Romans 8 and Sanctification

In the Bible, the eighth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans contains some verses often quoted as favorites.  For example, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”(Romans 8:28, NASB). This is a wonderful reminder of God’s sovereign provision and protection for all those whose hearts are fully committed to following God and his ways.  

I share a few thoughts here that struck me recently while digging into Romans 8 afresh.  This chapter is a description of how to resove the classic struggle of the previous 3 chapters.  It follows Paul discussing the tension of living in a sinful, earthly body with a personal spirit that has been awakened to the nature and power of God Almighty.  “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,  but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.  Wretched man that I am! …” (Romans 7:22-24, NASB).  So how do we free our imprisoned inner person from this wretched condition?   

The answer is sanctification. That is, a process of allowing God’s Holy Spirit to overtake our personal spirit, so that our inner being takes on the nature of how God originally designed it to be.  More of God and less of me.  God’s will, not mine be done.  God’s  plans put ahead of my agenda.  God’s desires, ways, and outcomes sought regardless of whether it looks “good” for me or not.   Trusting Romans 8:28 quoted above to be absolute truth.  Embracing inner life change so I can believe the Truth without reservation.  Focusing on being, ahead of doing.

LIfe is breathed into our spirit by God’s Spirit.   Believing in Jesus invites the process to begin.  “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11, NASB).  A born again experience initiates the new life.  We become more and more alive to our purpose and destiny as we choose to yield more and more of our inner thoughts and feelings to God. The transformation and sanctification of our soul is necessary for increased growth and satisfaction in life. God’s Holy Spirit ilving in our personal spirit overtakes more and more of our flesh as we grow with Christ.  This is a progressive thing.  

As our spirit grows, it has more control over our being, and satisfies the dilema of chapter 7 (torn between doing what’s right and dealing with the limitations of flesh).   Romans 8 continues,  “… for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  Again, “putting” to death speaks of an ongoing process of progressive change.  

Our being becomes more and more alive, as the Holy Spirit takes control of us by expanding the function of our personal spirit to bring our body into submission and alignment with God.  We get rid of things opposed to God, and take on new thoughts, actions, and habits pleasing to him.

Romans 8 continues, ““For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”(Romans 8:14-15, NASB).  Paul ties transformation and sanctification into sonship.   Our identity is wrapped up in how willing we are to change from the inside out (not outside in).  It’s not about behavioral rules, but being “led by the Spirit” as sons, is about personal relationship with Father God.  We are adopted into a family relationship.   We are not only legally adopted as sons, we are receiving (and must continue to receive) the “spirit” that goes with it.   Our changing condition inside brings the peace, rest, and freedom from the fear of slavery.  

Again, this all hinges on our willingness to change.   Do we hold on to the familiar belief systems, patterns, habits, etc., or do we let God show us what freedom is really like?  

Romans 8 continues,  “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Romans 8:16-17, NASB).   All that comes through our freedom in Christ  (our adoption, identity change, character change, sanctification, etc.) comes at a price.  You’ve probably heard it said, “Freedom is never free.”  The word “suffering”” implles struggle.  It requires giving up something (things), to gain something else.  But whatever we are holding on to is really not worth much anyway.  Without God we are broken, and the sooner we can admit it, the better off we’ll be.  There is no “quick fix” or “magic solution.  It’s a long haul commitment.  The good news is that Jesus Christ has done the work for us.  It’s not about doing the work of salvation, but cooperating with God to allow Christ’s finished work to be worked out in our inner being.  

Sanctification is the process of putting the pieces back together.  Sanctification is how “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God” (quoted above from Romans 8:28).   Sanctification is the way back to the original design of our Creator. I discuss the “what” and “how” of sanctification in many previous articles.  For example, click the link to read how it can be compared to:

Taking Out The Trash (see http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2015/03/taking-out-trash.html ).   

