Romans 6:1b-11 (NRSV)
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Chapter 6What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? Verse 2By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Verse 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Verse 4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Verse 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Verse 6We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. Verse 7For whoever has died is freed from sin. Verse 8But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Verse 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. Verse 10The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. Verse 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Devotion
You may be aware of the logic of Steven Wright. He has given us some great erudite quips, like: “The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”
In our text the Apostle Paul addresses some interesting logic that was being used by his readers, “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?” Paul is horrified by that thought when he exclaims, “By no means!” Yet, too often we cannot help it. The Old Self, the one we buried in baptism, has not only been equipped with a snorkel and fins, but with scuba gear that allows plunges to great depths for hiding, awaiting the right moment to resurface.
I take great comfort in knowing that our baptismal burial continues, through repentance, and is to be the Christian’s way of life, so that the exhilarating breath of new life and resurrection can win the day.
Prayer
Help me die, Jesus, and be buried with you. Help me die to a life trusting the illusions of this world. Take me; I am yours. Raise me to a new life grounded in love and faith alone. Amen.