Colossians

Colossians 4

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Live Wisely.

Colossians 4

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. – Colossians 4:5-6 NLT

Paul wraps up his letter with a call to live lives of influence. He wanted his readers to see every moment of their lives as an opportunity for spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. He called them to live among “outsiders” or those outside the faith, in a wise manner. He gave a similar charge to the believers in Ephesus. “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:15-17 NLT). The word he uses for “live” is the Greek word, peripateo and it means “to make one’s way, progress; to make due use of opportunities.” It was also used to describe the actual act of walking about. So Paul is calling his readers to go about their daily lives, everywhere they walked, in a wise, thoughtful, and God-honoring way. And the same call holds true for us today. We must be careful about how we conduct ourselves among those who don’t know Christ. We are His witnesses and ambassadors. We act as His emissaries. Each day we are given opportunities to impact a lost and dying world with the message of Jesus Christ as we live it out in real life. It has to show up in our actions, attitudes and conversations. His presence in our lives should set us apart from the rest of the world, and cause us to be salt and light, agents of influence, in the midst of the darkness that surrounds us.

Paul encourages us to take advantage of every opportunity, and he knew what he was talking about. He lived it out on a daily basis. In fact, he was writing this letter while in chains. He asked them to pray for him, that God would give him opportunities to speak about Christ, even though he was imprisoned. He was in chains because he shared the Gospel. But while he was in chains, he was going to continue to share the Gospel. He was going to make the most of his God-given opportunity. Rather than sulk and moan over his situation, Paul was going to take advantage of it. He was composing this letter to the believers in Colosse. And you can rest assured that Paul was going to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with every prisoner and guard with whom he came in contact. They would become his “captive” audience. Paul never wasted an opportunity. Do you?

Who will God bring into your path today? What circumstance or situation will you find yourself in today in which you might live wisely, and act as an agent of influence in the life of someone who does not know Christ? Whatever happens, good or bad, make the most of it. Live wisely. Thoughtfully consider why God has allowed you to be in that situation at that moment. He does not waste opportunities. Our lives are in His hands. He is orchestrating events in such as way that we never show up anywhere by mistake or find ourselves in situations of which He is not fully aware. Stop and consider what God might have you do or say. Make the most of every opportunity.

Father, it is so easy to live life as if everything is out of our control or just a series of unrelated, random events, with no meaning or purpose. I see too many things as speed bumps in my journey of life rather than as God-ordained opportunities to live wisely and influentially. I don’t tend to see these circumstances as opportunities to see You work through me and impact lives around me. I want to live wisely, thoughtfully, and purposefully, regardless of the circumstance. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Colossians 3:18-25

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Practical Piety.

Colossians 3:18-25

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. – Colossians 3:17 NLT

So far in this chapter, Paul has reminded us that God has chosen us to live as holy people, set apart and distinctively different than the world around us. We are to live lives that exhibit tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. We are to make allowance for one another’s faults. We are to forgive when others offend us, just as the Lord has forgiven us. We are to clothe ourselves with love, seek to live in harmony and peace, and allow the message of Jesus’ life-changing power fill our lives and impact our relationships with others.

Now he gets practical and personal. He gives us concrete examples of what this kind of life looks like in the everyday world. Wives are to submit to he Lord. This is always a controversial and somewhat unpopular topic among Christians. In our modern-day context it sounds archaic and antiquated. It comes across as someone who is out of touch with reality. But before we get too bent out of shape, it might help to take a look at another one of Paul’s letters where he addresses this same issue. “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:21-22 NLT). Notice that Paul puts his statement within the context of mutual submission within the body of Christ, and under the headship of Christ. So when he tells wives to submit to their husbands, the issue is headship and God-given authority, not a matter of value or worth. The submission he is calling wives to is the same kind Jesus exhibited in relationship to His heavenly Father. It was done willingly and gladly. Paul told the Ephesians that wives were to submit to their husbands as if they were submitting to the Lord Himself.

