IN THE previous chapters we concentrated on God's activity, but in this chapter and the next, we shall concentrate on the individual who comes to salvation. As we look at the New Testament, we find that what happens to the individual is both an internal and an external happening.
The Church has a long history of overemphasizing either the internal at the expense of the external, or the external at the expense of the internal. The first overemphasis results in private, feeling-level Christianity which almost drowns itself in its own subjective experiences. The second overemphasis results in a “form of religion but denying the power of it” (2 Tim. 3:5). Neither is biblical; neither is satisfactory. Three scriptural passages which make it abundantly clear that both the internal and the external are to be viewed together are these:
Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Belief is an internal reality, whereas confession is external.
Acts 2:38: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Repentance is an internal reality whereas baptism is external.
James 2:22: “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works.” Verse 24: “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Verse 26: “Faith apart from works is dead.” Faith is an internal reality whereas works are external.
In all three of these scriptural references, the internal of the external realities are held together. In this chapter, for purposes of analysis, we will focus only on the internal realities: belief, repentance, and faith. The external realities will be examined in the following chapter.
Belief
The Greek words for “belief” and “faith” are very closely related. Both imply wholehearted trust. However, the scriptures mentioned above suggest a distinction between the two. In Romans 10:9 the emphasis is on the individual's heartfelt belief in the resurrection. The persons to whom Paul was writing had not been witnesses of the resurrection itself. What Paul is referring to here is heartfelt belief in the proclamation about the resurrection.
This is also what Romans 10:14 refers to: “But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?” The whole idea is that there is a message to be proclaimed which in turn needs to be believed. The subject matter of the proclaimed message has to be believed. This reminds us that one dimension of our entrance into the life of salvation is that of wholehearted belief in the gospel proclamation. The word Gospel is stressed because there is great danger in getting the idea that belief in just anything that is proclaimed is sufficient for salvation. We need to be reminded that one does not enter into the life of salvation by believing everything that preachers say. The only way to enter into the life of salvation is to believe the New Testament message regarding the saving life of Jesus Christ. Only when the preacher is proclaiming that message is there any message worthy of belief leading to salvation. It is not the mere fact that the preacher says it that makes the message one of salvation but the fact that the preacher proclaims the actual New Testament message of salvation. A salvation message is not a matter of who says it but of what he or she says. Paul puts it bluntly in Galatians 1:8, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed.” To be saved one has to believe the gospel message.
Repentance
To repent means to change one's mind. It involves a turning from sin to God. Probably most would agree that the best known biblical account of repentance is that of the prodigal son in Luke 15. In verse 18, he changes his mind about his father. Whereas he had desired to go it alone, he decides now to return home: “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.’ ” That is precisely what repentance is all about. It involves changing directions by abandoning the old one, and setting one's mind and heart in the new one.
Repentance is not a matter of mechanically mumbling some words of repentance. The prodigal son could have mumbled the words “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,’ ” without ever leaving the swine fields. He could even have made a ritual out of saying these words. Perhaps once every seven days he could have gone to a special place in the swine fields for the specific purpose of performing his ritual of words. That could have continued for years. The prodigal might even have decided to become super-religious by going to his special place every day in order to say his words of repentance. Nevertheless, he would still have been in the swine fields instead of in his father's household. It was only when he actually arose, went, and spoke heart to heart with his father that he entered into the life of salvation.
God's salvation cannot be enjoyed by those who merely go through the ritual of repentance while remaining in the swine fields. The only way to salvation is an actual turning from the swine fields of sin to the father's household. Second Corinthians 7:10 tells us that “godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation.” True repentance means that a person is disgusted with his or her life of sin and is willing to turn away from it.
The New Testament is crystal clear about the necessity for repentance. Acts 17:30 says that God “commands all men everywhere to repent.” But not only does God command it, Jesus came for the purpose of calling “sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). The divine will is expressed again in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow about his promise … not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” These and many other scriptures show the absolute necessity of repentance. Acts 2:38 perfectly summarizes this in connection with our salvation: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” And Acts 3:19 says “Repent … and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out.”
Faith
As we have already said, the Greek words translated as “belief” and “faith,” respectively, are very closely connected. However, as we study the use of the word faith in James 2:22–26, we see that it implies the experience of confident trust. To be a person of faith in relationship to Jesus Christ is to confidently entrust one's whole life to him to such an extent that one's external works give evidence of that trust.
Faith (that is, confident trust in the saving work of Christ) is a major theme of Paul's writings. In Galatians 3:26, he says: “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” And again, in Romans 5:1–2, he writes: “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.”
Mid-Chapter Summary
We have discussed three necessary characteristics of our entrance into the life of salvation:
1. belief—heartfelt assent to the gospel message.
2. repentance—turning away from sin and returning to the household of salvation.
3. faith—confident trust in the saving life of Jesus Christ.
None of these three dimensions is dispensable.
Neither repentance without belief, nor faith without belief is sufficient for participation in the life of salvation.
Neither belief without repentance nor faith without repentance is sufficient.
Neither belief without faith, nor repentance without faith is sufficient. Our participation in the salvation life of Christ is possible only on the assumption: (1) that we heartily believe in the gospel message, and that our repentance and faith are based on that message; (2) that we actually abandon our life of sin and turn to the life of God, and that our belief in the gospel message and faith in Jesus Christ are inextricably bound up with our repentance; and (3) that we confidently trust in Christ and his salvation, and that our belief and repentance are accompanying circumstances for that trust.
The New Birth
Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus refers to this inward reality as being “born anew” (John 3:3). Of course, Jesus was speaking of being “born of the Spirit” (v. 8). The Holy Spirit is the divine agent who moves upon the troubled waters of our human souls and creates the believing mind, repentant heart, and trusting soul.
The person who is born of the Spirit has a new identity, a new orientation, and a new kind of existence. His or her identity is no longer that of sinner but of believer, due to the fact that sin is no longer the reference point for the new life; Christ's saving life is now the reference point. God no longer sees him or her in relationship to sin, but in relationship to Christ.
Some Christians are eager to call themselves sinners. This is quite often the result of their genuine humility in the presence of the perfectly holy God. However, the New Testament avoids this way of referring to Christians. Rather, they are referred to as “the company of those who believed” (Acts 4:32); “disciples” (Acts 6:1); “God's beloved” (Rom. 1:7); “the church of God … those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2); “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ” (Col. 1:2); and “those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1).
As those who have a new identity, the “company of those who believe” exist within a completely new context. As Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” The believer's new context for existence is the life of Christ, and not the life of sin. He or she is “in Christ.” Consequently, the old orientation to life has passed away and the new orientation has come.
In the World but Not of It
The believer continues to live in the world of old things but his or her life is not oriented around the old. The prayer of Jesus in John 17 reminds us of the kind of existence belonging to the believer. Jesus says: “I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world … I have sent them into the world” (v. 15–18).
First, Jesus recognizes that believers are in the world of sin; second, he declares that they are not of the world. Jesus was not talking in riddles. Rather, he was referring to the fact that believers have a nonworldly, a nonsinful orientation even while they continue living in the sinful world. It is somewhat like a Scandinavian who spends five years in Africa and then returns to his native land, thoroughly Africanized. He lives the rest of his life, oriented to African culture even though he lives in Scandinavia. Even so, with believers. We live in the world of our natural birth, but because of the new birth our life orientation is built around the saving life of Christ. We have partaken of a heavenly call (see Heb. 3:l) and indeed of the very life of Christ (see Heb. 3:14), even while we remain in the world.
Sabbath Rest
Hebrews 4:3 describes this whole experience thusly: “For we who have believed enter that rest.” The writer of Hebrews is referring to the salvation life of Jesus Christ as the life of rest. We rest from trying to earn our salvation, from trying to please God in and of ourselves, from attempting to please God with our good works and religiosity. In verses 9 and 10, the writer says, “So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God; for whoever enters God's rest also ceases from his labors as God did from his.” As God labored to bring holy glory to his name, even so sinful creatures labor to bring unholy glory to their names. That, of course, is contrary to the original purpose of God. Our labor—like God's—was to be for the purpose of bringing holy glory to God, but sin misdirected the purpose of our labor, so that sinful humanity labors for self-glory. We need rest from that sinful labor even as God rested from his creative labor, and that sabbath rest can be found only in the salvation life of Jesus Christ.
The Divine Invitation
Jesus issued an invitation to all who labor in sin: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:28–29).
God through the Holy Spirit issues the divine call, convicts of sin, convinces us of our need for salvation, bears witness to Christ, and moves upon our hearts, all for the purpose of bringing us into the saving life of Jesus Christ. But our unbelief, hardness of heart, and lack of trust keep us out of his saving life. Hebrews 4:2 speaks of those who do not benefit from the message of salvation, because it does not “meet with faith in the hearers.” That is bad news. But the good news is that when that message of salvation is met with faith in the hearers, they enter freely into the saving life of Christ. To do so is to be born anew, to be born of the Spirit, to become a new creation, to enter into divine rest. All of this is a wonderful, inward experience. In the next chapter we will turn our attention toward the outward signs of this inward reality.
For Discussion
In The Mid-Chapter Summary the following are mentioned: repentance without belief; faith without belief; belief without repentance; faith without repentance; belief without faith; repentance without faith. Describe each of these dilemmas.
Chapter 6
The Outward Signs of Salvation
IN THE last chapter, three scriptural passages which have to do with our salvation were referred to: Romans 10:9, Acts 2:38, and James 2:22, 24, 26. We have already dealt with the inward reality spoken of in these passages. In this chapter, the emphasis will be on the outward signs: Romans 10:9 speaks about confessing with our lips that Jesus is Lord; the reference in Acts 2:38 is to being “baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ”; and James 2:22, 24, 26 stresses the good works of the believer.
Are we saved by the external signs of confessing with the lips, baptism, and good works? The answer is an absolute no. Without heartfelt belief, repentance, and faith, these external signs have no value whatsoever in connection with our salvation.
Are these external signs, then, optional? The answer again is an absolute no. In fact, all are part of the plan of salvation. Instead of being optional accessories to the Christian life they are standard equipment.
Confession
One of Paul's clear-cut statements about salvation includes an emphasis on confession: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart … you will be saved” (emphasis mine). He is referring to an outward testimony of allegiance to Jesus as Lord. The Greek word translated “confess,” means “to speak the same thing, to declare one's agreement with someone else.” Christian confession is to declare one's agreement with the lordship of Jesus Christ. It is a matter of openly declaring where one's allegiance is. Jesus in Matthew 10:32 says, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father” (KJV). The idea is that Jesus Christ will openly declare before the Father that we are his on the condition that we openly declare our allegiance to Christ here on earth.
We are not dealing, in this discussion, with Christian witnessing. The purpose of witnessing is to tell others about the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the purpose of confession is to bring one's internal loyalty out into the open so that both the one confessing and those to whom he or she confesses may be able to identify one's loyalty.
Confession objectifies our internal allegiance. It takes it out of the interior world of the individual and places it in the exterior world of a society of people.
We can illustrate the matter this way: My wife and I have three children. All of them in the course of their early development, began calling me daddy. Even prior to their awareness of that word, they knew that I was someone special to them and would stretch out their arms toward me not as to a stranger but as to their daddy. But as time went on and they heard me referred to as daddy, they began saying the word. Eventually they said “my daddy.” What were they doing? They were objectifying their inward knowledge and feeling of trust. Their confession gave both them and everyone around them an objective reference point. Their internal life became identifiable in their confession. That is exactly what confession does for believers. Their internal belief becomes identifiable in their confession.
The seriousness with which confessionless faith is viewed can be seen in the final comment of John 12:42–43: “Nevertheless many even of the authorities believed in him [Jesus], but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (emphasis mine).
