What Grace Teaches Us About Ourselves

by Pastor Richard C. Church

In previous articles, we have already seen that God is not holding our sins against us today. This is true not only of past sins, but also of the sins which we have yet to commit. All of these were paid for in that one blessed transaction on Calvary's cross. Despite this many believers conduct themselves as if they are still bearing their own sins. The key to understanding what grace teaches us about ourselves is to first see what God says about us, and then choose to believe God no matter how we feel or what we experience.

When a person realizes their sinful state, accepts that there is nothing they can do to save themselves, and then trusts on Christ's finished work as their only hope of salvation, there are many things that happen immediately. These things are not experiential, that is you won't feel, hear, see, touch or taste them. They can only be realized by studying and believing what God says in His Holy Word, the Bible. So what does the Bible say about the believer?

1. We are complete. - "And ye are complete in Him..." - Col 2:10a (KJV)
You may be familiar with a popular children's song that says, "He's still workin' on me, to make me what I ought to be." However, the word of God says that God is not "still workin'" on the believer, but that we are already complete in Christ. The work was finished in the resurrection, and it was applied to the sinner when he chose to believe. We are not always aware of this completion because our focus is so easily swayed away from God's word and toward our own flesh. And for this reason...

2. Our flesh has been put to death. - "...our old man is crucified with him..." - Rom 6:6b
Your experience may tell you that your flesh is still very much alive, but God says that it was crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20). God has spiritually circumcised your flesh away from your soul and spirit so that you are no longer the servant of the flesh. When a Christian sins, it is not because he has to, but rather because he chooses to. This is much like the slaves who remained on the plantations after the Civil War. They did not have to stay in bondage and servitude, but they chose to. To experience true freedom in Christ, you must believe what God says about who you are now in Christ (Rom 6:7-11).

3. We are no longer sinners. - "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified..." - 1 Cor 6:11a (KJV)
Did you know that the Bible never refers to a saved person as a sinner? Many a Christian, as an excuse for sin, has said, "Well, I'm only a sinner saved by grace." But the time has come that we stop believing the hymn book, and start believing the Bible. And the Bible does not say that you are only a sinner saved by grace, but rather that you were a sinner, but now you are a saint saved by grace.