Christ Confidence

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.  And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.  So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
Colossions 2: 13 - 17 NKJV

What is it like to be confident in Christ Jesus?  Knowing that your sins are forgiven and that you indeed live out each and every day as Christ who became sin on your behalf.  That is Christ confidence.  However, there is indeed that fine line we walk between confidence and arogance.  For being confident in Jesus is good, but being arogant is bad.  For nobody seems to like those among us who seem to have a swagger and boastfulness about them.  The first people that come to mind when I think of downright arogance are certain college and professional athletes, but there are certainly others.  In fact, I myself have been accused more than a few times of being arogant.  I know a few christian brothers whom I have the deepest respect for who I have thought were arogant.  Does that mean that they are bad people?  Certainly not.  Does it mean that their confidence may be mispalced?  Perhaps.  Does there exist such a list which we can draw upon to see just which things are appropriate to have confidence in?  Not that I have yet seen.  However,  believe that scripture can give us a few guidelines.  I mentioned having confidence in Christ Jesus, can this considered being arogant?  Well, there may indeed be some who think so.  To these people I would pose a simple question, is it more arogant to place my trust in He who has redeemed me than in someone who catches a football on Sundays or a politician?  The difference between these two is that we base our confidence in Jesus not on something which we ourselves have done to earn His efforts.

And you He made alive,who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding rishes of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not that of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2: 1 - 10 NKJV

I believe that the fine line between confidence and arogance is well illustrated by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 2.  For if we place our confidence in our own efforts, without acknowledging the place of Christ in the world around us, we do so in error.  For it is for Christ Jesus that all which we see was created.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the begining, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence.
Colossions 1: 15 - 18 NKJV

Knowing that through Christ all which we will ever see was created, how is it that we can celebrate our very efforts and acomplishments?  For to do so, my friends, is the very definition of arogance.  We may have that physical ability to compete at the highest level, but we have indeed been blessed with these abilities.  We may have that intelectual talent to speak and to lead others, but again, we have been blessed with these abilities.  The very essence of Christ confidence is that we KNOW that it is Christ Jesus who is within us {Galations 2:20} and that we walk and live each day AS JESUS who is within us.  Whatever it is that we see, smell, taste and experience, we do so AS JESUS.  To those who relish the opportunity to glorify their own efforts, this may be a hard pill to swallow.

~Scott~

~General George S Patton Junior, definately a poster child for arogance if there ever was one~