“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” Verse 3. People often speak in a superficial way about “getting baptized,” but baptism is not a superficial act. The apostle says, “Do you not know that [we were] baptized into His death?”—that is, death to sin. Just as God formerly let the ungodly world perish through water, and saved Noah out of the water, we, through baptism, also bury the person who formerly lived in ungodliness, so that the one who is raised up out of the water lives in newness of life. The ungodly person remains under the water, and the righteous person is raised up out of the water. Being baptized does not remove sin in the flesh, because baptism is not the removal of the filth of the flesh. 1 Pet. 3:21. Rather, it is the evidence that a person has made a covenant with God not to follow or obey sin in the flesh. This is the covenant of a good conscience. We have been circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism. Col. 2:11-12. The body of the sins of the flesh, in this context, is the body that presented itself to serve sin. This body has now been put off by the circumcision of Christ and has been buried under the water. The body that rises up out of the water must be driven and led by the Holy Spirit. By following the Spirit’s leading, the requirement of the law is fulfilled. However, since sin in the flesh has not yet been destroyed, we come to know the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings through this battle, because the leading of the Spirit always goes against the lusts of the flesh. “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection . . . .” Rom. 6:5. If we have died with Christ, we believe that we also will live with Him. As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. To begin with, this is a position of faith; after that it becomes a life. What is the point of being baptized if a person continues to live the old life? In that case, it would have been better not to have been baptized. We are to live with Him in the Holy Spirit, in the resurrected life and in the power of the resurrection. The death that is mentioned here is not that final death in the body by which the body of sin is destroyed, but it is a death over sinful deeds so that we can live a new life. “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Verse 6. What is the old man? It is the man that lives according to his lusts. This man is crucified. We, by the power of God, must keep him on the cross. God does not keep him crucified against my will. I know and am aware of God’s law and will, and through His power I must live in obedience to them. This is how the old man is crucified. He is not supposed to sit at the foot of the cross; he must be crucified with Him. This is what keeps sin in the flesh from ruling. How I think is the deciding factor, and the result is that sin in the flesh is bound. We suffer death in the flesh but are made alive in the Spirit, just like our precious Lord Jesus Christ. The body of sin is being destroyed, and we become less and less able to serve sin. “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” Verse 12. We can see that sin still dwells in our mortal body, but there is no condemnation for this. We are only under judgment and condemnation if we obey its lusts. God said to Cain, “And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Gen. 4:7. A person who has been baptized with the Holy Spirit has received power to rule over sin, that is, over sinful deeds. However, the baptism of the Spirit does not remove sin in the flesh. If we live and walk in the Spirit, sin in the flesh will gradually lose its power. The testimony of Christ—Spirit, water and blood—will enter more and more deeply into our life and our being. “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” Rom. 6:13. We are instructed in the above verse to present our members as instruments of righteousness, and therefore God must give us the power and grace to do it. For this work to be accomplished, we must be fully conscious and extremely watchful every day. The exhortation not to present our members to serve sin makes it clear that sin is present. All it needs is an instrument through which to work. Two powers are at our disposal: the power of sin and the power of God. One leads to death, the other leads to life. To which of these two powers do you present your members? God’s Spirit is living, and He makes our human spirit alive. Works performed through His leading are living works. Let us therefore consider ourselves as alive, for we have been raised up with Him and made alive with Him. “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” Verse 16. The fall came into the world through disobedience. Now, through obedience, it is being driven out of the world. In Christ we have both grace and power. Having the correct doctrine is no help if we do not live the life in faith through obedience. The Pharisees had such an irreproachable doctrine that Jesus could say, “Whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works.” A person can have many theories, but the Scriptures state that the life is the light of men. John 1:4. In other words, it does not matter what you read or what you teach if your life is not in accordance with it. The life is the light of men. This is why we can see poor, uneducated people who have more light than great theologians. The life and the light are so simple that they arouse indignation among those who want to use their religious knowledge to make a good impression in the flesh. That is why this simple life in Christ has become a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. The word of the cross is an offense to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks, but it is the power of God to us who believe. “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.” Verse 17. Every life is formed by the boundaries imposed upon it. Since