7/27/2019 1988 Issue 7 - Who is the Genuine Christian? Part III - Counsel of Chalcedon
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7/27/2019 1988 Issue 7 - Who is the Genuine Christian? Part III - Counsel of Chalcedon
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those chains
of
bondage to sin, and we
are given a new nature
in
Christ (II
Cor. 5:17).
In verse 3, we learn that Christ's re
demptive work accomplishes something
that the Law could
not
do.
We
have al
ready seen that the Law is impotent to
produce righteousness in
our
lives.
Again, the problem is not the Law but
the sin nature that resides in us. We
simply are unable in our flesh to meet
the righteous demands of God's law.
What the Law was unable to do through
human flesh, God accomplished
through His Son, Jesus Christ who
appeared in the likeness
of
sinful flesh
to be a sin offering. Verse 3 states that
Christ condemned sin in sinful man .
How did
He
do this?
For
one, Jesus was
made a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). He bore
the penalty for
our
being covenant
breakers.
In
bearing this penalty, Jesus
satisfied divine justice. Since one of
God's glorious attributes is justice, He
cannot whimsically dismiss violations
against His holiness.
The
penalty for
transgression must be upheld. God the
Father rendered a legal judgment upon
the sin of the flesh, when
he
executed
His judgment
of
condemnation upon
the sinless flesh of His Son. Sin lost
its right of securing our condemnation.
Whereas Romans 6:23 says that the
wages
of sin
is
death,
we
who are in
Christ are no longer liable to this penal
ty. In losing its right to condemn us,
sin also l
ost
its power to control us by
making
us
to continually sin. Thus,
every aspect
of
sin's effect upon us is
condemned by Christ's redemptive work
on our behalf.
The momentous effect of our justifi
cation allows the righteous require
ments of the Law to be met in us, says
verse 4. Whereas the natural man is
totally unable to live a holy life, the
man in Christ has the ability to do so
.
There is a new nature at
work
in the
Christian, and there is a mighty force
that is supplying the power to accom
plish this.
One
of
the ways in which the righ
teous requirements
of
the Law is being
met in us is through our living in accor
dance with the Spirit and
not
in
accor
dance with the sinful nature. The Greek
grammar is so significant here. The
phrase in verse 4, "who do not live"
conveys an ongoing activity which re
flects a lifestyle. This is so important
in
our
understanding the distinction
between the genuine Christian and the
counterfeit one.
In the verses to follow, Paul
will
make a vivid contrast between two
types
of
individuals.
In
verses 5-7, this
contrast is seen with reference to man's
mind. One man has his mind con
tinually set
on
the desires of his sinful
flesh. lbe qther
man
has his mind con
tinually
set
on the desires
of
the Holy
Spirit (vs. 5).
The
sinful mind results
only in death, whereas the Spiritual
mind results in life
and peace (vs.
6).
The sinful mind is said to be hostile
towards God. This hostility is seen n a
refusal
to
submit
to
God's law (vs.
7).
In fact, this mind is totally incapable
of
submitting
to
God's law. The spiritual
mind, however, obviously submits
to
God's law and has the capacity to do so.
Is this not what verse
3
stated?
The
righ
teous requirements of God's Law are ful-
filled in those who are truly justified.
Verse 9 is a very revealing passage,
for it unequivocally contrasts the gen
uine Christian from the one who is a
professor of the faith. Verse
says, "You, however, are controlled not
by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, i f
the Spirit
of
God lives in you. And if
anyone does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he does not belong to Christ."
How more plain can this passage be? f
we do not have the Holy Spirit present
in our lives we are
Ot
Christians. And
if the Holy Spirit lives in us,
we
will
not be under the governing influence of
our sinful nature.
The contrast between the Christian
and the non-Christian is further ex
pressed in verses 13 and 14: For
if yo
u
live according to the sinful nature,
you
will die; but
if
by
the Spirit you
put
to
death the misdeeds
of
the body,
yo
u
will live, because those who are led by
the Spirit of God are sons of God." A
lifestyle
of
indulgence in one's sinful
desires only leads to eternal death in
Hell. However, the true sons of God are
those who are led
by
the Holy Spirit.
To be led by the Spirit means that we
are continually crucifying our sinful de
sires. This is what sanctification is all
about.
It
is the daily putting to death of
our sinful tendencies through the power
of the Holy Spirit. Here, we can see a
direct correlation between justification
and sanctification.
One
doesn't exist
without the other.
If
we
are
not
ex
periencing victory over sin by the Holy
Spirit's power, then
it
only demon
strates that we have never been justi
fied.
