Which Side of the Cross - Class Review

All righty, so Mike did not send you any questions, correct? Correct. All right, so you're operating on a blank slate. I get to just fill you in with whatever. You can't even be prepared. Well, you should be prepared since today is the final wrap up, right?

So these are questions that we've covered in the past. Mike did send me eight questions that we're going to try to get through. A lot of this is going to be review. But the point and my hope is that it will cover the three sections, that is the identification truths, grace and faith, and I'm going to spend a little bit more time in the identification side of it, since that's the furthest portion of the class that it is from us. So we've more recently looked at grace and faith, and I'll definitely try to wrap those up as well. But this is going to serve largely as hopefully, in my mind, a summation of all that we've looked at.

And so it's going to feel a little rapid fire today. It's going to be maybe a little less conversation and a little bit more, I'm going to try to summarize it all back, put it into one piece so that we can answer this final question, which is the last one we'll try to get to today.

And the question is, let's see, how do you state it here? So the final question, this is where we want to get to. Starting with the identification truths plus grace truths and faith truths, explain how we get to the correct side of the cross. So using the three areas of study that we've had in this class, the name of the class is Which Side of the Cross Am I On? And so that's where we're ultimately going to try to end up, is with that question being answered in our mind. Let me just get my notes in order here. Alright, so question number one.

What was the result or penalty of Adam's sin and fault? What was the result or penalty of Adam's sin and fall? Perfect. Romans 5.12 says, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, and this is where that death or separation reigned, from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned, in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of him who is to come." So Romans 5, 12, 13, 14 spells out that separation. What was the result or penalty of Adam's sin? It was complete and total separation. Right?

Death. 1 Corinthians 15, 22. Another one I'll read for you. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. Right? So we already have some context for which side of the cross we're on. In Adam, there's death, right? Separation. And it says, also in Christ we'll be made alive. So we have death and life as a defining contrast on either side of the cross. And we'll keep building this story as we go.

But death, ultimately, like you said, means separation. There's three aspects of separation, right? You're separated physically from your body. So from the point that Adam chose his own way and decided that his final authority would be himself rather than God, he would die physically, right? He would also die spiritually. He would no longer have that spiritual connection to his Creator in the same way. There was a spiritual death.

And there was also an eternal death, an eternal separation. So there's physical death, spiritual, and eternal. And because we are all born into Adam, we all share that same separation, right? So in the beginning, for us, being in the federal headship of Adam, we were born into death in those three ways. We would physically die, we would spiritually die, and we would eternally die. That means separation, right?

So I'm going to work on kind of building out this perspective of in Adam, on this side of the cross, and in Christ. So we have the old man, and we have the new man. In the old man, there's death. There's also death to Christ. That's the spiritual side of it. The old man is dead to Christ and he's joined to other things. He's joined to the law, he's joined to the world, and he's joined to the sin nature.

This is his state. This is who you are before you become a believer. This is where every unbeliever exists today, on this side of the cross. This is all of who we are in Adam. Every bit of history that Adam has, we share in the old man. So this is Adam.

Then we have in Christ, and we're going to talk more about this. The verses that we look at will help define this, but I want this picture to be in our mind as we're working through them. Over here we're in Christ. We call this the new man, the new nature. This is all of who we are in Christ, and we're dead to things too. We're now separated to things as well. We're separated in Christ from the law, the world, and the sin nature. On the bottom here we have what Miles, I think, has called, and I'm going to read quite a bit from Miles today.

Miles has called this the forever person. I think other terms have been continuity of person, eternal person. This is who God made you to be. Your personal identity, your body, etc. This is your unique characteristics as a human being. Uniquely crafted by God.

Then you have the deposed monarch, as we'll refer to him as later. You have the sin nature. And then we have the flesh connected to the sin nature and the forever person, because the flesh is the body acting through the sin nature, or the sin nature acting through the body. That's the flesh. So this is the working diagram.

