AM 05 April 2026
Romans 6’3–11 – “Alive to God in Christ Jesus”
Resurrection Sunday 2026
Text: Romans 6:3–11 (ESV)
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Introduction: The Resurrection That Changes Everything
(Romans 6:3–11 — “Alive to God in Christ Jesus”)
Resurrection Sunday morning is the greatest dawn in human history. The stone was rolled away, the grave was empty, and the angels proclaimed, “He is not here, for He has risen, as He said.” For nearly two thousand years, Christians have gathered on this day to rejoice in that glorious truth: Jesus Christ, once crucified, now lives forevermore.
But the resurrection of Christ is more than a fact to celebrate—it is a power to experience. Paul tells us in Romans 6 that Christ’s resurrection is not only something that happened to Him; it is something that has happened to us, if we are united to Him by faith. The empty tomb is not just His victory; it is ours.
The believers in Rome had begun to misunderstand grace. They thought, “If we are forgiven freely, why worry about sin?” Paul’s answer is clear: because when you came to Christ, you died to sin and were raised to new life. Grace does not give us permission to sin; it gives us power to live.
And that is the great message of Resurrection Sunday morning — not only that Christ lives, but that in Him, we live too. His death was our death; His resurrection is our resurrection. The old life has been buried; a new life has begun.
So today, as we turn to Romans 6:3–11, we will see what it truly means to be alive to God in Christ Jesus. We will see:
- That we are united with Christ in His death.
- That we are raised with Christ to new life.
- That we must now live unto God through the risen Lord.
This is the resurrection that changes everything — not only where we will spend eternity, but how we live today.
I. United with Christ in His Death (vv. 3–7)
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Before Paul speaks of resurrection, he speaks of death — for there is no Resurrection Sunday morning without a Good Friday. To rise with Christ, we must first die with Him.
A. The Reality of Union with Christ
Paul reminds believers that their entire identity has changed. “Do you not know,” he says, as though to awaken forgetful hearts, “that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”
Baptism here points to the spiritual reality it signifies — union with Christ by faith. When a sinner trusts in Jesus, he is joined to Him in such a way that all Christ has done becomes his own. Christ’s death counts as our death; His burial counts as our burial.
In God’s eyes, when Christ hung on the cross, we hung there with Him. Our old self — the person we were apart from grace, ruled by sin and self — was crucified with Him (v. 6).
B. The Purpose of This Death: Freedom from Sin’s Dominion
Paul explains why this union matters: “in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
Christ’s death did not only remove sin’s guilt — it broke sin’s power. The cross was a liberation event. The tyrant that once ruled us was dethroned. Sin may tempt, but it no longer reigns.
Imagine a slave who has been legally set free but still hears the voice of his old master shouting commands. The voice is familiar, but the authority is gone. So it is with sin. It still calls to us, but it no longer owns us.
Verse 7 confirms it: “For one who has died has been set free from sin.” The believer’s death with Christ means that sin’s claim is canceled. The debt has been paid; the chain has been broken.
C. The Symbol of Burial: The End of the Old Life
Paul adds, “We were buried with Him by baptism into death.” Burial signifies finality. The old man is not merely wounded — he is buried. The self that loved sin has been laid in the tomb with Christ.
This is why the Christian cannot make peace with sin. To do so would be to dig up what God has buried. The resurrection life begins only after the old life is gone.
Application:
- When temptation arises, remember: That old self died with Christ.
- When guilt accuses, remember: Christ has already borne that death for me.
- When the world beckons, answer: I no longer live for that world; I live for Him who died for me.
D. The Comfort of Christ’s Cross
This union with Christ’s death is both sobering and deeply comforting. We died with Him — therefore our sins can never rise to condemn us again. The punishment has been fully borne. The sentence is served. The curse is gone.
At the same time, His death means that the power of sin has been decisively broken. We are no longer captives in the graveyard of guilt and corruption; we are free men and women in Christ.
Transition to Point II:
But our union with Christ does not end in death. The gospel does not stop at the cross; it moves to the empty tomb. Paul now takes us from burial to new birth, from crucifixion to resurrection, as he declares that we are raised with Christ to new life.