Verse 15 states that the genuine
Christian is
not
subject to fear again
but that
he
has received the Spirit
of
sonship which cries out "Abba,
Father." When God works his special
grace in our hearts, we do
not
look at
God with trembling fear of the judg
ment that awaits our disobedience. In
stead,
we see
God
as
our
intimate hea
venly father who loves us. The differ
ence is due to the presence of the Holy
Spirit in
our
hearts.
Verse 16 informs us that the Holy
Spirit testifies with
our
innermost be
ing that we are God's children. One
might think that this verse
is
primarily
a subjective discernment. However,
it
is
really the opposite. This verse must be
understood in the context of the pre
ceding verses. When the Spirit is pre
sent, a person will eagerly submit to
God's law;
he
will
not
live
in
constant
disobedience to God. We can have assur
ance of our salvation when we are obey
ing God's law
from
the
heart
This is
how the Spirit bears testimony with us.
Justification and sanctification are
two precious doctrines of the Christian
faith. They are so intertwined that they
cannot exist apart from one another. Is
it possible to have Jesus as Savior and
not as Lord? NO Is
it
possible to be
justified and yet live like the unbelie
ver? NO The carnal Christian doctrine
makes a radical separation between
these two great doctrines.
The
doctrine
explicitly teaches that a man can be
justified at o
ne
given point and later
on
be sanctified. Nothing could be further
from the truth as we have seen from a
close examination of Scripture.
VI. The
Necessity
of
Spirit
ual Fruit
The Counsel of Chalcedon, July,
1988
a g e 27
7/27/2019 1988 Issue 7 - Who is the Genuine Christian? Part III - Counsel of Chalcedon
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One
of
the most
common
iniages in
the Bible is that of fruitfulness or u n ~
fruitfulness. Fruitfulness
was
common
ly used as a sign and presence of spirit
ual vitality and prospericy. Unfruit-
fulness was a sign of spiritual deadness.
It
is
very important for
us
t
see
how
this agricultural iniagery is use4 to dis
tinguishbetween genuine and counter
feit Christianity. Beaiing spiritual fruit
is no option for the professing
Chris-
tian. It is
an
absolute necessity. Tying
this in with the previous section, fruit
fulness
is
the sanctification process
which gives evidence that spiritual
life
is truly present - namely u s t : i f i c ~ t i o n
One
of
the magnificent blessings in
Scripture is thatthe Christian is said to
be n union witn Christ. The Cbtistian
is
said
to
have died and to have risen
With
Christ. Romans
7:4
says that one
of
the effects of Christ's w6rk is that
we can bear fruit to Gbd . In Matthew
3:8, we see John the Baptist rebuking
the Pharisees and
SadduceeS
for their
wickedness. Verse 8 says, ' Produce
fruit in keeping with repentance. If
there is trUe repentance there will
al-
ways be spiritual fruit present, giving
evidence of the reality of true re
pentance. To be barren of any spiritual
fruit results in dire consequences for the
person, as verse 10 states, The ax is
already at the root of the trees, and
every tree that does not produce good
fruit will be cut down and
thrOWn
into
the ftre. To be cut down and thrown
into the fire is a common expression
which usually conveys the idea of udg
ment and condemnation. The Pharisees
and Sadducees surely could not expect
to inherit eternal life for their wicked
deeds . They could
only
expect to be
eternally condemned.
John
15
:1-8 teaches
us
that union
with Christ inevitably leads to spiritual
fruit. Jesus used the imagery
of
the
virie
artd its branches.
He
indicated that He
was
the true vine - the source for spirit
ual life. The heavenly father is said to
be the vinedresser or gardener. One
of
the normal
taSks
'of a garderier is that of
pruning. Jesus says that every branch
that doesn't bear fruit is completely cut
off (vs. 2) and thrown into the frre to be
burned (vs. 6). On the other hand, every
branch that is bearing fruit is pruned so
that it will become even more fruitful
(vs
. 2). Jesus says that
the
secret of
success in bearing fruit lies in our close
union with
the
true vine. branch is
totally dependent upon he vine for its
existence. The branch receives n o u r i s h ~
ment ohly through the vine.
n
verse 4,
Jesus said tliat
the
branch cannot be
independently
f t u i t f ~ l
apart
1
from
its
uniori with' the vine. f the
brarich
abides
or
remains in the vine, then
the
life that the vine possesses
will natUral-
ly flow to the branch. Ukewise,
ir
the
disciple, who is the branch,
abides
h
Christ, who
is tfie
vine; then
the
spirit
ual life that Cluist possesses will
na:-
tuially flow to the disciple, resulting in
spiritual fruitfulness (vs.
