No longer...

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. (Romans 8:1-3)

If you have ever stopped to wonder why Jesus had to take on the form of a man, there's your answer. He came to this earth in a body 'like the body we sinners have', so that he could be the sacrifice for our sins. In all he did in that one action, he provided an END to sin's control in our lives - so we are no longer controlled by our sin nature - we have been given a new one - Christ's.

Paul has just explained that he desires to do what is right - what the commandments declare he should do and how he should behave. Yet, in spite of his extreme desire to live 'right', he makes wrong choices time and time again. Why? The sin nature within is at war with the Spirit of God who indwells his spirit. It wants to continue to choose to do unwise things. Until we grasp fully that we are freed from its power, we will continue to condemn ourselves for those wrong actions that stem from our sin nature.

There is NO condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Read it again and then do it again. You aren't condemned because you mess up from time to time because you belong to Christ and his life-giving Spirit has freed and is freeing you from the power of sin. It is a finished and a continual action. That seems a bit like a contradiction - finished and continual. Yet, God's work of renewal is available to us with each new day. We don't have to continue with the wrong choice or live under the guilt or shame of it. We give it Christ, allow his Spirit to cleanse us, and move on.

In that body...an end to sin's control was accomplished. Christ's sacrifice did it all. Lean into that truth and allow his Spirit to wash over your mind, emotions, and inner spirit. He does not condemn you; sin has no control (even though it still has an appeal from time to time); and you are a new creation because of his loving act on your behalf. Just sayin!

Now, that bespeaks love!

We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne! (Hebrews 12:2)

The twelfth chapter of Hebrews begins with the words, "...we must rid ourselves of everything that slows us down..."  Do you have things which slow you down in life? We sometimes have very "regular" things in life which slow us down - sometimes external to us, like another person, sometimes kind of internal, like raw emotions or fear. There is nothing which quite slows us down as much as the weight of sin in our lives, though. No person or other weight quite exerts the same pressure sin does - pulling us down, loading us with guilt, and holding us in miry links to our past. Maybe this is why the rest of the verse we started with today goes on to say, "...especially the sin that just won't let go..." Sin has a way of holding us back - not letting us out of the clasp of its grip. This kind of puts a different spin on our sin, doesn't it? It isn't just us moving toward it and giving into that temptation, it is that sin holding onto us like it would be losing its best friend if it let go! It is hard to walk away from something that has a grasp on us - especially when there is ANY kind of emotional tie between the two!

There is a race laid out for us - one which we must actually engage in if we are to ever get beyond the starting blocks. Somewhere along the way, we tire, feel the pull of fatigue, and want to just give up. The effort comes not in starting, but in finishing. The emotional warfare is hard. Breaking free is one thing; living free is another. We live free by changing our focus. The one crossing the finish line isn't the one who just toddles along aimlessly - it is the one who keeps their focus on the prize ahead. It may amuse some of us to see how we move toward sin at break-neck speed, but then tend to have the speed of the tortoise when it comes to turning away from it! It doesn't surprise or amuse God, though. He knows the hold our past has on us, and he isn't surprised by how much pull it exerts on us to get us to quit once we have started this race toward a new life in his freedom. You would think one taste of freedom would make us really ravenous for more and more freedom, but as is often the case with anything held in captivity for a long period of time, when freedom comes, we just don't know what to do with it!

Keep our eyes on Jesus so that we stand the best chance of breaking free from what has held us captive. We come to understand freedom only when we are being led into it! Christ leads us into freedom and then he helps us walk in freedom until we become familiar with it - at first liberating, then a little uncomfortable because we don't fully understand what to do with this new-found freedom. It gives us liberty and we don't know how to handle liberty sometimes. Maybe we take it to excess, or just don't use it at all. He is there to help us know moderation, develop a "tolerance" to freedom, and to remind us repeatedly to forget what is behind. It is Christ who helps us run the race at break-neck speed toward the right goal - who helps us develop the snail's pace to return to the things we left behind! Christ endured the cross - not because he had to - but because he wanted to on behalf of each one of us. He had us in his mind as he took those final steps toward Calvary those many years ago. He has us each in his mind today as we take the tiniest of steps toward the freedom he calls us into. He endured what we could not - he provides what we cannot. He knew his effort on our behalf would be his greatest reward - for our freedom came at a huge cost - his life. His life for ours. Now that bespeaks love! Just sayin!

One for all

Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And you are healed because of his wounds. (I Peter 2:24)

We may not understand fully how one man can carry the sins of all mankind, but we can trust that Christ did just that. How can one do so much for so many? We know God's ways are not man's ways, so 'how' he did it isn't as important as 'why' he did it and 'who' he did it for. He took on the sins of all mankind because of his tremendous love for his creation - all mankind. Do we fully understand his love - no, but we can see what his love can do when a life is submitted to his care!

He took our sins IN HIS BODY to the cross and he hung there in our place - affording a means by which judgment for each and every one of those sins could be dealt with once and for all. Our responsibility is to lay down our old selfish ways of thinking and acting, taking on a new way of living. That new way of living means we stop living for sin (obeying the pull and demands of sin) and start living according to his plan and purpose. How do we get to know his plan and purpose for us? We ask, seek, ask again, and continue to seek.

What I believed God's plan for me to be twenty or even forty years ago has evolved today in so many ways. As I have sought his wisdom and walked in that wisdom, I have seen the 'little' plans I thought he had for me become 'bigger' plans. How about you? Have you experienced something similar? Think back to your first days walking with Christ. You were probably pretty 'high on life' at that point. 

Now, think back to those first really challenging trials that came after you said 'yes' to Jesus. You might have wondered if he cared about what you were going through or questioned if this 'salvation thing' was really worth it. How do you face similar challenges, or even greater ones today? Chances are those smaller challenges seemed so big back in the day, but as time has gone on, one challenge builds the way for another. 

The means by which you navigate those challenges and the grace with which you 'go through' them is the same, but you are not! You are wiser, your faith is deeper, and your peace is not so easily disturbed. Why? Your life has become meshed with the life of Christ within you - you are "IN HIM". It is not just your sins that were placed in him at the cross, but your heart, will, emotions, thoughts, and actions. All of us is affected by his sacrifice. The next time you struggle with how ONE could never do so much for ALL mankind, consider the change in your life since you said 'yes' to him. We don't have to fully understand the 'how' as much as we need to know the 'why' and 'who' of his actions. Just sayin!