2 Corinthians 3: 14 - 16 NKJV
I recently had a pretty spirited discussion with a aquaintance of mine on the subject of the indwelling Christ. That is, Christ in you. When I say that this was a spirited discussion, what I mean to say is that this was a argument over scripture. Yes, it seems that this is what we've resorted ourselves to. Again, the word heresy was tossed out there to describe my own beliefs. So, how can something that is supported by the scriptures be considered heresy? I guess I would need a theology degree in order to figure that out. Am I heretic? Well, if I am then I have some company as I'm not the only one who trusts in the truth of Christ Jesus in me. The apostle Paul tells us of the truth of Christ in us in Galations {Galations 2:20}. One point that I brought up in my "discussion" was for my companion to shelve his personal feelings about this matter and simply focus on the character of the man Jesus. Sound simple enough, right? Yet, all too often our own feelings, our "filter" if you will, get in the way. One who has been raised in a strict, religious based upbringing might adhere to a filter where each and every sin needs to be accounted for and punished. However, someone who has felt the burden of their own sin might just take a more lenient approach. Having been raised in a single parent home, my own filter had difficulty seeing God as my true Father. For my own memories of what a father was were not very comforting. That was my filter. So, as I mentioned to my friend, perhaps we need to simply set aside our own life filters and concentrate on the character of Jesus. Was Jesus a disciplanarian? Was it Christ who saw those in the wasteland of their own sin and disgarded them? What was the response of Jesus to the woman about to be stoned for her sins? As we focus on the man Jesus was and not on our own filter we began to see how our heavenly Father truly looks upon us. He does not see us as sinners saved by His grace, but as His loved and cherished children from whom the stain of our sins no longer is an issue. That's right, the truth is that we are now DEAD to sin. Paul proclaims this in Romans {Romans 6:6-11}. Knowing this, what sins are you praying Gods forgiveness for? When Jesus proclaimed "It is finished!" that was it. Sins day has come and gone.
7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
1 John 4: 7 - 8 NKJV
The way I see it, this all comes down to our own view of who God is. If we see God as a authoritarian, then we will come up with scripture after scripture to validate our point to others. However, if we see God for who He truly is, as Love, then we will point out scriptures that tell of His goodness and mercy. I'll tell you this, I don't believe that it was a authoritarian who loved me enough to cleanse me from all of my sins. I don't believe that it was a vengeful God who became sin on my behalf that I would be spared its ugly penalty. Don't get it twisted, there is no other reason by which we are saved but from our Lords love and grace. He chose not to punish me for my transgressions, although He would have been justifed in doing so. This is not who God is. The apostle John tells us this when he prefectly describes the character of God {1 John 4: 7-8}. So, when we cast aside our own filters and focus only on the character of God what is it that we see? We see who He truly is...Love. That's right, God is Love. This is, and always has been, His character. Throughout all of our trials, sin and problems, the Love of God has never changed. He is the very same yesterday, today and forever {Hebrews 13:8}. God didn't change, WE changed. We changed in how we viewed Him. We changed in how we dealt with Him. Through it all, God has remained the same as He always was. So, I don't buy into all of that bunk that Gods motive is simply to remain seperate from us and only show up when it's time for His discipline and correction. If that were true He would make Himself a liar, and we know He's not into that. When we see God for who He truly is, then we will know the character of God.
~Scott~
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