Are You Dead Yet?

Well, brethren, I have a question for you. Are you dead yet? Seems like a rather odd question, doesn't it? To ask such a question to all of you, because obviously you are sitting there, you are listening to this sermon, you are very much alive, at least in certain respects. But let me ask you again, are you dead yet? Did you know that in order to really live, you must die first? Did you know that if you aren't dead yet, then you aren't really alive, either? So what am I talking about? Have I lost my mind? Have I gotten crazy?

Well, I hope not. The Bible does talk about life and death, and it talks about the absolute necessity of dying in order to really live. So it is actually a valid question that I ask you today. It is one that you should consider, that you should contemplate today. Are you dead yet? So today we are going to see what the Bible says about dying in order to really live. We are going to see how we must die and how we must also live in order to be given the gift of salvation, the gift of eternal life. You know, today we see many, many frustrated, angry, confused, frankly hopeless people. In a sense, you might say many are somewhat like zombies. They're like the living dead. From a spiritual standpoint, they've never found their way. It's a sad state of affairs, certainly. Spiritually, they don't know where they've been. They don't have a clue as to where they're going, what God is doing. In a very real sense, they are truly lost in regard to what's really, really important in life. So in order to find themselves, they must first die. How must they die? Let's go to Romans 6. Many of you will recognize Romans 6 as a chapter we call the baptism chapter, for good reason. Let's read verses 8 and 9 to begin with. Verse 8, now if we died with Christ, and of course this is the Apostle Paul talking to the church in Rome, now if we died with Christ, he includes himself, he includes all the brethren there, if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him. Death no longer has dominion over Jesus Christ.

So we might ask ourselves, does death have dominion over you? Does death now have dominion over you? If we heard the blast of the seventh trumpet and Christ returned at this very moment, would you be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye? Would you be changed to spirit? Would you then rise to meet Christ in the air? If you would, then certainly death has no dominion over you. In fact, even the first death would have no dominion over you. If you happen to be alive when Christ returns, if you have God's Holy Spirit dwelling in you, and Christ returns, then you even defeat the first death, even though it's appointed on demand, wants to die. But there will be some who will not even have to face the first death. Death will have no dominion over them. So have you ever thought deeply about that? Perhaps some of us, perhaps many of us, maybe most of us, won't have to face even the first death. We don't know. It's certainly going to depend on when Christ returns. So if you are converted, if you are not converted, so if you are converted, if you have God's Spirit dwelling in you, then death has no dominion over you. So even if you're old and gray, if you're close to dying physically, then death really has no dominion over you either. Because you will come out of the grave when Christ returns. And your very next instant, right after you die, you will be resurrected and death will not have dominion over you. Death is just like a sleep. And then you'll be alive again. And death will have no dominion over you. We don't need to fear death, brethren. We really don't. Not if we're dead in Christ. Then we don't have to fear death at all. Because death has no dominion over us.

Now those who have died and were not yet converted, they will be held by the grave at Christ's return. Death will have dominion over them. They're not coming out of the graves at Christ's return. If they die without the Spirit of God dwelling in them, then they're going to have to wait for a thousand years. But thankfully, they will have an opportunity. So in that sense, death still doesn't have dominion over them. They're going to be resurrected in a thousand years. They'll live again. Of course, then they'll have the opportunity to choose life or to choose death. Just like you and I have that opportunity now. Now is our day of salvation. Now is our opportunity to choose life or to choose death. God gives us that freedom to choose life or to choose death.

Now let's go back to Romans chapter 6.

And actually, let's go back to Romans chapter 5. And let's read the context. And I am going to read quite a bit. So stay with me. Become very engaged because this is critically important. These scriptures that were inspired by God himself, that Paul had written down here, that he wrote down, that were preserved for us, they're very, very important. They are life and death matters.

So you don't have anything else more important to think about or to consider right now, except what we're talking about. This is important. So in Romans chapter 5 verse 17, Paul says, for if by the one man's offense, by the one man's trespass, by the one man's sin, he's talking about Adam, the first man who sinned, of course Eve sinned as well, mankind it's talking about, for if by the one man's offense or sin, death reigned through the one, we've all been dying since Adam and Eve died.

And that's what God said would happen. And Satan lied about that. You shall not surely die. Well, they surely did die. He says, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ, the one to come after Adam. In that sense, he was before Adam because he pre-existed, as we well know. But he came as a human being as well, to lay his life down for us, to die for us, to pay the penalty for us. It says in verse 18, therefore as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation because the scripture says the wages of sin is death.

