Romans 6:4 – “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Friends, God has ordained that this daily fight of faith be fought together, as we all look to Jesus, our enduring hope.  Today, I want to share encouragement of how we are to view ourselves, in light of the gospel, to live in freedom from sin and joy in God.  In some ways, when God first calls us from darkness to light, faith is simple.  We are given grace to see that we are sinners, without hope in ourselves, separated from our holy Creator God, and we cry out to Him to save us, trusting in the death and resurrection of Jesus to secure our salvation.

So we plead for the mercy of God, sometimes alone amidst a trial, sometimes in church, sometimes over coffee or a meal with a Christian brother or sister, or in a myriad of different ways.  In that moment, we ceased to be children of darkness under the just wrath of God, and became, by God’s grace beloved children of God, holy and righteous in Christ.  However we viewed ourselves previously, God has told us that we are a new creation in Jesus (2 Cor 5:17), yet we still have sin.  If sin has been defeated, how should we fight against its deception now that we have come to God through Jesus?

Romans 6 expands this in detail, but we fight for faith in a similar way to how we began.  We still come to God humbly in dependence upon him, but instead of asking him to save us, we declare with Him, that when Jesus died on the cross, our flesh and all its indwelling sin was present with Him and was put to death.  In the same way, when Jesus was resurrected to new life, we have the same life as Christ lives in us.  We are united to Christ both in the death He died, and the life He lives.  We ask God’s mercy to keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil, but as those who are trusting in Christ in us for the victory.  We look to Christ, we trust Him, and we run to Him in all things, all day, every day.

This is a marathon, not a sprint, but God has promised to see us through until the end.  (Phil 1:6)  As temptation to pursue joy apart from God seeks to deceive you, remember who you are in Christ – your sin, your desire for the world instead of God, is dead, and you have been set free to a new life of everlasting joy in Christ.  1 Peter 1:6-9 – “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Grace and Peace,

Adam