By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
We all recognize that eternal life in Heaven is the result of a saving relationship with Jesus. And that is where we generally focus when talking about our salvation.
But, many benefits of our relationship with Christ are also in the here and now. Many are a foreshadowing of what is to come but many are a direct benefit of our surrender to Christ while here on earth.
Being cleansed from sin is one benefit that impacts us right now 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come!” and it isn’t that sin is just erased, it is as if it never were.
We are set free from the legacy of sin. For example, we are freed from generational curses. That means that the strongholds Satan had in our family are broken. When we see those kinds of things now, we know that the spiritual part of the battle has been won.
We now need to focus on the habits and viewpoints of people. Spousal abuse seems to be one of the curses that are carried down from generation to generation.
We most frequently learn how to treat people by the example of those who raise us. The sins of the parents are passed down by example to the following generations. The children are not guilty of their parent’s sin of spousal abuse but they often fall into doing it themselves because that is how they saw it done in their parent’s home.
By removing the spiritual battle involved in this sin, it becomes easier to “re-train” the minds of those who think this is how to treat a spouse.
Being a new creation does not make us perfect but it moves us towards the freedom to make decisions based on God’s Word and not our experiences.
We are also freed from the fears, self-doubts and weaknesses we have accumulated. Many of us have been wounded by life. People have hurt us, things have caused us to fear and we have failed to see the strength we possess.
I have ministered to many people over the years that have seen their relationships fail because of their fears. Part of our new creation is the ability to see who we are in Christ. Phil 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” We are not defeated, hopeless or alone.
God Almighty lives within us. He empowers us to face life with confidence. As our relationship with Christ grows, so does our ability to do the things that seemed out of reach before Christ came into our lives.
I’m not into heights. OK, I was afraid of them. I once visited the Arch in St. Louis and actually rode the internal elevator to the top. Not because I wanted to but my young wife did and what man can appear weak before his new bride?
When we got up there, I couldn’t look out the windows which required climbing up on a ledge and looking out. I didn’t freeze physically, but internally, I was terrified. The Arch sways in the winds at that height.
I will swear on a stack of bible that the arch moved sideways 3-4 feet on the day we were there. In truth, it’s designed to sway about 1.5 inches in each direction. Fear!
But as I matured in Christ, while still no fan of heights, I found myself able to ride a swaying lift to the top of the Grace Community Church building while it was under construction and install the ceiling tiles at the top of the sanctuary…about 25’ high. I know you may not believe but I can attest that only God’s re-creation of me allowed me to do that.
We can do all things through Christ Jesus…even get off the ground. Another blessing found in our relationship with Jesus is that We are removed from Satan’s control.
Colossians 1:13 “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.”
When Satan was our master…I’d better stop there and clarify. Many would deny that Satan is or was ever their master. But 1 John 5:19 says “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
While Christ won the victory on the cross, Satan is no less the leader of the opposition on earth…and that’s everyone not a Believer.
After being redeemed and restored to our relationship with Christ, our value has been restored, our desires have changed, our heart has been made new.
We live in the Light, we see clearly and correctly, we are no longer fooled by his shadows. When we were aligned with Satan (his title) or Lucifer (his name), our decisions were clouded by sin and faulty thinking.
The Bible calls this “darkness”. But Christ is the light that dispels darkness. “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12).
As we have all learned, being in darkness can lead to stubbed toes and fear of those things that go bump in the night. Walking with Christ clarifies a lot of the things that we fear…Ever been to a “haunted” house? Once you see how it works, the fear is gone. It becomes almost comical when you realize that your first trip in the darkness caused you to be afraid.
God means for our relationship with Him to be to our advantage in the world we live in as well as the world to come. Ask yourself this: “Am I taking benefit from my relationship with Him? And could I find more if I looked for them?”
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Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.