Promise or Promiscuity?

If ever there was a question that needs to be raised today it’s the one of promise or promiscuity? In fact it's a perennial problem/question.

Will we as God’s people live by the promise of God, or will we be seduced and fooled by the enemy and live in promiscuity – the enemy’s idea of what it means to truly live? Its a challenge every Christian faces.

To put it another way – will we live by the Spirit or by the Flesh?

Sadly the statistics show there are too many today who are choosing the latter. The statistics for people including Christians struggling with pornography are on the rise – statistics suggest that 50% of Christian men struggle with pornography; 20% women (2006) – pornography is about getting by media what you can’t have in the flesh.

The statistics regarding divorce are not that much different to the world.

The World has a habit of changing or dumbing down language to suit it’s own ends. Now we use words like ‘affairs’ when what we really mean are adulteries, or ‘sleeping with’ when what we mean is fornication, and ‘partner’ instead of husband or wife, each in there own way just taking something of the edge off the original word, and so anaesthetising us to what’s really going on.

A word that has really taken hold is addiction, we say ‘oh, he/she’s addicted to…’ as if it’s some disease, some ‘thing,’ a sickness even. The word originally meant ‘a leaning,’ and its only since the early 1900’s that it has become what it is today – habitual or compulsive – a word that suits a godless generation with no references to sin and its power over people’s lives. The truth is all are addicted in some way, because all are sinners.

You may not struggle with lust, it could be something else: drink, drugs, anger, gambling, possessions…. don’t let the enemy fool you:

• Sin is illusionary – it fools you with an empty promise, it’s not what it appears to be.
• It’s pleasures are momentary.
• It’s fruit is broken lives, damaged relationships, and unfulfilled potential.

To all of the above you could say, remember Adam & Eve.

Is there some temptation that keeps coming your way, more than that, is there something you are already indulging in and the devils fooled you it’s OK, maybe even that God understands – don’t be fooled! Listen, it’s not worth it! Never!

There’s only one life to live and that’s the life of promise – the life that says first of all, yes to God, and then no to temptation and sin – not the other way round. If you are not wholly surrendered to God, wholly convinced of his goodness and plan for your life you will never be an overcomer. Maybe you need to get a fresh vision of God and the promise of life he offers – unless you get that every attempt at living the life of promise will fail because it will run aground on a lower, less fulfilling vision that captivates our hearts.

When you have the vision and commitment you can then work effectively at making no provision for the flesh, and putting to death the desires of the flesh, in order to live the life of promise which is far, far greater.

Free in Christ - Romans 8

For many Romans 8 is something they aim at, but rarely get there. To often their experience is Romans 7, the wretched man, but that is to fall short of the gospel. Romans 8 is meant to be the normal Christian life. Some years ago after living as a Romans 7 Christian I studied Romans afresh, and realised I had missed something.

Frequently the realm of Flesh and Spirit is seen as interior, and so an inner conflict is set up (and I had many of them), but Romans reveals it to be two realms, and we are either in one or the other. Here is a paraphrase I wrote of Romans 8 that seeks to bring it out.

8:1,2. So, the conclusion of it all is this: that there is now absolutely no condemnation whatsoever (and neither can there ever be), for those who are in union with Christ Jesus. For, the law of the Spirit of life which is in and through Christ Jesus has liberated you from the law of sin that always leads to failure, defeat and death.

3,4. For what the law could never do (enable us to be right with God, and live righteously because of our sinful flesh) God did Himself, and He did this by sending His own Son in flesh just like ours under the domain of sin, and for sin itself. He then past judgment on sin in the realm of the Flesh, and condemned it once and for all, thereby destroying it’s power, so that now, the righteous requirements of the law might be accomplished in us who walk no longer in the realm of the Flesh (lives lived without reference to God); but now walk in the realm of the Spirit (lives lived in reference to God).

