We have to Be perfect in order to make heaven

[TGBTG]

Originally Posted by LUKE2447

did you EVEN care to understand the CONTEXT? Of course not as I explained it to you.
Also many will stand boldly and guess what OOPS grace isn't what I thought it was. Misconceptions will lead many to a suprise.

Also I notice you did not qoute everything I said to you.

Originally Posted by LUKE2447

I have faith but no I don't know and neither does anyone else that is human. That is why it is called the judgment in which we are judged according to our works both good and bad. God is just and consistent. He will either say well done thou good and "faithful" servant or depart from me you worker of lawlessness I never knew you.

Eze 18:24 But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

This is your full quote. Still doesn't change the fact that you said "no human can know with 100% certainty that he/she will be in the kingdom." Here's what MTD said:

Originally Posted by Michael The Disciple

Can we know we are going to make it into the Kingdom? Certainly! How?

4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17

If we are like Jesus we can have boldness in the day of judgment. If we are not like HIM we have no assurance of the Kingdom.

So, since MTD says he can certainly know he is gonna be in the kingdom, doesn't that make him OSAS according to your belief?

[LUKE2447]

Originally Posted by TGBTG

This is your full quote. Still doesn't change the fact that you said "no human can know with 100% certainty that he/she will be in the kingdom." Here's what MTD said:



So, since MTD says he can certainly know he is gonna be in the kingdom, doesn't that make him OSAS according to your belief?

No as his context does not even give a hint of it. LOL He knows IF he does xyz he can stand before God believing he will be counted as faithful. Still does not negate my point.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by LUKE2447

So you "ain't" Jesus!

No, I’m not. But Jesus lives in me, and I in Him. And the good news is, if you’ve received His Spirit, you are one with Him too.

Scripture is truth and you don't like it.

You search the Scriptures thinking that “in them” you have eternal life, but they are that which testify of Him. HE is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes unto the Father but by HIM.

Man is incapable of being perfect not of simply doing good.

Man is “perfect” in Christ Jesus. To say that a man isn’t, is to say that Christ isn’t perfect.

LOL seriously you need to learn what justice/righteousness is and it is not Reformed doctrines view of impartation like Lutzer and Sproul teach.

Tell me what you think justice and righteousness is.

Conerning your comment. It is true but it depends on what it is in reference to. Technically it is wrong. Righteousness is imparted by the very Word of God or his divine expression in any form. The law was the righteousness of God. EVen reformed teachers teach that.

Righteousness isn’t found in anything but a person, His name is Jesus. The Law revealed the holiness of God and demanded exactly what was necessary for a man to line up with God’s absolute holiness. The result…a curse. No man could keep the Law because no man is God. So the Law leaves men under the curse of condemnation, corning all men, forcing them to confess that they are sinners who are hopelessly lost without a Savior. The Laws purpose was never to make men righteous or holy, the Laws purpose was to be a schoolmaster to break man, forcing man to realize his need of a Savior. Those who believe that they are made righteous by keeping the Law have fallen from grace. For if righteousness could come from obeying the Law, Christ died in vain.

From that previous point to this you are talking about two different realities and point of Paul and confusing it with others.

There are many opinions on this from many different theologians. Tell me the absolute truth on this oh great one.

In myself no I cannot do what God demands as I am flesh and I am spirit and I cannot in myself know God's perfection and how to do justice toward all. The reason Christ died has many aspects but it has nothing to do with negating practical righteousness to the leading of God will how we are judged to receive eternal life. Justice toward sin could not be acheived by the law to those who had faith. Christ had to obtain that authority of which the LAW was a shadow of. We recieve the righteousness of Christ in two ways. Perfection to do God's will by the Spirit and forgiveness of sin by a new covenant of which CHrist is head in which he imparts his nature/righteousness to us which is his LEADING to do. Instead of on stone it is by his Spirit in which we realize perfection. Not a forensic justification for eternity at faith but practical justification by our response to his leading. THAT is what prophecy says.

