A POWERFUL BUT OFTEN OVERLOOKED TRUTH
Romans 6:3-6, 11 NKJV
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The sixth chapter of Romans is an important chapter. The powerful but often overlooked truth it contains is something every believer should be well versed in. This chapter is so vital that I decided to read it ten times. Now, ten times may sound excessive or extreme, but is it? Or have we relegated the scriptures to just reading once, and then we are through; a one and done mentality. I am by no means picking on or trying to condemn anyone. I am asking these questions of myself. I say, God's Word is important. Am I treating His Word with a high level of value and respect?
What made me ask myself these questions is twofold. As I was reading about how we died with Christ and are risen with Him to walk in newness of life, I thought on how so many believers do not identify with this truth. Paul is writing that we were baptized into His death. And we have been buried with Him and risen with Him. Our old man was crucified with Him, so we are no longer slaves to sin. I asked the question one night to a group I was speaking to regarding our identification with Christ. I asked for a show of hands to see how many were new creations in Christ and hands were up all around the room. I asked how many were righteous in Christ, and the number of hands was lower. And then I asked how many were dead to sin in Christ, and very few brave souls ventured to raise their hands. And they were probably either single or their spouse was not with them. Bottom line: being dead to sin in Christ is not something we are strong in.
The second reason I questioned how much I value God's Word was the result of a story I read about Anthony Hopkins, the actor. 1"In an interview, actor Anthony Hopkins said that when he gets a movie script, he reads through it between one hundred and two hundred times before production. He makes notes in the margins. He scribbles and doodles and imagines how it would look on stage or screen. By the time Hopkins is finished, that script is internalized. He knows his character. He knows his (and everyone else's) lines. He's able to improvise, and he's a personification of the script." It's obvious that Anthony Hopkins is committed to his craft. But we might counter with the fact that he is paid millions of dollars to act, so reading the script between one hundred and two hundred times is reasonable for a top-tier actor. We are not paid to read the Bible. But are we? We attest to the fact that the Scriptures have the ability to absolutely revolutionize our lives. We are basing our eternal existence on the power and validity of the Scriptures. And we know the Scriptures are spiritual food and life as we receive them. Jesus said that through obedience to the Scriptures, we build our lives on a foundation that the storms of this life cannot shake. Many of the Pharisees in Jesus' day memorized the first five books of the Old Testament. I can't say it helped them receive the living Word, Jesus, but I do admire their commitment.
Rethinking the Scriptures along these lines was why reading the sixth chapter of Romans ten times was no biggie. Verse eleven says we are to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. What a great truth to read over and over and confess and internalize. We may never ever be paid millions to grasp the important truths of Romans chapter six, but its value to us in this life and the next is beyond money.
PRAYER
Dear Father, thank You that I am buried with Christ and risen with Him. Thank You that because of what You did for me in Jesus, sin is no longer my master, but I am alive to You and dead to sin. What a blessing beyond money!
1Source: Robert Morgan, Reclaiming the Lost Art of Biblical Meditation: Find True Peace in Jesus (Thomas Nelson, 2017), pages 61-62; Original source: Sean Macauly, "Anthony Hopkins Interview," The Telegraph (1-31-11)