A New Life in Christ Therefore we buried with HIM {JESUS} by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 Twenty-five years ago, a story appearing in the news shocked people throughout the nation. A seventy one-year-old woman, who weighed only 50 pounds and had begged door to door for food, died of malnutrition in a nursing home after spending the last few days of her life there. When the authorities investigated her case, they discovered that she had left behind a fortune. There were more than a million dollars of assets in two safety deposit boxes - $800.000 of the sum was in cash , and the remaining worth was in valuable shares of stock. She had such wealth at her fingertips, and she probably had enough money in that safety deposit box to buy the best restaurant in the whole city, yet she died because she didnt have enough to eat. Some people might say, She was a fool, but today, sitting in churches all over this nation and around the world, there are Christians who are just as foolish as she was. What do i mean by that? I mean that there are Christians who are living in spiritual poverty even though Christ has made them rich. You see, whatever the bible says belongs to us is ours - were heirs and joint- heirs with Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:17)! Yet not all Christians avail themselves of the riches of Heaven that have already been put into their accounts through Jesus. The riches are available to them - all they have to do is open the safety deposit box, so to speak, pull out what they need, and start using it. Yet there are many Christians today who are wasting away. And if theyre not careful, they will die in a condition of spiritual, physical, mental or emotional poverty. But it isnt Gods fault if they live and die in that condition. its their own fault, because they didnt use what He had already made available to them through the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The case of the lady who starved to death, no one but her had anything to do with her dying in that condition. And just like her, if people today dont enjoy the new life that Christ Jesus provides, its not anyones fault but their own. When you received new life in Christ, you were given a new position in HIM . You were made a new creature, a child of God, and a joint-heir with Jesus Himself (2 Cor. 5:17; 1 John 5:1; Rom. 8:17). You need to learn to live in this new position and to receive all the benefits that go along with it. Unfortunately, many Christians dont live at the level that they should, and many times its because of guilt. They may realize that God in Christ has forgiven them for mistakes they made, but they have a hard time forgiving themselves. So they carry guilt around, not because God is laying it on them, but because they are laying it on themselves. Our new position in life through Christ Jesus doesnt include any guilt. Romans 8:1 says, There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Remember, once youre born again, you have new life and new position in Christ. All things have become new - the old things have passed away and dont exist anymore (2 Cor. 5:17)!. Sometimes , you might fight the memories of the past in your mind. The devil may keep bringing up the past - what youve done, how bad youve been, or how much youve messed up. Just stand on Gods word and tell the devil, Im in Christ and i have new position in HIM: therefore, i have no condemnation or guilt. Go peddle your goods elsewhere, because youre not going to accomplish anything here! Its not your own spirit bringing those condemning thoughts, because spirit is pure and free. And it certainly isnt God condemning you. Its just the enemy sitting on your shoulder so to speak whispering in your era, and reminding you of past mistakes. But if youll renew your mind with the word of God, youll get rid of any guilt or feelings of condemnation (Rom. 12:2). lets live this new life in Christ knowing that no outside force can separate us from God or keep us from receiving Gods best is the person who stands in our own shoes. But once we have brought ourselves under control and are being led by the Holy spirit, then there isnt anything that can keep us from living a victorious life in Christ.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 07:50:23 +0000
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