But even so, through one man's righteous act of laying himself down, a perfect man who had never sinned, also God, Jesus Christ, who had never sinned, he laid his life down for us, by this man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in judgment, and he was the one who was the one who was the one who was the one who was the one who came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. We all followed Adam and Eve and their sin. So also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. You may be equals righteous through Jesus Christ. I may be equals righteous through Jesus Christ. Our weakness, is this clay pot shall be exalted in due time, according to the Scriptures, according to the truth that we all need to believe and put our faith in.

Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, again the wages of sin is death. So sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What shall we say then? Chapter 6, verse 1. What shall we say? Shall we continue in sin? This rash, this faulty reasoning was going on back at Paul's time. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

So he's going to explain what he's talking about here. How is it that we died to sin? Verse 3, or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, we were baptized into his death? So we're going to start talking about a symbol now of baptism, and what it pictures, and what it means. Verse 4, therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

These old clay pots will have newness of life. They will become vital, you might say, at a certain point in time, at the time of baptism, the time of laying on of hands, of receiving the very Spirit of God that seals one, until the resurrection. For if we had been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection. In other words, if we embrace Jesus Christ as our Savior, if we believe in Him as our Savior, and we embrace Him as our Savior, we become united with Him in His death.

He died for us! That's what a Savior is! Someone who saves us. Jesus Christ saved us by being willing to give His life for us, to lay His life down for us. So we've been united together in the likeness of His death, because we've accepted Him as our Savior.

We believe in Him. We believe He died, and that His death paid the penalty for our sins. And now He's been resurrected to life. The Father resurrected Him. He's now at the right hand of God. He is our high priest. He makes intercession for us. When we sin, we may be forgiven our sins through the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Because Christ was resurrected, and we came out of that watery grave of baptism, and we were resurrected.

We live anew. We're to be different. We are to glorify God in the way we live our lives, in the choices that we make, in how we live. We're to bring glory to the Father and to His Son. Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him. That old man, that old clay pot, was buried with Him. That the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Sin no longer our Master. For He who has died has been freed from sin. Those who have died in the waters of baptism had been freed from sin because sin that's repented of has no hold over us.

It has no hold over us. When we come out of that watery grave, our sins are washed away. We're clean.

Hands are laid upon us. We've received the very Spirit of God Almighty. We're no longer so weak. Now we have tremendous power. We have all power in us.

So, Christ, having been raised from the dead, He dies no more. And death no longer has dominion over Him. No longer over Christ. He died once for us. Verse 10, For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all. He never will die again. He has no need to die again. But the life that He lives, He lives to God. He lives to His Father. He said, Not my will, Father, but Your will be done. Your will be done. Not my human will, but Your will be done. And He yielded Himself completely, showing His complete surrender to His Father and His complete unity with His Father. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead, indeed, to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. We're dead to sin because our sins have been washed away. Death no longer has a hold on us. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body. Okay? So we have to do something, don't we? We have to come out of that watery grave, and we have to be determined to put sin out of our lives, to dedicate ourselves fully to God and to His Son, and to put sin out of our lives. Don't let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lusts, and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. In other words, don't continue in sin. Don't continue in unrighteousness. When you come out of that watery grave, your sins are forgiven. Now walk in righteousness. And your members as instruments of righteousness to God, for sin shall not have dominion over you. Sin won't have dominion over you, and nor shall death have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but you are under grace. Now you don't have a license to sin, do you? That's very clear. You have a license to become righteous, and to put sin out of your life, and to allow Christ to live in you and empower you by the power of His Spirit. The Spirit of God Almighty. What then shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? Well, certainly not!

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one slave whom you obey? Whether of sin that leads to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness. So if someone comes out of that watery grave, and say they have been given the Spirit of God, but they turn from that Spirit, and they turn instead to unrighteousness and sin, and to Satan who once enslaved them, and they go back to the vomit that once they were engulfed in, they go back to that lifestyle and that way of life. As David said, God, don't take your Spirit from me. I've sinned against you. David pleaded that God would not take the Spirit away from Him because of His sins. And when you sin, that's what you need to do. When I sin, that's what I need to do.

And pray that God will not take His Spirit away, but that He will forgive me, and that He will cleanse me once again, and that I will not take sin lightly ever again. Now, that's what this life is all about. It's complete dedication, complete commitment, complete surrender. It is truly dying.

