To Change Us Part 2

As we continue in the series Following Jesus, today we will look at just how our lives are changed through baptism and by putting our faith in Jesus. Before we begin, let’s open our time together with a prayer.

Heavenly Father, I love You and I am so grateful for the grace You give me every day. Thank You for rescuing me from my sinful nature. Thank You for showing me that I no longer have to fear a physical death because through the death and resurrection of Jesus, I know You will raise me just as You did Him. Amen.

Romans 6:5-11 (NLT)
⁵ Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. ⁶ We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. ⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. ⁸ And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. ⁹ We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. ¹⁰ When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. ¹¹ So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

Before I retired, I was an analyst for the Department of Defense. I was good at tearing into an issue, dissecting it from every angle, and then presenting the information in a format for others to understand. I tried to do that with this passage of Scripture. I must have read it fifty times, trying to analyze all the intricacies of what exactly Paul was trying to say. I just wasn’t getting it in a way I could put down on paper. Then God whispered to me, “Don’t make it harder than it is.” Have you ever found yourself making a mountain out of a mole hill; in other words, making something more complicated than it needs to be?

Living our lives for God seems complicated and at times confusing, but it really isn’t. As Paul explains in these verses, baptism and faith in Jesus should change us. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. When He died, He took the power of sin over us to the grave with Him.

Through our simple act of obedience in baptism and our faith in Jesus, we are no longer separated from God. We are united with Christ, which is a gift beyond measure! As followers of Christ, we join Him in the crucifixion of sin from our lives. He set us free from the bondage of sin, and we should live accordingly. Do you find it difficult grasping the concept of no longer being a slave to sin?

When we entered the water in baptism, we died with Jesus. If we live our lives with faith in Jesus, we have an assurance that God will raise us, just as He did His Son. We should no longer fear a physical death because we are united with Jesus and promised a spiritual resurrection.

Does this mean we can never sin again without losing the unity we have with Jesus? No, of course not! We will still slip up on occasion; I dare say daily! We must repent and ask for forgiveness and go on, continually offering ourselves to God as righteous people.

Can you accept and embrace the simplicity of what Jesus did for us? Friends, just as I tried to do when I first read this passage, don’t make it more complicated than it is!

As you spend time in prayer today, thank God for the unity you have with Christ Jesus.

Ask the Holy Spirit to continually help you become the righteous person Christ wants you to be.

I pray you can fully grasp and accept the wonderful gifts Jesus offers you as you strive to be changed and in unity with Him.