Curses and Blessings Part 1

Today is the first of several posts in a series discussing the God’s curse on mankind and the way out from under the curse into God’s blessing. I taught this series a couple of months ago in the adult Sunday School class in our church and believe it is one of the most important concepts I have ever covered. Don’t look for daily updates because things are starting to get busy as I get ready for another school year, but hopefully at least once a week I’ll be able to post the next section.

We begin in Joshua 8:30. If you read this section you will see that Joshua split the people up and sent half to Mount Ebal and the other half to Mount Gerizim. I know that’s not the most interesting beginning and you may be tempted to tune me out, but please stay with this series and follow the logic of God’s truth.

In Deuteronomy 27, Moses commanded this event. The people on Mount Gerizim were to read the blessings that you read in chapter 27. The people on Mount Ebal were to read the curses. You’ll notice that God’s blessing included every facet of life. Similarly the curses. Notice the curse in verse 26: “Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law.” Paul picks this up in Galatians 3:10, “For as many as are of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’”

In Deuteronomy 30:19 God pleads with them to choose life. The choice is before them – life or death. What would they choose?

We’ll pick this up next time because we want to see what this all has to do with us. If you’re thinking that since this is the Old Testament it has nothing to do with us, think again. Paul deals with this thoroughly in Galatians and the truth is encouraging and liberating.

The Wages of Sin

After the victory at Jericho, the Israelites felt pretty confident about the next battle at Ai. What most of the people didn’t know is that one of the men had taken some things from Jericho as spoil. God had commanded them to take nothing but to burn everything.

When the Israelites went to attack Ai, they were soundly defeated. Obviously God wasn’t with them on this venture. When Joshua asked the Lord why such a defeat, God told them about Achan’s sin and disobedience.

There are several things we can learn from this. First, our sin affects everyone. Even for so-called secret sins, we shouldn’t think that others in the body of Christ are not hurt. This is a spiritual battle we’re in and there are spiritual consequences that we may not be able to see.

Israel’s response to this revelation was to repent. There was repentance, humility and a sincere concern for God’s name and His glory. Repentance and sorrow weren’t enough, however. Action had to be taken. Achan had to get specific about his sin explaining how he had seen then taken and hidden the loot.

What was the result for Achan? He and his entire family were put to death. This reminds me that God is serious about sin. Romans 3:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. Those of us who know that Scripture well repeat it so easily and without feeling, but I wonder if we really understand the impact. The sins you and I commit are enough to cause us to be stoned as Achan was. Somehow I don’t think we look at it that seriously.

Finally, I’m reminded of the awesome grace of God toward a sinner like me. Second Corinthians 5:21 says that Christ was made sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Galatians 3:10 explains how He was cursed for us so that we would be released from the curse. I Peter 2:24 tells us that He bore our sins on the cross. “Sin has left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.”

Memorization/Meditation Plan Coming

I hope your summer has been going well. I’ve been busy with a family trip to South Carolina, a train trip with my wife to Denver and an extended family campout at Spring Mill State Park in Indiana. If you see me personally, don’t ask about the 8 hour wait for the train in Denver or the invasion of the raccoons at Spring Mill because if you do, you’ll hear the long versions of both entertaining stories. Spring Mill, by the way is a very nice park with lots to do for the whole family.

One of the spiritual disciplines that we as faithful men ought to have is Scripture memorization and meditation. When I was in college and for a time thereafter, I used the Scripture memory plan published by the Navigators. What I liked about this plan was the outline of biblical topics that went with it. My intention is to go back through and focus on those passages and I invite you to do that with me. Beginning in September I’m going to use each Monday as the memorization/mediation day. I’ll post the verse for the week and the outline points that go with it. If you’d like to be emailed that information each Monday, let me know. Otherwise I just encourage you to check the blog on Mondays to find out the verse of the week.

Each month or so I pick a verse that I can use in praying for you and others in my life. This time I’m looking at Epesians 3:18, 19. Paul prayed that they “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Take some time to think through all of the “impossible” things being prayed for here for real people, especially the part of being filled with all the fullness of God!

People don’t like to read long emails so I’ll quit for now. Remember if you want the memorization emails, let me know.

Have a great week.

