Your deliverance from the reign of sin necessitates two deaths, two burials, and two resurrections: Christ’s and yours.
Because of God’s abundant and amazing grace, the possibility of deliverance from the tyranny of sin and death exists. Because Christ died for sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), it is now possible for grace to “reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21).
The reason why this is true is because “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).
The same power the Father used to raise Jesus from the dead is the same power He uses to raise us who are spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins and make us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5). The regeneration (Titus 3:5) which occurs when we are born of the water and the Spirit (John 3:5) is the same potent power God used in Christ’s resurrection.
The cross on which Jesus’ body hung and which was the means of humanity’s atonement is the same cross on which my body of sin is done away with (Romans 6:6) when I am crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20).
Death is always a sure way to escape slavery. No one remains in a state of slavery once he dies.
For you to escape the horrors of sin’s reign, Christ had to die for sin and you must die to sin.
For you to escape the horror of sin’s reign, Christ’s dead body had to be buried in a tomb of stone and your dead body of sin must be buried in a tomb of water.
For you to escape the horrors of sin’s reign, God raised Christ up from the grave on the third day and you must be raised up from the watery grave of baptism, regenerated, and thus able to walk in newness of life.
Two deaths, two burials, and two resurrections.
