If we have been united
together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the
likeness of His resurrection… —Romans 6:5
{CHAMBERS} “The proof that I have experienced crucifixion with Jesus
is that I have a definite likeness to Him. The Spirit of Jesus entering me
rearranges my personal life before God. The resurrection of Jesus has given Him
the authority to give the life of God to me, and the experiences of my life
must now be built on the foundation of His life. I can have the resurrection
life of Jesus here and now, and it will exhibit itself through holiness. The idea all through the apostle Paul’s
writings is that after the decision to be identified with Jesus in His death
has been made, the resurrection life of Jesus penetrates every bit of my human
nature. It takes the omnipotence of God— His complete and effective divinity—
to live the life of the Son of God in human flesh. […] My part is to walk in
the light and to obey all that He [the Holy Spirit] reveals to me. Once I have
made that important decision about sin, it is easy to “reckon” that I am
actually “dead indeed to sin,” because I find the life of Jesus in me all the
time (Romans 6:11). […] God puts the
holiness of His Son into me, and I belong to a new spiritual order.”
{ELGIN} I think it’s odd that
there is a movement, at least in the Church in the United States, to
de-emphasize the reality of sin and focus on the earthly benefits of being a Christian
… especially in the U.S. But if you read
the Bible carefully, with an open heart, you will be reminded that Jesus came
to defeat Sin and death .. to restore mankind to a right relationship with the
Father … to make it possible for sinners to become holy and live lives that
bring glory to the Father. Pastor Rick
Warren said “God is more concerned with our character than our comfort”, yet
most Christians that I know are more concerned with their comfort than their
character. So often, in order to enjoy
the comforts of this world, we must compromise godly character. (1 John 2:15-17) “Do not love the world
or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father
is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the
desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the
world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does
the will of God abides forever.”
How do
you know if you love the world? Oh, you
know because the Spirit of God convicts us of sin and sin is all about the
world and our old nature, that craves the things of this world. (Matthew 6:24) “No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Those are Jesus’ words. You can’t straddle the fence. You are either standing on one side or the
other. It’s self-deception to believe you
can do both. Jesus said you can’t I
would believe Him if I were you. How
does He feel about Christians who live that life? This is what He said to the Church of Laodicea
(Revelation
3:16) “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will
vomit you out of My mouth.” You can’t have it both ways … Do you need to make some
adjustments in your life? All of us do,
I think. Perhaps you should talk to God
about it and then repent.
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