Buried with Him

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Romans 6:3–4 “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Think

There’s a strange beauty in baptism. On the surface, it looks simple—someone goes under water and comes back up. But beneath the surface, something deeper is being declared. Paul says that when you were baptized into Christ, you were baptized into his death. You were buried with him. Not just symbolically. Spiritually. Eternally.

Think about that. You didn’t just start believing a new set of ideas. You entered a new reality. A funeral happened. A resurrection followed. And you were part of both.

Paul isn’t talking here about water alone. Baptism, in the New Testament, is never just a ritual. It’s a public declaration of an internal transformation. It’s not magic, but it is holy. It tells a story: someone died, someone was buried, and someone came up different.

That’s what Paul is pointing to in Romans 6. He wants believers to understand that following Jesus is not just about being cleaned up. It’s about being made new. The old life didn’t get polished. It got put in the ground. You didn’t just get a spiritual shower. You got a funeral.

It’s been said that grace doesn’t just improve you—it replaces you. That’s what this means. You went under. You died to the life that revolved around you. You let go of the sin that enslaved you. You surrendered control. That version of you—the one who thought they could earn God’s love or live without it—was buried.

And when you came up, something miraculous happened. You didn’t just dry off. You were raised. Not by your effort, but by the glory of the Father. The same glory that raised Jesus from the grave is what lifts you to walk in newness of life.

This is why the metaphor of burial matters. Because you don’t bury something that’s coming back. You bury something because it’s finished. Done. Over. So why do we keep trying to dig up what God has already put in the ground?

For many of us, the Christian life feels like trying to live two stories at once. We know we’ve been saved, but we keep identifying with the person we were before. We let guilt write our name tags. We let fear narrate our thoughts. We walk through life as if we’re still dragging around the weight of our past. But Paul says that person has been buried.

You don’t have to fake being new. You are new. You may still feel the tug of temptation, but you’re no longer a slave to it. You may still stumble, but your old self doesn’t get the final word. Resurrection life is now the air you breathe.

This doesn’t mean change is instant. It means change is inevitable. Because if you’ve truly died with Christ, you’ve also been raised with him. The Spirit now lives in you, shaping you, leading you, convicting and comforting. You are being conformed into the image of Jesus—not perfectly, but progressively.

Baptism is not about perfection. It’s about direction. It’s the declaration that your life has a new reference point. You’re not just aiming for better behavior. You’re living from a new identity. You’ve gone from death to life.

One of the most powerful things about burial is finality. It’s the end of something. But with God, it’s also the beginning of something greater. Think of a seed going into the soil. It looks like it’s being buried, like something is being lost. But that seed is actually entering the only place it can begin to grow.

Jesus didn’t stay in the grave. And if you’re in him, neither do you. Your life is no longer defined by what has died. It’s defined by what is rising. Every part of your story is now touched by resurrection. Not just your eternity, but your daily life. Your habits. Your mindset. Your relationships. Your future.

That doesn’t mean you never revisit old struggles. It means you face them with new power. It doesn’t mean you won’t have moments of doubt. It means doubt no longer drives your direction. You have been raised. You are walking in newness. Not because you got your act together, but because Jesus brought you out of the grave.

So when the enemy tries to remind you of who you used to be, remind him where that person is buried. When shame whispers that you’ll never change, point to the cross and the empty tomb. When you feel stuck, remember that resurrection isn’t just a historical event. It’s a present reality. You’ve been buried with Christ. And now you’re walking out of that grave, one faithful step at a time.

Apply

Today, revisit your own baptism story or consider taking this first step of obedience to reflect the decision you’ve made to give your life to Christ. Write down one area of your life where you keep trying to resurrect something that God has already buried. Then thank him for giving you new life and ask him to help you walk in it with joy.

Pray

God, thank you that I’ve been buried with Jesus and raised to walk in newness of life. I confess that I sometimes forget who I am in you. Help me stop digging up what you’ve already put to death. Remind me that I am alive in Christ. Teach me to walk today like someone who has been raised. In Jesus’ name. Amen.