Dead Men Are Free From Sin

Imagine Leo overdosing on cocaine and dying. They take his body to the funeral home and prepare it for burial. A few hours before the funeral starts, one of his drug buddies comes into the parlor where they have Leo’s corpse laid out. Nobody else is in the room, so his buddy walks over to the casket and leans over. “Hey, Leo,” he says. “We’re alone right now, man. I’ve got some good stuff here in my pocket.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small bag with cocaine in it. “Look man, it’s pure. Take a snort,” he says, while putting the bag under Leo’s nose. “What’s your problem, man? Here, I’ll put a little on my finger for you to taste. You’ll see, it’s good stuff.”

Do you know what Leo is doing all the time this is going on? Just lying there. If Leo could speak at that moment, do you know what he would say? “Hey, stupid! I’m dead! Can’t you see that?” Dead men don’t want cocaine, even if they loved it before.

The Bible clearly teaches that a part of our inheritance is that we have died to sin. You can sin if you choose, but when you understand your new identity you will discover that you don’t want to live in sin anymore. You died to all that. Now you are alive unto God. He motivates your desires and interests. You finally have power over sin!

Before Jesus died and dealt with your old sin nature, you had no power to overcome sin. You sinned because you had no choice. It was your nature to do so. Now things have changed. You have a new nature — His! Because His life is within you, He will enable you to overcome sin as you depend on Him. Remember that the person you used to be, who loved to sin, has died (Romans 6:1-6). You were placed on the cross in Jesus Christ and crucified there with Him. Not only did he die, but you died too so that your life now consists of Christ in you (Galatians 2:20). “For he who has died is freed from sin” (Romans 6:7).

To experience power over sin, simply rest in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ at every moment and continually affirm that you are dead to sin. Whether you feel it or not, “consider yourself to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). Just act like it’s true, because it is! When you depend on Jesus and act in faith, you will see for yourself that you are dead to sin. "Sin shall no longer have dominion over you for you are not under law but under grace!"