The Crucifixion In The Believer's Daily Life
The Crucifixion: The "Old Man" And The Need Of Cleansing.
The believer has been delivered once for all from the
guilt of his sin - that is salvation. Now he needs to be
progressively delivered from the power of sin - that is
sanctification.
To be successful Christians we must recognize our problems,
understand them and learn to overcome them. The first and
most formidable problem which stands in the Christian's path
of success is himself.
The Christian is a sinful person. He not only commits sins -
he has a sinful nature. The committing of sins is only the
superficial evidence of the underlying nature. And this is
where the problem lies - not with the deeds but with their
cause and source. The Christian needs a deliverance, a
cleansing, from the nature which is inseparable from
himself.
But this presents an almost insurmountable problem - to
acknowledge that we are at fault. It is exceedingly
difficult for the believer to confess that he is in need of
help. It is far easier to blame our failures on a lack of
time, money, education, background, intelligence or
personality. It is far easier to place the blame on parents,
fellow workers, roommates, wife or husband, pastor, or even
God!
Our sinful pride is often much more important and valuable
to us than the glory of God and our personal success as
Christians. "Now don't blame that on me, I'm a person of
spiritual integrity," is more often heard and implied than,
"I was at fault," "I'm sorry I said that," "I need your
forgiveness," or, "I am a sinful person and need help."
To be cleansed from my pride, lust, envy, jealousy,
covetousness, dishonesty, and bigotry I must acknowledge and
confess that I am a proud person, a lustful person, an
envious person, a jealous person, a covetous person, a
dishonest person, a bigot. This confession must be genuine.
It must be more than words. It must be a truthful appraisal
in the presence of God.
The way in which we begin with ourselves is to admit and
confess that we need the cleansing God has promised (Romans
6:14; 1 John 1:9). We must open up our persons to God and
allow Him to deal with us. This is absolutely necessary.
First of all, the Christian needs a divine cleansing from
the power of the sinful nature - because of what it is. He
has a nature which is at enmity with God (Romans 8:7)! The
seriousness of this and its far-reaching effects cannot be
overemphasized. The Christian must face the inescapable
truth that he belongs to God and must obey God, and yet
possesses a nature which is thoroughly antagonistic to all
that is Holy and Loving and True. He has a built-in
hindrance to any genuine progress in the Christian life. His
nature will approve of lust but not purity, of pride but not
humility - the list is endless.
It is not easy for the Christian to admit the sinfulness of
his own nature. The Bible, however, is clear on this point
(Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18) and so is our daily
experience, if we are willing to look. We must admit that
our first reaction to a new truth from the Scripture is one
of resistance. It is much easier to find ten reasons why we
should not obey God than simply to obey! Give the ordinary
Christian five seconds and can rationalize almost any of his
vices into virtues!
Because of this nature and its warfare against God, the
non-Christian is described as an enemy of God (Romans 5:10).
Even in the Christian this sinful nature continues its
opposition to God and therefore to the believer's spiritual
progress. No wonder the Christian catches himself disliking
God! How quickly and easily he can sit in judgment on God
and refuse to accept some teaching of the Bible because of
personal disapproval!
Such a description of our nature is in no way intended to
imply that man is as bad as he can be nor that man cannot do
civil good or approve of the good. This, however, is not to
be traced to man's nature but to the common and special
grace of God.
Our sinful nature, the "old man," cannot be brought under
subjugation to the will of God (Romans 8:7). No amount of
prayer, Bible study, decisions of faith, self-discipline,
church attendance, and Christian service will change the old
nature. The Scripture is very clear on this point. the
command is not to change the old nature but to reject it
(Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:5-9).
The second reason why the Christian needs to be cleansed
from the power of his old nature, is because of what it
does. The Lord Jesus taught His disciples that one was
"defiled" by what came out of a man and not by that which
went in (Mark 7:17-23). When we accept the prompting of our
sinful nature, and put the suggestion into practice, the
result is an action or activity out of harmony with the will
of God. This expressing of the "old man" is what "defiles"
us. The tragic products of the old nature are not only
clearly seen in the Bible (Mark 7:21, 22; Romans 1:21-32;
Galatians 5:19-21) but, in some measure, in the lives of all
Christians. Our pride, hypocrisy, jealousy, deceit,
selfishness, and lust are easily discernible. So are our
lack of love, lack of faith, and lack of hope.
Augustine emphasized the Biblical principle that the
judgment for sin is inexorably connected with the sin itself
(Confessions, Book I, par. 19). When sin is
committed, the sinner, whether Christian or non-Christian,
becomes directly influenced by the sin. Our character is
changed by our deliberate choice to disobey God and to
practice evil. We become characterized by the nature of our
sin! Therefore, in the Bible, the one who steals is
described as a "thief," the one who is immoral is an
"adulterer," and the one who gossips is a "tale-bearer."
When we choose to obey our sinful nature, the resultant
activity will "enslave" us (John 8:34; Romans 7:15-18, 23,
24).
A third reason why the Christian should learn how to
appropriate the divine provision for his old nature, is
because of what it does not do. It is never a help in the
Christian life. Not one victory, not one genuine desire for
God, not one holy or loving thought or activity can be
traced back to the old nature (Romans 7:18, 23). This alone
should be reason enough for the Christian to seek how he may
live in freedom from his fallen nature.
A final reason why the earnest believer must give heed to
what the Scripture states about his old nature, is because
of the commandment of God. The Christian has been commanded
to "put off ... the old man" (Ephesians 4:22).
This leaves us with no correct alternative but that of
obedience. The Christian, therefore, may not live in
unconcern about the manifestation of the old nature in his
life. God must be obeyed.
The Crucifixion: The "Old Man" And The Provision For
Cleansing.
If it is true that the Christian possesses a nature which
is at enmity with God, which cannot be brought into
subjection to the will of God, which defiles and enslaves,
which is never the source of spiritual help, and a nature
which he has been commanded by God to reject - then the
Christian must seek to understand the provision God has made
and to practice it.
In the Crucifixion such a provision for cleansing from the
power of the old nature has been made (Romans 6:1-10). The
Apostle Paul affirms that the sinful nature, possessed by
every believer, has been judged in the death of Jesus
Christ. Acting as our Representative, Christ took our nature
to His cross so that we may be free from its influence. In
His death the "old man" was legally stripped of its power.
It is important for us to understand that we were identified
with Jesus Christ in His death. "I am crucified with Christ
... " may not only be said by the Apostle Paul but by every
believer (Galatians 2:20). We were there when our Lord was
crucified and we were crucified in and with Him (Romans
6:1-10; Colossians 3:3).The Apostle Paul explains this
statement in Romans six. It means to possess freedom from
sin (Romans 6:1-11). His reference here is not to
forgiveness but to freedom from the power of the "old man."
Every believer possesses this freedom legally. We may not
understand this nor manifest this freedom in any large
measure in our lives. It is ours, however, simply because we
are believers. The old nature of every believer, our
greatest personal hindrance to the success of our Christian
life, has been judged by God; it has been stripped of its
power, and we have been set free. The old nature was
crucified with Jesus Christ.
The Crucifixion: The "Old Man" And The Conditions For
Cleansing.
What the believer possesses legally he must learn to
practice in daily life. It is not enough to have an account
in the bank. We must learn to write the check.
God has made a provision for our cleansing. The power of
this provision, however, will not flow into our daily life
until we understand the conditions for cleansing and choose
to practice them.
The Apostle Paul stated that there were three conditions we
must meet. The first revolves around the word "reckon"
(Romans 6:11). This indicates that we must make a
decision to act in harmony with and on the basis of the
atoning work of Christ. We legally died in and with Jesus
Christ. Now we must choose to put into practice the
provision and principle of the Crucifixion - no matter what
it may cost.
The second condition is a decision to live free from the
old nature (Romans 6:12). There is no deliverance when
we choose to live in sin or call it by some other name. No
amount of tears, prayer, agony, and spiritual work can
substitute for the simple decision to obey God and to
forsake the sin.
The third condition is a decision to trust God (Romans
6:13). This is a deliberate dependence on God for the
grace necessary to practice the first two decisions. Here
the necessity of Biblical faith needs to be emphasized.
