A Four Fold Salvation — Part 10

A Four Fold Salvation 

Without the Holy Spirit revealing God’s word to us, we will always look at things in the Bible from one side only. But once, we have light, even though it is a paradox, but things make sense so much that we do not need to ask God to explain further.  In our training for this life we ought to look at the spiritual life like a coin with two sides. Failing to look at God’s word in the light of the Spirit, we will always have a group of Christian who feels there is nothing to be done the Spirit will take care of things. So they remain in the Church in a baby stage even after decades. But because they read the Bible and they have intellect, they have no idea they are in a baby stage when it comes to the spiritual life. In the same way, if we go on doing too much on our own, we are back to being once again babies with no light of the Spirit.

There is a balance and we find it solely in the Spirit, by living life in oneness with Him with an attitude adjustment. I vividly remember when I read Andrew’s book about Christ’s obedience two things were made clear to me. First God is not asking for me to leave my throne in Heaven and be insulted and beaten up by man on earth, nor was He asking me to die an excruciating pain on the cross. (Actually the work He does in your soul is almost as painful. But I did not know that then) Secondly, I kept thinking, if Christ is subjected to this obedient life to the Father, how can I say I am Christian and try to escape it? I knew right then and there if I try to escape Christ’s attitude and obedience, it would mean that in my actions I put myself above the Master.  This attitude of the mind, I found out that it was more important to acquire it, than trying hard on my own not to sin.

When you have the right attitude, oneness and obedience are your constant daily doses,  Christianity looks more like you are going down the hill, even though life is hard. But with the wrong attitude, meaning avoiding total obedience and not wanting to surrender, Christianity is so hard. Especially when you are reading about other people’s spiritual life and all the graces that God pours out on them, you kind of wonder what happen to you. Doing things on our own make Christianity as hard as if you were pushing a car by yourself, up an endless hill. While these things I am talking about do not save you, but they allow the Holy Spirit to move freely in your life, take the unnecessary yoke off your shoulders and carry some with you.  And here comes the paradox, the willingness to submit and let him move freely to carry you through, comes also from Him, simply because Salvation has entered your heart and soul.

What Pink talked about in this post, in regard to knowing the contrast of light and sin in our mortal bodies, it is a painful stage that we have to go through. It is real, not just words that Paul said to fill up pages. When this happened to me it was not because I was sinning, but it was so painful within me, the depravity within vs the light. There is a fight between the light and darkness within, at the same time it feels like the light is pushing forward to take hold of every inch in your mortal body and does not care that the darkness is resisting. I remember while in my pain saying “the Holy Spirit is bullying the darkness, because both of them are real and alive within and both want to reign. It was kind of like a hostile takeover on the part of Christ. Sometimes I laugh at the way I live out things with God, but I have a very simple mind. What can I say? The point I am making here is that we need to take heed to what Pink is saying. It is not something reserved for the few, rather one of seasons we have to go through before He finally declares us holy.

Please do yourself a favour and download this little book from my site THE 

SCHOOL OF OBEDIENCE BY ANDREW MURRAY.  I do not 

want your name or email address, you simply go on the site, Apprehended

scroll to the middle of the page and click “download.” 

Arthur Pink, 1938 

Above, we have dealt only with the human side of the problem as to how to obtain deliverance from the dominion of sin. Necessarily there is a Divine side, too. It is only by God's grace that we are enabled to use the means which He has provided for us, as it is only by the power of His Spirit who dwells within us, that we can "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us, and run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1). These two aspects (the Divine and human) are brought together in a number of Scriptures. We are bid to, "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling," but the Apostle immediately added, "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12, 13). Thus, we are to work out that which God has wrought within us—in other words, if we walk in the Spirit we shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16).

It has now been shown that salvation from the power of sin is a process which goes on throughout the believer's life. It is to this Solomon referred when he said, "The path of the just is as the shining light, which shines more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18).

