Crucified and Shame Died

Can you imagine life if Christians were to look different after they commit their lives to following Christ? We could spot believers a mile away and focus our evangelism on those who still looked fallen…lost…or hopeless. But that’s not how it works.

The Spirit is invisible, but His actions are visible.  As Jesus says in John 3:6 “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Christians—as humans—will still look the same, but our actions should be visibly Christian.  Faith in Christ is not like a Costco membership where you can flash a little card you keep in your back pocket to get the benefits when you want to use them.

No, being born again is different.  It’s to be employed all the time to make our Christianity visible–by our love, by our faith, and by our actions in everyday circumstances.  It will show when Christ lives in us.

Paul says it beautifully: 

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Do you see how the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ
made an eternal and supernatural difference?

Christians are “crucified with Christ”.  And because we have been crucified with Christ, our old nature (including its sin, guilt, and shame) is gone!  We have a new spirit nature thanks to the Holy Spirit, and we’re born again in the likeness of our Savior. 

This can explain how Jesus could “experience” shame
without the internalized experience of guilt.
It was on Him, like second-hand smoke…
but only because that was the environment surrounding Him.
On Him. Never “in” Him.

While sin, guilt and shame may try to attach themselves on our flesh like they did “on Jesus”, they can’t get in because we’re crucified with Christ.  It isn’t “in us” anymore as born-again believers because it was never “in Him.”  Shame (as internalized) died when you were crucified with Christ. It’s in our environment–surrounding us all the time– but do you see the beauty of what Christ did and the freedom He gives? 

In Him, you can be free…truly free…from all sin, guilt, and yes, shame. 
That is good news indeed!