We must become what we are in Christ!

We last time discussed the fact that we are not perfect, yet! This week we think about the fact that we are:
To become what we are in Christ.

Listen to these passages which talk about who we are, in Christ:
(Col 3:9-10) You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self.
(Eph 5:8) You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
(Rom 6:11) Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
(Rom 6:2,4) We died to sin ... just as Christ was raised from the dead ... we too may live a new life.
(2 Cor 5:17) If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Over and over again the Bible calls God's children to live the new life because, in Christ and through the Spirit, they have been delivered from the slavery of sin. In Christ we are new or renewed. In Christ the old self of sin has been demolished.

Think of what we are in Christ: a new self, raised with Christ, light in the Lord, alive to God, a new creation. This new person that we are in Christ hates sin, strives for holiness and has the life of Christ himself. This new person that we are in Christ, is indwelt by the Spirit.

But if all of this is true – and it is – then why do we Christians still do bad things? If we are a new creation in Christ, why do we so often live like we are still part of the old creation? Why is it that we seem to be dead to the new life and alive to sin instead of alive to God in Christ Jesus and dead to sin?

The Bible says it is because we are still “in the flesh”! We are still human. And “our weak flesh” clings to even our best works for God.

So what happens? In our flesh there is a slumbering tendency which is both unexpected and fierce. With great power it seizes us. All at once a secret, smouldering fire is kindled. It makes no difference whether it is ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money. God becomes unreal to us. God loses all reality, and the only real thing is the desire to sin. It surrounds the mind and will of the Christian with darkness and we lose the power to fight and resist.

A Christian may be a new self, she may be raised with Christ, she may be light in the Lord, she may be alive to God, she may be a new creation, but she is also a sinner. Even in the Christian, sin remains sin. Even in a Christian sin is horribly displeasing to God. In fact, in the eyes of God the sins of the Christian are worse than the sins of the world, because the Christian knows better and is supposed to be dead to these sinful desires.

So, we have to fight the enemy within!

God doesn't want us to tolerate sin, learn to live with it and be complacent about it . He says:
(Col 3:5,12) Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature (“flesh”) : sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry ... Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

God wants us to become what we are. We are a new self, raised with Christ, light in the Lord, alive to God, a new creation. Now, we must live and act like we are. We must become what we are in Christ.

How do we do this?
Firstly, Christians must humble themselves before God. We have no reason to be proud and we have every reason to be small. By nature those who are Christian are not one tiny bit better than even the greatest sinner. And we are especially small before God. We cannot defend our sins in any way. We must be humble about our sins.

Secondly, Christians must flee for refuge to Christ crucified. We need Christ every hour of every day. As born-again Christians who continue to sin, we need what only Christ can give: His blood, his grace, his power, his forgiveness. We need Christ and must turn to him as much as the unbeliever down the street has to turn to him.

Thirdly, Christians must pray. We pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." We pray, "Grant us victory, Lord. Keep us from falling."

Finally, the Christian is to strain for holiness. The Christian is to strain for holiness in the same way as the athlete strains for the finish line.

That's the effort we need to make, to become what we already are in Christ: a new person, raised with Christ!
Victorious Jesus, in his mercy, will do the rest.