Paul tells husbands to love their wives and never treat them harshly. In Ephesians, he takes it a step further, explaining that their love is to be like that of Christ’s for the church. Christ died for the church. He gave up His life so that we might live. And His objective was to be able to present a church that without spot, wrinkle, or any kind of blemish. So the kind of love to which Paul calls husbands is difficult, if not impossible. There is no doubt that most wives find it hard to submit to their husbands because they fail to love in the way that Christ did. Many men find it difficult to love their wives, because they refuse to acknowledge their God-ordained authority and responsibility as the heads of their households. And some of those same men have failed to take seriously that God-ordained authority and responsibility, turning over the reigns of their home to their wives. Keep in mind, all of this is to be done in a way that it is accompanied by tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Children are to obey their parents. Not just when it’s convenient or falls in line with their own desires, but at all times. In other words, always. They are to submit to their father and mother – willingly, gladly, humbly, and regularly. At the same time, fathers are not to aggravate their kids, driving them to despair or discouragement. Don’t irritate them, or arouse within them feelings of bitterness or resentment. Some fathers are experts at exasperating their children by setting up unfair or double standards. They say one thing and do another. They live lives of hypocrisy, demanding of their children what they are unwilling or unable to do themselves. That can be discouraging and defeating for a child.

Paul tells slaves, of which there were many in the New Testament church, to obey their masters in every area of their lives. Many of these slaves had come to faith in Christ and yet were still required to live as slaves in the society in which they lived. In some cases, they could have actually attended the same church as their owners. And Paul calls them to live as redeemed slaves, serving their masters out of reverence and fear for the Lord. They were to submit to their masters, working diligently and recognizing that their efforts were to be done with a degree of integrity and consistency, marked by a new nature provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

In Paul’s context, faith in Christ was to be lived out in the context in which one found themselves. He told the Corinthians, “Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you” (1 Corinthians 7:17 NLT). If you were a slave when you were saved, remain one. But be a redeemed, holy, set apart slave. If you were married, remain so. But live in such a way that God gets the glory. Submit, love, humble yourself, show mercy, extend kindness, and live in patience with one another. “Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ” (Colossians 3:24 NLT).

Father, this is difficult stuff. Living in submission, loving sacrificially and selflessly, obeying willingly, and serving faithfully are all hard things to do. But that is what it means to live differently and distinctively. You have called us to a higher standard, but You have also provided us with the Holy Spirit to equip and empower us to pull it off. So that at the end of the day, You get the glory. What a difference we would make in the world if we actually lived this way – in obedience to Your will and empowered by Your Spirit. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Colossians 3:1-17

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Heavenly Minded.

Colossians 3:1-17

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. – Colossians 3:1-3 NLT

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “Some people are so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good.” The gist of that statement is that we can become so focused on spiritual things that we never do learn to live them out on a practical level. While I agree with the general idea, I think there are very few of us who suffer with this problem. In fact, I don’t believe there are that many Christians today who are truly heavenly minded. Sure, we think of heaven on occasion, when a loved one is nearing death, we attend a funeral, or when we’re going through a particularly bad spell of trials with no end in sight. But for the most part, if life on this earth is going well, we tend to think about the things of this earth. We enjoy the things of this earth. And before we know it, heaven becomes an afterthought. It becomes that nice reward that awaits us some time in the distant future. But for now, our minds remain set on earth. And that’s understandable, because we’re human. We have a human nature, which for the most part, is synonymous with our sin nature. It’s what Paul called “the flesh.” That part of us that is of this world, and longs for and craves the things of this world. In fact, our “flesh,” as Paul describes it, is in love with this world, and it is opposed to the things of heaven. One of the greatest battles we face as Christians is an internal one. It takes place between our sin nature and the new nature provided for us by Christ’s death and the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Paul told the Galatian church, “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other…” (Galatians 5:17 NLT)

Paul knew full well what this war within was like. He shared his first-hand experience with it in his letter to the Romans. “…if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?” (Romans 7:17-24 The Message).

So what’s the cure? Paul gives the answer in the very next verse: “The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does.” Jesus provides the answer. He not only provided for our salvation, but He made possible our ongoing sanctification, by giving us the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit. We have a power source available to us that is like no other. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. But Paul reminds the Colossian believers that they have to reset their minds, reconfigure their thought processes. They need to focus their attention on the things of heaven – where Jesus Himself is and where our future lies. This world is not our home. We don’t belong here. It is a temporary holding place, but is not intended to be our permanent residence. And it is not to garner all our attention. It should never distract us from the reality of heaven and the eternal nature of our souls.

