Introduction Have you ever wondered, what life is supposed to be like
for the Christian? Nearly all of us have. The reason this question arises is
simply that many believers don’t have a way to properly gauge the quality of
their Christian experience. Certainly we can all find a myriad of religious
alternatives all vying for our attention, yet can we be confident that they
offer us a proper view of the Savior? The good news is that most of the people
that will read this book have already begun a search for spiritual truth.
Having initially said yes to Jesus they know that encounters with God are
possible, if not proper; but there is a problem.
If God’s perfect Gospel is interrupted, unanswered, or is
not actually given its proper place, then we will find ourselves jumping into
all sorts of error. Instead of achieving God’s highest, we will only produce
results that remain limited to creation. For some that might seem like a worthy
cause; this world offers all sorts of imaginative perks; however God does offer
a better reward. As we trust Him with the journey we are invited to live a
renewed life based on His power to save and our residency is now set in heaven.
Think about it; our highest call is to be brought up into a
heavenly reality; one rooted and grounded upon eternal principles. This means
everything that guides us can be immersed in the nature, character and Spirit
of God. The life we live and the fruit we produce, even while on this earth,
can be of a greater quality than that which we have previously known.
The truth is we sometimes miss the way; there are times
that we become confused about what actually represents God and His Kingdom.
Consequently if the “Adam in us” (the fallen nature) decides to take charge of
the journey, then we will quite often open ourselves up to all sorts of
damaging spiritual detours. For some, this is their current predicament. When
the journey is all about “us” it means we are making choices in life and even
in faith that fall short of God’s marvelous provision. Subsequently man’s
fallen nature has negatively impacted our faith by adding religious ideals and
spiritual trouble to our walk.
In the chapters ahead we will seek to define healthy
relationship with God from a biblical perspective, as well as offer fresh
insights regarding His Kingdom. Our goal is to help believers get back to the “basics”
so that their relationship with God can take precedence. A new life is waiting
for us free of the limitations of our old man. This is all made possible
because God first gave us His Son and then offered us access to His Holy
Spirit. Actually, for the believer the Spirit of God is now the most essential
ingredient in maintaining a healthy Christian perspective. Our freedom and
maturity is totally dependent on walking by the Spirit.
How do we walk by the Spirit?
Though the Spirit of God has been given to all that ask for
salvation, we have not always understood how to be pliable to His continued
instruction. In error, we try to add God to our agendas, rather than
recognizing the importance of being added to His. When we walk by the Spirit it
is simply a matter of allowing the Spirit of God to guide our choices and make
changes within us. This is the plan of salvation; God is making us new and
inviting us into all the benefits of His life. Where we were once moved by
Adam’s rules regarding life, love and commitment, we have now found a better
way to live. All of this is made possible by Christ’s work on the Cross.
The most over looked Bible truth
When we refer to the “Cross”, we are talking about a
foundation of Christianity which is based on every benefit delivered to us by
Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Certainly we should first understand
that Jesus was crucified and shed His blood in order to redeem us back to God.
This selfless act literally purchased us for God and paved the way for an
eternal relationship. Ephesians 1:7-8 In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. But, on further
inspection we find that there were other advantages that the Cross offered us.
• The Curse --- We were freed from the curse once imposed upon Adam. Galatians 3:13 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.”
• The Serpent --- The Serpent has had power over Adam’s race, but he has lost
power over those who are now found in Christ. Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities,
he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
• The Law --- The Law of Moses was moved out of the way as our chief
standard of performance. Colossians 2:14 having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross.
• The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil --- The Tree which is synonymous with how fallen man thinks and
acts has been moved out of the way. No longer do we have to gauge the meaning
of life based on our own standards of good and evil. Colossians 2:20-21 Since you died with Christ to the basic
principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you
submit to its rules: 21”Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?
• Sin nature --- The fallen nature of man is always set towards rebellion,
but every act of disobedience has been crucified. Romans 6:1-3 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on
sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we
live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Romans 6:6-7 For we know that our old self was crucified
with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no
longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
• Sin behavior --- Behavior that is unfitting for God’s people is the result
of men moving and acting upon their old nature; this is the Adamic nature. Acts
that lead to sinful behavior have been removed at the Cross. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For Christ’s love compels us, because
we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.15And he died
for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who
died for them and was raised again.
