The apostle Paul explains what this means and how it applies to us in Romans 6:7–10:
“For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God”
Romans 6:7–10
Notice verse 7 says, “For one who has died has been set free from sin.”
This tells us that at the cross, all believers were set free from sin. In God’s eyes, our old selves, with our old identities, are legally dead! We died with Christ; we have been set free at the cross.
Well, what exactly does it mean that we have been set free?
It means that at the cross, we were...
Justified. We were acquitted of all charges. The gospel tells us that Jesus was charged with your sin and my sin, and He assumed our guilt so that we would be freed from our sins. So, we have now been discharged from any penalty that our sin would have brought. We are justified through Jesus’ death.
“Through him, everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39).
Pardoned. How is it that you and I, as trespassers against God’s holy law, can be given mercy instead of a penalty? That we can be pardoned instead of prosecuted? It’s because Jesus was charged with our sin and died for it, all charges against us have been dropped. The prosecutor has declined to prosecute our case because we were already prosecuted 2,000 years ago. One who has died has been set free and abundantly pardoned.
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:7
Released. Think of the cross as a giant jail key that was entered into the lock on your jail cell. The door has now been opened, and you are set free.
“...now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15).
Our identity is entirely united with Jesus, the work He did for us on the cross, and the power He gives us through His resurrection. Our old selves are gone, and God sees you and me only in Jesus Christ. “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
This new identity means we should refuse to accept any other identity than who and what God has told us in His Word. We are in Christ, not in sin or addiction.
Question 2. What does it mean to you personally to know that you are justified, pardoned, and released? Please share your thoughts.
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