by Earl L. Martin Chapter 4 Concerning Christian Experience and Life… We have glimpsed something of the nature and purpose of the Eternal Father in the sending of his Son for the redemption of the sinful race. Christ, who is salvation, “the way, the truth and the life,” has made a new way to God. Christ came as Savior: “Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). A savior, if he really is one, saves. If Christ is to be our Savior he must do something for us. What is this he does for us? It is our purpose in this chapter to find out, at least in part. Christ has provided redemption. Man must respond to that redemptive purpose of God in Christ. Christian Experience… Christian experience is an experience of Christ and with Christ. It is being brought into right relation with God in and through Christ; it is being brought into right relation with one’s fellow men; it is being brought into right relation inwardly—within the person himself. We speak of this experience in many ways, using many figures of speech, and illustrate it in many ways. Some of these ways may state it more clearly than others, but all are needed if the full scope of what God has done, does, and will do for man is to be understood, even in part. Christian Experience is an Experience of Christ… First of all lay this down as a basic fact: Christ is life: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Then add to this the further basic fact: Christ came to give life: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (10:10); “Because I live, ye shall live also” (14:19). This means not only a future life but also a present life, for “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life” (5:24). This life is a new kind of life—even eternal life—for “this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (17:3). This new life here is the guarantee of life beyond life, and leads to the fulfillment of life even in death. One who has this life can say with Paul, “O death, where is thy sting?” (I Cor. 15:55). Let us therefore examine these facts and this experience of life in the light of the teaching of the Word which is “the word of life” (Phil. 2:16). Christian experience comes through a new birth. This new birth comes by receiving Christ. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11–13). This “receive him” means to receive him by faith, “even to them that believe on his name.” More will be said about this in another connection in this chapter. For as we try to think through what God provides in this experience, we need also to think of the conditions on which this experience may be had by man. This concept of Christian experience as a new kind of life makes it easier to comprehend the declaration of Jesus to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). This new life is a new kind of life; it is the life of the Spirit, for “that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (vs. 6). This fact is indisputable. Jesus would say to us as to Nicodemus, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (vs. 7). This is another of God’s “musts”—a divine imperative. The new birth is the beginning of a new kind of life. No one can be in right relation with God until he is “born again,” which means “born from above.” No one is in the “beloved community” or family of God, or kingdom of God, until he is born again. This truth of the new birth is expressed also in the term “regeneration.” Sinful man is dead in sin and must be made alive. It is also called a “new creation.” “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature” (II Cor. 5:17). One translation gives this as “new creation.” This is the fulfillment of a promise given through Ezekiel, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (36:26). Christian experience is an experience of sonship. “To as many as received him to them gave he power to become sons of God” (John 1:12) is worthy of being proclaimed over and over again. This means that through Christ the “only begotten Son” we can become sons of God. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Jesus Christ” (Gal. 4:6–7), even “joint heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17). Thus we see that in Christian experience a new relationship is established on the basis of a new kind of life given by God. The life of God is in the life of man. God comes to man in Christ. There comes the consciousness of a new companionship. This is a historical fact but it is more—it is a present spiritual reality. It is a fact in human history, but it is also a fact in human experience. Thus we go forth not just with a “doctrine” but with “good news”; not just with an idea of God but in a new relationship with God. Man may know God for himself, directly and with his whole self. Here is the solution to man’s problem; here is the way out of his predicament. Christian Experience Means Salvation… The term salvation is a broad term and has many meanings which are to be determined by the context. It is used here to mean God’s work of saving men. Sin brings separation. Salvation brings communion. Sin is enmity. Christ brings reconciliation. Sin is guilt; salvation is pardon or forgiveness. Sin is defilement; salvation means cleansing. Sin brings disintegration of life and personality; Christ brings integration or wholeness of personality. Sin is spiritual death; salvation through Christ is life. Other words of the same or similar meaning as, or included in, or concomitant to, the word salvation are such expressions as reconciliation, redemption, deliverance, conversion, justification, sanctification, remission, forgiveness, pardon, regeneration, the new birth, finding God, accepting Christ, the baptism of the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, perfect love. For our purpose we need not be technical. We shall use these words to help us to gain and give insights into the totality of what God does for men in Jesus Christ in bringing them back into right relationship with himself, with themselves, and with other selves. Salvation is from something to something. Man is to be saved from sin. He is to be saved to God. It is a taking away of