| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net One of the most quoted and least believed verses in the New Testament is Romans 8:1 which says: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus..........." These are words of comfort we share graciously with others, preach as a given, yet doubt in our heart of hearts. What a shame. Listen to how Martin Luther said it. "Faith unites the soul with Christ as a spouse with her husband. Everything which Christ has, becomes the property of the believing soul: everything which the soul has, becomes the property of Christ. Christ possesses all things and eternal life: they are thenceforward the property of the soul. The soul has all its iniquities and sins: they become thenceforward the property of Christ. It is then that a blessed exchange commences: Christ who is both God and man, Christ who has never sinned, and whose holiness is perfect, Christ the Almighty and Eternal, taking to Himself, by his nuptial ring of faith, all the sins of the believer, those sins are lost and abolished in Him; for no sins dwell before his infinite righteousness. Thus by faith, the believer's soul is delivered from sins, and clothed with the eternal righteousness of her bridegroom Christ. O happy union! The rich, the noble, the holy Bridegroom takes in marriage His poor, guilty and despised spouse, delivers her from every evil, and enriches her with the most precious blessings. Christ, a King and Priest, shares His honor and glory with all Christians." But Houston, we have a problem. The flesh. The whole of Romans 7 is the Apostle Paul himself lamenting over the internal struggle he had between his Spirit, and his flesh. Nugget: We are all susceptible to this fight. We enjoy some victories, and more often than we want to admit, suffer losses in this internal struggle. We can struggle on and hope for the best, or give up. I have seen both. Orrrr------ We can enjoy the victory that is Christ Jesus. Listen to Romans 8:3 in the NEB. "what the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did." Bask in that. It isn't about you, it's about Him w/out regard to our failures or ability. - "And I am sure/confident of this, that he who began a good work in you (Jesus Christ) will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Phil. 1:6 This is a promise. He never stops. Do you? If you struggle with these things, and we all do, Join us this Sunday; Mother's day as we establish and bask in His sufficiency. Halleluiah, what a Savior. |
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