THE SECRET PLACE
“He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

PART 12

SEARCHING FOR THE MIND OF CHRIST

The most important tradition found in ancient civilizations has been the passing of knowledge to the next generation for the simple reason of preserving the heritage and legacy of the past. One sign of a dissolving society is when the older leaders become deceived with error, laziness, apathy, and sin. As they fail to stand for truth, the up and coming decision makers begin to reject traditional thinking and eventually the original established philosophies are set aside and replaced with new and seemingly dynamic concepts. If moral convictions that were once a normal way of life are allowed to be transformed into unfamiliar worldviews, the next generation of movers and shakers can actually change the thinking and complexion of the culture. Change is good as long as it brings more of God’s truth, but when mixed with secular humanism, it can be just as dangerous as it is helpful. Moreover, society must not become so angry and frustrated with their condition, that they accept a “new age” of change out of desperation. This is an old “hat trick” from Satan, which falls into the category of spiritual witchcraft with the consequences being damaging and deadly.

There is nothing more important for us who know biblical truth than to devote our lives passing the spiritual baton of “soul saving” secrets of divine wisdom to the future. It is the hope and security of God’s Word that has the ability to sustain and empower those who have been chosen to embrace its principals. For example, modern education is openly teaching young minds, the politically correct idea that the evolution theory is uniformity; that is, it seeks to show that life in all its various forms and manifestations probably originated by causes similar to or identical with forces and processes now prevailing. They teach the absolute supremacy and the past continuity of natural law as now observed. Uniformity says the changes now going on in our modern world have always been in action, and these present-day natural changes and processes are as much a part of the origin as anything that has taken place in the past. This fairytale view of nature and matter tries desperately to disprove God and his Word for the purpose of establishing an atheistic order of laws and precepts to live by. In reality, the truth is that man is evil, and as he continues to destroy the earth, even the atmosphere, the ocean or the animals will not be able to survive his greed. In turn, God is bringing judgment upon man because of his selfishness, and is very displeased with the way humans have treated His beautiful creation.

It is sad that many have been brainwashed into these deceptions and choose to rely on fiction instead of trusting the wisdom of God who has already proven his validity. It is with complete confidence that I proclaim that man did not evolve from a microorganism, a monkey or any other animal form. The theories and daydreams of such thoughts are an insult to God and to those who are His disciples. This is not to say there is no such thing as evolution, because it is possible for certain things to change, however everything was originally made by the One and only God of Alpha and Omega. For example, breeding certain animals and coming up with a specie modification is completely different from saying that a whale can morph into a elephant or that a rhinoceros can transform into a wolverine. Creation was not a process but rather was “spoken” directly and plainly into existence and instantly manifested by the authority and majesty of who God is. The liberal, humanistic leaders of modern intelligence cannot accept this magnitude of the miracle of creation. God is deity, from His nature to His name and He is the only one who can create from that which does not exist. He is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. He has always known everything from past, present and future, the beginning, the end and everything in between. It is a blind and deceived fool that would belittle God’s divine omnipotence by explaining away the power of His Word. If every human tossed God’s Word in the garbage can and decided to write his or her own worldview it would not affect the truth. God’s Word, ability and authority is true whether “anyone” believes it or not!

To better understand God, one must bow down to him with not just the physical knee but also a surrender of the “will” of their heart. This has always been where humankind draws the line. It comes down to the attitude of pride every time, which reveals the condition of the carnal conscience. Man wants to control his own destiny and believes he can. This mindset has brought floods, fire and great destruction to the world since time began. Those who remain calloused automatically become a hindrance to the progress of the kingdom of light and cannot comprehend what is spiritually or morally correct. They cannot see through the altered lenses of delusion. This transformation process called “salvation” or being ”born again”, that consist of yielding and bowing our will, has not been taught correctly neither has it been understood by the masses. Our mental, emotional and spiritual plans and ideas must be totally surrendered to him before he can intervene. He has come to rescue us from ourselves and we need him desperately. God’s kingdom is the opposite of man’s religious system. We “descend” into greatness; less is more because the less there is of us the more God can minister through us. Pride is the evil spirit that puffs us UP – but humility is a downward mobility that is required to manifest Christ. In Psalm 51, there is a verse that speaks about this attitude “adjustment”, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

