Re: "D-Day"

So... we know how to celebrate in our country. I don't know much about too many other cultures, but I know that the birthday is a big deal to us Americans. Basically we're saying, "Wahoo! I'm here and I've been here ________ years! Aren't you glad!" I've even heard some Christians speak of their "Spiritual Birthday" as if one day after their physical birthday, generally the day they got "saved," they were brought alive in spirit (while that's a false understanding of the human life, it's not the point here). There's been this recent kick I'm on in my own faith's walk and journey lately. It may seem a bit morbid, but then again, it's altogether necessary to look at. The concept and the truth that I've been really having my eyes opened to is the one of death. Scripture has a lot to say about it, and generally we feel like we know about death and the ideas behind it. Here's something interesting I was reminded of today though...

Romans 6:1-11 (NIV)

1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Do you see what this means! I feel that for far too long we have tried to declare sin and lies and the enemy's work in our lives dead to us. That's WRONG. WE MUST BE THE ONE'S WHO HAVE DIED IN CHRIST! What can be affected when we have died? Who can be accused? Who can be undermined? We died TO SIN, not the other way around. Let that be the truth of our lives.

We know what day we came alive... how about the day we died? My "B-Day" is October 9, 1987, but the day I consider far more important is my "D-day," June 17, 2008. That is the day I stopped trying to declare sin dead in my life, and instead declared myself dead to it. Does that make sense? How many of us have tried to live on as we always have, trying to declare sin dead somehow? It can't be done. We are they who die with CHRIST and are raised again then IN HIM to live AS HIS. He is not plagued by the sins of our corpses. That is why there is freedom in Him.


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Romans 5-10
Colossians
1 John
Galatians

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