Falling Forward
I am going to be sharing on a concept of Falling Forward that gets us closer to Jesus. What I am going to be sharing is symbolic and symbolism can only go so far. But first this talk about the Christian life in an honest/real manner.
Before we are born again our spirit is dead.
Romans 3:23 NASB
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
When we become born again our spirit comes alive and we become a new creation. (That is one reason why it is called being born again,)
Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
When we are born again, Jesus enters us through the Holy Spirit and our spirit man comes alive. We start to become transformed, changed.
Romans 8:10 NASB
If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness
There is more good news. Because of the Holy Spirit living within us, we have resurrection power living within us, power to say no to sin. We can become more and more like Jesus. That is why God calls us to holiness.
Romans 8:11 (NASB)
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Ephesians 4;22-24 (NASB)
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
But the truth is we have not received our glorified bodies that do not sin. That comes when Jesus returns for us.
Philippians 3:20-21
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
We Sin at Times
Because we do not have our glorified bodies, we sin at times. When we sin, we may not only sin but go into sin. In other words, we continue to sin. Which of course we should not do. Here is where the symbolism comes in. It is like we are falling from what we should be and thus falling from Jesus because unrepented sin will start to separate us from closeness with Jesus. We still have a relationship with Jesus but symbolically it is as if we are falling backwards. Even though we should not sin, we do. If we do sin, and are falling into it regularly, it is as if our Christian walk is us being One Step Forward and Two Steps Back.
One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
How does this happen? When we sin, especially intentionally, many times it is because we are looking back at the sin that so easily tempts us. We focus on it instead of Jesus. We get caught up in it, slip and fall, sadly falling backwards away from Jesus. We have lost ground in our Christian walk to be like Jesus.
The solution is to FALL FORWARD. How do we do that?
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back!
Christ in You
We are new creations in Christ Jesus and becoming new creations. Our spirit man has come alive. Our spirit man becomes alive because Jesus lives within us through the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 2:20 NASB
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.
Colossians 1:27 NASB
to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The “Hope of Glory” is the confident, joyful expectation that, because Christ lives in us, we will one day be fully restored, glorified, and united with Him forever. We are going to receive our glorified body that does not sin, but we are not there yet. BUT, we are determined to get there.
We have Resurrection Power Within Us
Because we have the Holy Spirit in us we have Resurrection Power living with us. We can say no sin. We can refuse to sin and when we do sin we can choose to repent.
Romans 8:11 NASB
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Confess, Repent, and Forgiveness
Even though we are born again, have a spirit that is alive, new creations in Christ, being transformed, and have resurrection power living within us, we will sin. But there is a solution, confess, repent, and receive forgiveness. And I would add make a determination to not fall back into sin. Turn from it with your eyes on Jesus.1 John 1:6-96 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Listen!!!!
We are called to walk in light, not darkness, thus we are called to walk in holiness and not sin. But we will sin. When we do, we confess and repent of it and He cleanses us and forgives us. It is as if we have not sinned.
Falling Forward
When we sin, when we fall. we can fall forward (looking to Jesus) instead of falling backwards. Instead, many times we fall backwards (sin) because instead of having our eyes on Jesus we are looking behind us at the sin. The sin tempts us, we get caught up in it, and we lose ground in our spiritual walk. We go one step forward and two steps back.
What we need to do is keep our eyes on Jesus and on His promises the entire time. We understand we will sin at times even though we have Christ in us and His resurrection power. When we do sin, we keep our eyes on Jesus and His promises. So. when we sin. we confess and repent, are cleansed and forgiven, and desire to sin less and get closer to Jesus, because He will keep us from sin. Thus, our fall gets us a little closer to Jesus. That is Falling Forward.
Of course, all of this is symbolic but here is a passage of Scripture to meditate on if you want to Fall Forward and be Two Steps Forward and Step Backwards. If you keep applying the principle found in Philippians 3:9-15, you will get to a place that you are only going Forward towards Jesus. Not only falling forward, but not failing at all.
Philippians 3: 9-14
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Choices
Are we going to look back at our sin and old way of life and stumble and fall into the sins of the past or are we going to keep our eyes focus on Jesus pressing forward. If we stumble, it will just be that, a stumble, not a fall. With our eyes on Jesus. He will symbolically grab hold of us before we fall to our knees. Oh wait, there are times we must fall to our knees. That is another message.
I beg of you brothers and sisters, Fall Forward, be Two Steps Forward and One Step backwards. Keep your eyes on Jesus and get to the place you are only falling forward on your knees.
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