Thursday, June 26, 2008
Amazing Article
I want to recommend an article to you. I usually just comment on things I think are good, and link them, but you gotta read this one on your own. It's called "Bearing the Image" and I think it's pretty great.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
My New Blog
I'm starting a little Bible Study/ Devotional blog and I hope you'll read it. doctrine101.blogspot.com. First book on topic is Romans.
Monday, June 16, 2008
The Fall of Family
I've been thinking about the fall. These are my thoughts:
Last Sunday I heard a sermon about the fall and the preacher was talking about where it tells us "She took and ate and also gave some to her husband who was with her." (v. 6)
She said that maybe Adam was so excited about his new bride that even though he knew what she was doing was wrong, he was afraid to speak up- afraid he'd might make her mad and she'd leave.
I realized how right John Acuff was and how he probably hadn't noticed. I've quoted this particular tidbit before:
The one thing men want above all is to know that they are enough. That their masculinity, their power, their value, their strength is enough for their wife.
The one thing women want above all is to know that they are not too much. That they can be as big and as beautiful and as powerful as God made them without overshadowing a man who is too fragile or insecure.
See, at the beginning of Genesis 3, Eve didn't know there could be anything more. But deceived by the serpent, she suddenly wanted to be all that she could be. She was the first poster girl for the US Army. If she could be more for Adam, her perfect man, then she wanted to be. She didn't understand the delicate balance of the relationship that God had created between her and her husband.
Adam, on the other hand, was standing there, watching the serpent deceive his bride. (Every time "you" appears in this passage, it's plural in the Hebrew). He was just happy to be enough for her. But when he saw her taking that fruit, he didn't want to scare her. She was so big and beautiful and had so much power over him. He didn't want to overwhelm her.
So we see in this passage John Acuff's statement about our greatest fears coming true. Eve was too much. She instantly became too much for Adam, not when she ate the fruit, but when she first took it down from the tree. And Adam was not enough. He wasn't strong enough, man enough, for his wife. He saw when she took the fruit that he was not enough for her now. That she wanted more than just him. And so he shied away from his responsibility to set her straight. He let her do the one thing that God had told them not to.
And in that one moment, he put his relationship with Eve before his relationship with God. And that was the real sin.
The first family had now been corrupted because God was, just for an instant, not at the center of the relationship. But what they didn't know- what they couldn't have known- was that it wouldn't work without God in the middle. Donald Miller talks about this in "Searching for God Knows What".
He says that we were created to receive our sense of self-image from someone else. And that when they ate the fruit, Adam and Eve were instantly cut off from receiving that sense of self from God. So they looked to the next (only) available person- each other. And it wasn't enough.
"And they knew that they were naked."
Suddenly, they looked at each other and felt things that they'd never felt before. Maybe Eve was so great, so much, that it was overwhelming for Adam. I can see him truly wanting her for the first time and then being shocked at his own sinful lust. He wanted her for himself- to please him. And he is ashamed.
And Eve. Imagine her looking at Adam and thinking, "Now that I know what I know, how can he possibly please me?" She glances at his body, her face making the slightest twinge of disgust. But then she sees the look in his eyes. The monstrous unbridled desire. It hits her. At first she wants him too, but then she finds herself feeling, for the first time, objectified. Misused. Their desire for one another is now perverted without God in the middle controlling it all. Now she's ashamed and wants to hide herself from his probing eyes. He wants to protect himself from her disapproving stare.
I can see them sewing fig leaves together. Only, they've never made clothes before, so the knots keep coming untied and they're left constantly having to hold up the clothes they've made for themselves.
So when God throws them out of the Garden to prevent them from eating from the Tree of Life, when He curses them and the earth and their bodies and the serpent, He's protecting them. As John Acuff puts it, He's giving them a chance. If they stay in the Garden and eat from the Tree of Life, they'll live forever in their corruption. They'll be separated from Him forever and their relationship will never be restored.
But if He lets them die physically, then their sinful flesh will one day be restored, the sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb will wash away their imperfections, and they will be able to commune with God- and with each other- again.
And we'll be a family again.
Last Sunday I heard a sermon about the fall and the preacher was talking about where it tells us "She took and ate and also gave some to her husband who was with her." (v. 6)
She said that maybe Adam was so excited about his new bride that even though he knew what she was doing was wrong, he was afraid to speak up- afraid he'd might make her mad and she'd leave.
I realized how right John Acuff was and how he probably hadn't noticed. I've quoted this particular tidbit before:
The one thing men want above all is to know that they are enough. That their masculinity, their power, their value, their strength is enough for their wife.
The one thing women want above all is to know that they are not too much. That they can be as big and as beautiful and as powerful as God made them without overshadowing a man who is too fragile or insecure.
See, at the beginning of Genesis 3, Eve didn't know there could be anything more. But deceived by the serpent, she suddenly wanted to be all that she could be. She was the first poster girl for the US Army. If she could be more for Adam, her perfect man, then she wanted to be. She didn't understand the delicate balance of the relationship that God had created between her and her husband.
Adam, on the other hand, was standing there, watching the serpent deceive his bride. (Every time "you" appears in this passage, it's plural in the Hebrew). He was just happy to be enough for her. But when he saw her taking that fruit, he didn't want to scare her. She was so big and beautiful and had so much power over him. He didn't want to overwhelm her.
So we see in this passage John Acuff's statement about our greatest fears coming true. Eve was too much. She instantly became too much for Adam, not when she ate the fruit, but when she first took it down from the tree. And Adam was not enough. He wasn't strong enough, man enough, for his wife. He saw when she took the fruit that he was not enough for her now. That she wanted more than just him. And so he shied away from his responsibility to set her straight. He let her do the one thing that God had told them not to.
And in that one moment, he put his relationship with Eve before his relationship with God. And that was the real sin.
The first family had now been corrupted because God was, just for an instant, not at the center of the relationship. But what they didn't know- what they couldn't have known- was that it wouldn't work without God in the middle. Donald Miller talks about this in "Searching for God Knows What".
He says that we were created to receive our sense of self-image from someone else. And that when they ate the fruit, Adam and Eve were instantly cut off from receiving that sense of self from God. So they looked to the next (only) available person- each other. And it wasn't enough.
"And they knew that they were naked."
Suddenly, they looked at each other and felt things that they'd never felt before. Maybe Eve was so great, so much, that it was overwhelming for Adam. I can see him truly wanting her for the first time and then being shocked at his own sinful lust. He wanted her for himself- to please him. And he is ashamed.
And Eve. Imagine her looking at Adam and thinking, "Now that I know what I know, how can he possibly please me?" She glances at his body, her face making the slightest twinge of disgust. But then she sees the look in his eyes. The monstrous unbridled desire. It hits her. At first she wants him too, but then she finds herself feeling, for the first time, objectified. Misused. Their desire for one another is now perverted without God in the middle controlling it all. Now she's ashamed and wants to hide herself from his probing eyes. He wants to protect himself from her disapproving stare.
I can see them sewing fig leaves together. Only, they've never made clothes before, so the knots keep coming untied and they're left constantly having to hold up the clothes they've made for themselves.
So when God throws them out of the Garden to prevent them from eating from the Tree of Life, when He curses them and the earth and their bodies and the serpent, He's protecting them. As John Acuff puts it, He's giving them a chance. If they stay in the Garden and eat from the Tree of Life, they'll live forever in their corruption. They'll be separated from Him forever and their relationship will never be restored.
But if He lets them die physically, then their sinful flesh will one day be restored, the sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb will wash away their imperfections, and they will be able to commune with God- and with each other- again.
And we'll be a family again.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Pick a Sin: My New Position on Illegal Immigration
I try not to get too political- in my opinion spiritual matters are vastly more important. Every once in a while, though, an issue gets to me so much that I have to address it or my head will explode and my roommate will be left with the unpleasant job of cleaning my gray matter off the walls.
In recent weeks, I've been receiving a series of email forwards that are either anti-Obama, anti-Democrat, anti-Immigration, sometimes anti-American and most certainly anti-Christian. My favorite was a forward from a member of my home church that said (The emphasis is not mine),
Wow. I won't begin to delve into the spiritual implications of that statement. But I do want to address the illegal immigration from a economic/political perspective. I'll address some of the anti-Immigrant sentiments and see what they really imply.
