By Mike Ratliff
6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:6-10 ESV)
I write this on April 3rd 2010, the day before Easter. Of all the markers we celebrate as Christians, Easter was the one I had the hardest time understanding when I was a small child. It seemed so wrapped up in chocolate bunnies and Easter baskets, Easter egg hunts, dressing up in new clothes for church, et cetera. My mother tried to help me see the Biblical connection with our Lord’s Resurrection, but I failed to make sense of it until I was older. I saw it as a teen and young adult, but did not really “get it” until God had mercy on me, a sinner, and resurrected me unto new life as a Christian.
Even so, when God took me through spiritual boot camp in 2004, I found through it that I had also made the mistake after my salvation of attempting to be pleasing to God via obedience by my own will power (law keeping). After all, the Christian culture I was part of back then was that salvation was some sort of reward for believing and that that believing was within ones own faith and was manifest via one opening the heart to Christ or believing the Gospel by “making up ones mind,” et cetera. It is no wonder that those in that form of Christianity struggle so with the true nature of Christ’s Resurrection and the true impact it has on believers. One of the key passages God opened up to me during that that He used to line me up with His Word, His Truth, the true purpose of the Gospel, and how it works was Ephesians 2:1-10. Here are vv 8-10.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10) ESV)
Here we clearly see that we are not saved as a reward for believing, but our faith, through which we do believe, is part of the gift of God. We know this because in v9 Paul makes it clear that this is “not a result of works.” If we could look at our salvation and say we have it because we believed then it would be works. On the other hand, if we look at the Gospel and understand that we believed because of God’s resurrection work in us, then we have the scriptural sense right. In v10, Paul tells us that, in this resurrection from spiritual death to spiritual life, we are God’s workmanship, not our own. Also, in that verse, we see that this is a resurrection created in Christ Jesus for good words, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. What is this?
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:1-4 ESV)
Our Lord’s death on the Cross atoned for our sins. He was our Propitiation. His death, burial and resurrection together is a picture of our salvation. When God saves us, we are new creations. Our old spiritually dead self dies and is resurrected unto newness of life. Paul tells us in these verses that our salvation is not license to walk according to the flesh. No, the fact that some Christian leaders and so many of their followers believe that is tragic. Paul isn’t comparing the Christian walk to law-keeping here. The key for us to understand this is to see the picture of our dying with Christ on that Cross, being buried with Him in that tomb, and being resurrected with Him on the 3rd Day. We see magnitude of it. Our hearts become filled with gratitude expressed by a joyful surrender as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto Him. We devote our lives to being transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:1-2). Living sacrifices are those resurrected unto this new life in Christ to walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:5-11 ESV)
Our Lord’s death on the Cross was purposeful. He died because He took our sin upon Himself as our Propitiation before the Father. His resurrection makes clear that He has defeated both sin and death. What does it mean for the Christian to be dead to sin? It means that we have died to our pervasive love for and ruling power of sin. The reality of its power being broken in my life came during that spiritual boot camp I mentioned above. When these truths became part of my understanding of the Gospel and who I am in Christ, I saw very clearly that the mastery of sin had been broken in my life by God’s work of resurrection there. Since then, I am saddened when I see professing Christians so patterning their lives after the world and its ways. It does not bode well for the health of the Church when this is so prevalent.
2 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:12-14 ESV)
This is talking about our sanctification is primarily accomplished as God takes us through His cleansing regimen that includes the Mortification of Sin. We go through tests and trials. We learn to walk in repentance in the power of God. We never forget that we are in Christ by God’s grace, not by our works. He has saved us unto these good works, but they are for His glory and our sanctification. I love v13. This is dying to the desires of the flesh and, instead, seeking God for His glory. He will edify us if we do this as we present ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness.
These promises for the believer in no way promise perfection in this life. They do not remove the fact that we live in mortal bodies that age, get sick, and die. My dad was a good man, but, in God’s timing, he aged, got sick, and died. He was not under the dominion of death spiritually. In God’s timing his body will be resurrected as mine will. I so look forward to that and I can with confidence because both of us are in Christ by faith through God’s grace.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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