Over in Romans 13, Paul warns his believing readers, “…make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lusts” (Romans 13:13-14 NASB). The Greek word translated “make no provision” means to “know ahead, to have forethought.” It conveys the idea of preparing ahead to sin. We actually provide for sin in our lives by cultivating a climate in our minds in which it can grow and prosper. How do we do it?

–        By focusing our thoughts on the wrong things

–        By concentrating our attention on impure things

–        By participating in the “deeds of evil and darkness” that mark this world

–        By applauding evil and rationalizing our involvement with it

–        By glamorizing sin and growing complacent about wickedness

–        By refusing to expose sin in our own lives and the lives of those around us

–        By becoming lazy about our lifestyle and flippant about God’s will

–        By failing to recognize that we live in evil times

That’s why Paul says, “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” This was a common theme for Paul. He told the believers in Philippi the same thing. “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8 NLT). The things we fill out minds with are incredibly important when it comes to how we live our lives. Paul reminds us to “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). So rather than feed the flesh, we need to starve it. He goes on and makes it even more specific. “Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). And I don’t think he is restricting our involvement in these things to the purely physical level. He is also addressing our thought lives. He are to have NOTHING to do with these things. That includes not watching others act them out on TV or in the movies we watch. He also tells us to refrain from greed because it reveals that we worship and love the things of this world. He warns against anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, lying and dirty language. All these things are characteristics of our sinful human nature. But we have a new nature and are being renewed into the likeness of Christ by the indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit. But we have to fix our minds on the things of heaven, not the things of this earth. We have to desire what the Spirit desires, not what the flesh desires. Paul makes it clear in Galatians 5:19-21 what the fruit of feeding the flesh looks like. But he also tells us what fixing our eyes on heaven looks like. When we live heavenly minded lives, we will exhibit heavenly minded fruit: tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, and peace.So what are you going to fix your thoughts on today?

Father, we are surrounded by the things of this world and it is so easy to become fixated on what we see. We can’t see heaven and we can’t see You. But give us a heavenly perspective that allows us to see the things of heaven more clearly with each passing day. Help us to live by faith, because “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Colossians 2:6-23

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Rooted In Christ.

Colossians 2:6-23

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. – Colossians 2:6-7 NLT

You can’t ever get enough of Christ. I realize that might sound a bit heretical, but it is completely and solidly biblical. We are never to grow satisfied with a basic knowledge about Jesus. While a deep and intimate knowledge of Jesus is not necessary to enjoy a saving relationship with Him, once we have come to faith in Him, we are to grow in our knowledge of and relationship with Him. Peter put it this way: “…you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 NLT). That’s a command. And in another one of his letters, Peter wrote, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 NIV). Both of these passages are fascinating if you take the time to think about what they are saying. In verse six of Colossians 2, Paul uses the word, “rooted.” It is a Greek word that actually means “to take root” or “to strengthen with roots.” It conveys the idea of a plant sending down a healthy root system in order to receive nutrients for growth, but also strength for future adversity. Paul tells us we are to sink our roots down into Christ. We are to be rooted in Him. In other words, we are to grow in our knowledge of who Christ is and what He has done for me. We are to grow in His grace and in the knowledge of who He is. Peter uses the term “grow” and it means “to increase or become greater.” We are to grow in our knowledge of Christ. We are to grow in our salvation. But what does all this mean?

Think about when you came to Christ. How much did you really know and understand about Jesus and His gift of salvation? You probably had a fairly basic knowledge of who He was and what He had done. When I accepted Jesus’ free gift of salvation at the age of seven, I had a very elementary and basic understanding of what I was doing. I knew and believed that Jesus was the Son of God. I knew that I was a sinner – from my own experience. I also knew that I couldn’t be good enough to live the kind of life God expected of me. I couldn’t even please my own parents. And I knew that Jesus offered me forgiveness of sin and eternal life, if I would simply place my faith in who He was and what He had done for me on the cross. So I did. But that was 51 years ago, and my knowledge of Jesus is far greater than it was then. I know so much more about Him, intellectually and, more importantly, experientially. I have a much more robust understanding of just how significant His death on the cross really was. I appreciate His grace and mercy far more than I ever did at seven. I have a much more sophisticated understanding of my own sin nature and my need for grace than I ever did. Because I have grown in my knowledge of Jesus and of my own salvation.

