To Live For Christ, We Must Die To Self
Brother Neff’s Collections
Originally Published November 3, 2014
July 20, 2024
Ga 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
At the moment of salvation the believer is "crucified with Christ," yet he is still living upon earth. However, he is not to be the one in charge of his life. By faith he has died with Christ; therefore, he is to live for Christ. He is to allow Christ to live in and through his body, to control, and to be in charge of his life.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Paul said, that we should consider ourselves “to be dead to sin” in Romans 6:11. We still have sinful tendencies within, but having died to them, sin no longer has dominion over us. We die to our selfish desires and pursuits. We are now alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. We should do those things that please Him.
There is a great difference between realizing, “On that Cross He was crucified for me,” and “On that Cross I am crucified with Him.” The one aspect brings deliverance from sin’s condemnation, the other from sin’s power.
Meditation – On the cross, a great exchange occurred. Paul gave Jesus his “try-to-be-right-before-God-by-the-law life” – and Jesus gave Paul His “I-fulfilled-the-law” life.
