Reading: Romans 6:1-5

Romans 6:4b – “Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life.”

In today’s reading Paul argues that grace transforms our lives. Yes, it is grace that leads to the forgiveness of sins. Some in the Roman church, however, have argued that more sinning equals more grace, so sin away! In response to this idea, Paul writes, “Absolutely not!” In fact, Paul adds, it should be just the opposite because “All of us died to sin.” When we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we commit to live as he lived. This leads to a death to sinning. But the reality is that this is not a final death. Yes, as we walk with Christ, we mature in our faith. Yet the reality is always this: we sin less as we grow in Christ, but we are never sinless.

The process of dying to sin is an ongoing process. As we mature, we come to realize that this thing we’ve always done, well, it is in fact sin. It never felt like it before, but suddenly we realize that is. And then we must die to that thing, letting go of a part of ourselves. We then walk a little closer to Christ. The good news is that we can do this again and again. Paul emphasizes the ongoing nature of this process in verse 4, where he writes, “Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life.” Dying to sin, again and again, we will be raised to new life over and over.

There is a transformation, a healing, that occurs in our soul when we are forgiven and made new. As we are made more and more like Christ, we gradually learn to let go of the guilt and shame of our sin. We learn to trust God’s love and grace more and more. And as we repeat the process, sinning less, growing in Christ, we learn to love and extend grace to others more and more. Doing so, we better reflect Jesus’ light and love to the world, drawing others to the goodness of God. Day by day, may it be more and more so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for walking with us daily on this long and often slow journey of faith. Thank you for your patience and steadfastness that draws us back to the well of grace again and again. Each time we drink of it, O God, shape us more and more into the image of Christ. Use us day by day, Lord, to be light and love in and to the world. Amen.