Paul tells us that if we will sink our roots deep down in Jesus, holding firmly to who He is and feeding regularly on the truth of what He has done, our faith will grow strong and we will experience an overflowing thankfulness for all that He has done and is doing in our lives. This is so important, because the world will constantly attempt to distract us from becoming rooted and grounded in Jesus. The enemy will try to get our eyes off of Christ and on to something or someone else that promises to give us hope, joy, peace, fulfillment, and happiness. Paul knew that the believers in Colosse were going to be bombarded by the temptation to buy into “empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world” (Colossians 2:8 NLT). These humanly, worldly alternatives to Christ would never be an adequate substitute for Christ. “For in Christ dwells all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9 NLT). Christ was all they needed. But they needed to grow in their knowledge of Him. They needed to continue to root their lives in Him. And so do we.

A growing knowledge of who Christ is and the significance of what He has done for us will help us discern false teaching, reject the accusations of the enemy claiming we haven’t done enough, refuse the condemnations of others demanding we need to do more, and allow us to rest in the all-sufficient work of Christ on our behalf. “You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world” (Colossians 2:20 NLT). My roots continue to grow deep down into Christ. I am continually learning to root my hope and strength in Him and what He has done and is doing for me. I didn’t save myself through self-effort and I cannot sanctify myself through self-effort. He saved me and is sanctifying me. He loved me enough to redeem me and He loves me enough to renovate me. He is all I need.

Father, thank You that Jesus is sufficient. I don’t need to add my hard work and human effort to the equation. I don’t need to keep a set of rules and live up to some human set of standards. My roots are set down into Christ and what He has done for me. It is all about Him, not me. He is my salvation and my daily source of strength. He not only saved me, but is sanctifying me each and every day of my life. Show me how to continually sink my roots into Him and build my life on Him, so that my faith will continue to grow and prosper – even in the midst of adversity. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Colossians 1:24-2:5

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Actively Caring.

Colossians 1:24-2:5

I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. – Colossians 2:1-2 NLT

Suffering. Serving. Proclaiming. Telling. Warning. Teaching. Working. Struggling. Agonizing.

Look at all the present participles Paul uses in short passage. What it reveals to me is his undeniable commitment to the cause of Christ and the spiritual growth of those under his care – whether he has ever personally met them or not. Paul was actively involved in the spiritual well-being of others. His goal was their maturity or growth in Christ-likeness. So he was willing to suffer and serve, work and warn, struggle and agonize on their behalf, so that they might grow in love for God and for one another. He wanted them to increase in confidence and boldness, and live lives that were a testimony to the life-changing power of God.

I can’t help but read the words of Paul and reflect on just how much I care about the spiritual well-being of others. Too often, in the church today, we become focused on our own personal spiritual health, but fail to show much concern for those around us. Paul could have easily grown content with the state of his own growth in Christ, knowing that he was making significant progress in his own spiritual development. But he knew that his growth was directly tied to the body of Christ. His spiritual gifts were given to him for the benefit of the body, not himself. God had called him, not just so that he might have a personal relationship with Him, but so that he might tell others of the same Good News that had completely and radically changed his life for eternity. So Paul was not content just focusing on his own spiritual development. He was obsessed with helping others grow and mature. It was his calling. It was his reason for being. And he was willing to burn himself out on behalf of others, so that they might experience all that God had in store for them.

Paul was gladly willing to suffer if it meant that others could benefit. Keep in mind that he was more than likely writing this letter while under house arrest in Rome. Paul knew what it meant to suffer. He had been beaten, tried unjustly, flogged, stoned and left for dead, and constantly harassed for his association with Christ. But he wrote, “I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church” (Colossians 1:24 NLT). As the head of the body, Christ suffers when we suffer. He indwells each and every believer and, as a result, is intimately involved in all of our suffering. Jesus told us that we would undergo trials and suffer as a result of our association with Him. He warned us that the world would hate us. “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you” (John 15:18-19 NLT). And Paul knew first-hand the reality of this warning. But he willingly and gladly accepted it as a part of his calling as a minister of Jesus Christ.

