“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

What verse precedes it? “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

And what verse follows verse 13? “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

Chapter six of the Epistle to the Romans expresses a deep truth of our deliverance from sin. Verses 3 and 4 speak about baptism through which we have been immersed in the mystery of Christ’s death, and at the same time have received a new life: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 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.” Verse 6 points out the spiritual reality that the root of evil in us – original sin – the old self – was crucified with Christ. In verse 11, we are told to accept by faith the reality of spiritual death as well as the reality of new life: “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It calls for a faith which is connected with spiritual struggle.

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This verse from chapter six of the Epistle to the Romans again is a mystery. The condition for its revelation is a living faith and walking by faith, in other words putting the truth of faith into practice. A deep biblical faith, which is the foundation of true knowledge, is expressed in the word “reckon” – the Greek word is “logidzomai” which means: 1) take into account, keep in mind, count (up), 2) have an opinion, think, believe, 3) consider, look on as, regard as.

In mathematics, this word is used for an absolutely exact expression: 2×2=4, and this holds true in America, Africa and everywhere. It is something indubitable. And the Scripture tells us that our faith must be like this – without the least doubt – we are dead to sin, to the power of sin! At the same time, we are alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord!

“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin,

but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“For he who has died has been justified from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.”

“For he who has died has been justified from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.”

What is the meaning of the words “he who has died has been justified (freed) from sin”? In this context, it does not mean dying physically but dying spiritually to the power of sin which dominates man. Therefore it is said that such man has been freed from sin. The Greek word “dikaiosiné” (justification), which is used here, means – in biblical terms 1) the fulfilment of the will of God, of everything that God requires, 2) justification from sin, 3) justification of man by God, reconciliation between man and God.

Ad 1) God requires that through faith and obedience to God’s commandments we should fulfil the will of God.

Ad 2) If we are united to Jesus by faith and keep God’s commandments, we are free from sin.

Ad 3) Justification – dikaiosiné – leads to freedom and to the fulfilment of God’s will, but it also means justification of man from his sins and reconciliation with God.

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,

where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above,

not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is,

Concerning those who were baptized, it is written here as a matter of course that “you were raised with Christ”. Who understands it and who lives it? What does it mean? Again, it is a mystery of faith, a deep truth into which the Holy Spirit guides the little ones, i.e. the humble ones.

Christ was raised only once on Sunday after Good Friday when he had been crucified. What plays an important role here is a mystery of faith given us by God, as well as a promise related to it. Faith grows into union with Jesus, into spiritual communion, and then into agape, the love of God which has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Rom 5:5).

October 1, 2018

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former Nuncio to USA, has bravely revealed homosexual network crimes in the highest places in the Church. His courageous step has broken the ice.

Nevertheless, the behind-the-scenes psychological and spiritual struggle continues, aimed at self-destruction of America as well as other nations in line with the program of so-called reduction of mankind. The Scripture says, “Our struggle … is against the demonic forces in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:10f)

A) The basis – metanoia

Before beginning this prayer, confess your sins before God and before yourself:

I am an egoist. When someone admonishes me for whatever error, I take offence. I avoid sound self-criticism. I criticize and condemn others; however, what I condemn I do myself. Whenever I do something good, it just increases my feeling of superiority. I see the speck in my neighbor’s eye, but I cannot see the log in my own eye. I am lazy to seek the truth and to endure suffering for its sake. I am a coward who betrayed the truth and my own conscience many times and, moreover, I set a bad example to many. I take offence, revenge, I am not willing to forgive others. I neglected parental duties in the upbringing of my children.

I do not read the Bible and the lives of saints, and I am not familiar with them. I do not bear in mind the ultimate reality, which is death, God’s judgment and eternity! God has spoken to me through many events, and I am still deaf and blind – I have faced mortal danger several times at work, on the road. I poke into much useless information, but I do not seek to understand the meaning of life and eternity at all.

“For we know that our old self was crucified with Him

so that the body of sin might be done away with,

that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”

“For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”

The first five chapters of the Epistle to the Romans speak of sins. Chapter six speaks about sin in singular, which means the root from which other sins develop. The root of sin is the source of evil in us, i.e. original sin or corrupt human nature which was infected by the serpent, the devil, in the first people in Paradise. Instead of abiding faithfully in God’s Word in time of trial, they rejected it and believed in the words of the devil, in a lie. The seed of the devil was thus sown into human nature. This seed is original sin which programmes man for gradual entropy, moral and spiritual self-destruction, and leads him to eternal damnation. We can see striking examples at the present time, when mankind seems to be deprived of common sense and is committing mass suicide: gender demoralization connected with the stealing of children from their parents; technologies of fratricidal wars; harmful vaccines for children causing damage to the immune system and fertility; genetically modified food; remedies causing other diseases; the spread of cancer; AIDS; destructive culture resulting in systematic amoralization; lack of responsibility; the increase in crime; drug addiction.

“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.”

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death,

In this verse, the word of life emphasizes the word “buried”. When someone is buried, it means that it was preceded by an absolute death. So if we are united to Christ’s death by faith at the present moment, sin in us, our old self, i.e. the source of evil, is dead, inactive. And right here the second mystery reveals itself to us concerning baptism – a new life begins to work in us. It is not the life of angels or something like our past life but it is the life of God, the life of Jesus Christ in us! Through faith and unity with Christ’s death, we allow God, Jesus Christ, to live in us. And this is our greatest dignity! Moreover, we thus make the most of our time in this earthly life because we can do works worthy of eternity. Neither moth nor rust will destroy them, and thieves will not steal them from us. If we live in unity with Jesus, we allow Him to promote the will of God in us as we pray in the Our Father: Your will be done on earth – in my soul – as it is in heaven. We thus carry out mission for the salvation of souls. Our life will become fruitful, and one day we will receive the crown of glory because we have received Christ, remained faithful to Him and lived the mystery of baptism. That means – we entered into Christ’s death again and again, dying to our own will and evil thoughts, feelings or lies, and walked in the truth, in newness of life, allowing Jesus to live in us. The whole mystery of Christianity is contained in one word: TOGETHER. In other words, You and I, Jesus and I together, together in suffering, in death, in resurrection and finally in the glory of heaven. Together – You and I. Now and here.

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus

were baptized into His death?”

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”

In chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Romans, it is repeated several times that sin entered the world through one man and grace – redemption through the other Man. Verse 12 says, Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. And in verse 15 we read, If by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

This verse emphasizes that Jesus is man, which means that God assumed our human nature. Other places in the Scripture, in turn, emphasize His Divinity. Jesus is true God and true man. Heretics either try to attack Christ’s Divinity by creating the impression that He was just a man, or on the other hand, some heretics deliberately emphasize that Jesus is God and say that His manhood was just apparent. Then they draw a heretical conclusion from it that He could not die for us, that it was only an illusion.

“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men,

so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.”