THE CRUCIFIED LIFE - Pastor Abel Oyewale Sunday

Pastor Abel Oyewale Sunday and his wife Margaret in Nigeria

THE CRUCIFIED LIFE

Pastor Abel Oyewale Sunday

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

 Romans 6:1-14

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

MESSAGE 

From the onset of the early Church, different people have tried to describe the crucified life. My understanding of the crucified life is one that is wholly given over to God in absolute humility and obedience. It is a life of sacrifice that is pleasing to the Lord and has its roots in Christ’s atoning work on the cross of Calvary, focusing on the death of the flesh to worldliness and sin.

Living a crucified life implies being dead to sin and being alive in God in holiness and righteousness. Children of God living this way are transformed in character into the image of God that they possess within them through Christ.

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Romans 6:6

 “And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:24

These two passages confirm that the subjection of the flesh to the cross of Jesus Christ is not negotiable for us as Christians. To be born again means to put our old way of life in the flesh to death on the cross, and to thereafter receive a new kind of life which is yielded to God in righteousness, made available through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After you become born again, you need to enforce the power of the crucified life that you possess inside of you continually by not yielding your natural body as an instrument of sin. The crucified life destroys the power of sin over God’s children. Galatians 5:24 says clearly that those who belong to Jesus Christ by being born again have crucified the flesh with its affection and lusts. You need to believe this and walk in its reality.

Moreover, the crucified life is absolutely committed to following the footsteps of Jesus Christ. It wants to love like Him and be more like Him in thoughts, speech, and action. The whole essence of spiritual perfection has everything to do with mirroring the image of Jesus Christ the Author and Finisher of our faith. We attain this level of grace by daily walking in the Holy Spirit, who lives inside us. He continually ministers the mind of Christ to us on what to do at every point in time. When you consistently follow His guidance, the life of the resurrected Christ will show forth in you and sin will no longer be an issue in your life. 

PRAYER POINT:

Father, I receive the grace to walk in your truth that my flesh has been crucified; help me to daily walk in the life of the resurrected Christ in Jesus’ Name.

Amen.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL. Shalom,

PASTOR ABEL

Nigeria