The fact that our union with Christ is to be understood as a covenantal union is made particularly clear by the strong emphasis the passage puts on the effects of receiving the covenant sign. The sign of baptism is not magic; it is a means of grace. God uses the sign to strengthen our faith, that we might “believe that we shall also live with him” (Rom. 6:8). God uses the sign to produce in us holiness of life, that “we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).
