Rm 6, 7-14 Dead to sin and living for God in Christ

(Rm 6, 7-14) Dead to sin and living for God in Christ

[7] For a dead person has been absolved from sin. [8] If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. [9] We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. [10] As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. [11] Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as (being) dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. [12] Therefore, sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires. [13] And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin as weapons for wickedness, but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life and the parts of your bodies to God as weapons for righteousness. [14] For sin is not to have any power over you, since you are not under the law but under grace.

(CCC 537) Through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated to Jesus, who in his own baptism anticipates his death and resurrection. The Christian must enter into this mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be reborn of water and the Spirit so as to become the Father's beloved son in the Son and "walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:4): Let us be buried with Christ by Baptism to rise with him; let us go down with him to be raised with him; and let us rise with him to be glorified with him (St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 40, 9: PG 36, 369). Everything that happened to Christ lets us know that, after the bath of water, the Holy Spirit swoops down upon us from high heaven and that, adopted by the Father's voice, we become sons of God (St. Hilary of Poitiers, In Matth. 2, 5: PL 9, 927). (CCC 977) Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mk 16:15-16). Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that "we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:4; cf. 4:25).