Know, Reckon, Yield
2024-04-15
Every Christian knows that the blood of Christ has secured our forgiveness of sins. This is one glorious aspect of the Gospel. The problem we realize is that just because we are forgiven, the misery of sin in our lives seems to continue. The harder we try to avoid sin, the worse it gets. I want out of this mess, and I do not want to wait until heaven to be done with it! But we seem to be so feeble when fighting against sin. We feel miserable and ashamed to confess it to God as we should. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We sometimes keep short accounts with God, while other times not so much. Nonetheless, we confess, and we are restored to fellowship with our Father.
However, there is another aspect of the Gospel we must know and believe and submit to, and that is our crucifixion with Christ.
The problem with us is not that we are sinners because we do bad stuff. The real problem with us is that we are sinners by nature and therefore do bad stuff. Sin is more than some moral impurity. Rather, we are marred beyond anything we can do to fix it. We were born sinners. The blood of Christ may have procured forgiveness. However, to be delivered from sin requires our death with Christ. Praise the Lord, the cross of Jesus Christ secured this for us as well.
A discussion of our history in Adam and our history in Christ can be found here. It is important to read that first, for the rest of this study will make the most sense with that background.
Here is a summary of that discussion: When Adam sinned in the garden, we were in Him. Just like we receive genetic traits and certain qualities from our fathers, we all received the nature of a sinner from the first father, Adam. The qualities of Adam were passed down from generation to generation, all the way down to us.
When Noah and his sons were in the ark, God saved all future humanity. If God had destroyed Noah’s family in the Flood, we would have never been born, since his sons’ descendants repopulated the entire world. Likewise, if someone had a time machine and murdered your father when he was three, you would be gone. Our existence is contingent on previous generations.
The same is in Christ. Being born into a new family and a new human race, those qualities of Christ have likewise passed down to us as new creatures in Christ. These things are all discussed in Romans 5:12-21. A key verse to consider: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).
Do you see that we were made sinners because of Adam? We were also made righteous by Christ.
What Our Crucifixion with Christ Accomplished
This crucifixion with Christ separated us from our old lives and the world. The life of the sinner (the old, pre-conversion us), our citizenship, our master, and our source of power were all terminated. Consider below what happened because of our crucifixion with Christ:
- From old man to new man: “...seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:9-10).
- From kingdom of darkness to kingdom of Christ: God the Father, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).
- From power of Satan to power of God: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18).
- From born of the flesh to born of the Spirit: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6).
Why did He do this? The blood forgives our sins, but to enter into God’s presence and kingdom, we must be totally remade. “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:50). “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus...” (Hebrews 10:19).
First, we were completely remade spiritually. This has been accomplished already. In the future, we shall also be physically remade via physical resurrection or change. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
Therefore, the cross of Christ, where we were also crucified with Him, ended the life of the sinner and all associated with it, and made us a whole new being with a new Master and all that He has. Everything in Adam has been destroyed and everything is new in Jesus Christ, our new ancestor.
Being born into a new family, we have been given the traits of a new progenitor, and this includes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Okay, so now we have power to live for Christ. We have a new master and power from above and belong to a new kingdom. I want to see change. I still struggle with sin. Sometimes things don’t feel much different.
Part of this is to forget about emotions and appearances. They can be deceiving, and Satan is still alive and well trying to get us to believe that nothing is different. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
But there is something else we need to be aware of. It has been taught to many as “Know, reckon, yield.” We need to know who we are in Christ, count it true and believe it is true for us, and then present ourselves to God for His service. We shall take each one in turn; Romans 6:1-14 is the best way to see this magnificence at work.
Know
Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Romans 6:1-2)
Why even ask these hypothetical questions? Because in the previous section, it reads, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20-21). In Adam, our sin abounded under the Law, but grace abounded toward us in Jesus Christ.
We know it would be a strange thing for someone in Christ to exhibit the character of the Adam. However, we see the problem of sin still exists in our experience, and we look for a way out.
