Post by Fletch on Apr 4, 2013 1:35:06 GMT -8
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (New International Version)
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Mourning Christian, why weep? Are you mourning over your own corruptions? Look to your perfect Lord, and remember, you are complete in Him; you are in God's sight as perfect as if you had never sinned; no, more than that, the Lord our Righteousness has put a divine garment upon you, so that you have more than the righteousness of man—you have the righteousness of God. You who are mourning by reason of inbred sin and depravity, remember, none of your sins can condemn you. You have learned to hate sin; but you have learned also to know that sin is not yours—it was laid upon Christ's head. Your standing is not in yourself—it is in Christ; your acceptance is not in yourself, but in your Lord; you are as much accepted of God today, with all your sinfulness, as you will be when you stand before His throne, free from all corruption. I beseech you, lay hold on this precious thought, perfection in Christ! For you are "complete in Him." With your Savior's garment on, you are holy as the Holy one. "Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yes rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." Let your heart rejoice, for you are "accepted in the beloved"—what have you to fear? Let your face ever wear a smile; live near your Master; live in the suburbs of the Celestial City; for soon, when your time has come, you shall rise up where your Jesus sits, and reign at His right hand; and all this because the divine Lord "was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Mourning Christian, why weep? Are you mourning over your own corruptions? Look to your perfect Lord, and remember, you are complete in Him; you are in God's sight as perfect as if you had never sinned; no, more than that, the Lord our Righteousness has put a divine garment upon you, so that you have more than the righteousness of man—you have the righteousness of God. You who are mourning by reason of inbred sin and depravity, remember, none of your sins can condemn you. You have learned to hate sin; but you have learned also to know that sin is not yours—it was laid upon Christ's head. Your standing is not in yourself—it is in Christ; your acceptance is not in yourself, but in your Lord; you are as much accepted of God today, with all your sinfulness, as you will be when you stand before His throne, free from all corruption. I beseech you, lay hold on this precious thought, perfection in Christ! For you are "complete in Him." With your Savior's garment on, you are holy as the Holy one. "Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yes rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." Let your heart rejoice, for you are "accepted in the beloved"—what have you to fear? Let your face ever wear a smile; live near your Master; live in the suburbs of the Celestial City; for soon, when your time has come, you shall rise up where your Jesus sits, and reign at His right hand; and all this because the divine Lord "was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."