The Christian: A Product Of His Resurrection - Tuesday June 3rd, 2014 - Pastor Chris Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). If salvation were all about salvation from sin, there wouldnt have been any need for Jesus to rise from the dead. His death on the cross would have been enough; it paid for all our sins and guaranteed complete propitiation. However, thats redemption, and not Christianity! Redemption refers to saving someone by paying a price. So when Jesus died, He paid the price for mans redemption with His own life; He did that for all humanity, not for Christians. The Christian isnt the man that Christ died for. Look at it this way: when Jesus hung on the cross, in the mind of God, we were all hanging there too (in Him), for He was our representative. When He cried out, It is finished! and gave up the ghost, we also died in Him. Now, heres the big thing, which Satan didnt see coming and the angels still marvel at and seek to look into: Christianity began, not when Jesus died, but when God raised Him from the dead; at the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ gave us something far beyond redemption; it ushered us into a newness of life. Weve been raised up together with Christ (Ephesians 2:6). Romans 10:9 says, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. This lets us know that salvation comes by believing in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the subsequent confession of His Lordship. So to answer the question: who is a Christian? A Christian (amongst other things) is one who identifies with the resurrected Christ. The Christian has no past, for the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature...; meaning that he is a new species; one that never existed before. No wonder James declares that Of his (Gods) own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures (James 1:18). Being born again, therefore, youre not the redeemed; youre the fruit of the redemptive work of Christ. Redemption was consummated with His death, but Christianity came from the resurrection. Halleluiah! PRAYER: Dear Father, I thank you for making me one with Christ. Im a new creation and I walk in the newness of life, conscious that Ive been raised together with Christ, and seated together with Him in the place of victory, authority, and dominion for-ever, in Jesus Name. Amen. Further Study: 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20 1 Year Bible Reading Plan: John 18:1-27, 1 Chronicles 11-13 2 Year Bible Reading Plan: 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Proverbs 30 Source: rhapsodyofrealities.org
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 04:59:11 +0000
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