The Reckoning Of Faith

Romans 6:11

Are you a believer? Do you trust the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do, because of your relationship to and union with Christ, who died unto sin once but is now alive unto God, you ought to reckon yourself in him to be dead indeed unto sin and alive indeed unto God. "Likewise," as Christ is, "reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Believers should always consider themselves to be dead unto sin. Because we have been completely discharged from sin by the blood of Christ, we should not fear condemnation and death on account of it. Sin shall never be imputed to us, or have any power to condemn us. Christ, dying under the penalty of our sins, has satisfied the justice of God and put away our sins. Being dead to sin through the sacrifice of Christ, we should have no fellowship with it. "How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?" Always look upon yourself as one who is dead to sin. And have nothing to do with it.

We should always look upon ourselves as being alive unto God. We are justified! The law of God has no cause against us. Having laid hold of Christ by faith, looking to him as our Savior, we have received right- eousness from him. And God declares that we are alive, spiritually alive and eternally alive. The justifying righteousness of Christ, freely imputed to us, gives us the right and title to eternal life, to live with God forever. He "hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12).

The basis of this blessed assurance is Christ. We are to reckon ourselves dead unto sin, but alive unto God "through Jesus Christ our Lord." Being justified by his blood and born again by his Spirit, we live through Christ, by virtue of our union with him. And we shall live to God and with God forever. As Christ died, rose again and lives unto God and with God in eternal glory, so shall we! Being dead unto sin by his death and quickened together with him by his Spirit, the second death shall have no power over us. We shall live for- ever!As we have experienced the first resurrection, the resurrection of our souls from spiritual death,we shall experience the second resurrection, the resurrection of our bodies from physical death. This is eternal life.

Don Fortner