Are you a bad or a good christian ? AUDIO 56 mn

This article is dedicated to the bad Christians. In fact, there are no bad Christians. This is just what you might say about yourselves. Let's see or hear that it's not true, and  you will soon be able to agree with Psalm 139, which says in verse 14: :

Psalms, 139:14 -I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Let's first explore what could make you believe such negative things about yourself.

Colossians, 3:5 - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry...

But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. (verse 8)

Don’t lie to each other (verse 9)

First observation:

Do you agree that the Holy Spirit is, here, addressing the church, the children of God, Christians. How is it that He speaks of sexual immorality, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, lies... Is this possible for a born-again Christian? To answer this question, let's ask another one: if all these things were no longer possible, would we be instructed to put them to death?

It's true that in the fervor of first love, these negative traits find no place. However, if the flame dwindles, they come back with force. Only the Lord's instructions can terminate their power until they vanish. However, there is no reason to be surprised or doubt our faith or sincere love for the Lord when they resurface.

Romains, 8:1 - now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

There is, therefore, no reason to feel guilty or condemn oneself, no reason to say that one is a bad Christian when these things resurface. It's vital to remember every day that we are no longer condemned by God. Romans 8:1 was written for the guilty. An innocent is not condemnable and thus doesn't need this verse. The incredible statement is that for these guilty ones, there is no condemnation.

These sins can still occur; otherwise, we wouldn't be instructed to put them to death. Does this reasoning trouble some of you ? Then, we need to revisit sound doctrine. Let's do that together.

1 Corinthians, 10:12 - If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall!

Second observation:

If we are instructed to put them to death, it means it is possible to do so and no longer suffer their painful harassment or dominance during our earthly journey.

The inherited nature from Adam, attached to our bodies, naturally and effortlessly leads us towards sin. However, since its crucifixion by and through Jesus Christ, it is destined to weaken progressively until it becomes as inert and harmless as a dead body in all areas of our lives. This certainly happens if we are properly instructed in God's grace and provided that we stop listening to the ambiguous and guilt-inducing discourse of legalism, an ambiguous discourse because it is partly based on the Word of God, but only partly.

Hebrews, 12:1 - … let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up,

If we are crucified and dead with Christ, isn't there a contradiction with the fact that sin can so easily trip us up (Hebrews 12:1)? Notice the term ‘trip up’, entangle in other translations. Sin doesn't emerge from within but entangles us (or tries to entangle us from the outside).

The concept of being crucified and dead with Christ does raise questions about the ease with which sin can trip us up. The term "entangle" suggests that sin doesn't originate from within but surrounds us, attempting to engulf us from the outside.

There is indeed no contradiction, but simple, biblical explanations. The sound doctrine of Grace, when put into practice, is highly effective in truly setting us free! Let's consider a modern analogy: a born-again Christian is no longer sick, but the body, the outer shell, still carry a sleeping virus that can be triggered at the slightest favorable opportunity.

Galatians, 2:20 - My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless.

Romans, 6:5 – Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin;

Our old self has been crucified, and our soul, with what it has already understood, has begun to transform (changing some of its ways of thinking and acting). However, there are still many layers, old habits, superficial patterns from the past to eliminate. We will undoubtedly shed these layers if we approach the matter in the proper way.

Colossians, 2:11 - When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

The circumcision in Christ starts the moment we give our lives to Christ through faith and baptism. Have you entrusted your life to the Lord Jesus? Have you clearly manifested it through baptism before earth and heaven? You have thus entered into a commitment with Christ, and Christ has committed Himself to you; the union is sealed, and the circumcision of the heart has occurred in the invisible realm. We have already begun to experience its effects.

These effects will continue and grow within you throughout your earthly existence. What do they consist of? We have read it: stripping off the flesh. And it's not a duty. The circumcision in Christ urges us, instills in us a deep desire to rid ourselves of everything old and incompatible with the new life flowing within us.

That's what circumcision of the heart is – a mark that we belong to God. It doesn't mean we always succeed, but there is this desire welling up from within us.

Romans, 11:17 - And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

Indeed, the Word of God provides us with other images: at new birth, we are grafted in like a branch is grafted to a tree. We have been grafted into Christ and are now nourished by the life of God. This is factual. These are facts, not commandments to fulfill. The root supports the branch and imparts its quality of life to it. Christ's life within us supports us, inspiring new desires and granting new abilities, even though some, due to lack of instruction, may turn a deaf ear for some time.

