WE continue on in our our study in Principles of Spiritual Growth – Self-Denial. As I have previously mentioned, there are some vital truths here, but we need to walk through this particular topic carefully. Let me explain, if I can.
THE author opened this chapter saying,
When a believer begins to discover something of the awful tyranny of the self-life or has been endlessly struggling against that tyranny, he becomes intensely concerned about the denial of self with the resultant freedom to rest and grow in Christ. Man has many ways of seeking to escape the thralldom of self; God has but one way. First, then, some of these man-centered methods.
HE then went on to list in summary several “man-centered methods” for dealing with the thralldom of self (interesting word, “thralldom”), which are really not designed to deal with “self,” as such. There is one remaining “method” in his list that I pulled out of the mix that I’d like to look at now, “cleansing.” To this the author comments:
Cleansing
Up-to-the-moment confession and consequent cleansing have also constituted a popular method. However, I John 1:9 has to do with sins already committed and not with the source (self) from which they emanate. “The Blood can wash away my sins, but it cannot wash away my ‘old man’. It needs the cross to crucify me … the sinner… Our sins are dealt with by the Blood, but we ourselves are dealt with by the Cross. The Blood procures our pardon; … the Cross procures our deliverance from what we are” (anon).
NOW here’s the thing in the above. 1John 1:9, and the like, are vital and necessary in dealing with sin in the believers’ life. But the author is correct in pointing out that confession of sin and subsequent cleansing does not deal with the source (self) from which they [sin] emanate. My hesitancy with this is not in the factuality of this statement, but in the author’s placing this in a “man-centered” category. It is “man-centered” if we take God’s ordained means of grace in a way that they are unintended. Mortification, self-discipline, training up in the things of God, experience brought by providence, growing in grace, and necessary confession are all aspects of discipleship. It is true, they do not get to the source of sin, which is the sin affected “self” (Rom 6-7), but they do reveal and handle the effects of sin in the process. Like all that God has brought into being, these things can be “man-centered” if abused and detached from their right source and purpose; or Christ honoring if correctly viewed and practiced in faith.
THE author is about to point us to the only solution, which is the cross of our Lord Jesus. He will show that it was on the cross of Calvary that God, in Christ, dealt fully and finally with self, the nature from which all our sins flow. And whereas this is true, this is where I caution and call for discernment.
IN the early church there was a group that stirred up controversy call the Gnostics. They claimed a “higher knowledge” and experiential understanding in the “deep truths” that put them on a “higher plain.” As such, there has always been the danger of creating a second class, or in this case, third class individual. The first class – the unbeliever; the second class – a true Christian, with mere knowledge and practical experience; and third class – a true Christian with advanced, deeper or higher life knowledge and attainment. What our author is about to present can lead and might border on the “just believe” – “name and claim it” – level of higher spirituality. I think he is successful not crossing that particular line where others have, although he may come close.
THIS intro has been long, hopefully not too long. But I wanted to make this important point for clarity before we get to our reading and study of this section. So, let us begin.
With highest regards in Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10; Isa. 30:15; Jas. 1:2
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Chapter 11—Self-Denial – Part 3
Now just what is God’s way of self-denial? He has but one way, and it is on the basis of all His other ways: the principle of the finished work. His way for us in everything is the way He has already traveled, conquered and completed in Christ.
The Cross—God’s Way
It was on the cross of Calvary that God, in Christ, dealt fully and finally with self, the nature from which all our sins flow. “We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [our] body, [which is the instrument] of sin, might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin” (Rom. 6:6, Amplified). The reason there is no other way for self to be denied is that God has done the work in this way: our identification with Christ Jesus in His death and resurrection! It is done; now it is ours to believe.
“The ‘flesh’ will only yield to the cross; not to all the resolutions you may make at a conference, not to any self-effort, not to any attempted self-crucifixion; only to co-crucifixion, crucified together with Christ (Gal. 2:20). It is not by putting yourself to death, but by taking, through faith and surrender, your place of union with Christ in His death. That is the blessed barrier of safety between you and all the attractions of the flesh, and that makes the way open to do the will of God” (G. Watt).
The cross of Calvary resulted in the death of the Lord Jesus, both for sin and to sin. In that He died to sin, He died out of the realm of sin, and He arose into the realm of “newness of life” (Rom. 6:4), eternal life. And our identification with Him on Calvary took us into death, down into the tomb, up into newness of life. First, Romans 6:3—“Baptized into his death”; then, Romans 6:4—“Buried with him”; then, Romans 6:5—“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” Also, Colossians 3:3: “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”; therefore, Romans 6:11: “Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” …to be continued
