The word “baptized” is not the translation of the Greek work in Romans 6:3-4, but a transliteration spelling it out in English letters. The word in the original language means to dip. The figurative use of the word means to take on a new identification. After I dip a white shirt into red dye I no longer refer to it as the “white shirt,” but the red shirt. It has a new identification.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” (v. 3).

The word Baptizo in Romans six means “the introduction or placing of a person or thing into a new environment or into union with something else so as to alter its condition or its relationship to its previous environment or condition.”

Paul is referring to the act of God when He introduces a believing sinner into a vital union with Jesus Christ. In this vital relationship the power of his sinful nature is broken and the divine nature implanted through his identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. The believer’s relation to his previous state and environment is changed and he now has a new environment which is defined as being “in Christ.”

God placed us in Christ when He died so that we might share His death and thus come into the benefits of that identification with Him. We were placed in a new environment, Christ. We have a vital union with Christ. Paul declares we are “in Christ.” In our new environment in Christ we have righteousness and life. Our condition is changed from that of a sinner to that of a saint.

The Holy Spirit baptized us into Christ. He placed us in Christ in order that we might share His death and be separated from the evil nature. He also placed us in Christ in order that we might share His resurrection and have His divine life imparted to us. The Spirit of the resurrected Christ imparts to us a new quality of life. It is a new source of life that God imparts to us. It is only through this new source of life that we have the ethical and spiritual energy to live the Christian life.

Why did God do this for us? We share Christ’s resurrection in order that we may order our behavior in the power of this new life. With the power of this new power we can consistently say no to sin and yes to the indwelling Christ. We do not have to sustain the same relationship to sin that we were in the habit of before we became Christians.

“Therefore we have been buried with Him, through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (v. 4).

Water baptism symbolizes the power of the sinful nature being broken, because we are dead in Christ, and the divine power that we have in our identification with His resurrection. We have now been permanently delivered from the power of sin. God has imparted to us a divine nature, new life, spiritual birth and we can now respond to it rather than sin.

The apostle Paul commands us to live “as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Rom. 6:13). We do not do this in our strength, but in His power of the resurrection.

It is a resurrection that restores the lost image of God, in which we were created by making us to awake in the likeness of Christ. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus.

One day when Christ returns we will stand with Him with resurrected bodies in glory. Our whole nature, body, soul and spirit” will be “made alive in Christ.” And if we are in our Lord, our physical restitution is assumed to us with equal certainty with our spiritual.

We enjoy the righteousness of Christ now and on the great day of the resurrection we will be clad in the incorruptible glory of redeemed bodies (Rom. 6:9; Rev. 20:6).

We share in the resurrection power today (Cot 3:1, 3). The believer cannot deliberately live in sin because we have this new relationship and identification with Christ. We have died to the old life, and have been raised up to enjoy a new life in Christ. Because we are alive in Christ we are admonished to “walk in newness of life by abiding in Christ.”

Dead in Christ—risen from the dead—alive in Christ and free to walk in the newness of His life.

Free to serve God sounds like a paradox.

Only God is totally free. There is no such thing as absolute freedom for anyone other than God. No human being is absolutely free to do anything and everything he may want to do. Every individual is limited by or enslaved by someone or something. No one is autonomous.

We are either slaves in bondage to sin or servants of Jesus Christ. However, to be a slave of Jesus Christ is to enjoy true freedom.

This is why the apostle Paul argues in Romans 6:15-18 that it is impossible for true Christians to continue in sin (6:1, 15). We have been set free from the power and bondage of sin to become the instruments of righteousness. “We are no longer slaves to sin” (vv. 6-7).

Salvation by grace does not lead to a life of sin (6:1-2). It does exactly the opposite. Our identification with Christ gives us the goal to live a life that will please Him and glorify His life. We are saved by grace that we “might walk in newness of life” (v. 4). The implication of the verb is that we will “walk about, meaning our habitual character will be pleasing to God. We will live with Him in our daily life (v. 8). The life of grace leads to righteousness (6:11-14).

Since salvation by grace does not lead to sin, but freedom to live in the power of Christ, Paul goes on to argue that the Law as a means to righteousness is not possible. Freedom from the Law does not lead to sin either. The Christian who is saved by grace has been freed from the Law.

“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). We are saved by grace to become slaves to righteousness.

What is the passion of your life? What do you live for? What motivates your daily life? What is the goal you are constantly moving toward? Whose slave are you?

