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Priscilla: Romans 6:1-14
Dead to Sin, Alive to God

1 What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

2 Let it not be! We who died to sin, how shall we still live in it?

3 Or are you ignorant that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

4 Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, so also we should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been joined together in the likeness of His death, so also shall we be in the resurrection,

6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be nullified, so that we no longer serve sin.

7 For the one that died has been justified from sin.

8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that also we shall live with Him,

9 knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death no longer lords it over Him.

10 For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to God.

11 So also you count yourselves to be truly dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 Then do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to obey it in its lusts.

13 Neither present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as one living from the dead, and your members instruments of righteousness to God.

14 For your sin shall not lord it over you, for you are not under Law, but under grace.

[Literal Translation of the Holy Bible]

Dear God, my Beloved Father, today I offer to You what I have come to understand through reflecting on Your Word in Romans 6:1-14, about the significance of being Your people who have died to sin and now live with Christ.

Dear God, I understand that the phrase “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” means that Christ died for the sins of my old self, and that old self was crucified with Him. Therefore, I cannot continue to live in sin any longer. I know that anyone who claims to have accepted the Gospel but still lives in sin and commits sins does not truly believe. If they truly believe in Christ’s redemptive death, they would not take His abundant grace for granted and continue to live in sin. Perhaps they think that because God is loving and abundant in grace, they can continue to sin and then repent to be forgiven. However, the Word of God clearly teaches that there is no sacrifice for such people.

Dear God, I understand that when I repent of my sins and accept Your salvation, by being baptized in the name of God, I am showing my willingness to let my old sinful self die and be reborn as a new, holy person in Jesus Christ. I no longer desire to live according to my old sinful nature. Instead, I joyfully live a new life filled with love, holiness, and righteousness like Christ. I am faithful in obeying God’s commandments and carefully following all the teachings in the Holy Bible. I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You, God, so that it may become a tool of righteousness, serving and worshiping You, and bringing You joy.

Dear Lord, I understand that “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.” This means that when I undergo baptism, immersing myself in water, I willingly die to my sinful self. When I come out of the water, I have passed through death into life, being raised up as a new person in Christ. Therefore, baptism symbolizes my being crucified and resurrected with Christ, through faith in Him.

Dear Lord, I believe that I have been united with Christ in both His death and resurrection, and I will live forever with God. I understand that being united means being joined together, inseparable like a branch is joined to a vine. If a branch is separated from the vine, it will lose its life-giving sap and wither away. The Word of God teaches that Christ is the vine, and His people are the branches. Therefore, I must abide in Christ by feeding on the Living Word every day, to grow and bear fruit in Him.

Dear Lord, I believe and understand that Your Word brings wisdom to the minds of Your people, helping them to discern all things and make decisions according to Your will. Your Word also strengthens Your people to resist all the temptations of the devil. Those who are baptized into Christ are one with Him and have His Word living in them. If we only have faith in You without the Living Word as the holy food that nourishes our spiritual lives, then our faith will die, like a branch that does not receive life from the vine.

I remember the words of Jesus recorded in John 15:3-6, which say:

3 You are already pruned because of the Word which I have spoken to you.

4 Remain in Me, and I in you. As the branch is not able to bear fruit of itself, unless it remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.

5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one abiding in Me, and I in him, this one bears much fruit, because apart from Me you are not able to execute, nothing.

6 Unless one remains in Me, he is cast out as the branch and is dried up; and they gather and throw them into a fire, and they are burned.

May Your Word always be in me so that I can continue to live in holiness according to Your will, and I thank You for this. Amen!

In the grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Priscilla Christian Huynh
03/19/2023