The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith

John 1:16-17 tells us that “of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace, for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Romans 8:2 demonstrates this replacement with “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” The law of Moses taught us the need for grace and Jesus provided the grace that met that need.

How does our life change with the new life full of the grace of God we have in Christ? Romans 6 makes it very clear that we are joined to Christ, crucified with Him, dead, buried and risen again in Him:

• We are crucified with Christ – “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. 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” (Rom. 6:5-6).
• We died to sin with Christ – “For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over Him” (Rom. 6:7-9).
• We are buried with Christ – “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death…” (Rom. 6:4a).
• We are risen to new life with Christ – “…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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection… For in that He died, He died unto sin once. But in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:4b-5, 10-11).

Everything about our life in Christ now reflects this new life principle of Holiness: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom. 6:1-2). Since we no longer live to sin, how we think, act and live changes:

“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. Instead, yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God…I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness…But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end is everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:12-13, 19, 22-23).