identity talks pt 1: free from sin?




So...there are some things I have been thinking about a lot over these past few months. There are some truths that it seems like I know or at least understand in my mind, but they do not materialize in my life. Does that mean they haven't reached my heart? How do I get there?

How does that kind of thing happen to you guys? You know the things that you're like "I'm gonna do better with this, this isn't going to happen again"...and then the next day the same thing happens again...and you think, 'I KNOW I know what to do, why am I not doing it?'

Those are the things I want to talk about. Not teach, because I think teaching is for the masters. I just want to talk, and you are so welcome to share your thoughts, too.

So here is a thing. Do you know that Jesus came to prove that we can actually live inside of a human body sinless? Yeah...I don't think that we are actually "sinners saved by grace." If you read Romans 1:4, it talks about how Jesus was born of the seed of David "according to the flesh." If you study how "according" is used in the Bible, for instance in Genesis 1, you realize that it means you have the exact same genetic makeup as the person...or plant, or animal, that your seed came from. So if the Bible says that Jesus' flesh was the "seed of David" that means he had the exact same "earthsuit" as David...Adam...me. He actually came and justified the design of Adam, showing that there was no flaw in God's creation...showing me that the life of righteousness I truly desire to live is possible.

 That gives me so much hope when I read it..but I don't live like that most of the time! If Jesus proved that I can live sinless, then all I have to do is believe it, and I will gradually see it manifest in my life more and more on a daily basis. Right? He restored me to that state of complete righteousness by his sacrifice, so that I too can live as he did on earth. "For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (Heb 10:14) But often I find myself thinking thoughts like, 'Why did I do that? What's wrong with me?' 'When will I get it?' 'When will I be everything that I believe I can be?'

I think we have to be careful not to underestimate our enemy, for one. Who says those thoughts were my thoughts? But I let myself think them without considering if they were from another source. We underestimate the renewing of our minds. There is a reason Romans 12:2 says "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." This gives two clues; one, it is easy to conform to "this world," the physical world, or there wouldn't be a warning not to. Two, I will not be transformed in the physical if I don't renew my mind. Which means a conscious, purposeful, intentional choice, or 5,000 of them, on a daily basis.

A practical example of this...I lost my temper today...I know, hard to believe. Lol. I was so mad at myself afterwards, and my normal reaction would be to feel guilty and ashamed, to punish myself until I felt I had somehow made up for it. But I went back and read a conversation with a friend about this, where she admitted she had messed up that same day, and it had "taken everything in me to tell myself that I deserve to receive even though I spoke so badly the day before." This is soooo deep. Because even when you read it, you might have thought to yourself, 'That's kind of messed up to tell yourself "I deserve to receive," when you know you just took someone's head off,' or whatever. But is it? What if Jesus forgave our sins like we say he did, and it's actually prideful to think we have to earn his approval? What if understanding that he paid it all and earned our righteousness is actually what will help us to walk a righteous, spirit-filled life more than anything?

What do you think?

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