“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh Protestant minister, preacher, and medical doctor. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminster Chapel in London. He said the following about Romans 6:11:
“We are told to realize, and to hold before ourselves and in our consciousness constantly, something that is already true of our position or status. It is not an exhortation to us to do anything with regard to sin, but to realize what has already been done for us with respect to our relationship to sin. It is an exhortation to us to remember what is already true of us; it urges us to realize what has already happened to us as Christians, those of us who are joined to the Lord Jesus Christ. And what is true of us is that we are already in an entirely new position and standing with respect to sin.”
When the Apostle Paul writes, “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God,” in Romans 6:11, he is exhorting us to put full faith in what God has already done for us in Christ. As Christians we are dead to sin and alive to God whether we “count” ourselves that way or not. Paul is merely encouraging us to realize and take hold of who we are in Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin.
This “counting” ourselves dead to sin cannot be experienced – it must instead be believed. We will never “feel” dead to sin in this life. Rather, we must just believe it because God’s Word says it is so. That is what salvation through faith alone means. God says it, so it is so. Whether or not I feel free, I am free because God says I am free. Whether or not I feel like more than a conqueror, I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ because God says I am.
We aren’t just saved through faith in Christ; we live each day through faith in Jesus Christ. This is why Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “…The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” We must trust Christ daily in order to take hold of what He has given to us. Our position is dead to sin and alive to God. Now, let’s live like it!
Dear Lord, thank you for your Word and how it reminds me of who I am in Christ. Help me to trust you each day so that I might accept and take possession of the position you've given me. In Jesus' name, amen.
Topics: Freedom in Christ
