God-Shaped Significance – June 8, 2014

Justification
False Belief:  I must meet certain standards to feel good about myself. (Fear of failure)

God’s Truth:  Because of justification, I am completely forgiven by and fully pleasing to God.  I no longer have to fear failure.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,  Romans 8:1

Propitiation
False Belief:  Those who fail, including myself, are unworthy of love and deserve to be punished. (Guilt)

God’s Truth:  Because of propitiation, I am deeply loved by God. I no longer have to fear punishment or punish others.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!   Romans 5:6-9

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  2 Corinthians 5:21

Reconciliation
False Belief:  I must have the approval of certain others to feel good about myself. (Fear of rejection)

God’s Truth:  Because of reconciliation, I am totally accepted by God. I no longer have to fear rejection.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.   Romans 5:9-11

Regeneration
False Belief:  I am what I am.  I cannot change.  I am hopeless. (Shame)

God’s Truth:  Because of regeneration, I have been made brand-new, complete in Christ.  I no longer need to experience the pain of shame.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. ” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”   John 3:3-6

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.   Titus 3:5

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you.    1 Peter 1:3-4

My Identity In Christ

Because of Christ’s redemption,
I am a new creation of infinite worth.
I am deeply loved,
I am completely forgiven,
I am fully pleasing,
I am totally accepted by God.
I am absolutely complete in Christ.

When my performance reflects my new identity in Christ,
that reflection is dynamically unique.
There has never been another person like me
in the history of mankind,
nor will there ever be.
God has made me an original,
one of a kind, really somebody!

Search for Significance by Robert McGee

False Beliefs >>>Ungodly Thoughts >>> Emotions >>> Ungodly Actions

God’s Truths >>> Godly Thoughts >>> Emotions >>> Godly Actions

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