Reference: Ephesians 2:1-3
I am quite sure that many people mayunderstand the fact that man when he is in sin, is totally hopeless andhelpless and cannot within his own power and ability save himself from his deadin sin state. I am also quite sure that many of the people that do know ofman's total depraved state are totally void of the truth as to how man isbrought out of his depraved condition. You can never know the truth ofredemption until you realize just how dead in sin we are before God performshis saving operation on our being. Listening to the common belief today in therealm of the religious world of how they confess being a born again child ofGod by just their confession on Christ as Lord and Saviour is in realitythinking that man's sin is only skin deep and can be washed away as easy aswiping dirt from off a glass. It is a very simple thing to take a wash clothand clean a dirty glass, but when it comes to the subject of man's stain ofsin, then this is an entirely different thing altogether. The average persontoday that claims salvation through Christ actually thinks that their sin iswashed away as simple as is dirt is washed away by some laundry detergent. Itis of course a fact that the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross is whatwashes the sinner from sin, but very, very few people understands the mysteryof godliness and what it means for the blood of Christ to wash us from sin. Thecommon teaching today in the religious world is that the blood of Christ washesthem free from sin based only on the fact that this is believed in the mind andaccepted.
They believe that their sins are washed away and forgotten of God atthe moment of confessing Christ as Lord and Saviour. This belief is actuallythinking that man's total depraved condition has been renewed in a split secondof time. This doctrine is only accepted and believed in the mind without notransformation of the mind whatsoever except other than believing it with amental concept. Just to believe that you are washed from sin's stain is notwhat sanctification is. To be sanctified means to be cleansed from inward sin.In the religious world today there are is only one or two views about beingcleansed from sin or as the Bible calls it sanctified. One view is that asinner is cleansed from sin at the moment they accept Christ as Lord andSaviour. The other view is that one becomes cleansed or sanctified later onafter repentance and the accepting of Christ as Saviour. Both views teach thatsanctification is an instant work at the altar. This instant work is believedto be an emotional experience through and by one of the senses of the fleshcalled touch. A sensation of the flesh is not how sin is removed from ourbodies. The word of God plainly tells us that we are sanctified as we walk inthe light of the truth of God's word. (John17:17) Sanctification is a progressivework wrought in our lives as we abstain from sin's pleasures. To abstain fromsin will crucify the lusts and desires of the flesh until we have completevictory over the world. When Christ comes into our heart this enables us tocease from sin, but we are to walk in the light of the revealed truth of thegospel of Christ. The desire for the sincere milk of the word of God is whatpreserves us in Christ, making us Spirit filled children of God. The Bibletells us that if any man be in Christ, then they are new creatures where oldthings have passed away and all things have become new. The cleansing from sinis brought about by the renewing of the mind and the crucifying of the fleshlydesires. We are given the power to become a son of God, meaning that we mortifythe deeds of our bodies in a daily process. We are given the power of the HolyGhost in our heart to cease from sin, but then we must begin the sanctificationprocess of crucifying the deeds of the body. When Christ comes into our heartat the beginning of our conversion, this gives us the ability or power to ceasefrom sin, but this does not sanctify or cleanse us from our sin. To be cleansedfrom sin means that our bodies are free from lustful desires to live in andcommit sin. When a person receives Christ into their heart, this simply meansthat they now possess the power to overcome the fleshly desires, and to abstainfrom fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind will eventually bringcomplete victory over the flesh and the world. Believing that you become a bornagain and sanctified child of God at the precise moment that you confess toaccept Christ as Lord and Saviour will actually cause you to fail to come tothe measure and the stature of Jesus Christ unto a perfect man filled with allhis fulness. The religious world today believes that they do become a bornagain and sanctified child of God when they accept Christ as their personalSaviour and this is exactly why they cannot and do not overcome the world andcrucify the desires of the flesh. They fail to go on and come to the knowledgeof the truth that the gospel reveals. How is it possible to go on and receivetruth when you think and believe that you are already a born again andsanctified child of God based only on the fact that you have accepted Christ asyour personal Saviour by just a concept in your mind? If you just say that youaccept him as your personal Saviour by making this decision in your heart andmind, this only proves that you believe he did die for you on the crossshedding his blood for you. This is only accepting a very small fraction ofwhat the gospel reveals. Christ did die for you, but this means that his deathprovided a way that you can be redeemed and brought into fellowship withAlmighty God. This way is revealed in the gospel and you must obey the gospelbefore you will know the truth that will set you free making you a born againchild of God filled with his Holy Spirit. Take a good look at each and everydenominational organization today and see if they measure up to the standardsof the word of God revealed in the Bible. Why do they all say and teach thatnobody can live without sin in their lives? They do this because they havefailed to walk in the light of the truth of the gospel. They denominate aroundthe teaching that a person becomes a born again and sanctified child of Godwhen they accept Christ as their personal Saviour. This is not what the gospelteaches. The Bible teaches that we grow unto an holy temple of the Lord throughand by the ministry of the word. Receiving Christ into your heart is just thebeginning of the baptism into the body of Christ, which is the church. We arebaptized into Christ by the Spirit through a progressive manner as we walk inthe light of the word of God. Sanctification is not a tapering off of sin, butrather a cleansing of sin from within our inner most being. The coming in ofthe Spirit into our heart purifies our heart, but this does not renew our mindnor does it crucify the lusts and desires of the flesh. The renewing of themind and crucifying of the flesh is brought about through obedience....