Daily Dose of the Word of God - Romans 6: 1-8

Erin Pacheco, Director of Worship

Transcript

Erin Pacheco  0:06  

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC’s Daily Dose of the Word of God.  It’s Friday, April 17, but Sunday is coming! I’m Erin Pacheco. Our scripture today is from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome. This is Romans 6:1-8. 

Erin Pacheco  0:24  

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Erin Pacheco   1:27  

I used to serve in a church that read this passage every Easter. Often, our Easter services would include a baptism – and if they didn’t, there was at least a moment dedicated to remembering our baptism, complete with joyful splashes of water. Baptism and Easter go together. Both are about dying and rising. Both are about new life. Both are about finding our identity in Christ. The old has gone! The new has come! The apostle Paul – who was baptized right after his own dramatic encounter with the risen Lord — reminds us to remember our baptism. Remember this sign that your old self, ruled by sin and death, died with Jesus. The life you now live is united with Christ in his resurrection. Death and sin no longer have claim over you. Maybe you were baptized as a baby. Maybe you, like Paul, remember being found by Jesus and going down into the water and rising into a new life dedicated to following him. Maybe you’ve never been baptized. If you’ve come to know Jesus as your Savior, baptism is a wonderful way to publicly mark your new identity in Christ. No matter what your baptism looked like, all of us need reminders that we are not our own. We’ve been bought at a price — the precious blood of Jesus. And we’ve been given the free gift of salvation, set free from slavery to sin, and empowered to live in light of the resurrection as Jesus’ people in the world. I’m excited to celebrate all of this on Sunday morning. I hope you will join us!

Erin Pacheco   3:24  

Let’s pray. Jesus, thank you for dying in our place. Remind us today, whatever we are facing, that because of your resurrection, death and sin have no power over us. Help us to live as new people, forgiven, baptized and free. Amen.