When I remind myself that it's about Jesus and not me I act more like Jesus. I have to remind myself that it is about what Jesus did and not about what I am doing. It's about what Jesus accomplished, it's not about what I am accomplishing.
As a pastor of a church I recently had to take a strength finders test. One of the purposes of the test is to see what our areas of strength are then try to align ourselves with others who are strong in our areas of weakness. I enjoy these types of tests. I find it fascinating how answering some questions can show what I am like. I felt that the results were very accurate. But I also know that if I have accomplished anything it is because of Jesus' strength. He is usually more glorified in my life by using me in spite of my weaknesses instead of my strengths......... I have to constantly remind myself of what Jesus has done.
So let's dig a little deeper in to how we can do this. There are many "in Him" verses in the Bible. Walk in Him, be built up in Him (Colossians 2:6-7) are just a few examples. Then as we expand the concept of "in Him" we see that He is in us. "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
Paul the Apostle through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is letting us know that Jesus is in us. What does this mean for our lives? In The Gospel -Driven Life, Michael Horton helps open our eyes to all that "in Christ" means:
Paul does not say, "Be like Jesus." He says,"You are like Jesus."....... It's easy for us to rely on the gospel for forgiveness and justification and then to look elsewhere for our renewal and sanctification. However, Paul says that it's all there: "in Christ." Only after saying this does Paul then issue the imperative to live a life that is consistent with this truth........ Being in Christ is the perpetual source of our becoming like Christ, not vice versa.
Because it is more natural for us to look at ourselves and our performance than it is to look at Jesus and His performance, we need to constantly remind ourselves of the gospel. So what do we need to remind ourselves of? If we are Jesus followers, if we have placed our trust in Jesus for our salvation and not placed trust in our own righteousness, if we believe that it is only through Jesus that we can find forgiveness of our sins. Then the good news that we need to remind ourselves of is that we are already qualified, we have already been delivered, we have already been transferred, we have already been forgiven and redeemed.
We have to remind ourselves of what we are positionally. What is already ours in Christ. We mature as we get a greater realization of what we already have in Christ.You see, we needed someone to be our substitute, and that is what Jesus is. He has done for us and secured for us what we could never do or secure for ourselves.
So we need to constantly remind ourselves of what Jesus has already accomplished for us and stop focusing on our performance. Tullian Tchividjian says:
When we focus mostly on our need to get better, we actually get worse. We become neurotic and self-absorbed. Preoccupation with our effort instead of with God's effort for us makes us increasingly self-centered and mobidly introspective.
So hopefully we can learn that Christian growth doesn't happen first by behaving better, but by believing better. Believing in what Christ has already accomplished for us.
Troy
Because it is more natural for us to look at ourselves and our performance than it is to look at Jesus and His performance, we need to constantly remind ourselves of the gospel. So what do we need to remind ourselves of? If we are Jesus followers, if we have placed our trust in Jesus for our salvation and not placed trust in our own righteousness, if we believe that it is only through Jesus that we can find forgiveness of our sins. Then the good news that we need to remind ourselves of is that we are already qualified, we have already been delivered, we have already been transferred, we have already been forgiven and redeemed.
We have to remind ourselves of what we are positionally. What is already ours in Christ. We mature as we get a greater realization of what we already have in Christ.You see, we needed someone to be our substitute, and that is what Jesus is. He has done for us and secured for us what we could never do or secure for ourselves.
So we need to constantly remind ourselves of what Jesus has already accomplished for us and stop focusing on our performance. Tullian Tchividjian says:
When we focus mostly on our need to get better, we actually get worse. We become neurotic and self-absorbed. Preoccupation with our effort instead of with God's effort for us makes us increasingly self-centered and mobidly introspective.
So hopefully we can learn that Christian growth doesn't happen first by behaving better, but by believing better. Believing in what Christ has already accomplished for us.
Troy
