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THE BEREAN CALL www.thebereancall.org November 2005
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Victory in Christ
Dave Hunt
Due to his transforming encounter and continual communion with the risen
Christ, Saul of Tarsus "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6) and
established many of the early churches (2 Cor 11:28). His epistles account
for nearly one-third of the New Testament. What an amazing transformation --
for the "chief of sinners" (1 Tm 1:15) to become the "chief apostle" (2 Cor
12:11,12)! What could have changed Saul from "breathing out threatening and
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1) to becoming one of
them, knowing that he, too, would be hated, persecuted, imprisoned, beaten,
and eventually martyred? What "recovery program" helped Paul in this
remarkable deliverance and consistent, triumphant life, so that he could
say, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Cor 11:1)?
Was there a "Murderers Anonymous" or "Persecutors Anonymous" that helped
Paul along the path of "recovery" from his wicked past? Was he part of a
"small group" of former haters of Christ who found comfort and support in
weekly confessing to one another that they were still struggling with
impulses to oppose Christ's church? How else could Paul declare in triumph,
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith
of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20)?
If such questions are absurd, what does that say of today's "recovery
programs"?
In fact, neither Paul, nor his fellow apostles, nor anyone in the early
church, nor any of the millions who loved Christ so much and were so fervent
for "the truth [as it] is in Jesus" (Eph 4:21) followed any "recovery
program" at all yet were "faithful unto death" (Heb 11). The early church
was made up of former
"fornicators...idolaters...adulterers...effeminate...abusers of themselves
with mankind [i.e.,
homosexuals/lesbians]...thieves...covetous...drunkards...revilers [and]
extortioners...." After listing these sins, Paul reminds the Corinthians,
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God"
(1 Cor 6:9-11). There is not a word about any special programs to keep them
"recovering" from their sordid past.
Is it surprising that such wicked people, without any "recovery programs,"
were completely delivered from deeply ingrained evil habits to live
victoriously in Christ? Of course not! Such transformation is what our Lord
promised to all who would believe in and obey Him! This is the normal
Christian life that missionaries for centuries have seen lived out by
converted natives in the darkest and most pagan areas of the world.
Even in the asphalt jungles of today's world, multitudes are being instantly
delivered from "addictions" of every kind and are living victoriously and
joyfully for their Lord. It all begins with confessing one's guilt before
God and believing that Christ paid the full penalty His justice demanded for
sin. Immediately follows the glorious new birth-becoming branches in Christ,
the True Vine (Jn 15), who becomes the very life of those who know, love,
and obey Him. Newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word (1 Pt 2:2),
feed upon it, and begin to grow. Then comes responsibility to live out by
faith what God is doing in one's heart:
Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue...knowledge...temperance...
patience...godliness...brotherly kindness...charity...that ye shall neither
be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he
that lacketh these things is blind...and hath forgotten that he was purged
from his old sins. Wherefore...brethren, give diligence to make your calling
and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall....(2 Pt
1:5-10)
But Christianity has lately fallen into the hands of leaders who have lost
confidence in the sufficiency of Christ, His Word, and the Holy Spirit to
live the life of Christ through them and others. They have also destroyed
the confidence of their followers. That lack of faith spawned "Christian
psychology" (borrowed from godless humanists who were themselves drowning in
sin), with its multiple therapies that the early church never heard of and,
without any of them, triumphed gloriously. From this godless source came the
many "recovery programs" that are even more popular among Christians today
than simple faith in Christ and His Word.
The victorious new life that Christ promised and will Himself live within
all who know and trust Him is available to every Christian and requires no
special program-just simple faith and obedience. The problem with all
"therapies" is that they inherently deny the sufficiency of Christ and His
Word to save, sanctify, and keep the worst of sinners. Thus, it is
hypocritical for a "program" to claim to be biblical when its very existence
denies what the Bible teaches and what the early church knew and proved to
be sufficient.
Paul refers to the way unsaved Gentiles live as "having the understanding
darkened, being alienated from the life of God...given...over unto
lasciviousness [and] uncleanness with greediness" (Eph 4:17-22). Addressing
the believers, he says, "But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye
have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus...."
The truth we have been taught must be lived out in our lives. This can only
be by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Yet Paul continues in
language that makes our responsibility clear:
Put off...the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind...put on the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away
lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour...let not the sun go down
upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal
no more: but rather let him labour....Let no corrupt communication proceed
out of your mouth...grieve not the Holy Spirit....Let all bitterness, and
wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with
all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore
followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us....But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it
not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor
foolish talking, nor jesting...but rather giving of thanks. For this we
know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an
idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no
man deceive you with vain words...ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye
light in the Lord: walk as children of light....(Eph 4:22-5:8)
There is not a word about any programs to assist in the above. Methods and
techniques not found in Scripture that would supposedly suppress the fleshly
desires that plague even Christians seeking to live for Christ had not yet
been invented in Paul's day. Why are they needed today? They aren't! Isaiah
was very blunt: "If they speak not according to this Word [i.e.,
Scripture]...there is no light in them" (8:20). But today the Scripture is
being denied.
Certainly no one in the early church (or for centuries thereafter) even
imagined that there could possibly be a need among Christians for anything
but Christ himself-His cleansing blood and power-to triumph over sin, Satan,
and the world. A fervent love for Christ enabled millions for nearly 2,000
years to follow their Lord faithfully, even unto martyrdom, with joy. The
secret of their victory has and will be declared to cowering demons and
rejoicing angels and as a testimony to the universe for all eternity: "They
overcame him ['the great dragon...called the Devil, and Satan'] by the blood
of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives unto the death" (Rv 12:9,11).