the doctrines of the Spirit are expressed through life, they become doctrines of life, and these doctrines take on certain forms. The apostle thanked God that the Romans had become obedient to these forms of doctrine. They had not yet lived the life to the extent that it had become a form, but the apostle had lived out the doctrine and found a form according to which the Romans could now shape their life. The form created by the doctrines of life leads to godliness—death over self-life. “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Verse 18. Sin enslaves a man. He cannot, even with the best intentions, free himself from its tentacles. It forces a person to commit the same sin over and over again. Sin rules in death, and we need to pass from death to life to be set free from sin. Rom. 5:21. Death is a kingdom where Satan has power; it is a kingdom of darkness where works of darkness are committed. As we are transferred from death to life, from darkness to light and from Satan’s power to God, we are also freed from sin. This enables us to be servants of righteousness, because the light is now shining into the darkness and dispersing it. When the servants of righteousness shine light into darkness, the defenders of that darkness become outraged. People love darkness more than light, because their deeds are evil. Nevertheless, it is pointless to defend the darkness against the light. By so doing, you force yourself deeper into darkness in order to hide. But no matter how far you have gone into darkness, Christ has opened a way and gained access so you will not be able to escape His judgments. He is the Son of Man. Therefore He will also be the Judge of man. Part of the ministry of righteousness is to meet each person precisely where he is. As long as an unrighteous person is still in the strength of his flesh, he feels extremely uncomfortable when a servant of righteousness deals with him. However, for the one who has a contrite spirit, this leads to salvation. “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.” Verse 19. The apostle used human terms because of the weakness of the flesh. However, even today we see that many Christians still do not understand this verse. The apostle is writing about life. The form of doctrine is of no benefit if it is not filled with life. How simple and straightforward this is: Present your members as instruments of righteousness to holiness. Can anyone misunderstand this? Aren’t these human terms? However, to interpret God’s wisdom, the apostle has to continue by using “nonhuman terms.” In such a case, he wanted to use words that the Holy Spirit taught, and not those words taught by human wisdom. The ministry of righteousness leads to sanctification because God’s will is our sanctification. Of course we are not sanctified all at once, but sanctification progresses with each act of obedience—aided by the ministry of righteousness. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Verse 23. If you commit sin you will die. You will end up in darkness, where Satan has power. One day, the whole kingdom of death will be thrown into the lake of fire. Rev. 20:14. So flee from the darkness, and once you have come out of it, do not try to go back into it. The lusts of the flesh draw us toward the kingdom of death, but the mind of the Spirit draws us to life and peace, because the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. Here in this world we are being influenced by two powers: the good and the evil. The choice is ours. However, we will be rewarded according to our choice. Choosing sin will lead you to death, but choosing righteousness will lead you to life. Each one of us faces this choice every day.Johan O. Smith

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 5:3. People these days excel in everything but poverty in spirit. That is why so very few are fit for the kingdom of God. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” 2 Tim. 3:1-5. Do you know these people? Do you turn away from them? Or are you one of those who regard a form of godliness as being the only true godliness? Lot was vexed in his righteous soul because of all the ungodliness that he saw and heard. Today we can also experience vexation. Everywhere we look, we see lawlessness sneering back at us. Nothing is holy and pure. Even those who should know better call self-denial and the way of the cross bondage and non-biblical doctrine. So what can we expect from everyone else? If you are poor in spirit, then preserve this poverty. Press into it, for the voice of the Chief Shepherd can only be heard in poverty of spirit. Turn away from those who have a form of godliness but deny its power. Seek righteousness. Hunger and thirst for it, and you will find it. Not everyone who talks about righteousness is born of God, only those who practice righteousness. Do you practice righteousness? Let us examine ourselves to see if we are actually practicing it. Is it a joy for you to practice righteousness, or is it a source of sorrow and bondage? We don’t have meetings just for the sake of having meetings. Instead, we use what we hear to live a better life. We don’t write articles in this paper just to fill up space. We write so that people can learn something, and so that their daily life can become better and more holy. Fight the good fight of faith, and you will meet opposers—especially among religious people. That’s where Jesus found His opposers, as did Luther. If you are afraid to fight, you are not fit for the kingdom of God, because everyone who is afraid to fight the good fight of faith will be overpowered by those who are under Satan’s power. We are exhorted to take the Sword of the Spirit, while the cowardly advise us to put the Spirit’s Sword back in its sheath. It is only fitting for us to wage this battle in the midst of our poverty in spirit, for the kingdom of God does not consist of word but of power.Johan O. Smith