Sanctification is not brain-washing or wish-fulfillment. It
is the work of God in the believer. Without faith it is
impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). These three
decisions which form the conditions for our cleansing are
all decisions of faith. The important question now is how to
apply these three decisions to our daily life. What do they
mean in practice?
First of all we must acknowledge our own personal need of
divine help. Personal involvement is absolutely necessary.
No sinner is ever forgiven until he confesses that he is a
sinner and no saint is ever cleansed without his
acknowledgment of personal need. We must accept what God has
said about our old nature (Romans 7:14-24; 8:7) and assume
responsibility to obey the commandment to reject the old
nature (Ephesians 4:22).
The second step in deliverance is the necessity of being
specific in confession. The old nature manifests itself in
specific sins (Galatians 5:19-21; Colossians 3:5-9). These
must be recognized and confessed as such to God. To call our
sins by any other name and to relate ourselves to the them
by rationalization instead of by confession will make
freedom and cleansing an impossibility! When we have been
proud, the only recourse is to point our spiritual finger at
that sin and call it "pride." When we have gossiped, we must
name it for what it is and confess before God that we are a
"gossip." For most Christians this is indeed difficult. Our
pride and arrogance are often much more important than the
will and power and glory of God. Without confession,
however, there is no cleansing (1 John 1:9).
The third step is that of forsaking our sin. Having
confessed an activity as sinful, we are left with no
alternative but that of thoroughly renouncing the sin. What
may an earnest Christian do with his sin but to forsake it?
The only thing that would ever be worse than committing a
sin would be to continue to practice it - once its true
nature is known. To confess a sin and then not to forsake it
is evidence that our confession was false! The fourth step
is to receive Jesus Christ as the specific cleansing we may
need. He is our Sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30). When we
were in need of salvation, we received a Person - Jesus
Christ - as our Savior. In sanctification the principle is
the same (Colossians 2:6). He is not only our Sanctification
in general but also in all those specific areas where sin is
committed and where sanctification must therefore be
practiced. The cleansing which Jesus Christ has provided is
inseparable from His Person. This is not only true in
salvation but in sanctification. God has promised to cleanse
us when we truly confess our sin (1 John 1:9). Jesus Christ
is our cleansing (Romans 7:24, 25; Philippians 1:11). It is
necessary to be exceedingly specific at this point. "Lord
Jesus, I confess that I sinned against You in that act of
pride. I am a proud person. I choose to forsake my pride by
Your grace. In claiming Your promise I receive You as my
cleansing from the sin of pride."
The fifth step is to believe God and to live as a cleansed
person. This step, as all the others, is a decision of
faith. God has promised to cleanse us from unrighteousness
(1 John 1:9). Having claimed the promise we must act
accordingly. God expects us to take Him at His Word. Any
doubt as to whether we have been cleansed is out of harmony
with the faithfulness of God and the truthfulness of His
Word. When temptation comes we must reaffirm our previous
decision. The temptation must be rejected in that the sin
has already been confessed, forsaken, and cleansing has been
received.
When these steps of sanctification are put into practice,
the grace and power of God will flow into our lives. When we
obey - God works. This principle of sanctification is found
throughout the Bible (Philippians 2:12, 13; 1 Peter 1:22).
Obedience produces freedom from sin and righteousness in
daily life (Romans 6:16-18). Only God can deal with sin and
only God can produce holiness. The Christian must learn how
to make these decisions of faith so the power and grace of
the Crucifixion may be present in his life. And, having made
these decisions of faith, he must learn to say, "No," to his
old nature.
The Crucifixion is a historical event. Jesus Christ died to
free the believer from the power of his Old Nature. The
believer died in Christ. This crucifixion of our Old Nature
is illustrated in diagram 11. The Crucifixion indicated
God's disapproval of the Old Nature. Consequently the
believer may not live as though this did not happen.
The Key To Success: Recognize That The Old Nature Was Crucified In The Death Of
Jesus Christ. Reject It In All Of Its Sinful
Characteristics. Receive By Faith The Cleansing Found In
Jesus Christ