Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Romans 6:4 We were buried with Christ through baptism into death.
WE WERE SET FREE TOO
What does all this have to do with us? Paul says that what happened to Christ in His struggle with sin and death happened to us when we were baptized into Christ. He asks us: "Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?"
Before Jesus died, He was under the power of sin, as we said. Also of us is it true that before we were baptized into Christ, we were under the power of sin. But then we were baptized into Jesus' death. And you know what happened at Jesus' death. By His death He destroyed the power of sin. So by our baptism into His death He destroyed the power of sin in us.
At our baptism a death took place, the same kind of death that Jesus died. By His death He destroyed the power of sin over Him. By our baptism into His death He destroyed the power of sin over us. Our baptism killed sin. Our baptism buried our old sinful selves, as Paul says: "We were buried with Christ through baptism into death." Our baptism crucified our old man, our old Adam, our flesh, as Paul says: "Our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with."
Before our baptism we were burdened with sin, as Jesus was burdened with sin before His death. But just as Jesus destroyed sin by His death, so also at our baptism into Christ the power of sin was destroyed, the old Adam was crucified, and our old sinful selves buried forever. Just as Jesus died to sin once when He died, so also at our baptisms into His death, we died to sin once.
