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Timothy: 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, I joyfully thank You for this new day that You have given to my family and me. I am grateful for Your faithfulness and love that You have bestowed upon us. I thank You for allowing me to live another day, to be nourished by the Eternal Living Word of God, and to continue serving You. I humbly ask Christ to grant me strength and for the Holy Spirit to guide me in the truth of Your Word. I thank Christ and the Holy Spirit. I now meditate and record my understanding of Romans 6:1-14, as follows:

Dear Father, I understand that Your grace of redemption is abundant enough to forgive all the sins of humankind, past and future. However, this does not mean that when a person hears or receives the Gospel, they can continue to sin to satisfy their sinful desires and then expect to receive Your forgiveness and grace.

Dear Father, I understand that if someone has truly died to the world and the world has truly died to them, they will no longer be affected by it. Therefore, if someone has truly died in the death of Christ and been raised to new life in Him, they no longer live in sin, but instead live like Christ did when His physical body was on Earth.

Dear Father, I understand that if we are grafted into the life of Christ, we must live by His life and live in holiness, just as He did. The image of a wild olive branch grafted into a pure olive tree mentioned in Romans 11:17 is a vivid picture of Your people being grafted into Christ. If that wild olive branch does not receive life from the olive tree it was grafted into, it will die. Similarly, if Your people do not receive and live by the life of Christ, they will die.

Dear Father, I understand that Christ’s sacrifice for sins was once and for all, and that when I accept His redemptive death and am united with Him, I must let my old sinful self die once and for all, never to be revived in sin. This is the choice I have to make for myself.

Dear Father, I understand that Christ’s physical body was alive for the purpose of serving God’s will, and I know that by uniting myself with His life, I too live for God. I live for God in Jesus Christ, under His guidance, rather than following my own desires or ways.

Dear Father, I understand that You have forgiven all my sins, that Christ has cleansed me of my sinful nature, and that the Holy Spirit has given me the power to live for God. Therefore, I have complete control over my physical body. I have the authority and ability from God to make my body obey God’s law instead of following its own desires. I have the power to prevent my body from committing unjust acts. This is how I am practicing ruling over what God has entrusted to me so that I am prepared to co-reign with Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Dear Father, I thank You for Your grace of salvation, which has freed me from being under the law and punished for my sins. Instead, I am under grace, not only being forgiven and cleansed of my sinful nature but also being given the power from God to live a life that upholds the law.

When I was still under the law, not yet under grace, I was like a person who did not know how to swim, sinking in a pool of water that was made for my enjoyment. Even if I struggled with all my might, I would still drown in it. When I am under grace, no longer under the law, I am like a person who has been taught how to swim, enjoying the swimming and bathing in the water without exerting myself, yet not sinking in it. Before I was under grace, the law condemned and killed me. After I am under grace, the law becomes a source of joy for me. I respectfully join with the author of Psalm 119 to praise and thank You for both Your law and grace, for Your law is truthful, holy, righteous, good, complete, restoring the soul, and full of wonders, and Your grace is redemption.

Dear Father, please grant me the ability to always find joy in Your law and grace. Please fill me with wisdom to live according to Your will. I desire to belong to You forever. Amen!

In the grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Timothy Christian Huynh
03/19/2023