Are we dead to sin?

"For who has died has been ¹set free from sin." Romans 6:7

 

The above is an absolute statement, not a conditional one i.e. it doesn't say you will be set free if you take additional action... it says you have been set free! This is a past completed action done to and for you, not by you. We didn't set ourselves free, someone else did. And not only so, but this freedom is so complete and absolute it's described as death. It doesn't get any more final than that.

So in what sense have we been set free? First, we will look at how we have not been set free.

What we are not yet free from is our inclination to distrust God and our passion to go our ²own way. If so, there wouldn't be verse 12.

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions." Romans 6:12

Who is Paul talking to? Nonbelievers? No, believers! This verse implies the passion to sin is still present in God’s child and still needs addressing - after he described us as dead to sin in vs 4 - otherwise why the exhortation to not let sin reign? The allure of going our own way - sin - still exists, even for a child of God.

This is ironically good news. How? We shouldn't be shocked (or devastated) when this passion within rears its ugly head. Sin - i.e. rebellious distrust of God - is still a struggle. This exhortation tells us God recognizes this passion still exists, yet He no longer holds our sin against us. Exhorting us to not let sin reign indicates that if we are in Christ, God desires to work with us and meet us where we are, fully embracing us in our ongoing struggle with sin - unbelief.

So what exactly are we set free from and dead to if not our passion to sin? We are free from sins legal claim and right to condemn us, which results in our rejection, and eternal separation from God caused by that sin – a separation rightly due us for our distrust of God - i.e. for not acknowledging God for who He is as trustworthy...which is the root of all sinful behavior – see link below.

And the reason we have been set free from this just condemnation is so we might be set free (Romans 6:4, 7:4, 8:4) from our ³passion to distrust God i.e. in light of being set free from sins condemnation we should “let not sin therefore reign...” 

Fully and clearly understanding our legal status is vital to our day-to-day faithfulness. It is the foundation and fountain out of which all faithfulness/obedience springs.

"We were buried therefore with him (Christ) 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" 6:4. 

Another way to say this is Christ set us free legally, so we might be set free practically i.e. our legal freedom from the condemnation of sin - when clearly understood -  is what diffuses our passion to sin and frees us from it.

Christ bore the judgment of sin and removed its penalty forever–not only from us but from Himself. He will not die again because there is nothing left to die for as indicated when Christ shouted out, "it is finished." His death covered all our sin forever...full stop! Not just the ones we did, but the ones we do and are yet to do. The just condemnation of our sin was perfectly and completely satisfied by Christ and removed from us, placed on him, killing him – or rather he submitted willingly to this for us. His resurrection is evidence of God’s approval of the total transfer of all our sin - past, present, and future - to Him and His total righteousness to us.

Why? ... in order that...we too might walk in newness of life… Rom 6:4b

The reason we are set free from the just condemnation we deserve is so we will live in a different or new way; no longer the way we used to live i.e. no longer contrary to God’s design and will for us and no longer under His judgment; no longer needing or attempting to gain God's love and acceptance through our own deeds. We are now dead to everything about that old way - all of it!  To use the example Paul uses to show the absolute completeness of what Christ did, we are no longer in Adam but in Christ.

Being freed from the condemnation, judgment, and rejection of God due us is the grounds on which we build our house of faithful obedience and the foundation out of which we are empowered to pursue God. The more we grasp this new freedom from God's condemnation and rejection and the absolute completeness of it, the ⁴freer we become in our conduct, and the more this new status of being perfectly accepted and fully loved wins our trust and devotion to God and empowers us to pursue Him.

For a further discussion of how unbelief is at the heart of sin, click here.

For a further discussion of our legal vs practical status click here.

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¹We are not set free from our inclination to distrust God but from the rejection by God and separation from Him that naturally and rightfully occurs because of this distrust. By our being set free from our just condemnation, our trust in God’s love is restored, stirred up, and strengthened. The more we grasp how much we have been freed, the greater our loving affections for God and the more we are stirred to pursue Him i.e. the more we are freed from our passion to pursue something other than God. Nothing else can fulfill us besides God and free us from our desires to pursue things other than Him.

The love of God is what moves us to pursue him and the total freedom from the judgment, condemnation, and death sin brings, is the evidence of that love. Let that sink in. The more it does, the more your passion for God increases and frees you from passions for things other than God. 

Though these two -- freedom from sins legal claim vs its practical hold -- are separate, they are also tied together; the latter built on and resting firmly on the former.

²an embedded sinful inclination away from God

³Passion is a strong word. We may not think of our unbelief as passionate but the idea of the word is it is a deeply embedded and tenacious distrust of God that is at the root of all disobedience.

For more discussion on the connection between unbelief, sin, and disobedience click here.

⁴We are free but we are not free. We are free from the condemnation, judgment, and rejection of God but not free from our inclination and passion to sin. The former is completed-done-finished, the latter is ongoing. The latter decreases to the extent we grasp-believe the former. The effect of this good news - the gospel - is ongoing, constant and increasing. It is only left to us to believe it. Do you believe?