No Longer

We died with Christ and we now live with Him. "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:19-21)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) New birth! New life! We receive new heart and new mind. We have new desire and ambition, new passion and vision. We now look at everything from a new perspective (God's perspective/eternal perspective).  

Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we no longer need to fear death and be in bondage of guilt and sin. We can truly live. We are dead to sin and alive in Christ. We are forgiven and free. "God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross." (Colossians 2:13b-14)

The Law was given to make us aware of sin and see our desperate need of a Savior. Not until we realize our helplessness is there desire for and appreciation of a Savior! Not until we acknowledge our sin can we see the necessity for repentance and redemption!

Those in Christ are not under the Law as the means of gaining salvation. We are saved by God's grace alone through faith in Christ alone. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) When we were under the Law, sin was our master. The Law cannot and does not justify us or help us overcome sin. Now we are under the grace of God and Jesus is our Master. He empowers us to overcome sin and to choose good over evil.

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:11-14) The grace of God teaches and enables saved sinners to devote themselves to Christ & to do good while allowing neither ungodliness nor worldliness to control them. 

Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we've been saved from the punishment of sin, we are being saved from the power of sin, and we shall be saved from the presence of sin (when we go to Heaven). Man by nature is under sin but Christ delivers us from the power of sin. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Sin is no longer our pleasure. We now hate sins. We long for holiness. Sin is disgusting/undesirable to the new nature of Christ's followers. Nothing causes them so much grief and sorrow as sin. God's grace not only takes away the love and dominion of sin from our lives but also leads us from the Law to the Gospel (the Good News). We still struggle with sin at times but by God's divine grace, we renounce it, confess it before God, mourn over it, and pray & strive against it. And when we fail, God's grace is there to forgive us and remind us that He loves us no matter what. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

John Newton who wrote the famous hymn, “Amazing Grace” said shortly before his death, “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior!” May we never stop being amazed by God’s grace!

"Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." (2 Timothy 2:19b) We, Christ's followers, are Christ's ambassadors to the world. We must depart from sin and wickedness. "In Him is no sin. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him...No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." (1 John 3:5b-6, 9) If you claim to be a Christian but still live in a habitual sinful lifestyle, you are a scandal and disgrace to His precious name.

No longer live for self but live for God!
No longer live in sin but live in Christ!
No longer live under law but live under grace!