Cultivating Christ-Centered Relationships

Creation/Conception

Every person has been created in the image and likeness of God. God's intention is for each of us to exercise authority over His creation as stewards or managers in accordance with His will (Genesis 1:26-30). In partnership with the Creator, we are to bring order to the world.

Every person has inherent value because each of us has been uniquely created by a loving God (Matthew 6:36, 10:29-31, Luke 12:6-7, Psalm 139:13-16). God longs to live in fellowship with each one of us (Jeremiah 24:7, Matthew 23:37, James 4:5). God intends for us to live in wholeness of body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

In this diagram and discussion, Creation refers to the conception of each person rather than the world creation event.

Sin

When we sin, we turn away from (rebel against) God. Sin is the rejection of God’s will through selfish disobedience. Sin is less about obeying a list of right and wrong and more about failing to act out of love for the God who created us. Not all sin is personal or individual. Sin can also be institutional, generational, and communal (Nehemiah 1:3-9, Jeremiah 14:19-22, Daniel 9:3-21). The end result of sin is brokenness and death—both in us and in the world (Romans 5:12-14, 6:23).

Sin creates three main problems for us:

• It alienates us from God because God is without sin.
• It has consequences that are harmful to ourselves and others.
• It prevents us from being who God created us to be.

God loves each of us even when we sin (John 3:16, Romans 5:8), but sin prevents us from living in a right relationship with God. Sin creates shame that inhibits our desire to reach out to God (Genesis 3:8-11) and causes us to turn away from His love. That makes us feel isolated and alone.

The obstacle of sin is that there is no way for us to undo it. There is no way for us to overcome or take away sin. Sin causes us to become strangers to or enemies of God (Ephesians 2:12, Philippians 3:18-19). God knows each one of us in intimate detail (Luke 12:7) because He created us, but we cannot rightly “know” Him (live in relationship with Him) because of sin. Since God desires to live in relationship with each one of His creations, He made a way to remove sin (Psalm 103:12, Hebrews 10:11-14) and restore relationship with Him. He does this by extending divine favor (grace) to us, which frees our will so that we are able to choose to surrender our lives to Jesus instead of surrendering to sin.

Surrender

Christ Jesus died so that we could live. There are four widely-held explanations of this foundational truth that involve Jesus either:

• Paying a ransom
• Satisfying a debt
• Suffering and dying as our substitute
• Achieving victory over death

All of these explanations are valid ways of viewing what Jesus did for each one of us. The essential truth in each of these explanations is that Jesus surrendered Himself to death on the cross (Philippians 2:6-8), was resurrected from the dead (Matthew 28:7, John 21:14, Acts 10:41, Acts 13:30-37, Ephesians 1:20), and was given the name above all names (Philippians 2:9-11). Similarly, Jesus calls us to surrender our lives to Him (Philippians 2:5, Romans 12:1-2) so that we might live new lives in Him (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Matthew 16:24-26, Mark 8:34-38, Luke 9:23-26, Matthew 10:38-39).

When we declare Jesus as our Lord, we submit or surrender fully to Him. Every Christian must come to the place where they realize they need redemption, yet cannot redeem themselves. Each of us must submit to Jesus not merely as the Savior of our lives but also as the Lord over our lives (Romans 10:9-13). To “believe in” Jesus is to trust in and rely upon Him rather than trusting in and relying upon ourselves. When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we are no longer our own. From that point on, we belong to Jesus (John 6:35-40).

The Christian life is a pursuit of Jesus which involves daily surrender and obedience to Him. We draw near to God by surrendering—not by trying harder. We will always face temptations and struggle with our worldly nature, but Jesus faithfully redeems every part of ourselves that we surrender to Him.

Redemption

Redemption is deliverance at a cost. The cost of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus’ death turned God’s wrath away from sinners (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10). Through His death on the cross, Jesus grants forgiveness and redemption to all who trust in Him (Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 1:18-21).

God’s desire is for all to be redeemed, so He extends His invitation of redemption to the whole world (John 3:16). Every person can be redeemed. No sin is too great (1 John 1:9). The only requirement is complete surrender and submission to Jesus as Lord.

