Dead to Sin

You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

–Colossians 3:3

We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to enjoy the good life. The genuine love, perfect peace, and singular devotion to God that Jesus experienced can be ours here on earth. That’s because, first of all, we have participated in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The same power that raised Him from the dead is working in us to transform our lives.

A second reason we can be transformed now rather than later is that we have participated in the death of Jesus Christ. Colossians 3:3 says, “You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” When we trusted in Christ as Savior, our old sin nature was nailed to the cross. The part of us that wanted to disobey God has been crucified.

You might be thinking, My old sin nature sure seems alive! How can it be dead if I’m still sinning? This reminds me of the time I saw a chicken with its head cut off. The chicken continued to flop around, even though it was dealt a death blow. In the same way, our old sin nature continues to flop around–but it has no more grip on our lives than we allow it to have. In Romans 6:6–7, Paul said, “Our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” Don’t listen to people who say you will not have victory over sin until you get to heaven. No, Paul said you can have victory right now because your old nature has been rendered null and void.

1. Vernon McGee once told a story about a grieving widow. She could not bear to part with her husband, so she had his body embalmed and placed in a chair right inside the front door. Every time she passed his body, she said, “Hi, John, how are you?” And so her life continued. About a year later, she went on vacation abroad, where she fell in love and remarried. The couple returned to the woman’s home to begin their life together. Her husband carried her over the threshold, but when he saw John’s body, he almost dropped her. She said, “That is John. He was my old man from–” Her new husband said, “He’s dead!” And he took John outside and buried him, chair and all.

Many Christians think they’re still wed to their old sin nature. But Paul said, in essence, “Your old sin nature is dead–bury it and get on with your new life in Christ.”

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Today’s devotion is adapted from “Wanted: Dead and Alive” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2012.

J. Vernon McGee, as told in Charles R. Swindoll, The Grace Awakening (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006), 104–5.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.