Via TJC
”And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’“
Matthew 22:39 NIV
”This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!“
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
We try not to write “little sermons” as the writing team at The Joshua Commission (Via TJC). Sometimes we nail it with a great story and sometimes we don’t. Today we might hit both at once by sharing a story about a sermon.
My wife and I went to dinner at the home of a sweet, but sometimes strange, church lady along with several other couples from a Sunday school class at our church. It was nice but actually pretty awkward as we were asked to sit separately from our spouses - men at one table and women at another (which my wife hates). It got worse when after dinner she abruptly introduced a pastor she had invited to come speak to us. I think he was as surprised as we were when he was suddenly thrust into the center of attention. To be honest it all felt a little like a multi level marketing pitch was about to happen.
This guy came from a pretty different faith tradition than mine so I was a bit skeptical as he began to speak. God began working on me though. He shared openly about a life trapped in legalism and just going through the motions as a Christian, a pastor, a husband and father. Then he told a story of how God had challenged him with the question of righteousness in Christ. Did he really believe he was a new creation once he accepted a relationship with Christ and all that it promised.
His story challenged me to ask the same question. I didn’t like my answer at the time. I might easily have said words that sounded like I believed I was a new creation, but deep down I hadn’t really accepted it. This began a journey for me to decide if I was going to REALLY believe I was a fully new man in Christ, It didn’t happen overnight, but I can tell you today that my identity is that I AM a fully righteous child of the King. Not because of anything I did or will do but because of what Christ gave me as a free gift.
The old man, who still shows himself more often than I like, is not who I am. I don’t like that guy very much. Who I am because of Christ is a guy I like, and even love. Now I can love my neighbor (wife, children, co-workers, guy across the street who hasn’t mowed his grass, etc) as myself with a whole different perspective
DAILY BATTLE ORDER:
Talk with your family today about this idea that we are fully righteous in our core identity as Kingdom men/families. Do you believe it, even in spite of the old man still trying to convince you otherwise? Read Romans 6:6-7 out loud and consider what it is saying. My pastor friend, which is what he is now, calls it being “squeaky clean”.
”We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.“
Romans 6:6-7 NLT
Nailed it!