Baptism
There are some Christians who overemphasize baptism to the point of making very unscriptural claims. In my correspondence file is a letter from a preacher who believes that the new birth takes place in the baptismal waters. He writes: “The blood is not contacted until one obeys Christ and obeying Christ means being baptized in water.” Again, he writes, “Inner cleansing cannot, does not, and never will take place before the body is immersed in water.”
At the other extreme are those Christians who de-emphasize water baptism by ignoring that it is a scripturally revealed part of the plan of salvation. They view it as a helpful yet optional ritual, but not as really pertinent to salvation itself. However, to do this is to ignore the abundant, New Testament evidence that it was always assumed that believers would be baptized. The New Testament does not teach that the water of baptism has any saving power, but it does teach that those who desire God's life of salvation will follow their Lord in baptism. Jesus states this assumption in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Throughout the Book of Acts we find people believing and being baptized: in Acts 8:12 we are told that the Samaritans who believed were baptized; in Acts 8:38 that the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized; in Acts 9:18 that Paul was baptized by Ananias after his experience of Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road; in Acts 10:47 that Peter instructs new believers to be baptized; in Acts 16:15 that Lydia was baptized; in Acts 16:33 that the jailer in Philippi was baptized along with his whole family. Acts 18:8 says that “many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”
As an outward sign of an inward reality, baptism serves as a reminder of the kind of life which believers are to live. First, believers do believe something, that is, that Jesus Christ died for their sins and rose again. The essential meaning of the whole baptismal action—down into the water and up out of the water—is dependent on one's belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 6:3–4 sets forth the meaning of baptism on the assumption that believers actually do believe in the death and resurrection of Christ: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” This scripture makes no sense unless those being referred to believe in the death and resurrection of Christ.
Baptism, then, is an enacted sign of one's belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the way by which the individual believer is publicly identified with the community of Christian belief, the center of which is the gospel of the cross and resurrection.
Second, baptism is a sign of the way believers are to live from day to day. They are to “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4) having “died with Christ” (v. 8). “So,” verse 11 says, “you … must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” That is how believers live, day by day: dead to sin and alive to God. Baptism serves as a sign for that way of living. In this passage Paul is enjoining his readers to live out their baptism. He is drawing their attention to the sign of identification which has marked their lives. Third, baptism is a sign of our resurrection hope. Romans 6:5 says, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
Baptism, then, is a God-ordained sign that we are participants in the saving life of Christ. To reject baptism is to reject the perfect plan of salvation. The assent of believers to this God-ordained sign gives evidence that they have indeed begun living the yes life to God. It is in that same sense that 1 Peter 3:21 says, “Baptism … now saves you … as an appeal to God for a clear conscience.” The New International Version translates it: “This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.” To refuse baptism is to say no to God's plan. To assent to baptism is to continue saying yes to his plan. It is our pledge of a good conscience toward God. Our conscience is truly good only when it is saying yes to God. Belief in the gospel, repentance, and faith are our inward yes to God. Baptism is an external mark of an internal yes. Since baptism is God's will as well as the divine occasion for the expression of the believer's yes, 2 Peter 3:21 says that baptism saves us. For a person to say no to baptism is a spiritual crisis of extreme proportions.
But the question which inevitably arises has to do with the plight of believers who suffer physical death between the moment of their personal faith and their water baptism. Are they lost?
We can deal with this matter by looking at Acts 10 which tells about Peter preaching to the people at the house of Cornelius. Verse 44 says, “While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.” That they believed in Christ before the Holy Spirit fell upon them is made very clear in Acts 11:17 when in defense of his work among the Gentiles, Peter said, “If … God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” (emphasis mine). Peter is talking about the gift of the Holy Spirit. While Peter was preaching, they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, entered into the life of salvation, and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Can there be any question but that they were saved? That they were is confirmed by such passages as Acts 16:31 which says simply, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved,” as well as Romans 10:9–10 which we have already considered at length.
And so we can be sure that they had indeed entered into the divine life. If they had died physically at that moment of faith they would have enjoyed eternal life, even though they had not yet been baptized.
However, the fact of the matter is that they did not die physically at that moment, and therefore were not cut off from the opportunity to follow through with their water baptism. Acts 10:47 reports Peter asking, “Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Verse 48 says that Peter “commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”
What if they had refused baptism? That would have been a major spiritual crisis. There is not the slightest suggestion that baptism was optional. It was part of the divine plan. Baptism in and of itself did not save them but assenting to God's whole plan of salvation did.
Good Works
James 2 stresses the necessity of good works as a sign of our faith. The emphasis of James is to be viewed in connection with Ephesians 2:9 which reminds us that we are saved not “because of works, lest any man should boast.” Nevertheless, according to James, our works do serve as external signs of our internal faith. James 2:26 says that “faith apart from works is dead,” and 1 Peter 1:17 refers to the Father's judgment of us according to our deeds.
The evidence of Scripture leads us to three conclusions:
1. Some good works are the efforts of person who have no faith in Jesus Christ. Such works are the result of the innate law of the conscience. Romans 2:14–15 says, “When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them.”
2. No works, however humanly good and noble can save us (Eph. 2:9). Also, 2 Timothy 1:9 refers to God “who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus.”
3. Nevertheless, the inner life of the believer is made manifest in his or her good works (James 2:22, 24, and 26). Humanity's capacity for good works is somewhat like clothes. Sinful humanity picks up these clothes and uses them to cover its spiritual nakedness without ever putting them on.
Believers, however, put them on. In the first instance, the clothes are misused, but in the second they are worn properly.
Although this analogy is by no means perfect, it does remind us of three matters: first, the capacity for good works belongs to humanity as humanity; second, the capacity for good works can be either misused or used properly; and third, there is no possibility of genuine faith which does not make proper use of the human capacity for good works. Instead of throwing away that capacity, the person of faith enlivens that capacity with spiritual fullness so that as another looks at the clothes of good works, he or she sees not mere good works but life signs of the person of faith.