Christians must constantly guard against two extremes. We can easily fall into the error of legalism. The Law cannot produce God’s righteousness in anyone. It can only point its finger and bring condemnation. It can put forth its demands, but it cannot give us power to meet those demands. I have never met a legalist who lived up to all of the demands of the Law, much less their own legalism.

The only means of being empowered to produce God’s kind of righteousness is the freedom in Christ through a vital union with Him. Jesus Christ living within us empowers us to do what the Law requires. Salvation by grace in Christ alone leads to the righteousness God requires.

The other error is antinomianism—against the law. These individuals think that grace gives them freedom from the law to do anything they please. “Now that I am saved I can live anyway I want.” Grace is not a license to “sin it up” (vv. 15-23). Salvation by grace does not give us the freedom to go on sinning as legalists suppose. It does just the opposite; it gives us freedom and power to serve God and please Him in the strength He gives.

Sin enslaves us, but Christ sets us free from sin’s bondage so we can please God. If you submit to sinful passions, you will become a slave to sinful passions, and you will not be able to break the bondage. That is true of all the sins listed in Galatians 5:19-21.

Sin leads to death—spiritually, physically, and eternally. The second death leads to an eternal separation from God in hell.

Thanks be to God who has set us free from sin’s slavery through the atonement of Jesus Christ. We “have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (v. 18).

Our true freedom is found in Christ alone (v. 22). The same saving grace that freed us from sin enslaves us to God. This slavery, however, brings freedom—true freedom—to become all that God created us to be.

If we choose sin, the result is a life of bondage. If we choose Christ, we are set free to serve God in righteousness. Anything less than a life of righteousness is a life of slavery to sin which always results in eternal death. If we have been freed from sin by the grace of God, we will serve Him in righteousness.

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. (NLT) ( James 1:3 )

Yes, we do endure trials that will test our faith. Yes, we may fail and not behave as honorably as we would like, but use it as a learning experience. The next time you find yourself getting swept away in drama, bitterness, and anger, step away. Regain your composure and consult God to provide you with the attitude and words that will allow you to respond in a loving manner and produce an endurance of faith.

“Charge it.” “Charge it to my account.” Those are words we hear every day in the business world.

But did you know that those words have eternal significance, too?

“Imputation” (logizomai) is a word the apostle Paul used meaning, “to reckon,” “to charge to one’s account.”

In Philemon 18 the apostle asked Philemon to have Onesimus’ debts transferred to Paul. “If he has wronged you,” Paul said, “charge that to my account.” One who has something imputed to him is accountable under the law.

In the New Testament the believer in Christ receives the “alien righteousness” of God as a “free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:15). God reckoned Abraham as righteousness on the basis of Abraham’s faith alone (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3). Similarly, God does not impute the iniquity of the believer who trusts in Christ’s death (Rom 4:7-8). This act of God is based, not on our human merit, but on God’s love and saving grace (Rom. 5:6-8). We stand in the need of God’s grace (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).

In Adam, God judged the entire human race guilty, but only in Jesus is this fact fully understood (Isa. 53:4-6). But not only has humanity been declared guilty; it has acted out its personal guilt.

Jesus said charge it to My account. The apostle Paul wrote, “He [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin.” God took all of our sins and “imputed” them to His Son, put them on Him, i.e., put them to His account. He charged them to Jesus’ account. That is the meaning of “imputation.”

When you charge to someone’s account you take something that belongs to one person and you put it to the account of another. If someone owes you a debt you take it out of his page in your ledger and put it to the page belonging to another person in the ledger. Therefore, you have “imputed” the debt to another. That is what God has done with our sins. He has imputed our sins to His Son, and He has punished them in His substitutionary death on the cross (Rom. 5:6, 8).

Moreover, that is not all God does. We need something else. Just to take away my sins is not enough because before I can stand in the presence of God I must be positively holy. I need to be positively righteous. The Bible teaches us that God is righteous, just and holy. “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn. 1:5). Now anything less that His standard of righteousness cannot stand in His presence. I need to be positively righteous. God does something marvelous out of His grace. The moment you and I believe on God’s Son and His work for us He “imputes” His righteousness to us, He imputes that perfect observance of the law to us. We stand guilty before God because we have not kept the law. However, Christ has kept it perfectly and He is righteous before the law. God “put to my account,” i.e. “imputes to me” righteousness of His own Son.

When we stand before a righteous and holy God we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. He clothes us with it. He puts it all to our account. Therefore, when the believer stands in the presence of God, God does not see you, He sees the righteousness of His Son covering you, clothing you completely and absolutely. That is grace! That is something only God can do.

This is one of the most important doctrines in the Christian faith. The imputed righteousness is Christ’s perfect righteousness attributed to me. It is imputed to me or put upon me by God. When God looks at me clothed in the righteousness of Christ, God pronounces me to be a just man, a righteous man, and the Law cannot touch me!

No wonder the apostle Paul declared, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ” (Romans 8:1). As a believer in Jesus Christ you are covered by this perfect spotless righteousness of the Son of God Himself, and have on the “breastplate of righteousness.”

Some people joke about the “Bedside Baptists” who attend the “Chapel of the Tube” on Sunday mornings. But it’s more than a joke. Many people refuse to get near a church unless their nephew is playing the role of a sheep in the Christmas pageant! They claim they can get more out of a walk in the woods than from the typical sermon.

Can a Christian survive apart from a church? Some Christians have no choice. They are trapped in a hospital bed, or working in an isolated area where no church exists. And God is certainly sufficient to care for their needs. You can still get to heaven if you can’t go to church.

But even though it’s technically possible to live the Christian life in isolation, it’s certainly not the norm.

When you become a Christian, you are called into a relationship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9). But I John 1:3 makes it clear that we enter a fellowship that goes two ways: with God and with other Christians.

The New Testament never divides Christians into the church members and the non-church members. All the way through, it assumes that everybody participates in their local assembly. It gives no samples of Christians who belong to the “universal church” but have no link with a local church. One scholar has said that “any idea…of enjoying salvation or being a Christian in isolation is foreign to the New Testament writings” (Alan Stibbs, God’s Church, p. 92). Wherever Christians are within range of each other in the New Testament, they meet. Every time the apostle Paul comes to a town in the book of Acts where there are no Christians, he wins a few converts and immediately organizes them into a small group—a little church.

Acts 20:7 reveals the practice of the early church: “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached to them.” For Christians in every location, regular gathering was a part of life.

It’s illogical to say that you are merely part of the worldwide, universal church, yet refuse to gather with the segment of that universal church that exists in your geographical area. It would be like claiming you have a car, when the right fender is in Phoenix, the engine is in Tucson, and the wheels are in Paradise Valley! You don’t have a car; you have the beginning of the inventory for a junkyard. It just won’t function until the pieces are put together.

The church must be together to carry out many of its purposes.

Here are some irreplaceable pieces of the Christian that cannot happen when you live in isolation from the church:

1. USE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS—I Corinthians 12 makes it clear that God has given spiritual gifts to every Christian. And verse 7 states unmistakably that these abilities are not provided to make you feel good; they are abilities to minister that should be used for the common good! I Peter 4:10 commands us to use spiritual gifts to help each other.

   The same passage makes it clear that we meet with other Christians so they can use their gifts to strengthen us. God’s gift of a preacher or teacher is wasted if no one comes to hear them speak.

2. MUTUAL MINISTRY—The church is pictured as a body in I Corinthians 12, and Paul explains that each part of the body exists to meet the needs of other body parts. In the same way, God intends each of us to meet the needs of other believers, using our strengths to help in their areas of weakness. I Corinthians 12:21 expresses it this way: “The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you.” Neither can a Christian claim to be self-sufficient today.

   The New Testament is full of “one another” commands. We are to comfort one another (I Thessalonians 4:18), build up one another (I Thessalonians 5:11), confess our sins to one another (James 5:16), pray for one another (James 5:16), and many more. How can we obey these directives if we stay away from the gathering of believers?

3. ACCOUNTABILITY—God designed the church as a place where spiritual leaders could watch out for our welfare, as a shepherd guards the sheep (I Peter 5:1-4; Hebrews 13:17). A Christian who answers only to himself can easily rationalize sinful attitudes or actions; regular contact with other Christians can keep us sharp.

   A single verse should actually be sufficient answer for this question: Hebrews 10:25 warns its readers against “forsaking the assembly of yourselves together, as the manner of some is.”