As our salvation from the pleasure of sin is the consequence of our regeneration, and as salvation from the penalty of sin respects our justification, so salvation from the power of sin has to do with the practical side of our sanctification. The word "sanctification" signifies "separation" —separation from sin. We need hardly say that the word "holiness" is strictly synonymous with "sanctification," being an alternative rendering of the same Greek word.

As the practical side of sanctification has to do with our separation from sin, we are told, "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1). That practical sanctification or holiness is a process, a progressive experience, is clear from this, "Follow . . . holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). The fact that we are exhorted to "follow" holiness clearly intimates that we have not yet attained unto the Divine standard which God requires of us. This is further seen in the passage just quoted above, "perfecting holiness" or completing it.

We must now enter into a little fuller detail upon the Divine side of our salvation from the power and pollution of sin. When a sinner truly receives Christ as his Lord and Savior, God does not then and there take him to Heaven—on the contrary, he is likely to be left down here for many years and this world is a place of danger, for it lies in the Wicked one (1 John 5:19) and all pertaining to it is opposed to the Father (1 John 2:16).

Therefore the believer needs daily salvation from this hostile system. Accordingly we read that Christ, "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world" (Gal. 1:4). Not only is the sinner not taken to Heaven when he first savingly believes—but, as we have seen, the evil nature is not taken out of him—nevertheless God does not leave him completely under its dominion—but graciously delivers him from its regal power. He uses a great variety of means in accomplishing this.

First, by granting us a clearer view of our inward depravity, so that we are made to abhor ourselves. By nature we are thoroughly in love with ourselves—but as the Divine work of grace is carried forward in our souls we come to loathe ourselves; and that, my reader, is a very distressing experience—one which is conveniently shelved by most of our modern preachers. The concept which many young Christians form from preachers, is that the experience of a genuine believer is a smooth, peaceful, and joyous one; but he soon discovers that this is not verified in his personal experience—but rather is it completely false. And this staggers him—supposing the preacher to know more about such matters than himself, he is now filled with disturbing doubts about his very salvation, and the Devil promptly tells him he is only a hypocrite, and never was saved at all.

Only those who have actually passed through, or are passing through this painful experience, have any real conception thereof. There is as much difference between an actual acquaintance with it and the mere reading a description of the same—as there is between personally visiting a country and simply studying a map of it.

But how are we to account for one who has been saved from the pleasure and penalty of sin, now being made increasingly conscious not only of its polluting presence but of its tyrannizing power? How can we explain the fact that the Christian now finds himself growing worse and worse, and the more closely he endeavors to walk with God, the more he finds the flesh bringing forth its horrible works in ways it had not done previously? The answer is because of increased light from God, by which he now discovers filth of which he was previously unaware—the sun shining into a neglected room does not create the dust and cobwebs—but simply reveals them.

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 9

A Four Fold Salvation 

I tried to resist not tagging any information on my own in this post. Oh! Well, I failed big time.

As I was reading the post, I realized if you pay close attention to what Pink is saying and if you put it all together you’ll find there are so many steps in between that we are to bring them together to become a whole Christian like A. W.Tozer said.  Amongst those steps, we can see prayer is a major part of it. But this is not the reason why I could not resist adding those comments. The real reason is that when we read Romans 7 a lot of us Christians get stuck there, we reason, if Paul was having a hard time to get the flesh under control we are fine. But it is a lie. This has caused somewhat a division in the Church since the 1950’s or so, because some pastors believe that believers have two natures and some like pastor Charles Stanley believes, believers has one nature.

God showed me how important it was to remain in the Spirit so that I do not feed the flesh. As He revealed this portion of Scriptures to me, it was simply phenomenal. While in words there seems to be a difference in their disagreements over having one or two natures, but in what we are experiencing in our bodies and the way we are called to live out the Christian life, both groups are right. I do not want to go on more about this because it would take a post by itself to explain why? But know this, while it is true we have two natures, God expects us to constantly walk in the Spirit which means we walk in the nature He provided for us in the new birth. Walking in the spirit is not something you conjure up by magic. It is not “feelings” and it is not imaginary. It is about taking this Christian life in the same way Christ lived it out on earth. Which mean we have to first acquire His attitude.

