Romans 6:8 – Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
Welcome back, dear readers! Paul has been giving us a discourse on the unlimited grace that God provides for mankind. Some people in the early church mistakenly believed (and even taught) that people should continue in sin, because that glorified God’s grace. 
Paul has absolutely refuted this claim. In our last post he used the rite of baptism to show that unlimited grace does not result in unlimited sin. Rather, it results in justification and sanctification which both reflect an increase in holiness. Paul also proves that God is never honored by sin; that which is detestable in his sight cannot bring him glory.
In verses 8-11, he gives yet another illustration of how grace results in holiness.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Paul will argue that as Christ was once dead but now lives to God (and will never die again), so we being dead to sin are alive to God and therefore we no longer obey sin.
If we have died with Christ: The first thing to notice about this verse is that it deals with life in the present, not the future.
In other words, right now we are involved in the process of sanctification, which is a commitment to daily mortification of our flesh. It involves saying ‘no’ to our sinful lusts/desires and training ourselves in righteousness.
For example, we might be trying to overcome the sin of gossip (or cursing or complaining or other sins of the tongue). As we go about our day, we will no doubt discover a juicy tidbit of information that we would love to tell someone else. However, because we are familiar with the scriptures, we know gossip does not please God.
James 3:6 - And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
Because we are dying to sin, we keep our mouth shut rather than repeating the rumor we heard. Instead of passing on gossip, we can pass on words of encouragement to someone else.
Thankfully, we don’t depend upon our own flesh to get this job done. Jesus has blessed us with his Holy Spirit, who helps us actively put sin to death in our lives. The more times we respond in righteousness, the easier it becomes. Eventually, that spirit of gossip will be removed from our life. 
We believe that we will also live with him: It naturally follows that if we have communion or fellowship with Christ in his death, we will also have fellowship with him in his resurrection.
Again, this happens right now. Although we are not perfect/sinless, we are dead to sin and alive to righteousness; every day we live in newness of life (holiness, grace, glory).
Plus, we will also obtain everlasting life with Jesus for all eternity. Once we get to heaven, our communion with him will take on new levels. It will be even more intimate and result in the highest imaginable levels of joy, happiness and satisfaction. We will enjoy his presence through the endless ages of eternity!
Romans 6:9 – We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Paul assumes that all Christians are aware of the fact that when Jesus was resurrected, he conquered death. Therefore, death no longer has any authority over him and so he will never die again.
DIGGING DEEPER: We know that Christ, being raised from the dead: Paul is pointing out an indisputable fact which is accepted by all Christians - Christ was raised from the dead.
This fact is absolutely certain - the prophets prophesied about it, Jesus himself spoke of it, the angels affirmed it, the apostles (and others) witnessed it and Holy Spirit confirms it. This fact is the very foundation of our justification and eternal life.
Will never die again: In the Old Testament, animal sacrifices had to be made over and over and over again to cover the sin of mankind. But that is not the case with Christ. He died once to make atonement for sin and his work was sufficient for all the sins of mankind - past, present and future:
Hebrews 9:12 - Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Therefore, there will never be a need for him to die again.
Death no longer has dominion over him: Jesus has won the victory over death. Death is now subject to him; it is under his authority and has no power over him. For this reason, he will live forever:
Revelation 1:17-18 - …’Fear not, I [Jesus] am the first and the last, and the living one. I died and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’
It should be noted that Jesus voluntarily submitted himself to the power of death. He did this because it was part of the divine plan of salvation. Not surprisingly, it was impossible for death to hold him. Submitting himself to it for a brief moment, he destroyed it forever, for our sakes.
John 10:17-18 – For this reason the Father loves me [Jesus], because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.
(See also Acts 2:24). The bottom line is that because we believe in Christ, we are dead to sin and alive to holiness, therefore, we do not increase in sin, we strive to remove all sin from our lives. Formerly, we willingly embraced all our evil desires and passions, but now we set our affections on the things above:
Colossians 3:1-2 - If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
For those who embrace Christ, sin has no more dominion over them than death has over the glorified body of our Redeemer.
