In a previous post, I discussed how salvation is more than just the forgiveness of our sins so we can go to Heaven when we die. Salvation is also God saving us from the dominion of sin. In this post, I will discuss how He accomplished that.
He Bore Our Sins
Let’s start by taking a look at 1 Peter 2:24.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning and live for righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. NET
Take a close look at this verse. It says that Jesus Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree. Few people would dispute that. But look at the results of Him bearing our sins. This passage says He bore them so that we could cease from sinning and live for righteousness. Wow!
So, according to what Peter writes here, the result of Christ bearing our sins was that we could stop sinning and start living the way God wants us to. The question is, how does His bearing our sins make that happen?
No Clearer Explanation
There is no clearer explanation of this than what we find in Romans 6:6.
We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. NET
When the apostle Paul writes about our old man, he is referring to the person we used to be before Christ; that person that lived under the dominion of sin. He writes that the person under sin was crucified together with Christ in order that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. But, again, how does that work? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:14.
For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died. NET
Christ went to the cross as our Substitute. He bore our sins in His own body in order the pay the penalty that we incurred. Therefore, in the mind of God, when Christ died, we died together with Him. The old sin-enslaved person that we used to be passed away when Jesus breathed His last breath and proclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Dead Men Don’t Sin
This is really great news because dead men don’t sin! As the apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:7,
(For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) NET
A person could be the worst serial killer in the history of mankind, but the moment he dies it all comes to an end. Sin can’t do anything with a person who has died. That is why I don’t lie awake at night worrying that someone is going to rise up out of the local cemetery and rob the local gas station. Death breaks the dominion of sin, and Christ’s death legally breaks the dominion of sin for us.
An Important Aspect
This is an important aspect of our salvation that far too few people realize. Too many of God’s people live as victims of sin when they don’t need to. I encourage you to think on this great truth until it grips your thinking. Knowing that sin’s dominion is broken is a great key to successfully living in the Reign.
M
PS If you enjoyed this post, you may also want to read the post Grave Robbing Christians.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Living in the Reign Ministries 
Hi Mac
Would you qualify what you mean when you say “dead men don’t sin”? To me it sounds as though you are saying that when we become a believer, we no longer sin.
Thanks
Julie
Hi Julie,
Thanks for the question.
When I wrote that particular statement, I was thinking specifically of people who are physically dead. Sin obviously can’t get them to do anything (aren’t we glad!).
The apostle Paul, however, applies the principle to us through the death of Christ (read Romans 6:6 – 7 together). As stated in the post, Christ’s death has legally broken the dominion of sin over us. That doesn’t mean that we can’t sin or don’t sin. Experience alone tells us otherwise. What it means is that we don’t have to sin. When we lay hold of Christ’s death by faith, we can be victorious over sin if we choose to.
I hope that clears it up for you. In future posts, I will discuss how this works out in practical experience.
Thanks for reading!
M
Thanks for clarifying.
Looking forward to your next post.
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