Tilling and Planting

Category: Identity

  • Victory in Jesus

    Victory in Jesus

    Intro

    The church in America has been infected with a defeatist mindset. I don’t know how long ago it started, but at some point the Church forgot it has victory in Jesus over the enemies of God. All too often we live like we have been defeated and won’t even bother trying to fight. We say things like, “That’s just the way it is” and other similar things. Many Christians don’t realize that we don’t have to settle for struggling with sin and muttering “I can’t wait to get to Heaven to not have to deal with this struggle.” They don’t realize that in Jesus we have victory over the devil and he has to flee from us when we tell him to. Some people might even claim that we are powerless to do anything. I beg to differ. The Bible tells a very different story. Check it out.

    Victory Over Sin

    The Bible says that Jesus was tempted and yet didn’t sin (Hebrews 4:15). Because of that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross atoned for the sins of the every person ever born from the creation of the world until now. And beyond. Jesus’ supreme victory over sin enables us to live victorious over temptations and sinful lifestyles.

    Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24 (NIV)

    No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 1 John 3:9 (NIV)

    Now I hear you saying, “But, Cory, I’m saved, but I still sin. What gives?” And my answer is simple. Ask yourself this question, “Am I living in a sinful lifestyle with no intention of changing, or am I actively fighting my sinful tendencies?” If you are actively fighting, then don’t worry, you’re on the right track! When John says “they cannot go on sinning” he means that we as Christians cannot live a lifestyle of sin and enjoy it like we used to. This means that we have victory in Jesus to overcome our sinful past and the temptations that crop up.

    Victory Over Satan

    When Jesus rose from the dead, He also defeated Satan once and for all. When Satan tempted Jesus, He claimed to own the Kingdoms of the world and could give them to Jesus. All Jesus had to do was bow down and worship Satan (see Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13). But look at what Jesus said after He rose from the dead.

    Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matthew 28:18 (NIV)

    Jesus reclaimed all the earth through the Cross and the Resurrection! And to top it off, this passage – referred to as the Great Commission – shows Jesus telling His disciples that He gives them His authority as well. Furthermore, during Jesus’ ministry, He sent out His disciples and gave them authority over demons and evil spirits. So, why then are so many Christians afraid of Satan and his minions? Jesus gave us authority over them. There’s nothing to be afraid of. If you suspect that there’s some demonic spirit affecting you or a loved one, tell it to go! They have to obey. If it doesn’t seem to work or you are just struggling with the idea, then seek out someone with experience.

    Victory Over Struggles

    I’ve already talked about the sin struggles and struggles against demonic enemies. So what other struggles could I be referring to? How about mental struggles. Stuff like fear, anxiety, depression, general pessimism towards life, negative attitudes, addictions, etc. All these things can (and do) plague Christians every single day. But they shouldn’t. These are all things that Christ gave us victory over on the Cross. God says 365 times (or 366 times, I’ve heard it both ways) in the Bible “Do not fear”. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God doesn’t give out spirits of fear. He gives a spirit of a sound mind. A sound mind in this context is one of calmness. One that remains unbothered by what’s going on in the world. Yes, you should acknowledge that terrible things are happening, but you shouldn’t let it drive you into fear or anxiety.

    We are not slaves to the thoughts that hit our mind.

    We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

    In Jesus, you have the victory to take every thought you have and give it to Jesus and instead force yourself to think about holy, pure, righteous things (Philippians 4:8). Jesus gave this power to us. But so much of the time, we allow the news and other negative talk dominate our thoughts and minds. I’m so grateful that I don’t have to allow it. I can turn around and combat it with the Spirit of God that lives in me.

    How to Walk in Victory?

    The question that all this brings up is, how do I do this? How do I actually overcome the struggles in my life? I hinted at part of it in the last section. The mind. All these struggles I mentioned have at their roots a particular mindset. Whether that mindset is “I can’t control the thoughts that enter my mind” or “Satan is so powerful I’ll never overcome him” or even “I have an advanced stage of cancer, I need to prepare for the inevitable”. In all these cases, in order to start walking with the victory we have in Jesus, you need a mindset change. And here’s some practical ways to go about getting that mindset change.

    The Practical Side

    1. First, you need to believe it. Choose today that you are going to start believing that Jesus already gave you victory over these things. And remind yourself of this every day.
    2. Start every day reading the Word. Fill your mind with what the Bible says about who God is and who He says you are.
    3. Speak life into your life. Declare out loud (doesn’t have to be loud) what God says about you from the Bible. Some good ones to start with are “I am more than a conqueror”, “God is with me”, and “I walk by faith, not by sight”.
    4. Let go of shame. Do not allow sins and mistakes of the past rob you of joy or of being who God called you to be. Jesus already paid for those. Let it go.
    5. Walk in obedience. Obey what God says in his Word and obey what God has called you to personally. The more you walk in obedience, the less you’ll find yourself doing or thinking the things you struggle with.
    6. Surround yourself with people of faith. This goes back to a previous post of mine. It’s impossible to live this Christian life without a community of believers around you to build you up.
    7. And lastly, pray with boldness. Did you know that God says we can come boldly to His throne (Hebrews 4:16)? But all too often we come with hesitancy and pleading, begging God to do something. The early church did not pray that way. In fact, they prayed with boldness, declaring the victory of Jesus over situations – and it happened! So pray like you have the victory. Pray with boldness. And if you struggle with boldness, pray for boldness! Acts chapter 4 says that the church prayed for boldness and God answered that prayer.

