How the principle of the second birth demonstrates our complete victory over sin - Nathan McWilliams
Years ago when I was sitting in a youth worship service, the person leading the service up front asked the audience whether anyone had a testimony to share. Promptly, a young man raised his hand, and the leader motioned for him to speak. Without reserve the young man began to share his testimony, “I just thank God for being so good to me. I've been through a lot of stuff in my life and it is only because of God that I'm able to be here.
” He paused for a moment, then continued, “I was born and raised in the ghetto. Christ was nowhere near my mind. I belonged to gangs and I smoked any and everything you can imagine. I ran the streets and didn't let no one mess with me.
” The audience grew silent as the young man began to speak louder. “Some of you guys think you know what the thug life is. You guy's don't even know. I lived that life. I've been in and out of jail, I worked the streets, I did it all.
” He continued to share with the crowd his life experiences, and I began to realize, just as he said, this guy really had done it all. Eventually he started wrapping up his testimony, “but God came into my life. He changed me around. I could be in jail right now, locked up for who knows what. But instead I'm here praising God. I'm in college and doing something with myself. You guys don't realize how much of a blessing it is to know God. I just praise God for letting me be here.
”
Truly that young man is an example of what it means to be born again. His life was a complete turn-around. This is the good news of the gospel. Christ has promised that we can live a new life with Him. Along with that young man, we Christians stake our claim on this promise from God. Many of us boldly proclaim that we are “born-again Christians,
” and that our lives are no longer the same.
The idea of being born again is a concept that runs deeper than many of us realize, however. The principle of the second birth, as it is beautifully explained in the Bible, shows us how God has given us complete victory over sin. There are some of us who believe that being born again is only another way of saying that our attitudes have changed, and that we are now living differently. But being born again means so much more than a change in attitude or lifestyle.
Without Christ we are slaves to sin. We have no power within ourselves to live above sin, or to overcome temptation. With Christ we are no longer slaves. Christ promises to release us from the chains of bondage and all He asks is that we have faith that He will do it. In Christ we are a new creation; the old man is crucified with Him, and we now walk in the newness of life. The gift of the new man is the gift of Christ. The gift of the new man is the gift of a new genealogical inheritance. The gift of the new man is the gift of Christian perfection. In this article we will examine more closely what the Bible has to say about the new man and the principle of the second birth.
In order to understand the victory that Christ gives us, we must first understand more deeply what we are getting the victory over— that is, our sinful nature. Every single one of us born into this world are born under the power of sin. “For there is not a just man on earth who does good, and does not sin.
” Eccl. 7:20. We are slaves to sin, which Christ declared, saying, “whoever commits a sin is a slave of sin.
” John 8:34.
How many of us have tried desperately to beat down a sin that we wanted to stop committing? How many of us have tried, time and time again, to do the right thing, but only came up short and defeated? It is definitely a discouraging experience. This situation is so common to Christians that many of us give up any hope of ever getting total and complete victory. We begin to accept the belief that we will win some, and we will lose some. With Solomon we ask rhetorically, “Who can say I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
” Proverbs 20:9. Complete victory over every single possible sin just seems like an insurmountable task.
Even after we accept Jesus into our lives we still sometimes find ourselves going through this same struggle. Even as followers of God, how many of us decide in our hearts to never do something again, yet end up doing it anyway? This is the experience that Paul went through, which he describes in Romans:
For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice... I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, Who will deliver me from this body of death?Romans 7:19-24.
Paul went through the same thing that we do. He was not only describing a time before his conversion, but was also speaking about his present self as he would be if he wasn't completely depending on Christ for victory. What Paul found was a law within himself, and this law is in all of us as well. When we try to do what is right, this law within us laughs and says, “Go ahead and try. Even if you want to do good, I won't let you do it.
” And as if complete domination is not enough, this law within us is also very crafty. When we do a good deed, we often pride ourselves in what we have done without even considering that we may have done it with a wrong motive. We rationalize questionable actions away until we are fully convinced in our minds that we are still in safe territory, and then we proceed, taking satisfaction that we are not really doing anything wrong. We even justify some of the obviously sinful things that we do by comparing them side by side with all of the extensively more evil things that we could be doing but are not. With all of this ingrained into us, it is no wonder that a sincere person will often come to the conclusion that it is simply just impossible to have complete victory. The law within us that Paul talked about is just too strong, and we don't have any power over it. We must ask, where did this law come from, and why is it in us?
This law came from our relationship to Adam. When Adam sinned, his very nature became sinful, and he passed that down to us. “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners
” Romans 5:19. It is passed down to every man and woman because Adam is the father of mankind. We all came from Adam, so therefore we all are genealogically related to Adam. It is through our genealogical relationship that this law we just spoke of becomes a part of us. Through Adam we all have a sinful nature. We are inclined to do evil over good. We all become carnally minded, and through this mindset we commit all types of sins. While we have this carnal mind, we are unable to obey God. “For the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
” Romans 8:8. Naturally, because of sin, we are prone to scorn the laws of God and call good things foolish and evil things wise. “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
” 1 Cor. 2:1.
Indeed it is true, we are all slaves to sin. We are unable to simply choose to stop sinning. We have sinful natures, and within us we find a law keeping us from doing what is right even if we want to do it.
Praise God that He did not leave us in that situation! He came to deliver us completely. Not only from our condemnation of death, but also from that law in us that keeps us from doing good. God is so loving that He would not free us of the judgment against sin but leave us to fend for ourselves against the battles with sin in our present, daily lives. God cares more about us then that. He knows we are helpless against sin, so He gives us power over the sin in us that keeps us in bondage. Speaking of that law that is within us, Paul says the “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
” Romans 8:2. Christ came to give us victory over that law that keeps us committing sins over and over again. Paul is not speaking in the future tense. Paul does not say that Christ will make me free, as if the freedom from the law of sin and death comes at a later time. Rather, he says Christ “has made me free,
” speaking in the past tense. It is something that is already done for those who will accept it. This is the victory that He gives to us. How? Through the process of the second birth. Let us look very closely at this, for God has revealed a special truth through the concept of being born again.
You must be born again
How does Christ give us the victory over that law of sin in us? He does it by giving us Himself, to live in us, and He is not under the power of that law. Let's look at what Christ has to say about the second birth in John 3.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again.”John 3:5-8.
Jesus Himself says that we must be born again in order to be saved. Why is this so? Perhaps it has something to do with that law that is within us that keeps us from doing good?
The born again experience that Christ spoke of was more than just a change in attitude. Christians who claim to have taken part in the second birth are not just claiming that their mindsets have changed, or that their lives are completely different than they were before. There is much more to being born again than that. The second birth involves our very genealogy.
Paul speaks of this fact in Romans 5. Remember earlier we spoke of how the law of sin and death is passed down to us? It is because of our genealogical relationship to Adam— because we are all descendents of Adam. Because of this, we all are born with sinful natures. Paul pointed this out by saying, “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners.
” Let us now look at more of this passage.
Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.Romans 5:18-19.
Paul is pointing out two important facts here. The first fact is that through Adam we are all sinners and condemned. The second fact is that through Christ we are righteous and there is no condemnation. Paul is comparing these two facts side by side, to show the way in which these facts are related to each other. Let us take a deeper look at these two facts.
The first fact says that through Adam's disobedience we are all sinners and condemned. That is how the law of sin and death Paul spoke of becomes a part of us. How is it possible that one man's action, in this case Adam's disobedience, can affect another person to such a strong degree? It is because that person is genealogically from the person who acted. “By one man's disobedience many were made sinners.
” After this statement, Paul signifies the strong tie of this statement to the next by the words, “so also.
”
The second fact says that through Christ's obedience many will be made righteous. I ask again, how is it possible for one man's action to affect another person to such a strong degree? The answer is the same. It is because that other person is genealogically from the person who acted. In the same way that Adam passed sin down to us, which is genealogically, Christ passes righteousness down to us. “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.
” If it is genealogical ties that cause the law of sin and death to be present in us, it will take even stronger genealogical ties to give us victory over that law of sin and death.
If this is true, then in what way are we genealogically related to Christ? It is through the second birth. This is why a man MUST be born again in order to be saved. No, he is not physically born again by reentering his mother's womb, but he is born spiritually, now with God as his Father. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
” This is why we are called sons and daughters of God. The term “son
” or “daughter
” is no mere metaphor, it is a fact.
Are we born again with the same genealogical inheritance as our first birth? When we are first born into the world, our inheritance from Adam is our sinful nature; the law within us that keeps us from doing good. Is this the case with the second birth? No, it is not the case. Christ did not sin, He was perfect. Therefore, there is no law of sin passed down to us from our genealogical relationship with Him. When we live by the flesh, our fleshly inheritance as sons and daughters of Adam is so strong that we will certainly sin against God. However, when we live by the Spirit, we can rest assured that our spiritual inheritance as sons and daughters of Christ is even stronger and we will even more certainly resist all sin even until death. This is why it is so important to recognize our genealogical relationship with Christ from the second birth. We are fully aware of how strong our genealogical ties are with Adam, since before we are converted we live only by the flesh and the result is plain to see. We need to learn that our genealogical ties with Christ are just as strong, and this is why the second birth gives us victory over all sinful behavior.
