Dead to Sin, Alive to God: The Believer's Union with Christ
Orientation
Many believers struggle under the weight of trying to improve themselves, feeling condemned by the Law's demands and unsure of how to overcome sin.
- The Christian life does not begin with your striving or continue by your effort.
- The gospel is not a call to self-improvement or a demand for better performance.
- It declares that something decisive has already happened to you in Christ.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)
— Romans 8:1
Clarification
Sanctification is not a process of human effort to fulfill the Law, but a Spirit-enabled participation in what Christ has already accomplished.
- God did not leave you to wrestle endlessly with the old nature; He destroyed its power at the cross.
- To live 'after the flesh'—to attempt to fulfill God's demands by your own strength—results only in death and futility.
- The Spirit does not bring you into bondage or fear, but into the liberty of adoption.
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. (Romans 8:3)
— Romans 8:3
Structure
The believer's sanctification is founded on their union with Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection, which frees them from sin's dominion and the Law's condemnation.
- Your 'old man' was crucified with Christ, destroying the body of sin so you no longer serve sin.
- In Christ, you died to the Law itself, ending its demands and the spirit of bondage.
- The indwelling Spirit quickens your mortal body, enabling you to live as God's child.
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6)
— Romans 6:6
Weight-Bearing Prose
The core assertion is that sanctification occurs through the believer’s union with Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection. This union is a finished fact, not a future goal. The ’old man’—the sinful nature in Adam—was crucified with Christ and destroyed. This breaks sin’s dominion. Simultaneously, the believer dies to the Law’s demands through this same union, being freed from its condemnation and the spirit of bondage it produces. The Law, weak through the flesh, could not accomplish righteousness and only produced fear. God condemned sin in the flesh by sending His Son. Now, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus indwells the believer, quickening the mortal body. The Pauline category of ‘reckoning’ is key: believers are to account themselves as dead indeed to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. This is not self-reformation but living by faith in the Son of God. The result is liberation from fear and a debt mentality, enabling the mortification of the body’s deeds through the Spirit, not the flesh.
Integration
Your standing is secure in Christ. There is no condemnation. The work is finished. The pressure to perform, the fear of falling short, the sense of debt—all were dealt with at the cross. You are not under Law but under grace. Christ is your life. The Spirit within you is the Spirit of adoption, not bondage, causing you to cry ‘Abba, Father.’ Rest here. Your sanctification is Christ in you. It is not about your effort but His life. Re-anchor in this assurance. You are a child of God, freed from sin’s dominion and the Law’s demands, not by your striving, but by your union with Him in His death and resurrection. This is your permanent, unshakable ground.