“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, 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.”
— Romans 6:5–6

If you know the Lord, you should consider yourself dead to a life of sin. Whatever sinful habits you had before knowing Jesus, whatever dark thought patterns you had before you came to faith in Christ, whatever addictions you had before you were saved—you need to consider yourself dead to or released from those things.

Now, the truth is that our bodies still have appetites. There are certain bodily desires that do not just go away because we are saved. Sexual temptation, for instance, does not just go away, because it is a natural by-product of being human. But we are to consider ourselves dead to illicit sexual experiences, crucifying such desires by the power of the Spirit.

I believe the Lord is telling us through this passage in Romans 6 that even as Jesus was raised to newness of life after being crucified, we also have been released from the old life we lived before we chose to follow Him, and we too have been raised to a new life that is dedicated and alive to God. This means our lives are not our own. If we truly believe Jesus saved and purchased us by His blood, then we will recognize that we are God’s possession. We don’t belong to ourselves. We belong to the One who lived and died and rose again on our behalf. And because we belong to Him, we need to choose Him—to choose what is right and crucify the deeds of our flesh.

Beloved, the old life is passed away. We are dead to that life. We have been raised to newness of life. Now we must choose Jesus and put the power of darkness under our feet. It is a fight, but the joy of the battle is that there is a great reward for those who war and win. Revelation 2:7 tells us that those who overcome will “eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”

Father God, I believe that You purchased my salvation by Your blood, and I am Yours. I choose to live for You and crucify the deeds of the flesh. My old life has passed away, and I have been raised to a new life in You. Thank You for setting me free from bondage to sin.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Revelation (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2020), Used by permission.