No where do I deny that the Spirit leads the believer into righteousness. But that righteousness isn’t the believer’s…it’s the indwelling Christ’s. The believer’s old nature was nailed to the cross with the Law. The believer is dead, buried, and raised again with Christ. It is no longer the believer who lives…but Christ who lives in the believer. The believer is ever drawn closer to Christ by the Spirit…until the believer’s very heartbeat is the heartbeat of Christ. The righteousness that the believer receives is Christ’s very own, not the believers, and it happens judicially in an instant when one receives the Holy Ghost. Sanctification is the process wherein one becomes aligned with the imputed righteousness of Christ.

It wuld be semi-pelagianism. Oh and that would be the view of the first centuries of the church Mr. GREEK FATHERS!

It’s legalism.

Really... Yes we are righteous because if we FOLLOW we will DO righteous because HE is righteous. LOL

That’s self righteousness. We are righteous because of Christ’s abiding presence. We are sanctified as we yield to the very Spirit of the indwelling Christ as He leads.

Really... That would be because the context of the message is to receive covenant standing by faith in his work. I am already seen right of heart before covenant standing when a person believes. That does not mean I have received salvation yet though nor does simply believing have I been forgiven and removed from me. Nor does it mean I have been born again. Simple belief is a "righteous thing" but it doesn't mean I am in right standing concerning my sins etc...

I believe we’d both agree…faith without works is dead. We show our faith by our works. And it is by that faith that we saved to do good works. Not saved by good works.

You child seeing a "accident" immediately turned to be cleansed. Also I would have issue with

1) knowlege to do vs intentional.

Even if my son intentionally stepped into a mess, would I not cleanse him the moment he came running to me? Accidental or intentional…our Father cleanses us from our sins. The prodigal intentionally left and found himself in a pigs pen. Rehearsing how he would plead and beg for forgiveness, offering to be a mere servant, he made his way home to what he believed would be an angry father. Instead, when the young man’s father saw him on the road, the prodigal’s father took off running to embrace him. How filth on his son’s clothing must have smelled. Yet the son’s father embraced him. And before the prodigal could say his speech, the father gave the order to slay the fattened calf, and began a celebration. It was the self righteous obedient son who couldn’t understand his father’s grace. Note, the father didn’t even ask for an apology. The story isn’t about forgiveness…but unconditional acceptance upon return.

The nature is the ABIDING Spirit and Jesus clearly teaches how abiding works. Paul also clearly teaches it. If you follow/led by which is a active realization of response you are children of God. That is a practical response to the righteousness/leading of the Spirit in which we are judged positionally.

Legalism.

If he follows he is ONE.

Even after the prodigal left, the father never ceased being the prodigal’s father. Your view of God would have had God slam the door and disown him until he came back begging for forgiveness. Our God is better than that. It’s a vile take on God.

They feel conviction yes and the law brought convicion as well as does ALL KNOWLEDGE!

Read your Bible. The Spirit brings conviction, the Law brings condemnation.

Maybe maybe not.

Are you implying that a true child of God may choose not to? A true child of God will seek righteousness. However, should he grow cold and fall into sin…the issue isn’t the sin…the issue is that he broke fellowship with Christ Jesus. The answer isn’t behavior modification. The answer is that he needs to become one with the vine again, allowing Christ’s life to flow through him producing the “fruit of the Spirit”.

Partially true. you are making absolutes of black and white conversion and that is not the case NOR is it what scripture teaches. People are given the righteousness/spirit/nature of christ but that does not mean they remain and follow him. Grace is the impartation of the Spirit TO DO the will of God.

Yes…but not to do the will of God through self, but through Christ.

YES IF I choose to CONTINUE TO FOLLOW! Because a person has received the knowledge/righteousness/leading/nature of the Spirit does not mean I will continue. I choose to be a SERVANT. His impartation of the Spirit does not make me obey.

The Spirit doesn’t make you obey…it makes you a new creature. Being a new creation, you will desire obedience. His Spirit dwelling within you and His Law written upon your heart. You now partake in His nature. When you don’t obey, guilt, shame, and conviction will grip your soul. Those feelings are evidence that your actions are not congruent with the new nature abiding in you. If you didn’t have a new nature, like a sow wallowing in filth, you’d think little of it.

God giving you righteousness by Spirit vs writen code does not change how God does justice toward mans response. You are righeous because God leads you and you CHOOSE to walk by faith. The discipline is the SPIRIT. How in the world can you make the two not the same. LOL The law of the SPIRIT is our discipline and it is our righteousness by HIM who is the source of the righteousness. If we don't obey are not righteous.

Are you saying that a person must be absolutely perfect and in line with the Law of God before death, or they are lost? For example, let’s say a believer is driving to work and after being cut off in traffic becomes upset and curses at the other driver. Then suddenly they are crushed by a semi whose driver lost control. Is that person damned??? God demands ABSOLUTE PERFECTION AND HOLINESS. Unless this believer is hidden in Christ, he has no hope. In fact, if we are not hidden in Christ, none of us have any hope.

TO BE CONTINUED....

[Aquila]

CONTINUED...

Do you know that Christ was that believer’s propitiation? That means that EVERY bit of the Father’s wrath that could ever be against this believer was poured out upon Jesus Christ upon the cross. The Father’s holy justice has been satisfied. Jesus died in the believer’s place. Christ became sin that we might become the righteousness of Christ. Jesus didn’t have to sin to become sin…nor do we have to DO RIGHTEOUSNESS to become righteous. Righteousness is imputed upon us just as our sins were laid upon the Savior. It is an exchange performed by God. Once one receives the Holy Ghost, their spirit is regenerated, they are a new creature, they now have the abiding Spirit, and they are now partakers in Christ’s nature. In an instant. However, though the spirit has been regenerated by the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ, the mind of a person is still thinking in the old carnal fleshly patterns. It must be renewed to bring the believer’s mind into harmony with the believer’s spirit. In this way one is righteous by virtue of the regeneration received through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and is also being made righteous through sanctification. Sanctification is the process in which the believer’s mind is renewed through the Word of God bringing right thoughts, right desires, right vision, and thereby producing good works. So a believer’s spirit is righteous…because it is regenerated by the Holy Spirit. The believer is also becoming righteous, by virtue of the sanctification resulting from the mind being renewed.

If I placed five million dollars in your bank account…would you look at your empty hands and claim that you are not a millionaire? The spirit of a man is regenerated and made alive and holy after receiving the Holy Ghost. Just because his mind has yet to appropriate that reality and he acts out of character with regards to that new nature, it doesn’t mean that the believer isn’t righteous.

Their works give them if led by the Spirit God's consideration and judgment of being "right of heart." If they are doing it through the flesh they will fail.

Not so. Many men are practicing fleshly religion quite successfully. Basically because they define righteousness by their said religion. It’s easy to be righteous when you can pick and choose the Laws you follow. The point is…if a man believes he must keep the Law to be righteous…he must keep ALL of the Law.

IF what you said is true then you are deceivd. HOW in the WORLD can a BY FLESH seeking righteousness put to shame the righteousness of someone who is led by the SPirit?