If you are a student of the New Testament you have already seen the outline of its message; the world hates the message of surrender and the messenger is Jesus. Christians and non-Christians relate to Christ many different ways and how much they accept His message depends on which Jesus they choose to tolerate. For example most people love baby Jesus because babies are so cute and non-threatening. He is not confronting them and they love the feeling of being larger and stronger than him. Adults are naturally in total control of a baby and the human conscience can rest easy in the presence of an infant. At Christmas most people are in a festive mood of cheer and good will and can go along with the story about the wise men and Bethlehem. For the masses Jesus is harmless as long as He is kept in the manger. It is when He is allowed to grow up and express His absolute truth that He becomes a ruling King.

Another picture of Jesus that is widely accepted is when He fed and healed people. Our mind registers this view of Jesus as a provider and supplier of our needs. We like the idea of someone presenting us a delicious buffet or relieving our pain. This is a positive image that is tolerated among those who do not acknowledge God until they “need” something. These simple-minded thoughts about Christ are easy to deal with and are about as much of God as most people want. Where the masses begin to turn away from Jesus and walk away is when he is presented as teacher and master. This turns the tables and places him in authority and control. When the world is introduced to his anointed instructions and requirements the room begins to thin out, as people grow uncomfortable and rebellion begins to rise up from their human nature. To most individuals life is an amusement ride built for their enjoyment. Humans love pleasure and desire to stimulate every nerve and indulge in every pleasure with constant gratification – and to consume it all in lust. The world does not want to be told what to do in their personal thoughts and actions and they certainly hate to develop self-discipline or to be governed. They will have the last say or die trying. It is the ever-present attitude of pride that breeds rebellion and the age-old battle of control between the spirit and the flesh. In fact, the more that people understand what Christ desires, the more they begin to realize that he wants to rule their every thought and decision. Bingo! Religion has always compromised, distorted and watered down the Word of God because it is too difficult. The churches are being deceived with cupcake lessons in socially acceptable thinking and a logical tolerance to SIN! Sadly, the masses are generally NOT becoming closer to God – they are drifting farther away.

The religious system feeds the masses what they want to hear in order to keep up the salaries and expenses to finance their existence. The truth is that religion loves their non-threatening, “pleasure programs” but actually hates the real Jesus and would never support Him or His doctrines. The religious world seems to be powerful in pomp and ceremony but spiritually they are shallow and powerless because they do not know God personally. The attitude toward Jesus has not changed since the religious system cried out for his execution. It is basically the same – He stood before them as an innocent man and they denied His uncompromising word of truth! Selah.

THE SECRET PLACE
“He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

PART 8

SPIRIT OF THE AGE

In today’s world of higher education, it is strange how the word “secular” is frowned upon. I use the word myself from time to time to bring clarity to what I am trying to say. I realize that we live and function in an earthly environment; however, I personally do not see anything wrong with the word because it identifies the difference between the nature or “spirit” of the world and the Spirit of God. For the Christian, it is known that we are more closely bonded to the Spirit realm, because our spirit and conscience are intertwined with God and we live according to His voice. This reality of the saints walking in God’s presence and operating within His Kingdom exposes the spiritual intentions of an “opposite” realm that lives according to the character of carnality. The Oxford Dictionary gives this definition: “Worldly, terrestrial, temporal, non-clerical, non-ecclesiastical, material, concerned with the affairs of this world; NOT spiritual nor sacred, not associated with religion or religious belief”. Therefore, whenever I refer to something secular, I am referring to a “system” that desires to be recognized as NOT being affiliated with God. In addition, this includes any religion or philosophy that does not believe in Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit or God’s Bible as absolute truth.

To know God is to know truth. “Now wait a minute sir – the postmodern intellectual in today’s world knows that all “truth” is subjective and relative. Secular education declares that truth is based on individual interpretation and certain beliefs cannot be declared or imposed on another person as being the only “true” truth. It is widely accepted that there are as many versions of truth as there are personal opinions and each human being must be respected for their own unique worldviews of what they “believe” to be truth.” Relativists believe that all Christians who believe in absolutism are self-righteous. However if one studies fervently, it will be revealed that the denial of absolutes is even more arrogant. Though many in the faith may be infected with pride, it can be said that in genuine holiness, absolutes can be asserted without arrogance. If we discover “truth”, it is not necessarily arrogant to admit it. If we learn how to calculate mathematical equations, it is not necessarily haughtiness to say we know this. Some may think that their knowledge of truth makes them better than others; however, the antidote to this unhealthy arrogance should not involve “denying” these things are true but rather to remain humble in the way we hold to it. It should be noted, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. We can be confident, but we should be neither pompous nor hesitant. What can keep us balanced on the tightrope? The answer is wisdom. Wisdom as defined in scripture is a spiritual gift of knowing how to discern and demonstrates both humility and the anointed power to speak clearly and decisively.

It is also very common in today’s social correctness for relativists to believe that a Christian’s assertion of absolute truth leads to intolerance (and I am sure there are many that have been). Nevertheless, it should be considered that this view is actually making a moral judgment. For relativists to proclaim that something is really right and something is really wrong, is interesting to say the least. Actually, believers in Christ have a solid foundation for “defending” tolerance (a foundation that relativism lacks). In fact, many see cultural relativistic tolerance a “false” tolerance, or in other words, tolerance has become the relativists only absolute. True tolerance can and should be defended by believers because we have good reasons for maintaining that rightly defined tolerance is a virtue – and rightly defined intolerance is an intentional vice. For the believer there is an adequate basis to sustain this virtue and teach it to our children; however, tolerance does not imply religious and moral equivalence. It is in the making of this distinction that false tolerance and true tolerance diverge. Some cultural and social forms of tolerance minimize the differences among views, nevertheless, the problem occurs when a religion is merely true for you and my religion true for me, then what we believe is a matter of arbitrary personal preference that is not based on an eternal standard of truth. Thus the “truth” has become not the issue at all. The virtue of genuine tolerance extends to include a legal tolerance for diverse religious practice as well as social tolerance for people who are different from us. The call of Jesus to love our enemies takes us beyond a passive tolerance to a proactive love that needs to be demonstrated across religious, ethnic, cultural, racial and moral divides.

Consider the following illustration by Francis Beckwith.

Teacher: “Welcome students. Since this is the first day of class, I want to lay down some ground rules. First, since no one has the truth, you should be open-minded to the opinions of your fellow students. Second…..Elizabeth, do you have question?”

Elizabeth: “Yes, I do. If nobody has the truth, isn’t that the reason for me NOT to listen to my fellow students? After all, if no one has the truth, why should I waste my time listening to other people and their opinions? What would be the point? Only if someone has the truth does it make sense to open-minded. Don’t you agree?

Teacher: “No, I do not agree. Are you claiming to know the truth? Isn’t that a bit arrogant and dogmatic?”

Elizabeth: “Not at all! Rather, I think it is dogmatic as well as arrogant to assert that there is not one person on earth that knows the truth. Have you met every person in the world and quizzed him or her exhaustively? If not, how can you make such a claim? In addition, I believe it is actually the opposite of arrogance to say that I will “alter” my opinions to fit the truth whenever and wherever I find it. I happen to think that I have good reason to believe I do know the truth and would like to share it with you. If you did not believe that you were teaching the truth, you would not be a teacher. If you automatically discredit my view then you have broken your own rule to be open-minded to the opinions of others.”

