New sermon series begins on March 3!

Becoming Truly Human:

Identity & Transformation in Romans 5-8

What does it mean to be a Christian?
Is the gospel practical for my life today?
How do I overcome struggles with sin?
Is there more to the Christian life?!

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul boldly declares, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” To be a Christian means a seismic spiritual shift has occurred. The world to come – the new creation – has broken into our current existence. Everything has changed.

If you came to faith as an adult, perhaps you experienced this reality as your entire worldview was upended and reordered. Maybe some technicolor sins were eradicated. But as the years wind on, you’ve settled into a Christian experience that feels very different than the first rush of excited belief. Others grew up in the church. There was no dramatic conversion, simply a growing knowledge of biblical truth, conviction of sin, and awareness of your need for a Savior. And perhaps you have a nagging feeling, “Is this all there is?!”

The early chapters of Romans expose the failures of the Graeco-Roman (1) and Jewish (2) cultures, the total depravity of humanity and the sacrifice of Jesus (3), and the importance of laying hold of God’s promises by faith (4). Romans 5-8 explain the outworking of “justification by faith” – what it means, how the work of Jesus impacts our lives practically, and the difference it makes that eternity breaks into the here and now.

Theologians talk about the “already, not yet” of the gospel. The death and resurrection of Jesus kickstarted the new creation promises of God in this life, even as we await the complete fulfillment in the New Heavens and Earth. The hope is for all of us at SLPC to start living these gospel realities more fully in our daily lives!

“A man who changed from having Bios (natural life) to having Zoe (spiritual life) would have gone through as big a change as a statue which changed from being a carved stone to being a real man.

“And that is precisely what Christianity is about. This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there is a rumour going round the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life.”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity