The Power of Right Believing: 7 Keys to Freedom from Fear, Guilt, and Addiction (23 page)

But we can rejoice because when Jesus died on the cross, the Word of God tells us that He “condemned sin in the flesh.” All the negative thoughts and toxic emotions from the flesh have already been judged and punished at the cross. Today we can experience victory over the flesh through the power of the cross.

You can read all about the apostle Paul’s struggle with the flesh in Romans 7:18–19: “For
I
know that in
me
(that is, in
my
flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with
me
, but how to perform what is good
I
do not find. For the good that
I
will to do,
I
do not do; but the evil
I
will not to do, that
I
practice” (emphasis mine).

Did you notice how many times the words “I,” “me,” and “my” are mentioned in just the two verses above? I’m sure many of you can identify with the apostle Paul here in his struggle with the flesh. It’s the struggle we all face when we are occupied with ourselves and warring with the flesh within us. It’s a life of vexation, angst, defeat, and despair.

This is not where God wants you to live, my friend. A believer doesn’t live in Romans chapter 7. Through Christ Jesus, we should be living in Romans chapter 8. Let’s read on and discover how Paul broke free from this bondage of self.

Just a few verses later, Paul cries out, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24). The answer, my friend, is found in a
person
, and Paul tells us this person is Jesus: “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:25).

Only our beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ, can deliver us from the flesh. And in Christ we can step into the first verse of Romans chapter 8, which proclaims, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (
NASB
). This is where we as new covenant believers ought to live. Not in the domain of constant struggle and despair, but in the domain of no condemnation and victory.

Every time a bad thought, an evil imagination, or a temptation comes into your mind, see yourself in Christ, in whom there is absolutely no condemnation. I love Romans chapter 8, for it begins with no condemnation in Christ and ends with no separation from the love of Christ:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

—Romans 8:35, 37–39

Nothing will be able to separate you from the love of Christ. That is why God doesn’t want you to live under a cloud of guilt and condemnation. He has already made you more than a conqueror in Christ. The victory has already been won at the cross. Self-occupation as demonstrated in Romans chapter 7 will prevent you from enjoying the life that God has given you. It will make you perpetually conscious about how you have fallen short and where you have missed the mark.

Freedom from Condemnation

Have you met people who are always oppressed and depressed? They can be in Hawaii and be surrounded by swaying palm trees, rolling waves, and the most beautiful sunset and still be lost in their own depressive thoughts.

If that is you, I want you to know that God wants to set you free from this painful existence. When your heart and mind are full of Jesus, the flesh has no power over you. Bad thoughts, desires, and emotions can try to harass you, but when your heart and mind are occupied with Jesus, these fleshly thoughts and emotions have no hold over you, and they slide off you like water off a duck’s back.

You won’t even feel guilty and condemned for thinking those thoughts and feeling those emotions because you know that in Christ, the flesh is not you. Jesus is your new identity, not the flesh. Let me give you Scripture to back that up. The Word of God proclaims, “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24).

The flesh is not you because it has been crucified with Christ at the cross. You are a new creation in Jesus—the old is gone and the new has come (see 2 Cor. 5:17). Whenever the old desires and thoughts try to creep back into your consciousness, don’t entertain them. Look to Jesus and see all these things crucified at the cross. Receive afresh the gift of no condemnation.

Behold the Lamb of God

I encourage you to start every new day with this thought: “God loves me and gave His only Son for me. Jesus is all for me today. I am saved, healed, favored, and accepted in Christ the Beloved.”

Start your day by occupying your mind with Jesus. For a season in my life, before I even got out of bed, I would repeat to myself over and over again, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” Some mornings I would say it more than fifty times. I didn’t want it to just be words in my head. I wanted it to be a revelation pulsating in my heart. I wanted to have an unshakable belief that God is
for
me and
with
me even before I got out of bed. I can tell you from firsthand experience that when you occupy your mind with Jesus, every struggle, fear, and bondage that you are entangled with will lose its evil grasp on you!

There is a beautiful picture of Jesus hidden in the Old Testament. God knew that under the old covenant of the law, it was impossible for the children of Israel to be perfected by the law. So He provided a way out. God told them that if they sinned, they should bring a sheep that is without blemish, wrinkle, or spot to the priest. Now, when a person who has sinned brings a sheep to the priest, the priest does not examine the person to see if he is perfect (without sin)—the priest already knows that this person is there because he has sinned. So the priest examines the sheep.

If the sheep is indeed perfect, the person who has sinned lays his hands on the sheep in an act of transferring his sins to the innocent sheep. At the same time, the innocence and perfection of the sheep are transferred to the person. The sheep is then killed, and the person leaves with his conscience cleared and his sin debt forgiven. He walks away under an open heaven of God’s favor and blessing.

Can you see Jesus in this Old Testament practice that God instituted under the law?

