FREEDOM IN CHRIST (3)
Jesus frees us from our past—sin’s “penalty”—and he frees us in the present. We are continually being freed from the power of sin as we walk with Jesus. “Sanctification” in the believer’s life is a work in progress. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thes. 4:3).
God is continually working in us to make us like Jesus (Phil. 1:6; 2 Cor. 3:18). It is an ongoing process that won’t be complete until he returns. Justification is God’s work for us, and sanctification, as the Bible sometimes uses the word, is God’s work in us.
The Christian is to be a vessel through which the purposes of God are realized. We have been redeemed from dead works and a life with no purpose to become the servants of all that is good and holy. God has not saved us to occupy a pew in a church house, but to walk in good works. “For by grace you been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8-10). This refers to a way of life, not just isolated deeds. The Christian, if she becomes what God intends for her, will be a person consumed with the presence and purpose of God.
That order is significant, for it is the presence of God which leads to an awareness of and dedication to the purpose of God. God reveals his will and his way to those who are seeking him in personal communion. The “number one” law of God is that we love him supremely in our lives. Until this is our chief desire—to love God supremely—we can do nothing worthwhile for God. The person who has not thought of walking with Jesus intimately should not be thinking of working for Jesus. The work of God is done through the people of God, and these are those who are seeking him in their hearts.
Much religious work has been done and is being done by those who have no serious desire for God in their hearts. This is a reality. Religious work can be done by anyone. Good moral people do good moral things. But the reality is, for something to truly be the work of God, it must come from within a heart in which Jesus reigns supreme. God works in “earthen vessels,” which means that we are but the conduits through which his love is expressed in the world.
So the starting point for any truly spiritual activity is the earnest seeking of God with all of one’s heart. Walking with Jesus daily leads to effective work in his kingdom. We do not need better “workers,” we need better “walkers.” Working is the inevitable fruit of walking with Jesus.
True spirituality is a difficult concept for many to embrace and live by because it is based on freedom in Jesus and not on rules and regulations. They have confused “religion” with spirituality. One can be religious and not be spiritual. One can even be in a relationship with God and not be a spiritual person. We see this in what we read of the Corinthian Christians in the New Testament. They were carnal rather than spiritual.
Our goal as believers in Christ should always be to maintain a “spiritual” existence. We should desire to be spiritual people, and that means that our spirits remain connected to Christ’s. We are the branches, he is the vine. Fruit will come if we abide.
Because of what Jesus has done, because of who he is, and because of how he feels about us, we are free to love him, to serve him and to live our lives with purpose and victory.
Dewayne Dunaway
