The Day of Reckoning

The Day of Reckoning

This act of surrender and this reckoning of faith are recognized in the New Testament as marking a very definite crisis in the spiritual life. It does not mean that we are expected to be going through a continual dying, but that there should be one very definite act of dying, and then a constant habit of reckoning ourselves as dead and meeting everything from this standpoint. ~ A.B. Simpson

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.  Romans 6:3-4      

The New Testament reveals something clearly throughout its pages.  In some trans-temporal mystery, beyond our ability to comprehend with our intellect (i.e., it is a matter of faith), believers were crucified with Christ.  Not only was our sin paid for by the priceless, perfect blood of Christ - He also took our old man along with Him to slay it in order that we might live free from sin in the future. He died to save us from our sins, and at the same time, He killed our old man to save us from ourselves.  This is simply true.

This is true, and it is not just a "cherry-pick" from one isolated passage of Scripture.  We see the same truth revealed in (at least) Romans 7, 2 Corinthians 5, Galatians 2,5,6, Colossians 3, 2 Timothy 2, 1 Peter 2...

Kinda (no really!) makes "It is finished!" even more glorious than what we understood when we first met Him.  Surely, it is beyond-amazing that He saved us from Hell!  Soli Deo Gloria! But, we miss the full benefit of the amazing work Christ did at the cross if we miss the fact that - we too - died in union with Him that day.

●      For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 
~ Romans 6:5-11

So, what's going on here?  G_d is revealing an epic truth to us.  In Christ, we have died.  And through this, we have been set free from the power of sin in our lives.  This implications of this are gargantuan for our existence - RIGHT NOW.  Now, knowing this is true, the only reasonable response is to put this into play immediately!

But how do we engage the immense power of this truth in our lives?  Through faith (and remember: faith is not just being a member of the club of belief.  Faith is often more like that moment when someone looks at the Word of G_d and says: "Oh my goodness!  It's TRUE!!!!)... through faith, we reckon it true. 

Tomorrow,  we’ll talk about reckoning and the implications for our lives. -- Makala Doulos is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. He is a missionary serving in ministry to the poor, and a steward of the blog: blog.ps1611.org.

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Matthew 12:1-21; Mark 3; Psalm 89:1-29; Proverbs 5

Compass Pointers: I myself, for instance, am not especially gifted, and am shy by nature, but my gracious and merciful God and Father inclined Himself to me, and when I was weak in faith He strengthened me while I was still young. He taught me in my helplessness to rest on Him, and to pray even about little things in which another might have felt able to help himself. James Hudson Taylor

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: John 13:34-35; Level 2: John 13:31-35

Anchored to the Rock: Prayer can do anything that God can do. E. M. Bounds