The Entrance into the Christian Life

The purpose of this particular chapter will be to point out how one may enter into the Christian Life.  There is one main point of emphasis in this section, which those who are following the Popular Christian movement willfully neglect.  Some have called the process by which they are saved “Easy-Believism.”  Why is this happening?  What must you and I understand before we attain eternal life, according to the Scriptures?  We will seek to answer these questions here, and we will do so by looking into Romans chapter seven.

Our Position

First, the Christian must recognize his or her position in Jesus Christ.  The reason we will begin here is so that when we get to the next point, those who are already born again will have an established security regarding their position in Christ.  In other words, the basis of our salvation is not upon how we feel or emotions.  The basis of our salvation is what we find in the Word of God.  My feelings and emotions may change, but the Word of God stands above my experience.  An experientialist may disagree, but the bottom line is that “we have a more sure word of prophecy” according to II Peter.  What is this Word more sure than?  It is more sure than anything we have seen or heard.  It is surer than our experience emotionally or physically.

In Romans 7, verses 1 – 6 address the believer’s position in Christ.  The analogy that is used is that of a woman who has a husband.  If she marries another while her husband is alive “she shall be called an adulteress.”  If her husband is dead, then she is free from the law.  Verse four brings about the application to the believer, “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”  Watchman Nee said, “Our death with Christ is a historic fact.”[1] The point being that when an individual trusted Jesus Christ as his Saviour, the death of Christ became our death spiritually to the law and to sin.  In His death, we died.  In His resurrection, are raised to life spiritually; and we have hope of a physical resurrection with a glorified body.

This is so very significant for us to understand because there are so many who are trying to do things to gain extra merit with God.  Please understand that there is nothing you nor I could do, as born again Christians that would gain for us any more love or merit with God.  Why is this?  This is because we are IN Christ, and when we are in Christ we are new creatures.  Our standing before God is in the Person of Jesus Christ.  When God looks upon you and I, he sees the righteous account of Christ.  Our sins are not merely washed away, but they are no longer in view nor remembrance of God.  My standing is not as if I had never sinned.  My standing is as if I were never a sinner, for Jesus Christ was never a sinner.  Though, I may have stolen, lied, cheated, or committed adultery, my standing before God in Christ is as though I were NEVER a sinner.    We are dead in Christ!  Our position is fixed and settled forever!

Notice the latter part of verse four and verse six, which says, “…that we should bring forth fruit unto God…But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”  As is the natural expectation when a marriage is consummated, fruit or children should be produced.  This is the case in our salvation.  We are saved to bring forth fruit unto God and to serve Him.

Our Problem

We now will turn to an important element in salvation.  It is the recognition of the sinfulness of sin.  Clearly, once an individual is saved and continues to grow in the Lord, they will have a greater understanding of what took place in their past salvation experience.  The issue at hand is not whether there is a certain limit of the knowledge of sin that must be attained before someone is born again or not.  The issue is that so many of the Popular Christian philosophy are not telling individuals the ailment under which they suffer.  Spurgeon said, “These people do not get true healing because they do not know the disease under which they are suffering.”

The problem is more than a problem.  It is sin, and individuals must be brought to the reality that sin is disgusting in the eyes of the Lord.  If we would like to consider what God thinks about sin, look to the Cross of Jesus Christ upon Calvary.  Consider that day and those hours.  Consider the punishment He took.  Consider the blood He shed.  Consider the life He willingly gave.  Why all of this?  Why the punishment?  The answer is because, “The wages of sin is death…” and “…without the shedding of blood there is no remission.”  Take a long, hard look at the Cross, and then you may tell what God thinks about sin.  Men and women must be aware of their sin before they can truly accept the remedy.  They must know that they are sinners, and that their sin separates them from God.  Their sin demands and deserves the worst of punishments.  Tell them the truth, and don’t sugar coat it!

Men and women all around us are dying in sin, and those with the “don’t want to offend anyone” mentality are sending them to Hell because they are afraid to speak the truth in love.  It has been reported that the Eskimos have a unique method for killing wolves.  They freeze blood on the outside of a very sharp knife blade.  Once the blood has dried, they continue to do this over and over again until a block of frozen blood has formed around the blade.  They then firmly fix the knife in the ground with the block of frozen blood facing up.  The wolves then come and begin licking the block of frozen blood.  The wolves crave the blood so much that they drink and lick and keep licking.  Before long, they have reached the blade, but they continue to lick even more.  The wolf is, at this point, drinking his own blood.  Eventually, he dies.  In many ways, individuals who do not know Christ are like these ignorant wolves.  They enjoy the sin, but they do not know what is ahead.  They enjoy the pleasures of sin, but they do not know the self-destruction they are committing.  It is high time, that Christians stand up and give the world the Biblical diagnosis.

