Day 42 "Our Old Nature Crucified with Christ" (Romans: Chapter Six)

A twisted together crown of thorns was set upon Jesus Christ's head by the hands of the Roman soldier in mockery, "Hail, king of the Jews!" It must have been quite a scene to behold from a worldly point of view- a simple ordinary man claiming to be a king! Only a few days earlier people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" And then later rejecting him crying out, "Crucify him!" We as humans can be such a fickle lot., can't we? Thanks be to God and Jesus' love for us that he was willing to endure everything for us, even to die for those who were crucifying and mocking him. Jesus' love for mankind would not be thwarted despite man's best efforts to reject him.

Jesus' death justified our freedom with God. Chapter six describes our ability to overcome sin by living in the understanding of our association with Jesus. Christ liberated us from the old master of sin and brought us into a new relationship-to serve him and allow him to transform our lives from the inside out, everything based on love.

Verse 1: "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

Verse 2: "By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

Verse 10: "The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God."

Verse 13: "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

Verse 18: "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

Verse 19: "I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever- increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness."

Verse 22: "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."

Verse 23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Key Verses for me:

Verse 6: "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should not longer be slaves to sin."

Verse 11: "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God."

Verse 14: "For sin shall not be your master because you are not under law, but under grace."

Verse 21: "What benefit did you reap at the time from the things you are now ashamed of?"

There is the concept of the "Great Exchange" that I like to use: Giving up the "have to's" and embracing the "want to's". Many Christians feel that they must walk the obedience road with God to please him. But a proper understanding of our relationship and association to God through Christ reveals that Jesus was God's gift to us that resulted in eternal life for those who believe in him. The only way we can be reconciled back into a relationship with a just and holy God is to be sinless ourselves- past, present, and future. This is exactly what takes place when we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior. Our association to Christ reveals that such a great gift came at a great cost and sacrifice. We don't have to keep walking a pathway that pursues sin to our own detriment. When we truly understand God's love for us, we realize that his ways are the best ways for us. So, where the world sees following Jesus as obedience and some type of religious following, Christians view it as living a relationship with a God who loves them. Loves breeds trust. Where did we ever get the notion that following God no longer benefits our lives?

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"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:1-2

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of god, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Live a life that is honoring to the life that was given for you.

Have a great day knowing that you are already blessed! Until tomorrow...