But let me confess

 Colossians 1:21-23

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

Are you a member of the family of God, have you entered by grace through the faith given to you by the Father to enter into a relationship with the One who holds all things together?  Or are you what God refers to as the fool, one who puts trust in self, or religion, but not in the Christ who paid your debt in full.

My story is for 27 years I was a fool, a Baptist who knew enough to fear God’s wrath but too full of self to give him my life, to trust Him with what we call the future.  But that all changed one night in Victoria, Texas, in what was then the Christopher Inn.  A motel room, a Gideon Bible, the Holy Spirit and me, and I opened the Bible to Romans, chapter 10.  Now I did not know what Romans 10 had to say, but was just very aware that I was living the life of a poser, and I was tired of acting like someone I wasn’t.

Romans 10:1-4 nailed me, and I quote: “Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”  That was true, I wanted God on my terms, but that night it became clear God was not going to negotiate, He was not going to compromise, Jesus Christ had died on the cross and paid my debt in full with His blood.  And as I read in verses 9 and10, it made clear what I must do to enter into the family of God.  Romans 9-10, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.“ 

That night I was changed, the Scripture refers to it as “born again” and the world loves to make fun of anyone who makes that claim.  Now not only did my eternal destination change, but also I was a new creation in Christ, the old Bob had died, and Christ was now living in me and I in Him.  I was not sinless, but I was no longer under the control of sin, each moment of each day I would choose to live dependent on God or to decide to live independent, and the Bible calls that sin.

Now If I live by how I feel and not by the authority of Scripture I’m going to feel like I’m a total phony for my flesh has learned how to get its needs met outside of Christ, and those habits take time to submit to setting your mind on what Christ has stated.  But let me confess Jesus Christ has done everything that is needed;  “to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice