Spiritual Strength For Each Day
“For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:10-11).
A sixth effect of the death of Jesus concerns our sinful nature. We sigh beneath our nature, because in the light of the majesty and holiness of God, we realize that we are corrupt by nature. We groan beneath this burden, until the mystery of the death of Jesus and its effect on our nature, our self, is revealed. The effect of the death of Jesus on our nature is described very clearly in the above verse. This means quite practically, when you feel your sinful nature, its evil desires, you may stand in faith on the grounds of the cross of Jesus: He died and I died with Him, whether I feel it or not. When you adopt this attitude, you are “freed from sin” according to Romans 6:7, for whoever is dead is freed from indwelling sin, from his sinful nature. God does not see this sinful nature any more, because you have died to your sinful nature in Christ Jesus: “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:5).
