THE CROSS GETS YOU IN—AND THE CROSS KEEPS YOU IN

You Are Not Who You Used to Be

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17

I've often wondered why so many Christians struggle to live the Christian life.

Young Christians struggle.

Older Christians struggle.

New believers struggle.

People who have walked with the Lord for decades struggle.

Perhaps you have wondered about it too.

You love God.

You want to serve Him.

You want to live right.

You pray.

You read your Bible.

You attend church.

You genuinely desire to please the Lord.

Yet sometimes you find yourself battling the same attitudes, temptations, habits, thoughts, frustrations, and weaknesses you thought you left behind.

And eventually you begin asking:

“What is wrong with me?”

Maybe that isn't the right question.

YOU'RE TRYING TO LIVE A NEW LIFE WITH AN OLD RAG

Mama used to say:

“You can't wipe dishes with a dirty rag and expect them to stay clean.”

Simple.

But think about it.

You can wash those dishes until they shine.

Then take a dirty rag and wipe them down.

What happens?

You put right back onto those dishes what you just washed away.

Many Christians unknowingly do something similar spiritually.

Christ has made us new, but we keep reaching backward.

Back to our own strength.

Back to our own willpower.

Back to our own methods.

Back to our old way of thinking.

Back to the person we used to be.

And then we wonder why living the Christian life becomes exhausting.

You are trying to clean something with the very thing that made it dirty.

YOU ARE NOT THAT PERSON ANYMORE

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17 again:

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature...”

Not improved.

Not refurbished.

Not patched up.

Not the old person with a little Christianity added.

A NEW CREATURE.

Maybe you accepted Christ ten years ago.

Maybe five years ago.

Maybe last month.

Maybe last week.

Maybe yesterday.

Maybe ten minutes ago.

If you have truly placed your faith in Jesus Christ, something has changed.

You are not who you were.

Your past may remember you.

People may remember you.

Your mistakes may occasionally remind you.

Satan may certainly accuse you.

But God says:

“Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Stop allowing your past to introduce you.

God has already declared who you are.

SO WHY DO I STILL STRUGGLE?

Because becoming a new creation does not mean you suddenly lose every temptation, weakness, memory, habit, or battle.

The Christian life is not lived successfully through human determination.

You cannot grit your teeth hard enough.

You cannot make enough New Year's resolutions.

You cannot simply promise:

“I'll do better tomorrow.”

You need the same thing today that you needed when you first came to Jesus.

And that brings us to something incredibly important.

THE OBJECT OF YOUR FAITH MUST NOT CHANGE

How were you saved?

By trusting yourself?

No.

By trusting your good works?

No.

By trusting your church attendance?

No.

By trusting your religious denomination?

No.

By trusting your ability to stop sinning?

No.

You came to Jesus Christ because you realized you could not save yourself.

Your faith rested in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished at Calvary.

So why, after salvation, do we suddenly believe we can live the Christian life through our own strength?

The object of your faith must remain the same.

JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.

Not the wooden beam itself.

There is no saving power in pieces of wood.

Our faith is in Christ and what He accomplished there.

His sacrifice.

His shed blood.

His victory.

His finished work.

His payment for sin.

His triumph over the powers of darkness.

His provision for fallen humanity.

The Cross is where the price was paid.

THE CROSS GETS YOU IN—AND THE CROSS KEEPS YOU IN

We sometimes treat the Cross as though it were merely the doorway into Christianity.

We come to Calvary for salvation and then spend the rest of our Christian lives trying to live through our own strength.

But the same finished work that made salvation possible is the foundation upon which we continue walking with Christ.

You did not save yourself.

And you cannot sanctify yourself through sheer human effort.

Paul wrote:

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” — 1 Corinthians 2:2

Your faith began with Christ.

Keep it there.

When you fail—look to Christ.

When you are tempted—look to Christ.

When your flesh screams—look to Christ.

When yesterday tries to reclaim you—look to Christ.

When condemnation comes—look to Christ.

When you feel spiritually strong—look to Christ.

And when you feel spiritually weak—

look to Christ.

“IT IS FINISHED”

Those words from Calvary still thunder across time:

“It is finished.” — John 19:30

Jesus did not say:

“It is almost finished.”

He did not say:

“I have done My part; now you finish yours.”

He said:

IT IS FINISHED.

The debt was paid.

The sacrifice was offered.

The way was opened.

The victory was secured.

And because of what Christ accomplished, sin no longer has the right to rule the believer as master.

Paul wrote:

“For sin shall not have dominion over you...” — Romans 6:14

Notice what Scripture says.

It doesn't say sin will never tempt you.

It doesn't say you will never struggle.

It doesn't say you will never stumble.

It says:

SIN SHALL NOT HAVE DOMINION OVER YOU.

There is a difference between fighting an enemy and belonging to that enemy.

If you are in Christ, you have changed ownership.

STOP TRYING TO DEFEAT YOURSELF WITH YOURSELF

This may be where many Christians become frustrated.

They discover something wrong in their lives and immediately decide:

“I'm going to fix myself.”

But flesh cannot defeat flesh.

Human strength cannot produce spiritual victory.

The answer is not greater confidence in yourself.

The answer is greater dependence upon Christ.

This does not mean Christians become passive.

We pray.

We study God's Word.

We obey.

We resist temptation.

We worship.

We fellowship with other believers.

We make wise choices.

We discipline ourselves.

But none of those things replace the foundation of our faith.

Jesus Christ remains the Source.

SOUNDS TOO SIMPLE?

Perhaps.

People sometimes think spiritual truth must be complicated to be profound.

But salvation wasn't complicated.

Jesus said:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...” — John 3:16

Whosoever believes.

Whosoever comes.

Whosoever calls.

Whosoever will.

God did not design salvation exclusively for theologians.

He made the Gospel understandable to a child.

And sometimes our greatest difficulty is simply believing that God means exactly what He says.

The Cross paid it all.

For time and eternity.

KEEP TRUSTING. KEEP BELIEVING. KEEP EXPECTING.

Christian, perhaps you have been struggling.

Perhaps you have been condemning yourself because you aren't where you think you should be spiritually.

Perhaps you have been trying harder and harder and becoming more frustrated every day.

Return your eyes to Jesus.

Remember where your salvation began.

Remember who saved you.

Remember what He accomplished.

Remember the Cross.

And then—

KEEP TRUSTING.

When you don't understand—keep trusting.

KEEP BELIEVING.

When your feelings tell you otherwise—keep believing.

KEEP EXPECTING.

Expect God to continue working in your life.

You are not trusting in your ability to hold onto Him.

You are trusting in the One who already declared:

“IT IS FINISHED.”

YOU ARE A NEW CREATION

Yesterday does not own you.

Your old habits do not define you.

Your failures do not have the final word.

Your past does not possess authority over your future.

If you are in Christ:

You are a new creation.

So stop picking up yesterday's dirty rag and trying to wipe down the new life God has given you.

Leave the old where it belongs.

At the Cross.

And keep your faith anchored in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished there.

The Cross got you in.

And the Cross will keep you looking to the One who keeps you.

Trust God.

He means what He says.

And He says what He means.

JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.

THE PRICE WAS PAID.

THE WORK WAS FINISHED.

WHOSOEVER WILL—LET HIM COME.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for making us new creations through Jesus Christ. Forgive us for the times we have placed our confidence in ourselves instead of resting our faith in Christ and His finished work. Help us stop reaching backward for the old life You called us out of. When temptation comes, point us toward Jesus. When we fail, point us toward Jesus. When we become discouraged, point us toward Jesus. Teach us to keep trusting, keep believing, and keep expecting You to accomplish Your work in us. Thank You that at Calvary Jesus declared, “It is finished.” May our faith remain firmly anchored in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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KEEP TRUSTING. KEEP BELIEVING. KEEP EXPECTING.

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