“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
Jesus (His life lived perfectly for us, His atoning death, and His victorious resurrection) is the cornerstone of the Christian faith (1 Peter 2:2-7). Everything about our faith, everything that is true for us as believers flows from the finished work of Christ on the cross (John 19:30). Indeed, the message of the cross is the power of God both for unbelievers (Romans 1:16) and to those who are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18). When tempted, go to the cross and look! "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
The death of Jesus is glorious for believers (2 Corinthians 3:8)! His death saps temptation of its power and brings us transformation and eternal life (John 3:16). With His blood, Jesus has paid our sin debt and removed the curse of the law and the condemnation that it brought to us (Galatians 3:13-15, Romans 8:1).
Because of our supernatural union with Christ, when He died on the cross, we died with Him (Romans 6:5). His death was our death (Galatians 2:20). And our old sinful identities were nailed to a tree in the body of Christ for a very specific reason. Romans 6:4 explains, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Temptation is always the desire to walk in the old way, to live the old life, but we died with Christ to the old life, were buried with Him, and were raised from the dead with Him that we might walk in newness of life.
Oh, friend, do you understand? You had to die with Christ so that you might be raised to abundant living! And this is not merely some future hope or possibility. By faith, you receive your new identity in Christ right now, and you can learn to live today as the new creation that you are in Christ!
And this new life of faith in Jesus is not a drudgery or something to be endured. No! Your new life in Christ is one of joy amid sorrow, peace in times of uncertainty, strength in times of weakness, and abundance in moments of need. It is a life not driven by the cravings of your flesh, the allurement of the world, or the deceitfulness of Satan. Your new life is guided by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14).
But this new and abundant life does not come naturally to us. We must learn how to live it. The apostle Paul wrote, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14 NIV).
If you want to experience the abundant life that Jesus died to give you, you must forget what is behind and press on toward experiencing Christ. You do this by fixing your thoughts on Him (Hebrews 3:1), fixing your eyes on Him (Hebrews 12:2), remembering His death and rejoicing in His resurrection.
The evil one will tempt you, trying to remind you of your sinful past, to entice you to return to it. Your flesh will call you to return to your old sinful ways of eating, drinking, and living. The world will entice you to conform to their version of the abundant life full of stuff, trinkets, and shiny things, but remember, you are dead to the world, dead to your past and alive in Christ. Look to and believe in Jesus, and “rivers of living water” will flow to and through you (John 7:38).