October 7, 2009 RECONCILIATION

2 Corinthians 5:21 - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Chambers opens by explaining:
Sin is a fundamental relationship; it is not wrong doing, it is wrong being, deliberate and emphatic independence of God.
His statement is a powerful one that hits at the very core of what we are without Christ. The issue is not simply that we commit sins, but that we are inherently driven to that behavior because of our sinful nature. This is why a legalistic approach to Christianity is so misguided. If we focus on a list of behaviors and think that adherence to those “rules” is the key to redemption, perhaps we don’t really understand why Christ died on the cross at all. Legalism allows us to keep God at arms length and never do the real work – the heart work – that is the foundation for our Christian walk.

Most all of us can live “right” under our own power for a limited time. We can hold our tongues for a day, be patient for an afternoon, but that doesn’t get to the core of WHY we are so driven to the behavior - and that “why” is what Chambers calls “the heredity of sin.”

Talking about “sin” – especially in these days – isn’t very popular. We prefer the relative morality that doesn’t really hurt anybody’s feelings. It’s non-confrontational, non-judgmental and perhaps most of all, undemanding. We can excuse any number of behaviors simply by pointing out our difficult circumstances or less than stellar upbringing, and there is no expectation of us to do or be any better because we are supposedly chained to those behaviors because of our past. But this is not the message of Christ! Jesus died on the cross and took on those sins and when we allow Him to do His work in us, He can free us from those chains!
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17,21)
We claim a new heredity – that of a child of God. When we accept him as our savior, we accept the redemption that Christ did for us on the cross, and that work alone is what saves us. Chambers explains:
A man cannot redeem himself; Redemption is God’s “bit,” it is absolutely finished and complete; its reference to individual men is a question of their individual action. A distinction must always be made between the revelation of Redemption and the conscious experience of salvation in a man’s life.
It is true that our behaviors SHOULD change, but we must never confuse the cause and the effect. That is, we aren’t saved because we claim a list of things we are no longer allowed to do, and another list of things we must do, NO, we change because we allow Christ to do His work on our hearts. My daily prayers are a continual submission of my heart to the Savior, so that He can do His work, and His grace and love will shine through my life.