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God is in Control

Last time I mentioned that the purpose of engaging the enemy in a battle and winning that battle is for the glory of God. As I grow older I’m learning that all of the struggles and battles in our life all funnel down to our response to what God is doing in our lives and whether we will trust Him and obey Him in them. So often we want to focus on the circumstances and the other people involved. We wonder why we are being treated unfairly or why the other person doesn’t have to be all that they should be. We find this often in the struggles in marriages. When we counsel one partner to be obedient to God and respond the way God would have them to, he/she usually wants to know what if the other person doesn’t do what they are supposed to do. It’s relatively easy to be obedient when the other people and circumstances in our lives are the way they should be. What’s difficult is when things don’t seem to be lining up fairly.

Do you remember when Jesus was telling Peter how he (Peter) would die in John 21:21? Peter pointed to John and asked, “What about that man?” Basically Jesus’ answer was to forget about John and follow Christ. That is exactly what God wants from each one of us. He wants us to obey at the point of the testing.

Sometimes other areas of our life are in good shape, but God points at one particular area and says, “What about obedience here?” Are we responsive in that area?

The real question comes down to this. Do we trust God? God’s ways and our ways differ. (Isaiah 55:9) When the situation seems not to have an answer, it probably doesn’t.

Only God can change people – and He can change them. (Proverbs 21:1) Nothing is outside of His capabilities and knowledge. Sometimes we look at God as though He were as frustrated by situations in life or the world as we are. The truth is that God is never frustrated. He accomplishes all He desires to do. (Daniel 4:34) His wisdom is unsearchable and perfect. (Romans 11:37) There is no flaw or missing links in His thought process.

When the battles are great or the circumstances seem impossible, think on the truths that I have just outlined for you. Everything is under control. Do you remember what happened when Paul asked repeatedly for a certain physical problem to be taken away? God did not remove the problem. He just said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) Are you ok with that?

Lessons From Jericho

In Joshua chapter 6 we find the story of the battle of Jericho. Most of you know that story well and so I’m not going to go into the details much. If you are unfamiliar with those details, I recommend that you read it over so that you know how the battle unfolded.

As the Israelites walked around the walls of that great city, they must have been impressed with its size and impregnable strength. One wonders why God would make them just walk around the city once each day for six days. We don’t know that answer for sure, but I think it was to show them how humanly impossible it was to defeat the city and its inhabitants.

Many of the situations we face in life are that way. They seem to loom as obstacles that we cannot overcome. Some of the difficult situations in life involve other people. One of the things we should learn early in life is that you can’t change other people. You can’t get inside of them and turn a screw that will make them love you or make them more cooperative. They make decisions for their own reasons and there seems to be little we can do to change that.

The city of Jericho was to be conquered using God’s methods. God has given us everything we need in His Word for life and godliness. So many times we rely on our own logic or the teachings of psychology or sociology or other man-made system to accomplish what only God can do. Having said that though, we need to observe that they did not do nothing. There was a plan and it involved following obediently in the carrying out of that plan. Our problem, especially as men, is that we don’t take the time to learn God’s Word well enough to learn its principles and the spiritual guidelines for living victoriously. I suggest that if you don’t have a systematic plan to read and study the Bible, you should begin one right away.

Second Corinthians 10:4 tells us that the weapons God has given us are not fleshly and worldly, but are spiritual and are mighty through God for the tearing down of strongholds. Jericho was certainly a physical stronghold and in our lives we have spiritual strongholds. It would be a good exercise to list several strongholds the enemy has in your life and then take steps to apply God’s Word as a weapon to tear those strongholds down.

Keep in mind the purpose of the victory. It is always for the glory of God. Many times we are hoping for victory so that we will feel better or so that our relationships will be healed. But God wants to be glorified in our lives in whatever we do and we should see that goal as the supreme purpose for undertaking and winning a spiritual battle.

Spiritual Victory

Last time we saw Joshua responding to the Captain of the Lord of Hosts. When asked whose side He was on, the Captain responded, “No. I am in charge.” What is this host that He was commander of?

In 2 Kings 6:17 we read of an incident where Elisha was surrounded by an enemy and yet he says, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then his servant’s eyes were opened and he saw that the mountains were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

There is a spiritual battle going on. Zechariah 4:6 tells us that it is not by might nor by power but by my spirit, says the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 10:4 we read that the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but might through God for the pulling down of strongholds.

