DEAD AND ALIVE

Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. Colossians 2:18-23 (NLT).

We must learn to differentiate between what is of God and what is of man. What is of human origin and what is of Godly origin? Someone may say to you that you must trust God a certain way or live your Christian life a certain way or follow an experience they had or have a certain kind of experience with God. I’m not saying there is no merit in those things, but we should question the source. The danger is for anyone of us to make ourselves feel pious, godly, and “in touch with God – you can’t touch me,” by the actions we take or the words we speak. The question we must always ask is whether we do these things for ourselves or for Christ. Do we do these things because they make us feel good or feel spiritual? Or do we do these things to give praise and glory God?

Devotion, self-denial, and discipline are all necessary to follow Jesus. But they are not the answer to conquering the old flesh, the old you. The answer is in accepting the fact that the old you has died with Christ. You are a “new you” now. And the new you is capable of sincere selfless devotion, self-denial, and discipline in the strength of Christ because He now lives in you and through you.

Colossians 3:3-4, 10 (Ph) says, As far as this world is concerned, you are already dead, and your true life is a hidden one in Christ. One day, Christ, the secret center of our lives, will show himself openly, and you will all share in that magnificent denouement. … You have finished with the old man and all he did and have begun life as the new man, who is out to learn what he ought to be, according to the plan of God.

It’s time now to learn all about who you are as the “new person” in Christ. Learn what God’s plan is for you. Learn the truth and live it. You are new! You are alive! You are connected to Christ and His power forever! Live your new life with your new freedom in the new power you have from Christ living through you. This is your life now.