Author: Rev. Lek Aik Wee

The Christian is “dead with Christ” in that Christ died to bear the punishment of sin on his behalf. The Apostle Paul explains that faith appropriates for the Christian spiritual strength not only through the death of Christ but more so through the resurrection life of Christ. Three days after Christ died, He rose from the dead. Christ died no more thereafter. He appeared to His disciples while He was upon earth for 40 days before He was taken bodily to heaven where He sat down on the right hand of the Father to live forevermore. Death has no more dominion over Him. He conquered death.

The “old man” refers to our previous unregenerate, godless behaviour. With no understanding of God, no fear of God, no true moral standard, we can choose to do what we want. We were sold to sin. Till God intervened in our lives to show us there is a living and true God who is our heavenly Father. God sent His Son to redeem us back to Him.

Born again Christians are no longer under the bondage of sin because the old nature is crucified with Christ on the cross at Calvary. They have the power to say “no” to sin. The reason, the Apostle Paul expressed, is that we been united together with Christ in both His death and resurrection. He is helping us to understand the nature of Christian conversion. There is a complete change.

The Christian ought to be vibrant and filled with the vitality of godliness for he is walking in newness of life. And yet, it can be observed, many in the church today lose their first love and are no longer making progress spiritually. The Apostle Paul is writing to address this by helping Christians understand the great work wrought for their salvation through Jesus Christ. It is such a sad plight in the church scene. He would be addressing the heinous entanglement of sin in the believer’s life.

The Apostle Paul reasoned with us that we should not continue in sin, like a dog going back to its own vomit. Our life as a Christian, forward-looking, must not be still plagued with the ravages of sin. Just because we receive the pardon from sin by God’s grace does not mean that we should delight in sin since pardon is forthcoming each time. The Christian life ought to understand the blessing of living in the beauty of holiness. The sinning Christian is a misnomer because he is not making spiritual progress. Borrowing the Malay word “Hentak Kaki” in marching drills meaning “marching on the spot” to help us see the sad plight of the Christian making no spiritual progress, still being entangled with sin.

What a relieve to know that in coming to Jesus, we find forgiveness for our sins. A guilty conscience with sins unconfessed and unacknowledged is indeed an unbearable torment. But with Jesus, we find cleansing and forgiveness, joy and peace restored. Jesus paid for all our sins. This is the good news that the Apostle Paul is arriving at. To celebrate God’s grace in our lives. Sin and death is superseded by righteousness and eternal life. God’s wrath averted and sweet fellowship with our Creator restored. This is the great privilege we have in Christ. May we, moment by moment, cherish this blessed fellowship in abiding in the Lord. Amen.