"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6 v 11
This is probably the most important verse in the New Testament for the Christian life. Paul has indicated from the very beginning of this epistle that we were not only saved by faith, but we live by faith (chapter 1 v 17 "as it is written the just shall live by faith"). In verses 1 - 10 he has explained what God has done for us; in verses 12 - 14 and beyond he will show that God requires our co-operation for this life to be practical, but this verse is at the very heart of how it is done. So in verse 11 he says "likewise"; likewise to what? ; likewise to Christ in His death and resurrection, he says emphatically " reckon ye also yourselves........ indeed. " In the same way as Christ died to sin and is alive to God so we believers are dead to sin and alive unto God. Who says so?; God says so, and here is the very foundation for Christian living, how do we make it practical? We RECKON it to be true; we believe what God has said even if we cannot fully explain it; we live the Christian life not by our own efforts but by faith in God; we were saved by faith and we live by faith. We cannot live by any other means other than the same basis on which we were saved.
The word "reckon" is used many times in the letter to Romans. It is variously translated "conclude", "impute", "reckoned" and these verses are found in Romans 3v28 , 4v6, 4v8, 4v9, 4v10, 4v11, 4v12, 4v21, and 4v24, as well as here. We have already mentioned that the best way of understanding this is found in Philemon where Paul says to his friend, concerning the runaway slave Onesimus "if he has wronged thee or owes you anything put that on my account." Philemon 1v18. The word reckon therefore means to put to one's account, to credit to oneself; and what is it that we are to put to our account?; that in the same way in which Christ died to sin on the cross and was raised to a new life, living unto God so we are to credit that to ourselves. In other words believe what God has said about us, and make it a reality.
He uses the present continuous tense with the word reckon; in other words reckon now, reckon tomorrow, reckon next month etc; go on reckoning the truth of what God has done and how God sees you in Christ, until it becomes part of your inner being. We were saved by faith, we live by faith, and we live victoriously as we continually put to our account what God has said. .
It is a practice amongst doctors to prescribe what they call a placebo pill. This is a harmless pill prescribed to the patient for psychological reasons mainly; it has no effect medically, but because the patient believes it does, sometimes it actually works. This teaching of Paul is in no way a form of spiritual psychology. We are not asked to believe something that is not real or true. There is a real and powerful change that takes place within the Christian's life, that is not always fully understood, but yet can be practically experienced. It is an insult to God not to believe what He says, it is an honour to God to believe it, and take it to ourselves, and live in the good of it. We shall see in the next verse that God requires our full co-operation if this is to become a practical reality, but we begin by believing that it is true.
What is it that we have to believe? We are to believe that just as Christ died to sin so we have died to sin. We are to believe that just as Christ lives unto God, so we live unto God. It may take awhile for us to take in the enormity of this, but it is the secret of Christian living. We did not die to sin in the sense of dying to our sinful nature, as some erroneously say; if this were true it would imply Christ had a sinful nature. No, it means He died to the realm and rule of sin, and so have we. God has placed a dichotomy between the believer and sin, He has released us from its power. It does not mean sin is any less powerful than it ever was, it means that God has removed us from its power. But there is a positive side to this, He has closed down one way of life and He has opened up another and just as Christ lives in the presence of God today so we are alive unto God in the very same way.
We have been removed from the thraldom of sin, and translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love. We are under a new rule, we live a new life and the later verses will show how we can make it practical. Meanwhile reckon, and reckon, and go on reckoning, putting to your account, crediting to yourself what God says about you is true in Christ Jesus.
Tomorrow d.v. yielding ourselves unto God.
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