Question

How do you know Christ is in you? I look back on my words and don’t see a very nice person. I have asked Him to change me, and I keep repeating the same things.

Answer

Christians, when we struggle with conviction, we know that our sensitivity to our sin is not just a guilty conscience. That’s evidence of God’s Spirit at work in us. To be sensitive to your sin is a good thing. We can suppress a guilty conscience but not conviction from the Holy Spirit. 

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” We still live in the flesh and struggle, but we are in Christ. An excellent study to encourage believers that feel this way is going through Romans 6-8. Romans 6 tells us we are dead to sin but alive in Christ. Next, chapter 7 shows us Paul’s struggle with doing the things he doesn’t want to do. Finally, Romans 8 says there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

We have enough New Testament theology that if you’ve trusted in Christ and Christ alone, then you are now in Him. You’re forgiven, and Christ is in you. The Christians who are not sensitive to their sin are likely not in God’s Word, relying on God’s Spirit, or spending time around God’s people. You need to be around other believers that are mature or maturing. Are you talking about what the Lord’s been teaching you? Ephesians 5:13 reminds us that we are to be controlled by the Spirit. 

Sanctification

God does the work of sanctifying us, but we have a part to play. There is cooperation with God’s word in God’s Spirit. The problem is if we start basing our sanctification on what we do, we fall out of balance. Most of us have a hardwired idea that our works determine our salvation. We obey Him because we love Him, not because He forces us to. To fellowship with Christ, we must be aligned with His word and in step with the Spirit. 

Links Mentioned:

The Testimony of The Evangelists by Simon Greenleaf

Keep in Step With The Spirit by J. I. Packer

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