April 26, 2018
Our Death and Reconstruction
Romans 6:5–6
Peyton Prideaux
Central Truth
Our old self has been put to death along with Jesus, but a new self has been born along with Jesus' resurrection. Once our old self is gone, we are no longer enslaved to sin. We still fight against our old nature and desires, but are free from its power.
Romans 6:5–6
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self 1 6:6 Greek man was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
Dive Deeper | Romans 6:5–6
In these two verses, Paul describes how we are bound to Christ through our faith. Our lives consist of good and bad days, joyful moments, and trials. Jesus also experienced trials along with moments of joy. He had the trial of crucifixion on the cross, but also had the joyous day of resurrection. As Paul describes throughout Romans 6, after we put our faith in the Lord and are united with Him, we are not only connected to His gruesome death, but also His glorious resurrection.
Verse 6 explains how our old self died with Christ. And in Him we will one day share in the resurrection. As in rebuilding a house, the workers must first tear it down before the house can be reconstructed. Our old selves are who we were before accepting Christ when we were ruled by sin. Our old selves are crucified along with Jesus so that we are now dead to sin and cleansed. In Christ we are resurrected to new life.
Although our old sinful selves have perished, our old habits sometimes remain the same. We are still human and sinners, but as our new selves, we are set free from sin and are not enslaved by Satan's temptations. We are now controlled by God the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Our sinful nature is still in us, and we sometimes might choose to listen to it, but we do not have to. We have now been rebuilt and have a sure victory over sin.
Not only does becoming unified with Christ represent ourselves metaphorically dying, but we will also die a physical death. Verse 5 states that if we are linked to His death, then we, too, will be linked to His resurrection. Once our time has come, we will rise to be with Jesus in heaven. Paul explains in both verses how we are connected to a death and resurrection like Jesus in both our symbolic and physical death. By knowing the power these verses present, we can always remember Jesus' and our shared and triumphant resurrection.
This month's memory verse
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
– Romans 5:3–5
Discussion Questions
1. Have you fully put your faith in Christ? If so, are you still choosing to allow sin to control your life, or does the Holy Spirit control your life?
2. What aspects of your life have been rebuilt or made new? From these verses how does your old self compare to your new self?
3. Even though a believer in Christ still has a sin nature, what does verse 6 mean when it says that "we would no longer be enslaved to sin"?