We should remember that this is a real battle but it is a spiritual battle. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. Ephesians 6:4.

Many times we try to use psychology and human methods to try to solve our personal and family problems, but they are usually spiritual battles. We often try to grow our church or change people’s lives by human means. None of this produces real and lasting results. We need to know the Word and then in faith be obedient to it.

Joshua’s encounter gives us four principles. First, realize that Christ claims authority to command. Second, our response is to submit and worship. Third, we need to ask, “What is your word to us?” Then respond in obedience. And finally, acknowledge the holiness of God and obey Him.

May we as men who desire to be God’s faithful men follow these principles in our daily lives.

Whose Side is God On?

Have you ever wondered whose side God is on? Before the battle of Jericho, Joshua met a Man with a sword in His hand. It turns out that this “man” is a preincarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. This incident is recorded in Joshua 5:13.

Joshua asked Him the question we might like to ask. He asked, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

The answer is interesting. He said “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell on his face and worshiped. (Sometimes people in the Bible fall and worship before an angel, but the angel usually says something like, “Stand up. I’m just a creature too.”) Why is “No” an interesting answer to Joshua’s question? Because God does not take sides among men. God is the one who is in charge. He is the commander. He isn’t on Joshua’s side. Joshua is supposed to be on His side.

Who is this one? He is the image of the invisible God, firstborn over all creation. By him all things were created and in Him everything holds together. In Him all the fullness of God dwells. He is the heir of all things and the express image of God. He is the captain of our salvation made perfect through sufferings. He is not ashamed to be called our brother. He has become our High Priest, holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners yet tempted in every way like we are. He entered the most holy place with his own blood once for all. By him and through Him and to Him are all things. Amen!

Leaving Defeat Behind

If you’ve been reading this blog regularly you know that I’ve been working my way through the book of Joshua with lots of detours as we find concepts that need to be pursued in greater depth. We are in chapter 5 and we have found that through all the years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelite men had not been circumcised as the law had commanded. This oversight was dealt with and immediately they were allowed to keep the Passover in the plains of Jericho. (Joshua 5:9ff)

Without skipping a beat we find that they were able to eat of the produce of the land immediately after the Passover was finished. They had been eating manna for 40 years as they wandered in the wilderness, but now they were able to eat the food that grew in the land that God was giving them.

I pick up a couple of important thoughts from this. First, as Christians we often spend a lot of our time wandering in the wilderness of defeat and compromise. When we really get serious about wanting to live the kind of victorious life that God has given us in Christ, that reproach needs to be put away. We need to confess our sins and in the process we find that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Second, we are to feed upon Christ. He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and He is our living water (John 4). He satisfies the longing soul. (Psalm 107:8, 9) He satisfies our mouth with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagles. (Psalm 103:5) As Christians we are to desire the sincere milk of the Word (I Peter 2:23) but we are to go on to meat. (Hebrews 5:12-14)

What this means is that we are to leave the foundation of elementary principles as the writer of Hebrews discusses in chapter 5 and 6. It would make a great Bible study for you to dig through these chapters and study what’s involved in moving forward rather than staying on the basics.

The last thing I see in this passage in Joshua 5 is that they were able to feast in the plains of Jericho. What does that mean? That means in the very sight of the enemy, they were able to hold their worship celebration without fear because God was with them. Isn’t that what we find in Psalm 23? You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Let’s rejoice that if we truly put away the soot and dirt of the wilderness life and move on to a life of claiming the promises of God, feasting on Him and His Word and worshiping here in enemy territory, we will find God’s blessing on our lives.

Living in the Spirit (2)

Continuing our thought from last time, it often seems like it’s not that easy to live consistently in the Spirit. The first step is to remember what we’ve already seen in chapter 8 and that is that there is no condemnation, we are free from the law of sin and death, and that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us through His Spirit.

We have seen that those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them are in the Spirit, not the flesh and therefore shouldn’t live as though they were in the flesh.

Verse 10 reminds us of why all of this is very powerfully effective. Though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life and since the Spirit dwells in us, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to our mortal body through the Spirit that already dwells in us.

