Humanity and Rightous - oxymoron?

Have you ever felt how light righteousness really is?

It was a beautiful sunny day and my family was at the beach. I don't remember for sure how old I was maybe 9 or 10. It was the first time I had ever been boogie boarding. I was so stoked. One of my mom's cousins had a miniature surfboard and I got to use it instead of those cheesey foam boogie boards everyone else had to use. I was having the time of my life catching waves and riding them in on my stomach. Then something happened that I will never forget. I was headed back out into the waves and a bigger wave was coming in. I didn't know how to dive under the wave and I wasn't in the right place to catch it and ride it in. So for the first time I experienced undertow and just how hard a wave can slam you into the sand. I thought I might not make it. I scrambled to the top of the water after having the wind knocked out of me and sand ground into my chest. The problem was as soon as I got the top and caught a breath the next wave was crashing down and I was thrown back against the sandy bottom for the second time. Now I was really scared I wouldn't be able to get out.

The weight of the water was immense. But it is nothing compared to the weight of being a sinner on my heart and mind. In Job 15 another "wonderful" friend of Job speaks up to tell Job once again there is no way he can be righteous before God. There is no way man can ever stand before God as righteous, if God didn't consider the holy ones of heaven righteous enough, how can we even think he would look at a man that way. Job you must give up this talk of being blameless before the Lord. You must realize all of the weight of this hardship being piled upon your shoulders is because of your sin. Wake up Job and repent.

Job as a human being lives under the decision of Adam and sin is part of his life. The bible tells us all have fallen short of the glory of God. We all have sinned, Job has sinned. But Job actively participated in the story of redemption. We know from the beginning of the book he offered sacrifices for himself and his children. This was all the people before Jesus' sacrifice had. They repented on the head of the lambs and goats and they were forgiven. Job was forgiven and by the blood of Jesus foreshadowed by the blood of the lamb Job was righteous before the Lord.

How many times have we stepped into the pulpit or sat down at a bible study and echoed the words of job's friend. You are human, you are sinful, you will forever be a sinner, you must repent. We need to repent, we need forgiveness for our sins. We need to fall at the foot of the cross and accept Jesus as our savior. But we don't need to stay there. Jesus didn't stay on the cross, he didn't stay in the grave. He was resurrected to new life. And we are to do the same. To quote John Eldredge the greatest lie in the church today is that we are only sinners saved by grace. It is true we are, but we are so much more. We are new creations in Christ.

Job was no longer a sinner, he was a new creation in Christ. He was a child of God, he was a righteous man standing before a righteous God. Paul doesn't greet the people in his letters "to the sinners in Galatia write." He greets them as SAINTS!!!

Do we still struggle with sin? Yes. Do we need to die daily? Yes. But as Paul says in Romans it is no longer us who sins but the sin that lives within us. We are no longer sinners, its not our identity anymore. We are saints in Christ. Paul also says it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives within me. True we can not take credit for being righteous in any way. Jesus did it all for us he trades his life for ours. But HE DID IT!!! In Christ we are saints we are new creations! Our name is no longer sinner, IT IS CHRISTIAN!

Can you feel the weight lift off of you shoulders? Can you feel the force of the pounding waves of condemnation finally release?

If there are any preachers out there reading this blog today. I want to encourage you to stop calling yourselves sinners from the pulpit unless you have not repented. If you have repented and accepted the blood of Jesus then your identity has changed. Every time you get up there and do not claim your new identity in Christ you are heaping the weight of condemnation on your congregation. The scripture is clear there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So if you still believe you are only a sinner saved by grace...STOP IT! You are a new creation in Christ and there is freedom and a burden to be lifted from you and those who listen to you!

May you find the weight of the waves of condemnation lifted from your soul today!