Romans 6:10 – For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Jesus died once to atone for the sins of all people; now he is alive forevermore sitting at the right hand of God and promoting the glory of the Father. The implication is that we should be doing the same thing – glorifying God by living lives of holiness.
DIGGING DEEPER: For the death he died he died to sin: In other words, the purpose or design of Christ’s death was to destroy sin. Through his death and resurrection, he annihilated the power and dominion that sin formerly had over us. Obviously, he did this for our benefit, not his own.
It naturally follows that Christians (who are baptized into his death) will gladly destroy sin in their lives. Instead of indulging in it, they will renounce it, despise it and seek to root it out of their lives. The death of Christ is the motivation for our holiness.
II Corinthians 5:15 - And that he died for all, that they who live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again.
Once for all: As we already noted, the death of Christ was a one-time event. It will never be repeated (Hebrews 7:27, 10:10 etc).
But the life he lives he lives to God: Jesus now lives in the eternal and incorruptible kingdom of God where he sits at the right hand of the Father, seeking to promote his glory.
Just as we identified with Christ in death, so we identify with him in life. This means that we too seek to promote the glory of God by living lives of holiness that are pleasing to him.
I Peter 2:21-22 – For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
So, Paul once again shows that free grace does not increase sin. The sacrifice of Christ motivates us to follow him in righteousness. Grace increases holiness, which glorifies God.
Romans 6:11 – So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Our relationship to sin is dead. Now, through Christ Jesus, we have a relationship with God. As his children and we live lives of holiness to him.
DIGGING DEEPER: So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin: As we discussed in a prior post, to be dead to something is to disown it or to have nothing to do with it. To die to something can also mean to be liberated from it. 
Take, for example, a husband and wife. If one of them dies, the bond between the two is broken. The husband’s death frees or liberates the woman from the bonds of the marriage contract. After his death, she is free to enter into a new marriage contract.
And alive to God in Christ Jesus: In the same way, when we identify with the death of Christ, he breaks the yoke of bondage that sin had over us. Because he liberated us from sin, we are free to enter into a new contract – a contract of life to God in Jesus Christ.
This new life makes us eager to live lives that promote the glory of God. It is our desire to follow and obey him, to pledge our allegiance and devotion to him.
We might also think of it this way: In John chapter 15 Jesus tells us that he is like a vine and we are like branches connected to him. Just as the branch lives from the nourishment/life found in the vine, so we live to God through Christ. Because we obtain our nourishment from Jesus, we will be like him – we will desire to live lives of righteousness.
Let me offer you some encouragement and some relief:
Jesus has done what only he could do – he broke the power of sin in our lives. Now we must do our part – we must commit ourselves to living lives of righteousness which are pleasing to God.
To be honest, there will be some days when we are victorious over sin and some days when we lose the battle. But on those occasions when we fail, Jesus is right there to forgive us once again. He doesn’t love us any less when we fall short. He does not condemn us or cast us aside or withdraw his Spirit from us.
When you fail, don’t become discouraged. Just repent, pick yourself up, and get back in the fight!
Let me offer you some strength:
Standards of holiness or moral purity do not come from society, or Hollywood, or the latest best-selling book, or social media (thank heaven), or those who are considered ‘good people’.
The bible, the uncontested word of the living God, sets the bar for our holiness. So don’t deceive yourself by following someone else’s example or by comparing yourself to the world. Look to the scriptures and Holy Spirit will soon show you areas of your life that need to be mortified or brought under control.
When Holy Spirit deals with you, don’t resist him. It may be difficult to change, but with his help, all things are possible. The more you conform to the image of Christ, the more God can (and will) use you to bring him glory and to accomplish things in his kingdom:
2 Timothy 2:20-21 - But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and fit for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.