What this is saying to me is that as a Christian, my spirit is alive because of Christ’s indwelling presence in my life. That means that even though my body is dead or dying and the flesh is still present, the seed of life is there in all its reality. The result will be that this body will also be raised some day because of and through the Spirit that already is alive inside of me. So even though the battle sometimes seems hopeless, it isn’t. As Christians, we have God the Spirit living in us. He is called the down payment which God has given us promising that the rest will be forthcoming. He sums this up in Romans 8:23 where he says, “we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” The redemption of the body is coming, but it’s not here yet.

Because of the fact that the Spirit is in us, we are no longer debtors to live according to the flesh. Remember when a bully wanted to pick on you? If you were alone, you were vulnerable and were sort of forced into doing what he said. But if your big brother or a bigger stronger friend was with you, the bully could not get the upper hand. To me this illustrates what Paul is describing here. Because God lives in us, we don’t have to do what the flesh wants. We are not debtors to live the way it wants us to live and to cave in to the temptations that it wants us to give in to.

As Paul often does, he puts a warning along with this great truth and that is that if we live according to the flesh, we will die. However, if we use the power of the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the flesh we will live. And then he makes this amazing statement. It is those who are led by the Spirit that are the sons of God.

All of this is a challenge to me to live the way I’m supposed to live. I claim to be a Christian and so I should live through the power of the Spirit to daily put to death the deeds of the body. It’s not always easy. But it is the God-ordained method of successful Christian living.

Living in the Spirit

We’re currently in a study of Joshua that led us to look at our death, burial and resurrection with Christ. Just as the people of Israel went down into the river bed with God and came up safely on the other side, so we too were crucified with Christ, were buried with Him and are alive in Him. That led us to look at several things we are dead to – sin, the law and the world. Even though it may not feel like it, we are to count these things as true because God says they are true.

This led us to begin thinking through the fact that there seems to be a lot of struggle in this life if we are really on the victory side of things. It might be wise for you to read back through the past several postings to get the gist of our discussion.

Last time we looked at the first four verses of Romans 8 to find that life in the Spirit is where the victory is as opposed to life under the law.

Verse 5 of Romans 8 tells us that there are two opposite ways to live. Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. That’s one way to live. The other way is to live according to the Spirit, in which case the mind is set on the things of the Spirit. I think it’s appropriate to ask ourselves which mind set is typical for us.

There are those who say that we can be a Christian and live according to the flesh. Perhaps, but I’m not so sure this passage allows for that. What do you think? In verse 6, Paul says, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Here again there are two kinds of mindedness—one is death and the other is life and peace. The reason this is so is that the fleshly mind is enmity against God not being subject to the law of God. The conclusion then in verse 8 is that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. The question still remains. Are Christians basically able to choose one of two life-styles, either life in the Spirit or life in the flesh.

In verse 9, Paul tells us that you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. And, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

At the very least we have a strong admonition here as to why we should not choose to mind the things of the flesh. Minding the flesh is death. Minding the flesh is enmity against God. In living this way we are living like those who are in the flesh, in other words we are acting like those who are lost. The challenge to us men today is to make sure that we are living the life of who we are. In other words, as Christian men, we are in the Spirit and therefore should live like it.

Victory Through the Holy Spirit

Many of us spend a lot of time struggling like Paul describes in Romans 7. The key to victory, I believe, is what he describes in Romans 8. He had described the struggle that comes by trying to apply the law to the Christian life and it doesn’t work. The way it is actually accomplished is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

There are several things I think are important to realize in applying this truth. First is the fact that for those who are in Christ, there is no condemnation. We sometimes state this so lightly and yet when we realize the depth of our sin, disobedience and rebellion, we realize what a tremendous truth this is. No Condemnation! (Romans 8:1)

The second thing to realize is that we are free from the law of sin and death. This is a vicious cycle. We sin and the law condemns us to death because of it. We often feel like there is no escape. But the great news in the gospel is that we have been released from this cycle of sin and death. There is no condemnation and therefore the law of sin and death does not apply to us. (Romans 8:2)

As we studied last time, the law is weak because of the reaction of the flesh to it. When the law comes in, sin is strengthened and produces death. But Romans 8:3 tells us that what the law could not do God did. He sent His son in the likeness of sinful flesh. He was a man like we are. He was tempted in all points like we are except that He did not sin. In living a perfect life He condemned sin in the flesh. He judged sin and overcame its power by living sinlessly. My way of thinking of it is that He proved it could be done. I don’t know how theologically correct that is, but it is what I see Paul saying here. In the very place where sin seems to exert its power using the law as its strength, Christ overruled it and defeated it.

