Hammer on Anvil '

"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11).


I just finished reading The Normal Christian Life, by Watchman Nee. I have read it so many times that it is starting to fall apart.

Though some of what Nee discusses may seem elementary to a lot of believers, the way that he presents it really hits home with me. Today's verse from Romans, for example. How many of us have actually thought about what this verse means? Nee bemoans the fact that many who profess Christ may have experienced regeneration, but stopped short of the reconstruction process -- and then wonder why they seem to experience no victory in their walk with Christ. Nee explains it like this:

Regeneration means that the life of Christ is planted in us by the Holy Spirit at our new birth. Reproduction goes further; it means our new life grows and becomes progressively manifest in us, until the very likeness of Christ begins to be reproduced in our lives.

Sounds pretty basic, right? Then why do so many of us struggle to live holy lives? Perhaps because we have not counted ourselves dead to sin. We focus more on our flesh and our failures, rather than recognizing that our flesh was nailed to the Cross right along with Jesus. Galatians 2:20 isn't just a cool verse; it is TRUTH. We have been crucified with Christ.

What, then, is the secret of counting ourselves dead to sin but alive in Christ?

To put it in one word, it is revelation. We need revelation from God himself (Ephesians 1:17,18). We need to have our eyes opened to the FACT of our union with Christ, and that is something more than knowing it merely as a DOCTRINE (emphasis mine).

It is our choice. We need to decide if we will live by faith or by sight. We can rely on the facts of our own experiences, or on the truth that we are now in Christ. That means, to quote a familiar adage, let go and let God.

Jesus' last words say it best: "It is finished." He did it all; He made provision for everything we will ever need, including deliverance from the sins that beset us. Let us pray for greater illumination of that truth, and thus become vessels through which He can freely pour His life so that others may be blessed.