Thought For Today

This morning's greeting with my pastor went like this:

Me: Good Morning
Him (with a teasing grin): Good Morning. Are you sinless today?
Me (a tad smugly, since I had the answer to that question): Ha! No. How about you?
Him: Only in Christ!

Ummm, yep. He had the better answer. And for some reason, his response continually popped into my head throughout the day. "Only in Christ."

I make an effort to remind myself of my sinful state. This is a safety measure; it removes my pride and prevents me from taking grace for granted. Each day that I live as a believer is a battle against my flesh and if I don't see myself as sinful, it will obviously be impossible for me to be effective in that fight. Acknowledging that I am still a sinner also helps me to extend that grace to others when they sin against me.

But I must balance that with the truth that I am justified in Christ. Without this, my fight against my flesh is fruitless because I cannot win it apart from Christ. In Him though, the victory has already been won!

"There is therefore now no comdemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." ~Romans 8:1

"Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romand 8:33-39