Christ declared, "If a man love me, he will keep my words" (Jn 14:23). Love
is the greatest motivating power in the universe. It caused Christ to bear,
at infinite cost, the judgment deserved by those who hated and crucified
Him-because He loved them. True love would sacrifice anything, including
one's own self, for the one loved. No "addiction," lust, or selfish desire
can overcome love! Those who claim to be Christians, yet who need some
special "deliverance ministry" or "recovery program" to keep their behavior
in line with what Christ has commanded, either don't know Him or do not love
Him as they ought. So says the Word of God.
To Christians consumed by a passionate gratitude and love for Christ,
victory has always come through simple faith in God's promise: "There hath
no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not [allow] you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with
the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1
Cor 10:13). So it has been with the redeemed through the centuries-and ought
to be today.
Yet in all ages there have always been those for whom Christ alone through
the power of His Word and Spirit was insufficient-who said, in lack of love
and unbelief, "I've tried, but it doesn't work; I'm a special case; things
are different today; I need some additional help." Some of them became monks
and tried to suppress the flesh by abusing it, living in caves and depriving
themselves of the blessings God gave to all to be freely enjoyed with
thanksgiving, even flagellating themselves, in order (so they thought) to
become holy. Many well-meaning Roman Catholic and Orthodox priests and monks
still do this today. It's not their sincerity that we doubt but their true
knowledge of Christ and their love for Him, which are the only remedy.
Many of the so-called "desert fathers" (See TBC Extra, Oct '05) adopted
occult techniques, later popularized as the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius
of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. They thought that if they could visualize
Christ and biblical events in their imagination, the Bible would become more
real and they would mature spiritually. That delusion is still promoted by
many Christian leaders today such as Richard Foster, Calvin Miller, Karen
Mains, and others. Foster enticed thousands with the deceitful promise of
spiritual maturity through occult methods such as the following in
Celebration of Discipline (R. Foster, Harper and Row, Pub., 1978, pp.
24-27):
[Begin] with a daily period of from five to ten minutes...learning to
"center down"...[using] two brief exercises....The first [is] called "palms
down, palms up"...placing your palms down as a symbolic indication of your
desire to turn over any concerns you may have to God. Inwardly you may pray
"Lord, I give to You my anger toward John. I release my fear of my dentist
appointment....I surrender my anxiety over not having enough money to pay
the bills...my frustration over trying to find a baby-sitter for tonight."
Whatever it is that weighs on your mind...just say, "palms down." Release it
. . . . After several moments of surrender, turn your palms up as a symbol
of your desire to receive from the Lord... "I would like to receive Your
divine love for John, Your peace about the dentist appointment, Your
patience, Your joy." Whatever you need, you say, "palms up." Having centered
down, spend the remaining moments in complete silence. . . .
Another meditation aimed at centering oneself...seated...comfortably, slowly
become conscious of your breathing [to] get in touch with...the level of
tension within. Inhale deeply, slowly tilting your head back as far as it
will go. Then exhale, allowing your head slowly to come forward until your
chin nearly rests on your chest. Do this for several moments, praying
inwardly something like this: "Lord, I exhale my fear....I inhale Your
peace. I exhale my spiritual apathy. I inhale Your light and life." Then, as
before, become silent....
After you have gained some proficiency in centering down, add a five- to
ten-minute meditation on some...tree, plant, bird, leaf, cloud, and each day
ponder it carefully and prayerfully. God ...uses His creation to show us
something of His glory and give us something of His life...as Evelyn
Underhill [says]...begin with that...contemplation which the old mystics
sometimes called the "discovery of God in His creatures."
Having practiced for some weeks with the two kinds of meditation listed
above, you will want to add the meditation upon Scripture....Take a single
event....Seek to live the experience, remembering the encouragement of
Ignatius of Loyola to apply all our senses to our task. Smell the sea. Hear
the lap of water along the shore. See the crowd. Feel the sun on your head
and the hunger in your stomach.... Francis de Sales [says] "represent to
your imagination the whole of the mystery on which you desire to meditate as
if it really passed in your presence...." As you enter the story...remember
that since Jesus...is not bound by time, this event in the past is a living
present-tense experience for Him. Hence, you can actually encounter the
living Christ in the event...Jesus Christ will actually come to you.
This is, of course, rank occultism. The visualized "Jesus" often takes on a
life of its own and does indeed "speak." This is not the Lord Jesus Christ
come down from the right hand of His Father in heaven, but a seducing
spirit, exactly as Paul warned would occur: "Now the Spirit speaketh
expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving
heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in
hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron..." (1 Tm 4:1,2).
There is no excuse for falling into such delusion, which is so contrary to
the Word of God.
The early Christians lived in the expectant faith that Christ, "who is our
life" (Col 3:4), would live that life through them in victory over the
world, the flesh, and the devil (1 Jn 2:12-17). Christ promised: "Because I
live, ye shall live also" (Jn 14:19). Then why does the church adopt
techniques that come from worldly wisdom in order to gain "deliverance" from
so-called addictions?
For Paul, every temptation and carnal desire was swept aside by his
overpowering passion: "that...Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether
by life, or by death" (Phil 1:20); "that I may know him, and the power of
his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death...that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus . . . . this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are
before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ
Jesus" (Phil 3:10-14). Is this not what we ought to hold before ourselves to
empower our lives to forsake all for the love of our Lord?
As the chorus says, "After all He's done for me; after all He's done for me,
how can I do less than give Him my best, and live for Him completely; after
all He's done for me!" This is the response of true love, and it will
prevail over all. TBC