“I was crucified with Christ.”
“I died.”
“I am dead.”
That might sound shocking—or even a bit macabre at first glance—but it’s actually one of the most liberating truths in all of Scripture.
When we say that we’ve died with Christ, we’re not speaking symbolically or trying to be overly dramatic. We are proclaiming the very heart of the gospel. This has nothing to do with the grief normally associated with natural death—it’s about total, absolute freedom.
1. The Great Equalizer
Think about it this way: if you were born into a situation with no escape—a prison of sin, shame, and failure, bound to an enemy—how would you break free?
What if there were no path to improvement, no ladder to climb, and no chance of escaping through human effort?
Death would be the only option that could truly deliver you.
Death is the great equalizer. It severs ties. It ends oppression. It silences shame. Spiritually speaking, it is the final solution.
“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.”
— 1 Peter 2:24
There it is: death followed by life. We had to die to sin in order to truly live.
God Didn’t Try to “Fix” Your Old Self
God didn’t patch up your old nature, nor did He keep it around as a reminder of where you came from. He put it to death. Your old sinful nature died—which is why you need to let it go.
- Let go of the guilt and regrets.
- Let go of the old images and reputation.
- Let go of the memories tied to the old you.
Think of it like a funeral: honor the past where appropriate, say your goodbyes, and walk away. That chapter is closed. That person is gone. You are a new creation with a brand-new life given to you by God Himself.
2. Buried With Him
In Galatians 6:14, Paul writes: “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
When you accept Jesus, you accept His death, burial, and resurrection as your own personal spiritual history.
People talk about “turning over a new leaf,” but this is far more radical than a simple fresh start. The old leaf isn’t turned—it’s dead and buried. The entire tree of your old identity is gone, and there’s nothing left to salvage.
God didn’t offer you a second chance at the old life—He gave you an entirely new one.
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
— Colossians 3:3
You aren’t just a “saved sinner.” The sinner you were literally doesn’t exist anymore. Stop carrying around that corpse!
What Comes After Death? Burial.
In Romans 6:4, we read: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death…”
What do you naturally do with someone who has died? You bury them. You don’t leave them sitting in the living room. You put the old to rest to bring closure.
That old person full of sin, shame, and guilt was buried—out of sight, out of mind.
Crucified with Christ ➔ Buried into Death ➔ Raised in Newness of Life
“…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.” (Romans 6:4b)
3. The Power of “Reckoning”
When a person dies naturally, no court in the world can continue to prosecute them. Their legal obligations and prison sentences end immediately. Death brings total release.
Spiritually, it works the exact same way. For he who has died has been freed from sin (Romans 6:7). You are no longer under obligation to live under its rule or carry its weight.
| The Old You | The New You |
| Bound to sin, shame, and failure | Born of God, filled with His nature |
| Defined by past labels & addictions | Defined by righteousness in Christ |
| Under the penalty and rule of sin | Forever free from sin’s controlling power |
“But What About My Struggles?”
You might think, “If I’m dead to sin, why do I still deal with wrong desires?”
Those desires don’t come from your reborn spirit—they come from the flesh.
As Paul noted in 1 Corinthians 9:27, we have to discipline the body and bring it into subjection. Your spirit is already free, but your mind needs to catch up to your new identity.
Think of it like a prisoner who has been fully acquitted. The prison door stands wide open, yet he remains inside because he hasn’t accepted his release. Or a king who believes he is a slave—though he holds royal authority, he will never live like royalty until he changes how he sees himself.
4. Speak What God Says About You
Lasting transformation begins with how you see yourself. Renewing your mind takes time, especially if you’ve been bound by old patterns of thinking for years, but action always follows vision.
- Stop calling yourself a failure.
- Drop the old labels—“loser,” “addict,” “sinner.” Those titles belonged to the person who died on the cross with Jesus.
- Say what God says about you. You are the righteousness of God, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.
Romans 6:11 gives us our direct action step:
“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Look into the mirror of God’s Word, hold your gaze there, and reckon yourself to be who He says you are. You are alive to God, forever free, and stepping into a brand-new story.