We left off seeing how this great salvation is a gift given by God. He not only gives it, but He also enables us to receive it (Eph 2:8). He "by Himself" purged our sins... we were not His aide (Heb 1:3), nor can we be. Even the very faith we may boast of has been given by Him who works in us "both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil 2:13). Now, I would like to discuss the new found state of the recipient of this gift; the dissimilar character that has been imparted to us upon our conversion: we now have been made perfect!
WHAT! Yes, we now have been made perfect. To our carnal natures, it seems like such a high-minded atrocity to be labeled with perfection. But is it true? Yes it is.
The repentant sinner, upon conversion, literally passes from darkness to light (Acts 26:18), from death to life (1 Cor 15:22), even from corruption to perfection! The Bible says that the moment we are joined to the Lord at salvation, our spirits are made ONE with His (1 Cor 6:17). And what does this mean? It means that the spirits of justified men are made perfect (Heb 12:23). Our corruption has put on incorruption - we have been reborn of incorruptible seed (1 Pet 1:23).
The primary reason we do not realize this truth is because we do not understand our three-fold nature. Man is a tripartite being, that is, he consists of three parts. We are made up of spirit, soul and body (Heb 4:12; 1 Thess 5:23; Gen 1:26; 2:7; etc). Even though we have been saved and washed in the blood of Jesus, we yet possess a fallen soul (the source of our intellect, will and emotions). Our carnality yet stares us in the face, and we still find ourselves sinning. But in our spirits, we've been made whole! This is why Paul wrote "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man [spirit]: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members [soul]" (Rom 7:22-23, emphasis mine).
Therefore, ALL sin that is committed after we have been saved is done so because of the human soul. We all must choose to submit this nature to Jesus and His cleansing power (Rom 12:1-2; Gal 4:19; Ps 119:109, Jn 3:30, etc). No matter what, however, your spirit remains perfect and whole. This is why the prodigal son (Lk 15) was ALWAYS still a son, even when he was backslidden and willingly defiant. No matter what sin he may have found himself in, he could never change the BLOOD that ran through his veins. He had passed from darkness to light, and been reborn, by the will of God.
This sheds new light on the issue doesn't it? Men say that if a believer willingly sins after he has been saved, he runs the risk of losing his salvation. But how can this be if our spirits have been made perfect? The seed that was deposited CANNOT BE CORRUPTED (1 Pet 1:23)! Any sin we may commit is done so as a result of our carnal (yet changing) Adamic nature within us.
Shouldn't we see what the Bible says about Christians and sin? You just may be surprised. Over and over, the Bible assures us of His ever-lasting loving-kindness, even in the midst of outright rebellion:
"His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips" (Ps 89:29-34).
How can this be? How can the Lord be sure that His people will come to a sincere place of repentance? Because He knows the effects of His wooing. Even the hardest heart will break under the influence of God's tender mercy. He keeps us under His watchful eye, even when fallen and backslidden: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand" (Ps 37:23-24). This is how a justified man will always rise again, because the Lord upholds him with His hands (Prov 24:16)!
One of the great things about being saved is the fact that we have become a new species (2 Cor 5:17). No longer are we able to sin and remain unmoved. It is an absolute impossibility! God's Holy Spirit will never leave us nor allow us to run outside of His sphere of conviction. How? Because His blood runs through your veins! Micah affirms this truth when he says, "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness" (Mic 7:8-9).
How wonderful it is to discover God's mercies toward us. Clearly, we can see that even when we seem lost in sin, rebellious towards change, defiant against God's pleading, we will never go so low that He cannot reach us. It's not "can" He reach us, it's simply a matter of "when". Even if we make our beds in hell - He is there (Ps 139:7-13)! And He WILL bring the true Christian to a place of repentance and reconciliation. Why? Because He possesses your reigns, you and He are one spirit, and your salvation is assured!
Well what is at stake then? What can we lose by living in sin?
To Be Continued ...
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