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N E I L   A N D E R S O N   D A I L Y   D E V O T I O N A L
             from Freedom in Christ Ministries

February 2

A RADICAL, INNER TRANSFORMATION

By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did
not prove vain (1 Corinthians 15:10).

If you believe that you are part light and part darkness, part
saint and part sinner, you will live in a very mediocre manner
with little to distinguish you from the non-Christian. You may
confess your proneness to sin and strive to do better, but you
will live a continually defeated life because you perceive
yourself to be only a sinner saved by grace who is hanging on
until the rapture. Satan knows he can do nothing about who you
really are, but if he can get you to believe you are no different
from the natural person, then you will behave no differently from
the natural person.

Why does this profile describe so many Christians? Because we are
ignorant of our true identity in Christ. God's work of atonement
in changing sinners to saints is His greatest accomplishment on
earth. The inner change, justification, is effected at the moment
of salvation. The outer change in the believer's daily walk,
sanctification, continues throughout life. But the progressive
work of sanctification is only fully effective when the radical,
inner transformation of justification is realized and
appropriated by faith.

"But didn't I read somewhere that Paul referred to himself as the
chief of sinners?" you may wonder. Yes, but he was referring to
his nature before his conversion to Christ (1 Timothy 1:12-16).
He made a similar statement of self-depreciation in 1 Corinthians
15:9, but continued by saying: "But by the grace of God I am what
I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain" (verse 10).
Paul knew that who he was before Christ and who he became in
Christ were two separate identities.

If you claim to be just a sinner, what will you do? You will sin!
You are professing that sin is at the core of your identity.
That's not what the Bible teaches. Why don't we just believe God
that Jesus is at the core of our being and then begin to live
like it by His Spirit?

Thank You, Father, that I am complete in Your Son Jesus and that
my identity is rooted in Him and not in my sin.


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Additional devotionals are available from Crosswalk.com:
< http://devotionals.crosswalk.com >.
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