Christian Gatherings
On the night before Jesus' crucifixion he initiated the coming together of his disciples strictly for the purpose of focusing on his salvation work (Matt. 26:17–30). In that gathering, Jesus “took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’ ” (I Cor. 11:23–25). According to Matthew 26:27–29, when Jesus gave the cup to them, he said “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”
The Church from the very beginning of its history has continued to gather for the Lord's Supper. Paul gives important instructions in I Corinthians 11:26: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”
The Lord's Supper is a divinely appointed way for proclaiming the gospel message, that is, “the Lord's death until he comes.” Inherent in this proclamation is an emphasis on what happened at Calvary (“the Lord's death”); an emphasis on the present reality of our resurrected and living Lord (he is no longer dead but is the living one); and an emphasis on his final return and consummation of world history (“until he comes”).
The gatherings of the Corinthian church were not characterized by a remembrance of the Lord's death, an awareness of his immediate presence, and an anticipation of his return and work of consummation. Therefore, Paul informs them about what the gatherings of believers should be like by turning their attention to the Lord's Supper. It was to be the model, the motif, the example for all of their gatherings. Whether they actually partook of the Lord's Supper in each and every gathering was not his concern, but rather that each and every meeting would be a Lord's Supper type of gathering in which they would remember Calvary, be aware of the living Christ, and anticipate his final return.
Indeed, Paul viewed the actual participation in the Lord's Supper as the sign of the community of salvation. It not only identified their meetings as the gatherings of believers, but it also proclaimed the gospel, and served as the controlling norm for all of their gatherings. (See 1 Cor. 10:14–22.)
The gatherings of modern-day believers are also identifiable by the sign of the Lord's Supper. Such gatherings need a controlling norm for what should happen in them, and the Lord's Supper is that divinely instituted norm. It reminds us that all of our gatherings should be remembrances of Calvary, be alive with the presence of the resurrected and glorified Lord, and be anticipatory of his return and consummation of redemption. All of our gatherings should be proclamations of “the Lord's death until he comes.” To the extent that they are, they are external signs of salvation. Believers are not to neglect meeting together (see Heb. 10:25) to “proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” They know that when they gather in his name, his living presence will be real in their midst (see Matt. 18:20).
For Discussion
1. What are some ways by which verbal confessions of Christian faith can be made?
2. What do you think is meant by the phrase, “living out your baptism”?
3. The relationship between faith and works was illustrated in this chapter with an analogy of a person and clothes. What are some other analogies which might be used?
4. It was pointed out in this chapter that the gatherings of the church should have a threefold character. What are examples of hymns and songs which point to Calvary? which rejoice in the reality of the resurrected and glorified Lord? which anticipate the Lord's return and consummation of redemption? What place should the reading of Scripture and preaching have in church gatherings?
Chapter 7
The Way God Has Dealt with Sin
SINCE God is altogether holy, he is absolutely opposed to Satan, sin, and evil. For him to tolerate Satan and his forces would be contrary to the very nature of God. Genesis 6:11–13 reminds us of this divine displeasure: “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’ ” And so, faithful Noah was instructed to build an ark of salvation into which he and his family went before the flood.
When the flood of God's wrath came, only those in the ark were saved. After the flood subsided, God promised, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21). Consequently, God made a covenant with Noah (9:8–17) in which he established the rainbow as a sign of the covenant. He said, “When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature” (v. 16).
God sees sinful humanity through the plan of salvation lovingly and gracefully extended to us. He sees us as potential participants in his covenant of salvation. He relates to us in terms of what we can by grace become. In Jesus Christ, God's covenant of love and grace became a flesh, blood, and bones person. In him, God gave to the world more than a wooden ark into which humankind could enter but for awhile. He gave more than a rainbow. He gave his eternal Son into whom sinful humanity could enter by faith for eternity. In this chapter, we shall explore this divine way of dealing with sin.
Incarnation
In an earlier chapter we dealt with the Incarnation of the Son of God. Our purpose here is to be reminded that the Incarnation was for the distinct purpose of dealing with our sin. John 3:16–18 says it perfectly: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son … that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned.”
We miss the whole point of the Incarnation if we do not see its purpose as being that of dealing once and for all with sin. Hebrews 9:26 says that Jesus Christ “has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
Christ the Victor
Jesus Christ did not come to earth merely to set up a deposit of divine goodness from which we could partake from time to time. Neither did he come to earth merely to tell us that everything about us is acceptable. Rather, he came to declare his victory over Satan, sin, and evil. Upon their return from healing the sick and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, the seventy followers of Jesus spoken of in Luke 10:17–18 were filled with joy, because, as they said “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” to which Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Jesus was and is the Victor over all evil. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, restored the fallen, forgave the sinful, liberated the enslaved, and conquered death and the grave. His war was the only truly holy war that the world has ever known. Colossians 2:15 declares that God “disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him [Jesus].”
Propitiation
This is a word which we hardly ever use. It refers to that which makes another favorably inclined towards us. A propitiation is “that which brings about the approval of another.”
Sinful humanity suffers the absolute disapproval of God. The nagging, perennial human question is how to propitiate (that is, gain the approval of) the Holy God. The history of religion abounds with attempts to gain God's approval, such as special dances, self-inflicted pain, and child sacrifice. However, only when we realize that because of our sinfulness nothing we do is adequate for gaining God's eternal approval, are we in the position of beginning to comprehend the majesty of God's saving work in Jesus Christ. Romans 3:24 says that God did in Christ what we need to do but are unable to do. That being the case, God himself put forward a propitiation. The Incarnation made God's eternal propitiation historical. Because of the Incarnation, humankind is able to give up all attempts at trying to make human propitiations which would be pleasing to God, and is able instead to enter by faith into the perfect and eternal propitiation which God himself has given in Jesus Christ.