Teacher: “This should be an interesting semester”

As this dialogue suggests, holding to eternal truth can be done in a way that reveals the glory of God and the Omnipotence of His wisdom. We are should not be afraid to exalt Him as Lord.

We notice the writings of the Apostle Paul in second Corinthians, demonstrating that he is not being arrogant by being confident in God’s power. “It is true that I am an ordinary, weak human being, but I don’t use human plans and methods to win my battles. I use God’s mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil’s strongholds. These weapons can break down every proud ARGUMENT against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding Him. The trouble with you is that you look at me and I seem weak and powerless, but you do not look beneath the surface. Yet, if anyone can claim the power and authority of Christ, I certainly can.” (II Corinthians 10:3-5, 7 TLB) Again, see find Paul standing before King Agrippa and how the honest “testimony” of his experience on the road to Damascus revealed a beautiful picture of God’s love and forgiveness. It is not our historical knowledge but rather the revelation of “Christ in us” that will enable us to give an account of who He is and what His intentions are. “Now stand up! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and my witness. You are to tell the world about this experience and about the many other occasions when I shall appear to you. And, I will protect you from both your own people and the Gentiles, to open their eyes to their true condition so they may repent and live in the light of God instead of Satan’s darkness, that they may receive forgiveness for their sins and God’s inheritance along with ALL people everywhere whose sins are cleansed away, who are set apart by faith in me.” (Acts 26:16-18 TLB) Without passion for truth – we are salt without flavor – as dead men walking.

There was a time when every parent wanted their child to go to college and receive a wonderful education. The idea was that it would help them become more knowledgeable and to live a better life. Unfortunately, the enemy of our souls was invited to present his curriculum and now his lies have become the socially acceptable way of thinking. Sadly, by allowing the neo-pagans, atheist and new age advocates to control our higher education system, it has given Satan the perfect opportunity to poison the minds of our young people with the attitude that anyone who believes in God – also believes in the tooth fairy. It is clear, the enemy is doing everything he can to tear down the courage, confidence and faith of those who represent God. Whose fault is it? The church has become lazy and bored with Bible study and prayer meetings because they allow their flesh to control them. A desire to know WHY we believe has now been replaced with dinners, comedians and entertainment.

Though it is true, that what we practice, (not only what we preach) is a greater contribution to the conversion of others, it is also crucial to know “what” we are talking about. Having a rational justification for our position is the foundation of our confidence to speak to critics of the faith. As the inability among Christians to defend spiritual truth increases, the strategy of Satan to divide and conquer will continue to attack with the battle cry, “it is difficult for the heart to embrace that which the mind does not understand”. C.S. Lewis said that he believed in Christ as he believed that the sun is risen, not because he saw it clearly, but because by “it” he saw everything else.” Selah.

THE SECRET PLACE
“He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

PART 7

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM

I was reading some commentary from the late David Wilkerson the other day and feel led to share his words. I was thinking about this year’s spiritual direction, and our highest priority must be about drawing closer to Jesus. Many of us are walking with God but none of us can say that we cannot go further into His presence. We can be as close to God as we dare. We are facing much temptation to indulge in pleasure, to relax, enjoy and generally take it easy. Listen as David shares his heart.

“If you can go about your daily life facing all sorts of chaos, interruptions and demands, and yet not spend ten minutes in God’s presence (the secret place), your love for Him is dying. Think about it: If you love someone exclusively above all others, you will make that person feel they are the most important being on earth. Everything else will pale in comparison to them. Is this not how you first loved your spouse when you were courting? If he or she called while you were busy, you dropped everything just to talk to them. If anyone intruded on your time alone together, you resented it. Everything else took second place in your efforts to develop the love between you. Many Christians today go for weeks, even months, without spending quality time with Jesus. How can they love Him with a whole heart when they neglect Him for days on end? In The Song of Solomon, the bride could not sleep because her beloved had left (Song of Solomon 5:6). This woman arose in the middle of the night, saying, “My soul failed . . . I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer” (same verse). So she quickly ran into the streets, looking everywhere for her lover, crying out, “Have you seen my beloved?” Why was this such a serious matter to her? Because, as she said, “This is my beloved, and this is my friend” (verse 16). “I am sick of love [faint with desire for him]” (verse 8). She could not be without her beloved for even a short amount of time. How does Jesus feel when He spreads the table and anxiously awaits our company, yet we never show up to fellowship? The Bible calls us His bride, His beloved, His one great love. He says we were created for fellowship with Him. Therefore, what rejection must He feel when we continually put other “lovers” before Him?”

