will be quick to grant forgiveness no matter how wretched the background of the petitioner. |
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Now Christ lives to God. His existence is God, so to speak, and God is His existence. Christ lives by the Father. The Two are One and can never be separated. Whoever has the Son has the Father and whoever has the Father has the Son of necessity. It is one Divine Life. |
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God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ and has given Him authority and power over all the creation of God. |
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We are to be an integral part of this death and this Life. We are to count that our adamic nature with all its sin died on the cross with Christ. Now we are |
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alive unto God in Christ Jesus. |
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We are free from the Law of Moses because He who kept the Law of Moses perfectly has borne the punishment of our transgressions in our place. This is how we are to view our relationship with God. We are absolutely without condemnation and can enter at any time within the holy veil and present our petitions before the Mercy Seat in Heaven. |
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We have a perfect conscience before God because we have died on the cross with Christ. In this sense we have died to sin and now are alive to God through Jesus Christ. |
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This does not mean there is no sin nature in us or that our Christian life is not to be a process of overcoming sin. According to the Scriptures we are to be putting our sins to death through the Spirit. |
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For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13) |
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Much of the text of the New Testament is devoted to the need for us to overcome our sin nature. |
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What Paul is speaking of is the attitude we are to take toward sin. By considering ourselves to be dead indeed to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ we can address our sinful nature in the correct manner. Sin shall not have dominion over us because our sinful personality has died on the cross with Christ. |
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To be continued. |
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For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. (Romans 7:9,10) |
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Paul is reacting against the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses kept reminding the worshiper he was sinning, thus bringing condemnation on him. He could not come to grips with sin successfully because the Law held him in captivity. Everywhere he turned he was defeated. If he hadn't broken one part of the Law he had broken another and thus was guilty of all. |
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In Jesus Christ we can look up with confidence to God because guilt is not being held over our head. We have died with Christ on the cross. Period! We now are alive before God without condemnation of any sort. |
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So far so good. However something happened in the early centuries that changed the goal of salvation from conformity to the image of Christ and participation in His Kingdom to eternal residence in the spirit Paradise. It probably was the influence of Gnosticism that produced this change in the goal. |
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Because we view eternal residence in Heaven as the goal of salvation we cannot properly proceed with the plan of salvation. |
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We have died to sin with Christ on the cross. Right! |
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We now are alive to God through Christ. Right! |
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If we then view the goal as going to Heaven to reside forever we cannot relate our basic position in Christ to our daily life. What are we to do? If we are dead to sin, alive to God, have Heaven as our goal, and don't have to do anything to ensure our entrance to Heaven, then we wander in moral confusion. Our efforts to please God are unrelated to any clearly defined program and goal. We are saved. That is all there is to it. We stand in grace. We ought to try to do good and serve God, but if we don't we still go to Heaven. |
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It is this understanding of salvation, I believe, that prevents today's teachers from seeing what actually is written in the sixth chapter of Romans. I think their preconceived model of grace-heaven blocks their perception of what Paul is saying. |
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Let us change the goal and see what happens. Suppose our goal is not eternal residence in Heaven but transformation into the image of Christ and rest in the Person and will of God. Let us say further that the attainment of the goal has nothing to do with Heaven but has to do with our service to Christ in His Kingdom on the earth. Let us add that until we have been transformed we are not fully competent to serve Christ as a royal priest in that our character still contains unbelief and disobedience to God. |
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Now let us apply the foundation and see where it goes. |
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The foundation is that we have died with Christ on the cross and are living with Him in resurrection Life just as He lives in and by the Father. We are to reckon these things are so. |
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To be continued. |
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If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:1,2) |
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We see our goal as change into Christ's image and rest in the Father. Our sinful nature is nailed to the cross. We are eternally alive in Christ. Now the program of salvation becomes one of bringing into our experience that which we are asserting to be true. |
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Each day we view ourselves crucified and risen with Christ. Each day we see our goal as being changed into His image and resting in God's will, not so we can go to Heaven when we die but so we can have fellowship with Christ and do God's will throughout eternity beginning today. |
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Let us take the X-rated movies. We know these are immoral. We know they belong to our sin nature and are on the cross. We know that Jesus Christ would never sit and watch raw sexual activity and listen to profanity. Since we want to live with Him we do not go to such entertainment. |
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Let us take the great emphasis on professional sports, the Super Bowl and so forth. We know that Jesus Christ is concerned about all the peoples in the world. We know He is grieving over the thousands of Christians who are being martyred each week in the Sudan, in China, and in other places. We know He wants each of us to prepare himself so he can in some measure contribute to the bringing of the Gospel to all peoples of the world while there is yet time. |
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In view of the lateness of the hour and the great importance of the Gospel of the Kingdom we are to redeem the time by occupying ourselves with that which is profitable, being changed by the renewing of our mind, rather than sitting with the world and watching twenty-two millionaires chasing a leather bag full of air. |
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We know that Jesus Christ does not curse and employ filthy speech. If we are living by His Life we will not do this. |
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If Heaven is our goal, and we believe we are going there by grace, and all our sins are on the cross, then we may go ahead and allow filthy speech, cursing, and foolishness (all of which defile a person according to the Lord) to proceed from our mouth. Why not? We can't be judged for our sins any more and we now are waiting to go to Heaven to be with Him. This is the teaching of today and the reason why the churches are morally bankrupt. |
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But if we see ourselves crucified with Christ and now living in association with Him as He lives in association with the Father, and our goal as change into His image and rest in God's will so we can be ever with the Lord and participate with Him in the tasks of the Kingdom, then we are not going to sit in front of an X-rated movie. We are not going to waste Christ's time by becoming involved in the American sports idol. We are not going to curse, tell filthy jokes, and fill our environment with foolish, useless talk. |
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Does all this make sense to you? I hope so. The believers in America are not keeping God's commandments. Neither are they counting themselves crucified and living with Christ. They view the blood of Jesus as their deed to a mansion in Heaven. They have been taught that even though they live in the flesh they still will hear, "well done good and faithful servant." They have been taught a lie and our country is suffering for it. |
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Shall we sin because we are not under the Law of Moses but under grace? God forbid. We should live as those who are crucified with Christ and who now are living in union with the Father through Jesus Christ. |
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Let it always be true of you and me that as He is, so are we in this world. |
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How does that sit with you? |
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