In part one we discussed the fact that as a Christian, you are perfect and blameless in God’s sight. That’s who you are. It’s a rock-solid, fundamental biblical truth.
Now, there’s one more big thing we need to understand about your true identity:
One man’s actions put you on the wrong side of God, and it wasn’t you. We are all far too sin-conscious, to the point that we have been led to believe that my unrighteousness acts of sin are the reason God hates me until I’m saved, then He loves me.
This is a lie from hell.
One man’s sinful nature infected you – Adam.
One man’s sacrifice saved you – Jesus.
Let’s read about it, but before I begin notice that this truth is so important that Paul decided to say it three times in a row! This is from Romans 5:17-19:
“ For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. [ONE]
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. [TWO]
For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” [THREE]
It’s crystal clear. By one man (NOT YOU) you were born a sinner, and by one man (NOT YOU) you were declared righteous in God’s sight.
It didn’t start with you, it didn’t end with you. You’re simply caught in the middle, able to take part in this unbelievably brilliant situation in which you did nothing to deserve death (you were born – you could not control that) but you also did nothing to deserve life. Jesus did it all for you and hands it to you for free.
So there it is, your true identity. You are NOT a sinner being saved by grace. You are a new creature who is perfect and flawless in the sight of God. What this means is you have permission to live in victory! Victory from sin, from the grave, from condemnation, from guilt.
We must get this into our hearts and minds. Condemnation is NOT from God. Guilt is NOT from God. God loves us to distraction, far more than we will ever be able to comprehend.
So, in conclusion, I just want to talk about why I wanted to begin Dangerous Heretics with this topic.
Many will be offended by what I said here. Many want to feel guilt, they want to earn their righteousness, they want to feel like they have done something to earn their salvation. Or, more subtly, many may feel that they owe God for saving them, so they serve Him out a sense of trying to pay back a debt. John Piper calls this a debtor’s ethic, and it’s wrong. If you can pay God back for something He did for you, then it was not a free gift! It was a loan or something He tried to sell to you.
If someone gives you a gift because they love you, they don’t expect it paid back. You would never ask someone how much their gift cost them and then try to pay them for it. That’s ridiculous! But that’s what we do when we operate under this debtor’s ethic. It removes the free grace from the equation, and it once again makes it all about what you can do to earn your salvation.
No, this has to be a free gift and it has to have nothing to do with your efforts. Even your growth in Christ is not by your own effort. Paul says in Galatians 3:2-5:
“This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?…So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”
It’s a rhetorical question. It’s clear here that going on to maturity also is a work of the Holy Spirit, not something you do.
Now, please understand, of course there are things that we do to ALLOW the Holy Spirit the inroads he needs to do his work. I liken it to walking through the desert dying of thirst, and praying for water to drink, and God leads you to an oasis with cool, fresh, clear water spilling over a waterfall, and you stand 20 feet away and refuse to stand under the waterfall!
Yes, the water is free. It was supplied by God. But you have to walk over there and stand under the waterfall and open your mouth in order to partake.
Our salvation and continuing growth in Christ are free, but we have to cooperate to position ourselves such that we can take advantage of this amazing new life God designed for us. Alignment is everything. Aligning ourselves with the truth about who we actually are is the first step, as everything else about your growth hinges upon your true identity in Jesus.
So, fellow heretic, you are now on the path to becoming truly dangerous in the eyes of the enemy. Those who really understand their identity cannot be moved, cannot be shaken, cannot be bought, cannot be made fearful. To be truly free from sin and to be truly covered by the blood and righteousness of Jesus makes you a warrior that cannot be stopped.
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Thanks for tuning in. God bless you, we love you, stay strong!