In this way you also, reckon yourselves to be truly dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Truth to Learn
We don’t have to live in sin. We can choose to live to God.
Behind the Words
“In this way” is from the Greek word houtōs which is from the pronoun houtos, meaning “this thing.” Houtōs connects what follows with “this thing” which has just been talked about. It is most often translated as “likewise” or “in this manner.”
“Reckon” is a word that Paul has used repeatedly. It is from logidzomai, meaning “to put together with one’s mind.” It is usually translated as “to consider, to reckon, or to impute.”
The word translated “alive” is zaō, meaning “to live.” It is expressed here as a participle so it should be translated as “living.” So this verse should say “… reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but living to God …”
Meaning Explained
Just as Jesus is now dead to sin, Paul says we ought to also consider ourselves dead to sin. Because of His death we are no longer under the bondage of sin; we have been freed from that master. But, we still have our sin nature to battle and it gives us the tendency to sin. We are still inclined to sin because our sin nature tempts us to act on our desires, which then become sins (see James 1:14-15).
But Paul says that we should consider ourselves dead to sin and to the uncontrollable desires that produce sin. Since we are no longer under the bondage of that slave master, we now have a choice of whether to sin or not to sin. Before we were saved we didn’t have that choice, but since we now have that choice, Paul says “make that choice!” Determine not to let your sin nature control your life.
Have you ever had someone say to you, “Don’t think about an elephant!”? As soon as someone says that, we immediately think about an elephant. That’s the way our minds work. We can intentionally think about something but we can’t intentionally “not think” about something. God knows this, which is why whenever He tells us to quit doing something, He also tells us what to replace it with. He tells us what to think about so that we can avoid thinking about the elephant.
In this case, Paul tells us that the way to consider ourselves dead to sin is by living to God through Jesus Christ. That is, we should endeavor to emulate Jesus; we should try to follow His example. We should be humble, unassuming, committed to the glory of God, and morally pure. The trouble is, we can’t be just like Him because our sin nature and the devil still exist. But they don’t stop us from trying to live the way we should. And when we stumble, when we do sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one!” (see 1 John 2:1) He’s ever pleading our case in the court of heaven and he shows our innocence with His blood; therefore, when “we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (see 1 John 1:9)
Application
Since we now have the choice, let us commit ourselves daily to be living to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
In God's service, for His glory,
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