Audio Transcript
Welcome again on this Friday. On Wednesday, final time we met, in APJ 1925, we appeared on the “cloud of hysteria” that may encroach into our lives. It’s a sense you typically get, however “can’t put your finger on” — one which makes you “simply really feel tense and anxious” that “one thing goes to go dangerous at this time.” Christians can discover themselves inside such a fog of hysteria. Actually, some Christians wrestle rather a lot with each day anxiousness. However ought to we? Hasn’t the Holy Spirit delivered us from anxiousness altogether?
As we noticed on Wednesday, the apostle Paul claims that “God gave us a spirit not of concern however of energy and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). So why would any Spirit-indwelt Christian nonetheless wrestle with anxiousness? That’s Eric’s query, a listener to this podcast. “Pastor John, hey. If God doesn’t give us a spirt of concern, however of energy and love and self-control” — 2 Timothy 1:7 once more — “then why am I, as a believer, nonetheless struggling to beat concern? Shouldn’t the Spirit’s presence in me be the top of all my fearing?”
One of many causes I’m desirous to sort out this query is as a result of though it’s particularly about concern or anxiousness, the precept that it’s wrestling with pertains to nearly each space of Christian ethics, or Christian advantage, or sanctification. It’s the precept, specifically, of being made decisively new in Christ due to God’s authorized act of justification by religion, and due to God’s transformative act within the new beginning and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and but in our precise each day lives realizing that we aren’t but utterly new, not utterly reworked. That’s the stress that all of us stay with. That’s the truth of Christian residing.
And though we have now addressed this, Tony, many occasions on this podcast, it’s so primary and so vital for each space of life that it’s onerous to handle it too typically or too many occasions.
New and Not But New
All of us, not simply Eric, take care of this both-and in our Christian lives day-after-day: each decisively new — that’s who we’re; we’re decisively new creatures in Christ — and not but utterly new. That’s the truth. And studying easy methods to stay that approach is the important thing to the Christian life.
What I imply by decisive — I like that phrase; it’s actually useful — is that God has carried out one thing for us (for Christians) and he’s carried out one thing in us that may by no means be taken away, ever. God has carried out it; it’s determined. The saving work he begins, he completes (Philippians 1:6). That’s what I imply by decisive. And but a few of that saving work in us, that newness, just isn’t but full. It’s essential that we perceive what God has carried out for us in justification, what he has carried out in us within the new beginning, what he’s doing in us now by the Spirit, and what he’ll lastly do for us as our newness turns into full on the resurrection. That’s actually essential, and that’s what the query is finally about.
And what I’m making an attempt to indicate is that Eric’s expertise of each of these — having God’s Spirit of fearlessness inside him and preventing to beat concern each day in his life by relying on the Spirit — is what the conventional Christian life seems like. So let’s get this clear as a result of I feel it’s by this primary construction of salvation that individuals, if they’ve a deal with on this, can type out what their expertise is.
Salvation in Three Tenses
Let’s get clear that salvation, which God provides us, from guilt and sin and wrath and loss of life and ache and hell — that full salvation into eternal pleasure occurs in levels, not suddenly. It has occurred in some senses. It is going on in some senses. It will occur sooner or later in some senses. There are texts that say every of these.
- Ephesians 2:8: “By grace you have been saved by religion. And this isn’t your personal doing; it’s the reward of God.” That’s carried out. You may have been saved.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18: “The phrase of the cross is folly to those that are perishing, however to us who’re being saved it’s the energy of God.”
- Romans 13:11: “The hour has come so that you can wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now” — prefer it’s not right here but — “than after we first believed.”
“Full salvation into eternal pleasure occurs in levels, not suddenly.”
Wonderful. You possibly can fasten wealthy biblical phrases to God’s work in every of these three levels of salvation. It’s carried out; it’s taking place; it’s going to occur sooner or later. You possibly can fasten wealthy biblical phrases to these.
Previous
For instance, what’s already carried out, what’s decisive? God’s act of justification is already carried out. It’s previous and full. There’s no course of to it as a result of it’s a authorized declaration that occurs suddenly on the level of our conversion after we embrace Christ as our treasured Savior and Lord. God declares us righteous in his sight. Romans 5:1: “Having been justified by religion, we have now peace with God.” It’s carried out — no course of. The courtroom continuing is over. No double jeopardy. You don’t have to return to courtroom ever once more on that situation.
Akin to this once-for-all authorized act is the once-for-all transformative act referred to as the brand new beginning or regeneration. That, too, has no course of. Not like justification, it doesn’t occur legally as in a courtroom; it occurs inside us, however solely as soon as. Infants are born solely as soon as. First Peter 1:23: “You may have been born once more, not of perishable seed however of imperishable, by the residing and abiding phrase of God.” It’s carried out solely as soon as. It doesn’t occur once more. It’s not a course of.
So justification (being counted righteous in Christ) and regeneration (being born once more) are acts of salvation which might be completely full — once-for-all, decisive, unchangeable. God by no means reverses them. “These whom he predestined he additionally referred to as, and people whom he referred to as he additionally justified, and people whom he justified he additionally glorified” (Romans 8:30). No failures, no dropouts, no reversals — justification and regeneration as soon as for all, decisive. And the explanation I stress it’s as a result of that’s the bottom we stand on. Once we’re preventing to beat anxiousness, that’s the place we’re standing.
Current
Then there’s the saving act of God in course of. And the important thing phrase right here is being sanctified. Hebrews 10:14: “By a single providing he has perfected forever those that are being sanctified.” So we’re being saved by the current work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, who helps us to place sin to loss of life and stroll in paths of righteousness.
Future
After which, lastly, there’s this future completion of salvation. Peter says in 1 Peter 1:5, “By God’s energy we’re being guarded by religion for a salvation able to be revealed within the final time.” So one side of that future salvation is rescue from the ultimate wrath of God. Romans 5:9: “Since, due to this fact, we have now now been justified by his blood, way more lets be saved by him from the wrath of God.” That’s coming sooner or later.
One other side is our full glorification. “These whom he justified he additionally glorified” (Romans 8:30). It’s nearly as good as carried out, full and remaining bodily resurrection into sinless glory. That’s not right here but; that’s coming.
Life within the Rigidity
Now what Eric’s query attracts our consideration to is that, between decisive justification and regeneration (at the start of our Christian life) and sinless glorification (on the finish of this age), this current lifetime of being sanctified just isn’t considered one of sinless perfection, however of warfare in opposition to sin within the energy of the Holy Spirit. God has his causes. This is without doubt one of the issues I’ve puzzled about all my life. God has his causes for why he doesn’t good us instantaneously on the level of our conversion in order that we by no means sin once more. He’s going to try this on the resurrection — we’ll by no means sin once more. Why doesn’t he do it now? He doesn’t do it in that approach. Why? He has chosen to avoid wasting us by enabling us by the Spirit, by religion in his guarantees, to struggle sin as justified kids of God.
“This current lifetime of being sanctified just isn’t considered one of sinless perfection, however of warfare in opposition to sin within the energy of the Holy Spirit.”
Perhaps one motive God has carried out it this manner is that each time we kill a sinful temptation in our lives (just like the temptation to concern), each time we put to loss of life a sin by trusting in God’s guarantees, we present the satan and the world and our personal consciences that Jesus is extra valuable than any promise sin might make to us. That’s what God is after on the planet: the open demonstration that Christ is wonderful. He’s extra to be desired than the rest.
So my remaining phrase to Eric is sure, you haven’t been given a spirit of concern, however relatively of braveness, of self-control. That doesn’t imply you gained’t be tempted to concern. It doesn’t imply you gained’t get up in the midst of the evening as I did just lately, with anxiousness about 5 issues that need to be carried out tomorrow, and also you marvel how you can do them. You’re not even certain easy methods to do a few of them. What it means is that God has given you the sources to struggle that concern.
He has justified you: you’re forgiven, accepted, beloved. He has regenerated you and you’re a new creature, a brand new particular person in Christ, a toddler of God. He has given you his sanctifying Spirit. He has given you guarantees like Hebrews 13:5–6: “‘I’ll by no means depart you, Eric. I’ll by no means forsake you.’ So we are able to confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I can’t concern; what can man do to me?’” And he has given you the promise that you will make it house to glory. Maintain preventing so you may say with Paul on the finish of your life, “I’ve fought the great struggle, I’ve completed the race, I’ve saved the religion” (2 Timothy 4:7).
