Heidelberg Catechism Question #43

Question 43. What further benefit do we receive from the sacrifice and death of Christ on the cross?

Answer: That by virtue thereof, our old man is crucified, dead and buried with him; (a) that so the corrupt inclinations of the flesh may no more reign in us; (b) but that we may offer ourselves unto him a sacrifice of thanksgiving. (c)

(a) Rom.6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (b) Rom.6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Rom.6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. Rom.6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Rom.6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom.6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Col.2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (c) Rom.12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

This is really good news for us who are saved but still struggle with sin (which is all believers if we're honest). The 'old man' is dead. The person we were in Adam was crucified. According to Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and the statements in this 43rd question, there is a distinction between the 'old man' (which died) and the 'body of sin' (the flesh). The 'flesh' is the body in which sin tends to tyrannize still, the body in which sin yet remains. The good news is this: when Christ was buried in His grave, the 'old man' was with Him in it. But why do we still struggle with sin in the flesh? Lloyd-Jones goes on to tell us that the hold of sin upon us, even in the body, has been rendered null and void and ineffective. The objective of 'salvation' is that we may be rid entirely and completely of sin and its effects. The whole objective of 'grace' and 'salvation' is to deliver us from sin in every part - in personality and finally even in the body. The bottom line is that even though our 'old man' in Adam was slain and buried, our earthly bodies still houses the effects of the fall. Yes, the corrupt inclinations no longer reign in the true believer. They no longer REIGN. But that isn't to say that we don't slip and fall once in a while. The good news for those who are followers of Christ is that eventually... ultimately... finally... we will be delivered from this body of sin and death. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!