Tag Archive for: baptised

Romans 6:12-14 – Living Under Grace

Romans chapter 6 is where Paul starts showing us how we live our life now that we’re in Christ.

If we want to know how to live now that we’re saved we go to Romans 6, 7, and 8 but to understand these chapters, we have to know Romans chapters 1–5.

Romans 6:12–14 finally brings us to the start of the practical side of the chapter. Verse 14 is that famous verse almost all Christians know, or should know,

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

But Paul doesn’t throw that out by itself. He builds up to it through everything he’s already taught in Romans 6:1–11.

If we pull verse 14 out of context, we can use it wrongly. It’s easy to see it as if sin doesn’t matter, or as if grace means we can live however we want, but reading the whole chapter doesn’t follow that thinking.

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Romans 6:12-14 – Transcript

Romans 6 began with the question in verse 1,

WHAT shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

Paul answered in verse 2,

God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Then he explained what that means. In verses 3–5 he showed that we’re identified with Christ or baptised into His death and resurrection.

In verses 5–7 he said we’re freed from sin, not sinless, but freed from its power.

In verses 8–11 he said we’re alive unto God, living Christ’s eternal life now.

So before Paul ever tells us what to do, how to live, he tells us who we are now. Our old man is dead and we live Christ’s life now. Eternal life has already begun for us in Him. Galatians 2:20 says it as well,

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Then comes Romans 6:12.

Romans 6:12 says,

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

The word therefore, which so often used by Paul throughout his epistles to tie concepts together means this command rests on everything he just proved, that we are in Christ.

And the word mortal shows he’s talking about our life right now, before glory.

In heaven sin won’t be present, but here, in our mortal body, sin’s still around. It can still try to reign and Paul says don’t let it.

Although sin’s still present it has no claim over a believer. Christ freed us from its power.

Our body will still die because it’s mortal, but sin can’t condemn us or demand our service.

Romans 8:23 says we’re still waiting for the redemption of our body. So yes, we still live in the same mortal flesh we were born with, but our soul and spirit are saved, and God even claims our body as His.

If we ignore sin, if we don’t care, if we don’t, quote, “let not sin reign,” then sin will still reign over us.

As saved people we can still walk around with sin ruling our life if we simply give up the fight.

This is where Paul begins to deal with our will. He’s not dealing with our works yet, but our will.

What do I want now that I’m a new creature? If I say, “I don’t care,” sin will take over by default.

When Paul says: “Let not sin reign.” That means don’t allow it to reign, don’t give it permission. Don’t hand it the throne of our lives.

Before we were saved, sin ruled automatically. After salvation, sin only rules if we let it. We can be saved and still live like a slave to sin if we refuse to reckon who we are.

Romans 6 is about rights. Who has the right to rule us now? Not sin. Not death. Christ does. Our life is hid with Christ in God remember. So Romans 6:11–14 is telling us to change our mind about who we think we are, because Christ has made us someone new — dead to sin, alive unto God, and no longer under the law but under grace.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body.” The “Let not” here clearly means do not allow.

Paul’s not talking about our outward actions yet — he’s talking about our will, our inner choice to either allow sin to rule or refuse it. This’s about who we give authority to in our mind.

Before we were saved, sin ruled everything — our body, our soul and our spirit. Romans 5:14 says “death reigned from Adam to Moses.” Romans 5:17 says “death reigned by one,” while Romans 5:14 says “sin hath reigned unto death.”

Sin was our master because we were in Adam. But now we’re in Christ. We’re dead with Him, risen with Him, freed from sin’s power, and alive unto God.

That’s what Paul has been teaching in Romans 6:1–11.

But now comes the problem!

Even though sin no longer has the right to rule us, many Christians still let it rule because we like sin too much. We tend to say, “I’m saved, so when I die I’ll go to heaven. Until then, sin is just too strong.” But that’s simply letting sin reign.

Grace doesn’t give us a list of rules — it changes how we think about ourselves. It teaches us to see sin, to regard sin as something that has no claim on us anymore.

Sin is still present in our mortal body, but it can’t condemn us, it can’t demand our service, and it can’t kill our soul. Our body is still mortal — Romans 8:23 says we are waiting for the redemption of our body — but our inner man is saved. So now the question is: what is our will?

If we don’t care, sin will still rule by default. If we reckon ourselves dead to sin, we can refuse its rule.

Romans 6:12 says.

let not sin reign… that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

 

Before salvation, we had no choice but to obey sin. Now we do have a choice.

Romans 6:6 says our old man is crucified so we “should not serve sin.” Romans 6:7 says the one who is dead is “freed from sin.” We’re not free of sin — it’s still in our flesh — but we’re free from its power. What power? It’s power to reign over us. It’s power to be the centre point of our lives, to dictate our every thought and action, to shape who we are, to cause us to shame ourselves and to condemn us to eternal death. Sin’s power watches over us with excitement and glee at every failure, egging us on, while delighting in our destruction because of it.

So Paul’s logic so far in Romans 6 is simple:

Know we’re dead with Christ (Romans 6:3–7).

Know we’re alive unto God (Romans 6:8–10).

Reckon it true about ourself (Romans 6:11).

Therefore, don’t let sin reign (Romans 6:12).

This is not Paul saying, “Try harder.” This is Paul saying, “Believe who we are, then choose who we’ll obey.”

If we reckon ourself dead to sin, then refusing sin’s rule becomes the natural next step. We simply stop giving sin permission to sit on the throne of our life.

As we said, Romans 6 is about rights. Who has the right to rule us now? Not sin. Not death. Christ does. Our life is hid with Christ in God. So when Paul says, “let not sin reign,” he’s telling us to align our will with the truth God already declared — that we belong to Christ, not to sin.

The first step in living the Christian life is to refuse sin’s reign.

From now until we’re in glory, we’ll feel a conflict between flesh and spirit, between the old man, still present in our mortal body, and the new man we are in Christ.

We look in the mirror and see the same old face — that’s our mortal body, but by faith, and only by faith, we know we’re saved, regenerated, a new creature. One day we’ll see and experience that glory in our whole body, but right now we must believe what God says about us by faith.

So, we’re to disobey sin.

Sin acts like a king, a tyrant, a dictator. It ruled us from birth. It told us that this creature, this product of original sin in Adam is who we are and we must obey it.

But now we know the truth. That’s sin talking, not God. So we revolt. We say, “No — I’m in Christ Jesus.” That’s what “let not sin reign” means. It’s a righteous rebellion.

Sin still has power in this world. It still drags people to death. But it has no power over me in Christ.

Can sin tempt us? Absolutely. Can it make our life hard? Yes, for sure. Can it change who we are in Christ or take away eternal life? No, never. We belong to Christ, sealed eternally in Him by the Holy Spirit. Our body is His. Sin has no rightful claim.

So Paul says: refuse sin’s rule the same way we’d refuse an evil ruler. We resist. We say no. We stand on the truth of who we are in Christ.

That’s why he says, “let not sin reign… that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”

Lust simply means desires — often sinful ones. Our body has natural desires, but sin twists them. So don’t let sin rule those desires but instead bring our body under the truth of who we are in Christ.

Sin will try to convince us that nothing’s changed. It’ll say, “Look at your habits. Look at your failures. Look at your desires. I still own you.” But we answer by faith: “No, you don’t. I’m dead to you. I’m alive to God.”

Romans 6 is dealing with identity. Who are we? Before Christ, sin ruled everything — Romans 5:14, 17, 21 says sin and death reigned. But now Christ is our Head. We’re dead with Him, risen with Him, and alive unto God.

Sin can rule our mortal body if we yield to it, but it can’t touch our soul or spirit and it can’t change who we are in Christ or change the eternal life that we now live in.

 

Romans 13:14 says: make no provision for sin. Don’t feed it. Don’t excuse it. Don’t give it room.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 says to avoid even the appearance of evil. Our attitude toward sin should be refusal, not acceptance. We don’t wait till we’re in heaven to start resisting sin. There’s no sin there. We resist it now because we’re already alive unto God and dead to sin.

Romans 6:12–14 is teaching us to think differently by knowing something. We’re told to change our the thoughts of our mind to a different way of thinking. We’re to think like someone who belongs to Christ.

We rebel against sin because it’s no longer our master. Christ is. As our mind is fed more and more with this knowledge, and our thinking is changed and aligned with what and who we are in Christ, our point of view on everything changes as a result and the source of that knowledge, the information and the truth that we need to cause our mind to be filled with this new way of thinking, is the Word of God.

Romans 12:2,

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

Romans 6:13 continues the same thought as the previous verse Romans 6:12,

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.

 

Notice how the focus has shifted. Earlier in the chapter Paul talked mostly about Christ—His death, His resurrection, His victory.

But now the language turns again and again to you, to us, because once we know what Christ did, we’ve got to choose what we’ll do with that truth.

Verse 12 dealt with our mind, not letting sin reign. Verse 13 deals with our members, our hands, feet, eyes, mouth, the tools we use to live in this world. God doesn’t force our members to obey Him. We choose who we yield them to. We can yield them to sin, or we can yield them to God.

To “Yield” means to surrender. Verses 12 and 13 use battle language.

Sin is at war with our new man. When we got saved, God didn’t remove sin’s presence from our mortal body. He removed it’s power and it’s penalty, but its presence remains, and it will till we shed this mortal flesh. So we must learn to refuse to surrender our members to it.

We say, “You, sin, can’t have my body. You can’t have my mind. I belong to Christ.”

This conflict is why Christians often feel more turmoil than unbelievers. The unbeliever has no battle with — it reigns without resistance.

But the believer has peace with God , as Romans 5:1 points out, and conflict with the old man.

We’re crucified with Christ, but sin still tries to act like our king. It has no rights, but it’ll still try to rule.

A new Christian may avoid sin more simply because they stay busy in their mind with their new experience. It consumes them for a while and they spend time in prayer, learning scripture, and in fellowship with other Christians.

But when they relax, they fall back into old habits because they haven’t yet learned that they must “let not sin reign” and yield, surrender themselves to God. Romans 6 teaches us how to fight that war inside us.

Our peace is with God, not with our flesh or with the world.

Galatians 6:14 says the world is crucified to you and you to the world.

That means we no longer belong to the world’s system of sin. But that also means the world’s system of sin—and our old man—will resist us.

The good news is that the war is already won.

