“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death...” —ROMANS 6:4

Though many Christians realize and acknowledge they have been crucified with Christ, they have not realized the important element of also having been buried with Christ.

Under Roman rule, Jesus died as a criminal, and His body would have been the possession of Roman authorities, denying family any claim or access. For those crucified, it was normal practice to incinerate their bodies in the Valley of Gehenna, just outside of Jerusalem. But in Jesus’ case, Matthew 27:57-58 tells us, “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.” With the help of Nicodemus, Jesus was buried in Joseph’s tomb. This was not an incidental detail. In the heart and mind of God, Christ’s burial was predetermined with a purpose; so much so, that as Paul says, not only have we been crucified with Christ, but we are buried with Him through baptism into death.

In the interim period of a person having died and been buried, they are often talked about in the present tense, but once they are buried, it’s in the past tense. There is a finality about being buried that brings closure, and so it is with our sin. Isaiah 43:25 says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers sin no more.” When we die in Christ, our sin is buried with Him, and God remembers it no more. “There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

When we come to the cross of Jesus, God holds nothing against us. For a Christian to still feel condemned is not the voice of the Holy Spirit, but of Satan. Revelation 12:10 calls him ‘the accuser of our brothers’ and he stands before God accusing us day and night. Our sin having been buried with Christ and forgiven is an accomplished fact, but many feel undeserving, and haven’t realized their sin is actually gone. They go on interacting with the guilt of past sin, but to keep resurrecting it will only impede spiritual growth.

We know enough about ourselves that gives plenty of reasons for making us undeserving of forgiveness and of knowing God, but every one of those reasons was attached to Jesus on the cross. They were taken to His grave, and that’s where we need to leave them. Being buried with Jesus closes the book on our sin, and liberates us to live in the power of His resurrected life.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I don’t feel deserving of having my sin forgiven and forgotten. Your grace is amazing and I thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: Am I plagued by guilt of past sin I haven’t let go of?