First John 2:2 says that Jesus Christ is the propitiation “for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” The Revised Standard Version translates propitiation as “expiation,” and the New International Version translates it as “atoning sacrifice.” However, the idea is preserved best by translating it as “propitiation,” if it is kept in mind that a propitiation is that which brings about the approval of another. Neither our sins nor our sin-filled attempts to be religious can ever receive the approval of God. Only Jesus Christ is worthy of the eternal approval of God. First John 4:10 says, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (KJ V).
But what is there in the propitiatory life of Jesus Christ that makes it perfectly pleasing to God? The answer is threefold.
First, it is perfectly pleasing because it is the life of his eternal Son, through whom all things were made (John 1:3). He was “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), in whom “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (v. 19).
Second, his life is perfectly pleasing because “he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). He was God's appointed propitiation.
Third, his life is perfectly pleasing because the offering of his blood was the offering of one who was in perfect harmony with God. Hebrews 9:1–4 refers to the “blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God.”
The way by which the eternal propitiation was made historically factual was through the shedding of blood. We must never forget even for one moment that the incarnate life of Jesus was inextricably rooted in the history of Israel. God had decreed that through Israel salvation would come to the world. Furthermore, he had decreed the form which their religious life would take. He had chosen blood sacrifice as the means for their salvation. In Leviticus 17:11, God says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of life.”
This being true, the perfect and eternal life of Jesus Christ means a perfect and eternal atonement, or propitiation, toward which the religious life of Israel had been pointing all along.
This propitiatory life of Christ was both an incarnation of divine life, and the perfect, blood sacrifice which fulfilled Israel's religious ceremonies and did for them what they could not do for themselves. The incarnation of divine life was also the offering of divine life. That is what has God's eternal approval. It is in this sense that Jesus Christ is God's propitiation.
Redemption
The New Testament speaks of the saving life of Christ not only as a propitiation, but also as a redemption, or a ransom. In the case of propitiation, the emphasis is on the approval of God.
But, in the case of redemption, the emphasis is on our deliverance from the power of sin. To redeem is to pay the price for the release of one who is enslaved. The redemptive life of Christ is one of deliverance. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood.” Romans 3:24 refers to our being “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” Hebrews 9:15 speaks of a death which has occurred “which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.” And I Corinthians 1:30 says that God made Jesus Christ our redemption.
The work of redemption, that is, deliverance from that which enslaves and destroys, is clearly characteristic of the saving life of Christ. The one scripture which Jesus chose to read in the synagogue at Nazareth was: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18–19). After reading this passage (from Isa. 61:1–2), Jesus says: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21).
The whole earthly ministry of Jesus had to do not only with proclaiming release, recovery, and liberation, but also with actually releasing, recovering, and liberating people from those powers which enslaved and destroyed them. Jesus' deeds which we read about in the Gospel accounts were enacted announcements about what his ongoing life would be like after his ascension. The saving life of Christ continues to be one of release, healing, and liberation.
Very often the question arises as to whom God paid the ransom in order to secure the redemption of humanity. For instance, did he pay it to Satan? However, Scripture does not deal with this question and therefore we are wise not to speculate. The important matters on which Scripture concentrates are: (1) Humanity is enslaved and needs release; and (2) Jesus Christ is the means of our release. That is all that Scripture means by the use of the redemption concept, and that is all that we should mean by it. The saving life of Christ is our redemption. In him we are ransomed from the powers of Satan, from the slavery of sin, and from the sting of death.
Reconciliation
This word denotes a change of relationship from that of enmity to that of friendship. In the case of its reference to the relationship between God and humanity, it is humanity which is at enmity with God. Even though God is at enmity with the sinfulness of humanity, he is not at enmity with humanity itself. Through Jesus Christ, God has made provision whereby we can be redeemed from our sinfulness, and become friends of God.
Second Corinthians 5:17 says that “if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation.” As a participant in the saving life of Christ, the believer finds approval before God, is redeemed from the powers of Satan, sin, and evil; and is a friend of God. Second Corinthians 5:18 says, “All this if from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself.” Verse 19: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.”
Conclusion
In the light of what we have been saying, we can now see that Jesus Christ is the eternal ark of salvation, and also that he is a personal covenant of eternal life. At the Last Supper before his crucifixion, Jesus took a cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (1 Cor. 11:25). When we are introduced by the Holy Spirit into the life of Christ, we are introduced into an ark of eternal salvation and into a covenant of eternal life. By faith, we may enter the life of Jesus Christ, who is God's perfect and eternal propitiation, redemption, and reconciliation.
To focus on Jesus Christ as God's propitiation is to focus on our new, pleasing status before God. To focus on Jesus Christ as God's redemption is to focus on our release from the powers of sin. To focus on Jesus Christ as God's means of reconciliation is to focus on our new relationship with him.
All three are crucial in order to have a complete view of the way by which God has dealt with sin. He has dealt objectively, in the propitiatory life of Christ. He has dealt victoriously through Christ's life by redeeming us from the enslavement and destruction of Satan, sin, and evil. He has dealt relationally through Christ's life by reconciling us to himself. However, concentration on propitiation alone results in the misconception of an unchanged sinner saved by grace.
Concentration on redemption alone results in the misconception of a changed creature whose attention is riveted on deliverance instead of the Deliverer. Concentration on reconciliation alone results in the misconception of a friendliness between God and humanity which friendliness is devoid of the awesomeness of either the Victor or his victory.
In view of these misconceptions resulting from a focus on only one part of the truth, we are well advised to focus on the whole truth which can be summarized like this: The propitiatory life of Christ redeems us from sin and reconciles us with God.
Colossians 3:13–15 holds these three dimensions together perfectly. Although none of the three words is used, all three dimensions of God's salvation work referred to by those words can be clearly seen: “And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him [this is the reconciling work of God by which we are made friends with him], having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross [this is the propitiatory work of God in Christ]. He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him [this is the redeeming work of God in Christ].”
For Discussion
In the conclusion it was pointed out that God has dealt with sin objectively, victoriously, and relationally. What are some human analogies which would illustrate this way of dealing with sin?
Chapter 8
Justification, Righteousness, and Sanctification
JUSTIFICATION and righteousness can be understood properly only as they are understood in relationship to law. Righteousness implies obedience to the law, whereas justification implies a pronouncement of acquittal in relation to it. And so, our use of these terms must be viewed in the light of obedience to the law of God. Righteousness is obedience to God's law, and justification is the pronouncement of acquittal in relation to his law.
Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned.” Because sin has become the master of the human heart and mind, we are incapable of perfect obedience to the law of God. Even our best efforts are far short of perfection. Although the law of God is in and of itself holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12), sin misuses it, thus bringing about spiritual confusion in the human soul (Rom. 7:10–11). As Paul puts it in 7:14, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin,” and again in verse 19, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.”
According to Romans 2:15 what God requires is indelibly written on the tablets of our hearts, but sin perverts the law of God into what Romans 8:2 calls the “law of sin and death.” Paul's cry of anguish in Romans 7:24 is “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The perfect obedience for which we were created is a human impossibility. Due to our sinfulness, there is no chance that we in and of ourselves can gain divine acquittal for our overt disobedience and perverted obedience. Nor is there any possibility that we can by the power of mere moral resolution become perfectly obedient. Who, then, will deliver us?
Romans 8:1 declares the gospel: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Justification and Righteousness
This pronouncement of “no condemnation” is not a matter of God's winking at our sinfulness. He does not ignore sin; instead, he deals with it. He does so through the Incarnation of his perfectly and eternally obedient Son. Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man's [Adam's] disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's [Christ's] obedience many will be made righteous.” Philippians 2:8 declares, “And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Also, see 2 Cor. 5:21 and Heb. 4:15.) Since, therefore, he is the perfectly and eternally obedient one, he stands before God as the perfectly righteous and justified one.
In the midst of sinful humanity, God placed his perfectly righteous Son who became the divine sin-bearer (see Heb. 9:28). He took unto himself our sins and announced forgiveness by his blood. In the words of 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” He was the perfect priest (see Heb. 4:14–8:2) who offered the perfect sacrifice: Jesus Christ, our great high priest made the blood sacrifice not of goats and calves but of his own life, “thus securing an eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12).
By faith, we are released from the enslavement of sin, become partakers of Christ's righteousness, and stand justified in his presence. The justification, that is, the pronouncement of acquittal, in which we can rejoice, is based on Christ's perfect righteousness and obedience.
In a very real sense, however, the justification which we experience is nevertheless really ours in that we are actually forgiven of sin and do actually participate in the justified life of Jesus Christ. By faith, his justified life is ours. We are forgiven by his life and incorporated into his life.
It is not merely a matter of the guilty being forgiven by God's grace. Nor is it a matter of our being declared not guilty even though we are guilty. Rather, it is a matter of the guilty being forgiven by his grace, incorporated into Christ's guiltless life, participating by faith in his righteousness, and being declared not guilty because we actually do dwell by faith in the guiltless one. We are not suggesting that these are a string of events, happening in the order set forth here, but that these are several dimensions of our singular experience of justification before God. All of these elements are to be held together in the way that Romans 3:21–26 does it so well: “But now … the righteousness of God has been manifested [in Jesus Christ who was perfectly obedient] … even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; … being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness … that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (NAS).
We see in this passage that:
1. God displayed publicly the propitiatory life of Jesus Christ. His life is the life to which God gives eternal approval.
2. His life demonstrated divine righteousness.
3. Through his life, humanity can be redeemed from sin.
4. His righteous and redeeming life is a gift of grace.
5. We may participate in his redemption and righteousness by faith.
6. As a participant in his divine life, we are not only redeemed from sin but justified before God.
The Righteousness of Believers
There is perhaps no issue which is more confusing to some Christians than the nature of personal righteousness. Should we forget about living righteously and merely point in faith to Christ's righteous life? Scripture certainly does not substantiate this position. Or, do we have to do special deeds of righteousness in order to earn God's continued favor? Neither is this scriptural.
Let us then pursue the scriptural teaching. Paul had a great concern for those who “have a zeal for God” which “is not enlightened” (Rom. 10:2). He, of course, is referring to the enlightenment of Jesus Christ of whom they are ignorant. Being ignorant of his righteous life, they seek to establish their own righteousness instead of submitting to God's (v. 3). Their zealous works were done in an attempt to please God rather than as a trusting response to his perfect righteousness. The distinction is crucial. The very same work of righteousness may be done by two individuals and yet the work of one may be self-righteous while the other may be one of Godly righteousness. The difference is determined by the inner attitude of the person. Is it a work of personal or religious pride? Or, on the other hand, is it a work of faith, that is, does it grow out of one's faith-life in Jesus Christ, in the sense that Paul says that “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). The answer to each of these questions indicates whether ones “zealous works” are of faith.
The healthy believer has abandoned a works righteousness because of being enlightened by the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Having entered by faith into his divine righteousness the believer is committed to it with his or her whole mind and heart. In fact, Paul in Romans 6:18 refers to our having become “slaves of righteousness.” And in Philippians 3:7–9, he becomes very personal as he speaks of this matter: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”
In other words, Paul's life was incorporated into the righteous life of Jesus Christ, and as he focused in faith on Christ's perfect righteousness, the particularities of his own day-to-day life were brought into harmony with the divine purpose. The style of life for believers is determined by the righteous life of Christ, and not by their own standards of righteousness. Their focus of faith serves not only as the harmonizing center but also as the power of divine righteousness for their whole life-style. The “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:8) draws the believer beyond any desire to have license to sin, beyond any satisfaction with religion as usual, beyond any contentment with mere moral respectability. Believers who experience the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ” are not concentrating on how close to the limits of God's patience they can go without suffering his condemnation, but on how close to the center of Gods perfect will they can move.
For instance, believers who rejoice in the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ” do not fossilize in the routine of the normal religious life of their respective communities. Instead, they consider themselves “alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11), which precludes the possibility of religious fossilization.
