Living Dead to Sin

Have you ever wondered why you still struggle with sin, even though you’ve been made new in Christ? In this powerful episode, Ross O'Hair and Jamie Pyles explore Romans 6:8-14, uncovering life-changing truths about what it means to live as a new creation. They discuss how believers are no longer slaves to sin, but instead, are under "new management" — controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Through practical insights, Jamie explains how to break free from old habits and temptations by knowing our true identity, considering ourselves dead to sin, and presenting ourselves to God. Whether you’re struggling with long-standing habits or simply want a fresh understanding of God’s transformative power, this episode provides hope and actionable steps for real change. Tune in and discover how God’s truth can set you free!

Key Verses:

Romans 5:6-11: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation..”

Quotes: “When we believe God, we are believing in reality. It’s not just positive mantras, it’s the truth that transforms us.”

“Practice doesn’t just make perfect; it makes permanent. So, whatever you are practicing, that’s what you will automatically live out.”

Key Points:

1. Believers are no longer slaves to sin because their old nature is dead; the struggle now is with remnants of past habits.
2. Trusting God and presenting ourselves to Him daily is essential for breaking free from sin’s power.
3. Lasting change requires both personal reliance on God's truth and engagement with a supportive community.

Outline:

1. Introduction (00:06)
2. Scripture Reading (01:12)
3. Our Death and Resurrection in Christ (02:13)
4. Under New Management (04:22)
5. Knowing Our New Identity (05:19)
6. Considering Ourselves Dead to Sin (08:07)
7. Presenting Ourselves to God (10:33)
8. Overcoming Temptations (12:05)
9. The Role of Community in the Transformation Process (18:29)
10. Conclusion (19:15)

Theme Music:

Here Forever by Adigold Nordic Cellos by Orchestralis

(all rights and licensing from Envato elements)

Hosted by: Ross O'Hair Participating Staff: Jamie Pharis Pyles Scriptures Read By: Corrie O'Hair

Edited by: Ross O’Hair and Ben Brezina

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In need of individual counseling? Visit our website to schedule an (00:06):
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Have you ever felt overwhelmed by old habitsand old attitudes that seem to hang around,
that seem to get in the way, and that nomatter how hard you pray or try to change
them, nothing seems to happen.
Or maybe you've wondered why you stillstruggle with sin if your old nature has been
crucified with Christ?
What if I told you that change is possible,and that new habits and attitudes are what

(00:28):
God has designed us for as believers?
While for thousands of years Christians haveasked and wrestled with these questions and
thoughts that are raised in Romans six 8 to14.
And today we address the simplicity of thegospel and how Jesus finished work on the
cross helps us renew our minds and beliefsto what God really designed for our habits
and attitudes.
My name is Ross O'Hare and I'm your hosttoday, and joining me on today's episode is

(00:51):
Jamie Pyles. But before we delve intotoday's topic, let's take a moment and listen
to the Scripture.

Corrie O'Hair: Romans six eight through 14. (01:12):
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Now, if we have died with Christ, we believethat we shall also live with him, knowing
that Christ, having been raised from thedead, is never to die again.
Death no longer is master over him.
For the death that he died, he died to sinonce for all.

(01:32):
But the life that he lives, he lives to God.
Even so, consider yourselves to be dead tosin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, do not let sin reign in yourmortal body, so that you obey its lusts.
And do not go on presenting the members ofyour body to sin as instruments of
unrighteousness. But present yourselves toGod as those alive from the dead, and your

(01:56):
members as instruments of righteousness toGod.
For sin shall not be master over you.

Ross O'Hair: All right, Jamie, good to have you back. (02:09):
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How are you today?

Jamie Pharis Pyles: I'm great. It's good to be back. (02:11):
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Ross O'Hair: Yeah. All right, so we are in verses 8 to 14 today. (02:13):
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And, you know, last week we talked about howwe were new creations, how we were dead to
sin and alive to God.
And really, that changes everything for usas believers.
It's a really radical idea.
But Paul doesn't stop there.
So where does he take us next in theseverses?

Jamie Pharis Pyles: Well, you're right, Ross. (02:31):
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In our previous podcast, we've looked atwhat Paul had to say about what really
happened to us, and it's so important thatwe know that because so many Christians
think, well, I gave my life to Christ and,you know, that was that's it.
That's what I did. Yeah, but God didsomething to us.

(02:53):
It was a process that had to happen.
Yeah, yeah, he co-crucified us in Christ.
He resurrected us in Christ.
So Paul has just talked about thecrucifixion.
Now he's going to talk about ourresurrection and what that means in the last
podcast. Paul has just given us that micdrop revelation that our old sin nature, that

(03:21):
old self, is dead now.
So now we are not fighting good me againstbad me.
Yeah, exactly. That's not our experienceanymore.
Our struggle now is going to be with theflesh patterns, the old programming that was
left over from our old life.