It's dying. Dying in Christ. Accepting Him as our Savior and allowing Him to live in us. That's what it's all about, brethren. That's what it's all about.

We need to fully dedicate ourselves.

Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter. Well, let's read just a few more verses here.

Going on in verse 16 again, we're going to be someone's servants. We're either going to be unrighteous, and we're going to follow Satan the devil, and we're going to allow him to destroy us, because he is the destroyer. Or we are going to turn to God and to Jesus Christ, and we're going to become their slaves. Verse 17, but God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered or entrusted. God has entrusted you with his truth. The gospel of the kingdom of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of Christ crucified for you, the gospel of Christ living now for you, living in you.

And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. He says, I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Paul had no mistake that they were still human beings that he was talking to here, that they were still weak, that they were still in clay pots.

But he also realized that now they had the power of God living in them, the Holy Spirit. He says, just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members of slaves of righteousness. So he understood that this is a process. Conversion is a process. Baptism is a starting point, and a very vital starting point, and we do receive the Spirit of God at that time. But we have to stir up the Spirit of God, and we have to learn to walk in the Spirit, and yield to the Spirit, and allow Christ to live in us, surrendering to Christ, dying to Christ, fully accepting him as our Savior. So again, reading a little bit more. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness, so that's because that's what's going to happen. If a person comes out of that watery grave, and they don't take their calling seriously, and they don't learn to yield to God's Spirit, and they don't learn to stir up the Spirit, and they begin to sin, then they will they will sin more and more and more, until sin overcomes them. Thankfully, we have Jesus Christ, who is our High Priest, but we have a part that we have to play as well. We must seek repentance upon our sins. We must pray and ask God to grant us repentance and to forgive us, and to help us put that sin out of our lives. So now, present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. Remember, we are to become holy even as our Father in heaven is holy.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Of course, you weren't living a righteous life then. You were breaking all the commandments, just like I did as a teenager. In the Spirit, I was breaking all of them. Not in the letter, but in the Spirit, I was breaking every one of God's commandments. I was a slave to unrighteousness. I was a slave to sin.

What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? I became ashamed of my young life. I realized that I had to repent of that at an early age, and turn my life over to God, and allow Him to work in me. It hasn't been an easy battle in many respects, and I've been far from perfect, as you've heard me say many times. But God gets any credit whatsoever for anything good that comes out of this clay vessel. And I truly feel among the most weak here, and I know my heart better than you do.

He says, for the end of those things is death.

If you want to continue in your sins, go for it, and you will reap what you sown. And I will reap what I have sown, and that will be death. Verse 22, But now, having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end everlasting life. And, brethren, I hold that promise very, very dear. I have faith in that promise. I believe in that promise. I know you do as well, and that's why we're here today. Because we believe, and we do have faith. And we look to God to deliver us, for He will surely deliver us. Verse 23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift, the free gift of God, is eternal life. In Christ Jesus our Lord, and there is no other name under heaven, whereby you may be saved, or I may be saved. It's only through Christ. There is no other way. It's a true acceptance of Christ as our Savior, and it's an allowance of Christ to live in us, to make His home in us, to live in us. Then we will be fully alive! I thank God that I've been alive. I'm so grateful. So grateful. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19, 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19, Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit that is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? Brethren, you are not your own. I'm not my own. For you were bought at a price.

What is that price? Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God. So we must no longer walk in the flesh. We must learn to walk in the spirit, and that's what this whole conversion process is all about. Learning to walk in the spirit and continuing to fight the good fight, never giving up, always getting up when we fail, when we sin, seeking repentance, and striving to go and sin no more. Just as Christ told the woman, who committed adultery, go and sin no more. That must be our goal.

For you were bought at a price, so we are to glorify God because of that wonderful price that was paid for us. Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 17. Verse 17 of chapter 7 of the book of 1 Corinthians. But as God has distributed each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk, and so I ordain in all the churches.

He says, Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised because circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing. But what is something? What is important? But keeping the commandments of God is what matters.

Keeping the commandments of God is what matters. That each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? There were slaves back in those days, literal slaves, and there were slaves in this country 150 years ago.

And there are still people that are slaves, literally, today on this earth. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it. But if you can be made free, then use it. Use it for your good to glorify God, to have that freedom. For he was called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freed man. Because you're truly free if Christ, if you've accepted Christ as your Savior, if you've died with Christ, then you're truly free even if you are a literal slave. You are God's freed man. Likewise, he who is called while free, he is Christ's slave. We are Christ's slave. You were bought at a price. Again, what is that price? Do not become slaves of men. Brethren, let each one remain with God in the state in which he was called.

In other words, be content. Put your mind on the big picture. Not that you're a slave, believe it or not. I mean, I would probably find it very difficult if I were a slave not to want to become free literally. But he's saying there's something far more important than that. And that is to be free spiritually. That is to be alive spiritually. It's far, far more important.

We are bought at a price. Again, what was that price? Acts chapter 20 makes it very clear what that price is. We've been purchased. Acts chapter 20 verse 28.

Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God. Greater responsibility goes to those who are called to shepherd the flock of God. Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. Jesus Christ purchased his church with his own blood. You are members of God's church. Jesus Christ is the head of this church. You are a member. I am a member of God's holy church. Sanctified. A church that is to become without spot or wrinkle or any such thing because we've all surrendered ourselves. And we are Christ's slaves. We are God's slaves. And we are truly holy because our sins are forgiven continually in the blood of Christ. As long as we are repentant, our sins are forgiven. There's great freedom in knowing that, but we must never take sin lightly. Sin is what caused Christ to have to come to this earth. The word, the logos, the spokesman. He had to divest himself of his divine nature and be born of a woman, to be born flesh, to come and dwell among us in a clay pot, and to be crucified.

A perfect human being. Only one ever to be crucified for the very ones that he was dying for.

We are purchased by the very blood of Jesus Christ, who laid his life down for us, a God-being. Can you imagine that? There is strength in that, isn't there? There is great strength in knowing that, in realizing that, and understanding that, and getting out of the way, and trusting in God. With God, all things are possible. I have no doubt God can do whatever he wills.

We are purchased with his own blood, with the blood of Christ, the head of this church. Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians chapter 1 verses 13 and 14. Ephesians 1 verse 13, In him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, the gospel, the good news of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. You and I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise when we were baptized, when we had hands laid upon us, when the Spirit of God entered us. We were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, that is, the guarantee of our inheritance, the same Spirit that Christ and the Father are Spirit, Holy Spirit. They've given us an earnest, a down payment of their very Spirit to dwell in us, and that is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. Who is the purchase? What is the purchased possession? You are the purchased possession. I am the purchased possession, purchased by the very blood of Jesus Christ.

So it says, the purchased possession to the praise of His glory.

We are here to glorify God the Father and Jesus Christ by allowing them to live in us. Through, and how is that? It's through the power of His Spirit, through God's Spirit dwelling in us, because in us dwells nothing good. In this flash, there's nothing good except the very Spirit of God that dwells in us. There's nothing good otherwise.

So we truly must surrender and allow Christ to live in us, to rule in us. In Colossians chapter 3 verse 1, if Colossians chapter 3, and we're reading much of what Paul has written today, because he has this theme that he wants us to get, he wants us to understand. Colossians chapter 3 verse 1, if then you were raised with Christ, you were raised when you came out of that grave. You were raised with Him. When you came out of the grave, you accepted Him as your Savior. That's why you got baptized, because you showed you believed in Christ as your Savior. And you were raised with Christ, then seek those things which are above where Christ is, sitting at the very right hand of God the Father and set your mind on things above, not on the things of this earth, because this earth will eat you alive. This earth will tear you up. It'll spit you out. If you don't have your heart and your mind geared toward God, this world and Satan the devil will make mincemeat of you. You know, upon hearing of Liz and what was going on with her today, I mentioned to my wife, I said, it seems that sometimes life is just a series or a sequence of tragedies with some good things mixed in now and then. And I'm the eternal optimist. Life's hard. Life's tough. Life goes on. God is in charge. God is in control. As Mr. Ledbetter said, he is on his throne. Christ is at his right hand. We must not fear. May God's will be done. And may our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, come back to this earth because no matter what happens, many people are going to die today on this earth. Thousands of people are going to die today on this earth. We need the return of Jesus Christ regardless. We should long for his kingdom. We should pray for his kingdom. Thy kingdom come, your will be done. This isn't what God wants. He allows it.

He does it for a purpose in a way. Yes, it's his will because he allows it. But his greater will is not to see all this suffering. His greater will is to establish his government and his kingdom. When there will be a kingdom of peace and prosperity and joy with no more sorrow and no more crying and no more tears.

