Category: DISCIPLESHIP

We are to be fishers of men. With God’s help we are to transform the new believer into lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. We make disciples and then those disciples can make disciples and so on. this is all done through relationships.

The Powerhouse of Grace, Part 2

Four important Spiritual Laws.    

The first one was to know (Know YE), and the second is to Reckon.  

“RECKON YE”- Count it as a fact regardless of how you feel.  The word “reckon” is “to count, compute, to take into account.” We are appropriating the victory of Christ.  “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:11)  Yes, God is working in me.  God is working in you even though you don’t feel like it. Feelings have nothing to do with it. Look at it like a train. God is the locomotive chugging along on you. You are in the passenger seats and your feelings are in the caboose.  It don’t matter what’s going on in the caboose, the locomotive is still chugging away up front.  The human body does not feel changed, saved and dead from sin.  Bu that is beside the point: When Jesus says it is, then it is. Salvation does not depend on feelings. Salvation depends on facts from God’s word and from the work of Christ. You must have faith. Remember: The Just Shall Live By Faith! You must believe!

John Phillips in his commentary said this, “On the authority of God’s word, the sinner can know his sins are forgiven no matter how he/she may feel in this regard.  It goes the same with the saint. It must be accepted as fact, that at Calvary God dealt with the body of sin and you must believe that God means what He says in Romans 6:6.  Feelings are quite incidental.  A certain man was accustomed to rising at six o’clock to catch a train each morning at seven.  His wife usually saw him off to work; but one night the little ones had been particularly restless and his wife was just settling down to a deep sleep when the alarm clock went off.   Oh dear, she groaned. Is it six o’clock? When her husband told her it was, she said it doesn’t feel like six o’clock. Now here is the point. It did not feel like six o’clock but the sun, moon, stars, earth’s orbit and the entire heavens declare it to be six o’clock.  But it did not feel like six o’clock!  It is the same with the great biblical truth that the believer is dead with Christ. We may not feel very dead, but that is beside the point. God says we are, and the entire workings of redemption declares it to be fact. The resurrection of Christ is a liberating truth and we must learn to appreciate the victory of Christ!” (page 104)

The third Spiritual Law is to Yield.

We have a physical principal to bring our body into subjection. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” (Romans 6:12)

And then we have a Moral Principal: We are not to yield to sin. We must have an act of the will and we must be responsible. YIELD YE, “ Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (Romans 6:13)  And lastly there is a spiritual principle involved.  We must give in to God’s will. The Holy Spirit is resident in every believer; but we must submit to Him so the He can liberate us from the shackles of sin. We must also get hold of God’s word. And we must get a grasp that sin has no dominion over us.  “For sin shall not have dominion over you. For ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14) (Phillips, page 108)

The fourth Spiritual Law is to Obey.

When we think of this subject to Obey, let us review a comparison of Saul of the Old Testament and the Saul (Paul) of the New Testament. “A good name is better than precious ointment;” (Ecclesiastes 7:1)

  1. Physically, Saul of the Old Testament was exceedingly large, being head and shoulders above any other of the kingdom or of his people. Saul of the New Testament was probably a very small, frail, squint-eyed Jew.
  2. Saul of the Old Testament was called by God to be a king. Saul of the New Testament was called by God to be an apostle, a servant and a prisoner.
  3. Saul of the Old Testament answered the call but was disobedient. Saul of the New Testament answered the call and “was not disobedient” (Acts 26:19).
  4. Saul of the Old Testament was against God’s people (David, Jonathan and others) after he was called or chosen. Saul of the New Testament was against God’s people (he persecuted the Christians) only before he was called or converted.
  5. Saul of the Old Testament finally said, “Behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly” (I Sam. 26:21).  Saul of the New Testament finally said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (II Tim. 3:7,8).
  6. Saul of the Old Testament died, falling upon his own sword, for the sake of upholding his own name, that his name might not be dishonored by the fact that he died by the hand of the enemy. Saul of the New Testament died upholding the name of his Lord and Savior, and caring not for his own name.

  What about testimonies from the past?  

“Ye were the servants of sin” (Romans 6:17)

Let’s break down Romans 6:17 onto three parts. A, B and C.