II. Raised with Christ to New Life (vv. 8–10)
“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.”
Having shown that believers are united with Christ in His death, Paul now lifts our eyes to the glory of His resurrection. The cross frees us from sin’s dominion, but the empty tomb empowers us to live in newness of life.
A. The Certainty of Resurrection Life
Paul begins with a confession of faith: “If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.” The believer’s confidence is not wishful thinking; it rests on a divine certainty. Because our life is bound up with Christ’s life, what is true of Him becomes true of us.
Just as He died once for sin, never to die again, so the one united to Him will never be condemned again. The resurrection is irreversible — sin’s claim is canceled, death’s dominion broken.
The resurrection, then, is not only a historical fact but a spiritual reality. The same power that raised Christ from the dead now works in us who believe (Eph. 1:19–20).
B. The Permanence of Christ’s Victory
Paul says in verse 9: “Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.” Death once reigned as a cruel master, but Christ has conquered it forever.
Death entered the garden through Adam’s sin; it was defeated at the garden tomb through Christ’s obedience. Death now lies broken at the feet of the risen King.
This means that the life Christ gives is eternal — not temporary, not uncertain, not conditional upon our strength. He lives forever, and therefore, those who belong to Him live forever too. The resurrection life cannot be undone.
C. The Pattern of the Risen Life
Verse 10 gives the key: “The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.”
Christ’s resurrection life is devoted wholly to His Father — full of obedience, holiness, and communion. And because we are united to Him, this same pattern becomes ours. The believer’s new life is not self-centered but God-centered — “alive to God.”
To live in the power of the resurrection is to live in constant reference to God — to seek His will, to delight in His praise, to walk in His ways. The old self lived for sin; the new self lives for the Savior.
D. The Present Experience of Resurrection Power
This is not only future hope but present reality. Paul does not say, “We shall one day live with Him,” but “We will also live with Him.” That life has already begun. Every true believer is walking proof of resurrection power.
- When you find strength to forgive, that is resurrection life.
- When you resist temptation and choose holiness, that is resurrection life.
- When you endure suffering with hope, that is resurrection life.
- When you worship with joy, that is resurrection life.
The same glory that raised Jesus from the tomb now raises us daily from spiritual death to spiritual vitality.
E. Application: Living as Resurrection Sunday People
Beloved, if Christ’s resurrection life dwells in you, then you are not the same person you once were. You have been made alive to a new purpose, a new joy, a new allegiance. The risen Christ has placed His own life within you.
So live as one who belongs to the morning, not to the night. Let your words, thoughts, and deeds reflect the brightness of resurrection day. The grave clothes of sin no longer fit the children of light.
Transition to Point III:
Christ’s death has freed us from sin, and His resurrection has given us new life. But Paul’s teaching leads to a vital conclusion in verse 11: because these things are true, we must reckon them so. We must live daily as those who are alive to God in Christ Jesus.
III. Alive to God in Christ Jesus (v. 11)
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul now brings his great truth to a clear and practical conclusion. He has declared what God has already done — that believers are united with Christ in His death and resurrection. Now he tells us how we must think and live in light of it. The Christian life begins with truth believed, but it continues with truth applied.
A. The Command to “Consider”
The word consider (logizesthe in Greek) means to reckon, to count, to think something true and act upon it. Paul is not calling us to imagine or pretend something; he is calling us to believe what God has declared to be reality.
The believer’s union with Christ is not a feeling but a fact. We died with Him; we live with Him. Therefore, we must view ourselves that way — as people no longer under sin’s rule, but alive under God’s reign.
Faith reckons as true what God has accomplished in Christ. To “consider yourselves dead to sin” means that when temptation comes, you do not treat sin as your master anymore. You remind yourself: That power was broken at the cross.
B. “Dead to Sin” — The Negative Side of Resurrection Life
To be dead to sin does not mean we no longer feel its pull or face its presence, but that we are no longer enslaved to it. Sin’s authority was canceled the moment we were joined to Christ.
