Crucified With Christ? Am I?

Real Conversion Results in Changed Lifestyle

Gal. 2:20

I am crucified with Christ, it is no longer I that lives but Christ lives in me and the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Story: Paul Little, an IVF travelling secretary until his death in the early seventies was once speaking to a University student who asked him a lot of intellectual questions which Paul Little answered. Paul Little then asked him if he would like to invite Christ into his life.

The student replied: No. Frankly acceptance would mess up the way I am living.

The Christian Faith is not a religion, it is more. It is a way of life. We do not just put on a sunday smile and think that that is it!!

This verse in Galatians 2:20 has three fundemental aspects:

1. The Death of the Old Self

2. Christ Living in me and

3. New Life in Christ.

Tom taught last week that God is interested in ATTITUDES.

He defined eternal life as:

Eternal Life is an everlasting love relationship with Jesus Christ and His Body the Church.

In other words we are in the words of Mark 12:30

30. To love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength; and

31. To love your neighbour as yourself.

This is not easy. This requires a change of our attitudes from

1. The Death of the Old Self and

2. Christ Living in me and with it

3. New Life in Christ.

1. The Death of the Old Self

Paul in 2 Cor. 5:17 says:

Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.

Story: I became a Christian, not by powerful intellectual arguments but by seeing a boy in my house living a Christian Life. And I said I want what he has.

So what does it mean, the old has gone, the new has come. We still sin don’t we?

1. In one sense it refers to our STANDING in the presence of God: We are NEW, justified by Christ’s death on the Cross, his ONCE AND FOR ALL SACRIFICE: Christ died as a SUBSTITUTE for us. He paid the penalty on our behalf.

Romans 8:1 There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

This new standing brings with it RESPONSIBILITY as Sons of God. A CHANGED LIFESTYLE.

2. This new standing has brought with it new creation. This new creation is the new life that Christ gives us when we receive the Holy Spirit in us.

Paul put it well in Rom. 6:5-8

For we know that our old self was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

Christ died not just that we could be saved but that we could also "live a new life" (Rom 6:4)

The choice is yours, whether you want to have your heart transformed or not.

It also will mean that we need to put those things in order that are not in order.

Story: You will no doubt recall the story of Zacchaeus in Like 19. v. 1-10. Here was a hated tax collector who received Christ.

And we see a change of life in Zacchaeus life in verse 8.

Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord:

Look Lord! Here and now I give half my goods to the poor and if I have cheated anyone out of anything I will pay back four times.

Look at Jesus response: Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham.

I think as Luke wrote his Gospel and as is his style only to record those events that had a significant impact on proceedings. He was a tremdously meticulous historian as can be seen from his account of Paul’s journey to Rome form Caeserea.

You might note too in passing that if Zacchaeus had not kept his word, Luke writing many years after the event would firstly not have recorded the event and if he had then he would have recorded the fact had Zacchaeus renegated on his promise Luke would recorded the fact. In other words Zacchaeus did change.

2. Christ Living in me

Let us look at John 15: 1-17

This passage speaks of two relationships

1. Our relationship to God

If we love Christ we will abide in Him. Abiding in Christ.

Here Jesus likens himself to a vine and we are the branches. Look at the close identification Christ has with us.

The vine provides all the nourishment for the branches to bear fruit. So it is with us. The Holy Spirit provides the LIFE that we now have (Gal. 2.20) - or at least the LIFE true born again Christians have.