Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Except that God’s word calls us saints 68 times! Must be some truth to this, right? But it seems we can’t believe that. It’s much easier to believe that we’re sinners, and that our sin is our fault.
Now don’t get me wrong – we had a choice. Initially, we chose sin. We were guilty. We were sinners. But here’s where it gets good – when we chose to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, that price was paid. Not just for our past sins, but for our future ones too! That “guilty” stamp was washed away. Our sentence of death was PAID IN FULL. And the best part is this – Our IDENTITY CHANGED. We were crucified with Christ! (Gal 2:20)
So what does that mean?
The SINNER died. The SAINT now lives.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him
Romans 6:5-7
I’m still trying to figure out how to live in that truth.
The past couple of weeks, the enemy has been bringing up past mistakes that I thought were MY fault. Selfish things I’ve done and said, ways I’ve betrayed people, mistakes I’ve made with guys and in relationships, ways I’ve judged people. I quickly sunk into a dark, dark place – blaming myself, punishing myself, shaming myself.
My precious boyfriend sat on the phone with me one night last week and said over and over and over again, “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.”
I’m just now starting to believe him.
You see, IT’S NOT MY FAULT. I’m not guilty anymore – Jesus paid that price! I’m a SAINT. I’m a beloved daughter of the King! I’m full of LIGHT! The problem is that I still live in a fallen world – a world where evil has great power. A world where “the enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
It’s NOT MY FAULT. It’s not the guys’ fault who betrayed me, who used me, who took advantage of me. It’s not my friends’ fault who slandered me and abused me. It’s not my family’s fault when they hurt me. It’s not THEIR FAULT. It’s NOT YOUR FAULT. It’s SATAN’S FAULT!!!
You see, we’re taught all our lives to take responsibility for our actions. Why? Because we live under the law. And when it comes to daily life, we have to do that, but in the spiritual realm, God doesn’t operate that way. We are free from the law and we live under GRACE – HIS GRACE, because the price has been paid! (see Romans 6)
So when we say “It’s MY FAULT”, it’s a lie from the enemy. Because if I keep believing it’s MY fault, then I won’t see it’s his fault. And if I don’t see that it’s his fault, and that he is waging war against me, then I can’t fight against him. And he -THE ENEMY- will keep doing horrible things to me, and he will keep lying to me and wounding me and making me do horrible things as a result of it…and I will keep believing it’s my fault, so then he’s off the hook. And the cycle continues! The lion continues to prowl and DEVOUR us as Christians! But now I’ve seen the truth – SO NO MORE!!!
There’s this quote from the movie Blood Diamond – have you seen it? When the child soldier – who’s been KILLING people in COLD BLOOD gets rescued by his father. He’s been KILLING people! He’s a murderer! He’s GUILTY! He’s totally brainwashed – an empty shell of a little boy. And then his father looks deep in his eyes, and says:That little boy wasn’t guilty. It wasn’t his fault! That innocent little boy was brainwashed by evil men who taught him to kill. They taught him evil ways until he’d learned to operate in his actions, until THEY weren’t in direct control of him anymore, but he could do it on his own.
But even though he was doing it on his own, it still wasn’t his fault! It was THEIR fault! In a big way, they still had control over him, because they taught him how to do those things. See, he NEVER would have done those things on his own! It wasn’t in his nature!
The innocent woman I am has been operating brainwashed for a long time now. And it’s to the point where I actually believe the things I’m doing are a result of who I am. But the truth is – It’s not about what bad things I’ve done. It’s about WHO I AM! I AM a beautiful daughter of The King. I AM a beloved child of The Almighty God! I AM a woman with a kind, pure heart that’s been assaulted by the world. But I AM still a woman who loves deeply, completely, and with my whole heart. I AM a woman who is overflowing with mercy, compassion, and light, and I AM a woman who sees the BEST in people.
I AM A SAINT. And if you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, so are you. It’s not your fault. You’re no longer a sinner. You’re a SAINT! Now start believing it, and start sending the lies from the enemy BACK to the PIT OF HELL where they belong! It’s time to WAKE UP SAINTS, and start operating in the spiritual realm! We have to start warring against the enemy and start living in the new identity we have in Christ! Tell him it’s his fault! Tell him you’re not going to take it anymore! Tell him who you are in Christ! YOU ARE A SAINT!
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ”
– Ephesians 1:17-21
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,and to know this love that surpasses knowledge –that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
– Ephesians 3:17-19
I read this blog early this morning and God has kept it in my heart all day. It is exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you for writing it! I just wanted to encourage you and say thanks again. God is using you in ways bigger than you can imagine!
That is exactly what I have been stuggling with lately. At least the part about allowing Satan to decieive me and make me feel so unworthy to be a child of God. I never saw myself as anything but a sinner, and I now realize that when Jesus did die on the cross for me he took that weight off and I’m not meant to carry it any longer. Thanks for writing this, I appreciate it.
Have a blessed day!!
Wow…great insight from God. Thanks for sharing that…I really needed it!
I love you!
My precious sister- you radiate with the beauty, purity, and glory of your Dad… and I am so encouraged by you in your journey!!
Thank you for your vulnerability, and for sharing such ground-breaking truth. You’re completely right YOU ARE A SAINT, currently SEATED IN HEAVENLY PLACES!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!
And once we believe that this is our identity, it is then that we will act on it. We can only act on what we KNOW.
I love you, think the world of you, and MISS YOU!!!!
You are such a beautiful person Ericka Bennett! Not just on the outside, but the inside. YOu have more inner beauty than anyone I have ever met. And it was THAT beauty that drew me to you.
Your worth is not tied in your external beauty, which is a perishable container by the way, but in unperishable things – the Spirit of God within you!
AMAZING!!!! Such a wonderful post. I loved how you use the parallels from Blood Diamond to help remind us of our identity.
Ericka,
It is SO amazing to see the wonderful woman you have become! You are wise beyond your years, seeing and doing things that most Christians can only dream of. I think of you often and hope that one day our paths cross again.
Until then, thanks for your words of encouragement and wisdom. God is using you in a mighty way!