1 Corinthians 15:57 says Christ has given us the victory. Sin is defeated. But sin doesn’t know it. Like a bad loser, it keeps trying to claim authority. Our old man still acts like he’s in charge. But we answer by faith: “No. I’m dead with Christ. I’m alive unto God. You’re not my king anymore.”

So Romans 6:13 tells us to yield ourselves unto God. We choose who rules our members. We choose who gets our obedience. We choose who gets our loyalty. Sin will always try to pull us back, but it has no power unless we hand it the reins.

We must choose what to do with our body, our mind, and our will.

Romans 6:13 says our members are “instruments.” They can be used for righteousness or unrighteousness. Before we were saved, they could only serve sin. But now we’re a new creature, even though we still live in the same mortal body, within the same sin dominated world. So we must choose to yield our members to God.

This is the heart of Romans 6: knowing who we are, refusing sin’s rule, and surrendering ourself to God because we belong to Him.

Paul reminds the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6:15 saying,

Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

 

In 1 Corinthians 6:19 he says,

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

 

Here’s Paul’s “Know ye not” again.

Paul had already taught this to the Corinthians before Romans was written. Paul’s first epistle was almost certainly 1 Thessalonians and it’s obvious from 1 Thessalonians that he’d already taught these things that Christ revealed to him before he actually wrote 1 Thessalonians.

So the “Know ye not” is Paul reminding his audience of what they already knew, or should have already known.

Here he’s reminding them, and us, that our body is the “temple of the Holy Ghost,” and in the next verse, 1 Corinthians 6:20, he says,

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

 

We’re “bought with a price” and what a price that was, the death sacrifice of the Son of God Himself. That means our mortal body is not sin’s property. It’s not even our property. It’s Christ’s.

This is part of the mystery revealed by Jesus to Paul, that not only are we in Christ, but Christ is in us as confirmed by Colossians 1:27.

His body was given for me, and now my body is given to Him.

Paul calls this union a “great mystery” in Ephesians 5:30–32—like a husband and wife becoming one flesh.

His body is ours; our body is His.

So when we hear about yielding our members to God, it’s urging us to use our body for righteousness, not for the old life we had in Adam.

Ephesians 4:17–20 says this,

This I say (and that’s Paul saying), This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But ye have not so learned Christ;

 

Unbelievers walk in darkness because their understanding is darkened. Their actions flow from what’s inside them. But we’re not ignorant anymore. We have the life of God in us. So our members should now serve God, because what’s inside us has changed.

Romans 6:13 is telling us that our body belongs to Christ. Don’t hand it back to sin. Yield it to God instead.

Paul keeps showing again and again that what we believe—the truth we hold in our mind—is what changes us.

He labours on this, pushing at it, coming at it time and again. He knows that we become what we think about most, what’s uppermost in our mind, and he wants us to fill, to renew our mind with who and what we are now in Christ and how sin no longer controls our life and our eternal destiny.

First comes the truth of the gospel, the blessings of Romans 5, then the new identity of Romans 6:1–11. Only after we know who we are in Christ does Paul begin talking about what we do. Belief comes first, behaviour follows.

So the order in Romans 6 is simple:

Know who we are in Christ.

Reckon it true about ourself.

Let not sin reign in our mind.

Yield not our members to sin.

That’s the flow.

It’s all to answer the question of Romans 6:1, “Shall we continue in sin?” by saying, “Why would I? That’s not who I am anymore.”

The unsaved person sins because they’re ignorant of the truth that we’ve just seen in Ephesians 4:17–19.

But we know Christ. We have the life of God. So our life should look different.

Ephesians 4:20–24 goes on to confirm that,

But ye have not so learned Christ;

If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

 

We “have not so learned Christ.”

Unlike the unsaved person, we learned that Christ died for us, rose from the dead, and made us a new man. So put off the old man by renewing our mind to the reality of the new man and by doing this, we put on the new man—created in righteousness and true holiness.

Only after that does Paul list the behaviours: put away lying, speak truth, stop stealing, stop corrupt communication, etc. Behaviour follows belief.

That’s why Romans 6:13 says, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God.” Our members—our hands, feet, eyes and mouth—are tools. Before salvation they could only serve sin. Now they belong to Christ. We choose who we yield them to.

Now, this yielding is not “trying harder.”

It’s not a sacrifice we offer to God. It’s ownership. Our body’s not sin’s body anymore. It’s not even ours. It is Christ’s. 1 Corinthians 6:15 says our bodies are “members of Christ.” Verse 19 says our body is the “temple of the Holy Ghost.” Verse 20 says we’re “bought with a price.” So yielding simply means giving Christ what already belongs to Him.

 

It’s said that yielding is the key to spiritual joy, strength, service, and fruit. Not because yielding is some sort of heroic act of sacrifice, but because it’s the moment we stop pretending our body belongs to our old man. It’s like a flower yielding to the sun—it’s what it was made to do. In Adam we were made for death. In Christ we’re made for glory. So yield, surrender, to that truth.

Paul uses pictures to help us understand. A crop yields to the farmer who planted it. A bride yields to her husband in willing union. In the same way, we yield to Christ because we’re joined to Him. Ephesians 5:30–32 calls this the “great mystery” and we read,

For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

 

We’re members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. His body is ours; our body is His.

So Romans 6:13 is not saying, “Stop sinning and do better.” It’s saying:

Our body belongs to Christ now. Don’t hand it back to sin. Yield it to God.”

That’s the heart of the Christian life—knowing who we are, refusing sin’s claim, and willingly giving ourself to the One who saved us.

So, Paul’s showing that the Christian life starts with what we believe, not what we do. God changed us the moment we trusted the gospel—Romans 5 says we were justified, given peace with God, given access to grace, given hope, given the Holy Ghost. Romans 6 explains what that means for our identity. Only after we know who we are does Paul talk about how we live.

So again, the order is:

Know the truth about Christ.

Reckon it true about ourself.

Let not sin reign in our mind.

Yield not our members to sin.

Yield ourself to God.

Behaviour follows belief. Religion flips that around and says, “Change your behaviour first.” But Paul says we can’t change anything until we know the truth of who we are in Christ.

Our real life is in heaven now. Colossians 3:1-5 says,

IF ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence (which is strong desire; especially sexual desire and lust), and covetousness, which is idolatry:

 

To “mortify your members which are upon the earth,” means: to live here as someone who belongs up there. To mortify means to make dead, to put to death, to slay.

Our head is in heaven even while our feet stand on earth.

 

All of this leads to Romans 6:14, one of the greatest verses in the chapter and we read,

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

 

Sin has no ownership, no rights, no rule, no authority. We don’t answer to it anymore. Grace reigns now as Romans 5:21 told us. We’re under grace, not under the law.

The law gives sin its strength says 1 Corinthians 15:56,

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

 

The law says, “You broke it—you’re condemned.” But if we’re not under the law, sin has no power to accuse us. We’re dead with Christ, and a dead man’s not under the law. Grace doesn’t give us permission to sin—it gives us freedom from sin’s dominion.

So Paul’s answer to “Shall we continue in sin?” is simple:

No—because the glorious truth is sin has no dominion over us. We’re under grace.

To really feel the impact of that, we have to understand what the law was.

God gave the law to Israel to govern people in their mortal bodies, on this earth. The law could never save anyone. Galatians 3 says the law was added to show sin. Romans 3:19 says, the law was given “that every mouth may be stopped” and “all the world may become guilty.”

God gave the law so people would know they needed grace. It showed how impossible it was for a person to ever meet God’s standard of righteousness in their own strength.

Think about the law of sin and death. Who could escape that? Nobody—except someone who died and rose again. Christ died and rose, and now He’s no longer subject to the law of sin and death. And because we’re in Christ, we’re alive unto God and no longer under that law either. We live in our mortal body under grace, not under sin. Living under grace is a much higher calling.

So why would a Christian try to go back to the law? That’s going back to Israel’s earthly program, back to a system meant to condemn, not save. We’re not under that system today as a saved person.

Galatians 3:13 says Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. The law’s hardest parts weren’t the ceremonies—those were easy. The hard part was loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbour as yourself. Nobody could do that. But Christ fulfilled it, and now we’re free from the curse that came down on us for not fulfilling it ourselves.

So when Romans 6:14 says, “Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace,” it means sin has no ownership, no rights, no rule, no authority over our life. We don’t answer to it anymore. Grace reigns now as Romans 5:21 said. We’re under grace the same way we used to be under sin—completely.

Grace doesn’t just give us a little help. Grace governs us. Grace defines us. Grace gives us our position, our blessings, our identity, our mission. We don’t run to God begging for more grace every time we fail. We already live under it. It surrounds us. It holds us. It keeps us.

 

We just saw in 1 Corinthians 15:56 that, “The strength of sin is the law.” The law gives sin its power to accuse. But if we’re not under the law, sin has no strength. It can’t condemn us. It can’t claim us. We’re dead with Christ, and a dead man isn’t under the law. We’re alive with Christ, and grace reigns over us.

So Paul’s answer to “Shall we continue in sin?” is simple:

Why would we? We’re not living under sin. We’re living under grace.

Under law, behaviour affected our standing with God. Under grace, our standing is settled with God. Under law, we obeyed first and only then were we blessed. Under grace, we’re blessed first, and spiritual fruit grows from that. Under law, we were condemned. Under grace, we’re justified. Under law, sin reigned. Under grace, righteousness reigns through Jesus Christ.

That’s why Romans 6:14 is such a glorious verse. It tells us who we are now, free from sin’s dominion, free from the law’s curse and living under the reign of God’s grace.

Romans 6:8-11 – How Do We Live With Christ

Romans chapter 6 is where Paul starts showing us how we live our life now that we’re in Christ.

If we want to know how to live now that we’re saved we go to Romans 6, 7, and 8 but to understand these chapters, we have to know Romans chapters 1–5.

Chapters 1–3 show why we need salvation then chapters 3–5 explain how we get that salvation. It’s by grace through Christ.

Then, in chapter 6, Paul talks about what Christ has made us, what we actually are now that we have salvation, and then how we live now that we’re saved.

“Speed Slider”

Romans 6:8-11 – Transcript

Romans is a complete message, about our complete salvation and we need to understand it if we’ve got any chance of living this life as God wants us to.

Now, in case you’re thinking that we’re going over these things to the point of repeating ourselves we need to see that this’s exactly what Paul’s doing.

He knows how critical it is for us to know how to think, how to train our mind or renew our mind so that we know that we’re this new man now. He knows that without us renewing our mind to these truths we’ll never walk in victory over sin because our thoughts, our mind are still dominated by the old man of sin.