What a model we have in this incredible man. Rather than put him on a pedestal and make him into some kind of unapproachable icon of virtue, we should imitate his actions and attitudes. We should model our lives after his. Paul did not see his salvation as a ticket to heaven or some kind of Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free card. He saw his calling as a privilege and responsibility that he took seriously. So he suffered, served, proclaimed, told, warned, taught, worked, struggled and agonized, so that others might grow. What about you? Are you actively seeking the spiritual well-being of others? Are you intimately and personally involved in helping those around you grow more Christ-like? What a difference it would make if each of us were to take personal responsibility for the spiritual health of the body of Christ just like Paul did. If I was willing to suffer physically so that others might prosper spiritually, the overall health and vitality of the body of Christ would increase exponentially.

Father, give me the same kind of zeal and determination Paul had. Don’t let me become so myopic and self-focused that I lose sight of the fact that You have placed me in the body of Christ for a reason. You have called each of us to minister to one another. You have designed this thing to be mutually beneficial, not selfishly individual. Help me see the needs all around me and meet them, even if it means that I have to suffer as a result. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Colossians 1:15-23

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Members In Good Standing.

Colossians 1:15-23

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. – Colossians 1:22 NLT

This next section of Paul’s letter to the believers is Colosse contains some incredibly rich theological truths. In it, Paul provides us with what has been called “The Great Christology” or “Christ Hymn.” In verses 15-20, Paul gives a clear and concise view of Christ’s supremacy over all things. He reveals Christ’s status as the very image of the invisible God, His role in creation, His headship over the church, His sustaining power over the universe, and His incredible work of reconciliation, made possible by His death on the cross. What is amazing to Paul and should be amazing to us, is that Christ – the all-superior, all-supreme Son of God, the Creator and sustainer of the universe – has chosen to provide a way for us to be made right with God. We were at one time strangers and enemies of God, as evidenced by our evil behavior, and yet, Christ died in our place and on our behalf, so that we might be reconciled to God. Paul reminds us, “You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions” (Colossians 1:21b NLT). Yet God “reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body” (Colossians 1:22a NLT). God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He provided a means by which we could be restored to a right relationship with Him. He sacrificed His Son so that we might be made friends of God rather than enemies of God, children rather than strangers. “As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:22b NLT).

That thought should blow every one of us away. It should boggle our minds and never cease to amaze and astound us. Look at what Paul says. We have access into the very presence of God Almighty, where we stand as holy and blameless, as if we didn’t have a single, solitary fault. What an incredible truth. It is so incredible that many of us have a hard time believing it to be true. We focus on our sins and our faults and find it difficult to imagine that God can’t see or refuses to see what is so clear to us: Our own sinfulness. But Paul is speaking about something called our “positional righteousness” made possible by Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. His blood covered our sins – past, present and future. That’s why Paul could write, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NLT). Our sins have been paid for and forgiven. God sees us through the redemptive work of Christ and covered by His blood. Our debt has been paid in full. We stand before God as positionally righteous. This does not mean that we are sinless in actuality. It means that we have been justified by the death of Christ on the cross. Because of what Christ did for us on the cross, God is able to declare us legally righteous. Christ took on our sin and we took on His righteousness. It is what has been called “The Great Exchange.”

But Paul goes on to remind us of another important reality. “But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News” (Colossians 1:23 NLT). It is our belief in and reliance upon this important truth that should motivate our desire to live righteous and holy lives before God all the days of our lives. Our positional righteousness, made possible by Christ’s death on the cross in our place, should motivate us to live in practical righteousness. We should want to live as what God says we are: Holy and set apart for Him. So when Peter quotes God as saying, “You must be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16 NLT), he is reminding us that we are to live out the reality of who we are. Our positional righteousness must become practical and present-tense. Our sins have been atoned for, so why would we ever want to continue to live in them? When God looks at us, He sees us as righteous. Paul reminds us to live as what we are. We must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Yes, we will struggle with temptation in this life. We will even give in to it and commit sins that contradict our righteous standing. But when we remember and recognize that we have been reconciled to God through Christ, it should provide us with the motivation to repent and return. Our sins can no longer condemn us. Our periodic acts of rebellion can’t remove or separate us from the presence of God. Our place is permanent. Our position is secure. So we are to live like it. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NLT).

Father, while I find the theology behind positional righteousness hard to comprehend, don’t let me ever doubt it. Help me rest in it and cling to it all the days of my life. Don’t ever let me go back to thinking that I have to somehow earn my right standing with You, because that is an impossible task. I am right with You because Jesus made it possible. Now help me, through the power of Your indwelling Spirit, to live as who You say I am – Your righteous, forgiven, holy child. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org