Good morning, My Friends. Unfortunately last night was not a good night for the Birds…but I still think we’ll take it in six games. Wasn’t the best rehearsal for The Saint Louis Wind Symphony either, so maybe it was just a dark-clouded day. Oh well, both organizations have the potential to be awesome and have shown it before, so I feel confident the tide will turn. Coffee is good though, so here I go….
For the past month I have been writing about what it means to be a Christian; the what, when, why’s and how’s of that transformation. The first step down that path began with a posting entitled; “What Does It Mean to Be Saved?” followed by “The Salvation Package”, “What is the Holy Spirit”, “Free from the Yoke of Slavery” and “The Great Exchange”. If you are a new comer to these blogs, I would suggest you check out those listed above in their entirety, but for now allow me to explain briefly (whew! …that will be a challenge) the preparation that came before today’s topic.
Being saved is about accepting God’s gift of grace. We have come to know Jesus Christ and believe he is the Son of God; that he was the sacrificial lamb that came to take away our sins; and we know that when he rose from the dead three days later, he broke the bondage of death and rose to eternal life. When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we become a Child of God and we inherited those two gifts; forgiveness of sins and eternal life. As clearly stated in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish (to be condemned because of our sins), but have eternal life.” That truth – that scriptural fact, is a gift from God. It is His gift of grace. We did nothing to earn it nor do we deserve it. But Jesus’ atonement for our sins on the cross is God’s ultimate show of his love for us. When we accept His gift, it is our ultimate show of faith (belief; trust) in Him. Romans 5:8 tells us, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”
What I just talked about is the part of God’s gift of grace that deals with what happens after we die. No doubt that is awesome and comforting, but we don’t have to wait until we die to start experiencing God’s Kingdom on earth. Jesus talked about, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) And what is God’s will for us on earth?…to be His light in this fallen world. We are called to share the love of Jesus Christ with people everywhere. No doubt that is a formidable charge, and most of us feel inadequate – not to mention fearful – of meeting that calling. That might indeed be true based on our own effort. But as Christians we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us to do greater things than we could do of our own volition. God has given us the power (the Holy Spirit) so we can be victorious in this fallen world. When we call on the Holy Spirit to be our guide, our counselor, our comforter; to give us wisdom, strength, courage, perseverance, patience, etc. – whatever we need to accomplish His will, we are told, “whatever we ask for that is in line with his will, he hears us…and we will receive what we ask for.” (1 John 5:14-15)
We learned that as human beings we inherited the same sin nature that was passed from Adam and Eve to all future generations because of their disobedience to God’s directive. All that means is that man’s natural inclination is to live with the focus on himself rather than on God. The only way to remedy the loss of the spiritual connection that originally existed between God and man, is for man to initiate the process. When we become willing to repent, meaning we become willing turn from our ways and turn to God’s ways, He is there to welcome us with open arms. James 4:10 reads, “When we humbly bow down before the Lord and admit our dependence on him, he will lift us up and give us honor.” As we develop our relationship with God, we quickly learn that his foremost will for our life is that we accept his gift of grace. That is the only way we can be freed from the yoke of our sin nature. 2 Corinthians states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ the new creation has come: the old has gone; the new is here.” Now we are capable of becoming the person God created us to be. Ephesians 2:10 reads, “We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. We are his masterpiece because we are in Christ.
That is the mystery revealed concerning our salvation. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have an exchange of spirit, or nature. Our old nature, sin nature, is replaced with the Holy Spirit. The nature of the Holy Spirit is not to sin, but to empower us to live a life that is pleasing to God; a life that reflects the teachings of Jesus. And what did Jesus teach?…love, tolerance, humility, forgiveness, and being of service to others. Sound impossible? The only reason it is not impossible is because we have the Holy Spirit in us to empower us to accomplish that purpose.
As Christians we have been set apart for God. Ephesians 1: 4 reads, “Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy (without sin) and without fault in his eyes.” Notice that God chose us because we chose to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Now we are in Christ. (Notice “being chosen” has no predestination overtones. We are chosen because we are in Christ. There is no other reason.) The Holy Spirit is the essence of Jesus Christ living in us. (Ref. “What is the Holy Spirit” Oct. 7th, paragraph 5). God knows the weakness of human beings. He knows that by our very nature we yield to the temptations of the world; the temptations of our flesh; and the lies and deceptions of Satan. That is why His plan, even before he created the world, was to send “at just the right time” a savior to do for us what we were incapable of doing for ourselves. (Ref. Romans, 5:8 in paragraph 2 above.)
Jesus also knew that his disciples were, of their own volition, a rather weak bunch. He also knew they drew whatever strength they needed to accomplish their purpose from him. That is why he told them that after he was gone (meaning after his death), he would not leave them like orphans, but instead would send a comforter, a guide, a teacher, a counselor to empower them – and us – to accomplish his purpose. And what was Jesus’ purpose; to do “the Father’s will.” (John 6:38)
Because we are in Christ, we inherit not only (1.) forgiveness of sins, which means we can come boldly before God with no fear of condemnation (Romans 8:1): (2.) eternal life with God, Jesus and all other believers: (3.) the Holy Spirit to empower us to live a life that is pleasing to God, as well as a life that will bring us abundance, joy, peace and serenity like we have never before experienced. BUT THERE IS MORE!
We are also heir to all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm, and all the promises in the Bible…and there are many. Because we are in Christ, every time we set out to grow in our Christian walk, more truth is revealed. It is through this revelation that our faith grows and we become more comfortable and confident that our life is built on a solid foundation. It is on this solid rock of faith that we begin experiencing God’s blessings. He wants us to put our trust in Him. As stated in Malachi, 3:10, “…I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in. Try it! Let me prove it to you!”
My suggestion is that you go to the Bible and open it to Ephesians and read the Chapter 1 (only 23 verses). Notice how many times the blessings come because we are in Christ. We are truly set aside to be God’s ambassadors to the world and to receive all the blessings he promised His children (us). When the reality of who you are in Christ sets in, you cannot help but be flooded with joy and hope!! And who are you in Christ?… You are forgiven; now you are acceptable to God. You are worthy to come before Him with no fear of condemnation.. You are loved unconditionally with a love that is unending and unfailing. You are the righteousness of God, no longer outside his will. You are a Saint because when God looks at you, He sees you covered with the blood of Jesus. You are now grafted into His family; now you are his Child. Regardless of what anyone else thinks of you , this is your new identity in Christ. Does anything else really matter????
My question to you is: Are you in Christ? If not, why not? Please feel free to give me your feedback.
May God bless ya,
Dan Presgrave, (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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