1. They are breaking the law by being here.
-Who deserves to be here? Everyone who is in the US is an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants, legal or not. My mom immigrated from Germany when I was three. I'm a first-generation legal immigrant. We jumped through all the hoops and showed up at the Immigration and Naturalization Service office at four in the morning to stand in line for five hours and got our visas renewed and paid all the fees and took the Oath. We're now US citizens.
But a lot of people can't afford to do that and so they depend on lottery programs or scholarships. Or they result to coming into the US illegally. Because they can have a better life and support their families if they work in the US. And since when has Liberty (The New Colossus of Emma Lazarus) offered her embrace only to those that can afford it? Last I checked, she said,
-Maybe it's a stupid law that prevents hard-working immigrants from coming to America in a legal fashion. Maybe we should change the law so that they're not coming in illegally. Right now, US Immigration policy allows workers to come in to the US when there is a shortage in a certain type of work. Let's say we kicked out all the illegal migrant workers. There would be a shortage in hard agriculture-based labor. And we'd bring them right back in based on the policy. And that would cost a lot of money. Why not just change the law to allow those already in the country to stay?
- Isn't that rewarding their bad behavior?
-Their behavior is, actually more American than those touting anti-immigration or closed-border sentiments. They want a better life in the Land of the Free. Since when is that bad?
2. But They live in ghettos and refuse to learn English!
-Well, since our law forces them into hiding, they really have little contact with native English-speakers and therefore little opportunity to learn English properly.
-Also, remember that first-generation immigrants rarely learn English properly. The second generation of these immigrants, however, is realizing the value of learning English, and without an accent. They're following the natural trend of immigrant populations.
3. But They don't pay taxes!
-Actually they do. They pay sales tax like everyone else. And since most of them rent, the landlords pay property taxes too. The only tax they don't pay is income tax, and most illegal immigrants get paid so little that if they were citizens, they'd be so far below the poverty line that they wouldn't pay income taxes anyway.
4. But They are criminals! Look at the neighborhoods where they live!
-No. Most illegal immigrants are law-abiding citizens aside from the fact that they a stupid law prevents them from legally being here. However, since any contact with law enforcement threatens deportation, they are not able to assist the local police in rooting out the REAL criminals. Give these people legal status and I bet you'll see a sharp crime drop in their neighborhoods.
5. But They hate America! Look at Them flying the Mexican flag!
-Well, honestly, America has given them no reason to love it. America has told them that they don't deserve to be here and they aren't welcome. If we would really "lift our lamp beside the golden door" then maybe they'd like us.
Finally, I have to remind you that "illegal immigrant" workers keep prices low by receiving subminimum wages. Kick them out and you'll have to hire workers under Minimum Wage laws, making prices skyrocket. No matter how we deal with this illegal immigration problem, it'll impact the economy and prices will rise. But would you rather it be because we forced millions of people into refugee camps across the border and we are watching them slowly starve to death? Or because we're finally treating them like humans instead of pack animals?
Really, immigration reform forces us to choose one "sin" over another. Which will you choose?
1. The sin of granting illegal immigrants legal residency and thereby improving the livelihood of millions?
OR
2. The sin of telling millions that the Statue of Liberty was never meant for them, of forcing them back to Mexico where there are no jobs and into refugee camps where they slowly die a stone's throw from freedom?
What would Jesus do?
P.S. If you'd like to take a realistic look at what would happen if we sent all the illegal migrant workers back to Mexico, read This Article.
In recent weeks, I've been receiving a series of email forwards that are either anti-Obama, anti-Democrat, anti-Immigration, sometimes anti-American and most certainly anti-Christian. My favorite was a forward from a member of my home church that said (The emphasis is not mine),
If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders who are called "illegals", and then they vote.....we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.
Wow. I won't begin to delve into the spiritual implications of that statement. But I do want to address the illegal immigration from a economic/political perspective. I'll address some of the anti-Immigrant sentiments and see what they really imply.
1. They are breaking the law by being here.
-Who deserves to be here? Everyone who is in the US is an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants, legal or not. My mom immigrated from Germany when I was three. I'm a first-generation legal immigrant. We jumped through all the hoops and showed up at the Immigration and Naturalization Service office at four in the morning to stand in line for five hours and got our visas renewed and paid all the fees and took the Oath. We're now US citizens.
But a lot of people can't afford to do that and so they depend on lottery programs or scholarships. Or they result to coming into the US illegally. Because they can have a better life and support their families if they work in the US. And since when has Liberty (The New Colossus of Emma Lazarus) offered her embrace only to those that can afford it? Last I checked, she said,
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
-Maybe it's a stupid law that prevents hard-working immigrants from coming to America in a legal fashion. Maybe we should change the law so that they're not coming in illegally. Right now, US Immigration policy allows workers to come in to the US when there is a shortage in a certain type of work. Let's say we kicked out all the illegal migrant workers. There would be a shortage in hard agriculture-based labor. And we'd bring them right back in based on the policy. And that would cost a lot of money. Why not just change the law to allow those already in the country to stay?
- Isn't that rewarding their bad behavior?
-Their behavior is, actually more American than those touting anti-immigration or closed-border sentiments. They want a better life in the Land of the Free. Since when is that bad?
2. But They live in ghettos and refuse to learn English!
-Well, since our law forces them into hiding, they really have little contact with native English-speakers and therefore little opportunity to learn English properly.
-Also, remember that first-generation immigrants rarely learn English properly. The second generation of these immigrants, however, is realizing the value of learning English, and without an accent. They're following the natural trend of immigrant populations.
3. But They don't pay taxes!
-Actually they do. They pay sales tax like everyone else. And since most of them rent, the landlords pay property taxes too. The only tax they don't pay is income tax, and most illegal immigrants get paid so little that if they were citizens, they'd be so far below the poverty line that they wouldn't pay income taxes anyway.
4. But They are criminals! Look at the neighborhoods where they live!
-No. Most illegal immigrants are law-abiding citizens aside from the fact that they a stupid law prevents them from legally being here. However, since any contact with law enforcement threatens deportation, they are not able to assist the local police in rooting out the REAL criminals. Give these people legal status and I bet you'll see a sharp crime drop in their neighborhoods.
5. But They hate America! Look at Them flying the Mexican flag!
-Well, honestly, America has given them no reason to love it. America has told them that they don't deserve to be here and they aren't welcome. If we would really "lift our lamp beside the golden door" then maybe they'd like us.
Finally, I have to remind you that "illegal immigrant" workers keep prices low by receiving subminimum wages. Kick them out and you'll have to hire workers under Minimum Wage laws, making prices skyrocket. No matter how we deal with this illegal immigration problem, it'll impact the economy and prices will rise. But would you rather it be because we forced millions of people into refugee camps across the border and we are watching them slowly starve to death? Or because we're finally treating them like humans instead of pack animals?
Really, immigration reform forces us to choose one "sin" over another. Which will you choose?
1. The sin of granting illegal immigrants legal residency and thereby improving the livelihood of millions?
OR
2. The sin of telling millions that the Statue of Liberty was never meant for them, of forcing them back to Mexico where there are no jobs and into refugee camps where they slowly die a stone's throw from freedom?
What would Jesus do?
P.S. If you'd like to take a realistic look at what would happen if we sent all the illegal migrant workers back to Mexico, read This Article.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Men and Women
The one thing men want above all is to know that they are enough. That their masculinity, their power, their value, their strength is enough for their wife.
The one thing women want above all is to know that they are not too much. That they can be as big and as beautiful and as powerful as God made them without overshadowing a man who is too fragile or insecure.
The preceding is a quote from John Acuff's site, prodigaljohn.com.
Do you think he's right?
The one thing women want above all is to know that they are not too much. That they can be as big and as beautiful and as powerful as God made them without overshadowing a man who is too fragile or insecure.
The preceding is a quote from John Acuff's site, prodigaljohn.com.
Do you think he's right?
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
The True Gospel- It's not about you!
I'm preparing to start running a Bible club at the school in the Kibera slum where I work. I'll be using a curriculum developed by New Tribes Mission called "Firm Foundations". It's a great method, and I'm just now reading the introduction, which is many pages long. But within this foundational approach is an observation I've never notice but been remiss to fail considering. I'm going to preach on it here.
The author, Trevor McIlwain, was a missionary in several different fields over the years and noticed a consistent problem in the established churches in those fields. This problem was a misunderstanding of where the people got their salvation.
