BASIC WORD BEING SAVED IN CHRIST LIFE

Being Saved in Christ's Life and Walking according to the Spirit

for the Building Up of the Body of Christ

Scripture Reading: Rom. 5:10, 17, 21; 6:4, 22; 8:2, 4-6, 9-10, 14, 29; 12:2-5; 10:12

The Word of God can be compared to a jigsaw puzzle. Originally, all the pieces of a puzzle are scattered, and the picture they represent is not clear. Someone needs to spend the time to pick up piece after piece, consider them carefully, and fit them together. After all the pieces are put together, a full picture emerges. It is mysterious and very meaningful that God has arranged His Word in this way. Isaiah 28:13 says that God’s word is “rule upon rule, rule upon rule; / Line upon line, line upon line; / Here a little, there a little.” God’s intention is that we not take His Word in a light way. We must spend time to consider each verse and learn what other verses it is related to. If we consider each verse by itself, God’s Word remains a puzzle to us, but after we fit the verses together, the Word conveys a clear picture to us.

BEING FREED FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND OF DEATH BY SALVATION IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST

All the verses in the Scripture Reading are related to life. Romans 5:10 says, “If we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled.” We were not only sinners; we were enemies of God (Col. 1:21), but we were reconciled to God through the death of Christ. However, this is not all. There is “much more.” After being reconciled, we are being saved in His life. Christianity deals very much with the death of Christ. In the preaching of the gospel, people emphasize mainly that Christ was crucified on the cross and shed His precious blood for us. We truly value the death of Christ, but we must also realize that the matter of salvation in Christ’s life is “much more” than this. After being reconciled to God, we still have many inward problems. A husband and a wife may have problems with each other. These problems simply prove that we need more saving. We need not only the reconciling through Christ’s death but also the saving in His life.

We have been saved from God’s eternal condemnation once for all, and once we are saved, we are saved for all eternity (John 10:28-29). However, to be saved from all our inward problems is another matter. Romans 8:2 speaks of the law of sin and of death. Many are still entangled, beset, troubled, and frustrated by the law of sin and of death. A husband may have no intention to be unhappy with his wife, yet inexplicably there is something that stirs up trouble within him. This is the law of sin and of death operating within him. We all need to be saved from the operation of this evil law. In 5:10 Paul uses the word saved, and in 8:2 he uses the word freed. We have been saved from God’s eternal judgment, but we may not yet have been saved, or freed, from certain sins, such as an evil temper. Within the last twenty-four hours we might have lost our temper. Temper may still be a pest within us that cannot be controlled, because in ourselves we do not have the “pesticide” to kill this little “bug.”

In a similar way, there may be no reason that we should feel poorly toward a certain person, but inwardly we may simply not care for him. Again, this is because of the evil law within us. Many of us have a certain element of selfishness. Because of this, we may be easily offended. Apparently, it is hard to reconcile the fact that we are saved with the fact that our temper and our selfishness are still a problem. This proves that to be saved from eternal condemnation is one thing, but to be saved from indwelling sin with its manifestations is another. We have been saved from eternal judgment; this problem has already been solved. However, we are still in the process of being saved in the life of Christ from many troubling matters.

     BEING SAVED IN CHRIST’S LIFE THROUGH SUBJECTIVE SANCTIFICATION

Romans 6:22 speaks of sanctification. Holiness as an attribute of God is objective to us, whereas sanctification is subjective. When God’s holiness is experienced by us, it becomes our sanctification. Sanctification is of two aspects. First, it is to be separated positionally from the world unto God. If a book is cast aside into a dusty corner, it is in a wrong position, but when we pick it up and place it  on a table, it is separated positionally from the dusty corner. As persons in the world, we were wrong in our position. In sanctification we are repositioned and separated from the world positionally. When gold is in the market, it is common, but when it is taken into the temple, it is sanctified (Matt. 23:16-17). This is a matter of position.

In Romans, however, to be sanctified is not only to be separated positionally but also to be changed dispositionally. After being separated from the world positionally, we may still be in the world dispositionally, just as the people of Israel came out of Egypt outwardly but remained Egyptian in character inwardly. A sister may separate herself outwardly from the department stores, but at night she may still dream about them. This means that she is separated positionally, but dispositionally she has not been separated. When we have been separated not only positionally but also dispositionally, we will never again dream of the worldly things. We will be separated from the world both outwardly and inwardly.

In Numbers 11:5 and 6 the children of Israel said, “We remember the fish which we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic; but now our appetite has gone; there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” This means that the children of Israel came out of Egypt, but Egypt was still in their heart. This may be our experience also. We may have come out of Egypt, that is, out of the world, but Egypt may not have come out of us. We need to be sanctified, separated, both positionally and dispositionally. The way to be sanctified subjectively is by the divine life. This is to be saved in Christ’s life from being common and worldly.

Many young people today have rejected the old way of living and have created a new way by which they live. However, whether a particular way is old or new, it is still used by the subtle enemy Satan to keep people in the world. To the young people it is a new way, but in actuality it is a new “world,” a new ordered system set up by Satan (1 John 2:15) that may be even more evil than the old way. God has saved us and reconciled us to Himself. Now we need to be saved subjectively from our concept, opinion, and choice. We should not reject the old way of living and merely pick up a new one. We need to pray, “O Lord, now I am one of Your children. I have Your Spirit within me, and I have the eternal life that is Christ Himself. O Lord,  Romans 8:14 says, ‘As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.’ O Lord, lead me, not only in the big things but in all things. I am for neither the old way of living nor the new way. I am only for You.” We are not for anything new or anything old. We are only for the living Spirit. We have a living, subjective God who is not only in the heavens but also in us (vv. 9-11; Eph. 4:6). We need to forget about all the different ways of living and simply live according to Christ (Phil. 1:21a).

The young generation of today is at a crossroads. The young people simply do not know which way to go. Many do not listen to the government, the community, their family, their school, or any authority, because they claim that they are disgusted with the hypocrisy of all these institutions. It seems that no one can give them a proper direction. This is the subtlety of the enemy. The only remedy for the young generation today is to be saved in the life of Christ in the proper local church life. We all, old and young, need to be saved in the life of Christ from what we are, what we desire, and what we choose so that we may go along with the precious and dear One who indwells us. We must care neither for the old lifestyle nor for the new one. We must care only for this living One. We should get our hair cut not according to the old styles or new styles but according to the living Christ within us. We can say, “Lord Jesus, I take You as my person. What kind of haircut do You want? It is not I who am getting a haircut but You who live in me. Lord, I am one with You.” This is the way to be saved in His life.

The young people need to know the subtlety of the enemy. The modern style of clothing that many women wear is a devilish temptation to stir up evil. As children of God the sisters should not participate in these things. Rather, they need to be saved from both the old and the new styles of clothing. They should go to the Lord and pray, “Lord, I take You as my person. You are in me, and You and I are one. Lord, in what way do You want to dress?” If we learn of Jesus in this way (Eph. 4:17-21), there will be no problems among us. In the local churches there is no regulation, law, or outward standard concerning our dress. There is simply the living Jesus. He is living in all the details of our life. If we go along with Him, we will be saved in His life for our sanctification.