This episode applies the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to the cross of persecution. Paul told Timothy that all who wish to live godly shall suffer persecution. (2 Tim. 3:12) Public identification with Christ naturally challenges unbelievers and purely "religious' people to evaluate their commitment to worldly values. Many instinctively react defensively and malign Christians whose gospel is convicting. Persecution reveals the degree that we identify with Christ. The disciples who would fully identify with Christ are told to rejoice when it occurs. (Mt. 5:12) Since persecution arises because of the Word, it naturally reveals where are faith isn't rooted or possibly luke-warm. The answer is, of course, to abide more in Christ to the point where He becomes the identity upon which we rest.
The Multi-Faceted Cross
This episode introduces the second arena in which believers are called to apply the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to their lives, that of self-denial. While Christians use the paradigm of Christ's death and resurrection as a model for dealing with the cross of sin, closely related, but not the same, is our attitude towards everything we have that is NOT sinful. All of our gifts and talents need to placed at the Master's feet and utilized based on HIS leading. The episode also mentions the cross of persecution, the third area in which we apply the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to our lives. The episode affirms that the three crosses carried by Christians (sin, self-denial, and persecution) are inter-related. Our submission to Christ over sin issues naturally affects how we respond to self-denial in other areas and our attitude towards persecution.
Identify with the Costs as Well as the Benefits
This episode applies the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to sanctification, specifically how we gain the victory over sin. Romans 6:7 states that our old self was crucified with Christ, in order that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Victory over sin begins with identification with the historical fact that our old self was crucified with Christ, and the result is that we are no longer slaves to sin. The key variable linking this historical fact with liberation from sin is the degree we identify with Christ's death, burial and resurrection. The goal, that "the body of sin might be done away with," largely depends on our active application of the death of Christ to our own sin. And the application of the resurrection, as we learn in later episodes, is that we rise to the newness of life. So before we naturally identify with the resurrection of Christ, we should also readily identify with Christ's death, which energizes us to mortify the flesh.