“For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” – Romans 6:7-10
Just as a person who dies is no longer bound by the law or capable of committing sin, the believer who has died with Christ is no longer under sin’s dominion. This isn’t symbolic—it’s spiritual reality. When we placed our faith in Jesus, we were united with Him in His death. The old self was crucified, and we were set free. That’s why verse 8 says, “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” This isn’t just a future hope—it’s a present fact. We are living resurrection life now, empowered by the Holy Spirit, no longer tethered to the realm of sin but fully alive in the realm of God.
Jesus’ resurrection was a “permanent one-time event.” He died once for sin, rose again, and now lives forever in perfect fellowship with the Father. “Death no longer has dominion over Him” (v.9), because He was sinless. He died not for His own sin, but for ours. And because He said, “It is finished,” we know the work is complete. Just as Jesus will never return to the Cross, we will never return to our old life. Salvation is irreversible. We are not merely forgiven—we are transformed. We are not just like everyone else with a pardon; we are new creations with eternal standing before God. As William Newell wrote, “Believers are dead to sin and alive to God, being in Christ.” This isn’t a feeling—it’s a fact. And when we reckon it so, we begin to walk in victory.
Anchor your soul to this truth. Reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (v.11). Don’t let Satan drag you around by the handle of ignorance. Know who you are. Understand what God has done. Apply it. When temptation comes, when doubt creeps in, when fear rises—counter it with truth. You are not who you used to be. You are not defined by your emotions. You are defined by Christ. As John Wesley said, “Frames and feelings fluctuate… Jesus is thy Savior still.” If you want victory over anxiety, fear, and spiritual defeat, start here. Know the truth. Reckon it true. And walk in the freedom that Christ has already won for you.
“Christ died, not only to atone, but to liberate. His death was not only for sin—it was unto sin. And the believer, in union with Him, is to reckon this as fact: that he is dead to sin, and alive unto God, in Jesus Christ.” – H.C.G. Moule
surrendered devotions 