Finding Rest in Christ: Abide in Him

In my most recent post in this series on Finding Rest in Christ, my words and prayer were to present to you a clear explanation and biblical understanding of the salvation offered by God through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Today, I want to share those gospel truths again, for we who have trusted in Christ and are sealed and saved by God continue to need the Savior and his gospel every moment for the rest of our lives.

I have heard teachers and fellow Christians preach to the lost soul a true gospel, but to the Christian brother or sister teach a distorted one (Galatians 1:6-7)….and I have preached a faulty gospel to other Christians and myself, as well.

 

By our refusal as redeemed-ones to stand firmly on God’s promises and by not persevering in our preaching of the true gospel both to ourselves and to the Christian believers around us, our lives are a mess, we are miserable, and we strive and stumble and groan, much like those who have never known the saving mercy and grace of God.

Where is the life of rest that Christ promised to us? Didn’t He say something about a yoke that is EASY and a burden that is LIGHT (Matthew 11:28-30)? How does the anxious and stressed out “I’ll-never-be-good-enough,” self-seeking and reputation-promoting Christian life (ask me how I know…) live up to God’s promise of a soul that is quieted and at peace, where there is no room for striving in a heart so full of love for one another, brimming over with joy and worship? Where are the rivers of living water that are supposed to flow from my soul?

This striving-in-the-flesh Christian life is often me, friends, but the minute by minute Spirit-applied gospel-good-news is teaching my wandering heart to stay tethered and clinging to the same truths that once saved my soul.

If you, too, wonder where you can find rest for your redeemed soul and when the try-hard-Christian-life will ever let up, would you please let me speak frankly with you from the book of Galatians? The truths of law and grace and gospel from this book have changed the course of my Christian life….

Fellow sister, if you are working to keep all of the Christian rules and live up to the man-made expectations and demands — in paraphrasing the words of Paul, in love I challenge both your heart and my own:

Oh foolish woman, who has bewitched you? Look at the Son of God, crucified on a cross on your behalf! Look at your sin laid upon Him, His bearing all the guilt and shame and condemnation that you rightfully deserved but that He lovingly bore in your stead.

Now, this is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by your own works, or by hearing with faith? Why, by faith in the Son of God, of course!

Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit and in faith, are you now being perfected by the flesh and through works? No! NO! The gospel is the same today as when you received Jesus. You don’t receive Christ by faith and then SET HIM ASIDE to go live the Christian life and PLEASE GOD ON YOUR OWN.

Rather, you walk by the Spirit.

What does this mean? It means that we abide in Christ. He keeps us anchored and tethered to Himself, and we feed on His words, we seek Him with all our heart. We continue and remain IN HIM, for HE does the work in us. By His grace and in His strength, we abide in Him.

..HE will work in your heart and my heart to walk in the good works that He lays out for us for the purposes of His glory and His kingdom.

..HE works in us to love others.

..HE works in us to obey His commands.

..HE works in us the fruit of an abiding life.

..HE places His Spirit within us and guards our soul securely in His love.

We know that we are not saved by good works, but rather by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). He saves us and makes us His own, and now that we are saved we don’t suddenly start trying to do good works in our flesh to please Him.

It’s time to stop DOing, because, my sister, it’s already DONE.

Your righteousness, your good standing before God is eternally settled, because the blood of Christ is credited to your account forever. Now, go live your Christian life just like you received your Savior (Colossians 2:6).

You received Christ by trusting in Him, not in yourself. You received Christ by believing His word and yielding to Him. Rather than attempting to establish your own righteousness and identity to be accepted by God, you received Christ by receiving HIS righteousness and HIS identity. And this is how you live the Christian life, too….trusting, resting, abiding, receiving, believing.

“..If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25

Do you want to live a godly Christian life? Then walk by the Spirit. Don’t try to work out your salvation by your own striving and in your own flesh. Abide in Christ, for you do not bear real fruit that glorifies God by any other means. Which brings us to my next post on bearing spiritual fruit..coming soon..

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5