Deuteronomy, 30:6 – The LORD your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!

This promise has found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Our spirit (the heart) has been regenerated, our soul (mind, will, feelings, and emotions) is in the process of adjusting to this new life continually flowing from our spirit. But what about our body?

The new self renews himself every morning in his spirit, but what about the body?

2 Corinthians, 4:16 - That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits aree being renewed every day.

The body deteriorates and is always subject to death. It is currently dead and resurrected only symbolically through the commitment of our faith and water baptism.

1 Peter, 3:21 - And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 

After our resurrection (the recovery of our bodies buried in the ground upon our death), we will inherit, according to God's promise, a new glorious body, eternally young, immortal, and immune to sin.

1 Corinthians, 15:42 - It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

There is indeed a type of body that we do not know, a spiritual body. Our current body is a natural body housing a soul and a spirit. But there exists a body of a different nature, a spiritual body. Observing Jesus resurrected body gives us insights into the properties of this spiritual human body that we will inherit at resurrection.

The resurrected Jesus, the firstborn from the dead, has a human body with a torso, hands, feet, head, and this body transformed by the resurrection can eat earthly food :

Luke, 24:41 - Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched.

This body that can consume food can also teleport and appear in a room without entering through the door:

Luke, 24:35 - And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

And yet it is a 'solid' body that can be seen and touched.

Luke, 24:38 - “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.

John, 20:25 - One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”.

And this 'solid' body can rise into the air, fly:

Acts, 1:9 - After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

In the meantime, our living natural body, while waiting for this resurrection body, remains vulnerable to the principle of sin, a principle that can at any moment lead us to disobey the spiritual and moral principles of the Kingdom of God, in all its forms, unless rendered inactive and powerless on the cross by the Holy Spirit.

Yes, this body, still carrying the virus, can tempt the children of God who have been cleansed by the redeeming blood of Christ, who have become the righteousness of God, who have received the pure nature of Jesus Christ by grace and thus are pure of a purity that is not their own. This body can tempt them to soil their feet. This is the imagery Jesus used to help us grasp this truth.

John, 13:10 - Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.”.

We are pure because life, the pure nature of Jesus Christ, has been granted to us at the same time as the forgiveness of our sins.

Colossians, 2:13 - You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins

Have you accepted this wonderful truth that through the death of His Son, God has granted you grace for ALL your past, present, and future offenses? Well, on that day, you received the life of Christ, and the circumcision began. This is called salvation or being saved.

On that day, the Holy Spirit performed a deep, anesthesia-free operation within us, a mysterious process we might not have particularly felt but of which we began to observe the fruits. We were grafted into Christ; His pure nature became our 'sap,' our true life. Yet, it is still possible to soil our feet during the journey. The journey is a metaphor for our daily life. This leads us to the third observation.

Third observation:

The question now is: how do we put to death these old skins of our former lives that cause us to soil our hands and feet and deprive our souls of the abundance of constant joy and peace in Christ? How?

It's important to ask this question because if approached incorrectly, we achieve the opposite effect of what we intend. Afterwards, we might perceive ourselves as bad Christians. Did you know that by trying to put these old habits to death in the manner of the old covenant, through laws and commandments, you inadvertently give them even more power to dominate you, almost becoming uncontrollable? It's a strange paradox!

The most commonly spread mistake is to interpret this 'Put to death...' as another commandment, one more thing we should accomplish by drawing from our own resolutions. It's a devastating mistake widely taught, encouraged by all religions. The devil doesn't prevent anyone from preaching this message. It serves his purposes because it worsens the condition of those seeking to become better.

For Christians, the compelling force behind this deadly preaching is in the very words of Jesus who said that the law will never be abolished, and not one iota will disappear until the end of time..

Matthew, 5:17 - Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved

Jesus had the power and the right to abolish the law and the commandments, yet He did not. He did something better: He fulfilled it and continues to fulfill it.

Moses' words were already impossible commandments that no one can fully practice (starting with the first, which is worshiping God alone); Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount raises the bar of impracticability even higher. Jesus did not abolish anything; He set the standard of the unattainable even higher, especially for those who might deceive themselves into thinking they have fulfilled the entire law of Moses, like that very sincere young man:

Matthew, 19:18 - And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’ “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”?