Continuing on, set your minds on the things above. Verse 3, for you died and your life is hidden. You died! You are dead! If you died in Christ. Are you dead yet? I hope so. I hope you're all dead. One of you emailed me and said they couldn't wait to come. They were intrigued by my title. They wanted to see if they were alive or not.

Well, in a way, you're dead. In a way, you're alive.

When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. In glory. We will be exalted in due time. Therefore, put to death. This is the conclusion. Therefore, finally, put to death your members, which are on the earth, brethren. Put them to death! Kill them! Kill fornication! Learn to hate it with every fiber of your being. Kill fornication. Kill uncleanness. Kill evil passion. Lust. Wrong desires. Evil desires. Covetousness. Which is idolatry. It's having some God before the true God. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. When you were going that direction. But now, you yourselves are to put off all these things. You're to put off anger, brethren. You're to be angry no more. That's tough. That's hard. That's a lifelong process. Something that we have to repent of. Putting off anger. Putting off wrath. Putting off malice. Blasphemy. Filthy language out of our mouths. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all. Christ lives in us, and that's how we shall live. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved. That's how God looks at us. He looks at us as holy and beloved. God looks past our weakness. He looks past our frailty as long as our hearts are right. And we have repentant hearts. And we want to serve him. And why would you be here otherwise, brethren? Why would you be here on a Saturday afternoon, unless you were dedicated and committed to this way of life?

So he says, as the elect of God, you are the very elect of God. So holy and beloved, you are great holy and beloved. You are greatly loved. Put on tender mercies. Put on kindness and humility and meekness and long suffering. Fruits of God's Holy Spirit, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave, you also must do. And that's how we'll become without spot or wrinkle when we learn to love our enemies, when we learn to forgive one another. But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. Yes, be truly thankful. Be truly thankful, brethren, because thankfulness will see you through the difficult times. It'll see you through the hard times. Be thankful for all that God has given you, no matter what you're going through. No matter how grievous, no matter how difficult, no matter how hard the trial. And let's all come together as God's people praying for one another and seeking God's intervention. Yes, seeking His healing. Yes. Seeking His power. Yes! Let us all come together and let us pray fervently today.

Perhaps it will make a difference. Perhaps God will choose to intervene according to His will. All we can do is do our part. And God's will is perfect. So we can trust in that. Brethren, you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. I see a bunch of dead people in front of me, in a sense, and that's a good thing.

But I see people who are alive as well, with the power of God's Spirit dwelling in them. May God be glorified today. May He be glorified every day. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, in the resurrection chapter, he said, I die daily. I die daily knowing that there is a resurrection to come, knowing that there is a kingdom to come, knowing that Christ died for me, that He is my Savior, that I can have complete faith and trust. In that sacrifice and in my high priest, who intercedes for us weak, frail clay pots.

May God be glorified in your weakness. May He be glorified in my weakness as we turn to Him and as we learn to walk in His Spirit. Much more could be said. One final scripture. Let's go to Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20. Let's read this, brethren, together. Not that you have to read out loud, but you can read it as I read it. Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. I have been crucified with Christ. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. I have died with Christ. He's talking about in the waters of baptism. I've died with Christ. I've been crucified with Him. It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. Christ now lives in you. I see Christ reflected in your hearts, in your minds, in your eyes. For Christ lives in you. Christ lives in me in the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. No, righteousness does not come through your law keeping. Righteousness is imputed in you through the sacrifice of Christ. His righteousness is imputed in you as you learn to live as He lived, as you become fully alive, having died to sin, but allowing Christ to do His work in you. We've got a ways to go, but with God's help, we shall be delivered. We will enter His kingdom in glory. We must continue to fight the good fight, to set our hearts and our minds on the things that are above, and not so much so on this earth. So, brethren, I ask again, are you dead yet? If you are dead with Christ, then you're walking in righteousness. And Christ is indeed living in you, and you are seeking repentance for your sins because you know you're weak, you know you're frail, you know you've sinned, and those sins all need to be forgiven. So, we should all seek repentance.

Christ is the hope of glory. He is the hope of eternal life through His Father, who loved us so much that He gave His Son. He is the hope of glory and of eternal life, the Father and the Son. So, brethren, die daily in Christ and in the Father, and let them live in you. Let them walk in you.

Grab a hold of life. Eternal life.