III. КРОСС В СОСТАНЬЕ ....Matt 16:21 ¶ С этого времени начал Иисус явить ученикам Своим, что Он должен идти в Иерусалим и страдать от многих вещей... старейшин, первосвященников и книжников, и быть убитыми, и воскреснуть снова на третий день. .......22 Тогда Петр взял его и начал упрекать, говоря: "Будь это далеко от тебя, Господи, это не будет к тебе.

....23 Но он повернулся и сказал Петру: отойди от меня, сатана: ты оскорбителен для меня, ибо не спасешь ты того, что от меня... Боже, кроме тех, кто принадлежит мужчинам. ....24 ¶ Тогда Иисус сказал ученикам: "Если кто придет за Мною, отвергнет себя, возьмет крест свой и последует за Мною". меня.

A. Сатана работает по принципу самосохранения. ....Mk 15:30 Спаси себя и спускайся с креста.

.

B. Крест работает по принципу самоотречения. .......Matt 16:24 Если кто-то придет за мной, пусть отречется от себя, возьмет свой крест и последует за мной.

....Сатана не может втянуть плацдарм в распятую жизнь. .....Joh 14:30 После этого я не буду много говорить с вами, ибо принц мира сего придет, и ничего во мне не будет.

IV. КРОСС В СОСТОЯНИЕ В СЛОВА

. ....Jn 21:31 Теперь суд мира сего: теперь князь мира сего будет изгнан. ....32 И я, если меня поднимут с земли, привлеку ко мне всех людей.

.......33 Он сказал это, означающее, что он должен умереть.

. ....люди, участвовавшие в смерти нашего Господа, были образцом для подражания для всего мира. Какое разнообразие людей было представлено вокруг Него. Крест; римские правители, солдаты, религиозные фарисеи, скептики саддукеи, простые люди и преступники. Столкнувшись с кротким и смиренным Агнцем, они говорят с одним, единым целым, Голос: “Спасите себя! ” Матфея 27:41,42, Мк 15:29,30, Люка 23:36,37 Крест прекрасно фотографирует мир. Эгоистичный, нераскрытый, плотский верующий человек будет никогда не сможешь противостоять силе притяжения и притяжения мира.

V". КРОСС В РЕАЛЬЗАЦИИ СПИРИТУАЛЬНОЙ МАТУРИИ

....хотя он и был Сыном, но учился повиновению вещам, от которых страдал;

......И будучи совершенным, он стал автором вечного спасения для всех, кто повинуется ему; Евр. 5:8,9

... ....Php 2:8 И будучи найден в моде как человек, он смирился и стал послушным до смерти, даже после смерти креста. ....хотя наш Господь был безгрешен, мы читаем, что Иисус возрастает в мудрости, росте и благосклонности к Богу и человеку. Луки 5:52 Прибыль в иврите 5:8 И хотя он был Сыном, но научился повиноваться тому, от чего страдал. Phil 2:8 .......Первый Адам пришел в совершенный мир, провалил свой испытательный срок, поддался искушению и навлек на нас проклятие. Второй Адам, наш Господь Иисус. Христос родился в греховном мире, прошел Свой испытательный срок и был квалифицирован как единственный достойный кандидат на то, чтобы нести наши грехи, снимать проклятие и становиться Автором наших проклятий. спасение Мерой нашей духовной зрелости является не то, как много мы знаем о Библии, сколько служения мы сделали, как хорошо мы можем проповедовать, а то, как много мы были на самом деле практически идентифицированные в’смерти, погребении и воскресении нашего Господа.

VI. КРОСС В РЕАЛЬЗАЦИИ ИНФОРМАЦИИ ФАМИЛИЯ ....10:37 Тот, кто любит отца или мать больше меня, недостоин меня, и тот, кто любит сына или дочь больше меня, недостоин. меня.

.......38 И тот, кто не берет крест свой, а следует за мной, не достоин меня.

. ....И когда его друзья услышали об этом, они вышли, чтобы удержать его: ибо они сказали, что Он рядом с собой... 8230;

... .......Mk 3:31 ¶ Затем пришли его братья и его мать, и, стоя без присмотра, послали к нему, зовут его. ....32 И село о нем множество народа, и они сказали ему: вот, мать твоя и братья твои, не ищущие тебя. .......33 И он ответил им: "Кто моя мать, или мои братья?

.......34 И он оглянулся вокруг них, которые сидели вокруг него, и сказал: вот, моя мать и мои братья!

.......35 Ибо кто творит волю Божью, тот и мой брат, и моя сестра, и мать, и мать. ....Послушание нашему Господу Отцу причинило страдания Его матери и Его земной семье. Они не могли понять Его рвения к вождению. пришел к выводу, что он психически ненормальный. Они пришли, чтобы удержать его и, несомненно, подвергнуть его принудительной заботе. В тот момент, когда мы скажем: 8220; я не позволю моему послушанию чтобы причинить страдания тем, кого я люблю, и #8221; мы покинули Голгофскую дорогу. Наш Господь не потерял ни мать, ни братьев из-за страданий, вызванных Его послушанием. их. Мы находим их в день Пятидесятницы среди 120 учеников, которые внезапно поселились с Духом Христовым.

VII. КРОСС В РЕАЛЬЗАЦИИ ОТВЕТСТВЕННОСТИ

. ....Jn 12:24 истинно, истинно говорю вам, если только кукуруза пшеницы не упадет в землю и не умрет, она пребывает там одна: но если умрет, то принесет... много фруктов. ....эти слова были произнесены в конце недели страстей нашего Господа 8217 года. Они неразрывно связаны с Его собственной грядущей смертью через распятие. Он Великая кукуруза пшеницы вот-вот упадет в землю и умрет. Его смерть принесет огромную жатву душ. Пятидесятница стала началом великой жатвы душ. появился из Его смерти, погребения и воскресения. ....Еврей 2:10 ¶ Ибо он стал тем, для кого все есть все, и кем все есть, чтобы возвести многих сыновей во славу, чтобы сделать капитана... их спасения совершенным через страдания. ....Привлечение мужчин и женщин, мальчиков и девочек к спасительному познанию Христа сопряжено с определенными затратами. Мы приносим только те плоды, которые останутся после того, как войдем. в общение со смертью, похоронами и воскресением.

VIII. КРОСС В СОСТОЯНИИ ДЛЯ ДЛЯ ДЖОЯ

....28:8 И они быстро отошли от гроба со страхом и большой радостью; и побежали, чтобы принести слово ученикам его. ....9 И когда они пошли рассказывать ученикам, вот, Иисус встретил их, говоря: "Слава Богу! И они пришли и держали его за ноги, и поклонялись ему. его.

....Весь град означает радоваться, радоваться, радоваться, радоваться чрезвычайно . Господь наш для радости, которая была установлена перед тем, как Он выдержал крест, презирая позор, и садится одесную престола Божьего. Евреям 12:2 Дон’не понимает, что распятая жизнь - это болезненная, депрессивная жизнь. The The The распятая жизнь - полная противоположность жалости к себе. Самыми радостными людьми в этой жизни и следующими являются те, кто принимает эти принципы Креста. Есть сила воскрешения. и радость на другой стороне Креста, как в этой жизни, так и в следующей. <Плач может продолжаться всю ночь, но радость приходит утром.

IX. КРОСС В СОСТОЯНИЕ В УСТАНОВКЕ СОВЕТА ХОЛОРОГО ГОСТА ....и я буду молиться Отцу, и Он даст тебе еще одного Утешителя, чтобы он оставался с тобой навеки; Ин 14:16... .......Акты 2:32 Иисус воскресил Бога, о чем мы все свидетели.

....33 Итак, будучи одесную Бога возвышенным и получив от Отца обетование Святого Духа, он пролил сие, что вы теперь видите и слышите.

.......Our Lord’s Cross was the gateway to the Spirit’s outpouring. The Holy Ghost could not be poured out until after our Lord’s Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension. With what joy He approached the Father and prayed, Father, grant me now Thy promise – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit! Down on earth, in an upper room, were 120 disciples – fearful, baffled, discouraged, humbled, broken, obedient. Suddenly there came from heaven the sound of a rushing mighty wind and they were all filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost. Do you seek for the Spirit’s infilling and empowerment? The Holy Ghost will be poured out on the crucified life. He will not be poured out in any abiding measure on a proud carnal believer.

.......REVIEW TIME

1. List three hyphenated sins of the self-life that were never exhibited in our Lord’s life? (I)

………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………

2. What is united voice of the world to the true disciple of Christ? (I)

………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………….

3. In contrast to #2 what the voice of the Spirit to the true disciple? (I)

………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………

4. Satan works on the principle of self- …………………………………………. (III)

5. The Cross works on the principle of self- …………………………………….. (III)

6. Satan cannot get a …………………………………….. into a crucified life. (III)

7. The measure of our spiritual maturity is “how much we have been practically

………………………………… in our Lord’s death, burial and resurrection.” (V)

T/F

__ Плотский верующий никогда не сможет противостоять силе и притяжению мира

.

__ Послушание Отцу нашему Господу причинило страдания Его земной семье".

__ Наш Господь потерял свою семью из-за страданий, вызванных его послушанием".

__ Мы приносим плоды, которые останутся, когда вступим в общение с нашим Господом. 8217; "Смерть, похороны и воскресение".

__ Распятая жизнь - это болезненная, депрессивная жизнь.

__ Святой Дух будет излит на плотского верующего в неизменном виде.

Надежный>Красный И ИНФОРМАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ СИН

. ....зная, что наш старик распят с ним, что тело греха может быть уничтожено, что отныне мы не должны служить греху. Потому что он умерший освобождается от греха. Римлянам 6:6,7

INTRODUCTION

....На нашем первом уроке мы узнали, что наш Господь умер не только за грех, но и для греха. ....Ro 6:10 ибо в том, что он умер, он умер до греха один раз: но в том, что он живет, он живет до Бога.

