Dead But Alive ( Romans 6:11)

Sermon on 30 August 2026 by Reverend Kevin Teo

Romans 6:11 - “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭‭Paul wrote a letter to the Roman church. He mentioned that all have sinned and fallen short of God. Unbelievers all need God. He then spoke to the Jews that they need God too even though they are Abraham’s descendants. He started introducing this doctrine about righteousness. It is the foundation of our Christian faith. He emphasises that we have been totally changed as a Christian. We have been set free from sin. Romans 6 is about freedom from sin and all its effects, including spiritual death, poverty, sickness and curses. Romans 6:1-10 is about the Spirit. We have been set free, there is no more sin nature.

Romans 6:11-23 is about the soul. We can live a life of holiness and obedience to God.

Romans 6:1-2 - “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

‭‭No more sin nature! How can we continue to live in something that doesn’t exist?

Romans 5:20 - “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,”

If you teach God’s grace and no one accuses you, you are probably not teaching it right. People said that Paul was allowing people to sin freely. Paul explains that we have no more sin nature so we can’t continue to sin. Paul gives 2 reasons why believers live holy lives.

1. We are dead to sin

Romans 6:1-10 - “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 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. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”

‭Our nature has changed. We are no longer controlled by sin.

2. Sinning provides an access for the enemy into our lives

Romans 6:16 - “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?”

‭‭Ephesians 4:27 - “nor give place to the devil.”

A believer can open doors for enemies to come into their lives. Satan has no legal right to come in as you are born again and washed by blood. But if you invite him, he can attack through that door. Many believers open that door as they are ignorant to the truth. They may know the word of God but want to cater to fleshly desires. They become an easy target for Satan.

Our identification with Christ.

Romans 6:3-5 - “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,”

‭‭God sees us going through united with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection. Just as God resurrected Jesus from the dead, we too can now live a brand new life. Whatever happened to Christ, also happened to me. When we are born again, we also have eternal life. Paul is laying a foundation for us to reprogram our thinking. He wants us to be acquainted with our new identity. How do we know that we are born again? It’s because the word of God says so. We need to believe. It is not based on emotions or what others say.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

‭‭Our old spirit died with Christ. God put a new spirit in us that has His life and power. Now we can reign in life (Romans 5:17) and walk in the newness of life. How do we do that?

Romans 6:6 - “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.”

Paul clearly stated that we have to know the truth before this resurrection life can flow from our spirits into our physical realm.

Proverbs 4:23 (GNT) - “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”

‭‭Your thought affects your belief. Your belief affects your speech, and your speech affects your behaviour. The devil always attacks us through our thinking. He will put a thought in us and we suddenly feel a certain way. When we don’t believe, we continue with our old wrong thinking. Once we know the truth, we need to decide if we want to embrace or reject it.

Sin nature produces spiritual death which leads to all kinds of sins. A great exchange happens when we receive God’s blessings. Jesus gave us God’s righteousness and blessings. This divine exchange happened when we became believers.

2 Corinthians 5:21 - “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

‭‭We align our human spirit and soul to God.

Romans 6:7 - “For he who has died has been freed from sin.”

‭‭We died and are set free from sin, hence no more sin nature! There is a difference between being freed and being free. You can be freed and yeh not free due to ignorance or unbelief. Many people disqualify themselves from the promises as they think they’re not deserving of it. They live a life they think they deserve. Look at our lives today. The life that we are living today is a product of what we were thinking about in the past. If we don’t like it, it’s time to change our thinking first. Changing your behaviour is temporal if your mindset is not changed.

Romans 6:8-9 - “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.”

We do not keep dying to sin repeatedly. We are permanently dead to sin, just like Christ. Many people think our sin nature comes back everyday and we need to die to ourselves repeatedly. Dying to the flesh and sin nature are two different things.

1 Corinthians 9:27 - “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

Romans 6:10-11 - “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭‭A wrong belief is that our old man/sin nature keeps resurrecting and needs to be crucified repeatedly. Jesus died once to sin and it is the same for us. After that, we simply reckon ourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God.

Walking in the newness of life is a transformational process. It is dependent on two key truths. Firstly, we need to know our old man has been crucified with Christ. After that, we need to recognise our new identify in Christ. The result is walking in newness of life by living by the spirit, having righteous living and glorifying God.

Many believers misunderstand ‘dead to sin’ as constantly confessing their sinfulness and crucifying ungodly desires. They stay busy dying to themselves and overlook being alive to God, and so they miss walking in the newness of life. It’s wrong to teach that we still need to put the sin nature to death. The right focus is on our identity in Christ - we are alive to God. As the mind renews, our behaviour aligns with our true identity, and we become godly!

What does God say about my identity?

1 Corinthians 6:17 - “But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?”

‭‭Ephesians 4:24 - “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Colossians 1:22 - “in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—”

I am a sinner saved by grace. True or false? Are we a sinner or saint? Your present identity is not a sinner saved by grace. Your true identity is a saint in Christ. If we say we are just a sinner, we focus on ourselves only and wrongly allow our behaviour to dictate our identity in Christ. We make sinning a part and parcel of life. This is the greatest lie the devil sold to believers. Paul called believers as saints, never sinners (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:2).

In God’s eyes, believers are sons and saints.

1 Corinthians 1:2 - “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”

1 Corinthians 1:30 - “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—”

‭1 Corinthians 6:11 - “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

Our identity or standing in Christ is not based on personal feelings, experiences, or efforts but on Christ’s redemptive work. Paul, in his epistles, extensively teaches that we are saints, emphasising believers are in Christ. He uses this phrase over 100 times. This position is eternal, unchangeable, and forms the foundation for victorious living.

A believer's identity and position have permanently changed from sinner to saint. I was a sinner saved by grace (at the point of salvation) but now I am a saint/new creation/the righteousness of God living and partaking in his grace.

Ephesians 1:3 - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”

‭‭Reckoning yourself alive to God.

Romans 6:11 - “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”