It’s as if Paul’s desperate to get this message across of how important this renewing of the mind, the way we think, is.

In Romans 12:2 he says,

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Studying Romans brings us to the awareness of another reality that’s vital for us to understand.

Most of our lives are spent around physical stuff.

We shop for and cook our daily food. We buy, launder and wear clothes. We build houses and spend a large chunk of our lives maintaining them. We amass all sorts of toys, furniture, cars and a host of gadgets to provide luxury and entertainment. Shopping is a major part of life.

Then we work making stuff for other people so we can earn money to buy more of our own stuff.

An entire economy exists around physical, material things.

They control our desires and, as a result,  they consume our mind, our thinking and our energy.

Many of those physical things are needed to keep us alive and many are not but they occupy nearly all of the fleeting time we have in this physical world.

Religious people create religions around physical objects, such as crucifix necklaces, paintings, stained glass windows or so called gods made of wood or stone or precious metals.

Most religious people, including most professing Christians, pray for physical blessings, either wealth or wellness.

It’s possible to go through life without ever considering spiritual things and that’s most people.

So when God explains, through His word, that a signature, the main characteristic, of this dispensation of grace we live in today is not physical blessings but spiritual blessings many think that means God’s not involved in their everyday life.

1 Corinthians 2:14 says

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

 

However what’s most needful for us today is not physical but spiritual.

The present dispensation from God is not physical blessings in the form of a kingdom, hundredfold riches, more land, perfect health or daily bread. The trademarks of our present dispensation are spiritual things: grace and faith.

These can be far more profitable to us for eternity than our temporary physical necessities as 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 tell us. Paul’s epistles to the church force us to look beyond the physical and the material while making it clear that we still need to provide for ourselves and our families.

1 Timothy 6:7 reminds us that we brought nothing, nothing physical, into this world, and it’s certain we can carry nothing out.

The blessings we receive of God today are spiritual in nature.

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

 

It’s only when our eyes are opened to the reality of spiritual things that we can see God’s abundant spiritual blessings freely given to us today.

The world, and large parts of professing Christianity, are blind to how God intervenes in our lives, hoping that He’ll pour physical blessings down from heaven.

When that doesn’t happen they think that God’s absent from their life or they try to induce those physical blessings through some sort of human act.

This results in the most absurd, teaching, and preaching that in turn often causes the craziness that we see all over social media today with people throwing themselves around and acting like they’ve lost all ability to reason and question and to learn sound doctrine.

It’s like trying to bribe the sun with a dance to make it rise. People sometimes act out strange or exaggerated behaviours—thinking if they jump through enough hoops, God’ll be impressed and send blessings.

But God isn’t manipulated by theatrics. He responds to faith, not performance. Only what He’s spoken in His written word can be relied on.

After years or even a lifetime of failing to receive God’s blessings through human acts or human reasoning, they often end up rejecting God altogether or seeing spiritual blessings as being useless in their materially driven life.

The idea is that Jesus healed and fed people when He was on earth and so did the disciples and so that must be the program for us today because, after all, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, right?

But there’s a huge question to be answered here.

Why did Jesus and the apostles perform miracles back then?

Picture the time in history.

Jesus is on earth claiming to be the long prophesied Messiah, sent from God, God in the flesh.

There’s no books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There’s no Acts of the apostles, only a man claiming to be God.

What’s the only way that the claim can be proven?

There must be evidence of the claim.

What’s the evidence?

Signs and wonders that so plainly, so obviously cannot be performed by anyone except God Himself.

The four Gospels record that Jesus consistently used signs and wonders to reveal His divine identity—not to impress.

These weren’t random acts—they were intentional proofs of His divine nature and mission, to prove He was the Son of God and the promised Messiah.

Likewise the signs and wonders that were performed by the disciples to confirm that the Word that they spoke wasn’t just tradition or some sort of new philosophy, but the very Word of God. No written gospels, or epistles were available, just the word of those that had a firsthand encounter with God Himself.

Through those signs and wonders Acts 5:14 records,

And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.

 

Today the faith that we cannot please God without comes only the way Romans 10:17 says it comes,

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

 

We have something today they never did back in those past times, the complete Word of God, the Bible.

Faith doesn’t come from supposed signs and wonders or from the doubtful testimonies of people, or from weird circus type acts, or emotionally charged preachers or concert grade music, it comes from an understanding of the Word of God. Only the Word of God can be completely relied on to give us unadulterated truth!

2 Timothy 4:3 explains it this way,

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

 

As we read through Romans we can’t help but see how the depth of wisdom that opens up Who God really is and His will for us today contrasts and makes foolishness out of many modern day church practices and teachings.

Through our study of Romans and all Paul’s epistles, we know better.

Last episode we ended with Romans 6:7 which told us, “he that is dead is freed from sin.”

That word freed matters. It doesn’t say “free from sin,” like we have no sin.

It means we’ve been set free from sin’s power. Sin can’t condemn us anymore. It can’t change who we are in Christ and it can’t bring God’s punishment on us. Why? Because we’re dead with Christ and in Christ’s death our punishment, the price, the wages of sin that we’re due, is fully paid for.

How are we dead with Christ?

We’re still walking around and breathing aren’t we?

Christ died on the cross and offers His death as our death when we trust in His death, burial and resurrection. That’s known as His substitutionary death, Him dying, taking the punishment for sin, which is death, in substitution for us.

The word of God which tells us about that act is called the gospel which we can see in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, and when we believe the gospel, His death counts for us, and that’s how we’re freed from sin.

But, it’s not physical! Something deeply mysterious and miraculous happens in our spirit and in the realm of the spiritual, that’s far more important to God than our daily physical lives.

When that happens the real life we live, the spiritual life, who we really are, is changed and we no longer have spiritual, eternal death as our destiny.

Eternal life, with Christ becomes our destiny, even though our physical, material world is unchanged.

Now, that spiritual change can very much affect our physical, natural life also but that comes as we study and learn and grow in knowledge, and prove what’s happened to us spiritually, that part of our existence that drives all the other parts of our being.

Romans 6:8 says,

Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

 

Everything Paul teaches here depends on being in Christ. Being “In Christ” is spiritual. It doesn’t change a thing about our physical body.

We can’t claim any of what Paul teaches is freely available to us unless we’re identified with Him.

Romans 6:3–5 already said we were baptised into Christ’s death, not by water but by identification, being placed into Christ. Communion also means our common union with Him.

It’s sad that church history turned baptism into water rituals and communion into arguments about wafers and cups, when Paul’s talking about our oneness with Christ, being planted together in His death and resurrection.

So Romans 6:8 is a kind of summary. The first part “dead with Christ” is what he taught in verses 5–7. That’s the crucified life. Our old man is dead. We’re freed from sin’s power. The second part, “we shall also live with him”, is the resurrected life, which is explained in the next verses. Christians live both: crucified with Christ and raised with Christ.

Being dead with Christ is not enough to answer the question, “How do I live now?” We live by the resurrected life.

Many Christians talk about Christ dying for them, but forget that He also lives for them. We can’t live the Christian life by only knowing the crucifixion. We must know the resurrection as well.

Romans 6:9, carrying on from what we just read in verse 8, says,

Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

 

Here’s where we notice that Paul keeps using the word “know“.

Under the law it was “do this and don’t do that,” but living under grace starts with what we know.

In verse 3 we see, “Know ye not…?” In verse 6 it’s “Knowing this…” In verse 9 it’s “Knowing that Christ…”

See, we can’t live for God until our mind is changed and we know something we didn’t know before.

That can only be changed by doctrine, God’s Word, God’s truth. God gave us His word so we can know first, then walk.

We wouldn’t know how to live for God unless we first know the things Paul teaches in Romans 6. Knowing comes before doing.

Later, in Romans 12:1–2, after Paul explains salvation, our identity, who we are in Christ, and God’s work with Israel, he finally talks about the practical side of how to live.

He says to present our body a living sacrifice and to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

By Romans 12, that renewed mind has already been explained in chapters 5–8.

If we skip those chapters, we’ll think Paul’s teaching legalism, but he’s not. He’s teaching how to live by grace through the right understanding.

So Romans 6:9 says,

Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead…

 

We know, we’re fully persuaded in our mind that Christ rose from the dead. Paul talks about being fully persuaded in Acts, Romans and Timothy as do Matthew, Luke and Hebrews.

Without Christ rising from the dead there’d be no books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John or Acts and there’d be no Paul. Paul met Christ only as the risen Lord, not in His earthly ministry.

In fact, if Christ never rose from the dead the entire Bible would be what many sceptics believe it to be, a worthless collection of fairy tales.

That’s why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:16 that we no longer know Christ “after the flesh.”

His whole ministry, every word in every epistle, comes from meeting Christ raised and glorified, not Christ walking on earth. That truth shapes everything Paul teaches.

When we say “Christ is risen,” we don’t just mean it was a past event. We mean He’s alive right now.

He rose bodily, ascended to heaven, and sits at God’s right hand. Romans 8:34 says He makes intercession for us.

Ephesians 1:18–23 says the same power that raised Christ is working in us, and that Christ is seated far above all powers, with all things under His feet.

Because we’re in Christ, our hope and our position are tied to His resurrection.

The nation of Israel had an earthly hope. We have a heavenly one, because Christ is in heaven now.

So when Romans 6:9 says Christ dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him… that means eternal life. If He’ll never die again, He lives forever. And if we’re in Him, that’s our life as well. How do we live? We live with eternal life, the life Christ now has. If Christ were not risen, we’d have no hope at all — no salvation, no future, no hope, nothing to look forward to.

Colossians 3:1–3 says,

IF ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 

That’s Romans 6 in a nutshell. Dead with Him. Alive with Him. Living the resurrected life.

That truth is the foundation of how we live. Christ is risen, alive forever, and because we’re in Him, we share that life. Death has no more dominion over Him — and in Him, it has no dominion over us either.

We’re dead with Christ, freed from sin’s power. But now he talks about death, which is different from sin. Sin brings death it’s what condemns us to death. Sin has no power over us anymore, but death still exists in this world. We still walk around in bodies that will die physically.

Many Christians think eternal life starts after they die, so they just wait for death. But Paul’s saying the opposite. If Christ is raised and we’re in Him, then our life right now is eternal life in Christ. We’re not living for death.

As God, Jesus Christ was never under death. But when God took on flesh in Christ, He stepped into a world full of sin and death but He wasn’t a sinner. He lived in a world cursed by sin, and He could die — and He did, for a glorious purpose, but now that He’s risen, death has no claim on Him.

Christ didn’t stop being a man after He rose.

He didn’t “put His deity back on” and drop His humanity. He’s still God and still Man right now in heaven.

That’s why we can be joined to Him. What He is as our Head is the pattern of what we shall be. And what He is right now is a Man who will never die again.

Hebrews 2:14–15 says Christ destroyed the one who had the power of death — the devil — and delivered those who lived in fear of death. Revelation says Christ holds the keys of death and hell.

In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul says the last enemy to be destroyed is death itself.

Christ will throw death into the lake of fire. So Christ not only defeated the devil, He defeated death. And since we’re in Him, death has no dominion over us either.

Romans 6:10 says,

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

 

Christ died to sin once — not because He sinned, but because He lived in a world of sin and died under its curse.

Romans 8 says He came in the likeness of sinful flesh and condemned sin in the flesh. But now that He lives, He lives unto God, in the power of eternal life.

This is basic Christian living. His resurrected life, not His earthly life before the cross, is the life we now live.

People often preach that we should follow the life Jesus lived in the flesh. But Paul teaches that our life is patterned after His resurrected life, the life He lives now in heaven, free from sin and death. That’s the life we share.

No one before Paul ever taught that sin and death has no dominion over us, but now, because we’re in Christ, we have no reason to fear death. We live with the same eternal life Christ has.

Paul’s not talking here about the life He lived in the manger, or walking on water, or feeding the five thousand, or healing the multitudes and getting tired and hungry. Paul’s talking about Christ’s life in heaven, His glorified life. That’s Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, not Christ in His earthly ministry to Israel.

Christ lives right now, and the life He lives now is not the life He lived 2000 years ago and the life He wants us to live is not the earthly one He lived before the cross, but the resurrected life He lives now in glory. That’s Paul’s point.

Ephesians 4:24 says to “put on the new man,” created after God in righteousness and true holiness. That new man is Christ resurrected — not subject to sin, not subject to death, glorified with the Father. That’s the life we put on.

 

Romans 6:11 says,

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

We “reckon ourselves” because everything true of Christ in resurrection is now true of us in Him.

To reckon means to take an inventory, to estimate, to conclude, to count as, to impute, to suppose or think.

That’s an amazing truth. Christ is in heaven and we’re on earth, yes, but spiritually we’re in Him, and what He has, we have. His liberty from sin and death is now yours. His glorified life is the life we share and that’s the way we’re told to reckon or count ourselves as.

So, if we “likewise reckon ourselves” the question of Romans 6:1 — “shall we continue in sin?” — starts to fade.

If we’re dead to sin, why would we live in it? If we’re alive with Christ, why would we live like the old man?

Romans 6:11’s not telling us to stop sinning by willpower. It’s telling us to change our mind, to rethink, about who we are. Christian living starts in the inner man, not the outer actions. We renew our mind first as Ephesians 4:23 says,

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

 

Then we put on the new man as Ephesians 4:24 says.

Reckoning ourselves dead indeed unto sin means sin’s not our life anymore.

Christ died unto sin once — in the flesh — and He’s done with that life. He said on the cross, “It is finished.”

Now He lives unto God in glory. And Paul says: that’s us now as well. We’re done with the old life in the flesh.

We’re alive with Christ in His resurrected life. That’s our identity. That’s who we are, and once we know who we are, we can learn how to live.

Sin’s not the life we live anymore. We’re not called a “sinner” now.

Yes, we still sin, but that’s not our identity.

The Bible calls us a saint.

There’s a difference between a sinner who sins and a saint who sins.

The flesh hates that word, “saint” and the world hates it too. They think “saint” means someone super holy in their deeds and actions. And they’re right when they believe no one could ever earn that title. But Christ could. And we’re in Him.

We’re only a saint because of His righteousness, His holiness and His glorified life.

So when someone questions our sainthood, we don’t defend ourselves — we point to Christ. He died, He rose, He lives in glory, and we’re in Him.

So what does it mean to be dead to sin?

People often run back to the law here because they think Paul’s saying, “Live right, behave better.” But Paul’s talking about our identity, not our behaviour.

“Dead” means lifeless, powerless, useless, detached. A dead person can’t move, can’t be motivated, can’t claim rights or hold a position. Death separates. That’s the picture.

So when Paul says, “reckon yourselves dead indeed unto sin,” he means: sin has no claim on us. We’re detached from it. It can’t move us. It has no rights over us. We’re dead to it.

Galatians 6:14 says the same thing, the world is crucified to us, and us to the world.

The world’s dead to us, and we’re dead to the world. That means the world has no claim on us, and we’ve got no place in it. It’s not because we try hard to act holy, but because of our position in Christ.

We’ve been translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son as Colossians 1:13 tells us.

This is positional truth. It’s about who we are.

Are we still thinking of ourself as the same old person, struggling along until heaven? Or do we reckon ourself as someone who is already freed from sin’s power, already living a new life in Christ?

The most important part is what comes next, which Paul is about to explain. But before that, he warns: this does not mean sin’s removed from our flesh. It means sin’s control is broken.

We simply must know that before we can do anything about walking differently.

If we think sin is no longer present, we’re not dealing with reality. and Romans 7’s going to deal with that. Even saved people still commit sins.

Romans 6 is not teaching that sin’s gone from our flesh. Some holiness groups teach that once you’re saved and walking in the Spirit, you can go long stretches without sinning and that’s just blindness and fantasy. There’re many sins we commit every day that we don’t even know we commit. Pretending sin’s gone doesn’t remove it. It only hides it.

This is why verses like 1 John 3:9 confuse people. It says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin… and he cannot sin.”

That verse is talking about Israel’s future under the New Covenant, as prophesied in Ezekiel 36, when God will cause Israel them to keep His statutes and remove sin from them.

That’s not what God is doing today in the dispensation of grace. Today, sin’s still present, but its power, its ability to condemn is broken.

This brings us back to Romans 6:11. where the most important part of the verse is not “dead to sin,” even though that’s true. The key is: “but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” If Paul only said “dead to sin,” we’d still be asking, “How do we live?” But he answers it saying we live unto God the same way Christ lives unto God.

Christ died once. We died once in Him when we believed the gospel. We’re not being crucified again and again. That old life’s over. Christ lives eternal life now, and that’s the life we have. Christ lives in the present — not waiting for glory — and so do we. Yes, our body will die, but that death’s just a change of location.

So we should live now with the same mindset we’ll have in glory. Christ lives unto God in holiness and righteousness — that’s the new man, and when we identify ourself that way, sin loses its grip.

It won’t disappear, but it loses its strength. Even when our flesh feels weak, our strength is in Christ because we’re living in Him.

Believers have two natures in the inner man: the old man from Adam and the new man from Christ. Only one of them has any rights over us and it’s not the old one. So Romans 6:11 tells me to change my mind about who I think I am. Christ has made me someone new.

When we come to Romans 6:12–14, in the next episode, we’re finally reaching Paul’s full answer to the big question he asked back in verse 1:

“Shall we continue in sin?”

Everything Paul says from verses 3 to 11’s been building up to that.

He’s already told us we’re identified with Christ in His death and resurrection and we’re freed from sin, not free of sin’s presence, but freed from its power. And he told us we have eternal life right now, not just after we die.

One other thing we should know is that our body is not the old man. The old man is crucified, dead in Christ even though our body’s still wandering around here on earth. Our body is not sin.

What does it mean to be dead to sin? The word dead is often used, but not often defined and hearing a definition might seem strange to us.

To be dead means to be without life, without a life force.

It means to have no power to function. To be dead is to be lifeless. All usefulness is gone.

When someone dies, their body and soul are separated. It’s not a cessation of existence. It’s a detachment of the soul, the spirit, from the body. The dead can’t move, can’t be motivated or motivate other people. They can’t inspire.

The spirit has left the dead. There’s no more relationship. We may have had a relationship with that dead person but that person’s not there now. The body lies lifeless.

There’s no possibility of a relationship to the dead. We can only relate to others with life and in life the dead can’t claim rights. The dead have no rights. They’re dead.

The dead has no privilege, has no power, has no control, has no position. You lose all position when you’re dead. In marriage, it’s till death do you part.

The dead can’t even speak. A corpse defines the dead. It’s a dead body. So when Paul says, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin. he means lifeless, useless, detached from and having no movement or motivation to do anything regarding sin.

Our body is a tool, an instrument, a vessel, and Paul says don’t hand our body over to sin. Don’t let sin use our hands, our eyes, our mouth, our mind, our time or our energy.

We used to yield to sin because we didn’t know any other way when we were in Adam. We were dead in sins.

If we say that person is dead to me what are we saying?

We’re separated, detached from them. They can’t move us or affect us. They’ve got nothing to do with our life. They may have once but not anymore. They’re dead to me.

When Galatians 3:14 says,

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

 

It means the world’s dead to me, detached from me. It has no rights, no claim to me. It cannot move me or motivate me.

It doesn’t matter what the world says about me its dead to me. Then Paul flips it and says, and also I’m dead to the world, which is as if the world stands up and says, Paul’s dead to us. Why would the world say that? Because apparently the way that Paul’s living or thinking about who he is in Christ is useless to the course of this world, and so he’s detached from the world, living and thinking and regarding himself different to the world, just by virtue of his position in Christ.

We once walked according to the flesh. But now we know better. Now we have a new identity. Now we have a new life and now we have a new master.

Romans 6:5-7 – We Are Freed From Sin

Romans 6:5–7 is where Paul starts slowing down to show us how we should live now that Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead, and saved us by faith, not by our works.

In Romans 5 we learned the difference between being in Adam and being in Christ. Now in Romans 6 the big question is, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”

Since we’re saved by grace, do we just keep living in sin? Paul emphatically says no.

“Speed Slider”

Romans 6:5-7 – Transcript

Romans 5:21 ended by saying that grace reigns unto eternal life by Jesus Christ. Most people think eternal life starts after we die, but Paul begins to show us that in this dispensation, the dispensation of grace that we live in today, our eternal life starts now, when we first believed the gospel, that Christ died for our sins according to scripture, that He was buried and rose again according to scripture 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

So the question becomes: how do we live in this sinful, corrupt body before the resurrection?

Paul answers that in Romans 6.