What had happened was that the missionaries had gone, preached the "Gospel" (meaning, God loves you, Jesus died for you, now say this prayer and you can go to Heaven) and then told the people that now they needed to be baptized and go to church and sing hymns, and not commit adultery. Years later when asked why they responded so readily to baptism, one member of a tribe in the Philippines answered, "We would have done anything for that first missionary. If he had asked us to cut our fingers off, we would have gladly done it for him."
So these people were believing in a works-based gospel trying to please God by doing all these great things. It's a lie to tell people that they can DO anything about their salvation. What follows are two quotes from the book "Firm Foundations":
What McIlwain is saying here is that when you give someone something to DO in order to be saved, then essentially you are giving them a part in their own salvation. They stand before God as Judge and say, "I'm saved because I said a prayer," rather than "I'm saved because Jesus paid the penalty for my sins."
And then imagine the confusion in their lives after this. "Did I do it right? Was I serious? Did I really give my heart to Jesus?" The Gospel is NOT about us accepting Jesus as Savior- as the payment for our sins- because WE are not the judge that decides whether that is sufficient. That would be like someone offering to serve a prison term for a criminal and the guilty party agreeing to that. Well, that's great. But unless the judge is okay with the arrangement, there's no deal. The True Gospel is about how GOD accepted Jesus Christ as the perfect and ONLY penalty for our sins over two thousand years ago.
One message, the "accept Jesus into your heart" type, is subjective and puts the emphasis on what a person must do to be saved. But it's not about doing anything, because as Christ cried out on the cross, "It is finished!"
Paul and Silas told the jailer, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved..." and a few verses later it says, "he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God." Not that he had chosen to believe. Not that he had prayed a prayer, but because he had "come to believe" (that's NIV). The word "believe" in the Greek means "to be persuaded of".
Belief is not something we do. We don't CHOOSE to believe. If we have to choose, then we don't really believe. There's a scene in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass that satirically explains this rather perfectly. The Queen has just told Alice that she is over 100 years old and Alice replies that she can't believe it. The Queen responds, "Can't you? Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eye."
Too many Christians have this opinion of faith. They think that we have to close our eyes to the facts, ignore reality, and believe something. To me, that feels like holding your breath underwater. "I can do it," you tell yourself. "Just a bit longer. I can break my own record. If I believe it, it'll be true." But that's not the point. It's true whether you believe it or not.
A belief forms the basis of your understanding, of your being. A belief affects and alters your world view. But when you CHOOSE to believe, you're not really believing. What you believe (what you are persuaded of) must correlate with what you KNOW, or it will not change your life. I can believe that a gunshot to the head won't hurt me, but I KNOW that's not true, so I'm not likely to put a gun to my head to prove that belief.
However, when I believe that God loves me, that He has the best in store for me, that He gave Jesus as the penalty for my wrongdoing, and that because of this I can be at peace with Him forever, when I believe it and know it, that changes my life!
God is holy and demands perfection. We can't give it. We can't even hope to please this God with our actions. But through Jesus we can be seen as perfect in God's eyes. The Bible equates our sins with "filthy rags" that we wear. But through Christ, we can be "clothed in righteousness". If you are redeemed by Christ, you are no longer a stranger in God's eyes but His own child!
One of my favorite verse is Romans 5:8 where it says, "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Most people skip over the part where it says "while we WERE still sinners" but this is a powerful suggestion. If we're saved, we're not sinners anymore. We're holy and righteous before God. But if we don't really believe this, then it's not going to change our lives.
And isn't that what "living victoriously" is all about?
The author, Trevor McIlwain, was a missionary in several different fields over the years and noticed a consistent problem in the established churches in those fields. This problem was a misunderstanding of where the people got their salvation.
What had happened was that the missionaries had gone, preached the "Gospel" (meaning, God loves you, Jesus died for you, now say this prayer and you can go to Heaven) and then told the people that now they needed to be baptized and go to church and sing hymns, and not commit adultery. Years later when asked why they responded so readily to baptism, one member of a tribe in the Philippines answered, "We would have done anything for that first missionary. If he had asked us to cut our fingers off, we would have gladly done it for him."
