messenger
November 12th, 2007, 10:38 AM
Go on in faith through the cross, and don't slip back into unbelief.
In Romans 6:6 ( Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.) being crucified with Him, (Galatians 2:20) the whole body in regard to sin has been destroyed . The word “destroyed” in the Greek is καταργέω:
1 to render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative. 1A to cause a person or thing to have no further efficiency. 1B to deprive of force, influence, power. 2 to cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul, abolish. 2A to cease, to pass away, be done away. 2B to be severed from, separated from, discharged from, loosed from any one. 2C to terminate all intercourse with one.)
Obviously, the word “body” here is not speaking of the physical body, but the whole of our relationship to sin in terms of our personal identification with it; that is what has been destroyed. Now in Galatians 2:17-18 , if I (key word; meaning not Christ, but me. re: vs 20) build (pres act ind) again that which I have destroyed (aor act ind), I make myself a transgressor. When I was baptized into Christ I was baptized into His death (Romans 6:4).I was justified (Romans 5:9) by faith in his shed blood and by His matchless grace (Titus 3:7) totaly apart from myself or any amount of works on my part. He has done the work and I believed and was justified.
Now, what if instead of contiuing on in believing and living as though I am justified by faith apart from the law in the liberty that I have in Christ as one who is free from the law, I am continuously seeking to be justified as though I were still under the law feeling its condemnation. Would that mean that I actually am still under the law? NO!!, not in my position, never! but yes, in my experience. God wants me to live in the truth of His finished work grace. He wants me to glorify Him by my life lived for and through Him by faith. Faith is the key word here. When we don't live by faith we by virtue of default live by sight. One is supernatural and the other is natural. Apart from faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). We got saved by grace and through faith, and God wants us to continue in faith. When we as believers don't walk by faith, we are living outside of the only realm which God has ordained for us to live. If I am "seeking" to be justified by Christ, by virtue of the fact that I am "seeking" it shows that I am not living in the reality of the justification that I already have in Him. Why seek if I already have. The truth is that because I am justified by Christ, I never need to seek to be justified. Never again. Instead of seeking justification, I should be going forward and resting in the faith that works by His love in Galatians 5:6 . The natural (old) man is under the law which was before Christ and which was given to lead us to Christ. Now that we are "In Christ", we are members of Him the "New Man". We are no longer under the law of the natural man, but we are under grace in a supernatural call and heirs of God according to His promise. (Galatians 3:24-29). Now in Romans 4:15 where there is no law there is no transgression. So it follows that where the law is, there is transgression (Romans 7:9). In short, by abiding in unbelief in regard to my finished work justification, I come out from under grace in my experience (while not in my position) and find myself under the law (as a transgressor) in my experience which Jesus Christ already fulfilled on my behalf (Matthew 5:17). Nevertheless because I'm living in unbelief and in effect standing against my finished work position in Christ which He accomplished for me, my experience is one of a transgressor, because through unbelief I have built again that which I destroyed (the law, along with the whole body of sin Rom. 6:6 ) when I became born again and in the eyes of The Father became a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Keeping in mind, in the eyes of the Father, I still am justified and have not fallen from grace at all (Romans 5:2).
The danger for a born again believer who has built again that which he destroyed, is that once he finds himself a transgressor under the law, instead of simply believing the truth of the finished work and rebounding in grace, he tends to struggle (paying the utmost farthing Matt. 5:26 ) to become justified apart from the grace (which is impossible to do) he has fallen from in his experience. (Galatians 5:4). And based upon self effort and human good, he struggles in a subtle form of self righteousness. And though he truly believes Christ died for him, he can't understand his turmoil, but in his experience, he has been separated from grace (while he remains secure in his position).
What he must do is return by submitting to the hearing of the doctrine (word of God) that produces the simplicity of childlike faith in Jesus Christ's shed blood, (we have a faith that works by love Galatians 5:6 ) and be thankful and focus on Christ and His Power and Strength and not self.
:yeah
In Romans 6:6 ( Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.) being crucified with Him, (Galatians 2:20) the whole body in regard to sin has been destroyed . The word “destroyed” in the Greek is καταργέω:
1 to render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative. 1A to cause a person or thing to have no further efficiency. 1B to deprive of force, influence, power. 2 to cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul, abolish. 2A to cease, to pass away, be done away. 2B to be severed from, separated from, discharged from, loosed from any one. 2C to terminate all intercourse with one.)
Obviously, the word “body” here is not speaking of the physical body, but the whole of our relationship to sin in terms of our personal identification with it; that is what has been destroyed. Now in Galatians 2:17-18 , if I (key word; meaning not Christ, but me. re: vs 20) build (pres act ind) again that which I have destroyed (aor act ind), I make myself a transgressor. When I was baptized into Christ I was baptized into His death (Romans 6:4).I was justified (Romans 5:9) by faith in his shed blood and by His matchless grace (Titus 3:7) totaly apart from myself or any amount of works on my part. He has done the work and I believed and was justified.
Now, what if instead of contiuing on in believing and living as though I am justified by faith apart from the law in the liberty that I have in Christ as one who is free from the law, I am continuously seeking to be justified as though I were still under the law feeling its condemnation. Would that mean that I actually am still under the law? NO!!, not in my position, never! but yes, in my experience. God wants me to live in the truth of His finished work grace. He wants me to glorify Him by my life lived for and through Him by faith. Faith is the key word here. When we don't live by faith we by virtue of default live by sight. One is supernatural and the other is natural. Apart from faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). We got saved by grace and through faith, and God wants us to continue in faith. When we as believers don't walk by faith, we are living outside of the only realm which God has ordained for us to live. If I am "seeking" to be justified by Christ, by virtue of the fact that I am "seeking" it shows that I am not living in the reality of the justification that I already have in Him. Why seek if I already have. The truth is that because I am justified by Christ, I never need to seek to be justified. Never again. Instead of seeking justification, I should be going forward and resting in the faith that works by His love in Galatians 5:6 . The natural (old) man is under the law which was before Christ and which was given to lead us to Christ. Now that we are "In Christ", we are members of Him the "New Man". We are no longer under the law of the natural man, but we are under grace in a supernatural call and heirs of God according to His promise. (Galatians 3:24-29). Now in Romans 4:15 where there is no law there is no transgression. So it follows that where the law is, there is transgression (Romans 7:9). In short, by abiding in unbelief in regard to my finished work justification, I come out from under grace in my experience (while not in my position) and find myself under the law (as a transgressor) in my experience which Jesus Christ already fulfilled on my behalf (Matthew 5:17). Nevertheless because I'm living in unbelief and in effect standing against my finished work position in Christ which He accomplished for me, my experience is one of a transgressor, because through unbelief I have built again that which I destroyed (the law, along with the whole body of sin Rom. 6:6 ) when I became born again and in the eyes of The Father became a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Keeping in mind, in the eyes of the Father, I still am justified and have not fallen from grace at all (Romans 5:2).
The danger for a born again believer who has built again that which he destroyed, is that once he finds himself a transgressor under the law, instead of simply believing the truth of the finished work and rebounding in grace, he tends to struggle (paying the utmost farthing Matt. 5:26 ) to become justified apart from the grace (which is impossible to do) he has fallen from in his experience. (Galatians 5:4). And based upon self effort and human good, he struggles in a subtle form of self righteousness. And though he truly believes Christ died for him, he can't understand his turmoil, but in his experience, he has been separated from grace (while he remains secure in his position).
What he must do is return by submitting to the hearing of the doctrine (word of God) that produces the simplicity of childlike faith in Jesus Christ's shed blood, (we have a faith that works by love Galatians 5:6 ) and be thankful and focus on Christ and His Power and Strength and not self.
:yeah