Two Kinds of Slavery

All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back again into fear, but you have received the the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba!  Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified in him. (Romans 7:14-17, ESV)

Two Spirits

 "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit."  Here is one of the clearest pictures of the "still, small voice" Elijah and many other friends of God have detected.  Through the agency of our own spirit, God speaks.  He speaks to us through us.   In this passage, Paul identifies the Spirit of adoption as the one who speaks through our own spirit of our dear place in God's hands and heart.

In contrast there is another spirit at work.  Another voice has spoken to us through our self-absorbed flesh, the systems that support this pride all around in the world, and the being that pushes and orchestrates it all - Satan.  The voice is the voice of slavery that pulls each person toward fear.  Many live is fear due to the slavery they sense.  The spirit of slavery may very well be the Devil himself and his work, which Jesus came to destroy.  He came to destroy the bondage to sin and the spirit that accompanies it.

Bondage to sin is accomplished by being "weakened by the flesh."  Our determination to live life without God and by the power of our natural abilities makes us unable to live a life pleasing to God or even ourselves.  We fail miserably.  We suffer deeply, knowing we cannot manage our lives, but we blame God for making a life unmanageable.  We find some comfort in building up our pride through various deeds and distractions.  We also find God's presence in his words, his works, and his ways only fills us with fear leading to loathing or indifference.  Such is the way of the flesh.  It brings a spirit of slavery that leads to a hateful fear of God or an indifference to God.

The freedom of the children of God stand in contrast to this life.  Freedom from sin is accomplished through the power of the cross.  Fundamentally this means that we accept the futility of the work of our flesh and actively put such works to death.  We learn to dispose of our natural abilities as avenues for our success and savlation.  This is the suffering and death of the cross in our lives.  The cross also points to resurrection.  A new life which begins immediately.  This new life is one not lived by our own means and in our own way, but under the instruction of Christ and empowered by his Spirit.  Just as we used to find comfort and pleasure in satisfying our desires, we now find comfort and pleasure in satisfying God's desires.  Instead of serving our desires and allowing God to get the leftovers of our efforts, we serve God's desires and allow our own desires to get the leftovers.  Instead of fearing God's presence, we find ourselves fearing and suffering sin and its consequences in our lives and in the lives around us.

The Spirit bears witness to this life within us through the cry of "Father" that breaks out from our hearts for God.  The Spirit uses our spirit as the voice for this cry.  Another witness to our adoption is that we suffer with Christ.  We suffer in the presence of sin instead of seeking it out.  We seek God out instead of just suffering his presence.  The thoughts and feelings associated with this love for God as Father and with the suffering of sin against him is the testimony of the Spirit through our spirits pointing to the new life in us.

Knock It Down or Cover It Up

There are two primary forms of religion that operate under the spirit of slavery.  Both lead to self-righteousness.  One form manages sin by speaking against it and feeling bad about it.  The other manages sin by trying to cover it up with certain good deeds or rituals.  Sin does not die in either religion, but ends up leading people away from Christ and his gospel and leading to further disappointment and corruption.

In both of these types of religion, sin is managed instead of destroyed.  The efforts to knock sin down or cover it up must be maintained.  When the will of the person or group is weakened and slackened, the sin resurfaces.  Religion then becomes the managment of such sin and the ways to maintain control.  This is not the teaching of Jesus nor the way of the Spirit.

Sin can only be destroyed through forgiveness.  Forgiveness is only received through the peace of a re-established relationship.  Forgiveness found through peace with God demonstrated and established through Christ at the cross makes such a relationship possible.  Both God's complete love for sinners and God's absolute rejection of sin are evidenced through Jesus' work on the cross.  We are forgiven, kept alive by his love, and scrubbed clean by his anger at evil.  Forgiveness is accomplished for the purpose of relationship.  Without the relationship, forgiveness has no meaning.

Sin management methods are ways of seeking forgiveness without relationship.  It seeks to make God happy without actually seeking him out.  It seeks to be right with God without actually being right with God.  Sin cannot be condemned or covered away, though.  God must take it from us manually, from our hands into his, for destruction.  Christ came to take our sin from our very own hands and breath his Spirit into our very own breaths.  Sin will only die in this "face to face" encounter with God in Christ.  There is nothing automatic about it.  Whether fast or slow, such freedom must come directly to a person through an encounter with God.

Forgiveness Is Freedom

Those who practice sin managment find such news disconcerting.  What if sin is not knocked down?  What if we don't do enough to cover it?   It seems to them that the world will fall apart.  Really sin management is a over-reliance on human ability to get God's work done for him.  Behind these methods is the suspicion that if sin is not managed, it will take over, and God will let it.  Sin seems to need our attention.

