THE REAL YOU

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: A Message Worth Hearing More Than Once
2. Paul’s Message to the New Creation
3. The Perfect and Unchanging Love of God
4. Alienated in the Mind, Not Abandoned by God
5. Reconciled Through the Body of Jesus Christ
6. United With Christ in His Death and Resurrection
7. God’s Work, Not the Work of Man
8. Holy: Made Sacred by God
9. Unblameable: Learning to Believe the Real You
10. Unreproveable: Standing Before God Without Accusation
11. Continue Believing and Stand Firmly in the Truth
12. Right Believing Produces Right Living
13. A Final Encouragement and Ministry Appeal

Introduction: A Message Worth Hearing More Than Once

Pastor Leonard Rola begins by greeting everyone and explaining that he has a message that he believes will truly bless those who hear it. He asks the audience to pay close attention because this may be the kind of teaching that needs to be heard two or three times before its truth becomes firmly established in the heart and mind.

He explains that he has personally been reviewing and meditating upon these Scriptures. He has been committing them to his soul and renewing his mindset according to their truth. The primary passage for the teaching comes from the first chapter of Colossians, particularly verses 21 through 23.

Pastor Leonard gives the message the additional name “You Can’t Touch This.” He explains that the reason for that expression will become clearer as the teaching progresses. It points toward the secure, complete, and untouchable identity God has given every believer through Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Message to the New Creation

Pastor Leonard explains that Saul, who became known as Paul, authored 17 letters in what Christians call the New Testament. He emphasizes that Paul wrote primarily to the new creation. Paul’s letters describe the true and glorious gospel of Christ, which is the gospel of grace.

Paul taught believers about being united with Jesus Christ and about the new heavenly realities that belong to them. His great desire for the believers to whom he wrote—and for believers today—was that they would believe all the good things God had said about them and accomplished within them.

These things were not accomplished through human work. They were entirely the work of the Almighty God and heavenly Father, who loves humanity beyond measure. The believer’s new identity is not a personal achievement. It results from what God has done through Christ.

The Perfect and Unchanging Love of God

Pastor Leonard establishes the teaching upon the foundation of God’s perfect love. There is no love more perfect than the love of God. God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son as His sacrifice and offering.

John 3:16- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Pastor Leonard paraphrases the heart of this passage as God declaring that He loves the world and all its inhabitants so much that He will give them His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in God’s offering and sacrifice through His Son will receive life and live it to the fullest. God’s purpose in sending Jesus was not to condemn or judge the world. His purpose was to save the world.

John 3:17- “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

Pastor Leonard then refers to the high-priestly prayer of Jesus in the seventeenth chapter of John. Many wonderful truths appear in this prayer between Jesus and the Father. One is Jesus’ desire that believers know the Father loves them even as He loves Jesus.

John 17:20-23- “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

God’s love was demonstrated while humanity was still living in sin. Even if a person thinks of himself as the greatest sinner the world has ever seen, Christ died for him while he was still in that condition.

Romans 5:8- “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Holy Spirit has also been given to believers to reveal and continually affirm the truth that God loves them. Pastor Leonard describes the Holy Spirit in this context as being like a cheerleader who continually reveals, “God loves us. God loves us. God loves us.”

Romans 5:5- “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

Pastor Leonard also recalls Paul’s prayer in the third chapter of Ephesians. Believers are instructed to live firmly planted and established in Christ’s love. Along with all the saints, they are to grow in their understanding of every dimension of that love—its breadth, length, depth, and height.

Ephesians 3:17-19- “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

The clearest definition of love is not humanity’s love for God but God’s love for humanity. God demonstrated that love by sending His Son as the payment and propitiation for sin.

1 John 4:10- “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Jesus was not given only for the sins of a select group. His sacrifice was for the sins of the entire world.

1 John 2:2- “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

God loved us; He loves us now, and He will always love us. This unchanging love provides the background for understanding what God accomplished in Christ and who the believer has now become.

Alienated in the Mind, Not Abandoned by God

Pastor Leonard turns to the central passage of the teaching.

Colossians 1:21-23- “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

He initially reads the passage from the New Living Translation, explaining that although he is not committed exclusively to any translation, he has recently become fond of reading that translation.

He pauses over the description of people who were once far away from God, enemies, and separated from Him because of their evil thoughts and actions. Pastor Leonard challenges the common teaching that sin caused God to separate Himself from humanity. He states that this is far from the truth.

God never separated Himself from us. Pastor Leonard reasons that because God is omnipresent—His presence is everywhere—He can't remove His presence entirely from a person.