This leads to verse 4 which tells us that all of this happened so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. The way of victory is the way of walking in Spirit. Doing so fulfills the law in us. Rather than being imposed on us from the outside, which does not work, we have the law fulfilled in us by the working of the Spirit of God which does work. After all, this was the promise of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:33, “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts.”

The New Covenant promise in Ezekiel 36:27 says it this way, I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

The promise is that God through His Spirit gives us a new nature which has the motivation and desire to work out God’s law from within because it has been written on the heart.

Dead to the World?

We’ve seen so far that when we died with Christ we died to sin and we died to the law. The third aspect of our death with Christ is that we died to the world. In Galatians 6:14 we read, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

It’s interesting to me that this is written in the past tense as a completed act. The world has been crucified to me and I to the world. This is a fact and we need to believe God when He says so. However, we don’t always put into practice what is true. Even though we’ve died to the world, we still interact in ways that suggest that we really haven’t died to it. When we do this, it does not change the reality of what happened at the cross. As in so many other teachings of Scripture there are completed events which God then challenges us to live up to. Rather than having to reach some sort of perfection before He declares us righteous or dead to the world, he makes the declaration of fact first and then by His spirit works in us to move us toward what, in His eyes, is a completed reality.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul uses this approach to challenge the Christians there not to subject themselves to the futile rules of human religion. “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations?” (Colossians 2:20) In other words, since you’ve died to the world, don’t subject yourselves to its regulations.

In Colossians 3:2 we are told to “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” For what reason are we to do this? “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

So the message is that because we have died to sin, the law and the world, we are to work this out on a day to day basis in our lives We are to realize more and more on a daily basis the reality of what is already absolutely true of us.

Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder

I love this song by John Newton. It's an old hymn and hardly anyone sings it any more, but Jars of Clay has produced a modern version for this generation. Read and ponder the words carefully as you thank God for His abundant mercy.

Let us love and sing and wonder,
Let us praise the Savior’s Name!
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame.
He has washed us with His blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.

Let us love the Lord Who bought us,
Pitied us when enemies,
Called us by His grace, and taught us,
Gave us ears and gave us eyes:
He has washed us with His blood,
He presents our souls to God.

Let us sing, though fierce temptation
Threaten hard to bear us down!
For the Lord, our strong Salvation,
Holds in view the conqueror’s crown:
He Who washed us with His blood
Soon will bring us home to God.

Let us wonder; grace and justice
Join and point to mercy’s store;
When through grace in Christ our trust is,
Justice smiles and asks no more:
He Who washed us with His blood
Has secured our way to God.

Let us praise, and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high;
Here they trusted Him before us,
Now their praises fill the sky:
“Thou hast washed us with Your blood;
Thou art worthy, Lamb of God!”

Hark! the Name of Jesus, sounded
Loud, from golden harps above!
Lord, we blush, and are confounded,
Faint our praises, cold our love!
Wash our souls and songs with blood,
For by Thee we come to God.

---

Dead to the Law

Wow! I just looked back to see when I had posted my last entry in the Joshua study and it has been a month! I guess things have been very busy and I’m not as consistent as I would like to be in my blogging.

The last time we looked at the fact that in dying with Christ, we died to sin. The Bible also teaches us that we have died to the law. I think the key passage on this is Romans 7:1-6

The argument Paul makes here is that the law only applies to a person as long as he is living. That should make sense to all of us. He uses the example of marriage, pointing out the fact that to marry a second husband while the first is living would be committing adultery. But if the first husband has died, the woman is freed from the law and can marry the other man. The law against adultery doesn’t apply in that case.

The application is that in the same way, we have become dead to the law through the body of Christ so that we can be married to another, Christ, and consequently bring forth fruit for God.

The law has in its nature the ability to arouse sinful passions (vs 5) which then work in our bodies to bear the fruit of death. Paul addresses this further in verses 8 and 9. He says, “apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” In 1 Corinthians 15:56 we read, “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.”

So what we see then is that the law gives sin its power. Paul makes sure we understand that the law isn’t the problem. He tells us in Romans 7:7 that the law is not sin and then in verse 14 that the law is spiritual. It’s not the law but it’s us. Even so the spiritual law in contact with our fleshly nature is a combination that gives sin power and brings death to us.