(03:42):
Right? It's still in the body, but it is nolonger in the spirit.

Ross O'Hair: Yeah, yeah. That's so great. (03:47):
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Yeah. I think these verses are going to bevery practical, and I love that about this
chapter as a whole.
Is Paul's really laying out what's changingabout us?
It's really awesome.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: When I present these truths in our advanced discipleship class, I have this picture of a (03:58):
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banner and it says Under New Management.
And that's what this chapter is about.
Paul is trying to say, look, things havechanged.
You are not now driven by that old natureanymore.
It's gone.
You are now controlled by the Holy Spirit.

(04:20):
And you need to know that.

Ross O'Hair: Yeah, well, I think I love that you bring that out. (04:22):
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How? It's we're controlled by the spirit nowbecause he does bring out these differences
between the spirit and the flesh in theseverses.
So what are those differences?
How does he differentiate those things?

Jamie Pharis Pyles: Well, he's going to give us three main words that will carry us through the rest of this (04:34):
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chapter, that kind of give us an idea ofwhat we're looking forward to.
Number one, he says, we need to know.
And when he says that, we need to know, hesays in verse nine that knowing Christ has

(04:56):
been raised from the dead.
Verse eight, he says, we have died withChrist.
We now are dead but risen again to new life.
We need to know this.
That word no is more than justunderstanding.
It's actually cherishing that we cherishwhat's important to us.

(05:18):
So it's.

Ross O'Hair: A different level of. (05:18):
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Jamie Pharis Pyles: It. It's a different level. (05:19):
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It's not just, yeah, somewhere in the backof my mind, I know that it needs to be at the
forefront. It needs to be a dailyunderstanding of, wow, this has actually
happened and it's changing me.
We need to know that sin has no power overus.

(05:41):
You were resurrected in union with him.
He's now in you, so you have to actuallychoose to sin.
And as we saw in Romans six six, when thatsin nature was removed.
It's now unnatural for you to sin.

Ross O'Hair: It's interesting because as a believer, a lot of times we feel like there's this pull in (06:03):
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this natural like, oh no.
But I want to go sin. I want to do that.
Like, we're convinced or we're hoodwinked, Iguess, into thinking that that's actually
what we want to do, when that's what you'resaying is Paul is clearly laying out that
that's not natural for us anymore, right?

Jamie Pharis Pyles: Sin doesn't work for the believer anymore. (06:21):
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It doesn't work for the unbeliever.
They just don't know that.

Ross O'Hair: Sure. Yeah, yeah. Well, I comes to I get this idea in my mind of someone who's lactose (06:28):
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intolerant. Who?
They could. They can drink milk.
It's just not going to work for them.
It's not going to make not.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: Going to help them. Right. (06:39):
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Ross O'Hair: It's not going to make them feel good. (06:39):
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So it's the same thing for believers.
We can sin. It's just it it doesn't match upwith who we are anymore.
And so there's this direct conflict now withthat.
So I know you talked about.
No. Now we're moving on to consider.
So what's next.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: So Paul is actually emphatic about this. (06:52):
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Consider he's telling us to consider ourselfin the same condition as Christ.
We're dead to sin under the control of theHoly Spirit.
We're alive to God.
This word consider doesn't mean what weoften think is just think about it.

(07:12):
That's what I was thinking. Yeah, itactually means to rely on it.
Okay. And that's different.
So when we look at the process that we'vecome under to be united with Christ, we think
of what God told us in the Bible.
It's like marriage.
Okay. Well, in the same way that I chose tojoin my life with another right after

(07:41):
that, I may not feel marriage.
Sure, right? Yeah. But daily, as I live withthis other person, I'm now challenged to
think, wait, this house isn't just mine.
I'm not single anymore.
I'm sharing it with another person.
Daily I'm thinking, oh wait, I'm not justcooking a meal for myself.

(08:03):
There's another person involved here.

Ross O'Hair: So you're considering. (08:06):
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Jamie Pharis Pyles: That? I'm considering them, but I'm also relying on the fact that I'm married, even (08:07):
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though I may not feel like I'm married.
But these experiences over time are going toconvince me that this is true.
So in the same way, when we first become aChristian, we're not totally convinced we are

(08:29):
the righteousness of God in Christ.
And it may take a little while for God togive us those experiences.

