“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.”
Jesus says the words He has spoken will be the evidence that will convict unbelievers. They have been told the truth and now their sin is without excuse. But if that is true of unbelievers how much more should it apply to me?
I run to the cross for deliverance, I am saved by faith alone. But saving faith is seldom alone, and its power should change me. The Cross provides salvation, but this verse implies that knowledge of the Cross increases my responsibility to live righteously.
The devil was a believer, but not a Christian… and I must know the difference. God has defined sin in His word, and He has freed me from its control. I am no longer a slave to sin, so my sinfulness is now a choice.
Each day I decide who I will follow… If I put myself on the throne, I will focus on my freedom and deliverance. If God is on the throne I will focus on righteousness.
Make no mistake, God’s focus is on righteousness and that is where He expects mine to be as well. Salvation is not a minor adjustment… it is a 180 degree turn that produces dramatic changes in my life.
I am saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone… but Jesus has now become not just my Savior but my Lord as well.
My goal is to reflect the love of Christ and to live free from the entanglement of the sin that used to control me. I still live in a broken world and will need God’s grace to cover me. But that is not a license to ignore the price paid for my freedom from the heinous power that used to govern my life.
I am free… It makes no sense to sit in an open cell and put the chains back on... I am a child of the King and Today I must choose to run from sin and pursue righteousness. That is why Jesus came… to make me a new creation who longs for righteousness and a relationship with Him.
“It is not enough to be delivered from sin; it is enough to be delivered to righteousness.” - Edwin Louis Cole
No comments:
Post a Comment