We can’t redeem ourselves from sin and the brokenness caused by sin. We cannot do enough “good” things to overcome the evil of sin. Only God can redeem us (Matthew 19:16-17, Mark 10:17-18, Luke 18:18-19). Only Jesus can deliver us from our brokenness and save us from death (Hebrews 9:24-28). When we trust in and rely upon Jesus, He faithfully redeems us by removing our sin.

Reconciliation/ Rebirth

Not only does Jesus remove our sin, but His act of reconciliation also brings about the new birth necessary for us to live in relationship with God (John 3:1-8). We become new creations in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:3-8, Colossians 3:1-11). Jesus removes our broken identities and gives us new identities in Him. We cease being strangers to God and become sons and daughters of God (Galatians 3:24-27, Galatians 4:4-7, Ephesians 2:19, 2 Corinthians 6:18).

When we begin new lives in Christ, we are no longer called sinners. A sinner is someone who is a slave to sin. Christ’s sacrifice sets us free from bondage to sin (Romans 5:21-6:18). It reconciles us to (puts us at peace with) God by making us holy, faultless, and blameless (Colossians 1:19-22). From this point on, we are called saints. Both the Old Testament (Hebrew text) and New Testament (Greek text) use the same words for “holy” and “saints” or “holy ones”. We are holy because Christ is holy. We clothe ourselves in Christ (Galatians 3:26-27) and His holiness.

Covenant Relationship

Although believers (saints) are already holy since we have been clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27), God is calling us to something more. Throughout scripture, God calls His people to holiness (Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7, Leviticus 20:26, Leviticus 21:8, Exodus 19:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8, 1 Peter 1:14-16).

Jesus didn’t die on the cross merely to set us free from the penalty of sin; He died to set us free from sin (Romans 6:1-23, John 8:34-36). God’s desire is that we no longer sin (1 John 2:1, 1 John 3:4-10, 1 John 5:18). That’s not something we can achieve apart from Jesus. Because we will fall short of the goal, Jesus established a blood covenant with us (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, Hebrews 7:22, 8:6, 9:11-28). He invites each of us to live in a covenant relationship with Him (Hebrews 10:14-18).

The Apostle Paul tells the saints in Philippi to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Paul is referring to their covenant relationship with Jesus. Relationships can be difficult. Our relationship with Jesus is no exception. As long as there is sin in the world, we should expect to struggle through our relationships with Jesus and with others. We wrestle, though, not as sinners who are alienated from God but as redeemed children of God (saints). God (Holy Spirit) is at work within us, giving us the ability to wrestle (Philippians 2:13).

If we have truly surrendered our lives to Jesus, have been redeemed by Him, and are living a new life in Him, then we should no longer act as we did when we were strangers to Him. When we fall short of that goal, Jesus is the One who maintains His covenant relationship with each of us. He will never break His covenant.

Each day presents an opportunity to surrender more of ourselves to Jesus so that we can receive His divine favor (grace), be renewed, and walk more closely in covenant with Him (2 Corinthians 3:18).

An Invitation

Is the weight of sin too much for you to keep carrying? Are you ready to surrender your life to Jesus as He has surrendered His life for you? Are you ready to pursue Him as He has been pursuing you? God’s invitation to live as His child extends to every person He has created. The invitation extends to you as you read this.

You can surrender to Jesus where you are right now. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Jesus will show you the way. In fact, Jesus said: “I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6)

Romans 10:9-10 says “...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

This is not a “head knowledge” intellectual belief. Belief in Jesus comes from the heart. To believe in Jesus is to trust in Him and depend on Him with your life. You confess this belief when you declare Jesus as the Lord of your life. You can begin by acknowledging out loud: “Jesus, I belong to You.” Ask Jesus to heal your brokenness and show you how to live in covenant relationship with Him.

What Now?

If you surrendered your life to Jesus just now, please reach out and let us know. We want to connect you with a community of believers in your area who can help you grow in your walk with Jesus. This journey is meant to be traveled in community with others.

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