The Old Man Is Dead: Episode 6

Main Ideas

• Knowing that the “old man” is dead is essential to living in victory. Andrew Wommack teaches from Romans 6 that believers were united with Christ in his death and resurrection. He argues that understanding this allows Christ’s resurrection life to become evident in their lives.

• “Dead to sin” refers to the believer’s spirit, not flawless behavior. Wommack says people may still sin or struggle in their thoughts and actions, but that does not mean their old sinful nature remains. In his interpretation, before conversion people were spiritually “dead in sin” and had a sinful nature. When they are born again, that nature is gone and their spirit is made new.

• Sinful habits can feel natural without being the believer’s nature. Wommack compares learned habits to learning to button a shirt: repeated behavior can become automatic, but it was learned rather than innate. He says old patterns of sin were formed and reinforced before conversion and can persist as mental programming, even though the old nature is no longer present.

• Being “freed from sin” does not mean someone automatically experiences freedom. Wommack distinguishes being freed from sin through Christ from living out that freedom. He says believers must understand their new identity and renew their minds; otherwise, old ways of thinking can continue to influence their behavior.

• The new birth changes a person’s spiritual identity. Wommack rejects identifying as “just an old sinner” or treating labels such as “angry,” “an alcoholic,” or “a person with a temper” as unchangeable identities. He teaches that believers are new creations in Christ, with God’s love, joy, and peace in their spirits, even if those qualities are not yet visible in their actions.

• He interprets 1 John 3:9 as referring to the born-again spirit. Wommack says the verse stating that someone born of God “cannot sin” does not mean Christians never commit sinful acts or merely that they cannot sin habitually. Rather, he understands it to mean that the spirit born of God cannot sin. As believers walk in the spirit and bring their minds and bodies into line with it, they can resist sinful actions.

• He argues that Christians do not need to “die to themselves” every morning. Wommack recounts a practice he once tried: mentally naming his sins and imagining himself dying to them each day. He says this made him more sin-conscious and undermined his sense of peace and victory. He also interprets Paul’s statement “I die daily” in 1 Corinthians 15 as referring to facing danger and persecution, not repeatedly dying to a sinful nature.

• Christ’s death was once for all. Drawing on Romans 6, Wommack says Jesus died to sin once and now lives to God. Believers should likewise reckon themselves dead to sin and alive to God. He says the old nature does not die at conversion only to “resurrect” each morning.

Practical Steps Emphasized

• Know what Romans 6 says: the old self was crucified with Christ, and believers have been freed from sin’s dominion.
• “Reckon” yourself dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus, rather than treating the old nature as still alive.
• Stop defining yourself by past behavior or personality labels. Wommack encourages identifying with the new person Scripture says a believer is.
• Renew the mind and replace old mental programming. Wommack says old habits may persist, but they can change as a person’s thinking is brought into line with their identity in Christ.
• Walk in the spirit and submit the mind and body to that new identity. He connects this with Galatians 5:16 and says the spirit cannot sin; actions can increasingly reflect that as a person walks in the spirit.
• Do not treat recurring temptation as proof that the old sinful nature is still present. In Wommack’s framework, temptation and entrenched habits are addressed through renewed thinking rather than by repeatedly trying to “kill” a nature he says is already gone.

Wommack also makes a specific interpretive claim about Romans: he says the Greek word translated as “sin” or “sins” often refers to the sinful nature rather than individual sinful acts. He maintains that individual sins are covered, but presents the removal of the sinful nature as the central issue in Romans 6.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Andrew Wommack — primary speaker and teacher.
• Unnamed announcer — gives a brief instruction to call, visit the website, or scan the on-screen code for the teaching.
• Unnamed promotional voice — introduces other ministry YouTube channels during the break.
• Biblical sources cited or quoted: Romans 6; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13; 1 John 3:9; James 4:17; Romans 14; Galatians 5:16; 1 Corinthians 13:4–8; 1 Corinthians 15; Proverbs 23:7; and Jesus’ teaching about taking up the cross and following him.