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There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the Law of
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the
Law of sin and death.  
Romans 8:1-2

When Jesus died on the Cross, in the mind of God, we died with Him.  He became
our substitute, and our identification with Him in His death gives us all the benefits
for which He died; the idea is that He did it all for us!

Not only did we die with Him, but we were buried with Him as well. Which means
that all sins and transgressions, past, present, and future were buried for those who
repent and believe.  When they put Jesus in the Tomb, they put all of our sins into
that Tomb as well.  We died with Him, we were buried with Him, and His
Resurrection was our Resurrection to a "Newness of Life" (see Romans 6:3-6).

The cross of Jesus Christ must ever be the object of our faith.  By this we do not
mean that we have faith in a wooden beam, but we place our faith in everything that
Jesus accomplished on our behalf at the cross.  This is where He, through His shed
blood and death, bought our salvation and sanctification, as well as our ability to
live a victorious life in Him.  Refering to this as "the cross of Christ" is merely a
shorthand way of stating all that the event contains. Understood in this context,
having the cross of Christ as the object of our faith gives the Holy Spirit the latitude
to work within our lives.  The sin nature will not have dominion over us if we as
believers continue to exercise faith in the cross of Christ
(see Romans 8:1-5).










As long as we keep our faith in Jesus and what He did for us at the cross, giving Him
a surrendered heart and a willing mind, we remain in Him. The only thing that can
remove us from Him is deciding to turn our backs on Him and walk away.

Even if we fall into sin - being imperfect humans - we are still in Him, and the Holy
Spirit will convict us in our hearts in order to lead us to repentance.  It is only when
we choose to live in sin that we are actively turning our backs on Him.  This is an
important distinction, and this is why we are told in Romans 8:1 that there is no
condemnation for those who are in Him.

Furthermore, when we are tempted, when we fail, when the Holy Spirit convicts us,
our means of repentence and victory is through faith in Jesus' atonement at the
cross.  Our own strength and our own work ("I should do this..."  "I better not do
that...") brought us into failure.  Only faith in Jesus' accomplished work will bring us
His strength to overcome all temptations and failures.

This is the flow of God's grace, brought to us through the activity of the Holy Spirit,
and made possible by Jesus Christ at the cross.

For the preaching of the cross is to them who perish foolishness; but
unto us which are saved it is the power of God.  
1 Corinthians 1:18
Christ Church of Victory
"Preaching Jesus Christ and Him Crucified"     
The Cross of Christ
26803 S. Dixie Hwy.
Crete, IL 60417
(708) 367-0277   
Sonlife Radio 88.1 FM Crete

www.jsm.org