Ross O'Hair: Well, yeah, it's crazy because yeah, when you become a believer, it's not like all of a (08:36):
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sudden, you know, you I can't think of acrazy example, like, you grow a third arm and
it's like, here's proof that I'm married.
Like, there's, you know, it's like it's justsomething that it's it's a belief.
There's there's not anything that physicallychanges or anything.
And it's the same thing when you getmarried. It's not like, again, nothing
physically changes when you get married.
I mean, you put a ring on maybe, but that'sabout it.

(08:58):
So it is. You have to rely on this fact oftruth and then really count on it.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: And the experience of living every day with that person and living every day in Christ (09:03):
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will change that thought pattern.
For us, it changes those synapses that wetalk about so much in counseling in the
brain. But we've got to give it just alittle bit of time.

Ross O'Hair: Sure. Yeah, it takes a minute, but I think a part of that comes with trust. (09:21):
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Like in a marriage, there's trust that youare married and that, you know, you're
relying on that and counting on that.
And they're doing the same thing.
But in this instance we're trusting Godwith.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: Exactly. (09:35):
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Ross O'Hair: Is that how that's working? (09:36):
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Jamie Pharis Pyles: And, you know, we can repeat positive mantras all day long. (09:37):
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But when we believe God, we are actuallybelieving in reality.
We are believing in something that's truth.

Ross O'Hair: So it's different than just like, I can do it. (09:52):
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I can do it. It's like Christ has done it.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: It's done. And I can rest in it and believe it. (09:57):
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And of course, belief drives behavior.
I'll begin to act on that belief.

Ross O'Hair: A lot of times this process, though, for all of us believers, is a slow one. (10:06):
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Like I know for me this considering orknowing and considering like it takes a while
for us to get to the point where we trulyunderstand what God's done to us and how
important that is. And it's like this changeis a slow process of trusting him and putting
our faith in that fully and doing all that.

(10:27):
But Paul then moves on to this next word,which you talked about earlier, which is to
present. And I feel like that's where kindof the rubber meets the road.
Yes.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: That's where the practical side comes in. (10:33):
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This is where Paul says, now this is whatthis should look like.

Ross O'Hair: Yeah, this process of some kind. (10:39):
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Jamie Pharis Pyles: Here's the process. (10:40):
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You can present your life to God, youractions to God, your body to God, because you
can now you're not under the control of thatold nature.
Because you're dead to sin. You're dead tosin.
You don't want that.
Over the years, I've counseled many womenwho've struggled like myself, with unhealthy

(11:06):
relationships with food, shopping, or evenporn.
Okay, I can relate because I suffered froman eating disorder in my early 30s.
I had bulimia.
But the one thing all of these women whohave struggled with addiction to something

(11:28):
besides the life of Christ, right, is we allthought we had no control over it.
We thought that drives us so there's nohope.
But because we're freed from sin's power andwe have to actually choose sin.
I talked to these women about this veryprocess that Paul uses, where we know that

(11:51):
sin never satisfies us.
The problem we have is that we will live outwhat we believe.
So if we keep believing these things controlus, we're just we're going to naturally
believe that and.

Ross O'Hair: Keep doing it. (12:05):
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Jamie Pharis Pyles: And keep doing it. Yeah, we have to like Second Corinthians ten five says, take that (12:05):
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thought captive and make it obedient toChrist.
We just have to choose to believe.
What's true in this process is that I cannow present myself to God.

(12:27):
The problem is we're going to live out whatwe believe.
So we have to keep speaking that truth dailyand even moment by moment when those desires
are strongest.
So when we believe, hey, I want that thirdpiece of cake, or I want to buy that

(12:48):
new piece of jewelry or Yeah, I actuallywant to look at that pornographic site.
We're telling ourselves a lie.
That is not who we are anymore.
Yeah, but the longer we keep tellingourselves.
But I want that.
I believe that then we're going to acceptthat that's true of us.

(13:10):
When Paul says, no, now present your body toGod, believe this truth and present it to
God. Turn away from that, but present it toGod.
But what we often miss is the second part ofthis.
Okay, but now he says, present your membersto God.
That's the part that we often neglect.

(13:31):
What he's saying is, go to God to find outwhat it is you're really lacking, what is
driving this desire or this need forfulfillment by a wrong source?
Source? Yeah, exactly. You're going to aresource, Not the source.

(13:53):
And that's our problem. So if we go to God,he always wants to answer that.
He always wants to give us knowledge.
He always wants to give us another route.
Right? A way of escape. A way of escape.
He wants to actually fulfill us with what'sgood.
We know about turning away from sin, but wedon't look at this part.

(14:14):
Well, let's present ourselves to God.
God, what's going on here with me?
Why am I choosing to believe that I wantthis?
And what would you provide?
What do you want me to seek?
What do you want to just give me?
Right. Yeah. That will cause me now tochoose your way over another.

