Reckon Yourself Dead to Resentment, Fear, and Other Negatives in Your Life

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6: 11)

AA teaches people to identify with their sin:

"My name is Arthur, and I am an alcoholic."

The words "I am" are quite powerful. The more that we identify or label ourselves according to something, the more that our thoughts and feelings will accord with this identity.

Alcoholism, like many other perversions of our minds and bodies, are all works of the flesh, or our fallen sin natures:

"19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21)

Paul emphasizes that the Kingdom of Heaven is not something that we can earn, but a kingdom which we must inherit.

We reign in life through Christ Jesus (Romans 5: 17), as we continue receiving His grace and righteousness in our lives.

In fact, because of Christ's death and resurrection on the Cross, we go from dead in our trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly places in Christ:

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"

We do not identify with this world, or anything in it, including alcohol, alcoholism, and certainly not Alcoholics Anonymous.

 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" (Ephesians 2: 1-6)

We are no longer called to live in our flesh, trying to fulfill ourselves in empty pursuits and the sinful lifestyles of our dead-in-trespasses lives. Why would we, anyway, since God has seated us in Christ, who now sits at the right hand of the Father, in full glory?:

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)

Resentment, wrath, upsets of any kind - they are works of the flesh, which we end up producing in our lives to the degree that we forget who we are in Christ, and identify with our fallen flesh.

AA teaches people to identify with the fallen flesh. Reckon yourself dead to the resentment, fear, and other negatives in your life, and look to Christ, the Author and Finisher of faith (Hebrews 12: 2), for He is our life (Colossians 3: 3-4)