Am I Dying?

Am I dying?

Yes, I suppose I am. Every day is one day closer to my death. I get sick, I have close calls while I'm driving (don't worry, Mom, I am a safe driver - it's the other people out there who scare me), I eat food that other people cook... The list of risks goes on and on. Physically, without a doubt, I am dying. My body is not immortal.

From a spiritual standpoint, am I dying?

I don't mean as in my faith life. I'm not asking if my faith life dying. I know there are times of doubt and tribulation and it seems as though the Lord is a bit further away. I'm talking about my sinful nature here. My sinful side is dying, right? Daily I make choices that either feed my sinful nature or stifle it. I choose right, or I choose wrong. Am I going to choose a righteous life? Am I going to choose things that will please the Lord? I'd like to think so. I make good decisions for the most part. I do my best to suppress temptation and the inclination to sin.

But that's not good enough.

I've been told over and over and over... and over. Nothing I do is good enough. Everything apart from Christ is sin. I am a sinner. I know my sins are forgiven, and yet, I also know I must be repentant in order to be forgiven. How then can I live? I'm not always repentant. I reject the grace given to me when I openly choose to sin. What can I do? Nothing. I can do nothing. I can say I'm sorry, but half the time I'm saying it only because the pastor has instructed me to during the time of silence, and it's a sin not to think of sin when we're supposed to confess. When I do mean it and I truly am repentant, how long does that last? My pride gets ahead of me and I think, "Oh, I'm such a good Christian now because I've had a real confession!" And off I go again into my sin. It keeps rising up and I keep trying to cut it down, killing it day after day. It doesn't work. I can't do it!

This is where I was bluntly told I'm wrong. I'm not dying.

My Old Adam isn't dying. My sinful nature isn't dying. They are dead.

Romans 6:10-11 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So also you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus died. He defeated SIN, DEATH, and the DEVIL. In baptism, we are buried into Christ's death and joined in His resurrection. Our failures, our mistakes, our sins, are not kept on record. They aren't judged on a day-by-day basis. They have been paid for. God does not see us as sinners. We are His perfect children. Jesus' blood covers us. We are clothed in His righteousness.

I'm not dying. I'm dead to sin - and alive to God in Christ Jesus.