Romans 6:8

Romans 6:8 says, Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:  Paul states now if, and that is always the key.  We can question the existence of Christ or the truth of His death, burial and resurrection, but that does not change the fact that Jesus Christ lived, died and rose again to bring salvation to all.  That is why the now if is needed.  Christ died for all sins, but not all accept His sacrifice and believe in what He did.  There are those who say that they cannot believe that a loving God would send anyone to hell, and He doesn't.  He will allow people, already forgiven through Christ, to choose to ignore that gift and go away into everlasting punishment, though. Again, it is a choice of the free will of man.  When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we live in Him.  Verse nine adds, Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. Paul states that once Christ rose from the dead, sin had no dominion over Him.  Through our faith in Christ, we have that same assurance.  Verse ten continues this thought saying, For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.  Christ did not have to die over and over to pay the penalty of sin.  That in no way frees us to sin by saying the penalty is already paid so it doesn't matter.  The second half of the verse says that Christ lives, and He lives unto God.  After we accept salvation through Christ, we are to live unto God.  Sin no longer has dominion over us and should never be something we desire.  We are to live for God's glory.  Verse eleven states, Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  We are dead to sin.  This does not mean that we become perfect people, but that we are to strive to live in the perfect will of God.  We are alive through Christ our Lord.  Where we get into trouble is when we want Christ as our Savior but forget this means He is also our Lord.  Verse twelve adds, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  We still have a choice to let sin into our lives again, even if we are followers of Christ.  This happens when we don't rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength and attempt to live by our own wisdom and power.  We should quickly recognize when this occurs and never allow sin to reign for any length before asking God for forgiveness. Verse thirteen continues, Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.  Paul tells us we are never to use any part of our body for unrighteousness, but we are to live as those who are freed from death through Christ.  We are to be vibrant people through the power of the Holy Spirit, and not ruled by the desires of sin.