Romans 7:5-6 For when we were controlled by the sinful
nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so
that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we
have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit,
and not in the old way of the written code.
The above verses make another important point. Unbeknownst
to many Christians, it wasn’t only Jesus that died on the Cross; it was also
the place of our death. No, we didn’t die physically; instead Jesus
supernaturally invited us into His own death so that we could come to know His
life. In this way everything that once bound us to the fall or made us
improperly relate to the world can get moved out of the way. Even today there
is no limit as to how many ways our lives can be changed at the Cross of
Christ. This process can be summed up in one simple statement:
Jesus died for your redemption; but you died with Christ to
gain transformation.
Once we let the Cross separate us from our former way of
life, the resurrection power of God begins to move in our hearts, minds and
actions. Jesus raises us up into a new and living way which is empowered by His
Spirit. Colossians 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in
which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God,
who raised him from the dead.
Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from
the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give
life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
What a wonderful gift! Our present and future lives can now
be free of all sorts of added clutter and the things that have lied to us about
life with Christ. Romans 6:4 We were therefore 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.
The power of the Cross and the resurrected life of God’s
Son can provide us a perpetual platform for change. It is here that we begin to
participate in what the Word calls “sanctification” or “renewing the mind”. We
set aside all the limits of Adam’s fallen ways and put on all the advantages of
Christ’s own nature. This is one reason that the Christian life can be seen as
a progressive journey. It is simply that we have yet to realize all the
benefits of walking in God’s strength and salvation. Yes, we are eternally
saved, but our daily choices and actions may still need a Savior.
The miracle of the Gospel (the good news) has offered us a
way out from the trappings of our old man and entrance into abundant life with
Christ. This was all given to us right from the start and it now sits before us
just waiting for a convert. So how do we believe and properly respond?
Our only true means of making the Gospel work is to agree
with the One that provided it without defect. Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus
is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. For with the heart a person believes and so is justified, and with
the mouth he confesses and confirms salvation.
In the Greek, the word “confess” is “homologeo” and is
defined as: saying the same thing as another, i.e. agreeing with; conceding to
confess, declare; professing to declare openly, speak out freely; praising and
celebrating. Other scriptures that bring forth the same truth are: Mat. 10:32,
1 Tim. 6:12, Heb. 13:15, 2 Cor. 4:13. The emphasis on agreement with God is
alive throughout the scriptures, and if we want, it can be alive within each
one of us.
Paul the Apostle trusted in this very thing; he believed
that a new life was available for him by agreeing with God’s work on the Cross.
Let Paul’s confession be a precursor to our own declarations of freedom.
Application
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
My old way of thinking was tied to performing for God,
rather than letting Him and His gospel change me. This meant that I improperly
sought for examples in the Word, or in other men, that I could act upon or
imitate, rather than believing that God had provided me with a Spiritual means
of transformation. Basically, I was too busy trying to follow a rule book that
admonished me to change, yet these actions simply made me religious.
Up to this point Christianity was all about me. Simply stated, if we don’t allow Jesus’ death, burial and
resurrection to resonate within our faith, then there is nothing that can
properly carry us on into God’s abundant life. 1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who
are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Now, please consider that if we haven’t properly separated
from Adam’s folly, then the Christian experience has been frustrated along the
way. If our natural man (Adam) has been leading with his own brand of reason
then he has improperly put his hands on every aspect of Christianity. He not
only complicates a simple salvation message, but due to his fallen attitudes he
aggressively dominates the scene in physical, intellectual, emotional and
spiritual ways.
For our study we will define the difference between
religion and true faith in this way;
• Religion is a search for God, but subject to man’s own
strength and definition of a savior (We are in control).
• In contrast “Christianity,” or our “faith,” refers to a
pure expression of relationship which has been initiated and delivered to us by
God (God is in control).
This is our battle in a nut shell. Will it be Adam’s view
point that rules our hearts and minds or is it time to truly trust in the life
of our Savior? Fallen activities may not disqualify us for heaven; however
dabbling in Adam’s world and his religiosity can certainly divert our course.
The Christian Journey
This brings up another important point; our Christian
journey is Spiritual. We call upon a Spiritual God for Spiritual answers and
find victory while participating in a Spiritual new life and Kingdom. 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 What we have received is not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand
what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us
by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual
realities with Spirit-taught words. As we trust Him to be supernatural in our lives we find
that transformation leads us into effective service and connection with God. Yet
we are not the only spiritual people on the earth. Fallen mankind is also moved
to make choices that are spiritual and this tends to alter his quality of life.
