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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. (Romans 6:5–6)

It is a simple and powerful declaration: by faith in the person and work of Jesus, we have been united together with Him. This close union is both in His death and in His resurrection. God has both experiences for us. Some are eager to be united together in the glory of resurrection but are unwilling to be united together in His death.

At the same time, some Christians are focused solely on the “crucified life,” failing to see that it is a part (and an essential part) of a bigger picture: preparation for resurrection life.

Another part of “united with Christ” life is that our old man was crucified with Him. For the believer, the death of the old man is an established fact. It happened spiritually when we were identified with Jesus’ death at our salvation. The old man is the self that is patterned after Adam, deeply ingrained in rebellion against God and His commands. The system of law is unable to deal with the old man, because it can only tell the old man what the righteous standard of God is. The law tries to reform the old man, to get him to “turn over a new leaf.” But the system of grace understands that the old man can never be reformed. He must be put to death, and for the believer the old man dies with Jesus on the cross.

In place of the old man, God gives the believer a new man – a self that is instinctively obedient and pleasing to God; this aspect of our person is that which was raised with Christ in His resurrection, patterned after Jesus (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10).

God uses our death to the old man, the sin nature, to liberate us from sin. Strictly speaking, we don’t battle the old man. We simply reckon him as dead. We still must deal with the flesh, which is distinct from the old man but has learned much from our nature inherited from Adam. But we deal with the flesh as free men and women in Jesus Christ.

Our slavery to sin can only be broken by death. In the 1960 film Spartacus, Kirk Douglas played the escaped slave Spartacus, who led a brief but widespread slave rebellion in ancient Rome. At one point in the movie Spartacus says: “Death is the only freedom a slave knows. That’s why he is not afraid of it.”

We are set free from sin because the old man has died with Jesus on the cross. Now a new man, a free man, lives. Today, live united with Jesus Christ, reckon the old man dead, and yourself a new man or woman in Jesus.

Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. (Romans 4:4-5)

Maybe it was Augustine who said, “What is grace? I know until you ask me. When you ask me, then I don’t know.” I understand the challenge.

These verses teach something powerful about grace – that grace stands opposite to the principle of works; grace has to do with receiving the freely given gift of God, works has to do with earning our standing before God. According to one Greek scholar (William Wuest), the word grace spoke of spontaneous, heartfelt generosity, given without expecting anything in return – something you would do for a dear friend. The New Testament takes this meaning and adds something powerful, that God gives His grace to the undeserving, even to enemies.

Under works – when wages are earned, what one receives is not counted as grace but as debt. A system of works seeks to put God in debt to us, making God owe us His favor because of our good behavior. In works-thinking, God owes us salvation or blessing because of our good works.

Under grace, it’s different. Salvation and blessing are not received by works, but given freely to the one who believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. Righteousness can never be accounted to the one who approaches God on the principle of works. Instead, it is given to the one who believes on Him who justifies the ungodly.

This is who God justifies – the ungodly. We might expect God would only justify a godly person, but because of what Jesus did on the cross, God can justify the ungodly. It isn’t as if God is happy with our ungodly condition. We are not justified because of our ungodliness, but despite our ungodliness.

But in Jesus, it’s real: faith is accounted for righteousness. Just as was true for Abraham, so our faith is accounted for righteousness. This was not some special arrangement for Abraham alone. We can enter this relationship with God also.

By this we understand that there are not two ways of salvation – saved by works through law-keeping in the Old Testament and saved by grace through faith in the New Testament. Everyone who has ever been saved –Old or New Testament – is saved by grace through faith, through their relationship of a trusting love with God. Because of the New Covenant we have benefits of salvation that Old Testament saints did not have but we do not have a different manner of salvation.

Stop thinking that you can earn God’s salvation or favor. The principles of works and grace stand opposite to each other. As systems, works is about earning and deserving. Grace is about believing and receiving. Believe and receive God’s favor today. The reasons are in Him, not in you.

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

In this section of his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul wrote as if speaking to those who have generally moral lives, yet don’t think they need the salvation only God can give. They think that because they are better morally than many people, they can be good enough to earn a right standing with God.

Paul points out that this generally moral person presumes upon the goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering of God, which all should bring the moralist into a humble repentance instead of an attitude of superiority.

Goodness may be considered God’s kindness to us regarding our past sin. He has been good to us because He has not judged us yet though we deserve it.

Forbearance may be considered God’s kindness to us regarding our present sin. This very day – indeed, this very hour – we have fallen short of His glory, yet He holds back His judgment against us.

Longsuffering may be considered God’s kindness to us regarding our future sin. He knows that we will sin tomorrow and the next day, yet He holds back His judgment against us.

Considering all this, it is no surprise that Paul describes these three aspects of God’s kindness to us as God’s riches. Strangely, these riches of God’s goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering are despised by many people.

Sometimes people think of these as examples of weakness in God. They say things like “If there is a God in heaven, let Him strike me dead!” When it doesn’t happen, they will say, “See, I told you there was no God.” Men misinterpret God’s forbearance and longsuffering as His approval, and they refuse to repent.