Last episode we looked at Romans 6:1–4 where Paul said we don’t continue in sin because we’re dead to sin.

But we’re still puzzled and we still ask, “Paul, what does that mean? I still struggle with sin.”

That’s why he spends chapters 6, 7, and 8 explaining how to live this new life.

In Romans 6:3–4 Paul brings up baptism, even though he hasn’t talked about it in the previous five chapters of Romans.

Many people think this is water baptism, but Paul explains it right here in Romans 6:3 saying,

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

 

This baptism is into Christ’s death, not water. Christ Himself had two baptisms—one in water by John, and one at the cross, His death. Paul’s talking about that death baptism. When we believe the gospel, we’re placed into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. That’s the Ephesians 4:5 ,

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

 

Romans 6:4 says

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

 

Should walk in newness of life. That word should matters.

Paul doesn’t say we automatically walk this way. We need to know something, reckon something, and yield something. The Christian walk doesn’t happen by accident.

Colossians 2:6 says the same thing:

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

 

We received Him by faith in His death and resurrection, and now we walk in that same truth. Romans 6 is explaining how.

So in Romans 6:5 Paul says,

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

 

This is the answer to the question, “How do we live now?” We live the resurrected life. We live out what Christ already did for us.

Paul keeps using words like “like as” and “likeness” to show a comparison. He’s saying: the way Christ died and rose again is now the pattern for how we walk.

This helps us understand what baptism means in Romans 6.

It’s important we look hard at what the Bible actually says relating to baptism because it’s a key factor in the answer to the question, “How do we live now?” How do we live the resurrected life?

Baptism always identifies us with something. Here Paul says we’re baptised into Christ’s death and Christ’s resurrection. That means we’re identified with what He did on the cross, not with water. There’s no likeness between water and Christ’s death. Our sins are washed by His blood, not by water.

This also shows that the baptism in Romans 6 cannot be the same as the baptisms in Matthew 3:11, where John preached water, Holy Ghost, and fire. John couldn’t preach “like as Christ died and rose again,” because Christ hadn’t died yet.

In John 4:1–2 Jesus’ disciples baptised with water, but they also didn’t know yet that Christ had to die and rise again. John 20:9 says,

For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

 

So they couldn’t preach what Paul does in Romans 6. In Acts 2 Peter preached repentance and water baptism, but he didn’t preach walking in newness of life by being baptised into Christ’s death and resurrection because that truth wasn’t yet revealed to them.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus said the apostles would receive power after the Holy Ghost came. In Acts 2:33 the Holy Ghost was poured out, and people could see and hear that baptism with tongues, miracles and signs.

But Paul in Romans 6 is not talking about visible power. He’s talking about walking in newness of life, which starts in our mind, not in outward miracles.

It’s a renewed and different way of how we think.

So the Romans 6 baptism isn’t the Holy Ghost baptism either.

Our baptism is us being likened or identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. Not like Christ doing miracles, but like Christ dying to sin and rising to new life. How do we know this happened?

By trusting Christ’s work on the cross. And how do we walk it out? By thinking the way Paul teaches in Romans 6–8: like as Christ died, we live as dead to sin; like as Christ rose, we live as risen with Him.

Paul uses another phrase in Romans 6:5, “planted together.”

That means joined, united, put together with Christ. That’s baptism: being immersed into something so we take on its likeness.

Baptised into His death in Romans 6:4, planted together in His death Romans 6:5 it’s the same truth in two pictures.

Paul’s showing that because we’re identified with Christ, we now walk like Him in His death and resurrection.

That’s the point Paul’s making in Romans 6.

Some Bible versions change “planted together” to “united,” and yes, we are united with Christ. But “planted” is the better word, because when you plant something, something grows out of it. Paul’s saying that because we were planted together with Christ in His death, something should come out of that which is new life, the resurrected life.

Water can’t make us like Christ. Our sins are washed by His blood, not by water. So the likeness Paul talks about can’t be water baptism.

It also cannot be the baptisms of Matthew 3:11 where Jesus says,

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

 

John preached water, Holy Ghost, and fire, but he could not preach “like as Christ died and rose again,” because Christ hadn’t died yet.

In John 4:1–2 Jesus’ disciples baptised with water, John 20:9 says,

For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

 

They also didn’t know yet that Christ must die and rise again.

In Acts 2 Peter preached repentance and water baptism, but he did not preach walking in newness of life by being baptised into Christ’s death and resurrection. That truth was not revealed to them at that point.

So let’s look briefly at this whole issue of water baptism. Does water baptism actually wash away sin and bring forgiveness and why do most churches teach that it does? This’s where history and tradition shaped doctrine not Scripture.

We should remember that for over 1,000 years, the Bible wasn’t the final authority for the church, so whatever the organised church taught about baptism became “the truth,” even though it didn’t come from Paul’s gospel.

When the Reformation happened, they corrected justification by faith — but they didn’t correct baptism theology. They kept the sacramental view.

The early church inherited Jewish, covenant, and kingdom practices.

John the Baptist preached water baptism for the remission of sins — but that was for Israel, under the kingdom gospel, before the cross, before the revelation of the Body of Christ.

Peter preached the same in Acts 2:38 — still Israel, still kingdom, still within the prophetic program before the mystery of the Body of Christ was revealed.

Most churches never separate Israel’s program and the kingdom gospel from the Body of Christ and Paul’s gospel of grace. They blend them together.

By the 300s–400s, the institutional church taught that water baptism regenerates and washes away sin and that its necessary for salvation.

This became official doctrine in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Anglicanism and many other Protestant movements.

Even churches that claimed “salvation by faith alone” often kept the old baptismal tradition without re‑examining the Scriptures.

Most churches assume “baptism” always means water but the Bible speaks of multiple baptisms, and only one is for the Body of Christ today.

Below this recording we have a list the baptisms that the bible speaks of. Mathew 3:11 speaks of three different baptisms in the one verse when John says he baptizes with water but The One coming after him (Jesus) will baptize with the Holy Spirit, and He’ll baptize with fire.

No — water baptism does not wash away sin or bring forgiveness, and the reason most churches teach that it is a carrying on of these historical and traditional teachings, a mixing of Israel’s program with the church’s doctrine.

If water could wash away sin, then Christ’s blood wouldn’t be enough, faith wouldn’t be enough and Paul’s gospel wouldn’t be enough.

But Paul says the opposite: faith in Christ’s death and resurrection is the only means of forgiveness.

Our baptism is to be like Christ in His death and resurrection. That means we’re a new man, a new creation in Christ with a new life and a new identity.

In Adam we’re fallen, condemned, and headed for death. In Christ we’re forgiven, righteous by faith, and alive unto God.

So the question becomes: where do we think your life comes from now? From our old flesh, our dreams, and our desires—or from Christ Himself? Our life is now His life, and that’s a spiritual reality even if we don’t always feel like it or walk in it. Paul says we should walk in it because it’s true.

Romans 6:5 uses the word resurrection for the first time in Romans. The 4 Gospels talk about being “raised up,” but “resurrection” is a standing, a position.

In John 11:24 Martha, talking to Jesus, said Lazarus would rise again “in the resurrection at the last day.” That was the Jewish hope—resurrection after death, after corruption is gone.

But Jesus told her something greater in John 11:25: resurrection life can touch you now because I AM the resurrection and the life.

That’s exactly what Paul teaches.

Christ is risen today, glorified with the Father as John 17:4–5 says. He revealed the mystery to Paul from that glory that He’s now in.

And Romans 6 tells us that we can live now in the likeness of Christ’s resurrection.

Ephesians 1:17–20 says the same thing.

The same power that raised Christ and set Him in heavenly places is toward us who believe. That’s the life we have now: a glorious, eternal, resurrected life in Christ.

Paul talks about the “unfathomable power of God” in Ephesians, and often we hear that and think, “What power is he talking about?”

Some days I’m so short on power that even picking up my coffee mug feels like weight‑training.”

The power he means is the same power Romans 6–8 explains: the power that raised Christ from the dead and now keeps us in Him so strongly that nothing can separate you from the love of God as Romans 8:35–39 states. Just like nothing can separate Christ from the Father now that He’s glorified, nothing can separate us from Christ because we’re in Him.

Colossians 3:1–3 teaches the same thing Paul teaches in Romans.

IF ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 

How do we know we’re risen with Him? Because we were baptised into His death and resurrection as we’ve now seen in Romans 6:3–5.

Colossians says to seek things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. It says we’re dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God. That’s the same teaching as Romans 6–8. You won’t find this in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, or Acts 2.

They preach Christ’s resurrection, yes, but not us sharing in His death and resurrection life right now. That’s the fellowship of the mystery.

Colossians 1:27 says the riches of this mystery is Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Not just Christ dying for our sins, but Christ actually in us. How did He get in us?

The same way we got in Him—by His death and resurrection. We trusted the gospel, and God placed us in Christ, making us a new man with His life.

Ephesians 3:4–6 defines the mystery:

Whereby, when ye read (and that’s the words of the revelation Christ gave to Paul), Whereby, when ye read ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

 

How can we inherit with Christ? Because we’re identified with Him. How are we in His body? Because we’re baptised into Him. How do we partake of His promise? By the gospel—His death and resurrection. There’s no covenant here, no Israel here. This is mystery truth, and Paul’s teaching that same truth in Romans 6.

Romans 8:16-17 says

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

 

If we’re children, then we’re heirs of God and joint‑heirs with Christ.

That matches Ephesians 3:6.

Romans 8:18 says

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

 

The glory that will be revealed in us is far greater than our sufferings. Why do we get glory? Not because we earned it, but because we share in the likeness of His resurrection as we’ve been at pains to see in Romans 6:5. God identified us with Christ by grace, not by any work of our hands.

Romans 6:6 says this and because it’s a continuation of Romans 6:5 we’ll read them together.

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

 

Do you get the “Knowing this…”?

This means that the fact that we’ve been planted together in the likeness of his death, and that we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection relies on us knowing something.

We’ve got to know some doctrine to live this new life.

The Christian life starts with knowing what God’s done. Our old man is crucified with Christ and that old man is the Adam identity Paul described in Romans 5. We were born in Adam—that was the old man. Now we’re in Christ—the new man.

Romans 6:4-5 already said we should walk in newness of life and that new life comes from being planted together with Christ in His death and resurrection.

Before Paul, most people thought resurrection life only came after death. But Paul says we can live in that standing now. That’s the new man, the resurrected man in Christ and we live it by knowing it!

The Bible always calls something “old” only after God brings in something “new.”

Moses’ law wasn’t called the Old Testament until Paul said it in 2 Corinthians 3.

Hebrews 8:13 says the old is old only because something new has come. It’s the same idea here: Paul calls our old man “old” because he’s already told us about our new man—our new life in Christ.

So when Paul says in Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,” he means we should already understand what the new man is. Our old man is who we were before we were baptised into Christ’s death and resurrection. Our old man was in Adam—sin‑cursed, condemned and dead. Romans 5 clearly showed that.

In Adam came death and judgment; in Christ comes life and righteousness. That old man is destroyed because of Christ’s death and resurrection. But even though he’s destroyed, he still tries to wake up in the morning. You know that old man by his lusts, his corruption, and his desire to walk in death.

Ephesians 2:1–3 describes that old man,

AND you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

 

We were dead in sins, walking according to the world, following the prince of the power of the air, living in the lusts of the flesh and mind, and by nature a child of wrath. That was all of us. That’s the old man. But Ephesians 2:4–5 says,

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

 

That’s the new man.

Ephesians 4:22 says the old man is “corrupt according to deceitful lusts.” We only know corruption because we know what truth looks like. The old man is everything opposite of the new life in Christ.

Now, we mustn’t confuse the old man with our mortal body.

Our body is not the old man.

God bought your body as 1 Corinthians 6:13–20 says.

Our body is for the Lord, and the Lord is for our body. God raised up Christ and will raise us up too. Our body will be resurrected because we’re already in the likeness of His resurrection as Romans 6:5 states.

So Romans 6 is teaching that we have a new life because we were planted together with Christ in His death and resurrection. We’re a new man. Our old man is crucified. And now we should live out what God’s already made true. The Christian life starts with knowing these truths. Paul keeps saying, “Know ye not… knowing this…” because maturity begins with knowing what God has done. Only then can we walk in it.

So, Romans 6:6 says our old man is crucified with Christ, and to understand that we need to see the difference between the old man and the body. As we said our body is not the old man.

Yes, we had our body when we were in Adam, but the “old man” is the sin‑cursed identity we had in Adam, We had condemnation, judgment, death, and the desires of the flesh. Paul uses the word flesh to describe that old Adam nature, not the physical body we live in.

However, our body still matters to God. He wants us to use it for Him. That’s why 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, and we’re bought with a price.

God bought our body, but He killed the old man. It’s like He bought the car and killed the driver. The old driver was Adam. The new driver is Christ’s life in us. We now live by the knowledge of who we are in Christ.

So when Romans 6:6 says the old man is crucified with Christ, it means the death we inherited from Adam is gone. Adam’s death only kills. But Christ’s death kills the old man and gives us new life. That’s why Paul calls this the crucified life.

Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ…”—that’s the old man. “…nevertheless I live…”—that’s the new man. “…yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” That’s our identity now.

This’s why early believers were called Christians—because Paul taught them they were identified with Christ in His death and resurrection, not in His earthly flesh.

Romans 6:6 shows the purpose of Christ’s death according to the mystery. Yes, He died for our sins as Romans chapters 3–5 teaches, but He also died so our old man could be put to death and we could walk in newness of life.

Colossians 2:12–13 says you were buried with Him in baptism and risen with Him by faith. We were dead in sins, but God quickened us together with Christ, meaning God gave us life out of that death.

Colossians 3:3 says, “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” In Adam we were dead, and in Christ we’re also crucified—but now our life is found in Him, not in ourself.

Grace doesn’t tell the old man to run free.

Grace kills the old man and moves our life source from Adam to Christ in heavenly glory.

Romans 6:6 continues: “…that the body of sin might be destroyed.”

The “body of sin” is the condemned Adam identity we once had. Romans 7:24 calls it “the body of this death.” By Romans 7 Paul understands he’s a new man in Christ, but he still lives in a mortal body that struggles. That’s why he cries out, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

Romans 7:25 answers that question,

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Romans 6:6 already gave the answer: the body of sin was destroyed by Christ’s death. Through Him this body of death was delivered, the old man crucified and resurrection life given to us.

Paul deals with the struggle in his body by knowing his old man is dead. The old man can’t condemn us or control us. It has no authority over us anymore. Yes it’s still hanging around, but it’s got no legal power over us as it did before.

Romans 8:13 says if we live after the flesh (that’s the old man), we will die. But if we, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body, we will live. That’s our situation, our identity now, after we believe the gospel, and it doesn’t matter what we feel.

Walking after the Spirit means there’s now no condemnation. Grace doesn’t give us permission to sin. Grace doesn’t let the old man run free. Grace kills the old man. Grace nails him to the cross. The law could only condemn sin; grace destroys the source of sin.

Romans 6:6 says the old man is crucified so “the body of sin might be destroyed.” We’re not currently “in Adam” until we die. We’re in Christ now. Our old man is dead now. That’s why Paul says “henceforth”—from this moment forward—we shouldn’t serve sin. Not later. Not after death. Now.

If we read Romans 6 and feel condemned, we’re reading it wrong. Paul’s not saying, “Try harder.” He’s saying, “We don’t serve sin anymore.” The old man may scream, and tempt, and pull at us constantly, at every turn but we can say, “I don’t work for you anymore.”

We’re in a world full of sin, but we’re not under its authority. We’re free to say no.

This is why Paul calls it deliverance. We’re still in the prison of this world, but the chains are broken. We’re free from sin’s power, even though sin is still everywhere around us.

Romans 6:7 says,

For he that is dead is freed from sin.

 

How are we dead? We’re dead with Christ. Crucified with Him. That means we’re freed from sin’s rule. We’re not free of sin’s presence, but free from its power to condemn us to eternal death.

This is victory, liberty and redemption.

Galatians 5:1 says,

STAND fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

 

We don’t go back under bondage—whether that’s the bondage of the law or the bondage of sin. We’re freed from both.

Grace gives you a new identity. God Himself declares us a new man. No other religion or philosophy can give us a new identity that’s real. Only God, the giver of life, can do that. He gives us eternal life, resurrection life, Christ’s life. That’s why we can say no to the old man. That’s why we can walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:6 ends by saying the old man is crucified “that henceforth we should not serve sin.” This is not a law command. It is a statement of freedom. We don’t serve sin anymore. We serve Christ. We’re dead with Him, risen with Him, and freed from sin’s power. That is the Christian life that Paul’s teaching.

Romans 3:24 first introduced the word redemption. Paul said we’re “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Redemption is more than paying for our sins. It means Christ delivered us and set us free and broke the power of sin, the law, and condemnation. That’s the same redemption Romans 6 is talking about—freedom from the old man and freedom from sin’s rule.

Colossians 1:13–14 says God delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His Son, “in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”

Redemption and forgiveness go together.

Titus 2:14 says,

Who (Christ) gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

 

The Peculiar people doesn’t mean an odd or strange people, but a people who belong to Him in a special way—not to the world or even to ourselves.

He didn’t just give us eternal life after death—He redeemed us now, freeing us from condemnation, judgment, and the sin of our old man, all of which Paul labours over telling us because of how critical it is to the way we think and the way we see ourselves while we’re still here in this body and still struggling in this world of sin.

Redemption means to release someone from the possession or the power of someone else. We’re no longer owned by sin. Yes, sin is still present in this world and in our flesh, but we’re not under its power. We’re redeemed today because the Spirit baptised us into Christ. That’s why baptism matters—not water, but the Spirit placing us into Christ’s death and resurrection.

Romans shows what you’re freed from.

Romans 3 shows we’re freed from the penalty of sin.

Romans 4 shows we’re freed from the imputation of sin.  Imputation means God counts something to our account that didn’t originally come from us.

Romans 5 shows we’re freed from the curse of sin.

Romans 6 shows we’re freed from the dominion and the power of sin.

Romans 7 shows we’re freed from the law, which gave sin its strength.

Romans 8 shows we’re freed from the condemnation of sin.

This’s why Romans 6 is so important. Being in Christ, baptised into His death and resurrection, means we’re free from, we have liberty from, and we have victory over sin. It no longer rules over us. We’re not waiting for freedom in heaven after this present body dies, we have it now. Christ destroyed the old man, broke sin’s power, and gave us new life in Him. That’s redemption.

Romans 6:1-4 – Baptised Into Christ’s Death

In this episode we’re plunging in to Romans chapter 6. Romans chapters 6, 7, and 8 all deal with how a saved person actually lives now.

Romans 8 will later show how the Spirit helps us walk without condemnation, but Romans 6 starts with the big question: “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” Paul answers, “God forbid.” Then he says, “How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?”

“Speed Slider”

Romans 6:1-4 – Transcript

We finished Romans 5 last episode, which is a glorious chapter showing what we have freely in Christ. Romans 5:1 says we’re justified by faith. That whole chapter is about what God gives us — not what we earn.

It’s all grace. We’re not doing the work in Romans 5, we’re just receiving what Christ did.

That’s the difference between being in Adam and being in Christ. In Adam, death reigns. In Christ, grace reigns.

That’s a positional truth in this dispensation of grace, revealed through Paul.

A positional truth is something that’s true about where we stand with God. It’s not our feelings or our behaviour. It’s our place in Christ, even if we don’t always feel it. It’s our position, not our performance. It’s a truth because it’s what God says is true about us and He says we’re in Christ when we believed.

Now Romans 6:1 asks,

WHAT shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

 

The questions about our life here now, on earth, before glory.

Romans 5 told us what we have and Romans 6 asks what we do now that we already have those blessings.

The last chapter ended with Romans 5:20-21 saying,

Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

The law came in and showed up sin. But grace overflowed all of it.

Christ appeared, and the kindness and love of God brought salvation through grace as Titus 3:4–7 says.

Romans 5:21 is the first time Paul mentions eternal life. And it’s not just life after death — it’s life now, in Christ.

Most people think eternal life starts after we die and Paul knows that, so Romans 6 starts with the question: If we’re justified by faith and have eternal life in Christ, what about now? Do we just keep living in sin because we’re still in this flesh? Is grace just for later? Or is it OK to just keep on living the most ragged life we can knowing we’re saved anyway?

Paul answers: “God forbid.” It’s the same strong answer he gave back in Romans 3. Back there, people said, “If our sin shows God’s righteousness, isn’t God unfair to judge us?” Paul said, “God forbid.”

Just because our sin makes God look good doesn’t mean He needs us to sin.

