93-23 – Do You Know Your Spiritual Birth Line? – Do You Know Your Birthright? Part 1

In this scripture-packed series, Dr. Betters discusses regeneration, effectual calling, conversion, justification, adoption, sanctification, perseverance and glorification. Come along on this journey and find great joy in discovering many treasures in your journey along your spiritual birthline. Peter’s spiritual journey is a clear picture of a man intrigued by the Messiah, but not converted. In this message we watch as God removes Peter’s spiritual blindness. Peter’s journey helps us see our own spiritual birthlines unfold.

Transcript

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Welcome to In His Grip with Dr. Chuck F. Betters, produced by Mark Ink Ministries. Each in his grip message is designed to help turn your hearts toward Jesus and equip you to walk by faith. Let's join Dr. Betters as he preaches the series, Do You Know Your Spiritual Birth Line?

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Many of you have asked questions. One of the questions you've asked is, When are you going to get on to how this works out in practice in my life? When are you going to tell me how to live as a husband and a godly man and a godly wife? And when are you going to show me how to practice holiness and the disciplines of the Christian walk? And when are you going to do this? And when are you going to do that? Well, I have somewhat of an answer for you. I have been doing that. I have been trying to show you that there's more to our Christian faith than a spiritual how-to manual. A, B, C, D, E, I become holy. E F G H and I, I become unholy. There's a lot more to living the Christian life than a book of how-tos. Before we can learn how-to, we need to learn why-to. And in order to learn why-to, we need to know who we are. We have to get down to the nitty-gritty of who I am as a person. And more specifically, who I am as a child of God. As a Christian, what is this? How does this fit? Is being a Christian just praying a sinner's prayer and coming forward at an altar call and maybe joining the church and singing in the choir? Is that all there is to it? Well, that's almost as exciting to me as thinking that heaven is nothing more than plucking grapes and sprouting wings and sitting around all day with angels fanning me. To me, heaven is not that at all. I wouldn't be excited about going to a place like that. I would get tired of that real quick. That's why the Bible says that heaven is a place where the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the hearts of men the things that God has prepared for those who love Him. Now, if you follow the birth line on out to where that little arrow ends on the other side of that is glorification. And that speaks of resurrection and where our destiny is and where our destiny lies. But everything that transpires before that is leading to that point. By the way, guess when we're going to get to the glorification section? Right around Easter time. Timing's perfect, isn't it? I want you to understand some things first before we get there. The place that we start most times as Christians is at that point X. We try to talk about when I became a Christian. I became a Christian when. And we try to give the testimony of how we were converted. Is there anything wrong with that? Of course not. But there's something seriously lacking if that's all that you have to say. You see, God has had a plan. From before the foundation of the world, he elected to himself a people. That's on the other side of your birth line. Doesn't even show up there. God's predetermined plan that for reasons known only to him, he chose to himself a people. Now I know some of you have problems with that. And you're going to continue to have problems with that. That's why we have denominations. Because denominations have problems with that. We have trouble, we have difficulty comprehending the meaning of divine sovereignty. What does it mean when we say God chose to himself a people? Why did he choose some and for reasons known only to him pass others over? I don't know. And I'm not even going to try to answer it, but I do know this. The scripture teaches that God makes no mistakes, that he has a plan. And that plan included the coming of his son Jesus Christ to secure the salvation of his people. But now the birth line is how the Holy Spirit applies all of this in a time frame, because you see, that's where we live. So from the beginning, regeneration to the end, that is our death, and then ultimately our glorification, we move in a time dimension. The Holy Spirit, at some point, passively, unknown to you, passively engages your spirit with his spirit, takes that which is dead and brings it back to life. Recreates, if you will, regenerates. At that point, your spirit and his spirit are joined together, and then he begins to effectually call you to work through circumstances and situations to bring you to the point of understanding that you are a sinner and that you need a savior. And that point X, that conversion time, is where the Spirit of God applies faith to your heart, teaches you, enables you, convicts you, renews you, so that you can by faith trust in Christ and Christ alone for your salvation. Two legal acts take place at that point. One, you are justified, not by the works of the law, but by the standard of law. Not because you are righteous, but because of his righteousness, which is imputed to