Living as One Who Has Already Died and Risen
In Christ, the debt is settled, and life is ours to enjoy.
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The Christian life is not about trying to overcome sin through sheer willpower, but about standing in the reality of what has already been done in Jesus. Romans 6:6 declares that our old self was crucified with Him so that sin’s grip would be broken. We are no longer under the control of sin; we are free to live in the newness of His resurrection life.
Faith often runs contrary to what our senses and emotions tell us. We may not always feel victorious, yet faith anchors us in God’s Word, which declares us free. This tension between sight and faith is real, but when we choose to believe God’s promises, faith transforms them into living reality.
Two key words, “yield” and “reckon,” help us walk in this truth. To yield is to surrender our will to God’s will in trust. To reckon is to count as true what God says, regardless of what our feelings or circumstances suggest. These two movements of the heart work together, enabling us to live as those united with Jesus in His death and resurrection.
This is not a daily process of dying over and over, nor a lifelong wrestling match with sin as if we were still bound by it. It is the settled fact that in Jesus, we died once for all to sin, and now we live alive to God. The Christian life is not about trying to become something we are not; it is about living out the truth of who we already are in Him.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You have been crucified with My Son, and your old self is gone. The life you now live is not the old life patched and repaired; it is new life in union with Me. Sin no longer has mastery over you. You are free because I have already broken the chains.
Do not measure your life by what you see or feel. Walk by faith in what I have spoken. When I say you are dead to sin and alive to Me, that is not a future hope; it is your present reality. Reckon it so. Yield your will into My hands and allow Me to express My life through you.
The battle you once knew was ended at the Cross. Your victory is not in trying harder, but in standing in what I have already done. Keep your mind set on things above where you are seated with Jesus at My right hand. Live each moment from that place of rest, for I am your life.
Scripture References: Romans 6:6, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:11, Colossians 3:1–4, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 15:5, Romans 8:1–2, Ephesians 2:4–6, Philippians 1:6
Real-Life Analogy
Imagine logging into an online account that has already been paid in full. There is no balance due, no payment to make, no action required to settle the debt. All that is left is to enjoy what is already yours. You do not keep trying to pay for it; you simply live in the reality that it is done.
In the same way, your life in Jesus is already settled. You are dead to sin and alive to God. There is nothing left to earn, only the daily choice to rest in what He has provided. So when temptation or condemnation tries to pull you back into striving, you can pause and say, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life in me and through me in this moment.”
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that my old self is gone and that I am alive in You. I rejoice that sin no longer controls me. I affirm today that I walk in freedom because of what You have already accomplished. My life is hidden with You in God, and nothing can undo that truth. I gladly yield to You and rest in Your victory as my own.