We also need total obedience to God and a life given to prayers. You cannot separate them.  And if we do not walk in the Spirit to remain in constant union with Him, well the life of obedience is shaky as well as  our prayers will be shaky too. This does not mean you are not going to make mistakes and disobey sometimes, but your attitude is right vis a vis God. When I first started walking seriously with God, He made it clear to me that I needed to cultivate the same attitude of obedience that Jesus had with His Father. I found what I needed in Andrew Murray book, THE SCHOOL OF OBEDIENCE BY ANDREW MURRAY. When I was reading it, I knew that the Holy Spirit was with me every step of the way and the book was like food to my soul. I was convicted, I was changed, I was motivated, I was equipped, and I acquired a new attitude to move forward with Him.  

The reason a lot of us are stuck and content to be the type of Christians in Romans chapter 7, is because we are not truly practicing these steps that Pink mentioned in this paragraph (But not only must the new nature be fed….) If we have been practicing them for years and we know that the flesh has not been subdued, then that means, we are doing things with the Pharisee’s mindset, this is why it is not working. Remember, the Pharisees spent hours in God’s word on a daily basis, but their mindset was wrong.  – Christ’s attitude was “how can I glorify God” --- The Pharisee’s attitude was “self concerned, self-preservation and avoiding disgrace” these are two worlds apart. This is why they missed out on God.

As we feed the new nature according to God’s standards, not the Pharisee’s standards, we set out to obey with motivation solely to please the Father, and we are given to prayer, we find out all those steps fall into place in our lives. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is carrying it all for us. Not only that, we find that what seemed to be a lot to do, is really a piece of cake because we jump from the life in chapter 7 of Romans to the life in chapter 8. Paul did not remain the man in chapter 7 and he found freedom by becoming the man in chapter 8. He lived in Christ. And as we keep walking with Him, He tells us when we have something we are not relinquishing properly.

I am going to stop myself here. But, please do yourself a favour and download this little book from my site. I do not want your name or email address, you simply go on the site, http://apprehended.ca/ scroll to the middle of the page and click “download.” Read it with the right attitude in your heart. I am saying that because I know people who read this book and felt there was nothing there.

Even though we have the Holy Spirit today, a lot of us are still in this state with God for whatever reason see Luke 24: 16. In comparison read Luke 24: 45. What happened to the apostles in verse 45 should be happening to all of us, all the time as we read the word of God. This is also one of the ways we end up with so much light and knowledge of spiritual things to the point where we do not need to ask nothing anymore. 

Arthur Pink, 1938 

The believer still has the carnal nature within him, and he has no strength in himself to check its evil propensities, nor to overcome its sinful solicitations. But the believer in Christ also has another nature within him, which is received at the new birth, "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). The believer, then, has two natures within him—one which is sinful, the other spiritual. These two natures being totally different in character, are antagonistic to each other. To this antagonism, or conflict, the Apostle referred when he said, "The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh." 

Now which of these two natures is to regulate the believer's life? It is manifest that both cannot, for they are contrary to each other. It is equally evident that the stronger of the two will exert the more controlling power. It is also clear that in the young Christian, the carnal nature is the stronger, because he was born with it, and hence it has many years head start over the spiritual nature—which he did not receive until he was born again.

Further, it is unnecessary to argue at length, that the only way by which we can strengthen and develop the new nature, is by feeding it. In every realm, growth is dependent upon food, suitable food, daily food. The nourishment which God has provided for our spiritual nature is found in His own Word, for "Man shall not live by bread alone—but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). It is to this that Peter has reference when he says, "As newborn babes desire the pure milk of the Word—that you may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2). In proportion as we feed upon the heavenly Manna, such will be our spiritual growth.

Of course, there are other things beside food needful to growth—we must breathe, and live in a pure atmosphere. This, translated into spiritual terms, signifies prayer. It is when we approach the Throne of Grace and meet our Lord face to face—that our spiritual lungs are filled with the breath of Heaven.

