Is it possible for us to be dead to sin? Afterall “…ALL HAVE SINNED and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
And what is worse, “…the wages of sin IS DEATH (thanatos: separation from God)” (Romans 6:23a)
Is there any way out? YES! We can “Repent, and TURN TO GOD, that your sins may be blotted out…” (Acts 3:19) Because “the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b)
Then, to answer the very first question, “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…Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, DIES NO MORE. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise, you also, reckon yourselves TO BE DEAD INDEED TO SIN, but ALIVE TO GOD in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:6-11)
So, what do we do to stay dead to sin? “I urge you, brothers, and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE (saying I will live in obedience to Christ), acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed (suschēmatizō: to be just like everyone else) to this world but be transformed (metamorphoō: to be miraculously changed into a Christlike form, how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, by metamorphosis) by the renewing of your mind, so that YOU MAY PROVE (dokimazō: to see whether something is genuine or not) what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham