One of my friends shared today that her son came home this weekend and told her, "I'm saved!" He'd been religious before and a moral young man, and now instead of being corporately religious, he's personally saved. Hallelujah!
I hope today's post helps everyone remember how precious it is, how completely un-ordinary, to be saved!
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
When we accept the forgiveness that Christ offers, He exchanges our old, dead selves for His new life. Praise God that we are new creatures!
Before, we were creatures of wrath, but God now says to us that as much as it's up to us, live at peace with all men. And He gives us the peace to do it.
Before, we were creatures of hatred, but now God says to us that we should love not just our friends and those lovable people in our life, but even our enemies. And He gives us the love to do it.
Before, we were creatures of selfishness. But God tells us to regard others in preference above ourselves. And He gives us the supernatural ability to do that, regardless of every other creature's need for self-preservation first.
Before, we were creatures of pride. But God tells us to be humble and that the one who is servant is the greatest of all. And He gives us a heart for service.
Nothing in the Christian life is easy...and the standard that Christ laid out for how a Christian should behave isn't just difficult - it's impossible, by natural standards. Praise God that He creates us new and gives us supernatural gifts to be used to live in the manner that He commanded.
Accepting Jesus as your Savior brings about immediate and noticeable change. If your old life before Christ and your new life after being saved look remarkably similar...if your behavior, speech, and desires haven't changed...then you need to take a good look at whether you really accepted Him. Examine whether you left your sin behind, let him forgive it, and gave Him control of your life or whether you just walked down an aisle, recited a prayer, or did something else because it was the thing you "ought to" do. If you're trying to live the "Christian life"...without the change of actually having CHRIST in your LIFE, you're fighting a losing battle. You need to accept Him personally and let Him fight that battle for you.
Praise God that we don't have to stumble through this life alone!
This is why I prefer the terminology "surrender your life to Christ" rather than "accepting" Jesus. If we have not realized our utter lostness and inability to please God on our own and surrendered to His control, we are not truly saved. Repentence and faith are the two arms of salvation. Oh, that we would truly repent and submit to God's control over every aspect of our lives!
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