I recognize that there may be some terms that are used differently. I think that this serves to communicate what we see in scripture and what we all agree upon, in the sense that there is a dotted line around the sin nature side of things. Meaning that it is not a reigning nature as it is in the old man. It is available to be trusted and acted upon, but it is not ruling and it has no reign whatsoever.

We're going to see a verse, Romans 6, 6, and look at that. And that's what we'll actually do next. So, question number one, what was the result or penalty of Adam's sin and fall? It was death in all of its meaning. Right? That's the old man. We good so far? Yeah. Cool. So question number two.

Did God resolve the source of sin in us? What do you think? Let me ask you the question. What is the source of sin? Sin nature. Alright, so here it is. And all that it encompasses. Let's read Romans 6-6. You can turn to that. We'll read that one together. It's a big one. Romans 6-6. 6-6. Does someone want to read that for me? Do you have it? But God commended his love for us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Oh, Romans 6-6? 6, I'm sorry. 6-6, sorry.

That's a good one too. Knowingness. Knowingness, yep. That our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. And verse 7, too. "...for he that is dead is free from sin." Okay. "...for he that is dead is cause for you to believe..." That's good. "...that we shall also live with him." "...that we shall also live with him."

So that explains this diagram right here perfectly, I believe. So, maybe in a more modified version, to make the Greek a little bit more literal, I'm just going to read you another version of how this reads in the Greek. So there's a specific word there, it's that Your version, I don't remember what it said, but it says sin might be done away with. Other ways of thinking about that are reflected in this translation, and I'll even expound upon it a little bit more.

But the modified version of that verse says, since you already know this, that the old man of us was crucified with him, who's him? Christ. The old man was crucified with Christ on that cross, okay? that the body of sin, the body of the sin nature, might be taken offline. That we should no longer serve the sin nature. So where is the body of sin nature taken offline in this diagram? It's taken offline through the cross. And it's not just the fact that the cross took the sin nature offline for every human being, it's the fact that your faith in the gospel message you had a co-crucifixion with Christ.

And because of that, your sin nature is offline. That's what the dotted line means. It's there. It's present. Until your body is separated from your spirit, that sin nature is there, but it is offline. Another way of looking at that word, kaptagart... I don't know how to say it. I need a verb to say it.

That word, though, in Romans 6.6, this Greek word carries the meanings. Miles mentioned this. Held inoperative. Annulled. made without effect, power broken, put down. That's what this is right here.

So whenever you think about your sin nature acting out in your life, I would encourage you to recognize the way Romans 6.6 refers to that. You're responding to something that's offline. It's made without effect. The power is broken.

Um, you know, we've, we've used the example, I've used the example in the past. If you ever served in the, in any of the armed forces and you know what it's like to be under command and anytime your commanding officer speaks to you, you're at attention. You know exactly how to behave. You've been trained over and over and over and over how to respond to that. Well, now you're finally out of service. Many years later, you're a veteran. But here comes that former commander walking down the grocery store aisle.

And you see him and he says, now stop! Give me 20, right now! And all of a sudden, you stand at attention, you drop down to the ground and you start giving him 20. That's the same idea here. This guy's going to bark at you. I think Mike said last week, I like the term, he's going to turn the volume up on you over and over in your life. but he is a deposed monarch. He's a former commander that has no place in commanding you to drop down and give him 20. Best said nature doesn't say give me 20 push-ups, likely. He says, let's come over here and let's worry a little bit about this subject.

It's a different temptation for each of us. But this is what his job is to tempt you into the very nature that is a former that you are now dead to way of living, way of thinking, way of behaving. And you know it because you were born into it. So it sounds familiar to you. It's all you knew before becoming a believer. In fact, it's all many believers still know. A lot of believers don't understand how this works. And so they think, well, I'm saved.

I just got to deal with the sin nature. I just got to try to tame him. Is your job to tame the sin nature? He's already tamed. He is taken offline. His power is broken. He has no place in commanding and ruling your way of thinking. You are a new man now. You have a new nature, and you have a new history. You're dead to the law, to the world, and you're dead to the sin nature. You're separated from the sin nature. Right?

Galatians 2.20.

