Dead to Sin. Alive to God: The Power of Baptism

Throughout Scripture, when God is moving toward redemption, resistance shows up. Sometimes it’s loud and violent, like Pharaoh ordering the death of Hebrew baby boys when God was preparing deliverance (Exodus 1), or Herod slaughtering children in Bethlehem when the Messiah had been born (Matthew 2).

Other times, it’s a dangerous counterfeit.

Counterfeits look spiritual. They sound reasonable. They feel close enough to the real thing that you don’t notice what’s being lost. But counterfeits always distract, delay, or distort what God is doing.

We see it when Pharaoh’s magicians mimic God’s power (Exodus 7), when Israel builds a golden calf while Moses meets with God (Exodus 32), and when Jesus is in the wilderness and is offered shortcuts to glory without the sacrifice at the cross (Matthew 4).

The pattern is consistent. The enemy either tries to destroy the promise or replace it with a substitute.

Paul calls this out in Romans 6, and exposes a counterfeit that still trips up believers today.


Grace Isn’t Permission. It’s Power
Paul opens Romans 6 with a question that is shockingly modern:

“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not!” (Romans 6:1–2, NLT)

In other words: If grace covers everything, does how you live really matter?

Paul’s response is clear. Grace was never meant to excuse sin. Grace was designed to break sin’s power over you.

Grace doesn’t lower the standard. It lifts you into a new way of living. And trying to live a righteous life while still clinging to a flesh-driven, worldly mindset is a losing battle.

“For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures.” (Titus 2:11–12, NLT)

God’s grace doesn’t just forgive you, it actually empowers you to live differently than you did before.


Baptism: Death Comes Before Life
Paul reminds us that baptism is never meant to be a quick spiritual moment or a public photo-op. It marks a real spiritual shift.

“When we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death.” (Romans 6:3, NLT)

“Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.” (Romans 6:6, NLT)

Baptism marks an ending. Your old identity. Your old patterns. Your sin-driven way of thinking. All of it is buried.

This matters more than you might realize. Who you were before Christ cannot coexist with who you became after Christ. You can’t step into resurrection life while dragging around a decaying version of yourself. Death had to come first so real life could begin.


Dead to Sin. Fully Alive in Christ
Romans 6 repeats this truth from multiple angles because we need it to sink in:

• You have died to sin (Romans 6:2)
• You died with Christ in baptism (Romans 6:3)
• You were raised to live a new life (Romans 6:4)
• Sin no longer has power over you (Romans 6:6–7)
• Death no longer has authority (Romans 6:9)

You don’t fight for freedom. You live from it.

Knowing you are dead to sin is what allows you to walk in peace, confidence, and joy without constantly second-guessing who you are.

Living From What Is True
After Paul helps you think rightly, he shows you how to put it into practice.

“So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:11, NLT)

The word consider means to calculate, conclude, and live from what God has already said is true. You don’t build your life on feelings, past failures, or performance. You build on what Jesus has spoken.

Your position in Christ is maintained by Jesus, not by your ability to get everything right.


Freedom Still Requires a Choice
Paul is saying something deeply practical in Romans 6. Sin no longer has authority over you, but you still decide who gets your attention.

In other words, you can be genuinely free and still choose to live like a slave.

“Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.” (Romans 6:18, NLT)

Freedom doesn’t remove responsibility; it clarifies it. What you listen to begins to lead you. What you focus on starts to shape you.

Sin grows when you give it your attention.
But righteousness grows the same way, so what will you choose to focus on?


Choose Well. Build Well.
How you understand God’s love and grace will shape how you build your life. Every day, you are choosing between building something rooted in righteousness or allowing dysfunction and destruction to take hold.

Because of Jesus…
You are dead to sin.

You are alive to God.

And you are free to build a life rooted in righteousness, peace, and lasting freedom.

How can you step fully into the life God has already given you today?