It is one thing to hear about the identification truths of the gospel—the reality that our old man was crucified with Christ and that we are now alive in Him—but it is another thing entirely to walk in them. Many ask: How do I reckon my old man crucified and my new man alive? How do I distinguish between the two in daily life? These are not academic questions. They strike at the heart of Christian living, and the answer is not found in self-effort or natural understanding. The Scriptures are clear: “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God… neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
The End of Self: God’s Gateway to Spiritual Reality
The identification truths are among the most fiercely resisted by the flesh because they are not accessible through intellect or willpower. As long as you are leaning on your own strength—trying to be spiritual, trying to understand, trying to do—you will find only struggle and condemnation. This is not a flaw in the doctrine; it is the very point. God allows us to exhaust ourselves, to reach the end of our resources, so that we will finally see: “In me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (Romans 7:18).
This is not a defeat to be avoided but a divinely orchestrated bankruptcy. When you have tasted enough failure, when your attempts to “be better” have collapsed, your heart is finally ready to receive what cannot be achieved: the truth that God has already dealt with the flesh at the cross. The Holy Spirit brings you to this point—not to destroy you, but to open you to faith. Now, with nothing left to offer, you are ready to take God at His word. This is the ground of true spiritual freedom.
Faith and Rest: The Only Door to Transformation
If you are looking for a set of steps or a new law to follow, you have missed the very heart of the gospel. The flesh craves a program, but God has crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. The only “how-to” is this: stop striving, and rest in what Christ has accomplished. Any attempt to improve the flesh or to earn transformation by effort will only increase sin and condemnation. Paul warns that giving yourself new rules only stirs up the flesh and multiplies failure.
To “reckon” yourself dead to sin is not a mental exercise or a motivational mantra. It is a faith response to God’s declaration: your old man was crucified with Christ, and your new man is alive in Him. You do not make this true by believing it; you believe it because God has said it is true. Faith is not a work—it is the end of works. It is the refusal to listen to the accusations of the flesh or the enemy, and the decision to agree with God’s verdict about you.
The Practice: Renewing Your Mind with Identification Truths
This is not passive resignation. The mind must be renewed, not by introspection or analysis, but by the continual affirmation of gospel truth. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Preach the gospel to yourself daily. Proclaim what God has done:
- I was crucified with Christ and raised to newness of life.
- My spirit is reborn of incorruptible seed and joined to Christ.
- I am released from the law and free from the power of sin.
- My life is hidden with Christ in God.
- I am seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
- My flesh will not inherit eternal life; I will receive a new body at the Rapture.
As you meditate on and speak these truths, your mind is aligned with spiritual reality. This is not self-hypnosis; it is the Spirit bearing witness to what God has accomplished.
The Old and the New: No Compromise
You must learn to distinguish between the old man and the new. The old man—the flesh—sins, accuses, imposes law, and demands that you fix yourself to be acceptable to God. The new man—your reborn spirit—rests, rejoices in the truth, ignores the flesh’s accusations, and trusts that Christ has fulfilled all righteousness on your behalf. The old man is obsessed with self; the new man looks only to Jesus, cries “Abba, Father,” and walks in the Spirit.
When you sin, do not return to the flesh’s cycle of self-condemnation, repentance rituals, and vows to do better. That is the path of bondage. Instead, acknowledge that the flesh is sinful and powerless, thank Jesus for His finished work, and trust Him to cleanse and renew you. This is not “license to sin”—it is the only way to be delivered from sin’s dominion. The flesh cannot produce righteousness; only Christ in you can.
What Is Lost If You Reject This?
If you refuse these identification truths and cling to self-effort, you lose everything that Christ has secured for you. You forfeit rest, assurance, and the experience of sonship. You remain under the tyranny of the law, condemned and powerless to change. The inheritance is not enjoyed by those who labor for it, but by those who receive it by faith. To reject this is not a minor error—it is to undermine justification itself and to make the Christian life a perpetual defeat.
Walking in the Spirit: The Ongoing Battle
Do not imagine that you will reach a point where the flesh never rises up. Even Paul confessed the ongoing conflict: “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh… so that you cannot do the things that you would” (Galatians 5:17). The enemy will always seek to draw you back to self-effort and law. The answer is always the same: return to the gospel, renew your mind with identification truths, and rest in Christ’s finished work.
You will fall, but each time you do, God uses it to teach you to trust Him more deeply. This is not a cycle of defeat, but the very process by which He conforms you to the image of His Son. You are not a slave laboring for acceptance; you are an heir, called to enjoy what Christ has already accomplished for you.
Rest. Reckon. Rejoice. This is the way of freedom.
