INTRODUCTION

"Show me the money" is a line from a movie a few years back that has become a part of our everyday vocabulary. "Show me the money," "What are the benefits?" is a question we ask throughout or lives. When we seek employment we ask, "What are the benefits of my being an employee of this company?" When we purchase a car we ask. "What are the benefits of my purchasing this particular make and model of car? When we buy a home we ask, "What are the benefits of living in this community?"

Likewise, one should ask himself, "What are the benefits of being a Christian? Paul would supply us with answer in Ephesians 1:1-3, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," Let us consider the blessings that one able to enjoy in Christ.

In Him, we have BEEN CHOSEN, "Just as He chose us in Him…" (Ephesians 1:4).

This is an eternal choice. "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,…having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, " (Ephesians 1:4,5). "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God" (I Peter 1:2). "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). God chose a class of people and that class of people are those who are "in Christ". We are all among the non-elect until we are in Christ. To get into Christ, one must believe in the Gospel (Acts 8:12), repent of his sins (Acts 2:38), confess with his mouth that Jesus Christ is God’s Son (Acts 8:37) and be baptized for the remission of his sins (Acts 2:38). Paul would say this of baptism, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27).

This is a purposeful choice. "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love," Ephesians 1:4. There are consequences of being chosen.

We must be holy. The word "holy" is the same word translated "saints" in verse 1. We become saints, we become holy through our obedience to the Gospel (II Thess. 2:14) and thus we are to be different from the world, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:1,2). Some people seem eager to go to heaven, but yet they have no desire for holiness. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:" (Hebrews 12:14). "But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

We must be blameless. Blameless does not mean that the Christian will never sin (I John 1:8-10), but it does mean that our lives will be characterized by "walking in the light" (I John 1:7). Because we are seeking to be blameless, we will: strive to enter in at the strait gate (Matthew. 7:14), fight the good fight of faith (I Timothy 6:12), wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12), run unhindered the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1) and be faithful to the end (Matthew 10:22).

Our motivation to a life of holiness and blamelessness is love. Without love we could do many seemingly great deeds, but they would us no spiritual good (I Corinthians 13:1-3). Without the love of the truth we will not be saved (II Thessalonians 2:10). We show our love for God and His Son Jesus Christ by obeying the commandments of the Lord (John 14:15; I John 5:3). Paul told the Galatians, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6).

In Him we have REDEMPTION, "In Him we have redemption…" (Eph. 1:7). Redemption means to "buy back" Why do you and I need to be redeemed , to be bought back. Sin in going beyond God’s law, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law (KJV)"( I John 3:4). All accountable people have went beyond God’s law, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23). The sinner must face sin’s consequences, "For the wages of sin is death," (Romans 6:23). Therefore, some payment must be made or the sinner will perish, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood…"; "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."(Romans 3:24,25; Romans 6:23).

A person needs to understand the redemption process. One is redeemed through the blood of Christ, "In Him we have redemption through His blood…" (Ephesians 1:7); "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Peter 1:18,19). The purpose of redemption is "the forgiveness of sins". Jesus would teach the apostles what the emblems of the Lord’s Supper would represent. Concerning the fruit of the vine, he would say, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 2628). The plan of redemption is God’s gift to man, "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:6,7).

How does one become redeemed? To become redeemed I must come in contact with the blood of Christ and be a member of the blood-purchased church. "And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood"(Revelation 1:5). ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). When one submits himself to the word of God and is baptized he has been redeemed and added to the church, which Jesus purchased with His blood (Acts 2:38;22:16; Revelation 1:5; Acts 2:47; 20:28).

In Him we have an INHERITANCE, "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance…" (Ephesians 1:11). Many parents seek to give their children an inheritance. Inheritance such as money, land and personal property. These things we inherit from our parents are purely physical in nature. God seeks to give His creation an inheritance; but unlike the inheritance parents give their children, God is seeking to give us an eternal inheritance. "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light" (Colossians 1:12). "To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you," (I Peter 1:4). Paul teaches us what we must do to receive this inheritance in Ephesians 1:13, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,"

CONCLUSION

What are the benefits of being a Christian? "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," (Ephesians 1:3). When one considers the blessings that God has placed in Christ, he must the realize the blessedness of being in Christ and the utter folly of not being in Christ.

 

Mike Gurganus
PO Box 916
Henderson, NC 27536