This is a big one. Let's read it together. You guys go ahead and turn to it. We've covered this quite a bit. How am I doing on time? Question 2 of 8? Don't worry, we'll get there. Alright, read with me. I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. Now look at this real quick with me. I'm going to read it while you look at this. Look up here. Look up here. Look up here. What's that from? Three Amigos. Three Amigos. Hey you two. Hey you two. Look up here. Alright. I do. I want you to look at this. I'm being intentional here.

So look at this and see how this plays out in Galatians 2.20.

I have been crucified with Christ. Right here. I've been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live But it is Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, continuing person, in Christ, the life I now live in the flesh, I live by what? Faith. That's what happens on this side of the cross.

And that's why we talked about it. But this is all identification stuff. Alright? Now I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. That's grace. Identification, faith, and grace all wrapped up in a single verse right there and pictured on which side of the cross you now live on.

Does that make sense? Now here's where I'm going to ask you to hang on because these words I felt from a book that Myles wrote are far more impactful than things that I could have put into speaking. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to read to you. We'll stop, we'll make sure that we got understanding. But it is bringing to life what we see on the board here. We're trying to make more clear what we've been studying through identification.

So it says, about Galatians 2.20, this verse is all about you. It's you. How do you know that? Because what does it say in the very first of the verse? What's the very first word?

I. That's Paul, that's you, that's every believer.

It's about you. Whom God conceived in his heart and chose in Christ before the foundation of the world. That's you. That forever person, he chose you in eternity, past. He designed your exact characteristics, who you are. You are a forever person in the mind of God before you had your first cry on this earth, you were in God's mind, uniquely and specifically designed. When God positioned you in union with Adam, and when you fell, when Adam fell, you became edemic. You were born into this world a dead unto God and alive unto sin, lost soul, the same original person, but your life and nature were edemic. Forever person, now you're born into Adam.

You're edemic. You were positioned in Him. That's a positional thing. Then you were saved. You became endemic in another sense. Christ, the last Adam, became your life in nature. When you were saved on the cross, there's a lot going on there, but the result was that You became Christ, the last Adam, became your life, so here you are, finally in Christ, the last chosen one conceived in eternity. Just how did God get you from condemned Adam to the accepted and the beloved Adam?

Ephesians 1.6. How did he get you there? You should know the answer to that question. How did he get you there? That's right, but what had to happen? Understandably, you might reply, well, Jesus saved me by paying for all my sins in his own blood on the cross. Jesus paid it all. Is that fair? That's what happened here. And then he goes on to say, but dear friend, Miles will do that sometimes.

Dear friend, if you're going to halt or stop here and settle for that as most of the church has, you might just as well eradicate Galatians 2.20 from the book, not to mention Romans 6, 7, and 8. If you stop for If you stop at the point, will Jesus pay for all my sins?

If you stop just there, Galatians 2.20 shouldn't even be in the scripture, he's saying. It is blessedly true that the Savior died on the cross to pay the death penalty and forgive all your sins, past, present, and future. But what about you? The endemic source of all those sins. That's what we're looking at. This question is all about that. Did God resolve the source of the sin nature in us? Source of sin in us.

That's what Galatians 2.20 is all about. He didn't just pay for your sins. He didn't just forgive you of your sins.

If God had forgiven you while in Adam, you would have been nothing more than a forgiven sinner. If He just gave you forgiveness and didn't put you on the other side of the cross and just said, Hey, I'm not going to carry out the condemnation against your sin. I'll forgive you. But you remained in Adam. That's a big problem. you'd have been nothing more than a forgiven sinner, and neither God nor heaven can accept a sinner whether forgiven or otherwise. So here's the kicker.

You as an endemic sinner were not forgiven. That would simply mean starting all over as a first Adam person, as in an Adam all die. Instead of forgiving sin, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful endemic flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. He condemned the entire nature. It wasn't just a forgiveness. It was a condemnation of the sin nature itself. All of what we were in Adam. And this means, by which God accomplished this transfer from Adam to the last Adam, was to make His Son while on the cross, not before, to be made your sin.

