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A New Man!
I was once CHAINED to sin, the world’s attractions, the self-life, and held captive by the powers of darkness. I lived as a pagan—estranged from God and separated from Him—a lost soul consumed by a philosophy centered on me, myself, and I. I was the kind of man who would say, “Prove to me there is a God!” Even if He existed, I believed I did not need Him, because I thought I was doing just fine.
I was on my way of earning a doctorate degree in secular educational administration and why did I need God.
I was success driven and climbing the latter of becoming my own man - a man operating under a vast delusion of living a lie in an upside-down world – in a false reality which panders to the flesh and pride of man. I was certainly not living right side up in an upside-down world. I was also upside down in an upside-down world.
But little did I realize I was headed to hell after this life with this kind of foolish rationalization. I thought I had the truth of the world, but I severely lacked the TRUTH OF GOD and His wisdom, knowledge, and discernment to live according to His Will and Ways shown to us by Bible.
I was blind to my own lostness and stupidity. I was the man Apostle Paul talked about when he penned:
And for this reason
God will send them strong delusion,
that they should believe the lie,
that they all may be condemned
who did not believe the truth
but had pleasure
in unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2:11–12 (NKJV)
I was a man of “nakedness” covered with “fig leaves” (worldliness. sin, and selfism) like Adam and Eve after they sinned against God and hid from Him.
They believed a lie from Satan and God banished them from the Garden of Eden. Sadly, they never returned and there is no recording they ever repented of their disobedience.
Sady, many are in this same condition – slaves to sin which I found myself in – a massive world of denial, delusion, and deception which the America culture inculcates on those looking to achieve the so-called American dream of power, prestige, pride and performance to satisfy the soulish and sinful nature.
That is blunt, but it is the truth. And allow me to say, it is easy for a pagan as well as a weak-knee or sub-par Christian to fall into this trap of being a slave to the world system rather than a true servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then at age 29 and a great affliction in my life at that time, God in His beautiful grace and love reached down to my poor, unbelieving, and pitiful soul and began to impart His faith to believe that Christ suffered, poured out His pure blood, and died on the Roman Cross with three six-inch nails driven through his wrist and feet, a crown of thorns on His head, and a punctured wound in His side from the spear of the Roman soldier.
It was three days later that God the Father in heaven resurrected His Son (Jesus Christ) out of the tomb who was His sacrifice for me to make a decision to come to Him – to turn my life over to Him – to submit and obey Him through confession of sin and repentance from sin and asking Him to be Savior and Lord of my life.
At that moment of confession and repentance of sin in my life, there came an immediate CHANGE from a sinner and lost soul to becoming a NEW MAN in Christ. I was made NEW by the hand of God – a supernatural act which placed me in Christ. C.S. Lewis (1808-1963) wrote:
In Christ,
a new kind of man
appeared
and
the new kind of life
which began in Him,
is to be put into us.
The new kind of man of Christ and the new kind of life – Christ’s life was imparted to me to become a NEW MAN in Christ. No longer a pagan but a convert – a born-again man now saved – redeemed – justified – and now set on a journey of progressive sanctification headed to the final state of glorification after this life is over on planet earth.
I was a man no longer a slave to sin but now possessed the victory in Christ over sin and the world. As Apostle John made known to me:
For sin shall not
[any longer]
exert dominion over you,
since now you are not under Law
[as slaves],
but under grace
[as subjects of God’s favor and mercy].
Romans 6:14 (AMP)
The cherry on top of all of this is to accept and understand that being born-again and living every day for Christ and constantly seeking Him with all my heart, I will eventually be with Him and walk down the streets of gold in the heavenly new Jerusalem.
I will be speaking and interacting with the saints of biblical
history such as – Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Ruth, Deborah, Jeremiah, Paul, Peter, and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Who knows – perhaps my mansion will be across the streets of gold from these folks. Glory Hallelujah!!
To think of being CHAINED and in bondage to the world and the desires of the soul life and its attractions and headed to hell, I came to my senses through a touch of the Lord to turn to Him and accept Christ as my Lord and Savior.
I was CHANGED by His magnificent grace, love, forgiveness, and mercy. It was a dramatic moment – in darkness and immediately removed from the darkness into His glorious Light and Love.
But there is even more for the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit have CLAIMED me as their child to walk with them in their love, light, and blessings. I am a NEW MAN delivered by the Hand of God from the Old Man to a BORN-AGAIN NEW MAN by the Spirit of the living God – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the prophets, and the God of the apostles as presented to us in the Old and New Testament.
The Old man is dead, and the NEW MAN is alive and reigns within me all made possible by what Christ accomplished on the Cross. As Apostle Paul declared,
I have been crucified with Christ
[in Him I have shared His crucifixion];
it is no longer I who live,
but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me;
and
the life I now live in the body
I live by faith
in
(by adherence to and reliance
on and complete trust in)
the Son of God,
Who loved me
and
gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20 (AMP)
The Message Bible says it this way:
Christ’s life showed me how,
and
enabled me to do it.
I identified myself completely with him.
Indeed,
I have been crucified with Christ.
My ego is no longer central.
It is no longer important that I appear righteous
before you or have your good opinion,
and
I am no longer driven to impress God.
Christ lives in me.
The life you see me living is not “mine,”
but it is lived by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 (MSG)
Therefore, each day I seek Him, to love Him, to obey Him, to labor with Him and to love others as He loves them. There is no other purpose in life but to daily reach out to the Master (Jesus) and say,
“Lord Jesus, I worship You
and
need you to direct and guide me
in the calling you have anointed me
with to take the Gospel
to those who are lost,
backslidden,
on the edge of leaving their faith in you,
and
to many who are sitting in the church pew
who have lost their “fire” for You
and
are living a
sub-normal Christian life.
Living according to Your Word
is not an easy journey here on this earth.
I live in a world of evil
and
lawlessness which attempts to
to seduce, persecute, demean, deceive,
and
even kill those who take
a stand for righteousness
and
for your Kingdom
Help me Jesus,
and
those who read this
testimony
for I need you every hour
to fight the good fight of faith.
(1st Timothy 1:18; 6:12; 2nd Timothy 4:7).
In Your Name, Amen.
P.S. From chained, to changed, to claimed by the Savior of the Cross -there is no other event, experience, or achievement in the life of a person then to encounter the spiritual transformation from the old man of the world to the NEW MAN in Christ Jesus the Lord and to be His son or daughter in His Kingdom. This is how one lives upright through Christ in an upside-down world. It is the only way to live a life!
Rich Arnold
Servant of the Lord
311 Adelaide Ave SW
Hartville, Ohio 44632
330-704-9306
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