The Perfect Youنموونە

Don’t Reject Yourself

If we’re not discerning in what we believe, we end up taking on doctrines that cause us ultimately to reject ourselves. The word “self ” becomes a dirty word for us. We strive to put down “self” and eventually kill “self” in our pursuit of God, not realizing God has already done away with and replaced that old self. He simply wants us to believe it and act on it: “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).

What’s the end result of that morbid message? We end up believing we’re unacceptable in God’s sight and that the only reason He tolerates us for even a second is because He’s looking at us through a Jesus filter. If He were to take away the filter for even a moment, He would see us for who we truly are: detestable sinners, saved by grace but always desiring to return to our former evil ways. We conclude that we have to keep a tight grip on our hearts because they constantly desire to lead us in the wrong direction.

All the while, the Gospel truth is this: You’ve truly been born again (1 Peter 1:3). You are born of the Spirit (John 3:6). You are a child of the resurrection (Luke 20:36). You are a slave of righteousness (Romans 6:17). You are one spirit with Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:17). You have been given a new heart and a new spirit and God’s Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26–27). That’s the Gospel truth about who you really are!

Sure, Jesus paid the price, but that price was not the cost of designing a specialized filter for God to look through. It was the cost of fundamentally transforming who you are at your very root. It was the cost of making you genuinely forgiven, genuinely righteous, and genuinely—not “positionally” but completely and truly—good.