A New Principle

Introduction:

How wonderful to discover that victorious Christian living is not a method or technique…it is not something we "do"…it is something we experience when, by faith, the believer allows Jesus to express His life through their body. To divorce behavior from the "good news" of salvation is not true to the Word of God, and neither is placing the responsibility for behavior upon the Christian…yet all too often this is sadly characteristic of much "gospel" preaching and teaching.

In the "New Birth" experience, there is a different and entirely revolutionary new principle of life at work…the exchanged life…not I, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20). The focus is not on "heaven one day", but on Christ right now! To teach anything less than this is to inevitably produce "Evan-jellyfish"…believers with no spiritual vertebrae whose faith does not "behave".

Group Discussion:

James warned his readers: For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:26) The word spirit here means breath…in the same way that a body without breath is dead, so faith without works is dead. Unfortunately, many Christians who misunderstand believe that if they do the work, their faith will come alive…they fail to comprehend the words of Jesus in John 6:29: This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.

 

Define "good works" and "dead works":

Good works have their origin in Jesus Christ and are released through the body of the believer who by faith presents their body as a living sacrifice that expresses total dependence on Him .

Dead works do not have their origin in Jesus Christ and are worthless (dead) in God’s Kingdom, no matter how "spiritual" or "holy" they may appear to others. Dead works are those activities done "for" God as opposed to good works that flow from the expression of Christ’s life "through" the believer. It is the living faith of the believer, received as a gift from the Holy Spirit, that trusts in the adequacy of the One that lives in you, which releases His action through you.

Thomas cites two illustrations from the Old Testament that show us these two facets of the truth—"you in Christ" and "Christ in you". The first comes from an incident in the life of Moses:

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer." (Exodus 15:22-26)

What does the tree represent?

Just as there are two Adams (1Corinthians 15:47), there are two trees…this is the second tree where the second choice can be made. It was at the first tree that the first Adam, with the whole human race "in him", made his choice and stepped out of life into death, out of dependence into independence. But at the second tree, the place of the second choice, you and I may say our "yes" where Adam said "no" and step back out of death into life, out of independence back into dependence.

This incident illustrates the beginning of our salvation where Jesus Christ on the cross, with the whole human race "in Him", took away the bitterness of our sins and reconciled us to God by His death. But it’s just the beginning…there’s more.

The second illustration comes from an incident in the life of Elisha:

Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful." He said, "Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. He went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, "Thus says the Lord, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’ " So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. (2 Kings 2:19-22)

The first sentence in this scripture describes the carnal Christian…not the kind of person who has run off with someone else’s wife, but a connection class teacher or pastor who is sincere and earnest, who looks wonderfully spiritual on the outside, who seems to always know how to encourage and uplift with just the right words, but who knows that you don’t know just how barren and fruitless they are on the inside.

These people are not hypocrites…they’re just tired…desperately tired! Their ignorance and sense of duty, love, and devotion drive them on, and on, and on until finally the burden has become intolerable and they come to the man of God with their dilemma.

What does the salt represent?

The salt represents the risen life of the Savior, imparted by the indwelling Holy Spirit into the redeemed believer. The tree removed the bitterness of sin…the salt takes away the barrenness and brings life! It is only the life of the Lord Jesus…His activity, clothed with you and displayed through you, that ultimately will find the approval of God.

God instructed Mosses that no sacrifice was to be brought to Him without being seasoned with salt…no matter how sincerely brought, no matter how costly, no matter how noble the deed or lofty the motive, without the salt, the offering would not be acceptable.

What did Jesus mean when He said, "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Luke 14:33)?

Is this the same thing he told the rich young ruler? Is this a call to sell all we have and follow Him?

I believe this is a call to recognize our total inability to "be His disciple" using our own resources (possessions). It is an invitation to acknowledge our personal bankruptcy and claim the wealth that is His…to place all our confidence and trust in the One who has come to live inside us!

Any thoughts or questions that were not already discussed?

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, may we experience the saving life of Christ as our very own in a more consistent way as we walk by faith…trusting in Jesus alone. Lead us to surrender completely and to depend entirely upon You…save us from being independent…show us the areas of our lives where we still resist and hold on to our independence. Thank You for loving and accepting us unconditionally, even when we fail and fall short of the abundant life You have given us, for Jesus sake, Amen.