you. You are made in the image and likeness of God, and that vacuum is now filled with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And then you are adopted, legally, grafted into the family of God, once an orphan, now a child of the living God, brought into all the rights and privileges and inheritances of living life in the kingdom of God. Well, having said all of that, having even spoken about the seal of the Holy Spirit, that is the promise that God gives to not only bring you into the body of Christ, but to teach you and to give you assurance of your salvation and power to live out your Christian life. All of that process, all of that glorious process, is absolutely meaningless unless you know how to apply it. And that's what brings us to where we are today. Romans chapter 5. Look with me, beginning with verse 15. But the gift is not like the trespass. By the way, this passage has been used by Arminians, people who believe in free will and people who do not believe that God elected some to salvation. That's what an Arminian is, but Arminians try to use this passage to teach their position that salvation on the cross of Jesus Christ was for all men, that he died on the cross for all men without exception, and that all men without exception have now the opportunity of salvation made available to them. That Christ dies on the cross and then turns it over to free will to our human choices to determine whether or not we will believe that. Well, that's just not what the scripture teaches, but this is one of the passages that is used in an attempt to teach that, and I'm going to show you that it means just the opposite. Romans chapter 5. But the gift, verse 15, is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many? Now, before we go any further, I want to talk about two atoms: the first Adam and the last Adam. The first Adam we know about in Genesis chapter 1, 2, and 3. We read about his creation in that passage. We read that God created man in his own image and his own likeness. He's the first Adam. The last Adam is Jesus Christ. Now, both of these atoms are the progenitors of a race. Adam is the progenitor of the human race, man in his lost condition. All of us who are born into the human race are born in the loins of Adam. He is the federal head of that human race of which all of us are a part. The last Adam is Jesus Christ. And he has brought into this world a new race, different from the old race. A new race that is a spiritual race. And just as the first Adam's race are created in his likeness, the last Adam's race are created in his likeness. And so we have two heads of two races: the first Adam, the human race, the last Adam, the spiritual race. And both of them are the progenitors of their races. Now you need to understand that as you come to this passage. Unless you do understand that, the passage becomes confusing. Alright, let's pick it up. Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin. The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation. That's speaking of Adam's fall. But the gift, that's salvation in Christ, followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if by the trespass of the one man death reigned through that one man, that's Adam, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Now you notice that there are two races established: the one that's in Christ, the one that's in Adam. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men. Now, who are these all men? Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men. All of you qualify there. You see, we're all a part of the human race. We are all in the loins of Adam. And what is he telling us there? Condemnation has resulted in you because of the sin of one man. That's Adam. Adam's sin has been passed on from generation to generation. He was condemned, and just as you are a part of the human race, you are condemned as you are in the loins of Adam. Now look at it carefully. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, that is, all who are the first Adam's posterity, those who are part of the human race, so also the result of one act of righteousness. That's the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus Christ. That act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. Now you see what the Arminian does with that is he says, Well, now look, it says they're all men. It says that Jesus dies on the cross for all men. It says no such thing. What it says is that this act of righteousness brings life and justification for all who are the offspring of that last Adam's spiritual race. That is his spiritual offspring. Certainly it cannot mean that he brings life for all men, because we know for certain that Christians are in a minority. Not all men will go to heaven, not all men will be saved, not all men have life. In fact, the vast majority of the human race is perishing without Christ. But when Jesus Christ dies on the cross, he brings justification and life for every single one of his spiritual offspring, that is all of the elect. For just as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners. Now who's the many? Well, we know that the whole human race is sinners. Why doesn't it say all? It says the many. That's a special term. You know who that's referencing? You. You're a part of that first family, you're a part of that human race, you're a part of that fallen creation. The elect of God here are called the many. And he's saying that you were dead in your trespasses in Adam as a part of the human race. His sin brought death and condemnation to you. So also through the obedience of the one man, the many, that's the elect, will be made righteous. Two races, two offspring. The first Adam, human nature, the last Adam, spiritual nature. I say, why are you talking about this? Well, as we talk about the order of salvation, you need to remember that you still live in human bodies. You are still a human being, even though you have been made spiritual offspring in Christ. Now, here is where we begin to have a problem. Turn over to Romans chapter 8, verse 28. I want to read something to you. And then we're going to talk about how we live as Christians. Romans 8 28. You've heard this passage a thousand times, but I want to underscore one phrase as we begin to talk about the fact that you are a human being, a part of a human race, but you are also a spiritual being, a part of a spiritual race, and how those two mix and interchange. Romans 8.28. We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew, he also predestined. Now here's what I want you to underscore. I want you to underscore the next phrase. To be conformed to the likeness of his son. To be conformed to the likeness of his son. You see, your predestination and election in Christ and this whole Ordo Salutis, this order of salvation, the application of salvation to you from regeneration through your call, through your conversion, justification and adoption and the sealing of the Holy Spirit, all of that means nothing unless the end is achieved, and the end that God seeks in predestining and electing you is that you will be brought into complete conformity to the image of His Son. Anybody here qualify? Well, either something's wrong or he didn't really mean that, because there certainly isn't one of us sitting here today, at least we reason this, there's not one of us sitting here today that has been completely conformed to the image and likeness of Christ. Yet that's the plan. That's the plan. Well, we're going to begin taking a fresh look at the doctrine of sanctification. But I got to tell you, before we take a look at it, we have to do some unteaching. Just as we've done all along here. You know, some of you come from different traditions. And some of these traditions that talk about how you're supposed to live as a Christian, have their pluses and their minuses. I want to list a few of them for you because four of them are incorrect, and one of them is biblical. And yet there's enough truth in each of these four traditions that we can't throw the baby out with the dirty water. Let me give you tradition number one. Tradition number one, as we talk about the doctrine of holiness, the doctrine of sanctification, I'm simply going to call Pharisaicalism or radical fundamentalism. Now, most of us, or many of us, I should say, have been exposed to churches in which this kind of mindset exists. Holiness is defined in terms of rules and regulations. You live this way, you don't wear this, you don't wear that. You don't say this, you don't say that. You don't go here, you don't go there. And rules are determined according to some sort of cultural milieu, some sort of pronouncement that comes usually from a pulpit that is controlled by demagogues. Men who stand up behind their pulpits and they themselves determine what constitutes holiness, although they don't have any scriptural justification for it. And so rules and regulations are imposed upon their members. Sometimes very binding rules, sometimes very tightly knit rules, sometimes very painful rules that have no basis in Scripture. And if you live this way, you're called holy. If you don't live this way, you're not. Usually the congregation is taught in this kind of a system that nothing evil can ever be said about the pastor. You can never question the pastor's authority. And although the priesthood of all believers is preached from the pulpit, it really doesn't exist, at least theologically, because the pastor is considered to be one who holds absolute authority and sway over the congregation. Now, there are churches like that all over the place. And because of that, many different kinds of rules and regulations result in one preacher's pronouncement. Now, one of the real dangers of this is what you're seeing happening out in Waco, Texas. One of the real dangers is that when a congregation allows a pastor to become that kind of a demagogue and determine in and of himself what is right and what is wrong for the congregation, apart from scripture, you have the makings of a cult. And even in some of our what we would call Bible-believing churches, the cultic tendency is already in place. Now they would not like that label, but nonetheless it exists. That's tradition number one. Tradition number two is what I'm calling experiential perfection or the holiness movement. Holiness is now determined not in rules and regulations, but in what you in your own spirit, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, determined to be emotionally correct for you. That is, holiness is wrapped up in how I feel. If it feels right, if the spirit seems to confirm it in my spirit, we have this charisma. This charism, if you will, that's the correct theological term. The spirit of God motivating me from within, and therefore I determine what is right and what is wrong. I've actually had people approach me in this spirit and say, the Lord led me to divorce my