the wrong and a giving and receiving of the right. It is both negative and positive, and the negative is always in order that we may come to the positive. Salvation is being converted from sin to holiness. The lost is found. Cleansing is in order that the heart may be filled. Conversion is turning from; it is also turning toward. The house is not only swept and garnished, but occupied. It is a change of allegiance from the bondage of sin to freedom in Christ. We are to be saved from something, to something, for something. Christ is the Savior. “Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). A savior, if he really is one, saves. And this is precisely what Christ does. Saviorhood is of the very essence of Christ, and salvation is the universal need of humanity. This we believe and this we can join even with angels in proclaiming, “Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11). This Savior which was once born in Bethlehem can be eternally born in us. Salvation is saving from sin. Salvation must be thought of in terms of moral and spiritual reality if it is to have meaning. It must take into consideration sin and guilt on the part of man, and judgment and grace on the part of God. “He was manifested to take away our sins” (I John 3:5). He “gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world” (Gal. 1:4). Jesus saves from the guilt of sin, the power of sin, the pollution of sin, the penalty of sin. Salvation is forgiveness of sin. Forgiveness is one of the great truths of the Bible and one of the vital realities of Christian experience. The problem of the universe, let it be reiterated, is the problem of sin. In Christ there is forgiveness of sin. Forgiveness is a miracle of grace, for there is no forgiveness in nature; nature always exacts her “pound of flesh,” Shylocklike. Nature’s law is “reap what you sow.” Forgiveness is the removal of the guilt of sin and the remission of the penalty of sin. This man needs, and this God provides, and this the Bible clearly teaches. This forgiveness God gives through Christ out of the riches of his grace. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the richness of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). “Even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14). “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Ps. 32:1). He is blessed or happy because the ghosts of the past are laid low and the fear of judgment is taken away. Salvation means restoration of holiness. Saving from sin means saving to holiness. Holiness is more than a showy piousness, or a sentimental self-righteousness, or a holier-than-thou hypocrisy. It is a power, a condition of being, and a life. Holiness is wholeness, purity, sincerity---dedication. More will be said on this in other sections. Justification by Faith… The word justification is used here not to set it over against the use of the word salvation, for it is included in that term. Nor is it set over against the concepts of forgiveness, remission, regeneration, or conversion, for it is simply another aspect of God’s work of grace in Christian experience and is concomitant with the experience which these words describe. But justification by faith was a dominant emphasis of the Protestant Reformation because it is so prominent in the New Testament, and it needs to be a focus of our faith and message today. Forgiveness, pardon, and remission are somewhat synonymous with the word and idea of justification. Justification is a judicial term, as is pardon. They all have reference to our relationship to God, to our standing before him. When we are forgiven, pardoned, when our sins are remitted, or we are justified, we not only stand in right relationship to God but also to man. This change we call regeneration or the new birth. Since God is just, and since “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), all need to be justified. The ground of our faith for justification is in Jesus Christ and the price he paid for our salvation. What Jesus did on the cross is the basis for God’s forgiveness: “That he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth” (vs. 26). Because of this we may be “justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (vs. 24). “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:1). It is this justification in the sight of God which makes salvation real and true. Justification is the work, not of man, but of God. Sanctification by the Spirit… This, too, is included in the purpose of redemption as it is set forth in the New Testament. It is here being considered as that operation of God’s grace in the hearts and lives of his believing and dedicated children, which purifies their hearts and lives by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. In considering this, it may be well to consider something of the work of the Holy Spirit in general in God’s redemptive purpose. The work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third Person in the concept of God as a holy Trinity. He is always regarded as personal. So anything we think of as the work of the Spirit is the work of a Person. He has always been at work even in creation, for “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). In the Old Testament period he came to men on special occasions to accomplish the work of God in and through them. He came to Jesus in the hour of his baptism in the form of a dove. In the work of saving men, it is the Spirit who convinces and convicts of sin: “When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin” (John 16:8). He works in the process of the new birth: “born of water and of the Spirit” (3:5). He witnesses to sonship when one is born again: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16). He reveals the Son to us even as the Son revealed the Father: “He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you” (John 16:15). He teaches and guides the believing child of God: “He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (14:26); “He will guide you into all truth” (16:13). All these he did for the first disciples, and all these he does for his children in all ages. The Spirit fills