Once, we “were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1, 5). Here, we see we are “dead to sin.” Having a new ancestry in Christ with the old ancestry blotted out, we are separated from sin. Sin itself is not dead, but the bond we had with sin has been destroyed. Therefore, it seems strange to try and live to be something we are not.
Romans 6:3
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (Romans 6:3)
Here is the first instance of the word “know.” If we were baptized into Christ, we were also baptized into His death. Don’t get hung up on the word “baptized.” The water baptism is a picture of this baptism. For the one, we were completely submerged into water; here, we were completely submerged into Christ. This speaks of our ancestry and history in Christ. We were placed into this family by the Father. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Again, this is not something symbolic; it is a historical fact. We were in Adam when he sinned, feeling the effects of that decision in us. Now we are in Christ; we were in Christ when He died to sin. We don’t pray for this to happen. There is not some special event after our rebirth that makes this a reality. As born-again Christians, this is something that has happened already, about 2,000 years ago. So we have to be aware of this death of ours in Christ. We don’t ask him for it, but rather thank Him and praise Him that this happened already.
So this is the first step; we have to know this fact and truth. Many are unaware and ignorant of this co-crucifixion with Christ. It is not emphasized in churches and Bible colleges, though it be a powerful truth.
However, it is more than just being aware of it. There is a deeper knowledge where the Lord needs to impress it upon us. How many times have we read over this passage and did not see this as a literal historical fact? Maybe our eyes just passed over the words, not realizing the impact of them.
Our old self was crucified with our Lord. We died. The old Adam in us is gone. Feel the liberation of this blessed thought.
Romans 6:4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
There is significance of our burial with Him as well. We only bury those whom we know to be completely dead. Both Jesus’ friends and enemies knew that He was dead. They witnessed His crucifixion. His lungs were punctured by a spear. Because of the certainty of His death, they buried Him. Therefore, we know the certainty of our death with Christ. We were buried with Him in His tomb given Him by Joseph.
Moreover, as Jesus was raised from the dead, we also were raised with Him. Remember this is not our physical resurrection, which is yet future. Spiritually in Him we have been raised. Therefore, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is also our death, burial, and resurrection. We were in Him when all these historical events occurred. Hundreds of witnesses verified Jesus’ resurrection, so it is certain. Our resurrection life in Him is therefore that certain. The good news just got even better.
Because He is risen, and because His death on the cross ended our Adamic man, we should walk in the newness of life. There may be times that we don’t. However, because He lives, we are very much spiritually alive.
Romans 6:5
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (Romans 6:5)
We were “planted together.” If we were planted together, that means it happened at the same time as Jesus. We did not have a separate cross or a separate tomb, it was literally the same cross and tomb. We were in Him when those events happened.
Because we were in His death, we are also in His life. This is a future tense, not because it is not historical. Rather, it is future because the story of the salvation narrative in the epistle is advancing. In other words, now that we know we have died with Christ, we will be in the likeness of His resurrection.
Romans 6:6
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)
Again, we see “knowing.” We must learn this truth to see advancement in our spiritual lives. The “old man,” the one who we were in Adam, was crucified with Christ. There are two expected results: (1) “that the body of sin might be destroyed” and (2) “that henceforth we should not serve sin.” These are related things.
First, an important distinction must be made. There are three things that I used to get confused, and these three things need to be defined. The first one was the “old man.” We defined this already. The other two terms are “the body of sin” and “sin.” These three things are different things. Only the old man was crucified with Christ. This does not mean that the “body of sin” or sin were destroyed.
The body of sin is literally our body. Since our old man was crucified with Christ, it was so that our body would be “destroyed.” So our physical body is obviously not annihilated. By “destroyed,” it is rendered idle or unemployed. It is translated elsewhere as “make void” and “without effect.”
Moreover, we are crucified with Christ so that we shall not serve sin. Sin was not crucified with Christ. Sin is alive and well; it just is not our master anymore. Note the word “serve.” You serve your master. Sin is not the master anymore. The body is not employed by him anymore. There was a release there. You have been delivered from sin, though sin is still a very real force out there to be concerned with.
