I randomly post things on my Facebook page that Holy Spirit shows me. Last week, I was prompted to post the following to encourage and empower friends to live victoriously in who they already are in Christ!

Beloved friends - please don't let the enemy deceive you into believing you're evil and that you must war against/overcome yourself or "the flesh". Scripture clearly reveals that our old nature/flesh was put to death when we were co-crucified with Christ (Rom 6.6) and now we are new creations all together (2 Cor 5.17) - This means your old nature/flesh is already dead!! Now we are partakers of His divine nature (2 Pt 1.4) and no longer wrestle against flesh and blood (Eph 6.12).

Needless to say, the status could be offensive to some who have previously thought or been taught otherwise. I sat back and watched as people either “liked” it, were encouraged/empowered or debated/discussed what they believed was true out of Scripture and experience. You have to understand. I don’t post things to offend or stir up conflict. I simply post what the Lord has been pouring into and stirring in my heart and soul so that others might receive in the same manner. At the end of the mini-discussion, I posted these two responses, going a lot more in-depth on what I believe in regards to who we are in Christ as result of the Cross.

I am too convinced by Romans 6 that when we were actually and literally (not just metaphorically) co-crucified with Christ, sin really was conquered. Why else would Jesus call us more than conquerors (Rom 8.37)? I am that impressed by what Jesus did on the Cross – to believe that when He said sin won’t have a hold on us anymore, he meant it and we can actualize that here on earth and live victorious lives that don’t give sin any credit or room to reign! Focus and meditate on verse 2 where Paul states that how shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Clearly Paul is exhorting believers to stop being powerless and susceptible to sin. This verse states that sin shouldn’t be an issue anymore like it used to be when we were “walking in the flesh”. Over and over again in Romans 6 Paul continues to declare that we really are dead to sin and alive in Christ. Look at verse 6 where he says that “our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin”. This is huge!! I think it’s important to note that just because we’re dead to sin doesn’t mean we don’t have the ability to sin. We can choose to go against our new nature and walk in sin instead. I think in Christ we no longer have an obligation to sin but that doesn’t mean we can’t sin. I believe that all sin is independent living from God, our source – choosing not to abide in the victorious, conquering power of Christ that’s already freely residing in you. Verse 14 says that sin doesn’t have any dominion over you anymore. If that is absolutely true than why are we still struggling with sin? I think the majority of the Christian experience with struggling and warring with sin for a lifetime has resulted because preachers, teachers and pastors have used bad theology to assure Christians that their entire lifetimes will be one long weak battle with sin and they won’t conquer sin until they get to Heaven. Jesus didn’t die for us to just live for “sin management” or just to see victory in Heaven one day! He came to set us free completely!! We have to understand that sin wasn’t even the main reason why Jesus came – granted, it was the main thing keeping us separated from the Father, but He ultimately came to restore right relationship with us and tear the veil of sin and unrighteousness that kept us from Him and His Presence! We have to realize in the light of Scripture and reality of the finished works of the Cross, that it should no longer be natural to sin, because the truth is that’s not are new nature! I fully believe that it should be more natural to live righteously and holy than sinfully. Remember – we’re not fighting for victory, we’re living out of a place of already established victory in Christ. We have nothing more to gain or work for than what the grace of Jesus established and poured out to us fully when he said “it is finished”. The enemy honestly wants us to believe that sin has power but in the reality of Jesus, it doesn’t at all. Look at Colossians 2.15, it says that every demonic power, evil and principality has already been stripped and dethroned of its authority when Jesus triumphed over it on the Cross. This is really good news!! The reality of Heaven that we can grasp now on earth is that we’re not fighting for anything – we’re simply resting and believing in the power of Christ that has already won the battle long ago.

 I hope you see where I'm coming from. I'm not being arrogant or saying that I have it all together. I'm just really for seeing people walk in the victory of Christ that is freely theirs! I'm passionate about reforming the false mindset that has consumed most of the American church and convinced them that they are weak and powerless with Christ! My experience has been that the more I believe that Christ really has overcome sin and rendered it powerless, the more I walk and manifest the righteousness, holiness and purity that Jesus already sees me as through the blood! I've never seen more breakthrough or victory over sin since I started believing that a couple of years ago. The truth is that the more we believe the falsehood that we're still bound and prone to sin, the more we actually will be! It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Proverbs 23.7 nails it when it says "as a man thinks in his heart, so he is." How you see yourself, dictates how you will live and act! The more we really agree with the victorious finished work of the Cross and walk in our true identity (right with God, etc) and inheritance (freedom, victory, power, etc) as sons, the more we will not even have to worry about giving into sin! I think it's as simple as repenting or changing the way we have previously thought about who we are and actively and restfully agreeing and aligning our awareness (heart, mind and spirit) with who Jesus has already made us into! The key is seeing yourself as who He already sees you as and says you are – that’s true identity!! He no longer condemns us (Rom 8.1) so we can be assured that He doesn't see us nor call us sinners anymore! No matter how much we miss the mark, mess up or refuse to believe truth, He still sees us through the perfect sacrificial blood of Jesus that reconciled, justified and redeemed us once and for all! He sees us no different than Jesus! Our identities are no longer associated, linked and dependent upon our actions! If they were, He couldn't truly call us and see us as sons, saints, friends and more than conquerors! Believe it and be set free! Of course, we are all on the journey and process of discovering and walking out those truths in Christ here on earth, but the more we believe it, the more we manifest it/Him powerfully!