Roots and Fruits

“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). This Sunday we explore what it means to live in Christ, without the possibility to sin.

Baptism into Christ is both a Christian’s greatest comfort and assurance, and the sinners' greatest fear. Therefore you are always caught in the middle between new and old, comfort and fear. On one hand, you have the promise of forgiveness and eternal life from Christ – but it’s only a promise. And on the other hand, you have yourself, your talents, your accomplishments and (most importantly) your heart. Which one rules you?

We all hope, in vain, that we can keep both. We imagine that baptism is just a washing off of some dirt that surrounds our life. But Romans 6 insists that it is far more. Baptism unites us with Christ, specifically it unites us with his death and life, and therefore baptism is both the beginning of our life in Christ and the end of our life in ourselves. It cannot be any other way. For all that you do, earn, or produce leads to death, and everything that Christ gives is life. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).