In recent blog postings, we have seen that the reality of the person we really are is “as we think in our hearts,” not
what we say and do (Proverbs 28:3). Furthermore, we saw that what we are thinking in our hearts bears no resemblance to the One in whose image we were created to reflect, as we live our lives (Genesis 1:26-28)! God tells us in Isaiah 55: 8, 9 that His ways and thoughts are as different from ours as night and day!
So, the task Jesus came to earth as a man to achieve, our complete redemption, must begin with remaking the essence of who we are—the “renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23)!
This is occurring in our lives as we go through the trials and tribulations of daily life, of which we are generally totally unaware. In this renewal process, we are unconsciously learning what I call “Theology for Dummies”—what I believe are the four foundation stones of a renewed mind, i.e., a fully redeemed person. Last week we looked at the first foundation stone: 1. God is Absolutely Sovereign. Today, we will look at the second:
2. Man is Absolutely Sinful – As with the sovereignty of God, the sinfulness of man is a given for Christians. “That’s why Jesus came—to save me from my sins” (whatever that may mean). That is the mantra that we learn from childhood. “Man is sinful.” But what does that actually mean?
Paul gives us his view in Romans 1-3, concluding with a summary of several Old Testament quotes in Chapter Three about why it was necessary for Jesus to do that: “As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one’” (Romans 3:10-12). Or, as Jeremiah succinctly summarizes: “The heart (the reality of who we really are) is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Yes, we truly are in much worse shape “than we could ever imagine.”
It is hard for us to understand this degree of absolute depravity of the natural, human condition. Everything we all naturally do comes from a human being who, according to Romans 3, 1.) does not understand in his heart, 2.) is not even seeking God’s way, 3.) has turned from God, and 4.) cannot do anything profitable to God. We subconsciously suspect as much, so we are all addicted to fighting to be “good” or “right” and not “evil” or “wrong” (in our particular value system), and we don’t have a clue that this is the case.
We are blinded by “The god of this world (who) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). However, in God’s backwards, upside-down, inside-out world, my “worse than I could imagine” condition is actually a cause for great rejoicing!
Here’s why: since mankind was so depraved that we had no salvage value, 2000 years ago God simply started over with us! Just as we were “in Adam” when he sinned, God has placed us “in Christ” when He died and rose again and ascended to Heaven: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6).
This is our future “blessed hope.” It is a future reality that we long to experience now, and it is our PRESENT FAITH that actually lets us do so! “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), i.e., “faith ‘substantiates’ (makes real now) our hope for the future.” Simple child-like faith—“I believe what Daddy says in Ephesians 2:4-6”—makes this future hope a present, right-now, EXPERIENTIAL REALITY!
So, my constant sin, plus my simple “Daddy’s-got-it” faith, sets the stage for God to REPEAT THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION experience in my life, on an individual, daily basis. Paul is doing this in 2 Corinthians 12:9 as he discusses his “thorn in the flesh,” that he has beseeched the Lord three times to remove. Here is the Lord’s answer to Paul: “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
When God Himself sovereignly decides to do so (“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” – John 15:16), He will open our eyes to this reality. On His inscrutable time-table, He will give us all an experience (ginosko) with Him (not simply a head knowledge (eido) understanding of Him). When our time arrives, we will discover that WE ARE experiencing, full-on, “Theology for Dummies” foundation stone #3, “God Relates to Us Absolutely by Grace Alone.” That’s next week