    Wrapping Up

    As I wrap this up, I just want to say that I’m talking to myself just as much as I’m talking to you. I struggle with thoughts and temptations and (at times) fear. I struggle with physical issues that I’m seeking healing on, but haven’t seen yet. My mindset isn’t fully renewed to see myself walk in the full victory of Jesus. But I’m learning, I’m moving forward not backward. And at the end of the day, that’s all God asks from us. To move forward. And God will do the rest. He’ll get us there. So, get out there and walk with your head held high and a smile on your face. People might think you’re crazy, but we have a hope that the world doesn’t have. And we are victorious in every way possible. So why shouldn’t we smile?

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Sinners and Saints

    Sinners and Saints

    Intro

    Christians often use the phrase “We’re just sinners saved by grace” to counteract the claims that we’re all a bunch of “holier-than-thou” people who think we’re “perfect”. Consequently, many Christians tell the non-Christians that “We’re just sinners who have been saved by God’s grace.” And while there’s truth to that, there is also a greater truth: We are saints. But many Christians will shy away from that word because of the images that word stirs up. Images of people who are somehow greater than the average Christian or can be prayed to for different things. Unfortunately, the Catholic church perpetuated these images by making Sainthood something difficult to be achieved rather than an identity you automatically receive in Christ. But at the same time, should we as Christians be saying that we are sinners and saints, as so many do?

    Definitions

    First of all, I’m going to define the two words “sinner” and “saint”. Just plain, simple, English dictionary definitions. After that, I’ll dive into how the Bible uses these two words and how they apply to people. I’ll also explain the key difference between sinning and being a sinner.

    Sinner

    According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a sinner is “a person who sins” (link). By that definition, you can classify everyone on Earth a sinner. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23 (NIV). Pretty cut and dry. No real wiggle room here. Let’s see how Merriam-Webster defines saint.

    Saint

    Merriam-Webster lists more definitions for saint than it does for sinner (link). The very first one reads “one officially recognized especially through canonization as preeminent for holiness” – the very definition that I believe leads a lot of Christians (myself included) to shy away from claiming this word as a part of their Christian identity. Some of the other definitions include “one of the spirits of the departed in heaven” (number 2), “one of God’s chosen and usually Christian people” (number 3), and “one eminent for piety or virtue” (number 4). I list all these out for the benefit of seeing how society is most likely to mentally respond to hearing the word “saint”. Now let’s take a look at how the Bible uses these words, especially towards Christians.

    Are Christians Sinners or Saints?

    To this heading, I could add “or both” at the end. I think a lot of people think of themselves as both a sinner and a saint – at the same time. And frankly that’s how a lot of people live. They believe that they have two natures “the flesh” – or sin nature – vs the “the spirit”. However, the Bible teaches that once you are saved, that sin nature dies! It ceases to exist. Paul explains this in Romans 6, but I’ll just put verse 6 here “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin”. Our old self – the sin nature – died on the cross with Christ. We are now new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17).

    But Christians Still Sin, so….

    Okay, but Christians still sin, and the dictionary says that a sinner is someone who sins. Therefore, Christians are sinners, right? Some people will claim semantics with what I’m going to tell you. But there is a difference between a person who sins and a sinner. For the person who sins, the sinning is something they do, but for the sinner, sinning is a lifestyle. Another word that the Bible uses in place of sinner is evildoer. I don’t think there are any Christians who claim evildoer as a part of their identity! That word conjures up images of people who commit truly vile acts on a regular basis.

    Do you see the difference? Christians still sin, yes, that is true. However, as Paul says in Romans, we are no longer slaves to sin. We no longer bear the title of “Sinner”. Christians no longer pursue the sins of their past or the sins of the world because it’s no longer in our nature to do so. The sinful nature we left behind couldn’t help but sin. Now as God’s saints, we can’t help but avoid sin. Not right away, not in a year or two, but gradually over time – as long as we allow Holy Spirit to work in us – we will find ourselves sinning less and less. And instead, the lifestyle we pursue, and embrace looks more like the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

    Does the Bible Really Call Us Saints?

    To answer the question in a word, yes! The Old Testament uses it a handful of times when referring to those who love the Lord and follow after Him. Sounds like Christians, right? Furthermore, the New Testament continues this trend in several places. I think one of the most blatant declarations that all Christians are saints is found in 1 Corinthians 6:2, “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?” (ESV). In this passage Paul chastises believers who aren’t living up to some of the dictionary definitions of saint and yet he still calls them saints. This demonstrates powerfully that to be a saint has nothing to do with how you act or what you do.

    Truthfully, when I read the Bible, I find that it talks less about how we can obtain on our own and more about how God gives us these things. We can’t obtain sainthood on our own. But God gives us the identity to be one of His saints. God covers our sin and our attempts at righteousness with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome the sin in our life and become more Christlike. As humans we want to feel accomplished, we want to say, “Look what I did” or “See what I’ve overcome in my life”. Hence why we use the word saint to say trivial things like “that person was a saint when he helped me”. Or why we make saint a special title for a special few who did extraordinary things for God. Newsflash: if you’re doing what God tells you, it’s extraordinary!

    Wrapping Up

    The Bible teaches that sinners and saints are two different categories of people. Sin enslaves the sinner, while righteousness enslaves the saint. Though the enslavement for saints is really freedom, but that’s another topic for another time.

    With what I’ve written here, I hope that you become more confident in your identity in Christ and will gladly claim saint as a part of who you are and reject the notion that you are a sinner anymore. I don’t expect you to get it immediately after reading this (I’m still working on it!), but I do hope that in time you become more comfortable with the word saint. Christ died to make us saints, so let’s believe that and wear that proudly (just be careful not to have a holier-than-thou attitude).

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!