I have been
crucified with Christ. It is no longer I
who live, but Christ who lives in me.
And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
We live in a nation that places a high importance on
appearance and shape. We see evidence of
this fact in our lives every day. People
in advertisements and magazines seem to always be those people who have a beautiful
appearance and are in the best shape. It
is hard to flip through the T.V. channels and not see a commercial for a diet
pill that promises weight loss, or a workout machine that will help you get in
great shape. We see countless examples
of before and after pictures to prove these results. After using these products, people who were
previously out of shape and unattractive, become a whole new person, fit and
good looking. Galatians 2:20 speaks of a
different kind of shape, a different kind of before and after picture. The text speaks of the shaping power of Christ
living in us.
Through our Baptisms, Christ now lives in us. We possess the righteousness of Christ before
God. Through our Baptisms, our old self
is crucified with Christ, and a new self is resurrected. This fact is shown in Romans 8:10-11, which
says, “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the
Spirit is life because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he
who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Because Christ died and rose from the dead for our sins, and
lives in us, we live our lives in a different way. We see a different before and after
picture. We now live our lives by
faith. This faith is not from any merit
or work on our parts. This faith is
given to us by God. What a difference
this makes in our lives, what an amazing before and after picture! Christ now lives in us!
In Baptism we are made new people in Christ. We are free from the bondage of sin and the
Law. Does this mean that we are free to
go about sinning as much as we want?
Surely not! God forbids this. Christ lives in us and because of that we are
free to follow after that which is keeping with His will. Of course we all still sin and fall short of
God’s will. But by the grace of God we
realize that we are not condemned before God.
We live as people who are free, and not under the condemnation that the
Law brings. Our response to this grace
in the way we live our lives as Christians shows that we live free from the
Law.
