ENEMIES NO MORE
Col. 1:22b You were his enemies separated from him by your evil
thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has
done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he
has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless
as you stand before him without a single fault.
NLT
You were an enemy of
God. Your evil thoughts and actions kept
you separated from Him. No one can claim
otherwise. We were born into sin and
stayed in our sins until we opened up our hearts to Christ. If you haven't done that yet, you are still a
sinner, an enemy of God. If you have
turned to Christ and sought His forgiveness for your sins, you are now a friend
of God. It's not something you have
done; it's what Christ has done for you.
Jesus died on the cross
for our sins. God took on our humanity,
lived a sinless life on earth, went to the cross of Calvary, took our sins,
guilt, and shame upon His own heart, and died for our sins so that He could
bring us into the presence of God. When
Jesus died, He broke down all the barriers that keep us from God. He went back to heaven and now serves there
as our way to God, our righteousness, holiness, intercessor, and advocate. In Christ, we are made holy and blameless,
able to draw near to God. In Christ, and
only in Christ, are we able to stand before God without fault.
Do not let Satan
deceive you. If you are living a sinful
life, you are an enemy of God. It makes
no difference at all if you once professed faith in Him; if you are not living
a life that reflects your profession, you are an enemy of God.
We are then compelled
to stay in close fellowship with Christ.
We must strive to let Him always be Lord of our lives. We must stand guard over our souls and
quickly confess our sins to Him when we do sin, and we do. We must stay in God's Word so that we will
recognize our sins. We must understand
our constant need to live in Christ.
Otherwise, we will not be able to draw near to God. We cannot approach God on our own; our sins
keep us away from Him; we need Jesus.
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