5)
. In verse 6,
Jesus informs
us
ofthe consequences of
failing to abide in Him. Tire branch that
is not in uilion with the vine cannot
bear fruit.
t
is thrown away and with
ers. It is gathered and thrown into the
fue to
be
burned. Thus, the professing
disciple that is not in
true
union with
Christ will be barren of any fruit. This
person will experience God's judgment
of condemnation. Verse 8 is a tremen
dous summary to this section, This
is
to my Father's glory, that you bear
much fruit, showing yourselves
to be
my
disciples. What is the evidence that
a person is a true disciple
of
Jesus?
It
is
t h ~ t
he b e r ~ fnlli.
...
This
idea that spiritual
fruitfulness
is
the sign
of
a genuine Christian is clear
ly taught elsewhere in Scripture. In
Matthew 21:19, we see Jesus cursing
a
'fig tree that was not bearing fruit. His
cursing spelled the doom of the tree, for
it would never again bear fruit. Jesus
taught his disciples a great lesson by
thiS ac tion. f the tree is truly healthy it
will
natUrally
produce
ftgs
.
If
it doesn't
produce figs, then it is worthless. Jesus
related
this
incident
to
the'condition and
judgment of national Israel in Matthew
21:43, Therefore I tell you that the
lqngdom
o
God will
be
taken
away
from you and given to a people who
will produce its fruit. The true possess
ors of God's kingdom are those
who
evi
de nce its fruit.
In Luke 16:6-8; Jesus gave the para
ble of the barren ftg tree. The owner of
th fig
tree for
three years has
sought to
harvest ftgs from his
tree; yet, he
has
onlyfound it barren each year. Finally,
the
owner tells the gardener to cut it
down
because it
is
obviously dead. The
gardener
pleadS
to
the
oWiler to give
the
tree o n ~ more year, and he
will
fertilize
it and give close attention to it.
f
it
is
still barren,
then
the gardener will adntit
that it
is
truly dead. The lesson
is
clear.
Persistent unfruitfulness is indicative of
spiritual deadiJ.ess.
Our
exarii.ination
of Romans 8 indi
cated that the genuine Christian is one
who has
the Holy Spirit present
in
his
life. We noted that the spiritual mind is
submitted tci God's law . because the
Holy Spirit will never work in opposi
tion to God's revealed will.
In
Psalm
1:2,3, we learn that the blessed
man
is
the
one who delights .
in the law
of
the
Lord and who continually meditates on
it.
The
result
of
such
actions
is that
this man will have a continued source
of
spiritual strength and
will
produce
appropriate fruit. He
will
continually
prosper
in u
ihat
he does
.
On several occasions, Paul prayed
that those who responded to the Gospel
be filled
with
the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
(Phil.
l:it
.
Isn't this what
was
said in John
15? f
we abide in Jesus,
then
we will
produce fruit.
It
is by
abiding
in
Jesus
that we can produce
the
fruit of
righ-
teousness. n Colossians
1:9,10
Paul
prayed that the Colossians would live a
life worthy of
the
Lord and pleasing to
Him. This is demonstrated
by
constant
ly beanng fruit through good
works.
The previous passages have portrayed
fruitfulness
in
a positive
way.
The
as-
sumption is that the fruit produced is
godly fruit. The Bible does speak of
'bearing fruit in another sense. Luke
6:43-49 teacheS us that the kin of fruit
that we gives evidence of
our
true
spiritual status. Jesus used
the
imagery
of fruit bearing trees to
teach us
this
trUth. Each tree is recognized by the
kind of fruit it produces. If it is a good
tree it will .produce good fruit, and 'a
bad tree will always produce bad fruit.
Don't expect
to
get
ftgs
and
grapes froirl
thonibushes and briars (vss. 43,44).
Likewise, a good man will
r o d u ~
fl
Page' 28 The Counsel
of
Chalcedon, July,
1988
7/27/2019 1988 Issue 7 - Who is the Genuine Christian? Part III - Counsel of Chalcedon
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fruit
of
good works from a heart that
is
good (a Christian).
An
evil man (non
Christian) will only produce ungodly ac
tions from a heart that has not been re
newed by God's grace (vs.
45).
The na
ture
of
the good and bad trees
is
further
elaborated upon
in
verses 46-49. In
these verses, Jesus clearly sets forth
what
it
means
to
live under His Lord
ship.
To
have Jesus as one's Lord
means that one obeys what Jesus says.
