Weekly Devotional - July 23rd

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also

be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him,

in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.

Romans 6:5-6

Paul's phrase, “Our old self,” is a critical point. Our former nature is what Paul is talking about; the one predisposed to sin and in opposition to God. Paul teaches that Christ did not only die for our sins in the legal sense; He also died for our sinfulness which is the curse all bear from the fall of the first representative of mankind, Adam. Our old ways and inclinations were crucified with Christ, and one day we will be resurrected in His likeness. Until then, by God’s grace through the finished work of Christ, we have been given the power to resist sin, although not yet perfect.