If you were sincere in your confession to God and have surrendered the authority over your life to Jesus Christ you have become a “Born-Again” child of God; God has forgiven you of your sins and you are no longer his enemy. You have been made pure in God’s eyes because the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imparted to you due to your faith in Him. Your name has been written in “The Lamb’s Book of Life” and you are His forever.
A Change of Status
You may still “feel” like the old you. The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. What does that mean to you? It means you can no longer look for truth in your human feelings and emotions. The only real truth is the word of God. Put your trust in the words of God regardless of what you are feeling at any given time. The word of God is our anchor in the sea of chaos and confusion that the enemy is perpetrating upon mankind.
The one truth that is rarely conveyed to new believers is that once you switch sides…from the darkness of Satan’s realm (the world system) to the light of Jesus Christ (the Heavenly system), Satan can no longer control you as he could before you were saved. But that does not stop him from trying. He may not be able to control you but he will do what he can to keep you from growing in your relationship with Christ. He will still try to throw roadblocks in your path and try to discourage you with his lies. Not understanding this hindered my walk with Christ for a long time until I learned the truth.
Jesus said that the truth will set you free. And the truth IS that You Have The ability to say “NO” to the devil and his influencers. Before you were saved you were a slave to sin (Romans 7:18-19). But now you are a servant of the risen Christ and, as such, the devil has no power over you unless you allow it.
An Example From My Own Life
I placed my faith in Christ in 2008. A habit I developed then (and follow today though I am retired) was getting up an hour earlier than usual before going to work so would have time to pray and read the Bible to start my day. I struggled daily during that time with my attitude towards the general public I dealt with every single day. Nice people were easy to be nice to in return. It was all of the others (angry people, vulgar people, abusive people) that tripped me up to the point that the 45 minute drive home was nothing but me reliving my “attitudinal failures” for the day.
I worked at a large hospital and up until August of 2012 I was still smoking cigarettes; sneaking around in the bushes to grab a quick smoke on a no-smoking campus was just another failure that continued to fuel the devil’s lie that I was not saved and only deluding myself.
At that time the church I attend had a building in the parking lot across the street where we would hold our Sunday morning adult Sunday School class. When the class dismissed we would all walk across the street for the church service. But I would always hang back and duck behind the church van to have a quick smoke…you know…those preachers can run long with their sermons.
So on Sunday, August 14, 2012, I hung back to have my smoke behind the van. I paced back and forth as I puffed. Looking up I notice four kids from the youth group standing at the entrance to the church across the street and pointing at me as I finished field stripping my cigarette butt. I was so ashamed at that moment! What example was I setting for the kids? I would have crawled into my car and went home if my wife wasn’t waiting for me in the church.
What a beating the evil one gave me that day and into the night! The guilt was heavy. The self-hate that I had battled my whole life was rising back to the surface. Had I been deluding myself for the last four years? Was I really saved on that day in June of 2008 or was I deceiving myself? Sleep did not come easy that night. When I finally crawled out of bed I was still whipped and feeling like that guy that just wasn’t worthy enough for God to change.
A Gibb’s Head Slap from the Almighty (an NCIS reference)
Just FYI, I was a 2nd shift worker. The morning of the 15th of August was a bright and pleasant morning. So I placed my lawn chair under the elm tree in the front yard, my coffee cup on the over-turned 5 gallon bucket, and my dog and Bible on my lap.
I tried to go through my Bible reading routine-Psalms, Proverbs, and my Bible-In-A-Year schedule. But the fiasco of the day before just would not let me be and I finally put my Bible aside. I looked around to be sure there were no neighbors outside and close enough to hear me when I looked upwards and said out loud, “Lord, how can I tell anyone about the saving power you’ve exhibited in my life when I am still a slave to these little cancer sticks?”
I then had a flashback to that night in the hospital when, thinking I was about to die, I unloaded on God (see the post, “Dead Man Walking“). I decided to be honest and admit to Him that I was powerless over my addiction to cigarettes. I quoted the better part of what I said in the hospital that night in 2008.
“Father, I’ve tried to quit smoking on my own. I tried every gimmick on the market: nicotine gum, nicotine patches, vaping, throwing cartons of cigarettes out one day and having to go back and buy more the next…I even had a little computer gizmo I carried in my pocket that would beep whenever I could have a smoke (the idea was that the beeps would keep getting further and further apart until I was “weened” off of the cigs). I can’t do it. If you want me to stop smoking you will have to make it happen…I can’t…I give up trying.”
I would almost swear, and I’m serious about this, that I heard God speak to me at that moment. It was profound.
“Duh.”, I heard him say.
“What?”, I replied.
“I thought you figured that out already back in ’08. You’re a slow learner.”
Yes, I was embarrassed that the Lord of all creation, who had intervened profoundly into my life only four years earlier, would have to remind me of a lesson I should have had already cemented in my spirit. In my defense I have never, ever, claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. To make a long story even longer I will just say that, in that moment, I put my faith in God’s ability to do the miraculous…again.
That Monday morning God took away my addiction to cigarettes. Yes, just like that. No withdrawals. It was as if I had never smoked a day in my life! At this writing it has been 13 years since I last smoked a cigarette. God listens to his children. God cares about his children. But we must believe He can do anything without limitation. As Jesus often said to people he healed, “Your faith has made you well.” We must believe.
For the record, in 2009, I was diagnosed with cancer in my stomach lymph nodes. I had 17 radiation treatments that killed the cancer. During that whole ordeal I had a complete peace just like I experienced in the hospital in 2008. It is amazing how soon, once the danger has passed, that we forget how powerful and faithful our God truly is.
So the point that I am trying to make here is one I learned from my pastor at a Men’s Group meeting one night. And that is that we are no longer a victim of sin. We are not a prisoner of the Evil One if Jesus has set us free. If we are Born Again. We have the power, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, to say, “No”.
“If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.”
– Jesus Christ (John 8:36)
We are in a spiritual battle every day of our lives. Yes, the war has been won by Jesus Christ, but the battle rages still today and will continue until the window on the Church Age, also known as The Age of Grace, closes.
“Today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.
Run to Jesus.
God bless.