Alrighty, so I'm really going to finish this series now. It keeps growing, but I have to cut it off somewhere. I am currently studying and writing on the issue of Lordship Salvation, and that will come next. But to continue with the reflections from the last study:
The good Lord knows that I still grieve Him, that my unredeemed flesh still stumbles me and pride still rebels against my new nature; He knows that in my very seeking of Him, the imperfections in my obedience are themselves evil; and He knows every unworthy and heinous thought that passes through my mind, and He righteously hates every one of them. Meanwhile, in holy love, a love that "burns like a father to the sun" (N.D. Wilson), He works to increase my knowledge of and submission to Himself, knowing that I will never be what He personally created me to be if He doesn't pour me from one crucible to the next. He is a true Craftsman, and my impurities are already pardoned, not by God looking the other way; no, but by the Jewel of endless heaven Himself entering His own creation and submitting to the crushing, humiliating punishment of His own Father, because the Father said to the Son, "Suffer and die for those nailing you to the cross and spitting in Your eye. Enter death and feel the fury of My anger. This is the 'foolish' way that the ones who accept the truth and call on You will be redeemed and will be able to enter their true rest and take their place as those who worship the Father in spirit and truth."
So Jesus died; well, more like, He met death with authority, and gave up His Spirit. That moment was like no other in all of human history. When the King of kings entered death, the earth shook, graves were opened, the sky went black, the temple veil split in twain, the centurion confessed, and my sin's killing blow was completely absorbed by Christ. The punishment that awaited me at my flesh's end had been fully experienced by the One who has only always been good and true.
One wonders what the Enemy must have thought in those 3 days. No doubt he tried very hard to keep Christ from ever being crucified, because he knew Biblical prophecy better than anyone. He was the cursed serpent, who heard God the Creator pronounce judgment upon him (recorded in Gen. 3:15), that the seed of Eve (Christ) would crush his head. But did he think that perhaps Christ was stay dead? Did he actually believe that the One who made all life and has the power in His breath and voice to do or undo existence itself could be held down by some grave wrappings, bloodless veins, and a big rock? When Christ stepped forth from the tomb, did all of the unseen world understand what had happened? I wonder if the fallen angel, Lucifer, felt a chill run down his 'spine' as he gulped and said 'oh crap'. His eternal defeat was now sealed, and the weapon of death which he wields (not when a person dies; that is up to God, but the sting of death, which is separation from God and eternal punishment) had effectively been torn from his hand.
THIS is why I say with Paul that we are conquerors! Sin can definitely slow us down, but if we believe the Gospel, it will invigorate our passionate desire for holiness. We have not been given a spirit of timidity, leading to fear again, but a spirit of sonship, by which we cry 'Abba, Father!' And look at Phil. 1:27-30 "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake..."
Is Paul high-minded or a naive idealist, or is this fearless and triumphant life actually possible? Maybe the key is in the perspective Paul had towards suffering. He saw it as a blessing, something given/granted, not just to believe, but to suffer for His sake. And earlier in the same chapter, Paul's heart just comes pouring out; 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain..."
What holds you back? Or rather, what are you holding back? I feel as if Christ is literally consuming me, piece by piece, and it appears that this continual surrender of the self in increasing degrees is the inevitable progression of salvation. When I turn to myself, there is nothing there of actual worth. This is not low self-esteem. This is reality. None of us have any internal resource which can bring us to God in perfection. Only by confessing that He is Lord and understanding that He came down, He condescended, He reached out, and took His only begotten Son and did not spare Him, but subjected His perfect being to the most unjust and cruel torture and execution, and then out of His own plan and for His good pleasure and glory He "raised Him (Christ) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above ALL rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come..." (Ephesians 1:20,21); only by knowing and confessing these truths and and obeying them can we live in freedom. Slavery to sin looks like freedom to the unbeliever (I can do what I want). The problem is that what we want when we are enemies of God only leads to bondage and destruction. God wants to give us holy desires and true understanding of our need. C.S. Lewis says "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
I don't know about you, but I want everything God has for me. I want it as soon as possible, and I don't want to miss out. I want God to be pleased with me; I want to feel and see and know Him, even as He fully knows my whole being. He is good and beautiful and not at all tame. Submit to His Lordship in every arena of life. Find Him in the Word and remember how short life is and the fact that He has promised all of the new heaven and earth will one day be your personal playground, and that one day you will be LIKE HIM, because we will see Him as He is. We will look our Saviour in the face with joy.
I hope and pray that this series has disrupted your normal thought patterns and challenged you to seek after the One who has conquered all as one of us, and is even now reigning as the supreme KING. The very best thing you can do is to kneel before Him. He will make something out of your life that will survive the day of judgment. You cannot do so.
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