Our key Bible passage today is Romans 6:1-2: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
In our last lesson series we learned the wonderful truth that we are one with the Lord Jesus Christ. As the branch is joined to the vine, so we are joined to the Lord Jesus in a living union. We are in Him and His life is in us.
With all the wonderful blessings that we have in Christ, we might think that the Christian life is going to be easy, but this is not true. We have many powerful enemies—sin, self, the world, the flesh, and Satan himself. In this lesson series we are going to consider the problem of sin in the life of a Christian.
When we are first saved, we are filled with joy. Our sins are forgiven, and we have peace with God. We want to please God in all that we do. Perhaps we think that we will not be bothered by sin any more, but we discover that this is not true. Continue reading “A New Kingdom, Part 1 (Onward Christian Soldier #78)”→
In our recent lessons, we have talked about one of the greatest secrets of the Christian life. The secret is this: Christ lives in us. The Apostle Paul called this a great mystery. He wrote to the Colossian Christians, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Is the Christian life trying to be good? No. Is it trying to imitate another good Christian? No. Is it trying to imitate the Lord Jesus Himself? No, the Christian life is none of these things. What is the Christian life then? It is Christ living His life in us.
The Apostle Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ.” He did not say, “For me to live is to try to be like Christ.” What he is really saying is, “For me to live is to have Christ living His life in me.”
Then, how do we live the Christian Life? We live it by trusting the Lord Jesus to live His life in us. Instead of our trying to live the Christian life, we let Him live His life out through us. His life is always pleasing to the Father. He said, “I always do those things that please Him.”
The Lord Jesus has not changed. He is still the same Person, and He wants to live His life through us. He will do this as we trust Him. The Lord says, “I am the Vine, you are the branches.” We do not have to try to make ourselves branches, we are branches forever joined to Him in a living union.
As we live day by day, we must count on the fact that we are one with Christ. Remember, faith in our standing makes it real in our life. This means that, as we count on the fact that we are in Christ and He is in us, we receive the power to live as a child of God should live.
John 15:5: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
In our last lesson, we talked about how we are in Christ now that we are saved. As John 15:5 says, we are the branches and Christ is the vine. However, not only are the branches in the vine, but the vine is also in the branches. After the branch is grafted into the vine, the very life of the vine begins to flow through it. This is what keeps the branch alive and causes it to bear fruit. Continue reading “A New Relationship, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldier #76)”→
John 15:5: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
In our last lesson we learned the wonderful truth that we are IN CHRIST. Because we are in Christ, we have a new standing before God. God sees us as perfect in Christ.
In this lesson we are going to learn more about what happened when we were born again. Not only do we have a new standing before God, but we also have a new relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. This new relationship can be expressed in two short sentences:
2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Our lesson today is titled “What Does it Mean to Be in Christ? Part 3”
Previously in this lesson series, we looked at some of the blessings that are now ours because we are in Christ.
1. We are forgiven.
2. We are justified.
3. We are made near to God.
4. We are accepted by God.
5. We are made holy.
6. Our eternal destiny is sealed and secure in Christ.
7. We are complete in Christ.
We also looked at the difference between our standing and our state. Our standing is how God sees us through Jesus Christ — as forgiven, justified, and made righteous through His blood. Our state is the way we live on earth. Sometimes we fail, and when we do, our fellowship with God is broken. In order to restore the relationship, we must confess our sins, repent, and strive to live holy lives in this world.
Today, we are going to talk briefly about how we can strive to live a holy life.
In His Word, God has told us that we are to “walk” by faith. This means that we are to count on what we are in Christ. The Bible says, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.”
When we see that we are “holy in Christ,” we ought to become holy in our everyday life. When we see that we are “saints in Christ Jesus” we ought to begin to live as saints should live. When we see that we are truly “the children of God,” we ought to begin to live as children of God should live. As we count on what we are in Christ, the Holy Spirit makes it real in our life.
One of the secrets of a strong Christian life is a daily “Quiet Time.” This is a time spent alone with God in the study of His Word and in prayer. Here are some suggestions that will help you to form the habit of a daily Quiet Time.
1. Time and Place. Choose a time that is good for you. Early morning is the best time for most people. Choose a place where you can be alone. This might mean getting up in the morning before everyone else in the family. After you choose a time and place, stick to them.
2. The Bible. Have a plan for reading. Read the Gospel of John first. After you have finished John, begin with the Gospel of Matthew and read right through the whole New Testament. As you open your Bible to read, first close your eyes and talk to God. Confess your sins; ask Him to speak to your heart through His Word as you read it. Remember that you are in His presence.
3. Prayer. After reading and listening for God to speak to your heart through His Word, take time to pray. Thank Him for His word to you; thank Him for His blessings—name them, one by one. Thank Him for the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sins. Thank Him for answering your prayers. Thank Him most of all for the Lord Jesus, your Saviour.
Do you want to ask for something? Tell Him the desires of your heart. He listens to every request.
Remember to pray for your family and friends. It is good to make a list of those for whom you are praying.
Do you really want to know God? Do you really want to be holy as He is holy? Then you must spend time alone with Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Onward Christian Soldiers
In our last lesson, we looked at some of the blessings that are now ours because we are in Christ.
