“For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.”  Romans 6:7 NLT 

Footsteps #312. Does v7 imply we no longer have the desire to do wrong? If so I am in deep trouble – along with every other person I have ever known, including you! In v12 Paul elaborates by saying that we should not let sin ‘reign’ in our lives. This is the ‘resident but not president’ concept I talked about previously. Sin remains but no longer reigns. Christians no longer live lives characterised by sin, but when we do sin, John tells us, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). 

V8 adds a crucial addition – Christianity is not merely a way of dying, it is a way of living. Christianity is a positive force, not a negative one. The resurrected life is a life of joy, hope, and fullness with Christ. Christianity is not just a turning away from something, but an embracing of a new life based on God’s principles. At the same time that God justifies a sinner, He also begins the process of sanctification. Paul teaches that through His Grace God gives converted people new hearts and minds, new ways of looking at the world, and new motives for living in it (Col.3:9, 10; Rom.12:2; Eph.4:22-24). 

God’s forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from condemnation. It is not only forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart. David had the true conception of forgiveness when he prayed, ‘create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.’ 

Paul refers to a person who accepts Christ’s work as a “new creation” – one for whom the old way “has passed away” and “the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). See also Gal. 2:20. 

“We shall live with Him” is Paul’s message all through Romans 6. Those who live with Him will live like Him and will daily pray to reflect His likeness. Such is the way of godliness.