2 Corinthians 5.21 tells us, for he hath made him who knew no sin to be sin for us. Right? Are we tracking so far? There's a transfer here. God identified your sin and you, the sinner, with his son who was made to be sin on Calvary.

Under the condemnation and judgment of sin, not sins, that's the sin nature, Christ was crucified and died and you, likewise, as identified with him, Romans 6.11 says, likewise reckon yourselves to have died indeed to sin. All has been well stated. Here's the big point. Focus in.

Our sins were dealt with by the blood. We ourselves were dealt with by the cross. Have you ever thought of it that way? Our sins were dealt with by the blood. We ourselves, this guy, was dealt with on the cross. The death side of things. The blood procures our pardon. The cross procures our deliverance from what we were in Adam.

The blood can wash away my sins, but it cannot wash away sin. My old, edemic man, I need the cross to crucify me, the sinner. Does that make sense? I'll read it one more time. Our sins were dealt with by the blood. We ourselves were dealt with by the cross. The blood procures our pardon. The cross procures our deliverance from what we were in Adam. The blood can wash away my sins, but it cannot wash away sin, my old, edemic man. I need the cross to crucify me, the sinner. I need the blood to satisfy the sin problem, but I need the cross, I need to die to solve the identity problem.

Track it? Cool. So the question is, did God resolve the source of sin in us? How? By crucifying us. By crucifying us. That's exactly right. And we know, we know the role of the sin nature in our present position in Christ, in the new man. We know its presence, but we know that it's also what?

Separated. Separated. Taken offline. The power is taken away. The source has been crucified. And the moment you, whether the Lord Jesus comes and you're raptured or you depart from your body on this earth, at that point, the sin nature will no longer have an offline location in your person. Okay?

So let's look at number three. Like I said, it's going to feel a little different for my class today, but I'm trying to get it all out. Number three, is the following statement true? This is Mike. So pay attention. If I did not die with Christ, if I didn't die with Christ here, on the cross, I cannot be living in Him. Over here. Risen from the dead, but I'm still back in the old Adam in which I was born. It's true.

It's the exact opposite of Galatians 2.20. Right? It absolutely is true. Now I'm going to continue to read some other thoughts here.

Thus we have the first I. So Galatians 2.20, the I. I have been crucified with Christ. And when you were taken down into that death, into sin, you were thereby separated from Adam. Once separated, freed from your relationship of death to the first Adam. That's what we're talking about. Freed from that relationship. You were joined to law, the world of sin nature, On that cross, you were separated from the law of the world and the sin nature. Once separated, free from your relationship of death to the first Adam and his sin, God recreated you in Christ, the last Adam, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

That's 2 Corinthians 5.21. You are now made the righteousness of God in Christ. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old, meaning edemic. Old things are passed away, and that's positionally. Behold, all things are positionally new.

Actually, you are a... I like this. Actually, you are a trinity. Have you ever thought of yourself as a trinity? The eternal you, this guy, the first Adam you, and the last Adam you. Does that make sense? Initially, the eternal elect chosen one, then identified with the first and fallen Adam, and finally in union with the last Adam, while remaining one and the same eternal person.

The nature of your new life is that of your sacrificial Lord. It says, For we who live in Christ are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. Does that make sense? The death is the key here. You died with Christ on the cross. If you didn't, then all you have is the forgiveness of your sins, and you're still a forgiven sinner. But that's not who you are anymore. All of who you are is who you are in Christ. Life out of death, the way up is down. That's what he always says, right? What does he mean by that? The way up is down.

You gotta die. First. Okay? You need that co-crucifixion. So... Question number four. Use your best efforts to define grace. And then he goes, something more than we get what we don't deserve. You can hear him say that. Come on, give me a little more. Let's define grace. I'll write it up here for us. I feel like I did this once. I had this exact question. Let's give it to me.

Grace is the unlimited and unmerited blessings from God based on the finished work of Christ on the cross. Unlimited. And unmerited. Unmerited. Blessing. Favor. Blessings. I have the same one on my sheet. Of who? It's the one we've used for years in the class. I think it's an extremely good definition.

