Living By Faith

YOUR PLACE IN CHRIST

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7)

Take your place in Christ and get ready for a front-row seat for the
glory of God!
Mark Hankins

When Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, the first thing he said to Jesus was, “Who are thou, Lord?” (Acts 9:5) The second thing he said to Jesus was, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (v. 6) Saul, who became Paul, then spent the rest of his life finding out who Jesus was and doing what Jesus wanted him to do. Paul coined a phrase that is the signature of his letters: “in Christ.”

The Apostle Paul used the phrase in Christ, in Him, and in Whom over one hundred-thirty times. God sees you in Christ, but you must see yourself in Him. You are a new creature in Christ. In Him you are righteous now, blessed now, healed now, free now, forgiven now, and victorious now!

Take your place in Christ and get ready for a front-row seat for the glory of God! Experiencing the glory and goodness of God is not just for a select few believers. God has a reserved seat for you with your name on it!

Confession: I am taking my place in Christ! In Him I am the righteousness of God. In Him I am triumphant! In Him, I am blessed. In Him I am redeemed. In Him, I have a heritage — an identity and an inheritance!

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RIGHTEOUSNESS: REVELATION AND MOTIVATION

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17)

God sees you in Christ, but you must see yourself in Him.
Mark Hankins

It is important to understand that the Gospel of Christ is a revelation of righteousness. Understanding righteousness is fundamental to Christianity. Understanding righteousness also enables us to win the fight of faith. The Apostle Paul’s letters help us to understand that righteousness is a free gift. His letters also help us to see ourselves In Christ.

Righteousness gives us right standing with God. Righteousness sets us free from sin, guilt, and shame. Since we are free from the motivating power of shame, we are now under a new motivating power of righteousness. The power of righteousness is the revelation of all true victory. We are no longer haunted by a sense of inadequacy or inferiority. God has given us First class righteousness in Christ!

Confession: I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I have right standing with God. I am free from the motivating power of shame. I am now under the motivating power of righteousness. I have victory in Christ!

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SHAME-FREE LIVING

For the scripture saith, Whosever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (Romans 10:11)

We must consistently see ourselves in the light of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Mark Hankins

Many people try to fix their behavioral problems with more and more doses of shame and guilt. Instead of curing the problem, shame perpetuates the problem. The Complete Life Encyclopedia makes this interesting statement about shame:

“Shame is the issue that drives almost every compulsive, self-defeating behavior known to the human race. Shame is at the root of all addictions.”

The cure is at the cross of Jesus Christ. On the cross, God was working in Christ, but He was working on us. Jesus took our condition and we were engrafted into Him. Now, God sees us through the blood, through the cross, and through the resurrection!

Confession: I reign in life through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness through one man Jesus Christ! I am free from guilt, shame, sin, death, and the curse! (Romans 5:17)

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ACT LIKE THE BIBLE IS TRUE

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
(Ephesians 4:23-24)

The power of the blood of Jesus washes away all of the guilty stains and we can stand in God’s presence confidently.
Mark Hankins

You can know that the Bible says these things about you, but they may not seem real to you. You have a part to play. You did not make the new man; God did that. You must put on the new man. One translation says, “put on the new person that you are.” This new man is created in righteousness and true holiness. God would not make an unrighteous new creature. You have been made the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

God sees you through the blood of Jesus. He looks at you as though you never did anything wrong. We can face life confidently. We can pray confidently. In Christ we have right standing with God. It is not only right standing with God; it is the identical standing with the Father that Jesus has. Dare to see yourself this way!

Confession: In Christ I am delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of the Son of God. In Christ I have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

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NEW IDENTITY

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:10)

Put off the old man, with his old ways of thinking, old actions,
and old attitudes.
Mark Hankins

Paul used these “in Christ” scriptures in Ephesians and Colossians to tell you what God has done for you in Christ. Begin to acknowledge these scriptures where Paul talked about who you are and what you have in Christ.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Ephesians 1:7)
And you hath he quickened. (Ephesians 2:1)
And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6)
In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him. (Colossians 2:9-10)
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Confession: I have a new identity. In Christ, I have redemption through His blood. In Christ I am complete!

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