When we are born again, it is so much more than just a change of attitude. We are a new creation, and are children of God. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away: behold, all things have become new.
” 2 Cor. 5:17. The old man is crucified with Christ. The old man is who we are; the one condemned to death, and the one who can't even help himself do right even if the desire is there. This old man is helpless, and is buried in Christ. “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life.
” Romans 6:4.
The Christian who is born again is a new creation, he walks in the newness of life. The word creation is no mere metaphor here either. God has awesome creative power. By His Word the earth, the hosts of heaven, and even the whole universe came into existence. This same power He uses to create a new life in us; to create a new heart in us. Paul recognizes this by saying that the new man was created by God. “Put on the new man, which was created according to God, in true righteousnes and holiness.
” Eph. 4:24. God doesn't create the new man to be once again held under the law of sin and death. The new man was created “in true righteousness and holiness.
” God wants to restore in us the image of Himself. “Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.
” Col. 3:10.
There is another important fact to keep in mind. Remember earlier when we recalled how even Christians struggle with victory over sin? How even after we accept Christ, if we determine in our minds to stop doing something we may still end up doing it anyway? This is because the old man in us is not literally dead. We still have sinful flesh; we still have sinful natures. It is important to realize that to be born again does not mean that God takes away all of our sinful inclinations and bad habits. The law of sin and death is still a part of us, and it will always be a part of us as long as we are in these bodies. When Paul says that “Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death,
” Paul is not saying that Christ did away with that law. He is not saying that Christ took that law out of him and that the law no longer exists in him. Paul is saying only that Christ has freed him from the power of that law.
Only in Christ do we have that freedom. The freedom from the law is not something that Christ gives to us to have of and by our own selves. The freedom is only in Christ. When I say that the freedom is “in Christ,
” I do not mean that you can go to Him, and take the freedom from out of Him and keep it for yourself. When we are born again, it is not as if we now have the power within ourselves to defeat the law of sin and death. The victory is there only in Christ. Only when we are in Christ, and Christ is in us does the law of sin and death have no power over us.
Repeatedly Paul admonished believers to “put on the new man.
” Paul likewise said to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
” Romans 13:14. In both of these expressions Paul is referring to the same thing. To put on the new man is to put on Christ. Even though we are new creations, we are nothing if Christ is not in us, and if we are not in Christ. Even after we are born again, we still have that law of sin and death within us, and of our own selves we still have no power over it. When we determine in our hearts and minds to do good in our own strength, the law still laughs at us and says, “go ahead, I still won't let you do it.
” By ourselves we cannot defeat the law of sin and death. This is not to say that we are still helplessly doomed, however. The fact is, even though we still can't defeat the law, once we are born again there is one in us who can. When we give control of our life to Christ we are now in Him, and He is in us. Now when we determine to do good, the law stops laughing, not because there is any change in our own power, but because the law of sin and death has no power over Christ, and Christ is in us. That is why if we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, we have victory. Now when the law tries to keep us from obeying God, that law meets a strong opponent in Christ who in no way will succumb to obeying that law. The law of sin and death fights against Christ, but God promises that in that battle Christ will always have the victory. This is why the weakest Christian is more than a conqueror when he depends on Christ. The true born-again Christian is not trying to fight his own battles by himself, but he fully cooperates with Christ as He enters combat on his behalf. Paul speaks of this fact in Galatians.
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do no do the things that you wish.Galatians 5:16-18.”What is Paul saying here? The flesh is the law of sin and death that makes us commit the same sins over and over again. The Spirit is Christ in us. The flesh in us determines to do a specific sin— it wants to do it, but Christ meets the flesh head-on and fights against it. What is the result of this fight? We “
do not do the things that we wish.” Does this mean that we do not do the good things that we want? No. What Paul is saying is that the flesh no longer does the sin that it so much wants to do. We are so intricately tied with our sinful nature that we do not have any power to change what we really want to do at all times. At one moment we decide to never do that sin again, but at the next we find ourselves wanting to do that sin. But praise to God it is the Spirit who is striving against the flesh, and not us doing the striving in our own strength. With Christ in us we are no longer powerless against what the flesh wants to do. If we walk in the Spirit, we “shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”So when we are born again, we still have a sinful nature. The law of sin and death is still a part of us, however Christ is now in us, and He has complete power over it. This is why the gift of the new man is the gift of Christ. God gives His Son to us to live within us and to make our heart His home. Everything that Christ has— righteousness, a right to life, and even perfection (1 Cor. 1:30), is ours as new creations because Christ is in us and we are in Christ. None of that is ours in the sense that we have taken it from Christ and now we have it for ourselves. It is ours because it is Christ's, and Christ is in us and we are in Him. The focus is all on Christ, and nothing of ourselves. The difference between the old man and the new man is that Christ is living in the new man, and the new man's life is hidden in Christ. We still have no power of our own. We are completely and totally dependent on God to fight our battles. Christ is “
The Lord Our Righteousness.” Jer. 23:6. If at any moment we are not in Christ, and Christ is not in us, then we have no chance of victory.As long as the Christian tries to defeat the law of sin and death by himself, he will always lose. If for any moment we try to defeat sin ourselves, we are trying to save ourselves by our own works, and at that moment we no longer have victory because Christ is not in us (Gal. 5:4). This is why a born again Christian can determine in his mind to stop committing a sin, but soon after commit it again and again. He is not letting Christ fight his battles, but trying to win in his own strength.
