Dying to live

 

2 Timothy 2:11
Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him;
(Whole Chapter: 2 Timothy 2 In context: 2 Timothy 2:10-12)

 

Romans 6:8
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
(Whole Chapter: Romans 6 In context: Romans 6:7-9)

 

How do you die with Christ?

 

Die through the law

 

Galatians 2
18If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

Romans 7:4
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
(Whole Chapter: Romans 7 In context: Romans 7:3-5)

 

What does it mean to die through the law?

 

The law defines sin

Romans 3

20                 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

                       

1 John 3
4   Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

 

Therefore, it leads us to Christ.  Without the exact knowledge of our sin that the law affords us, we cannot repent of our sins.  Neither can we even understand what Christ went through or why.

 

            Galatians 3

24                 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 

 

Die to sin

Romans 6:2
By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
(Whole Chapter: Romans 6 In context: Romans 6:1-3)

 

Romans 6:7
because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
(Whole Chapter: Romans 6 In context: Romans 6:6-8)

 

Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
(Whole Chapter: Romans 8 In context: Romans 8:12-14)

 

1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
(Whole Chapter: 1 Peter 2 In context: 1 Peter 2:23-25)

 

Die through baptism

Obedient Believers identify with Christ’s death in baptism:

 

Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
(Whole Chapter: Romans 6 In context: Romans 6:3-5)

 

Colossians 2:12
having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
(Whole Chapter: Colossians 2 In context: Colossians 2:11-13)

 

How much do you identify with Christ’s death, and how often?

 

1 Corinthians 15
30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained?

 

Paul and all the other apostles were martyred for Christ.  They literally died for Christ.  Would you be willing to do that?  If you say “no”, then I’m glad you are honest.  But even an honest coward is headed to the lake of fire unless they repent.  Repentance means turning from sin.  The apostle John defined sin this way: 

 

1 John 3
4   Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

 

Die to self

 

2 Corinthians 5:14
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
(Whole Chapter: 2 Corinthians 5 In context: 2 Corinthians 5:14-16)

 

Colossians 3:3
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
(Whole Chapter: Colossians 3 In context: Colossians 3:2-4)

 

 

Die to the world

 

Colossians 2:20
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:
(Whole Chapter: Colossians 2 In context: Colossians 2:19-21)

 

Colossians 3
2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your[1] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 

Die to bear fruit for life

 

Romans 7:5
For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,[ 7:5 Or the flesh; also in verse 25] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.
(Whole Chapter: Romans 7 In context: Romans 7:4-6)

 

Romans 7:4
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
(Whole Chapter: Romans 7 In context: Romans 7:3-5)

 

John 12:24
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
(Whole Chapter: John 12 In context: John 12:23-25)

 

1 Corinthians 15
21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

 

Philippians 1
20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!

 

Prove your death

 

Hebrews 9

16In the case of a will,[4] it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep."[5] 21In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. 25Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

 

What is the evidence that you have died with Christ?  Can you prove your death by the way you spend your life (or your time) and your money?  If you have died with Christ, then you should continue to live for Him.

 

 

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