Author: newmanforchrist

“Now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome eternal life.”  Romans 6:22

   In this verse, the apostle Paul reveals the progressive work of the cross of Christ in the life of a believer.  In order to examine the complete work of the cross in this verse, we will start at the end, which is also the purpose of Christ’s death.   Paul declares the outcome of Christ’s death on our behalf is eternal life.  The Greek word for “life” used here is zoe, which means God’s divine life. Therefore, the objective of Christ’s death on the cross was to bring us into God’s eternal, divine life, not only in the age to come, but into His divine life here on earth.  Paul also addresses what is necessary for us to receive this eternal life. 

   Paul declares that sanctification is required.    The Greek word for sanctification is hagiasmos, which means holiness or spiritual and moral purity.  It is evident from this context that Paul is not speaking about our initial sanctification when we were saved by Christ; he is speaking about the need for us to live a sanctified or holy life in Christ. Paul teaches here that sanctification, which results in eternal life, is the fruit of being God’s bondslave.  We have now reached a crucial point in Paul’s unfolding of the complete word of the cross.  How can we serve God with a pure heart and remain unstained by the sin of the world?  Here, Paul gives us the divine answer: we are able to be God’s bondslaves when we are freed from sin. “And having been freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness… for when you were slaves to sin, you were free in regard to righteousness (Romans 6:18 & 20).”

   Previously, in Romans 6:6-8, Paul explained how God freed us from sin.  Since we were born into sin, we could only be freed from sin through death.  “For he who has died has been freed from sin (Romans 6:7).”  Therefore, when we were born again, God spiritually included us in the death of His Son.  Paul wrote, “Do you not know that when you were baptized (immersed) into Christ, you were baptized (immersed) into His death (Romans 6:3)?” Knowing and believing this divine truth is so critical to receiving the full benefit of Christ’s Atonement and inheriting eternal life that Paul repeats this fact several times in Romans Chapter Six.  When Christ died, we died with Him (Romans 6:8). When Christ was crucified, our sinful nature was crucified with Him (Romans 6:6).  When Christ was buried, our sinful nature was buried with Him.  “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism (immersion) into death (Romans 6:4).”

   If you do not believe to the point of acting on the divine truth that you have died with Christ, you cannot experience freedom from sin and unbroken fellowship with God.  It was essential for God to remove our sinful nature.  The purpose of Christ’s death on the cross was to reconcile us to God.  However, this reconciliation is only possible if we no longer have a sinful, unholy nature.  Therefore God used the death of His Son to exchange our sin nature with His holy nature.  “God made Him who had no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).”

   We have now seen how Paul presented a progressive series of divine facts in his teaching on the doctrine of our co-crucifixion with Christ.  Let us review these facts:  1) Christ died for us and spiritually included us in His death; 2) Therefore when Christ died, our sinful nature died with Him; 3) Since we no longer have a sinful nature, we have been freed from the power of sin; 4) Since sin is no longer master over us,   we are now free to be God’s bondslaves; and 5) As we present ourselves daily as slaves to God, our lives will yield the fruit of sanctification and we will inherit His eternal life.

   But in order for us receive this full provision of Christ’s crucifixion on our behalf, these divine facts must be linked together by the bond of true faith, which is an acting faith not just an assenting faith. “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ (Romans 1:17).”  Therefore, if we do not believe (and act on) the truth of these divine facts, then Christ’s death will be of no benefit to us.  “For we have also had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the word they heard did not profit them because it was not united by faith in those who heard (Hebrews 4:2).”

   For example, we must believe (and act on) the truth that Christ died for us so that we can experience salvation and forgiveness of sins. We must also believe (and act on) the truth that our sinful nature died with Christ so that we can experience deliverance from the power of sin.  We must then believe (and act on) the truth that we are freed from sin so that we can be God’s bondslaves.  And we must believe (and act on) the truth that we are God’s bondslaves or we will not experience sanctification without which we cannot know the Lord and inherit eternal life (Hebrews 5:9; 12:14).”  This is the gospel that Paul preached and practiced: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20).”

   Paul declares that he “lives by faith” in this truth that he preaches.  Again, this is an acting faith, not merely assenting.  In fact, without action, faith is dead (James 2:26).  We cannot claim to believe without corresponding action.  When we act on what we believe, we bear fruit and prove we are Christ’s disciples (John 15:8). This is what it means to believe that we have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, which results in our sanctification.  Our knowledge of the truth must result in our acting on the truth.  This is real faith and only then is eternal life possible.

“God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through faith in the truth.  It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:1-5

   The moment we were born of the Spirit, God grafted us into Jesus Christ (Romans 11:16-24).  When God grafted us into His Holy Son, He also severed our spiritual connection to Satan by removing our unholy sinful nature (Romans 6:6; Colossians 2:11).  Now that God has planted us in Christ, our responsibility is to abide in Christ by faith.  Jesus Christ said, “Abide in Me and I in you.”  This is both a command and a promise.  If you abide in Christ, He will abide in you. The Greek word for abide is meno, which means “to actively dwell in.”  This can also be expressed as “stay rooted in” or “remain united to.”; 

   As with all of God’s promises, this one is also conditional upon the obedience of our faith. If you stay united to Christ by faith, He will remain united to you and you will bear spiritual fruit.  However, if you do not stay rooted in Christ, you will not bear spiritual fruit.  Therefore, whether your spiritual grafting into Christ takes hold and bears fruit depends on whether you “hold fast” by faith to Jesus Christ (Luke 8:15; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Hebrews 3:14). It is vital that we stay rooted by faith to Christ because we have no spiritual life in ourselves apart from Christ.  Without Christ’s life, we cannot bear His fruit.  This is why Jesus told His disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves (John 6:53).