I think that when we oftentimes think about grace, from a lot of Christians' perspective, they stop right here. This is the definition, and I think, now I'm recalling, Mike read a statement from Aristotle on grace, and it was a very good definition, but it stopped right there. Unlimited, non-narrative, blessings, favor, etc., and it had to do with humanly expressions of grace, human expressions of grace, but it stopped. It didn't go on to say that it's of God, and it's based on the totally adequate work of Christ. You see, this cross, it's grace that we can get on the other side. That's the point. But it's not just God's grace as exhibited through the cross.

It's also a new environment for us, right? So here, we have law, right? That's the principle. This is the reigning principle, right? Over here, it's grace. So to further maybe define that, there's two reigning principles on this side of the cross and on that side. What is the principle? It's either a fundamental truth or the way things work. It's the second definition that we often refer to, the way things work.

So sin, imputed and increased by the law, is the normal operating principle among those who follow after Adam, the first sinner. What does law do to sin? What does law do to the sin nature? It aggravates it. You tell me not to do something, the sin nature says I want to do it more, right? The law turns up the volume on the sin nature on this side. Over here the sin nature turns up the volume on your new man.

For us who believe on this side though, grace is the reigning principle. It's the way things work. So not only is it the Unlimited and Unmarried Blessings favor of God based on the totally adequate work of Christ, it is also the reigning principle the way things work on that side of the cross. That's our operating system. That's our environment. It's where we live. It's our reality now.

If you don't understand it, you may not operate according to it. And that's where we brought in, this has all been identification, We bring in the concept of grace in the middle of the class, and we start to... Without the reigning principle of grace, you wouldn't be able to understand this. You couldn't get to an understanding of this. And this right here is where most Christians stop. understand the identification side of things. They don't understand that grace goes beyond just Christ dying on the cross for me.

He's given me a new nature. He's placed me in Him. Everything is new now. My reality is totally transformed, right? I have a whole new history. Is that positional or conditional? It's both. It's both. Alright. Grace. Question number five. Why are we not under any law system now?

Let's read Romans 6.14. For sin shall not be master over you, but you are not under law, but under grace. Somebody explain that verse.

Look at Romans 6.14 and somebody explain it based on what we have here. Law is associated with the flesh. We've been crucified, separated from, so we're no longer associated with the law. We're now under grace. We're now under grace.

That's exactly what this verse says. Now the question really is, do you believe that? That's the last part of where I'm going. But this is what it says. So I'll read it to you with a little bit of additional Greek insight. So, for the sin nature, okay that's this guy. For the sin nature shall not be master over you. Now you're on this side of the cross. It's shall not be master over you. Okay. For you are not under a law principle. But, and that's a very sharp contrast in the scripture, you are under a grace principle. This principle.

And this principle does not respond to the sin nature. The sin nature can only master you when you are operating under a law principle. It cannot master you under grace. It doesn't even understand grace. It's all about what you should and shouldn't do based on sin. It doesn't understand, it cannot comprehend grace. When you sin, you are operating not only out of who you are not, he's a deposed, totally taken offline monarch, but you are placing yourself back under the law principle because that's the only thing he knows. Let's break it! Let's break the law. Let's break any principle of scripture. Let's do the opposite of it. The sin nature and the principle of the law with the combination of the sin nature can produce nothing but sins.

Right? That's the outward expression of it. I would have known what coveting was until I was told, but now I want to do it. You know, that's Paul. So, I thought we'd come over here and build on something that Vern did in the Law of Grace series. Just a comparison and contrast. I know it's kind of hard to see, but I'll read it to you as we go. And we can get up and move over here. I'm just kidding. Alright, so we have the old, we have that side of the cross, and we have the new. So that's what I'll do. I'll put this gap here.

Alright, so under the old man, the old Underneath the law, who is the steward? Who's the one that God put in place in order to make the law known? Moses. Now we're talking about Mosaic Law here. This is just a clarification of Mosaic Law and the Grace Principle.

