anglican devotional

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 8 April 2021 – Dead To Sin

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TOPIC: Dead To Sin (Anglican Devotional 8 April 2021)

READ: Romans 6:1-6 (NKJV)

  1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
  2. Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
  3. Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
  4. Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
  5. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be [in the likeness] of [His] resurrection,
  6. knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [Him,] that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

THE MESSAGE:

Our reading deals with the newness of life that every believer ought to experience from the time of conversion. At baptism, we identify with Christ in His death (verse 3). This also implies the death of our old natural self with its inclination to sin (verse 6). In other words, our sinful nature, with its passions and desires, is crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20; 5:24). Since the dead do not respond to external stimuli, we no longer respond to nor enjoy sinful thoughts, activities, situations and relationships.

The second identification presented in the text is with Christ in His resurrection (verse 4). As Christ was raised from the dead, we are raised into the newness of life. We are no longer slaves to sin, nor do we abuse the grace of God (verses 1, 6). Thus, walking in the newness of life involves a shared responsibility. God has done His part by sending Christ to die for us (John 3:16). We must do our own part by accepting the finished work of Christ, then count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God (verse 11).

PRAYER: Oh Lord, help me to let my old self be crucified with Christ so that I will not be a slave to sin.