IN CHRIST (part one)
Last week my sermon was based on Jesus' words to the teacher of the law when he told him he was not far from the kingdom of God. Some people are close to being saved but they're not there yet. But for those who cross that threshold and become born-again, we are now considered to be 'in Christ'. It's an interesting phrase used to refer followers of Jesus but what does it mean?
1) To be in Christ means we live a new life.
We like to have new things. When we were kids we loved birthdays and Christmas. It meant we were getting some new stuff. When the new school year was starting, you went out with mom and got new school clothes and new school supplies. It felt good; it took the sting out of having to go back to school. When things wear out you replace it with new. New is fresh; new is exciting. When we're saved, we become new.
2nd Cor. 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
Isn't that awesome! Some ladies like to get a makeover. They get a new hairstyle, new make-up, new clothes. Sometimes you give a room in your house a make-over. New floor, new fixtures, new paint, etc. It might be hard work but you like the results when you're finished. Well, in our new life, we are going through a make-over of sorts.
Rom. 6:1-4, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
When we were baptized, we surrendered our old life lived under the control of our own desires and agenda in exchange for a new life under the control of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus went through a death, burial and resurrection, so do we. At our baptism we are dying to self, burying our sins and are spiritually resurrected to live a new life with a new purpose.
That doesn't mean everything in our life changes. We may still have the same job, living situation, family, etc. but the life we live now we live by faith in Jesus. It means everything in our life is viewed through the lens of spirituality. That means we turn everything in our life over to the control of Jesus. When we do that we're giving Jesus the opportunity to bless our work, relationships, activities, etc.
However, there may be some things or even people in our lives that Jesus will direct us to change or even remove if it doesn't honor him or serve his will. But he will always do what's best for us and what's best for the advancement of the kingdom; which is what we should want now too.
When we think of the word repentance, we could look at it in a negative light. "Now that I'm a Christian I can't do this or that anymore. I have to change." Although change isn't easy, we need to look at our new life as a life of freedom and blessing.
Rom. 6:22-23, "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Becoming a slave to God doesn't sound like we're being set free. But being in Christ means we are set free from the penalty of sin and the power of sin's control. Being under God's control results in holiness and eternal life. Being in Christ with the Spirit of Christ gives us the freedom to be more like Christ.
2nd Cor. 3:17-18, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
Earlier, Paul had referred to Moses when he was with God on the mountain. When he came down his face shone from being in God's presence. It freaked the Israelites out so Moses covered his face with a veil until the glory faded. Paul uses this imagery to describe what happens to us.
The veil that prevents us from shining the light of Christ was removed when we were saved. Now, because the Spirit of the Lord is in us, we now have the ability to let the light shine. We didn't have that ability before our salvation. After Moses came down off the mountain his glory faded. But we're doing the opposite; we're moving our way up the mountain, getting closer and closer to the image of Christ and are therefore reflecting the Lord's glory with ever-increasing glory. That's the privilege we have in Christ.
And it all starts with having a new mindset. Eph. 4:22-24, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
Even though we are new creations living a new life that doesn't mean the old life just ceases to exist. We have to fight against allowing the old life to gain control. And it starts with developing a new mind. We are called to think new so we can do new. With the new Spirit we have the ability to think in a new way. The veil has been removed, the blinders have come off.
Our minds are opened to see things from a spiritual perspective. We can now understand the things of God. We can understand ourselves better, others better; our enemy better. Now, instead of entertaining falsehood, we entertain the truth. Instead of thinking corrupt thoughts, our thoughts are pure. Now, through the power of Christ, we are able to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. Being in Christ enables us to know what is good so we can think about what is good.
But, it's not enough to think good, we must also do good. Eph. 2:10, "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Having this new life means we are to be about new work; the work of the Spirit. That can mean doing new things, like entering into the ministry or becoming a missionary. Or it can mean doing old things in a new way. Perhaps you're a music teacher or an accountant or a day-care worker.
Now that you're living a new life in Christ, you begin to look at how you can be used to serve God with the work you do. The music teacher can serve on the worship team. The accountant can help with church finances. The day-care worker can serve in the nursery or youth ministry.
In our old life we did what made us feel good or served our purpose. Maybe you have a talent that you once used to bring glory to yourself. Now, as a Christian, your purpose is to bring glory to God and serve others.
1 Peter 4:10a, "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others." Spiritual gifts come after we come to Christ, but we have God-given talents before we became Christians. Now that we're in Christ, God magnifies those talents to become what he had intended in order to accomplish the greatest good and make an eternal difference which brings the most satisfying results.
It's great to be in Christ.
2) To be in Christ means no condemnation.
Rom. 8:1-2, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." Through faith in Christ, repentance and baptism, I am set free from being condemned to eternity in hell.
We know John 3:16, but if you read on vs. 18 says, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."
Some people think they're in neutral territory. They know they're not for God but they don't consider themselves against him either. I understand the reasoning, but spiritually, that's not the case. We're either for God or against God-there's no middle ground.
Col. 1:21 says that we are enemies of God through sin and therefore alienated from him. Therefore, because we are guilty of sin, we are condemned to spend eternity in hell. That's why God sent Jesus. Through Christ we become reconciled to God. When we come to Christ our condemnation is lifted and we are set free.
You hear about those who are sentenced to death and shortly before they are scheduled to be executed they're granted a stay of execution by the Governor. In some cases, it results in a release. Can you imagine the feeling of knowing you've been condemned, thinking you only have a short time left to live and then a phone call comes in and it leads to your release from prison?
That's how we should feel when we're baptized into Christ. We were condemned and sentenced to an eternity in hell. Then we received the "call" to put our faith in Christ so we could be set free. And through our faith response we are set free.
However, there's something worth mentioning here. Although we have the promise of no condemnation, we need to persevere to the end. Heb. 3:12-14, "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."
These may be hard words to take in but they're necessary. We can't think just because I've been baptized I'm good to go; now I can just wait until Jesus comes back and coast my way into heaven. I can't think now that I'm saved Satan will leave me alone. Just because I have the power through the Holy Spirit to defeat Satan, that doesn't mean he's not going to try to take me down.
That's why we need to grow and mature in the faith. That's why things like bible study, church, service, and fellowship is so important. We're called to put to death the deeds of the flesh so they don't take over again. To be hardened by sin's deceitfulness happens when I'm deceived into thinking sin is no big deal; it's not harming me.
But little by little, inch by inch, sin erodes like water that eventually cuts a channel into the rock. And we can be deceived into thinking one little compromise won't matter in the whole scheme of things. But once we compromise it becomes easier to do it again.
Before you know it, you're missing church on a regular basis, you're not reading your bible anymore; you're becoming more disinterested in the things of the faith. The fire that was once there is slowly being turned down and becoming just a flicker. Apathy is setting in and your heart is becoming harder. That's how it happens.
To hear that we could fall away sounds scary but it doesn't have to be because the remedy to keep that from happening is there-keep the faith. It makes sense-by faith we get in and by faith we stay in. Therefore, we have to put on the armor of God and guard ourselves against everything that seeks to undermine our faith. We keep doing the things that will keep us strong, firm and steadfast. We stay connected to one another, encouraging one another, discipling one another; loving one another.
Once we are in Christ, we need to remain in Christ. Jesus said in John 15:4, "remain in me and I will remain in you". There's no greater privilege than to be in Christ. Therefore, we need to do everything we can to protect that divine blessing.
