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The Christian life is a challenged life. It is a life of victory over the domination of the flesh, the soul, the carnal nature of mankind. All who are born into this world are under the control of the old sinful life and yield themselves to its impulses. We know and admit to the weakness of the flesh. At one time it was the pattern of our life but now, in Christ Jesus we have found new life. The secret is out. There is a power, extremely more powerful, than that which once was a way of life for us. For as we once yielded ourselves to that spirit of the flesh we have the privilege of committing our life to the power of the Lord which is able to create a longing and desire to live according to the will of the Lord in righteousness and holiness. Rom. 6:19 Each of us become the deciding factor. How do we want to live our Christian life? Like a yo yo? Up and down, or like a stalwart soldier of Christ, triumphant and victorious.
In the first place those who walk in the light of the Lord are cleansed from ALL sins. Repentance and forgiveness is not in part but the whole. Our full and complete fellowship with Him is our assurance of deliverance. 1 John 1:7 With the confession of sin there must also be a forsaking of the same, else what profit is there in repentance if there is not a release from sin accompanying it. To confess is to forsake. Pr. 28:13 Having been made free from sin, we become servants to righteousness. Rom. 6:18 A person freed from prison is no longer incarcerated. If we have been set free from sin then how can we continue in that sin. We have been set free. We are God’s free man. We are liberated, released, no longer bound by that sin. Our liberty has been purchased. The pardon granted is full and absolute. We live the life of Christ in the glorious liberty which He has purchased for us. When we become entangled with the sins of the past we are obviously in bondage to them and have lost our liberty. Gal. 5:1.
The new man will quickly learn to walk according to the Spirit, living their life in Christ Jesus. Rom. 8:1 The secret of the Christian life is to let the Lord Jesus have complete control of our life and allow Him to live His life in us. Paul gave a good word when he wrote to the Corinthians and said; “now thanks be unto God, which ALWAYS CAUSEETH US TO TRIUMPH IN CHRIST.” 2 Cor. 2:14 That positive note should be manifest in all those who are in Christ Jesus. Every one born of the Spirit has the right and privilege of living a victorious life in Christ, for we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Rom. 8:17 The whole of a victorious life is centered in our consecration to Christ. We are not only challenged daily by sin we are also called upon to be victorious over sin, daily.
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A dead Christian is not one who is cold or even lukewarm but is one who, when they were baptized, they recognized it as an act identifying them with the death of Christ. Paul compared going beneath the waters as comparable with burial with Christ. Rom. 6:4 However that is only half of the work which should be accomplished, for he continued and proclaimed that when the spiritual experience is properly administered and comprehended by the candidate that there is also a resurrection, not in theory but in fact. Resurrection life is available to all who will recognize the promise and partake of it. There is a life available whereby everyone in Christ may know the power and glory of His resurrection, literally, in their life. As a matter of fact it is what the Lord wants to impart to His very own.
When we walk together with Him we are planted jointly, with Him, our reward is to find ourselves partaking of the fullness of His resurrection. That opens up tremendous, unlimited possibilities of life and ministry with the manifestation of the power of the Lord. Rom. 6:5 What a powerful declaration of the power and ability of the Lord given to the church that she might live in victory. To be crucified with Christ is the result of total dedication to the Lord and the working of His Word in our hearts and spiritual nature. Here is our victory, the sinful body and nature is destroyed that we should no longer live in sin. A dead body cannot be tempted in any manner. There is nothing there to respond to sin. There is a place and a life in Christ that is totally victorious. Rom. 6:6 Anyone who has experienced the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is absolutely freed from sin, because there is no response to the appeal of sin. Rom. 6:7 Every provision has been made for the dedicated child of the Lord to live without sin.
Inasmuch as there is way of living a life of holiness, without sin, we need to take advantage of our privileges and live accordingly. Sin has no place in any child of God. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Those who are crucified with Christ positively exhibit no response to sin. They have authority over sin and refuse to participate in its actions. Rom. 6:12 Again the Apostle has a solution which brings victory. We become the servant of the force to whom we yield our lives. If we give into sin, then indeed we are the servants of sin. Contrariwise, if we yield to the Lord, we will be triumphant over sin. We demonstrate the fact that we are alive and living the life of Christ. Rom. 6:13 Sin shall not have dominion over you. There is a life without sin. Its cost, to the natural, sinful person are great. To the dedicated, the rewards are so great that the costs seem as nothing. Rom. 6:14.
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In Christ Jesus, the Father has called the whole of humanity to come unto Him that they might be saved and forgiven of their sin. Those who come seeking to be reconciled find that they are totally forgiven of all past sin. 2 Cor. 5:19 The work whereby there could be a reconciliation between a Holy and Just God and each and every man was fully accomplished in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Any act of reconciliation requires that there be a meeting between the parties involved. There must then be a meeting of the minds and hearts with a proper understanding of the terms involved. The negotiations which settle the conflict determine the manner of conduct to be practiced by all parties involved. The life style of those who have been reconciled unto the Lord changes dramatically and will continue to change until they attain the fullness of the glory of the Lord, unto which they have been called. That call is not to live a mediocre Christian life but to enter in and to receive the full benefits of the glory and the kingdom of the Lord. 1 Thes. 2:12.