. ....в Нём не было греха (1-е Иоанна 3,5б), но порой Он подвергался искушению (Матфея 4,1). Он был во всех точках искушения, как и мы, но без греха (Евр. 4:15b). Что битва была настоящей, мы не можем не сомневаться. Он молился в саду и говорил: "Отец, если хочешь, сними эту чашу с меня": тем не менее, не моя воля, но воля Твоя будет исполнена (Лу 22:42). Он сопротивлялся крови, борясь против греха (Лука 22:44). Вместо того, чтобы ослушаться Его Небесного Отца, Он принес в жертву Сам себя с сильным плачем и слезами перед Тот, Кто смог спасти его от смерти. (Евр. 5:7) На кресте своем Он умер, чтобы согрешить, а не поддаться ему. The The The воскресение было доказательством того, что Он победил в этой битве. .... Христос воскрес из мертвых диет; смерть больше не имеет власти над Ним. Ro 6:9

....На рассвете нового рождения верующего дитя Божье часто переживает непродолжительное время любви, непонятное и непонятное (I Jn. 3:1). Однако с течением времени начинают проявляться симптомы странного парадокса. Хотя новый верующий был обитаем Духом Святым и стал участником Вера в Божественную природу (II Петра 1:4), сила обитающего в ней греха начинает утверждаться с разрушительными последствиями. Я смотрел, как новые христиане снова и снова входят. в этот запутанный опыт. Часто кажется, что в жизни не было явных греховных действий или восстания, которые могли бы объяснить начало этой ожесточенной борьбы. У меня лично приходят к выводу, что Господь иногда позволяет радости от нового рождения отступить, чтобы раскрыть обитающий в нем грех на более глубоком уровне. Апостол Павел ссылается на то. к этому возрождению греха в его жизни в следующих словах:

. ....Ro 7:9 Ибо однажды я был жив без закона: но когда пришла заповедь, грех возродился и умер. ....На этом уроке мы рассмотрим личную борьбу Павла с обитающим в нём грехом и получим практическое представление о Кресте и Кресте... Население Грех.

.

I". ДЕВАСТАТИВНАЯ ДИСКОВЕРИЯ – Личные показания Пола 8217; сильные’.... ....... Я нахожу (Gk find) , то есть закон, который, когда я делаю добро, зло присутствует со мной. (Gk find) (Gk find) then a law, when I would do good, bad is present with me.(p]. ....ибо я восхищаюсь законом Божьим после внутреннего человека... Но я вижу другой закон в моих членах, противоречащий закону разума и приводящий меня в плен к закону греха, который есть в моем разуме. члены.

........жалким человеком, которым я являюсь! Кто избавит меня от тела этой смерти? Рим 7:21-24

A. Духовная история Павла подразделяется на три различных направления

1. Его обращение около Дамаска Деяния 9:1-25

....кто ты такой, Господи? Господи, что ты хочешь, чтобы я сделал? Деяния 9:5,6. ....Павел был обращен из жизни непослушания в жизнь послушания. Тит 3:3,

9:17 И вошел Анания и вошел в дом, и, положив руки на него, сказал: брат Савл, Господь, даже Иисус, сказал. явился тебе на пути, как послал меня твой камест, чтобы ты мог получить зрение твое и исполниться Духа Святого. ....и тут же упал с глаз его, как чешуя, и тут же увидел, и встал, и крестился... .......19 И когда он получил мясо, он укрепился. Затем Савл был в определенные дни с учениками, которые были в Дамаске.

....20 И прямолинейно проповедовал в синагогах Христа, что Он Сын Божий.

Вы помните, как спасли себя?

O счастливый день, который изменил мой выбор на Тебя, Спасителя и Бога моего!

Ну пусть это сияющее сердце радуется и восхищает всех за границей.

Счастливый день, счастливый день, когда Иисус смыл мои грехи.

Он научил меня смотреть и молиться, и жить счастливым днём,

Счастливый день, счастливый день, когда Иисус смыл мои грехи.

Филип Доддридж

.

2. The Three Hidden Years – Arabia Gal 1:15-18

.......15 Но когда это угодно Богу, который отделил меня от утробы матери и призвал благодатью Своей... .......16 Явить во мне Сына Своего, чтобы я мог проповедовать Ему среди язычников; немедленно Я даровал не плотью и кровью:

... ....и не пошёл я в Иерусалим к апостолам до меня; но пошёл я в Аравию и вернулся обратно... Дамаск.

Дамаск. .......18 Затем, через три года, я поехал в Иерусалим, чтобы увидеть Петра...

a. Павел получил прямое откровение от Бога - он не получил своего учения от Петра. ....этот трехлетний период важен для опровержения Павлом возражений Иудеям в’ адресование того, что его учили апостолы в Иерусалиме... и поэтому уступает им. Для того чтобы получить и обдумать учение, уникальное для этого апостола, понадобилось немало времени. Эти три года относительной неясности кажутся мне вероятным периодом для Павла, когда он получит семь римлян и откровений от Бога о доктрине N.T. и, в частности, о доктрине N.T., а именно освящение.

b. Павел был возрожденным человеком, когда у него был опыт Римлян 7:

. ....Ro 7:22 Ибо я восхищаюсь законом Божьим после того, как внутренний человек :

....1Ти 1:13 Кто был богохульником, гонителем и обидчиком...

3. Его краткий визит в Иерусалим, за которым последовал продолжительный период в Сирии и Киликии

   .

....Gal 1:21 после приехал в Сирию и Килику;

.... ....22 И 22 И ?неизвестен лично церквям Иудеев, тет-тет во Христе:

.

B". Личное свидетельство Павла о поражении. ...Ром>Ром 7:15 За то, что я делаю, я не разрешаю: за то, что, то бы бывало бы я хотел, то я не делал; но но что я ненавижу, то делаю я... ......19 Ради добра, я имею в виду: но ради зла, я бы не стал, я бы не стал.

...24 О, жалкий я человек! Кто избавит меня от тела смерти?

II. ДИВИНА ДИАГНОЗИС - самоанализ Павла 8217-го в Святом Духе. ....Павел в своем книге "Правда?", "Прямо сейчас", "Прямо сейчас", "Прямо сейчас" и "Прямо сейчас":

...Ro 7:24 О несчастный случай, которым я занимаюсь! Кто избавит меня от тела от тела смерти?

...Павел сразу же отправился в путешествие за ском с победоносным восклицанием:

Рим 7:25 Благодарю Бога через Иисуса Христа, Господа нашего. Итак, разум я сам сам служу Божьему, а плотью - Божьему. грех.

....нам осталось только спросить.... Но КАК?

A. Я человек-регенератор. Рим 7: 22 Ибо я восхищаюсь законом Божьим после внутреннего человека:

. ....это не крик безвозвратного человека. Ни один невозрожденный человек не радуется Закону Божьему и не ненавидит грех, но Павел говорит:

. ....Ro 7:15 За то, что я допускаю, я не позволю: за то, что бы я не делал; но за то, что ненавижу, что делаю я.

.

B. Грех, поскольку правящая власть находится в моих руках.

....Рим 7:23 Но в членах моих вижу другой закон, противоречащий закону разума моего и приводящий меня в плен к закону греха, заключенному в нем... мои члены.

C. Каждый раз, когда моя новая природа хочет повиноваться Богу, обитающий в нем грех восстает против Него. ....Ром 7: 21 Я нахожу закон, который, когда я делаю добро, зло присутствует со мной.

D. Между обитающим грехом и моей новой природой идет гражданская война. Vs23

....это не война с такой внешней силой, как сатана. Это гражданская война в Мансульской цитадели.

E. Моя воля неизменно капитулирует перед просьбами обитания во грехе против 18

. ....Рим 7:18 Ибо я знаю, что во мне (то есть во плоти моей) нет ничего хорошего: ибо воля присутствует со мной; но как исполнять то, что есть... Хорошо, что я нахожу это не так. .......19 Ради добра, которого я бы не сделал: но ради зла, которого я бы не сделал, я бы сделал.

F. Обитание греха чужд моему новому характеру.

....Ром 7:20 Теперь, если я сделаю это не я, то это больше не я сделаю, а грех, который сошел на нет во мне.

G. В итоге я плотский

. .... Рим 7:14 ¶ Потому что мы знаем, что закон духовный, но я плотский, проданный под грехом. ...я не такой человек, как доктор Джекл и мистер Хайд. Я ответственный человек в плотском состоянии. Рим 7:25 Благодарю Бога через Иисуса Христа, Господа нашего. Итак, разумом я сам служу закону Божьему, а плотью - закону Божьему. грех.

....Rom 8:1 ¶ Поэтому теперь нет осуждения тем, кто во Христе Иисусе идет не за плотью, а за Духом Святым. ....2 За закон Духа жизни во Христе Иисус освободил меня от закона греха и смерти.

. ....где ты сегодня? Являетесь ли вы новым христианином в свежем приливе новой жизни? Ты находишься в челюстях у Романа Павла 7 опыта? Как ты думаешь. ты выберешься из этого ужасного состояния? Отказался ли ты когда-нибудь от надежды на жизнь, угодную Господу? Пытаешься ли ты сожительствовать с грехом, умеренно потворствуя ему? 8211, не пытаясь многого добиться ради Бога? Для полного понимания того, что открыл Павел и что открыл ему Дух Святой, отправляйтесь к Римлянам 6

.

