DEAD TO SELF AND ALIVE UNTO CHRIST

DEAD TO SELF AND ALIVE UNTO CHRIST

Romans 6:1-13; Galatians 2:19-20

Life and death are two opposite words. When a person is dead, he cannot be alive at the same time. To the people around him, the dead has become lifeless. In the spiritual, when a sinner repents and accepts Jesus as his personal Lord and Saviour, he becomes dead to sin and self and alive in Christ.

This is possible because Jesus Christ, who is sinless, suffered and died for our sins. In His death, He died to sin’s influence. By His resurrection, he overcame the power of death. Likewise, Christians who have repented of their sins are united with Christ in His death and freed from the power of sin to walk in newness of life.

Have you been made free from sin? Are you alive in Christ? If no, this is another opportunity for you to be set free:

·        Realize that you are a sinner who needs the Saviour;

·        Repent of all your sins and confess them to Jesus;

·        Pray for forgiveness and cleansing in the blood of Jesus.

·        Invite Jesus into your heart to be your saviour and friend.

These steps will free you from your sin and make you a new creature.  

Tree parts to consider:

1.     PATHWAY TO SUCCESS:

Romans 6:1-7, 2 Corinthians 5:15-17; Colossians 3:9-10

To be dead means to cease from existing. When a person dies physically, he cannot move, see, talk, breath or do the things that he was doing before. What follows is decay.

When a sinner is born again, the “self” and “sin” in him die. He can no longer engage in the sinful habits of the past. He must daily refuse to allow any part of his body to be alive to sin anymore. This means that, his hands are dead to fighting, stealing, bribery (giving or accepting or helping to collect or keep), forgery and falsifications, robbery and kidnapping, touching and carrying/dispensing/keeping or storing or distributing alcohols, cigarette and hard drugs or putting his hands to selling or buying or giving to others, etc are no longer possible and cheating (helping to carry stolen money, stolen documents, stolen ballots, exam malpractices, importation of contrabands or circumventing legal/due process or keeping or moving or facilitating in one way or another) or putting hands to commit abortion; eyes are dead to ungodly views and images, covetousness, and the things that add no value to his life; mouth is dead to evil speaking, gossips, abuse, lies and deceit,  sponsoring propaganda and adopting cunning and subtle speeches to deceive the public, stake/shareholders, investors, customers, vendors, management, employees/ers, subordinates, government, embassies, etc; legs are dead to running errands for Satan (in business, politics, social. Family, community, etc). His whole body is dead to the world and its attractions.

The body of sin is completely destroyed. Such a sinner is dead to self. He is free from selfish attitudes and desires to please self or do his own will. This is the picture of a life that is crucified with Christ. This is God’s expectation from every saved person. You must be dead to sin and self and live unto Christ.

2.     ALIVE UNTO CHRIST:

Romans ^:8-11; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:12-17

Friends of Jesus are said to be in union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Therefore they receive Christ ‘s  power to daily resist sin, and to live a new life of obedience to God. The first sign of the Christian’s  new life is his total turning away from all sins (not gradual abandoning of sins). He will then submit himself absolutely unto Christ’s mandate, lead.

He will press on for the sanctification (holiness) experience. He will have strong desire for the experience, pray in faith and wait patiently for God to sanctify him. This step will help him to:

·        have victory over sin;

·        crucify the works of the flesh and present his body as a living sacrifice acceptable to God;

·        grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus;

·        manifest the fruit of the spirit as outlined in Galatians 5:22, 23.

It is important that you must be alive in Christ as you resist sin and live righteously all the days of your life till you meet Him in glory (..every one that has this hope purifies himself even as He is pure…).

3.     ABIDING IN CHRIST

John 15:1-7; I john 2:3-6

To live a victorious Christian life in a world dominated and perversed with sin, you must continue to abide in the Saviour. This means the Christian must continue, abide in and live for Christ (at home, community, society, workplace, etc). Just as the branch has life only as long as the life of the tree flows into it, so believers have Christ’s life only as long as Christ’s’ life flows into them – every minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and throughout their life on earth till they are called home.

The conditions by which we remain in Christ are:

Reading, mediation on and obeying God’s word everyday (no manual, literature, booklet should replace or substitute the place of the Bible, however good and supportive they may be)-they are good for spiritual growth but must not take the place of the Bible;

Making word of God the guide for our thoughts and actions, not what the people say, the world offers, the society dictates, the globe  influences or what philosophers, false prophets, family, community and society dictate;

Maintain the habit of always communicating (praying) with Christ in order to draw strength from Him.  Pray for righteousness, grace, commitment, victory over sin & self and reliance on His grace, faith.

Obeying His command, remaining in His love and loving each other (follow peace with all men)

Keeping our lives clean through the word, resisting sin and yield into the Spirit’s direction, etc

Abiding in Christ results in great blessings such as God’s presence, fullness of joy, fruitfulness in evangelism, answers to prayers. At the end, we shall live and reign with Jesus in His Kingdom. Arise and pray for grace to be totally dead to sin and be alive to Christ.

Repent of your sins and don’t be deceive by your religious activities/roles in the church without genuine salvations (Sunday school teaching, deacon/deaconess, regular church attendance, almsgiving, fasting and prayers, seed-sowing material achievements, occupying one religious title or another, or being a member of prayer warrior, evangelism team, ushering, choir, drama, etc).

God bless.