husband. Well, what are your grounds? I don't have any grounds. The Lord just led me away from him and onto the mission field. Well, now wait a minute. The Lord cannot tell you in your spirit to do something that he completely contradicts over here in Scripture. Well, no, he can do that, they say. The Spirit has clearly told me that I need to do this, this, this, and this, but there's absolutely no confirmation of it in Scripture and no confirmation of it in authority. The whole of holiness is wrapped up in one word and one word only, and that's emotion. Many of you are in that pattern. You don't know it. You're not in a holiness church, you're not in a Pentecostal or charismatic church, but many of you are motivated by emotion alone, regardless of what the Word of God says. So you determine to do things on the basis of emotion and not on the basis of the Word of God. I've been in the ministry now for 24 years, and I've got to tell you, every single one of those years, it has frustrated me and continues to frustrate me to see how Christian people respond with emotion in spite of the way the Word of God is trying to direct and lead them. People make emotional decisions all of the time. Not wrapped up in truth, not wrapped up in doing the hard thing. We see people all the time making decisions that are wrong decisions. The Spirit of God is saying, go this way. The multitude of counselors tells them go this way. The scripture says go this way, but their emotions are so captivated that they go this way. And they reason somehow after they make these bad decisions to go this way, that somehow or another the Word of God instructed them to do so. We see that all the time. I hope you are getting wise enough as Christians and mature believers. I hope you are getting wise enough to learn how to exhort these kinds of people. When they're going off in that direction, and the multitude of counselors has led them one way, and scripture has led them one way, and their emotions are carrying them another way. Call them to task on it. You say you love them, then show them that you love them and call them to task because they're wrong if they're governed by emotion. Holiness, experientialism. Then there's a third movement. We'll simply call it sanctification by works or the social gospel. I'm going to throw that one out simply as unchristian. Liberation theology, if you will. That is, our holiness is wrapped up in what we do for the poor, it's wrapped up in what we do for the homeless, it's wrapped up in what we do for this ethnic group or that ethnic group. And as good and as proper as those things are, they do not constitute the gospel of Jesus Christ. They constitute the fruit of our gospel, but they do not constitute the gospel. Tradition number four is where we're going to have to do some serious unteaching. Because most evangelical Christians have bought into this. Listen carefully. As great and believe me, as wonderful as the work of Campus Crusade is, I've got to call them on this issue. I love the work of Campus Crusade. I would encourage your continued involvement in Campus Crusade, but for years, Campus Crusade has been propagating a false system of doctrine, and they didn't just come up with it. It's been around in evangelical circles for many, many years. And it goes like this there are three kinds of people in the world: spiritual people, unspiritual people, and carnal Christians. Spiritual Christians, unsaved people, and carnal Christians. A third class of people has been created that has absolutely no basis in the Word of God. And rooted in that is another mindset that goes something like this, and this is what we're going to explore in the weeks to come. Listen to me. Here I am faced with a temptation. Here I am face to face now. You men, listen to me. You're faced tomorrow with a sexual temptation. There you are at work and you're faced with it. For years, here is what you have been taught that inside of you there's a war. The war of the old man and the new man. The question that is now raised is, according to this fourth theory, the question that is raised is which of those two men is going to gain access to the throne of your life? Who sits on the throne? The Lord or self? The new man or the old man? Romans 7 is interpreted in the context by this group as propagating a system of dualistic nature. That is, within me there are two natures warring to do the right thing. The old man, which is part of Adam, the new man, which is part of Christ, and they war against each other, and whichever one wins at that given moment is the one that's on the throne of my life. Now, most of you have believed that. Most of you have been taught that. And so now we're going to inject something into your thinking that's going to challenge that whole system. And we'll come to that in a moment. That brings me to the fifth system, which I believe is the reformed or biblical approach. This is the one we're going to explore. Now, by the way, before we pass on too quickly, there's truth, some truth in all four of these systems. For example, the fundamentalist, the legalist makes us aware of the ever-shifting cultural values. For example, modesty in women, or conforming to the world's standards, etc. So you can't throw the whole baby out with the dirty water, but you need to be very careful. The holiness movement really talks about the place of emotion. I hope there's some truth there that we are emotional creatures and that