The message of Grace unveiled, revealed, and explained in the New Testament epistles, describes a strange phenomenon, a perplexing relationship between the law and the principle of sin residing in our bodies. But it's as if no one really wants to understand what it truly means and, especially meditate on what it implies.

The biblical texts clearly explain that the purpose of the commandment, whether from Moses or from Jesus Himself, is solely to awaken sin within us and compel it to manifest. This process is intricately detailed in the seventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans..

Romans, 7:8 - But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power.

Romans, 7:5 - When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

Romans, 7:11 - Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.

What do all these texts say? The law that we attempt to follow through our own efforts arouses evil desires within us (Romans 7:5). The law gives power to sin (Romans 7:8). Therefore, the commandment produces the opposite of what we intend. It awakens sin within us, reveals it, and gives it power. The more I impose rules on myself, trying to gather my strength to resist sin, the stronger it becomes. Strange law, isn't it?

Jesus said that the law would never be abolished, and yet He did abolish something. Do you know what? 

Hebrews, 7:18 - For, on the one hand, a former commandment is cancelled because of its weakness and uselessness [because of its inability to justify the sinner before God] (for the Law never made anything perfect); while on the other hand a better hope is introduced through which we now continually draw near to God.

That's what needs to be understood. It's not God's law that was cancelled; it never will be. Instead, it's the way of practicing it, the old legalistic way. As we read a few moments ago, we serve in a new way of living, in the Spirit and not according to the letter that kills. Jesus Christ didn't just say that not a single iota of the law would disappear; He also added that He had come to fulfill the law.

Romans, 11:32 - For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all [Jew and Gentile alike].

Commandments lead us into disobedience; that's their role, so that we seek deliverance in the rest that Jesus Christ offers and pours into us through His life. This is the incredible news of the gospel! And that's why the commandments will never be cancelled until every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is the Lord..

Romans, 7:10 - And the very commandment which was intended to bring life, actually proved to bring death for me.

Galatians, 3:24 - Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

If Christ lives in us, we should never read the 'you must,' the 'do' statements of the New Testament as if they were new commandments ever again.

John, 6:63 - The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

The words of Jesus are spirit and life. The old covenant with its commandments to be practiced through human effort for blessings is cancelled. Today, in Christ, every commandment is both a description and a revelation of the principles in effect in the Kingdom of God, as well as a promise of what His life produces within us when we walk in faith in Him, following given instructions. Commandments are now promises for us because we serve in a new spirit. Yes, they are the promises of what His life will produce in us. We are earnestly invited to enter into God's rest, opposed to the vain and exhausting efforts to comply with an impossible law.

Hebrews, 4:10 - For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

Entering into this rest is the only way to be protected from the power of sin, disobedience and fall. This rest inevitably leads to the deliverance from the power of sin in our bodies, from the desire to sin. God's rest leads to the joyful and natural implementation of His will.

God's rest doesn't mean doing nothing; it means doing even more, animated by the Spirit of God, strengthened by the Spirit of God.

Not accepting the gospel doctrine means depriving oneself of its power and continuing as a worthy heir of Adam and Eve, to munch from the wrong tree, the tree of external knowledge of God's will that must be strictly followed.

Why reject the tree of life, from which the pure sap gushes forth, producing from within the rivers of living water, the desire and ability to do the Lord's will? Christ in us, the One who fulfills God's law within us, the hope of glory! He came for this purpose.

Colossians, 1:26 - This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

Let us steadfastly and tirelessly wait, with every victory, with every fall, with every stain on our hands or feet, let us wait even more from Him within us. Anyone who abides in Him, anyone who is upheld in Him through the marvelous Holy Spirit, can only abound in gratitude. For life is a gift and a producer of true deep, enduring, ineffable joy, and of so many other treasures!

Colossians, 2:6 –And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness

Indeed, when we begin to live this life of grace where everything is given, where everything is a gift, where even righteous living springs forth as a present, our only natural response is overflowing thankfulness.

We have received by grace, as a gift. We walk in the same manner, receiving by grace, as a gift. Righteous living, God's righteousness, is a gift from A to Z, from Alpha to Omega.

Why persist in hoping our fallen nature can love God with all its heart, strength, and mind? It will NEVER happen. This can miraculously and supernaturally (and quite naturally without sweat or exhaustion) occur only if we turn our gaze to Christ living within us, if we root ourselves in Him, expecting progress only from His life within us.

Christ in us, the hope of glory, isn't just a poetic expression or a Christian slogan. It's the greatest secret in the universe for a human who wants to reign in life !

