Dr. Paul Manuel—2003
One of the tests of a person's character is his ability to persevere in difficult times.
A. How does God provide deliverance from sin?
Paul addresses this in Rom 6, where he answers a hypothetical question: If, in Jesus, God provides sufficient grace for all my sin, should I sin more to get more grace? Put another way, what motivation does a person have not to sin? Why should you choose right behavior over wrong behavior? The immediate answer is that...
Paul uses the metaphor of a slave and says that, before your justification, everything you did was in the service of one master. You may have thought that you were acting independently, that you were serving yourself, but you were really serving sin.1 As Paul states in...
The choice, though, sets up a conflict. Before justification, the decision is simple: If it feels good, do it. After justification, your decisions are complicated by these two disparate elements competing for your devotion: unrighteousness (sin)—what may feel good—and righteousness—what you know to be good. Paul describes the conflict in...
You must never underestimate the effect sin can have on you. Sin comes in all shapes and sizes. Some sins appear relatively benign, almost unrecognizable. You think: "What harm could there be in this?" Other sins you recognize as such but may not consider them to be of sufficient magnitude to be detrimental. "I'll just do this a few times or for a little while. I can always back off if things get out of control." Whether by gradual submission or by outright surrender, Paul says you may become "a prisoner of the law of sin."
Graciously, God does not leave you to your own resources in this struggle against sin. Not only does He give you an alternative by allowing you to choose righteousness...
I mentioned earlier that we dare not underestimate the power of sin. Likewise, we should not underestimate the power of the Spirit. Look again at Rom 8, where Paul says in v. 11...
How else does God provide deliverance from sin? He gives you the ability. You can act on your decisions to behave righteously.
The choices you make between sin and righteousness are not automatic. Paul speaks of being under the Spirit's control (8:6), by which he does not mean: "Let go and let God." The decision in each case is ultimately yours. God has given you the alternative and the ability, but He does not choose for you. You must make the choice, and it is not neutral, otherwise Paul would not speak of it as your "obligation." Nevertheless, God adds positive incentive to tilt the balance of your decision in favor of righteousness.
Consider, though, the first part of the verse. What can it possibly mean to be God's heir? What does God have that He could make yours? Take a moment and try to conceptualize the significance of that. ...The only term that comes to my mind is "staggering." One commentator put it this way
How does God provide deliverance from sin? He gives you the alternative of His righteousness, the ability of His Spirit, and the adoption as His heirs.
In addition to the internal struggle we wage against sin, we wage an external struggle against Satan, for by becoming God's children we become Satan's enemies. Moreover, as Pharaoh attempted to reclaim the Israelites after they left Egypt,3 Satan will attempt to reclaim us who have left his domain of darkness.4 What help do we have in resisting his efforts? That is the second question...
B. How does God provide deliverance from Satan?
Paul answers this in Eph 6. Using the metaphor of a soldier, he lists some of the means God has provided for our deliverance. He says,
Paul lists a number of items that God has provided to deliver you from Satan. He begins in v. 14.
As with any of this armament, it is useless if you engage the enemy without it. Yet this is often the point of temptation, to make you lay aside—just momentarily—that which you know is right.
Perhaps if we had the vivid view of struggle that Peretti offers in his novels, if we could see the demonic forces at work, we would not yield so readily. We do not see them, though, and the challenge for us is to retain our integrity anyway, lest we fall into enemy hands by neglecting the ethical system God provides to deliver us from Satan.
The next three elements, in vv. 15-17a, continue the description of armor and together point to the deliverance God provides in that...
If Satan cannot get you to lay aside your ethical system, or if he succeeds in that, he may also try to incapacitate you by making you question your relationship with God:
The final part of the armament, and only offensive piece in this list of equipment, is in.8
How does God provide deliverance from Satan? He gives you an ethical system repulsive to the enemy, a secure relationship with God, and a true word by which you can actually fight back.
Like it or not, you are engaged in a struggle against sin and Satan, a struggle in which you can take a pretty severe beating if you are not careful. Justification does not make you invulnerable, but neither are you defenseless. God Provides Spiritual Deliverance for His People, deliverance from sin and from Satan, deliverance that began when God "rescued [you] from the domain of darkness and brought [you] into the kingdom of the Son he loves" (Col 1:13).
