Tag: Our Unity in Christ means Disunity with Sin - Romans 5-6

Romans 6:5-6

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Tag:  Our Unity with Christ Enables Our Separation from Sin

Romans 6 is one of the most powerful passages in all of the Bible.   Chapters 1-5 taught us that we are sinful, judgement is coming on that sin, Jesus stepped in to take our judgment and we are now “justified” by faith in Christ’s substitutionary atonement.   That is all pure doctrine.  When we get to chapter 6-8 we begin to talk about how that doctrine works it way out into our lives in our fight against sin.   The key thought in the above verse is that we are “united” with Christ.  Through faith we have been “placed in Christ.”  By being “in” Christ we are “United” with Him.  Therefore we were “united” in his death ... He died for us and we were “in” Him as a result.   We were also with Him in His resurrection.  That means the penalty of sin was defeated by Him for us in His death and the power of sin was overcome by Him for us in His resurrection. Sin, based upon that doctrine, no longer has power over us.  We have this truth.  Living in light of this truth is the thought in chapters 6-8.   Sin is like an old marriage partner.   Using divorce for a good illustration is probably bad, but think of our relationship with sin as a marriage.  We mutual submit to each other.   Then a divorce happens (we have been set free from the union of sin and us).  The marriage partner is still alive and walking around.  The partner can still talk to you and attempt to influence or belittle or harass or harm, but they have no “legal” right to do so.  They can only hurt and manipulate you if you give him/her power in your life.   The truth is we are free from hat marriage partner ... that are “dead” do us ... or, better, we are now “alive” and they are dead.   That is the relationship we now have with sin.  Because we are “in Christ” (united with Him) we are free from sin (separated from its power over us).  That does not mean we don’t sin.   We do.  But, it is because we are allowing a something dead to us to influence us.