The Result of Resurrection with Christ

[Romans 6:1-14]

Let's look at Romans 6:12-14: "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of your body to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace."

Here, the word "you" (in verse 12) appears seven times in Romans 6:1-14. "You" refers to those who were baptized with Jesus, died with Him, and were raised with Him. We can think of four groups of people who have received baptism: (1) those who received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then the water baptism, (2) those who received water baptism and then the baptism of the Holy Spirit, (3) those who have received only the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and (4) those who have received only water baptism. Among these four, let's consider the first group: those who received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then water baptism.

What is the "baptism of the Holy Spirit"? The Bible says that the baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the act of a sinner being saved and grafted into Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Therefore, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is equivalent to the traditional theological term "new birth" (regeneration). God brings the dead soul of a person, who is dead in sin, to life through the gospel. When a sinner hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit opens their heart, allowing them to repent and receive the Lord (Acts 16:14). Thus, that person becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In this way, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing a person who was dead in sin back to life, and because of this, it cannot be received repeatedly. A believer only receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit once in their life. Telling a born-again believer to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit again is equivalent to telling them to be born again. It is like asking Lazarus, after coming out of the tomb, "You need to open the tomb and come out again!" Once someone is grafted into Christ, they do not need to be grafted again because no one can snatch them out of His hand (Romans 8:38-39) (Internet).

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is different from the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one-time event that happens when someone first confesses Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:3, 13), while being filled with the Holy Spirit refers to being under the complete control of the Holy Spirit, continuously bearing abundant fruit in a beautiful life (Internet).
If there are any who have only received water baptism, I encourage you to pray earnestly in faith to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I hope that all of us will be those who, after receiving water baptism, will also receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In Romans 6:12, we see that the verse begins with the conjunction "therefore." This conjunction connects with the message of Romans 6:11, so we must consider that verse as well: "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." The phrase "in the same way" links this verse to Romans 6:10: "The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God." (v. 10). That is, just as Jesus Christ died to sin once for all and lives eternally to God (v. 10), we should also consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ died to sin once for all (v. 10). Therefore, we, who have been baptized into Christ and died with Him (v. 3), should believe and consider ourselves dead to sin once for all (v. 11). Jesus Christ lives eternally for God (v. 10). So, we who have died with Christ and have been raised with Him (born again) (vv. 5, 8) should also consider ourselves alive to God (v. 10) (v. 11). However, the Bible does not end with the word "consider" (v. 11), but instructs us to live as those who are alive to God in Christ Jesus (vv. 12-14).

First, living as those who are alive to God in Christ Jesus means living as those who are dead to sin (v. 11). What does it mean to live as those who are dead to sin? Romans 6:12-13 explains this in three ways:

First, we must ensure that sin does not rule over our bodies.

Look at Romans 6:12: "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body...". Sin is malicious and seeks to dominate us. However, because we have already died to sin once for all (v. 11), sin cannot rule over us or have dominion over us. Therefore, we must ensure that sin does not rule over our bodies (v. 12). Those of us who have died to sin once for all do not commit sin.

Consider 1 John 3:6, 9: "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him... No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." Here, it says that "they do not sin" (v. 6) and "they do not commit sin" (v. 9). What kind of sin is being referred to here? There are three types of sin that could be understood here:

(a) Intentional sins:
Look at Psalm 19:13: “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me; then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression” [(Modern Bible translation) "Guard Your servant from committing intentional sins, and let them not have power over me. Then I will be perfect and free from great evil."]

(b) Habitual sins:
Look at 1 Corinthians 8:7: “However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled” [(Modern Bible translation) "But not everyone knows this truth. Some are still accustomed to idols, and so they eat food as though it were sacrificed to an idol. Their conscience becomes weak and is defiled."]

(c) Planned and premeditated sins:
Look at Acts 5:1-4: “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own power? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.'”

