“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).
The Christian life is energized by the resurrection.
Very rarely we find a foundation without anything being built upon it.
If the resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith/our faith, what is being built on it?
In Romans 6 we have a picture of a symbolic act – baptism. We learn that the act of baptism is a symbolic identification with the death and resurrection of Jesus…a simple yet powerful symbolic act.
The Word of God teaches us that while the act of baptism is a symbolic act, it has to represent a genuine heart – a clean conscience (1Peter 3:21).
The Christian is a dead man/woman (vv. 2-4)
Quite a gloomy picture, isn’t it? We seldom think about ourselves as dead. Getting old, yes, but dead?
Becoming a Christian hinges on not receiving vs. receiving (John 1:12).
Not receiving: continuing to live in error, arrogance, rebellion, self-appreciation (Ephesians 2:1);
Receiving: realising the dangerous situation and claiming God’s grace.
This brings us to the point of death (Romans 6:7) – a Christian becomes dead to sin. In that sense, a Christian is a dead man/woman.
The Christian is very much alive (vv. 4b, 11-12)
The Christian is alive and well, living a new life. “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).
“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments 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” (Romans 6:13). This new life – this liveliness – springs from Jesus’ own resurrection. Live in Him, for Him!