A lady traveling alone on a cruise ship became very concerned about the stormy waters they were encountering on the sea. It was an older vessel and was taking quite a beating, so she hurriedly went to the Captain’s helm, found the Captain and asked him what are we going to do? He calmly said, do you see that boiler smoking full steam? She said yes. Then he said if that blows we’ll go up! Then he asked her, do you see the plank in the port side that is flapping in the wind? She said yes. Then he said, if that fails we’ll go down. But until either one may happen, “we are going through!”
We should know by now that the believing Christians are always, no matter how they are taking it, are always brought through every single trial, until the difficulty has let up, and all again is well! Some trials seem extensive but all are resolved eventually to the satisfaction of their understanding.
One great spiritual growth truth revealed and taught by Paul is that Christians are sanctified, completely separated from their “old man” (also known as “the flesh” i.e. sin nature from Adam - Rom 5:19). God no longer holds believers accountable to the curse and death of sin which extends to unbelievers.
God sees believers only in the light of His Son, and never again in the darkness of their sin, for they “are not in the flesh” (sanctified and thus no longer part of the sin nature but completely and permanently separated from it - Rom 8:9). This is one of the primary fundamentals of spiritual growth concerning our maturity in Christ’s image (Eph 4:15).
“Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.” (Rom 17, 20). What a sobering passage, which reveals to us that God continually sees us, the new “I,” which does not desire to ever sin. He never will again consider us after the old “I,” the sin nature that is still sinning! Here Paul is teaching us that we have two natures abiding within us simultaneously; and that the one ever desires to please God (He ensures this via Phl 2:13), and the other is still attempting to live its own desires.
Praised be God, that you will never again be your old man, but will ever be the “new man”; “which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him” (Col 3:10). Notice this is a nature that was “created,” and in it we do not sin, because we won’t want to sin; it being a nature “after God” (Eph 4:24). God makes our heart’s desire to ”please Him,” and this is where He wants us, only wanting to do that which pleases Him, regardless of the sin He knows we will do (the mature Christian does not sin “willfully” (Heb 10:26). The Lord Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mat 6:21).
In this God is magnificently glorified—sanctifying believers from the Adam-nature, while at the same time removing sins permanently and in spite of the sin from the believer. This brings us to another spiritual growth truth—we are always and continuously “forgiven” of God (1Jn 1:9) when we admit (“confess”) we are wrong when we sin; meaning there is never a time when we are not forgiven! It’s not like God has to repeatedly forgive us. In the Lord’s Prayer (which is to the Jew and not the Christian) He said if we don’t forgive sins (wrongs) against us the Father will not forgive sins against Him (Mat 6:15; 18:35). With the Christian, there will always be forgiveness to others because of the new nature, which the Spirit uses to imbibe our soul to conviction, if need be, until the forgiveness comes.
May we draw close to God so that He can draw close to us (Jas 4:8).
NC
We should know by now that the believing Christians are always, no matter how they are taking it, are always brought through every single trial, until the difficulty has let up, and all again is well! Some trials seem extensive but all are resolved eventually to the satisfaction of their understanding.
One great spiritual growth truth revealed and taught by Paul is that Christians are sanctified, completely separated from their “old man” (also known as “the flesh” i.e. sin nature from Adam - Rom 5:19). God no longer holds believers accountable to the curse and death of sin which extends to unbelievers.
God sees believers only in the light of His Son, and never again in the darkness of their sin, for they “are not in the flesh” (sanctified and thus no longer part of the sin nature but completely and permanently separated from it - Rom 8:9). This is one of the primary fundamentals of spiritual growth concerning our maturity in Christ’s image (Eph 4:15).
“Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.” (Rom 17, 20). What a sobering passage, which reveals to us that God continually sees us, the new “I,” which does not desire to ever sin. He never will again consider us after the old “I,” the sin nature that is still sinning! Here Paul is teaching us that we have two natures abiding within us simultaneously; and that the one ever desires to please God (He ensures this via Phl 2:13), and the other is still attempting to live its own desires.
Praised be God, that you will never again be your old man, but will ever be the “new man”; “which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him” (Col 3:10). Notice this is a nature that was “created,” and in it we do not sin, because we won’t want to sin; it being a nature “after God” (Eph 4:24). God makes our heart’s desire to ”please Him,” and this is where He wants us, only wanting to do that which pleases Him, regardless of the sin He knows we will do (the mature Christian does not sin “willfully” (Heb 10:26). The Lord Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mat 6:21).
In this God is magnificently glorified—sanctifying believers from the Adam-nature, while at the same time removing sins permanently and in spite of the sin from the believer. This brings us to another spiritual growth truth—we are always and continuously “forgiven” of God (1Jn 1:9) when we admit (“confess”) we are wrong when we sin; meaning there is never a time when we are not forgiven! It’s not like God has to repeatedly forgive us. In the Lord’s Prayer (which is to the Jew and not the Christian) He said if we don’t forgive sins (wrongs) against us the Father will not forgive sins against Him (Mat 6:15; 18:35). With the Christian, there will always be forgiveness to others because of the new nature, which the Spirit uses to imbibe our soul to conviction, if need be, until the forgiveness comes.
May we draw close to God so that He can draw close to us (Jas 4:8).
NC
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