Blessings of being "IN CHRIST"

Thank you, Trinity College of Florida for putting on this event tonight.  What a blessing to hear from Jerry Bridges tonight.  He was so encouraging.  He talked about the blessings that come from being "IN CHRIST" and how every growth we see in our spiritual life and in our ministry come from our union with Christ - a topic that never grows old.

He talked about the importance of realizing that Jesus Christ did not just DIE for us, He LIVED for us.  He lived perfectly for us.  That means that I lived a perfect life IN CHRIST.  Because I am in Christ, God the Father does not see me for all the sinful rebellious things I've done, He sees me as perfect - perfectly covered by the blood of Christ.

Jesus' intimate relationship with God the Father is MY intimate relationship with God the Father because I am IN CHRIST.  When He died on the cross, I died on the cross.  I am united with Christ!  I have been justified!  I have been adopted!  I am a new creation IN CHRIST!

This news never "gets old."  Jerry's message tonight could never get old because it was saturated with the news that I am IN CHRIST - the best news ever!  I've been a Christian most of my life and it still brings a smile to my face to hear that I am IN CHRIST and that I share in the in inheritance of Christ.  This is why, as Jerry said, we must preach the gospel to ourselves DAILY.  The gospel is not the message we hear in order to become a Christian.  It is the message we hear, live, read, and remind ourselves of everyday.  Jerry ended tonight's talk with saying that we must accurately put obeying the law of God (sanctification) with reminding ourselves of the gracious gospel message (justification).

Let's thank the Lord for the life and ministry of Jerry Bridges.  He's a pretty cool "old" dude, and I'm blessed that I got to hear from him tonight.

Seeing Red - How to Forgive

"Washed by the blood of Jesus?"  This is strange language to many, but to Christ-followers it's our anthem.

The other day, I began thinking about sin.  Not just sin in general, but specific sins of those I know, including myself.  I began to wonder how some people get past certain sins - sins done to them and the guilt of sins committed.  Sin and guilt have the power to completely ruin lives.  We as humans do some unimaginable and grotesque things.  How can a husband forgive a cheating wife?  How can a parent forgive the child who murders his sister?  How can children forgive parents who abandon or abuse them?  How can a church forgive a pastor who betrays them?  How can a friend forgive the one who lies and stabs them in the back?  And how can we forgive ourselves for doing the things we know are wrong, but we do them anyway?

Before I even thought any of those things, I knew the answer.  I began seeing red.  I began to picture all of those terrible things covered in a blanket of red.  Red - because it's the blood of Jesus that covers those sins.  Our sin is covered with the power of Jesus' blood.

This image depicts this and etches in my mind that every sin is forgivable.  Every sin can be covered by the blood of the Lamb.  Whenever guilt begins to creep up, let's see it in red.  Whenever hatred towards those who have sinned against us begins to sink in, let's see it in red.  Let's take that sin and toss it into the ocean of Christ's blood because His blood has the power of forgiveness.  Our sin drowns without hope in His blood.  God forgives us and sees us as covered by the blood of Jesus because He dealt with our sin on the cross.

"this is the blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins"  Matthew 26:28
"we have now been justified by His blood"  Romans 5:9
"in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses"  Ephesians 1:7
"you..have been brought near by the blood of Christ" Ephesians 2:13
"the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin"  1 John 1:7

The gospel message  should pervade our lives.  Every aspect of life has a gospel answer.  The gospel tells us that we are forgiven when we put our faith in Jesus Christ alone.  The forgiven of God should be the first to forgive.  In Matthew 18 when Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother who sins against him, Jesus says "not seven, but seventy times seven."  Later he describes a parable about the unforgiving servant and gives a command at the end that we are to forgive each other from the heart.  If the forgiveness of God is everlasting in our lives, should not our forgiveness never run out on others?

The answer to how we can forgive even the most grotesque sins is the GOSPEL.  If you're struggling to forgive, find your answer in the gospel.  Jesus died and rose again defeating sin and death.  Sin was taken care of at the cross.  Only by leaning on the cross, only by trusting the gospel, only by being covered by the blood of Jesus, only by "seeing red" can we look at sins (even ones that deeply hurt us) and forgive.  The freedom of forgiveness is found in the cross of Christ where Jesus' blood was spilled and covered a multitude of sins.

"...without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins."  Hebrews 9:22

LISTEN TO:
Kristian Stanfill's Jesus Paid It All:  "What can wash away my sin - nothing but the blood of Jesus"
Chris Tomlin's At the Cross:  "Where Your love ran red and my sin washed white"