The calling and choosing of any and all persons is possible. All are called but not all respond. Those who answer the call find great and mighty benefits from the Lord. The working of the Word and the Spirit in the life of the called will result in a conduct of holiness which is extremely pleasant. Holiness is not something which should be shunned but because it is a direct gift from the Lord should be much desired. 1 Thes. 4:7 Holiness is not something that is common to mankind. As a matter of fact we are born in sin and conceived in iniquity. Without even being given a chance to draw our first breath we are already condemned to live the life of a sinner. Holiness comes with the call of the Spirit of the Lord. We are urged to be holy even as He is holy, 1 Peter 1:15-16, which is a total impossibility for mankind on their own. He has given us His Word to wash and sanctify us that we might become partakers of His holiness. Eph. 5:6 It is the Living Word, the life of Christ manifest in us that keeps us from sin. The call of the Spirit affords us the right to share and share alike with the Lord Jesus all the beauty and fragrance of His Divine Being. Heb. 12:10 What a privilege!
The righteousness, the holiness of the Lord is initially the gift of God. However, on our part there must be a desire to be like Him and to live an exemplary life likened unto the Lord Jesus. Make certain that you do not sell yourself short of all that the Lord has provided for you. The promises of the Lord are Yea and Amen. They will not fail. Not only are we to receive of His nature but we are to cleanse ourselves from all that is unrighteous, then continue to grow in holiness until it is perfected in our life. 2 Cor. 2:1.
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The stated promises of the Word of the Lord are amazing. There is so much more to the Christian life than what we are enjoying today. The challenge of the Word is ever before us. Consider the extreme ability of the Lord whereby He is able to fulfill and then to exceed, over and above, all that we can ask or think. In other words, there is no ultimate to His capability in going far beyond even our thoughts and our requests. Eph. 3:20 Humanity is limited in its capability, He knows no limits. However, the motivating factor which produces spiritual action and wonders in our life, originates from the power with which He has graced us.
His church has been called to obtain the full measure of His power which will create a people, who are one in all things, which pertain to Christ and the Word. They are unified in their belief. The also have a full and complete knowledge of the Son of God. His thoughts have become their thoughts. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Phil. 2:5 Impossible? Not according to Paul; ìBut we have the mind of Christ.î 1 Cor. 2:16 He wants us to be able to manifest His being and character, His knowledge and comprehension in all things pertaining to this life and the life to come. We are called upon to have a mind as pure as His, to do His works and to show to the world that He is indeed the Christ of God. Those who would follow the Lord Jesus are likewise privileged to reach the status of His perfection. Mature in all things pertaining to the Word of the Lord. In other words, the Word becomes their life, lived in the manifestation of the righteousness of Christ. Eventually arriving at the ìmeasure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.î Eph. 4:13 There is a life in Christ that far exceeds the so called Christian life of today.
ìWe are in Him.î 1 John 1:20 Thus we see the standard that has been established for the church. There should be a constant spiritual growth in the life of every individual who is ìin Christ,î until the church reaches a maturity which is found in knowing Him. That is, understanding all the revelaed truth which is to be found in Him. Going far beyond the ABCís of the Gospel and discovering the full relationship which is developed by fully knowing Him. Paul was willing to exchange all that he was, all that he had achieved or acquired, all things, for a full and complete knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Such consecration is astounding, but that which is gained is so much greater and worth so much more than what is lost, that it makes any loss seem to be totally worthless and it most definitely is. Anytime that we can exchange temporal things for things eternal, there can be no doubt as to the wisdom of choosing that which is everlasting. Phil. 3:8.
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In creation the Lord looked at His work and said it was good, pleasant, even the best. Can anything less be expected in the new creation? Those who are in Christ are to reach a certain standard and quality of life. For they are a new creation. Not a renovation of the old but an entirely new start. So much so that the old manner of life has ìpassed away,î died, perished and no longer exists. In exchange, ALL THINGS have become new. Thus we behold the relationship which the Lord wants to build in our new life, in Christ. 2 Cor. 5:17 This is the ideal and that which the Lord desires to see developed in each and everyone who comes to Him. He has high ideals and would develop them within all who come to Him by Christ Jesus.
The Lord has made a perfect offer to those who would follow Him. To fulfill His desire in His church the Father sent His Son, the eternal, everlasting Word of the Lord into the world to take the place of every person as the true offering for sin. He became what we were, gross sinners, there are no good sinners, that is until we accepted Him as our savior. Then, the great switch is made, for now we are to become as righteous as He is, filled and living with the righteousness which makes the Lord who He is. His righteousness is to become the character, the very heart and life of each and every Christian, bar none. 2 Cor. 5:21
The standards of the Lord are unachievable when we try to gain them by our own efforts. Therefore He has sent the Holy Spirit into the world in order for all who would live godly in Christ Jesus to find a power which would enable them to do so. It is He, the Spirit, who is to lead and guide us into all truth. His presence in our spirit makes for a joyous and happy Christian life. No, not all that He directs us into is pleasant. It is He who teaches us of Calvary and the truth that out old carnal nature is to be crucified with Christ. The Spirit will bring us to an experience where we mortify (cause that old person to pass away), the desires of the flesh. The sinful nature must die or we will constantly be troubled by the wants and desires of the flesh. Rom. 8:13 Living in a permissive age it is not the message which most want to hear. We are constantly excusing ourselves, comparing ourselves by ourselves and that leads us to a condition where it is difficult to tell the difference between those who are serving the Lord and those who are not. Generally speaking, those who are Christians attend church as long as it is not too inconvenient. How pathetic we are living like spiritual paupers, when the Lord has provided spiritual riches far above our imagination. The benefits are ready and may easily be plucked, if only the proper price is paid. :END::2013: