The Truth is what God says about you,
not what you think about yourself.
Ray Stedman
You may have seen his claim to fame on television recently. It starts as follows. “I am the greatest! My only fault is that I don’t realize how great I really am!” His dialogue continues at some length describing his various attributes which contribute to his greatness. Such statements epitomize the natural man in his distance from God. Although it is not common to hear claims to this degree, most, however, would ascribe to the thoughts expressed by the title of a book written some years ago entitled “I’m Ok, You’re Ok.”
The word of God to the natural man, however, says the opposite. You are not Ok! We read the following in Romans 3:10-18. “As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless, there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves, their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
God, in His Great Love, did not leave mankind suffering the consequences of its rebellion. I Peter 1:3-4 states the following. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you.” Many have entered into this living hope and inheritance over the centuries since our Lord has made this provision for us. The Scriptures are full of His promises and provisions for our walk with Him. Some, through failure to realize these promises and avail themselves of His provisions, have been disappointed in their walk and relationship with the Lord. Some still look to the old man, trying to find some good in that which Christ has taken down into His death. Some may look at others and compare their lives with those who are deemed to be more successful in their Christian life leading to an incorrect view of their relationship with God. Still others have focused on their failures and consider the Christian life to be attainable only by a few. Many experience discouragement and do not think their life measures up to what God expects of them. After some years, it is common to settle in to what they regard as a mediocre degree of Christian faith. In addition to our own sense of failure, the evil one is quick to point this out in our lives well. As a result of the above, some Christian’s thoughts about themselves are ones which focus on their failure and inadequacies. To liberate us from this pattern, God wants us to know that the truth is what He says about us, not what we think about ourselves.
For a helpful list of what God says about us, I would refer you to one found in a book by Bill Gillham entitled Lifetime Guarantee, Harvest House, 1993, Pg 93-94.
You are justified and redeemed (already)-Romans 3:24.
Your old self was killed (crucified)-Romans 6:6.
You are not condemned. (My performance is condemned when I don’t trust in His life through me, but God does not condemn the performer; just the performance.)-Romans 8:1.
You are free from the law of sin and death-Romans 8:2.
You are accepted. (All my life I’ve sought to be accepted, Now I am!)-Romans 15:7.
You are sanctified (holy, set apart)-I Corinthians 1:2.
You have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption (I am ransomed-restored to favor)-I Corinthians 1:30.
You are always led in His triumph (whether it appears so or not)-II Corinthians 2:14.
Your hardened mind has been removed-II Corinthians 3:14.
You are a new creature. (Even though I don’t always feel or act like it.)-II Corinthians 5:17.
You are the righteousness of God. (You can’t get more righteous than this.) II Corinthians 5:21.
You are liberated-Galatians 2:4.
You are joined with all believers (not inferior to anyone)-Galatians 3:28.
You are a son and an heir-Galatians 4:7.
You are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven-Ephesians 1:3.
You are chosen, holy, and blameless before God-Ephesians 1:4.
You are redeemed, forgiven-Ephesians 1:7.
You have obtained an inheritance-Ephesians 1:10-11.
You are sealed with the Spirit. (Imagine the real you sealed up in the envelope of God Himself.)-Ephesians 1:13.
You are alive (formerly a dead spirit)-Ephesians 2:5.
You are seated in heaven (already)-Ephesians 2:6.
You are created for good performance. (And I can let Christ live through me to perform it.)-Ephesians 2:10.
You have been brought near to God-Ephesians 2:13.
You are a partaker of the promise-Ephesians 3:6.
You have boldness and confident access to God (not slinking as a “whipped dog”) -Ephesians 3:12.
You were formerly darkness, but are now light-Ephesians 5:8.
You are a member of His body (not inferior to other members)-Ephesians 5:30.
Your heart and mind are guarded by the peace of God. (Peace is knowing something, not always feeling it.)-Philippians 4:7.
You have all your needs (not greeds) supplied-Philippians 4:19.
You are complete (perfect)-Colossians 2:10.
You are raised up with Him-Colossians 3:1.
Your life is hidden with Christ in God-Colossians 3:3.
Our lives are governed to a large part by the narrative that we tell ourselves. The Truth Project starts with the following question. “Do you really believe that what you believe is really real? Do we? Do we really believe all that God says about us? Then we need to let it be our narrative daily. We need, as Jerry Bridges says, to preach the Gospel to ourselves daily. We need to examine, study, memorize and repeat to ourselves daily what God says about us. Only then will our hearts and minds capture and rejoice in the truth of who we are in Christ. We no longer need to be captive to an incorrect narrative. We can live in the truth of what God says about us, not what we think about ourselves.
In Christ, Richard Spann