God has granted that life to every Christian. But not every Christian
is enjoying it. For the Christian has the terrible power of choosing
to walk after the flesh and not after the Spirit. God’s plan is that
the Christian life should be a moment by moment miracle life, just as
the new birth is a miracle. “If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit
let us also walk” (Gal. 5:25). Being born again, and “walking,” are
two distinct things. When a Christian learns that God intends him to
walk by faith, letting Christ do it all, just as he has believed that
Christ has done it all in the matter of saving him from the penalty
of his sins, then the Christian is ready to enter into the fulness of
the Spirit, which is the Victorious Life.
And when he does enter by faith for the first time into this complete
victory, which has been his privilege all along in Christ, there is
such a marked change that it is natural for a Christian to think of
it as a “second blessing.” There is that perfectly clear distinction
between being born again, and “walking” or living moment by moment
after the new birth has taken place. The man who has been born again is
in a place to take hold of the much-more salvation for Christians as he
could not do in his unregenerate state.
Testing Our “Doctrine” of Victory
There are some simple tests of our “view” of complete victory over sin
which will show whether we are in danger of coming into bondage to a
_doctrine_.
Any view that centers attention upon self is dangerous. The heart
secret of victory is looking away from self unto Christ. If I testify,
“I am holy”; if I must look into my own state, examining self to see
whether this holiness still remains, I am on wrong ground.
Any view that brings into prominence my past record of victory or
holiness leads to difficulties. The testimony, “I have not sinned
for so many weeks or months since my new experience” may be given
with sincerity, and the speaker may intend to give the glory to God.
Nevertheless, it is a wrong testimony, and no encouragement is given
in the Word for such a statement. For one thing, no human being has a
perfect memory; none of us can have accurate knowledge of past states
of consciousness. Victory is always a matter of the present moment,
and if we are occupied with Christ and _his_ perfect work for us, the
matter of _our_ past record is of no consequence, so far as it bears on
present victory by faith.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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