Lesson 3 Washing at the Cross: United with Christ in His Death
Question 3
Friend, it is this very point where many Christians lack understanding and application and, consequently, continue living in the flesh. Even those who know the gospel of Jesus Christ can miss this point, which is why it is repeated and explained numerous times in Romans 6.
As a young believer, when considering the gospel, I focused on the fact that Jesus died for me. To me, the gospel was an incredible story, a heart-changing message, a life-saving truth. But the fact that Jesus died for us is only half the story; it is an incomplete truth.
Yes, Jesus died for us on the cross, but we also died with Him on the cross. Our death with Him is the rest of the story. Believing the truth that Jesus died for us saves us from God’s wrath, and believing the truth that we died with Him saves us from sin’s power. We will see that this is where Paul is leading us in Romans 6.
So, what does this truth, that we died with Christ, really mean? We are physically still alive, so what does it mean that we died with Christ?
It simply means that our old self, the sinful self that was enslaved to the flesh, was crucified with Christ, which is why Paul could say, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). How has the old life gone? It was crucified with Christ on the cross! How did we become a new person? When Jesus rose from the dead, we rose in Him, a new person with a new heart and a new life!