"I just can't seem to stop messing up. If I'm really a Christian, why do I keep falling into sin?"
This despairing question often burdens followers of Jesus. We're told our identity is found in Christ, yet ongoing sin leaves us feeling unchanged – still “sinners” under the sway of temptation. How can we break free from this frustrating contradiction? The solution lies in grasping what Scripture means when it says we're “dead to sin.”
The Bible plainly states, “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9). The old has passed away, and the new has come when we put our faith in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our essential identity has been altered forever.
Romans 6 uses the image of death and resurrection to convey this fundamental spiritual truth. Followers of Christ spiritually died to sin, just as Christ physically died once and will never die again. Our old selves were crucified alongside Him so that we could experience new life. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14).
By being united with Christ in His death, we are joined with Him in resurrection life. “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6). Just as the dead can no longer be lured or coerced into sin, our bond with the old sinful nature has been decisively severed by the cross. “Anyone who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:7).
This doesn't mean followers of Jesus will never face temptation or wrestle with sinful impulses. Paul confronts this directly: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). Later he admits, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Romans 7:18-19). Dying to sin does not equal sinless perfection.
Why then do we still struggle? Think of sin as an evil slave master who once held us captive. Though the cross shattered his power, he still lurks outside the gates of our new home in Christ, shouting familiar commands we used to follow. When we give in to those old voices, we temporarily grant sin sway over areas of our life again. But we must tenaciously insist to that roaring lion outside the gate: “You have no claim on me any longer! I'm not your subject!”
This is why Paul urges us to “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:11). Reckoning is realizing and embracing our new position as those forever released from sin's mastery. Is sin deceiving you with false guilt over past sins? Reckon yourself dead to sin - that debt was canceled at the cross! Are you facing fiery temptation? Reckon yourself dead to sin - through the Spirit, you have the power to resist! Have you fallen back into sinful habits? Repent quickly, then reckon yourself dead to sin and re-present yourself to God anew (Romans 6:13).
Why is this daily reckoning so pivotal? Because unbelief in our co-death and co-resurrection with Christ is the only way defeated sin can regain influence. Just as the Israelites failed to enter their Promised Land through unbelief, we fail to walk in resurrection victory when not trusting in it. Stand firm in your cross-bought redemption. When we truly grasp Jesus’ cry of “It is finished,” sin's grip weakens. The one who has truly died with Him will also be raised with Him (Romans 6:8).
What joy to realize God did not just forgive us of sins but set us completely free from slavery to sin once and for all. Yes, we may stumble, but our standing has forever changed. We transferred kingdoms from darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13-14). Our citizenship is now in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Sanctification is learning to live freely in a domain where sin's siren calls now sound foreign and powerless. We are new creations in Christ.
Let this truth permeate your spirit today. You are dead to sin but alive to God in Jesus. So, walk in righteousness by trusting His power within, no longer defined by sin's former chains. The next time condemnation, temptation or defeat assail you, boldly proclaim: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Reckon yourself dead to sin and present yourself to God afresh. Rise each day into Christ's resurrection life and sin's shadow will fade.
