Dead to Sin

Q: What does it mean that us human beings are `dead to sin`?

A: In Romans 6:14 it says, "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." The conclusion from this verse is that if you are under the Law then sin is your master. Why? "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56)." There are only two kinds of people in the eyes of the Lord. There are those who are spiritually dead to God in sin and those who are alive to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Back in the Garden of Eden, Adam was given a warning by God. God said to Adam, "you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:17)." Adam was created with the life of God indwelling Him. Genesis 2:7 says, "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Therefore, when Adam sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil God removed His life from Adam and he died spiritually. The fact that Adam did not have any children prior to his sin means that all his children, and subsequently all mankind, were born into this world spiritually dead to God in sin.

It has been said that God gave His Law as His contribution to man's best effort to be like Him. God's ultimate goal was to show mankind that we cannot be like Him no matter how hard we try. The purpose of the Law is to make us conscious of sin. The Law "is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:9-10)." The Law was given to show us our need for salvation. "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24)." God's standard for us is to be perfect like Him. Jesus said, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)." The only conclusion we can make is that we can never be like God because the more we try to live up to His standard of perfection the more sin we discover we have in our lives. And that is exactly what God wants us to find out about ourselves. He wants us to realize we cannot be like Him and cannot live up to His standards. He wants us to realize we are dead to Him in sin. Therefore, our only alternative is to cry out to Him for salvation.

The problem between mankind and God is not that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. The problem between mankind and God is that we are spiritually dead in our sins and in need of His life. That life is made available to all of us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross He took away the sins of the world for all eternity. Therefore, being raised from the dead He offers the life of God, lost when Adam sinned, as a free gift to all who believe. For Christians we are now alive to God and there is no sin that can ever cause God to remove His life from us again; eternal life. "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins (Colossians 2:13)." When we are under the Law, any law, we are under the power of sin. The more sin we discover we have in our lives, the more we realize that we are dead to God. Now, in Christ, we have the very life of God indwelling us for all eternity. Instead of living by the Law, which only reveals how sinful we truly are, we have the life of God indwelling us which lead us from within. In Himself, God meets our heartfelt needs for unconditional love, total acceptance, meaning and purpose to life. It is in that sense that we are now "dead to sin."

God created mankind with the need for the deepest desires of our heart to be fulfilled. Apart from faith in Him we have no alternative, but to turn to sin in which to try and get these needs met. However, in Christ, God has met all these needs. We have unconditional love. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39)." We have total acceptance. "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God (Romans 15:7)." And because we are unconditionally loved and totally accepted by God, we present ourselves to Him to be used any way He desires to use us. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1)." We are dead to sin because what we thought it would provide for us has been found through our relationship with Jesus Christ. That is why the Bible says, "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11)." When you realize that sin no longer can offer you what you already have in Christ, you are dead to it. Be blessed.