Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Romans 6:6-9
In 1872, Horace Greeley, founder and publisher of the New York Tribune, ran for President against Ulysses S. Grant. The campaign was difficult from the beginning, and just five days before Election Day, Greeley’s wife died. Grief-stricken and physically weakened, Greeley himself died a few weeks later—before the Electoral College could meet. Although three electors still cast their votes for him, Congress rejected those votes because Greeley was dead and therefore could not serve.
Someone who is dead is no longer expected to respond like someone who is alive. If a warrant or summons is issued, it will be revoked once it becomes known that the named person is deceased. Similarly, when we have come to new life in Christ, the old sinful nature with which we were born has lost its rightful dominion over us. That does not mean sinful desires are gone, no matter how much we wish they were. But it does mean that sin no longer has the authority to rule us as it once did. In Christ, we are no longer helpless slaves to sin. Romans 6 instructs us to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God, depending on His grace to resist temptation and walk in the freedom and victory Christ has provided.
