In Christ: Week 5

Father,
As we wrap up this series, I ask that you would sear the truths that we’ve learned or been reminded of into our hearts and minds. Holy Spirit, help us to apply these truths well. Jesus, come and be with us and help us to experience the truth of these passages.
Amen.
This series could go on and on, but I sense that it is time to move on. This last week, we looked at a couple of passages from Galatians and one from Romans. The Galatians 3 passage that we looked at on Monday blows up ethnic hatred and all other demonically-inspired human divisions which keep us weak and isolated from one another. If we are in Christ, then those things no longer matter at all. We can simply be human, and no longer be concerned with the extra stuff that we have been told matters (tribes, gender, economics, etc). Let God love you through others, and love others through you, no matter how they look or act, because real love will blow up all of the stuff that creates anger and bitterness which spurs people to act out and isolate themselves. It isn’t about homogeneity, it is about taking the tiles which until now had been more or less sequestered with like tiles, and creating a mosaic with all the varied tiles. What new picture can be discerned from this mosaic?
The Romans 8 passage we saw on Wednesday reveals that when one is in Christ, the condemnation of the accuser (Satan, the devil) can find nowhere to stick on you. There is no solid accusation that can be lodged against Jesus, therefore, if we are in Him, then none of our own sin has staying power. Sometimes we need to be reminded of this basic truth, though, don’t we? We may experience conviction, but that is the Love of God reaching us when we do things that hurt ourselves, others, or His heart, not condemnation. Let the Lord use your conscience to guide you toward better choices, do not think conflate condemnation with conviction. Conviction always comes with love and hope, where condemnation leaves you feeling weak and hopeless.
The Galatians 2 passage we went over on Friday directly addresses the hot-button issue of the day: identity. As a believer, your identity is in Christ. In other words, you become Him. Don’t get me weird, here, that means that all the other behaviors, preferences, and predilections no longer mean what they used to. You are free from those patterns, now. In Christ, you are free. His identity becomes yours, thus when we say that we are Christians or followers of Jesus, those old things pass away. Hyphenated Christianity doesn’t work. You can’t be a gay christian or a christian murderer or a christian drug addict, or any other thing like that. Does that mean that those old patterns will automatically disappear? Not necessarily, it may be a longtime fight, but we are no longer to IDENTIFY with those patterns. We are in Christ, which means that our identity is that we are beloved sons and daughters of the King. No less. No more. That is more than enough, if you ask me. That is the core reality which enabled Paul to make the claims he did about a chapter later, that we are no longer divided by tribe, gender, or economics in the Kingdom of God.

Here we are at the end of another 5 week series, everybody. I think I may tackle a study on Ephesians next, a high level survey of one chapter per week, coupled with some choice passages in the memesplanations during the week.