Romans 6:6, commentary and pictures

Knowing this, that the old self is put to death together with Christ so that the ruling power of sin is broken and destroyed, and those united with Him are set free to no longer live in its service, with assurance of living with Him. Baptism is burial into His death and rising by the same power that raised Him, openly renouncing sin and the world to walk in newness of life. The old self is the carnal nature of self-love, pride and insistence on one's own way that wars against the Spirit, and it must be kept dead, for if revived it regains power to do mischief and ruin the soul. This death is not an outward covering or religious form but an inward cleansing and complete transformation to an altogether new life in Christ's likeness. To no longer serve sin is to cease transgressing God's law through repentance and faith in Christ, and to live it daily by looking to Jesus, subduing the carnal mind, and serving righteousness in purity and self-denial.

Old Self Crucified

Knowing this is that the former self is put to death with Christ, the old man crucified with Him so that the body of sin is destroyed, its control over the body broken and its ruling power ended, and those dead to sin are freed from sin and no longer serve it, with assurance of living with Him. Through baptism into His death and into the likeness of His resurrection they are raised to walk in newness of life by the same divine power that raised Christ, reckoning themselves dead to sin but alive to God, no longer yielding to sin but yielding to God as instruments of righteousness under grace. This is the high standard required to represent Christ rightly, calling for giving oneself to God, living in conformity to His will through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, and honoring the profession of oneness with Christ. It requires surrender to God and a thorough work of conversion that brings a person beyond self to God's saving power, an entire change in which life and its actions are governed by God's Spirit rather than impulse, self-will, or personal strength, with His Spirit filling the believer and His life filling the believer made alive by Him.

The old man is the natural traits of the human heart that always war against the Spirit, the carnal nature, love of self, pride, self-exaltation and insistence on one's own way, transformed and brought into subjection to Christ and replaced by submission to the guidance of the Spirit of God. It must stay crucified and dead, for if the old self is not dead it will revive and gain power to do mischief that sinks souls in ruin, the heart's natural traits continuing to war against the Spirit and leading to destructive actions. Building again the things once destroyed lets self increase and Christ decrease, exalting human planning and devising as wise while Christ is left out of the counsel, showing the old self gaining power again. Without this death a person deceives self that unamiable traits do not exist until trying circumstances reveal them, and instead of seeing and confessing that the fault is one's own unsubdued carnal nature blames the circumstances that aroused it to life and action. When love of self remains uncrucified a person leaves the right place of duty and takes a wrong independent course such as setting up separate work, enters close confederacy with worldlings, falls into Satan's snare for the soul, ranges on the enemy's side, strengthens the hands of the enemies of truth, and makes hard work for those trying to do the work of God and stand at their post of duty, all of which would have been avoided if love of self were crucified. This death to self is necessary to do the work of saving souls acceptably, with the knowledge of God and His Word circulating in the heart and the Spirit of Christ pervading the work, for without it service will not honor God.

Selfishness itself must die, showing itself in many different ways according to a person's circumstances and natural makeup, centering the thoughts on self, shunning responsibility for others while demanding favor, attention and care for self, and taking supremacy unless constantly watched against. At conversion self dies and not one thread of selfishness is to be drawn into the pattern of the life, the old sinful, self-indulgent character being dead and the old life ruled by sin crucified and given up. Its death requires divesting self of selfishness, learning the mind and will of God, disciplining self, and bringing the affections, thoughts and all powers into subjection to the mind and will of God. Its practical application is to mortify self and the carnal mind, turn from disobedience, and live a converted life that seeks to do good, as the truth is received a new life of heavenly origin being imparted with changed life purposes. The principles of the new life are to be brought into the daily experience, and every man is to seek to understand his place in the Lord's work.

True death of the old man is inward cleansing and transformation, not covering the deformity of sin with a self-righteous garment, for that is not the remedy. Speaking correct words without the true language of the heart proves the old man is not dead, and having a form of godliness without the cleansing and transforming power of God leaves the soul impure, vile, and rotten, yet God pities this perilous condition and will save when the sinner falls broken at His feet feeling his impurity and need of transforming power. Being baptized into the likeness of Christ's death means denying self and truly dying to self with the old man crucified so that sin is no longer served, yet many are baptized without this death and are buried alive, never having died to self, and remain cringing and bowing before some earthly idol, living in spiritual adultery without knowing it. The old, sinful nature leaves a person in bondage and unable to live freely in Christ, and the old nature must be transformed so that the person can live a new life in harmony with God, while outward success in religious work does not show that this change from bondage to freedom has taken place.

Baptized into New Life

Baptism is baptism into Christ's death, in which the old self is put to death together with Him so that the ruling power of wrongdoing is broken and believers stop living as slaves to it. The believer on profession of faith openly renounces sin before many witnesses and shows deadness to the reigning power of sin, being buried with Christ and coming up out of the water as the symbol of resurrection to walk in newness of life. In that rising there is experienced in person the same divine power that raised Christ from the dead, freeing from sin and raising to reckon self dead to sin but alive to God, no longer yielding to sin but yielding to God as instruments of righteousness under grace. This is kept as a pledged baptismal vow with constant aim to walk after Christ in spiritual life now, through daily genuine faith in Jesus, looking to Him and accepting His holiness as the pattern, giving self to God to live in conformity to His will through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and honoring the profession of being one with Christ.