God expects us to respond not only spiritually but emotionally. So you can't throw that all out. The social gospel, I think, becomes a conscience for the Christian church to become culturally relevant and culturally engaged in humanitarian relief of suffering that exists out there. The carnal Christian approach really does bring home to bear the issue of who does reign in your life and maybe ought to bring to bear the question of whether or not you truly are saved. So you see, there is some truth in all the systems, so we can't throw them completely out, but all of them are grossly deficient. And here's where they're deficient. They do not answer the basic question. And here it is: the basic question that will determine our understanding of the spiritual dynamic that is at work at every time, at every point in which I am tempted, every confrontation with the forces of flesh and world and Satan that I face every day of my life, the question I have to answer is this where am I to discover the real meaning and the real purpose to my life? And when you answer that question, you're able to stand. Summarizing the statement, I'll put it this way: personhood, that is, who I am, precedes power. My personhood precedes power to be holy. I can't really be holy until I know who I am. Who is the real me? Who is the real person inside of me? And when I discover my own existence, my own meaning, and my own personhood, then I am engaged with an understanding of the power that is at work for me to face that sexual temptation, or to face that temptation to cheat or to steal, or to face that temptation to gossip, or to face that temptation to be a godly wife or a godly mother. You see, but I need to know who I am and then can engage in the power of who I am in order to face the temptation. Go back to the book of Genesis. I want to show you something. Genesis chapter 1. Please go quickly. I'm going to read some scriptures to you that I hope are going to begin to answer the question of personhood. Satan's half truth. Listen carefully to it. I don't think you'll miss it, but maybe you will. Listen to it. Genesis 1, beginning with verse 26. Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. That's important. Let him rule over the fish of the sea, etc., etc. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him, male and female, he created them. What's repeated there three or four times? How did God create you? In his image. All right, register that over here in block number one, verse seven. The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Now the Lord had planted into a garden in the east in Eden, there put man and deformed him, and the Lord God made all the trees grow out of, etc., etc. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What was in the garden? The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Got that? Image of God, block one. Tree in the middle of the garden of the knowledge of good and evil, block two. Now go down to chapter two, verse 25. The man and his wife were both naked, no problem so far. And they felt no shame. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, here it is now, did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman said to him, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. You will not surely die. The serpent said to the woman. Now underscore this. Here's block three. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Created in his image. Do not eat of the forbidden fruit, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan comes along and he tells them a half-truth. Did you get it? Did you pick it up? Did you catch it? You will be like God. That is half true. You want to know why it's half true? In one sense of the word, that was a true statement. They would become exactly like God in this respect. The moment they ate of the forbidden fruit, they became independent creatures. God is an independent being. But see, man wasn't created for independence. Man was created in the image and likeness of God. That is, man was created to have a dependent relationship upon God. Now when Adam and Eve fall, they become as God is independent. Therefore, God who finds fulfillment only in himself, and man who now must find fulfillment only in himself become alike. So now we have Adam and Eve, fallen creatures, broken from dependence upon God, independent of God, therefore they must find satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, pleasure, personhood, and identity. Where? In God? No, they broke off that relationship. They must now find all of those things in themselves. And ever since they fell, that's where every man who was part of the offspring of Adam, every human being, has been in the same boat. God created man to have a dependent relationship upon him. That's what it means when he says he created us in his image. That is, we are to image the holiness of God, and that's where we find fulfillment. But Satan was quick. And with their fall, this new race of man is started, for they became independent creatures who would be cut off from life in God. They would be cut off from his mind, his perfections, and his purity. And so they'd have to find meaning somewhere else. And the only place they could look was in themselves or in their fallen environment. They died in their trespasses, they died in their sins, and they lost at that point their birthright. What was left for them to find their reason for existence? What was left for them to