The Chicago Bears were losing a football game at half-time. In the locker room, their coach, Mike Ditka, wanted to illustrate the need for them to hang on and give it their best. He reached his hand into a bucket and, when he pulled it out, there was a snapping turtle clamped securely to it—not a pretty sight. With the turtle hanging on his wounded hand, Mike continued to lecture his astonished players. He assured the players that they could do the same thing if they were really committed and determined.Perseverance, though not quite as this player understood it, does indicate the quality of a person's character, in sporting events as well as in spiritual matters. When you place your faith in Jesus' atoning work, God delivers you from the ultimate penalty of your sin: facing His wrath for all eternity. Instead, you can look forward to a long and glorious relationship with your deliverer. There is usually a transition period, however, between your justification—when God gives you a clean slate—and your glorification—when God gives you a new body. It is the current period, during which you struggle against what you once actively pursued or passively accepted. In this struggle, you have two powerful opponents, one internal (sin) and the other external (Satan), and there are times when you may feel hopelessly outgunned. Nevertheless, you are not defenseless, because God Provides Spiritual Deliverance for His People, enabling you to defeat these foes. Please follow in your Bibles, as we first consider...
Then he asked for a volunteer. After an extended period of silence, one of the players stepped forward and agreed to go next. Ditka thanked him for his courage and said he could proceed as soon as the turtle was pried loose from his hand. The player said, "That's okay, Coach. You can leave the turtle where it is. Just stick out your other hand...and I'll bite that one instead." (Adapted from Hodgin 1994:257)
A. How does God provide deliverance from sin?
Paul addresses this in Rom 6, where he answers a hypothetical question: If, in Jesus, God provides sufficient grace for all my sin, should I sin more to get more grace? Put another way, what motivation does a person have not to sin? Why should you choose right behavior over wrong behavior? The immediate answer is that...
1. He gives you the alternative (Rom 6:16-23).That may not seem very motivational, but consider how your situation has changed.
Paul uses the metaphor of a slave and says that, before your justification, everything you did was in the service of one master. You may have thought that you were acting independently, that you were serving yourself, but you were really serving sin.1 As Paul states in...
Rom 6:16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the...teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.What God does through Jesus is to give you another option, not only a different way of doing things, but one that has a different outcome as well. Look at v. 21.
Rom 6:21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.How does God provide deliverance from sin? He gives you the alternative. You can now choose not to sin and decide to serve God instead.
The choice, though, sets up a conflict. Before justification, the decision is simple: If it feels good, do it. After justification, your decisions are complicated by these two disparate elements competing for your devotion: unrighteousness (sin)—what may feel good—and righteousness—what you know to be good. Paul describes the conflict in...
Rom 7:21 I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.Notice that Paul attributes considerable power to sin, sufficient to imprison him, to make him incapable of serving God.
You must never underestimate the effect sin can have on you. Sin comes in all shapes and sizes. Some sins appear relatively benign, almost unrecognizable. You think: "What harm could there be in this?" Other sins you recognize as such but may not consider them to be of sufficient magnitude to be detrimental. "I'll just do this a few times or for a little while. I can always back off if things get out of control." Whether by gradual submission or by outright surrender, Paul says you may become "a prisoner of the law of sin."
Graciously, God does not leave you to your own resources in this struggle against sin. Not only does He give you an alternative by allowing you to choose righteousness...
2. He gives you the ability (Rom 8:9-11; cf. Gal 5:16-25)....the means by which you can act on your decision. He gives you the supernatural assistance of His Spirit. As Paul says...
Rom 8:9 You...are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.Paul views the Spirit's work as evidence that a person is a Christian. He deals with specific examples of life "by the Spirit" in his letter to the Galatians. Keep your finger in Rom 8, and turn to Gal 5...
Gal 5:16 ...live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. [That sounds like Rom 7.] 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.... [T]hose who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.... 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.You may know people who claim to be Christians but whose lives do not support their assertion. They say they believe the Bible, but their behavior suggests otherwise. How do you reach them? What can you say to make them realize that God demands more than lip service? The direct approach that Paul uses here in Galatians may be too blunt for people you see on a regular basis. Most people will not respond favorably if you say to them: "You're obviously not a Christian 'cause you act like a pagan!" If the conversation turns to religious matters, you could lead into Paul's material by posing a question: "How has being a Christian changed the way you live?"
- If the person answers, "It hasn't," you can feign mild surprise and ask: "But doesn't the Bible indicate that certain things are characteristic of being a Christian?" and then cite some of the activities in Gal 5.
- If the person answers, "I don't know," you can say, "I read in one of Paul's letters...." and paraphrase Gal 5.
- If the person answers, "That stuff's outdated; we don't go by that any more," you can say, "But isn't it the Bible that tells us what a Christian is? For example..." and refer to Gal 5.
- If the person answers, "Yeah, the Bible talks about being a Christian. What of it?" then you may have to be blunt.
I mentioned earlier that we dare not underestimate the power of sin. Likewise, we should not underestimate the power of the Spirit. Look again at Rom 8, where Paul says in v. 11...
Rom 8:11 [I]f the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.Sin is indeed powerful; its effect—death—is ever with us, and we know that we will all die because of it. God's Spirit, however, is even more powerful, because the same Spirit who undid the effect of sin (and death) for Jesus and who will likewise undo the effect of sin (and death) for us, lives in us now and strengthens us to do the right thing at any given moment?2
How else does God provide deliverance from sin? He gives you the ability. You can act on your decisions to behave righteously.
The choices you make between sin and righteousness are not automatic. Paul speaks of being under the Spirit's control (8:6), by which he does not mean: "Let go and let God." The decision in each case is ultimately yours. God has given you the alternative and the ability, but He does not choose for you. You must make the choice, and it is not neutral, otherwise Paul would not speak of it as your "obligation." Nevertheless, God adds positive incentive to tilt the balance of your decision in favor of righteousness.
Rom 8:12 [W]e have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.The third way God provides spiritual deliverance is that...
3. He gives you the adoption (Rom 8:12-18).If knowing that you belong to God or experiencing the benefits of a holy life are not enough incentive, consider this: Proper decisions—choosing righteousness over sin—also entail an inheritance.
Rom 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.This inheritance from God is contingent, of course, on your faithfulness to God, which is not necessarily easy and which may involve "suffering." Remember, this is a struggle.
Consider, though, the first part of the verse. What can it possibly mean to be God's heir? What does God have that He could make yours? Take a moment and try to conceptualize the significance of that. ...The only term that comes to my mind is "staggering." One commentator put it this way
[Being an heir of God is to] have great expectations...expectations...of sharing not just in various blessings God is able to bestow but in that which is peculiarly His own, the perfect and imperishable glory of His own life. (Cranfield 1975 1:407)I can understand what it means to be my father's heir, but I am just not equipped to comprehend what it means to be an heir of God. No wonder Paul says in...
Rom 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.Over and above salvation, as if that were not enough, He gives you the adoption that only properly belongs only to an heir.
How does God provide deliverance from sin? He gives you the alternative of His righteousness, the ability of His Spirit, and the adoption as His heirs.
In addition to the internal struggle we wage against sin, we wage an external struggle against Satan, for by becoming God's children we become Satan's enemies. Moreover, as Pharaoh attempted to reclaim the Israelites after they left Egypt,3 Satan will attempt to reclaim us who have left his domain of darkness.4 What help do we have in resisting his efforts? That is the second question...
B. How does God provide deliverance from Satan?
Paul answers this in Eph 6. Using the metaphor of a soldier, he lists some of the means God has provided for our deliverance. He says,
Eph 6:10 [B]e strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.Several years ago, Frank Peretti, a Christian author, wrote two novels that quickly became very popular: This Present Darkness (1986) and Piercing the Darkness (1989). In these stories of ordinary people, Peretti shows that spiritual conflict is not limited to spectacular manifestations—such as exorcisms—but more often penetrates in subtle ways the mundane aspects of life: business transactions, political maneuverings, emotional conflicts, interpersonal relationships. His books contain periods of intense spiritual warfare as well as lulls in the fighting, and—you may have noticed, if you have read them—some of his characters are more sensitive to spiritual activity than others. In several ways, I think he mirrors the reality of our struggle. Often our lives are fairly uneventful; yet there are times when we may experience the hostility of evil in exceptional power or face a particularly strong temptation to sin (Bruce 1984:406), and it is for such a "day of evil" that Paul warns us to be prepared, so that when it comes, we will acquit ourselves well.
Paul lists a number of items that God has provided to deliver you from Satan. He begins in v. 14.
Eph 6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.This is probably not the truth of doctrine and the righteousness of faith (both of which come later). Rather, Paul borrows this figure of ethical qualities as armament from the Old Testament, specifically from Isaiah, who often uses truth and righteousness together to denote virtue in general.5 Thus, one way God delivers you from Satan is that...
1. He gives you an ethical system (Eph 6:14)...a way of living that is repulsive to the enemy.
As with any of this armament, it is useless if you engage the enemy without it. Yet this is often the point of temptation, to make you lay aside—just momentarily—that which you know is right.
Perhaps if we had the vivid view of struggle that Peretti offers in his novels, if we could see the demonic forces at work, we would not yield so readily. We do not see them, though, and the challenge for us is to retain our integrity anyway, lest we fall into enemy hands by neglecting the ethical system God provides to deliver us from Satan.
The next three elements, in vv. 15-17a, continue the description of armor and together point to the deliverance God provides in that...
2. He gives you a secure relationship (Eph 6:15-17a)....with Him. As Paul goes on to say in...
Eph 6:15 [Stand firm] with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17a Take the helmet of salvation.For the first of these, Paul again borrows from Isaiah.6 Although it is possible to understand the Ephesians reference to "feet fitted with...the gospel" as spreading the good news, both the figure and the verb suggest Paul is speaking about the gospel's value as a means of defense, that the Christian's footing is secure because, through the gospel, he who was once an enemy of God now has peace with God. Furthermore, as the believer receives this peace by faith, Paul makes continued faith in God—which he depicts as a shield—the means by which one repels Satanic attacks. The third element, "the helmet of salvation," also borrowed from Isaiah (see n. 4), is the eternal result of peace with God and of continued faith in God. No matter how heated the battle, the outcome for the believer remains the same: He will be saved.7
If Satan cannot get you to lay aside your ethical system, or if he succeeds in that, he may also try to incapacitate you by making you question your relationship with God:
Consider again how holy God is and how rotten you are. Be honest now. Do you actually believe that He accepts you, knowing what you're really like, or that He would use you in some constructive way? Of course not. Face it, you're a lost cause.Now if you have ever had such a conversation with yourself, you know following that line of reasoning can put you out of commission for a while...until you remember that God gives you a secure relationship with Him, which delivers you from this tactic of Satan.
The final part of the armament, and only offensive piece in this list of equipment, is in.8
Eph 6:17b [Take] the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.What Satan finds most threatening is God's word, and the Bible often depicts the devil either attempting to thwart God's word or being thwarted by it.
- In Satan's successful convincing of Eve, he undermines God's word ("Did God really say you'd die? Nah, you won't die.").
- In Satan's unsuccessful convincing of Jesus, the Savior used God's word to undermine the devil's work (to each temptation Jesus replied, "It is written... 9
3. He gives you a true word (Eph 6:17b).How do you use this weapon of the word? Unlike most defensive armor, a sword requires skill. The soldier must practice with it, developing a feel for its weight, balance, and capabilities; he must drill the movements for which it is designed. At first, his motions will be stiff and clumsy, but, over time, he will gain a familiarity with the sword that will make it seem an extension of his arm. So it is with God's word. Just as a soldier spends time working with his sword, so you must spend time working with the word, studying its capabilities as well as its limitations, and engaging in the constant practice of its teaching. Then, when you face temptation, the testing of your spiritual preparedness, you will be able to bring the word to bear and gain deliverance. Unfortunately, too many Christians are put off by the amount of work that weapons' training involves; they become "weekend warriors." As a result, they develop only a rudimentary skill and then wonder why they do not experience greater spiritual victory. Are you taking regular advantage of the opportunities the church offers to hone your sword-wielding ability (e.g., SS)? If you put off preparing, you will not be able to take the offensive when that opportunity arises. You may hold your position, if the rest of your armor is in place, but you will not advance the kingdom.
How does God provide deliverance from Satan? He gives you an ethical system repulsive to the enemy, a secure relationship with God, and a true word by which you can actually fight back.
Like it or not, you are engaged in a struggle against sin and Satan, a struggle in which you can take a pretty severe beating if you are not careful. Justification does not make you invulnerable, but neither are you defenseless. God Provides Spiritual Deliverance for His People, deliverance from sin and from Satan, deliverance that began when God "rescued [you] from the domain of darkness and brought [you] into the kingdom of the Son he loves" (Col 1:13).
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Relevant and civil comments are welcome. Whether there will be any response depends on whether Dr. Manuel notices them and has the time and inclination to respond or, if not, whether I feel competent to do so.
Jim Skaggs