Notice verses 7 – 14 of this chapter.  As the writer is trying to explain to these Christians, he is bearing in mind that they are or have attempted to keep the law in addition to faith in Christ.  Paul points out that the law was in place to show to us our absolute inadequacy our attempt to attain righteousness.  The law is holy and spiritual, “but I am carnal, sold under sin.”  The law did not merely show my sin, but it showed the how exceedingly sinful it really is.  This truth must be given and an individual must be aware of this before he or she take the leap of faith into Christ, otherwise there is no reason to change anything if there is no sin problem.  We will later discuss what this passage as well as chapter eight means to the “Christian” who perpetually lives in sin.  Simply put, God hates sin.  Sin is exceedingly sinful, and the law shows this to us; but if our position is in Jesus Christ, then we are safe.

If you are reading this and you have never truly been born again, I want you to know that God loves you in spite of your sin.  All men are sinners, and someone must pay for this sin.  Either you will pay for it by spending all of eternity in Hell, or you can ask God to forgive you of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ.  This means that you understand and believe that Jesus died to pay for your sin.  He was buried, and He rose again.  This means that you realize and accept the truth that Jesus Christ is the only Way (John 14:6) to the Father.  He is the only Way to Heaven.  Jesus Christ is the only Entrance into the Christian Life.  You may be living your life, but if it is outside of Christ, it cannot be Christian.

Our Principle

Romans 7:15 – 25 teaches us a very important principle about Christian living.  Whereas, we dealt with our position in the beginning of the chapter, this portion addresses our practice.  Notice what the writer says,” For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after 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 shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

What we see here is an individual who presents a very real truth.  Though we are born again, we still have our sinful flesh to contend with in our daily living.  On the inside, our desires are different; but the flesh wars with the Spirit and the Spirit with the flesh.  The answer for this is still the Person of Jesus Christ.  Every day, we must submit to that time with Him in His Word and in prayer.  The death of our flesh must be a perpetual reckoning.  It is something that we are to acknowledge every day!  We must continually abide in Him.

Of Paul’s cry in verse 24 Watchman Nee says, “This cry is the most spiritual and the most scriptural cry a man can utter.”  Here is what we must learn in this portion of Scripture: The Christian life is not a life that you “will” to live.  It is a life that Christ lives through you as you submit to Him.  Notice a few words of choice in verses 15 – 25: “to will,” “would,” in verses 19 – 21, “delight,” “inward man”, “mind.” In other words, it was in Paul’s will and mind to do that which was right, but that is NOT enough.  There must a be a complete surrender to the Person of Jesus Christ.  Our lives must be lived by His power.  It is no accident that one of the greatest verses in all of Bible about surrender is found in Romans 12:1.  Why is this?  It is because our greatest struggle is with the Lord and not with ourselves.  Though in this passage we see a struggle with the flesh, the answer is Jesus Christ and our yielding daily to Him.  We will develop this in greater detail later.

What we need today are Christians who have recognized their fixed position in the Person of Christ, and who are not afraid to speak the truth about sin.  I personally believe that the reason so many so-called “Christians” are living like the world, looking like the world, and loving the world is because they have not truly been born again.  I am not speaking this in judgment to any particular individual but rather to a non-Biblical movement that is sweeping many churches today.  They have never been told of their true need.

On the exact polar opposite side of the spectrum are those who have a “works” mentality.  They are attempting to add law to Christ though they may claim all of grace, their preaching and teaching emphasizes works.  My friend, both are equally wrong!  The Christian Life that is Biblical is lived out of desire for Jesus Christ and not out of being forced or put under guilt trips.  The Biblical Christian lives the Christian life because the new man within has new desires.  We will study Galatians chapter five, and there we will identify this to be true.

So, let me ask you.  Have you truly been born again?  Is your position fixed?  Have you seen how sinful sin really is before God?  Are you simply trying to live or “will to live” the Christian life?  If so, learn to submit to Christ whether in salvation or in service.  Our next chapter we will begin discussing the Evidences of the Christian Life.