“….Through union with Christ, you are righteous (having been justified), new (regenerated), and holy (definitively sanctified). In this unbreakable union with Christ we are given a new history, a new identity, and a new destiny.
• We are given a new history, because his past counts as our past: his perfect life and obedient death is credited as ours. His death to the ruling power of sin counts as ours, securing our freedom from sin’s tyranny.
• We are given a new identity, because when we are joined to Christ, God sees us in his Son. In fact, we become saints, children of God, and heirs with Christ.
• We are given a new destiny, because in the resurrection of Christ, the age to come has dawned. His resurrection guarantees that we will be raised from the dead as well, and, in fact, empowers us to live in newness of life in the here and now.
Jesus has not just given us a ticket to heaven. He has changed our essential identity. He has irrevocably altered the effect of our past on our present and future by causing his death and resurrection to count as ours. We really are new creatures, even as we press on by God’s grace to become more holy.
The point is that sanctification (freedom from the dominion of sin), no less than justification (freedom from the guilt of sin), comes through faith in Christ alone.[v] Everything we need for life and godliness is found in him! Transformation can happen in no other way.”Brian G. Hedges, Christ Formed in You: The Power of the Gospel for Personal Change, (Wapwallopen, Pennsylvania: Shepherd Press, 2010), p.103
Hat Tip: The Gospel Rewrites Our Stories « Already Not Yet
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