He’s righteous no matter what.

People slandered Paul, saying he taught, “Let’s do evil, that good may come.” But Paul said, “Their damnation is just” . That’s Romans 3:8. That’s not the gospel and it’s certainly not what Paul taught.

Romans 5 made it clear — what we do plays zero part when it comes to being in Adam or in Christ. Our works don’t put us in Christ. Christ’s work does.

So someone might think, “If I’m saved by grace, maybe I’m supposed to sin so grace can abound.” But that’s wrong. God didn’t need us to sin to show grace. He gave grace out of His love and righteousness.

So why do people ask, “Can we continue in sin?”

Because when grace is taught, people think it’s about doing whatever we want because we’re saved anyway.

Romans 6:15 asks it again:

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

 

But that doesn’t register with the religious mind that thinks if we’re not under law, we’re allowed to sin. Paul says no — grace teaches us how to live.

Romans 4 and 5 taught that grace doesn’t depend on our actions. So now Romans 6 asks: Do we just keep living in sin? If grace reigns unto eternal life, why does death still reign in the world? People still die. People still sin. So they ask, “Don’t we still live in Adam?”

That’s the real question behind “Shall we continue in sin?” It’s not just rebellion — it’s confusion. Paul’s going to answer that in Romans 6.

In the last episode we drew the picture how that Adam sinned, and death reigned. Christ died and rose again, and now grace reigns through His righteousness.

That’s Romans 5. One man brought death, the other brought life. But people still think this’s just about eternity which is all after we die in the body and we’re still here in Adam in this life.

Paul says no. Grace doesn’t need sin to exist.

When Romans 6:1 asks, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” And Paul answers: “God forbid,” that phrase shuts the door. It’s a very strong no. Sin is not allowed or encouraged.

“God forbid” shows up 24 times in the Bible, 14 of those times are in Paul’s letters and 10 of those are in Romans.

The Apostle of Grace is the one saying “God forbid” the most. He’s not saying, “Well, if you have to…” He’s saying, “No way.”

Just because we’re saved and in Christ doesn’t mean sin’s okay now.

That idea gets nailed shut here.

There’re some who say “God forbid” is a mistake in the King James Bible because the word “God” isn’t in the Greek and that’s true — but it’s not a mistake.

Translation isn’t always word-for-word and we’ve discussed this before. Sometimes we need idioms to get the meaning across.

An idiom is a saying that doesn’t mean exactly what the words say. It’s a phrase people understand because of how it’s used, not because of the words themselves.

For example, “It’s raining cats and dogs.” Nobody thinks animals are falling from the sky. It just means it’s raining hard.

Or “Break a leg.” We know it doesn’t mean go and hurt yourself. It means “good luck.”

Or “Spill the beans.” Everybody knows it’s not about beans. It means “tell the secret.”

“God forbid” says it better than “Certainly not” or “May it never be.” It’s not wrong — it’s just strong.

So don’t let anyone tell you the King James messed up there. It’s not a mistake — it’s a choice. And it’s the right one.

Paul’s saying sin is never okay.

Romans 8:8 says,

So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

 

So if we’re thinking we’re still in Adam, Paul says, “No — we’re in Christ.” Not just in eternity — now.

That’s a big deal. Being in Christ now wasn’t taught before.

Jesus said “abide in me” in John 15, but people didn’t understand it. Paul says you’re in Christ by the mystery — not by fruit, not by law, but by grace.

Ephesians 3:6 says the we’re fellow heirs, part of the same body, in Christ Jesus now!

So if we’re justified by faith, we’re not in Adam anymore.

We still live in the flesh, but we’ve been quickened with Christ, given life out of our inherited death, inherited from Adam.

The Holy Spirit sealed us and baptized us into His body. That’s something we have now.

But sin never glorifies God.

Romans 5:21 says grace reigns through righteousness — not through sin. Grace doesn’t need sin to exist. Grace was in Eden before sin ever showed up. God gave Adam and Eve everything by grace. Grace is what God does that we didn’t earn.

Grace reigns because of what Christ did — not because sin abounds.

He died, He rose, He conquered death. That’s why grace reigns.

Romans chapters 6, 7, and 8 will show us what life in Christ looks like.

Romans 6 says grace separates us from sin. Romans 7 says grace separates us from the law. And when our mind gets changed — when we realise we’re not under sin or law anymore — we start to live by grace. The law tried to separate people from sin, but Romans 7 says we’re dead to that too.

So, Romans 6, 7, and 8 all deal with how a saved person actually lives now. Romans 8 will later show how the Spirit helps us walk without condemnation, but Romans 6 starts with this big question: “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” to which Paul answers in Romans 6:2,

God forbid. (Then he says), How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

 

Up until we believed the gospel, we lived in Adam. Now we’re in Christ. So why keep living like we’re still in Adam? We don’t owe that old man anything. Paul calls “the old man,” our old life in Adam. That old man is dead. Grace doesn’t just save us — it gives us a new way to live now.

So the progression through Romans continues seamlessly through Romans 5 telling us of all the blessings we have in Christ to Romans 6 showing that grace also teaches us how to live in that new life. It’s not the law, it’s not our works, but Christ in us. This is the grace life.

Paul talks about this again in 2 Corinthians 5:15–17.

And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Since Christ died for all, those who live should not live unto themselves anymore. We don’t know any man “after the flesh” now. Even Christ we don’t know after the flesh anymore. That destroys a lot of Christianity that only focuses on Jesus’ earthly ministry. Paul says if any man be in Christ, he’s a new creature. Old things are passed away, all things are become new.

That’s exactly what Romans 6 is dealing with. The “old things” are Adam, sin, the flesh, the law. The “new things” are life in Christ. So when someone asks, “Shall we continue in sin?” Paul says no — that’s the old thing. You’re in newness of life now.

Paul also says we’re dead to sin in this passage of Romans 6:2.

Notice he doesn’t says we’re dead in sin. Dead in sin is Adam — that’s the whole world. Dead to sin is the believer. And notice he says “we are dead to sin,” meaning right now.

It’s not “will be dead to sin someday.” Not “after we die.” Not “after we get to glory.” Right now.

That’s why the question comes up: “If I’m dead to sin, why do I still walk in it?” Paul’ll answer that in this chapter.

But the truth is that our eternal life begins now. Our position in Christ begins now. Death is no longer the end for us. It’s just the last step before glorification.

Romans 5:11 said, “We have now the atonement.” Not later — now. Atonement means that the separation between us and God has been fixed and we’re reconciled back to Him.

Christ died, and we get the benefit of His death. His death is counted as ours. His death has paid our wages, the wages we’re due for sin which is death. That’s why we’re dead to sin. That’s why we have eternal life now and that’s why grace reigns.

Grace doesn’t reign because sin’s around. Grace doesn’t need sin. Grace was in the Garden before sin ever showed up. Grace reigns because of what Christ did — His death, His resurrection, His victory. Romans 6 will show how grace separates us from sin.

Romans 7 will show how grace separates us from the law. And Romans 8 will show how the Spirit helps us walk in that new life.

Paul’s been showing how in Adam we got everything Adam brought — sin and death — and in Christ we get everything Christ brought — righteousness and life.

That’s why he keeps saying we’re in Christ now. So when we ask, “How should we live?” Paul basically says, “Don’t you remember what we just learned? You’re dead to sin now. Why live in it any longer?”

In Adam, death was the end. Romans 5:12 says death came by one man. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. Death used to be the final stop. But Christ died and rose again, and that changed everything. His death doesn’t just pay for our sins — it becomes the starting point of our new life. Death is no longer the thing that crushes us. It’s the doorway into walking in newness of life.

Paul will teach that the first step of the Christian life is to quote “reckon yourself dead”.

That sounds strange because death is what we’re trying to avoid. But Paul says Christ died, and we died with Him, so let’s start there. His gospel begins with death and resurrection. Under Israel’s covenants, Christ’s death was the final act of atonement. But for the body of Christ, His death is the beginning of our life.

Galatians 2:20 says,

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

 

That means sin and the law have no more power over us. Yes, we’re still living in this flesh, but our real life is Christ in us. And the life we now live, we live by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. If righteousness came by the law, then Christ died in vain — but He didn’t. His death’s the only way we live.

Many Christians don’t fully understand that Christ’s death was needed. That’s ignorance of Romans 5 and the mystery. The apostle Peter blamed Israel for killing their Messiah because he didn’t yet understand what Christ’s death would accomplish. It looked like a sad, necessary sacrifice, like killing a lamb. But Paul shows the glory of it.

Christ didn’t just die — He gave His death to me and you.

He performed the act so we could be crucified with Him and reap the benefits of now being freed from the judgment of sin and the penalty, eternal death.

Romans 6:7 says,

For he that is dead is freed from sin.

 

The good news is we’re freed from the consequences and the penalty of sin. Romans 6:8 says,

Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

 

Romans 6:11 says

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Romans 7:4 says we’re dead to the law.

Romans 8:10 says,

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

 

The body’s dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life.

Colossians 3:3 says,

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 

This sounds strange because in this world death is bad. But in Christ, death becomes something else.

That’s why believers don’t sorrow like those with no hope. Being “dead” in Christ means we don’t work to earn anything — dead people don’t work. Romans 5 already said we contribute nothing. We’re in Christ, and all the blessings as a result of that are ours by grace.

So Romans 6:2 asks, “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” And the next verses explain what that means.

Paul says, “Know ye not…?” because he’s reminding believers of things they should already know: they’re in Christ, dead to sin, alive to God, and called to walk in that new life.

A lot of true ministry in the church today is reminding believers of what we have and what we are and that’s exactly what Paul’s doing when he says, “Know ye not…?”  He’s reminding people of what they’ve already been taught.

Then he brings up baptism for the first time in Romans 6:4.

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

 

Then right away people go directly to their church traditions of water, sacraments, ordinances, confession, tubs, pastors. But none of that came from Romans.

Paul never mentioned water once. What has he talked about?

Christ’s death, our faith, and us being in Christ. So when he says we were “baptised into Jesus Christ,” he means we were baptised into His death. That’s the whole point. Baptism is identification and we’re identified with Christ’s death.

He says “so many of us” because not everybody in Rome was saved. If you’re still in Adam, you’re not baptised into Christ’s death — you’re just dead in Adam’s sin. But if we believed the gospel (Romans 4–5), we’re in Christ, and that’s how we got baptised into Him. Not by water. Not by a priest. Not by a pastor. By faith.

