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Laying Hold of Christ

FEATURE RCW JAndrews150Rhema College Weekend Instructor Highlight

//JIM ANDREWS

he greatest battle I've fought hasn't been with financial needs or sickness and disease. The greatest battle I have fought has been to maintain my hold on Christ as my everything. Why? Because the tendency is for us to substitute something else for Christ. It could be our confession of the Word, our prayer life, or reading the Bible. Those things are good, but when we begin to substitute them for what Christ has already done, we're getting into trouble.

You see, God is a just, holy God. He could not come close to man simply on the basis of His love and mercy. Something had to take place that would satisfy His holiness—His just demands.

Christ was the answer! He took upon Himself the sin of the world, and paid the price and full penalty for all people (2 Cor. 5:19). I believe God looked down from Heaven, saw the sufferings of Christ, and said, "That is enough! My holiness is sustained, My righteousness is fulfilled, and My just demands have been met."

Now, as believers, we have a positive position we can stand in for victory. And that position is in Christ. But it's not just in the sense of being in Christ. There's something about laying hold of Christ.


EVERYTHING ELSE IS DUNG!

 


The Apostle Paul made this statement in Philippians chapter three: "If anyone can boast, if anyone can have confidence in the flesh, I more so. I was circumcised the eighth day. I'm from the tribe of Benjamin. I'm a Pharisee according to the Law. I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews" (vv. 4–6).

Why did Paul say this? Because none of these things really matter! Racial background has nothing to do with it. Circumcision has nothing to do with it. Look at what Paul says in verse 8:

PHILIPPIANS 3:8 (Message)
8 Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ.

What Paul is saying is that compared to laying hold of Christ as his everything, everything else is dung! That's pretty strong language, isn't it? But
it's true.

When all those "other" things become the conditions that regulate our blessings, we've missed it. It's good to be a follower of Christ and to do things for the Kingdom. But we must never put our relationship with God on the line with something we have done. Instead, we must always—with both hands—grasp hold of Christ.

See, when we lay hold of Him, He becomes our everything. He doesn't just give us healing; He is our healing. He doesn't just give us righteousness; He is our righteousness. The gift is Christ Himself, and that's not a gift we can divorce ourselves from. If we do, the only thing that's left is self-righteousness. And I've come to realize that all of my self-righteousness after Christ is no less filthy rags than it was before I received Christ
(Isa. 64:6).

I want to ask you, what are you holding on to today instead of Christ? How big is your pile of "dung"? Remember, Christ has given you an extravagant, life-giving gift. It doesn't matter what you've done right or wrong. Lay hold of Him. Trust fully in Him. He is your everything.

 

[Editor's Note: Jim Andrews is the director of Rhema Bible Training College Peru and an instructor at Rhema USA.]