: Judges 17. The first appendix: Some precautionary principles before studying apostasy.

Title: Judges 17. The first appendix: Some precautionary principles before studying apostasy.

 

The study of the mindset of apostate Israel emphasizes repeatedly what the right conduct of the child of God should be. It is a repeated presentation of the death certificate of the old man in us. It is a repeated call to the new man that we are to think and conduct ourselves in the manner of our divine nature. The old man is selfish and self-centered while the new creature is selfless and full of divine love.

 

When we study the failure of Israel, we are not only shown what not to do, but more so we are challenged to be and conduct ourselves as who we are in Christ. This is the most challenging call by far, and a few principles of truth will serve us well before we continue in this sad time in Jewish history.  

 

1Pe 1:13 Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

 

1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,

 

1Pe 1:15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;

 

1Pe 1:16 because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

 

The new life that is Christ is supernatural. It can only be lived in faith in the power of the Holy Spirit and under direct control of the word of God.

 

Such a life can often be frightening to a believer who is striving to understand it. It is frightening because it calls for the death of the old man in the conscience of the believer and simultaneously the giving over to God the entire life in obedience to Him and sacrifice in love to all others.

 

Can you entrust your entire life to Yavah Elohim?

 

Psa 36:5 Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies.

 

Psa 36:6 Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God;

Thy judgments are like a great deep.

O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast.

 

Psa 36:7 How precious is Thy lovingkindness, O God!

And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings.

 

Psa 36:8 They drink their fill of the abundance of Thy house;

And Thou dost give them to drink of the river of Thy delights.

 

Psa 36:9 For with Thee is the fountain of life;

In Thy light we see light.

 

Fear, though illegitimate, comes from understanding the great height of the call upon you. In maturity you will embrace the call without fear.

 

1Pe 1:22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,

 

1Pe 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.

 

1Pe 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.

 

1Pe 2:12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

 

The acceptance of such a life and the hunger that goes along with that acceptance can burden a believer with guilt when grace is forgotten.

 

The plan of God is perfect and we are called to walk in it at all times, thus we are called to conduct ourselves perfectly. How does one do that knowing that eventually they will fail? How does one avoid the low self-image that plagues many Christians who desire that perfect life of goodness?

 

One solution that has been attempted is antinomianism. It is the gnostic thought of giving the flesh what it desires. It is not fighting the flesh but caving into it. This certainly alleviates the pressure of perfection, but sin is damaging to the sinner as well as those associated with him. Plus, the foundation of this logic is severely damaged. How can the solution to living the life of Christ be not living it?

 

Rom 7:21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good.

 

Rom 7:22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,

 

Rom 7:23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

 

Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

 

We cast such burdens on the able shoulders of Christ for the sole reason that He cares for you. You have been foreknown by Him intimately as His child. He has loved you as His child before the foundation of the earth. If these be true then you have won much more than the lottery by a billion billions.

 

We see Paul here relating to us his struggle as an immature believer attempting to think and live the life of Christ as he did the law in his earlier life, by human effort. His flesh still ruled him. He seeks moral freedom and only finds more bondage. His struggle causes him to cry out for help and so he is ready to throw in the towel of human effort and is ready for the revelation of how such a life can be lived - only by the Spirit of God.

 

Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

 

This "so then" is the conclusion to his discussion which starts in 7:7. He is discussing, is the law sin? His conclusion, no, it is holy, but I, the sinner, have no means of keeping it. But even though this is true, the deliverance through Christ now follows.

 

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 

All condemnation must come from self and only self.

 

Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

 

Rom 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

 

Rom 8:4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

 

The wretched man is overcome by the Spirit within. We say that some believers do not walk by the Spirit and so in them the requirement of the law is not fulfilled, but why do you again look to the lives of others? This is entirely the wrong emphasis. The good news is that every single believer can walk by the Spirit of God and experience a fulfilled life that is righteous and sanctified and without guilt or condemnation. It is not difficult to do, and it is not reserved only for some elite few. It is by grace through faith. So don't ask about why someone doesn't; ask yourself why you haven't taken full advantage of it.

 

What then do we do with the burden of perfection? We cast that burden upon the Lord and rush headlong into the plan of God with the joy of grace, entire forgiveness, and total reliance on the Holy Spirit.