An Exchanged Life
November 3, 2008
This morning, I experienced one of those mornings when the eyes open very early, and I do mean early, like 4:00 a.m. When this happens, I roll over and begin to thank God for whoever comes into my mind. This morning it was the healing of a baby boy named Owen and a dear friend's granddaughter named Lexi. At 4:30, I got out of bed for a drink of water and now back to sleep, but that was not in the plan.
This thought came into my mind, why don’t you get up and read that book on your nightstand, the one you started many times but have never gotten through. So, I rolled out of bed, knowing that those kinds of thoughts do not come from me, and I believe by faith, that God must be speaking to me. The book on the nightstand was written by Major W. Ian Thomas; “The Saving Life of Christ.”
I have no intention of doing a book report but I would like to share what Major calls “A New Principle,” it is the principle of an exchanged life – “ . . . It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). That is not a new principle for me, I’ve had it taught to me and I’ve also taught it, I have not always been successful in living it out.
Major points out John 6:29, Jesus replied to the crowd, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” Major made this statement; “That is the work of God. It is your living faith in the adequacy of the One who is in you, which releases His divine action through you. It is the kind of activity that the Bible calls ‘good works.’ as opposed to ‘dead works.’ ‘Good works’, are those works that have their origin in Jesus Christ – whose activity is released through your body, presented to Him as a living sacrifice by faith that expresses total dependence, as opposed to the Adamic independence (Romans 12:1,2).
So what happens when we exchange something? Something is replaced, it may be a good exchange or it might be a bad exchange. My brother Fred, who is older would sometimes want to exchange something he had for something I had, never and I mean never do that while you are young with a brother who is three years older, you will not like the exchange. But Jesus tells us in Luke 14:33, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” The minimum demand is literally all that we have, that means you and me and all that we possess. Let me quote from page 31; “He has got to recognize his bankruptcy so that his sole wealth is vested in the One whom God has credited to him in the person and by the presence of His divine Spirit. This is the condition for discipleship.” I wonder if somewhere down deep I’ve read this and said, that’s just too much, that's just too hard, I will just settle for less than being a disciple. If so then God calls me a carnal Christian.
Major states on page 43; “The carnal Christian is the one who has received the Holy Spirit and all the fullness of Christ, yet ignores His presence and struggles to live the Christian life as though Christ were not there. He is the one who constantly begs and pleads for all that God has already given him, but which he will not take. He is the one who will not step out by faith upon the glorious fact that Christ is his life, and therefore his victory! The Christian life is an exchanged life.” ‘I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.’
When a person comes into Christ, they are a new creation and are free from the penalty of sin, they are no longer under condemnation. a new creation will also have a new or radical change of walk. Major tells us on page 49, “A walk under entirely new management, revolutionized according to an entirely new principle of life.” Major tells us that the Christian who is living the exchanged life, is first a disciple, and “he has relinquished the right to do what is right in his own eyes and has submitted to the totalitarian dictatorship of Jesus Christ.”
On page 53, Major asks the following questions, they may make you mad, but they will for sure make you question your walk. He asks, “What have you been doing since your redemption? Still, what is right in your own eyes? Are you sold out for Jesus Christ? Do you still claim the right to choose your own career? You do not have that right! Do you still claim the right to choose the wife or husband you will marry? You do not have that right! Do you still claim the right to use your leisure hours as you please? You do not have that right! Do you still claim the right to spend your money as you please? You do not have that right! Do you still consider that you have the right to choose where you will spend your vacation? You do not have that right!
The moment a man, woman, boy, or girl gives the Holy Spirit the right to re-establish the sovereignty of Jesus Christ within his soul, he does not even have the right to do what is right in his own eyes – let alone what is wrong!”
After reading the questions and getting over the fact that I do not like to be asked those kinds of questions, I talked it over with Jan at breakfast. This is what I believe to be true; the statement I made earlier was not true in light of these questions. I stated the following; “(Galatians 2:20). That is not a new principle for me, I’ve had it taught to me and I’ve also taught it, I have not always been successful in living it out.” It is the very last part of the sentence that needs changing. I have sometimes been successful, but in light of the questions, I have often done what is right in my own eyes. I have concluded that it is not the “exchanged life” I have often lived, but it is living in self-imposed poverty.
Major often made this statement when he was teaching; “I can’t, God never said I could, He can, and He promised He would.” God does not expect me to perform for Him, He is a big God, but He does want me to seek His face, and expect Him to do it all through me. My goal is to be able to say to each of you that I am no longer doing what is right in my own eyes but, Christ who is my life is doing it all through and for me. What is your goal?
From the back porch,
Bob Rice
No comments:
Post a Comment