Christ in you!

Listening to the news this week about the awful happenings in Cumbria, I, like most of us, was shocked. How did this happen? How could a seemingly nice guy do that?
Of course there are probably factors that I am totally unaware of in the life and circumstances of Derrick Bird, and so rather than speculate I found myself pondering the question of what I might be capable of in certain circumstances, but for the grace of God. OK, maybe not a rampage like that, but what about a cutting word or a spiteful thought, or the strong urge to punch someone on the nose.. or worse? If you are a member of the human race, you’ll know what I mean. Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount equates that with murder. It’s the same seed.

The Christian doctrine of original sin (far from meaning that when we sin, we are very original!) means, in the words of the puritan writer, Thomas Watson, ‘Adam’s sin is ours by propagation. Not only is the guilt of Adam’s sin imputed to us, but the depravity and corruption of his nature is transmitted to us, as poison is carried from the fountain to the cistern.’ In other words, if I look hard enough, I will find the seeds of every sin lurking in my heart – and that is scary!
And that of course, is why I need (and have!) a Saviour. You can argue (and the puritans did) that the more aware you are of the cancer of sin lurking in the hidden recesses of your heart, the more it will cause you to wonder at God’s saving grace and prize the gift of forgiveness and new life in Christ.

Speaking of new life in Christ, I was preaching this morning on those famous words from John ch3 ‘You must be born again’. I was struck by the radical nature of Jesus’ words. Speaking to a respectable, God-fearing man, instead of saying to him ‘Nicodemus, you need a little adjustment in your life’, what he actually said was, in effect ‘Nic, for all you efforts, your life is broken, it is fundamentally flawed and you need radical heart surgery.’

Thank God for the life-changing Gospel of new life in Jesus Christ!
How relieved and glad I am that in receiving and embracing Christ as saviour, we are not only accepted and forgiven, but a new and life-changing force invades our lives with the agenda of making us more and more like Jesus!

Christ in you, the hope of glory! Colossians ch1:27

Goff
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