"Without God, we can not
Without us, God will not"
-Saint Augustine |
Departure From Depravity
The need for sanctification (personal holiness)
Have you ever wondered why it is not so easy to live the Christian life? Just when you seem to be so holy then you sin and fail God...and appear and feel so unholy.
Legalism can set in and this doesn't work, either.
You turn and toss like a fish out of water trying to do what is right but just get so frustrated in your Christian walk when you fail at this also.
Why did God make it so hard? Isn't there some kind of easy way that one can discover to make things more simple for himself?
Well, join the club. All Christians struggle with this same problem so you are not an isolated case. The problem is depravity and as long as we live in a body of flesh then we are going to have problems in this regard. Why is this?
I. What is this thing called depravity? Where did it come from, and, if I am suffering with it, how do I deal with it?
According to Webster's Dictionary depravity means morally corrupt or perverted. That is the natural condition of mankind. I think that the best analogy that I can give is that of an invisible snake living in your heart that is at war with God and influences you in that direction. In other words it is a part of your "self" or your "flesh" that is inclined to do evil or inclined toward evil. The origin of depravity goes back to our distant parents- Adam and Eve. God created Adam and Eve perfect in every respect. They had no fleshly depravity. However, all of that changed with the fall of mankind.
What is the sin nature that each of us inherits from Adam? Simply put, it is wanting our own way. Each of us always wants our own way- a way that is not God's way! It is a way of disobedience and sinful resolution. It is the way that Adam and Eve chose rather than obedience to God. The scripture says, "All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own..."
(Isaiah 53:6a) (NLT).
In the Garden of God Adam and Eve chose Satan to be their master rather than God by an act of their free will. This set off a "chain reaction" in the spiritual realm resulting in God kicking Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and placing a curse on mankind and on the earth. From then on every human child would be born with a depraved nature or the nature of Adam as some Bible scholars term it. So, in a nut-shell, we inherited this depraved human nature from our grandfather, Adam. Each of us is born with depravity and there is nothing that we can do to change this- it is just the way that it is.
Why did God kick Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden after they had sinned? Because if they ate of the fruit of the Tree of Life they could live forever with a depraved human nature. It was not God's will for this to happen.
At this time I am sure they were eating the fruit of the tree of life. Here is the Biblical account of this action:
"And the LORD God planted all sorts of trees in the garden- beautiful trees that produced delicious fruit. At the center of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it. But the LORD God gave him this warning: "You may freely eat any fruit in the garden except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of its fruit, you will surely die."
(Genesis 2:9, 15-17).
However, after they had sinned: "Then the LORD God said, "The people have become as we are, knowing everything, both good and evil. What if they eat the fruit of the tree of life? Then they will live forever!" So the LORD God banished Adam and his wife from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After banishing them from the garden, the LORD God stationed mighty angelic beings to the east of Eden. And a flaming sword flashed back and forth, guarding the way to the tree of life."
(Genesis 3:22-24).
W.T. Purkiser is his writing titled, The Biblical Interpretation of Holiness, had this to say about this matter,
"ALL CHRISTIAN TRUTH must be based on the teaching of the Bible. God has spoken in the Scriptures and has made known to us both His will for our lives and His provision for our needs.
"The doctrine of Christian holiness is based upon the total thrust of the Scriptures. It is not merely a thread or line of truth running through the Word of God. It is rather a network of teaching which is an essential part of the fabric of the whole.
The Bible is an amazingly realistic Book. It describes with great faithfulness the sorrows and sins, the struggles and hopes, the weakness and pain of the men and women who walk its pages. Yet through it all there shines a light of redemption and victory, the light of that "holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord"
(Hebrews 12:14).
In swift strokes, the early chapters of Genesis paint the picture of creation and catastrophe, holiness given and holiness lost.
Genesis chapter 3 tells us of the source of that corruption of our moral natures for which sanctification is the divine cure. Created in the image of God, but using the freedom which was part of that image to seek to "be as gods"
(Genesis 3:5) themselves, Adam and Eve brought upon their descendants the corruption that comes to a branch cut off from the source of spiritual life in the Vine
(John 15:1-6).
The man created in the image of God "begat a son in his own likeness, after his image"
(Genesis 5:3) whose "every imagination [yetzer, tendency, propensity, direction] of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually"
(Genesis 6:5; 8:21). The sinful condition of the race is due to the depravity that comes from "deprivity," that is, human nature apart from the life of the Spirit.
