Reckon yourself dead was one of the first things I learned when I met Jesus in 1974. It was the core of my Dad’s teaching, at the time. He was my full-time mentor for the first year and a half as the Lord began my transformation from drug-crazed hippy.

It was a major part of my foundation: Jesus did it all, I was dead, the Lord had a plan, I could trust Him.  The death was the core teaching of Romans 6. Reckon is just an accounting term—mark it down in the register. It happened.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For he who has died is freed from sin. ⁸ But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. ⁹ For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. ROMANS 6: 3–11 RSV

Reckon yourself dead has many benefits

First, a dead person has no rights. That really helps us in modern day America where our so-called rights have really gotten us in spiritual trouble. The only right we have, that we have truly earned, is to die. As usual, Jesus took care of that. And with His normal grace, He handed us eternal life in response.

Second, it becomes hard to be offended when they start kicking our corpse around. I mean, who cares about a dead corpse?

Third, it doesn’t get in the way when we start putting on the new creation Paul talks about.

It really set you free. Reckoning my death was that point in time where my new creation came alive, I was truly reborn. Hallelujah!