DIGGING DEEPER...born again
When I started to dig deeper for spiritual answers about who we should be as we live our lives out in Christ I started in Romans and worked my way through to 2 Timothy. I want to take a moment to share what I found there.
In Romans 3:24 we are justified or declared (not guilty) through our faith in Christ...that means that we are no longer under any condemnation in the eyes of God the Father. It is that acceptance that I would like to look closer at today. In Romans 8:1-2 we are told we are no longer under condemnation if we accept Jesus Christ as our savior and Lord. We are literally set free from death, and some people are holding to the idea that because of that we no longer can sin...but that is simply not true. What it means is that we are no longer under the same condemnation of the law as we once were. That condemnation was broken by fulfilling the law through Christ Jesus. We live under a new covenant that God has made through the sacrifice of Christ for sin. We are now living under the spirit of the law, and that means that there is absolutely no wiggle room for us to cheat in our obedience. The only recourse that we have is to rely upon the mercy of Christ to us, and that only happens when we have a growing relationship with Christ.
It becomes that relationship with Christ that means everything to our salvation. In the book of 1 Corinthians 1:2-30 we learn about a word called Sanctification which simply means being set aside by God for a special purpose. We are set aside when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and live out that commitment to Him on a daily basis. I am learning everyday how much more that sanctification means to my daily life as I allow God to control what I say and do in my day. We talk about the fact that we are found righteous in the eyes of God because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, but being set aside means something more for us as well. It means that the power of God's Spirit is now alive and living within us, and because of that we have been given great power to become His witnesses in this world. We give witness to the transforming power of God's Spirit in the life of anyone who submits themselves to God's Son Jesus Christ; and to the operating power of His Spirit in them. Our relationship with Christ keeps us in that state of acceptability in God's eyes as His creation to be "Born Again". When it comes down to it we are receiving God's righteousness and not our own. This is the only way that we can become transformed through the renewing of our mind and heart in Christ. Without being transformed in Christ we can never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. The entire idea of what we should strive toward is unity within the Spirit of God.
Galatians 3:28 tells us that we should become one with all of the other believers in the same way that Jesus becomes one with the Father...it is through the unity of the Spirit of God that draws all of together to be of one mind and one heart. It is quickly easy to see why there are some people who just cannot get to that point because of self. It takes a great deal of prayer and meditation to deal with these self issues, and all of it is aimed toward the transformation process in Christ. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
In Romans 3:24 we are justified or declared (not guilty) through our faith in Christ...that means that we are no longer under any condemnation in the eyes of God the Father. It is that acceptance that I would like to look closer at today. In Romans 8:1-2 we are told we are no longer under condemnation if we accept Jesus Christ as our savior and Lord. We are literally set free from death, and some people are holding to the idea that because of that we no longer can sin...but that is simply not true. What it means is that we are no longer under the same condemnation of the law as we once were. That condemnation was broken by fulfilling the law through Christ Jesus. We live under a new covenant that God has made through the sacrifice of Christ for sin. We are now living under the spirit of the law, and that means that there is absolutely no wiggle room for us to cheat in our obedience. The only recourse that we have is to rely upon the mercy of Christ to us, and that only happens when we have a growing relationship with Christ.
It becomes that relationship with Christ that means everything to our salvation. In the book of 1 Corinthians 1:2-30 we learn about a word called Sanctification which simply means being set aside by God for a special purpose. We are set aside when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and live out that commitment to Him on a daily basis. I am learning everyday how much more that sanctification means to my daily life as I allow God to control what I say and do in my day. We talk about the fact that we are found righteous in the eyes of God because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, but being set aside means something more for us as well. It means that the power of God's Spirit is now alive and living within us, and because of that we have been given great power to become His witnesses in this world. We give witness to the transforming power of God's Spirit in the life of anyone who submits themselves to God's Son Jesus Christ; and to the operating power of His Spirit in them. Our relationship with Christ keeps us in that state of acceptability in God's eyes as His creation to be "Born Again". When it comes down to it we are receiving God's righteousness and not our own. This is the only way that we can become transformed through the renewing of our mind and heart in Christ. Without being transformed in Christ we can never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. The entire idea of what we should strive toward is unity within the Spirit of God.
Galatians 3:28 tells us that we should become one with all of the other believers in the same way that Jesus becomes one with the Father...it is through the unity of the Spirit of God that draws all of together to be of one mind and one heart. It is quickly easy to see why there are some people who just cannot get to that point because of self. It takes a great deal of prayer and meditation to deal with these self issues, and all of it is aimed toward the transformation process in Christ. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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