The Lord knew that if He stayed in heaven and left us on the earth by ourselves, we would drift away from His presence. This is why He came to live inside of us, so that we could live in constant communion. Is it preaching to the choir to ask, “Is Jesus the center of your universe?” (When Christ is our Lord, He sits on the throne of our heart and rules our thoughts and actions). Do you discuss everything with Him? “Of course, Brother Billy, I said I was a Christian. I go to church when I can and I was baptized”. I realize that many seem to be interested in religion, but I believe there are people who call themselves a child of God, yet do not live IN Him, WITH Him or FOR Him. It is mentioned in God’s Word that in the end there will be many who will try to explain all of the good deeds they have done. Evidently, they were actually involved with spiritual works, gifts and miracles as an outreach of “Christian” ministry. Yet, we see God responding that He does not even recognize them. “Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he – (led by God’s Spirit – filled with His nature) that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto Me (Jesus) in that day (judgment), Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in Your name have cast out demons? and in Your name have done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity.” (Mathew 7:21-23)

I understand this is a difficult passage, because it would appear these ministers were at least out there “trying” to do a service for God. I understand the human view and the emotional justification of the individual’s intentions; however, if we believe that ministry is a religious “free-for-all” we are drifting away from the truth of how perfect God is. He is so perfect that He does not (cannot) bend His Word to fit our ideas or someone’s unique circumstance and does not compromise with “special” situations. A spiritual principal that must become a personal revelation is called “divine order”. This is a very precious pillar of absolute truth. If we look deeper into divine order, we notice that our spiritual development is based on a foundation, and then our life (or house) is built “upon” the solid rock of who He is – LOVE. So, what is the meaning behind this scripture? These people may have had good intentions; however, many times “good intentions” do not count for anything. It is ALL about obedience! I personally believe these people were trying to build their house on the sand. They were more concerned with taking pride in their accomplishments than walking in Agape love. The foundation of our existence on this planet is to be filled with God’s LOVE! Everything we think, say and do must be constructed upon this “rock”. I believe these laborers thought more of their religious performance, than God Himself or the ones they were trying to help. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of “prophecy”, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have ALL FAITH, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I AM NOTHING. And though I give all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me NOTHING.” (I Corinthians 13:1-3)

There are different “levels” of knowing someone. We can learn about a historical figure, but we do not know them “personally”. The same thing can happen when people read “about” God in the Bible, yet they may never encounter or have an intimate relationship with Him. It is common for people to add and include the knowledge of God into their lives instead of surrendering their heart so that He can transform them. Notice in the Corinthian passage, that someone could actually be a “scholar” of God’s Word, yet without knowing the Lord, it would just be information. Jesus was saying in the Mathew passage that these religious leaders were being led with an emotional connection. Trying to walk in the Spirit, while in the “flesh” is like trying to plug a 110 cord into a 220 outlet. It is not “what” we do – it is “why” we do it. It is the same spirit of Pharisee that attempts to be a follower of God, but have never had their spiritual eyes opened. “But all their works they do, are for to be seen by men: they broadcast their knowledge of the Law of Moses, and enlarge the borders of their garments.” (Mathew 23:5) Unless our works are built on love and the obedience of His voice, they will be burned to ashes.

