May 24, 2018 DEATH PRECEDES LIFE
Romans 6:5-7 “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.”
The word ‘death’ is a word we do not like to hear or even think about. The idea of death is a threat to our way of life. Perhaps the idea of dying to our self is not something we relish or joyfully anticipate; we want to be saved, but we want to live our life at the same time. Yet, a believer will never experience the abundant blessings of God and will not experience the power of the gospel until we die to our old self. If we resist dying to our self, to who we use to be, it is because we do not understand or do not believe that blessings follow death to self. The truth is, just as a seed cannot produce fruit unless it dies and is buried, so it is with us. In Christian circles, we often here that we should ‘die to self,’ but we are not often told what it actually means to die to self. To understand this death to self, we first must know that apart from Christ, we were by dominated by a sin nature, separated from God-we were lost and without hope. (Realizing our ‘lost’ condition is the first step toward salvation; it’s a sure sign of God’s drawing us to Himself. Those that do not know that they are lost, are content to live life according to their own wisdom.) The very act of trusting Jesus as Savior, is acknowledging that our way of life is of no value and that we need what Jesus has made available. The cross is a call to us to die to a life that is directed by our ‘self.’ God knows that life apart from Him is empty and is a sub-standard life. Jesus came that we might have life-abundant life. The key is that this abundant life is in Him, not ourselves. In God’s kingdom, there are principles that are in direct conflict with the world system. One of those principles is that death precedes life; only as we die to our ambitions, our desires, and our ways, will we find real life. It is a question of whether or not we believe in the deepest part of our being the message of the gospel, and that only Jesus holds the keys to life. Dying to self is not a one-time deal, but rather a way of life, day by day. Let us discover that only as we die to ourselves, and live as unto the Lord, will we experience life to the fullest. Contrary to the thoughts of human nature, death does indeed precede life.
Blessings,
Buddy
[email protected]
Romans 6:5-7 “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.”
The word ‘death’ is a word we do not like to hear or even think about. The idea of death is a threat to our way of life. Perhaps the idea of dying to our self is not something we relish or joyfully anticipate; we want to be saved, but we want to live our life at the same time. Yet, a believer will never experience the abundant blessings of God and will not experience the power of the gospel until we die to our old self. If we resist dying to our self, to who we use to be, it is because we do not understand or do not believe that blessings follow death to self. The truth is, just as a seed cannot produce fruit unless it dies and is buried, so it is with us. In Christian circles, we often here that we should ‘die to self,’ but we are not often told what it actually means to die to self. To understand this death to self, we first must know that apart from Christ, we were by dominated by a sin nature, separated from God-we were lost and without hope. (Realizing our ‘lost’ condition is the first step toward salvation; it’s a sure sign of God’s drawing us to Himself. Those that do not know that they are lost, are content to live life according to their own wisdom.) The very act of trusting Jesus as Savior, is acknowledging that our way of life is of no value and that we need what Jesus has made available. The cross is a call to us to die to a life that is directed by our ‘self.’ God knows that life apart from Him is empty and is a sub-standard life. Jesus came that we might have life-abundant life. The key is that this abundant life is in Him, not ourselves. In God’s kingdom, there are principles that are in direct conflict with the world system. One of those principles is that death precedes life; only as we die to our ambitions, our desires, and our ways, will we find real life. It is a question of whether or not we believe in the deepest part of our being the message of the gospel, and that only Jesus holds the keys to life. Dying to self is not a one-time deal, but rather a way of life, day by day. Let us discover that only as we die to ourselves, and live as unto the Lord, will we experience life to the fullest. Contrary to the thoughts of human nature, death does indeed precede life.
Blessings,
Buddy
[email protected]
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