Dead Man still walking?

       Let me tell you that there are people out there that are a lot smarter than me.  It amazes me to see people who pick something up the first time and totally get it without having to go back and clarify or have something repeated.  But, I don’t really think that’s the norm.  I think most people need to hear something a few times before they really start to gain a solid understanding.

      Recently, the Lord seems to be hammering me with a spiritual truth that is presented in Romans 6 - the dead man versus the alive man.

      Let me back up and explain.  My wife and I have been listening to a series on the book of Romans from Athey Creek Church, and one lesson that hit me  hard came from Romans 6: 1-11.  While that teaching was fresh in my mind, I turned around and a couple of days later, I had a great conversation with my daughter - about the dead man versus the alive man - and she brought up the passage from Romans 6 in our conversation.  A few days later,  I flipped on the Unashamed podcast from the Robertson family, and I heard them talking about Phil’s conversion to Christianity, and how well he had lived out the Romans 6 passage.  By now, my interest and attention to  Romans 6  was pretty heightened.  So, as I was mulling the passage over for a few days, I turned on another podcast  to hear Kirk Cameron reference Romans 6 and the dead man versus the new man.

      Coincidence?  I think not. 

       There are times where God uses “logos” to teach and convict and refine a person.  That is simply, the written word of God.  But, there are other times where a specific word can be for a person, but is called the “rhema” word.  By definition, a rhema word  is a “specific spoken word from God that applies at a particular moment often to provide guidance, correction, or comfort.”  This “rhema” word is guided through the Holy Spirit - not simply human intellect or worldly wisdom.  

      I strongly believe the teaching from Romans 6:1-11 is  a rhema word for all Believers  right now.

      So what does Romans 6 say?

      In Romans 6:3, the verse explains that believers in Christ were buried with him unto death through his crucifixion.  BUT, through his resurrection we were given a new life.  In verse 6, it says that our “old self” was crucified with him so that the body that had been ruled by sin would be crucified.  Anyone who died with Christ has been set free - verse 7 says.

      Verse 8 says that if we died with Christ, we who believe will be “alive” with him.  

      What you see being presented in these verses is a contrast of before Christ and after.  And for those who believe that Christ died and was resurrected for them, they are no longer dead, but alive.

      So let’s stop right there.  It’s true that non-believers and believers both live a physical existence from the day they are born.  So from a physical existence, they are already alive…keep in mind that God’s plan from the beginning of Genesis was to walk and talk with man and to have a relationship with him.  But, we broke that relationship by our choosing to bring sin into the world.  Ever since then, man by himself has lived a dead man’s life.  

      How many people do you know who are living a life of existence but they aren’t flourishing?  I’m not talking about someone just going through a rough patch. Everyone has those in their life, but do you know someone who is physically alive but acts dead - all the time?  There’s no life in them.  They check life’s boxes of obligations and duties, and that’s it.  There’s no spark in their eyes.  Again, there’s a difference between going through a tough time and this being the constant state of a person’s life.  

       But, Christ through his resurrection, provided a way for sin and death to be defeated.  He knew our abysmal state, and offered himself up as a sacrifice to completely breathe life into us for now and the rest of eternity.

      Believers literally live two lives in their physical existence - a before Christ (spiritually dead) and an after Christ (spiritually alive).  Some people latch onto this right away and completely understand that their old ways are gone, and although they still may struggle with sin, they are a new creation in Christ.  Joy replaces the sorrow and a sense of purpose replaces the drudgery of just making it through a day.

      However, there’s this weird phenomenon where some want to  claim to be a Christian, but it’s just something added on to who they already were.  There’s no dying to the old person, and there’s no coming alive in the new person.  They may nobly try to improve their situation in life, but they are doing it in their own power, and may unconsciously be trying to earn their revelation of wanting to be a Christian or shall I say, a good person?  But those terms aren’t the same are they - Christian and good?  And what is “good”? And who gets to determine that?  

      If you know anything at all about Phil Robertson’s life story, he was the famous patriarch of the hit TV series Duck Dynasty, but at one time he was a drunk who owned and operated a bar.  He had fallen into a miserable pattern in life of drinking too much with his “friends”, and his life was falling apart.  But one night, Phil accepted Christ as his Savior, and he started a brand new life.  The old man died.

      After his conversion to Christianity, his old buddies drove up to his house and invited him to go out drinking with them.  Phil’s response to them was, “The man who used to live here doesn’t live here any more.”  And his “friends” drove away disheartened by their inability to coerce Phil to join them.  Phil understood completely the dead man and the alive man of Romans 6.  It’s a beautiful line from the movie on his life story (The Blind).  Phil was a new man, and the one his old friends knew no longer even existed.

      This brings us to another sticky point though.  When a person becomes a believer in Christ, their life should and will change.  But what about all those people who knew you before you accepted Christ - your old friends and family?  On the outside you look the same, but all of a sudden, there’s something different about you.  Others probably won’t understand the internal changes that are occurring, and they may want the old person back.  This can create confusion for them, and it’s tough for a new Believer finding their way in their faith.  Often, loved ones might say that the person just started to grow up and mature, or that they’ve reprioritized their lives, or that they’ve just started making healthier choices.  

      All of this may be true, but it’s not because the physical fleshly person is simply making new and different choices.  According to Romans 6, that person doesn’t exist anymore. They are dead!  A new spiritual person has replaced them, and God has begun a restoration project that will last a lifetime. They are truly alive for the very first time!

      It is the new beginning of new beginnings. Joy should emanate, heart changes should naturally be occurring, your perspective of the world should change, and a desire to serve the one who saved you should become your life priority.

      Having the old man die and watching the new man come alive is a radical conversion…each and every time.  It is nothing less than a  miracle of God!

      Back in Romans, verse 10 of Romans 6 continues to say that Christ died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.  There it is. Sin had no control of Christ, and he dedicated his life to living for God. 

      Verse 11 compares Believers to Christ and says that we also, through Christ, are dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  We too have new life through Christ, and the focus of our lives should be to live for God - just like Christ did.

      The world’s problem with a lot of this is that they have the perception that Christ came to save “bad” people and make them “good”. And honestly, many take offense at the idea that they are a “bad” person - especially if they have successfully navigated difficult waters that the world has thrown at them.   

       BUT, if you look at the language of chapter 6 in Romans, the terms “good” and “bad” were never used to contrast the old man and the new man.  

      Christ died and rose again to save “dead” people and make them “alive”.  

      The last few weeks have been a great time for me to reflect on how much Christ has changed my life. I’ve always appreciated the new beginning that Christ gave me, but I honestly never put a lot of thought into the fact that there have literally been two ‘Dave Myers’ - one before Christ and one after.  The first one died at the age of 18, and the new one was born then too.  It’s powerful for all Believers  to know the distinction of the life before and after Christ.

       I pray that you too know that incredible transformation in your life.  If you don’t, the reality is you’re probably still just a dead man walking.  Christ died and rose again as the cure to the disease of sin.  Accept his sacrifice and start life anew. 

    If you are already a Believer, take some time to really meditate on what God did to bring you to life.  Each one of us has a different story as to how we got there, but we all have the same source of salvation,  and it didn’t come cheap or easy.  The suffering that Christ endured was specifically for me and for you.  It’s worth remembering that.