When Christ died on the cross
the work of salvation was completed and Christ
provided access for all believers into God’s holy
presence. Therefore, salvation is by grace alone,
through faith alone in Christ alone.
God is a real person and our
relationship with Him can be cultivated as with any
other relationship. We have been saved to live in
fellowship with Him. We can enjoy the riches of the
Christian life only as we grow in intimacy with
Christ. The presence of our Lord in our lives brings
this intimacy and these riches in glory with Him.
If there is no peace, joy,
longsuffering, patience, live, etc., it may well be
that we are out of fellowship with Him, or that we
have not come into a living relationship with Him.
We must spend time in His presence every day. It is
terribly easy to get our minds set on a thousand
good things, but not on Christ. No religious
activities or feelings can substitute for the
cultivation of the presence of God in our lives.
“I have been crucified with
Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me . . ." (Galatians 2:20 NET).
“When Christ bids us come and
follow, He bids us come and die,” said Bonhoeffer.
The victory in the Christian's
life comes as we die to selfishness and follow Him.
The apostle Paul wrote, “To me,
to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:20).
Again he wrote, “The life I live in the body, I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Paul can write this
because he has been crucified with Christ.
The Christian life is
impossible to live if you do not know Christ as your
Savior. It is impossible if you have never put your
faith in Christ. Nothing in the unsaved person’s
life can satisfy God’s righteousness. God will not
accept our self-righteousness in the slightest
degree. Self-crucifixion by a lost person will not
save you.
It is only after an individual
has put his faith in Christ and been born again that
God brings a person to self-crucifixion so Christ
will be magnified.
Have you made a commitment to
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Have you
trusted in His saving grace at the cross? Have you
put your faith in His death and His blood to cover
all your sins? If you never have, you need to do so
right now.
When we are crucified with
Christ we allow Him to strip away everything that
keeps us from having an intimate fellowship with
Him. It is like letting Him strip off all our old
worn out clothing and letting Him robe us in His
perfect righteousness. Anything that would keep us
from following into the fullness of His life needs
to be nailed to the cross daily.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author's written consent.
Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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