Forgivenss is certainly mentioned, but not really enacted or trusted.  People hear about forgiveness, but are not brought into relationship.  Instead they are excused from sin and brought to work for the all-to-human endeavors of managing sin and its consequences.  In their lives they are taught how they can keep their sin at bay without letting it destroying them.  Sins are defined by rules instead of relationships, by what hurts the organization instead what hurts the soul, and by what can be seen and controlled instead of what happens in the hidden parts of one's life.  The best they can offer are methods for coping.

In some cases, forgiveness that leads to freedom is called heresy.  We must feel bad about sin.  We must try to cover it up.  Statements that oppose these "golden rules" are treated with great suspicion, fear, and anger.  The managers of sin management set up their organizations to avoid or even condemn such freedom.  We find such places to be filled with rules and rituals concerning church and its leaders with very little about the kingdom of God.  The church receives all the attention and and concern and work and it is assumed the kingdom of God will take care of itself.

It turns out that sin does need our attention.  It needs our attention to continue.  Sin dies without adequate attention.  With Jesus, seeking the kingdom of God was the focus of his attention and the church and its leaders would "take care of themselves."  A good relationship with God is what matters to Jesus, and sin (both individual and corporate) will take care of itself.  The fear of sin and the extensive structures erected to manage it inside and outside of our lives come from slavery to sin - an existence apart from the influence and action of God in human life.  The solution lies in the personal reconnection of the human life to God in his words, his works, and his ways in the form of being received as a child and student.  God as "Father."

The Keys to Freedom

Abandoning church does not answer these problems.  Even "starting over" involves some level of rehabilitation from the ideas of sin managment that dominates the modern church setting.  No matter how big or small, in homes, churches, or coffee houses, young or old, the prevalence of sin management makes its presence felt.  Fierce individualism has never been the path forward for followers of Jesus who works to build his church.

It turns out that sin does need our attention.  It needs our attention to continue to exist.  Sin dies without adequate attention.  So in every age, people have needed to come face to face with God, to turn their attention to him.  From the beginning of time, that is what God has sought and developed.  Through various mediators and helps, he has sought once again to walk with each person the cool of the day as he did in the Garden long ago.  He still works in this way through his church, even if some have forgotten about this invitation.  The best reminders are those who will once again walk with God, allowing his presence to teach and keep them, to burn and heal them, to gather and unite them.  We give the cold shoulder to sin and our attention to God.

The work of Christ is continued through his church, those who respond to his invitation.  The access ("keys") to the kingdom of God continues to be mediated through those who trust in God and his plan to forgive and establish a relationship with each person.  The ones with the keys are the ones who have received the blessing of seeing Christ as he is and of hearing his voice as he speaks.  Only those with the blessing of such a revelation can hold the keys.

Being physical beings, we need places and times and groups to find such meetings with God.  We do not merely approach him abstractly.  Churches provide such a meeting ground.  They are not the only place or time or group where people can find God, but they do supply his address for those who would seek him.  The church is faithful enough to provide those who want to find Christ with encouragement and help and a place to serve.  The church is broken enough to provide those who do not want to find Christ with discouragemnt and disappoinment and a place to complain about.

Hope in the Kingdom of God: The Gospel

Who hopes for what he already has?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. . . .  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  (Romans 8:24b, 25, 26b)

This then is how you should pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. . . .  (Matthew 6:9)

The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 14:17)

Hope and prayer are tied together.  As Paul writes, "Who hopes for what he already has?"  It is no accident that his next section deals with prayer: "We do not know what we ought to pray for."  The prayer of faith springs from the hope that delivers me:  "That faith and hope that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel."  (Colossians 1:5)

Without hope, faith has no basis.  "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  (Hebrews 11:1, KJV)  As an idea gives birth to an invention or a feeling sprouts into a desire, faith stands on hope.  Hope waits for and eagerly anticipates what is not yet seen.  It is not wishing, but joyful anticipation of what is yet to come.  Faith naturally springs from hope as its consequence in the present.  What is truly hoped for is trusted in.

One of the truest expressions of faith in God is prayer.  It acknowledges trust.  If I do not trust, I do not pray.  Prayer without trust, without faith, is just religious babble.  "And do not keep on babbling as the pagans do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him."  (Matthew 6:7-8)  How does God know this?  It is not so much because he his omniscient, but because he loves each person so deeply that he knows them so well.  This is the prayer of faith: knowing the God who knows me as a dearly loved child.

Such prayer also springs from hope.  If I do not hope, I do not pray.  Prayer without hope is just fatalism.  It takes the words "Your will be done" in the wrong way.  Instead of joyfully anticipating the work and will of God in this present age, hopeless prayer anticipates abandonment instead of deliverance, predictable outcome instead of joyful surprise, keeping the trinkets of this world rather than acquiring the treasures of God's kingdom, turning away quickly in disappointment rather than waiting patiently for the wonders of God.

