by Jerry Senn
“For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
—Romans 6:10, 11
How often do you have a day when the spiritual energy has gone blah and ineffective? Paul makes a powerful statement in our text. He says we “must” do something about how we see ourselves.
The word “consider” may be translated “to reckon.” In some places in the country the word “reckon” means “I think” or “I guess,” or “I suppose.” But, none of these apply to this statement of Paul.
The word “reckon” for Paul meant “consider,” “to take into account,” “to calculate,” “to estimate.” It simply means to impute something to yourself, to believe that what God says is true in his word. Let it be “real” to you!
He does not say “feel” as if they were dead to sin, or even to understand it fully, but to act on what God says about us and claim it for ourselves. It’s something like endorsing a check made out to you. If you really believe the money’s in the account, you sign it and claim it.
All were dead in sin without Jesus’ once for all death and resurrection. His sacrifice won the greatest victory—over sin, death and despair. That’s why Paul uses this word “consider” (“reckon”) 19 times in Romans. We “must” “impute,” “reckon” to ourselves the truth that we’re truly “alive to God.”
Being “alive to God” means we live in him, his family, his fellowship, and his watchful care. He is pleased with us because Jesus stands between ourselves and the Father (1 John 1:9, 2:1,2). Sin does not have the upper hand, it doesn’t destroy our relationship any longer with God.
As Jesus now “lives to God,” so do we. But, we must embrace it into our souls. As John put it: “We have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he (Jesus) is so, also are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). Praise him, we’re “ALIVE TO GOD”!!!.