Furthermore, believers whose minds are fixed on the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ” enjoy the infusion of the creative power of the Holy Spirit into their moral lives. They are morally creative in the same sense that Jesus was when he said to the scribes and Pharisees who wanted to stone the woman caught in adultery: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). In this instance, Jesus was not being merely morally respectable. If that had been the case, he would have joined the scribes and Pharisees in their condemnation because they were, to be sure, morally respectable in their disdain of adultery. But his moral life had a divine plus quality in that it not only protected legal values (such as the scribes and Pharisees did) but was also creative of redemptive values as well (the forgiveness and restoration of the woman to a life of wholeness).
When we as believers are focusing with the whole heart and mind upon the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus,” contentment with mere moral respectability will be transformed into the redemptive creativity of the Spirit of Christ Jesus (which is indeed always moral but never merely, moral).
Sanctification
Sanctification is our being cleansed, purified and set apart for the mission of God in the world. The life of salvation into which the individual is born by the Spirit is a life of sanctification. This is true in three interrelated ways: First, the saving life of Christ is the life of sanctification. First Corinthians 1:30 says that God is the source of our life “in Christ Jesus, whom God made our … sanctification ….” In other words, Jesus Christ is completely pure and set apart for the mission of God in the world. When we enter into him by faith we enter into the divine mission of Christ. It is impossible to enter into Christ who is our wisdom, righteousness, and redemption, without also entering into him as our sanctification. By faith we are in Christ's total life which includes him as our sanctification. At conversion, we are implanted in the divine mission in the world. Acts 26:18 refers to those who “receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me [Christ].”
Second, we are to consecrate ourselves to the sanctification of our personal lives. Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8 says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor … For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you” (NAS). Again, in Romans 6:19, Paul enjoins us with these words: “For just as you once yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now yield your members to righteousness for sanctification.” And Hebrews 12:14 says “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (NAS).
Finally, on the basis, first, of our implantation into Christ who is our sanctification, and, second, on the basis of our personal consecration to the divine purposes, we are subsequently sanctified wholly by the God of peace (1 Thess. 5:23), which subject is to be dealt with in more detail in the following chapter.
For Discussion
1. In the section, “Justification and Righteousness,” six observations are listed in connection with Romans 3:21–26. Identify in the passage those phrases which substantiate the author's observations.
2. What is the distinction between righteousness and sanctification?
Chapter 9
The Baptizing Work of the Holy Spirit
The Promise
In all four Gospels we find John the Baptist saying that he was baptizing with water but that Jesus Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit. The four references are:
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matt. 3:11).
“I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8).
“I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16).
“I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’ ” (John 1:33).
In all four of these instances, Jesus is referred to as the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. That means that he would introduce people to the work of the Holy Spirit. It is impossible for the Spirit to do in our lives what he wills to do unless first of all we have entered into the life of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It is in this sense that Jesus Christ introduces us to the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. Without first of all coming to know the Savior, we cannnot have the full benefits of the Counselor.
The Fulfillment
What John the Baptist said would happen, did actually happen. During the forty days between his resurrection and ascension, Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. His words were: “Before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). The public fulfillment of that promise took place on the Day of Pentecost when, as Acts 2:2–3 says, “a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind …. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire ….” Verse 4 says that “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus Christ had, indeed, ushered in the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. It is in that sense that he is the baptizer. We can, therefore, refer to both the baptizing work of Jesus Christ in that he is the one who introduces us to the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and to the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit in that he is the one with whom we are baptized.
This may be illustrated with the analogy of the believer's water baptism in which both the minister and the water have a part to play. The minister is the one who baptizes the candidate with water, and the water is that with which the candidate is baptized.
The same is true concerning the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ introduces us into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is the one with whom we are baptized.
Four Ways to Say the Same Thing
Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, and John 1:33, as we have already seen, all refer to being baptized with the Holy Spirit, whereas Acts 2:4 refers to being filled with the Holy Spirit. Other references in Acts use the same word: Acts 4:31 says, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” In Acts 9:17, Ananias says to Saul, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus … has sent me that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Also in Acts 13:52, we are told that “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” That there is no difference between being baptized with the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit is made clear by the interchangeable use of these words in Acts 11:15–16. As Peter tells the church in Jerusalem about what has happened in Caesarea, he says, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (emphasis mine).
Here we find a third way of referring to the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Instead of saying that the people in Caesarea were baptized or filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter says that the Holy Spirit fell on them, “just as on us at the beginning.” He is reflecting on what happened to the disciples on the Day of Pentecost which Acts 2:4 refers to as their being filled with the Holy Spirit. Furthermore. Peter was also reminded of the words of Jesus who said, “You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” It is evident, therefore, that being baptized with the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit falling on people are three ways of referring to the very same reality.
Furthermore, the phrase “received the Holy Spirit,” used in Acts 8:17 is a fourth way of referring to the same reality.
And so, to speak of the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit is to speak about the filling work of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit falling upon believers, and about Christians receiving the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit-filled Life
Some people have the strange idea that the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit is something which Christians can seek to experience if they want to, or if they do not want to, they may ignore it. They have the misconception that it is an experience only for those who are especially religious, and that, in fact, the New Testament teaches that there are two acceptable types of Christians: plain ones and “super” ones.
But that is not the case. The New Testament calls all of us to live Spirit-filled lives, not for the purpose of turning us into “super” Christians, but rather for making normal ones. Those Christians who are not experiencing the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit are in an emergency situation, standing in need of immediate help. We have an example of this in Acts 8 where we are told that Philip went to the city of Samaria to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. The people believed his message and were baptized with water. But something more was needed; they were subnormal. Since God is never pleased with subnormal Christians, Peter and John went from Jerusalem to Samaria to pray for them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:16–17 says that the Holy Spirit had not yet “fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”
Normal Christians are those who experience the baptizing work of the Spirit. It is the kind of life to which God calls all of us.
God Wants Us to Receive Now
God does not encourage Christians to wait for a certain period of time before they experience the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. It is very true that the apostles were told in Acts 1:4 to wait in Jerusalem. However, we must keep in mind that Jesus was telling them to wait for the historical fulfillment of this promise.
