“Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11; NASB
I think every one of us has wondered whether God is mad at us about something we’ve thought, said, or done. It’s been engrained in us that when we do something wrong, there will be negative consequences. Add to that the idea that God sees everything and you have the makings of a guilt-ridden existence, even as a Christian. Unfortunately, this is how many in the Christian faith believe, even though they don’t like to admit it. The wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple a concept we have a hard time with it. The reason we continue to struggle is we do not fully embrace all that has been done by God through His Son. In that sense we are much like the Israelites who were described in Hebrews as not having entered the Promised Land because of their unbelief (see Heb. 3:19)
By looking at two of the main elements of the Gospel, the Blood and the Cross, we can get a better understanding of what our salvation really means. The Blood shed by our Lord washed away all of our sins. Anything you have done prior to coming to Christ has been forgiven. That part is such a relief that we are happy to accept it. By faith we accept this gift. I say by faith because there is no concrete evidence that you’ve been forgiven of stealing pumpkins from your neighbor’s field or lying about being sick any time you don’t feel like going to work. We believe by faith that what the Bible says is true, and we have been forgiven. By His Blood we are washed clean. We have a clean slate to work with and, although it’s hard to believe, we choose to believe it. The Bible says it is so, and it feels good. The Cross is a little more difficult to embrace. Even though it is a gift, given because of our Father’s love for us, we find it hard to accept.
The Cross deals with our roots. We are all born from the seed of Adam. What happened in the Garden affected every single human being from then on except one, The One. Every one of us have a sin nature that we cannot change regardless of what we do by ourselves. Jesus was not born from the seed of Adam. He was sinless from birth. He remained sinless throughout His life. He is the only One in the history of mankind who could do what He did. By willingly going to the Cross He became the last Adam. God decided that if we accept His Son we are changed. Our roots, which were of sin, become sinless in Christ. Why? Because He said so. However, because we still have our fleshly bodies, we will continue to battle with sin (see Rom. 7:14-21). Because of the Cross those sins are no longer counted against us. This is why John could make the statement: “We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:18) We are no longer condemned for our sins because we are born of the sinless seed of Jesus! (See Rom. 8:1)
The Blood washed away the old through forgiveness. The Cross stripped away the old nature and brought in the new. Every believer was crucified with Christ and no longer lives as the seed of the first Adam. (Gal. 2:20) God is not mad at you. Stop worrying about why you still have a bad thought or whether the devil is behind every bush. Give glory to God for the precious gift of life that He has given you and move forward with confidence that He is with you.
Have a great week and God bless.