   Most Christians do not understand what it means to “abide in Christ.”  Many think that they automatically abide in Christ as long as they have been saved.  However if a Christian practices sin, the Bible says this is not true.  “No one who abides in Him continues to sin; no one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him (1 John 3:6).”  We cannot abide in Christ unless we abide in the truth of His word.  Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32).”   Therefore, we can abide in Christ’s life and bear His fruit only if we believe and act on the truth.  What is the foundational truth of Christian living?We can only abide (live)in Christ if we know that we have died inChrist.  We must believe and act on the truth that our sinful nature has died in Christ and been removed in Christ (Romans 6:3-11).  Otherwise, we will try to bear spiritual fruit by the best of our natural ability and mistake our self-effort for faith.  When we try to bear spiritual fruit by our self-effort, we cut ourselves off from the spiritual life of the vine, which is Christ (Galatians 3:3; 5:4).  Just as we could not crucify ourselves, we cannot sanctify ourselves apart from Christ’s completed work on the cross.  We will only experience Christ’s resurrection life if we abide (stay rooted by faith) in Christ’s death.  “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him (Romans 6:8).”  This is the way abiding in Christ works.  When we stay rooted by faith in the truth of Christ’s death (when Christ died, we died with Him), Christ’s life will be formed in us.  “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Colossians 3:3-4).”

   As we abide in Christ, the Bible says that God will periodically prune us so we can bear more fruit and grow into Christ’s fullness.  How does God prune us?   Once again, He uses His Word.  To paraphrase and adapt Hebrews 4:12, “The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any pruning shears and able to cut away everything which is carnal and soulish from our lives.”  Sometimes we will turn away from worldly attitudes and activities when God’s Word convicts us.  Other times, God uses difficult situations to discipline and prune us.  “But God disciplines us for our good, so we may share His holiness (Hebrews 12:10).”  When we are being pruned, we may not understand what God is doing since His pruning can be painful.  At times, we may feel as if God has pruned us so far back that we are left with only a stump.  However, when God causes the new growth of Christ’s life to emerge within us, we will reap the fruit of abiding in Christ and His completed work on the cross.  “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11).”

   Being pruned by our heavenly Father can be painful, but it is far better to undergo His training in righteousness than to bear no fruit at all.“If you are not disciplined… then you are illegitimate children and not true sons (Hebrews 12:8).”  These are people who were once grafted into Christ (John 15:2), but they proved themselves unworthy of being God’s children because they resisted His divine pruning and never bore any spiritual fruit.  Jesus said, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up, and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned (John 15:6; see also Romans 11:20-22).”

   God has grafted us into His Son.  This is our glorious salvation and just the beginning of God’s pruning and sanctifying work in our life. Let us then be diligent to stay rooted by faith in Jesus Christ and in the power of His death so that the power of His life might bear much fruit in us.

“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples… you did not choose Me but I choose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.”  John 15:8 & 16

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”  Revelation 21:2

   In Revelation 21 and 22, we see a glorious vision of a great city, the new Jerusalem.  This city portrays the consummation of God’s eternal purpose through the ages – the full expression of Jesus Christ in His church, His bride.  The old Jerusalem was but a shadow and symbol of this heavenly Jerusalem. The old Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, the only kingdom that God had thus far established on the earth.  It was called the city of David since within its walls were the throne of David and the tabernacle of David.  For King David not only made Jerusalem the royal city from which he ruled; he also made it the holy city by installing God’s Ark of the Covenant on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

   The new Jerusalem is the city of God.  This is the heavenly city whose architect and builder is God and whose foundation is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 11:10; 1 Corinthians 3:11).  This divine city is the body and bride of Christ, the church of the living God.  “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the city of the living God… to the church of the first born whose names are written in heaven (Hebrews 12:22-23).” Jesus the Messiah King is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with David (Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:31-33). For the throne of David foreshadowed Christ’s Sovereignty over His church and the tabernacle of David foreshadowed Christ’s Presence in His church.  “God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23).

   When God’s people were not faithful to Him, the city of David was overrun by its enemies and its foundations and walls fell into ruin.  Just as the old Jerusalem was destroyed, the new Jerusalem, the church of the living God, also fell into ruin. Within just a few generations after our Lord ascended to heaven, the church began to lose its spiritual connection to Christ its sovereign head (Colossians 2:19).  More concerned with outward order and form than the reality of Christ’s Sovereign Presence, the city of God fell into disrepair. Its spiritual foundations and walls finally collapsed and lay desolate for centuries.  Yet God has always preserved for Himself a remnant of survivors or overcomers.

   After a long period of physical desolation, God raised up Ezra and Nehemiah from His band of faithful survivors to rebuild the old Jerusalem.  In the same way, God is raising up His body of overcomers to restore the new Jerusalem.  In the first century, the apostle James addressed the Council of Jerusalem to this end, “With this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘After these things I will return and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen and I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it (Amos 9:11; Acts 15:15-16).’” Isaiah also prophesied of this glorious restoration, “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called the repairer of the breach; the restorer of the streets in which to dwell (Isaiah 58:12 & 61:4).”

