Romans 6:11

Since God has united us with Christ we should "consider," "count," or "reckon" ourselves as those who are not under the dominating influence of sin any longer. The verb is a present imperative in the Greek text indicating that we should definitely and constantly view ourselves this way. We must realize that we are free to enjoy our new relationship with God forever. One writer explained well how Christians should view themselves. [Note: See Don Matzat, Christ-Esteem.]

Paul previously stressed the importance of knowing certain facts (Romans 6:3; Romans 6:6; Romans 6:9). Now he said that we should count on their being true. We must not just understand them but believe them. He used the same Greek word (logisthesetai) here as he did in his explanation of justification (Romans 2:26; Romans 4:3-6; Romans 4:8-11; Romans 4:22-24). God puts righteousness down on the believer’s account. Similarly we should put it down as true that our relationship to sin and death has changed. Only as we do so will we relate to temptation, sin, and death realistically. If we fail to believe that sin no longer dominates us, we will be much more vulnerable to yield to temptation, to practice sin, and to fear death. However if we believe sin does not have that power, we will be more apt to resist temptation, to stay clear of sin, and to anticipate death less fearfully. "Consider" is in the present tense in the Greek text indicating that we need to maintain a realistic view of our relationship to sin (i.e., to "keep on considering").

"The word reckon is a word for faith-in the face of appearances." [Note: Newell, p. 225.]

In some parts of the United States, "I reckon" means "I guess." For example, "I reckon it’s going to rain this afternoon." That is not its meaning here. It means to count on something being true, to believe it.

"This is no game of ’let’s pretend’; believers should consider themselves to be what God in fact has made them." [Note: Bruce, p. 132.]