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#DailyDevotion Baptism Frees You From Sin & Gives You A New Life

#DailyDevotion Baptism Frees You From Sin & Gives You A New Life

Romans 6:6-11 6We know our old self was nailed with Him to the cross to stop our sinful body and keep us from serving sin any longer. 7When we’re dead, we’re free from sin. 8But if we died with Christ, we believe we’ll also live with Him because 9we know that Christ, risen from the dead, will not die again. Death has no hold on Him any more. 10When He died, He died to sin once, never to die again, and the life He lives He lives for God. 11So you, too, because you are in Christ Jesus, think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God.

The sinful nature which we all have has been nailed with Jesus to the cross. It has been crucified with Jesus in baptism. This is to stop our sinful body and to keep us from serving sin any longer. Paul says, “When we’re dead, we’re free from sin.” Our baptism in not just a symbolic death and crucifixion. We, our sinful nature, has been crucified, nailed to the cross and died with Christ on the cross. So St. Paul can say here and in chapter eight that we are freed from sin.

When tempted by sin, the devil and the fear death we are to remind our old adam, our sinful flesh that it has been crucified with Christ and you don’t have to listen to it any longer. If you were a slave and you died, you would no longer be owned by your master. If you were married and you died or your spouse died, you would no longer be married but free to marry. If you had a contract and you died, you would no longer be held to that contract. So too, you died in baptism with Christ. When tempted instead of breaking out the law and trying to convince yourself not to do something because of the law, instead break out this Gospel, this good news, your sinful nature has died with Christ and you don’t have to listen to it any longer. You have been freed from the slavery of sin and the fear of death. Your contract with sin and death has been fulfilled and made null and void by your death in baptism.

Since we have died with Christ in baptism we believe we also live with him. For just as Christ Jesus has risen from the dead never to die again we have a new life in Christ with Jesus. Our souls/spirits risen from death and darkness to newness of life and light we can now walk in that life and light of Jesus. This life and light is love: love of God and love of our neighbor. We no longer look at love as command but as Christ life living in and through us. When Christ died he died to sin never to die again. The life he lives he lives for God. Jesus’ death to sin is our own in baptism. We died to sin with our baptism into Christ. Our new man in Christ Jesus also never sins. The old adam, our old nature can never stop sinning but we don’t have to listen to it any longer. We have entered or rather Christ has entered into a new contract with us. He will be our God and we will be his people. He will forgive us our sins and remember them no longer. He puts his instruction, he writes it upon our hearts and gives us his Holy Spirit that we believe it and live according to it.

Paul tells us here that because we are in Christ Jesus to think of ourselves and dead to sin and living for God. Paul doesn’t say to mean ‘as if you’re dead’ but to think of ourselves this way because it is our reality in baptism. We are dead to sin in baptism so think of this when tempted to sin. We have Christ’s life in us and so we should remember to live for God in our everyday living. St. Paul says it another way in another epistle, “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” Think about this and let Christ be your victory over sin and temptation.

Merciful God and Father, you crucified us with Christ in baptism and given us his life. Grant your Holy Spirit to us that we may now live in his life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

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