If we're going to become a truly healthy church by becoming Christlike and effectively making disciples, then we have to be entirely clear on the source of our ability and competence in doing so. In short, our source is in the crucified and resurrected King. Yet, there is much to His death and resurrection that we must firmly grasp if we are to live in their power and promise for us.
We must understand that the death of Christ means that we can be forgiven and cleansed from the guilt of our past sins, rebellion and disobedience. There's more, though. We must understand that the death of Christ, the sinless and righteous One, means we human beings no longer need to live under the tyrannical boot heal of sin. We are no longer compelled to do its bidding. We are free to become the kind of people who actually live in the normality of obedience and submission to God. We can become the kind of people who see righteous living as the rule and sinful behavior as the exception, rather than the other way around. Without this, we have no hope of becoming Christlike, and we are inclined to throw up our hands and declare surrender before we even get started. Because of the death of Christ and His eternally resurrected life, we can set our faces toward the goal of becoming Christlike with confidence and eager expectation of success.
When we joined ourselves to Christ, the sinful self died and lost its power over us while the Holy Spirit filled us and gave new life to our spirits (thus we are "born again"). This awakening of our true selves means that we can actually love and obey God from sincerely devoted hearts! Becoming like Christ is not only possible now - it's actually expected! This is very GOOD NEWS for we who have decided to pursue Christlikeness above all else - in ourselves and others. This is truly the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ.
So then, no more pessimism or cynicism in the churches of Jesus Christ. No more "we're only human" non-sense. There's nothing "only" about being human. We are, after all, made in God's image and likeness and bought by the precious blood of His only Son. We are bearers of His holy name and His Holy Spirit. We are destined for endless life in His endless kingdom where we will rule and reign with Him. Where's the "only" in that? All of this humanness flows from the amazing and wondrous work that Jesus did on the cross and that God did in the tomb. May we never cease to be plugged in to this all-sufficient source of our power. Amen.
We must understand that the death of Christ means that we can be forgiven and cleansed from the guilt of our past sins, rebellion and disobedience. There's more, though. We must understand that the death of Christ, the sinless and righteous One, means we human beings no longer need to live under the tyrannical boot heal of sin. We are no longer compelled to do its bidding. We are free to become the kind of people who actually live in the normality of obedience and submission to God. We can become the kind of people who see righteous living as the rule and sinful behavior as the exception, rather than the other way around. Without this, we have no hope of becoming Christlike, and we are inclined to throw up our hands and declare surrender before we even get started. Because of the death of Christ and His eternally resurrected life, we can set our faces toward the goal of becoming Christlike with confidence and eager expectation of success.
When we joined ourselves to Christ, the sinful self died and lost its power over us while the Holy Spirit filled us and gave new life to our spirits (thus we are "born again"). This awakening of our true selves means that we can actually love and obey God from sincerely devoted hearts! Becoming like Christ is not only possible now - it's actually expected! This is very GOOD NEWS for we who have decided to pursue Christlikeness above all else - in ourselves and others. This is truly the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ.
So then, no more pessimism or cynicism in the churches of Jesus Christ. No more "we're only human" non-sense. There's nothing "only" about being human. We are, after all, made in God's image and likeness and bought by the precious blood of His only Son. We are bearers of His holy name and His Holy Spirit. We are destined for endless life in His endless kingdom where we will rule and reign with Him. Where's the "only" in that? All of this humanness flows from the amazing and wondrous work that Jesus did on the cross and that God did in the tomb. May we never cease to be plugged in to this all-sufficient source of our power. Amen.
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