Friend, this is a powerful teaching and powerful understanding to have when believed by faith! This passage is teaching us several truths about what happened at the cross.
When Jesus died on the cross, our old self was crucified with Him.
When Jesus died on the cross, our body ruled by sin was done away with.
When Jesus died on the cross, we died with Him; therefore, we are set free from slavery to sin.
Now, let’s dive deeper into these truths:
First, when Jesus died on the cross, our old self that loved our flesh was crucified with Him. Your old self that loved your flesh died on a cross! This means that you and I respond differently to temptation than before we died. Whereas we used to live for our flesh, stuffing ourselves with food anytime we wanted, being lazy, etc. we now see that we died on a cross. We don’t do the same things we did before we died.
Second, when Jesus died on the cross, our body that was “ruled by sin” died and was put away. Your body that ruled over you that required you to overeat died! This means that our bodies no longer rule us like when we were alive to the flesh, but rather the cross has broken the power of sin’s rule in our lives by crucifying us! The cross is the end of our life of sin!
Third, when Jesus died on the cross, we were set free from a lifestyle of sin. You died with Jesus and therefore are free from sin’s penalty and power. Oh, sure, we may stumble and fall, we can still sin because we still have physical bodies of flesh. But we are no longer ruled by that flesh, no longer subordinate to our bodies of sin because they died!
Paul finishes this section in Romans 6 with an obvious truth: “because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”
Isn’t it blatantly obvious that someone who died has been set free from sin? A dead person cannot gratify their flesh; their bodies of passion cannot rule them; they cannot be in bondage. No, through death, they are set free!
Picture someone in bondage to drugs, either prescription or illegal. They try the worldly route of “addiction/recovery” - going to a rehab facility, having some “sobriety” for a time, but always returning to drugs. One day, to the sadness of family and friends, this person dies of an overdose. Sad as that is, one thing is for sure, they are finally free.
Friend, this is the exact point of Romans 6! You have been set free by the death of Jesus Christ, for you died with Him! If you believe this truth, it will change all the facts of your life. You will eat differently; you will live differently because you are being actuated with the truth of God’s Word.
Question 5. Are you believing and acting on the truth that your old self died on the cross with Jesus and that you rose as a new person with a new life and a new lifestyle?