There are Muslims and Hindus whose “righteousness” far exceeds the righteousness of Christians if we gauge “behavior” and outward standards. The point is…religious disciplines are not what will make one righteous. Righteousness is imputed to the believer by the very presence of the indwelling Christ. A born again Christian who is struggling with smoking and a pornography habit that they are prayerfully seeking deliverance from is righteous and holy in God’s sight because Jesus died in that man’s place. Judicially, Jesus bore every sin that man has ever committed or will commit, and died in His place. Jesus took every ounce of God’s wrath toward that man’s sins and received it in Himself. Jesus was executed in that man’s place. Jesus became sin that this struggling believer might believe and become the righteousness of God. This struggling believer is righteous and holy (set apart) in God’s sight, though he’s struggling with his sanctification. If a devout Muslim who was clad in modesty, clean in all speech, faithful in all dealings, prayerful (beyond five times a day), faithful to his wife, and kind and compassionate towards his children…the struggling saint is still righteous and holy in God’s sight and the Muslim is condemned where he stands. The struggling believer will do well to look to Christ’s cross for his righteousness, and witness to Christ’s Gospel to that faithful Muslim.

Having a new nature imparted does not make me righteous in itself. It allows me to now the will of God. I am righteous IF I do the will of him that is in me not simply because HE is in me.

Again, if I dropped five million dollars in your bank account…would you look at your empty hands and claim you weren’t a millionaire until you went out and worked for it? You might not understand that I dropped that into your account and that you’re a millionaire. You might not believe that I dropped that into your account and that you’re really a millionaire. Here’s the deal… as long as you don’t believe you’re a millionaire, you’ll never tap into that account and begin living like one. We are justified by faith, allowing us to come forward and receive remission of sins and the Holy Ghost (not always in this order). Christ became sin (our sin) for us that the righteousness of Christ might be imputed to us, and then we stand righteous in God’s sight. Not in our righteousness, but in Christ’s righteousness. The very Spirit of Christ comes to indwell us at Holy Ghost baptism and our spirits are regenerated, making us new creatures. Now, our mind needs to be renewed. And if we do not understand what has been deposited in us…or we do not choose to believe what is deposited in us, we will not begin acting in accordance to the new nature of which we have partaken. When you look into the mirror…realize something, own it, reckon it to be so, embrace it, accept it in faith…you are already righteous and holy in God’s sight. No, it’s not your righteousness, you have a LONG way to go…and you’ll NEVER be as righteous and holy as God (what’s demanded). Instead, you stand clothed in Christ’s righteousness. Your mind may still need renewed so that you might begin acting in accordance to the nature inside you. But you are righteous and holy. Now… IF you choose to walk way from Christ, and denounce Him, refusing to have your mind renewed… backsliding occurs. The first step down this slope is resisting the Spirit. Resisting that Spirit led conviction that gnaws in the pit of your stomach when you’ve done wrong. Then one begins to quench the Spirit by stifling all promptings to repent. This leads to grieving the Spirit, making the Spirit sorrowful and placing the Spirit at odds with the believer. One can then begin insulting the Spirit of God, rejecting the blood of Christ. Finally…one can fully turn and blaspheme the Holy Spirit, condemning them to eternal damnation. The example of this functioning as a progression is very general.

He is if I choose him not because he is there compelling me.

Yes, you must choose to die to self and allow Christ to live His life through you. We agree.

Uh for now I will say NO as I am unsure what your whole meaning is behind this statement.

If the Christain knows...

1) If they are struggling to do. They need to pray and fast and seek the elders of the church and the body and lean on God for his strength in the time of temptation. If they continue to fail most likely they are simply appeasing the flesh that... hey I tried. If you love me you will obey my commandments. He has not given us anything we cannot overcome. We don't dwell in sin.

I’d like to know your answer. I’ll share my thoughts afterwards. We both might be able to take away something from the other’s answer to this question.

Take a close look at this Luke. The question was…

Let me ask you a question. It will fully reveal if you’re looking at this legalistically, or biblically. How does a saint of God who is struggling with Christian disciplines and sin increase their love for Jesus, thereby bringing a life that is congruent with the new nature imparted to them?

You’re answer to how the Christian can increase his or her love God is as follows. They must:

1.) Pray.
2.) Fast.
3.) Seek assistance from the elders of the church and the body.
4.) Lean on God for His strength in time of temptation.

Do you notice anything consistent? Do you see anything missing?

The consistent thing is that your answer is that the believer needs to perform a bunch of religious duties. Prayer, fasting, assistance, and leaning on God’s strength to act or behave a certain way. All these things are good things. And I’ll admit, I’ve advised almost the very same thing. The only thing that comes close to the answer I’m now seeing is leaning on God for His strength in time of temptation. The problem with the answer in how you presented it is that…you don’t tell us how this believer is to lean on God’s strength. It’s ambiguous. And in my experience if they ask how to do so, we begin running in circles…just pray, fast, and seek assistance again. And so now they are on the hamster’s wheel of legalistic, performance based religion.

You really never mentioned... the atoning work of Jesus.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[Aquila]

CONTINUED...

The question was,

How does a saint of God who is struggling with Christian disciplines and sin increase their love for Jesus, thereby bringing a life that is congruent with the new nature imparted to them?

The truth is…there is nothing in the way of Christian discipline that the believer can do to increase his or her love for God. They don’t need to “do” anything. They need a revelation. “A revelation of what?” one might ask. A revelation of God’s love. Let’s take a look at a text and I’ll draw a foundational principle from it:

I John 4:7-19
{4:7} Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God;
and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
{4:8} He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
{4:9} In this was manifested the love of God toward us,
because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world,
that we might live through him. {4:10} Herein is love, not
that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to
be] the propitiation for our sins. {4:11} Beloved, if God so
loved us, we ought also to love one another. {4:12} No man
hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God
dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. {4:13}
Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us,
because he hath given us of his Spirit. {4:14} And we have
seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son [to be] the
Saviour of the world. {4:15} Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in
God. {4:16} And we have known and believed the love that
God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love
dwelleth in God, and God in him. {4:17} Herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of
judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. {4:18}
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:
because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made
perfect in love. {4:19} We love him, because he first loved
us.

Notice the last verse in the text, “We love him, because he first loved us.” We don’t begin with more disciplines and behavior modification (legalism). We begin with turning to Scripture to get a revelation of God’s love towards us. Why? Because we only love Him… as a result of Him shedding His love lavishly upon us. When a struggling believer begins to get a revelation of how much God loves them, How God Himself bore all their sins upon the cross. How Jesus Christ became the object of God’s wrath on their behalf. How they are justified purely by faith, and adopted in as a son or daughter. When they realize that their Heavenly Father is indeed, “Abba father”, the condemnation and fear is lifted. There is no fear in love. If one is made to fear God as though there never was a cross…they can never be made perfect in their love for God. They fear Him as an abusive, threatening, violent father who might be provoked to beat them when they mess up or make wrong decisions. As we begin to understand God’s love…our love for Him will naturally grow in response. And the more we understand God’s love…the more we will in turn love Him. And as our love is perfected in understanding Him and His love, our behaviors will change…and we will have renewed our mind, aligning it with God’s revelation, thus producing a desire for greater sanctification.

