Psalm 146:2 "I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live."

Monday, December 17, 2012

Our Identity in Christ is REALITY

Hi Everyone,

So we all hear all this stuff about our identity in Christ---and it is a list that sounds so "nice"----but the rubber hits the road, do we really believe that it is true if us and that it is our current realty?

This list is not exhaustive by any means, but I am going to pick a few that have stick out to me in the past few days...especially because of how they relate to the walk of grace.

1) Do we truly reckon ourselves as dead to sin? Do we believe that we have died to the old man that we once were before trusting Christ? (This concept will most likely come up in later blog posts)

Romans 6:5-11 "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 6:18  "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

Colossians 3:3-4 "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Colossians 2:13-14  "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross."

2)  We are a New Creation in Christ--do we believe this?

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

3) We are Saints--Look at how many times Paul refers to believers as Saints in the New Testament (below are just a few)---Today so often as believers we refer to ourselves as "sinners saved by grace"--But God sees us so differently than we see ourselves--so how do we honestly see ourselves? We are clothed in Christ's righteousness.

Romans 16:2 "that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well."

Ephesians 5:3  "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints." 

Philippians 4:21 "Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you"

Galatians 3:23-27"Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. 24 So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

As I said this list is not complete by any means--- but we cannot just give these things lip service and shrug it off--they are our reality if we ave placed our trust in Christ.  That reality is ours to walk out by grace in our daily living.

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