Basic Training - Part Four: Victory!

Welcome to the fourth and final post dealing with the basics of Christianity and how God created us as human beings.  This information is the basis of the Christian faith and the foundation that a Christian marriage is based on.  These are concepts that are taken directly from the Bible.  The material and diagrams are produced by the Association of Exchanged Life Ministries (www.aelm.org).

There are diagrams to the right of the post that go along with the information.  If they seem small on your monitor feel free to right click on them and download. them to your computer.  This is NOT copyrighted material.  Each post will remain here for a week with the respective diagrams.  At the beginning of a new week, a new post will appear with the new diagrams.  The previous post will of course be beneath the new post, but the diagrams for the previous week will be gone.

Again, because this is a blog specifically focused on men - men will be specifically referred to.  Yet the information here applies equally to both men and women.

Part Four – Victorious Living.

I just want to take a moment and thank my wife, Jann for helping me put together and condense the exchanged life material into these four small posts.  She’s been a great help to me.

In the first post we talked about how God created us in three parts – body, soul, and spirit.  We looked at what happens when we’re dead to sin and, because He loved us so much, he offered us the gift of grace, which is the exchange of our dead, sinful spirit for his Holy Spirit.  In the second post we talked about how grace makes it so that we no longer have to be concerned with living our lives perfectly in order to achieve salvation.  We are free to choose NOT to sin because we are no longer slaves to sin.  The third post talks about our new identity in Jesus Christ and how it is Him who lives in and through us.   Yet, we still have to make the choice to follow him or to follow our own way. 

This week I want to close out this series by celebrating this victory over sin.  I’m going to do this by walking through some Bible verses that show how great this victory is.  Again, our victory is complete through Jesus Christ who died on the cross.  He took us with him spiritually on the cross, to hell, and back again through resurrection and has us spiritually seated with him in heaven.  It’s over.  It’s done.  You’re salvation is complete and there’s nothing you need to do but have a ball with it!

Let’s look at some things:

In Romans 8:36-39 the apostle Paul spells things out pretty clearly:

As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How great is it to know that nothing can separate us from the God who loves us?!

In Romans again, Paul explains our freedom from slavery to sin:

Romans 6:16-18

Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?  But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

When you live under grace the Holy Spirit inside you directly effects the three parts of your soul – you mind, will, and emotions. 

In Romans 15:18 Paul talks about how realizing this victory changes the way you think (your mind). 

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done.

It also changes what you want to do (your will).

Romans 13:14

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Remember -  you are free from sin and have the ability to choose.

Victory under the grace system also brings peace (emotions).

Psalm 23:3

He restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Ephesians 3:20, 21 shows us the effect we can have on our corner of the world. 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Phil 4:19 assures us that God is all we need for anything in our lives.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

In the following verses the Bible confirms that God lives inside us and we have His power through the Holy Spirit.

I Corinthians 2:16

For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?"  But we have the mind of Christ.

Phil 4:13

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

This is the fabulous message of salvation that empowers us to be not only Christian men, but also husbands and fathers living under God’s grace.  Under the grace system we have the opportunity to do wonderful things in the relationships with our spouses and families.  The content of these four posts is the foundation of any information you read here. 

With out God’s gift of salvation through grace anything you would read here would be simply my opinion based on my efforts to be as good as I can be according to the old law of right and wrong.  Because of the Grace of God, I’m able to be used by him, for Him to speak to you through me, and I receive a blessing for it. 

This is not the gospel according to some guy.  This is God speaking to you through me.  If it ever becomes anything else it’s time to shut down this blog (go back and look at Romans 15:18).

Thanks for your time.

Basic Training - Part Three: Believer's Identity

Welcome to the third post dealing with the basics of Christianity and how God created us as human beings.  This information is the basis of the Christian faith and the foundation that a Christian marriage is based on.  These are concepts that are taken directly from the Bible.  The material and diagrams are produced by the Association of Exchanged Life Ministries (www.aelm.org).

There are diagrams to the right of the post that go along with the information.  If they seem small on your monitor feel free to right click on them and download. them to your computer.  This is NOT copyrighted material.  Each post will remain here for a week with the respective diagrams.  At the beginning of a new week, a new post will appear with the new diagrams.  The previous post will of course be beneath the new post, but the diagrams for the previous week will be gone.

Again, because this is a blog specifically focused on men - men will be specifically referred to.  Yet the information here applies equally to both men and women.

Part Three - Believer's Identity

First, we need to establish and recognize that we have a different identity as a Christian living under Grace.  Your new identity is in Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:3-5 says this:

"or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ jesus were baptized into his death?  We were there fore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection."

Figure 1 shows how our old sinful dead spirit was crucified with him, spiritually we went to hell with him, and spiritually we are raised up and sit in heaven with him now.

Here are some facts about a believer's identity in Jesus Christ (Taken from Romans 5:1-11):

• We have peace in our new identity.
• We are completely acceptable to God 
• We are dead to sin and alive to God.  We can choose NOT to sin.
• We died to our old "family tree" an Adam (sinful man).  We are now alive in Christ's family tree.
• Jesus Christ is all you need for any situation. (2 Peter 1:3) You can rest and have peace in this.  

A review of Figure 2 reminds us that there is a constant struggle between our inherently human sinful desires (dark circle with the F) and the Spirit.  This struggle exists because God gave us a choice to follow him or to handle things on our own.  We have to choose to listen to the Spirit and follow God.  

Check this out:

Romans 6: 12-14

"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.  For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

We must constantly be aware of this struggle and consciously choose not to sin.  We have the ability to do this because we have the Spirit inside us and we live by Grace - not by law.  

Living by the Spirit means that we give God access to our lives to let him work in and through us.  Giving access means having a relationship with God.  In every day life this means pursuing a relationship with him much like you pursue a relationship with your spouse.  It means have a conscious dependence on God for everything in your life.  It means communicating with God through prayer and Bible reading.  Figure 3 shows the Selfer's Prayer.  This puts it all in perspective and gives you a good idea of where Spirit life under Grace starts.  

While sin keeps us distant from God through guilt and fear, Grace creates intimacy with God.  This intimacy is what he really wants from us more than anything.  

I am personally convinced that this submission, this dying to self, this crucifying of pride (see Philippians 2:1-8) is crucial to our joy.  We think of denying self as somber, grim-faced business when it is in truth a prelude to dancing.  if you want power, learn to e assertive.  If you want joy, learn to be submissive.  

The reason our death (to self) increased the joy level all around is that it also increases the love level all around.  Only when we die to self  can we fully love one another.  Self is a devilish creature, demanding all our energy. wanting our constant attention, reaching even into our pocketbooks for favors.  how can we be attuned to another's spirit when self is making so much noise?  How can we ever hope to love another when self screams for our constant care?  When self is alive and well, if offers us an all-or-nothing proposition.  We either pacify self, or we crucify it.

- Judson Edwards