3)
Know ye
not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into
his death?
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.
5)
For if we have been
planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness
of his resurrection:
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.
7)
For he that is dead is
freed from sin.
8)
Now if we be dead with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9)
Knowing that Christ being
raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no
more dominion over him.
|
M |
en are
brought to salvation through God's plan of deliverance. Part of what
"confuses" man about salvation is that the "phenomenon of
salvation" has not been presented according to human understanding. Since
this would make it easier for us to accept, why didn't the Lord just do it this
way? The answer lies in the fact that there is no understanding outside
of the Spirit, therefore, if Man were to wait for this
(understanding), he would never even get saved.
We are given
direction by God through the Word that we might obey. After all,
He has given us no reason that we should not obey. All that He has done
for and shown to us to this point is reason to obey.
There is an
interesting trend today, for those without the Spirit of God to attempt to
attain and to profess spiritual understanding. It must come to be accepted that
this is not possible. Such an one will find himself
not capable of understanding the things of God, but this is easily remedied by
being born again.
One loses
nothing by admitting a loss of knowledge concerning something. This is
particularly true of spiritual things, for the Lord knows we cannot do that
about which we are ignorant. There are, however, several things that we can
"count on" with Him: 1) Once we "know", we are held
accountable to "do", 2) In "doing," we gain great
blessings.
Killing the
people of God is the refusal of many to allow their minds to be reshaped and
refocused by Jesus. The "view" we have before salvation is, too
often, the view we keep after salvation. The "view" is one
that
"I'm-pretty-bright-and-I-already-know-something-so-it-is-my-job-to-change-a-few-things"—as
opposed to "I need to make sure that I am aligned with God's plan."
Despite what
is commonly portrayed by too many of "us," salvation is not
making our own decisions and successfully using our own way of thinking.
Salvation is about giving up the direction of oneself to One Who
is omniscient.
When Paul
wrote this scripture passage he was being questioned. His stand was that God was
so not much interested in what one did before salvation, for these things were
found under "grace." So, if grace abounds where sin abounds it is our
best interest to just sin more, right? On the contrary, Paul reminds us that we
are to live holy.
"Holiness"
is behind all for which this season stands. We are baptized in His name because
He is the One Who came and died. Once He committed Himself to that death, He
set out to show that death is unable to hold down the Spirit. "...the
newness of life" which Jesus affords us through salvation gives us the
power to draw others. Yes, we are redeemed from the bondage of others. Yes, that has been granted, we are to pursue others for
Christ.
Sometimes,
others try to downplay the newness that Jesus brings us by advancing the
"dry devil versus wet devil" theory. That is, that all baptism does
is take down a dry devil and bring up a wet devil. Anyone who believes this
does not understand that the change we undergo is not in wetting a body, but
rather, changing the mind. This is where the change is wrought
and we are truly delivered when we accept what "thus saith
the Lord". Our "good conscience" answers God in our committing
ourselves to Him and thus, being delivered from sin.
Always before
us is the example of Naaman, who though he desired
something of the Lord, became offended at His
instruction. It took his servant to remind him that had the instruction given
him been complicated or seemingly important, he would have done it without a
second thought.
We are not
exempt from the actions of Naaman, because we think
as he did. Too many times, we want to know the "whys," the
particulars of a given instruction, as if we do not know the blessing of
obedience. It is obedience to the Word that, literally, saves us. It is obedience
to the Word which delivers us.
The newness
of life brought about by the death of the Old Man brings us new strength,
new joy and new peace! What is impossible for the old man to accomplish is
brought to reality through the birth of that which is new. If we would accomplish
what God has planned, each of us must come to operate "...in the newness
of life".