Apprehending New Life in Christ

8

guides, convicts, rewards, restrains, and develops us into mature, Christlike believers, when we receive it, believe it, and allow it to perform its work in us. It stands to reason then, that the Word will do us no good unless we obey it. It stands to reason then, that the Word will do us no good unless we obey it. It is not enough to hear it but to put it into practice. Paul states, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me--practice these things” (Phil 4:9). Additionally, in James 1:22-25 we find these words, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” It is in the doing that our faith is made complete. The love of Christ us compels us to act. DISCIPLINE IS NEEDED The flesh is our constant enemy when it comes to making decisions to obey Christ. Gal 5:17 says, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Again we are told, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom 8:8). That is, those who are letting their minds be controlled by impure thinking originating from the world cannot please God. To combat this we must take control of our thoughts and bring them into captivity to Christ. The admonition is to “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Rom 13:14). We do that by investing and identifying ourselves with Christ