Here’s the entire verse, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”

St. Augustine’s testimony as delivered by the great Charles Spurgeon: “We are dead to thee, O world!” One of the early saints, I think it was Augustine, had indulged in great sins in his younger days. After his conversion he met with a woman who had been the sharer of his wicked follies; she approached him winningly and said to him, “Augustine,” but he ran away from her with all speed. She called after him and said, “Augustine, it is I,” mentioning her name; but he then turned around and said, “But it is not I; the old Augustine is dead and I am a new creature in Christ Jesus.” That should be the answer of every true servant of Christ: “I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me. Thou art the same, but not I.  I have passed from death unto life, from darkness into light.

And Paul, the chief of sinners: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”  (1Tim 1:15) 

The scriptures show Paul at that time as a zealous persecutor of the church whose attacks are described as the persecution of Christ himself (Acts 9:4-5, 22:7-8, 26:14-15).  Paul persecuted the saints “unto death,” (Acts 22:4) and pursued them even unto “strange [i.e. foreign] cities” (Acts 26:11).  Paul’s hostility was so great that he is described as persecuting the church “beyond measure” (Gal 1:13) and destroying the faith (Gal 1:23).  Despite has labour for Christ after his salvation, Paul says that he was not fit to be an apostle because of his persecution of the church.

“For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”  (1Cor 15:9)   Paul, prior to his conversion was a servant of sin. “YE WERE THE SERVANTS OF SIN” (ROMANS 6:17a)

“YE HAVE OBEYED FROM THE HEART” (ROMANS 6:17b)

Do you know the distance between Heaven and Hell is only 18 inches?  Yes, that is the distance between your head and your heart. It is the distance between carnality and spirituality.  What you learn about God must transfer from your head to your heart.  You must trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“That form of doctrine” (Romans 6:17c)

Doctrine is a dirty word today in some circles. It is said that, “Doctrine Divides”.  Doctrinal division is a necessary reality in this present evil age in which error persists (in all of us), and part of what it means to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:2) implies pursuing truth and resisting error.  People today seem to think that truth is invented when it’s convenient.  No so… The truths we are to believe—including doctrinal truths—are to be handed down from generation to generation, and believed and confessed with increasing confidence and clarity. Nearly two thousand years after the death and resurrection of Jesus and the establishment of the church, the church ought to be able to say more with confidence and clarity, rather than less. Doctrine is important. And more so, Doctrine leads to Sanctification! As with sanctified objects, people must be cleansed from their impurities in order to be made holy and set apart for God’s purposes. This is why sanctification is often connected with the doctrine of Justification.

What fruit had ye then?

What about the fruit? “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.” (Romans 6:21) Prior to salvation most of our fruit is the friends we had, the money we made, and the health we had, and maybe in the what-not’s and joys of life itself. But trust me, you cannot keep those and take them with you.  But through Justification and Sanctification you will have something concrete to take with you.  “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:22) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (6:23)

But now you have something you can take with you. Jesus made a promise, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).  The promise is meant to be open ended. There is no circumstance too hard; no wall so strong; no person so obstinate that God cannot break down or lead us around. His promise leads us into a world of hope and expectation.  The promise means “You can take it with you.” All the blessings in your sanctified life, you can take with you.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Sanctification is summed up by John Phillips again in his commentary, “Our emancipation from sin guarantees unqualified success in this life, fruit unto holiness, and unqualified security for the next life, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The new master makes us holy and gives us life forevermore. Amen!

And that wraps up this post. I am sorry for the length but felt I needed to leave all of this together.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The payment of sin is death, and Hell is the place to receive it. But because of what Jesus did for you on the cross, you don’t have to receive that payment. “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus Christ died for you! Today, are you willing to trust Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Are you willing to believe in your heart?

Pray to God: ask Him to save you from your sin, and put your total trust in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. Confess to Him that you’re a sinner, in need of saving grace. Ask Him to come into your heart today and save you.

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

If you haven’t done it yet, do it now. There is no guarantee you have until tomorrow.

God bless you,

The Tubthumper

The Powerhouse of Grace – Part 1

In the last message about the “Trial of the Ages” we covered the steps to Justification.

  1. You are a lost soul.
  2. You cannot save yourself.
  3. You realize that only Christ can save you.
  4. You must ask Christ to save you and believe on Him for salvation.

In this message we will understand the roadmap to sanctification.

I will help you to relate to our death with Christ.

I will outline the significance of the believer being baptized into Christ.

I will help you understand how a believer is both dead to sin and free from sin.

I will make sure you know the difference between Justification and Sanctification.

I was saved at a young age. I often wondered if it was different than God saving someone at an older age that was deep into sin. I now believe that being saved at the young age of 10 is just as much a trophy of the Glory and Grace of God as is a person that is saved from the very depths of sin and debauchery.  It takes just as much grace to save a person and keep them out of those things throughout their lives as it does to bring a person from the depths of sin. Amen.

