For He That Is Dead Is Freed from Sin (Romans 6:7)

2022-06-13

To be human is to struggle with sin. Once we have seen our sins forgiven by the blood of Jesus, in that hour of praise and glory, we think that somehow, we will never sin again. And then we do. And then we are sore disappointed.

Where does victory and deliverance lie? “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). Recall the famous Christian hymn:

Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory,
That overcomes the world.

But something is missing. My sin was paid for in full by Jesus Christ. Why do I keep sinning? And then I come to this: “For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:7). So I must wait until I die before I stop sinning. In the meantime, I must get my act together, get stronger, and have more discipline until then.

Wrong. I am dead already. The previous verses tell me so. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6). Then, “For he that is dead is freed from sin.”

This is the deliverance, and this is the faith we need to have. We need to know that we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus. We need to believe it as historical fact as much as we do that our sins were paid for in the Lord Jesus. The deliverance from sin is accomplished as much as our forgiveness of sin is.

Our faith may fail, and when it does, we confess our sin, and remember this truth.