III. ПОСЛЕДНАЯ ДЕЛИВЕРАНЦИЯ - Учение Павла в Рим. 6:1-14 "Сильный". ....Только Крест достаточно силён, чтобы победить обитающий в нём грех - альтернативные методы испробованы и найдены желающими.

1. Попробуйте силы воли. Воля - это переключение, но сама по себе она не имеет никакой силы. Пример: Переключатель.
2. Попробуйте еще раз посвятить себя, но не распятый человек не останется на алтаре. Они переходят от Рим 5:1 к Рим 12:1 и пропускают жизненно важные истины идентификации..
3. Некоторые пытаются модифицировать темперамент – но это оставляет сильные черты неизменными.
. <Попробуйте исповедоваться регулярно, но это касается только плодов греха, а не корня греха.
4. Попробуйте метод get-involved метод – но обитающий внутри греха замыкает духовную силу в служении.
5. Некоторые ищут высокозаряженных духовных переживаний, таких как языки и духовное истребление. - но жизнь остается плотской, проданной под грехом.
6. Некоторые практикуют экзорцизм на возрожденных христиан - некоторые из них - эксперты8220; обнаруживают, что побежденный христианин имеет демона похоти, гнева или страха, и пытаются разыграть 8220; жительница - 8221; демон ушёл. Это предполагает ошибочное представление о том, что демонический дух и Святой Дух могут сосуществовать вместе в’храме тела верующего. Приписывание произведений flesh демону (Гал. 5:19-21) снимает с верующего ответственность за его плотское поведение. Опять же, учение о кресте на кресте. Жизнь верующего, как правило, пропала без вести.
7. Кто-то пытается совершенствоваться во плоти, добавляя в свою формулу освящения выборочные произведения закона (Гал. 3:3), но этот метод превращает верующего в первоклассный фарисей. <Некоторые пытались внушить верующим страх Божий, неправильно истолковывая и применяя притчи о Царстве (Мф 25:30) - но заканчивая такими ложными доктринами, как 8220; Баптистское чистилище; 8221;. <Некоторые пытались избавиться от стандартов разделения, чтобы обрести свободу 8220; - но в итоге оказались в лживости и открытом грехе.

....все эти альтернативные методы обречены на провал. У них у всех есть одна общая черта. Они вытесняют крест из центра города. положение в’жизни верующего и оставляет’свою’жизнь не распятой. У Бога есть только один способ избавления от обитающего в нем греха - совместное с Христом распятие. Учение Павла на тему победы над обитающим в нем грехом подразделяется на четыре части:

.

A. Я умер во Христе, грех не имеет власти над мертвецом. ....зная, что наш старик распят с ним, что тело греха может быть уничтожено, что отныне мы не должны служить греху. Для умерший освобождается от греха. Римлянам 6:6,7

1. Крещение - это символ моей смерти, погребения и воскресения во Христе.

......Rom 6:1 ¶ Что мы тогда скажем? Будем ли мы продолжать грешить, что благодать может быть изобилующей? ....2 Не дай бог. Как мы, мертвые для греха, будем жить в нем дольше? .......3 Не знаю, что многие из нас, крестившись в Иисуса Христа, крестились в Его смерти??

. .......4 Поэтому мы погребены вместе с ним крещением в смерть, как Христос был воскрешен из мертвых славою Отец, даже если это так, мы должны идти в новизне жизни.

2. Линейная диаграмма Чарльза Соломона оказалась полезной для многих.. ¹

.......^{_________________}

.......¹ Charles Solomon, Handbook to Happiness (Wheaton:Tyndale House Publishers, 1978) p. 71 adapted

.......As in Adam all Die I Cor 15:22a

We were all in the first Adam when he fell into sin.

As Adam’s offspring, we are under the reigning power of sin. Rom 5:12

.......So in Christ shall all be made alive. I Cor 15:22b

1. Our Lord became the Second Adam through His incarnation.
2. He is that eternal life which was with the Father (I Jn 1:2)
3. When we were placed into Christ, at the point of our salvation, we were placed into eternal life.
4. Being “in Christ” we were in Him at the cross. (The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Rev 13:8)
5. The most merciful thing God could do was to take our old Adamic nature and crucify it with Christ (Gal 2:20)
6. The Adamic nature cannot be reformed “I know that in me,( that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. Rom7:18
7. Being raised with Christ, we are to live by His resurrection life. (Rom 5:10)

B. RECKONING Rom 6:11

.......Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1. Reckoning is not fantasy

.......If I reckon that my bank account has $40,000 in it when it does not, this is fantasy. All the reckoning I can summon will not put money in my Bank Account. So our reckoning to be dead, buried and risen with Christ does not make it happen. However, we can safely reckon on our co-crucifixion with Christ, because it is already a reality underwritten in the Word of God. In the face of searing temptation, I can aggressively count on the fact that I am dead, buried and risen again with Christ. I do not have to serve sin. The vital connecting link with my old master has been broken forever. As I doggedly reckon on this, God begins to pour His power into my life for that situation until I gain the victory. The Holy Spirit honours the Cross of Christ and my union in Him.

2. Please note by what mechanism the power of indwelling Sin seeks to rule my life. Rom 6:12

.......Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it (the body) in the lusts thereof.

.......According to Kenneth Wuest, the pronoun “ít” refers to the body and not to sin. In the Greek the word sin is feminine, while the words it and body are both neuter. From this we can see that indwelling sin somehow stirs up the motions of the body. The body is not sinful, but indwelling sin seeks to somehow excite the passions to white heat. Through these exited passions, the will is urged to yield to sin. Think of the many different passions that sin seeks to excite, passions of anger, bitterness, revenge, impulsiveness, lust, covetousness, and addictions. The answer to all this is to aggressively reckon yourself dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. As we do this, the Power of Indwelling sin will be broken and slowly, sometimes painfully slowly, the motions of the flesh will subside. Indwelling sin will never be eradicated in this life. John says:

.......“ when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” I Jn 3:2

C. YIELDING Rom 6:13

.......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.

.......Wuest comments:

.......” ‘Stop allowing the sinful nature to reign as king in our mortal body.’ The sinful nature is a dethroned monarch. The believer has the responsibility of keeping it from mounting into the throne of his heart, the place which the Lord Jesus Christ should occupy.”

.......“The word “yield” is … in the aorist imperative, which commands a once for all action to be done at once. Paul says, ‘Put yourselves at once and once for all, at the disposal of God, as those who are actively alive out from among those who are dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness, at the disposal of God’ This is a once for all act of the saint dedicating himself to God and His service..” ²

D. TRUSTING – “through the Spirit”

.......Ro 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

.......The verbs here are in the present tense implying continual action. The believer is to continually trust the Holy Spirit to hold his flesh to the Cross. The Holy Spirit loves to glorify Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He loves to honour reckoning faith. As I continually reckon on my crucifixion in Christ, the Spirit of God will be poured into my life, releasing the power of our Lord’s resurrection and shedding the love of God abroad in my heart. The Holy Spirit answers to this glorious truth. We commend the following quote from Charles Finney in which he deplores legal sanctification and extols God’s method of releasing the Spirit’s purifying and quickening influence into the heart by faith.

.......Alas! for the blindness that “leads to bewilder” the soul that is longing after deliverance from the power of sin. I have sometimes listened to legal teaching upon this subject until I felt as if I should scream. It is astonishing sometimes to hear Christian men object to the teaching which I have here inculcated that it leaves us in a passive state, to be saved without our own activity. What darkness is involved in this objection! The Bible teaches that by trusting in Christ we receive an inward influence that stimulates and directs our activity; that by faith we receive His purifying influence into the very centre of our being; that

.......__________

.......² Kenneth Wuest, Romans in the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm Eerdmans Pub co, 1974) pp 106,107

.......through and by His truth revealed directly to the soul He quickens our whole inward being into the attitude of a loving obedience; and this is the way, and the only practicable way, to overcome sin. All our battling with sin in the outward life, by the force of resolution, only ends in making us whited sepulchres. All our battling with desire by the force of resolution is of no avail; for in all this, however successful the effort to suppress sin may be, in the outward life or in the inward desire, it will only end in delusion, for by force of resolution we cannot love. C.G. Finney

.......Note: We do not endorse all of Finney’s theology. However, I believe that the above quote is true to the Scriptures and can stand in its own right.

.......REVIEW TIME

1. Give one reason to support that fact that Paul was a saved man in Rom 7:22?

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;………….

2. Explain why the war referred to in Rom 7:23 is a “civil war”?

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;………….

3. We listed 9 “alternative methods” of dealing with indwelling sin. What do all these have in common?

………………………………&##8230;…………………………… 230;………………………………………………………………… 230;………….

4. Label the line diagram

5. Write out from memory Rom 6:6

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;…………..

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;…………..

THE CROSS AND THE LAW

.......Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

.......For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

.......So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

.......Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Rom 7:1-4

INTRODUCTION

.......The Story of George Wyatt

.......During the civil War a man by the name of George Wyatt was drawn by lot to go to the front. He had a wife and six children. A young man named Richard Pratt offered to go in his stead. He was accepted and joined the ranks, bearing the name and number of George Wyatt. Before long Pratt was killed in action. The authorities later sought again to draft George Wyatt into service. He protested, entering the plea that he had died in the person of Pratt. He insisted that the authorities consult their own records as to the fact of his having died in identification with Pratt, his substitute. Wyatt was thereby exempted as beyond the claims of law and further service. He had died in the person of his representative. There we have the truth of identification in a nutshell. God’s way of deliverance is through death – through identification with our Substitute in His death and resurrection…

.......George Wyatt did not find deliverance by fighting the law or endeavoring to please the authorities. He took his death-position according to the Government record. He acted on the basis of ‘It is written.’ He had died in the person of his representative. ³

.......Being emancipated from the ruling power of Sin, we would expect Paul to move right into a life of victory in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are amazed, therefore, to hear the Apostle in Romans seven confess: For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. Rom 7:9 Only a saved man can say I was alive without the law once. These words surely refer to justification by faith (Rom 3:2,22). The cause of the apostle’s wretchedness must therefore be attributed to the words but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. The problem therefore is in some way connected with The Law. After a brief enjoyment of new life in Christ, The Law began to reassert itself in Paul’s life with perplexing consequences. We affirm that Paul was at this stage in his testimony is a truly regenerate believer. Only a born-again believer can say: I delight in the law of God after the inward man Ro 7:22. William Newell in his excellent commentary on Romans concurs:

.......If you claim that the ‘wretched man’ of Romans Seven is an unregenerate man under conviction of sin, the complete reply is, that this man of Romans Seven is crying for deliverance, – not from sin’s guilt and penalty, but from its power. Not for forgiveness of sins, but help against indwelling sin. This man is exercised, not about the day of judgment, but about a condition of bondage to that which he hates…

......... this man in Romans Seven cries, ‘Who shall deliver me’ (not from guilt) but, ‘from this body of death?’ No one but a quickened soul ever knows about a ‘body of death’!⁴

......._______

.......³ L.E. Maxwell Born Crucified (Chicago:Moody Press, 1945) p. 13, 16

.......⁴ William Newell, Romans Verse by Verse (Chicago: Moody Press, 1981) p. 276-278

.......Romans seven assumes an underlying desire on the part of a born-again Christian to love, serve and to please God. It is in this condition, as a regenerate man, that Paul made further discoveries concerning his self-life and the Law.

I. BACKGROUND TEACHING ON “THE LAW”

.......Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? Rom 7:1

.......The words “The Law” occur twenty times in Romans Seven. This averages to almost one reference to “the Law” per verse, for the entire chapter. Romans Seven is the most concentrated teaching concerning the Law in all the New Testament. When you ask the average Christian of what the Law consist, he will usually say “The Ten Commandments”. However, The Law encompasses far more than the Decalogue as we shall prove.

A. THE EXTENT OF “THE LAW”

1. “The Law” embraces the whole Mosaic Law, moral, civil and ceremonial. Former Seventh-Day Adventist minister, Rev D. M Canright explains:

.......The term ‘the law,’ when used with the definite article and without qualifying words, refers ‘in nine cases out of ten, to the Mosaic law, or to the Pentateuch.’ Smith’s Bible Dictionary, article Law. Invariably the Adventists use the term, ‘the law, ‘ for the ten commandments only. … This is their fundamental error on the law. I affirm that ‘the law’ included the whole system of law given to the Jews at Sinai, embracing all those requirements, whether moral, civil or ceremonial, decalogue and all. ⁵

2. New Testament examples on “The Law” include the whole Pentateuch. Canright again:

.......Take a few examples of the use of the term ‘the law.’ I Cor. 14:34 Women ‘are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.‘ Where does the law say this? Gen. 3:16. So Genesis is in the law. Again: ‘The law had said, Thou shalt not covet.’ Rom. 7:7. Where? Ex. 20:17. So Exodus is in the law. Once more: ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law?’ first, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart.’ This is taken form Deut. 6:5. So Deuteronomy is in the law. Second, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ This is from Lev. 19:18. So Leviticus is a part of the law. And this: ‘Have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?’ Matt 12:5 It is from Num. 28:9. These then embrace all the five books of Moses as ‘the law’.⁶

3. “The law” embraces all parts of the law, moral, civil and ceremonial. Canright continues:

.......Again, ‘the law’ embraces all parts of the law, moral, civil or ceremonial. Thus the ceremonial precepts:

.......‘The parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law.” Luke 2:27. That is, to offer a sacrifice. Vs 24. Moral precepts: ‘The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless

.......and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers.’ I Tim 1:9 This is the decalogue. Civil precepts: ‘Commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?’ Acts 23:3⁷

.......__________

.......⁵ Rev D.M. Canright, Seventh-Day Adventism Renounced (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1893) pp 306-308

.......⁶ Canright pp 307,308

.......⁷ Canright p. 308 (underlining mine)

B. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF “THE LAW”

2. For the first 2500 yrs of human history “The Law” including the Decalogue did not exist.

3. Two primal Laws of love existed before Moses –the lawyer’s question.

Matt 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

3. About 1500 BC God gave The Law to Moses on Mount Sinai Jn 1:17

The Law included not only the Ten Commandments in stone, but also the Book of the Law. By simple study it can be shown that the Book of the Law contained the whole Pentateuch, including the decalogue. The Book of the Law was put into the side of the ark. Deut 31:26

4. The Mosaic Law was a detailed exposition of the twin primal laws of love.

Ro 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

5. The Mosaic Law constituted a special covenant between God and Israel.

Ex 20:1 ¶ And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Ex 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

6. The Law was added because of transgression

Ga 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should

come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

7. The Law was a disciplinary tool to prepare people for the coming of Christ.

Ga 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

8. When Christ came, there was no further need of a schoolmaster.

Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

II. PAUL’S TESTIMONY CONCERNING THE LAW

.......Rom 7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

.......To what stage in Paul’s life do these words relate? I do not believe that these words relate to Paul in his unregenerate state. Wm Newell states:

.......“Paul would not affirm that a man dead in trespasses and sins was ‘alive’.” Life without the law only comes in one way, namely, by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The law had nothing to do with Saul’s conversion on the Road to Damascus. “Surely if absolute grace ever met a man, it met Saul of Tarsus that day!” When Ananias came to him, he said nothing to Saul of law:

.......“Then Saul immediately begins his joyful, triumphant testimony in the synagogues in Damascus that ‘Jesus is the Son of God.’ That was no time for the Commandment to come. God is not speaking to him yet of indwelling sin, but of full and free pardon and justification, through the shed blood of a Redeemer. This fills his soul during the first state of his Christian life.

.......Then he goes away into Arabia, and God begins to exercise him, evidently – as we have shown – no longer concerning sins, for they are pardoned; but concerning indwelling sin.

.......It is to that happy, first state of his Christian life, we believe, that Paul refers when he says ‘I was alive apart from the law once.’ Paul would not affirm that a man dead in trespasses and sins was ‘alive.’ ⁸

A. Young Christians tend to slip from faith back under law for two reasons:

1. Young believers who want to please God naturally turn to law works.

Paul seemed well able to get himself into this wretched state without the help of the Judaizers. For three years he was isolated from the Judaizing influence at Jerusalem. When a child of God wants to please the Lord, who has saved him, it just seems logical to turn to law works. It was probably during his time in Arabia that Paul lapsed into legalism as a means of Christian perfection. Being justified by faith, he now attempts to be sanctified by Law.

2. Young Christians are very vulnerable to those who promote the idea of legal sanctification.

Legalism come in two forms: Legalistic Justification and Legalistic Sanctification

Justification = Grace + Law-works

The Church at Antioch in Syria was the target of this heresy. This error was summarily dealt with at the Jerusalem Council (so called) in Acts 15. Copies of letters were sent out to the Gentile churches from the Apostles at Jerusalem stating that the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised and keep the law to be saved (Acts 16:4)

Sanctification = Salvation by Grace + Selected Law Works

The Churches of Galatia were the target of this heresy. The persistent Judaizers from Jerusalem brought the same error back in a different form. In effect they said to these Gentile Christians,

__________

⁸ William Newell, Romans Verse by Verse, Chicago: Moody Press, 1981, p 266,267

“It is great that you Galatians have been saved, but wouldn’t you like to really please God by standing in the tradition of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? The Judaizers “suggested” that the Galatian Gentiles simply add a few selected law-works to promote Christian maturity. Their new sanctification equation reads something like this:

Christian maturity = Salvation by Grace + Selected Law Works.

Paul responded swiftly and decisively in these key words in the book of Galatians:

Ga 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Paul knew that if the Galatians accepted the erroneous idea of sanctification by the Law, they would soon end up in the same wretched state that he experience in Romans Seven. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul not only corrects their errors in the doctrine of sanctification, but also reinforces the foundational doctrine of justification by faith. The tree diagram illustrates the two branches of the flesh-life. The left branch represents the respectable, religious side of the flesh. The right branch represents the grosser forms of the flesh. Both branches excite the same root stock. Sometimes we find a Christian worker with “high” standards and years of experience falling into gross sin. This raises the serious question as to whether such a person was perfecting in the flesh? Pruning the right-hand branch will only cause the root stock to drive harder. Only the Cross is strong enough to deal with indwelling sin. (See Roman 6:6, Galatians 2:20)

B. Tree Diagram

.......Galatians 2:20

C. The Marks of the Galatian spirit:

1. Fakeness

   dissimulation Gal 2:13 Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation..

2. Powerlessness Gal 3:5 he that worketh miracles..

3. Exclusiveness Gal 4:17 they would exclude you..

4. Selectiveness Gal 5:3 See also Lev 19. Debtor to do the whole law.

5. Cross-less Gal 2:20a I am crucified with Christ

6. Christ-less Gal 2:20b Christ liveth in me

7. Faith-less Gal 2:20c I live by the faith of the son of God

8. Fruit-less Ga 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, …

9. Spirit-less Gal 5:25 let us walk in the Spirit.

D. How Churches are destroyed.

.......Answer: Get off the wrecking ball and back to the Cross in the life of the believer, back to the Holy Spirit, and to the walk of faith. Get back to Christ as your life.

