Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

The good news is our relationship with Jesus is with a living God. He died and rose again, and He is alive right now. You can talk to Him—we call that prayer. He talks to You—we call that Scripture. You and Jesus are connected supernaturally through the Holy Spirit. Some theologians call this the mystical union.

·Jesus’ life is your life. You don’t need to be perfect. In fact, you can’t be perfect because you’ve already sinned. Jesus lived the perfect life for you.

·Jesus’ death is your death. You don’t need to pay God back because Jesus already did.

·Jesus’ Resurrection victory is your victory. You share in His triumph and victory over sin and death. ·Jesus’ walk with you is your walk with Him in “newness of life.”

How amazing is it that God decided, “I’m going be with you, and you’re going be with Me. I will be for you, and My life is your life. My righteousness is your righteousness, the power of My Spirit is now your power, and My home is now your home”?

Paul talks about this relationship in terms of baptism. There are two kinds of baptism and two lessons from baptism.

1. Spirit Baptism. Spirit baptism is what makes you a Christian. I believe that spirit baptism happens when you are born again of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity who empowered the life of Jesus, comes into you and changes you at the level of nature and being. This is called regeneration. He literally causes you to be born again. And all of a sudden, you love Jesus. If you want to learn the Bible, you hate sin and love Jesus. You didn’t do that. God did that. God flipped the switch in your soul and said, “You’re with me now.”

There are many fillings in the Spirit, but there’s one baptism in the Spirit. It is internal, it is unseen, and it is your personal relationship with God. Some may wonder, Do I have the Holy Spirit? If you used to love sin more than Jesus, then you weren’t a Christian. If you now love Jesus more than sin, then you’re a Christian.

(Continued on Day 120 ...)

Today’s Reflection

Have you been Spirit-baptized? If yes, then how has your life changed? If not, then what is stopping you?