November 22, 2015

Guilt has plagued the human race since Adam and Eve fell in sin. The various ways of trying to get rid of guilt are so numerous that they would be funny, if guilt were a laughing matter.

The oldest method is “Operation Fig Leaf”—cover up your sin and casually pretend that there’s no problem. But facing the holy God while wearing fig leaves is like attending a black tie dinner in your underwear. You can’t feel comfortable or inconspicuous!

The second-oldest method is to blame the other person, or even to blame God. When God confronted Adam with his sin, Adam blamed both his wife and God by saying (Gen. 3:12), “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Parents know that all children are born with this technique in place, ready to use at the first twinge of guilt. But we keep using it as adults. We’re all prone to swear at the pedestrian when we’re driving and at the driver when we’re pedestrians.

Another tactic is rationalization: “It wasn’t really wrong and besides, everybody is doing it.” Some rationalize by blaming circumstances: “What else could I have done in that situation?”

Then there’s the “time will take care of it” approach. This is the theory that if you just give it enough time, people will forget what you did and your guilt will dissipate into the air like smoke.

Another common method is for those who were wrong to attack those who accuse them of wrongdoing: “Look who’s talking! You’ve got plenty of dirt in your life and you’re accusing me?” Or, they accuse God of being unfair or unloving. But they refuse to admit that they were at fault.

Still others deal with guilt by comparing themselves to others who are worse than they are: “Sure, I get angry, but I’m not like those terrorists, blowing up innocent people!” Or, “Yeah, I sometimes look at porn—after all, I’m a red-blooded guy! But I’m not a child-molester or a sex addict!” Often this approach is coupled with balancing out their guilt by saying that they’re a basically good person, or they have a good heart.

A more brazen approach is simply to deny guilt by arguing that there is no such thing. These folks go to a psychologist who doesn’t believe in God and he assures him that guilt isn’t real. “You’re a good person; you shouldn’t have these bad thoughts about yourself! Focus on building your self-esteem.”

You can probably come up with many more strategies for dealing with guilt that you’ve encountered—maybe some of them you’ve even used yourself!. But the amazing thing is that in spite of all of these creative approaches to get rid of guilt, it still persists as a major problem for the human race. We can try to push it down and ignore it, but it keeps gnawing at our soul. Or if, through a seared conscience, we’re able to block it out completely, we still must face the very real possibility that when we die we’ll stand before God, the righteous Judge of all the earth.

So the crucial question is, “How can I really be forgiven by God?” How can I know that when I stand before Him someday, my sins will be covered? We need to answer that question carefully by viewing God as He has revealed Himself in His Word, not by how our society may conceive Him to be. Our culture commonly views God as a “good ol’ boy,” who may not like sin, but who would never judge it. If that’s how God really is, then we don’t need to worry about our sins and we can shrug off our guilt feelings. But if God is holy and has settled wrath against all sin, then our guilt is real and must be dealt with God’s way. Since we’ve all sinned many times and many ways, we all need to understand clearly, “How can I really be forgiven by God?”

Paul gives us an answer to that question in Colossians 1:13-14. In the context, he’s sharing the content of his prayer for these relatively new believers whom he had not seen. He prays that they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will so that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in all respects. One aspect of pleasing Him is to give thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. Verses 13 & 14 sum up the greatest of those blessings, that in Christ the Father has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to Christ’s kingdom, where we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. So the solution to guilt is to be forgiven by God, and …

To be forgiven by God we must see our desperate condition and lay hold of God’s only solution.

Our desperate condition is that if we are not in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, we are under the authority (“domain”) of darkness, helpless to rescue ourselves. God’s only solution involves redemption, the forgiveness of sins, which we obtain through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 1:4; Acts 26:18).

1. To be forgiven by God we must see our desperate condition.

A. If we are not in the kingdom of God’s Son, we are under the authority of darkness.

Colossians 1:13: “For He rescued us from the domain [lit., authority] of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, ….” Clearly, Paul saw only two possibilities: either we are in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son or we are under the authority of darkness. There is no middle ground.

Paul’s designation of Jesus as “the Son of His [the Father’s] love” is probably an allusion to Jesus’ baptism, where God’s voice came out of heaven (Mark 1:11), “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” God spoke the same words on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:5): “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” These references point to the eternal relationship of love between the Father and the Son and to the fact that Jesus is the only one whom God sent who could save us from our sins through His death on the cross. The term here emphasizes the contrast between being in Satan’s evil domain of darkness versus being in God’s kingdom, where we are placed in Christ, the supreme object and expression of God’s love.

The kingdom of God’s beloved Son is the realm where Jesus Christ rules, where He is Lord. I believe there is a future kingdom when Jesus will return and reign on earth on the throne of David in fulfillment of God’s many promises to Israel (2 Sam. 7:12-13; Dan. 7:13-14). But here, Paul is talking about the present form of Christ’s kingdom, where He is king over all who have submitted to His rightful lordship. The idea that you can believe in Jesus as your Savior, but wait until later to submit to Him as Lord, is foreign to the Bible. You are either under Jesus’ lordship or you are in darkness under Satan’s authority.