Water isn’t mentioned in Romans at all. Paul barely mentions it anywhere. But he does talk about baptism in 1 Corinthians 12:13:

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

 

That “One body” is Christ.

That’s the same thing he’s saying in Romans 6. How were you baptised into Christ? “By one Spirit.” Not by water. Not by man. But by the Spirit of God.

Why do so many miss this? Through a failure to divide the Word of God correctly as per 2 Timothy 2:15. The result is one more case of seeing what Jesus and the 12 apostles instructed Israel and missing what Jesus, through Paul, instructed us, the Body of Christ, today.

Tradition and history replace the whole counsel of the Word of God.

But tradition and history isn’t the Bible.

For most of church history, the Bible wasn’t even the final authority. Remember that it wasn’t till the 1600’s that the Bible began to be available to every person, commoner and elite alike.

Even the Nicene Creed — which most churches claim — says “we believe in baptism for the forgiveness of sins.”

That’s water baptism saving you. Catholics believe that. The Orthodox church believes that. Lutherans believe that and a lot of ordinary Christians believe that. But, Paul never teaches that.

Romans 4–5 says salvation is by faith, not works, not rituals, and not water.

Yes, Jesus taught water baptism in Matthew 28. Peter preached it in Acts 2. John baptized with water. Israel had water ceremonies. But Paul is the apostle of grace, the apostle of the Gentiles, the one who received the revelation of the church. And Paul never commands water baptism for salvation or blessing.

The real question isn’t “When did the church begin?” was it with the disciples? If so wouldn’t the teaching they received from Jesus be the same for us today?

Well the real question is “When was the message of the church revealed?” How could anyone be the church when there was no message relating to it, no message that defined it?

The doctrine of the church is found only in Paul’s epistles. We can’t pattern the church after something that wasn’t revealed yet. Before Paul, nobody knew Romans 5 truth. Nobody knew about being in Christ, justified by faith alone and walking in newness of life.

So even if the church existed, they couldn’t live like it because the message wasn’t revealed yet.

That message was given to Paul directly by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself which we see in Acts chapter 9.

So when Paul says in Romans 6:3 that we were baptised into Christ’s death, he’s not talking about water. He’s talking about what he’d already taught, that Christ died for our sins, we’re justified by faith, we’re in Christ, and His death is counted as ours.

That’s how we get the all-important atonement which enables reconciliation back to God. That’s how we get eternal life. We’re baptised into His death by the Spirit the moment we believe.

Paul’s reminding them — and us — of what we should already know. We’re in Christ. We’re dead to sin. We’re dead to the law. We’re alive to God. And none of that came by water. It came by the gospel of Christ and the Spirit who put us into His body.

All this about baptism matters because people tend to turn back from the teachings to the church in Romans to the time before Paul and before this mystery dispensation of grace was revealed to him by Christ.

They grab water‑baptism instructions, given before the mystery was revealed, before Acts chapter 9, and try to squeeze them into them into the Body of Christ.

For everything else — salvation, Christian living, walking in the Spirit — they’ll go to Pauls epistles yet turn back to the time before the dispensation of grace, to the time of the law to pull water baptism out and try to force into the body of Christ.

Why?

Traditions of men, traditions of the organised church and it’s denominations, traditions that very often discount or outright reject the change in dispensation that happened as a result of Israel’s rejection of their Messiah.

How critical it is for us in the Body of Christ to recognise this change in God’s dealings with mankind.

Paul does teach baptism in Romans 6. But the Bible has more than one baptism, and not all of them are water and there’s a list below this recording of the different baptisms mentioned in the Bible.

Galatians 3:27 says,

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

 

That’s the same thing as Romans 6 — being identified with Christ. But how did we get baptised into Christ?

Galatians 3:26 tells us:

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

 

Children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” No water mentioned.

Ephesians 1:13 says,

In whom (Christ) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

 

When we hear the gospel and believe it, we’ re sealed with the Holy Spirit.

That Spirit baptism puts us into the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:13 says it this way,

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

 

That happens the moment we believe — not later, not after a class or after a ceremony.

Acts 8 shows something totally different.

The Samaritans believed, but didn’t receive the Holy Ghost until Peter came and laid hands on them.

That fits Israel’s kingdom program, not the body of Christ.

In the church today, we receive the Spirit when we believe — not by so called apostles laying hands on us, not by water, nor any other rituals.

Some churches say water baptism is needed for salvation, forgiveness, or membership. But that can’t be the body of Christ, because we’re placed into the body by the Spirit when we believe.

If a local church group wants a ceremony, fine, no one’s going to be damned for partaking in the ceremony but we should realise, through rightly divided study, that it’s not God’s baptism, it’s a ritual that man wants to hang on to from the time of the law, before this dispensation of grace that we live in today.

The Romans 6:3 baptism is simple.

It only becomes confusing when people bring church traditions into the text. Paul never mentions water in Romans. He hadn’t baptised anyone in Rome.

In 1 Corinthians 1:17 Paul’s writing to the Corinthians who had many problems with their spiritual walk. He’s trying to sort out the confusion and the wrong doctrine that had entered and corrupted what he’d first taught them. Remember, the letter to the Corinthians was written before the letter to the Romans.

Baptism was one of the doctrines the Corinthians were messed up about and Paul’s sorting them out. He says to them,

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

 

He even says, in 1 Corinthians 1:14, “I thank God I baptized none of you… He says, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.”

If water baptism were required for salvation or forgiveness under Paul’s ministry, He could never have thanked God he didn’t do it.

That’d be like saying, “I thank God I didn’t get any of you saved”, and that’s nonsense, of course.

Paul’s commission was different from the commission given to Israel through Peter and the other 11. In Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, and Acts 2:41 we do see water baptism Paul wasn’t even saved then.

His gospel doesn’t include water baptism. His gospel was preached after the blinding of Israel, shown in Romans 11:25, and the introduction of this new dispensation of grace that was the result of Israel’s rejection of all that happened in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and early Acts.

His message is the preaching of the cross — the gospel of grace — and by that gospel the Spirit baptises us into Christ the moment we believe.

Jesus appeared to Paul (Acts chapter 9) and sent him personally with the dispensation of the grace of God — a message nobody knew before then. Paul was saved by grace without works, and he was sent to preach that same message to the Gentiles. That’s why he doesn’t bring up water in Romans.

The list included below shows different baptisms in the Bible. There’s more than one.

Many of them are dry, no water. That alone shows baptism doesn’t automatically mean water.

So when Romans 6 mentions baptism, and Paul hasn’t said a word about water, sprinkling, pouring, or dunking, it’s clear he’s talking about being identified with Christ, not a water ritual.

The only baptism he talks about is the one that puts us in Christ, not in Adam, identified with Christ and no longer identified with Adam — and that happens by faith, not by works or rituals.

We don’t get newness of life or the atonement by water. Some say you “touch the blood through the water,” but that’s just not in Scripture. Baptism means being immersed into something for identification. Israel used water to identify with ritual cleansing. They dunked themselves in mikvahs to show they were clean. But that was symbolic cleansing, not spiritual salvation.

If we’re baptised into Christ’s by the Holy Spirit, we’re identified with His atonement, redemption, and forgiveness — all the things churches wrongly try to attach to a water ritual.

John’s baptism was for forgiveness of sins, but he wasn’t preaching the cross. So baptism never meant to be a water only thing. It meant identification.

Romans 5 already taught that we’re either in Adam or in Christ. If we’re in Christ, we’re identified with Him. That’s baptism.

So when Paul says, “Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” he’s saying: “Don’t you know you’re identified with His death?” That’s the whole point. If you’re in Him, you’re in what He did — and what He did was die.

Church tradition later tried to explain Romans 6:3 by saying water baptism symbolises Christ’s death. But Paul never said that.

The water‑symbol idea came centuries after Romans 6:3. Jesus isn’t water. Being baptized into Christ doesn’t mean being baptised into water. Paul says you’re baptised into His death in Romans 5 — the one act that brought life.

Jesus Himself had two baptisms.

Luke 3 shows His water baptism, where the Father said, “Thou art my beloved Son.” That identified Him with Israel. But in Luke 12:50 Jesus says,

But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

 

He’s talking about His death.

“How am I straitened” means to hold everything together till it was accomplished.

That’s the baptism Paul’s talking about. If Jesus had a water baptism and a death baptism, and Paul says you’re baptised into His death, it’s obvious which one he means.

Water never put anyone into Christ. The Spirit does. Water never gave atonement. Christ’s blood does. Water never made us dead to sin. Christ’s cross does. The only baptism we need is the one Christ accomplished — His death — and the Spirit places us into that the moment we believe.

So let’s read Romans 6:3-4 together,

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

 

We’re identified with Christ, His death, His burial, and His resurrection. We’re buried with him by baptism into death.

Why?

Because if we’re in Christ, then what He did counts for us. He died — so we died. He was buried so we were buried. He rose so we rose to have newness of life.

Paul’s taking everything he taught in Romans 5 about being “in Christ” and now applying it to how we live. If we’re in Him, then you walk in the life He gives.

Some say the burial here is water. But if the burial is water, then the resurrection must be you coming up out of the water — but that doesn’t give new life. Romans 6:4 says our new life comes from Christ being raised by the glory of the Father. That’s God’s work, not yours.

 

Colossians 2 teaches the same thing. The whole chapter says we’re complete in Christ.

Colossians 2:10,

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

 

We don’t need ordinances or rituals.

Colossians 2:12 says we’re,

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

 

That’s not the operation of a minister or a ceremony. God does it. The same God who raised Christ from the dead is the one who gives us life. That’s why Paul says in Romans 8 that the Spirit who raised Christ will quicken our mortal body.

This’s the whole point: in the body of Christ there are no priests, no spiritual superiors. Christ is the Head. We’re the body. God does the saving, the sealing, the baptizing, the raising. We preach the gospel — He does the work.

So the question was in Romans 6:1, “Shall we continue in sin?”

Paul says, “How can we? We’re dead to it.” Why dead? Because we died with Christ. And if we died with Him, we also live with Him. That’s the life we walk in now — His life in us.

Paul isn’t really trying to teach a whole doctrine of baptism. He’s reminding us who we are. We have new life, eternal life now. So, the life we live in the flesh is the life of Christ. That’s how we live by grace. And Romans 6 is going to keep building on that and showing the mechanics of how we walk in that new life while we’re still here in a corrupted world in corrupted flesh.