Excerpt from Chuck Swindoll’s book The Grace Awakening (Word Publishing, 1996)

Having spent months studying Romans 6, I have come to realize it contains the Christian’s Emancipation Proclamation. Here, as in no other section of Scripture, is the foundational truth of our liberty – freedom from Satan’s intimidation and sin’s domination. It is here all young Christians should spend their first hours in the Bible.

Most Christians have been better trained to expect and handle their sin than to expect and enjoy their freedom. Being creatures of habit, we still prefer the security of slavery to the risks of liberty. That is why the slaves stayed on the plantation, and that’s why we continue to be sin-conscious…even more than Savior-conscious.

[However,] Christ died for us on the cross. He was then raised from the dead for us at the tomb. When we believed in the Savior’s death and resurrection, we were “dipped” into the same scene. Our identity changed. We didn’t feel it, we didn’t see it, we didn’t hear it, but it occurred, nevertheless. When we came to Christ, we were placed into Him as His death became ours, His victorious resurrection became ours, His “awakening” to new life became our “awakening,” His powerful walk became our walk.

The Christian life is not stumbling along, hoping to keep up with the Savior. He lives in me and I live in Him. His very life becomes my life, guaranteeing that His victory over sin is mine to claim. I no longer need to live as a slave to sin.

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God” (Romans 6:8-10).

You will meet well-meaning Christians who teach about crucifying oneself. But I have good news for you: That has already been done. You are in Christ. He was crucified once for all. He died for you so you never need to die again.

I love the story of the missionary who sailed from Liverpool to serve Christ along the African coast. He boarded a tugboat to make his way into a fever-infested region where he would invest the rest of his life. While changing vessels, he came upon a cynical old slave trader who looked critically on the man’s decision by saying, “If you go to that place, you will die.” The missionary replied softly, “I died before I ever left Liverpool.”