Romans 6:1-11 (NRSV)
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Chapter 6What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? Verse 2By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Verse 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Verse 4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Verse 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Verse 6We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. Verse 7For whoever has died is freed from sin. Verse 8But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Verse 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. Verse 10The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. Verse 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Devotion
A quick reading of this text might call to mind a dry, analytical treatise. Maybe its simple, declarative sentences strike us as lacking in profundity. But a closer reading reveals it as a passionate proclamation of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. It doesn’t need special effects, suspenseful stories or other techniques designed to engage our attention. Its powerful witness to God’s love for us is all that is needed to get our attention and inspire our faith. What good news!
Prayer
Loving God, thank you for the greatest gift we could ever receive, your son, Jesus the Christ. Amen.