Paul is echoing here what the risen Lord Jesus had said to him on the Damascus Road at the moment of his conversion. In Acts 26:15-18, Paul relates the Lord’s words:

And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”

Note all of the parallels between the Lord’s words to Paul at his conversion and Paul’s words to the Colossians in our text. In both texts the Gentiles move from darkness to light. In Acts, God opens their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light. In Colossians, God rescues them from darkness and transfers them into the realm of light. In both texts, there is mention of forgiveness of sins and an inheritance that the Gentiles receive in Christ. Acts mentions faith in Christ, which Paul also states in Colossians 1:4. But the point both in Acts 26 and in Colossians 1 is that there are two and only two possibilities: either a person is under Satan’s domain of darkness, or he is in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no middle ground.

“Darkness” in the Bible can represent a number of unfavorable conditions. It can refer to spiritual ignorance. In Ephesians 4:18, Paul says that the Gentiles are “darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.” In a similar vein, he says of the unbelieving (2 Cor. 4:3-4), “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Just as blind people are in total darkness and cannot do anything to see, so spiritually blind people are unable to see the light of the gospel, unless God opens their blind eyes.

Darkness also pictures sin. John 3:19-20 states, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” In Romans 13:12, Paul writes, “Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” He goes on to mention the sins of drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, and strife.

But even worse, there is a malevolent evil being behind the pervasive spiritual ignorance and sin. Thus darkness is also representative of Satan’s domain as in our text. In Luke 22:53, Jesus said to the Jewish chief priests and temple guards who had come to arrest Him, “but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.” In Ephesians 6:12, just before exhorting us to put on the full armor of God, Paul explained, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We live in a world temporarily given over to Satan, where spiritual and moral darkness prevail.

So the picture of the world apart from Jesus Christ is desperate and hopeless. Unbelievers are spiritually ignorant and excluded from the life of God because of the hardness of their hearts. They love their sin and do not want to come to the light, where their evil deeds would be exposed. And, they’re under the domination of the “world forces of this darkness,” headed by Satan himself.

And the startling thing is that there is no middle ground! People are either in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, under His lordship, or they are in Satan’s domain of darkness, under his authority. We’re talking about relatively nice, good people. Many of them are faithful to their mates. They love their children. They hold down responsible jobs. They’re good neighbors. They’re good citizens in our country. They’re not law-breakers. Many of them are church members. But they’re in Satan’s domain of darkness!

You may be wondering why I’m emphasizing this so heavily. The reason is, unless we diagnose the problem correctly, we will apply inadequate solutions. If the relatively “good” people in the world do not see their true condition as God’s Word describes it, they will be content to go on living as they do, not realizing how eternally perilous their situation really is (Martyn Lloyd-Jones has a masterful treatment of this in Love So Amazing [Baker], pp. 167-180). They’ll think, “Sure, we’ve got a few problems, but with a little counseling, some psychological techniques, and maybe some prescribed medications to help, we’ll be okay.” They won’t see their need for the gospel.

But their desperate condition requires more than some self-help techniques, including a self-help “Jesus” who is their life-coach in the sky. He will get you through your problems by helping you build your self-esteem. But all of the self-help approaches do not diagnose the problem deeply enough. The biblical diagnosis is that if we are not under the lordship of Jesus Christ, we are in Satan’s domain of darkness. So, what is required?

B. To move from the authority of darkness to the kingdom of God’s Son, God must rescue us and transfer us to that radically different kingdom.

For God to rescue us implies that we cannot rescue ourselves. The powerful enemy over the realm of darkness and our spiritual blindness combine to render us spiritually helpless to pull off our own rescue. In fact, until the Lord opens our eyes, we don’t even know that we need rescuing (Acts 26:18)! God alone has the power to overcome the evil prince of darkness and pull off such a rescue.

The modern terrorist movement has given us a graphic picture of what it means to be under the authority of darkness. When terrorists kidnap a victim, they usually take him blindfolded to a location where he is totally lost, so that if he escaped, he wouldn’t know which way to run. They sometimes keep him blindfolded for days, chained to a wall in some bare room. He’s not free to come and go and is cut off from family and friends. In a weird psychological condition known as the Stockholm syndrome, some terrorist victims begin to sympathize with and even defend their captors.

Isn’t that just like many who are held hostage by the devil to do his will? They’re lost and blinded, enslaved to Satan, free only to do what he wants them to do. They cannot follow God because they’re chained by their sins. Those chains of sin often alienate them from family and friends as relationships are strained and severed. They’re miserable, unable to live as God created them to live. And yet, when you talk to them about Christ and the freedom He offers, they defend their evil captor in spite of the misery he has brought them!