The believer’s relationship to sin is like that of a freed prisoner to his old cell — he may remember it, even feel drawn back to it, but the door stands open and he is no longer under guard. He owes his old master nothing.
Application:
When old habits or thoughts arise, the Christian does not say, “I cannot help it.” Instead, he says, “I died with Christ to that old way of life.” The resurrection gives power not only to hope for heaven but to live holy on earth.
C. “Alive to God” — The Positive Side of Resurrection Life
Paul does not stop at the negative. The Christian is not only dead to sin — he is alive to God. The believer’s life is now oriented toward God, animated by His Spirit, and directed toward His glory.
To be alive to God means:
- You hear His voice in His Word.
- You respond to His grace in obedience.
- You find joy in His presence and purpose in His service.
The life of sin is self-centered; the life of resurrection is God-centered. The old self lived for self-gratification; the new self lives for divine satisfaction. This is what it means to walk in “newness of life.”
Illustration:
When Lazarus came out of the tomb, Jesus said, “Unbind him, and let him go.” He did not return to the graveclothes or the darkness — he walked into the sunlight of a new day. So it is with those made alive in Christ. We do not return to the sins that buried us; we walk in the liberty of grace.
D. The Sphere of Life: “In Christ Jesus”
This new life is not something we generate; it is something we receive in union with Christ. Outside of Christ, we are dead. In Christ, we live. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us (Rom. 8:11).
Every command in the Christian life rests on this union. We do not strive to become what we are not — we live out what we already are in Him.
Application:
Believer, remember this: you are in Christ. His victory is your victory; His life is your life. The Christian life is not self-improvement but resurrection living — the risen Christ in you, the hope of glory.
E. The Daily Practice of Resurrection Living
To “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God” is the daily discipline of faith. Every morning the Christian wakes to a spiritual reality:
- Sin is no longer my master.
- Death no longer defines me.
- Christ lives in me, and I live for Him.
Each day we reckon these truths anew, and each day the risen Christ renews our strength to live for His glory.
Transition to Conclusion:
Paul has shown us that the believer’s story is bound up with Christ’s story: we died with Him, we were raised with Him, and we now live to God in Him. That is what Resurrection Sunday means — not merely that Jesus lives, but that we live in Him. Let us draw these truths together as we close, and see how the resurrection transforms every part of our life before God.
Conclusion: The Resurrection Life We Now Live
Resurrection Sunday morning is not merely a commemoration of what happened to Jesus two thousand years ago; it is a declaration of what has happened to everyone who belongs to Him. The resurrection is not only an event in history — it is a reality in the believer’s soul.
Paul has shown us in Romans 6:3–11 that our story has been forever joined to Christ’s story:
- We have died with Him — the old life under sin’s power is gone.
- We have been raised with Him — a new life of holiness and hope has begun.
- We now live to God — every breath, every act, every moment is lived in the presence of the risen Lord.
This is what it means to be “alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Christ’s resurrection changes everything. It transforms guilt into peace, despair into hope, and bondage into freedom. Because He lives, we live also.
So this morning, do not only rejoice that the tomb is empty — rejoice that your heart is full of resurrection life. Do not only believe that Jesus rose from the dead — believe that His risen life is at work in you today.
Let us therefore walk in newness of life — living no longer for sin or self, but for Him who died and rose again for us.
Closing Prayer
O Risen Lord Jesus,
We bless You for Your victory over death and the grave.
You died to sin once for all, and now You live to God forever.
By faith we thank You that we were crucified with You, buried with You, and raised with You to walk in newness of life.
Help us, by Your Spirit, to reckon these things true each day —
that we are dead to sin and alive to God in You.
Give us strength to resist temptation, courage to live holy lives,
and joy to serve You with glad hearts.
Let Your resurrection power work in our homes, our church, and our hearts,
until the day when You appear in glory and we share fully in Your life everlasting.
We praise You, living Savior,
for You are the Resurrection and the Life,
and because You live, we shall live also.
In Your triumphant name we pray,
Amen.