Trash Leads to Crash (see http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2015/04/trash-leads-to-crash.html ),

Trash Turned to Treasure (see http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2015/05/trash-turned-to-treasure.html ).

It can be viewed as a way for safely navigating across a bustling stream:

Sanctifying Life: 5 Stepping Stones (see http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2018/02/sanctifying-life-5-stepping-stones.html ,

Sanctifying Life: 6 More Stepping Stones (see http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2018/03/sanctifying-life-6-more-stepping-stones.html ).  

Sometimes we run into barriers (see http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2017/07/four-barriers-to-better-living.html , and http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2017/08/religious-barriers.html ).  Sometimes we need help to make a breakthrough.  

If it seems like you are stuck somewhere, I encourage you to seek help.  Seek help from someone who himself or herself understands and practices inner transformation and  sanctification.  Some counselors focus on merely managing symptoms rather than rooting out the problems.  Anyone who tries to tell you that healing and character growth is painless is not qualified to help others.   Seven easy steps and four guaranteed principles are vain promises.  Methodology is NOT the way to wholeness and lasting results.  A counselor with a changed inner life through the power of the Holy Spirit is the best choice for help with typical life issues.   

I encourage you to read Romans 8 repeatedly over the next few weeks.  Listen for God’s voice speaking to you personally as how to apply the truth and wisdom found in these verses.  If you find it a challenge to “hear” God and wish to receive help, please contact me.  

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry

Trust Triumphs Through Trying Times

Like the constant drip of a leaky faucet, is the reminder of human frailty when facing a chronic health condition, disability, or terminal illness. In situations like these, the definition of healing seems to change as time moves on.  Our perspective of God is key to moving our natural reactions of fear,  to supernatural responses of faith.  Refuge and healing of more than the natural body are found in God and are of eternal value.  

This past week we attended a clebration of life service for a good friend Carol Witmer.  Her death followed a five year illness from a rare cancer.  I am so impressed by her perspective in what she wrote before her heath that I include it here.  

“One morning while listening to God and praying for the healing of my body it seemed God was saying, “I have a bigger picture than simply healing your earthly body—trust me." So, I trusted God in his bewildering, puzzling, troubling but perfect plan even though I was not able to see it fully at that moment. During the past year and a half I had a deep sense that God's larger, grand, more complete plan was unfolding.

The key for me was to trust! Whether I received answers to why things happened the way they did or not, I knew I needed Jesus far more than I needed understanding. I didn't understand, so I trusted!

God sees and knows the bigger, more comprehensive plan for your life, too. Trust Him!

When I got the news that my lungs were cluttered with masses that didn't belong there, my first thought was friends that do not have a relationship with Jesus. Is that you? My immediate silent prayer was, “Lord, let this journey with suffering that I am about to embrace lead them to you!"

I hope that my brief time on this earth inspired you to find your way back to relationship with God. Because Jesus' suffering on the cross gave me such life, it didn't seem too much if my suffering helped you find Christ!

Each of us are created to be in relationship with God, and that is what he longs for. He searches for ways to reach your soul.

Now I’m celebrating my new life with Jesus in Heaven! I’m finally seeing God, my Father, face to face! And now I am able to understand truths that, while on Earth, I could only believe in faith!

My earthly choices are now finished.

I chose Jesus, and I chose to trust.

You are still making your choices.

Choose Jesus!

Love,

Carol” 

Choosing Jesus in the midst of a difficult physical condition is similar to choosing Jesus with a mental or emotional struggle as well.  We have a choice. We can choose to trust God and surrender to him the rights to be Judge in a situation that seems unjust, unfair, or unloving.  Or we can allow ourselves to be overcome by bitterness, resentment, and hatred.   Understanding does not bring freedom, but trusting God does.  Trusting God to be big enough to make right even the greatest wrong that has been done to us, gives release to  unwarrrented demands for justice.  

Forgiveness is God’s way of making wrongs right.  We have a choice to trust and cooperate with God’s ways, or continue to rely on our own understanding in working things out (Proverbs 3:5-6).  Even as a follower of Jesus, our choices to trust must continue beyond an initial born-again experience.  Choosing Jesus is believing and trusting that He has accomplished all the forgiveness that is ever needed to take care of our offenses, and the offenses of others against us.  Trusting and practicing forgiveness determines the condition of our core inner being.  Refuge, healing, peace, and calm are truly known by choosing Jesus.   Choose Jesus, each moment of each day!

A song that has helped me through many of my own trying times is "Yet I Will Praise."  Here is a link to listen to a version by Andy Park:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL7LycA4y3Y

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry

Sowing to Thorns

My previous article focused on a parable Jesus taught in Matthew 13 about a farmer sowing seeds in expectation of harvest.  According to Jesus this is one of his most important teachings.  In explaining more details to his closest followers he reveals it as a foundation for all other teaching.  “Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” (Mark 4:13).  To understand the kingdom of God (God’s rule and authority) and to follow Jesus more closely, it is imperative to practice the foundational truth of what Jesus is saying in this parable.   Since I’m not quoting the entire parable here, please read Mark 4:1-20 for a better understanding of what follows.

As we saw previously, God is likened to a Farmer sowing seeds.  There are four types of soil (human hearts) mentioned in the story.  Type 4 is the soil that produces a crop at harvest time (good fruit / behavior as the Bible calls it). The other 3 types are hard, rocky, and thorny.  In this article I will focus on the third type.  In a society with many Christian churches and activities, the “thorny” soil is the place many people get stuck.  Unfortunately, I think it describes much of what we see in the Church in America today.  The good news is that God’s power can change this if we allow him to do so.  The article also looked at the ongoing aspects of change that must occur in our hearts as Jesus followers.  Allowing God to change us from the inside out is what the Christian life is all about.  

Mark 4 is another place in the Bible this teaching is recorded from a slightly different perspective from Matthew 13.  The thorny soil is described this way, “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;  but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Mark 4:18-19).  Three charactieristics define type 3 soil: worry, deceit, and misplaced desires.   The three main  thngs that  keep God’s Word from changing our heart are fear, ungodly beliefs, and ungodly desires.  

First, let’s look at the “worries of this life” (fear).  It seems like fear has a tighter grip on peoples’ lives than ever before.  Fear-motivated reactions are the polar opposite of love.  God is love, and he created people in the original design to demonstrate his love to all people, in all circumstances, and for all times.  With the entry of sin came changes to the perfect world God created.  We now have a need to concern ourselves (at least to some degree) with survival and self-preservation.  Father God is our provider, protector, and identity, but we have a role to make this real in our lives.  It is very easy to get  God’s part and our part out of balance.  Fear shows up in thinking about whether we have enough to live life fully (eg. enough good looks, competence, skill, strength, or maybe even enough food or clothes)   Fear shows up in things like trying to grab too much control over people or situations (ei. not trusting God to be our ultimate protector) .  Fear may show up in thinking too much of ourselves (eg. not respecting others legitimate rights,  wishes, or property).  Thinking too little of oneself is also a form of fear (eg. not worthy, valuable, capable of love, misfit, alone(.  

Fear responses create thorns that choke out seeds of truth sown in our hearts.  

Second, is the “deceitfulness of wealth” (ungodly beliefs).  I think the wealth spoken of here applies much more widely than material or financial resources.  It may include abundance (wealth) of trust in knowledge, reason, beliefs, human capacity, self-reliance, self-sufficiency and the like.  When a person thinks they are fine without God, they have no “hunger” for God.  Our physical body can become content with junk food, even though it is unhealthy and steals our vitality.  In a similar way, our soul can become content with counterfeit beliefs.  What we think about God and how we know him should be shaped mainly by the Bible, and not the latest sermon series, video, s’ocial media post, or self-help tool.   When we rely on our own  “wealth” of knowledge,  wisdom, or ability to figure things out, we run the high risk of choking out the obvious truth that is right in front of us.  Our reliance for soul transformation must be in God, and God alone.  

Third is the “desires for other things” (ungodly desires).  Whereas ungodly(misplaced) beliefs stem from over dependence on the power of human reasoning, ungodly (misplaced) desires stem from over dependence on human passion.  God is holy.  He is so much unlike anything else this world has to offer.  An accurate and healthy concept of God is essential for living a healthy and godly life.  Knowing God as a personal God is far removed, and more important than knowing  about God as a concept.  To know him is a wonderful thing.  And to really know that we are known by him, only comes through desire for knowing him.  A heart that longs for him is a satisfied heart.  See Psalm 63  for King David’s  beautiful expression of this truth.  Seeking satisfaction  from things in our natural world leaves us dry and thirsty.  Deep desire for God’s supernatural (beyond natural) love gives us everlasting joy built into our original design.  A satisfied human heart knows God’s desires, and seeks to satisfy God’s desires above their own.  Choosing to elevate God’s desires above self, is the key to finding the true self  God uniquely created us to be.

Human beings are designed to make choices regarding their beliefs and desires.  Reason alone does not reveal God for who He truly is.  Passion alone does not bring us into fellowship with the God of Truth.  We must worship God with both reason and passion, mind and heart, truth and spirit (see John 4:23).  Discovering truth and desiring to please God by putting it into practice is the best way to chase away the fears that keep us from loving as God intends.  We must become less content with what the world has in mind for us, and more content with what God has in mind.  To do this we must become less aware of worldly comforts and more aware of godly comforts.  

Desiring more of God may require us to pay more serious attention to where we place our energy, time, and talents.  Never before in history does there seem to be so many distractions and potential false comforts, false beliefs, and seemingly urgent nonessentials.  Yet with more “thorns” than ever trying to influence our heart (soil), it becomes more important to press into God’s simple truth.  The older I get, the more I realize I must pay attention to what I am paying attention to, and limit my exposure to things that may turn to thorns.  

I don’t want to get too specific so as not to appear legalistic, but I will say that much of what is called “entertainment” today looks like a thorn patch to me.  Even the TV network news media amounts to a thorn patch because of the fear-based slant on news.  Things that fall in the category of addiction would be putting “desires for other things” ahead of God.  Basically anything that would cause us to struggle if we believe God was telling us to give it up, is a potential thorn.  Always remember that anything we view as difficult to give up, has the potential of rewarding us with treasures of far greater value than we were able to discern before giving it up.  We don’t know what we don’t know.  Sometimes we don’t know how deeply something is influencing us in a negative direction until we replace it with an intentional more positive substitute.  Paul, the writer of much of the New Testament has some very good advice for us, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:8-9).

My prayer is that we heed the warnings Jesus is teaching us through this story about the Farmer (God) sowing seeds (truth) that finds its way into furtile (productive) soil (our hearts.  May our hearts be turned to God to elieviate our fears, reshape our beliefs, and renew our desires for God.  To get back on track (or to stay on track), we may do well to ask ourselves some questions about the status of our contentments.  What is the true condition of my heart (soil)?  Have I become content with a thorn that’s choking out the Truth?  Where have I made friends with fear, rather than choosing to cast it aside?  Where might my beliefs need some adjustment to guard against deception?  How could the flames of my passion for God be fanned into a higher (hotter) degree?  Am I discontent with my current level of fellowship with God, so I am freed (from this world’s passions)  to desire Him more?  What experiences might I like too much, so that they keep me from heavenly treasures?  

Weeds and thorns in our heart are part of life as long as we’re living on this earth.  What makes the difference (for becoming good soil) is our choice to cooperate with God by accepting the salvation he freely gave us through his only Son Jesus.  Our hope is in Christ on a daily basis for inner life (soil) cleansing.  May we choose life, and choose to value the seed God has sown to give us eternal life.   

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry