The Exchanged Life, Part 1

Oct 2, 2011
Bob Jamison, Director of Family Guidance Inc.

What is the gospel?

First half:  Jesus took my sin on himself, and atoned for my sin.

Second half is often ignored:  There has been an exchange – Jesus lives in us.

The Parable of the Buzzard

There is a buzzard who spends his time looking for dead carcasses to eat.  This buzzard, though, is self-conscious.  He doesn’t want to be a buzzard; would rather be a human being.  A magic wand makes him into a human.  He gets hungry.  What is he going to eat – road kill or regular people food?  It depends on whether he recognizes that he is no longer a buzzard.

If we have been transformed, then why don’t we live transformational lives?

- because we are so used to the old way of living.  We get stuck in a rut.

The Romans did a lot better at building roads than PennDOT does.  But Roman roads have ruts worn by centuries of wheels and it’s hard to get out of the ruts.

What does a life in Christ look like?

2 Peter 1:4  “participate in the divine nature”
Or, from The Message:

 ^3-4Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

Next week:  How does this process come about?  How do we learn to live in a Christ-like way?