JESUS IS AWESOME ... DAN WILL STEAL YOUR STUFF
BY JILLIANA BALDWIN
One night after Young Adults outreach, there was a group of us hanging out in my basement, processing the events of the night. One of the guys, Dan, in particular had gone all out. Preaching, prophesying, praying and leading people to the Lord.
Dan's background was that of drugs and gang involvement, and He had been transformed by the work of God, through salvation. The fruit was evident that night. So I wanted to encourage him in his growth and said,
"Dan, you're awesome bro."
To which he replied,
"Nah man, JESUS is awesome. Dan will steal your stuff."
We all laughed so hard cause honestly, it was hilarious in the moment. He was so sincere, though. And for me, it was a very simple, but clear, illustration of what our wretched souls look like and do, apart from the finished work of Christ in our lives.
We are nothing apart from Christ. Nor can we do anything in likeness to his character, apart from Him.
I don't want to expand on this in my own words, so I'll just leave God's word here to bringing greater depth to what I'm saying here:
Romans 7:24 - 8:16
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh...For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, it brought about your adoption to sonship, to whom we cry out “Abba, Father.
Dan's background was that of drugs and gang involvement, and He had been transformed by the work of God, through salvation. The fruit was evident that night. So I wanted to encourage him in his growth and said,
"Dan, you're awesome bro."
To which he replied,
"Nah man, JESUS is awesome. Dan will steal your stuff."
We all laughed so hard cause honestly, it was hilarious in the moment. He was so sincere, though. And for me, it was a very simple, but clear, illustration of what our wretched souls look like and do, apart from the finished work of Christ in our lives.
We are nothing apart from Christ. Nor can we do anything in likeness to his character, apart from Him.
I don't want to expand on this in my own words, so I'll just leave God's word here to bringing greater depth to what I'm saying here:
Romans 7:24 - 8:16
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh...For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, it brought about your adoption to sonship, to whom we cry out “Abba, Father.
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