Old Made New - New Heart

Justin Magness
This past Sunday, Pastor Matt continued the “Old Made New” sermon series with a message on the new heart we have in Christ at Salvation. Specifically, what it means for us in our walk in Christ as we deal with the desires of the flesh.
Matt centered the message around Colossians 2:11-15. Paul writes,
In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Having a better understanding of what took place in my heart at salvation has been pivotal for my personal growth in knowing and understanding who I am in Christ. It is very easy to fall into the trap of believing that salvation was nothing more than being saved from an eternity in Hell, and that we are left to do the best we can until Jesus comes. This is typically rooted in not having an understanding of the fact that we are dead to sin. Paul clearly states that our sins and transgressions were crucified on the cross. If I am dead to sin, then why do I still sin? Why do I do things that I know are wrong? These are very common questions we have probably asked ourselves many, many times. We read verses in the Bible that talk about our hearts being deceitful and to keep trying within our own power to stop, not realizing that these verses are either not written to us or are in reference to who we once were before putting our faith in Him. If I can’t trust my heart for guidance, if I have to strive from within to overcome the sin that is still desired in my flesh, then what was even given to me in the here and now?
Flesh. We have to understand that we are still in the same body we were born with, and our flesh still desires the things of this world. The Spirit of God that dwells in your heart and you in Him is the guide to listen to; He tells you that what your flesh is desiring goes against who you are now IN Christ. It is not your heart that leads you to do things you know go against the desires of the Spirit, but the flesh. In Salvation, Christ cut away those desires from your heart and rendered them dead. Thankfully for us, we can stand on the fact that we are dead to that desire; it has no power over us. Our life is in Christ. It is not a matter of us not striving enough because we did nothing to earn salvation; it was freely gifted to those who believe in Him.
The desires of the flesh are powerful and our Enemy uses them at every chance he can get. There’s a reason so many of us struggle with this truth. We must know our Enemy and how he works to be prepared for his strikes. How do we do that? Get into the Word. It gives us all we need to recognize when our flesh is at work in our lives, how to confidently stand on the unwavering truth that we are dead to who we once were, and the knowledge of the strength we have to stand in victory IN Him.

No Comments


Recent

Archive

Categories

Tags