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Friday, May 19, 2023

Reigning in Life




 

For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

—Romans. 5:17

 

Are you “reigning in life,” or are you living in defeat? You have received God’s abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness through His Son’s sacrifice. You “reign” over whatever emotional or physical issue that comes against you. 

 

To “reign” in this life, you allow the Holy Spirit to renew your mind and change your attitude (Romans 12:2). You think on good things (Philippians 4:8). You speak life instead of death (Provers 18:21). You stand in the authority Christ has given you against the enemy (Luke 10:19).  

 

What are you facing in your life over which the grace of God has already been victorious? Don’t give up thinking about God’s goodness, speaking life into your need, and standing in the authority Jesus has given you. You can be your own worst enemy. Dr. William Snow makes a statement in his book, With God’s Help, Yes, I Can. “At the point of being victorious, hold on to God and stay there. Don’t defeat yourself!” 

 

In Romans 5:17, the “death” Paul speaks of is not just limited to physical death. Anything that comes as a result of sin is death. Sickness, deprivation, strife, immorality wrath, selfish ambitions, and all things that resulted from Adam’s offense are death.

Many Christians today say their sins are forgiven, but they don’t believe they are righteous. Yet this verse in its context reveals that this gift of salvation wasn’t just for the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7). It was also a gift of righteousness to give us right standing with God. The grace of Jesus reigns in us—it is victorious in us—it overcomes sin and all the results of sin with God’s righteousness. Grace overcomes sickness, deprivation, immorality, wrath, and all things that came as a result of one man’s fall from God’s grace.  

 

“Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20b-21).

 

In Jesus’ victory over sin and death, grace abounded more than sin! It overcame the root of all evil so we might “reign” in this life through the righteousness we were given. Jesus came to give us abundant life. In Jesus’ victory on the cross, the enemy was defeated. The enemy is not satisfied with that truth. He tries to steal back what he has lost. He tries to steal, kill, and destroy your belief in the abundance of grace and in the righteousness,  Jesus has given you (John 10:10).

 

Look at Romans 5:27 again. To “reign” in this life, we have to “receive” the abundance of God’s grace and the gift of His righteousness. Receiving grace is absolutely essential, but grace can only “reign” in us—we can only have abundant life and all the privileges that come with it when we couple it with our right standing in Christ.

 

If you have received God’s abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, how should your life look to you? Are you “reigning” with Him or living in defeat? Are you seeing your life through the eyes of God or through your circumstances and feelings? Thinking, speaking, and living right comes from your right standing in God—not from what you do. 

 

Dr. Williams Snow writes, “Too many people have an ‘I can’t' attitude in life. Many times that ‘I cannot’ comes from a deeper “I am not.”  If you don’t believe you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21) and that you have right standing with Him, you will struggle with an attitude of defeat.

 

“And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:14). 

 

We received the grace of God by faith in Jesus, and we continue to receive the grace of God by faith in the love of Jesus! We choose to lay aside the mindset that living an abundant life is not possible. We choose to see the pressed down, shaken together, running over, exceeding abundantly more that we ask of think grace of God (Luke 6:38, Ephesians 3:20).

 

If you are born again, everything you need to “reign in life” lives in you. Choose to believe in the potential of the “new creation” you are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). You have the “exceedingly abundant” grace of God in you (2 Corinthians 9:14). It is just waiting to be exercised by faith in your right standing with God.

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/05/reigning-in-life.html

 

 

 

 

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