Merely saying that Jesus
is
our Lord
does
not
insure that
He
is. The man
who practices what he says
is
likened to
a man who built his house on a good
foundation. When a flood came (a
means
of
testing) his house withstood
it. However, the man who does not prac
tice what he says is likened to one who
built his house on the sand.When the
flood
came
his house was completely
ruined. There is only one kind
of
person
who can withstand the fmal day
of
judgment It
is the person who truly
has Jesus
as
Lord. The good fruit men
tioned
in
verses
43-45
is expressed by
obedience
to
Jesus' commandments.
The person who merely confesses to
have Jesus as Lord
but
whose fruit is
disobedience
to
Jesus' commands re
veals that
he
was a bad tree all along.
Come the great day
of
judgment, this
person will be cast into Hell.
The genuine Christian is
not
a hearer
of theW
ord
only but a doer
of
the Word
(James 1:22-25).
He
is one who has
Jesus as hi s Lord and gives evidence
of
this through his good works in Christ.
His
fruit is the fruit
of
the Holy Spirit
and not the fruit
of
the flesh.
Galatians 5:13-26 delineates for us
the difference between the fruit of the
Spirit and the fruit
of
the flesh. After
teaching that the Christian is no longer
in bondage to the ceremonial laws
of
the
Old
Testament, thereby possessing
true freedom in Christ, Paul exhorts the
Galatians
not
to misunderstand their
freedom in Christ. t does not give us a
license
to
indulge in the deeds of the
flesh (vs. 13). The entirety
of
God's law
can be sununarized in one command,
says
Paul - love
your neighbor as your
self (vs. 14). Loving one's neighbor as
oneself involves being
led
by the Holy
Spirit, and the result will
be
that one
will not indulge in the desires
of
the
flesh (vs. 16). Being led
of
the Spirit is
in stark contrast with being led by the
sinful nature (vs. 17). Being led
of
the
Spirit
is
seen by manifesting the fruit
of the Spirit; whereas, being led
of
the
flesh
is
seen by manifesting the fruit
of
the flesh. Beginning
in
verse 19, Paul
informs us what it means
to
manifest
the fruit of the flesh. In this list notice
how
many
of these traits are associated
with our dealings with others. Verses
19-21 say, The acts
of
the sinful
na
ture are obvious: sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits
of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies,
and the like. I warn you, as I
did
before,
that those
who
live
like
this will not
inherit the kingdom
of
God. Nothing
could be more plain.
To
allow any
of
the deeds
of
the flesh
to
be the con
trolling influence in
our
life is
to
doom
us to everlasting destruction in Hell.
On
the other hand, verses
22
and
23
say, But the fruit
of
the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, good-
ness, faithfulness, gentleness and self
control. Against such things there is no
law. Verse
24
is highly significant
for
it
states, Those
who
belong
to
Christ
Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires.
To
have
crucified the desires
of
the flesh means
that
its desires
no
longer have the con
trolling influence over our lives. It
should
be
apparent the similarity be
tween Romans 8 and Galatians
5
The
Galatians passage simply gives somede
tailed content as
to
what
it
means
to be
led of the Holy Spirit and
to
belong
to
Christ
The genuine Christian
is
one
who
continually manifests the fruit of the
Spirit. If these traits are not functioning
in
our lives and
are
the predominating
influence over us, then
we
had better do
some deep soul searching.
In
n
Corin
thians
13:5,
Paul exhorted the Corin
thians
to
do such soul searching; nExa
mine
yourselves
to see
whether you
are
in
the faith; test yourselves.
Do
you
not realize that Christ Jesus is in you -
unless,
of
course, you fail the test?
[To be concluded next month]
The Westminster
Confession
of
Faith
This
edition of
the
original Westminster Standards (includingthe Larger Shorter Catech
is
ms,
Form of
Government,
Directory
for
Worship, etc.) available only
from Scotland,
is said
to be out-of:Pnnt. Available, for a funited time, from
Til Counsel ofChalcedon
free
for a
$40.00 donation.
mottttttg l t t i t t g
by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Contains a scriptural devotional reading for
each
morning and
each evening
of
the
year.
Th is is
undoubtedly
th
e most
_popular
devotional over the last
e n ~
Available
free for
a $40.00
donation
to
Til Counsel ofCiw.lcedon.
The
Treasury
of avid
An Exposition
of the
Psalms
byC H
Spurgeon
This
_great cornrn
e
n ifY on
the
Psalms
is
available free
for a
$65.00 donation. [The set ictured
is the
3-volume set from
Zondervan. he
s -v u
which
has a m
mg even more
an
some
an ura e an e
3-volume
sel]
Th1s
work
is
suitable for private
worship,
for
Sunday
Schoo
l preparation,
for
sermon preparation, etc.
The Counsel of Chalcedon, July,
1988 29