Freedom from sin has been on my mind recently. The greatest freedom we can achieve on this earth, ultimately, is freedom from ourselves. God doesn't want our mental constructs, paradigms, or limitations to hold us back! He doesn't want sin bogging us down. We are free to enjoy and fulfill unity with Christ. Romans 6 says a lot about this, and I believe that there is an important revelatory key to be found here, in the first 7 verses:
"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?"
The passing of the Law does not license sin. It doesn't legalize it or anything. The presence of grace does not permit sin; though the presence of sin permits grace to act.
"May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?"
Grace is for gifting, not for sinning (Acts 4:33). We are not to live in something that Jesus died to eradicate. Sin is still self-harming and separates from God. Sinfulness in the life of a believer will always lead to the illusion of punishment. It gives satan an open door to work.
"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?"
Baptism is symbolic of death. Did you know that death can be joyful? That death can be pleasurable? Well, it is, if for no other reason that because baptism is. Dying to self is a holy thing. The old has been buried, forgotten, rendered obsolete. That means the shameful parts of you!
"Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."
Newness of life is an everyday thing. It has been you state of being since the first moment you believed, and it will continue to be your state of being forever. You death to self has been sealed for a while now. It's not something you have to work yourself into every morning. It's just something that you have to remember and believe. You new nature is natural.
"For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,"
We were united with Him in the likeness and heavenly substance of His death. We were right there! A few days ago, I was given a vision where I saw our Master being crucified. I was an onlooker. I gazed on this scene for a while, and it was somber. I didn't want to be far off. And then things changed. I was transmitted onto His broken body! I was right there on that cross with Him; I was part of Him. I shared in His sufferings (Romans 8:17). He was broken so I could be broken, so that I could get out of my own way. And the entire penalty, the one I deserved, was taken away from me. The entire transaction was a beautiful, mystical thing to witness.
And, going back to the last verse, We have been raised through glory, through the glory of our Glorious Father. When we remember His death, we remember our resurrection. It's been a past tense thing. Knowing you've died is freeing. Knowing that you're now living in "the likeness of His resurrection" is even better!
"knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;"
See, we are free from sin. Our sin nature has be crushed. It's a part of us that didn't, hasn't, and won't come back. We are slaves to righteousness, love slaves!
"for he who has died is freed from sin"
We have died to human desire, temptation, and sin, and all we need to do is remember it. That's where the current manifestation comes in. The punishment for sin has also lost it's hold on us. A dead person doesn't need to fear the law! And neither do we.
We died with Him. We were resurrected with Him. We are constantly being regenerated with Him. We are free to live with Him. That means life to the fullest.
No longer do we have a predisposition to be angry, or to be worried, or to be sad. We may go through those things, but negative emotions should only be the exception that proves the rule. Life is beautiful and fun, it's holy and free. That's how Yahshua meant it to be!
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