You can never break a fellowship that God has established.
In Romans 6:7 Paul says: “For he who has died is freed from sin.” Paul isn’t saying that Christians don’t sin any more. He is saying that, by God’s uniting us with Christ’s death, we have been set free from the continual influence of sin. Do we still have our sin-infested bodies, where we feel the “warring” going on every day? Yes, we can all testify to this fact. We still have that war within us, urging us to be selfish, or to get angry, or to let our mind wander with immoral thoughts. Whether it is the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life (1 John 2:16), our flesh still holds habits that run deep. It wants to be right in an argument; it wants to have its way. We still "feel" all of that.
But greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4)! When old habits rise up from our sin-infested flesh to influence us, Christ is also there. He resides deeper than our flesh, as our new nature, and He is not enslaved to the flesh like our old nature was. Even when our flesh succeeds in distracting us for awhile, it can no longer control us indefinitely. Christ gently makes us aware of this foreign influence and draws us back, again and again, to our new nature in Him. He is the Great Shepherd directing our path. God has hidden us with Christ in Himself. I like to think of Christ as an impenetrable God-sphere around our spirit, shielding and protecting us from the sin and death radiating from our flesh.
Our fellowship with God is sustained and nurtured by Christ’s life, and by His continual working in us. God’s drawing in this way is evidence that He is the one who maintains His fellowship with us and that our fellowship with Him cannot be broken. I was always taught that it was my responsibility to maintain my fellowship with Him, and I tried to do so by performing all the “right” things. In reality, it is God who maintains His fellowship with us.
So what happens, in terms of practical Christian living, when sinful distractions occur, whether they are in thought or deed? Do we need to feel guilty and pray our way back into God’s favor? No. Must we feel condemned, and somehow do something to reestablish fellowship with Him through repentance and seeking forgiveness for our sins? Again, the answer is no. Don’t take my word for it. Believe in God’s word. Christ has already paid the price for our sins once and for all (1 Peter 2:24, 3:18). God has already forgiven and forgotten them (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12, 10:17). He has separated us from those transgressions as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)!
Scripture doesn’t say, “IF you feel guilty enough, and pray long enough to humbly seek forgiveness, THEN God will forgive and forget your sins (until the next time you sin).” Scripture is concise: Christ paid the price for the sins of the whole world over two thousand years ago. He didn’t work out an installment plan with God. He paid for each and every one of them—once and for all. God has also accepted Christ’s payment, and has forgiven and forgotten those sins. Yet our human pride refuses to accept this. We continue to insist on being partners with God, not only for our salvation, but throughout our entire Christian life. It is this insistence that robs us of glorious freedom in Christ. Our part in God’s plan is not as a partner, but as a vessel of mercy to contain His glory; a glory that God reveals in us when it pleases Him. A glory that increasingly grows in us from glory to glory as God gently and progressively performs His work in us (2 Corinthians 3:18). We are nothing and He is everything.
If I could encourage you to do one thing, it would be to stop wasting time focusing on the sins and shortcomings that you perceive in your life. From God’s perspective, as revealed in His word, you are the only one who still dwells on them. Instead, experience the joy of God drawing you to focus on Christ as your new nature.
From the book, "A Different Place," The peace and freedom that comes from knowing: God has done it all—He is all we need, pages 108-111.
But greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4)! When old habits rise up from our sin-infested flesh to influence us, Christ is also there. He resides deeper than our flesh, as our new nature, and He is not enslaved to the flesh like our old nature was. Even when our flesh succeeds in distracting us for awhile, it can no longer control us indefinitely. Christ gently makes us aware of this foreign influence and draws us back, again and again, to our new nature in Him. He is the Great Shepherd directing our path. God has hidden us with Christ in Himself. I like to think of Christ as an impenetrable God-sphere around our spirit, shielding and protecting us from the sin and death radiating from our flesh.
Our fellowship with God is sustained and nurtured by Christ’s life, and by His continual working in us. God’s drawing in this way is evidence that He is the one who maintains His fellowship with us and that our fellowship with Him cannot be broken. I was always taught that it was my responsibility to maintain my fellowship with Him, and I tried to do so by performing all the “right” things. In reality, it is God who maintains His fellowship with us.
So what happens, in terms of practical Christian living, when sinful distractions occur, whether they are in thought or deed? Do we need to feel guilty and pray our way back into God’s favor? No. Must we feel condemned, and somehow do something to reestablish fellowship with Him through repentance and seeking forgiveness for our sins? Again, the answer is no. Don’t take my word for it. Believe in God’s word. Christ has already paid the price for our sins once and for all (1 Peter 2:24, 3:18). God has already forgiven and forgotten them (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12, 10:17). He has separated us from those transgressions as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)!
Scripture doesn’t say, “IF you feel guilty enough, and pray long enough to humbly seek forgiveness, THEN God will forgive and forget your sins (until the next time you sin).” Scripture is concise: Christ paid the price for the sins of the whole world over two thousand years ago. He didn’t work out an installment plan with God. He paid for each and every one of them—once and for all. God has also accepted Christ’s payment, and has forgiven and forgotten those sins. Yet our human pride refuses to accept this. We continue to insist on being partners with God, not only for our salvation, but throughout our entire Christian life. It is this insistence that robs us of glorious freedom in Christ. Our part in God’s plan is not as a partner, but as a vessel of mercy to contain His glory; a glory that God reveals in us when it pleases Him. A glory that increasingly grows in us from glory to glory as God gently and progressively performs His work in us (2 Corinthians 3:18). We are nothing and He is everything.
If I could encourage you to do one thing, it would be to stop wasting time focusing on the sins and shortcomings that you perceive in your life. From God’s perspective, as revealed in His word, you are the only one who still dwells on them. Instead, experience the joy of God drawing you to focus on Christ as your new nature.
From the book, "A Different Place," The peace and freedom that comes from knowing: God has done it all—He is all we need, pages 108-111.