If you are in Christ, you are loved, washed and cleaned up.
You walk around in the perfection of Jesus.
Since he never sinned, neither have you!
Not only that, God sees you as never having had a sin nature!
Meditate on that for a while. 
Even in your worst moments when your life is in chaos, and all you know is failure and weakness, you are still in Christ and perfect!
Where you fail, he has obeyed perfectly for you.
Where you sin, he has paid for it on the cross.
When you are embarrassed and feeling ashamed, he has succeeded for you.
Barbara Duguid writes in her book, Extravagant Grace, “That means you are free to struggle and fail; you are free to grow slowly; you are free at times not to grow at all; you are free to cast yourself on the mercy of God for a lifetime.”
While obedience makes God happy, loving and delighting in Jesus, who has given you his perfect record even in the middle of your messy life, makes him happier.
Duguid goes on to say, “Repeated failure does not mean you are unsaved or that God is tired of you and disappointed. It does mean he has called you to a difficult struggle and that he will hold on to you in all your standing and falling and bring you safely home.”
Wow!
That’s breathtaking.
Take that with you this weekend.
And the rest of your life.
Talk to me.
messychristians@gmail.com
Messy Christians 
Great sentiment…sounds so nice, but a theological train wreck…new life means new growth, at least at some point or the seed is dead…instead of repeating words we have heard in church about forgiveness being past present & future, possibly our challenge is to see what obeying the command to grow looks like & take the words of Jesus seriously. If our righteousness is no different than the Scribes & Pharisees then all the forgiveness in the world will not change us.
Hi Rick,
Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your comments. I welcome them! I agree that we must grow as Christians otherwise we’re still dead in our sins and no life is in us. And yes, we must obey God’s commands in order to please him. However, our obedience is not perfect because of remaining sin in us that wages war with the Holy Spirit who is sanctifying us. (Galatians 5:16-26) That’s why when we sin, we confess it (1 John 1:9) and thank Jesus that he obeyed perfectly in our place. This train wreck of a struggle is meant to keep us dependent on Jesus because without him we can do nothing. And because God sees us as perfect in his Son, we can continue to serve him with gladness and gratitude.
I hope this answers your comments a little bit. Let’s continue the conversation!
Blessings to you,
Carolyne
Reblogged this on Levi's Daily Thoughts and commented:
The author of the book quoted, Barbara Duguid, is excellent. This is a great book for all too read. Great post Messy Christians!!
I can’t say I agree totally with this. I’m not God, He is the only One who is perfect. If I don’t sin then no need for forgiveness or the cross. “Since He never sinned, neither have you.” Sorry, That’s just false in my opinion. Blessings and have a great week-end.
Hi Sue,
Thanks for visiting my blog and for your comments. I welcome them! Since it was God’s idea to place us in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30), and since his Son is perfect in all ways (Colossians 2:9), we are, too by virtue of our union with Christ (Romans 6), otherwise how could we be seated in Christ in the heavenlies? (Ephesians 2:1-10) Do we continue to sin as Christians? You bet, every day, and in all different ways, but thanks be to God, they are all paid for in the blood of Jesus on the cross, and we can continue to serve him with gladness and gratitude.
I hope that explains things a little better or maybe not! I’d love to continue the conversation!
Blessings to you,
Carolyne
“Where you fail, he has obeyed perfectly for you.” This is such truth… Love the quotes from this book- I think I’ll be visiting my library soon : ) So glad you shared!
Thanks, Heather for visiting my blog and your comments. Yes, do read the book, it’s truly amazing! Come back again! – Carolyne
You are showing the true grace and love of Christ. It is very difficult for people to accept His unconditional love and His propitiation. We still struggle with wanting to earn His favor.
We are no longer sinners, but saints. We are new creations, protected under His wings of salvation. Bless you for your teaching and your willingness to uplift and teach the gospel, welcoming all into the kingdom.
Thank you, Susan! You encourage me with your comments. Come back and visit again soon.