The hostage situation has also shown us that it’s no easy matter to rescue people held captive by terrorists. Sometimes rescue operations succeed and we rejoice, but all too often, they fail and the hostages are killed. Spiritually, salvation is not a human operation. We cannot rescue lost sinners. They can’t rescue themselves. Only God can rescue them. There’s a picture of this in Exodus 6:6-8, where the Lord tells Moses,

Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.”

This is to say simply that salvation is from the Lord. It is not due to self-effort and it is not even a joint-effort. It is God’s doing. C. H. Spurgeon often made this point in his sermons which God used to bring many to saving faith. In one (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit [Pilgrim Publications], 6:259) he said,

I must say … that the doctrine which leaves salvation to the creature, and tells him that it depends upon himself, is the exaltation of the flesh, and a dishonouring of God. But that which puts in God’s hand man, fallen man, and tells man that though he has destroyed himself, yet his salvation must be of God, that doctrine humbles man in the very dust, and then he is just in the right place to receive the grace and mercy of God.

When God opens the eyes of sinners to see their desperate condition and that He alone can save them, all that they can do is to cry out to Him for mercy:

2. To be forgiven by God, we must lay hold of God’s only solution.

A. God’s only solution involves redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Leon Morris (The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross [Eerdmans], 3rd rev. ed., p. 11) points out that when we hear the word redemption, we immediately think in religious terms, whereas the average man in the first century heard it and thought in non-religious terms. It applied especially to the release of prisoners of war by the paying of a ransom or to the freeing of a slave through paying a price. John Stott (The Cross of Christ [IVP], p. 176) states, “In the Old Testament property, animals, persons and the nation were all ‘redeemed’ by the payment of a price.” After citing examples of each of these, he concludes (ibid.),

In all these cases of ‘redemption’ there was a decisive and costly intervention. Somebody paid the price necessary to free property from mortgage, animals from slaughter, and persons from slavery, even death.

In the case of our redemption from slavery to sin and Satan, the price was the blood of Jesus Christ. (The KJV adds in our text, “through His blood,” which a copyist probably added from Eph. 1:7, but there is not sufficient manuscript evidence for this phrase in Col. 1:14.) Jesus’ blood means, His death. He died as a substitute for sinners, paying the just penalty that God decreed.

Paul uses the word forgiveness rarely. I believe he used it here because the Lord used it with Paul that day on the Damascus Road (Acts 26:18). It means to release from debt. In the case of our sins, God releases us because Christ paid the debt by His shed blood. Thus, God is free to be both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). That leads to the last point:

B. We lay hold of God’s redemption and forgiveness by trusting in the Lord Jesus and His death for us.

As the Lord told Paul (Acts 26:18), as he proclaimed the gospel to the Gentiles, they would receive forgiveness of their sins “through faith in Me.” Redemption and forgiveness are both in Christ (Col. 1:14). By trusting in Him, we receive those benefits which He obtained when He died and rose again.

We can’t do anything to earn God’s redemption and forgiveness. We can’t do penance or build up merit to qualify for these blessings. Christ did it all. The Puritan, Richard Hooker, put it (cited by Stott, p. 190), “God doth justify the believing man, yet not for the worthiness of his belief, but for his worthiness who is believed.” As the author of Hebrews makes clear, the Old Testament sacrifices could never take away sins. But Christ offered one sacrifice for all time and obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12; 10:11-14). As a result, the assurance God gives to all who believe is (Heb. 10:17), “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Believing in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross is the only way to know that God has forgiven all your sins.

Conclusion

Years ago, a cartoon showed a psychologist listening to a patient. He said, “Mr. Figby, I think I can explain your feelings of guilt. You’re guilty!” The human race is guilty before God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). But as Romans 3:24 goes on to say, “Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

I read (“Our Daily Bread,” 5/93) about a gravestone in a cemetery in New York that has no date of birth, no date of death, and no epitaph. There is only the person’s name and one word: “Forgiven.” No matter what you may accomplish in life, “Forgiven by God” are the most important words that could possibly be put on your tombstone! Make sure that it applies to you because your faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Application Questions

1. Which is the bigger problem in our day: Christians who suffer from guilt or those who have no sense of guilt, even when they violate God’s standards?
2. Is there anything we can do to make unbelievers who are content in their sins feel their desperate condition before God?
3. If unbelievers are spiritually blind and unable to understand the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4), how can God hold them accountable for not believing it? What’s the point of even sharing it?
4. An unbeliever tells you, “I forgive others when they wrong me. Why can’t God just forgive everyone?” Your reply?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

There are two options to use in writing your faith story. Use Option 1 if you have a specific turning point in your life leading to salvation (you remember what life was like before). Use Option 2 if you became a Christian as a child and at some point in your teen or adult years you chose to not only believe in Jesus but to follow Him as His disciple.

Faith Story Option 1: Specific Turning Point Leading to Salvation

Before I trusted in Christ

Although the tendency is to spend most of the time on your “before Christ” experience, only give enough information so the women know why you needed Christ in your life. Tell them what you needed so that some may identify with you.

1. Identify what your life was like. What were your attitudes, needs, and/or problems? From what did you get your security or happiness? How did those areas begin to disappoint you? To what source did you look for security, peace of mind, or happiness? In what ways were your activities unsatisfying?

2. Find 2-3 words to describe what only Christ could fill or do in your life (e.g. loneliness, feelings of insignificance, anger, rejection).

3. Briefly share a personal example that captures the needs and attitudes from this time of your life as identified above.

How you came to know Christ (point of salvation)

Share when and how you first heard the gospel and/or were exposed to Christianity. What brought you to the place of being willing to listen? Who influenced you? How and when did you decide to follow Jesus? Describe how you felt, what truths you heard, what you thought about them, how you felt after you made the decision. Give the gospel in this section. Use 1 or 2 relevant scripture verses.

My life after knowing Jesus

1. Spend the most time on this. What conditions in your life before Christ has now been satisfied by a relationship with Him? What does it look like in your life to have a relationship with Christ? How long did it take before you noticed changes? What are your blessings? Where do you struggle? How do you depend on Him through those struggles? What difference does having Him in your life make during those times? Emphasize what you have learned about God’s grace to you.

2. Briefly share a personal illustration that shows the wonderful difference that Christ has made in your life.

Wrap up by inviting them to trust in Christ as you did!

Write your five-minute faith story.

As you tell your story, what is the one big idea you want everyone to walk away remembering? This is your main idea—kind of like a theme. “Jesus satisfied my loneliness” or “To live is knowing Christ in my life.” Think about those comments a woman might make that gives you an opening to tell this part of your story.

Whether you like to be spontaneous or need everything written down, it helps to script what you will say. It forces you to think through what you will say to maintain your main idea. It helps you to manage your allowed time.

Write it as you would speak it—shorter sentences, peppy words that are clear and simple. Use everyday terminology. For example, instead of saying “my testimony,” say “the story of my life.” See “Screen Your Language” below for other alternatives. Include specific illustrations that give them snapshots of your life, not only general descriptions of your life events. Practice telling your story several times. Make eye contact with the listener to draw her into your story.

Write out your five-minute faith story in the space below. Remember only spend 30% of the time on your “before,” just enough to have them identify with your need at that time. Spend another 30% on the decision time, and spend the rest of the time on what knowing Christ has done for you. Always end by inviting them to join your adventure.

Faith Story Option 2: Believer to Christ-Follower (Disciple)

Those who trusted Christ as children often feel they "have nothing to tell" because they don’t have a dramatic story. Yet, your story is the one every parent wants for their children! In the case of childhood believers, there occurs a later, mature decision to follow Christ as His disciple where more obvious life changes occurred. If you are in this category, therefore, focus on that later turning point in telling your story. Although the tendency is to spend most of the time on your “before” experience, only give enough information so the women know why you needed Christ in your life. You want them to be able to identify with you.

Before I became Jesus’ disciple

1. Identify what your life was like as a young Christian or living as just a believer not a disciple. Share when and how you first heard the gospel and/or were exposed to Christianity. What were your attitudes, needs, and/or problems? From what did you get your security or happiness?

2. Briefly share a personal example that captures the needs and attitudes from this time of your life as identified above.

3. Although the tendency is to spend most of the time on your “before” experience, only give enough information so the women know why you needed to trust Christ more with your life.

What brought you to decide to become Jesus’ disciple

What brought you to the place of being willing to listen or of wanting to be more than just a believer? Who influenced you? How and when did you decide to be Jesus’ disciple? Describe how you felt, what truths you heard, what you thought about them, how you felt after you made the decision. Give the gospel in this section if you haven’t already done so in the previous section. Use 1 or 2 relevant scripture verses that God used to draw you to Himself. Emphasize what you have learned about God’s grace to you.

My life after becoming Jesus’ disciple

1. Spend the most time on this. What conditions before this time has now been satisfied by a deeper relationship with Him? How long did it take before you noticed changes? What does it look like in your life to have this closer relationship with Christ? What are your blessings? Where do you struggle? How do you depend on Him through those struggles? What difference does having Him in your life make during those times? What remarkable thing has Jesus done in your life (or in the last three years)?

2. Briefly share a personal illustration that shows the wonderful difference that following Christ has made in your life.

Wrap up by inviting them to trust in Christ as you did!

Write your five-minute faith story.

As you tell your story, what is the one big idea you want everyone to walk away remembering? This is your main idea—kind of like a theme. “Jesus satisfied my loneliness” or “To live is knowing Christ in my life.”

Whether you like to be spontaneous or need everything written down, it helps to script what you will say. It forces you to think through what you will say to maintain your main idea. It helps you to manage your allowed time.

Write it as you would speak it—shorter sentences, peppy words that are clear and simple. Use everyday terminology. For example, instead of saying “my testimony,” say “the story of my life.” See “Screen Your Language” below for other alternatives. Include specific illustrations that give them snapshots of your life, not only general descriptions of your life events. Practice telling your story several times. Make eye contact with the listener to draw her into your story.

