What Does Romans 6:8 Mean?

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Romans 6:8(NASB)

Verse of the Day

Identification with Christ's death is the most thrilling doctrine for the believer. Christ died for our sins.. to pay the price for our sins, but He also died TO sin - His death broke our relationship to sin, which enables us to walk in newness of life. Although we are to take up our cross daily and will suffer for our faith.. we died to sin once and for all.. the moment Christ died unto sin on our behalf and now we are to live for Christ day by day.

Once we are placed in union with Christ by faith, the power of sin was broken, because from that moment forward we became identified with His death - which broke the power of sin in the lives of all who would believe. Because of the death of Christ and our identification with His death, sin no longer remained our master.. for in Christ we are no longer slaves to sin. Before salvation we were salves to sin but once we were saved.. sins power over us lost its iron grip.. for we are one with Christ.

Because we were identified with Christ in His death we are similarly identified with His life through His resurrection. The power of sin, which was broken in the life of all who are identified with Christ by faith.. is broken, because Jesus gained the victory over sin, death and hell - through the sacrifice of Himself. Just as we identify with His death - so also we identify with His resurrected life.. His eternal life in a glorified body which is freed from the power of sin and death and hell. Our new, born-again life in Christ is no longer a slave to sin but a servant of righteousness - and praise God that identification with His life is also part of that thrilling doctrine of identification with Christ.

We were joined in death to our crucified Saviour by faith.. and we are joined in life to our resurrected Lord by grace through faith. It was our old sin nature, (which the Bible calls our “old man'), that died unto sin.. and our new life in Christ, (which we received at salvation), is risen with Him.

It was our old sin nature that was identified with Christ's death - and it needs to be kept nailed to the cross - but praise God that in Christ we have all we need for life and godliness.. for the power of sin is broken in our lives. Our new life in Christ that is identified with His resurrected life.. and seeing that we have died with Christ, and have received His new resurrected life - we believe that we shall also live with Him. What a thrilling doctrine - that because we shared in the death of Christ we will also share in His life.. his heavenly life -

Our eternal life, began the moment we were saved by grace through faith.. but although our eternal life began at the moment of salvation it is incomplete and will not be fully and finally completed until we are changed into the likeness of Christ when we see Him as He is.

Praise God that the certain consequence of our identification with Christ's death and resurrection by faith is our full and final sanctification - spirit, soul and body.. for we who are identified with His death and life will also live with Him through time and into the eternal, never-ending ages that are to come. What a thrilling doctrine.. and God's Word cannot be broken.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for dying for me so that I might be identified - not only with Your death but also with Your resurrection and the eternal life that it guarantees. May I live my life to Your honour and glory. Thank You that the power of sin has been broken in me - through Christ. May this become an increasing reality to me as I keep my old man nailed to the cross - so that my new life in Christ may grow in grace and in a knowledge of Him.. until it is not I that live but Christ that lives in me - to His praise and glory, AMEN.

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