November 6, 2018 DO WE NOT KNOW
Romans 6:3-4, 6-7: “Or do you not know that all of us have been baptized into Christ into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. …knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
Do we know that we have died? Water baptism is a picture of one who has trusted Christ as Savior being buried with Christ and then being raised up as a new creation; our old man is buried just as Christ was buried, and the ‘new us’ is raised from the dead. No doubt there are some believers who have not yet heard about or yet understand the important truth in regards to baptism; however, the great majority of believers are well aware of the call to die to self. Actually, when one becomes a believer, he does die to himself and is placed in Christ, but it is possible for him to stop walking in newness and once again walk, or revert back to living according to the flesh-who he use to be. When a believer chooses to walk according to the flesh, he does not lose his salvation, but he quenches the Spirt of God and he loses fellowship with the Father and the joy of the Lord, and his testimony is damaged. The most un-popular sermons, the ones that most had rather not hear, are those dealing with the call to die to ourselves. Man has a natural-born, innate bent to satisfy self-and that is the root problem, even in Christian circles. Tragically, there are well-meaning, but misinformed, authors and teachers who consider themselves Christians who promote the idea of making self happy and self-fulfillment. The ways of God and life in His kingdom are not like the ways of the world; in fact, the two kingdoms are directly opposed to each other. The message of the world is that satisfying self is the most important; the message of the kingdom of God is that death precedes life. The choice of living for self or dying to self is the fork in the road for each of us-even as believers. Dying to self does not sound like fun, right? Yet, the clear message of the gospel is that when we die to our self, to our ways and to our desires, only then do we find the abundant life that Jesus promised. Dying to self may not sound logical, but it is the only way to experience all that God has for us. The real us is the new person we are in Christ, and we live as the new us only when we consider our old self as dead. The call to die to self is not just for theological and spiritual discussion; there are practical implications of walking in the new person we are. The scriptures reveal the new us; those who walk in this newness will find themselves fulfilling the one-another commands of scripture: loving one another, preferring one another, blessing and encouraging one another-and the list goes on. Instead of focusing on self, love for God and love for others becomes the motivation and the power of our lives. AND, as we live out of our newness, we find total fulfillment, contentment, a sense of purpose, peace and joy. So, as believers, we have a choice: we can revert back to living the self-seeking life, or we can acknowledge that who we were has died and choose to yield ourselves to who we are in Christ. God has made it possible for every believer to die to self and walk according to newness. Let us daily die to our old self and let us embrace who we truly are as sons and daughters of God. As we live in the reality that our old self has died and that we have been raised in newness, we are freed from sin!
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in Me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Romans 6:3-4, 6-7: “Or do you not know that all of us have been baptized into Christ into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. …knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
Do we know that we have died? Water baptism is a picture of one who has trusted Christ as Savior being buried with Christ and then being raised up as a new creation; our old man is buried just as Christ was buried, and the ‘new us’ is raised from the dead. No doubt there are some believers who have not yet heard about or yet understand the important truth in regards to baptism; however, the great majority of believers are well aware of the call to die to self. Actually, when one becomes a believer, he does die to himself and is placed in Christ, but it is possible for him to stop walking in newness and once again walk, or revert back to living according to the flesh-who he use to be. When a believer chooses to walk according to the flesh, he does not lose his salvation, but he quenches the Spirt of God and he loses fellowship with the Father and the joy of the Lord, and his testimony is damaged. The most un-popular sermons, the ones that most had rather not hear, are those dealing with the call to die to ourselves. Man has a natural-born, innate bent to satisfy self-and that is the root problem, even in Christian circles. Tragically, there are well-meaning, but misinformed, authors and teachers who consider themselves Christians who promote the idea of making self happy and self-fulfillment. The ways of God and life in His kingdom are not like the ways of the world; in fact, the two kingdoms are directly opposed to each other. The message of the world is that satisfying self is the most important; the message of the kingdom of God is that death precedes life. The choice of living for self or dying to self is the fork in the road for each of us-even as believers. Dying to self does not sound like fun, right? Yet, the clear message of the gospel is that when we die to our self, to our ways and to our desires, only then do we find the abundant life that Jesus promised. Dying to self may not sound logical, but it is the only way to experience all that God has for us. The real us is the new person we are in Christ, and we live as the new us only when we consider our old self as dead. The call to die to self is not just for theological and spiritual discussion; there are practical implications of walking in the new person we are. The scriptures reveal the new us; those who walk in this newness will find themselves fulfilling the one-another commands of scripture: loving one another, preferring one another, blessing and encouraging one another-and the list goes on. Instead of focusing on self, love for God and love for others becomes the motivation and the power of our lives. AND, as we live out of our newness, we find total fulfillment, contentment, a sense of purpose, peace and joy. So, as believers, we have a choice: we can revert back to living the self-seeking life, or we can acknowledge that who we were has died and choose to yield ourselves to who we are in Christ. God has made it possible for every believer to die to self and walk according to newness. Let us daily die to our old self and let us embrace who we truly are as sons and daughters of God. As we live in the reality that our old self has died and that we have been raised in newness, we are freed from sin!
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in Me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Blessings,
Buddy
RSS Feed