Dead Man Walking

~Dead Man Walking~

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be adone away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

There are many christians out there who still continue to believe that they indeed have a sin problem.  In fact, many a Sunday sermon will drive home the point that one of our biggest needs as christians is that we go to our heavenly Father in prayer constantly to seek His forgveness for our trespasses.  Never mind that the blood of Christ Jesus has already accomplished this for us.  I have not come across that place in scripture which tells us that Jesus indeed died for our sins, except for those which we would continue to commit.  No, when Jesus became sin on our behalf on that cross, he wiped all of our sins past, present and future {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  Why then would we continue to come to God for something which has already been done for us?  Jesus left nothing behind when He died for our sins.  For as He breathed His last He proclaimed "It is finished!"  Therefore, for we who have accepted Christ Jesus those sins of ours have been erased, all of them.  As the prophet Isaiah tells us, though our sins are as scarlet they shall be white as snow {Isaiah 1: 18}.  There is a finality in this statement, not our sins MIGHT be white as snow, but that they WILL BE.  Yet we today are told that we need to continue to seek our Lords favor and forgiveness for our sins.  My friends, we already have it in abundance!  It is precisely because of our heavenly Fathers love for us that He would save us from that sin condition we were all born into {Romans 3: 23}.  However, it was never Gods desire to keep us under the curse of sin.  There was one who would come to deliver us from that sin which enslaved us {John 3: 16 - 17}.  The man Christ Jesus was that propitiation for our sins.

9But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8: 9 - 11 NKJV

There is one answer I have to any pulpit pounder who makes the claim that we must come to God to seek forgiveness for our sin issue.  That is, how can I have an issue with something I have died to?  The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6 that we who have accepted Christ Jesus are indeed dead to those sins which once enslaved us.  For it is our "Old man," our old sin nature which was nailed to that cross with Christ that it might be put to death forever.  Even though we were once born into sin, that part of us has long since been put away thanks to the sacrafice of Jesus.  In its place we are a new creation in Christ Jesus {2 Corinthians 5: 17}.  We have zero need to continue to resurect that which is dead.  However, many a christian continues to do just that.  Whether from not realizing the truth of Jesus or wrong teaching, many believers today struggle with releasing that part of them which has died.  Therefore, when the temptations of satan come knocking on our door, we have every right to proclaim in truth, "You're dead to me!"  We are indeed, dead men walking.

16Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5: 16 - 17 NKJV

~Scott~