1. We are forgiven.
2. We are justified.
3. We are made near to God.
4. We are accepted by God.
5. We are made holy.
6. Our eternal destiny is sealed and secure in Christ.
7. We are complete in Christ.
Does all of this mean that we will never sin again? No, it does not. In the letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth, we find some things that seem hard to understand. On the one hand, Paul calls these believers “saints,” and he says that they are “sanctified (holy) in Christ Jesus.” On the other hand, in the same letter, Paul speaks of some terrible sins in their lives. Some of them were proud; some fought among themselves; and some of them were guilty of immoral acts.
How could Paul say that they were “holy in Christ” while at the same time they were not living as Christians should live? To answer these questions, we must understand the difference between our standing and our state.
What is our STANDING? Our standing is the way God sees us in Christ. It includes all that God has done for us in Christ. God has given us a perfect standing in Christ.
Is our standing always perfect? Yes, it is. Why? Because it depends on what God has done for us in Christ. We are IN CHRIST, and God sees us as perfect in Him. Hebrews 10:14 says, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
Now, what is our STATE? Our state is the way we live on the earth. The Bible calls it our “walk.” Is our state ever perfect? No, it is not. Why? Because it depends on what we are in ourselves. We are sinful. The Bible says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
It will help us in our Christian life if we remember that our STANDING is the way God sees us in Christ, while our STATE is the way we live on the earth. In Christ we are always perfect in God’s sight; in ourselves, we are sinful.
Does this mean that we are to be satisfied with our sins? No, it does not! God wants our day to day living to come up to our standing in Christ. We are “holy in Christ”; God wants us to be holy in our everyday living. The Bible says, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (or lifestyle).
How can we be holy? In His Word, God has told us that we are to “walk” by faith. This means that we are to count on what we are in Christ. Colossians 2:6 says, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.”
When we see that we are “holy in Christ,” we become holy in our everyday life. When we see that we are “saints in Christ Jesus” we begin to live as saints should live. When we see that we are truly “the children of God,” we begin to live as children of God should live. As we count on what we are in Christ, the Holy Spirit makes it real in our life.
2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
In our last lesson series we learned that there are now two families in the world—the family of Adam and the family of Christ. God sees us as being IN ADAM if we are in Adam’s family. If we are in Christ’s family, He sees us as being IN CHRIST.
To be in Adam is to share in all that Adam was and did. By nature we were all in Adam—separated from God and slaves of sin and Satan. But when we were born again, God put us in Christ. We could not do this ourselves, but God did it for us.
The most precious phrase in the whole Bible is the little phrase, “In Christ.” This phrase or its equivalent is used over 130 times in the New Testament! Here are some verses that tell us of our new position in Christ:
1 Corinthians 1:30 says, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”
Ephesians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.“
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if any man be IN CHRIST, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
1 John 5:20 says, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”
Colossians 1:14 says, “IN WHOM we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 1:2 says, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.”
Did you notice the words “in Christ,” “in Him,” and “in whom”? As you read the New Testament, you will find these words used many times.
To be in Christ is to share in all that Christ is and all that He did. The Bible says that God has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings IN CHRIST.” We are going to consider some of the blessings that are ours because we are in Christ.
1. We are forgiven. Because we are in Christ, God has forgiven us of every sin. The Bible says, “IN WHOM we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
2. We are justified. What does it mean to be justified? It means to be declared righteous. How are we justified before God? We are justified IN CHRIST. The Lord Jesus was perfectly righteous, and now God sees us righteous in Him. He took our sins that we might have His righteousness. The Bible says, “For He [God] has made Him [Christ] to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God IN HIM.”
3. We are made near to God. As sinners we were separated from God and afraid to come into His presence. But now, in Christ Jesus, we can come boldly into God’s presence because the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us from all sin. The Bible says, “But now IN CHRIST JESUS you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
4. We are accepted by God. Before we were saved, we were enemies of God. Now we are accepted by Him as His own dear children. Why are we accepted by God? Because we are IN CHRIST! The Bible says, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted IN THE BELOVED [in Christ].”
5. We are made holy. God has a new name for believers. He calls believers “saints in Christ Jesus.” The word “saint” means “holy one.” In God’s sight, every believer is a saint in Christ. In ourselves we are not holy, but God sees us in Christ. When we stand before God, we stand in the holiness of Christ. We are “holy IN CHRIST.”
6. We are sealed. We are God’s children and our destination is Heaven. God has put us in Christ and has sealed us with the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “…IN WHOM also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”
7. We are complete. Everything we need to live the Christian life is ours in Christ. We are complete in Him. The Bible says, “For in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete IN HIM….”
We have considered only a few of the verses that tell us what it means to be in Christ. As God’s children, we are no longer in Adam. We are now IN CHRIST and you learn more about what that means as you walk with Him.
John 3:3: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Last week, we looked at the five things that God does for us through the new birth. Those things are:
1. God justifies us.
2. God takes us out of the family of Adam and puts us into Christ’s family.
3. God makes us His child.
4. God gives us a new spirit, and He gives us His Spirit to dwell inside of us.
5. God gives us eternal life.
Today, as we close out this lesson series, let’s look at how we can know for sure that we have experienced the new birth. Each one of us should know for sure whether or not we have truly been born again, and God has given us some definite ways by which we can know.
1. We know that we have received the new birth by the Word of God. 1 John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life…” When we are born again, God’s Spirit will make the Word of God real to our hearts, and we will know from God’s Word that we are saved. I recall that before I got saved, I found it difficult to read and understand the Word of God. However, after I got saved — after I was born again — the Word of God was understandable and easy to read. It was as if my eyes had been opened. You will experience this as well.
2. We know that we have received the new birth by the witness of the Spirit. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” When we are born again, God’s Spirit comes to dwell within us, and He bears witness with our spirit that we are a child of God. This is not something that we can explain or prove to someone else, but we know that it is true in our hearts.
3. We know that we have received the new birth by our actions. 1 John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” When we are truly born again, our actions will change. We will want to obey God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We will begin to love the things that are right and hate the things that are wrong. We will have love in our hearts for unsaved people, and we will want them to be saved. We will also love other Christians.
All of these things will begin to happen because we have been born again.
John 3:3: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Last week, we saw that the three requirements for the new birth are (1) faith, (2) the Word and the Spirit, and (3) God.
What is our part in the new birth? Our part is to come as a sinner to the Lord Jesus and receive Him as our Saviour. The Bible says, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” When we truly believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and we receive Him as our Saviour, we are born again.
God does many, many wonderful things for us when we receive the Lord Jesus as our Saviour. Let’s talk about some of those things now.
1. God justifies us. This means that He forgives us of all our sins and declares us righteous in Christ. Romans 3:24 says that we are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
2. God takes us out of the family of Adam and puts us into Christ’s family. We are no longer in Adam, but we are in Christ. Colossians 1:13 says that God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
3. God makes us His child. God does something for us that He does for no other creature. He makes us His very own children. The Bible says, “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”
4. God gives us a new spirit, and He gives us His Spirit to dwell in our new spirit. This is called regeneration. Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.“
We need to make one thing clear here—our old nature is not removed when we are born again. God does not remove our old sinful nature, but He gives us His life to overcome it. Our old nature will not be removed until Jesus comes for us, but with the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we can overcome its sinful desires.
5. God gives us eternal life. We shall never be separated from God. The Bible says, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
God does many other wonderful things for us when we are born again. He puts us in Christ. He joins us to His Son. He delivers us from the kingdom of darkness and from the power of sin. He makes it possible for us to have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. We are going to find out more about these things in the following lessons.
John 3:3: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Last week, we saw how Jesus Christ told Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.” Today, let us look at the three requirements for the new birth.
1. Faith is necessary for the new birth. The requirement for the new birth is faith in Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins. The Lord Jesus explained this to Nicodemus by reminding him of something that happened to the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness.
The people had complained against God and Moses, so God sent fiery serpents among them. Those who were bitten by the serpents died. The people confessed their sin and cried to Moses for deliverance.
Moses prayed to God, and the Lord told him to make a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole so that everyone who looked at it might live. Moses did as God had commanded. The Bible says, “and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.”
Then Jesus said, “…as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
It is ironic that the very creature who was used by Satan to cause the human race to sin, was also used by God as the symbol of physical salvation for the Jews in the wilderness, and then again as a figure of the spiritual salvation which Jesus would provide on the cross. Notice what John Piper says about this text: “Jesus in the place of the snake is portrayed as evil and a curse. This is what is so shocking. The snake is evil. The snakes were killing people. The snake on the pole is a picture of God’s curse on the people. So it was with Jesus. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:2, ‘For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’ And in Galatians 3:13, he said, ‘Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.’ In becoming like the snake, he was the embodiment of our sin, and the embodiment of our curse. And in becoming sin and curse for us, he took our [sin and curse] away.”
Just as the Israelites were saved from physical death by looking in faith at the serpent upon the pole, so we are saved from eternal death by looking in faith at Jesus upon the cross.
2. The new birth is by the Word and the Spirit. The new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit using the Word of God. No one can be born again without hearing and believing the Word of God, and no one can be born again without the work of the Holy Spirit. Here are some verses which make this clear:
James 1:18 says, “Of His own will He brought us forth by the Word of truth…”
First Peter 1:23 says, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God…”
John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to show us that we are sinners in need of a Saviour. Then, the Holy Spirit uses the same Word to show us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour we need.
3. The new birth is of God. The Bible says that those who receive the Lord Jesus as Saviour are born “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
The new birth is NOT “of blood.” This means that it is not of human parents. No one is born into this world as a Christian. Having Christian parents is wonderful, but it does not make you a child of God. Each one of us must be born individually into God’s family.
The new birth is NOT “of the will of the flesh.” This means that no one can make himself a child of God by his own efforts. Eternal life cannot be earned but must be received as a free gift from God.
The new birth is NOT “of the will of man.” This means that no preacher or priest can make you a child of God. No sacrament, such as communion or baptism can do this. Joining the church does not make you a Christian. The new birth is of God. The Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
The Gospel Light Minute X 