Freedom to walk in newness of life

Freedom to walk in newness of life.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Ignorance of doctrine is the most serious problem in Christianity, in the first century as well as in the twenty first century.

Cognisance of doctrine is the only means of spiritual growth, the only way to acquire capacity for divine blessing from the justice of God, and the only way to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in time.

Without the pain, the loneliness, blood, humiliation, mocking, horror of His cross we were crucified with Him when we believed.

The death here is not physical death but spiritual death. All of your sins were imputed to Christ therefore your sins died with Him.

The literal meaning of the root word bapto is to dip, to plunge, to immerse, to submerge. Obviously the literal meaning cannot be applied to the baptism of the HS.

Bapto has also become far removed from anything to do with water. Metaphorically it means “change of identity” or to “identify.”

1 Cor 12:13
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

In at least 120 instances in the epistles of Paul he uses the word “in” before on of the names of our Lord or before a pronoun that represents Him.

Our sins were judged, however, evil and human good were not judged but rejected.

You were positionally entered into union with Christ and simultaneously you were positionally separated from good and evil so that you can now walk in newness of life.

In Lev 16 on the Day of Atonement the high priest presented two goats. One was sacrificed. To the other the sins of the people were transferred and he was sent into the wilderness forever.

Like the scapegoat the OSN has been sentenced to death and no longer has power over the believer, however it still remains a source of temptation until physical death.

By identification with the burial of Christ our sins and our human good have lost their power, being sent away forever.

Ps 103:12
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

In His death and burial Christ was totally free from the influences of good and evil forever. In identification with Him so are we in eternity and can chose to be in time.

In being buried with Him we have positionally rejected good and evil and so not only have they lost their power but we never have to live under them again.

The verb for “buried with” is in the passive voice meaning that the believer receives the action of the verb. Being buried with Christ is a gracious gift to all believers.

Identification with Christ’s spiritual death means separation from personal sins and rejection of good and evil.

“newness” – unusual, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, unheard of.

1. Newness of life is the grace environment provided through the baptism of the Spirit for the blessings of the justice of God to the mature believer.