E. When Paul reverted to the Law in order to please God, the following reactions took place.

1. Paul’s indwelling Sin was antagonized

But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence (lusting). For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. Ro 7:8,9

When a carnal Christian is confronted with the absolute holiness of God, a holy standard as translated into Church life, there is the propensity for the flesh to read this as a restriction of its happiness and to come out fighting. The immoveable, non-negotiable standard is like a red rag to the bull and concupiscence boils up in the life.

2. Paul lost his rest – a civil war erupted in his heart.

Ro 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Gal 5: 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

3. Paul’s will continually caved in to the demands of the flesh.

Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

4. Paul’s legal sanctification bore a bitter crop of sin.

Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

5. Paul ended up enslaved to sin.

Ro 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Ro 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

In Romans 7:1-4 we have God’s answer to this wretched state of affairs.

III. THE WOMAN WITH TWO HUSBANDS

.......Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

.......For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

.......So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

.......Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Rom 7:1-4

.......In Romans 6 we saw sin portrayed as a master with his slave. In Romans 7:1-4 the relationship between the Law and the believer is portrayed as a woman with two husbands.

.......The story-line might go something like this:

.......Narrator: “Tell me why you want to be free of your first husband?”

.......Woman: “I am married to a good, but very exacting husband. Although I try hard to please him, he is constantly finding fault with me. He points out the things that I should have done and didn’t do, and the things I should not have done and did do. He is a good man but I am constantly failing him, and he doesn’t lift a finger to help me. I have seen another man to whom I would like to be married, but I have a seemingly insurmountable problem – only death can legally dissolve a marriage. The Bible states:

.......So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Rom 7:3″

.......Narrator: “Well perhaps your husband will die and then you can remarry?”

.......Woman: “My husband is old, but he is hanging tenaciously onto life. I am stuck with my first husband!”

.......Narrator: “Does this other Man have lower standards?”

.......Woman: “The other Man has even higher expectations than my first husband. For example, He said:

.......Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

.......28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Matt 5:27″

.......Narrator: “Why would you want to be married to another man who has even higher expectations when you are failing your present husband who has lower expectations?”

.......Woman: ” The other Man promises to shed abroad the Love of God in my heart ( Rom 5:5) and, by His Spirit, live His life through me. Everything He commands, He enables me to do by indwelling power . But I still have a problem. How can I legally get free of my first husband?” ⁹

.......Bible Solution:

.......Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Rom 7:4

1. My co-crucifixion renders me dead to the Law and frees me to marry Christ.

2. My union with Christ, as in marriage, enables me to bring forth fruit unto God. Eph 5:32

.......____________

.......⁹ Adapted from Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life (Pennsylvania Christian Literature Crusade, 1977) pp 160-164

IV. SAVED BY HIS LIFE Rom 5:10

.......Rom 8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

.......2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

.......3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

.......4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

A. The Law in total was nailed to His cross.

.......Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances (Gk dogma) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; See Eph 2:15

.......Ro 10:4 For Christ is the end (Gk termination) of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. See also II Cor 3:7,11

.......The SDA’s make a distinction between ceremonial law and moral law. They propound the idea that the moral law was written on tablets of stone while the ceremonial law was written in the Book of the Law. Their artists promote this serious error in their literature. They portray the Book of the Law as a scroll nailed to the Cross, while the Decalogue remains central. The Bible makes no such distinction and nor should we. Read Leviticus 19 and you will see that the Decalogue is also embodied in the Book of the Law. In nailing the handwriting of ordinances (Gk dogma) to the cross, our Lord removed the whole Mosaic Law including the ten commandments.

.......Objection: If you remove the law, what will you put in its place? Answer?

B. The Christian is under another law – The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Rom 8:2a

.......Rom 8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

.......2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

.......3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

.......4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

.......The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus Rom 8:2

1. This life-principle, works in counteraction to the law of sin and death.

Sin is counteracted, not annihilated. When we see Christ, we shall be like him. I Jn 3:2

2. God did something that the law could not do – could not produce inner holiness. (Rom 8:3)

3. God did something apart from The Law (Rom 3:21)

The Law has no part in producing holiness. Erase from your minds any thought that the Holy Spirit helps you to keep the Law of Moses. This method is doomed to fail!

4. God produced, by another principle, a holiness which far exceeded what The Law aim at, but could never achieve. (Rom 8:4)

.......Only by the faith of His Son living in me can true holiness be produced. (Gal 2:20) The Holy Spirit will honour the faith that reckons on his identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. The Holy Spirit will not “help” you to keep the commandments. Asking God to help you keep the Law will frustrate the grace of God. Paul said, I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Gal 2:21) Only by allowing Christ to live through you, will you bring forth fruit that far exceeds the righteous demands of the Law. The fruit of the Spirit is love… against such there is no law. Gal 5:22,23

.......Illustration of Aircraft:

.......The law of gravity keeps me bound to the runway. But a higher law kicks in, the law of aerodynamics, and counteracts the law of gravity. I do the impossible and fly. Until I see the Lord, there will always be the downward drag of the flesh and of indwelling sin in my life. But as I trust Christ and my identification with Him, God releases the power of the Holy Spirit in my life and sets me free from the law of sin and death. If His power is hindered for a moment, I begin to come under the downward drag of Sin. Let us learn to trust in His risen life moment by moment every day. One day, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. I Jn 3:2

.......REVIEW TIME

1. Give one reason why Paul was a saved man in Romans seven? (Rom 7:22)

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………..

2. What is the extent of The Law (I.A.)

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………..

3. What laws of God were operating for the first 2500 years of human history? (I.B.2)

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………..

4. What made the Sabbath especially significant to Israel? (I.B.5)

………………̷#8230;…………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… …

5. Write out the two equations for legal justification and legal sanctification? (II. A. 2)

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;

7. List five marks of the Galatian spirit? (II.C)

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;

8. List two reactions in Paul when he reverted to The Law to please God? (II.E)

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;

9. In the allegory of the woman with two husbands who/what is represented in each actor? (III)

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;

10. What frees the believer from the Law and allows a union with the Lord Jesus Christ? (III)

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………R 30;

11. Label the Tree diagram (II.B)

.......GALATIANS 2:20

12. When our Lord nailed the handwriting of ordinances to his cross, He removed (circle one)

1. Only those laws that pertained to Jewish ceremonies and farming practices.

1. Only the Ten commandments

1. The whole Law including the Ten Commandments (IV.A)

13. What is the name of the law (principle) by which a Christian now lives? (IV.B)

………………………………………………………………R 30;…………………………………………………………………..

14. The power of Sin in the believer is C ………………………. not A …………………………. (IV.B.1)

15. The correct approach to victory in the Christian life is: (circle one) (IV.B)

1. Ask the Holy Spirit to help “you” keep the commandments?

1. Reckon on your identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, and trust Christ to live His life through you?

16. Label the Wrecking Ball (II.D)

17. What should the Church do? T/F

.......___ Remove standards of separation so people will feel liberated?

.......___ Enforce higher standards of separation so that people will become more holy.

.......___ Get off the wrecking Ball and go back to the cross in the believers life; back to the Holy Spirit and the walk of faith. Get back to the positional truths of Romans 6-8.

THE CROSS AND THE FULNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

.......“Our prayer for the mighty working of the Holy Spirit through us and around us can only be powerfully answered as His indwelling in every believer is more clearly acknowledged and lived out. We have the Holy Spirit within us; only he who is faithful in the lesser will receive the greater. As we first yield ourselves to be led by the Spirit, to confess His presence in us, as believers rise to realize and accept His guidance in all their daily life, will our God be willing to entrust to us larger measures of His mighty workings. If we give ourselves entirely into His power, as our life, ruling within us, He will give Himself to us in taking a more complete possession, to work through us. ” ¹ Andrew Murray

INTRODUCTION

.......Every serious-minded Christian will recognize the amazing change that took place in the disciples at Pentecost. Timid, defeated, and discouraged believers were instantly transformed into bold witnesses, by the coming of the Holy Spirit. They were, moreover, melted together in love, as one harmonious body. They were empowered to live the Christian life on a higher plane than they had ever done before. Acts 4:33 states: And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

.......The Bible reveals One God in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each Person of the trinity has a different role in our Salvation: The Father sent the Son to be the savior of the world. (I Jn 4:14 ) The Son offered up His life on the Cross to redeem us from our sins. (Eph 1:7) After the Son returned to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts of believers to regenerate them and to empower them for godly life and service. (Acts 1:8) This series of studies on the Cross is designed particularly for those who have been born again (Jn 3:3), and who want to experience the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit in their Christian lives. This lesson is devoted to the study of the Holy Spirit in relation to the Cross. In order to do this we will need to start at the creation of Man.

I. MAN – AS GOD CREATED HIM

.......Ge 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

A. Man is a tri-partite being

.......I Thes 5:23 ¶ And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. His spirit made him God-Conscious

Through the human spirit man could have fellowship with God. The spirit is the center of

Man’s intuition, worship and conscience.

__________

¹ Andrew Murray, The Spirit of Christ (London: Oliphants Ltd, 1963) p.9

2. His soul made him man-conscious

The soul is the center of man’s mind, will and emotions.

3. His body made him world-conscious.

Through the body man relates to the world of sense. Three physical drives ensure the continuity of the human race, namely, nutrition ,reproduction, and preservation.

B. The order is important.

.......The human spirit was designed to commune with God and to govern man’s soul and body. God fellowshipped directly with man in the Eden paradise He had made.

