Knowing this, that our old humanity was crucified together with Him, that the body of Sin may be nullified, for us by no means to be still slaving for Sin, for one who dies has been justified from Sin. Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall be living together with Him also, having perceived that Christ, having been roused from among the dead, is no longer dying. Death is lording it over Him no longer, for in that He died, He died to sin once for all time, yet in that He is living, He is living to God. Thus you also, be reckoning yourselves to be dead, indeed, to sin, yet living to God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Paul To The Romans 6: 6-11, Concordant New Testament
This week a few friends and I delved into the question of the elephant in the room for many believers. That being the issue of sin. Yes, sin. You know, that sin which Jesus gave Himself on the cross to wipe away...that sin. It's a wonder to me why the issue of sin is even an issue for so many believers. We all know the truth of the scriptures which speak to us of Christ Jesus giving Himself on the cross that our sins would be no more. In fact, it is Jesus who BECAME SIN on our behalf {Paul To The Corinthians(2) 5:21}. There is indeed ample evidence that this issue of sin, should no longer be an issue for us. The apostle Paul speaks to us of reckoning ourselves DEAD to sin {Paul To The Romans 6:11}. Yet in almost every modern church service we see the ghosts of sin past, present and future raise their ugly heads to torment us once again. A good friend this week made the comment that the mainstream church needs to stop raising the sin issue. Yeah, good luck with that. See, the church needs to keep the sin issue alive in order to keep itself relevant. If believers are led to believe that sin continues to exist, they will be filled with guilt and shame and continue to fill the church pews seeking the Lords forgiveness. Good scam huh? And they said Bernie Madoff was a scam artist. Let's just say that the modern mainstream church doesn't have anything on Bernie Madoff! Across the world, modern church goers celebrate Jesus dying for their sins in one breath, then scamper back to church to seek forgiveness for "other" sins in the next. So which is it, did Jesus give Himself for the eradication of sin or didn't He? For me there is but one answer...YES! Sin has become a roadblock to the freedom of many a believer. But it doesn't need to be this way.
For One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may be becoming God's righteousness in Him.
Paul To The Corinthians(2) 5: 21, Concordant New Testament
One of the most powerful passages of scripture we may ever read are the words of Paul to the church in Corinth. Here, Paul speaks to Christ Jesus BECOMING sin that He would put sin to death at the cross. One not knowing sin (Jesus) He (God) makes to be a sin offering for our sakes. How much clearer could that be? Yet each week we file into the brick and mortar houses of worship to confess our wrong doings once again. Here's a good question, how many times would you sacrifice Jesus? Ten? Twenty? As you know, sin requires a sacrifice, and Jesus was that sacrifice for the sin of man. As Paul declares, "For in that He died, He died to sin ONCE for all time" {Paul To The Romans 6:10}. The sacrifice of Jesus was never meant to be repeated. So, what it comes down to is that believers today have NO clue as to their true identity in Christ. As long as the sin issue remains in their minds, they will not find true freedom in Christ Jesus. Yet if we heed the words of the apostle, then sin will no longer be an issue. "Be reckoning yourselves to be dead, indeed, to sin" {Paul To The Romans 6: 11}. For in Jesus there is no condemnation {Paul To The Romans 8:1-2}.
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment