The Life Which I Now Live

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

Galatians 2:20

Far too often professing Christians -- those who have trusted Christ as their Savior -- still spend their lives trying to win God's favor. They feel there is some Christian standard they have to live up to; a standard so high they will never attain it. And by not attaining it they live in a constant state of discouragement, believing God is disappointed in them. The Lord never meant for His beloved children to live that way; to be robbed of joy through a false belief that there is more to do. It has already been done. Jesus said when He drew His last breath on the cross, "It is finished." Christ won the victory over sin by the shedding of His blood. He won the victory over death through His resurrection. This is what pleases God. It's not us or anything we do -- or don't do. It's what His Son did on our behalf. So does this mean we can sin all we want and God will be ok with that? No. God wants us to experience the full freedom of growing more and more like Jesus -- in holiness, and that happens through Christ's transforming work in our lives. "To live under the principle of grace, you must first cease to live under the principle of law; and the only way to be released from the principle of God's law is to die to it. You and I will never, ever be able to live with a genuine sense of freedom and liberty before God -- we'll never be able to enjoy a sense of full acceptance before Him, and a sense of release from the bondage of the curse of the law -- until we see ourselves as having ceased from living. We must reckon it to be true of us -- we must consider it to be a true fact in our case -- that we have died with Christ, and that it is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us. Spiritual union with Jesus Christ is the basis of living under the principle of God's grace." -- Pastor Greg Allen.