II. MAN AS SINNED MARRED HIM

A. God’s restriction

.......Ge 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

B. Satan’s contradiction

.......Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

.......5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

C. Man’s capitulation

.......Gen 3:6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

.......7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

D. Man’s separation

.......And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? Gen 3:8

.......Death is separation, not annihilation. God said Adam would die the very day he disobeyed, but Adam lived 930 years after The Fall. For nearly a thousand years Adam lived physically, making choices, thinking out problems and experiencing the various emotions of human nature. In what way then did Adam die when he took the forbidden fruit? Adam’s spirit was cut off from God. He no longer enjoyed the fellowship of God and the power of God.

E. Results of the Fall

1. Man was alienated from God – spiritual problems. Gen 3:8

2. Man was alienated from man – social problems. Gen 3:12

3. Man was alienated from his environment – ecological problems. Gen 3:18

4. Man was alienated from himself – psychological problems. Job 7:20b

.......“From man’s standpoint the most tragic loss suffered in the Fall was the vacating of this inner sanctum by the Spirit of God. At the far-in hidden centre of man’s being is a bush fitted to be the dwelling place of the Triune God. There God planned to rest and glow with moral and spiritual fire. Man by his sin forfeited this indescribably wonderful privilege and must now dwell there alone. ” A.W.Tozer

F. Man became soul-dominant

.......1Co 2:14 But the natural (psuchikos – soul) man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

.......The spirit lost its destined place of rule and became subject to the intrusion of the Satanic spirit of this world. (Eph 2:1,2) The soul, with its thinking, choosing and feeling, usurped the place of the spirit with its intuition, conscience and worship. The natural man is a psuchikos man – a soul-dominated man. The propensity of the soul to rule will remain a problem for the genuine child of God even after he is saved.

III. MAN – AS GRACE RESTORES HIM

A. God redeems man through His Son’s sacrifice at Calvary.

.......Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

B. God regenerates man’s spirit by His Holy Spirit

.......Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

.......a new spirit will I put within you:

.......Ez 36:26.. a new spirit will I put within you: Jn 14:17.. for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

C. God puts His Holy Spirit into man’s renewed human spirit.

.......Ez 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you,

.......The greatest need of man is to have his human spirit reconnected to God’s Spirit.

.......But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. (I Cor 6:17)

.......This is the mark of a genuine Christian; the spiritual man. (I Cor 2:15)

.......Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Rom 8:9b

D. The Child of God becomes a temple for God’s Spirit to dwell in.

.......I Cor 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

.......20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

IV. MAN – AS THE SPIRIT OF GOD TRANSFORMS HIM

.......A Christian is absolutely dependent on the indwelling Holy Spirit for his comfort, power and spiritual understanding. Our Lord taught about the Holy Spirit under the figure of a well.

A. Wells of living water

1. A well of water springing up unto eternal life.

Jn 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

2. An artesian spring gushing out into the desert.

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

.......Question: Why do we not enjoying more of the Holy Spirit’s life than we do?

B. Wells stopped up

1. Because of the rubbish clogging the well

Gen 26:18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

2. Because of a hard natural plug in the well.

The soul dominance of which we speak, is very assertive and often usurps the place of the human spirit. The impulsive voice of the soul drowns out the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit. The soul-life intrudes into our most sacred times of worship. Paul denounced this as “will worship” (Col 2:23). The soul tries to become the worship leader and generate religious feelings and impulses . Jude denounced this as sensual (psuchikos) having not the Spirit (Jude 1:19) The soul tries to become very spiritual and wise. James says, This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual (soulish), devilish. (Jas 3:15)

C. Our Lord’s answer to the psuchikos problem.

.......Matt 16:24 ¶ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

.......25 For whosoever will save his life (psuche = soul) shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

.......Andrew Murray explains:

.......“The call of the Master to hate our own life, not to seek it but to lose it (the word used is psyche­ – soul), is the call to give the soul, with its power of willing and acting unto death, that it may find its true life again in the quickening and leading of the Spirit. As long as this is not understood, there will not be that fear of self and its wisdom, that absolute dependence and waiting on the Spirit, which is the first condition of the spiritual life. “²

.......Here again the Cross in the believer’s life is the answer to the well that is plugged with the hard crust of the soul life. By taking my position in identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, and by learning to trust the Holy Spirit to make this a living reality in my life, there is an answer to the problem of soul dominance.

.......Murray admits this is not always easy.

.......To those who would be saved from these dangers, who would fain return to the normal state in which, and for which, God created man, the way is open, though not always easy. ³ Spirit of Christ p. 229

D. Further light from the book of Hebrews

.......Heb 4:11 ¶ Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

.......12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

.......Here, in this passage of scripture, the background is the failure of the children of Israel to enter into the Promised Land. They had been saved by the blood of the Passover Lamb (I Cor 5:7), and left Egypt, which is a type of the world. They had crossed the Red Sea, which is a picture of death, burial and resurrection( I Cor 10:2), and had commenced their walk with God. Soon after their Rom 7 experience at the foot of Sinai, God led them to the borders of Canaan. Now Canaan is not a type of heaven. Canaan was a land filled with enemies that had to be subdued. It was a good land, but a land of faith, fight and fruit. The writer to Hebrews draws the clear application for the Christian today. God wants us to get out of the wilderness of defeated carnality and enter into His rest. From Psalm 95, we understand that REST is not a geographical location, but A SPIRITUAL CONDITION that was current in David’s day. Rest is a spiritual condition where we cease from our own works and walk by faith. Then in Heb 4:11 &12 comes an exhortation and an explanation.

.......__________

.......² Murray p. 229

.......³ ibid

1. The exhortation:

Heb 4:11 ¶ Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, (where we cease from our own works and walk by faith) lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

2. The explanation

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The clear inference is that the inordinate domination of the soul-life in the Christian is the cause of much unrest and a hindrance to entering into a life of abundant fruitfulness. The surgical separation of soul and spirit is so delicate that only God can do this operation. Yes it is not always easy, because the soul-life is not so much what we do, it is what we are. It is the quivering stuff of which our life consists. To touch it is to inflict pain. Just as no one can commit suicide on a cross, so no one can do heart surgery on himself. We can, however, place ourselves into the loving hands of the Great Physician, confess that we have a problem with soul-ish-ness and cooperate with what He is doing in our lives. The great artesian supply is there within our wells. Let us trust God to do a more thorough work of the cross in breaking up that plug and allowing the rivers of living water to flow out to a parched world.

.......REVIEW TIME

1. State two reasons why our wells become clogged? (IV.B)

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. How does the soul-life seek to usurp the place of the spirit in our worship. (IV.B.2)

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3. What scriptural authority do we have for applying the cross to the soul? Matt 16:24,25

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

.......

THE CROSS AND MISSIONS

.......Jn12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

.......24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

.......25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

INTRODUCTION

.......The sequence of teaching in the book of Romans is significant: It marks the various stages in the growth of a soul from his first days as a child of God, through to a life of fruitful service in the great missionary harvest fields of the world.

A. Justification by faith – the point where he became a born-again believer. Rom 5:1

B. Sanctification by faith –

1. The Cross and Indwelling Sin Rom 6

2. The Cross and the Law Rom 7

3. The Cross and the Holy Spirit Rom 8

C. Missions, at home and abroad. Rom 9,10 & 11.

.......Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

.......15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

I. PASSION FOR MISSIONS SPRINGS OUT OF SANCTIFICATION

.......In 1912 a world-wide missionary conference was called with the aim of inquiring what the Church needed to do to meet the challenge of untold millions. Different delegates brought messages that detailed the waning Church influence of the church in a growing world population. . Some emphasized prayer while other called for revival. Andrew Murray read the transcripts of the various speakers and then wrote a book called The State of the Church. Here are some of his thoughts concerning the missionary problem:

A. The failure of evangelistic revival meetings to meet the need of the hour.

.......Yes, all will answer, nothing less than a mighty revival is needed to rouse and fit the Church for the work to which God calls her. And yet there may be a great difference in what we understand by revival. Many will think of the power of God as it has been manifested in the work of evangelists like Moody and Torry, and they feel sure that what God has done in the past He can do again. They will

.......perhaps hardly be able to understand us when we say that we need a different and a mightier revival than those were. In them the chief object was the conversion of sinners and, in connection with that, incidentally the quickening of believers. But the revival we need calls for a deeper and more entire upheaval of the Church. The great defect of those revivals was that the converts were received into a Church that was not living on a high level of consecration and holiness, and speedily they sank down to the average standard of ordinary religious life. Even the believers who had taken part in the work and had been roused by it, also gradually returned to their former life of clouded fellowship and lack of power to testify for Christ. ¹

B. Great missionary endeavours in the past sprang out of a revival of genuine Holiness.

1. The Moravian Missionary Movement

At Herrnhut there were gathered together a number of Bohemian refugees, and along with them a number of Christians of different sects, who hope there to find the Christian life as they sought for it. It was not long before disputes arose, and Herrnhut became the scene of contention and division. Zinzendorf felt this so deeply that he went down to live among them., in the power of God’s Spirit he succeeded not only in restoring order, but in binding them together in the power of devotion to Christ Jesus and of love to each other. More than once they had remarkable manifestations of the presence of the Spirit, and their whole life became one of worship and praise…

It was in a Holiness revival that the Moravian missionary idea was born and realised. ²

John Wesley visited them and bore this testimony of their lives in the community.

Here I continually met with what I sought for – living proofs of the power of faith, persons saved from inward as well as outward sin, by the love of God shed abroad in their hearts.

This small community spread across the world in small ships going as far as Greenland and Australia with the Gospel. Some of them actually sold themselves into slavery in the West Indies, in order to get a hearing for the Gospel. As they farewelled them from their shores, they would call out across the water, “May the Lord Jesus receive the due reward of His sufferings!”

