Gotta get this out before it is gone. The last few weeks our pastor has been teaching from Colossians. It has been good stuff. I have been paying attention as he has talked about what we have been rescued from, and how we should be living now. Last week’s message was from chapter two. The key points were;
- In Christ you have been given God’s infinite resources, His fullness.
- In Christ you have been freed from the bondage of sin. That is not who I am any more!
- In Christ you have been freed from the punishment of sin. I pictured a big thick college textbook of rules, regulations and punishments that Satan tries to hit us over the head with. But Jesus gave Satan a rather public smackdown at the cross, and he cannot throw the book at us any longer.
- Walking with Jesus is the way to live right and avoid sin. THIS IS INTIMACY! NOT RELIGION!
I have been thinking about his alot and struggling with the dichotomy between the old man and the new man. How can I sin when I am a Christian? How do I react to my sin when it does happen? I was relating all this to my counselor and also drawing in what Paul has to say in Romans about no longer being a slave to sin, when my counselor asked the all important questions….What does this mean to you? How does it affect your life. I thought for a minute and understood.
If I am identified with Christ, I cannot be identified by my sin. I have been given citizenship in a new kingdom with all the rank and privileges that come with it. I must act as a citizen of that kingdom. This means that I have the freedom to say “yes” when I am asked to serve or have an opportunity to reach out to another. I may not always say yes, but it should never be because I feel unworthy, that would be my own sense of condemnation talking. I am worthy! I may feel inadequate, but His fullness takes care of that.
It really helps me to understand how the men around me can serve as elders, deacons and pastors. They have been identified with Christ. From the world’s point of view they are a bunch of hairy stinky sinners with quirky personalities that might seem an odd fit for any of these positions. But these men act out of their position in Christ. If they serve, they serve in Christ. I know they still are tempted and still fall to sin, but that is not who they are.
Posted by Signifier 