Ross O'Hair: Well, and I think that's such an incredible, impactful thing because it starts with what (14:36):
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Paul talked about earlier in the chapter islike knowing who we are, understanding our
identity, that we're no longer slaves tosin, that we no longer have a sin nature.
Because if that foundation is laid, thenthat really leads to the part you're talking
about here, where once we know that, then weknow we don't want that sin.

(14:58):
So that step has to happen in that order.
And then once we know we don't truly want togive in to whatever that sin and temptation
is, we can then take that next step ofpresenting ourselves to God, which I think
sometimes can sound very like, you know, outthere, spiritual, like, oh, present yourself
to God. Like, what does that really mean?
But I think you laid it out well, becauseit's like asking, having a conversation with

(15:21):
God in that moment of, hey, God, what do youhave for me now?
Like what? You know, I don't if I take amoment and actually stop.
You're right. God, I don't want this.
Like. Yeah. Help me to in this moment to toovercome this temptation through your
strength and the truth that you tell me.
And it's that process that really begins tofree us.
But I also think it takes a long time to getto that point.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: It can. But I love that God in his mercy, gets us more quickly to the good Then the (15:42):
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length of time it took us to get into thebad.
Right. And I also want to remind us of somethings that we have talked about when we can.
On a practical note, remove ourselves fromthe temptation.

(16:04):
He says, don't present it to sin.
Well, don't hang around it.
Yeah, leave the area.
Leave the thing.
If you got.

Ross O'Hair: A drinking problem, leave the bar. (16:11):
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Jamie Pharis Pyles: Leave the bar. You know, leave the kitchen. (16:12):
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Ross O'Hair: Yeah. (16:15):
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Jamie Pharis Pyles: You know, leave the computer. (16:15):
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Whatever it is that's drawing you do that.
We also have the option to.
It says to wait on the Lord.
Goodness. Give him at least 15 minutes.
Yeah. You know, he will give you otherthoughts in that time.
So those things added to the process areparts of what he's told us in the word to do

(16:41):
also. But they're practical and they willgive us the sense that now God is in control.
Yeah.

Ross O'Hair: Yeah. And this is a process. (16:50):
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I mean, I think it's important to mentionthat to people is like, we're not going to
get it right the first time. No, you're notgoing to get it right the 10th time.
But each time that we present ourselves,that we know and consider the truth of who we
are and what God has done, and then presentourselves to God in that way, each time we do
that, the light bulb goes on a little bitbrighter, where it's like, oh, you know what?

(17:12):
I kind of yeah, you're right, this isbetter.
And eventually we get to that point whereit's we're able to do that much quicker.
Like you said. And and God really isgracious in that.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: Practice doesn't just make perfect, it makes permanent. (17:21):
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So whatever you're practicing is what youwill automatically live out.

Ross O'Hair: Yeah. So if we had a major takeaway for people listening to the on these verses, what (17:31):
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would it be?

Jamie Pharis Pyles: I'd say on the practical side, we need to keep our self-talk and our thoughts focused (17:36):
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on that truth, that know that rely on it,that we want what the Holy Spirit wants.
Yeah, we don't actually want those thingsanymore.
And that God actually will supply what wereally want, what we really need, and that we

(18:01):
don't have to present our bodies to sin.
The only power it has over us is what wegive it.
We can present our bodies to God.
And as you said, over time he will changeus.
It it could be an overnight thing, but itusually isn't.
No. Yeah. And he will break us free of thatold programming in the body which is in the

(18:24):
brain. And the truth will literally make usfree.

Ross O'Hair: Yeah. I think that's really important to note here that as part of the reason that I do (18:29):
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what I do in counseling, and I'm sure it isfor you, too, but we love to go through this
process with people. And so I think a lot oftimes God does this process also within
community. And so I think that's importantto mention, just because if someone's
listening and they're trying to do this inan isolated environment.
It can. But oftentimes God works in a waythat when we're around people and sharing

(18:54):
what's going on and walking through thisprocess with other people, it can be more
impactful and quicker in that instancebecause we have others with us in that.
So if if you are trying to walk throughsomething by yourself again, find a
community, seek help, come to counseling, dothings like that that really are able to help
that process. So you're not fighting thisalone.
But Jamie, thank you so much.
I really appreciate it.

Jamie Pharis Pyles: Enjoyed being here. (19:15):
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Ross O'Hair: Thank you for your thoughts and guys. (19:15):
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Thanks so much for listening.
We will wrap up Romans six next week, and wewill see you next week on the Living in Jesus
podcast.