   In restoration, the foundation has the priority. Everything else in the city – its walls, its gates and streets – rests on its foundation.  If the foundation is not properly laid, everything else is askew.  Five centuries ago, God began to restore His beloved city, His church, when He gave divine revelation to Martin Luther that the just are saved by faith.  The foundation of justification by faith in Christ and His completed work on the cross began to be laid anew (1 Peter 2:6).  Since then, much has been added to this beginning foundation to rebuild the church. However, the church’s complete foundation has not yet been fully restored.  Because we have built on an incomplete foundation, the entire structure is now at risk (1 Corinthians 3:10-13). The city’s walls may outwardly appear impressive, but they are inwardly compromised and weak. God’s watchmen, His prophets, are now warning the city to restore its ancient foundation; otherwise its walls will be breached and overrun by the enemy.

   What crucial part of God’s sure foundation is missing?  For the past five hundred years, the church has acted on only half of the gospel – the just are saved by faith.  Yet the whole gospel is “the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).”  God’s people know they are saved by faith but they do not know how to live the overcoming Christian life by faith.  Yet Christ’s death on the cross not only provided us salvation by faith; His death also provided us sanctification by faith. For Christ not only died to forgive us from the penalty of our sins; He also died to deliver us from the power of sin by removing our sinful nature (Romans 6:6).  God’s people need to believe not only that Christ has died for their sins (Romans 5:8), they also need to believe and act on the Biblical truth that they have died with Christ (Romans 6:8).  They need to know (believe and act) that they are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:7).  Then they will not try to live as Christians by the best of their natural ability and mistake their self-effort for Biblical faith (Galatians 3:3).

   In ancient times, the prophet Daniel effectively interceded for the old Jerusalem when God revealed the city’s restoration was close at hand.  In these last days, God’s watchmen are sounding the trumpet once again to restore the full foundation of the new Jerusalem, the bride of Christ.  When God’s faithful remnant believe and act on the truth that they have died with Christ, they will overcome the world by the power of Christ who indwells them.  Then Jesus Christ will triumphantly return for His holy bride, the glorious city of God (Revelation 19:6-16; 21:2-11).

“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent.  You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” Isaiah 62:6-8

“All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’”  Galatians 3:10

   Tithing today is what practicing the Sabbath was during Jesus’ day and what circumcision was during the apostle Paul’s time.  During Jesus’ ministry, the Sabbath Day had become a religious cornerstone for those who believed that righteousness was attained by observing the Law.  Jesus recognized the Pharisees’ religious attachment to the Sabbath and did not shy away from this controversy. Instead, He deliberately confronted the Pharisees by healing the sick on the Sabbath.  He used the Sabbath to show the difference between God’s righteousness and man’s self-righteousness. Jesus’ refusal to conform to their misguided interpretation of the Sabbath was a lightning rod that incited their anger and hatred toward Him.  Since Jesus had dealt with this controversy, the Sabbath did not become the religious flashpoint for the first century apostles.  Instead, circumcision became the sacred symbol for those who believed you must do something to establish your own righteousness.  Paul also could have avoided this controversy and the persecution that came with it.  However, he directly confronted it since he knew circumcision undermined the truth of the cross of Christ and the righteousness of God.

   The tithe (“a tenth” in Hebrew) is the Old Covenant practice of giving a tenth of your profit (crops or animals) to support the Levitical priesthood.  In Matthew 23:23, Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites for neglecting important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faith – yet carefully tithing their spices.  Jesus definitely was not endorsing tithing to us here.  Since He had not yet been crucified, the New Covenant had not yet begun.  Since Christ was born under the Old Covenant, he honored the Mosaic Law during His life. For example, in Matthew 8:2-4, Jesus instructed a leper He had healed to present the priest with two pigeons as an offering according to the Law of Moses.  However, if we now applied this Scripture out of context, all of us would be raising pigeons in our backyards to give to our pastors whenever we are healed.

    Tithing is not of the New Covenant just as the Sabbath and circumcision are not of the New Covenant.  By His completed work on the cross, Jesus Christ fulfilled these mere shadows of true righteousness. For example, Christ has now become our Sabbath rest.  When Christ died, we died with Him (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20).  Now that we no longer have a sinful nature and Christ lives in us, we can rest from our works and enter by faith into His rest and His works (Hebrews 4:10).  Jesus Christ also fulfilled the practice of circumcision. Through Christ’s death, God circumcised our sinful nature and removed it from us (Colossians 2:11).  In God’s eyes, we are now circumcised in heart (Philippians 3:3; Romans 2:29).  By His death, Jesus Christ also fulfilled our obligation to pay the tithe.  When Jesus died, we died with Him to sin (Romans 6:7-8) and to the Law (Romans 7:4-6).  Since we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, He now owns us (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  All of our income and possessions, not just one-tenth, belong to our Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

   Those who would compel Christians to tithe say that tithing preceded the Law of Moses by four centuries because Abraham once tithed some spoils of war to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20).  Yet if this were true, then circumcision also surely preceded the Law and every disciple of Jesus would have to be circumcised to fulfill the righteousness of God.  However, Paul expressly refuted this false doctrine in his letter to the Galatians. It is important to remember the controversy over circumcision did not only concern salvation.  The Galatians were already saved – they had begun in the Spirit and were running the race of faith well (Galatians 3:3; 5:7).  But they faced a crucial question: Should they now try to live righteously by practicing religious principles and practices?  For the Galatians, those religious practices included circumcision.  Today, some say it includes tithing.  Yet Paul knew it was impossible to be righteous apart from Christ’s completed work on the cross.  Only Christ’s death on the cross makes us righteous and complete in Him (1 Corinthians 1:30; Romans 10:4).  If we think we initially become Christians by faith but then try to be good Christians by practicing religious principles, the truth of the gospel is distorted and Christ died in vain (Galatians 3:3).  This is why Paul would not compromise even an inch on circumcision and warned, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough (Galatians 5:9).”