For believers, there is no substitute for attending church. Besides something that pleases God, it is necessary for a believer’s spiritual well-being. For shut-ins or invalids who aren’t able to go to church, the ministries on radio or TV might be the only kind of fellowship or spiritual nourishment that they get. God certainly understands the circumstances of these people, and recognizes the sincerity of their hearts. However, it is a different matter for those who could attend church but are too lazy, or put other things such as entertainment and amusements before God, or who harbor bitterness or indifference toward other believers.

It is important to attend church for the following reasons:

(1) It is an Expression of our Love for God

Going to church is a visible, tangible expression of our love and worship toward God. It is where we can gather with other believers to publicly bear witness of our faith and trust in God, something that is required of all Christians (Matt. 10:32-33) — and it is where we can bring Him offerings of praise, thanks, and honor, which are pleasing to Him. The psalmist wrote, “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You” (Psa. 22:22). People are often motivated toward church attendance for how it will bless themselves, however we should remember that the primary purpose of the corporate gathering is to bring “service” to the Lord as a blessing to Him (Psa. 134:2). Indeed, the Lord is deserving of our time and energy to honor Him with our service of devotion. “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created” (Rev. 4:11).

(2) It builds up our Spiritual Strength

Receiving the preaching and teaching of the Word of God increases our faith and builds us up spiritually. Every believer knows what it is to face spiritual conflicts to their faith, and must realize the importance of being fed spiritually so that they can overcome the challenges. Paul states that Christians face a wrestling match with the Devil and his evil spiritual forces, and warns that the church must put on spiritual armor for protection, as it will take everything at our disposal to stand (Eph. 6:10-18). How important that we take every opportunity available to receive ministry and strength from God’s Word. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

(3) It brings a special visitation of the Lord’s Presence

There is the promise of a special visitation of the Lord’s presence whenever two or more gather specifically in the name of Jesus. By implication, this means whenever Jesus is the object of gathered prayer, worship, praise, preaching, etc. Even though Jesus resides within the heart of every believer, he honors a gathering in his name by coming in the “midst,” with his power, awareness, and anointing. In such a gathering, Christ is able to do things in hearts that he may not at any other time. The scripture says that God inhabits the praise of His people (Psa. 22:3), and in such an atmosphere the Holy Spirit will often manifest spiritual gifts that minister to the body of Christ. “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).

(4) It provides fellowship with other Christians

Gathering together also has compounded importance to the relationship of the Christian brethren. The Bible makes it clear that a right relationship with God requires a “vertical” and “horizontal” alignment — that is, we must have a vertical fellowship with God and a horizontal fellowship with other believers. It is not possible to love God and refuse to love the brethren. If you have a problem loving other Christians, you have a problem in your relationship with God. Scripture warns us that unforgiveness toward others will void God’s forgiveness of our own sins (Matt. 6:15). John wrote, “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him” (1 John 2:9-10).

One of the most important reasons that we go to church is to practice love toward the brethren in the form of fellowship. The Bible clearly shows that if we have a right relationship with God, we have fellowship with others believers. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Keeping ourselves in love and harmony with other believers keeps us humble before God so that Christ’s blood can continue to cleanse us from our sins.

(5) It is an act of obedience to God

Not to be forgotten, going to church is also a matter of obeying God’s Word. The writer of the Hebrew epistle tells us not to forsake assembling together, implying that continued absence can lead to willful sin. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,” (Heb. 10:24-26). Once again, we are reminded that a great part of the purpose of the gathering is for the consideration of our brethren, coming together to help motivate and encourage one another. This is a responsibility charged to every believer. To reject church attendance, is a rejection of one of the sacred duties of the believer. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

(6) It provides accountability to spiritual leadership

More strong evidence that proves that we’re to be a part of a church fellowship, is that we’re told to submit to the authority of spiritual leaders (within the boundaries of God’s Word). “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17). God designed this system of accountability for the progress and protection of His flock. Obviously, this really isn’t possible unless we are a part of an organized fellowship which has identified elders, pastors, or leaders. It is easy to see that one cannot genuinely be under submission to a TV pastor who has never met you. Nor is it possible to be under submission by visiting a different church each week. The Bible tells us to know them that are over us in the Lord (1 Thes. 5:12). Submission necessitates a commitment and relationship to a local body of believers and to their spiritual leaders.

(7) It combines our spiritual strength in prayer

The Bible indicates that agreement in prayer with other believers has special favor with God. “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Matt. 18:19). There is multiplied strength in the combined faith of God’s people, and it is clear that greater spiritual gains can be realized through corporate prayer and worship. This agrees with how God has historically blessed the union of His people in battle against their enemies. “Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you” (Lev. 26:8).

