Alive To God

The Christian life begins with a mystery so deep and so transformative that every tradition —Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant—has sought to articulate it, defend it, and live it. At the heart of this mystery is the apostolic proclamation that in Christ the old man has died, and a new creation has risen. This is not merely an idea, nor simply a metaphor, nor only a ritual. It is the defining reality of Christian existence.

In the waters of baptism, the early Church saw the believer buried with Christ and raised with Him. The Orthodox tradition understands this as an ontological change: a real participation in Christ’s death and resurrection, effected by divine grace. The Catholic tradition affirms the same sacramental reality, grounding it in the Church’s universal teaching on regeneration. Most Protestant traditions, while differing among themselves, emphasize baptism as a sign of grace already received through faith—a symbol that points to the believer’s union with Christ rather than accomplishing it.

These differences matter. They shape how Christians understand salvation, sanctification, and the daily struggle against sin. Yet beneath these differences lies a shared Scriptural command: “Reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God.” This reckoning is not passive. It is the daily work of aligning the will with the truth of what God has done. It is the believer’s conscious participation in Christ’s life, whether understood sacramentally, symbolically, or covenantally