Romans 6:7
For he that is dead is freed from sin. (Romans 6:7)
Since we are dead, we have been liberated from this old master, sin. That means we are available to serve a new master. We did not have any choice before; now we can serve God from the spirit like we never could before. The old master sin maybe prowling around barking orders, but we need to know that we have a new master since the old man is now dead.
Romans 6:8
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (Romans 6:8)
We know we are dead with Christ; we now believe that we live with Him just as much as we died with Him. Our history is fully bound to our new Master. His experience is our experience.
Romans 6:9-10
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (Romans 6:9-10)
A third time we see the word “knowing.” Here, we see that Jesus’ death and resurrection was a one-time event. He does not die again every so often. It is not an annual event, but a historical event that did everything that needed to be done once for all.
Because Jesus died once, He will never die again; death cannot hurt Him ever again. He now lives forever.
Therefore, there is no more death for us. Our physical bodies will die (if the Lord does not return first), and we will also rise again in that day when Jesus returns. Spiritually, there will never be any death for us, for it already happened in the past. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26).
Reckon
Romans 6:11
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:11)
What does it mean to reckon? Elsewhere, it is translated “counted,” “reasoned,” “thought,” and “supposed.” You now take this newfound knowledge and apply it to you. You know it as a fact; now you apply it to you. It is true of you specifically. Reason within yourself, consider it, count it as true of you. Internalize and personalize this truth.
This is an action of faith. You now know that your crucifixion and resurrection with Christ are historical facts. You were in Him when He died and rose again. Now, apply it to yourself. Believe it and trust it as your history.
The objective truth of your co-crucifixion is something you own. You must accept the facts for yourself.
The new man cannot sin. We must choose to trust in Christ and our death with Him to see our deliverance from sin. Moment by moment, we must choose the facts of God’s Word and not Satan or sin or our own experience or anything else that is deceptive. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Never take your eyes off Christ. The moment we do, we get into trouble. “And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:28-30).
Moreover, we must live expectantly that He will complete His work in you. His resurrection life will be active in us when we accept that we are saved from sin by faith. Just as our death in Him was accomplished by grace without any input from us, His life in us was also done without our input. We trust Him for His life to become manifest in our experience.
Yield
Romans 6:12-13
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (Romans 6:12-13)
We both know and accept as fact our death and life with Christ. We are free from sin as a master and fully believe it.
Now, we have a choice. We can submit to the calling of sin, though it no longer is our master. The body of sin is unemployed, but it still operates very much in this world with its five senses taking in all manner of input from the world and the prince behind it. You can look at everything that seems to suggest that the Word of God is not true, that Christ did not really die for our sins, we did not really die with Him, and whatever other lie that is in the world. The flesh continually craves gluttonous and filthy behavior. We can give into those lies.
Or... we can do something else. We can yield ourselves to God. Other translations for this word “yield” is to “present,” “stand by,” “commend,” and “bring before.” Stand and present yourself before the God who bought you and brought you back to new life. Lord, I am here, ready to be used. You must perform in me your perfect will.
We have spoken a lot about our new life in Christ and that we are the new man. This is true, but really the new life is His life. The new man is someone that only relies on Christ. The new man does not do his own thing. He is only someone who is a vessel to show the light of Christ. This is the new us, an earthen vessel with Christ’s riches within. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). As new creatures in Christ, we do not have any identity that is apart from Christ. We are only in Him; that which is without has no part in Him. Our new man only exists to reflect the Lord and His glory. This is the real us and our real purpose.
We present ourselves to God as our Master because we have been separated from the service of our old master, sin. We are open for new employment opportunities! Lord, You have a new servant and slave that is eager to be employed by You. Having been bought with a price, we are Yours forever. We cede all our “rights” and autonomy to You.
Romans 6:14
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)
Yielding ourselves to God, we do not allow sin to rule over us. By yielding, we are in a position so that the Lord can use us. We are no longer any law; we are under grace because of Christ, and we now are ready for His service.