Some kind of zombie...

Romans 6:11-14

Observe:
Death and life are key words in this section. There are also a lot of imperatives: count yourself dead to sin, do not let sin reign, do not offer yourself to sin. This is a list of commands that will enable someone to find the true life that faith offers.
Another key phrase is "in Christ." Paul uses this phrase a lot (not so far in Romans but in his other letters).

Interpret:
Paul is calling the believer to live out what has already taken place: they are dead to sin and Paul calls the believer to count themselves dead to sin. There is a progression to victory over sin: count yourself dead to it, refuse to let sin reign and offer the parts of your body to God for his use and glory.
Paul uses what seems like an oxymoron: in order to live by faith, you first must die. The just will live by faith by dying to themselves and to sin and living to God.

Apply:
The reality of my situation is that I am no longer enslaved to sin. Paul is calling me to live out that reality in my life. It is true that it is a work of God everytime that I don't sin but it is also true that I need to recognize that the work of God is not just one particular sin in one particular time but that his work has freed me from all sin for all time. I need to "count myself" dead to sin and refuse to recognize its rule - it has no right to rule my life. The reality is that I have died to sin but, like some kind of zombie, I keep on coming back to live to sin. This is where the miracle comes in: I have been so conditioned by sin to obey it and my soul has preferred sin for so long that it is going to take a miracle for me to live the reality of being released from its mastery over me. Like a prisoner who's been set free after a virtual lifetime of incarceration, it is going to take me a while to get used to my new freedom. God not only frees me but he helps me to live (really live!) in that freedom. This shows me just how weak and incapable I am apart from him.