5, 6. For, those who live their lives according to the realm of the Flesh, their thoughts and affections, in fact their whole perspective is shaped by and set on the things of ‘the Flesh,’ but those who live their lives according to the realm of the Spirit, their thoughts and affections indeed their whole perspective is shaped by and set on the things of ‘the Spirit.’ For, the whole inclination and outlook of the realm of the Flesh, is death, but, the whole inclination and outlook of the realm of the Spirit, is life and peace.

7 – 9. The reason is this: the inclination and outlook of the realm of the Flesh is hostile to God, for it is not subject to the law of God, and never can be. So then, those who live in the realm of the Flesh can never please God. But, as for you, you are no longer in the realm of the Flesh and under its power, but in the realm of the Spirit, managed and energised by Him, since the Spirit of God inhabits you. Now if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they cannot possibly belong to Him.

10, 11. Now since Christ does reside in you, that means the body is dead because of sin, and yet you have life by the Spirit because of righteousness. Moreover since the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead resides in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to these mortal bodies because of His Spirit who dwells in you.

12 – 16. So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors and have an obligation – but it is certainly not to the realm of the Flesh, to live in keeping with the Flesh. For if you live in keeping with the realm of the Flesh, you are obviously still in the realm of the Flesh, unchanged, fleshly, and you will die; but, if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body by saying no to sin and not giving in to it, you will live. For those who so live are being led by the Spirit of God and show themselves to be true sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of slavery that leads again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of full sonship that enables you to call out with confidence “Abba, Father.” For the Spirit Himself testifies to our spirit that we are children of God.

© R. Burgess 2001 revised 2012

LIVING IN THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION

“From now on" says Paul,"we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2Co 5:16-17).

What does the resurrection mean for us today?

Paul says, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection.” Phil. 3:10. This is part of Paul’s testimony, is it yours? It's not only a past experience but an ongoing one.

Do we know? Do you? Do you know the saving power of Christ?

Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians(1:15-23)for the “spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him .. that you may know ..”

The question is, do we know what we should know?

Back to our verse, in the New Living Translation it puts it this way, “So we have stopped evaluating ourselves from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person ...” 2 Corinthians 5:16, 17.

What does Paul mean, “according to the flesh” or human point of view”?

The Bible speaks of two groups of people, those in Adam, those in Christ.

• In Adam, ‘according to the flesh’ – all are condemned. Romans 8:5-8.

• In Christ, ‘according to the Spirit’ – all are justified. Romans 8:5-9.

• To think of ourselves ‘according to the flesh’ as Paul puts it is to think prior to the cross and outside of Christ. The reign of sin and death.

• To think ‘according to the flesh’ regarding Christ is to think of him from a human point of view, and prior to his cross-work for us.

You see the resurrection changes everything, world history (BC to AD - Before Christ - In the Year of the/Our Lord) and our history!

That is my question to you? Are you thinking according to the flesh? Has the enemy gotten you off redemption ground onto the old ground ....?

A question that comes up all too often is, am I good enough? Have I done enough?

I came across a very good illustration the other day. Imagine you are on a long journey, and suddenly you get to a ravine and the only way to cross is via a bridge. Well you don’t stop and examine yourself, you examine the bridge! Has it been constructed well? Has it stood the test of time? Is it falling apart in any way? Does it look sure and stedfast?

The answer to the question then is not found in examining ourselves .. are we good enough ... done enough .. but is our Saviour good enough, has he done enough, is he strong enough. We look away from ourselves unto Jesus.

We move from thinking according to the flesh, from a human point of view, and we think according to his resurrection!

Living in the Power of his Resurrection:

1. A justified life – acquitted. No case against us! Declared in the right. Romans 3:21-26; 4:5, 25; 5:1, 15-18.

2. A reconciled life – 2 Cor. 5:18; Romans 5:10, 11; Col.1:21,22.

3. A sanctified life – made holy. 1 Corinthians 1:30; 6:11; Hebrews 10:10

4. An empowered life – Spirit empowered. Romans 6:4; 7:6; 8:1-4.

5. An overcoming life – victory over Satan, sin, our past, circumstances is possible. Romans 5:17; 6:1-14; 8:1-17, 26, 37 ; 1 John 4:4.