with his Presence. Before Jesus went away he promised to send the Holy Spirit in full measure and as an abiding presence. “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7). In giving the church its work to do Jesus said, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). In obedience to his command, and with faith in his promise, his followers tarried in Jerusalem, waiting for the fulfillment. “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place … . And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (2:1–4). When the conversion of the gathered multitude followed Peter’s preaching on that same day, Peter reiterated the promise of the same Spirit to them: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord your God shall call” (vss. 38–39). Later when other thousands were converted we read, “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (4:31). Thus it continues in the life of the early church as recorded in Acts and the Epistles. The Spirit cleanses with his Presence. This work of divine infilling is also called sanctification. In referring to the experience of the believers on the day of Pentecost and in explaining what happened there, Peter said, “Giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:8–9). Jesus prayed, in his high-priestly prayer, as recorded in John 17, for the sanctification of his people. That prayer was for the church—his people—not the world. It was for that church which he was to “purchase with his own blood” that he prayed. Therefore, we are ready to hear Paul say, “Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25–27). A sanctified church means a church whose members are dedicated, set apart for the service of God, cleansed, and filled with the Indwelling Presence, and hence has power. This promised power is the power of purity, of holy love, of dedicated purpose, of oneness of faith and effort. The Spirit works by giving himself to men as men give themselves to him. As man gives himself in surrender and dedication and consecration, God responds by giving the Spirit, who gives power for life and witness. If every child of God will obey Paul’s call in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service,” we would find that Christian living would be lifted to a higher plane, and there would be a great upsurge in power for service. Man’s Part in Becoming a Christian… In the analysis of God’s work in bringing men into this new life in Christ frequent reference was made to man’s part in the process. God’s work in man’s heart is conditioned by what man makes it possible for God to do. God has taken the initiative in the saving process by sending his Son as Savior and his Spirit to convict men of sin. God works through the revelation which he has given of himself in his Word. But man must respond to what God does, and then he will find God responding by doing what he has promised to do in his Word. Man’s response to the convicting and drawing of the Spirit is most commonly spoken of as repentance and faith. Repentance… The one who feels deeply guilty will deeply repent. As the Spirit of conviction takes hold man responds by being sorry for his sin, by turning from sin, by “changing his mind” and his whole attitude toward sin. For repentance is “to think again,” “to change one’s mind,” “to turn about.” This “mind-changing” must be moral and spiritual if it is to have Christian significance. It is changing one’s mind about sin, about life itself, about God and his will for man. It issues in a changed life. It is “turning about” from a self-centered life to a God-centered life. It is a turning from something and a turning to something—from sin and to God. Real repentance is never a sorrow unto despair. It is shot through and through with hope. “Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of” (II Cor. 7:10). True repentance leads the person to a clearing of the past by confessing his sin to God and making his wrongs right with others as far as that is possible. It causes one to have the spirit that characterized Zaccheus who, when he came into the holy presence of Jesus, wanted to straighten up his life by restoring ill-gotten gains, thus making reparation. This repentance is personal sorrow for personal sin against a personal God. But it must be a door which leads to a changed life. It is because man repents that God can forgive and that man can receive forgiveness. Desire to know God must lead to decision to take the steps necessary to knowing him. That which has broken the relationships of life must be put out of the way. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13) is the promise. It is by obedience and prayer that a foundation is laid for faith that God forgives and saves. Faith… To stress these two steps, repentance and faith, is not to set them over against each other, or to say which precedes the other, for they go along together in many respects. It may be said that one will not repent unless he has some faith that God will forgive. But on the other hand, one cannot have faith unless he repents. The two together are to be understood simply as the moving of the soul toward God. Faith is repentance made hopeful. Faith means faith in God as revealed in Jesus Christ. It is always personal faith in a personal God which brings salvation. “To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become children of God.” The faith which brings man into right relation with God is the repentant sinner’s perfect personal trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior from sin, for the process is “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Faith is more than mumbling a formula or mouthing a creed. Believing means choosing, deciding, committing, giving one’s self to God who in response to man’s giving gives Himself. It is faith in a living Christ, in whom, and in whom alone, is salvation. He gives his saving help to shattered, frustrated, thwarted, sinful men. Faith is believing the good news that life can be made new—can be made over again. Faith is man’s opening of his heart to God by repentance and submission to the will of God. The call of God is “repent ye, and believe the gospel,” the good news. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38) was the way Peter answered the question, “What shall we do?” Paul answered the question of the Philippian jailer by saying, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (16:31). Peter said “Repent”; Paul said “Believe.” Which was right? Both were; for the two go together, and there cannot be one in the fullest sense without the other. This applies to “every creature”: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:15–16). All this requires humility, for only he who becomes like a little child can enter the kingdom of heaven. See Matthew 18:3. The Christian Life… Christian life grows out of Christian experience—an experience of Christ in one’s life. From this heart throne Christ sways the scepter over the entire life. A New Way of Life… “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (II Cor. 5:17). This means new desires, new habits, new motives. A Christian life means a consistent life. It is consistent with the profession we make, the name we bear. We bear the name of Christ and profess to be his followers. Paul could say, “Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblamably we behaved ourselves among you” (I Thess. 2:10). A Christian life means a holy life. “As he which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation” (I Pet. 1:15). This means a life separated from the evil of the world. This means a clean, pure life. A Christian life is an obedient life. This means obedience to the will of God as revealed in his Word and in the leadings of his Spirit. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” A Christian life is one bearing the fruit of the Spirit. This is set forth by Paul in his letter to the Galatians, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Gal. 5:22–23). The Christian life is a life of service. The Christian experience inculcates the widest sympathies and makes one’s heart go out to all who have need of his help. The Christian throws himself enthusiastically into every effort which is for the welfare of his fellow man, especially in the work of saving men for God. The world needs the gospel and those who know Christ as Savior are the only ones who can take the good news to them. “Son, go work today in my vineyard” is the call of Christ ringing out today. A Life of Blessedness… The Christian life is a blessed life. The Beatitudes of Matthew 5:1–12 show the nature of the “blessed” or happy life. This scale, or standard, of happiness is set over against the world’s concepts of happiness and has to do with the quality or spirit of life expressing itself in right action. The promises of God are for all those who will believe them and build their lives upon them. This means a life of faith, not just in the promises but in the Promiser. We are not only justified by faith, but the Christian life is a life of faith—“The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17). We are told that if we will “seek … first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, all these things shall be added unto” us (Matt. 6:33). The “all things” include the temporal and physical needs of man—food clothing, shelter, etc. God is concerned about all that concerns man, even his physical needs. God’s promises include physical healing for his children. The general promises of God are inclusive enough to take in divine healing even if there were no specific promises to that effect. Divine healing is healing of disease, sickness, and affliction by the prayer of faith. Christ not only healed when he was here on earth, but he is “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Over and above all this, the Bible specifically promises healing in response to faith and obedience. “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray … . Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (Jas. 5:13–15). The promises of God cover all the needs of his children of faith, both in the life which now is and in that which is to come. The Christian life is a full life. The Christian life is a good way of life. It is a life of devotion to the will of God, of prayer, of reading the Bible, of communing with God, of fellowship, of worship, of service, and cooperation in the work of God. The Christian life reaches into all areas of the inner life and out into all areas of life without. The Christian way is an enlargement of life. It is not suppression of life, limitation of life, restriction of life, or repression of life. It is expansion, release, liberation, enlistment, unfolding, completion; all of life’s powers having been redeemed are released and energized, then engaged in living and serving. Summary… We have studied about God. He is. He is Creator, Sustainer, Provider—the ground and goal of all that is. God has revealed himself in nature, in his created beings, and supremely in Christ, in whom he comes as Redeemer. Christ, by his atoning death, saves men. Christ came as “the way, the truth, and the life,” and he came that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly. The life which God would impart to us and which Christ came to give us is made effective in us by the Holy Spirit, the third person of the adorable Trinity. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life. He, by the new birth, brings new life. He brings life into right relation with God, who is life, and with others. The Holy Spirit cleanses and fills with power to live and witness. This is the Christian way of life. Salvation is a new kind of life, a new order of life. It makes man a son of his heavenly Father. It is an “inwardness” of life as well as an “outwardness” of life. This salvation is man’s when by faith in God and repentance toward our Lord Jesus Christ, man receives Christ as his personal Savior This material has a copyright. For further information, contact us at: "omifren@zoominternet.net" NOTE: ALSO AVAILABLE IN BOOK FORM FROM: Reformation Publishers 222 University Drive P.O. Box 276 Prestonsburg, KY 41653-0276 Reformation Publishers Orders... 1-800-765-2464 Information... 1-606-886-7222 Fax... 1-606-886-8222 Email... rpublisher@aol.com