   The first century church never tithed; it practiced giving.  Jesus never taught His disciples to tithe and the apostles never taught new Christians to tithe.  The practice of tithing did not take hold until seven centuries later in the Catholic church.  The Protestant church later carried this “tradition” forward to support a salaried clergy and the construction of church buildings. Just as circumcision perverted the gospel in the first century, tithing distorts the gospel and subverts the righteousness of God that we can only receive by faith.  Some believe that even if tithing is no longer a law, it should be a principle.  This is also wrong; it is actually a sin because tithing undermines the grace of God and the cross of Christ.  If you practice tithing as a means of attaining righteousness, Christ will be of no benefit to you.  Therefore, we cannot compromise on tithing which clearly burdens believers with a yoke of slavery.  We entered the Christian life solely by faith in Jesus Christ and His completed work on the cross and we must live the Christian life the same way – by fixing our eyes on Christ and His work on the cross.  

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given through Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”   Galatians 3:13-14

“As you come to Him, the living stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5

   With the New Covenant, God fundamentally changed His divine priesthood. The Old Covenant had a separate and distinct priesthood – the Levites who were in charge of temple worship and were supported with tithes by the rest of God’s people.  With the New Covenant, however, the temple worship ceased because the body of Christ, His church, is now the temple of God (Ephesians 1:19-22).  The specialized, full-time priesthood that performed the temple service also ceased since all believers now constitute God’s priesthood who can directly know Him and serve Him (Hebrews 4:16; 8:11; 10:20; 1 Peter 2:5; and Revelation 1:6).  And the practice of the law of tithing ceased because there is no longer a need for God’s people to give ten percent of their income to support the temple  and the priesthood (Romans 7:4; Hebrews 7:12). The Bible records the main purpose of financial collections in the first century church was to help other believers in need (Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; and 2 Corinthians 8:12-15).

   Yet much of the church today still practices a form of temple worship.  When most Christians say they are going to church, they mean they are going to a special building (or temple) to worship.  Much of the church also practices a separate and distinct priesthood (or professional clergy).  And many churches also practice tithing.  All of these practices are throwbacks to the Old Covenant.  In effect, most Christians today experience a New Covenant salvation but then practice a form of Old Covenant religion and temple worship.  When Christians neither know the truth nor practice the truth, they hire “professionals” who attempt to know God and interpret God for them.  This was never God’s New Covenant intention.

   The first century believers practiced a New Covenant form of church.  They met together in homes and they had a vibrant and functioning priesthood of believers. From among this active priesthood, the Holy Spirit appointed servant-leaders, or mature brothers called elders to provide oversight and shepherding (Acts 14:23; 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5; 1 Peter 5:1-4).  And finally, the New Testament church did not practice tithing; they practiced giving.  However, during the second and third century, the church lost connection with its head, Jesus Christ.  When that occurred, the church lost sight of the truth of Christ’s completed work on the cross and the truth of Christ’s priesthood of all believers.

   These two divine truths are inseparably linked. When Christ died, we died with Him. Our sinful nature was crucified and buried (removed) with Him so that Christ might now sovereignly live in us (Romans 6:3-11).  When the church stopped submitting to Christ’s headship and believing this crucial provision of His Atonement, it lost Christ’s life.  Without Christ’s life, the church lost its identity in Christ and became carnal and soulish.  Church leaders became focused on their clergy status to protect, promote and profit from their religious position.  They increasingly relied on their own religious authority to ensure the obedience, unity and doctrinal purity of their church members.  They nullified the Scriptures and wrongly interpreted and divided the Biblical role of elders into three separate offices – bishops, pastors, and elders.  The Catholic church later added two more layers – cardinals and the pope – to this pyramidal hierarchy.  By the fifth century, this religious monarchy had completely destroyed the New Covenant’s priesthood of all believers and replaced it with a special caste of priests (called pastors in the Protestant church) who are salaried and “professional.”  This religious priesthood then reinstated the Old Covenant practice of tithing to support themselves and their “temple” cathedrals.

  We cannot expect God to approve and anoint any church that holds to a religious structure and tradition that contradicts the Scriptures (Matthew 15:6).  Whenever a church practices a form of temple worship, supports a salaried clergy separate from the laity and practices tithing, it is a sure sign that church is not submitted to Christ’s headship.  It is also a sure sign that church is not walking by faith in Christ’s completed work on the cross and that its life and identity are no longer in Christ.  The priesthood of all believers  is also linked to the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-10).  When all members of the body of Christ exercise their spiritual gifts, they do “the work of the ministry… according to the proper working of each individual part (Ephesians 4:12 & 16).”  Whenever the church gathers together, this functioning priesthood of believers should be normal and evident.  “What then shall we say, brothers?  When you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, and has an interpretation.  All these things must be done for the strengthening of the church (1 Corinthians 14:26).”  When the gifts of the Spirit are quenched and not freely expressed through the body, it is another sign that church is not submitted to Christ’s headship.  It “has lost connection with the head, from whom the entire body, supplied and held together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow (Colossians 2:19).

   Christ purchased His holy priesthood by His blood. His people need to repent from lawlessness and submit to Christ’s headship as the High Priest of their faith.  God has made this possible because of Christ’s death on the cross.  Then the divine mystery of what really happened on the cross will be revealed to His people and they will be restored to their rightful high calling – a royal priesthood to God.  “No longer will a man teach… his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me (Hebrews 8:11).” 

“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve His God and Father – to Him be glory and power forever and ever!  Amen.”  Revelation 1:5

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.”  1 Peter 4:12-13

   The prophet Malachi foretold that the Messiah would purify His chosen people as a refiner purifies gold and silver.  “But who can endure the day of His coming?  And who can stand when He appears?  For He is like a refiner’s fire… He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness (Malachi 3:2-3).”  Zechariah also prophesied the Lord would purify the surviving remnant of His people like gold and silver are refined.  “And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested (Zechariah 13:9).” In Proverbs, King Solomon described the Lord as the refiner of His people.  “The melting pot is for silver and the crucible is for gold, but it is the Lord who tests the hearts of men (Proverbs 17:3).”

   In Biblical times, when the metal smith or refiner wanted to purify gold or silver, he would put the precious metals in a refining pot called a crucible.  He would then build a fiery furnace under the crucible.  When the gold or silver had melted in the crucible, the refiner would skim off the dross or impurities that rose to the surface.  The refiner would then repeat this process until he could see his own image reflected in the molten surface of the crucible.  Trials, afflictions and persecutions are the crucible that Christ uses to purify His church until He sees His image reflected in us.  “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction (Isaiah 48:10).” Gold or silver that passed the test of the furnace was called “refined” and had precious value.  “Take away the dross from the silver and there comes out a vessel for the smith (Proverbs 25:4).”  Those metals that failed to pass the test were “rejected.” In Jeremiah 6:29-30, God calls Israel “rejected silver” because He tried in vain to refine them.

   This crucible of suffering is also called the baptism of fire (Luke 3:16).  God has designed His crucible of fire and suffering to humble us and reveal the fullness of His Son in us.  Affliction, loneliness, heartbreak and persecution are all intended to bring us to the end of ourselves and into Christ’s fullness.  For as long as we think we have any spiritual life or strength in ourselves, Christ’s life cannot be fully manifested in us.  Therefore, suffering is intended to bring us to the point where we no longer trust in our own strength (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).  God will then reveal the power of His Son’s crucifixion in us so that we see that Christ not only died for us (Romans 5:8), but that we died with Christ (Romans 6:8).  When we know we have been crucified with Him and our sinful nature has been removed (Romans 6:6), we will no longer rely on our natural ability to serve Christ.  When we know this divine truth with certainty, we are able to trust Christ to live in us (Galatians 2:20).  Jesus Himself suffered God’s humbling of His soul.  “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).”

   In the Book of Revelation, we see the new Jerusalem, the holy city, made of pure gold (Revelation 21:18).  This heavenly vision reveals the bride of Christ will be like gold purified by fire and clearly reflect the image of Christ in her.  This is what Jesus meant when He told the church of Laodicea to buy refined gold (Revelation 3:18).  What will it cost the church to buy Christ’s pure gold?  God has never changed the price: The cost is always our soul-life.  Jesus said, “He who has found his soul-life will lose it, and he who has lost his soul-life for My sake will find it (Matthew 10:39).” God will not destroy our soul; He transforms our soul into His Son’s image if we allow His crucible of suffering to humble us.  The apostle Paul said suffering produces character (Romans 5:3-4).  The Greek word used here for character is dokime whose root meaning is “proven and tested,” just as gold and silver has been tested in the crucible.  In other words, God’s suffering produces Christ’s character in us that has been proven under fire.  We may be surprised and think it is strange when we encounter fiery trials as a Christian.  Yet Peter assures us this testing is essential to purify our faith in Christ just as fire is necessary to refine gold (1 Peter 1:6-7; 4:12-13).  Job went through this fiery crucible when he said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him… when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold (Job 13:15; 23:10).”  We cannot expect to reign with Christ as His bride if we have not suffered with Him (2 Timothy 2:12).  When God’s crucible of suffering has removed the dross of unbelief from us, we will be dressed in faith as Christ’s bride.  Christ’s life will have been forged in us like gold refined by fire and we will reign with Him as vessels of honor fit for the Master’s use.  More importantly, we will truly know Him.

   The apostles understood God’s purpose in suffering was to prepare the church to be Christ’s bride and eternal companion.  That is why they rejoiced in suffering.  Peter said, “To the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing (1 Peter 4:13).”  James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds… blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised (James 1:2, 12).”  Our joy in suffering is motivated by our longing to know Him despite the humiliation that suffering brings.  If we allow suffering to obtain its divine objective, we will become lovesick and, like the bride of Solomon, come up from the wilderness of suffering, leaning on our Beloved (Song of Songs 5:8; 8:5).

“… greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  1 Peter 1:6-7

“Christ is all and in all.”  Colossians 3:11

   The overriding theme of the New Testament is Jesus Christ.  This is particularly true of the apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians, which reveals Christ more than any other letter in the New Testament.  Paul wrote this short letter around A.D. 62 from his imprisonment in Rome to the Christian community of house churches in Colossae, a city in what is now western Turkey.  In his letter, Paul unfolds the gospel to the “saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae” to help them see the majesty and power of the Son of God.  In just the first chapter of Colossians alone, Paul speaks of Christ thirty times.

   Paul starts his letter by stating that God’s kingdom is “the kingdom of the beloved Son (Colossians 1:13).”  Paul follows this by declaring that Jesus Christ is eternal God.  “He is the image of the invisible God… for in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form… He is before all things and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15, 17; 2:9).” Paul then reveals Christ as the Creator.  “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).  Paul reveals Christ as the Redeemer.  “For the Father was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross, whether things on earth or things in heaven (Colossians 1:19-20).”

   Paul proclaims that Jesus Christ is Lord of heaven and earth.  “He is the head over all rule and authority (Colossians 2:10).” Paul declares Christ’s headship and authority in the church.  “He is also head of the body, the church… so that in everything He might have the supremacy (Colossians 1:18).” Paul also reveals Jesus Christ’s preeminent role in the new creation, which is His church, the body of Christ.  “He is the beginning, the first born from the dead… He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Colossians 1:18; 22).”  Paul tells them the Old Covenant feasts and the Sabbath are a “mere shadow of the things that were to come – the reality is found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).”  Paul declares that Christ, by His death on the cross, conquered Satan and his forces of darkness.  “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15).”  Paul reveals that Christ is the mystery of God “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:2-3).”  Paul tells the Colossians that Christ, who is the fullness of God and Creator, Redeemer and Sovereign Lord, now lives in them. Paul declares the mystery of God is “Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).”

   Yet Paul does not leave the Colossians with only doctrine about Christ.  Paul wants them to know Christ and be complete in Christ.  “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ (Colossians 1:28).”  Paul exhorts them, “As you have received Christ as Lord, so live in Him (Colossians 2:6-7).”  How did they first receive Christ?  By faith!  Then how do they live in Christ?  By faith!  Paul warns them that man-made religion with its rules and regulations has no power to stop them from sinning (Colossians 2:20-23).” Paul proclaims the only way they can experience Christ’s life is to stay connected to Christ their head (Colossians 2:19).  He reminds them this is entirely possible if they know (believe and act) on the truth that they have died with Christ.  “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ (Colossians 3:3).”

   Paul uses the picture of circumcision to teach the Colossians that Christ removed their sinful nature from them when they were saved. “In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the sinful nature, by the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2:11).” Paul then shifts in the very next verse (Colossians 2:12) from the Old Covenant seal of righteousness (circumcision) to the New Covenant seal of righteousness (baptism) in order to further show that their old sinful nature was removed from them when they were born again.  Paul explains that since their old sinful nature died and was removed (verse 2:11), it was then disposed of by burial: “Having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead (verse 2:12).”  By linking Old Covenant circumcision with New Covenant baptism, Paul leaves no doubt that the death and removal of the sinful nature, as symbolized by circumcision, is also portrayed by the burial stage of water baptism.  Paul’s point is that baptism confirms (just as circumcision did) that our old sinful nature not only died but was also removed from us through Christ’s death on the cross.  Having established this truth, Paul exhorts the Colossians to “put to death” the carnal attitudes and actions of their unconverted soul-life (Colossians 3:5) since they “have put on the new man who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of their Creator – a renewal in which… Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:10-11).”

   Jesus Christ is the alpha and omega – the beginning and the end.  Christ is the head and we are His body.  Christ is the fullness of God and we have been given fullness in Him.  God’s desire is for Christ to be all sovereign in all His body.  This is the goal of the gospel and God’s eternal purpose.  If we believe and act on the divine truth that God has exchanged our sinful nature with His Son’s nature, then Christ will be all and in all.

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, set your hearts on the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:1-4

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  2 Corinth 5:17

   There are three New Testament verses that start with the phrase: “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, what counts is…” Each of these three verses completes the ending of this phrase with a different statement: What counts is a new creation; what counts is faith working through love; and what counts is obeying God’s commands.  When considered together in logical order, these three form a progression of truth that reveal how God works His eternal purpose in us for His glory.  Let’s consider the first verse: “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is   a new creation (Galatians 6:15).”  The Bible discounts circumcision and anything else man can do to achieve righteousness. Only a righteousness based on God’s new creation counts for anything.  The new creation is the heart of the New Covenant and the basis of our new birth and salvation.  The old creation began in Adam.  The new creation began in Christ.  God’s new creation is the body of Christ, the church.  But before God could make His new creation, He had to first deal with the old creation, the Adam nature.  God had to take care of not only its fruit (our sinful actions); He had to remove its very root (our sinful nature).  

   Therefore, Jesus Christ died not only to forgive us for our sins; He also died to free us from our sinful nature.  Since we were born into sin, we had to die to be freed from sin. God accomplished this by including us in His Son’s death.  When Christ was crucified, our sinful nature died with Him (Romans 6:6).  When Christ was raised from the dead, we were raised with Him as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:5-6).  Jesus Christ now lives in us (2 Corinthians 13:5; Colossians 1:27).  Thus God used the death of His only Son to perform a divine heart transplant by which He replaced our terminally sin-sick heart with His Son’s holy heart.  This is the mystery of the gospel and the foundation of God’s new creation – His church.

   Now let’s consider the second verse: “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.  The only thing that counts is faith working through love(Galatians 5:6).”  Faith, which is motivated by love, is the way we work out our salvation.  “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16).”  This is the way faith works.  If we lay down our soul-life (our natural attitudes and abilities) for Christ’s sake and brethren’s sake, we abide in God’s love and true faith.  If we do not lay down our soul-life for the brethren, we do not abide in God’s love and we don’t know Him (1 John 4:8).  If we try to live the Christian life by dying to self through our own willpower and moral strength, we quench the power of Christ’s Spirit from working in us.  Therefore, having begun by the Spirit when we were born again, we now refuse to rely on our natural strength to live the Christian life (Galatians 3:3; Philippians 3:3).

   Knowing we have died with Christ, we now live by faith in the Son of God who lives in us (Galatians 2:20).  As we abide (remain united) in the power of Christ’s death, He abides in us with the power of His resurrection life (John 15:4).  “For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection (Romans 6:5).” Thus faith in Jesus Christ and His completed work on the cross is not only the basis for our spiritual birth (our salvation); it is also the only basis for our spiritual growth (our sanctification). This is the true gospel.  “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith (Romans 1:17).”

   Finally, let’s now consider the third verse: “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing; what counts is obeying God’s commands (1 Corinthians 7:19).”  Obeying God’s commands is the outcome of our sanctification and the confirmation of our faith.  Our obedience springs from our faith in Christ’s triumph on the cross – when Christ died; we also died to the world (Galatians 6:14).  Do you really want to know Jesus?  Jesus Christ said He would reveal Himself to you if you obey Him (John 14:21).  “We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands (1 John 2:3).”  Everyone who obeys God’s commands abides in Him and He in them; everyone who does not obey God’s commands does not know Him (1 John 3:6 & 24).  “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead (James 2:26).”  This is what the apostle Paul called “the obedience that comes from faith (Romans 1:5).” 

   It is possible for us to obey God commands because of God’s divine heart transplant, by which He made us a new creation in Christ.  “Because everyone who has died has been freed from sin (Romans 6:7).”  Everyone who is born of God is able to obey His commands and overcome sin because Christ who lives in us is greater than Satan, the ruler of this world (1 John 3:9; 4:4).  “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life (Romans 6:22).” The Bible says that everyone who obeys Jesus Christ inherits eternal life.  “He is the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).”

   If we are trying to be moral apart from faith in the cross of Christ, we are practicing a counterfeit Christianity not based on God’s new creation.  “Are you so foolish?  After beginning by the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by your human effort (Galatians 3:3)?”  God’s new creation in Christ is the only foundation for the true Christian life and the true church of Christ. 

“For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in our natural ability.”  Philippians 3:3

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12

   Are you suffering rejection, persecution and loss for the sake of Christ?  If you are not, you may need to reexamine your faith and ask yourself if you are really living godly in Christ Jesus.  Jesus said if they persecuted Him, they would also persecute everyone who follows Him (John 15:20).  This does not mean we can rightfully claim to be persecuted when others reject us for wrong behavior. However, it does mean we will experience hostility when Jesus Christ shines His light brightly through us in this dark world.  Sharing the true gospel can be a sure prescription for “how to lose friends and alienate people.”  The Bible calls Jesus Christ the “rock of offense (1 Peter 2:8)” and calls the gospel of Christ the “offense of the cross (Galatians 5:11).”  If we share the Kingship of Jesus Christ and the power of His cross in this fallen world, we can expect to offend others and suffer persecution.

   What is the gospel of the cross?  It is the message that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified for us and our old man of sin was crucified with Him (Roman 5:8; 6:6-8).  Therefore, our old sinful nature is dead and gone and the life we now live in this body, we live by faith in the Son of God who lives in us (Galatians 2:20).  The gospel of the cross has the power of God to convict us and deliver us from sin (1 Corinthians 1:18).  It is a hammer that can shatter the hardest heart.  It is a sword that can pierce the depths of our soul.  It is a fire that can consume our entire being.  The message of the cross is good news to all who are humble in spirit and know they need Jesus Christ to be the Lord of their life.  “Blessed is he who does not take offense with Me (Matthew 11:6).”  But the gospel of the cross is an offense to those who are proud in spirit and reject the need for Jesus Christ to live and rule in them.

   The devil tries to counterfeit everything in Christianity. There are false conversions and false disciples.  And, of course, there is a false gospel.  Instead of being a sword, a hammer or a fire, the false gospel is a feather that tickles the ears of its hearers (2 Timothy 4:3).  The false gospel doesn’t always directly deny Christ; instead, it subverts Christ’s sovereignty and crucifixion by appealing to man’s carnal desire for self-reliance.  Whereas the true gospel convicts us, the false gospel entertains us.  The false gospel is a feel-good message of “Christian” self-help.  When we hear the true gospel, we express remorse and repent from our sin and ask Jesus Christ to sovereignly live His life in us.  In contrast, the false gospel makes us feel confident about ourselves and boosts our self-esteem.  The false gospel boasts that we can change ourselves and fulfill ourselves by following “Christian” principles.  The true gospel proclaims we could not change ourselves and there was nothing of virtue in us worth reforming.  That’s why God had to righteously include us in His Son’s death so our sinful nature would be executed and buried (removed) in order that His Son might now sovereignly live in us.

   If we could successfully live the Christian life by just following Christian principles, we would not need Jesus Christ and the power of His crucifixion.  If we could change our behavior to conform to Christian virtues and use our natural talent and energy to do Christian work, then Christ would have died needlessly.  The false gospel is not much different than other world religions that inspire people to better themselves and find fulfillment through their dedicated efforts and so-called “keys” to successful living.   Many people have embraced this false gospel of self-empowerment that is sprinkled with a little Scripture to disguise it as a form of Christianity.  If you promote the false gospel in today’s world, you won’t suffer persecution.   In fact, you may become a popular author and conference speaker.  And you may even be asked to pray at the President’s Inaugural Ceremony or the President’s Annual Prayer Breakfast.  “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way (Luke 6:26).”
   In countries where Christianity is outlawed, sharing the gospel will cost you your freedom if not your life.  Even in nations where civil rights and religious freedom is protected, we will experience hostility when we share the true gospel.  The hardest rejection we experience may not come from “sinners” but from other professing “Christians.” This should not surprise us since Jesus said our enemies would be members of our own household (Matthew 10:36).  Sadly, many churchgoers have been blinded by the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and have become enemies of the cross of Christ (Philippians 3:18), lovers of self rather than lovers of God, practicing a form of religion that denies Christ’s power (2 Timothy 3:1-5).   Those who are “religious” and live by the power of the soul have historically persecuted those who live by the power of the Spirit (Galatians 4:29).  Yet when we suffer for the gospel’s sake, we are blessed because the Spirit of glory rests on us (1 Peter 4:14).  We should consider our suffering as mild compared to our fellow believers around the world who suffer far worse for our Lord’s sake.  

