I grew up in the Christian faith to hear this statement – I Die Daily credited to Apostle Paul and when such topics are preached on in the church, it is always a time of sober reflection. This also brought about statements like – some people only got to the cross and fanited, while others got to the cross and refused to die etc.
And the concept that comes to heart is that if apostle Paul with all his exploits in the Christian faith said he had to die daily which is to the sinful nature, then who are we not to also die daily.
To make it more convincing this scripture is brought into the discussion Rm 7:15-25 NLT
I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
In all of this, My concern has always been – how can a believer who is already dead to sin now die daily? Is this scripturally true. What was apostle Paul addressing when he made that statement – I die daily
Let’s examine the scripture from where this statement – I Die Daily was taken from with the bid to understand the context in which it was used. – And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” {1Cor 15:30-32 NLT}
The phrase – I Die Daily if put in a simple english says – I face Death daily. From the scripture we are examining, you will discover that
A. Apostle Paul was not addressing issues that relate to the sinful nature
B. The issue Apostle Paul was addressing in this scripture was the Resurrection
C. The phrase I die daily was only referring to the physical danger he has been exposed to in the defence of the gospel of Christ.
It is clear that Apostle Paul was not dying daily to sin, neither was he asking Believers in Christ to die daily to sin, rather he was stating the obvious danger’s he has gone through in the preaching of the gospel of Christ and we in our generation can go through different danger’s as we stand for Christ.
The statement of Apostle Paul in Rm 7:15-25 was describing his former life as a sinner until Christ Jesus came to his rescue.
Hear Apostle Paul discribe how he now lives – My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. {Gal 2:20 NLT}
Beloved, a child of God does not and cannot die to sin on a daily basis because you have been crucified with Christ once and for all which is our death to sin also once and for all and we resurrected with Christ unto the New creation life. So the privileged life you now have can only be lived through Christ. Please note that in Christ there is no sin, there is no darkness at all. So stop living with the mentality that you should die daily to sin because it’s unscriptural.
Believers don’t die daily to sin, rather we live daily in righteousness.
For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. {Rm 3:25-26 NLT}
Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. {Rm 6:16-18 NLT}
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