Where does the rubber meet the road? This is an extremely important question when it comes to the actual living of our lives. This is so because our knowledge and convictions don’t always line up with our actions. Just think of the risk taker who knows that his body is breakable but acts like he is invincible. Or of the politician who says that truth is important but doesn’t always follow his own rules. Or think of the aspiring speaker who knows that she can overcome stage fright but ultimately surrenders to her fear. When it comes to our knowledge and convictions, part of a life well-lived is getting the two to line up. The same is true when it comes to Christian living.
As Christians, we can know quite a bit when it comes to the scriptures, but we can also struggle to put that knowledge into practice. In Romans 6:1-7, we learned that we have been “buried with [Christ] through baptism into death” and that we are called to live new lives just as Christ was called to life from the grave. But where does the rubber meet the road when it comes to these grand truths of faith? In Romans 6:11, Paul says:
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
That part about counting ourselves is the key. If I count myself as an American, I act as an American. If I count myself as a member of a sports team, I act as a member of that sports team. If I count myself dead to sin and alive to God, I act like this is true in my practical life. As verses 12-14 explain, when we count ourselves dead to sin, we refuse to offer ourselves to sin as “instruments of wickedness.” Conversely, when we count ourselves alive to God, we offer every part of ourselves to him as “instruments of righteousness.” Where does the rubber meet the road when it comes to dying and rising with Christ? To put things a bit more simply: it is the place where we say no to sin and yes to God. It is the place where we offer ourselves to his righteous will.