Ways to Die to Self and Live for Christ

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)

Crucified with Christ:

When we become a child of God, our old self dies and we become new creations. The apostle Paul explains we are "crucified with Christ" and now, the old "self" is dead - it isn’t us who lives anymore, but Christ Who now lives in us, and the life we now live in the flesh, we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:19-20). Jesus always did the will of the Father (John 4:34), and if we are indeed crucified with Christ, we will always (though not perfectly, of course) do the will of the Father, too. Further, we live in faith, that is by relying on and having a relationship with Him. How wonderful is that?! 

Crucifying the Old Self:

Paul writes in Rom. 6:6, “We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” We are buried with Christ and raised to new life in Christ. That makes us 'slaves of Christ' and not slaves of sin anymore as in our previous life, because “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24). How amazing is that!! Although on this side of life in this broken world, we will still sin, but we are no longer slaves to it! 

Dying to Self:

We do not die to self on our own - we ask God to relieve us from the bondage of self, of the flesh, with the power of the Holy Spirit given freely to us when we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord of our lives. Being a slave to sin before being saved, meaning we were living in bondage to our sinful nature. As we learn and grow, God "gives us a new heart and puts a new spirit within us, and takes the heart of stone out and gives us a heart of flesh" (Eph. 36:26). 

Raised to New Life:

After conversion, “… none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to ourselves” (Rom. 14:7) since we are raised to a new life in Christ Jesus, and “whoever is united with the Lord is one with Him in spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17). Now that “… you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). You’ve been given a new heart and new desires if you’ve been born again. The fact is, you have “… been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through your faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:12).

Citizens of the Kingdom:

Becoming children of God, living for Christ, "we walk in a newness of life, for we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be united with Him in a resurrection like His” (Rom. 6:5), which means that you “… were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13). God has “… predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:5), and “the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:16-17).

Conclusion:

To die to ourselves is to live for Christ, as Christ now lives in us if we have been crucified with Him. We are crucifying the old man or woman daily, we are raised with Him in a new life in Christ, our heart of stone is taken out and replaced with a heart of flesh, and we are now citizens of the kingdom just passing through this world as sojourners on our way to the eternal kingdom that will never end! 

Amen! All glory to God!

- shared from Christian Quotes by Pastor Jack Wellman