The Old man that you were before coming to Jesus lived under the Law of God. The Law stirs up sin and the result is condemnation and death. That is why the Old man was crucified in Christ. That Old man can never serve God in the new covenant. The difference is like night and day.
We were under the Law and were accused by the Law as guilty sinners. All fall short of the glory of God. That reality of falling short was our constant consciousness. Please hear me.
Deep within all people is the consciousness that they are falling short of God’s glory.
That is the sin nature. No matter how many good things you do, your inner consciousness tells you it is not enough. You may do good things in one area of life, but look over there at a different area of your life. What about that? What about how good a parent you are? Oh yes, you may give lots of money to the orphans, but you are a lousy parent.
God’s law condemns your inability and weakness. You are constantly guilty before God. Therefore in an effort to get the guilt off our back we try harder to perform better. We are driven by fear of failure
Where there is condemnation there is fear. Fear is the engine room of the Law.
You will do all you can to keep fear out of your life. The fear of being condemned drives you to be a good person, but the trouble is you keep failing in some areas. Despair sets in. Pretending all is well becomes a way to cope.
Christians manage this situation by constantly running for forgiveness and repenting of anything they think was wrong with their behaviour during the day. They are afraid of God’s wrath. They are afraid that they will not be blessed anymore if they upset God. They are afraid they will never be “used by God” if they muck up and don’t get their lives in order. They are afraid they will miss the rapture. They are afraid they will not be an overcomer.
This is the bondage of the Law based Christian. This is NOT NEW COVENANT LIVING.
Without fear driving Christians I doubt that there would be much activity done by them. Fear of God’s displeasure rules all that they do like a man whipping himself into activity.
They say that God loves them unconditionally, but that is obviously not what the majority believe. To prove that to yourself, what happens in your thinking when you have no job, no church attendance, no friends or your ability to do things is stopped? What happens when your prayers are not answered after years of asking and jumping through many hoops? It is God’s way of showing us that we really do not believe He loves us unconditionally. Instead we believe we must do certain things right so that God will bless us. That is not new covenant living.
I too am a Christian. And I write all these things from experience.
There is a better way.
It begins with accepting that we died on the cross in Jesus.
The Devil has you on a string like a puppet if you still think the you that you were before Conversion, is the same forgiven you now.
You died!! You were that Old Man ruled by fear, a slave to the flesh, under the Law, by nature a child of wrath. God did forgive your sins by the death of His Son. But you also died my friend. That old sinner that you were did not escape the penalty of the Law. No!! God put you(old you)to death in His Son on that bloody Cross.
Gal 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Read that verse again, it is a present tense reality for you to accept by faith.
You died to the Law. Yes. You -the old man of sin that you were was under the Law…and could never keep it. So God put you into Christ on the Cross and killed you. In fact it pleased the Father to crush His son on the Cross. Don’t go blaming Romans or Jews for the crucifixion – God did it!! He killed that Old Man of sin on the cross, the one who could never measure up to His glory. He did not just forgive him and say, “Ok, keep trying and if you fail again, just make a sacrifice and I will forgive you again.” NO!!!!!!! He put that sinner that you were TO DEATH!!
Now by faith, which is a free gift, you are a new you. Look what God says about you.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live,
Yes, that is the Old you, dead and gone for ever.
but Christ lives in me;
The New you has Christ Jesus in him….not just in you but He is you!
and the life which I now live in the flesh
You are living again, but it is Christ in you that is living now…NOT the Old you simply forgiven, but a totally NEW MAN – (you and Jesus as one–ie- YOU!!)
I live by the faith of the Son of God,(KJV says “of”)
This New Person I am now, lives by HIS faith, not our own faith, for we have nothing to offer God except to receive Him living as us.
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Jesus gave Himself to be your new self- your new man.
The New man is Christ in you, joined as one with your spirit. The new man is Jesus Himself, in your form. You are Christ in the flesh. We accept this by faith, the same as we accept by faith our death.
This New Creation that you are is perfect- for Christ is perfect in you. Again, we accept that by faith. He/we dwell in the Father, in perfect union and love. We are love for the Father is totally satisfied with us. We accept this and speak it by faith.
We do not judge ourselves as being that old man, for that man died in Christ. Instead we see only as God sees us. Perfect in holiness and beautiful in love.
Jesus did all things out of this place of rest and acceptance and love. We are now made in the same image, having the same Jesus as our inner life and nature. We are only motivated by Love. The language of fear is not our language any more. We no longer jump like a puppet on a string when accusation points its finger at our lack. We do not fear being displeasing to the Father for that old sinner died a just death, we are not that one but are another – a new man in Christ Jesus.
Our new heart says “I can do nothing of myself, but what I see my Father do”. Our new heart is not afraid of God. Our new heart rests in perfect peace.
Though the Accuser screams at us that we are lacking in character or some other weakness, we simply acknowledge that the old man died and now we live unto God by a new life that is well pleasing to the Father. We lost our lives at the Cross and we will not take it up again by listening to the Accuser. He can only accuse through the Law, but we died to the Law and are no longer subject to it. That yoke of bondage was broken off us when we died.
So my dear friend there is a way to live pleasing before God and escape the constant sense of failure. It is to accept by faith that you died, and are now a new person in Christ. You are not that old person any more.
Rejoice!!