In order to let Christ fight our battles, we must give complete and total control of our lives over to Him. There is nothing halfway about it; we cannot halfway be in Christ and have Him halfway in us. “
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.” Matt 6:24. So if Christ is in us, then He has complete control over us. We will serve only Him, and He will fight all of our battles for us.When Christ lived His life here on earth, He did not commit any sins. No temptation was too strong for Him to overcome. Would it be right for us to think, after He has conquered sin and is now seated at the right hand of God, that He lost His power over sin? If Christ is at the steering wheel, is it possible for Him to lead us into sin? No it is impossible. He will not even lead us into what we may consider to be a small or insignificant sin. The same victory that Christ had in His own life He lives in our lives when He is in us. Even though we may sin after we have accepted Christ into our life, that does not mean that it is Christ who is leading us into sin, neither does it mean that Christ is too weak to overcome that sin. It means that, at least momentarily, and perhaps unknowingly, we have taken control of the wheel away from Christ and ran ourselves off of the highway of holiness.
When Christ came and lived here on earth, did He succumb to the law of sin and death? No, He condemned it.
For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.Romans 8:3-4.Christ “
condemned sin in the flesh.” We know that this is true for Christ's own flesh, but is that it? No, Christ not only condemned sin in His own flesh but He condemns sin in our flesh as well, as long as He is in us and we are in Him. Christ condemns that law of sin and death that keeps us slaves to sin, and He delivers us, so that “the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.” He gives us victory over the law of sin and death so that we now can keep the law of God. Now when we will to do good, or to have victory over a sin, it becomes our reality, because Christ is in us condemning that law of sin and death so that it has no power.We must remember that even after we are born again we still, in our own power, do not have strength over the law of sin and death within us. However with Christ in us we have victory. We are more than conquerors when Christ is in control of us. With Christ we have righteousness. With Christ there is no condemnation of death. With Christ we have perfection. Yes, all of those are ours through Christ, yet we must remember that it is only because of Christ that we have them.
To have, or to Take
With Christ in control of our lives we have complete victory over the law of sin and death. We can live for God and we can truly keep His Word and do what He wants us to do. When we are born again, it is more than just a change in attitude. Not only does Christ free us from condemnation of death, but He delivers us from the law of sin and death, and adopts us as His children. He clothes us with “
rich robes” and we stand just in the presence of God (Zech. 3.) Yet it is even more than that. When we are born again God gives us the gift of perfection, which is the gift of Jesus Christ.There are some believers who feel that it is blasphemy to say it is possible to live perfect while here on earth. There are others who believe that perfection is the goal to be reached, but that we cannot ever hope to obtain it while we still have sinful flesh. Before we get into that discussion, we must first make a clear distinction between two concepts of what it means for us to have perfection.
