Romans 6:1-11
This week the baseball world celebrated Jackie Robinson day – April 15 – the anniversary of when he broke the color barrier as the first black major leaguer. What he did was scary and difficult, but he walked through the color barrier into triupmh over adversity. The Apostle Paul talked about new steps like this in his letter to the Romans.
Everyone wants to do better – this has been a constant and recurring theme throughout history. People have worked hard to improve, become better, and get away from the lesser parts of themselves. This is why crash diets have been such a staple in our traditions and why the specifics rotate from style to style: South Beach diet, Atkins, Keto, intermittent fasting, dash, and paleo to name a few. With diets, as with life in general, we always give it a shot and it may work for a while, but inevitably we end up where we began, frustrated and exhausted, not knowing where to go or what to try next.
Today we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. This is the glory and beauty of the Easter holiday – new life—not because of the circle of life (i.e. birth, bunnies, and eggs)—but because God in the flesh broke the cycle of futility and gave us a new life. Christ, divine with God, wants to show the world His love, puts on skin and fulfills the law (something we can’t do), dies in our place, and raises from the dead. He defeated death so that, through faith in Him, we can have a new life, unstained by sin and death. Through Christ’s death, in faith, we can walk into a new life.
Faith is Shown Through Baptism
Faith is a heart-based trust in God to take care of our problem for us. Faith is trust. Trust is shown with action. For example, if you sit down in a chair, it means you trust that chair to hold you up. Sitting down is the action that shows your faith in the chair. This means faith isn’t really anything until it is lived out, and scripture gives us one clear way to live that out – the practice of baptism. Baptism symbolizes the journey through death to life by going under and coming back out of the water. Death is not the end to a Christian, but a portal—a pathway—to new and eternal life in Jesus.
If you’re anything like me, you are excited for Universal’s EPIC Universe to open next month. Designedas a hub-spoke, you walk into the park and find yourself at the hub. As you walk around the main circular entrance area, you have 4 major portals in front of you. As you walk through one of those portals, you are transported (not literally) into a new world in this incredible, completely immersive experience. Through those portals you walk into other worlds, similar to how participating in Christ’s death through baptism brings you through death to LIFE.
New Life is a Broken Chain
Very quickly you will realize that this new life, while it still exists in this current day and world broken by sin, you have changed. No longer are you trapped in the net of sin but are broken free and able to be a new person. A new person no longer stained by sin, trapped in bad ways, destined to always return to baseline. In the past, spies would handcuff a briefcase to their arm. The briefcase represents sin and Christ breaks you free from it (like bolt cutters to the handcuff chain). You can still return to sin, but it cannot bind itself to you anymore, for you have a new life in Christ and are free from the curse of sin and death.
Next Steps
This is but one step in the new life promised by God. Gaining that new life come by walking through death to life. Move towards life today! Through the next 4 weeks we will discuss stepping into our new lives, purposes, identities, and future. Take that first step by:
- Commit to come for the next 4 weeks and seek this new life.
- Introduce yourself to Jesus and begin a relationship on faith. This is done through prayer where you admit your sinfulness and invite Jesus to come into your live and give you this new life.
- Consider baptism as a public showing of your faith. If you would like to discuss baptism, please reach out to me through the contact page on the website.
- Engage in growth by connecting with another believer in discipleship. Join a church in your local area and live life with those people.
Jackie’s life once he broke through that barrier was not easy, but what he did still reverberates throughout history. With Christ, you will have a new life filled with challenges and opportunity for things of eternal significance. Do you want to keep running in circles or are you ready to take your first step into a new life?
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