Dummies 1 - Friend of God

By Pastor Christian on 6/15/09

This Sunday Brandon kicked-off our fun summer series – “Canyon Creek Church for Dummies.” Over the next ten weeks, we will take the major “what” and “why” questions of church and boil them down into entertaining and informative 35-minute messages. Taken all together they will form THE definitive guide to Canyon Creek Church. Individually, each message will be great resources for the life of Canyon Creek. If you miss any part or just want to send one to a friend, visit our sermon archive page and click on Canyon Creek for Dummies.

We had to start a series like this at the very beginning – what does it mean to be a Christian? Brandon framed it this way, “How do you become ‘a friend’ of God? Every other portion of this series assumes this foundational relationship, so we might as well nail it down now.  To listen/watch Brandon’s excellent answer to this question, visit the sermons page and click “Friend of God.”

This morning, I simply wanted to add an additional thought and ask a question – (1) what happens when Jesus provides the “cross” over the chasm between you and God, and (2) why this way? Why did he have to accomplish friendship like this?

In the interest of time and space I am going to keep this fairly bulleted. Buckle up.

From Sunday, we understand that our sin separates us from God. We further know that we can never heal that separation on our own by “being good.” That is why Jesus paid the price of our reconciliation for us, thereby bridging the gap and allowing us to become friends of God. But what happens? How does Jesus dying “pay the price” for us? What is different? What has changed? How does this single act make billions of people a “friend of God?” Well the answer is pretty darn cool. . .

As Brandon made very clear on Sunday, “the wages of sin is death.” Death is the only answer for sin. The body of sin must be put to death. Wait, I thought we did not have to die because Jesus died?

Well, here is where it gets complicated and simple all at once. Ready?

1. Jesus did actually die and raise to life as our perfect human/God representative.
2. Now, when we accept his gift of reconciliation – WE DIE WITH HIM. Say what?!
      a. That’s right, we die with him. Our body of sin goes into the grave with his.
      b. Romans 6:3 says, “We died to sin, or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into union with Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, through baptism we were buried with
          him into his death.
      c. That is why Baptism is such a significant act in the Christian journey. That plunge underwater represents the plunge of our old body of sin into the grave.

3. Because that old body dies with him – WE ALSO LIVE WITH HIM.
      a. The rest of Romans 6:3 says, “so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too may live an entirely new life. For if we have become united with him in a death like his,
          we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old selves were crucified with him so that our sinful bodies might be rendered powerless and we might no
          longer be slaves to sin. For the person who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him!”

If you can grasp this simple concept, you are on the path to a whole different life. Check this out, when you accept his gift of reconciliation. God, in the great courtroom of the universe, takes your body of sin and includes it in the death of Jesus! In the same way he raises you up into a new life WITH JESUS, and calls you CHILD of God and clean before him!

What are the results of this “death and new life?!”

For starters:
1. You are a FRIEND of GOD. Rom 5:1 says, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2. Rom 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus. That body of Sin is DEAD. The body you live in is the body of life that is given to you as a gift!
3. Therefore, you are not your own! Your whole life is a gift. That old life is gone. You are now a new creation (2 Cor. 5:7) walking around by Jesus merit, under his new life, FREE and at peace with
      God.  Dwell on this – you are alive and free, a totally new order of being. What does a formally dead, now miraculously alive person fear, need, desire, regret? That life is gone. You need to fear
      nothing.

      a. You are Dead to Sin and it eternal consequence (Rom 7:4)
      b. You can be Dead to this world, to its systems, desires and wickedness. Your further gift is that you can start living that way (Rom 8)
      c. You are alive in Jesus (Rom 6)
      d. A child of God (Rom 8:15) Which of his CHILDREN would he abandon?
      e. Sealed FOREVER in this promise by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13)

That is how the Great Chasm is crossed – YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE PERFECT DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST.

COOOOOOOL! 

What could separate you from God and take away this new life? Romans 8:28, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I know I am getting long here, I could keep going for a LOT longer of the incredible implications and beauty of Jesus’ substituionary atonement for us – just get me started.

Until then, I ask this simple question, why this way. Why did God rescue his creation this way?

I want your thoughts, not mine. I want all your well thought out answers.

Remember, not all answer are equal, but most opinions will be accepted :)

Christian

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