Yes, even the unsaved depend on spiritual encounters to define their way.
Subsequently maintaining freedom in Christ does require that we make right
Spiritual choices. In the pages ahead we will be looking for truth in Jesus and
His Word, but we will also be considering many of the spiritual pitfalls that
currently blanket religious thinking.
(For our study and throughout this book you my also notice
that I have capitalized the word “Spiritual” to coincide with the work of the
Holy Spirit and represent a true definition of salvation in God. Likewise I
have left a small case “s” in “spiritual” to represent a generic understanding
of spiritual things as well as describe the fallen works of creation.)
What we want to offer the reader is an invitation to become
Spiritually aware and Spiritually awake to a greater victory that is available
in Christ. Don’t be overwhelmed by this task; once you understand the
importance of the Cross in your daily walk, you will find that Spiritual
victory is a breeze, as well as your most perfect security. The Cross of Christ
clarifies our physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual connections for
us. 1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
By embracing the Bible’s way of transformation at the Cross
we can begin to gleefully challenge any spiritual fallacy or misconception that
interrupts a pure faith. Here are some key subjects that we will be discussing
in the chapters ahead.
Covenant: The right to agree with God is a privilege, but
going beyond the fullness of God’s covenant plan can cost us dearly. Added
agreements with men, organizations or a demonic realm have put us under serious
spiritual obligation, leaving us powerless to show forth a true faith.
The Serpent: Through intrigue and deception the Devil has
taken hold of Adam’s world and declared himself a god. This fallen angel also
tries to entangle believers in an alternate example of spiritual success.
The Anatomy of a Contract: The Serpent holds mankind
captive to a very old contract. If we can recognize how that contract still
impacts our lives, then we can escape many of the strongholds that have
accompanied our fallen choices.
Tale of Two Kingdoms: If we become spiritually subject to a
fallen world it is likely that we won’t reach for heaven and heaven will have a
hard time reaching for us. It all depends on where we choose to dwell.
The Shadow of the Spiritual: When religion is central to
our faith it means that “we” are central to our faith. This can make the Church
a dangerous spiritual minefield and rob believers of their God given innocence.
Duality in faith: When true faith becomes joined with ideas
and concepts that are merely religious in nature they end up supporting a
different agenda and invite other gods to speak. The Church and its ministry
have taken a turn for the worse under such influences.
The Religion of Old Testament Covenants: An improper
dependence on the Old Covenant message by a New Covenant Church can become an
unhealthy template for success. Old Testament ritual has fueled many of Adam’s
attempts to be good and godly, yet a better Covenant is now available in
Christ.
Spiritual Ministry: Ministry that seeks to confront
spiritual trouble from a religious perspective can find itself just as
vulnerable as the people it is trying to help. By challenging our ideas about
Christian practice we can return to a pure expression of ministry guided by the
Holy Spirit.
The Search for Christian identity: The question of who we
are and what we are made for can never be answered based on human reason and
fallen principles. This includes how we seek after God. A lack of clarity on
how we gain Christian identity keeps us running around in religious circles. Yet
God has made the answer to this question simple as we find transformation in
Him. The chapters ahead will address numerous beliefs rooted in
man’s religious search for the divine. This may challenge some of your own
connections with religion and make you wonder about various church movements.
This author’s own journey followed numerous church groups as well as
Charismatic faith; some of it was Jesus and some of it was not. Though we seek
to challenge our foundations, please keep in mind that I am not suggesting
setting aside a supernatural life. No, just the opposite; I am merely
suggesting that we call upon Jesus to be our only example and resource of
Spiritual truth, power and success.
The foundation of our faith should remain singular under
one God and one Spirit. Every need has been satisfied in Christ, and God
remains available as we draw near to Him. In fact the miraculous has happened
simply because we started to trust God with the answer. He fulfilled all things
long before we existed, so that we could draw from a Source of Life that is
always constant and never fading. That is actually the most comforting thing I
have ever known, especially as I have begun to walk free of many years of
spiritual and religious distraction.
Are you ready to take a journey; a journey that will show
you a powerful way to separate from Adam’s spiritual madness? Come along and
experience the freedom for which Christ has set you free. The most precious of
promises can be realized when you come out from,