truth – Page 37 – Broken Believers

Wardrobe Necessities

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Romans 13:14, ESV

Some verses are like this. When the Holy Spirit touches it, it will expand and broaden out into a theological treatise. It is remarkably potent as verses go. We certainly do well examining it closer. Just maybe it will leak good things on us.

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” entails becoming someone else. More precisely, it has to do with becoming Jesus to the watching world. We are to so absorb him that our identity changes. Paul tells us that this is a deliberate act of our will; a decisive decision to clothe ourselves with Jesus.

This goes beyond what we consider to be the Christian faith. In some of our churches we seldom hear this message being taught. It seems radical and we don’t understand the ‘mechanism’ by which we do it. It reminds me of Nicodemus struggling with becoming “born again” (John 3:1-14). Sometimes spiritual truths defy human reasoning.

“And make no provision for the flesh,” is the second part of this principle. Both have to be working to complete the idea. If we ‘put on,’ but continue to provide for our flesh, the verse simply will not work. It’s a ‘binary’ action that requires activation of both at the same time.

The Greek word Paul uses for “provision’‘ is real nifty. It means “to consider in advance; to plan for or supply ahead of time; to think beforehand.” This zeroes in on our exceptional ‘talent’ in giving in to sin. We somehow gravitate to our particular favorite sins. There is a ‘magnetic pull’ toward dark things.

This binary only works if these two truths come together. We must ‘put on’ Christ, and then ‘put off’ our evil deeds. I believe that these two things constitute the intentions of the Holy Spirit for our growth. Dear saint, what are you wearing?

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Colossians 3:9-10

Hear The Rod

“The LORD’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.” Micah 6:9, KJV

“The voice of the Lord calls to the city, and the wise person honors him. So pay attention to the rod of punishment; pay attention to the One who threatens to punish.” Micah 6:9, NCV

There is necessary train of thought we all must board. It involves traveling to a destination that we deep-down, absolutely abhor. It is that idea that we are open and vulnerable, especially to his analysis of us–that we are more open than we think to His eyes.

We’ve entered into a spiritual transaction that doesn’t mollify our personal desires. We are confronted by such a personal evil that just seems to percolate out of our hearts. There exists something akin to “Pharaseeism,” where we project righteousness when we are really graves or tombs of the dead.

Micah announces that we must “hear the rod.” Pay attention, become aware, understand deeply– there is a rod (a whip) that pounds everyone who comes to him. Granted, the only thing necessary is to be aware that this difficult process exist. We step up, and enter the grinder, with great fear, not really convinced of its efficiency and its capability.

There is no question of his deep and profound love for us. He is fanatically absorbed in you. There is a hungry passion for your attention and focus. You are behind his shield. You’re treasured far, far beyond what you think. He sacrificed His own Son, to save your soul.

“Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.” 1 Cor. 15:23, ESV.

There is a mandatory factor that informs us that we cannot continue moving through life intoxicated. Smashed on the wine of pride, stupefied on the brandy of selfishness. We are called to sober up, and start living a truly terrific Christian life. In Micah’s words– to listen! Perhaps that is our greatest weakness in the Church today. We have become deaf to the voice of God.

I guess that means we must make some adjustments. To take up our Phillips screwdriver, and start ‘tweaking.’ We need to start the solid work of “tuning in” and becoming aware. There is a rod, and the Father will use it on those who he loves. A few whops from that rod will usually bring us to an awareness.

Out of Time

“So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.”

1 Peter 4:2-3, ESV (emphasis mine)

“It means you have turned from your own desires and want to obey God for the rest of your life. 3 You have already lived long enough like people who don’t know God. You were immoral and followed your evil desires. You went around drinking and partying and carrying on.”

(CEV)

There is an expectation in the very heart of God that we will move beyond gross sin. Peter reminds the Church that time has run out on them. As redeemed people our options to sin boldly are finished. But I think we all need Peter’s reminder as well.

The Holy Spirit that abides within (if you are a believer) is allergic to sin. It is true that God loves the sinner, but hates the sin that we do. God has not come to some kind of alliance with our disobedience and rebellion. He is called “the Holy Spirit” for a reason.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

1 John 2:1

Imagine a soldier running through an enemy fortification. His goal is to advance without being shot. He will certainly avoid heavy concentration of fire. All his training and effort has prepared him for this moment. Soldiers never go into battle thinking they will only shot once or twice. (He is allergic to lead).

Let us not underestimate the enemy, or the sin that tempts us. However, 1 John 2 stresses that sin should be avoided, but if we do sin, we have Jesus as our advocate. We don’t emphasize the sin, but the Savior who is for us. Jesus stands and intercedes for us, every time we choose to sin.

Let us always seek to be filled with “the Spirit of Holiness“ (a.k.a. the Holy Spirit). This should be a moment-by-moment necessity. He supplies everything, and stints at nothing. Only our pride and self-will can stymie His work. We are completely dependent on Him.

Self-Deception & Brokenbelievers

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”

Psalm 145:18

“Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.”

Psalm 51:6, NASB

Self-deception is sort of an occupational hazard for believing Christians. We have this strong tendency to walking and seeing out of delusion. A certain amount of confusion comes over religious people who have lost the sense of truth; we lose the sense of words and definitions of the Faith. We may say all the right things (and at the right time,) but no longer understand what is real, and what is true.

We can see this in our worship. We come to God and say the things we think he wants to hear. We declare praises, but they revert to a superficial veneer that covers up our lives. We can be fairly sincere in this, but we’re not speaking what is real. We can sing “praise the Lord,” without a true sense of what we are truly saying or doing.

We can see this in our prayer times. We come into the room and encounter God. (At least we hope so). But we say things like, “I give you my heart,” when we haven’t really. We so want to please God, so we tell him the things we think he would like to hear. We can polish our words to the point they are no longer real.

I know this may seem harshly dismissive of many peoples discipleship, and I’m sorry if it seems this way. But I’m really describing myself. I want the ‘real me’ to encounter the real God. “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). That freedom comes as a result of knowing what is real.

Perhaps we should become alert:

of words that have lost their meaning,
of the tendency toward self-deception,
of the unreal world of the enemy,
of God’s love of the truth.

Oh Father, please may it be the real me that speaks to the real you. Keep me from deceiving myself with empty and vain words that have a long time ago lost their meaning. May I truly possess what I glibly profess. Keep me true, dear Lord. Amen.

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

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