Baptism is a semblance of death to the world, to its fashions, its customs, and its evil practices, meaning those baptized are to be dead to the world and to sin's reigning power but alive unto God, in whom there is for them the power of life. The change is not an improved or modified old life but a complete transformation to an altogether new life, in which the old self and sin die and a wholly new life begins. This is regeneration, partaking of the divine nature and being formed into Christ's likeness, meek and lowly of heart, finding new life in His spiritual life unto redemption from all iniquity unto purification for good works. It can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit, subduing the natural, sinful disposition by grace, changing the heart, filling it with divine love, sanctifying the understanding, and fitting for heaven.

Through living faith and union with Christ and abiding in Him, believers are crucified and dead with Him and rise with Him to walk in newness of life unto resurrection-life, making it possible to live under God's power rather than self. To be sanctified as taught in the Sermon on the Mount is to be crucified with Christ, buried with Him, and then quickened by His Spirit, so that His life fills the believer after the object lesson of Christ's holy life. Joined to Christ in death and burial, believers are made alive by His Spirit and filled with His life so that sin no longer rules. The memorial of Christ's resurrection is the power of a new life in believers, rather than a weekly day set apart in its honor.

Free to Serve Righteousness

To cease serving sin is a real change in the person by which to cease transgressing God's law is to cease sinning. That crucifixion is a painful death of self in character, worked only by faith in Christ through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It creates hatred for all sin in the heart and fills the heart with love for Jesus, so that the repenting sinner makes sincere and wholly acceptable efforts to overcome sin and in Christ and through Christ to keep the holy law. No one is saved by Christ while knowingly continuing to transgress the Father's law, which is as immutable as His throne.

This freedom is lived by daily genuine faith in Jesus, looking to Him and accepting His holiness as the pattern, which is regeneration and partaking of the divine nature unto purification for good works. Through living faith and union with Christ believers are crucified and dead with Him and rise with Him to walk in newness of life under God's power rather than self. This is learned by abiding in Christ, whereby those who abide become partakers with Him of His resurrection-life, He is glorified in them, and each finds a work for the Master that no one else can do unto the crown of life. In daily struggle indwelling sin presses for mastery, while the believer grasps God's grace by faith and uses self-control to subdue the carnal mind. Living the new life requires constantly receiving power from Him so that He spreads sanctified activity through every part of the being, producing unselfishness in the service of God. Faithful waiting upon the Lord renews strength to endure trials of faith, in which love, patience and constancy are weighed.

Serving righteousness instead of sin is applied through self-denial of appetite and control of the passions, as redemption from sin's bondage and defilement. Its practical application is to mortify self and the carnal mind, turn from disobedience, and live a converted life that seeks to do good. It is lived as the Christ-life in purity and holiness, revealing purity of character and setting a right example, with sin never glossed over and perverted appetites and passions uprooted and cast away so that God's children are not slaves of passion. Their lives show truth has sanctified their souls, with sanctified reason, glad hearts in the promises, and the daily outworking of the principles of truth, and no part of the diseased life of sin is to remain.

The converted person has broken the chain of sin's service and is kept as under a pledged vow with constant aim to walk after Christ in spiritual life now. Applied to pride and ambition to be first, this death to self and resurrection with Christ quenches the desire for superiority and makes room to value others' gifts and abilities. Following Jesus in this death to self requires coming into close connection with God and living in harmony with His people. Until the old man is purged from every heart and the love of Christ fills hearts that claim the truth, every door leading to points of difference and debate among brethren must be closed, while when all hopes are centered in Jesus and His Spirit pervades the soul the purging brings unity and greater safety in discussion though every idea may not be exactly the same. Self, especially pride, self-exaltation and insistence on one's own way, must die and be replaced by submission to the guidance of the Spirit of God, with the knowledge of God and His Word circulating in the heart, for this death is necessary to do the work of saving souls acceptably, and without it service will not honor God.

When self remains uncrucified a person deceives self that unamiable traits do not exist until trying circumstances reveal them, and instead of seeing and confessing that the fault is the unsubdued carnal nature blames the circumstances that aroused it to life and action. Love of self must be crucified and the love of God be in the heart, for when self remains uncrucified a person leaves the right place of duty, takes a wrong independent course such as setting up separate work, enters close confederacy with worldlings, falls into Satan's snare, ranges on the enemy's side, strengthens the hands of enemies of truth, and makes hard work for those trying to do God's work and stand at their post of duty, all of which would have been avoided if love of self were crucified. Those who have never died to self in the religious life, with self still an idol worshiped at its shrine, are like drowning men in desperate struggle to keep their heads above water, living with weakness and fluctuating experience that opens the way for Satan's temptations so they are easily overcome.