find meaning and purpose in life? Where would they have to look? Here it is. They'd have to look in their own flesh. That is, they'd have to look in their brains, their emotions, their senses, their bodies, their creativity, their imagination, their interaction with their environment. Man would have to find meaning in the created aspects of not only his life but the environment in which he lived, because he's cut off from the life of God. And that brings me to a definition of sin. And when you understand this definition of sin, you're going to understand how to live holy lives. Here it is. You know, we usually translate sin as missing the mark that is so weak, so lame. Need to go a little further. Here's what sin is. Sin is the expression of man's struggle with the meaning of his existence while missing life apart from God. Sin is all of the varieties of way deals with and expresses his alienation from God, his creator, as he encounters day by day the inescapable issue of the meaning of life. The law is the will of God. It is the place where we discover meaning and purpose. Sin is the violation of that law, and what do we do when we sin? We brag of our independence from God. God says, here's the law. We say no, we are cut off from that life. We find meaning and purpose in our rebellion against God. And we can do that a million different ways. And we do it every day a million different ways. Go over to Ecclesiastes chapter 2. Ecclesiastes chapter 2. Quickly. Look with me at verse 1. Three sections of Scripture in Ecclesiastes kind of sum this up for us. Ecclesiastes 2, verse 1. I thought in my heart. That's usually a dangerous place to start, but I thought in my heart. Ecclesiastes 2, verse 1. You'll find it right around the book of Proverbs. Come now. I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good. But that also proved to be what? Meaningless. Laughter, I said, is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish? I tried cheering myself with booze. Greek translation of the word wine. And embracing folly. My mind still guiding me with wisdom. See the tension there? I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of our lives. I undertook great what? Projects. I built houses for myself. Planted vineyards. Try a little gardening. Try a little carpentry. Try a little laughter. Try a little sex. Try a little booze. Verse 10. I denied myself what? Nothing my eyes desired. I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work. And this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done, imagine coming to this point in your life. All that you've worked for, all that you've labored for, all that you thought constituted meaning and purpose in your life, all that I had toiled to achieve, everything, everything, everything was what? Meaningless. A chasing after the wind. Now try doing that. Let me see you do that. Blow into the air. Now let me see you chase it. It's foolishness, it's meaningless. Nothing was gained under the sun. This guy was loaded, by the way. Had all kinds of money to do whatever he wanted to do. Verse 17. You see what happens to him as the result of this chasing after the wind? How many of you are depressed this morning? Don't raise your hand. Please don't raise your hand. You know why you're depressed? You know why you're discouraged this morning? Because you're following this pattern. You see what's going to happen when you follow this pattern? Verse 17. So I hated life. Well, what else is there to blame? If that's your God and your God fails you, what else is there to blame? So I hated life because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. How come we don't read stuff like that and understand it? Is that so tough to understand? Here is man cut off, apart from the life of God. He is trying to find pleasure in himself, in his environment, in his senses, in his flesh, in his emotions, and it doesn't work. Sin is not simply some sinister or evil force at work inside of us. And listen, sin is the fundamental necessity for every person who does not possess life from God. You have no alternative but to sin. You either have life in God or you sin. You find meaning in life in God or you find meaning in sin. There's no alternative because you are living a life that is independent of your creator. And in that independence, according to the Bible, you can find no meaning. As a member of the human race that is centered upon a philosophy of humanism, that is, we are independent creatures. This kind of a man is dead to true meaning, and his own flesh becomes his God. Turn to Romans chapter 8. And look with me at verse 20. Romans 8, verse 20. For the creation. Well, that's our environment. That's the world in which we live. It's a fallen world. You don't believe it's a fallen world, you haven't checked it out lately. The world is falling apart. It's not coming together, it's falling apart. The beauty of God's creation is coming apart. We're moving toward a climax. Why? Because the world is a part of the fall of man. It is a world apart from the life that we find in God. Romans 8.20. For the creation was subjected to frustration. Not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it. So you want to find meaning and purpose in creation? It's going to be what? Frustrating. Why? Because the creation around us has fallen. Well, what does man do with that? He makes gods out of creation. He sees a tree, he worships it, sees a sun, he worships it, sees a