Title: Our Old Self Was Crucified
Scripture: Romans 6:6
We know we are sinners. The Bible is clear about that. But Paul tells us something even more specific here: our old self, the person we used to be before Christ, was crucified with Jesus. This is not metaphorical language. Paul means that when Christ died on the cross, God counted us as dying there too. Our old identity, our old way of life, our old master of sin, all of that was put to death.
This explains why Christians cannot keep living in sin. You cannot live in something that no longer has power over you. The old self is not sick or weakened, it is dead. God killed it at the cross. This is why Paul can say we are no longer slaves to sin. A dead man cannot serve his former master. The power of sin has been broken in your life, not because of your efforts, but because of what God did to you in Christ.
But we still sin, don't we? If our old self is dead, why do we keep struggling? Paul is talking about our legal status before God, not our daily experience. God declares that the old you is dead and gone. He sees you now as united to Christ in His death and resurrection. This is your new identity. You are not trying to become a new person, you already are one. Your daily struggle with sin is the process of living out who God says you already are.
This changes how we fight sin. You do not fight sin by trying to improve the old self. That person is dead. You fight sin by believing what God says about you and then acting like it. When temptation comes, you remind yourself: "That is not who I am anymore. My old self died with Christ. I am now alive to God." This is not positive thinking. This is believing God's Word about your identity in Christ.
The practical result is simple: stop making excuses for sin. Stop saying, "That's just how I am." That person died. When you sin, repent quickly and remember who you are in Christ. Then live like it. Ask God to help you believe this truth more deeply. The more you grasp that your old self is dead, the less power sin will have over your daily choices. This is the path to real change, and it starts with believing what God has already done to you in Christ.
Prayer: Lord, help us believe that our old self really died with Christ. When we are tempted, remind us that we are no longer slaves to sin. Give us strength to live as the new people You have made us to be. Amen.
