Christ In You (A response to last week's sermon)

For me, the hardest part about being a Christian is understanding​ how much responsibility we have to flee from sin when coupled with the understanding that Jesus has already won against sin and death.

If Jesus won, why does it matter what we do? Was my roommate right? Can we just snort cocaine, have sex, and get drunk every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday as long as we “believe in God”?

We’re called to be a part of a community, to be accountable, to tithe and to place our hearts in the right places. We’re called to love our neighbor, and to love our enemy. Do things right and you’ll go to church every Sunday, be a volunteer, be a part of a community group, read the Bible every day, pray several times a day, listen to Christian worship music, and listen to sermons uploaded from all around the United States. It’s exhausting. Why is it necessary?

It’s not.

Christ lived a perfect life and died for us. While those things might be a sign of the health-state of your soul, they’re not requirements. In fact, many are quite cultural despite being based off of biblical principles. “Going to church” isn’t the important part (we ARE the church, it’s not something we go to). “Community groups”, I’m guessing, are something we made up because “going to church” became impersonal. “Christian worship music”… don’t get me started.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but so far none of the above has had anything to do with the sermon. Here’s where it ties in. The sermon was about Christ in us, and the death of our old self.

Romans 6:3-6 (KVJ) says:

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

The above verses make it so clear to me that avoiding sin isn’t about earning God’s love or trying to avoid God’s wrath or in feeling the weight of responding in thankfulness to God’s love. We can never repay God or be thankful enough to God and no amount of not sinning is ever going to make us even.

Avoiding sin just means you get it. That you understand the message. And believing in God, understanding the message, and accepting the message: that’s what’s important. That’s the gospel. That's it.

Oh, and even when you get it, you’re going to fall short. You’re going to sin and you’re going to have times when you struggle with what you thought you knew. In these moments, surrender to God. He will take it from there.

(I quote it often, but here it is again: Proverbs 3:6 (NIV) says "In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight".)