mountain, he worships it. Sees a cow, if you're over in India, you worship it. Creation becomes your God. Romans chapter 1 tells us about that. And that man takes the very creation of God and makes it a God and misses the creator. So once again, life becomes meaningless to him. Turn to Ephesians chapter 4. Look with me at verse 17. So I tell you this, verse 17, and insist on it in the Lord. Whenever Paul says he insists on something, it doesn't sound like there's an option, does there? That you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. There it is. Meaning and purpose in life can never be discovered apart from life in God. And the alternative to that kind of living is sin. The lost man cannot see this truth. The unregenerated man, the man who has not been united with the Spirit of God, cannot understand this truth. For all of the unregenerate, the combined will to live and the will to discover meaning finds its expression where? In the flesh. I want to live. I want to have meaning. And in order to live and have meaning, I've got to what? I've got to work the deeds of the flesh. Turn to Galatians chapter 5. I'll show you what I mean. Galatians chapter 5. All of this unregenerated man's life is wrapped up in feeding the effects of his independence. That is his flesh. You see what you're looking at up here? This human body is my flesh. It has a brain. Some of you may not think so, but it does. It has a brain, it has eyes, both that are straight now. It has ears. It has torso. It has artificial hip. This is a human body. This is my flesh. But now here's the problem. As a part of the human race, I died in my spirit, but you see, that spirit that died took its toll on this body. In other words, my sin nature so infected my body that my body will one day die. That's why you die. Some of you look like you're dying right now. Follow me. Listen, listen to the logic. My sin nature infected my flesh. So that my flesh will one day die. That is why, as Christians, we continue to wait for the redemption of our bodies even after we die. You see, the body cannot go to heaven the way it is, because it's been corrupted by sin. So the body must be raised incorruptible, undefiled, and that will happen when Jesus Christ comes back again. And if we're still alive, the body has to be changed. You see, I'm going to tell you something. You'll see a titanium prosthesis with a cobalt head lying here if Christ comes back today. Because the body is going to be taken and glorified, and it's not going to need an artificial part. It's going to be glorified with my glorified spirit. That's if he comes today. If I die and he comes ten years from now, out of the grave, he will raise my corrupted body to incorruption. You see. But until then, listen, until then, guess what? My new nature has to contend with my flesh that still is corrupted. But now here's the key, and this is where the unteaching has to be done. I no longer have, as a Christian, as a child, justified, adopted child of God, I no longer have an old nature. There is not a sinister evil force at work within my new nature called an old nature that's warring against the other. The old nature died and was buried when I was converted in Jesus Christ. I see how you're looking at me. You're saying, well, now if that's true, why do I still sin? How come I still sin? Because I still live in the flesh, I still have this corrupted body. But the real me, the real person, is in Jesus Christ, in the new nature that He has given me in my spirit. That's the real me. But here's what we do with it. We say, well, now wait a minute, there's not really a new nature, there's an old nature and the new nature, and they war against each other. And I aim to show you in the weeks to come. That just isn't biblical. That just isn't biblical. The reason we sin is because we continue in the flesh, in a corrupted flesh, that day by day by day is dying, but the spirit within me, day by day by day, is being renewed until one day the spirit is glorified, and when Christ comes back again, the body also will be glorified, and the two will be brought together in a new heaven and a new earth, and that's the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, if you're in Galatians, and we'll close with this, I just want to read it very quickly. Galatians chapter 5 says, Well, let's define these deeds of the flesh. What are they? The deeds of the flesh. Here they are. And this is, by the way, where we'll pick up next week. So we're going to end here today and pick up next week. And I'd like to give you a preview. Here's the preview. I'm sitting in my home and I'm watching TV. Okay? You with me? Sitting home watching TV. Suddenly, something comes on the TV set that appeals to my sexuality and to my lust. Now, as a Christian, I'm faced with a problem now, right? What am I going to do? You young people go to a movie, and suddenly something comes up on the screen. What are you going to do? Or you go to work tomorrow. Nobody knows, nobody can see, just a little bit of cheating here, a little bit of cheating there, and you've stolen some money. Nobody'll know it. You're faced with this temptation. Next time we're together, I want to propose to you two ways in which a Christian can face that temptation. One way is the way we have been traditionally taught, and it's the reason why we live so defeated a life. The other way is the biblical way. That I believe when you discover it, it will liberate you forever, forever, from having to live with your theme verse being 1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Isn't that a wonderful verse? That's a wonderful verse, but for some of us it's our theme verse. Because every day of our lives we're confessing again and confessing again and confessing again. Because we keep falling and falling and falling and falling, and we even begin to wonder, am I really a Christian if I keep falling like this? You want to know why? Because you haven't understood the principle that personhood precedes power. And once you discover personhood, the power is going to come. Here are the deeds of the flesh. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious. Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery. I put those three together because they are man's attempts to discover meaning through his body, his glands, his senses, and his fantasies. That's what those three sins are. I'm going to find meaning, and I'm going to do it, Lord, through sex. Through my glands, through my senses, through touch. A broad term, verse 20, idolatry. I put that one by itself. It's whatever you decide short of God dependence will give you meaning. You work feverishly to get it, then once you have it, you guard it, then you sacrifice to it, then you worship it. To lose it is to lose life itself. Best answer whether or not you're an idolater, answer this question. If I lost blank, I would lose life itself. My life would no longer have meaning if I lost blank. If you've got something to put into that blank, you're an idolater. Unless you put Christ in there. Next in witchcraft. Now man begins to search for meaning in the occult. By the way, the word there is sorcery. This is drugs, mind control, astrology, unity, faith, new ageism, any external stimulus that I use to control how I feel. That is anything that causes me to feel better. That's witchcraft. Hatred, discord, jealousy, and fits of rage. You see, those are common emotional terms. All terms that reflect the standard reactions of one who is frustrated with his given set of circumstances. Something's happened to me, I don't like it. So I respond with hatred, discord, jealousy, and fits of rage. Some supposed meaning or purpose in my life has been taken from me and I've been threatened by something, or it's been kept out of my reach. Therefore, the deed of the flesh there becomes hatred, discord, jealousy, and fits of rage. Selfish ambition, dissensions, and factions. I put those three together. These three point to the conflicting ideologies as to where value in life can best be discovered. All caused by people who are determined to gain control over the lives of others. Power grabs, if you will. I have my goals, and if I have to walk all over you in the process to achieve my goals, then so be it. If you stand in my way, I will rally support from others to get you out of my way. If you get in the way of my dreams, then I'm going to bring others around me so that we together can walk over you in order to achieve my dreams. That's how church splits happen, by the way. Verse 21, envy. The standard reaction of the flesh in response to the fact that you have what I want. You have what I want, and I'm going to get it, and I ain't going to take, sir. Drunkenness, orgies, and the like. Man becomes hopelessly lost in his quest for meaning, and he gives up. He just plain gives up. That's what drunkenness orgies and the like means. Therefore, I will have to get something else in order to cope with reality. Man's hopeless struggle for meaning will never, never, never be found in these deeds of the flesh. But only as we learn to enter into a dependent relationship upon God. I close by saying this. C.S. Lewis made this statement. He said, When Adam and Eve fell, they gave birth to a new species, a new kind of man, not made by God. They had sinned their way into existence and therefore radically altered their constitution. But see, here's the problem. Here's the serious, serious problem. I've listed for you the deeds of the flesh. Here's the problem. All of my life. My flesh has grown accustomed to these deeds. All of my life. But my flesh is not the real me. The real me is a new creature created in Christ Jesus to have a dependent relationship upon him. You're sitting in front of that TV now? How are you gonna handle that temptation? Come back next week and I'll tell you. Let's pray together. Lord, we have sinned in our flesh. We have sinned in our old natures. We have fallen and we are without hope. Frustrated, frustrated by the deeds of the flesh. And as Solomon, we search from place to place and pleasure to pleasure and idea to idea and project to project, and all is meaningless. Why? Because Lord, as a fallen people, we're trying to find meaning and identity in ourselves, and we'll never do it. In the weeks to come, help us to bring home these messages in very practical ways. Start bringing to bear, oh God, upon each person's life here, the essence of godliness. That it is by grace we are saved, and it is by grace we are sanctified. And once we understand that grace and our identity in it, then truly you can give us power and victory over the deeds of the flesh. And so help us to absorb these great truths.

SPEAKER_01 55:31

Now may the grace of God, the love of our Lord and our Savior Jesus the Christ, the very presence, person, and power of his Holy Spirit abide with each of you now until Christ comes again and forevermore.