Colossians 2:6-7. Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
I still remember when Colossians 2:6 first clicked for me.
But let me back up. I grew up in a Christian context where it seemed like the gospel was taught as the way into salvation but after salvation any progress, any spiritual growth, any sanctification happened, not by continuing to trust in the gospel, but by obedience alone, by being a “good Christian,” and by law keeping. I remember as a kid in church if the pastor said that today’s sermon was going to be a “gospel message” that meant he was preaching to the unsaved. And frankly that meant that I didn’t need to listen, because I already had received the gospel.
Honestly I had no idea that after years of being saved the gospel was still for me. Why would it be? Christians don’t still need grace do they? They just need will power to be well behaved and to stop sinning.
But then God began to show me how wrong I had been for so long. That the gospel of grace was still for me and for all Christians forever. That we never outgrow the gospel. That we never get past our need for grace.
And Colossians 2:6 is what made it all click. The way you received Christ, is the same way you walk in him each day from then on.
So let me ask, how did we receive Christ?
Every Christian’s answer here is the same. We received him by his glorious grace, and his unmerited favor. We received him as a gift of unconditional love and mercy. We received him by faith alone. Not by effort, training, merit, performance, or perseverance.
And most of us completely understand this when it come to our justification. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Amen!
But what about when it comes to our sanctification? Our daily living? Our transformation into Christ? Why do we so easily move from grace to law?
I think many Christians believe it is somehow wrong to still be in need of God’s grace after we have been saved for a while. “I should be over this by now,” we think. Or, “God must be so tired of having to put up with my failures after all these years.” Or the classic, “God helps those who help themselves.” As if the goal of the Christian life is to get over needing God’s unconditional love and continuous rescuing.
But is it possible that the complete helplessness that ushered you into salvation is the same complete helplessness and dependency on Jesus that you still need today, even after years and years of being a Christian?
Christian, there is no spiritual experience greater than dependence upon your union with Christ waiting for you. There is no “abundant life” greater than to live in constant awareness of your need of God’s grace. At every “stage” of Christian growth, what we need most is always Jesus. His love. His forgiveness. His assurance. His acceptance. And this ever present need for grace is “to live is Christ.”
You
Is it difficult for you to need grace? Why or why not?
You in Christ
Why is union with Christ the only spiritual experience we need, nothing more?
Christ in you
Where in your daily life can you see yourself living from the same faith that saved you?
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Playlist: Walking In Christ.
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To Live is Christ 