The sheep without blemish, spot, or wrinkle is a picture of the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ Himself, who takes away the sins of the world. The priest is a picture of God. He doesn’t examine you for your sins. Instead, He examines Jesus, and because Jesus is gloriously perfect, you can live today with your conscience cleared and your sin debt forgiven. You can walk under an open heaven and expect God’s favor and blessings in your life. What a beautiful picture of God’s abundant and lavish grace.

Now, if God is not examining you today, why are you still struggling in self-occupation and relentlessly examining your own thoughts, emotions, failures, and shortcomings? Trust me, the longer you examine yourself, the more you will find imperfections, blemishes, spots, and wrinkles. Turn your eyes away from yourself and stop the self-introspection! Look to Jesus, the Lamb of God, and see His perfection as your perfection. See His innocence as your innocence, His righteousness as your righteousness. Be occupied with Him, and be transformed from the inside out.

A
s the two disciples began their seven-mile journey from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus, they spoke with heavy hearts about the events that had transpired during the last three days. Grieved and shell-shocked, they talked about how Jesus, whom they greatly esteemed, had been taken by the religious leaders, condemned to death, and crucified.

As they were discussing these events, the risen Jesus joined them on their trek to Emmaus, but He kept them from recognizing who He was. Seeing their faces clouded with sadness and apprehension, He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently with each other as you walk along? And why are you so sad?”

Cleopas, one of the disciples, was incredulous that this stranger was asking such an uninformed question and snapped, “Have you been living in a cave? You must be the only person in Jerusalem who is ignorant of the terrible things that have just happened.”

Cleopas then went on to recount the events that eventually led to Jesus’ crucifixion. With disillusionment in his voice, Cleopas expressed how they had hoped that Jesus would be the one who
would redeem Israel. He also related the curious story he had heard from the women who went to the tomb early in the morning only to find it empty. He even repeated their outrageous claims that they had seen a vision of angels proclaiming to them that Jesus was alive.

Jesus, hearing Cleopas’s unbelief, gently corrected him and the other disciple: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25). Seeing their reaction of surprise, He went on to say, “Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” (Luke 24:26
NLT
). Jesus was referring to the many Bible prophesies and pictures in the Scriptures that foretold the cross—how the Messiah would suffer and pay a hefty price for man’s sins and transgressions.

Witnessing the two disciples’ wrong believing firsthand, Jesus, “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets… expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27) as they journeyed seven miles together to Emmaus.

Extraordinary Encounter

I love how the Holy Spirit intricately records for us this meeting that Jesus had with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Meeting them must have been extremely important to Him, as their encounter took place on the very first day of His resurrection. This was also the first record of Him teaching from the Scriptures after He had conquered the grave.

It was thus no ordinary meeting, and God has hidden so many
precious gems in this story for us. The Bible tells us, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Prov. 25:2). So let’s dive into this account of the Emmaus journey and hear the early words of the resurrected Christ.

Occupy Your Thoughts with Jesus

We have already established how painful self-occupation can be and how we can only be delivered from self when we become Christ-occupied. Through this story, I want to show you how to practically occupy your thoughts with your loving Savior by seeing Him in God’s Word.

First, notice that the two disciples were caught up with their own understanding of the events that had transpired and with their thoughts about the redemption of Israel. As a result, they were downcast, disappointed, and depressed. This is what happens when the truth about Jesus is absent from our minds.

The disciples had hoped that Jesus would be the one who would redeem Israel. To them, Jesus was simply a means to an end. They were more consumed with Israel’s redemption than with the Redeemer Himself. No wonder they were depressed! Jesus can never simply be a means to an end, no matter how noble that end may be. We need to be occupied with Him and allow everything to revolve around Him as He takes center place in our lives.

If you are feeling fearful, anxious, or depressed today, do a quick check. What’s on your mind? What’s your heart occupied with? Are your thoughts filled with faith in Jesus, the Shepherd of your
life, or are they filled with apprehensions about the future, fears about your current situation, and excessive self-introspection?

The disciples were downcast because they didn’t believe in what God’s Word had prophesied about Jesus’ suffering and resurrection. If they had believed and understood that the events in the last three days were all orchestrated by God and that the cross was His grand redemption plan to save all men, they would be rejoicing with faith, love, and hope. They would be greatly anticipating their reunion with the resurrected Christ instead of being so inward-looking and discouraged. But because of their wrong beliefs, they had become disillusioned and were mentally defeated.

It’s no wonder that Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25). Before I continue, let me point out that the word “foolish” here is the Greek word
anoetos
, which means “not understanding and unwise.”
¹
In contrast, when Jesus rebuked the Pharisees as being foolish in Matthew 23:17, the Greek word used here is
moros
, which means “dull or stupid.”
²
This is a much harsher term He reserved for the religious Pharisees. Jesus didn’t use such harsh terms to describe His disciples or those who were down-and-out.