Write out your five-minute faith story in the space below. Remember only spend 30% of the time on your “before,” just enough to have them identify with your need at that time. Spend another 30% on the decision time, and spend the rest of the time on what knowing Christ has done for you. Always end by inviting them to join your adventure.

Screen Your Language

The following is taken from Stonecroft Speaker Workshop, sponsored by Stonecroft Ministries.

Unlearning the Lingo

Many of the words we use to share our faith may be meaningless, too churchy or clichéd to the people we’re attempting to reach. If you were an unbeliever, would you understand the following? (Note: Common Christian clichés are in italics.)

I heard the plan of salvation and was told that I needed to be saved. So, I went forward to be born again. The Lord spoke to me and then opened the door of my heart to show me God’s plan for my life. I learned to stand on God’s word and began to walk with the Lord. I turned away from worldly things, and it has been such a blessing.

Instead of these clichés (left), what could you say (alternatives on the right)?

Other commonly used “churchy” terms also could be baffling to a nonbeliever. What could you use instead of the following:

• Into my heart—
• Lord of my life—
• Rely on the Lord—
• Raised in a Christian home—
• The Lord told me/spoke to me/directed me—
• Total surrender—

In most cases, you may want to avoid using theological words such as justification or the sovereignty of God unless you explain them well.

If you are praying with nonbelievers present, even with believers, be careful how often you address God by name in prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God. In normal speech, you wouldn’t continually repeat someone’s name, but many Christians think it necessary to mention God’s name after every five words or so. This is disconcerting to non-Christians. Write out your prayer if this is a temptation for you.

Above all, be real and be normal.

Avoid Inappropriate Information

Be cautious about using these in your faith story.

• Use discretion in naming religions, churches, denominations, or cults.
• Controversial issues such as doctrinal, political and social issues.
• Derogatory remarks relating to any person, place, group, or issue.
• Promoting any project, campaign, business, cause, or financial need.
• If you refer to any person, especially family members, could this cause embarrassment or conflict?

“On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29)

Understanding the Gospel Message

The ultimate grace gift came—Jesus Christ. But, why did he come? What was his purpose?

From the time sin entered into mankind’s relationship with their Creator God, the one question that continually demands an answer is, “How can guilty sinful man be made right in the eyes of a holy God?”

Man’s spiritual problem can be compared to death caused by a fatal disease: (1) Sin (“the disease” Romans 3:23—all sinned) and (2) Death (“result of the disease” Romans 6:23—wages of sin). Man’s twofold problem demanded a twofold solution:

• For the problem of sin, man needs forgiveness and righteousness. Answer: Christ’s death (the cross). Mankind can now be cured of the disease.
• For the problem of death, man needs regeneration (the restoration of life). Answer: Christ’s resurrection. Mankind can now be given life that is forever.

The Gospel message included the answer to both spiritual problems. The following quote by 20th century Bible teacher, Major Ian Thomas, captures the gospel message in a nutshell.

“Jesus Christ laid down his life for you…so that he could give his life to you…so that he could live his life through you.” (Ian Thomas, The Saving Life of Christ)

This summary provides our subject outline for the next few lessons. Lessons 2-4 examine what it means that Jesus Christ “laid down his life for you.” Lesson 5 then explains how he “gives his life to you.” Lesson 6 will cover how Christ “lives his life through you.”

The Cross: God’s Solution to the Sin Issue

Day One Study

God’s holiness & man’s sickness

Our God is a holy God, meaning he is completely separated from anything that is sinful or evil. There is no sin in him at all. He is perfect. It is a unique part of his character—who he is.

“Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

Man is not holy.

1. What is revealed about mankind’s “sickness” in the following verses?

• Jeremiah 17:9—
• Romans 1:18-23—
• Romans 3:10-18—

2. What is God’s pronouncement of judgment on man’s “sickness” in Genesis 3:19 and Romans 5:12? See also Romans 1:18.

God’s response to all evil and sin is righteous, holy wrath (Romans 1:18). We must not project our experience with human anger onto God and assume that “his is the same, only bigger.” God’s wrath is not a mood or a fit of temper. God’s disposition toward sin and evil is as constant and unrelenting as his love and goodness. He hates and rejects evil in a perfect and holy anger. He will never bend or compromise with it. His own nature demands that he judge it through action.

Focus on the Meaning: “Since God’s first concern for His universe is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. Wherever the holiness of God confronts unholiness there is conflict: This conflict arises from the irreconcilable natures of holiness and sin. God’s attitude and action in the conflict are His anger. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. When He arises to put down destruction and save the world from irreparable moral collapse He is said to be angry. Every wrathful judgment of God in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation.” (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, page 106)

3. Because God is holy, sin must be judged. God prescribed a substitute to pay the penalty for mankind’s sin. What are the substitutes in the following verses?