Let us meditate on being in union with Christ and dying to sin.  Relate to “old man vs. new man.” The battle between flesh and spirit. Old nature vs. the new nature. Newness of life.

The Powerhouse of Grace     

Justification

Is an act.  It’s a legal declaration whereby God declares a vile sinner to be righteous.  It is the means… That removes the guilt and the penalty.  Justification works FOR us.  It is a one-time act.

Sanctification

This is ongoing work.  It is to set us apart for the work of the Lord.  It is the End – that removes the power of sin.   Sanctification works IN us. It is a progression.

Romans Chapter 6 opens with: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (verses 1 and 2)  You see as a believer we have already died.  We have been buried with Christ – into His death. Think about this, something or someone that is dead will be unresponsive.  You can’t get any less responsive than dead. Trust me on that one.  You can do anything you want and that dead thing will not respond.  Just like that God “Rekons” a believer to be unresponsive to sin.  That’s where we died. Please get a grasp of the believer’s death with Christ. Here is the truth—

Jesus not only died for us… He died as us…Baptizing us into death. Baptism actually means—”To be identified with.”

“How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?  We should all be experiencing in our lives the reality and the experience that of our death with Christ to the point where we are unresponsive to sin. In God’s plan sin is to evoke not a glimpse from us.

Lest you think I am perfect and maybe I am throwing stones at you please understand I am a sinner.  Sanctification is NOT the irradiation of a sinful nature.  It is hopeful that we will sin less with the grace of God. It is not baptism by the spirit that Paul is talking about here.

Four Spiritual Laws: (1 Thess. 4:3) “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.”

Spiritual Law #1-

“KNOW YE” – That we have been planted with Him in likeness of His Resurrection and that we are dead to sin and freed from sin.

“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” (Romans 6:5)  The word planted has the meaning of “united together.”

John Phillips in his commentary on Romans stated, “Paul is seeking to convey the remarkable truth that Christ’s death was our death; His burial was our burial; His resurrection was our resurrection.  He not only died for me; He died as me! So far as God is concerned, we are already on the resurrection side of the grave and it but remains for us to realize this truth and appropriate it, and victory is assured.”

The Powerhouse of God’s Grace brings me out of my sin and the Powerhouse of God’s Grace keeps me from my sin.

The first command is “Know”- “Know ye”  Ye shall know the truth.” (John 8:32)

About the Know Ye- A few things Paul wants us to know:

Know Old Testament History and don’t be ignorant:  “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea.” (1 Cor 10:1) If you remember God used the cloud to guide them. As the cloud moved, they would move. Then he used the cloud to shield them and parted the sea. The following of the cloud was Israel living in the will of God and following His guidance.

Know about your Spiritual Gifts and their true operation within the church: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” (1 Cor. 12:1)

Know all about The Rapture: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” (1 Thess. 4:13) No sorrow because we have hope.

Know about the tactics of Satan:  “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” 2 Cor. 2:11

Know about Israel’s blindness:  “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” Romans 11:25  The fullness of the Gentiles refers to the number of Gentiles that will be part of the kingdom of God. Many invited to come in by His Spirit but they did not come so blindness happened in part to Israel. There is walking on earth the one last person that will open the heart to Jesus Christ.  The day that happens we (saints) will all be caught up to meet the Lord.

How then?  Paul’s Question: “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2)

If you are Sanctified, you are set apart from the world-to the Lord.  But don’t ever think you could not fall. As a human you have weaknesses.  Sometimes we forget and the old-nature begins to grow back within us. Then the devil can move in and sanctification get erased. The old man and old nature gets resurrected. That is called a fall from Grace. We have seen it time and time again. Guard your heart my brothers and sisters. Just because you are born again and the old self is dead you cannot just go ahead and live in sin thinking that grace will abound. That is just ridiculous to even consider because if you really died to sin you shouldn’t be living in it any longer. Perish the thought! Our old self is crucified with him… Romans 6:6 but it is not annihilated.

There is a little poem that reads, “When the danger least thou fearest, then the devil’s snare is nearest.”

Watch, my soul and pray; Put thee in array;

For the tempter’s snares are nearest, When the danger least thou fearest:

Such is Satan’s way;  Watch my soul and pray.

Come back next time for the other spiritual laws and the conclusion of “The Powerhouse of Grace.”