The passage places the alienation and hostility within the human mind. People considered themselves separated because of their evil thoughts, mindsets, and resulting actions. Their thoughts produced actions and shaped their lifestyles. The separation took place in their own souls and minds; it was not God turning away from them.  God’s amazing love did everything necessary to remove that perceived separation and bring about reconciliation and unity.

Reconciled Through the Body of Jesus Christ

Pastor Leonard continues examining Paul’s declaration:

Colossians 1:21-23- “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

God reconciled believers to Himself through the death of Jesus Christ in His physical body. Jesus became the Father’s own sacrifice and offering. Through Christ, God initiated a covenant of grace that is faultless and flawless. This reconciliation was God’s idea, and God’s doing. When a person places faith in Jesus Christ, God brings that person into His own presence.

Pastor Leonard asks how God accomplished this. He explains that God cleansed the believer’s wrongful thinking, washed the person’s mindset and belief system, and changed the way that person thinks about, looks toward, and acts toward God.

Because believers are united with Jesus Christ, they can be brought into God’s presence. They are one with Christ and, in their new identity, are like Him. Pastor Leonard emphasizes that this union with Jesus is a truth Paul teaches throughout his letters.

United With Christ in His Death and Resurrection

Pastor Leonard refers to Paul’s teaching about the believer’s union with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection.

Romans 6:4-5- “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”

Believers were united with Jesus when He died on the cross. They were united with Him as He became the sacrifice and offering for sin, sickness, disease, poverty, loneliness, fear, anxiety, and worry. Because believers were united with Christ in His death, they were also buried with Him. Sin, along with all of its factors and fruits, was buried with Him.

The believer was not only joined to Christ’s death and burial. The believer was also united with Christ in His resurrection and raised to newness of life. This newness of life now determines how believers stand before God and how they are called to walk.

God’s Work, Not the Work of Man

Returning to Colossians, Pastor Leonard draws attention to the words Paul uses to describe believers.

Colossians 1:21-23- “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

Everything described in this passage is the doing and work of God. It is not the work of humanity. It is not something believers have achieved or something they must obtain through striving, toiling, or religious effort. It was, is, and always will be God’s work.

Because of what God has done, believers can stand boldly in His presence. They do not enter His presence based upon personal merit. They stand there because their identity is joined to the identity of Jesus Christ.

1 John 4:17- “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.”

Believers can have boldness even concerning judgment because, as Jesus is, so are they in this world right now. Paul’s words in Colossians explain what that reality looks like for everyone who has placed faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Holy: Made Sacred by God

The first word Paul uses is “holy.”

Colossians 1:21-23- “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

Pastor Leonard explains that his wife, Pastor Lori, often addresses believers as holy, blameless, and saints. This passage is the reason she can address them that way. He identifies the Greek word translated “holy” as hagios. He explains that it means sacred. God has made the believer sacred, enabling that person to stand in His presence. Believers did not make themselves sacred; God made them sacred.

Pastor Leonard connects the term with sanctification and describes its meaning as physically pure, morally blameless, holy, and a saint. These are remarkable words for Paul to use concerning believers.

Paul could have stopped after saying that believers are holy, because holiness alone would have been an extraordinary description. However, he continued because he wanted to drive the truth home so thoroughly that believers would never stray or depart from it. He wanted them to remain firmly planted in the truth of who they are and whose they are. This identity exists entirely because of the Father and because of faith in Jesus Christ.

Unblameable: Learning to Believe the Real You

After declaring that believers are holy, Paul calls them “unblamable.”

Colossians 1:21-23- “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

Pastor Leonard identifies the Greek term behind “unblamable” as amomos and explains that it means blameless.

This description may initially be difficult for people to accept. They may wonder whether God knows what they have done or what they sometimes still do. Pastor Leonard explains that believers sometimes behave contrary to their true identity because their minds have not yet been renewed to the truth of their real nature and character—the nature and character God has created within them.

People may hear the word “blameless” and respond, “You cannot be talking about me.” Pastor Leonard insists that Paul is talking about every believer. In Christ, believers truly are blameless. To demonstrate how believing this truth changes conduct, Pastor Leonard shares a personal example from his marriage to Lori. There were many occasions when they disagreed or argued. During those conflicts, he always thought he was right. He recognizes that pride and arrogance were involved.

Afterward, he would go before God in prayer, describe himself as wicked and mean, and say that he wanted to love his wife. He would try, cry, weep, ask for forgiveness, and then fail again. His focus remained on what he thought was wrong with him and upon his own efforts to change.

A transformation began when he started believing Paul’s teaching about what occurs when a person says yes to Jesus Christ. He began to believe that he was holy, unblameable, and blameless.

As this truth became his mindset and belief system, it naturally changed and shaped his behavior. He began believing that he was everything God said he was. When he believed that holiness and blamelessness were his genuine nature and character, his life began naturally producing fruit consistent with that identity.

The change was not produced through condemnation or relentless striving. It came as the fruit of believing what God had already done and accepting Paul’s description of who the believer truly is. Because this identity is God’s work, believers are granted entrance into His presence at all times.

Unreproveable: Standing Before God Without Accusation

Paul adds a third description: “unreproveable.” The New Living Translation expresses this as standing before God “without a single fault.”

Colossians 1:21-23- “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

Pastor Leonard again observes that Paul could have stopped after “holy.” He could also have stopped after “unblameable.” Instead, Paul continues by declaring that believers are unreproveable and stand before God without a single fault.

God has created believers to stand before Him completely faultless. Pastor Leonard asks listeners to imagine what would happen in their lives if they genuinely believed what God said about them and what He accomplished when they said yes to Jesus Christ. The fruit produced by believing that truth would transform their lives.

Pastor Leonard identifies the Greek term behind “unreproveable” as anegklētos and explains its meaning as unaccused, irreproachable, and blameless. Nothing can be called into account against the believer. The believer stands before God unaccused and blameless. His response to this truth is simply, “Wow.”

Continue Believing and Stand Firmly in the Truth

Although God has completed this work, Paul exhorts believers to continue believing it.

Colossians 1:21-23- “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

Pastor Leonard asks how many believers do not truly believe this description of themselves. Many think they must achieve holiness through their power, work, toil, and striving. Others think grace is merely assistance that God gives them so they can eventually make themselves acceptable.

That is not what Paul’s message says. Holiness, blamelessness, and faultlessness are present facts. They are the truth of what God has already done. Believers are God’s workmanship. He has made them holy, blameless, and faultless.

Pastor Leonard repeatedly exhorts his listeners to believe this truth. It is not based upon what they do. It is based upon what God has done through the gift, sacrifice, and offering of His Son. Believers must continue believing this truth and stand firmly in it. They must stand firmly in the truth that they are holy and blameless and that they stand before God without a single fault.

They must not drift away from the assurance they received when they heard the good news. Pastor Leonard warns them not to listen to religion or to those who continually add conditions such as, “But you need to,” “But you have to,” or “But you must.”

Paul’s instruction is not to drift from the assurance of the gospel. The good news has been proclaimed throughout the world, and Paul was appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

When there is a failure, fall, or “blip on the radar screen,” the believer must get back up and continue believing the truth. A temporary failure does not redefine the person God has created. Standing in this positive reality is how believers emerge from negative situations. They overcome the negative by standing in the positive, standing in the truth, and standing in the reality of their God-given identity.

Right Believing Produces Right Living

Pastor Leonard summarizes the practical result of the teaching by declaring, “When you believe right, you will live right.” Right believing produces right fruit. It creates the kind of life believers have often tried to generate through their own works, efforts, and striving.

When people understand what God has already accomplished, there is no room for religious additions and qualifications. Guilt, shame, and condemnation begin to disappear. Instead of continually defining themselves according to failure, believers begin saying and believing, “I am.” When a person knows who he is, he begins to understand what he can do. When he knows what he can do, he begins to recognize what he already has in Christ.

Pastor Leonard explains that holiness and righteousness are the qualifications for receiving the benefits, promises, and miracles God has prepared for believers. The good news is that God has already made believers holy and righteous. Therefore, the issue is no longer achieving this standing. It is a matter of believing and standing in what God has accomplished. The final spiritual exhortation is clear: believe the truth, stand in the truth, and do not drift away from the assurance received through the gospel.

A Final Encouragement and Ministry Appeal

Pastor Leonard closes by telling everyone that he loves them very much and very deeply. He explains that the ministry has experienced an extremely difficult summer. Families have been lost from the ministry’s regular participation, other families have been away on vacation, and the ministry is facing financial need.

He asks listeners to visit the ministry’s website, review its giving section, and pray. He encourages each person to ask the Lord whether He would place something upon that person’s heart to give in support of the ministry.

Pastor Leonard ends by reaffirming his love for the audience and assuring them that the ministry is praying for them. He says that he will see them again in a couple of days.

We hope this article blessed you and helped you understand the real you—the person God has made holy, blameless, and unreproveable through Jesus Christ. Please share this teaching with others so they may also discover their true identity in Christ, stand firmly in the assurance of the gospel, and experience the freedom that comes from believing what God has already done.