Chose life or death. This is the ongoing choice of all people and in a sense, even more so for the believer in Christ! Adam and Eve were given this choice; we also are given this choice. It is the fundamental choice of from whence we draw our source of life and living. The bible also refers to this as walking. You see, the source of life is either the tree of life or else by default it is the tree of knowledge, which is the choice of drawing from your own knowledge and ability for all right and wrong, or good and evil. The walking is the living out according to that choice. We must learn to see the flesh as more than just the sin producing factory but to see it as the totality of life in the natural man in heart and soul. It is a mind set, a way of life, a well spring (of salt water), an attitude, a culture of life, and much, much more! Romans 8: 4so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, Here we see the two sources being the walk in self, the flesh and that it is according to the way of the the flesh which abides in death. The other WAY is according to the Spirit which is lived out or drawn from the human spirit for that other well spring of life! Now we must see the reality of the flesh in that it is not strictly all about evil as it seeks also to do good and to be good according to its own knowledge, awareness and subjective knowledge of all right and wrong. This is why so many refuse to accept Christ Jesus because they already think they are doing well enough in seeking good over evil, not realizing they are choosing to refuse the righteousness of Christ in favor of their own righteousness. For the new believer however, there is still the tendency to walk or to please God according to this old way of knowledge by adding to that knowledge through the reading of rights and wrongs contained within the bible. This is still the wrong way around in the outward practice of self made religion trying to make the fruit good by learning more rights and wrongs and then trying to observe them. Instead we do well to look away from the focus upon rights and wrongs and focus our gaze upon the Spirit of Christ as the tree of life in which He may supply the flow of the life giving Spirit from within. Yes, the bible is full of rights and wrongs and dos and donts but these were initially provided in the old law to demonstrate that we could NOT fulfill the law so as to lead us to Christ! Now then, when we see these rights and wrongs in the bible or elsewhere, we should see them more as a guide post or warning signs which serve to lead us to Christ for our supply of that life giving Spirit wherein, in time, we become rooted, built up and then established in that tree which supplies its life to the branches for the producing of the fruits of the Spirit in all righteousness and not strictly by the knowledge of rights and wrongs, but directly by His Spirit. For if and when you begin to walk by the Spirit you will NOT carry out the desires of the flesh! The difference between the two ways of life may seem like a fine line and yet they are worlds apart for they are life and death. It is very critical that we make this distinction because if we do not we find ourselves trying to serve and to please God through the wrong tree and instead of walking by the spirit, we are walking by the flesh in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and we find ourselves stirring up the flesh instead of cutting it off. Many a Christian has met with the troublesome reality that the more he tries the worse it becomes. The reason is simply because he has not yet learned the secret of no longer I but Christ and he is still trying to please God according to the way and manner of life of the flesh. His mind sees the word of God only as good and evil; right and wrong and then seeks to satisfy and to please God through his efforts to obey. For one to become pleasing to God he must first learn well the rule of the exchanged life. This exchange of life is referred to as the WAY. It is also referred to as repentance; not merely from sins (for this is all the tree of the knowledge of good and evil can see) but mainly from the source of life and living out from the independent selfish flesh which is saturated within the hearts and souls of all men. It is so saturated that it is a way of life and living. As soon as a person gets up from bed this way takes hold to stir the ship, as it were. It is a forceful task master that can only be nullified through much conflict and discipline in sowing to the spirit and bearing of the cross daily! Day after day after day because the way of the flesh refuses to die! To make this exchange of life one must become a very disciplined person in sowing to the spirit while starving out the flesh. Any gratification or acknowledgement towards that flesh life keeps it alive. Therefore it is not enough to only sow to the spirit but we must also be deliberate in daily bearing the cross to nullify the life of the flesh!
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 14:34:24 +0000
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