2. The great Evangelical Revival of England through Whitefield and Wesley

What was the great Evangelical Revival in England through Whitefield and Wesley, but this? They had together at Oxford been members of ‘The Holy Club.’ With their whole heart they had sought to live for God, to keep themselves separate from the world, to devote their life to the welfare of their fellow men. They had not only sought deliverance from the guilt, but also from the power, of sin. When their eyes were opened to see how faith can claim the whole Christ in all His fulness, they found the key to that preaching which was so mightily effectual for the salvation of men. ³

3. Murray mentions others such as Booth, Spurgeon and Mc Cheyne.

Mc Cheyne prayed: ‘Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be.’

......._______

.......¹ A. Murray The State of The Church (London: James Nisbet & Co, 1912) p 66,67

.......² Murray p. 69,70

.......³ Murray p 70

C. Summary Comments:

.......It is clear that there were some diverse doctrinal positions in the movements Murray cites, but we accept the basic premise, that a revival of genuine holiness issues in a revival of missions. In time, some of these movements wandered off track. Movements which were once evangelistic became Galatian in character. Others became libertine. Both swings of the wrecking ball will kill missionary endeavour. One final statement from Murray:

.......As the preaching of God in His holiness, of Christ as our Sanctification, of the work of the Spirit as the Spirit of holiness, takes the place that it has in God’s word, God’s people will have the power to do the work to which God has called them in making Christ known to every living creature. The promise will then be fulfilled: ‘The heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.’ (Ez 36:23b) ⁴

_________

⁴ Murray pp. 72,73

1. When believers embrace the teaching of Rom 6,7 & 8. The Holy Spirit will be released in their lives personally and corporately.

2. When the Holy Spirit rests on the Church we are likely to hear the missionary call.

Ac 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

3. If we hurry our people from Rom 5:1 to Rom 10:14, if they make it to the mission field at all, and if they last one term, you will most likely export home-made carnal Christianity to the foreign field.

II. THE CROSS APPLIES TO ALL CHRISTIAN SERVICE

A. Lesson from the Corn of Wheat.

.......Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

1. Spoken by our Lord between Palm Sunday and Passover – refers to Cross.

The great harvest of souls is attributed to our Saviour’s death, burial and resurrection.

2. Applicable to all who would win souls for Christ.

There is a hidden cost to seeing people saved and established in the faith.

Spurgeon’s Testimony

“Before any great achievement, some measure of the same depression is very usual. Surveying the difficulties before us, our hearts sink within us. The sons of Anak stalk before us, and we are as grasshoppers in our own sight in their presence. The cities of Canaan are walled up to heaven, and who are we that we should hope to capture them? We are ready to cast down our weapons and take to our hills…”

“This depression comes over me whenever the Lord is preparing a larger blessing for my ministry; The cloud is black before it breaks, and overshadows before it yields its deluge of mercy. Depression has now become to me as a prophet in rough clothing, a John the Baptist, heralding the nearer coming of my Lord’s richer benison. So have far better men found it.” ⁵

B. Lesson from the priests in Jordan

.......Josh 3:17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

1. Egypt to Canaan a Scriptural type of the Christian Life. (See Heb 3:7 – 12)

2. There are two bodies of impassable water – Red Sea and Jordan River in flood.

Both these bodies of water typify our Lord’s death, burial and resurrection. The first crossing typifies our baptism soon after salvation. (See I Cor 10:2.) The second crossing has to do with our identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection and our entering into a life of faith, fight and fruit. (Corresponds to Rom 6:1-6)

3. The priests stood in Jordan, by faith in the place of death, while others went into their possession.

Jos 3:17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

C. Christian Workers need to understand this Principle

.......II cor 4:11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

.......12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

.......II Cor 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

.......9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

.......________

.......⁵ C. H. Spurgeon Lectures to my Students, (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1967) p. 159,160

.......When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the captain of the ship sought to turn him back. ‘You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages,’ he cried. Calvert only replied, ‘We died before we came here.’ By David Augsburger.⁶

There is no gain but by a loss;

You cannot save but by a cross.

The corn of wheat, to multiply,

Must fall into the ground and die.

Wherever you ripe fields behold,

Waving to God their sheaves of gold,

Be sure some corn of what has died,

Some soul has there been crucified;

Someone has wrestled, wept and prayed,

And fought hell’s legions undismayed.

......._________

.......⁶ Charles Colson, Life Sentence (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1981) p. 154

.......⁷ L. E. Maxwell, Born Crucified (Chicago:Moody Press ) pp 138,139

.......REVIEW TIME

1. According to Murray, what sort of revival produces effective Missionary endeavour? (I.B)

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. How does the doctrinal sequence of the Book of Romans support A1? (Introduction)

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3. If we hurry our people from Rom 5:1 to Romans 10:14, what bad effect on Missions?

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

4. How would you counsel Spurgeon if he came to you with the depression as described?

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

5. What New Testament Book gives scriptural support to use Egypt – Canaan as a type?

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

6. Name the pioneer Missionary to Fiji who said: “We died before we came here”?

.......………………………………………………………………………………………………….

THE CROSS AND RELATIONSHIPS

.......Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

.......27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

INTRODUCTION:

.......Natural affection is a strong bond

A. God given Bond by creation:

.......vs 26 …. father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,…

B. Used as illustration of His own feelings for his people:

.......Ps 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

.......Isa 66:13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

C. Lack of natural affection a symptom of reprobation

.......In the last days men (and women) shall be without natural affection II Tim 3:3

.......Theme: What is the meaning of the cross in relationships

I. THE SURRENDER OF EARTH’S DEAREST UPON THE ALTAR

A. That Natural affection never surpass supreme love to God

.......Matt 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

....... 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

....... 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

....... 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

....... 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

....... 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

B. To cherish a loved one more than God is idolatory.

C. Every growing affection must therefore be placed upon the altar.

D. Illustrated in Abraham and Isaac

.......Gen 22:1 ¶ And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

....... 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

II. MEANS TREADING THE PATH OF THE CROSS EVEN WHEN MY OBEDIENCE CAUSES MY LOVED ONES TO SUFFER

.......Matt 10: 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

....... 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

....... 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

A. To take up the Cross of suffering, rejection, death… is to inflict pain on those who are attached to you by the tenderest threads of love.

.......Lu 2:48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

.......Lu 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

B. Illustrated Isobel Kuhn.

.......Isobel Kuhn When a young woman called to China, her mother warned her: ‘If you ever go to China, you will go over my dead body.’ And she did. On her deathbed the mother confessed: ‘Daughter is right; I have been wrong.‘ How sad to be forced to take the divine order in death! The mother died; her daughter went to China. The great refiner and Purifier of silver sat over against the crucible of her death-bed and skimmed off ‘the grey scum of selfishness’ until mother ceased to be a hindrance – albeit through the doorway of death. Maxwell pp 97,98

III. MEANS NOT RESCUING A LOVED ONE WHO IS GOING THROUGH A CRUFIXION EXPERIENCE.

A. Perhaps the hardest

.......One thing to go to the cross myself, but far harder to stand by and allow a loved one to suffer, without interfering in the plan and purpose of God to bring this one to a merciful death.

.......“Blood runs thick. Christian parents who have gone to great lengths in consecration and who seem otherwise to be sacrificial and devoted followers of Christ, break down at this point. Their fleshly sentiments make them, perhaps unconsciously, ‘the enemies of the cross of Christ.’ The Cross begins to lay hold of son or daughter and forthwith mother cries out: Be it far from thee, this shall never be unto thee – Pity thyself, spare thyself, come down from the cross and save thyself and us. Happy the young person who so senses the serpent’s subtle and feigned love in that dreadful hour that he can say: ‘Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God but the things of men’ (Matt 16:23,.) Maxwell p. 97

.......Oswald Chambers says: ‘Whenever we step back from identification with God’s interest in others into sympathy with them, the vital connection with God has gone; we have put our sympathy, our consideration for them in the way; and this is a deliberate rebuke of God.’

B. Illustrated in Jane Welch

.......Jane Welsh, the noble daughter of John Knox, was approached by the prison officials with the assurance that her husband, John Welsh, would be freed if only he would renounce the Protestant faith. Gathering up her apron she replied, ‘Please your majesties, I would rather catch his head there.’ Maxwell pp 99,100

IV. MEANS ADOPTING THIS PRINCIPLE OF THE CROSS AS THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP/SAVE LASTING RELATIONSHIP

.......Matt 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

....... 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

....... 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

....... 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

....... 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

....... 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

A. Paul in relation to Corinthians:

.......II Cor 7:1 ¶ Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

....... 2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.

....... 3 I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.

....... 4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

B. Illustration Mother and wayward son.

.......“A prodigal son was determine to ‘have a fling.’ .. he comforted himself beneath her prayers that he could not get far away. At length the mother detected a fatal flaw in her own praying. Her sentiment would save her son from the way of transgressors, which is hard. She was not in full identification with the spirit of the Cross… She warned him: ‘Son, I’m no longer asking God to protect you or save you from trouble. I am asking Him to get you, dead or alive… That son is a missionary in Africa today.” L.E. Maxwell p. 99

V. THE EXAMPLE OF ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL AND ISAAC

A. Ishmael – Abraham had to wait a long time for the son God promised him.

.......Sarah was barren and after a long time, Sarah suggested the Abraham take Hagar, the servant girl as a second wife, and that she might bare him the son he longed for. Ishmael was born and for about 13 years he was the darling of Abraham’s life When Abraham was 100 years old God announce that Sarah would bear him a son. By this time Abraham was past fathering a child too. In due time God did a miracle and the child of faith was born. Then there was trouble. At Isaac’s weaning feast teenage Ishmael began to mock Isaac. Sarah saw red and said to Abraham:

.......Gen 21: 10b Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

.......The New testament says that Ishmael was born after the flesh, whereas Isaac was born after the Spirit. Gal 4:29 From this we understand that a work of the flesh is not only doing gross sins, but it can be simply trying to fulfill the promise of God in the energy of the natural man.