It is critical that we understand the difference between inherent ownership and obtained ownership. Let us turn to an illustration. Picture a man who is born with a bad heart condition, and whose life is full of frequent trips to the hospital and a myriad of medication, pills, and therapy. This man manages to etch out a decent life for himself, however, and he is able to start a family and obtain a career working as a middle class office worker. Eventually, though, this man's weak heart reaches its limit, and he is put on the list for a heart transplant. Sitting in the hospital bed, wondering if he will live or die, this man begins to look back on his life and all of the hardships he has lived through. Looking down at his chest, thoughts of hatred and utter disgust start to seep into his mind as he thinks of the weak and feeble heart of his that is threatening to separate him from his wife and kids. All of his worrying is for naught, however, as days later this man receives the heart transplant he so desperately needed. After awhile he is able to return home, and eventually he goes back to work. While on the job one of his coworkers comes up to him and asks, “
how is your heart doing?” The man replies, “my heart is working just great.”In this scenario the man who received the transplant lived with two different hearts. The first heart was the one he was born with; the second heart was the one someone donated to him. If you were to ask if the first heart was his, he would answer yes. Likewise, if you were to ask if the second heart was his, he would answer yes. But does the second heart belong to him in the same way that the first one did? Not at all. While the first heart was his by right, the second one became his as a gift. After he had received his transplant, the man is not wrong to refer to the donated heart as “
my heart,” however, that new heart is technically not his, but it is the person's who gave it to him. There is a difference between to have something, and to take or receive something. The man cannot rightly go around feeling that it is his heart that allows him to continue living; he cannot go around boasting that he is fine because it is his heart that is beating normally inside of him. No, that man will always be conscious that the heart inside of him is from another man.This may seem like a trivial distinction to make, but it is an important one. Much confusion over whether it is possible for a Christian to be perfect involves this particular issue, and it must be properly understood in order to have a clear idea of what true Christian perfection is.
For a Christian to be perfect does not mean that the Christian went to Christ, took perfection from Him, put the perfection on and now is perfect. Neither does it mean that the Christian has put in long hours of work to get the victory over sin, and now he has the strength in himself to resist any temptation that might be thrown his way. No man can obtain perfection by his own works, and no man can be perfect outside of Christ. To say that it is possible for a Christian to be perfect does not mean that the Christian is incapable of falling to temptation and incapable of sin. It is clear that even after accepting Christ a believer still has sinful flesh, and by his own strength the believer still has no power over the law of sin and death. It is trap of Satan for any one of us to think that we can defeat sin by our own power. The Christian who feels he is perfect is most undoubtedly harvesting pride within himself, and in some cases displaying it openly. It is also likely that this person is condemning fellow believers for their actions, and thus in effect tearing them down and lifting himself yet even higher. That person is nowhere near perfect, and it is obviously seen by the gaping disparity between his own actions and the actions of Christ.
We must look back to the example of the man who received a heart transplant. Just as the new heart was not his own, neither is perfection for the Christian his own. It is Christ who is working in the life to deliver from the law of sin and death. It is Christ who is at the wheel, leading the Christian from one victory to the next. To say that Christian perfection is possible does not mean that it is the person who is perfect. It means Christ who is in the person is perfect. Just as the new heart did not inherently belong to the man with the heart transplant, so any victory we may have does not inherently belong to us.
The life of the new man is one in which the man has given Christ the allowance to fight his battles. Our life is in Him and He is in us. It is possible for the man to be perfect, not because he has worked his way towards it, but because Christ has led him to it, and is still leading him yet further to the original image of God.
Christian Perfection
Up until now we have looked at the idea of perfection partially, however now let us turn our full attention to the subject. Many Christians get scared of the word perfection. It seems like something that is way afar off. It feels like some impossible, intangible essence of being that only exists in our imagination.
Once when I was in college the subject of my first class in the morning turned to perfection. After having prayer and devotion, our professor took the opportunity to ask whether we thought it was possible to be perfect or not. I was surprised at all the different views that were expressed in the normally somewhat unresponsive group of students. While there were many people who had something to say, there were a few statements that stuck out in my mind. One particular person began to state his position by saying, “
I believe perfection is a good goal to reach for. I think God wants us to obey his commandments as much as possible and do the right thing. But I don't know if there is anyone in real life who is actually perfect though. I mean, it's a good idea and all, but we probably wont ever get there.” He spoke as a sincere, but honest guy who wanted to face reality. Another outspoken girl was just as candid, “I don't even see how that's possible. I mean, sin is like all around us. That is just way too much to think you can be perfect. How could that even be possible? There's just no way.” A different young woman then took this chance to share her thoughts, “I think God wants us to be perfect. I think it is in the Bible. I don't think there is any excuse for sin, and Christ lived without sinning and He is our example.” Still unconvinced, the previous girl responded by saying, “What are you guys even talking about? I mean there is just no way with all the sin around us that we would not do it ever.” Altogether, it was a very interesting conversation, and one that our class even returned to at later points down the road when there was some time for extra discussion. It demonstrated a lot of the views many Christians have today about the idea of perfection.In order to make a decision about whether it is possible to be perfect or not, we must first make a clear definition of what perfection actually is. Does perfection mean that you are incapable of sin? Does it mean that you no longer commit any sins? Does it deal with only your actions, or does it also speak of your very thoughts and motives? It is common for Christians to put perfection as something so far off that just to think that it is possible appears to be a ridiculous proposition, or at the very least a useless and unrealistic goal. These people do well in recognizing the fact that in our own strength we cannot hope to defeat sin. As long as we have sinful flesh, the law of sin and death in us will prove to be a foe we cannot utterly destroy by ourselves. However, does this then mean that it is impossible for the Christian to be perfect until we get to heaven?
In order to answer this question, let us put aside for now any meaning we may attach to the word perfection, and consider the following definition:
Christian perfection is for the old man to be dead continually, and for Christ to be in complete control of the new man at all times.Does this sound like something that is impossible to do, something that cannot be achieved? When we sin, it is the old man rearing his ugly head again in our lives, but when we conquer sin it is because Christ is the one fighting the battle. Does it seem like a far-fetched idea to think that it is possible to then keep this old man under, and to give Christ unceasing control of our life? If this were to happen, if Christ were to have full and unceasing control of the mind and will, without a doubt we would be on our way to perfection. However if this was the case would it be our own perfection? Not at all. Could we go around boasting that it is our perfection, or that we have earned it? No, “
for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Phil. 2:13. Our righteousness is from Christ, “not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Eph. 2:9. It is all from Christ; God gives us this victory through His Son. This is why the gift of the new man is the gift of perfection. Perfection is not something that we earn, but something that is given to us in Christ. It behooves us to take an even closer look at what this means.There are three aspects to perfection; justification, sanctification, and glorification. All three of these are gifts from God, freely given to those who accept the call to be born again. Christ is the one who is our justification, sanctification, and glorification. “
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” 1 Cor. 1:30. Here Paul shows that it is Christ who is our righteousness, which is justification; it is Christ who is our sanctification; it is Christ who is our redemption, or glorification.Justification is our justification for life. The law of God demands that the penalty for sin is death. (Romans 6:23, Ezek. 18:20) If this is the penalty, that means in order to justify the existence of any life that has sinned this penalty must be paid. Unfortunately, if we were to pay this penalty ourselves we would not be alive, nor would we ever taste life again. However, by the grace of God, Jesus came and paid this penalty for us. The result is that there is now justification to allow our lives to continue, because all of our sins - past, present and future, are paid for in Christ's death. This justification is imputed, or given to us once we are born again. This first part of perfection is a complete gift from Christ, and because Christ is the one who has paid our penalty for us, Christ is our justification.
Sanctification is the process by which God sets us apart, and works in us to do His will. The term sanctification denotes complete consecration; it involves our whole mind, spirit, and body. “
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Sanctification is God's way of setting aside His followers for a special purpose. Those who are being sanctified are learning the character of Christ, and they are learning to change their characters to become more and more like His. As with justification, sanctification is a complete gift from Christ. God is the one who is doing it. He is the one who sets us apart and preserves us. In the previous text just quoted, the very next thing Paul says is “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24. The process of sanctification is wholly a gift from God, and He does it for us once we believe and are born again. God promises He will continue working in us to fight our battles until the end. “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” Phil. 1:6. Thus sanctification, the second part of perfection, is gift from Christ; verily it is the gift of Christ to live in us and to work through us.Lastly, glorification is the third aspect of perfection. This describes a time in the future when our mortal bodies will become immortal at the second coming of Christ, “
for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:53. This is when God does away with the law of sin and death and our sinful flesh completely. This is a gift that we can claim through Christ in faith. Even though glorification does not occur now, but rather occurs in the future, we must still remember that Christ has freed us from the power of the law of sin and death right now (Rom. 8:2.) So even though we are not glorified with new bodies at this moment, that does not provide a reason to say we cannot help but to sin. Sin has no dominion over us because in Christ the law of sin and death has no power over us at all. Thus finally, glorification is also, along with justification and sanctification, a free gift given to those who are born again.There it is. That is Christian perfection. It is not our own, for it is all given to us by Christ, and we have done nothing to earn it. Our own righteousness doesn't matter, because it will not do anything for us. It is only the righteousness of Christ. It is right that Christ is aptly named, “
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jeremiah 23:6. Christ is our righteousness; Christ is our perfection. He is our justification, He is our sanctification, and He is our glorification. It is all through Him and not at all by us. We have nothing to boast about, nothing to lord over others. It is nothing that we have done of our own selves, and it is not as if anyone else cannot not obtain it in the exact same way that we obtained it. It is Christ who leads us to repent; “the goodness of God leads you to repentance.” Romans 2:4. Christ is the one “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.” 1 Peter 2:24. Christ is the “author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2. Christ is the one who will “descend from heaven with a shout,” raising the dead in Christ and translating those who remain to give them both the gift of a new body that is free from the taint of sin. Surely it is no understatement to say that “every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above.” James 1:17. Justification, sanctification, and glorification are free gifts from Christ above. It is God who gives the believer the gift of the perfection, and the gift of perfection is the gift of Christ. Christian perfection, which is to keep the old man dead and to allow God to have full reign of our lives, is a real, present-life possibility that God has promised to do for those who believe and are born again.Yet I Sin
A common Christian saying is that “
A Christian is just a sinner who fell down but got back up again.” While this is indeed true, there is implied in this statement a certain feeling that we as Christians will always fall down every now and then. It conveys the idea that we should not worry so much about whether we fall down or not, but instead we should focus on just getting back up once we fall down.Even though we believe in the power of God, for some of us perfection still feels to be something we can never attain to. It is an understandable feeling; after all, sin is so prevalent around us. It is nearly impossible to go about life without encountering sin and temptation. Even within the church, we sadly observe corruption, backsliding, and hypocrisy. We see members fighting amongst one another and confusion over differing opinions on what is right or wrong. Even some of our pastors fail to practice what they preach, or neglect to preach that which should be practiced.
