Paul continues speaking about sin, by assuming that if we have died with Christ (if sin no longer exists in us because of Christ's death), we also believe that we will live with Christ. Why is this possible? Because of the resurrection. Christ will never die again. Acts 2:24 tells us that death could not hold him because it is no longer his master.
The good news about Paul's words is that the death he speaks of is not something to be afraid of. This death of the old life leads immediately into new life – a life where we are returned to a relationship with God.
People often compare the resurrection of Lazarus with that of Jesus Christ and though the first was an incredible miracle, it was nothing like what happened to Jesus Christ in the tomb on the third day following his crucifixion. Lazarus would die at some point. Jesus, on the other hand, after the resurrection entered into heaven. This new life is offered to each of us. In other letters of Paul and in the Revelation, we read about the second death. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, those of us who believe in Him for our salvation will never face that second death. We will also die and be caught up into heaven. We live eternally because of Jesus Christ.
One of the difficult things for a Christian to do is leave behind the sin of their past and begin to see life with the eyes of Christ. Christ's death and resurrection has changed everything for us and we are able to move beyond the sin of the past and into a new reality.
It is in our perception of the world that we find the greatest change. Paul doesn't tell us that sin is dead, he tells us that we are to change how we look at it. We are still tempted and we will still sin (because we are still human), but we are not to be a slave to sin. We remove the negative orientation of our life – where our focus is on the world and the sin that reigns in it, to a positive orientation – we are alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11).
We live under grace.
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