Knowing how great God’s kindness is, it is a great sin to presume upon the graciousness of God, and we easily come to believe that we deserve it.

God’s purpose in all this goodness is to lead us to repentance. Wise men and women see the riches of God’s forbearance and longsuffering and understand:

– God has been better to them than they deserve.
– God has shown them kindness when they have ignored Him.
– God has shown them kindness when they have mocked Him.
– God is not a cruel master and they may safely surrender to Him.
– God is perfectly willing to forgive them.
– God should be served out of simple gratitude.

All this should lead us to faith and repentance, instead of presuming that God will forever hold back His judgment.

Are you waiting for God to drive you to repentance? He doesn’t work like that; God leads you to repentance. Don’t despise the riches of His goodness to you. Instead, regard every new day as a generous gift from God, giving humanity more time to repent from their sin and trust in Him as Creator and Redeemer.

O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the LORD. (Isaiah 2:5)

The first four verses of Isaiah 2 paint a beautiful picture of the glory of the coming reign of the Messiah. These wonderful promises tell us that during the reign of the Messiah, there will be no more war. Conflicts between nations and individuals will be justly and decisively resolved by the Messiah and those who reign with Him. When the Messiah reigns Israel will be exalted, the people of the earth will acknowledge and submit to the Messiah, and war will be no more.

After painting this wonderful picture of the glory of the Messiah’s reign, Isaiah then challenged the people of God to live in the Messiah’s reign right now. Instead of waiting for a coming golden age, the prophet tells us to come and walk in the light of the LORD.

To walk in the light of the LORD means to order your life after God’s truth and God’s ways. The ultimate reign of the Messiah may be many years away, but Jesus can reign in our lives, in our minds, and in our hearts right now. We don’t have to wait for the enforced righteousness of a millennial kingdom to have the blessing of Jesus’ righteousness in our lives right now.

To walk in the light of the LORD means you enjoy the blessings of the Messiah’s reign right now. You don’t have to live a dark, depressing, discouraged life with God. You can walk in the light of the LORD!

We can make a mental list of all the things in our life that get us down or seem to bring darkness into our life. We can think of the damaged relationships, the money problems, the unrewarded effort, the spiritual dryness. Yet when we think of these things that get us down or seem to bring darkness in our life, what can they compare to the light of the LORD? Is the darkness of spiritual attack, of unfaithful friends, of bad circumstances, of shame, of guilt, of anything greater than the light of the LORD?

Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of Victorian England, saw in this passage a promise of a life lived with God that was full of light and blessing instead of darkness and gloom. The opportunity to walk in the light of the LORD was open to all, but sadly not all take the opportunity.

Spurgeon said it like this: “You know that, if you were to go to Australia in a good sound ship, you would get there even if you were always to lie down in the hold among the luggage and the rats; but I should like to go in a first-class cabin, and I do not see why you and I, if we are going to heaven, should not go first-class.”

Today, you can head towards your heavenly destiny going first class – as you walk in the light of the LORD.

Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island. (Acts 27:25-26)

Some two years before this, Paul was arrested in Jerusalem on the false charge that he had started a riot on the temple mount. In Roman custody, Paul eventually took his right as a Roman citizen and made an appeal to have his case heard by Caesar.

That meant Paul had to go to Rome, and the ship carrying him was caught in a terrible storm. For two weeks the ship was driven on the violent, storm-tossed waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The passengers and crew lost all hope and waited for the worst.

All of them – except for the Apostle Paul. During the literal storm, God sent an angel to Paul to bring good, encouraging news when all else seemed hopeless. Through the angel, God told Paul to put away fear and be confident that he would make it to Rome. God also promised Paul that everyone on the ship would survive.

Paul couldn’t keep this hope to himself. He had to pass it on. That’s when Paul spoke to all the passengers and crew and said, Therefore take heart. It was as if he said, “You have reason to take heart – God has given me assurance of your safety, and I believe God.”

Paul explained, I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. Paul’s confident words express the essence of what it means to put our faith in God and His word. God said it to Paul (through an angel) and Paul said, “I believe God.”

Paul didn’t say, “I believe in God.” Every demon in hell agrees with the existence of God. Paul declared his total confidence in God’s knowledge of his crisis and God’s promise in his situation.

Paul was not ashamed to say that he believed God, and he believed God when there was nothing else to believe. He couldn’t believe the sailors, the ship, the sails, the wind, the centurion, human ingenuity, or anything else – only God. This was not a fair-weather faith; he believed God amid the storm when circumstances were at their worst.

Paul’s unshakable confidence in God made him a leader among men, even though he was a prisoner.

Yet, Paul also told them the truth from God: we must run aground on a certain island. This was mixed news, and in these circumstances to run aground might be fairly called to shipwreck. Paul essentially said, “We’re all going to shipwreck on an unknown island, but everyone will be alright.”

God didn’t promise Paul, the crew, or the passengers an easy journey. It would be rough, but God would be with them and they would make it.

Today, can you hear God make the same kind of promise to you? Jesus promised to be with you until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Take that promise and say, “I believe God.”