The Gospel of Christianity is actually a twofold choice. Most Christians really only experience half of it. ◊

Alright, let’s be clear.

We’re in need of forgiveness because we’re sinful, and everyone is sinful in God’s eyes since the beginning of mankind. But we’re all eligible to be forgiven through belief/faith in Jesus’ act of atonement.

Looks like it’s easy to be “saved” – and we’ve got it covered for eternity.

So What’s the Problem?
In Romans Chapter 5, we’re told that:

…we are justified by faith…we have peace with God…we rejoice in our hope…we rejoice in our sufferings…we are saved from the wrath of God…we are saved by His life…we receive the free gift of righteousness…

Good news, right?

Then why are many of us Christians still miserable? Why do so many simply go through the motions? Why are many Christians living such uninspired lives? Why do some people wish they can just get to the heaven part?

Why is the Christian life for many no different from the lives of those who don’t believe in Jesus or care a whit about the Bible?

Good questions.

What’s the Answer?
In Romans Chapter 5 we are also told that:

…sin came into the world through one man [Adam]…death through sin…and so death spread to all men because all men sinned…but the free gift [Jesus‘ death for us] is not like the trespass…by one man’s righteousness [Jesus obedience even unto death] many will be made righteous.

As we’ll see, in God’s economy, we either identify with Adam (sinful) or we identify with Jesus (righteous). It’s not out of our own doing but simply by our identification. There are no good works we need to accomplish to identify with Jesus – we simply need to believe, i.e., have faith in what Jesus did as our redeemer reconciling us back to Holy God, who settles for nothing less.

We are born into this world identified with Adam. Our identity must be changed, by faith, so that we become identified with Jesus. This happens at the time of our spiritual rebirth, when we proactively acknowledge and relinquish control of our life to Jesus.

We become “born again.”

• Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
• Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God… (John 1:12)
• For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ehphesians 2:8-9)

Ok, but still, why do many Christians not live a reborn life?

In his classic book, Classic Christianity, Bob George points out that the world drives us to be focused on ourselves and our own self-image:

While the world is telling us that we need to love ourselves more, the Bible says that man’s problem is that he loves himself too much!…

No, we don’t need a good self-image. We need a proper self-image – one that comes from God’s Word. People say “I’m ugly and I hate myself!” That’s a contradiction in terms. If you really hated yourself, you would be glad that you are ugly. The reason that you are angry is that you really love yourself and therefore want to be better-looking.¹

So actually, as a Christian, you have a choice to properly identify your self-image with Christ and align your life to live His life through you, or submit yourself to the world’s forces and present yourself to sin and corrupting idols all around us.

Unfortunately, many choose the latter.

Yes, even as a Christian, one ungrounded can be like one buffeted by the wind hanging onto dear life by a thin wire.

Where’s the Life in That?
That’s actually the point. There is no life, at least no abundant or vibrant life, even for the Christian who is certainly saved, but somehow is missing a vital and thriving life.

Bob George makes another interesting illustration:

Let’s imagine that a king made a decree in his land that there would be a blanket pardon extended to all prostitutes. Would that be good news to you if you were a prostitute? Of course it would. No longer would you have to live in hiding, fearing the sheriff. No longer would you have a criminal record; all past offenses are wiped off the books. So the pardon would definitely be good news. But would it be any motivation at all for you to change your lifestyle? No, not a bit.

But let’s go a little further with our illustration. Let’s say that not only is a blanket pardon extended to all who have practiced prostitution, but the king has asked you, in particular, to become his bride. What happens when a prostitute marries a king? She becomes a queen. Now would you have a reason for a change of lifestyle? Absolutely. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the lifestyle of a queen is several levels superior to that of a prostitute. No woman in her right mind would go back to her previous life.²

Yes, the Good News of Christianity is actually a twofold choice:

1. A choice of faith to be eternally saved, and
2. A choice of surrender to live a transformed new life.

Sadly, most Christians stop after the first choice. Yes, they are saved, but they don’t experience a life transformation. More on that coming up in ROMANS Chapter 6.

Are you living the FULL Christian life?
_______________________________
For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! – Romans 5:10

¹ Classic Christianity – Life’s Too Short to Miss the Real Thing, by Bob George, Harvest House Publishers, Inc., Eugene, OR, 1989, p. 90.

² Ibid. p. 77.

Categories: Abundant Living, Books of the Bible, Devotion, Discipleship, Faith, Family, Fathering, Forgiveness, Israel, Jesus, Manhood, Marketplace, Old Testament, Parenting, Purpose, Theology

Tags: Bob George, choice, faith, Romans 5