Medical students in Taiwan are being buried alive. This practice, which sounds like it could lead to a serious shortage of Taiwanese doctors in a few years, doesn’t actually lead to death. The docs-in- training at Rende Medical College are simply placed in a sealed coffin for a period of 10 minutes. Why? To give them insights into death and to provide them with a new appreciation for life.
The apostle Paul taught that we were basically buried alive too. We remained physically alive, but we died spiritually to sin. In Romans 6, Paul declared that “we died and were buried with Christ” (Romans 6:4). This means that when we received Jesus as our Savior, we died to sin. The result is that a true believer simply can’t continue to live in constant sin. If we do, then it’s likely that we’ve never truly been born again, for “those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God” (1 John 3:9).
So “our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives” (Romans 6:6). Does this mean that we can achieve sinless perfection in this life? Nope. But we should see new patterns of holiness increasingly replacing old patterns of sin.
Paul told us we have a choice: “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires” (Romans 6:12).
Instead, we must prayerfully, actively die to sin each day—choosing to “give [ourselves] completely to God” (Romans 6:13) and claiming God’s power over sin. For “sin is no longer [our] master” (Romans 6:14).
Today, let’s choose to die to sin as we remember that we’ve already been buried with Jesus.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Colossians 2:1-15
More:
Check out what the apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, and consider what it means for believers in Jesus to be crucified with Christ.
Next:
What specific sins do you need to die to daily? How can you better live out your new life in Jesus and leave old patterns of sin behind?
jstabel on December 5, 2011 at 12:51 am
When christians “die” in Christ and again Resurrected,the “Adam” is proclaimed dead while the ‘second Adam” is now living.But this facts is rarely replicable in Christians today as they still tag along with the old Adam while they proclaim that they are born again.The First and The Second Adam dont walk together as light and darkness repel each other,so when we say we die to sin in Christ it should remain dead and not in a coma.
tom felten on December 5, 2011 at 8:41 am
Thanks for your insights, jstabel. It’s interesting to note that even the Apostle Paul acknowledged that, due to our sinful nature, we as believers in Jesus will continue to wrestle with sin (Romans 7:14-25). But, by God’s grace, we can grow in holiness and resist some of the sin that have plagued us in the past. I love how Paul ends his “confession”: “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24-25).
mike wittmer on December 5, 2011 at 8:31 am
What a great story! I was thinking that it might be helpful for all Christians to go through this experience of being “buried alive” to remind us of who we are in Christ, but then it struck me that this is the point of baptism. This coffin illustration does bring that home in a new way.
tom felten on December 5, 2011 at 8:44 am
Good thoughts, Mike. One big difference is that believers in Jesus are not immersed for 10 minutes, thank goodness!
will77 on December 5, 2011 at 9:42 am
Iits depressing to me alot when I look at my life and see the things I strugle with and even live with for periods of time until I kick them out. I often feel I live in continuous sin because I battle drinking, anger, and other things daily. I hunger and thirst for rightousness and holiness. My library is full of excellent wisdom. and yet I still fall so often, and wonder constantly of my salvation. I should be beyond many things. How can I love God desire holiness so desperatley, and yet be such a failure in the things of God
tom felten on December 5, 2011 at 10:34 am
will77, praying for you today. As I mentioned in a previous post above, all believers (even the Apostle Paul—see Romans 7), struggle with sin. The issue with struggling with sin should drive us to our knees . . . to repentance and seeking to follow God with all our heart. David wrote: “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; You have broken me—now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Psalm 51:7-10). One other thought: Consider who is a godly mentor that you know—someone who could come alongside you who has a mature faith and walk in Jesus. Ask them to help you. We need one another to grow and mature in Christ!
daisymarygoldr on December 5, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Will77, yes it is depressing to desire holiness and yet live in continuous sin. The problem is, all along you have been trying it in your strength. Freedom from sinful habit patterns like alcoholism is possible only with the power of the Holy Spirit.
In one of your previous comments, you shared about knowing Jesus since you were a child. It is one thing to know and yet another to “know” God through a personal relationship with Christ.
Know this, a person can be a born Christian, raised traditionally in a Christian family, read the Bible, pray, go to church, take communion, pay tithes, hold a doctorate of Divinity, have a “successful” ministry, be a Pastor of a 20,000 congregant mega church—and yet not be a Christian if he is not born of God’s Spirit from above.
When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in you. This is how you become a child of God. As stated above, no one who is born of God lives in continuous sin, but will practise righteousness with the help of the Holy Spirit.
And sometimes a sinful lifestyle does sever our relationship with God but not our kinship. For example, even if you don’t have a relationship with your father, you will never doubt or wonder about the biological kinship with your parent.
Salvation means to be restored into a right relationship with God. We cannot doubt our salvation/relationship—because God the Spirit living inside us, is the very proof of our identity as God’s children.
So, the question is: are you born-again? You are in my prayers…
will77 on December 5, 2011 at 6:35 pm
I guess after you put it like that I dont know I cant force God to accept me. and I have no idea what im sppose to do anymore. Maybe im a throw away
daisymarygoldr on December 7, 2011 at 11:35 am
Will77, do appreciate your honesty. But honestly, “I don’t know” is not an answer. You better be clear about what you believe. It is not a good thing to be unsure about the most important thing in your life. Salvation is a matter of eternal life and death.
Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If “Yes”, then you are a child of God. If it is “No”, then you are still a slave to sin. How long do you intend to waver, hobbling in uncertainty? You do want to know for sure your sins are forgiven and you are saved—than to keep wondering maybe you are a throw away? Don’t you?
There is no need to force God to accept you. Even before He made the world, God loved you and chose to accept you through Jesus Christ. Now, the ball is in your court. You must choose. Trust God. Have faith. Be secure in His love. All you are supposed to do is, come to Christ. Those who come to Him He will never cast away.
Only a person that is dead to sin and buried with Christ— is raised to live a new life. As you surrender to His Lordship, you will notice a visible change. The former works of the flesh like anger, drunkenness will be replaced by joy, self-control—the fruit of the Spirit. And the strongest proof of new birth is that you will have love for other Christians.
It is this changed life that will give you the confidence and complete assurance that you are truly saved and God’s very own child, okay? Praying for you and your family…
will77 on December 8, 2011 at 10:50 am
Yes I did receive the Lord as my savior as a young boy, and I loved and worshiped Him a lot. I dont know how my life changed as an 8 year old I just know I loved Jesus and I would sing to Him and talk to him all the time. As I grew up I drifted of and on and rededicated my life back to the Lord and did see substancial changes in my life and my wife and I have always been involved with the church and people themselves. We have been on many mission trips to share the gospel Its the old bessetting sins that have been creeping back more and more over the last few years and with more pressures I have been giving into it more. I do really appreciate your advice and prayers, im disgusted with myself for letting old things back in, I just need a fresh out pouring of Gods love and to know in in my heart as well as my mind. I truly do thank you for talking as well as every one else…
God Bless
daisymarygoldr on December 8, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Will77, thanks for sharing your story. Greatly relieved and happy to hear how the Lord used you and your wife in the work of the gospel. Your disgust with sin is no different from what we all experience as Christians. Besetting sin robs us of spiritual joy and trips us up in the race.
With pressures, the solution is not to drink and drown out your depression. This will only result in the loss of self-control making humans to behave like animals. A saint that backslides returns to the vomit and wallows again in the mire. This is another reason why people doubt their salvation.
Understand—when you believed in Christ, He stamped you with the seal of the Holy Spirit and identified you as His own. So, when the Spirit convicts us of sin it should bring us back to God in prayer (like the prodigal) rather than raging at or running away from Him. God’s love never condemns but readily restores, revives and renews.
David prayed and asked God for the joy of his salvation to be restored. The key to living a victorious life is to not get drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
This is not to advice but to stir one another to not throw away our confidence in Christ. We are not to be like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved (Heb 10:39). This is my heart’s prayer for all of us…
jyothi on December 5, 2011 at 8:21 pm
will77, you are not a throw away, for the Father loves you just as He loved Jesus (John 17;23). Come to Him as you are in true repentance and He will receive you and fill you with His Holy Spirit and make you a new creation.Matthew 11:28, in the Message version goes like this,
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
May His Holy Spirit make this a reality in your life.