“Likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 6:11
The Bible places an
inescapable necessity on being dead to sin; death route salvation is the only
salvation. When you stop and consider how absolute physical death is, and
how it forever segregates us from this physical world; it is no wonder God made
spiritual death a necessary requirement for the salvation of our souls.
Once again, God instituted an inescapable truth, not so that we will be bound
but free. For in dying to sin and to this world, we can then live unto
God.
When speaking about “baptism
into death”, “crucifying the flesh”, being made “conformable to His death” and
such like; the Bible is not talking in a literal sense. Christ does
not expect us to literally kill ourselves in order to get into heaven.
Furthermore, we are not to wait until physical death to “die” to sin and the
world. The scriptures teach us that we must die, before we die, in order
to make it into heaven…… “Wait what?” We must die a spiritual death,
before we physically die, in order to go to heaven. A spiritual death is
something that occurs only in the unseen. When you finally get to the
place where you can tell God with all your heart that you’re forever leaving
off the world, the flesh, and the devil; where you can tell God that you want
only: His way, His will and His wishes; totally relinquish all (that is all
that you are and ever will be) over to God. When you get to that place,
you have “died.” This type of death is absolutely necessary. We must
“reckon ourselves to be dead indeed to
sin.”
When you die physically the
world ceases to exists to you. The rain still falls, but you don’t feel
it. The sun still shines, but you don’t see it; bills are still coming in
and money is still going out, but none of these things matter to you, because
you are dead. So it is when you spiritually die out to sin. It
ceases to exist in you. The shop on the corner still sells alcohol but
you don’t want it, folks still go out on Friday but you don’t follow, sin still
occurs around you, but it is no longer in you; your dead to it.
Furthermore, not only are you dead to it, but you’re now ready to be alive to
God. There cannot be a resurrection without a death, and when you die to
sin you can then live unto God. The same God that reached down and raised
Jesus Christ from the dead can reach down and raise you up to forever live
separated from sin and with Him. It is no longer about you because you’re
dead; it is all about Him. For every day you live through His power out
of sin and every day you live (physically), you live unto His will, ways, and
wishes. Furthermore, whilst you live unto Him you leave a testimony to
those around you of His power in your life. They see the joy, peace, and
happiness in you and they see the mighty change that has been accomplished. You are living for a higher purpose, a higher
calling, a higher cause; you are living for God. The death is undeniable,
the resurrection unexplainable; and it is all made possible because of Jesus
Christ, he died and rose again so that we could die and be raised to live with
Him; in this life. Die indeed unto sin and live wholly for God; never
more to sin again.
Death route salvation was made
an inescapable truth for our benefit. We are commissioned by divine
wisdom to confront this crisis event so that we can truly know what it means to
live free. To live free from hate, from malice, from unrest, from every
unholy, vexing deed and temperament brought about by sin. We are called
to die so that we might live; live in Him and for Him, now and through
eternity.