Hopeless prayer is like a king's servant who was commanded, "Put this money to work," but on the return of the king says, "I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man.  You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow."  The conclusion of the king: "I will judge you by your own words.  To everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away."  (Luke 19:11-26)  Hopeless prayer receives little and even that little is lost.

So my prayers express my faith and my faith is the substance of what I hope for.  Jesus focuses my hope on the kingdom of God in his model prayer.  His kingdom is not a matter of external matters like food, drink, or mere religious practices, but of living with and in his Spirit who "intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will," in accordance with God's kingdom.  I think that the Lord's prayer is an expression of what I am to hope for.

The good news according to Jesus is this: "the kingdom of God is near."  This is not opposed to other expressions of hope, but stands in concert with them.  Another famous passage of the good news is 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, which can be summarized, "Christ died for our sins.  Christ raised.  Christ appeared."  The King is near as is his kingdom.  He redeems each person from his slavery to sin, defeats all sin and evil through his resurrection, and appears to each person to invite them into his kingdom.

Lord, I have often neglected the hope you have given.  I have wondered about where my faith goes in trials and temptations.  I see now that it goes where my hope lies.  I find myself like a lot of people: without hope.  I see that is also without God.  Please deepen my hope, so I can eagerly await what I do not see.  Amen.

Faith is opposed to sight.  Hope that is seen is no hope at all.  This means not that I need to live in complete ignorance.  Faith is not opposed to knowledge, nor is hope without knowledge, since it lives in those "who have the firstfruits of the Spirit."  No, faith and hope are opposed to sight because what is seen is temporary and passing away.  What is seen holds no hope since it will leave me empty.  It is the God who is unseen that I hope in and his kingdom that rules over all and yet remains holy and hidden in these days.

Freedom Through Death

Romans 8 begins with the freedom from the law of sin and death into the law of the Spirit of life.  The death that  sin brings is condemnation.  I do what I hate, so in this life, I stand condemned and unable to save myself.  Such a life is full of confusion, since my will, mind, and body are not working together.  Such a life brings despair, since sin controls each part of me in its own way, subverting even my intentions toward goodness into evil desire.

Paul describes the freedom that comes through the Spirit of life in this way: "What the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of flesh for sin.  And so he condemned sin in the flesh."  First to unpack this, I was drawn to the the basic statement, what the law was powerless to do, God did.  Romans 7 shows what the law could not do.  Although the law is good and a source of delight to the mind, it produces death because sin resides in my body and enslaves my will.  The law cannot renew the mind, set the will free, and inhabit the body.  This is what God did through Jesus.

How does this happen?  God deals with the flesh.  The natural human abilities become the haunting place of sin when left to themselves.  In order to bring the flesh into its proper place, God inhabited the flesh through Jesus and defeated sin in the body.  Sin is condemned - or put to death - in the flesh by means of the Son coming as a man to destroy sin and its workings in the life of people.  This is evident in the crucifixion and resurrection.  Jesus put sin to death in his own body and sacrifice, but then rose victorious over it.

The law is powerless because it is weakened by the flesh.  The law is weakened by the flesh because I seek to use the flesh to keep the law.  Jesus shows that the only way to deal with the flesh is to crucify it, not use it.  My natural human ability apart from God must become pure garbage and seen as a liability.  I cannot hope to use it or it will use me with the power of sin behind it.  Jesus' death points to my inability to save myself, my need to be set free by God's ability, and the way in which such freedom takes place - through death and resurrection.

Now Paul introduces a new way to living.  Instead of living in dependence on my flesh - my natural human status and ability apart from God - I can now live in dependence on the Spirit - God's status and ability through him who lives in and with me.  The entry point of the Spirit into my life is my mind.  As my mind dwells on Christ and his life, death, and resurrection, my will becomes increasingly controlled by the Spirit - the person of God's will living in me.  In the same way, if my mind dwells on the flesh, then I am controlled by that outlook and I end up hostile to God, unable to follow his laws and ways, and unable to please him.

The work of Christ in me is this: my body is dead.  As sin has resided in the members of my body, my body dies in the work of Christ, since I give up on the flesh as a means to navigate life.  I am dead to that way of living.  My bodily habits of sin no longer rule and enslave my will and spirit.  Instead, I am alive because of the goodness that Christ has brought to me.  The righteousness comes from this continual focus on Christ.  By laying myself at his feet, I am now able to reverse the law of sin and death.  No longer do I hate what I do, but I find I am able to do good, "yet not I, but Christ who lives in me."  (Ephesians 2)  I am alive because I can finally do what I want to do in Christ: righteousness.

The image of being spiritually dead is being enslaved, condemned, and full of fear.  The image of being spiritually alive is being free, righteous, and loved.  The body given to sin dies.  The spirit given to the Spirit will be raised in a new body.  For now the body continues to die, but the Spirit sustains my spirit with hope. Whatever suffering the body goes through does not compare with the hope of renewal and resurrection, not only for our own bodies, but also for all of creation.  Hope is not wishing, but a calm confidence in a future outcome of a present reality.

Just as I am weakened by sin so that I hate what I do, I am weakened so that I do not know what I need.  The Spirit asks for I cannot conceive or even want now in my present weakness.  As he asks, God works in my life.  The Spirit works from within my heart submitting and combining my desires with God's in perfect unity.

And so nothing happens that can ultimately thwart God's desires.  This is not enslaving, but freeing because of God's love.  All trust and hope are based on this love.  Pain does not move me to suffering when I live in God's love.  Rather, I am willing to go through pain for his sake and conquer.

Paul explains that I am controlled by what I trust.  My hope is based on what I trust.  The basis for my trust in God is his love.

Lord, I want to live by the Spirit.  The deeds of the body must be killed when they stand on their own because through them sin lives and rules in my life.  I have too much experience with this way of life. Sin has had its way with me and I have freely given myself to it.  Now I see how I can be free of this master through your work in Christ and his work in me through the Spirit: I will die so that you might live.  I will give up sin and the death that follows so I might be united with you in the Spirit and have life.  Such life comes through a new outlook - a real belief in Christ and his way - which permeates each part of my being.  I have new thoughts, I can choose what is good, and find virtue working into my body.  This is Christ who lives in me, my hope and salvation.  May your grace always be sufficient to me.  I need nothing else.  Amen.

The Joy of My Salvation

Our only place, the only place of blessing, our one abiding position before God, must be that of those whose highest joy it is to confess that they are sinners saved by grace.  (Murray, Andrew. Humility, Chapter 8)

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
  and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. (Psalm 51:11)

Yesterday I read something that will revolutionize how I confess my sins to God.  Confession, when properly performed, ends in adoration, praise, and worship.  "Never, never, even in glory, can [those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb] be other than ransomed sinners." (Murray)  This is not because such confession is the source of worship, but because it accompanies the source of worship: humility.  A humble person confesses, but not all confessions are made in humility.

Praise punctuates humble confession.  In the face of sin and failure, humility begs for the "joy of salvation" which comes with a "willing spirit to sustain."  Confession without humility brings excuses, dread, self-condemnation, and even denial.  Its a matter of focus.  "Being occupied with self, even amid the deepest self-abhorrence, can never free us from self. It is the revelation of God, not only by the law condemning sin but by His grace delivering from it, that will make us humble."  (Murray)  Humble confession looks to God and others for pity and rejoices at finding it.  When such pity is found, it provides strength for deliverance.  Without pity, such strength is not found, only the desire to hide.

Pity (mercy) opens the door.  Grace brings us in.  When I seek God's pity, his grace is welcome.  This is why the tax collector in Jesus parable (Luke 18) went home justified and the Pharisee did not.  The Pharisee was unable to receive God's grace because he would not go through the door of pity.  Grace (God's unearned favor) extends beyond pity.  I experience God's favor primarily as strength.  Grace is what provides ongoing salvation from my sins, while pity begins the process.  To stop with pity is to fall short of grace.  "'The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath now made me free from the law of sin, which once led me captive' [Romans 8:2] - is neither the annihilation nor the sanctification of the flesh, but a continuous victory given by the Spirit as He mortifies the deeds of the body."  (Murray)  That is why Luther (I believe) says, "There, but for the grace of God, go I" when he looks at sin.

So now as I come to confess, I find that I can enter and leave my "confessional" with hope.  I can enter through remembering how God has had mercy and how he continues to save me from many sins and trials.  Although I am a sinner, and need to admit my need for pity, my joy is in his salvation, which sustains me daily and gives me hope for whatever I may face.  It provides an essential pillar to my humility before God: the position of a ransomed slave.  I can leave with the hope of deepened humility and praise.

Such restored joy brings a willing spirit.  Willing to seek pity again.  Willing to praise the God who freely gives such pity.  Willing to seek his grace and strength to move forward in my redemption.  I believe I am redeemed from my slavery to sin, but need to grow in my understanding and life as a son of the Most High.  I have been invited into his home to live in his family and now I am eager to learn the ways of this heavenly household.  Only joy can bring this willingness.

Forgiving Father, your ways are mysterious especially when it comes to seeing your love for sinners.  You are patient and kind.  When I remember how your love has been extended to me, a sinner, I am overcome.  Pity me when I forget this love and treat you like a cruel taskmaster.  Remind me of your goodness to me each day.  Let me rejoice in you through your Spirit!  Amen.


Today I reviewed many sins from my past.  The pain was turned to gladness when I realized God's mercy and salvation.  I am eager to confess and turn from anything else that would keep me from that joy.  Curses on my pride!