A CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES
By Michael Diener
"So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:11 ESV)
A few years ago, a letter appeared in the national news that was sent to a deceased person by the Indiana Department of Social Services. It read: “Your food stamps will be stopped effective in March because we received notice that you passed away. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.”
That humorous story is actually a good description of the life of each and every Christian. Due to Adams original sin and our own sinful acts of thought, word, and deed, we were dead--dead in our sin and enemies of God. Paul tells us clearly in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
What Paul is speaking of is the eternal “change in our circumstances” that we have through Christ Jesus. Jesus lived the perfect life required by the Law on our behalf. He died the death we deserve as a sacrifice for our sin, and He rose victoriously from the grave in order to make us a new creation in Him. It is because of what Jesus has done for us that we can joyfully confess, along with Paul, that we consider ourselves alive to God in Christ Jesus. Thanks be to God! For He did not leave us in our sin and condemnation. Instead, He gave us a change of circumstances through Jesus Christ. May we live each day in the joy that this Good News brings.
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