But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin?  Absolutely not!  If I rebuilt the system I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker.  For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Galatians 2:17-21 HCSB

My pastor explains the term justified (as used in the bible) in this way-just as if I’d never sinned.  Our scripture passage begins by saying that if we are found to be sinners while seeking justification, does this mean that Christ promotes sin.  We know that God does not promote or condone sin.  But we also know that because we are sinners and God has such a great love for us that He sent his Son to die on the cross so that if we believe in Him that we may have eternal life (John 3:16).  He did this while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).  He will meet us wherever we are, but we must take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24).  We must come to the cross and die a spiritual death.  In other words we must crucify our sinful nature.  The only way to do this is to come to the cross and trust God completely.

I ask this question because it took many years for me to truly come to the cross.  I was saved before I became a teenager and I think I did fairly well but there were plenty of times I went astray.  It would take me years to understand that this happened because I had not come to the cross. It would take me years to understand that I was lacking peace and joy because I had not come to the cross.  Just as our scripture passage says, I would rebuild what I had torn down.  I would start trying to live a godly life, but then my selfish desires would return and before you know it I had rebuilt the old selfish me and there I was again putting myself first. I truly had to die to self.

Now right here, some of you are wondering what I mean by coming to the cross.  Well, I’m glad you asked.  You see we have a phrase that we sometimes use when someone is messing up and we intend to have a serious chat with them.  We say that we need to have a “come to Jesus” talk with them.  As sinners when we are really messing up that is exactly what we need to do, we need to come to Jesus and we need to come to the cross. You see Jesus died on that cross to save us from our sins.  He bore all the shame and suffering of being mocked, ridiculed, beaten and nailed to that cross to hang there until his death because of my sin and your sin (Isaiah 53:5-6).  He died and rose again so that we could do the same.  You see in order for us to live for Christ through faith, we have to die to our sinful selves.  We have to come to the cross and die spiritually so that the new creature in us can rise (2 Corinthians 5:17). Have you done that yet?

Many of us do it out of sheer desperation.  I know I did. When I finally realized that my way wasn’t working, I had to do it His way.  And let me tell you, I am so glad that I did.  His way has brought me through some storms.  He has walked me through some fire. I am so glad that I finally got it.

The whole concept of dying to self is something that many of us resist simply because we like things the way they are and we don’t want to give that up.  But I will tell you that the peace and joy that await you when you come to the cross, die to self and rise up a new creation, is better than anything you can possibly imagine.  I guess it’s just a tiny taste of the glory that awaits us in heaven.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.  If you have not come to the cross, why not attend a good bible teaching church and draw near to God.  Ask Him to draw near to you and lead you to the cross.  Trust in Him completely and He will lead you on the right path (Proverbs 3:5-6).

The great thing about coming to the cross is that at the foot of the cross you can lay down all your burden and your shame.  You can be made new again.  If you have come to the cross and are living life as a new creature then let me say I am so happy for you.  I hope that you are doing your best to lead others to do the same.  If you have not come to the cross and you are struggling to do this thing called life on your own, then isn’t it time that you gave it all over to Him?  Die to yourself so that you may live in the peace, joy, comfort and protection that God offers. It’s time to come to the cross.

Have a very Happy Easter!!