IDENITIY SERIES

Identity Series Sermon 2 Week 3

The cross doesn't just forgive my sin it exposes my value if forgave my sin but it also exposed my value the Father doesn't see us through where we've been he sees us through his son and the sons blood Christ didn't die for us to be failures continually he died to set you free Jesus didn't die on the cross just to forgive me of my sins he died on the cross to put his life inside of me he died on the cross to put his ways inside of me his spirit inside of me and he told me to deny myself to put off everything that I am and was so that I could put on everything he is so that I could literally step into his identity but the only way to step into his identity is to step out of mind he said you gotta die if you're gonna live and he's not talking about your heart stopping he's talking about the fact that he wants to give you life and life more abundantly he wants to give you life and life eternal but you cannot have life and life abundantly or eternal life in him unless you die to yourself unless you die to your old ways unless you surrender yourself pick up your cross and step into his eye identity.

The cross has a 3 fold relationship to us. It has a past relationship called justification where God declares the sinner righteous. It has a future relationship called glorification where we'll be eternally transformed to live in the presence of God forever. My concern as I am studying for this series but mostly as I've seen the consistent transformation my life has taken is the present relationship with the cross which is sanctification which is the part of our relationship with God that transforms the life of a sinner who is now a saint who is now in the family of God. We've lost sight of the cross. We haven't Lost site of the justification the past relationship with the cross. We never forget that we've been saved and that we're going to heaven. We haven't lost sight of the future part of the cross but what we've lost sight of is the present power of the cross

1 peter 2.24-25

1 Peter 2:24–25 CSB

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray,, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. [1] 1 Peter 2.24-25

On the cross Jesus bore our sins. It uses the plural for sin it says sins, his healing is tied to the wounds and the wounds is tied to the cross and the cross is tied to sin. Alotta people want healing but don't want to address the sin! The cross only helps the healing if the sin which brought about the problem is dealt with. You can't appeal to Jesus and the cross for healing if you don't want to address the sin which brought about the wound that's needing to be healed. Jesus bore the sin and by his wounds, he will bring healing. But only if the sin has been addressed. A lot of people want a counselor to make them feel better. As long as they don't address the sin. Most of the time when the counselor begins to address the sin They're ready to go to another counselor. The cross cannot come to bear on the pain that you're wanting to be healed If the sin goes unaddressed. Jesus didn't die for circumstances. He didn't die for our issues. He didn't die for our mistakes. Jesus died because of sin And unless you treat the sin as a sin. Then the savior can't heal the wound that the sin Caused. So everybody wants healing, but what they don't want is the mechanism that brings healing. Jesus died for and actually became sin. 2 cor 5.21 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 corinthians 5;21

2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Until we are willing to deal with our problems as sins the cross won't be effective because Christ paid the price for our sin, going to AA can help me stay sober but coming to the foot of the cross will set me free from the sin of drunkeness, going to a Psychiatrist can help me deal with lust that led to cheating on my wife but Until I come to Jesus and the foot of the cross I won't be set free from coveting my neighbors wife and adultery. See the enemy will try to change the identity of sins to blur the lines of how to address the sins. If the devil can get you to do anything other then address send as sin that he's won because Christ paid for the sin and the only way to eradicate that sin is through Christ in the cross. So if you've been going to a counselor for 20 years and dealing with the exact same problem for 20 years then I'm telling you you're not getting delivered you're getting help coping when Christ said I will set you free. So what the enemy has done is blurred the lines of what we call sin. And then blurring the lines hid the identity of the sin.

Instead of pedophilia we call it minor attracted people

Instead of sexual exploitation we'll call it adult entertainment

Instead of sex cult's where we bump amd grind we'll call it nigh clubs

Instead of adultery we'll call it swinging and open marriage

Instead of mental illness we'll call if gender dysphoria

Instead of gender mutilation let's call it gender transitioning

Instead of fornication well call it intimacy

Instead of lust. Let's call it. Loved

Instead of baby killers, or murders let's call it abortionist

The reason for the cross is to deliver us or free us from sin. With that comes the power of the cross that is continuously delivering us from sin with that comes the message of the cross and the message of the cross is 1 Corinthians 1.18

1 Corinthians 1:18 CSB

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.

18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved1

You see that it says the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing meaning people who are not Christians see the cross and the power thereof as foolishness but to you and I it's everything the message of the cross is the power of God for us who are continually being saved and delivered and freed and redeemed in this false doctrine has came into the church that tells us that we have to be sinners every day all day and word thought or deed it tells us that we have to live this life of weakness and we're no good and we are just as bad offers those who aren't saved that's false and it's not false because I'm arrogant and I want it to be false it's false because the Bible teaches that the cross and the one who died on it died for us died for our sins meaning that we're covered in the blood that gives us the power to be righteous what is righteousness the power to be in right standing with God which automatically frees us from sin so we've got to stop looking at ourselves is these weak little sinful beings and begin to look at ourselves as someone who has the creator of the universe living inside of them glory to God.

Peter 2 that we first read said That we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness: Peter reminds us that when Jesus died on the cross, we also died to sins. Our life is permanently changed by our identification with Jesus on the cross, even as the Apostle Paul described in Romans 6.

We have died to sins in the sense that our debt of sin and guilt was paid by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. When we died to sins with Jesus on the cross, it means that He paid our debts. We do not trouble ourselves over debts that are paid. “He who bore my sins in his own body on the tree, took all my debts and paid them for me, and now I am dead to those debts; they have no power over me. I am dead to my sins; Christ suffered instead of me. I have nothing to do with them. They are gone as much as if they had never been committed.”

So I wanna jump back to where I mentioned Romans chapter 6 where I said our life is permanently changed by our identification or our identity with Jesus on the cross as the apostle Paul described in Roman 6. In my study when I went to read Roman 6 I said well we're just gonna take the time to look at the 1st 14 verses in Romans chapter 6 because it 100% mates the point that basically this whole sermon has been focusing on that when we surrendered our Christ we take part in the death on the cross as Christ died for our sins and we're freed from those sins the word is freedom the only way that we can truly understand our identity in Christ as if we understand what happened on the cross do we accept the fact that we have identity in Christ and our identity in Christ is freedom so let's look at Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6:1–14 CSB

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self, was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. 14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace. [2]