FourFifteen

In the last five posts, we've been seeing that we have a new identity now  in Christ . We've been forgiven and delivered from the power of sin. We've been given a brand new heavenly  nature. And we've been glorified  and made into conquerors of this world's system. All of this because we are now identified in Christ . But today, we're going to step out to the side and talk of another joined identity  that we're a part of. You see, you are not the only one who's in Christ ! You're one of millions of new creatures, created in Christ Jesus, and called to share the same identity. In Christ, you're united with other believers . No More Divided Identities Ephesians 2:13 " But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. " Think of how incredible the church of God is. Hundreds of millions of different people have been brought into the same brand new life together.    -People fr...

It's time to realize who we are in Christ. We've been children for far too long now...living lives that are way below God's plans for us. I believe He's calling us to  fully utilize  the covenant and the promises that Jesus shed His blood to give us. If we're going to do everything that God called us to do, then we must remember who He made us to be! Living Out Christ's Conquest If you've never read Romans 8:31-39 before, it's a must-read for every believer! It is a clear description of a believer who's become fully assured that God  is no longer angry with them!  In this passage, there isn't a hint of insecurity, fear, or timidity in the Christian's relationship with God. This is how we should live..... fully convinced  of Christ's finished work for us, and  living out  His conquest in our own lives. In verse 35, Paul lists seven enemies that try to overcome God's love for us by separating us from it. These are the seven att...

In Christ: I've been redeemed from all my former sins. I've been delivered from the power of sin in my life. I've died to my old life. I've been resurrected to new life I've become a part of Gods new creation. And now, I have a newfound hope. I have an expectation of good things to come! Hope for Eternity Do you remember your life before Jesus? You were hopeless. Your life was dragging you to Hell! You were filled with dread - the expectation that you were going to be punished for everything you did wrong. We see this life described in Ephesians 2:12 - " at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope  and without God in the world. " This was a terrible condition to find ourselves in...but it was the way we all lived. Our sins cut off our hope for a better future. Although we may not have known exactly how to say it, we were well aware of the trut...

So far, we've seen that the Gospel of Christ  is more than just "getting saved." We've discovered that being "in Christ" has a lot more to do with life after  conversion than just washing away your life before  Jesus. Last time, we learned that In Christ: We've been redeemed from our past sins. We've been made righteous. We've been set free to obey God. Now let's dive a little deeper into the internal change that occurred the instant you became in Christ. #1 - The Former You Died With Jesus On The Cross Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me... Maybe this is just semantics...but I think it would be incorrect to say "Jesus died so we can live." The truth is, Jesus died so we could die with Him .  Everything we were before salvation has been put to death on the cross of Jesus Christ. This is great news for those of us who have a past that has a powerfu...

The Gospel of Christ is a powerful thing! It proclaims what Jesus did for us. It tells us Who Jesus is in us. And it declares who we are in Him. It's the Gospel of Christ  that carries the power to save. When you begin to understand who you are  in Christ, I promise you that you'll see your life change! You'll see chains break off! You'll see limits shattered! You'll see healing become an everyday reality! You'll see miraculous provision become your normal! Why? Is this going to happen because of you ....because of how good you are  or how strong your faith  is? Not at all! These changes will occur in your life when you realize one thing: You're not by yourself anymore!  You are now IN CHRIST! Let's start by taking a look at three points that define your life now.... in Christ . #1 - You are Redeemed If you're like me, you've struggled with the guilt of what you've done in the past. You may feel like God grudgingly allowed you ...

Romans 1:16 " For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." For years, I've read this verse and assumed I knew what "the gospel" was. Like many of you reading this, I took it for granted that the gospel was only about repentance from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. I've always thought that the gospel was something that you taught to covert people to Christianity and get them into church. After that, you can move on from  the gospel into  the deeper things of God. But as I was reading this the other day, I realized that was not  what Paul was talking about! If we start with verse 7, we can see that this wasn't a gospel of conversion.  As Paul was addressing his letter, he made it clear that it was written to " all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints... " Then, when we jump down to verse 13, we read, " ...