If we are still committing sins intentionally, habitually, or premeditatedly, this is not the life of one who has been resurrected with Christ. Therefore, we must confess our sins to God and repent. We must repent as David did. Look at Psalm 19:7-9: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”

In other words, we must repent of our sins with the Word of God, just as David did. We must desire more and more the perfect Word of God, the Word that converts the soul, the Word that makes the simple wise, the Word that rejoices our hearts and enlightens our eyes, the Word that is pure and endures forever, the Word that is true and righteous. We should meditate on it day and night, and in that meditation, we must repent of our sins to God.

Look at Psalm 19:13 again: “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me; then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression” [(Modern Bible translation) "Guard Your servant from committing intentional sins, and let them not have power over me. Then I will be perfect and free from great evil."]

In other words, we must fervently pray to God, as David did, and repent of our sins.

The devil is cruel and vicious. He had been ruling us with sin, but now that we have died and risen with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells within us, the devil can no longer rule over us, which causes him to be enraged. Therefore, the devil will try to infiltrate us by any means. However, we must submit to God and resist the devil. Then, the devil will flee from us (James 4:7). How should we resist the devil?
Let us look at Philippians 2:12-13: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
We must always submit to God and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. The one who makes this possible is the Holy Spirit who works within us. In other words, the Holy Spirit, working in us, gives us the desire and empowers us to resist the devil and overcome him.
We commit many sins besides intentional, habitual, or premeditated sins. We must hold onto the promise in 1 John 1:9 and confess and repent of our sins: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" [(Modern translation) "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."]
Secondly, we must not obey the desires of the body.
Look at Romans 6:12: "... do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts." The word “lusts” here is translated from a Greek word that can be rendered in eight different ways. The most common translation is "lust," but it can also be translated as "greed," "covetousness," "desire," "sexual lust," "longing," "will," and "passion."
We have sinful, old instincts that try to lead us to sin by adding to the things the Bible forbids. We must not obey those desires of our old nature. We must not yield to the desires of our hearts or physical desires.

Thirdly, we must not present our members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but rather present them to God as instruments of righteousness.
Look at Romans 6:13: “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
Here, "members" refers to various parts of our body (eyes, ears, mouth, feet, hands, etc.). "Members" also includes our mental faculties and other aspects. "Instruments" refers to tools or implements. The Bible tells us that, as those who have been raised with Christ, we must not give our members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. If sin uses our members as tools, we are committing sin. For example, sin may tempt our feet, causing us to walk in the way of sinners (Psalm 1:1). Another example is that sin may tempt our eyes, leading us into the lust of the eyes (1 John 2:16), causing us to sin with our eyes and even commit adultery in our hearts (Matthew 5:28).

The Bible calls us to live as those who have been raised from the dead. So how should a person who has been raised from the dead live? We should live as those who have been resurrected with Christ. We must live appropriately (Romans 6:13). We must present ourselves to God (v. 13). We must present our bodily members as instruments of righteousness to God (v. 13).
Look at the hymn “I Give My Life to Thee” from the new hymnal:
(1st verse) "I give my life to Thee, Lord, accept it, that I may live to praise Thee every day."
(2nd verse) "I give my hands and feet, Lord, accept them, that I may serve You with diligence."
(3rd verse) "I give my voice to You, Lord, accept it, that I may proclaim Your truth alone."
(4th verse) "I give my treasures to You, Lord, accept them, that You may use them for Your kingdom."
(5th verse) "I give my time to You, Lord, accept it, that I may serve You all my life. Amen."

Since we know that God is righteous (1 John 2:29), we, as those who have been justified by the death of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-11), must practice righteousness (1 John 2:29). We must live righteously (v. 29, Modern Translation). To practice righteousness and live righteously means to purify ourselves, just as the righteous Lord is pure (1 John 3:7). Furthermore, we must love one another according to the Lord’s commandments (1 John 2:11, 23, 24). By presenting our members as instruments of righteousness to God (Romans 6:13), purifying ourselves like the Lord, we love one another according to His commandments.

Look at Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” [(Modern Translation) "Since you are not under the law but under grace, sin shall not have dominion over you."].
The Bible tells us that sin will not have dominion over us nor rule over us, because we are not under the law but under grace. The great grace of God is sufficient to cover all our sins.