In a world like this, where people without a knowledge of God are suffering and longing for something better, we may be quick to say that we should focus on spreading the gospel message to the world instead of trying to make ourselves perfect. We may think that perfection is a distraction away from what God wants us to do. After all of the first-hand struggles we have had with sin, we might believe that complete and total victory is impossible while we still have sinful flesh.
When we say that perfection is impossible, what are we really saying? Let's look back to the definition we made earlier of perfection. Perfection is for the old man to be dead continually, and for the new man to be alive and controlled by Christ at all times. If this is the case, what does it imply when we say that it is impossible to stop sinning? It implies either one of two things; one— that even though Christ is in control at all times we may still sin, or two— it is impossible to keep the old man dead continually. It should be easy to see that the first proposition is definitely false, as Christ will not lead us into sin. If we are truly controlled by Christ, if our mind and will is controlled by Him, then He will not lead us into any sin. He will deliver us from all temptation (1 Cor. 10:13.) If a man is controlled by Christ, although the greatest of sinners, he need not feel in the least that he must continue to sin. Whoever puts their trust in Christ, “
although a fool, shall not go astray.” Isa. 25:8. So if we feel that it is impossible, even as a Christian, to gain the victory over all sins, what we are saying is that it is impossible to keep the old man dead continually. We must acknowledge that if Christ is truly at the wheel, He will always condemn sin in our flesh. However we may still feel that it is impossible, because of our sinful nature, to refrain from taking control at some point away from Christ. After all, God will not forcefully take control. We must submit the control to Him.It is true that because of our tendency to be selfish, it can be extremely hard for us to totally submit ourselves to God. To submit ourselves for every remaining second of our lives can seem to be a daunting task. In this world of sin, does God realistically expect us to fully submit ourselves to Him at every single moment? Does God expect us to keep the old man dead continually? The answer to this question is a resounding yes. Although we ourselves are powerless against the law of sin and death, and although we cannot defeat sin in our own strength, we have no such claim against our ability to submit to God. While God does not expect us to defeat sin ourselves, He certainly expects us to submit ourselves to Christ at every single moment so that Christ can defeat sin in us. This is why we are born again. This is the backbone of the second birth. The born-again Christian is to live by faith in God. Faith that not only trusts God to save us in the last day, but also trusts God to save us in our present battle against sin. The very reason that the old man is put to death is to allow Christ to free us from our present enslavement to sin. “
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Romans 6:6. We are born carnal, sold to sin as a slave, but the very purpose of being born again is to obtain freedom from this slaveship. “For he who has died has been freed from sin.” Romans 6:7.Yes, it is true that even after we are born again we still have sinful flesh, and we still have no power ourselves over the law of sin and death. Our flesh still lusts to do evil over good. However, there is One who can have ultimate and uncompromising victory, and when we are born again this One comes to live in us. Because we are in Christ, and He is living in us, we are to consider ourselves “
dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If you are really dead to sin then you must not “let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” Romans 6:11-12.We must stop focusing on our inability to conquer sin, and start putting our faith in Christ. There is no excuse for any sin whatsoever, because Christ frees us from the dominion of sin when we are in Christ and He is in us. We may feel that surely God does not require us to stop sinning entirely, even down to the very thoughts and desires. But do not be deceived, God declares that we must “
put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Romans 13:14. We are to make no provision at all for even the most minute and seemingly insignificant sin that may work its way into our lives. We are to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Cor. 7:1.When Christ walked here on earth, He totally submitted himself to God. He was the ultimate example of humility, and “
he who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:6. We are to “Let this mind be in” us “which was also in Christ Jesus, who... humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross.” Phil. 2:5-8.As long as we are in the flesh, we will continue to sin, but if we allow God to have full and complete control we can deny the flesh at every single moment through the Spirit. “
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” Gal. 2:16. Just because we cannot, in our own strength, put to death the sinful deeds of the flesh, it does not mean that God does not require for it to be done. God knows that “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matt. 26:41. This is why He sends His Spirit to come live in us, that the deeds of sin may be fully blotted out by Him right here in this life. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” Romans 8:13.We cannot afford to be deceived by Satan into thinking that after we are born again we still have an excuse for sinful behavior. God expects us to let Him cleanse us from all filthiness. After accepting Christ into our lives, we are to live every second of our remaining time not in the flesh but by the Spirit. “
Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in his flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” 1 Peter. 4:1-2. Your life is no longer yours, “for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Col. 3:3. Notice Paul does not say that our life is shadowed by Christ, as if parts of us still slip through the cracks. Our life is to be completely hidden in Christ. We must be willing to completely hand control over to Christ. We cannot afford to grab the wheel every now and then. If you find your hand reaching for control, it is better to “cut it off and cast if from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matt. 5:30.It is especially important now, in the times that we are living in, that we stop making excuses for sin and starting claiming the promises of God. During the last days the Bible especially makes it clear that those who are children of God are those who have given Christ complete control. Those who stand for God will obey the commands of God through faith in Him. “
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. Satan has succeeded in convincing many to believe that as long as we have faith in God it does not matter whether we keep the commandments fully or not. This is a lie being pervaded by the legions of hell aimed to entice believers away from the all powerful embrace of Christ. Faith in God and obedience to His commandments are inseparably connected. You cannot have the same faith Christ had and not keep His commandments, and you cannot keep all of His commandments if you do not have the faith of Jesus.Let us briefly consider the type of faith that Jesus had. Did Christ only have faith that He would be raised to everlasting life after He had died? While this was certainly a part of Christ's faith, that is not the totality of it. Jesus also had faith that God would keep Him from sinning in His present life. Christ knew that if He had committed any sin before His death, the plan of salvation would be ruined. So therefore, a great part of Christ's faith was to trust in God to keep Him from sinning. So it will be for “
those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Those in the last days who have the faith of Jesus will not only trust in God to save them from judgment, but just like Christ they will trust in God to save them from sinning in their present lives. Too many Christians today only have faith that God will save them from hell and will give them everlasting life. There needs to be more believers who have the faith of Jesus; people who also trust God to keep them from sinning completely in their present lives. Just as Christ knew that He must wholly depend on God for living a righteous life and resurrection from the dead, so those saints described in Revelation will know they need to depend wholly on God to live righteously and to be raised to life in the final day. I do not mean to imply that the life of a Christian must be exactly perfect in the same way that Christ's life was exactly perfect, for that is impossible as we have all already sinned. Neither am I saying that in order to be saved we must keep the law in full for every second of our lives. The point is that we must have the faith of Jesus; we must have faith that not only affects the life hereafter but also the life we live right now. We must trust in God to deliver us completely from temptation just as Christ depended on God for complete victory. It is only when our faith is identical to Christ's complete and total trust in God that we will be able to obey the Word of God unwaveringly. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. We cannot estrange one from the other; they are joined at the hips.Christ declared that we must be born again. We must accept the truth of the second birth. God promises to give us a new life if we are willing to completely surrender ourselves to Him. We cannot defeat the law of sin and death in us, but we can have faith in God that He will do it. Our victory is all through the power of Christ. We have nothing to boast about of our own. Christ is our justification, Christ is our sanctification, and Christ is our glorification. The new man is the gift of Christ, and Christian perfection is possible because of Christ. Complete and total victory over sin is the gift God has given to all those who fall down into the watery grave and rise up born again. The second birth is so much more than a change in attitude and lifestyle. We must give control of the wheel over to Christ, and let Him remove all sinful behavior and traits of character from our lives. If we refuse to believe that we can conquer all sin, we are effectively grabbing control from Christ. We are saying, “
Thank you Christ for bringing me this far, however I do not think that I need to go any further until your second coming, so we can just stay right here.” This is not the way God intends for His believers to act! Although it may seem like an unscalable mountain, we can do it through Christ. “Assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matt 17:20. Trust in God and believe in His promises. Christian perfection is possible, but only to those who believe. We can keep the old man down at all times, and completely submit our lives to Christ at every moment. Through the principle of the second birth, God has shown us how we can have the complete victory over sin.