• Genesis 3:21—
• Exodus 12:3, 5-7, 12-13—
• Leviticus 16:3-5—

Scriptural Insight: The purposes of the animal sacrifices prescribed in the Old Testament were: (1) To teach the seriousness of sin, (2) To teach that God is forgiving, but that forgiveness comes only at a price, through the death of an innocent substitute, (3) To serve as an objective aid for man’s faith, (4) To provide a place for man to transfer his guilt & receive temporal forgiveness, (5) To point symbolically to Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

Forgiveness under the Mosaic Law

People in Old Testament times were accepted by God and received eternal life in the same way as we are today: by faith in the merciful grace of God (though the content of their knowledge was different). For daily living, however, forgiveness was taught and dispensed differently under the Law. Forgiveness under the Law came through “atonement,” literally, a “covering.” Guilt was “covered” for some undetermined time. Forgiveness under the Law was dispensed in a piecemeal fashion. Forgiveness could be obtained “up to date” but not given in advance. Forgiveness under Law was at best temporary.”

4. Forgiveness under the Law had its limitations. Read Numbers 15:22-31 and discuss what sacrifices could and could not cover regarding sin.

Forgiveness under Law was generally for “minor” or “unintentional” sins. For deliberate and serious offenses (the “sin with the high hand”), there was no forgiveness through the Law apart fro the once per year removal on the Day of Atonement. Otherwise, one must throw herself on the mercy of God. And, forgiveness under Law was not automatic! Heart attitudes were measured.

5. Read Hosea 6:6 and Micah 6:6-8. What does God say about his desire regarding man’s heart?

6. Read Hebrews 10:1-4. Why was forgiveness through the Law ultimately inadequate?

Day Two Study

Christ’s Finished Work On the Cross

7. What did Jesus teach about his purpose in Mark 8:31; 10:45 and Luke 24:25-27, 44-47?

8. What did the apostles emphasize about Jesus’ death in the following verses?

• 1 Peter 2:24 and 3:18—
• 1 Corinthians 15:3-4—
• Romans 5:6-8—

9. Read Hebrews 9:6-15 and 10:11-14. In what ways is Christ’s offering superior to the old Mosaic Law system? See also what Jesus himself declares in John 19:30.

10. Compare the incident in Matthew 27:51 with the benefit to us described in Hebrews 9:7; 10:19-22.

Scriptural Insight: “God tore the curtain, for when the Lord Jesus Christ ‘became sin for us,’ and purchased our salvation by his own blood, the regulations of the old covenant were rendered null and void. Never again would God require the blood of a bull, a goat or a lamb. The priesthood was now defunct, the temple redundant and the law abolished.” (Charles Price, Alive in Christ, page 80)

Man’s disease problem is cured. Christ has through his sacrifice done all that needs to be done to reconcile guilty men to a holy God. This is the meaning of the phrase, “justification by faith.” All that is required to benefit from what he accomplished is to believe or trust in him.

Justification is God’s act as Judge, where he declares a guilty sinner to be totally righteous on the basis of Christ’s finished work on the cross and that person’s faith in him. Justification involves both a negative and positive aspect. Negatively, justification is the removal of guilt from the offender (“forgiveness”). Positively, justification is the addition of righteousness to the one who believes (Romans 5:17). This is called the “Great Exchange.” Paul describes it clearly in 2 Corinthians,

“God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

11. Read 1 John 5:10-13. What can we know for sure and why?

Think About It: Assurance of salvation can be known and experienced by (1) clearly understanding the gospel, and (2) trusting God’s promises in Jesus Christ. Assurance is not confidence in our own ability to hold on to Christ but confidence in him and his promises to hold on to us!

Day Three Study

Justification by faith alone

12. As you read the following verses, what evidence is presented that our justification before God comes through faith alone as a gift of God? (We’ll cover this again in Lesson 4.)

• Romans 3:19-28 (often called the heart of the Bible)—
• Romans 5:1-2—

13. What does Ephesians 2:8-9 teach about our salvation?

14. Graceful Living: Remember that grace is “unmerited favor.” What are some of the benefits of knowing that not only is your salvation by faith alone but also your justification (your “not guilty” standing before God) is by faith alone rather than through any works you must do to earn God’s forgiveness?

Think About It: “Do you want to give up the guilt? Or, do you prefer to hang onto it like an heirloom? Forgetting you’ve been cleansed from past sins makes you nearsighted and blind and keeps you from developing maturity in Christ (2 Peter 1:9). A failure to recognize and trust that the sin issue between you and God is over will effectively stop your spiritual growth in Christ…We can become totally preoccupied with the thing that God is finished dealing with—sin—that we neglect what God is trying to do with us today—teach us about life!” (Bob George, Classic Christianity, p. 60)

Day Four Study

13. Graceful Living: Reflect on the words to the song below. Two beautiful renditions of this song online are found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xUK2Dx5RkY or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0S5Z0H4SpI. Respond in any way you choose (journaling, prayer, poem, art, song) to illustrate your thanks to God for ending the sacrificial system and completely forgiving you by your faith in Christ alone.

