But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 (NIV)

 

God created us in His own image for the sole purpose of enjoying our intimacy with Him. To say we want less than that is to deny ourselves the joy and pleasure of being loved by God and loving Him in turn.

Our union in Christ makes it possible for us to come as close as we can to God. There is no more distance, no more separation. It is sin-consciousness that creates this perceived (but not real) gap between you and God. Sin consciousness comes from focusing on our sins (outside of Christ’s finished work) and trying to make ourselves worthy of God's grace and love on our own terms. If left unresolved, sin-consciousness will make us hide from God rather than come boldly to Him.

It is false piety and unbelief to think that we are so sinful that God will not come near us. Sadly, it is still the experience of many Christians today. Sin can keep us from God, but sin cannot keep God from us. Christ’s finished work on the Cross is the ultimate testament of God’s relentless grace and love. If we are still using sin to define our identity and position with God, we have yet to appreciate the gospel and the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Sin is no longer a barrier to our righteousness in Christ.

This is because we have been forgiven and made clean by His blood. That should give us much reason to rejoice. We can overcome sin by considering ourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ (cf. Romans 10:9-10). That is not a goal, but a reality.

The Christian life is not about struggling with our sinful ways and striving for a gradual victory. Rather it is about experiencing victory right now through a living relationship with Jesus Christ!