Priority #1

If I were to ask you what you believed to be the #1 priority of someone coming to Christ, what would your answer be? Most of us (including myself up until about 2 weeks ago) would say forgiveness. While forgiveness is one of the great benefits and aspects to the Spirit life, I do not believe that forgiveness was priority #1 for God sending Jesus into this world. Well if it wasn't forgiveness then what was it? I'm glad you asked! I'm going to use various scriptures to unpack this topic.

Ephesians 2:1-2 says, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now in the sons of disobedience."

So, Paul tells us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins. So what does the word "dead" imply? I think that the word "dead" can be closely associated with the word "death". As in, not alive. So then, we were dead in our trespasses, which implies that while we were sinners, we were dead. Right? Right.

Galatians 2:20 says, "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."

I have been crucified with Christ. What does that mean? Were we literally, physically hanging on the cross with Christ as He was breathing His last breath 2000 years ago? Of course not. That doesn't make any sense. But He says, "I have been crucified with Christ." What does it mean? Our sinful nature. Who we were before we came to Christ, has been crucified with Christ on the cross. Romans 6:6 talks of this. "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." So this old self that we were was crucified with Christ on the cross. Now, let me ask you a question. What is the purpose for crucifixion? I don't think the Romans were in the business of putting people on the cross to weaken them. Crucifixion was good for one thing and one thing only. Death. So if our old self was crucified with Christ on the cross then what does that mean about the old nature? It be dead!

So when we were walking in the old nature we were walking in a state of spiritual death. We were not dead physically no, but we were most definitely dead spiritually. In the garden God tells Adam and Eve, "Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat from it, you shall SURELY DIE." Did Adam and Eve die physically? No. But they were cut off from God spiritually. So when we were sinners, and we were associated with the old man and his nature, we were dead.

When we come to a knowledge of Christ and an understanding that we are sinners and we are destined for hell if we don't accept His grace gift, we are raised up from the dead and resurrected as a NEW CREATION. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."-2 Corinthians 5:17

If anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creation. We are not the old dirty creation re-created and re-formed into a new being of like kind. We are a completely new creation outside of the way we used to be. We are a totally new creature. We are now associated with incorruptible seed and we are sanctified and righteous already because Christ has made us that way! AMEN!

Now, I said all that to say this. Is the #1 priority of a sinner forgiveness? Forgiveness is a great thing and it is part of the package of salvation. Don't get me wrong. Forgiveness is very integral to our beginning in life with Christ. But, when Christ died on the cross, He was dying for every sin committed past, present, and future. He bore the entirety of our sinful nature on the cross. He took care of EVERY sin that has EVER been committed when He said, "It is finished!" So then, if Christ died for all sin, one time, and took care of the penalty, then forgiveness has already been given. For the worst crime ever committed, to you cheating on that test when you were in the 8th grade. All we have to do to receive forgiveness is just that. Receive it. It is there and has already been done.

Let me ask you something. Does a dead man need forgiveness? Does forgiveness do any good to someone who is dead? I can forgive a dead man all day and it does nothing to or for him. Jesus came into this world to restore LIFE to a DEAD world! Our #1 need at salvation was resurrection! We needed life, because we were dead in our trespasses and sins! Christ did not come merely to forgive a fallen world for the sins they had committed against Him. "Thus it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living being, the last Adam became a life giving spirit."-1 Corinthians 15:45 When Adam was given breath in the garden he became a living being. He wasn't capable of giving life to anything else. Jesus, the last Adam, became a life giving spirit when He was resurrected from the dead. He is in the giving life business now. He wants to see your life resurrected from the dead! In fact He already HAS resurrected your life from the dead! You just have to receive the life that He has given you!

So, we have resurrection life living inside of us because Jesus is living inside of us by way of the Holy Spirit. So it is our identity to walk through life the way that Jesus walked through life! I will address more of this in my next blog. We will tackle the issue of identity crisis inside of the walk with Christ. Until then, be blessed and spread Jesus' love to someone today!