Before the Throne of God Above

This old Irish hymn by Charities Lees Smith was written in 1863 under the name “The Advocate.”

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea (Heb 4:15-16)
A great high Priest whose Name is Love (Heb 4:14)
Who ever lives and pleads for me (Heb 7:25)
My name is graven on His hands (Isa 49:16)
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me to depart (Rom 8:34)
No tongue can bid me to depart

When Satan tempts me to despair (Luke 22:31-32)
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there (Acts 7:55-56)
Who made an end to all my sin (Col 2:13-14)
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied (Rom 3:25)
To look on him and pardon me (Rom 3:24-26)
To look on him and pardon me

Behold him there the risen Lamb (Rev 5:6)
My perfect spotless righteousness (1 Cor 1:30; 1 Peter 1:18-19)
The great unchangeable I am (Heb 13:8; John 8:58)
The King of glory and of grace
One with himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood (Acts 20:28)
My life is hid with Christ on high (Col 3:3
With Christ my Savior and my God! (Tit 2:13)
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Editor's Note: Click here to download the accompanying PDF Notes material for this lesson. The PDF link in the additional media area contains the additional Believer's Identity Chart.

“So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

A New Identity that Rocks the World

In our world, identity drives everything about life. You likely carry some kind of identity card (ID) with you—a driver’s license or a work-related card. What’s on it? Your name and picture, some identifying characteristics like address or job title, and the authority that issued the ID to you. Often, your signature is on the card representing your choice to enter into contract with the issuing authority. If someone asked, “Who are you?” you could answer with the information on that card.

Identities tell us who we are, where we live, how and where we can travel. Our identity drives what we can buy with our finances and qualifies us for employment. That’s why we are so devastated when it’s stolen! Knowing our spiritual identity is even more important.

The government offers a “Witness Protection” program to those who testify against organized crime. The witnesses, helpless against the revenge of the criminals, receive a new identity and all the details that go along with it—new name, new background, new address, and new career. They can never go back to being what they were before. That’s what God does for us. We each have a new spiritual identity. And, there are wonderful perks to discover about our new position in life.

The world is not going to validate our new identity. From a worldly point of view, you and I are the same as we’ve always been—all our “baggage” is still hanging around our necks; nothing will ever change. And, the world does things to punish us, like credit scores and memories of all that we’ve done wrong in the past. But, every Christian is a new creation with a new identity in Christ, declaring how God, our authority, now views us! It’s what he has done for us and to us that counts.

So far in this study, we have learned how our faith in Jesus Christ sets us free from our previous sin-stained existence to enjoy a new life. But, our ability to live out this freedom depends upon our understanding of who we now are. How we see ourselves directs how we live our faith walk. We need to grasp the FACT that believers get a new life with a radical new identity—something we never had before. Something no one before Jesus’ resurrection ever had!! And this new identity sets us free to live a radically new kind of life—a joyful life. But, not knowing our identity enslaves us to shoddy thinking and behavior.

Most Christians throughout the past 1700 years or so only knew they could have their sins forgiven and go to heaven when they died. And, even then, they weren’t sure of that. The information about who they were in God’s sight got lost in 2 things: (1) illiteracy of the Bible—lack of education and knowledge of what it actually says, and (2) slavery to poor teaching that one has to live by the church’s rules to maintain God’s acceptance—any church.

About 500 years ago, Martin Luther and other faithful believers who followed him rediscovered this identity treasure by reading and studying the Scriptures. Imagine that! For 300 years after that, believers were taught their identity in Christ before the teaching waned. Once again, a Christian was mainly someone who had her sins forgiven and went to heaven when she died, as long as she lived by certain rules to maintain God’s acceptance. Enslaved once again to illiteracy of the Bible and poor teaching. A great Grace Awakening has taken place since the 1970s. Teaching about our new identity in Christ is everywhere in bookstores and on the radio, TV, and Internet. Yet, most believers still have no idea what their new identity is and all the benefits that come with it. Do you? And, if you and I don’t know who we are, how will we know we’ve been set free to live a different kind of life? This lesson will certainly fill your mind and heart with truth about your grace-created new identity—an identity that will fill your life with freedom and joy!

Day One Study

The basis of identity

1. List some ways that we try to establish our identity apart from Christ.

2. What happens to us when we try to determine who we are by these things?

3. Read 1 Corinthians 15:21-22. From God’s point of view, there are two kinds of people in the world: (1) those who are in Adam, and (2) those who are in Christ. Read Romans 5:12-21 and fill in the chart below contrasting Adam and Christ from this passage. Include in your chart contrasts between the consequences of being in Adam and being in Christ.

Who you are in determines your identity and your inheritance.

(1) To be in Adam means that you have inherited his nature (sinful), the consequences of his actions (condemnation), and his destiny (death).

