Dead to the World

The Christian life is full of death.

First, Jesus had to die to atone for (make amends for) our sins and reconcile (restore a friendly relationship with) us to God. Second, we must die to the world in order to live with Christ.

The apostle Paul told the Romans they must die to sin and be buried with Christ in baptism, so that Christ would live in them (Romans 6:2-4, Galatians 2:20).

The Disciple’s Commitment

Jesus made plain the seriousness of a disciple’s commitment:

“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:38-39)

As Christian writer Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously wrote:

“When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

By taking up the cross, we show the ultimate price we are willing to pay to follow Jesus. While we may not all be called to die for Him, we must prove our commitment through the daily sacrifices that the Christian life demands.

Putting Sin to Death

Paul told the Galatians that he crucified (put to death) his evil passions and desires to follow the Spirit’s directives (Galatians 5:24-25).

Through the inspired Word of God, we learn what actions to stop and what good works to start. By putting our selfish desires to death, we eliminate the very things that lead us away from God.

If we are not fully committed and allow evil desires to survive, Satan will use them to lure us away. (James 1:14-16).

Often, the small sins we tolerate will grow, breed other bad habits, and bring back the old lifestyles we tried to destroy. We must commit to Jesus with our whole heart, mind, and strength.

Fighting Back and Making Changes

Some desires fight back and take time to conquer. To overcome them, we should:

• Pray to God daily for strength.
• Avoid situations that stir up temptation.

If drunkenness appeals to a person, they must stay away from places where it is easy to drink. If sexual immorality is a weakness, they must avoid situations and people that provide an opportunity to sin.

The transformation of a Christian must be radical.

Jesus said our salvation is so important that if we had to cut off a hand or tear out an eye to keep from sinning, it would be worth the cost (Matthew 5:29-30). While we do not take this literally, we may need to cast away:

• Old friends who pull us down
• Old hangouts and environments
• Toxic forms of entertainment

A Heart Dead to the World

When we become “dead to the world,” the world loses its influence over us.

When a person is baptized, we sometimes sing:

“Dead to the world to voices that call me, dead to the old life of folly and sin, Satan may call the world may entreat me, there is no voice that answers within… dead to the joys that once did enthrall me— Yet ‘tis not I, Christ liveth in me,” — Sanderson and Chisholm, “A New Creature”

We must fight to ignore the temptations of the world. One day, we will reach a home where evil will no longer call to us (Revelation 21:7).

If we reach that home, we have nothing to boast about. Instead, we should say with Paul:

“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.” (Galatians 6:14)