“If I am truly in Christ by faith, my good works can't get me to heaven and my sins can't send me to hell.” Bob Kauflin.

Questions
The main question is do you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord?
Do you believe in Him?
If you are a Christian, where are you living? Are thinking according to the old way – outside of Christ and his cross-work – according to the flesh?
Are you allowing the enemy to knock you down?
Do you know what you should know?
Do you know what it means to live in the 5 points listed above?
Do you experience more defeat than victory? Why?
Do you preach to yourself?

No Condemnation - New Life

A PARAPHRASE OF ROMANS 8:1 – 16

8:1 So, the conclusion of it all is this: that there is now (and neither can there ever be), absolutely no condemnation (no condemning judgment) whatsoever for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.

2 For, the law of the Spirit of life which is in and through Christ Jesus has liberated you from the law of sin that always leads to failure, defeat and death.

3 For what the law could never do - that is enable us to be right with God and live righteously because of our sinful flesh - God has done Himself, and He did this by sending His own Son in the very likeness of our sinful flesh, and for sin itself. He then past judgment on sin in the realm of this flesh, and condemned it once and for all, thereby destroying it’s power,

4 So that now, the righteous requirements of the law might be accomplished in us who walk no longer in the realm of the Flesh (the realm of life that is disconnected from God and lived without reference to him – a life characterised by the thoughts, values, attitudes and practices of this fallen world; a world that is judged and passing away); but now walk in the realm of the Spirit (lives lived in reference to God – the thoughts, values, attitudes and practices of the age that is coming).

5 For, those who live their lives according to the realm of the Flesh, their thoughts and affections, in fact their whole perspective, is shaped by, and set on the things of ‘the Flesh,’ but those who live their lives according to the realm of the Spirit, their thoughts and affections, indeed their whole perspective is now shaped by and set on the things of ‘the Spirit.’

6 For, the whole inclination and outlook of the realm of the Flesh, is death, but the whole inclination and outlook of the realm of the Spirit, is life and peace.

7 And the reason is this: the inclination and outlook of the realm of the Flesh is always hostile to God, for it is not subject to the law of God, and never will be. 8 So then, those who live in the realm of the Flesh can never please God.

9 But, as for you, you are no longer in the realm of the Flesh and under its power, but in the realm of the Spirit, managed and energised by Him, since the Spirit of God now inhabits you. Now if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they cannot possibly belong to Him (and are still in the realm of the Flesh).

10 Now since Christ resides in you, that means the body is dead because of sin, and yet you have life by the Spirit because of righteousness.

11 Moreover since the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead resides in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to these mortal bodies because of His Spirit who dwells in you.

12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, we have an obligation - but it is certainly not to theFlesh, to live in keeping with the Flesh.

13 For if you live in keeping with the realm of the Flesh, you are obviously still in the Flesh, unchanged, fleshly, and you will die (unChristian); but, if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body (say no to sin, do not give in to it), you will live. 14 For those who so live are being led by the Spirit of God and show themselves to be true sons of God.

15 For you have not received the spirit of slavery that leads again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of full sonship that enables you to call out with confidence “Abba, Father.”

16 For the Spirit Himself testifies to our spirit that we are children of God.

A paraphrase based on the reading of several translations, comparison with the Greek, understanding of the context, different commentators and commentaries.

© R. Burgess 2001, revised 2010

Staggering Truth

The Christmas story never ceases to amaze me.

God the Eternal, God the Creator, God the Sustainer, God the Most Holy One, takes on human flesh, enters our fractured, mortal, created, dependant humanity in order to redeem it and present it back to God.

As Charles Wesley expressed it, "God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man."

No wonder sects and cults find it difficult to accept .. but God's truth it is. Staggering truth. Essential truth.

An as the writer to the Hebrews says "He had to be made like his brothers in every respect."