I Am Crucified With Christ: Nevertheless I Live
Following Christ completes and fulfills our personality, allowing us to rise to a new life and fulfill our purpose.
A.B. Simpson emphasizes that the Christ life enhances our individuality rather than diminishes it, addressing concerns about losing one's personality upon accepting Christ. He illustrates that just as gas fulfills its purpose only when ignited by fire, and snowflakes contribute to new life in spring, our true identity is realized in Christ. Simpson encourages believers to embrace this transformation, suggesting that true fulfillment comes from losing oneself in Christ to gain a new life. The sermon highlights the essential relationship between Christ and our individuality, asserting that we are incomplete without Him.
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The Christ life is in harmony with our nature. The other day I was asked by a thoughtful, intelligent woman-one not a Christian, but who had the deepest hunger for that which is right-"How can Christ enter us and we not lose our individuality? This experience will destroy our personality; it violates our responsibility as individuals." My response was, "Your personality is incomplete without Christ.
Christ was made for you, and you were made for Christ, and until you meet Him you are not complete.
He needs you as you need Him. "Suppose," I continued, "that gas jet should say, 'If I take this fire in, the gas coursing through me will lose its individuality.' Oh, no; it is only when the fire comes in that the gas fulfills its purpose for being. "Suppose the snowflake should say, 'What shall I do? If I drop on the ground I shall lose my individuality.' But it falls and is absorbed by the soil, and with the coming spring the snowflakes are seen in the primroses and daisies." Let us lose ourselves and rise to a new life in Christ.
Sermon Outline
- The Christ Life and Individuality
- Examples of Harmony
- The Call to Lose Ourselves
- Letting go of individuality
- Rising to a new life in Christ
Key Quotes
“Your personality is incomplete without Christ.” — A.B. Simpson
“Christ was made for you, and you were made for Christ, and until you meet Him you are not complete.” — A.B. Simpson
“Let us lose ourselves and rise to a new life in Christ.” — A.B. Simpson
Application Points
- Recognize that your personality is incomplete without Christ and that He completes and fulfills you.
- Let go of your individuality and rise to a new life in Christ.
- Trust that following Christ will lead you to a deeper sense of purpose and fulfillment.