Q093_060826 Rom. 6:1 No Longer Identifed As A SinnerQ093_060826 Rom. 6:1 No Longer Identifed As A Sinner
How it Happens with Colin Cook
Colin Cook reflects on years of striving for perfection and relief from sin, and explains how understanding Romans 6 as Christ’s work on our behalf changed his sense of identity. He contrasts anxious attempts to conquer desire with a calmer trust that God no longer sees the believer as a sinner in Adam’s kingdom.
14:40•8 Jun 2026
No Longer Identified as a Sinner: Colin Cook on Romans, Anxiety and Addiction
Episode Overview
- Colin describes years of confusion over Romans 6 and the phrase “we died to sin,” which fuelled intense religious anxiety.
- He shares how repeated attempts at absolute surrender, deeper repentance and seeking the Holy Spirit never removed his desires to sin.
- Paul’s repeated emphasis on being “in Christ” leads Colin to see that Jesus died to sin on our behalf, carrying both judgement and identity.
- By faith, a person can say they are no longer identified as a sinner in Adam’s kingdom, even while still battling temptation.
- Seeing God’s love as secure allows a calmer, less frantic response to sin: repentance without fear of losing acceptance.
“Though I have sinned, I thank you that you do not identify me as a sinner.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? Here, Colin Cook looks back on his early years as a young Christian wrestling with Romans Chapter 6 and the unsettling phrase, "we died to sin." His confusion over what that actually meant set him up for a long, exhausting chase after perfection.
Colin talks honestly about trying every spiritual strategy he could find to kill off his sinful desires: intense Bible reading as a daily ritual, "absolute surrender" inspired by Andrew Murray, deeper and deeper repentance, and a two–year quest to "get the Holy Spirit" as a second blessing. Each attempt seemed to work for a while, then old urges returned, leaving him anxious, neurotic, and doubting whether he was even truly saved.
The turning point comes as he explains Paul's focus on what Christ has already done on our behalf. He points out how often Paul says "in Christ" or "through Christ", stressing that these are "vital truths" about our status.
When Paul writes that we have "died to sin", Colin explains that this is first about Jesus: "For the death that he died, he died to sin" as the judgement for our sin, so that "you are no longer identified as a sinner in the kingdom of Adam." From there, Colin shows how this changes the emotional tone of dealing with failure.
Instead of spiralling into, "O Lord, I'm such a lousy sinner, I'm no good, I'm useless," he suggests praying, "Father, though I have sinned, I thank you that you do not identify me as a sinner." That shift, he says, makes dealing with sin "a calmer thing" rather than a frantic battle for acceptance.
He closes with a brief update on friends in crisis in Nigeria, quietly reminding anyone listening that faith in action is more than theories about sin and grace. If you’ve ever felt crushed by religious anxiety, could this reframing of "no longer identified as a sinner" be the relief you’ve been longing for?
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