Here’s a real life example. This college aged kid in church was expressing that he was struggling with temptations to drink on the weekends with his peers. More times than not, he gave into the temptation and went partying with them. He wanted to read his Bible and pray more, but he didn’t feel motivated enough to do it. He just wanted to love God more, but didn’t know how to do it. The brothers in our cell group advised him to institute a “quiet time” for prayer every morning. They also advised him to change the music he listened to and advised him to set aside 15 minutes a night for Bible reading. Then they assigned him an “accountability partner” to break his knee caps if he failed (Just kidding! Lol). They meant well…but they put him under bondage. As he tried to perform the duties on their “little list” (read “Law”) he found that occasionally he’d sleep to late for the quiet time he committed to. Sometimes he’d get tired and go to sleep before his 15 minute Bible reading. When his “accountability partner”, Guido the Killer Christian, called him to see if he was abiding by the list, the brother lied and said he was praying and reading his Bible every day. The result? CONDEMNATION. The Law always brings condemnation because no one can keep it indefinitely. Needless to say, this caused him to shy away from prayer time even more. He also became afraid to read the Bible, because when he read it, all he saw was that God was angry at him and displeased with him. God was becoming like a bitter, angry, and demanding father in his eyes. The first cell group meeting of last month he ditched. Just didn’t show up. So I decided to call him, though I’m not the “religious policeman” assigned to him. We talked. I asked him why he didn’t come. He said, “Because I can’t do it. I can’t be a Christian. I just don’t love God enough. I can’t stop doing the things that I know He doesn’t want me to do.” I said, “Do you know what God wants more than that?” He said “What?” I said, “God just wants you to know how much He loves you.” From there we began to talk about God’s love. How God loved us…while we were yet sinners. How Jesus became our propitiation. I looked up the definition of propitiation and read it to him. We talked about how Jesus Himself was the object of God’s wrath on his behalf. Yes…Jesus was punished for every mistake this brother would ever make to satisfy the demands of God’s holy justice. I then said, “So how could God be angry with you? His anger was already poured out on Christ?” This kid then said, “He did that for me?” I said, “Yes. And he did it once and for all.” He was silent. I could hear a sniffle over the phone as he tried to hide the fact that he was crying. I encouraged him to come back to the cell group. When he did, to my surprise he confessed about lying. He explained that he just didn’t want them to see him as a failure. I committed myself to doing something privately. Every time I see this brother, I’m saying, “He did it all for you.” Guess what…last time we talked he was sharing something he read in his Bible. What led him to begin reading? A desire to know the God who loves him so much, He’d die to redeem him. His love is growing, as a result of a revelation of God’s own love for him.

When we understand just how much God loves us…there’s just no way we can stand there unaffected. If we are sincerely seeking God, a revelation of how He first loved us will birth an ever deepening love for Him. All the “disciplines” will then cease to be seen as disciplines, but will become fruit of the Spirit.

[TGBTG]

Originally Posted by TGBTG

Hey Luke, are you sure you gonna make it to heaven?

Why or why not?

Originally Posted by LUKE2447

I have faith but no I don't know and neither does anyone else that is human. That is why it is called the judgment in which we are judged according to our works both good and bad. God is just and consistent. He will either say well done thou good and "faithful" servant or depart from me you worker of lawlessness I never knew you.

Eze 18:24 But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

Originally Posted by LUKE2447

No as his context does not even give a hint of it. LOL He knows IF he does xyz he can stand before God believing he will be counted as faithful. Still does not negate my point.

You said "you don't know." Ok, Now, that MTD has told us how can we can know with certainty if we do xyz, do you now know with certainty that u're gonna be in the kingdom?

[TGBTG]

Originally Posted by Michael The Disciple

Can we know we are going to make it into the Kingdom? Certainly! How?

4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17

If we are like Jesus we can have boldness in the day of judgment. If we are not like HIM we have no assurance of the Kingdom.

Hey MTD, are you like Jesus now?
If yes, how do you know?

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by NorCal

According to Paul, we must "Die Daily"
According to Peter, "Be Ye Holy, for I AM Holy"

If you live by the WHOLE BIBLE you will be perfected unto Christ.

The problem with Christian Society is that they like to pick and choose.
OSAS do not follow Peter or Paul or even Christs teachings.
Pure Legalists do not rely enough on "Faith in Christ"

It takes both, Works displaying your Faith.
Remember, Jesus did not come to destroy The Law (for he WAS the Law/Word) but to Fulfill The Law.

As a Christian you must
1) Believe that God Is
2) That he is a rewarder of those that seek him
3) That Jesus Christ is God
4) And follow all the teachings of Christ and his Apostles


Yes as you follow Christ, your ways, thoughts, and actions will change.

Biblically, the only thing you NEED to get to heaven is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" as this will lead you to be "the image of Christ". Remember, we are the "Clay on the Potters Wheel". We are being transformed into the Image of Christ.

Good points.

I think the issue is that we often put the cart before the horse. Realizing who Jesus is, and having a relationship with Him is foundational. Appropriating all that Christ died to provide us comes next. Good works are the result of appropriating the truths of Scripture. Not a means to righteousness, pleasing God, or earning salvation. We do good works because we are saved...not to be saved or to keep salvation. When we were saved...did we receive the Holy Ghost by faith... or by the keeping of the Law? Did you have to "get right" for a probationary period before receiving the Holy Ghost? No. You repented (a change of mind regarding yourself and God) and received it by faith. Having begun in faith... are we now made perfect by the Law? Nope. We who live in Christ Jesus live by faith. The works are merely fruit from this union with Christ Jesus.

[Aquila]

This is cool, I wanted to share it here:
From: http://www.peterwade.com/articles/other/htaylor.shtml

The Exchanged Life
by Hudson Taylor
Yes, in me, in me He dwelleth
I in Him and He in me!
And my empty soul He filleth
Now and through eternity.
Horatio Bonar

"... God made me a new man! God has made me a new man!"
Wonderful was the experience that had come in answer to prayer, yet so simple as almost to baffle description...
Do you know, I now think that this striving, longing, hoping for better days to come is not the true way to holiness, happiness or usefulness. It is better, no doubt, far better than being satisfied with poor attainments, but not the best way after all. I have been struck with a passage from a book... entitled Christ is All. It says,
"The Lord Jesus received is holiness begun; the Lord Jesus cherished is holiness advancing; the Lord Jesus counted upon as never absent would be holiness complete...
"He is most holy who has most of Christ within, and joys most fully in the finished work..."
... To let my loving Savior work in me His will, my sanctification, is what I would live for by His grace. Abiding, not striving nor struggling; looking off unto Him; trusting Him for present power... resting in the love of an almighty Savior, in the joy of a complete salvation, "from all sin" -- this is not new, and yet 'tis new to me... Christ literally all seems to me, now, the power, the only power for service, the only ground for unchanging joy...
How then to have our faith increased? Only by thinking of all that Jesus is and all He is for us: His life, His death, His work, He Himself as revealed to us in the Word, to be the subject of our constant thoughts. Not a striving to have faith... but a looking off to the Faithful One seems all we need; a resting in the Loved One entirely, for time and eternity.
... I looked to Jesus, and when I saw -- oh, how joy flowed!
It was resting in Jesus now, and letting Him do the work -- which makes all the difference. Whenever he spoke in meetings after that, a new power seemed to flow from him, and in the practical things of life a new peace possessed him. Troubles did not worry him as before. He cast everything on God in a new way, and gave more time to prayer.
It was the exchanged life that had come to him -- the life that is indeed "No longer I"... It was a blessed reality "Christ liveth in me." And how great the difference! -- instead of bondage, liberty; instead of failure, quiet victories within; instead of fear and weakness, a restful sense of sufficiency in Another.
Perhaps I may make myself more clear if I go back a little... I prayed, agonized, fasted, strove, made resolutions, read the Word more diligently, sought more time for meditation -- but all without avail. Every day, almost every hour, the consciousness sin oppressed me.
I knew that if only I could abide in Christ all would be well, but I could not. I would begin the day with prayer, determined not to take my eye off Him for a moment, but pressure of duties, sometimes very trying, and constant interruptions apt to be so wearing, caused me to forget Him. Then one's nerves get so fretted in this climate that temptations to irritability, had thoughts and sometimes unkind words are all the more difficult to control. Each day brought its register of sin and failure, of lack of power. To will was indeed "present with me," but how to perform I found not.
Then came the questions, is there no rescue? Must it be thus to the end -- constant conflict, and too often defeat?... Instead of growing stronger, I seemed to be getting weaker and to have less power against sin; and no longer, for faith and even hope were getting low. I hated myself, I hated my sin, yet gained no strength against it. I felt I was a child of God. His Spirit in my heart would cry, in spite of all, "Abba, Father." But to rise to my privileges as a child, I was utterly powerless.
... I knew I was powerless. I told the Lord so, and asked Him to give me help and strength. Sometimes I almost believed that He wold keep and uphold me; but on looking back in the evening -- alas! There was but sin and failure to confess and mourn before God.