.......Abraham lost Ishmael – He became the father of the Ishmaelites.

B. Isaac – being the son of promise was conceived by faith. See Heb 11.

.......When Isaac was grown God tested Abraham Gen 22:1

.......“At God’s command, Abraham took Isaac, bound him, laid him on the altar he had built, and took his knife to slay him, and with actions far more eloquent than words, said to God by what he did, ‘You promised me Isaac! I did not see how You could do it, and in my unbelief and in my folly I produced my Ishmael; I committed myself to Your will, and thought I was more competent than God. Now You tell me to slay him, my only son Isaac in whom You have promised that all the families of the earth shall be blessed! O God, if I slay him, I do not see how You can do it – but now I am committed to You – exclusively, and to all that for which You are committed to me! If slay him I must, then slay him I will – even if You have to raise him from the dead! (Hebrews 11:17-19), and in so many words God said to Abraham, ‘Thank you, Abraham! That is all I wanted to know – now you can throw your knife away!”

.......Maj Ian Thomas Mystery of Godliness p. 19,20

.......Abraham saved Isaac – What a blessed time Abraham, Sarah and Isaac had on their return

CONCLUSION: The Cross is the only way to preserve lasting relationships.

 

APPENDIX

How Do You Know When You’ve Died To Self?

When you are forgotten or neglected.

When you are purposefully set at nought, and you do not sting and hurt with insult or oversight, but, in your heart, count yourself worthy to suffer for Christ.

That’s when you’ve died to your self.

When your good is evil spoken of.

When your wishes are crushed.

When your advice is disregarded.

When your opinions are ridiculed, and you refuse to let any form of anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it patiently and lovingly with silence.

That’s when you’ve died to your self.

When you lovingly and patiently endure disorder, or any irregularity, any unpunctuality or any annoyance.

When you stand face to face with wastefulness, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensitivity, and endure it as Christ endured.

That’s when you’ve died to your self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, record your own good works, or seek words of commendation.

When you can fully love to be unknown.

That’s when you’ve died to your self.

When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, or any interruption by the Will of God.

That’s when you’ve died to your self.

When you see your brother prospering and his needs being met, and you can honestly rejoice with him in spirit.

When you can feel no sense of envy and never question God while your own needs are far greater and your circumstances more desperate.

That’s when you’ve died to your self.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature then yourself, and humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly to that person and to God, finding no rebellion or resentment rising within your heart.

That’s when you’ve died to your self.

So are you dead? In these last days the Spirit would bring us to the Cross that we may know Him and be made conformable unto His death.

Gerard du Toit (Easter Convention 2008. Session 3)

SOUL AND SPIRIT

.......‘The language of Heb. 4:12 suggests the extreme difficulty of distinguishing between the soul and spirit, alike in their nature and in their activities. Generally speaking the spirit is the higher, the soul the lower element. The spirit may be recognized as the life principle bestowed on man by God, the soul as the resulting life constituted in the individual, the body being the material organism animated by soul and spirit…” W.E.Vine, Expository Dictionary, soul, (Virginia: MacDonald publishing Company. nd

IN THE FLESH OR AFTER THE FLESH

.......Definition of Flesh

.......“Fallen human nature under the domination of the senses.”

.......When Adam sinned, he upset the order of human nature. Man was originally created to be spirit controlled. The spirit was that part of man’s nature most akin to God. The human spirit enabled Adam to commune with God, and to be empowered by God. When Adam sinned, the world of sense became inordinately powerful and subjugated the human spirit. When Adam sinned, he was born-again backwards. He and all his descendants became soulish. The Bible call this the natural man or the ψυχικός psuchikos man; the soul dominant man. In the words of our Lord:

.......Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

.......The natural man is born of the flesh and is in the flesh.

.......Ro 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

.......Ro 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

.......Just as indwelling Sin will remains a resident power in my mortal body, so the flesh with its thinking and willing and lusting remains in my life. Only glorification will totally remove these remnants of The Fall.

.......The spiritual man, who is born of the Spirit, is no longer in the flesh

.......Ro 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

.......However, Paul warns the spiritual man not to walk after the flesh.

.......Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

.......1Jo 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

.......The carnal man is a true child of God, who is continually walking after the flesh.

.......1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

.......Ro 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

.......Perhaps he does not yet know about the full meaning of the Cross and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power. His new spirit needs strengthening (Eph 3:16) and his flesh nature needs daily mortification at the cross. (Rom 8:13) Both these operations are performed by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in answer to faith. Ga 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

REMOVING THE VEIL

By A.W.Tozer

.......With the veil removed by the rending of Jesus’ flesh, with nothing on God’s side to prevent us from entering, why do we tarry without? Why do we consent to abide all our days just outside the Holy of Holies and never enter at all to look upon God? We hear the Bridegroom say, ‘Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely.’ We sense that the call is for us, but still we fail to draw near, and the years pass and we grow old and tired in the outer courts of the tabernacle.. What doth hinder us?

.......The answer usually given, simply that we are ‘cold’, will not explain all the facts. There is something more serious than coldness of heart, something that may be back of that coldness and be the cause of its existence. What is it? What but the presence of a veil in our hearts” a veil not taken away as the first veil was, but which remains there still shutting out the light and hiding the face of God from us. It is the veil of our fleshly fallen nature living on, unjudged within us, uncrucified and unrepudiated. It is the close-woven veil of the self-life which we have never truly acknowledged, of which we have been secretly ashamed, and which for these reasons we have never brought to the judgment of the cross. It is not too mysterious, this opaque veil, for is it hard to identify. We have but to look in our own hearts and we shall see it there, sewn and patched and repaired to may be, but there nevertheless, an enemy to our lives and an effective block to our spiritual progress.

.......This veil is not a beautiful thing and it is not a thing about which we commonly care to talk, but I am addressing the thirsting souls who are determined to follow God, and I know they will not turn back because the way leads temporarily through the blackened hills. The urge of God within them will assure their continuing the pursuit. They will face the facts however unpleasant and endure the cross for the joy set before them. So I am bold to name the threads out of which this inner veil is woven.

.......It is woven of the fine threads of the self-life, the hyphenated sins of the human spirit. They are not something we do, they are something we are and therein lies both their subtlety and their power.

.......To be specific, the self-sins are these: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self admiration, self-love and a host of others like them. They dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come tour attention till the light of God is focused upon them. The grosser manifestation of these sins, egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion, are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy. They are so much in evidence as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel…

.......One should suppose that proper instruction in the doctrines of man’s depravity and the necessity for justification through the righteousness of Christ alone would deliver us from the power of the self-sins; but it does not work out that way. Self can live unrebuked at the very altar. It can watch the bleeding Victim die and not be in the least affected by what it sees. It can fight for the faith of the Reformers and preach eloquently the creed of salvation by grace, and gain strength by its efforts.. To tell all the truth, it seems actually to feed upon orthodoxy and it more at home in a Bible Conference than in a tavern. Our very state of longing after God may afford it an excellent condition under which to thrive and grow.

.......Self is the opaque veil that hides the Face of ‘God from us. It can be removed only in spiritual experience, never by mere instruction. As well try to instruct leprosy out of our system. There must be a work of God in destruction before we are free. We must invite the cross to do its deadly work within us. We must bring our self-sins to the cross for judgment. We must prepare ourselves for an ordeal of suffering in some measure like that through which our Saviour passed when He suffered under Pontius Pilate.

.......Let us remember: when we talk of the rending of the veil we are speaking in a figure, and the thought of it is poetical, almost pleasant; but in actuality there is nothing pleasant about it. In human experience that veil is made of living spiritual tissue; it is composed of the sentient, quivering stuff of which our whole beings consist. And to touch it is to touch us where we feel pain. To tear it away is to injure us, to hurt us and make us bleed. To say otherwise is to make the cross no cross and death no death at all. It is never fun to die. To rip through the dear and tender stuff of which life is made can never be anything but deeply painful. Yet that is what the cross did to Jesus and it is what the cross would do to every man to set him free.

.......Let us beware of tinkering with our inner life in hope ourselves to rend the veil. God must do everything for us. OU part is to yield and trust. We must confess, forsake, repudiate the self-life, and then reckon it crucified. But we must be careful to distinquish lazy ‘acceptance’ from the real work of God. We must insist upon the work being done. We dare not rest content with a neat doctrine of self-crucifixion. That is to imitate Saul and spare the best of the sheep and the oxen.

.......Insist that the work be done in very truth and it will be done. The cross is rough, and it is deadly, but it is effective It does not keep its victim hanging there forever. There comes a moment when its work is finished and the suffering victim dies. After that it is resurrection glory and power, and the pain is forgotten for joy that the veil is taken away and we have entered in actual spiritual experience the Presence of the living God.

INORDINATE ACTIVITY OF THE SOUL

A. Murray

.......The greatest danger the religion of the Church or the individual has to dread is the inordinate activity of the soul, with its power of mind and will. It has been so long accustomed to rule, that even when in conversion it has surrendered to Jesus, it too easily imagines that it is now its work to carry out that surrender, and serve the King it has accepted. Many a believer has no conception of the reality of the Spirit’s indwelling and of the extent to which He must get the mastery of the soul, that is of our whole self in all our feeling and thinking and willing, so as to purge out all confidence in the flesh, and work that teachableness and submissiveness which is indispensable to the Spirit’s doing His work.” Spirit of Christ A.. Murray. P. 229