- The purpose of the walk of faith is the glory of CHRIST.
Without the character of CHRIST, Satan will never consider you.
From the outset, we must focus on three points:
1. No believer has ever been brought to holy spiritual maturity by the psychic pressure as it is exercised in certain meetings, or by continual exhortations, at least not without having been already prepared by the Holy Spirit.
2. For there to be a real spiritual progression, the truths anchored in the person of Christ, truths that alone allow this growth, must have been grasped, understood and appropriate.
3. The putting into practice of all truth, especially deep truths, is accessible only to those whose heart feels the need. Unless we are aware of the need to progress spiritually, the believer will never go beyond the fundamental truths that pertain to his spiritual birth; he will remain a "little child in Christ" (1 Corinthians 3: 1 version Word of Life [PDV] -----> For me, Christian brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as to people who have the Holy Spirit, I spoke to you only as to weak people, to Christians who are still babies in the faith)
(Hebrews 6 verses 1 to 2 version Word of Life)
<< Therefore, let us leave the first lessons on CHRIST and move on to adult education. Let us not go back to what constitutes the basis of this teaching, that is to say the abandonment of the actions that lead to death and faith in God; baptisms and the laying on of hands; the awakening of the dead and the final judgment >>
(Hebrews 6 verses 1 to 2, in the transcription of Alferd Kuen, which best fits the Amplified Bible quoted in the English text)
"That's why we do not want to dwell more on the basic notions of the Christian message. Let us go beyond this stage and turn to higher education that will promote our spiritual growth. Let us not always begin to lay down the foundations, that is to say, repentance that turns us away from sin and all useless works (from our previous life dedicated to death) and faith in God ...> >
This question of consecration seems to have been misunderstood by many Christians. There are too many, especially among young believers, who have always been the victims of urgent calls for abandonment or total commitment. Here is the argument used most often: "The Lord Jesus has given himself completely for you, and the least you can do is to abandon yourself completely to him, you too! >> One exhorts, one presses the believer to consecrate oneself, to abandon oneself, to commit oneself for Christ to prove to him his love and his recognition for what was accomplished for his intention on Calvary.
How often are participants of Christian assemblies subject to this routine! The individual believer is so often manipulated to come forward to consecrate himself and to rededicate himself, to surrender himself to Christ and to commit to Christ always again ... How is it that the moment comes when the believer dreads such meetings and such messages? Of course, there are quite a few reasons for this frustration, procrastination (hesitation) and failure. But God be praised, there are Bible answers for all those who need them and want to know these answers.
First of all, it is absolutely futile to expect a believer, by repeated consecration, abandonment, and commitment, to leave the field of substitution as it is defined in [Romans chapter 3 to 5] in order to experience deeper truths in [Romans chapter 8 and chapter 12 verse 1] ◘.
In Romans 6.7. there is the great truth of identification. Its importance is such that no one can do without it. Every sincere Christian longs for total consecration and effective life and service. From the beginning, and until he learns his lesson in the hard way, the well-meaning believer imagines that, provided he has the will to obey God and let himself be shaped by him he will be able to execute it by his personal efforts and with the help of God. ITS STRUGGLE FOR PROGRESS IS MOTIVATED BY LOVE. This motivation can be formulated as follows: he has worked for me, so I must work for him.
Here are two of Andrew Murray's considerations that will help us better understand: "A superficial knowledge of God's plan makes one think that while the purification seized by faith is the work of God, sanctification (growth) is our work. a work that can be accomplished with the help of the Holy Spirit under the influence of the gratitude we feel for the deliverance that has been given to us
But the sincere Christian soon realizes that the power that comes from his gratitude is little. If he thinks that to pray more will give him more power, he will find that this is not enough, all that is indispensable is prayer. It happens that a believer supports a desperate struggle for years, until he receives the teaching of the Holy Spirit, glorifying Christ all over again. It will be revealed to him that he can appropriate Christ, our sanctification, only by faith alone ...
