In Anticipation

On Sunday at St Paul’s we finished a 5 week series of talks on big questions that Christianity must answer:

1. Does God exist?

2. Is the Bible reliable?

3. Is Jesus really alive?

4. Is Jesus the only way?

5. Is Jesus really worth it?

Is was priviliged enough to speak on 3,4, and 5. The talks are on the St Pauls website now.

In my answer to question 5, I looked at whether the benefits of entrusting your life to Jesus outweigh the costs. Someone asked me if I would post the list of 10 benefits that I mentioned. I said, ‘Sure!’

I will post them in a series of 5, 2 each time. Here are the first 2.

Benefit #1: Life

Before attaching our lives to Jesus, we are dead in God’s eyes. Whether we know it, or feel it, it is true. We are spiritually dead in God’s eyes without Jesus, and at high risk of staying that way for eternity.

But in Jesus, we are raised up from that death, to everlasting spiritual life. Ephesians 2:4-5:

But because of his great love for us, , God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.

Benefit #2: Cleansing

Not only do we have a change in our unseen status before God; we also have a tangible break with our past. All the words we have fired off that have hurt; the things we have done that we regret; the things that have been done or said to us – we carry these around with us like filthy stained undergarments. No matter what sort of suit we put oer the top, we carry the stain close to us as a heavey burden.

But Jesus offers us cleansing; Revelation 7:9-14:

After this I looked and there before me was the great multitude that noone could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes – who are they, and where di they come from?’

I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’

And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’ (that is, Jesus).

Recently, I came across this great thought well expressed, by a former teacher of mine, Keith Condie:

How we perceive ourselves profoundly shapes our behaviour. If you are unsure how to answer the question, ‘Who Am I?’, or if you have an unhelpful answer to that question, it will impact on your marriage. Some of the most selfish people I have met are those who have very low self-esteem; they are so caught up with themselves and what people think of them, they lack the freedom to love. But those who have a sober estimation of themselves can give to others from a position of inner strength.

Christians are loved and accepted by God. He is the safe haven for us. We are people of immense worth and value simply by virtue of being created in God’s image and being redeemed through the death of his Son. God the Father hasn’t just forgiven us, he’s welcomed us into his family as his beloved children and heirs.

You may know this, but do you know this? Is it a truth that shapes your life and self-perception? It’s not meant to swell our heads with pride and arrogance; its humbling because its only of his grace. We need to wholeheartedly take this truth on board. It sounds strange, but even low self-esteem is about pride. Beneath self-pity and feelings of failure and rejection lurks the desire to be somebody – to be recognized as a significant and worthwhile person. The research suggests that strong (ie. emotionally together) individuals create strong marriages. When two people who understand who they are in Christ come together, that gives great strength to their marriage. The gospel of grace shapes our identity, so the more you grasp the truth of who you are in Christ, the better it will be for your relationship.