Sanctification is Not a Process by John Crowder ..............The most scholarly minds would all agree that we shared a mystical death with Christ that purchased union with Him. But then a theological dishonesty creeps in. We are next taught that – although the old man is dead – we still have a daily process of putting that old self to death. I die daily is a common motto! They call it a paradox. Two opposites that are held in tension. They say your fleshly nature is dead, yet it is still in need of crucifixion. Paradox indeed! I call this a lack of revelation at best. Lazy exegesis at worst. The scriptures never contradict themselves. The word “paradox” sounds fun, but there are far fewer of them in scripture than you would imagine. Lobotomy is a fun word as well, but I don’t want one. People think, “We haven’t figured it out, so it must be an unsolvable puzzle! A paradox!” There are no unsolvable puzzles. Every mystery has been plainly published on the tree. .................I Die Daily Just as it would be foolish to think we have a daily heart transplant or a daily circumcision … in the same way, it is foolish to think death to self is a daily process. Death is a finite event. Not a continuous prolongation. Have you heard the term “I die daily?” I know you have. It’s a very common Christian cliché. People even know to attribute the phrase to the Apostle Paul. I have done an informal case study in dozens of revival meetings. From a regular show of hands, about 99 percent of people know the term “I die daily.” But only about five percent remember reading the scripture in context. When you read the Bible, you realize that Paul was absolutely not talking about a daily crucifixion of his old sinful self. The Apostle Paul was talking about facing the dangers of persecution on a constant basis! ............................. God actually wants to boast in single-handedly saving the world. Christianity was originally called good news. It used to be a happy message that people wanted to be a part of. The original version of the gospel seemed too good to be true. That’s why it spread like wildfire. Heaven as a free gift. Your sinfulness abolished. Effortless union with God. Amazing benefits! Easy, instant soul purge. Let me tell you, if the gospel you’ve heard is not too good to be true, it probably isn’t. The frequency of the gospel always inspires, always brings life and hope. The flavor and sound of the true gospel never puts rule and regulation and heavy trips on you. Never makes you feel you have to live up to any systematic expectations for acceptance. It always encourages, always hopes, always trusts, and always loves. Some would accuse us of preaching a candy-coated gospel. That’s not entirely true. This gospel is not just candy-coated. It also has bubble gum in the middle. thenewmystics/Articles/1000129594/Home_Page_of/Articles/Sanctification_is_Not.aspx
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 17:19:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015