A basic fundamental

To be trained correctly is a goal that many aspire to as it holds us in good stead when it comes to the faculty we wish to excel in. We all have a drive that eventually works its way into our lives and directs our paths. It does when we are able to latch onto something within our quest which motivates our intent and it’s normally only then when we find a resolve to really excel. We need a trigger to get us motivated! It could be power, wealth, fame, pride and the like, which are all linked to sin if triggered by our natural minds; however without going into too much depth regarding the actually mysteries of God’s Spirit working within a convert, let me say this, when this truth is sealed within our minds we will find a freedom in applying ourselves to eternal matters, which will be for our benefit as well as those we rub shoulders with along life’s journey.

At salvation a trigger in our minds is flipped and our souls come alive and we see things for what they are for the first time in our lives; all the questions and the inward struggles that plague our silent thoughts are prioritised with Christ now in the forefront of our minds. This in itself is a miracle! Faiths mingled together with sound doctrine within the true gospel message and the heavy weight of our sin drops off our back and possibly believe we are the first person to unravel the truth to mankind’s existence. We can of a certainty relate to the man who was blind, who had an encounter with the Lord Jesus and then ran around shouting, “I was blind but now I can see!” Without a similar experience you may still be rapped up in the thought of religion. Have you been given the mind of Christ? It is a gift received at salvation! If not fall to your knees and cry out to the Lord Jesus and ask Him for His mind. There can be no doubt to whether you can see or not! If you have reservation, wrestle until you are sure God has saved you and given you His Spirit.

How is it that both the church of Galatia and the church of Sardis needed to be reminded of a similar truth; the Galatians were asked by Paul about their understanding and compliance to a Gospel that was grace centered to the exclusion of works. This was his question to them; “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (Galatians 3:1-2) - In other words did they do anything to warrant the gift of grace from God? Did we do something to find favour in our own merits that lead us to Christ in repentance? The answer is obvious; we didn’t and could never do anything that could please God, period!

If that then is the way we as Gentiles found the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob coming to save us from ourselves and our sinful natures, why then after salvation do we potentially forget this truth? Again the answer is obvious, we begin to reason with our natural minds and not with the mind of Christ which we now have as a gift given to us at our conversion.

There were those who had crept into the church at Galatia and were trying to enforce circumcision and Paul had to set them right on the matter. The warning to us is that we do not make the same mistake. Not that we are taught to now pursue circumcision per say but there is often hints from others and our own minds that lead us to look for justification in what we do that approves our worth with God. We say to ourselves “if we behave in a certain manner we will then be accepted by God”. After all, does the Bible not teach that you will know a tree by its fruit?

Here then is the trap that misguides our understanding; after salvation we are given the Spirit of God which now takes up residence in our mortal bodies but before long we often revert back to our carnal understanding as we look for justification which proves to others that we are Christians. Which is an obvious requirement; you will know a tree by its fruit! However, if we apply these truths to our lives from the “outside in” instead of the “inside out” we miss the mark entirely. We must understand that having begun in the Spirit we now need to be perfected by the same Spirit! Our pursuit of holiness must be driven by the Spirit of God and it must be understood as such. If we get it wrong all we will ever achieve is a sense of self worth that will eventually lead to death. It will cause us to become boastful against one another. Excusing ourselves and accusing others from failing to reach our level of false commitment. Here then is the proof of my argument; “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)

I understand that this is a basic fundamental that every Christian should have engraved in their brains but I am not convinced that all have fully grasped this truth. We must learn to be lead by the Spirit of God and put on the mind of Christ permanently if we are to be successful in our plight as a Christian. It is clear that the old man (our natural application to life) is dead if the Spirit of God lives within us; “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:8-10)

There is now new application to our lives that must become a way of life; “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

Now the church at Sardis who had a reputation of being alive but was dead; “"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. "'I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.” (Revelation 3:1-2)

Complacency or turning a blind eye to what we lack will never be good enough; God is perfect so at the very least we must seek out His will for our lives, owning our sin, in other words work out what it is that He requires from us in every area of our lives when it becomes apparent that there is a lack. Obviously we all have the same commission, which is to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and yet we do not all have the same functions within that quest; we have each been given a specific role within His production! Remembering that all roles and skits have already been plotted out prior to creation by the Godhead; Mind boggling yet true! For us, it must be about what protagonists we are meant to play whilst fitting into our characters as God intended. It will obviously play out the way He has internalised, but for us on an individual level we need to work it out. We do not have His brilliance and foresight and yet we do have the mind of Christ, therefore when we walk in the Spirit we will by the Spirit obviously reap the fruits of the Spirit. This is why the Word of God is so crucial to our lives; imagine an actor having to play a specific role without a script, Impossible right? That is what our lives are all about, but when we are lead about by our own independence believing that we have the keys to our own destiny we will only ever produce fruits of the flesh, which highlights sin and our fallen states.

Therefore, as Christians, the sooner we tow the line as intended, the sooner we will finish our quests and be taken home. We only ever hang onto this life in this world because we are viewing things through the eyes of our natural minds; if we saw things for what they are we would never want to remain here.

Imagine a director having the perfect take with a particular actor and then deleting it whilst having to reshoot it over and over, what would be the point? With that in mind let me leave you with this thought; “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24) – I would conclude, the perfect “take” finally arrived and God took Him home without him ever having to face death. He finally attained every lesson that God had willed him to absorb, wow! Praise God now and forever more Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone