Message 4 - By
Jerry D. Green
The
Life Exchanging Gospel
Introduction
This message deals with that which I will call, our old life and
His new life. Something we need to understand however is that our old life is not
really life at all, but death. In actuality, there is no life outside of God
and His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the abundant life which Jesus spoke of as
His reason for coming to this earth in a physical body.
I would also point out that I am not speaking of a changing or
exchanging of lifestyle, but of life itself. For it’s only after the old life
(the old man of sin; the sinful nature) is done away through
crucifixion and burial with Christ) and we are born again of Him (the
incorruptible seed, Jesus Christ, the living word of God; I Peter 1:23-5), being
made partakers of HIS divine nature (II
Peter 1:4), that our lifestyle will be truly changed. JDG
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The Life
Exchanging Gospel
As I was meditating recently, my thoughts centered around this
question. How is it that most preachers are not preaching a life changing
gospel? They only preach a gospel of forgiveness of sins which are past, and
also of the future, while that forgiven man struggles to progressively change
his own life into something which would be pleasing and acceptable to God. I
suppose this is just the rationale of man. I know in my own life, before I came
to the Lord, my sincere thinking was this. When I get saved I am going to live
a clean and pure life which will not bring reproach to God. This was my concept
of being saved. I had seen so many professed Christians living unclean lives
and I knew that was not right. So when the time came when I would make that
“decision for Christ,” I would just “do it.” Of course I was not ready to serve
God right then. I had other things I wanted to do first. I had my life to live.
What I didn’t know at the time was that the same old man who didn’t want to
serve God then, would be the same old man who would decide to get religious at
some future point in time (make a decision for Christ), yet still have other
desires and other things he wanted to do. I didn’t know or take into account
the fact that the same old sin nature
would still be with me after I had decided (made a decision) to serve God. I
knew nothing about the gospel of Jesus, the Christ, that makes a person “…free indeed…” from sin (John 8:30-36). I
did however, thanks be to God, receive the love of the truth (II Thessalonians 2:10-13). The love of
the truth is the only thing that will ever bring a person to the knowledge of
the truth that makes “…free…” (from sin). For, “…when He, the Spirit of truth (the Holy Ghost) is come, He will
guide you into all truth…” (John
16:13), but only IF you allow Him to. If you DO NOT love the truth, you will not
allow Him to lead or guide you into truth and you will be prey to every deceiving “…wind of
doctrine…” that blows (Ephesians 4:14;
and there are many). You will resist
and reject the truth which the Holy Ghost would lead you into because that way
will be a way of crucifixion for the old
man of sin. This is the reason there has always been and always will be
persecution against those who are bold enough to preach the cross of Christ and
His shed blood as the answer for the old
man of sin. The fact is, we are
crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6).
How then can “…we… (who) …are dead to sin, live any longer therein…” (Romans 6:2)? Through death with Him,
we’re loosed from the law (Romans 7:1-4).
And for all who believe it, sin is destroyed (stilled) through
the death of His fleshly body (Colossians
1:20-22; Romans 6:6). Therefore,
“…Sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are under
grace” (Romans 6:14). All of
those who truly believe this from the heart are made partakers (with and IN Him) of His death, burial, and
resurrected life (Romans 6:4), as well as His ascension
into “…heaven…” (Hebrews
8:1; Ephesians 1:3, 1:20, 2:6, 3:10). This is “…the gospel of (Jesus, the) Christ:” which “…IS the POWER of God unto SALVATION to EVERYONE THAT…” BELIEVES IT (Romans 1:16).
As I thought on these things I realized the true gospel is NOT a life changing gospel at all, but rather, it is
a life EXCHANGING gospel. God
doesn’t accept any part of the old life (the old man of sin), but by the cross he is crucified (put to death) and buried
(in union) with Him. All of those who truly believe the gospel, “the good news” of that which Jesus
accomplished on the cross of Calvary, are raised again in newness of life which we
have IN Him. In this, we are made
partakers of the Divine nature (II Peter
1:4). Praise God! And this new God pleasing life (Matthew 3:17) will change our life style. This was
what I had been thinking of as life changing; a gospel that changes the way a
body lives, because it changes the heart of the person that lives in the
body. This can only happen after the old
life (the old man of sin, the old sinful
nature) has been EXCHANGED for the new. Our old man of sin was and “…is crucified…” with Him and we
were and are “…buried with Him by baptism (immersion) into (His) DEATH….” NOT WATER, but “…in the (natural, living, breathing, physical) body of HIS flesh” that, before it was changed, suffered
and died for us (Romans 6:4-6; Colossians 1:22, 2:12; I Corinthians 15:51-57; Philippians 3:21). He was our proxy,
and as many as can believe this from
the heart, and submit themselves to this glorious gospel, are raised anew in the glorious God pleasing life of His Son, and our Lord, Jesus Christ. All of this is an
accomplished, “…finished…” work (John 19:30; Hebrews 4:3;
Psalm 95:11), and the only
requirement is for us to believe the
“…true report…” of the gospel. The transformation from
sin and death unto sinlessness and life, is just as sure to all those who will believe “the Life Exchanging Gospel,” as the fall from life to sin
and death was to Adam and Eve who believed the lie of the devil (John 8:44).
This IS the righteousness (or justice)
of God (Romans 3:26) and it
should be extremely good news to
anyone who is lost.
Message 4 - The Life Exchanging Gospel
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