So these people were believing in a works-based gospel trying to please God by doing all these great things. It's a lie to tell people that they can DO anything about their salvation. What follows are two quotes from the book "Firm Foundations":
"Many confuse the Gospel, God's work FOR us in Christ, with God's work IN us by the Holy Spirit. the Gospel is entirely objective. The Gospel is completely outside of ourselves. The Gospel is not about the change which needs to be made in us, and it does not take place within us. It was completed in Christ, quite apart from us, almost two thousand years ago. The Gospel is not dependent on man in any way. The Gospel is distorted when we turn people's eyes to what is to be accomplished in them We were not and cannot be involved in any part of Christ's historical, finished, redemptive work. The sinner must be taught to look completely away from himself and trust only in Christ and His work of salvation."
"We distort and confuse the Gospel in people's understanding when we try to present the Gospel using terminology which turns people's attention to what they must DO rather than outward to what God has DONE on their behalf in Christ. We should use terminology which directs sinners to trust in what has been done FOR THEM through Christ rather than directing their attention to what must be done IN THEM. 'Accept Jesus into your heart.' 'Give your heart to Jesus.' 'Give your life to Jesus.' 'Open the door of your heart to the Lord.' 'Ask Jesus to wash away your sins.' 'Make your decision for Christ.' 'Ask Jesus to give you eternal life.' 'Ask God to save you.' These modern and commonly-used phrases confuse people's understanding of the Gospel."
What McIlwain is saying here is that when you give someone something to DO in order to be saved, then essentially you are giving them a part in their own salvation. They stand before God as Judge and say, "I'm saved because I said a prayer," rather than "I'm saved because Jesus paid the penalty for my sins."
And then imagine the confusion in their lives after this. "Did I do it right? Was I serious? Did I really give my heart to Jesus?" The Gospel is NOT about us accepting Jesus as Savior- as the payment for our sins- because WE are not the judge that decides whether that is sufficient. That would be like someone offering to serve a prison term for a criminal and the guilty party agreeing to that. Well, that's great. But unless the judge is okay with the arrangement, there's no deal. The True Gospel is about how GOD accepted Jesus Christ as the perfect and ONLY penalty for our sins over two thousand years ago.
One message, the "accept Jesus into your heart" type, is subjective and puts the emphasis on what a person must do to be saved. But it's not about doing anything, because as Christ cried out on the cross, "It is finished!"
Paul and Silas told the jailer, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved..." and a few verses later it says, "he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God." Not that he had chosen to believe. Not that he had prayed a prayer, but because he had "come to believe" (that's NIV). The word "believe" in the Greek means "to be persuaded of".
Belief is not something we do. We don't CHOOSE to believe. If we have to choose, then we don't really believe. There's a scene in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass that satirically explains this rather perfectly. The Queen has just told Alice that she is over 100 years old and Alice replies that she can't believe it. The Queen responds, "Can't you? Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eye."
Too many Christians have this opinion of faith. They think that we have to close our eyes to the facts, ignore reality, and believe something. To me, that feels like holding your breath underwater. "I can do it," you tell yourself. "Just a bit longer. I can break my own record. If I believe it, it'll be true." But that's not the point. It's true whether you believe it or not.
A belief forms the basis of your understanding, of your being. A belief affects and alters your world view. But when you CHOOSE to believe, you're not really believing. What you believe (what you are persuaded of) must correlate with what you KNOW, or it will not change your life. I can believe that a gunshot to the head won't hurt me, but I KNOW that's not true, so I'm not likely to put a gun to my head to prove that belief.
However, when I believe that God loves me, that He has the best in store for me, that He gave Jesus as the penalty for my wrongdoing, and that because of this I can be at peace with Him forever, when I believe it and know it, that changes my life!
God is holy and demands perfection. We can't give it. We can't even hope to please this God with our actions. But through Jesus we can be seen as perfect in God's eyes. The Bible equates our sins with "filthy rags" that we wear. But through Christ, we can be "clothed in righteousness". If you are redeemed by Christ, you are no longer a stranger in God's eyes but His own child!
One of my favorite verse is Romans 5:8 where it says, "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Most people skip over the part where it says "while we WERE still sinners" but this is a powerful suggestion. If we're saved, we're not sinners anymore. We're holy and righteous before God. But if we don't really believe this, then it's not going to change our lives.
And isn't that what "living victoriously" is all about?
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