Posted on 09/27/2010 3:51:34 PM PDT by pastorbillrandles
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.(Romans 6:11-14),
There is much misunderstanding around the doctrine we have been discussing, in Romans 5 and 6, therefore I believe it would be useful to clear a few misunderstandings up, by listing what Paul is truly saying, and what he is not saying about our deliverance from sin.
First of all , What Paul is not saying in these passages;
* Paul is not telling us to “die to sin” as if it were some kind of devotional experience. He is stating facts, present realities of our position in Christ.
* Paul is not telling us that a True Christian will never sin again-or that sin in my life is dead and gone. Sin is very much alive and well, and indeed christians do sin, unfortunately, though they now hate sin.
* Paul is not telling us that ‘if you reckon yourself dead to sin, that will make it so’, as some kind of positive confession scheme.
What is Paul saying, when he tells us we have already died to sin, and that sin shall no longer have dominion over us?
* Paul is only telling us that what is true of Jesus Christ is also true of us by virtue of our Union with him. When Jesus died to sin, we did also, when he rose from the dead, we who are in Him did so also.
If what was true of Adam became true of us when we were born, how much more could New Birth, bring us into vital union with Jesus?
Jesus entered into the ‘reign of sin and death’ for us, and actually died there! He entered into a relationship with sin, (by bearing ours, not by sinning), and of condemnation and death.
But that relationship has been broken by the resurrection, death’s rule is over for Jesus. And so it is for we who are “in Him”,we have been translated out of that dominion, we are dead to it.
* Has all sin been eradicated out of me? No! we are the ones who have died, not sin. It is the rule of Sin over us that has been destroyed, because of our standing “In Christ”.
A christian may still sin, but he will never be under the rule of sin, as he was when in Adam.His whole connection to sin as a dominating principle has been severed.”Sin shall not have dominion over you…”
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* The “body of sin”, that is my body which was once the chief instrument of the expression of sin, has been disabled, disconnected. it is in a neutral position, now, I could sin with it, but I don’t have to.I can now present my body unto righteousness.
* We have “died to the Law”, and are no longer “under the law”. My relationship as a subject to the Law which condemned me,exposed me and was against me,(and rightfully so), is over. All of its claims against me have been answered by Jesus.
Ironically, I can now appreciate the very law which was so hostile to me as a sinner. I love the law of God, because I can now see it as a revelation of God, a thing of beauty, it is indeed the right(eous) way to be human. “His commandments are not burdensome“, as I john says.
So being set free from Law doesn’t make me a lawless person, but it liberates me from law as a principle which only evokes the rebellion and transgression which I inherited from Adam. The law hasn’t changed, indeed can never change…it is I who have been transformed, by being “in Christ”.
* We are “alive to God”, which means that I can now respond to God, I am resurrected unto a new life in Him. I have been reconciled to God, I can know Him, love him in response, I am set back into His marvelous plan.I have been qualified by Jesus for the blessings of God!
What a salvation! Jesus, how generous and lovely you are! You bought me with your own blood! O Father God how we love you, because you loved us first, to you be all of the glory, majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever, Amen!!
It is an reference to the poster's own blog
Somewhat frowned upon on this site...
Perhaps a Vanity label would be more correct
Or a special dispensation from Jim Robinson
I am open to whatever Jim wants, thank you hangin,I have spoken to moderor before and there was no problem, but whatever the management wants Ill comply. I love being a freeper!
There must be a category for this in here somewhere...
You are quite welcome to continue what you are doing,
from my standpoint
that by your kindness ,
you have made my day-
Which means that by our faith in Christ we are "declared" righteous, but we have not been "made" righteous. Not yet. Not any time soon.
Our thinking should always be "reckon" thinking on what Christ has accomplished by His Resurrection. We should always "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" This reckon thinking aids us to not sin or be tempted too far by the "fiery darts of the wicked". Which in this present age includes many sinful paths; and even includes the "fiery darts of the wicked Obama and his demon possessed demon-crates".
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