John the Baptist had looked forward to this time. Likewise, according to Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the prophet Joel had also looked forward to this time. And Jesus himself had told his disciples about this day in history when the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit would be revealed publicly at a particular place and at a specific time.
Jesus is referring to this divine happening that is to take place when in John 16:7 he says to his disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” We find him referring to this again in Acts 1:5: “Before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” He was pointing to the time when the baptizing work of the Spirit would be made known publicly on a particular day in history at a particular place on the earth.
Those earliest disciples were told to wait for that particular day in history. They lived before that particular day on the calendar, but we live after it. The baptizing work of the Holy Spirit was made known publicly on the Day of Pentecost. Since we already know about it, God does not ask us to wait. At no place in the Book of Acts after the Day of Pentecost are Christians told to wait to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As we read Acts we find that after Pentecost it was always expected that Christians would experience the baptizing work of the Spirit. If they did not, it was considered subnormal and cause for immediate attention.
The message that God wants proclaimed to believers is not Acts 1:4 which says, “Wait for the promise of the Father,” but Ephesians 5:18 which says, “Be filled with the Spirit.” Just as Jesus did not say to his disciples in John 20:22, “Wait,” but “Receive,” even so that is exactly what he says to Christians today.
The church is plagued by wrong teaching at this point. Some ignore the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. Others wait unnecessarily for some emotional experience. But, the New Testament message to all Christians is “Be filled with the Spirit”; “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The message that needs to be proclaimed to all believers is this: Allow the Holy Spirit to do and continue to do his baptizing work in your life.
Sanctification
As we have already seen in the previous chapter, the New Testament refers to sanctification in three different ways: (1) It refers to Jesus Christ as our sanctification; (2) It refers to our personal consecration unto sanctification; and (3) It refers to the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing about our sanctification. It is in this latter sense that the subject is being considered here.
The baptizing work of the Holy Spirit is always a sanctifying one. That this is the will of God is illustrated by the regrettable story of Simon the magician found in Acts 8. Verse 13 implies that he had been converted to belief in Jesus Christ: “Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip.”
As we have already seen, none of these new, Samaritan Christians had experienced the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit; because of that, the apostles at Jerusalem sent Peter and John to Samaria to pray with them. As a result many marvelous things began to happen, but Simon thought that it was magic. He wanted to be able through the laying on of his hands to cause all of those wonderful things to happen, and consequently he offered money to the apostles requesting them to give him the same power.
Peter being very upset with Simon said to him in verse 20, “Your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” In verse 21, Peter tells him that his heart is not right before God, and in verse 22 he tells him to repent so that the intent of his heart might be forgiven.
In this instance, a crucial connection is made between the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit and the sanctification of life. While it was true that the baptizing work of the Spirit had brought about some miraculous happenings, it was also true that it was connected with the sanctification of life. Peter's righteous indignation was stirred up against Simon because he had the idea that the baptizing work of the Spirit had to do only with external power and nothing to do with the purification of the heart.
Whenever the Holy Spirit does his baptizing work in our lives we can be sure that he will purify our actions, desires, and intentions. Simon stood condemned before God because he wanted the power without the purification.
Hebrews 9:13–14 says, “For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
The work of that same eternal Spirit continues today. The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is that of applying the blood of Jesus Christ to every part of our existence. He purifies our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God more effectively. The passages in Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16 referred to at the beginning of this chapter connect the baptism of the Holy Spirit with fire, which is a symbol of the destruction of all that is unworthy. The practical effect of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the purification of one's entire life for optimum service to the Lord. The divine goal for believers is superbly expressed in I Thessalonians 5:23: “May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That is the end product of the baptizing work of Holy Spirit. Not only does he give power for believers to be on Christ's mission in the world, but he also destroys that which does not contribute to the believer's usefulness in that mission.
Other Scriptural Dimensions
Besides sanctification, there are at least six other important dimensions of the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
First, the baptizing work of the Spirit results in a life of melodious praise and thanksgiving. In Ephesians 5:18–20, Paul says, “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.”
Second, the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit produces divine fruit. Even as Jesus said in Matthew 7:16 that “you will know them by their fruits” even so Spirit-filled believers are known by the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22–23 lists them: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Third, the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit helps us to live lovingly in family and church relationships—when we are working as well as when we are playing. It helps us to be loving neighbors, citizens, relatives, and friends. In 1 Corinthians 13:l, Paul talks about the life of love. There were those in the Corinthian church who did not realize that the right atmosphere for the Christian life was that of love. Some of them thought that it was enough to do special things such as speaking in tongues in the services of worship, but Paul says that the life of love is the real test.
Fourth, the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit results in growing in the truth of Christ. (See John 14:16–17, 26; 15:26 and especially 16:14 where Jesus says that the Holy Spirit “will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”) It also results in being guided for the sake of that truth. (See Acts 8:29; 11:12; 16:7; 19:21.)
Fifth, the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit results in the desire to build up the church. First Corinthians 14:12 says, “Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.” It is for this purpose of building up the body of Christ that he gives spiritual gifts. These gifts are manifestations of the Spirit for the benefit of the whole Church. (See 1 Cor. 12:7.)
Sixth, the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for Christians to become bold witnesses to the world for the sake of the gospel. Jesus says in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” The whole Book of Acts is the story of the boldness which the earliest church had. Acts 4:31 says that “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.” Boldness does not mean rudeness, but a willingness to share the gospel whenever and wherever God gives the opportunity.
Concluding Statement
The reason too many Christians are joyless, fruitless, loveless, stunted, lacking in desire to build up the church, and devoid of effective witness, is because they do not know the reality of the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. They are subnormal believers, in critical need of help. Even though they have said yes to the saving life of Christ, they have not said yes to the baptizing work of the Spirit.
For Discussion
According to the presentation in this chapter, how does a believer know that the baptizing work of the Spirit is a present reality in his or her life?