Hope Growing Series

Intro: I have a question for you to answer this morning. I don’t want you to answer it out loud. Are you enjoying the Christian life are you enduring it?

Jesus made some pretty powerful statements about being saved and following Him as disciples.

In the presence of God is fullness of joy

I came that you might have life and have it to the full

Is your life an echo of the promises of Jesus? Or does your life reflect the barrenness, frustration and failure of the world? Either way today’s message is for you. If you are not crucified with Christ your walk as a Christian will be filled with frustration as you try in human strength to produce Godly results. The frustration will lead to barrenness and defeat.

What you must understand is that religious people adore the cradle of Christ and longingly await the coming of Jesus while despising the cross of Christ.

What we as Christians don’t realize is that you can’t have resurrection power until you have been crucified with Him! Paul is addressing a real life issue. Peter was allowing the Jewish believers to influence his behavior toward the gentile believers. Paul is clearly telling Peter if you are in Christ you will not behave in that manner.

What do we find when we talk about being crucified with Christ.

1) A living Lord that cares for us and can provide every need!

2) A ruling Lord that owns us and has every right to direct our life

If we are to be crucified with Christ where does this begin?

I. The crucified life begins with recognition and reception

A) You must recognize what you were

2:19 “I have been crucified with Christ.” What Paul realized and we must realize is that Jesus died so that we would die. Jesus died so that we would die to sins controlling and condemning power. Our old spiritual man needed to die so that we could live with and for God!

I have been –

Paul is making clear that there was a point in time where the crucifixion of Jesus was applied to himself spiritually. It is obvious since we are reading Paul’s writing about this event in his life that he was not dead physically. So it must have been a spiritual or internal death.

When Paul confessed Jesus as Lord. When He agreed that Jesus had every right to tell him what to do and where to go, Paul was crucified with Jesus!

I have been – Has this become a reality in your life. There is a great difference between He died for me and I died with Him.

B) You must recognize what you are

If you have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior then Jesus’ death had your name on it.

Some things to realize

1) You are no longer condemned

What on earth does Paul mean through the law I died to the law, I have been crucified with Christ. If you recognized that you needed a savior and received Jesus Christ you were crucified with Jesus spiritually. You are no longer condemned! What is the condition? Those that are in Christ!

Wait a minute, what if I don’t feel this way. What if I feel like all the lessons and all the tests God puts in front of me I fail? What does it say? There is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. This was preceded by Paul’s personal frustration with his own performance. Who can save me from this body of sin?

Praise God Jesus will. If God says there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus then you best make sure you are in Christ.

A feeling of condemnation comes from trying to live up to some self-imposed or otherwise imposed standard.

Dr. Donald Gray Barnhouse has a great statement about the practical effect the truth of "no condemnation" ought to have in our life: A soul that comes to the full realization that he ought to be in hell but that in reality the Lord Jesus took his hell, and that there is therefore, now, now, NOW, no condemnation for him because he is in Christ Jesus, is likely to be quite moved by the truth. If the members of the human race are permitted to yell because their team won a football team, because their candidate won an election, because they have won fifty dollars on a horse race, because their drilling has produced a gusher, let us shout for joy because we are in Christ Jesus, there is, therefore, no condemnation for us NOW. (God's Heirs, p. 4-5)

Jesus said you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. What God says about you is more important that the way you feel! Speak this truth to yourself often.