So what is God’s remedy? The remedy is that when Christ died on the cross, we died with Him and in so doing, we died to the law. When we sin, the law responds, “The soul that sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:20) But when the sentence of death was imposed on Christ, it was our sentence. Therefore the law cannot be applied twice. If Satan were to try to bring charges against us pleading in court for the death penalty, God can look up the record and tell him that the person has already died! You can’t be executed twice.

Hopefully this is an encouragement to you as you think through what it means to be dead to the law.

CAMPONTHIS: A TWELVE POINT CURE FOR COMPLAINING...how to not let circumstances and attitudes rob you of your joy, contentment, and hope

I saw this list and decided it needed to be shared with others.

CAMPONTHIS: A TWELVE POINT CURE FOR COMPLAINING<br>...how to not let circumstances and attitudes rob you of your joy, contentment, and hope

Dead to Sin

I’m doing something today that I very seldom do – stay home from church. I woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible sore throat. I’m not sure where it came from, but it’s kind of wiping me out. As a result, I’m home taking this opportunity to think through some things related to our study in the book of Joshua.

We’ve seen that we have died with Christ and risen with Him. The Scripture even goes so far as to say that we are raised with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ. The problem is that while this may be true, we still face the struggles of living here. The Israelites had been freed from their bondage in Egypt and now, having crossed the Jordan, even their wilderness wanderings were over and yet difficult times lay ahead. They would need to put two key principles into practice – faith and obedience. It became a matter of believing God and responding obediently to that belief.

In the same way we need to believe God and respond obediently. If we have died with Christ and risen with Him, what are the implications of that? What is it exactly that we have to believe and obey related to this truth?

There are three areas I want us to look at. We’ll cover the first one today and the others in succeeding posts. The first truth then is that in dying with Christ, we have died to sin. Look at this passage in Romans 6:5-12. I won’t quote the whole thing here. I assume you have a Bible you can look it up in. Verse 6 says that “our old man was crucified with Him that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.”

The thing then that we are to believe is that if we are a Christian, that is if we have received Christ and are trusting Him alone for our salvation, our old man died with Christ on the cross. It may not often feel that way, but don’t let your feelings get in the way of the truth. No matter how you feel and how strong the temptations are, the truth is the old self has been crucified.

The passage goes on to explain how we are to apply this. Verse 9 says “knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”

When Christ died He died to sin. Christ never sinned, but Scripture tells us that He was tempted in all points like we are. Those temptations were real and vigorous and yet He defeated them. His death brought an end to the temptation to sin. Now that He is alive from the dead, His focus is toward God.

Now the passage says in verse 11, “Likewise you also…” Here comes the challenge for us to obediently apply the truth. “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The word reckon doesn’t mean “pretend”. It means “count it so”. The truth is we died with Christ and so we are to reckon or count it so, to believe it to be true and to act accordingly. More important than just believing it in our head, we need to work it out in our lives because having died with Christ we are to reckon ourselves dead unto sin. That means when those temptations come, we are to act as though we are already on the other side of the resurrection. We are to see ourselves as alive to God. Our focus is to be God-ward.

The concluding result in verse 12 is, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness.” Do you see how belief and obedience go together. If we truly believe that we died with Christ, then we too died to sin and are now alive to God. As a result we will not allow sin to reign. If we do, we are not only being disobedient, but we are sinning against what is true.

Living on Resurrection Ground

It’s been a busy several weeks. With the coming of spring there is so much yard work to be done that it takes up a lot of time. I want to continue the study of Joshua that we’ve been working on. Part of my motivation for doing this is the personal discipline of putting the results of my study in writing. Hopefully you will find it helpful as you follow along.

The last time we were studying this we noted that the Israelites marked their crossing of the Jordan with stones. The priests with the ark stood in the middle of the river until all was finished. I pointed out that this is representative of the death of Christ and our death in Him.

Moving on with the story then, we see that the Israelites came up out of the river on the tenth day of the first month. This is the very same day 40 years later that the children of Israel had come out of Egypt. You see, they were “saved” from their bondage 40 years ago, but because they didn’t believe God at the time, they ended up wandering in the wilderness all of those years. And most of the people who escaped Egypt did not enter into the promised land. Sometimes we do the same thing. We have our salvation in hand, but we have trouble really believing the truth about who God says we are and what our position is in Christ.

