Tag Archives: self

Day 5: Verse 4—For the Fleshly Christian, Liberation

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I love Thy cross, the flesh’s bane makes old man “Sinner” cease
And when I choose sin’s chains again, it brings me back release
Take heed, disciple, bear thy cross, it sets the prisoner free
From ev’ry baited snare of self into Christ’s company

“Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” 1 Cor 15:50

This is not to say that we will not have physical bodies in the New Heaven and Earth, but saying rather that all of our old life, the life of the “flesh,” the old man, must pass into death, so that God can resurrect that which resembles His new creation patterned after His Son. This entails the casting aside of everything that is less than Himself or more than Himself, which we might try to squeak through the eye of a needle. All of this is the flesh’s nature corrupted by sin, and it requires an existence living in death to self so that we may have renewed life in the inner person by the Spirit.

“He who suffers in the flesh has ceased from sin,” said Peter (1 Peter 4:1.) This does not mean that if our bodies hurt that we somehow are more holy or righteous, rather it means that sin is grown in us from our old man which arises as we live in this “body of death” Paul bemoans in Romans 7. It’s not like sin is only on our outside, but it’s already a traitor on the inside, ready to raise and lower the drawbridge to let in evil things of the world and the Devil. But the cross deals him a death blow: everything the flesh would enjoy, He brings to the death of self-denial, which is coupled with the command to take up your cross and follow me. The Spirit desires against the old man’s fleshly desires, so that you do not do the things you please. (Galatians 5:17)

Now, does this mean we should never enjoy the good things our bodies enjoy? Certainly not! Otherwise, the flesh would take the opportunity to glory in its asceticism. Instead, be thankful and open-handed with the Lord in trust, fully surrendering every good and evil thing to His purposes. That is what carrying your cross looks like.

And for those who struggle with addiction, the cross gives you liberation. You are addicted because there is some area of your life that you have tried to depend upon, replace, or overcome by your own power without surrendering it to Jesus for Him to put it to death. Everything in your life must be laid on the altar of total surrender to God, “nailed to the cross,” and “put to death,” or else it will become an idol. Obviously, I’m not talking about people being killed, but rather that part of us which elevates any person or thing in devoted importance above God, rather than thankful receptivity from God—that part of us being put to death daily. As we do, we discover freedom from every snare of self so subtly baited for our own good, and we discover Someone who walks with us unfettered. Someone who wishes to run barefoot with us through the meadowlands of sunshine. Someone who knows us and wants to be known by us. This is the company of Christ that all Christians can keep if they walk by the Spirit, not carrying out the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16) Remember, for the Christians, the only shackles are made up of our own bones and ligaments, and the snare’s bait—that which we refuse to let go.

Reflection Questions:

  • What area of your life is “me”-centered?
  • What is an aspect of your life that takes control of your thoughts, emotions, or plans independent of God?
  • What is keeping you from surrendering that to God completely right now, and thanking him for it instead?

7. Wilderness Manual–Contention and Holiness (20)

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His chisel is sharp, and painfully accurate. He will test and prod and prove the heart, and there is great confidence to be gained in the Lord by his thorough preparation. No confidence in self has any room. Our frailty as human beings is inescapably exposed in times of loss. Right between two losses Moses has his moment where his heart came up short.

Principle: The people of God are God’s mission, and they have continuously pushed against him. Here Moses gives into his own ungodly anger and disobeys God by yelling at God’s people and not glorifying God by obeying Him. The Holiness of God requires completely Him shining through. And in our anger, and our wretchedness we will smear God’s good name through our rash and self-effecting actions. The self responds to situations according to its own perspective. This was Moses’ folly when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it. The self is ever-present as our greatest enemy that must be defeated daily, and the time in the wilderness will make this abundantly clear in the loss, the tragedy, the difficulty, and the weakness of this stage. Self-effecting– anything done that is based in self, of self, for self– is the very useless thing about a person that God is determined to keep chiseling away until he can be used. If the self is allowed to remain in power, we run the very painful risk of coming out of the wilderness to a blessing we can see from a distance, but not partake.

Application: Keep fighting the battle of putting yourself to death daily, so that you do not step out of the blessing and power of the One who is using you and preparing you for more. This is done through actively choosing God’s will over your own. One way to do this, is by writing out your will for the day, and then laying it down before God in prayer saying, “not my will, but Your will be done.” If you blow it, repent and return to God, and see what He will do with you, and let Him be the one to determine the consequences for your action. Beware self-inflicting punishment on yourself for when you blow it. God is holy, He is the best judge for how to make a person useful for His purposes. And every wrong thing that is done will still be woven into His plan. When contention arises, keep the self in check, through prayer and humility. No matter what else may be happening right in front of our eyes, the work of God in holiness is what is at stake, and that is what really matters in every situation. Will you maintain your integrity to God’s holiness despite all the contentions that rise around you?

The Problem: Self-Salvation

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Thanks Tim Keller for helping me with that phrase.
– – Dear Reader,
– – You have read lots. Here’s something else. I’ve been sick with a grueling fever for the past week or so, and I’m tired of it. As soon as I sit up, I start throbbing in my head. People are depending on me for so many things. I have responsibilities. Children to lead in song, home-bound family who need to go into town, and this is not to mention my truck which needs fixing, my laundry needs to be done, and I have about 2 hours of upright energy a day before my fever goes up a single degree. Thankfully my family are around to care for me, and take care of pressing needs as they arise. Things came to a pretty weepy head today when I had to skip work at school. I cried out, “God please come get me!” from my curled up blanket on the couch, wracked with weariness and worried-ness.
– – Finally. He really does listen. He just listens better than we do to ourselves. I could tell you countless times I had asked him to heal me because people depend on me. But now the problem comes down to just me living with me. What kept crushing down on me was the weight of everything I had to do, and just could not do. I had to partially delegate it to my boss.
– – I know He listens every time, but He responds to honesty. Suddenly, in that moment, I found myself writing in my journal, “Thank you for saving me from my own self-salvation.”
– – I like to think I can fix things. I can do it. I can handle life. I can face challenges. I can manage my time, my relationships, my money. And so I can, or at least act like I can. But what happens when all that power is gone? You go to your power source and have the balls to ask him, “Get me more power, so I can take care of things myself, so I will not need you to save me, cause if you save me, that means I have to completely serve you alone.” That’s what I’ve been doing anyway. I wrote this down after that realization:
“Let’s face it. We’re all a bunch of sucky self-saviors.” I slept with peace after that, ’cause I know my Savior is real. He won’t save everything important to me. That’s not His job. His job is sustaining the cosmos, just like he showed Job. And in the End his Wise plan is best.