“The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”
As I write this long overdue thought on death, I am watching via Internet the service of a great man of God – Dr. Earl Edward Cleveland. His life was a testament that people still walk with God. He wanted to be like Enoch and Elijah – Elder Cleveland wanted to see Jesus without meeting death.
Whenever I see a funeral or am apart of one, I begin to think about as least three things. 1) Although I have youth on my side I can still die. 2) Am I right with God and people? 3) I need to give God my all and be my best in everything from here on out. Unfortunately those thoughts usually fade until the next funeral.
However God has finally got something else about death to finally click. It’s the key text to today’s devotional. “Count yourselves dead to sin” (Romans 6:11, NIV.) I am to act as if sin has no power in my life because my “old self” or “old man” is dead. The “new me” or “born again” self lives to please God. Yet so many of us let sin and Satan dominate significant parts of our lives. Just maybe, we don’t have a Biblical understanding of death or of life in Christ.
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 says that the living know that they will die but the dead don’t know anything. They no longer love nor hate. Lazarus, the friend Jesus resurrected, had no stories from the dead. The point is at dead one’s life ceases until Jesus comes back to resurrect His followers (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and later for judgment (Revelation 20) those who’ve rejected Him as Savior and Lord. If I apply this Biblical understanding of death to our text for today, I should not by Christ power repeat sin or the sins that I’ve been delivered from. My love for ungodly things should be gone. My distaste for holy things should be replaced with a deep, consistent love for God and His way of operating.
Prayer: Dear LORD, help me to let the “old me” die and the “new me” live by Your Word and faith in Your Son Jesus Christ, Amen.
