February 7, 2022 NEWNESS OF LIFE
Romans 6:4-7 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 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.”
Many probably don’t get it. I know I do not yet fully get it. I’m referring to the implications of being “in the likeness of His resurrection.” I think there is a lot more there than we may currently understand. The thought of being in the ‘likeness of His resurrection’ is a fantastic thought. One critical point we cannot miss as we read these scriptures is that there has to a burial before there is a resurrection. (We could get off tract here and talk about the possibility of one being a professing believer and yet not living in a way that is not pleasing to the Lord-but we want do that.) In these, and other verses, Paul is presenting the way of God in salvation-how He designed it to work. In essence, when one accepts Christ as his or her Savior and Lord, he is giving up, or dying to his life. That is the critical, non-optional way if we are to walk in newness of life. We are to see ourselves as being buried with Him-that is the picture of baptism. In Romans 6:11 we read “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” To reckon means to ‘count it as so.’ It is a spiritual milestone for us to reckon ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God. If we are ‘united with Him in the likeness of His death,’ then ‘certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.’ Our old man, who we use to be, has died, and we have been raised up to a new life, living and walking in newness! Is it not awesome to know that we can walk in newness-even in a world that is in darkness. To me, walking in newness is living not out of past failures and successes, not living with guilt or un-forgiveness, doubts, regrets, and fear; but rather, living with the a sense of being forgiven and having been made new creations, able to live life as God designed us to live. To be led by the Spirit of God is to live in the present, alive and engaged in the events and circumstances in which we find ourselves, being conduits of the life of God. Jesus tells us in John 6:63 that “It is the Spirit who gives life.” To live in the likeness of His resurrection is to be focused on living according to the kingdom of God. Living a resurrected life (our old us died and we have been raised as new creations) is not a mundane life, but a life of living in the awareness that God is alive in us and we are alive in Him. In living this way, rather than being downcast or defeated, we are overcomers of whatever obstacles we face. Also, as we live as resurrected followers of Jesus, we are able to enjoy the simple blessing of life-enjoying a cup of coffee with a friend, seeing the wonders of the creation, and experiencing the peace that comes from knowing God as our loving Father. To walk in newness of life does not mean we are exempt from trials; it does mean that the trials will not defeat us, but will indeed in some way be used for good. Newness of life is available to us.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Romans 8:11 “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Blessings, Buddy
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