Five Operations of the Holy Spirit Part 25
We must decide whether we will believe the Scripture or whether we will consider our own body, now dead in sins, and believe that Christ cannot deliver us. Which do we choose to believe?
Our body informs us that as long as we are in the world we owe it a certain amount of gratification of its sinful nature—lust, murder, covetousness, sorcery, revelling. The Scripture commands us to purify ourselves as Christ is pure. If we will not believe and obey the Scriptures we never will be established in God. We overcome the world by faith in the Word of God.
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. (I John 3:5,6)
To the extent we are abiding in Christ we are not sinning. We are making our pilgrimage into Christ, as it were. The further into Christ we advance the less we sin. When we are sinning we are not seeing Christ or knowing Christ. Only the part of us that is abiding in Christ is not sinning.
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (I John 3:7) There have been many deceiving teachers on the earth. Most of them deceive us unintentionally. They deceive us by stating that grace is an alternative to godly behaviour.
They teach us that no matter how we conduct ourselves we will escape disaster in the Day of the Lord on the basis of "accepting" Christ.
The deceived and deceiving teachers imply that righteous conduct is neither possible nor necessary but that we all will be carried away from the scene of God's judgment on the basis of our stating that Christ is Lord and Saviour. They are well aware of Romans 10:9,10:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
But they are not as familiar with II Corinthians 6:17,18:
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
They would not agree that II Corinthians 6:17,18 is as much a part of salvation as Romans 8:9,10. Romans 8:9,10 is a cornerstone of the Christian formula of salvation. But II Corinthians 6:17,18 is not regarded as important or valid to nearly the same extent.
We claim that the entire Scriptures are the infallible Word of God, but our teaching and preaching reveals that we do not truly regard the entire Scriptures in this manner.
Our day is one of heresy, the heresy that salvation is by forgiveness alone, holy behaviour being a desirable but nonessential condition. Yet, God will not welcome us when we are walking in uncleanness, regardless of our profession of faith.
Will God welcome the sinner when he comes to Jesus for help? Yes, He will. He will forgive the prodigal. But then the prodigal is to behave as a son, not to continue in riotous living.
The purpose of the grace of forgiveness under the new covenant is that we may have an opportunity to come to God in our sinful state. The concept is that we are forgiven so we may have an opportunity, through the Divine provisions, to turn away from sin and serve righteousness.
Grace is not the Divine alternative to godly behaviour, it is the alternative to the Law of Moses. If we continue to sin after we have come to Christ we make the grace of God of none effect.
The incorrect concept of grace that prevails in our day is a major cause of the moral condition of the Western nations. The preachers and teachers who preach forgiveness apart from repentance and godly living are destroying themselves, the churches, and the nations of the earth that look to the churches for moral direction.
It is possible to distort the meaning of Divine grace until grace becomes an excuse for unrighteous conduct. . . . he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; . . . . (I John 3:7,8)
We have removed a clause from each of two verses (above) without harming the meaning in context, in order to reveal the truth clearly. This is the gist of what the Apostle John is teaching: righteous works proceed from Christ; sin proceeds from the devil.
It does not matter whether we have said we have received Christ as our personal Saviour. Receiving Christ as our personal Saviour is the first and vitally necessary step in God's plan of redemption, but receiving Christ does not change the eternal fact that righteous conduct proceeds from Christ and sin proceeds from the devil.
If we do not understand that righteous conduct proceeds from Christ and sin proceeds from Satan, we never will have insight into the working of redemption in us. The purpose of the working of redemption in us is to destroy the works of the devil in us and to create the righteous Nature of Christ in us. . . . for the devil sinneth from the beginning. . . . (I John 3:8)