Living a Life That Honors GodEsimerkki

Radical Words

For people who are not familiar with Christianity, today’s text might sound pretty shocking. And it is. These words about “dying to sin” are very radical.

The phrase “he bore our sins in his body on the tree” might seem less radical at first sight. But the reality behind these words is gruesome. Jesus was brutally murdered. The “tree” was a wooden cross, used to torture and kill him. There was nothing metaphorical about his death. It was utterly horrific and utterly real.

All this was necessary to heal our broken, sinful hearts and to give us life. That shows how serious sin is. That shows how seriously we should take sin. Given it cost Jesus his life to heal us, how could we take sin lightly? Becoming a Christian is not about making tiny adjustments to your lifestyle, but about a radical change. It is about dying to sin. It is about being buried with Jesus in baptism (Colossians 2:12, Romans 6:4). It is about being born again and becoming a new human. We receive eternal life, but this also implies the death of our old self.

Are you aware of the seriousness of sin, or are you so used to your own imperfection that it doesn’t bother you anymore?