In Romans the Christian is always viewed upon earth. He has died to sin, is alive in Christ and is perfectly justified He is walking through the world in that condition and has to yield himself up to God.
In Colossians he is dead as in Romans, but also as risen with Christ. He has a hope laid up for him in heaven. Ephesians goes a step further, for there he is seated in the heavenly places.
Let us see how the Christian lives. You cannot live in the world without an object before you, so the Apostle says, "I live by the faith of the Son of God," that is, he lived with Christ as the object of his faith (Gal. 2:2020I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)). How far can we say that we live by the faith of the Son of God? "Whatsoever ye do... do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Christ, my object, loved me, and gave Himself for me.
This acts upon the heart and the affections. You get two things connected together: Christ living in me and being my blessed object. And I have the certainty of His deep affection for me, for He has laid down His life for me.
He loved us and gave Himself for our sins, to deliver from this present evil world. Are we living for Christ or has the world got hold of our hearts? It is possible to live like Lot for a time. Are we living in association of Faith with Christ in heaven, or are we living for this world?
Now is the time of God's long-suffering, but Peter says He "is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”
God knows the moment when grace will cease to gather souls to Christ in glory. Be assured there is reality with God. We must walk by faith, not by sight.
Things to attract are presented on every hand. Shops are full of things to tempt us. We know it well, but do we allow it to control our lives? Or are we so living by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave Himself for us, that the world and the devil cannot distract us? Can we say, "This one thing I do"?
The Lord is patient in His love, but are we, with purpose of heart, living to Him who died for us and rose again? We know we have come short, but still, is there a perfect heart with us, so that we walk with a good conscience? Our conscience is purged and made perfect before God by the blood of Christ, but I speak of it now in a practical sense.
The great truth and essence of Christianity is that it takes the heart out of this world and fixes it on Christ. It makes us live by Christ, on Christ and to Christ.
"Let us ray aside every weight,
and the sift which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus.”