Exercise is another essential to growth, and this finds its accomplishment in walking with the Lord. If, then, we heed these primary laws of spiritual health—the new nature will flourish.

But not only must the new nature be fed. It is equally necessary for our spiritual well-being, that the old nature should be starved. This is what the Apostle had in mind when he said, "Make no provision for the flesh—to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:14). To starve the old nature—to make not provision for the flesh—means that we abstain from everything that would stimulate our carnality—that we avoid, as we would a plague—all that is calculated to prove injurious to our spiritual welfare. 

Not only must we deny ourselves the "pleasures of sin," shun such things as the saloon, theater, dance, card table, etc.—but we must separate ourselves from worldly companions, cease to read worldly literature, abstain from everything upon which we cannot ask God's blessing. Our affections are to be set upon things above—and not upon things on the earth (Col. 3:2). Does this seem a high standard and sound impractical? Holiness in all things is that at which we are to aim—and failure so to do explains the leanness of so many Christians. Let the young believer realize that whatever does not help his spiritual life—hinders it.

Here then, in brief, is the answer to our question, what is the young Christian to do in order for deliverance from indwelling sin? It is true that we are still in this world—but we are not "of" it (John 17:14). It is true that we are forced to associate with godless people—but this is ordained of God in order that we may "let our light so shine before men—that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in Heaven" (Matt. 5:16).

There is a wide difference between associating with sinners as we go about our daily tasks, and making them our intimate companions and friends. 

Only as we feed upon the Word—can we "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Only as we starve the old nature—can we expect deliverance from its power and pollution.

Then let us earnestly heed that exhortation, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4:22-24).

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 8

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

But to be without condemnation is only the negative side—justification means to declare or pronounce righteous, up to the Law's requirements. Justification implies that the Law has been fulfilled, obeyed, and magnified—for nothing short of this would meet the just demands of God. Hence, as His people, fallen in Adam, were unable to measure up to the Divine standard, God appointed that His own Son should become incarnate, be the Surety of His people, and answer the demands of the Law in their stead.

Here, then, is the sufficient answer which may be made to the two objections which unbelief is ready to raise—How can God acquit the guilty?

How can God declare righteous—one who is devoid of righteousness? Bring in the Lord Jesus and all difficulty disappears! The guilt of our sins was imputed or legally transferred to Him, so that He suffered the full penalty of what was due them; the merits of His obedience is imputed or legally transferred to us—so that we stand before God in all the acceptableness of our Sponsor, Romans 5:18, 19; 2 Corinthians 5:21, etc. Not only has the Law nothing against us—but we are entitled to its reward.

3. Salvation from the POWER of Sin.

This is a present and protracted process, and is as yet incomplete. It is the most difficult part of our subject, and upon it the greatest confusion of thought prevails, especially among young Christians. Many there are who, having learned that the Lord Jesus is the Savior of sinners, have jumped to the erroneous conclusion that if they but exercise faith in Him, surrender to His Lordship, commit their souls into His keeping—He will remove their corrupt nature and destroy their evil propensities. But after they have really trusted in Him, they discover that evil is still present with them, that their hearts are still deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and that no matter how they strive to resist temptation, pray for overcoming grace and use the means of God's appointing, they seem to grow worse and worse instead of better, until they seriously doubt if they are saved at all. They are now being sanctified!

Even when a person has been regenerated and justified, the flesh or corrupt nature, remains within him, and ceaselessly harasses him. Yet this ought not to perplex him. To the saints at Rome, Paul said, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body" (6:12), which would be entirely meaningless had sin been eradicated from them. Writing to the Corinthian saints he said, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1). Obviously such an exhortation is needless if sin has been purged from our beings.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). What need have Christians for such a word as this—except pride still lurks and works within them? But all room for controversy on this point is excluded if we bow to that inspired declaration, "If we say we have no sin—we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). The old carnal nature remains in the believer—he is still a sinner, though a saved one.

