8.1 Dying to Self
The perception of most Christians about dying to self is one of trepidation, a topic that has probably never been brought up in conversations among brethren and friends or even from the pulpit. It’s a subject that most pastors avoid for fear of scaring away the sheep.
The understanding of most people is that we are required to forgo our every earthly desire when we die to self. Some imagine that this will require believers to live like hermits in a secluded sanctuary, bereft of modern conveniences and even the sweet temptations of the flesh. Let’s remove our mask, we are but people of the flesh and therefore, we enjoy the pleasures of the flesh!
If God wanted us to be more perfectly created like the angels, then He would have made us in the mold of the angels. For indeed, the angels in heaven were made from sterner and more prized material such as precious gems and precious metals and not from the dust of the earth. The devil who was perfectly created, scripture records that every precious stone was his covering, eventually sinned against God; and no one tempted him into sinning (Ezekiel 28:15).
If that’s the backstory, how much more can we then people of the flesh, withstand the temptations of the flesh?
This dying to self as intended by God is unlike the practices of mainstream religion which are generally preoccupied with curbing the desires of the flesh. What the Lord wants all to know is that believers ought to place their trust on God alone; and in this respect we leave all, including worries over career, family, and even the fear of death into His hands. Only when we are free from the burdens of the world can we walk with God, and He too can then work in us.
What this means also is that while we trust in God totally, we do not neglect our daily duties and chores to put food on the table and live a fulfilled life that the Lord has intended for us. I have witnessed the bounty of His blessings on my unworthy life.
As a kid without a father, I’ve seen God’s providence for my family as He blessed a poor widow and sustained us in a joyful household. In my career too, the Lord has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams, without proper tertiary pedigree and starting from the lowest and humblest of beginnings, I rose to almost the top of the pecking order in a corporate world.
You know God’s blessings when you earn a decent keep, enjoy what you’re doing and practically do little in your job, and yet the little that you do is recognized by your peers and even the Board members. This confirms scripture that says: Come to Me you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and My burden light.
With the Lord, the end is always better than the beginning!
Coming back to this aspect of dying to self, when we believe in Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit within us, there is no longer any fear; for when we leave all into the Lord’s hands, then we are free from the worries of the flesh. This is the aspect of dying to self that matters in our walk with God.
I remember, prior to receiving the rivers of living water, I had somehow told a church member that it would be an honor to be a martyr for God, and I meant it when I said those words then.
I believe that one needs to believe, trust and embrace whole-heartedly the Lord of our faith, when we accept Him into our lives, and let this include our faith that He will remove all our worries and fears too.
If we indeed trust Him, then leave them at His feet, only then will we be able to receive the goodness of the Lord and the blessings and breakthroughs from Him.
8.2 Sin and Forgiveness
Do you know the meaning of sin?
It is failing to meet the standards set by God whether in thought or deed. It’s a tall order then to meet God’s expectations, since the bar of excellence is set so high.
Even the angels in heaven are given a set of rules to obey, for the rules are for the good of all in heaven to ensure law and order, and to maintain the peace and joy in the kingdom of God.
What happens if the angels were to sin?
God being a good God, forgave all who came to Him because it is His nature to forgive. During the rebellion in heaven, the Lord even sent His emissaries to the rebels to plead the cause of righteousness and managed to sway back a third of the angels, who were part of the initial rebellion.
If God can forgive the angels who were created in more glorious form and yet sinned against Him greatly in rebellion, how much more will God forgive those who are made from the dust of the earth, who seek His mercy? Are there biblical evidences for me to say this? There are many verses in scripture regarding this if you care to search, here are three of them:
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on You (Psalm 86:5).
Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of Your heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in showing mercy. He will again have compassion upon us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. (Micah 7: 18-19). (This is a prophecy by the Lord for both man and the angels that will soon come to pass).
Also, read the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15: 11-32). However, reading these verses from the perspective of the ‘flesh’, one may assume that the parable of the prodigal son is only meant for the ears of man. But God is a good God, for His steadfast love extends to all of His creation, which include both the angels in heaven and mankind.
For us mortals then, receiving the forgiveness of God is easy if we first forgive others, however, our problem lies in that we are quick to take offence but slow to forgive.
