Everything so far has centered on the Son, but now the focus turns to the heirs of salvation—us. We are not spectators to redemption; we are its beneficiaries. The one perfect offering of Christ has “forever perfected” those who are sanctified. If you believe the Gospel, this is not a future hope but a present, finished reality. Do not let anyone move you from this ground: the heirs of salvation are those who hold fast to the Gospel, not those who labor to perfect themselves.
The Finished Work: Our Place Is With Christ
Transformation is not achieved by human effort. The notion that you can sanctify yourself by striving is not only futile—it is an affront to the sufficiency of Christ’s work. Scripture is clear: “While we were dead in sins, God made us alive together with Christ and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies.” This is not a metaphor. God has already acted, and His action is decisive.
“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
—Ephesians 2:6-7
God’s intention is to showcase, for all eternity, the riches of His grace and kindness toward us in Christ. This is not a reward for your effort; it is the result of His initiative and His accomplishment.
God’s Masterpiece—Not Your Project
You are not a work-in-progress in your own hands. You are God’s workmanship—His masterpiece—created in Christ Jesus for good works that He Himself has prepared. The Christian life is not a project of self-improvement; it is a walk in works that God has already ordained.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
—Ephesians 2:10
Colossians declares, “You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” This is not a call to introspection or self-analysis, but to behold Christ, our salvation. We are to see ourselves as God sees us: united with Christ, dead to the old, alive to the new.
Dead to Sin, Dead to the Law—Alive to God
The Gospel does not merely forgive; it crucifies. Christ was crowned for the suffering of death so that He might “taste death for every man.” We were buried with Him in baptism into His death. Paul commands us to “reckon” ourselves dead to sin and to the law. This is not a suggestion; it is the foundation of Christian identity.
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
—Romans 6:11
“Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”
—Romans 7:4
You are not under law; you are not under sin’s dominion. You are joined to the risen Christ, free to bear fruit for God. This is not the result of your surrender or your striving, but of your union with Him in death and resurrection.
Sin Has Been Condemned—Not You
Do not be deceived: forgiveness is not the whole story. The old man was not merely pardoned; he was condemned and crucified. God did not sweep sin under the rug—He condemned it in the flesh of His Son.
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”
—Romans 8:3
“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
—Romans 6:6
Isaiah prophesied it: “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Christ bore the full weight of our condemnation so that our sins would be fully dealt with—gone, not merely covered.
What Is Lost If You Accept the Error
If you shift your confidence from Christ’s finished work to your own effort, you forfeit everything: justification, inheritance, sonship, and the power to walk in newness of life. To return to self-effort is to deny your union with Christ, to reject your place in the heavenlies, and to abandon the freedom purchased by His blood. You cannot have both—either you are perfected forever by His offering, or you are left to your own devices, still in your sins, still striving, never arriving.
Reckon It So—Your Past Is Gone
“Reckon yourself dead.” See yourself crucified with Him. This is not a mystical exercise; it is the only ground of assurance and transformation. Our death with Christ is an article of faith and an inheritance. Because your sins have been fully condemned in Him, your past is gone. You are free—free to live as God’s masterpiece, free to walk in works He has prepared, free to rest in the finished work of Christ.
Hold fast to this Gospel. Do not be moved. Everything depends on it.
