A B. Simpson wrote,.... The glory of the gospel is that it does not teach us to rise up to higher places, but shows our inability to do anything good of ourselves, and lays us at once in the grave in utter helplessness and nothingness, and then raises us up into new life, born entirely from above. The Christian life is not self-improving, but is wholly supernatural and Divine. The Romans Seven Syndrome mentioned earlier is the means that God often uses to cause the Christian to admit inability and defeat. When law becomes Christian law, Christianized in commandments of expected performance and accepted as the legitimate basis of obedience, it serves its final purpose to expose our inability when we cry out, The good that I would, I do not; and the evil that I would not, that I do (Rom. 7:19). Eventually, if we are sufficiently humiliated and honest, the worn-out Christian has to admit, Lord, I cant! Leave it up to me and Ill blow it every time! Such a cry of distress, the willingness to give up all self-attempts to live the Christian life, must be music to Gods ears. We are then at the point of readiness to acce pt His ability, allowing the Christ-life to be lived out in, as, and through us. The transition from Romans 7 to Romans 8 reveals there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1) - no condemnation for admitting our inability to live the Christian life. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death (Rom. 8:2) - the dynamic of the Spirit of Christ has liberated us from the legalistic performance techniques of religion. The Christian can now complete his exclamation, I cant; only You can; I am willing to let You. I cant - the cry of inability and defeat. You can - the admission of divine ability. I am willing to let You - the response of faith that is available to His ability, and receptive to His activity. The first three steps of the common twelve step recovery programs attempted to reproduce this sequence, but the replacement of the divine You with an impersonal higher power sacrificed the divine dynamic and opened the door for idolatry. Many Christians need to realize that the you who is able to solve their problems is not their counselor, their pastor, their spiritual mentor, their spouse or their friend, but only the divine You wherein is the power of God unto salvation.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 23:06:22 +0000
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