Let me refer to Matthew 18:21-22: Then Peter came and said: Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him: Not seven times, but seven times seven times. (There are varied versions of these verses from the different translations). Here God provides a way to obtain the forgiveness of sin from Him, which is that we must first forgive others.
If God has set this as His principle, will not God then forgive us from all the myriad sins of ours yesterday, today and even tomorrow? For indeed will not God then forgive us seven million times seven million times, for He is a good and righteous God?
There is another principle to obtaining mercy from God and that we do not judge others of their perceived sin. The Lord says: Judge not and you shall not be judged (Matthew 7:1). Therefore, leave all judgement to God, for He knows our life’s circumstances and He alone judges righteously.
Coming back to forgiveness of sin; all sin of the flesh can be forgiven by God, there is however one sin that the bible says, that cannot be forgiven. And that is if we sin against the Holy Spirit.
The biblical references are from Matthew 12: 22 – 32, and please do read them for clarity and context.
In these verses, Jesus had cast out a demon from a possessed person who was both blind and mute, who also received a miracle healing over his physical disabilities. The people were amazed at the work of God and remarked that surely, Jesus was the Son of David and therefore, the Messiah of God. However, these comments irked the Pharisees who then blasphemed the work of the Spirit of God as that from the devil.
There are a few bible passages in the Old Testament that do infer the Holy Spirit as He who determines forgiveness of sin. My question to you is, should not your Savior also be the forgiver of your sins?
Jesus said that there can be no forgiveness for those who call God the Spirit, who is the Redeemer and Savior and the forgiver of sin, as the devil. God who is a holy, true, righteous and good God, disdains being compared to the devil. For the devil was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies it’s according to his nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies, John 8:44.
Jesus said this in Matthew12: 28, 31,32: But if I by the Spirit of God (finger of God in some translations) cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Therefore, I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Let me warn all of you then, we are not always aware of the work of the Spirit and how or who He chooses to use to achieve His plans. Many people due to their ignorance of the Lord’s ways and those more accustomed to preachy and religious gossip, have unwittingly called the work of God as that of darkness. Be aware that you do not open yourself up to Satan and thereby sin against the Spirit of God. Let me repeat, judge not that we may not be judged.
Back to the earlier scripture, let me mine some important truths from these verses:
Firstly, it’s the Holy Spirit whom Jesus proclaims as He, who had cast out the demon. The miracles that Jesus performed therefore, were by the Spirit working through him and this same Spirit was He, in a form of a dove who came upon Jesus at his baptism in the river Jordan. The bible says after the baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. After the Spirit came on Jesus, they were entwined in a spiritual bond and the Spirit eventually led Jesus to the cross on Calvary.
Secondly, why are there many passages regarding the finger/hand of God in the Old Testament and what do these signify? The finger/hand of God represents the act or work of the Holy Spirit. In addition, God the Spirit had performed the creative miracle, since He is also the Creator.
There is a difference between being healed from incurable diseases and having an amputated leg replaced with a new one. The miracles attributed to healing of sicknesses can be performed by Satan, since what he has placed in our physical bodies, he can then retract them. However, evidences of creative miracles such as replacement of new body parts; whether eyes, ears, limbs and internal organs, can only be performed by God the Creator.
Do note this, where the Spirit is, there will be creative miracles such as restoration of new body parts. So, if you witness amputees or those born without complete body parts being made whole then realize this, that only God the Spirit, our Creator has such creative power.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has instructed Him (Isaiah 40:12-13).
Surely My hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens (Isaiah 48:13).
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained (Psalm 8:3).
But now, O Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our Potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand (Isaiah 64:8). Note, that these verses give a deeper understanding that all of us are the created in the hands of the Creator.
Lastly, the prophecies of the Messiah have been fulfilled in the work of Jesus Christ and the Spirit. This prophecy in Isaiah 40:10 had thus been accomplished:
Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him.
I will end with this:
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (Isaiah 53:1).
Do read the whole text of Isaiah 53 for more understanding, these verses further reveal the travails of Jesus as the Messiah/Christ, who is the arm of the Lord.
I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known. I will guide them, I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough place into level ground. (Isaiah 42:16).
