I hope you had a blessed Resurrection Sunday!
He is RISEN!
Guess what… So are you!
If you’ve trusted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you were resurrected on that day too!
How?
In Romans 6, the Apostle Paul explained that by faith our lives have been so intertwined with Jesus’ life that when He was crucified, so were we.
When Jesus was buried, so were we. When He rose from the dead, so were we!
By faith and by His grace, we have been reborn into Jesus’ family.
We are now identified by Him instead of Adam!
We have been transformed from sinners to saints!
Saint: one who is set apart from sin and set apart unto God; one who is holy.
We have been made holy through Jesus’ blood atonement for our sins. He has justified us before the Father.
As a result, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our human spirits as a down-payment on our redemption.
His presence alone is enough to declare us holy – set apart unto God and therefore, saints in Christ Jesus.
Many Christians would describe themselves as ‘sinners, saved by grace.’
That’s NOT TRUE!
We were sinners in Adam; we are now saints in Christ Jesus!
You might respond, “But I still sin.”
Humanistic psychology misleads us into believing that we are defined by our actions.
“I sin; therefore, I am a sinner.”
Folks, when Mr. Ed talked to Wilbur, it didn’t make him human; he was a horse, of course! (If you don’t know who Mr. Ed is, look him up on YouTube!)
Being born into Adam’s family is what defines us as sinners. Our sins are just the evidence of a corrupt human spirit.
Being born again into Jesus’ family brings a transformation to our human spirits.
Again, by faith and His grace, our spirits are transformed by His blood.
The process of sanctification begins and is a work of the Holy Spirit.
His job is to teach us to follow Him by submitting our choices to Him, as He shows us what is ‘good’ for us.
This is a lifelong process.
Some day, when we enter God’s presence our bodies will be transformed, and this is called: glorification.
At that point, our redemption will be complete as all three parts of us – body, soul, and spirit – will be totally free from sin’s presence.
Beloved, why is it so important for us to understand that we are saints by His grace?
No one can consistently behave in a way that is inconsistent with their self-perception.
It may sound humble to say, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.”
But, it’s a lie sold to us by Satan to keep us enslaved to the lusts of the flesh.
The truth is: “I was a sinner. By His grace, He has transformed me into a saint!”
Do I still make sinful choices? Yes, but when I do, it causes inner conflict, which the Spirit then uses to convict me and provoke obedience.
Beloved, ponder this: When Jesus was resurrected, so were you! You’ve been transformed from sinner to saint by faith in Jesus! Hallelujah!
Blessings!
Robyn