What YOU'VE been crucified?

What, YOU’VE been crucified?

6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Romans 6:6-8

Jesus lived a perfect life and died a horrific death, crucifixion.  This type of death could last for days as one is impaled on wooden cross through the hands and feet.  The loss of blood, laboring of lungs and heart, and illusive thirst made for a slow painful death.  Jesus torture of 39 lashes and crown of thorns on his head accelerated his weakened state.  He died.

But SO did you, if you are a child of God.  Before we walk in the newness of our Christian life, we died with him.  This is not symbolic, but it is substitutionary.  Because of sin that we have committed we deserve punishment.  We deserve to die.  Jesus died in our place.

He also allowed the death of the old self that was ruled by sin.  That is curse that we inherited from Adam which caused a bent toward doing and thinking evil.  But this is our emancipation proclamation.  We have been set free from the slavery of sin.

Yes our mind still has the thoughts of our old way of thinking and reacting,  But Jesus death has set us FREE.  We now have the ability through the power of the Holy Spirit to choose walking and talking uprightly.  That old baggage of sin has been removed.  You get a new set of luggage…peace, joy, gentleness, love, self-control, patience and other righteous behaviors.  These are yours because you are NO longer a slave to sin.

The devil is the accuser of the brethren.   He is the one who brings up your past, rattles your old chains, keeps you on your old memory lane, and points out your most disqualifying moments.  But EVERY one of these actions died on the cross with Jesus.  There were buried in his tomb.

When you feel defeated and the devil hounds you with hopelessness.  Take a walk with him to the cross of Jesus.  Get close enough that His blood can drip on your hands.  This is your place of freedom from you past.  This is place where sin loses its power over your life.  This is the place where Satan lost his grip.  It is an ugly death, your old life with Christ, BUT it’s where the power to live holy begins.  Let your past remain on the cross, you are free to live again.

From a hymn by George Bennard, 1913

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.