On this side, who's the steward? Right. The principle we just said is what? And over here? Alright. Whose works are in view in the Old? He'll call himself, but you're right. Over here? That's Christ again. So we have the Old and the New. Stuart is Moses underneath the Old. Christ in the new, the principle is law, the principle is grace.

Whose works? It's based on yourself. Your do's and don'ts, right? Cursings, blessings, if you do or you don't, they're all spelled out in 613. Over on this side of it, it's Christ's works. It's interesting, what group, it says, well, there's supposed to be one in here called baptism, I'll put it down here. We'll answer that one first. Actually, in the scripture it talks about being baptized into Moses. You're identified and placed into Moses. So, I'll put into Moses. Who are we baptized into and identified with in the New? That whole death, burial, resurrection. Huh? Into Christ, right? From a people perspective, what were the people group that the law was given to? Israel. What about this? The new? Who are believers? What's the body? The church, right? He calls it ministry characteristics. I'm going to give you this one.

There's death and condemnation under this ministry. Wasn't that kind of the reigning principle of law? Death. Condemnation. I'm really upset because I've moved between caps and non-caps here. But sometimes it's easier to write that way. life and no condemnation. Right. Got the spirit. Now the spirit ministers, right? There's no spirit to minister over here. But you have spirit and you have righteousness.

That's the way of earning. Had it on this slide. What's the nature of the blessings over here? Where are the blessings? Earth. And they're conditional. On this side, where are the blessings? Heavenly. and they're unconditional. Right? See the contrast? What kinds of earthly difficulties did we see underneath the old? What happens if you disobey? Curses for disobedience, right?

And over here, You have growth. Or what? Is there discipline? There's discipline. That's the contrast. I think when you're talking about the law, We, in this class, have been referring to the law more as the principle, not so much the mosaic law. But what I do think this does, is it does help you understand the grace principle. It does help you understand what is the environment like over here. And this was one of the best ways I've seen that contrast made.

Over here, our steward is Christ. Over here, the principle of living is grace. It's Christ's works, not our works, that are important over here. It's all about the church. That's what he's doing in each individual new man, is he's building up his church of which he is the head. That's what he's up to. The ministry characteristics over here are based on the Holy Spirit. And you are already the righteousness of God. And he is producing that in you. Not only has he produced it positionally, He is working in you to produce that same righteousness conditionally.

That's what 2 Corinthians 3.18 is all about.

As we behold Him, we are transformed. Right? How do we behold Him? Through His Word. He's producing righteousness. Positionally, you are already righteous. The nature of these blessings on this side, in this environment, are heavenly. And they're, what does it say? Unconditional. Over here, You have growth and discipline. Over here, you are in Christ. You are baptized, you are identified 100% with Christ over here.

Okay? So, why are we not under any law system now? Just a question again. Well, Romans 6.14 says we're not. And that's their answer. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Does that make sense? Alright.

Number six, what are the four aspects of biblical faith? No cheating. See if you can name them without looking at the board. What are the four aspects of biblical faith? Okay, the faith. Personal faith. Essence of faith. Principle of faith. What is essence of faith? Okay. What verse did we use to establish the essence of faith?

Hebrews 11.1. Let's read it. Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. So, faith is the reality, right? So we drew this on the outside, number one. Faith in its essence, it's the reality of things hoped for, things not seen, okay? Assurance of them. Does it have anything to do with you, essence? Does it have anything to do with us? Then we get into faith as a principle.

I think we looked at Colossians 2.6 and we said that it actually explains it perfectly.

But faith as a principle, it's the way things work underneath grace. It's a subset of the principle of grace, faith. It doesn't work in law. There's no faith in law. There's faith only in the environment of grace. So it's a principle. You can either do it or not. Then there's the faith, which is what? An example. It's the summation of everything. Okay, it can be. The faith can be everything that God has revealed in the scripture.

What could it be specifically? Sometimes the faith is used to specifically refer to what? a subset of that knowledge, right? The gospel is a great example of the faith. And what about personal faith? That's the next question. Define personal faith. That's my first bell.

