Rom_6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom_6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The phenomenon of death is a topical one in the Scriptures. The first person who was "promised" death was the first man Adam. Christ had to die in order for us not to be dead anymore, we seem to die with Christ, but the life we live after we are alive in Him seems to be a life of death, and this time death to sin.
People ask the question "did God lie to Adam or did he mean a different kind of death?" Truthfully speaking "God cannot lie"(Tit_1:2) So proposition 2 takes effect. A different kind of death. We need to note that God said "in the day that thou eatest thereof", which means after eating from the tree the two human ancestors became dead men walking. This principle becomes the major stumbling block for those who do not understand being "born again" and why it is necessary. There is more to the death of man as the monarch of creation and the impact of that single "day" than can be expounded on this short blog, perhaps another time, but it happened just as God said it would.
In summary sin entered into the world through that one act of treason by man(original world dominator and custodian). (Rom5:19). Death became a reality in a world which was free from death. In it's simplest definition sin is that death dealing agency which results in alienation from God. Just as God's life was intended to be progressively enriching, sin is progressively debilitating.
Rom_5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Then Christ died. Not as a child of disobedience, for His lineage was not in man but in God. And thus He couldn't partake of that separation from God save He give up His life as a ransom for those who deserved eternal separation by reason of their nature of sin. This is where it becomes very interesting. He who didn't deserve any form of death partook of it, those who didn't deserve reconciliation with God now had the choice to come back into it and have life again (Jhn3:16) Sin came with the aid of man and his escape has been made such that he still has a part to play in his accessing of life.
We have entered into life, indisputable, however we have also entered into a different class of death. We are dead to sin. Death has pivotal points of reference. If we don't understand where our point of reference is as believers we lose a vital vantage point. The devil wants us to believe that we are still on His side of the fence, and God is still "trying" to move us. But it's the other way around glory to God!!!! We are on the side of His life, and the devil is peaking into it trying fruitlessly to move us back.
You should not be afraid of death..it's which side of death you're on that should bother you. Be dead to sin (alienated from it's debilitating effects, free from it's fear mongering tactics, and it's effects on the quality of your life, free from all it's sponsored effects i.e sickness, infirmity, poverty, weakness), and be alive in Christ (in His kind of life, it's benefits, walking in the power of it)
HOW TO
1. Receive Christ and be born again (Rom10v9-10): Christ died already, paid for it already, it is available to all those that accept it as a free gift. Confess His Lordship, in your life and receive His life!!!
2. Work out your salvation (Php_2:12): After number 1 you need no more to make you any more righteous (right with God) than you are already. However renew your mind. (Rom12v1) Make it your goal to live like the man God meant you to be. Blameless in every man's sight, for it is this that gives God the glory for what He has done in your life.
3. Find others who have this life who will help you grow. We are only as strong as we are united! (Acts 2:42) Iron indeed sharpens iron
4. Share your testimony. Allow others to have the same experience you have. If you have it you can't keep it to yourself! It's too good not to share Remember each life that accepts Christ is a life which has escaped death, and come back to life!
In our next blog we will, God allowing, look at the effects of death and the effects of life in more detail.
John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed!
In His Royal Service
George Mwamlowe
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