Jesus said that no-one would be able to follow Him, unless he would deny himself and take up his cross daily (Luke 9:23). Paul speaks of it as "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus" (2 Cor.4:10). He meant of course that as Jesus died to his own will (“I do nothing of my own will, but I always do the will of my Father) so we too must never do anything of our own will. We cannot simply change our will; we must die to self-willfulness.
Jesus once spoke of those who seek to patch up an old garment with a new patch; He said the new fabric would tear the garment. This is called SELF-IMPROVEMENT! What was needed, Jesus said, was to get rid of the old garment and get a brand new one. This is the lesson: The old man (born from Adam) cannot be improved. He was crucified by God in Christ (Romans 6:6). It is not a change; it is an exchange. We have to exchange our will for His, the self-life for the Christ life!
God is not to be thought of as a psychologist whose goal for us is self-improvement; God does not take our life in Adam and make it better. He makes it deader. By our co-crucifixion, we are already dead to sin (once for all), but by our “daily” cross-bearing, we are dying to “self.” What freedom it brings; now we can live in the ‘newness of life’ Jesus gives us as a result of our co-resurrection! (Romans 6:4)
Think of this: dead man do not get angry or anxious or depressed. Dead to sin and dying to self, we are able to experience the life of Christ energizing us (2 Corinthians 4:11).
Jesus once spoke of those who seek to patch up an old garment with a new patch; He said the new fabric would tear the garment. This is called SELF-IMPROVEMENT! What was needed, Jesus said, was to get rid of the old garment and get a brand new one. This is the lesson: The old man (born from Adam) cannot be improved. He was crucified by God in Christ (Romans 6:6). It is not a change; it is an exchange. We have to exchange our will for His, the self-life for the Christ life!
God is not to be thought of as a psychologist whose goal for us is self-improvement; God does not take our life in Adam and make it better. He makes it deader. By our co-crucifixion, we are already dead to sin (once for all), but by our “daily” cross-bearing, we are dying to “self.” What freedom it brings; now we can live in the ‘newness of life’ Jesus gives us as a result of our co-resurrection! (Romans 6:4)
Think of this: dead man do not get angry or anxious or depressed. Dead to sin and dying to self, we are able to experience the life of Christ energizing us (2 Corinthians 4:11).
Greg,
ReplyDeleteThis is your old pal Anonymous. I once read that if we allow truth to penetrate our subconscious through purposeful, verbal rehearsal and repetition we will find that that truth has become part of the flow of our life. It will become like an anchor that keeps us secure in safe haven during the storms of our life.
One truth of which I am thinking is that we are actually living the life of Another. If we allow that to penetrate the depths of our heart then perhaps our striving for self-mastery or self-improvement or self-actualization will cease. In place of our striving will come the rest spoken of in the Book of Hebrews.
Scripture tells us that we have the mind of Christ--phenomenal! Scripture also tells us that we are the righteousness of God in Christ--staggering in its implications! Is this part of what it means to walk in newness of life?
Well, we already as 'new' as we will ever be, aren't we! Unfortunately, most of us (me included) spent far too many years still living as the 'old' wounded me. I think there are two verses that inspire me to live in my newness: Rom 8:12 'we are no longer under obligation to live according to the flesh... and Rom 12:2 'be not comformed but be transformed'
ReplyDeleteGreg,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reminder of these transforming Scriptures. I can re-review them again with a renewed mind's awareness and receive them with a heart open for the surgical work of the Holy Spirit to be performed with substantially less resistance from me.