Philippians, 2:5 - You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Another commandment in appearance! Let me remind you, a commandment is now for us who decided to serve in the new way, both the description of the principles prevailing in the kingdom, and the promise of what Christ is producing and will produce in us.

Having the same attitude that Jesus Christ had. We are not Jesus Christ, the head. You cannot have His feelings. But when your faith, through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, grasps that Christ is in you, that you have become a part, a member of His Body, and as you let this truth make its way into you and transform your way of thinking, then His life, desires, attitudes and wisdom are effortlessly released.

Each of His words is no longer commandment and death but becomes spirit and LIFE because you walk by faith. Walking by faith is nothing else.

Galatians, 3:11 - So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.

Wait upon Him and Him alone within you. For everything. Continuously.

Philippians, 3:3 - For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh

To boast in what Christ does through us and in us, no longer rely on the pathetic strengths of our fallen human nature but rather on the righteous and pure nature of the One who lives in us, the tree of life to which we have been grafted: that is rest, the message of Grace in Jesus Christ.

When we recognize our poverty in spirit and faith and place our mustard seed of faith in the One who lives in us, the Holy Spirit stirs a gentle and powerful willingness with the ability to please God. It's the miracle of grace, the miracle of the new covenant. It is normal to enter into this life and experience it as It's our inheritance.

For anyone trying otherwise to follow the Lord, great discouragements and heavy falls await. The commandment awakens sin. No one escapes this law. The commandment is made for this and to lead us to Christ, in whom we can be complete in every way, in whom we have everything in fullness.

From the morning, let's open the door to Him, invite Christ to be the inspirer of every desire.

Romans, 12:1 - Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Let's offer our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice. Contrary to what I used to believe, it's not an energy-consuming religious exercise in willpower and prayer. Not at all! It simply happens upon waking: a quiet declaration made to the Holy Spirit that we agree with the fact that we belong to Him and willingly give Him full authority to breathe Christ’s life  into all our thoughts, attitudes, and words.

Every morning, until it becomes our new way of life. Progress can be slow at times, sometimes fast, but we must not be discouraged. We've read it; the root sustains us, not the other way around.

Hebrews, 13:20 - Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

Remarkable text, isn't it? The principle we just exposed is here, clear, summarized. May the God of peace make you capable of every good work and may He work in you what is pleasing to Him THROUGH Jesus Christ, in you, Jesus Christ, the life, the hope of glory.

This way of living, oddly, doesn't lead to any slavery or loss of our identity, as the voices of the snake might whisper, but rather to becoming our true selves in a freedom, joyful, enthusiastic, rich in wisdom, in love, and therefore in success.

We will owe to Him all this success. In Him alone we can boast of being, amid our usual, normal activities, sustained in joy, desire, and zeal to walk faithfully in the ways of the Lord. To be pleasing to Him, we place no confidence in the limited and fickle power of our human nature, in our flesh (the meaning of the word "flesh" in this verse from Philippians).

Philippians, 3:3 - For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort (NIV)

Do you know these things? If you expect from Jesus, if you ask Jesus within you, through His Spirit, the fervent desire and full capacity to do all of God's will, you are consuming the right food. And this strengthening bread leads you to experiment that the powers of God's Grace are indeed present, to lift you beyond your hopes and carry you into all the blessings promised to the righteous. This blog speaks only of that. I invite you to read all the articles. The gospel is truly good news that transforms.

Romans, 8:13 - Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live,

At the beginning of this article, we read 'put to death the members that are on earth... we are now given an additional instruction.

Zechariah, 4:6 - It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

Through the power of the Spirit, put to death... The death that must strike this nature does not come from us. It is not our part to crucify our flesh, as it is sometimes heard, or make it die. That makes no sense. Don't ask someone immoral to kill immorality. The immoral person has no desire to kill his or her immorality except during brief moments of religious fervor! One cannot crucify oneself. The cross is always inflicted by another.

The new creation, Christ within us, feels no sense of deprivation in turning away from impurity, greed, anger, lie, etc. Only the old creation suffers in renouncing these things, and you expect it to kill what it loves? That's highly unreasonable.

You are also a son, a daughter of God if indeed the Spirit of Christ dwells within you. Instead of asking your flesh to resist what it loves most in the world, ask and continue to ask God to strengthen the inner man, who, without any particular effort, has no desire for all these things. God answers this attitude and this type of prayer beyond expectations because He wants to strengthen the new creature and pour more of His life into us. His death and resurrection had no other purpose than for us to become His temple, His tabernacle.

Philippians, 2:12 - Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

This is how we work out our salvation, not by striving, for only the flesh strives not to sin, but by confidently gazing at the One who produces the will and the action and practicing it naturally with joy. God's new covenant with humanity produces in us the willingness and the doing of His will, which is good, pleasing, and perfect.

Romans, 12:2 - Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Salvation is not simply going to heaven; it is the complete deliverance from the power of sin. God creates this willingness and doing in the new creature.

Can you imagine a sinner waking up in the morning and thinking, 'Well, today I really need to make an effort, or else I won't be able to sin, to go astray'? Of course not. He does not need to make any effort. It just happens naturally; it's his nature.

So, acknowledge that it would be just as absurd to think that the new creation (you and me) in Christ should wake up in the morning thinking, 'Well, today I really need to make efforts, or else I won't be able to walk the right path.' It costs the flesh nothing to sin. Expect neither help nor firm resolution from the part of you that feels deprived. The part of yourself that thinks and feels this way can do nothing for you, and you can do nothing for it. Not even sincerely pray.

It costs the new creation nothing to walk right. Victories are won in peace, in a rest founded and rooted in the incredible work of Jesus Christ’s life within us, without sensation, without any effort nor deprivation.

Romains, 14:17 - For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.

This verse teaches that righteousness is not through our efforts but by the Holy Spirit. This work of death is carried out by another, not by us, and that ‘Other’ is the Holy Spirit, who, upon our request and with our full consent, applies to the old self a death that is already effective and accomplished in Jesus Christ.

Colossians, 3:3 - For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

We are already dead. It's not something to be done. This invisible truth becomes effective only when revealed. And the revelation settles in, takes root day by day more and more if we understand its principle, accept it, and consider it as our  only chance of success!

The Holy Spirit can apply it to us when we stop torturing ourselves, condemning ourselves, inflicting deprivation and torment, saying we are bad Christians, bad believers – all of which are signs that we do not want to accept His full and incredible Grace.

It's toward Him within us that we turn the gaze of our trust, entrusting Him with the reins of our life, to the One who lives in us, every day, every hour, every minute, every second!

No religious exercise, no forced prayer, no rigid fasting, no half-hearted praise, but rather a quiet attitude – either supplicating or confident – a calm gaze turned toward the One who lives within us. Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Let our Lord accomplish, create the heart's dispositions, the new desires, or else we don't believe in the new covenant promises. We remind them in almost every article on this blog, and I will remind them again:

Hebrews 8:10 - But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’

For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins. When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear

This new covenant is for the house of Israel, but let's also remind that, through Jesus, who extended salvation to all nations, Christians are now part of God's Israel, as indicated in the following verse (and others Acts 11:18 - Galatians 3:8 - Ephesians 2:11-18)

Galatians, 6:15 - Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.

And if you consider your faith too weak to enter into these things, let me reassure you that it's an illusion because you already have enough faith. If you have even perceived the huge potential of this wonderful gospel through all that you have just heard or read, you believe. A mustard seed is enough, and you have it, clearly.

Hebrews, 12:2 - looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,,

Turn with your mustard seed of faith towards the One who creates faith (the author, the head) and who perfects it (the finisher). Jesus does lead you in His race. Trust in Him, not in your own faith!

Proverbs, 15:33 - Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor..
Proverbs, 22:4 - Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.

Enter into God's rest. Rest from your vain efforts to improve what can never be improved. Invite and let Jesus work in you and produce His life. By doing so, you allow the Holy Spirit to apply death to your old self and resurrection life to the new creature. Christ lives within us. We simply no longer desire what displeases Him. This is the circumcision of the heart, the mark of our belonging to the Holy and True God! Knowing Jesus in this way truly sets us free, sometimes without us even realizing it.

John, 8:31 - Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

The gospel is the good news of this incredible life that quietly springs forth without torrents of exhausting and fleeting emotions. Life simply continues. The river widens day by day, day after day, one day at the time. Impurity, passions, evil desires, anger, malice, hostility, slander, lies, quarrels, greed lose their power and no longer have any attraction or control over us. Christ's life flows within you and produces its peaceful and delightful fruit.

The gospel is a wonderful news, and because everything it promises is true, there is no disappointment at the end of the road !