Alive in Christ

The average, everyday Christian is anything but average and everyday.  We are called to be set apart and made holy, understanding the fullness of the meaning of the phrase "created in God's image."  In fact, if everyone in the world knew that they are of innumerable value and loved by God emphatically, think how different things would be on our little blue planet.  Stress and anxiety replaced by peace and joy.  Low self-esteem and depression substituted with the fruit of the spirit.  We must live differently than the rest of the world because the believer has been made new; alive in Christ. 

The book of Romans in the Bible is often referred to as the Constitution of Christianity.  Authored by the apostle Paul, this section of Scripture doesn't pull any punches.  Romans 6:8-10 says this, "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.  The death he died, he died to sin once and for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God."   

What does it actually mean to 'live to God' though?  How do we interpret this in an objective and Biblical manner, leaving our own bias and prejudice aside?  I believe we can take a three-pronged approach to unpacking this text.

First, we can take from this passage that you and I can be dead to sin if we so choose.  In other words, we can live in a fashion where sin no longer controls us and doesn't reside at the center of our world.  Think that most people aren't focused on appeasing their own personal sin appetites?  Think again.  Money, sex, jealousy, power, and all other manner of corruption runs rampant in today's culture.  Being alive in Christ allows us to escape the constraint of feeding our ever-hungry stomachs with the type of food that isn't good for us.

Second, being alive in Christ means we can have hope through redemption.  Remember Jesus didn't come only to seek the lost, but also to save them.  The redeemed soul is a joy to God, and so it must be for you and I as well.  It means we can live a love-centered life based on nurturing and encouraging each other, as opposed to tearing down other peoples' views and opinions.

Finally, we can have eternal assurance and salvation in Jesus.  We need no longer wander through life like aimless strangers on a continuous path to nowhere.  Once we accept God's Son as lord and savior, we may rest on the promise of a heavenly destination.  We will eventually get to be with our creator forever.  Rest assured, this is no small matter.

When we are alive in Christ, we also understand that we now belong to another.  We are spoken for already, betrothed to the bride in every spiritual sense possible.  Those set apart for God's kingdom and listed in the book of life were bought at a great ransom.

Romans 7:4 in fact says, "So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God."  Bearing this new fruit successfully means that we live differently than the rest of the world.  We view things with spiritual eyes, and listen with ears that can hear.  The veil that separates the non-believer from God's truth has been torn and disposed of.  We now have access to what Jesus called 'the mysteries of heaven.'

The reader will note at this point, that living a godly life here on Earth doesn't mean we act perfectly all the time and in every situation.  Nor should we expect that level of performance from others.  I really think that God's desire for us is to repent, accept Jesus, and get on with becoming sanctified.  Remember that sanctification simply means to become more holy over time (not necessarily perfect).  There was only one perfect penitent, and he lived two-thousand years ago in Nazareth.  Don't try to compete with Jesus, simply accept him and learn from him.  The journey matters just as much as the destination.

Paul also tells us that once we accept the Lord, there is "now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus ..." (Rom 8:1-2, paraphrased).  We accept the free gift of salvation, and He does the rest.  At that point, we live to God.  We are free to love and to be spirit led.  To have hearts that rebuke evil, and lives that shine forth from heaven.  

Accept your calling to be a new creation in light of God's love, and understand it is no small thing to be alive in Christ.  It is up to us to act our age spiritually at this point, and get out there and show the world that we are different.  

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Those Who Have Ears to Hear

 I can't tell you how many times I have finished preaching a sermon on Sunday morning, only to find out that several people walked away with an entirely different meaning than what I had intended.  It doesn't happen every time, but often enough that I have begun to take notice.  It isn't that they heard something entirely opposite mind you; it's just that for them, a different emphasis came across.  I preach the same sermon, but other people interpret the message differently.  I believe this to be both profound and supernatural at the same time, and I will attempt to explain why.  

All of this begs the question: how do we hear God's Word?  Or to put it another way ... how do we interpret what God is trying to tell us?  When attempting to answer Biblical questions, it never hurts to use the Bible to interpret itself.  I am not talking about circular reasoning here (i.e.: I believe it because the Bible said it), but rather I'm talking about using key concepts in Scripture as a reference guide.  The Word itself tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed and fit for teaching and reproof.  So, let's use what Scripture says in one place to understand what God is talking about in another place.

Regarding our topic about hearing the Lord, let us begin with a passage from Proverbs 20:12.  It says this: "Ears that hear, and eyes that see - the Lord has made them both."  Here we see that not only is the Word a gift from God's heart to ours, but also that He grants us the very tools we need to understand what He is trying to tell us.

Furthermore, Matthew 11 relates a conversation that Jesus had regarding John the Baptist.  He is attempting to convince some of John's followers that he is the legitimate Messiah that God was going to send to the people.  Jesus then makes this odd statement in Matthew 11:15, "Whoever has ears, let them hear."  At first glance this may come across as a very strange thing to say, but many scholars agree that this simple statement is a directive for God's people to 'listen up.'  It is an imperative that directs those for whom a truth might apply, to make sure they don't miss it.  It's a wake up call to those who were lucky enough to be listening to one of Jesus' parables two-thousand years ago.  It's also a command for us to listen closely today.

You see, we can decide what truth we let into our hearts, and what we will choose to disregard.  We can harden our hearts like Pharoah, or we can choose to accept what God is trying to impart to us like Moses.  We keep our radio receiver set to "on," or we keep it set to the lowest volume level possible.

No doubt the Lord works on us during sermons and exegesis.  His Word searches our hearts and souls, isolates an issue, diagnoses it, and finally works to begin the healing process.  I can't remember how many times just the right sermon happened to come on the radio when I am driving somewhere and flipping past the different radio stations.  

It takes a certain type of determination to really understand what the Bible has to say about humanity and our role in God's kingdom.  It also takes study to make sure that we are properly comprehending what He has intended for us to do.  In fact, I believe many are led astray today by false preachers and false prophets because we suffer from Biblical illiteracy.  If we don't know what God actually said in the first place, then we can be easily led away from true revelation.

I believe that we often hear what we need on a personal level, because the same God that created the heavens and the Earth cares about us in a personal way.  Let that truth sink in for a moment.  We are all going through something different when we come to church on Sunday morning.  We listen to the pastor's proclamation intently, and then we might each take away something slightly different.  That is, as long as we have ears to hear (if we are tuned in).  

Continue to work on your spiritual listening skills.  Our relationship with God isn't unlike our Earthly relationships in that regard.  If we never take the time to call our friends and catch up, then we remain in the dark as to what they are doing.  Likewise, if we want to develop ears that can hear, we must dial up our Lord and Savior from time to time and have a chat.  

Scripture and preaching reveal truth handed down through the ages from the lips of God's prophets and disciples, but it is up to us to listen properly.  We are the ones who must make up our minds to actively engage with God's Word in ways that go beyond regular hearing.  We must focus with spiritual eyes and ears.

John 17:17 says, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."  This statement is taken from a very personal conversation that Jesus had with God the Father, asking Him to keep and protect his followers.  God's Word is in fact the same thing as truth spoken plainly.  

Be part of a church that partners with God to practicing listening with ears that can hear.  Listen to as many sermons as you can, test them against what the Scriptures actually say, and then bask in the revelation that God has given you.  

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