The Gospel according to Luke shows us an important story that concerns
faith. This same incident is also shown in Matthew 8:23-27 and Mark
4:35-41. I am sharing it from Luke due to how Jesus challenges the
disciples with a simple yet powerful question. "Now it happened, on a
certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to
them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they
launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came
down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in
jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master,
we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of
the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And
they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this
be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” (Luke 8:22-25)
Jesus' question, "Where is your faith"
should provoke every believer, everyday. Why? Recently it came to my
attention through a Christian social media discussion group, a
discussion concerning the Christian life beyond conversion. This was due
to the common belief among most Evangelicals. Evangelical meaning, a
Christian church believing in the Bible as the sole source of authority
for the church. The major focus is in salvation only through conversion
and spiritual regeneration. I believe this to be true for Bible
believing churches, but once one is converted the majority believe and
teach, "We are all sinners and even as born-again believers, we
sin every day in thought, word and deed. Yes, we should strive for
spiritual
perfection, but we will never achieve it as long as we are in our
earthly
body." Is this statement in alignment with the scriptures? Well, if you
are a typical Evangelical, then this is true. But if this is true, then
that would mean that once one is converted that they have a dual nature.
The nature of God and the nature of the devil, the sin nature.
Few have realized what the believer's legal position in Christ is; who
they are in Christ; and how the Father sees them in Christ. I have
posted only a very small number of scriptures to help you understand
that once you are born again you are no longer a sinner in God's eyes.
The apostle Paul tells us, "Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (Corinthians
5:17) First, we need to see that God says that the believer is a New
Creation. What does that mean? The Apostle Peter tells us, "God has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that
through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world
through lust. (2
Peter 2:4) The believer, through the born again experience immediately
becomes a partaker of God's nature for a purpose. To escape the
corruption that is in the world through lust. To escape sin and its
author, Satan, the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
The apostle Paul continues, "old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." This means that the old man (old satanic, sinful nature) has died, has been put away, and now the believe has a new nature, "...the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians
4:24) If the believers new nature is the divine nature created
according to God in true righteousness and holiness, then how can the
believe be a sinner any longer? According to the Apostle John, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." (1 John 3:9) How can this be? You have been told your entire Christian life that you are a born again sinner
and will always be a sinner as long as you live on planet earth. But
this is not what the Bible teaches through the Apostles Paul, Peter and
John' writings.
So what is the problem? The problem exists in two areas. First, the
church has been very strong in teaching man his need of righteousness,
but also teaches his weakness and his inability to please God, but has
been sadly lacking in bringing the church forward to the truth of what
and who the believer is in Christ. This is due to looking at the flesh
(the five senses) rather than growing ones faith
through the Word of God to believe God and not fleshly experiences.
Secondly, it is coming to the knowledge that it is ones spirit that is
born again and not the soul (mind, will and emotions) or the body. This
is evidenced in many scriptures. For example, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2) The Apostle Paul tells us to
present our bodies to God and renew our minds. Naturally, we renew our
minds through the Word of God which builds our faith (Romans 10:17) and
is able to save our soul (mind, will and emotions (James 1:21).
The
body does not sin in and of its self. The body responds to sin as an
act of the will, a result of the unregenerate soul, a mind the is not
being renewed with God's Word. Therefore, a mind that is not being
renewed with the Word of God, results in ungodly thoughts which will be
acted upon in the body, which translates into sin. (James 1:14-15) When
believers are constantly told that they are still sinners, they will
continue to sin because they become filled with a sin consciousness.
Trying not to sin, they always think of not sinning, becoming more cognizant of sin than righteousness. They let their thoughts rule their
lives rather then their recreated spirit have the ascendancy over their
soul and body. This is not grace at work, but the works of the law. Even
if a believer thinks or acts out in sin, it no way means that they have
a dual nature, one of God and one of the devil (sin). As a matter of
fact, it is a believers choice to sin. (Romans 6:11-14) However, if they
do, they can be forgiven and have the unrighteousness removed by God
through repentance. (1 John 1:9)
Many
have come to believe that the Apostle Paul was a sinner due to poor
interpretation of Romans 7:15-23. In order to believe that Paul was a
born again sinner based on this one passage of misinterpreted scripture,
we would have to eliminate everything that he spoke in the seven and
one half previous chapters of the Book of Romans, the rest of Romans,
not to mentioned everything else that he spoke that is contrary to this
erroneous belief in his other letters to the church. The Holy Spirit
reveals to Paul and he records for us one of the most monumental things
that refutes such teaching and sets the believer free, "I
have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)
The
old sinful, satanic nature of Paul (actually Saul before his
conversion) was crucified with Christ, when Christ was crucified.
Christ, not sin lived in Paul. Then he drives the point home, "the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Although Paul still lived in a body of flesh, he was more than a conqueror,
(Romans 8:37); the body of sin was done away with (Romans 6:6); sin did
not have dominion over him (Romans 6:14); he was recreated in the image
of God (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24). So, how could he say these
things, which are true, and live free of sin? He lived by faith in
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If you go back and carefully read the
Book of Romans, you will no longer live in the realm of defeat due to
sin. Instead you will live in victory through Jesus Christ our Lord (1
Corinthians 15:57) You will truly understand what Paul meant when he
said, "For freedom, Christ has set us free. Now walk in it." (Galatians 5:1) You will also begin to see how God sees you in Christ, not in your flesh. Because the real you, is your spirit.
This
is called "identification." Identification scriptures are throughout
the New Testament and can be found in all the verses of scripture that
say, "In Him"; In Christ"; In Whom"; and "Through Christ." Please take
time to search the scriptures for these wonderful nuggets of truth and
find your true identification as the righteousness of God in Christ (2
Corinthians 5:21), not a sinner with no hope or no ability to please God
our Father. Keep in mind, to believe Gods Word takes faith.
The faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6) is spiritual and comes from a
recreated spirit, not reasoning or intellectualism from a unregenerate
mind. (The above barely touches the tip of the ice burg, if you will,
when it come to who and what the believer is in Christ and how the
Father truly sees them). Enjoy your freedom in Christ!!!
Monday, September 26, 2022
I Have Faith
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