June 15
“For the death that He died He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so, consider [or reckon] yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:10-11)
About a week ago, during our discussion of Resisting Principle 5: REFUSE temptation immediately, decisively, and persistently, we talked about the importance of faith in overcoming temptation. We discussed the shield of faith by which we are able to extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one and other aspects of this. We discussed how faith is the key to realizing there is a better reward for obedience and abstaining from the sin. Focusing on the reward was the key for both Moses and Jesus in their victory over temptation, and we cannot believe there will be a reward for obedience and endurance without faith.
Today’s principle, RECKON yourself to be dead to sin and alive to God, requires faith to appropriate. “Reckon” is the word that is used in the old King James translation of Romans 6:11 and it simply means “to consider” (as it is translated in the New American Standard Bible, the translation I use), “to count,” “to reason,” “to regard.” Paul uses this Greek word nine times in Romans chapter 4 when he discusses Abraham’s faith, how when Abraham believed God, God “reckoned” or “considered” that faith as righteousness. According to Paul, this was the point in time when Abraham obtained salvation, and God “reckoned” his faith as the right kind to merit eternal life and receive His promises in this life and the life to come. Today we might say that this is the point when Abraham “got saved” or “was born again” or “became a believer.”
Reckoning ourselves dead to sin is a crucial principle to understand and apply, and it requires a proper understanding of what Christ did on the cross and unwavering faith to believe it to be so, to reckon it to be so. In order for us to have unwavering faith in something, that something has to be based on truth. We will not last long if the thing we are believing in and trusting in is found to be false or if we have good reason to doubt that it is true. This truth that we are being asked to believe, the truth that Jesus died to sin once for all, that we were crucified with Him, raised with Him, and are now alive with Him, goes directly back to the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus in real life as a fact of history was crucified on a cross outside of Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago, was killed and buried. He rose again from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-8), providing the basis for our forgiveness of sins, the removal of our guilt and shame by His perfect sacrifice, and enabling those who believe to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Jesus is now in heaven with God, alive, not dead.
If you do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, or if you have doubts about this crucial truth, you simply cannot walk victoriously over sin. You might have victory for a time, or trade one sin for another, but you will always be plagued by the nagging desire to go back to it, and many people will. You cannot have full and triumphant victory over sin unless you are in Christ and believe Him to have won the victory over sin and death by His resurrection. Our victory is tied to Jesus’ victory. The defeat of sin in our lives is empowered by His defeat of sin and death on the cross. Our life being lived to God is the result of Him living His life today unto God.
I believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ to be a foundational belief necessary to have salvation in Christ, being born again, and going to heaven. This is my understanding of Romans 10:9-10 and 1 Corinthians 15. If you do not believe that Jesus was crucified, killed, and buried and then bodily rose again on the third day, this is a crucial point to reconsider and settle. I recommend reading the introduction of the Overcoming Temptation booklet and looking up the scriptures there. Also, one scholar that I am very impressed with is Dr. Gary Habermas, who has extensively studied and written about the trustworthiness of the historical death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I highly recommend anything Dr. Habermas has written on the subject. (see www.garyhabermas.com)
In addition to the necessity of believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life, it is crucial to believe it and keep believing it in our struggle against sin. More on this in the coming days.