(8) It honors the Lord’s Day

The fourth commandment of the law that God gave Moses was to set aside the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as a holy day to the Lord. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8). This was, and will always remain, the official Sabbath. However, after Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, Sunday, the early Christians began meeting together on this day as well as with the Jewish community in the synagogues on the Sabbath. History indicates that due to the enmity of the orthodox Jews toward the Christian Jews in their midst, the Jewish Christians were eventually ostracized. And although they were no longer bound to a rigid code of laws (Gal. 3:10-11, Col. 2:16), it is believed that they came to view Sunday as a combined observance of the Sabbath and the resurrection day of Jesus (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2). This day of Christian worship came to be called the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10), a day to fellowship in celebration of the resurrection, to worship, pray and study the Word together.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

1. Don’t worry about anything. Worrying doesn’t change anything. It’s stewing without doing. There’s no such thing as born worriers; worry is a learned response. You learned it from your parents. You learned it from your peers. You learned it from experience. That’s good news. The fact that worry is learned means it can also be unlearned. Jesus says, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:34, NLT).

2. Pray about everything. Use the time you’ve spent worrying for praying. If you prayed as much as you worried, you’d have a whole lot less to worry about. Some people think God only cares about religious things, such as how many people I invite to church or my tithing. Is God interested in car payments? Yes. He’s interested in every detail of your life. That means you can take any problem you face to God.

3. Thank God in all things. Whenever you pray, you should always pray with thanksgiving. The healthiest human emotion is not love, but gratitude. It actually increases your immunities; it makes you more resistant to stress and less susceptible to illness. People who are grateful are happy. But people who are ungrateful are miserable because nothing makes them happy. They’re never satisfied; it’s never good enough. So if you cultivate the attitude of gratitude, of being thankful in everything, it reduces stress in your life.

What a guarantee! He is guaranteeing peace of mind.

Can you imagine a man wrestling with God and winning?

Perhaps the strangest thing is that Jacob was not defeated until the Man “touched the socket of his thigh, so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him” (v.25).

Even then Jacob still would not let go of the Man.  Jacob pleaded, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (v.26).

In a significant way, Jacob though crippled and therefore unable to win, pleaded for a blessing. It was the voice of a man who was subdued, beaten at his own game, crippled in the last agony of despair as he was pegged to the matt.

The “heel catcher” was caught and subdued before he could be blessed.

The blessing took the form of a new name.  Jacob’s name was changed to Israel – “he who strives with God.”

Has God had to cripple you to bless you?  Jacob, now Israel, limped for the rest of his life.  Everywhere he went people would ask, “Jacob, why are you limping?”

Jacob won when he was beaten.  He triumphed when he yielded.  God crippled Jacob and broke him of his being a supplanter, deceiver, and attacker from the rear.

Every time Jacob limped, it was a constant reminder that God won at last.

Does every limp in your life remind you of your weakness?  Does it make you conscious of the evil within you?  Does it bring to bear upon your conscious mind that which baffles, beats, and blisters your personal life?

God opens heaven and blesses us when we lay our head down on a cold, hard, rough, unkind, unsympathetic hostile stone.

The earlier we learn this great spiritual principle, the better off we are in life.

When the God of Jacob is our refuge, He puts His hand on us to teach us great spiritual lessons, to wound us, cripple us, in order that He might give us a deeper healing.  He cripples to make us stronger.

God removed all of Jacob’s false securities that night and made him depend upon Him alone.  The “God of Jacob” became his refuge.

Have you been to the Jabbok River?  Have you wrestled with God until He had made you confess your real character and nature to Him?  Has He humbled you by placing His finger in the socket of your thigh and made you leave limping because you wrestled with God?

God cannot bless us and use us until He has broken us.  He has to put a scar on our selfish flesh to remind us what our lives are without His abiding presence to bless us.

Heritage is freshly off a Great Awakening, but what is next. First, we need to understand what a revival is. Revival brings much needed exposure to the Word of God, and the Word of God refreshes and revives the faith that lives within us. We gain a new-found hunger for the things of God that have been lost after the mundane and stressful things of life take hold upon us. After the meetings pass, when the services become “normal” and the mundane/stressful things of life continue, how can we KEEP a hunger for the things of God?