See, I drew this in this way because you may not understand this, but this is how the believer operates in faith. Here he sits in the middle. He's revealed the gospel message. That's a subset. The faith. He's revealed that. He doesn't have to believe. He can believe or not. But that's the very...

Faith as a principle is the way God set things up to work for salvation. And it's out of that that the essence of faith surrounds. It surrounds all of this. So, as a believer, you were confronted with the faith. That's a principle of faith. You believed, and what happened? All of this. Personal faith led to every bit of this. Right? This is the way I defined it. Define personal faith. That's faith in the gospel first, and then it's faith in the things of God for walking. Let's read Colossians 2, 6. I'll read it to you.

Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, how did you receive Him? Alright, was that salvation? That was salvation faith, right? Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. What does that mean? Live, and live in the exact same way that you came to know Him. What? By faith.

You came to know Him by faith, so walk in Him by faith. And then the result is, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude. Mike covered that verse last week in depth, right? It's God that's doing the rooting, the building up, and the establishing, and it's all done through your faith. But He's the one establishing. He's the one rooting. He's the one building up. And the result in you is what? overflowing with gratitude. Okay? So, I'll read you what I have on this last question. It says, and I would encourage you to maybe write this out yourself, but due to time I'm just going to go through it.

It says, this is the final question of the entire class, right? This is where we wanted to get. Starting with the identification truths, plus grace truths, and faith truths, explain how we got to the correct side of the cross and how we are to stay living there. Now, I think I covered the answer to that question throughout the entire class.

I'm going to sum it up with just a statement I wrote up. Start with identification. Here we go. I have been identified in Christ's death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seeding. Identification allows me to understand who I am now. My new history is Christ's history. I am a new creation. I now understand my position and my condition.

My position is to be rested on by faith. My condition is to be governed by the very life of Christ as I operate by faith in the revealed things of God. Grace is my environment and operating system as a new creation on this side of the cross. It is a gift of God that is unlimited and unmerited and I am the recipient of His favor and I am blessed totally based on the adequate work of Christ in whom I am now placed and truly living.

Okay? Faith. Faith in its essence is my reality in which the principle of faith determines how things work for those who are personal and believe in the faith, that is, the gospel. And the faith as its further... I'm sorry. The faith in the gospel and the faith that is further explained in scripture. So, the faith is the gospel and the faith is further explained in scripture.

The life side of the cross stands in complete contrast to the death side. That is, who we were in Adam separated from God and slaves to sin. The life side of the cross stands in complete contrast to an environment that is governed by law and the do's and don'ts that determine blessings and cursings. The life side of the cross completes the four aspects of faith and not only are the very means by which we are saved, it is a means by which we continue to walk on a day-to-day basis. This is who I am. Right? Buzzer. Cue buzzer. Mic drop. No pun intended. I'm just kidding. All right.

Hopefully some of your questions were answered that you had about the class. Hopefully we were able to pull these things together and just see them all in relationship to one another instead of breaking them down into the three individual components.

They all work together and they all paint the picture of a reality for us that is, again, reality. We are new. We are unique in Christ. Our forever person expresses that differently for each of us, and he is working in different ways to conform us and transform us to his very image. But there are so many things that are true of you that identification expounds on, that grace defines, and that faith allows for you to actually enter into. All right? Let's pray.

Father, we're so thankful for what you did on the cross. Not only did you pay for the sins with your blood but you took us to the cross with you and you did away with the old man and you gave us a new nature and we are placed into you and all those wonderful truths um that that we now possess lord we're just so thankful for those we thank you for the environment of grace your unlimited unmerited favor based on what you did on the cross for us. Lord, we thank you that you've made it possible for us to believe that we have the opportunity to not only have salvation, but to walk by faith and enjoy your very person in our life, to become acquainted intimately with you over the course of our time on this earth and on into eternity. Lord, we're just so thankful for your love, and your grace and the way that you've expressed it to us and the way that we can experience it on a day-to-day basis by walking with you. It's in your name that we pray. Amen.