"God, who produces in us the will, is ready to give us also to do it" [Philippians chapter 2 verse 13]
"God works in you and he makes you able to want and do the actions that please him" [Philippians chapter 2 verse 13] (Word of Life)
Unfortunately, this is often misunderstood. Many Christians think that if they have the will, that is enough to be able to put it into execution as well. This is not the case . For if the new will is a permanent gift that is part of the new nature, the power that allows it to be acted upon by action must be received moment by moment from the Holy Spirit. Only the man who is aware of his own helplessness as a believer will learn that he can lead a life of holiness through the Holy Spirit. >>
Sometimes we are called to say something against a good thing to advocate a better one. So it is good to live one's Christian life and to serve the Lord out of love; but even if it is a high motivation, it is not adequate because it does not correspond to the motivation to which God subscribes. As Christians involved in a process of spiritual growth, it is time for us to see the need to go beyond the motive of LOVE to arrive at the motive of life.
"For me, Christ is my life" (Philipians chapter 1 verse 21)
The English version says, "For me, to live is Christ"
The Word of Life version says, "Yes, for me, living is Christ, and if I have to die, I win! >>
Our consecration, our abandonment and our commitment will not be enough if the underlying reason is other than his life in us. If our abandonment to the Lord is based on something other than his life in us, our efforts to serve Him will be only the expression of the life of our Self. And even if we succeed, God can not accept it because nothing good resides in our old man (Romans chapter 7 verse 18), which besides has already been crucified with Christ and is no longer able to act (Romans chapter 6 verse 6, Galatians chapter 2 verse 20, 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 11, 1 Pierrre chapter 2 verse 24].
J.C.Metcalfe sees the problem as well as the answer:
"The modern teaching on consecration is tantamount to consecrating the old man by avoiding the death sentence, which can only lead to frustration and failure. However, if we are ready, you and I, to accept in all humility that the fact of our death with Christ is the daily basis of our life and our service, nothing will prevent that the new life in us manifests itself abundantly for to meet the needs of the people around us. >>
Here we are at the heart of the problem. The question arises: What is the life that we devote to it; the old life of the self or the new life of Christ? God can not accept anything from the old life; he sees and recognizes only that which is centered on his Son. This is our life. Therefore, in terms of consecration, God requires only one condition:
<< Deliver Yourself to God, as the living from death >> [Romans chapter 6 verse 13].
The Word of Life version says: "No longer put your body in the service of sin, as a means to do evil. On the contrary, put yourself in the service of God, as living from death >>
It is our only basis: we must consider ourselves dead to sin, the ego, the law and the world, but living for God in the risen Christ to walk "in newness of life" [Romans chapter 6 verse 4 ]
"God is asking us to offer him our bodies as a living sacrifice" [Romans chapter 12 verse 1]. Before we do that, there is nothing else we can do. Note that this exhortation is after Romans 6. There is a reason for this order: THE CRUCIFIXION PRECEDES CONSECRATION. The uncreated self refuses to consecrate. This explains why there are so many who always come back into the churches to consecrate their uncrucified self to God "(H.Duncan)
That is why we must present the truths about identification very carefully, making sure we get to the bottom of things so that they can be understood and then put into practice.
Without these truths, it is useless even to speak of consecration. there are those who feel the teaching of identification as the enhancement of a subject which, while interesting in itself, is only addressed to an elite seeking a deeper life , which aim, for example, at the Keswick Conventions. (Annual meeting of Evangelical Christians held in Keswick in Cumbria County, England since 1875.)
Yet these truths, far from being incidental, are quite fundamental. "Romans 6 is not an aspect of the truth, but the fundamental truth that must serve as a basis for every believer who wants to know victory," says DeV. Fromke.
To conclude this chapter, I will quote again Dev.Fromke: << A thorough study of all Paul's epistles will reveal that they were written in the optics of the cross as it is presented in Romans 6: God has relegated the fallen adamic life to the cross, for he has nothing to do with it. All the actions that God takes towards believers have the same basis: 'You died in Christ'.
However, the church as a whole ignores it. It considers the fallen creature, the life of the Self, as being able to be improved, and thus it removes from the cross its deep meaning: to kill the old Adamic race which is irremediably corrupted. >>