“I have been crucified with
Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the
body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
When
we accept God’s gracious gift of forgiveness we die to self and live in
Christ. At least that’s what’s supposed
to happen. I’ve known people who have
gone through the motions of being “saved” for the sake of a family member or
spouse to satisfy their wishes or possibly to get them off their back. Nothing takes hold because they never really
considered the serious implications of what they were doing. They were taking lightly the most important
decision a person can make. It’s a
spiritual union that is designed to cultivate a “relationship of the utmost intimacy”. When you receive Christ you become a part of
His crucifixion. He died for you
personally. Once forgiven, your old self
has been crucified as well. His
resurrection represents your new life in Him.
It’s is what the scripture refers to as the second birth.
Once we’re forgiven we need to exercise our faith in God’s
Son. We all know that exercise of a physical nature strengthens us and increases
our stamina. So it is with the
exercising of our faith. It grows
stronger with each passing day as we learn to trust in and rely upon our
God. Unfortunately, there are times in a
Christian’s walk when they relapse into sin.
This doesn’t mean they were never born again and it doesn’t mean they
are now suddenly evil. What it means it
that they allowed something or someone to take their focus of Christ, causing
them to become entangled once again in that that had once gotten a hold of
them. God is still with them and the
Holy Spirit will make a way of escape from their entanglement, but we must allow
it to take place. God forces His will
upon no one.
We must keep fresh in our minds all that we have been saved
out of and rejoice that those things no longer have control over us. Our walk with the Lord is a deliberate act on
our part that must be done with diligence.
Exercise your faith daily, thus exponentially increasing your trust and
reliance of God. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
Reference
used: The Reformation Study Bible.
