by Michele Rayburn
By the time I came to know the Lord at the age of 23, I had already lived a life without the Lord that had left me in "a world of hurt".
As a new Christian and for many years to come, I had to learn what it meant to die to self.
I had to understand Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me...", and Matthew 16:24 where Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
My husband would often remind me to "deny self" and to "die to self". And after many failed attempts to do so, I finally said, "I can't die to self myself. That is something that only the Lord can do. I can't do it in my own flesh, but only by His Spirit."
It was when I finally let go of trying to do the work that only the Holy Spirit could do, that I began to grow in His grace.
I learned that not only can I not change others, but I can't even change myself.
And so I learned to entrust the Lord with all the unreconciled hurts of the past. And I also learned to care only about what the Lord thought of me.
And what the Lord thought of me, as His child, was that I was totally loved and accepted by Him always. When a child of God can rest in knowing that, they can then begin to grow in His grace.
I think that if the true grace of God has been shown to us, it will cause us to show grace to others. And that's when we as Christians will begin to love others unconditionally, just as God loves us.
"...for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." - Philippians 2:13
Slaying The Dragon of Legalism. Because Grace Didn't End With Salvation.
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7 comments:
Phil,
Thanks for your comment. You had some interesting thoughts and some good questions.
I had based what I said on Matthew 16:24. In Luke 9:23, some translations add the word “daily”. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
And I think of 1 Corinthians 15:31 where the Apostle Paul says, “...I die daily.”
And although we “have been crucified with Christ”, we still need to reckon ourselves “crucified with Christ”, and reckon ourselves “alive to God and dead to sin”, as you yourself said.
To “deny self” isn't works righteousness. It is actually an abandoning of our works righteousness, and instead choosing to “walk by faith”.
You said that we are, “As new selves...Not divided beings, with an Old self and a new self.”
I'm glad you see that we don't have two dogs in this fight! :)
But as “new selves”, new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), we still need to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2), to reckon ourselves “alive to God and dead to sin” (Romans 6:11), and to put on love and the other fruit of the Spirit, as we “walk in the Spirit.”
Romans 12:1-2 says, “...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.”
“A living sacrifice” once again signifies one who has “been crucified with Christ” but who will still “die daily”.
Thanks again for your comment. I hope this helps clarify some things.
Phil,
You have some very insightful thoughts there.
If I may throw my 2 cents in, you're hitting on a lot of good stuff, which would well make several books, let alone several blog posts.
Here are a few admittedly scattered thoughts, just touching on a few areas:
1. I agree that the old-time Keswick theology falls short, mostly because it views regenerate man as having two natures, old and new.
Further, it emphasizes "victorious living" in a way that veers close to "holiness" perfectionism.
2. However, I do think that "surrender" is a valid goal for the Christian. It involves the attitude of Christ at Gethsemane, "not my will, but yours be done".
Yet even surrender is a work of grace initiated by God. He is the prime mover in every process of what we call sanctification.
3. I believe a careful (and logical) examination of Scripture will reveal a series of what I think of as "up-cycles" and "down-cycles".
An "up-cycle" example:
Reading the Word and prayer allows the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and informs us of such truths as our being dead to sin and alive to God.
As our minds are renewed and we "reckon" on such truths, we are inclined to read the Word and pray even more. And so we "cycle" upwards in this area of growth.
A "down-cycle" example:
If we neglect the Word and prayer, our minds are deceived more easily by the world, the flesh and the devil.
Thus we don't "reckon" ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. And so we quench the Holy Spirit, and are inclined to neglect the Word and prayer even more, and so we "cycle" downward.
I observe that we are almost always cycling upward or downward at any given time, though we may think we are "steady".
4. The "truth" is more foundational than the "action" in these cyclical things. In other words, the "proposition" is more foundational than the "command".
For example, it's more foundational to understand the "proposition" that God is working in us to will and to do for His good pleasure, than it is to focus on the command to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling".
5. So I don't think there is anything wrong with "doing something" in connection with denying ourselves.
But I agree with you that "taking up our cross" involves acknowledging the death to sin (and to self, and to the law) that has already been accomplished in our co-crucifixion with Christ.
I reminds me of the odd (but true) fact that "self-control" is a fruit of the Spirit. Of course, we can't "deny ourselves" or have self-control without that Life of Christ living through us.
6. Overriding all of this is Grace. We will not walk in perfection as long as we have the world, the flesh and the devil to contend with.
And so we need to come back to the simple fact that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do to make Him love us less.
7. Finally, sanctification in most verses of Scripture refers to that which is already done.
What is sometimes called "progressive sanctification", or "spiritual growth", is not what it is usually taught as being (growing in sinlessness, becoming a "better" Christian).
I define true spiritual growth as "understanding more and more the eternal truths, and living accordingly".
Using the example of reckoning ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, the more we understand that and live accordingly, the more we will have grown.
Or another example I like to use is Romans 8:28. The more we really understand (and therefore really believe) that verse, the more we will live as though it's true, instead of grumbling, complaining, kicking against the goads, etc.
Blessings,
Terry
Phil,
Everything you say about our not falling from grace, and standing in the truth of the grace we have in the New Covenant, I wholeheartedly agree with.
I also agree that if we fully keep those truths in mind and closely commune with Christ as a result, that the rest will tend to take care of itself.
However, the simple truth is that we will not do this to perfection in this life. We simply won't.
Why? Because the world, the flesh and the devil are unceasing in their mission to deceive us.
Then we again walk by the flesh (though we aren't IN the flesh) instead of by the Spirit, and we "do that which we [in our spirit, our nature, our new heart] don't want to do".
[This is why Romans 7 rings so true to me as the description of a true believer.]
The Lord then graciously turns us back to the Truth and we hopefully grow in that knowledge, and particularly in the [intimate] knowledge of Him, and again stand on the ground of grace.
This is also why I think it's important to understand a tri-part make-up of man -- body, soul [mind, emotion, will], and spirit.
It's out spirit which is born again (2 Cor. 5:17 you referenced).
But the soul, particularly the mind, has to be renewed. And the body, wherein dwells "sin", and closely connected to the mind through the brain, needs to be governed by the spirit and soul (until the glorious day when we have a glorious body in which sin no longer dwells).
You are very much on the right track, IMHO. But I would take care not to shy away from taking the New Covenant commands at their face value, seeking to follow them (while not coming "under" them as a way of seeking the love and favor of the Lord).
Simply seek to walk with the Lord, loving and relishing His imperatives even as you love and relish Him.
When you fail and fall, as you will, simply share your sorrow with Him, accept His total love and acceptance of you, rest in that, and walk with Him in grace.
Otherwise I think you might end up berating yourself because you can never get the "reckoning" thing perfect.
Thanks Phil, great discussion.
I've discussed Romans 7 with many people, and I've never been able to be convinced that "I delight in the law of God, in my inner being" (vs. 22) has ever been true of an unregenerate person.
In the words of that great theologian [wink] Bill O'Reilly, "You may have the last word".
Blessings,
Terry
What a blessing sis!
Thanks Brian. It's good to hear from you. I've been missing you, and praying that you are doing well.
Wow, I see that this discussion took place a while ago, but I am so happy to find people who have seen these truths! I think you all agree on what I have found to be a great revelation.
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