The Christ-Centered Life
The Foundation
is our Position in Christ - Rom 6
Intro:
A foundation is the basis upon
which something stands, or is supported.
There is an important principle
here for our spiritual life. Mt. 7:24-27
What is the only adequate
foundation for eternal life and a life that results in true spiritual
transformation?
The foundation is critical, why? Because
it determines the size, shape and strength of the superstructure. 1 Cor. 3:10-11
We must understand that the
first key to effectiveness in living a godly life is to know what God has done for us and to know what our resources are in Him. How?
In terms of all aspects of our salvation and all that it
brings we must know and be fully persuaded
that God has done it all.
Understanding what God has done for us and who we are in
Christ is foundational to having the right
motive for living the Christian life, and the right motive is a vital key in the process of transformation,
growing and advancing spiritually.
Quote from Chafer:
What is your motive
for doing right? I suppose that above anything else in the world you want to
honor God with the right kind of a
life. I believe that, men. You do not need to convince me of that. But what is your motive? Why do you want to live right? Is it in order that God might
accept you or is it because He has
accepted you?....Ninety-nine out of one-hundred people who are members of our Protestant churches
today ... think their job is to win
the favor of God and they do not know
that they have the favor of God from the moment they believe on
Christ... He has given you everything
that He ever required and that is
yours right now when you believe. Never
are you called to fall back on the
merit system....Are you living the
best you could [that is to honor Christ] because you were set right, or do you
live the best you could hoping to be set right?
Obedience to the Word is a response to God's provisions for holiness, for living the worthy
walk in Christ, not an attempt to earn God's blessings and provisions (cf. Rom.
8:32).
As human beings we are created in God's image, we each
have value, meaning, and purpose in the plan of God.
The means for knowing who we are
so that such knowledge transforms our motives and thinking is a renewed mind in the Word, having a mind
saturated with divine viewpoint: Rom 12:2
Our position in Christ and our identification with Christ in His death,
burial, and resurrection forms the basis, the foundation for victory over the
desires of the flesh (sin nature) and provides us a completely new capacity for life.
Conclusion: the Spirit of God, whom we all
have indwelling us, whose responsibility in the Church age is to glorify Christ and mediate His life,
Christ’s life, to you and me, will never produce spiritual power or bring true
spiritual change into any life that is not
resting in the merit, significance, and sufficiency of Christ as the source
and ground of all of one's life.
Quote from Chafer:
"The
Holy Spirit cannot cooperate or engender any reality of experience when the very basis of a
grace relationship to God is ignored. How, indeed could the Holy Spirit empower
a life which is wholly misguided and wrong in its objectives, methods, and
motives? His benefits, of necessity, have significance only for those who
recognize and believe that they are perfected once-for-all by simple faith in
Christ as Savior and that their new obligation is not to make themselves
accepted but rather to walk worthy of the One in whom they are accepted."
A Note of Warning or Caution by Paul
In Colossians 2:8 the Apostle Paul gives us a word of
caution and one that is particularly pertinent for our focus in this study at
this time in history:
·
Satan
seeks to gets us busy attempting to earn what is only given.
·
Ironically,
many seek to achieve by our own self-effort that which they already have in
Christ.
·
The
result is that we as believers often become focused on false goals which, like
a hypnotic spell, hold us captive and keep us from experiencing God's love,
strength, and freedom, in our life in Christ.
Might note some of the problems which typically occur with
the perfectionist or one who is under pressure to meet some self-imposed standards
in order to feel good about themselves:
·
They
usually base their self-worth on how well they do things and on the response of
others to how well they have performed.
·
They
tend to be critical and look down on those who don't do so well. [in their view]
·
If
criticized they become defensive or devastated because they seek their value
through their performance.
Perfectionists tend to be
vulnerable to big mood swings depending on their perceived success.
·
In
their pursuit of a perfect standard, they tend to become controlling and very
irritating to others as they fight to have things perfect so they will feel okay.
·
Self-imposed
standards usually result in a rules dominated life.
Review general
outline of Romans:
1. Revelation of
God's wrath; Rom
1:18-3:20 [presents man's dilemma]
2. Revelation of
God's salvation; Rom
3:21-8:39 [God's solution]
- BD of Justification 3:21-5:21 [God's provision to deal with man's dilemma]
- BD of Position -
Sanctification 6:1-8:39 [Provision for
living resurrected lives]