Our last several lessons have looked at the deleterious effects of sin. The Apostle Paul pointed out the devastating consequences of sin, but also God‘s gracious provision:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Roman 6:23).

Paul declared that sin results in physical and spiritual death. The gift of God however, is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The word gift indicates that it’s not through our efforts, but through God’s grace. We must receive the gift for us to realize its benefits.

If we try to conquer sin in our own strength, then we may grow discouraged as we fail time after time. God knows the weakness of our flesh and He has made provision for us to gain victory and freedom in our lives. The key to victory is the exchanged life:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer l who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)

We exchange our self-life for the Christ-life. As a Christian, we have a new identity. The Galatians were seeking to be justified through keeping the Law by their own efforts and accomplishments:

nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

Paul described the mysterious union that has taken place in which Jesus Christ lives in and through the believer. God does not change our old self, but He crucifies it. We don’t need to crucify ourselves – God has already done it. This verb is in the perfect tense which denotes a completed action with ongoing results. The significance of being crucified is that we relinquish our right to ourselves. Jesus was crucified for us and we were also crucified with Him. This means that we are not only delivered from the condemnation of sin, but we are being delivered from the power of sin. Are you experiencing a life of victory over the power of sin?

Although we are in the flesh, we are to live by faith. Our faith is not faith in ourselves, but in Jesus, the One who loved us and gave His life so that we might have eternal and abundant life. Our next lesson will deepen this truth in the book of Romans. The Christian life is not simply living for Christ, but it is Christ living through us. Jesus gave His life so that we would walk in victory.