   If we abide in Christ and He abides in us, our destiny and honor will be to suffer for His Name.  Since no persecution can separate us from His love (Romans 8:35), Jesus has commanded us to boldly share the gospel and love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).  This is surely Christ’s witness and only possible if we know that our sinful nature has already died with Him and entrust ourselves completely to our Lord Jesus who lives in us (Galatians 2:20).  Therefore, let us fix our eyes on Jesus and arm ourselves with this purpose of suffering for His sake (1 Peter 2:21-23; 4:1-13) so we may be considered worthy of our Lord and King for whom we endure all things (Acts 5:40-42).

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Matthew 5:11-12

“If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it.” Luke 9:23-24; & Mark 8:34-35

   By this statement, Jesus defined discipleship and what it means to be a Christian.  There is no way around what Jesus said.  We must take up our cross daily and lose our life for His sake or we cannot follow Him.  The Greek word for life used here is psyche, which means our soul-life. Our soul-life is based on our natural personality and includes our natural attitudes, affections and abilities.  At this point, we must strongly reinforce that the only way we can lose our soul-life is to know what Jesus Christ has already accomplished for us on the cross.  When Jesus Christ died, we died with  Him  (Romans 6:8; 2 Corinthians 5:14).  Our sinful nature was crucified with Him and removed from us (Romans 6:6).  Therefore, by Christ’s death, we have already died to the soulish life of this world (Galatians 6:14).  This is a divine fact that only God can reveal to you.

   Since God created our soul, He does not want to destroy our soul.  However, He does want to restore our soul to its proper place and use.  When Adam fell, man began to live independently by the power of his soul rather than by the life of God.  But then, two thousand years ago, through the death of His only Son, God “undid” the fall and laid the foundation for restoring man to His purpose and fellowship.  Now that we are born again, we no longer have Adam’s sinful nature within us; instead, we have Christ’s Spirit indwelling us (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20).  But now that we are in Christ, the question is, “Will we continue to be governed by the strength of our soul or will we be governed by the power of His Holy Spirit?”  

   When we live by the soul, our life is controlled by our natural preferences and capabilities.  The Son of God also had a human soul but He never acted from his soul’s initiative; He only acted according to His Father’s will (John 5:19; 30; 8:28).  When we live by faith in Christ who lives in us, our soul is submitted to His Spirit and is a holy vessel for His use.  However, if we live by the power of our personality, then our soul is hostile to Christ’s Spirit and is of no use to Him.  Therefore, in order for Jesus Christ to be able to use us as His bondservants, we must die to living based on our soul-life (our natural desires and abilities).  This is what it means to be conformed to Christ’s death (Philippians 3:10).

   Tragically, most professing Christians today are governed by the power of their soul rather than by the life of Christ.  Even if we lead an admirable “moral” life based on our natural self-discipline, our witness is limited to the power of what our natural man can accomplish.  This is no Christian witness at all.  The reason for this dilemma is that most Christians do not know (believe and act on) the truth that they have died with Christ.  As a result, they remain captive to their natural temperament and rely on their natural ability to serve God.  If we are particularly naturally gifted and talented, we may impress others with our Christian ministry but we won’t impress God.  Nor will we have any impact on Satan if the source of our ministry is our own soul-power.

   How can we be governed by the power of God’s Spirit rather than our soul-life?  First, we must know with certainty that we have been crucified with Christ.  This is the only basis for losing our soul-life.  Unless we have divine revelation that God included us in Christ’s death, we will try to change our soul-life by our own willpower and effort, which only leads to pride and further sin.  Next, we must apply the cross to our soul-life by identifying with Christ’s death daily (when Christ died, we died with Him).  This means we will often have to go against the voice of our soul and our natural temperament.  There is only one way we can resist gratifying our soul’s natural desires and reject fulfilling our soul’s natural potential.  This is by always reminding ourselves that we have died with Christ and He is now our life.

   This is the secret to overcoming sin and losing our soul-life for Christ’s sake.  When we stay rooted by faith in Christ’s death, His resurrection life will be formed in us.  There are two ways God helps us abide in Christ’s death so He might transform our “unconverted” soul.  First, God sends us His Word, the sword of the Spirit, to expose and separate any impure soulish mixture in our faith (Hebrews 4:12).  For example, we may think we love sharing the gospel until the Holy Spirit shows us that we love hearing ourselves speak.  And we may think we love ministering to others until the Holy Spirit shows us that we love fulfilling our natural talent.  Next, God sends us trials as a “sentence of death” to our natural strength so we will only rely on the life of His Son in us (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).  When our confidence in our natural ability is broken, we will no longer trust in ourselves to overcome but only trust in what Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross.

   Every disciple who identifies with Christ’s death has the mark of the cross on their soul.  The work of the cross won’t destroy our soul; we will still possess our soul and its faculties.  But when the mark of the cross is imprinted on our soul, we will stay submitted to Christ rather than independently asserting our will.  We will also not depend on the power of our soul to do Christ’s work.  The only way we can restore our soul is to lose it for Christ’s sake (Matthew 16:25).  This is true discipleship that leads to eternal life.  How can we possibly restore the church to its right place in Christ if our own soul is not restored to its right place in Christ?   May God open our eyes to see what His Son has fully accomplished for us on the cross so we can follow Him with all our heart and soul.  This is what it means to come under Christ’s Sovereignty and be His true disciples and bondservants.

“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple… The man who loves his soul-life will lose it, while the man who hates his soul-life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Luke 14:27 & John 12:25