[The following are excerpts from a Spiritual Life paper and class notes.]
Romans 6 deals with a very essential topic about Christian identity, specifically in dealing with the “behind-the-scenes” explanation for our conversions to Christianity. In an age and culture where Christianity is a prolific term and yet not well understood among the general public, and where there are long-standing associated traditions within the church, a full understanding of the very essence of one’s conversion can and quite often does remain elusive. Therefore, a paraphrase is offered here for a few key passages from Romans 6, taking care to define the essential terms.
The old self (the person under the influence of sin before salvation), which is within the body of sin (the physical body along with its sinful tendencies and desires), is baptized (death to the old self and resurrection of a new person under Christ) so that he/she does not continue in sin (being under the influence of or controlled by sin). The person is therefore left in a dichotic state whereby the new self (the person under the influence of Christ and declared righteous) still remains within the body of sin (the physical body along with its sinful tendencies and desires) despite not continuing in sin (being under the influence of or controlled by sin).