“Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection” (Hebrews 6:1).
There is a terrible tendency on the part of Christians, once they are converted, to think that they have made it; for the rest of their lives they just mark time and get nowhere; they mistake religious activity for spiritual progress, but it is possible to have motion without moving forward and this describes much of what has been taking place in the western Church for decades.
Most Christians have no idea of the end toward which they are striving; they are caught up in a continuing cycle of wasted energy and fruitless activity; their hope is that it may all lead to heaven and they are assured that it will do so by their leaders and pastors who persuade them to the view that serving the Church is the same as serving God.
But the problem is that much of this religious activity is a smokescreen; today, there is little evidence of the Holy Spirit working in the Church convicting of sin, leading into truth, bearing witness of and glorifying Jesus and bringing revelation for Christ Jesus. Conviction of sin has become unfashionable, even unmentionable, in the Christian message to the world. Instead, we offer a watered down version of Jesus who just wants to be our friend; there is little majesty or glory in the manner in which He is presented to seekers today. The notion that we are born totally reprobate, inevitably disposed towards sin and doomed to eternal death is not considered the right bait to attract converts. Instead, we are encouraged to “accept” Jesus and all our problems will be over. This is “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4) and the pitch amounts to a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6).
It is character that determines revelation; the Holy Spirit will not bring revelation from Christ to place it into an unworthy vessel. He must see some evidence of character corresponding to that of Christ before He can release the gift of revelation to a person.
The whole purpose of God’s revelation to man is to make him like God, so that he will behave like God in every situation with which he is confronted. The true Christian is meant to be an incarnation of Christ, in the same way that Christ is the incarnation of God; not to the same extent of absolute holiness and perfection as was found in Jesus – that is impossible for mortal man – but rather reflecting the union of the Son with the Father. Just as Christ reflected the fullness of the Godhead, so Christ is to be reflected in the nature and character of the one professing faith in Him.
A Christian who hopes for a manifestation of God while living in a state of disobedience is seriously kidding himself and all of his religious activity is just a waste of time and energy; the Word of truth can mean nothing where it is not responded to by obedience; it is only obedience that allows the truth to impart life; without obedience all the truth can do is impart knowledge which, in itself, only brings greater condemnation where it is ignored.
Redemption must be seen in the moral rehabilitation of an individual and his restoration to the image of God in which man was made; that is, a realignment of the soul to God and to itself.
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