What, then, is the young Christian to do? Is he powerless? Must he resort to stoicism, and make up his mind that there is nothing but a life of defeat before him? Certainly not! The first thing for him to do is to learn thoroughly the humiliating truth that in himself he is "without strength." It was here that Israel failed—when Moses made known to them the Law, they boastfully declared, "all that the Lord has said—we will do and be obedient" (Exo. 24:7). 

Ah! how little did they realize that "in the flesh there dwells no good thing." It was here, too, that Peter failed—he was self-confident and boasted that, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will! Not even if I have to die with you! I will never deny you!" (Matt. 26:33, 35). How little he knew his own heart! This complacent spirit lurks within each of us. While we cherish the belief we can "do better next time," it is evident that we still have confidence in our own powers. Not until we heed the Savior's word, "without Me you can do nothing," do we take the first step toward victory. Only when we are weak (in ourselves) —are we strong.

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 7

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

Ah, my reader, it is this experience which prepares the heart to go out after Christ—those who are whole need not a physician—but those who are quickened and convicted by the Spirit are anxious to be relieved by the great Physician. "The Lord kills—and makes alive; He brings down to the grave—and brings up. The Lord makes poor—and makes rich; He brings low—and lifts up" (1 Sam. 2:6, 7). It is in this way that God slays our self-righteousness, makes us poor, and brings us low—by making sin to be an intolerable burden, and as bitter as wormwood to us.

There can be no saving faith until the soul is filled with evangelical repentance. Repentance is a godly sorrow for sin, a holy detestation of sin, and a sincere purpose to forsake it. The Gospel calls upon men to repent of their sins, forsake their idols, and mortify their lusts, and thus it is utterly impossible for the Gospel to be a message of glad tidings to those who are in love with sin and madly determined to perish rather than part with their idols.

Nor is this experience of sin's becoming bitter to us, limited unto our first awakening; it continues, in varying degrees, to the end of our earthly pilgrimage. The Christian suffers under temptations, is pained by Satan's fiery assaults, and bleeds from the wounds inflicted by the evils he commits. It grieves him deeply—that he makes such a wretched return unto God for His goodness, that he requites Christ so evilly for His dying love, that he responds so fitfully to the promptings of the Spirit. The wanderings of his mind when he desires to meditate upon the Word, the dullness of his heart when he seeks to pray, the worldly thoughts which invade his mind when reading Scripture, the coldness of his affections toward the Redeemer-cause him to groan daily; all of which goes to evidence that sin has been made bitter to him. He no longer welcomes those intruding thoughts which take his mind off God—rather does he sorrow over them. But "Blessed are those who mourn—for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4).

Third, our salvation from the pleasure of sin may be recognized by the felt BONDAGE which sin produces. As it is not until a Divine faith is planted in the heart—that we become aware of our native and inveterate unbelief; so it is not until God saves us from the love of sin—that we are conscious of the fetters it has placed around us. Then it is, that we discover we are "without strength," unable to do anything pleasing to God, incapable of running the race set before us.

A Divinely-drawn picture of the saved soul's felt bondage is to be found in Romans 7, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. 

For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members" (vv. 18, 19, 22, 23). And what is the sequel? This, the agonizing cry, "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin!" If that be the sincere lamentation of your heart, then God has saved you from the pleasure of sin.

Let it be pointed out, though, that salvation from the love of sin is felt and evidenced in varying degrees by different Christians—and at different periods in the life of the same Christian, according to the measure of grace which God bestows, and according as that grace is active and operative. Some seem to have a more intense hatred of sin in all its forms than do others—yet the principle of hating sin is found in all real Christians. Some Christians rarely, if ever commit any deliberate and premeditated sins—more often they are tripped up, suddenly tempted (to be angry or to tell a lie) and are overcome. But with others the case is quite otherwise—they, fearful to say—actually plan evil acts. If anyone indignantly denies that such a thing is possible in a saint, and insists that such a character is a stranger to saving grace, we would remind him of David—was not the murder of Uriah definitely planned? This second class of Christians find it doubly hard to believe they have been saved from the love of sin.