This lesson today is for me. I am convicted by the Holy Spirit that my life is not in the correct order as it should be. Of course, I may say that I love everyone and have a desire to reach out to everyone in need, but I am not sure this is true. I believe many times, we have waited for God to intervene in our lives and answer our prayers, but since we have been out of “order”, He could not do it. It is not that He does not want to – He cannot override the perfect integrity of His system that gives us the freewill to disobey. Selah. Last year we had neighbors move in next door, and they were definitely struggling financially. The mother came over one day and said the house was in need of much repair and they had little furniture and no money. At first, I was compassionate with their situation as they also had children, but I began to notice they hardly ever went to work. They would not clean the outside of their house or pick up their trash that was all over their yard. They would not even mow their lawn. I am sorry to say, but I lost my respect and patience for them because I started thinking that it is difficult to help someone who will not try to help himself or herself. This attitude began to hinder my sympathy for them as I started looking at them with anger. I admit, I made some negative comments about them and I do not believe this is the right thing to do. This is just an example, but as I have thought about it, I must have a deep-seeded “love” problem. If we only love those who live life as we think they should, what are we doing? This truth of not having the “fullness” of Agape love operating in our lives is a “crack” in our armor. Within this “unlocked” entrance to our conscience, the enemy can focus his attack on our already weakened and unstable thought patterns. It is the RENEWED MIND, which has absorbed God’s nature and character, and with obedience has given top priority to doing what HE SAYS and not our opinions or judgments. If we embrace the worldview that everyone must live according to our “standards” and only reserve our concern for those who pull themselves up with their own bootstraps, then we have missed the mark of God’s idea of love. “As you would that men should do to you, do also to them likewise. For if you love them which love you, what benefit do you have? For sinners (the lost) also love them love those that love them. And if you do good to them, which do good to you, what blessing do, you have? For the lost also do the same. And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what do you have? For sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.” (Luke 6:31-34)

If we cannot love the people on our street, then how can we minister to people around the world? “But whoever has this world’s good, and sees his brother have need, and closes his bowels of compassion from him, how does the love of God dwell in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” (I John 3:17-18) The hotter the fire, the more the dross is consumed, and as we allow Him to refine us, the more pure we will become. “Father, help us this day to be emptied of our old nature, and fill us with our holy, compassionate love. May we learn that when we reach out in love to others, we are reaching out in love to you”. Amen.

THE SECRET PLACE
“He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

PART 6

ALL TO THEE MY BLESSED SAVIOR

When we heard the gospel about Jesus dying for us and how His blood was the only thing in the universe that could pay for our sins – we were convicted. The Holy Spirit works together with the Word of God when someone hears the calling of the Lord, and this window of opportunity is called grace. We have heard many sermons over the years, how that no one is invited to salvation or has the desire to repent unless the Father draws him or her to Himself. When we are drawn and we choose to reach out to Jesus by faith and confess with our mouth that we accept Him as the Lord of our heart, He comes to our rescue and saves us. His presence fills our temple and we follow Him in obedience with baptism. We continue to pledge our complete allegiance to Him and His Word as we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice and worship Him with Holy Communion. Now that we have “surrendered all”, we learn that our old spirit has been changed into a brand new spirit and that we have the rest of our lives to learn and develop into the person that God has called us to be. We are told that our old man (nature) is dead and that now we are a brand new creation in Christ Jesus.

I would not think there would be that much disagreement in the Christian world with the above statements. I am currently a seminary student and my major is Christian counseling which is focused on human behavior. It is no secret that the mind is the control center, with the spirit and the body on each side constantly trying to influence. From a Christian perspective, it does not take very long to discover, as we try to “walk the walk”, that our nature is not as “dead” as we thought. We can have a wonderful time in God’s presence in the morning and in the afternoon, we can turn into a fire-breathing dragon. We might not think this is unreasonable except this happens even when we have been saved for 20 or 30 years. I believe much of the problem has been because the realities of salvation are not clearly taught in the church. The basic idea of coming forward and giving your heart to Jesus is perfectly valid, however much of the “fine details” are never explained clearly. It is this lack of education and misunderstanding about salvation that prevents many from realizing their personal responsibility to God. Another reason, is because we are madly in love with our flesh! We are thrilled with the idea of being redeemed from hell, but we do not spend a lot of time examining God’s, “rest of the story” that explains how to be a TRUE follower of Jesus Christ.

In Galatians chapter 4 and verses 4-7, we cling to this very comforting passage, “But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. To redeem them that was under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And, because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father. Now you are no longer a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Let us also take a look at this scripture, “Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might REDEEM US FROM ALL INIQUITY, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14) We have no problem with accepting these statements as being filled with God’s compassion, except allow me to ask the question: Does this happen instantly at the time we are born-again? It is true that our (past) sins are washed away when we repent and ask forgiveness, however, being saved does not mean that our mind has automatically been transformed or renewed or that every compartment of our heart has been permanently purified or delivered. There is dancing in the aisles, when someone is preaching about being set free from the bondages of sin, but you can hear a pin drop when the attention is turned to God’s demand that we become a living sacrifice. How can people shout amen on Sunday about their victory over sin, and on Monday find themselves “intentionally” committing the same sin over again?

Have you ever noticed that our prayers are filled with asking God to do miracles about everything except to remove our “pet” sins? Where is our confidence that God can destroy the sins that we adore? In the NIV, Hebrews 11:1, says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and being certain of what we do not see.” The reason why we do not stand boldly in faith as we pray against our “secrets” is that we love them too much to let them go. We definitely should not pray, “If it is His will” because we know that IT IS HIS WILL that we live spotless. Can we say that Jesus redeemed our spirit, but did not remove our freedom to choose sin, which is directly connected to our mind? Could it be, the Christian that has not submitted to having their mind renewed has only been “partially” redeemed?

Let us go deeper with learning about what “redeem” means. The Oxford Dictionary says, “Reclaim, recover, regain, repossess, buy back, save, rescue, deliver from, reinstate, restore, make restitution for, liberate, ransom, release, fulfill, and satisfy.” Again, we have no problem trusting the doctrine of righteousness when it comes to Christ living His life through us. When Adam and Eve fell, all of humanity lost their position as sons of God. The “purchase” that Christ made was to buy us back from being eternally lost. God’s plan was for His people to seek Him with ALL of their heart until they received His personal revelations about how to live in His “image”. Unfortunately, many have become satisfied with this concept of being “bought and paid for” and believe it does not matter what they do or do not do toward their contribution to being “saved”. I fear that the religious world of lukewarm Christians have decided that their ticket to heaven is secure and they can live however they want. Many have allowed the roots of their old life to sprout new vines and have “secretly” went to the graveyard at night, to exhume their old nature. They have cleaned him up and put new clothes on him in the name of carnality, and now enjoy living in the denial and deception that everything is fine. It is this attitude to which we must blow God’s trumpet and declare that remaining in this illusion is very dangerous. Jesus Himself advised those who follow Him to “DIG DEEP” and build their foundations on the ROCK! The Lord does NOT dig our foundation for us; neither does He forcefully renew our mind. He does not make us study, pray or obey, but we CHOOSE our spiritual development as a free-will opportunity to know Him and the power of His resurrection. Yes, we are redeemed in our spirit, however it is amazing how much responsibility we have been given to help “fulfill” what He died for us to be. We are not saved by works but we are influenced and empowered to combine our obedience with faith – BECAUSE we are saved!

“Father, we have no doubt that you can deliver us from our personal problems – help us let go of the things we hold tightly. We believe your blood has redeemed our spirit, and we confess that we desire to be redeemed in our conscience. We allow you to clean out the closets and hidden chambers of our heart and mind. We ask you, to purge us of the iniquities that control our flesh. In the Name of Jesus, we ask You to do, “whatever it takes” that will cause these powerful temptations that stand between us, to make us nauseated. We are sorry that we have hurt you and disappointed you. In Jesus Name we pray, amen.”