Bible Discussion Thread

Romans 6 doesn't talk about water baptism. It says we must be baptized into His death. The thief on the cross is a perfect picture of this. He was not water baptized - but shared in Christ’s death because of his faith. Because he was crucified with Christ (baptized into His death) nevertheless he lived. So also we are baptized into His death, in the spiritual sense when we place our faith in His death. The obedience that is required of us is Christ's obedience. If you back up to the end of Romans 5 you will see that by one Man's obedience all were made perfect. That one Man is Christ. What are we doing trying to be made perfect by our efforts? Unless you are talking about being obedient to the Gospel- which is just believing. And at that point, the sin nature is made inoperable and no longer dominates you (not sinless perfection, but still not dominating your life). This is what it is meant by "He who is dead, is free from the sin (nature)." Our faith plunges us into His death. Verse 6 explains, in the original Greek, that it is not the sin nature that dies, but it is made inoperable when we die. Thus, I am crucified with Christ. We gain that position by faith alone in His death. It is not obedience to The Law, or any law. Our labour is to rest. We simply believe. If you'd like to hear more teaching on Romans 6, go to thecross.tv and click on Bible College. It will explain more to you how you can be free. Praise God!