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Righteousness Imparted ÒTo whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.Ó (Colossians 1:27) In regeneration we are sanctified,
made holy, by righteousness being imparted to us by the Spirit of God (Gal.
5:23-24; 2 Pet. 1:4; Col. 1:27; 1 John 3:5-9). The new birth is nothing less
than Christ taking up residence in the chosen sinner, ÒChrist in you, the
hope of glory.Ó
In the new birth we are made Òpartakers of the divine natureÓ (2 Pet. 1:4). Believers are
people with two natures (Rom. 7:14-24): that holy seed which is born of God
and cannot sin (1 John 3:9), and the flesh which is nothing but sin (Rom.
7:18). These two natures, the flesh and the spirit, are constantly at war
with one another so long as we live in this world. When
God saves a sinner, he does not renovate, repair, and renew the old nature.
He creates a new nature in his elect. Our old, Adamic, fallen, sinful nature
is not changed. The flesh is subdued by the spirit; but it will never
surrender to the spirit. The spirit wars against the flesh; but it will never
conquer or improve the flesh. The flesh is sinful. The flesh is cursed. Thank
God, the flesh must die! But it will never be improved. Taught in Scripture This dual nature of the believer
is plainly taught in the Word of God. It is utterly impossible to honestly
interpret PaulÕs epistle to the Galatians, the 7th chapter of
Romans, and 1 John 3 without concluding that both Paul and John teach that
there is within every believer, so long as he lives in this world, both an
old Adamic nature, that can do nothing but sin, and a new righteous nature,
that which is born of God, that cannot sin, that can only do righteousness.
The Holy SpiritÕs work in sanctification is not the improvement of our old
nature, but the maturing of the new, steadily causing the believer to grow in
the grace and knowledge of Christ and bring forth fruit unto God. Known by Experience Every believer knows the duality
of his nature by painful, bitterly painful experience. Ask any child of God
what he desires above all things and he will quickly reply, ÒThat I may live
without sin in perfect conformity to Christ, perfectly obeying the will of
God in all things.Ó But that which he most greatly desires is an utter
impossibility in this life. Is
it not so with you? Though you delight in the law of God after
the inward man, there is another
law of evil in your
members, warring against
you. You would do good; but evil is
always present with you, so that you cannot do the things that you would.
Even your best, noblest, most sincere acts of good, when honestly evaluated,
are so marred by sin in motive and in execution that you must confess, ÒAll
my righteousnesses are filthy rags!Ó It
is this warfare between the flesh and the spirit more than anything else that
keeps the believer from being satisfied with life in this world. Blessed be
God, we shall soon be free! When we have dropped this robe of flesh, we shall
be perfectly conformed to the image of him who loved us and gave himself for
us! New Nature This conflict is caused by and
begins in regeneration because the righteousness of Christ is imparted to us
in the new birth. C. H. Spurgeon said, ÒThe reigning power of sin falls dead
the moment a man is converted, but the struggling power of sin does not die
until the man dies.Ó A new nature has been planted within us; but the old
nature is not eradicated. Do
not think for a moment that the old nature dies in regeneration, or even that
it gets better. Flesh is flesh, and will never be anything but flesh. Noah,
Lot, Moses, David, and Peter, like all other believers, had to struggle with
this fact. We
need no proof of the fact that GodÕs people in this world have two warring
natures within beyond an honest examination of our own hearts and lives. Our
best thoughts are corrupted with sin. Our most fervent prayers are defiled by
lusts of the flesh. Our reading of Holy Scripture is corrupted by carnal
passions. Our most spiritual worship is marred by the blackness within. Our
most holy aspirations are vile. Our purest love for our Savior is so
corrupted by our love of self and love for this world that we can hardly call
our love for Christ love. From time to time we have all found, by bitter
experience, the truthfulness of the hymnÉ ÒProne to wander, Lord, I feel it! Prone to leave the God I love: HereÕs my heart, O take and seal
it, Seal it for Thy courts above.Ó |
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