This is what the author of Hebrews is getting at in 3:16 and following: “For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

It is important that we believe God regarding our position in Christ on resurrection ground. Ephesians 2:5 and 6 say, “even when we were dead in trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” We’re using the crossing of the Jordan as a picture of taking this truth by faith and putting behind us the purposeless wandering.

The difficulty as I see it is that even though we are positionally on resurrection ground, life has a way of hitting us with the reality of sin, disease, pain and temptation. Romans 8:23 puts it this way, “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”

We are presented as a church without spot or wrinkle, but now our practice and experience is less than that. So a point of tension arises. Am I going to accept God’s Word or am I going to go with my feelings? I need to ask myself who is going to be in control – my body or the spirit and the truth?

Through the next several articles we’ll look at the truth of our death with Christ and the importance of reckoning it true in our lives. Hebrews 4:1 says “let us fear lest any of you seem to have short of it” (God’s rest).

Christ's Victory

I came across a poem the other day on SharperIron blog that I thought my readers would be interested in.

Christ’s Victory

Richard Crashaw (c. 1613-1649)

Christ, when he died,
Deceived the cross,
And on death’s side
Threw all the loss:
The captive world awaked and found
The prisoners loose, the jailor bound.

O dear and sweet dispute
’Twixt death’s and love’s far different fruit,
Different as far
As antidotes and poisons are:
By the first and fatal tree
Both life and liberty
Were sold and slain;
By this they both look up and live again.

It Is Finished

In Joshua 4:8-10 we read, “And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tries of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day. So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that he Lord had commanded Joshua.”

When Christ died on the cross we died with Him there. We died to sin, self and the world. And yet we find that often we don’t enter into the reality of this truth. The crossing of the Israelites over the Jordan pictures this truth for us. Last time we pointed out the fact that the ark (God) went before the people. In the same way, Christ has gone before us having died and raised and ascended as our forerunner.

Here in this passage the priests stood in the midst of the Jordan until all was finished. Christ also stayed put on the cross until all was finished. The sin question has been totally dealt with on the cross. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

If you read the Joshua passage carefully you will see that there were two sets of twelve stones that were set up. One set was in the middle of the river and the other on the bank of the river. Joshua said to the people, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’ … that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is might, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

Our lives should be marked by events and things that help us remember and give us opportunity to explain to our children and grand children what God has done in our lives. If any of the people of Israel had determined to go back to wilderness living, they would have passed these piles of stones. These stones certainly would not have kept them from going back, but they would have reminded them of all God had done and made them ask themselves whether going back was a good idea.

Here are a couple of questions you need to think about. Even though you may be a Christian, have you accepted by faith the victorious position that you have in Christ? Have you left reminders of one kind or another along the way to prod your memory of what life used to be like on the other side so that going back won’t be a temptation? Are you using the opportunities you have to explain to your children and grand children what God has done for you in Christ so that they will be challenged to follow in your footsteps?

Seeing Christ as our Forerunner

In Joshua 3:11, we learn that the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is to go into the Jordan ahead of the people. When the feet of the priests entered the river, the water stopped. I think we can learn a couple of things here. First of all, by way of reminder, we’re looking at the crossing of the Jordan as a picture of the Christian taking hold of God’s promises and moving forward in the Christian life by faith. This is opposed to a Christian who wanders around in life full of doubts and fears and not living the victorious Christian life God has planned for us.

The first thing I notice here is that God, represented by the ark, goes ahead of His people. He has gone ahead and secured victory for us. Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.” When He is with us, there is no storm of life that can overwhelm us.

Think about this. There is a man in heaven, Jesus the God-man, who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. He has gone before us. He successfully lived a human life and now calls us to follow Him.

Having gone ahead of us he has “disarmed principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” Colossians 2:15.

The point I’m trying to make is just as the ark went ahead of the people of Israel, Christ has gone ahead of us and secured for us the blessing and victory. Read through the following verses from Hebrews 6:15-20, “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus, God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus.”

Here he is called our forerunner. And where is this forerunner? He is behind the veil in the real Holy of Holies. The writer of Hebrews call this a sure and steadfast anchor. If He, our forerunner and representative is there, then certainly we who are in Christ will also be there with Him.