You Were Set Free. So Why Does Sin Still Feel Like Home?
Most Christians know they’re forgiven. But a lot of us keep going back to the same sins, the same patterns, the same chains. Romans 7 isn’t giving you an excuse for that. It’s showing you the prison you’ve already been set free from.
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In the waters of baptism…
You are…
• United with Jesus.
Baptism is not just you making a public statement about Jesus. It is Jesus bringing you into His story.
“All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus…” — Romans 6:3
• Baptized into His death.
You don’t just admire the cross. You are joined to the crucified Christ. The old you doesn’t need improvement. The old you needs to die!
“Baptized into his death…” — Romans 6:3
• The old self is buried with Christ.
Baptism is a funeral before it is a celebration.
The water becomes the grave of the person you used to be.
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death…” — Romans 6:4
• Raised into new life.
You don’t go into the water as a sinner trying hard. You come out as a new creation learning to walk free.
“In order that… we too might walk in newness of life.” — Romans 6:4
• Joined to the resurrection power of Jesus.
The same power that brought Jesus out of the grave is now at work in you. Christianity is not behavior modification. It is resurrection participation.
“We shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” — Romans 6:5
• Old humanity is crucified with Christ
The old Adam, the broken, fallen version of you — ruled by sin, shame, fear, appetite, and rebellion — is put to death with Christ on the cross.
“Our old self was crucified with him…” — Romans 6:6
But here’s where it starts to get really interesting, as if it wasn’t interesting enough already!
• Sin’s dominion is broken.
Sin may still tempt you, but it is no longer your master. You are not fighting for freedom. You are fighting from freedom.
“So that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” — Romans 6:6
Now… YOU ARE NO LONGER A SLAVE!
• No longer a slave.
Baptism declares a change of ownership. You used to belong to sin. Now you belong to Christ.
“One who has died has been set free from sin.” — Romans 6:7
• You are Dead to Sin.
Paul is not saying sin is dead to you. He is saying you are dead to sin. Its voice may be loud, but its authority has been shattered.
“Consider yourselves dead to sin…” — Romans 6:11
And now you are alive to God in Christ.
• You are alive to God.
Baptism is not merely about what you leave behind. It is about who you are brought home to - the Father. You are alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit.
“Alive to God in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 6:11
• Your allegiance transfers from the Dominion of Darkness to the Kingdom of Light - No Dual Citizenship! Your body, your desires, your habits, your future — all of it now belongs to Jesus. You don’t present yourself to sin anymore. You present yourself to God.
“Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.” — Romans 6:13
• You become part of a new Exodus people.
Like Israel passing through the waters of the Red Sea, baptism says: Egypt is behind you. Pharaoh (death) is not your king. Slavery (sin) is not your identity. Don’t go back to what Jesus drowned.
• You become part of a new humanity.
In Adam, sin reigned. In Christ, grace reigns.
Baptism is the new sign that you’ve been moved from the old world into the new creation.