Yet such is the marvel of God's love and patience that the very scene of human rebellion was the occasion for the first promise of divine redemption, of One who at the cost of His own suffering would crush the serpent's head"
(Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:20).
We don't know exactly why God did this or why He chose to do it this way. One thing we do know is that this fallen nature (also called the Old Man or the evil sin nature) is inclined toward evil.
"But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth. People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire."
(Job 5:6-7 NLT).
King David wrote of his depravity as coming on the scene at the time of his birth, "For I was born a sinner- yes, from the moment my mother conceived me."
(Psalms 51:5 NLT or New Living Translation).
King David was not the only Old Testament saint that had trouble with his depraved human nature. King Saul, before King David, got fired from his kingship role by God, "But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you from being king."
(I Samuel 15:22-23 NLT).
"...for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth..."
(Genesis 8:21).
In reference to the knowledge Jesus had about it: "...and needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man."
(John 2:25).
Wow! By now you are probably saying that this depravity stuff sounds mightly powerful and that it seems like it can get a person into some pretty serious trouble. So right you are! But it does not have to bite you too badly if you handle it correctly. You have to use the power of God to stomp it down daily.
The Jewish folk in the wilderness journey under the leadership of Moses really did not understand it. Yet, their depravity kept getting them into all kinds of trouble so God had to teach them about it. By teaching them about it then, God was also teaching us about it today via His word. Remember the Bible rule: reasons for events were concealed in the Old Testament but revealed in the New Testament. That means that the saints who lived in Old Testament days (before the cross) did not, necessarily, understand why an event from God was happening to them. But the saints who are alive now (after the cross) know why and we study these events. The "depravity doctrine" is a nugget of truth for us to mine out of God's word and apply it to our lives today to avoid all kinds of trouble.
II. Let's examine how God taught His people, Israel, about this important doctrine.
"Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient along the way, and they began to murmur against God and Moses. "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" they complained. "There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this wretched manna!"
"So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among them, and many of them were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, "We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take away the snakes." So Moses prayed for the people. Then the LORD told him, "Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to the top of a pole. Those who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!" So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Whenever those who were bitten looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!"
(Numbers 21:4-9).
This true story may not make a lot of sense to us if we just casually read it and gloss over it. However, it starts to make more sense when we understand the symbolism involved. From God's point of view in this story the snake is a symbol of man's depravity and the pole is a symbol of the tree or cross of Jesus Christ.
It's not a downhill coast
to get into Heaven
but an uphill swim |
III. What does all of this mean for a Christian?
The picture here before us means that if you have Jesus Christ living in your heart then your "old man" or depraved nature is crucified on the cross of Christ.
Now, here is an irony- when Jesus Christ comes to take up residence in your heart He takes away most of this depravity but not all of it. He leaves a slice of depravity in every saved heart- just enough for us to deal with and then gives us the power over it.
Why Did God Leave That Slice of Depravity In The Heart of Each Saved Individual?
David P. Scaer in his writing titled, Sanctification: By Grace Alone, had this to say:
"As magnificently monergistic as our sanctification is, that is, God works in us to create and confirm faith and to do good to others, we Christians are plagued by sin. In actual practice our sanctification is only a weak reflection of Christ's life. Good motives often turn into evil desires. Good works come to be valued as our own ethical accomplishments. Moral self-admiration and ethical self-absorption soon replace total reliance on God. The sanctified life constantly needs to be fully and only informed by Christ's life and death or our personal holiness will soon deteriorate into a degenerate legalism and barren moralism. God allows us Christians to be plagued by sin and a sense of moral inadequacy to force us to see the impossibility of a self-generated holiness. Our only hope is to look Christ in whom alone we have a perfect and complete sanctification. "He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption"
(1 Corinthians 1:30).
Here are some scriptures for us to examine in this regard:
"Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you."
(Colossians 3:9-10).
"Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes."
(Ephesians 4:21-23).
"Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin"
(Romans 6:6-7).
Paul the Apostle wanted to identify with his congregations (to help them) who were dealing with this same depravity issue problem- I think that he can speak for each Christian believer today:
"The law is good, then. The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things. I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is
another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin."
(Romans 7:14-25 NLT).
The Apostle Paul also had this to say to the Christians of the Galatian church:
"So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before,
that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another."
(Galatians 5:16-26).
We have nailed our flesh to His cross by the power of His spirit. Our love for Him keeps our "old man" nailed there and this is shown by our obedience as a love slave to Him in a daily Christian walk. We don't know why God leaves some of this depravity inside of us but we are meant to struggle against it. We struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Here (in this teaching of mine) we are dealing with the flesh. And this flesh can get us into a lot of trouble if we don't keep it down (keep it crucified)-- also known as stomping down the "old man" daily. In theology this is known as self-mortification or the mortification of the flesh. A simple formula for remembering this is to spell the word "flesh" backwards in English and then take off the letter "h". The word changes from flesh to self which is so accurate.
IV. Here is my answer to our depravity problem:
1. First of all, the natural man without Christ is totally depraved. This is a big problem from God's point of view. That means that your nature is seen from God's point of view as an evil, biting, venemous snake in total rebellion against God. You are owned by Satan (who appeared to Eve in the Garden of Eden in the form of a snake). If you are not saved then you need to invite Jesus Christ to come and live in your heart.
2. Christ's mighty power will give a death blow to one's depravity! Once we have Jesus Christ living in our heart we need to stay on our knees in deep prayer and we need to stay in God's word continually. If we don't then we might sin and fail God. We might appear and feel so unholy. Legalism might set in but this won't solve a depravity issue. One can get so frustrated in his or her Christian walk if we try to walk in our own strength without help from God. We have to rely on God's power and strength to help us walk a holy and self-sacrificing life. We have to make a choice to live in the spirit and not live in the flesh. We can't let the flesh have it's own way.
3. Use the power of God's Spirit and your own will-power to stomp down the "old man" nature. Keep it stomped down lest it get away from you. I like to think of a balance scale with one's spirituality on one end of it and one's flesh-life on the other end of it. With the flesh down the spirituality is elevated. With the spirituality down the flesh is elevated. I believe it is just that way in our lives. We need to always keep the flesh down or "crucified".
4. "Flee temptation and avoid hurtful lusts" (2 Timothy 2:22).
5. Don't give up if we fail. "If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong."
(I John 1:8-9).
6. Take one day at a time. There is an old saying, "Take life by the inch, it's a cinch, but take life by the yard, it's hard."
(Matthew 6:34).
7. Be careful what movies that you watch. Be careful what music that you listen to. Your mind is a repository of what you place there. If you place the Word of God there you will think and act after that fashion. However, if you place garbage there... well, garbage in and garbage out, as they say. Don't be feeding your "lower man." Instead, feed your soul on soul food which is the Word of God. This is great advice for every Christian.
So far in the above teaching I have been dealing with some simple truths of basic Christianity in reference to depravity and how to deal with it. The milk of the word of God, if you please.
V.Now let's get into some deeper teaching- into the meat of the word of God.
What is the sin nature that each of us inherits from Adam? Simply put, it is wanting our own way. Each of us always wants our own way- a way that is not God's way! It is a way of disobedience and sinful resolution. It is the way that Adam and Eve chose rather than obedience to God. The scripture says, "All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own..."
(Isaiah 53:6a) (NLT).
Here is what J. Vernon McGee says about it in his commentary about human depravity in regards to
Numbers 21:4-9.
"Unfortunately this is characteristic of many of us today. When life is hard we complain and murmur...They are murmuring again about the manna. You will recall that the mixed multitude were the ones who had led them in rejecting the manna earlier in the march. Manna was a wonderful food, by the way. God reminds them in the book of Deuteronomy that their feet did not swell. A missionary doctor in the Philippines told me that the foot will swell and beriberi results from a diet deficiency. So they were getting all the correct nutrition in the manna, and it was a very tasty sort of food. Yet they complained...
I think, frankly, that the Lord is getting just a little tired of all of their murmuring. They say that their soul hates this manna. They don't want it. They charge God with bringing them into this wilderness to die. The Lord is tired of all their complaining and He is going to judge them for it. Then God sends in the serpents.
They are now ready to to admit that they have sinned against the Lord and against Moses. Now, that is a problem with many folk today. They want to begin with God as a church member, as a nice little girl or boy. We all must begin with God as sinners. The only way that God will begin with us is as sinners. You see, Christ died for sinners, and He loves sinner. If you can't come in under that category, then Christ is not for you. He came for sinners.
These people are going to have to give evidence of faith because they have no good works. They can't come to God with the promise that from now on they will be good because they won't be good. But they can believe God, and God is going to let them come to Him by faith.
There is a marvelous lesson here, you see. They are to look at the brazen serpent, and they are to look in faith. In fact, they would not look if it were not in faith. I can well imagine some of the folk saying that this was just nonsense. They would want something else, something more tangible than just turning around to look at a serpent of brass. But, of course, if a man would not turn to look at the serpent of brass, he would die.
Now, we don't have to guess at the meaning of this and the lesson for us. When our Lord was talking to Nicodemus on that dark night He said, "And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life."
(John 3:14-15).
How was the Son of Man lifted up? You say, on a cross. Yes, but He was dying on the cross of Barabbas, and Barabbas was a thief and a murderer. Barabbas was guilty, and was worthy of death. Jesus was not. Our Lord was made sin for us. On that cross, He not only has taken the place of Barabbas but also your place and my place. God permitted this and did this because He loves us. But God cannot save us by His love. It doesn't say that God so loved the world that He saved the world. Not at all. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Now what God asks you to do, my friend, is to look and live. Look to Christ! He is taking your place there. You are a sinner and it is you who deserves to die. Christ did not deserve to die. He died for you.
We read here that this serpent of brass was made, and those who looked to it lived. Those who did not look to it died. It is just that simple today. Either you are looking to Christ as your Savior because you are a sinner, or you are not doing it. If you are not doing it, I don't care how many times you have been baptized, how many ceremonies you have been through, how many churches you have joined, or who your father and mother happened to be, you are a lost, hell-doomed sinner. You must look to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is just as simple as that. And by the way, it is just as complicated as that.
What a problem people have today. They would rather look to themselves and to their own good works, trusting that somehow thier own good works might save them. It is a problem for people to admit they are sinners and to look to Christ and trust Him."4
VI. My concluding remarks about depravity:
"These events happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did or worship idols as some of them did. For the Scriptures say, "The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged themselves in pagan revelry. And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day. Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. And don't grumble as some of them did, for that is why God sent his angel of death to destroy them. All these events happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us, who live at the time when this age is drawing to a close."
(I Corinthians 10:6-11).
In this study we learned that our depravity came to us from our forefather, Adam, at the beginning of the human race. Our depravity is viewed by God as a serpent and is hostile to our living a holy life for Christ. In other words our sinful nature from Adam is like a snake- evil and dangerous (deadly) and is full of venom against God unless put to death. Our depraved human nature has been crucified in Christ on the cross. We must put to death our self-nature and crucify the flesh daily, the mortification of the flesh.
We deal with this depravity by personally accepting Christ and then, personally, we crucify it daily. By this we take up our daily cross of self-denial and self-indulgence. We die to self daily. The pull of depravity is always downwards so a Christian must be careful when fellowshipping with the unsaved. It is easier for an unsaved person to pull a Christian downward than for a Christian to pull an unsaved person upwards.
Snakes in this picture are not only symbols of depravity but also symbols of Satan. Like the snakes, the devil was among them killing them spiritually unless they looked to Christ to save them. Satan was defeated at the cross of Christ.
The devil victimizes people. He is the perpetrator of all abuse. A victimized person can look to Christ for help in healing and restoration.
I invite you now to turn to Christ. If you are not in love with Jesus Christ then I ask you now to go to Him in prayer, repent of your sins, invite Him to come and live in your heart, and turn your life over to Him. If you are in love with Jesus then I ask you to walk in holiness before Him crucifying the flesh on a daily walk with Him. And when you fail at this turn to Him in repentence and keep trying. Lean on the Lord and let Him be strong through you.
What God Through the Bible Teaches About Holiness
Facing Choices-
(A brief look at Romans chapters 12 and 15).
In all things choose to know and do the will of God.
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice- the kind He will accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is"
(Romans 12:1-2).
God has given each person gifts to share for the wider good. Choose to discover and use your gifts.
"As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly"
(Romans 12:3-8).
Following the Lord's example, choose compassion. Sincere love shows itself in service.
"Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night"
(Romans 12:9-13).
Choose to serve one another so that all may praise God together.
"We may know that these things make no difference, but we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves. We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of those who think these things are wrong. We should please others. If we do what helps them, we will build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn't please himself. As the Scriptures say, "Those who insult you are also insulting me." Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. They give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises. May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other- each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"
(Romans 15:1-6). NLT5
Scriptures On Holiness
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven"
(Matthew 5:44-45).
"Live to Please God"
"Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You are doing this already, and we encourage you to do so more and more. For you remember what we taught you in the name of the Lord Jesus. God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. Then each of you will control your body and live in holiness and honor- not in lustful passion as the pagans do, in their ignorance of God and his ways. Never cheat a Christian brother in this matter by taking his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to be holy, not to live impure lives. Anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human rules but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you"
(1 Thessalonians 4:1-8). (NLT New Living Translation)
"As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature"
(2 Peter 1:3-4).
Also See Romans 1:18-32; 6:1-15; 8:1-3,31-39
See Colossians 1:12-20
See 1 Peter 1:13-25
See Leviticus 18:1-30
See Ezekiel Chapter 28: 12-17 where Satan is seen as Unholy
I believe in the sun,
even when it's not shining; I believe in love,
even when I feel it not; I believe in God,
even when He is silent. |
1) THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS NOTHING LESS THAN THE LIFE OF CHRIST
"I am the Vine, ye are the branches"
(John 15:5)
"...that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life"
(Romans 6:4).
"Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20).
"For to me to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21).
"Christ in you, the hope of glory...when Christ who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory"
(Colossians 1:27; 3:3-4).
"That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body...that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh"
(2 Corinthians 4:10-11).
"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you"
(Galatians 4:19).
The Christian life is Christ manifesting and outworking His life in the believer!
2) THE OUTWORKING OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST IS ACCOMPLISHED BY THE POWER OF THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT
"For He dwelleth with you and shall be in you"
(John 14:17).
"He shall testify of Me...He shall glorify Me" (John 15:26; 16:14).
"But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you"
(Acts 1:8).
"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all"
(Acts 4:33).
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death"
(Romans 8:2).
"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"
(Romans 8:4).
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh"
(Galatians 5:16).
"That ye might know...what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power"
(Ephesians 1:18-19).
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us"
(Ephesians 3:20).
3) THE DYNAMIC OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS GOD'S GREAT WORKING IN ME
"Without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).
"That no flesh should glory in His presence" (1 Corinthians 1:29 and also in verse 30 I learn that Jesus Christ is my sanctification or my holiness).
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them"
(Ephesians 2:10).
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature"
(Galatians 6:15).
"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure"
(Philippians 2:13).
"Whereunto I also labor, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily"
(Colossians 1:29).
"Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen"
(Hebrews 13:21).
4) THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS BASED UPON THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
The key is not what I do but what Jesus Christ has already done. We all know that this is true when it comes to our salvation. We rest upon the finished work of Christ. When it comes to Christian living many believers stop doing this. Jesus Christ has done the work. We simply need to believe it and claim it.
"Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin"
(Romans 6:6).
"I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20).
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new"
(2 Corinthians 5:17).
"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him"
(Colossians 3:9-10).
5) THE GREAT TRUTHS OF IDENTIFICATION
To be saved I believed the glorious fact that Jesus Christ died and rose again for me. To live the Christian life I must believe the glorious fact that I died with Christ and rose again with Christ. Both of these facts have been accomplished. The truth that relates to my salvation (justification) involves SUBSTITUTION (Christ died for my sins!). The truth that relates to my Christian life (sanctification) involves IDENTIFICATION (I died with Christ!). Notice the following verses which involve IDENTIFICATION:
"How shall we that have died to sin live any longer therein?"
(Romans 6:2).
"Knowing this that our old man was crucified with Him"
(Romans 6:6).
"I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live"
(Galatians 2:20).
"Ye died with Christ" (Colossians 2:20).
"For ye died and your life is hidden with Christ in God"
(Colossians 3:3).
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness"
(1 Peter 2:24).
6) CLAIMING THE FACTS OF GOD'S WORD BY FAITH
"Likewise reckon [count on the facts!] ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord"
(Romans 6:11).
"Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead"
(Colossians 2:12).
"I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me"
(Galatians 2:20).
"For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love"
(Galatians 5:6).
"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief....Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief"
(Hebrews 3:19; 4:11).
"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith"
(1 John 5:4)
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith"
(Ephesians 3:17).
"THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH" (Hebrews 10:38).
7) THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS TO CONTINUE JUST AS IT COMMENCED
"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him"
(Colossians 2:6).
"For we walk by faith, not be sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).
"Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"
(Galatians 3:2-3).
"For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith...Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?"
(Galatians 5:5-7).
"Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith"
(Hebrews 12:1-2).
8) AS IT IS WITH THE GOSPEL, SO IT IS WITH THE CHRISTIAN LIFE: THE CROSS MUST BE CENTRAL!
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal"
(John 12:24-25).
"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world"
(Galatians 6:14).
"I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20).
"Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him"
(Romans 6:6).
"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified"
(1 Corinthians 2:2).
"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death"
(Philippians 3:10).
"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake"
(2 Corinthians 4:10-11).
