Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. One of the first instructions every disciple must obey is the command to reckon oneself as being dead to sin and alive to God. Romand 6:11
The Lord’s call is first a call to death before it is a call to life. Before there is life, there must be death, for unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone (John 12:24-25).
Life truly begins at death, and every true believer has to die to be born again into the family of God. Our death happened the day Christ died, for we have been crucified with Christ.
Before giving us the instruction to reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive in God, Paul shows us that Christ’s death on account of faith is accrued to us who believe.
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death. Romans 6:3-4 NKJV
Every true believer is dead yet alive. To qualify to run the heavenly race, you must enter through the gateway of death and stay on the narrow pathway of death.
The Realities in Romans Six
To understand this reality, I will encourage you to study Romans 6:1-11.
From this passage, you find four realities or ‘spiritual facts.’
- Our old man was crucified with Christ–Romans 6:1-6
- We died to sin–Romans 6:2, 11
- We are free from the power and authority of sin–Romans 6:6-7, 9, 18
- We are no longer slaves to sin–Romans 6:6-7, 18
These realities are valid and actual in redemption. They happened and cannot be denied. However, they must go from being spiritual facts to becoming tangible realities in our daily walk. We must not only celebrate what we received in Christ at new birth, but also seek to enjoy new-creation experiences.
For these realities to translate into everyday experience, the believer must reckon himself as being dead to sin and alive to God.
Guess what? This is a command and not a suggestion.
Paul says it as a matter of fact–reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God. He didn’t leave room for ambiguity.
Reckon Yourself Dead
The disciple must reckon, acknowledge, see himself, mentally and otherwise, as being dead to sin and alive to God. See yourself as God sees you–dead to sin, crucified with Christ, free from sin’s authority, no longer under the control and government of sin.
The word reckon means to consider, to think of, to agree, to count yourself in. Therefore, one of the most important instructions to obey if you want to run the heavenly race well and win the prize is to agree with yourself that you’re dead to sin and alive to God.
Alive to God
Notice that the command is to not only count yourself dead to sin, but to count yourself alive or responsive to God. That means, when sin calls, you don’t respond, but you respond when the Lord calls. It means that you’ve lost your sensitivity to sin, but you are very alert to God.
This is a fact that was wrought and secured in Christ. But you must agree with it in toto to enjoy it. You must believe it and agree that it’s true.
Prayer and confession
Father, I agree with Your Word and accept Your judgment that I am dead to sin and no longer under Satan’s government.
I confess that I am free from sin, its rule and influence and alive to Your bidding. I obey the Lord. I respond easily to the Lord all the days of my life.