... And yet, never did Christ seem more precious; a Savior who could and would save such a sinner!... And sometimes there were seasons not only of peace but of joy in the Lord; but they were transitory, and at best there was a sad lack of power.
All the time I felt assured that there was in Christ all I needed, but the practical question was -- how to get it out. He was rich truly, but I was poor; He was strong, but I weak. I knew full well that there was in the root, the stem, abundant fatness, but how to get it into my puny little branch was the question. As gradually light dawned, I saw that faith was the only requisite -- was the hand to lay hold on His fullness and make it mine. But I had not this faith.
I strove for faith, but it would not come; I tried to exercise it, but in vain. Seeing more and more the wondrous supply of grace laid up in Jesus, the fullness of our precious Savior, my guilt and helplessness seemed to increase. Sins committed appeared but as trifles compared with the sin of unbelief which was their cause, which could not or would not take God at His word... I prayed for faith, but it came not. What was I to do?
When my agony of soul was at its height, a sentence in a letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed to me the truth of our oneness with Jesus as I had never known it before.
"But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One."
As I read, I saw it all! "If we believe not, he abideth faithful." I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed)! That He had said, "I will never leave thee."
"Ah, there is rest!" I thought. "I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I'll strive no more. For has not He promised to abide with me -- never to leave me, never to fail me?" And... He never will.
... As I thought of the Vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured direct into my soul! How great seemed my mistake in wishing to get the sap, the fullness out of Him! I saw not only that Jesus will ever leave me, but that I am a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. The vine is not the root merely, but all -- root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit. And Jesus is not that alone -- He is soil and sunshine, air and showers, and ten thousand times more than we have ever dreamed, wished for or needed. Oh, the joy of seeing this truth! I do pray that the eyes of your understanding too may be enlightened, that you may know and enjoy the riches freely given us in Christ.
... It is a wonderful thing to be really one with a risen and exalted Savior, to be a member of Christ! Think what it involves. Can Christ be rich and I poor? Can your right hand be rich and your left poor? Or your head be well fed while your body starves?... No more can your prayers or mine be discredited if offered in the name of Jesus (i.e., not for the sake of Jesus merely, but on the ground that we are His, His members) so long as we keep within the limits of Christ's credit -- a tolerably wide limit!
The sweetest part... is the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I know, is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest position He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient... So, if God should place me in serious perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; in positions of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure and trials, much strength? No fear that His resources will prove unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine, for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me.
And since Christ has thus dwelt in my heart by faith, how happy I have been!... I am no better than before. In a sense, I do not wish to be, nor am I striving to be. But I am dead and buried with Christ -- ay, and risen too! And now Christ lives in me, and "the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
... Do not let us consider Him as far off, when God has made us one with Him, members of His very body. Nor should we look upon this experience, these truths, as for the few. They are the birthright of every child of God, and no one can dispense with them without dishonoring our Lord. The only power for deliverance from sin or for true service is Christ.
And it is all so simple and practical!
"But are you always conscious of this abiding in Christ?" Mr. Taylor was asked many years later.
"While sleeping last night," he replied, "did I cease to abide in your home because I was unconscious of the fact? We should never be conscious of not abiding in Christ."

I change, He changes not;
The Christ can never die:
His truth, not mine, the resting place;
His love, not mine, the tie

.

[Aquila]

Uncertainty of salvation comes from placing one's trust in self and not Christ. Such a one is already set up for failure. Get your eyes off yourself and turn your eyes upon Jesus. Then the things of this world will grow strangely dim. ;-)