(2) To be in Christ means that you have inherited his nature (righteous), the consequences of his actions (justification), and his destiny (eternal life).

4. Graceful Living: How you see yourself will influence how you think and live. How do you see yourself? In Christ? Or, as just another one of the billions of human beings walking around on our planet? Reflect on how the way you see yourself (past and present) influences your life.

Day Two Study

God has changed the believer’s identity through the baptism of the Holy Spirit

The word translated baptized came from the process for dyeing cloth. It didn’t matter if the cloth was sprayed, dipped, or immersed. The significance was taking on the identity of the dye. So, in Spirit Baptism, we are “dyed” with Christ. The practical outcome is a total identification (uniting) with him.

5. Read Romans 6:1-11. List all the ways we are identified (united) with Christ in this passage. [Note: Although water baptism is a picture of what the Spirit does to us, there’s no mention of water in this passage. Spirit baptism is much more significant and has far greater effects.]

6. What else is revealed about our union with Christ in Ephesians 2:4-6?

Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit—of which water baptism is a picture—the Christian has been totally identified with Jesus Christ. We are united with him in his death (Romans 6:3; Galatians 2:20), in his resurrection (Romans 6:4), and in his ascension (Ephesians 2:5-6). The Greek word translated “united” in Romans 6:5 literally means, “to make to grow together, to fuse.” Being united with Christ, therefore, means that we become fused together with him. At that moment of fusing, we are no longer on our own, but Jesus’ transforming life-giving power now lives in us. We are now connected to the King who has supreme power and authority.

John Wesley, the great 18th century Methodist preacher, said this, “Never think of yourself apart from Christ.” We are continually fused together with him and can live to enjoy the benefits of being in him.

7. Graceful Living:

• Consider items that are fused together (fabrics, welded metal, ingredients baked into a cake). What is the purpose of fusing? Does the fusing usually create something stronger and/or better than the original items?
• Reread Ephesians 2:4-6, inserting your name in place of “we, us, or you.” Dwell on what it means to you to be fused with Christ.

Day Three Study

Benefits of being identified with Christ

The moment we believe, the old self that was born in Adam died; a new self with the same body but a new interior started life as a new person with a new nature and a new inheritance. This radical new identity means you can never go back to not being in Christ. Never!

8. Our new identity in Christ contains at least 35 characteristics or benefits. We get all of these benefits at once. God is not a vending machine parceling out these benefits one at a time. Everything about our new identity and all the benefits are God’s gift based on his love for us. We receive all of them at the moment of our salvation because we are in Christ. What God does to us is his choice, not ours. These benefits are unconditional. The burden of performance is upon God, not upon us.

Fill out the chart below by reading the word/phrase describing what is true about you. Then, look up the verse reference and reflect on what that means to you now.

9. Graceful Living: One of the fundamental questions of the human race is that of identity, "Who am I?" The one secure, eternal answer is that through faith in Jesus Christ you can say, "I am in Christ, a child of God, one of God’s saints, totally loved and accepted by God"—an identity that no circumstance can change!

• Write a short description of your identity in Christ based on what you discovered in the verses you just read. “I _____________ (your name) am in Christ,…”
• Consider carrying an ID card with you that reminds you of who you truly are. See the sample card below that you can print and fill in with your name plus 7 of the benefits of your identity in Christ that are most significant to you. Put it in your wallet near your Drivers License and credit cards. Next time you get out your Drivers License, you will see it and remind yourself, “I am once-and-for-all Justified and Forgiven.” When you show your Drivers License at the airport, you will see your ID and remind yourself, “I am once-and-for-all accepted and loved.” A list containing the same 35 characteristics of your new identity is also found at the end of this lesson. Keep that handy for a quick reference when you are attacked by the world’s view of who you are!

Download a “Believers Identity in Christ” chart.

Day Four Study

Knowing our identity sets us free from the world’s viewpoint

As stated before, the world isn’t going to validate our new identity. From a worldly point of view, we are viewed as the same we’ve always been—with the baggage still hanging around our necks. But, we can know our true identity—what God has done to change us from the inside out. And, knowing it sets us free from the world’s constraints and expectations, from our past, and from the garbage that others feed us about our failures.

Think About It: “Some of us are drawn in by circumstance [wearing ourselves out by our own efforts] because we don’t know who we are. The greatest crisis is not outside; it’s the identity crisis within those of the faith! Men and women of God are so focused on the darkness that they’re missing the adventure.” (Michelle Wallace, “Fruit of the Vine: The Greatness of God,” Living Magazine, October 2012)

10. Graceful Living: Read the chart below contrasting the world’s lies about who you are with the FACT of God’s truth about who you are. (Adapted from Dr. Timothy Warner, Resolving Spiritual Conflicts and Cross-Cultural Ministry, Freedom in Christ Ministries, 1993.)

Respond through any means you choose (journaling, prayer, poem, art, song) to illustrate what you have learned from this lesson.