“Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Rom. 6:11
Scripture reading: Romans 6:1-14
Romans 6:11 contains the first commandment within the entire book of Romans. For over five chapters Paul has written about the beauty of the gospel. He outlined the sin of man, the work of God in Christ, the importance of faith, and finally in chapter 5 the great blessing of being in Christ that we touched on in yesterday’s devotional. Now Paul is ready to call the church to act. Where must our response begin? Paul says it must begin in our thoughts and minds! We must “reckon ourselves” dead indeed to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
To grow in holiness, we must have the right foundation. To ‘reckon ourselves’ is to consider ourselves or think of ourselves in a certain way. When we think of ourselves, we need to think of ourselves as truly dead to sin.
1 John 1:8 tells us that there is no one who is without sin. We don’t consider ourselves dead to sin, then, because we are sinless. We consider ourselves dead to sin because, in conversion, we actually died (see Gal 2:20, 6:14, Col. 3:3, etc). Sin is no longer our master. We are to view ourselves through the cross, understanding what it means to have been born again. Despite the ongoing presence of sin, in Christ we must realize and consider that we have died to sin, and are alive to God.
Do you see yourself this way?
Suggestions for prayer
Pray that God would help you to see yourself through the finished work of Christ.
Pastor Greg Bylsma is the pastor of the Living Water Reformed Church of Brantford, Ontario (a member church of the URCNA). He is a graduate of Mid-America Reformed Seminary and was ordained to the Gospel ministry in 2005. After over 20 years in the ministry, he still loves his job and considers it an incredible honour to be able to teach others about the beauty of Jesus Christ. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.