Spirit UnionSoul Rest

SIIRIT-UNION
ALLOWS IOR
SOUL-RIST

}AMIS A. IOWLIR

TALI OI CONTINTS

s Inlroduclion
Siril-union
zz SouI-resl
z8 SouI-resl and lhe Mind
; SouI-resl and lhe Imolions
SouI-resl and lhe WiII
,s SouI-resl and lhe Conscience
o SouI-resl and our Desires
; SouI-resl and Temlalion
;, SouI-resl and lhe TriaIs of Life
8; SouI-resl and IraclicaI Chrislian Living
s ConcIusion

zoo }ames A. IovIer
WWW.CHRISTINYOU.NIT

Bq spiriiua| unicn uiin inc |iting Icr! jcsus, ctcrq Cnrisiian nas inc prcti-
sicn ic |c ai rcsi atci!ing inc siriting pcrjcrnancc ic acnictc cr ctcr-
ccnc incugnis in inc nin!, jcc|ings in inc cnciicns, !ijjicu|iics in !ccisicn-
naking, an! urgings in cncs !csircs. |n inc ni!si cj icnpiaiicns an! inc iri-
a|s cj |ijc, Cnrisiians can cxpcricncc inc rcsi jcr incir scu|s (Maii. 11.29)
inai jcsus prcnisc!.

s
1 Inlroduclion

Thc wnr!d arnund us is reslIess hurrying and scurrying lo accom-
Iish somelhing meaningfuI. They are seeking "resl" bul lhey are
Iooking in aII lhe vrong Iaces. True "resl" can onIy be found in
"union vilh Chrisl."
"Union vilh Chrisl" is lhe essence of Chrislianily. Chrislian-
ily is nol a beIief-syslem or a moraIily code, bul is lhe union res-
ence and funclion of lhe Iiving Lord }esus vilhin Chrislians. In a
revious sludy
1
, ve charled oul lhe "union of being" and lhe "un-
ion of doing" of Chrisl and lhe Chrislian. We are, for aII raclicaI
uroses, exlending lhal revious sludy in a sequeI lo consider
hov lhe lheoIogicaI lheorem becomes sychoIogicaI raclicum.
We vanl lo exIore lhe sychoIogicaI and behavioraI imIicalions
of "union vilh Chrisl."
In olher vords, ve viII be considering "lhe divine oulvork-
ing of lhe divine indveIIing." Thal is, I beIieve, lhe choice lhal
Adam and Ive faced al lhe "lree of Iife" as recorded in Genesis 2
a choice lo aIIov for lhe divine oulvorking of lhe divineIy in-
brealhed Iife of God. God had brealhed inlo lhem lhe brealh/siril
of divine Iife (2:7), and lhe "lree of Iife" (same Hebrev vord for
"Iife" in 2:7 and 2:9) reresenled lhe oorlunily lo choose lhe di-
vine oulvorking of lhe divineIy inbrealhed Iife of God. We knov
lhal lhey chose lhe olher lree, "lhe lree of lhe knovIedge of good
and eviI," vilh disaslrous consequences for lhemseIves and lhe
human race. Their choice did nol Iead lo "resl," bul lo much vork
and erformance hysicaI, reIigious, and olhervise.
As Chrislians ve have a simiIar choice. In siriluaI regenera-
lion ve have been re-genesized (2:7), and lhe siril/brealh of lhe
SPIRIT-UNION ALLOWS FOR SOUL-REST
z
lriune God Ialher, Son and HoIy Siril, has been brealhed inlo
our siril. If any man does nol have lhe Siril of Chrisl, he is none
of His (Rom. 8:9), i.e. he is nol a Chrislian. On lhe olher hand,
He vho is |oined lo lhe Lord (}esus Chrisl) is one siril vilh
Him (I Cor. 6:17). As Chrislians, redeemed and reslored lo righl
reIalionshi vilh our Crealor, ve have lhe same choice Adam and
Ive had rior lo lhe faII lhe choice lo aIIov for lhe divine oul-
vorking of lhe divine indveIIing Iife of }esus.

5pirit and 5nu!
efore ve consider hov siril-union aIIovs for souI-resl,
ve need lo nole hov imorlanl il is lo dislinguish and differenli-
ale belveen siril and souI belveen siriluaI and sychoIogicaI
funclions. Chrislian reIigion, dovn lhrough lhe cenluries, has of-
len faiIed lo make lhe dislinclion belveen siriluaI and sycho-
IogicaI funclion. Whal lhey end u vilh is a mish-mash of sycho-
IogicaI siriluaIily or siriluaIized sychoIogy. Considering siril
and souI lo be equivaIenl synonyms of lhe inner man, Chrislian
reIigion ends u vilh a hodge-odge of ambiguous admonilions
lo receive }esus inlo your souI/siril/hearl, and aII is veII, or be-
Iieve in }esus vilh your souI/siril/hearl, and vork Iike heII. Is il
any vonder lhal Chrislians do nol undersland grace, lhe rcsi of
lhe goseI, and hov lo aIIov for godIiness in Chrislian behavior`
If souI and siril are synonymous, lhen sychoIogicaI rinciIes
shouId be abIe lo resoIve lhe robIems of mankind. Sigmund
Ireud is our savior God forbid! (or as }.. IhiIIis vorded il,
vhal a ghaslIy lhoughl.
2
) Thal is vhy so much of vhal is caIIed
Chrislian counseIing is nolhing lhan a veneer of Chrislian and
bibIicaI lerminoIogy Iaid over lhe mush of secuIar sychoIogicaI
rinciIes. Nol al aII heIfuI for Chrislian Iiving.
Il is imeralive lhal ve differenliale belveen siriluaI and
sychoIogicaI funclion, or ve viII never undersland siriluaI reaIi-
lies, and never arliciale in lhe raclicum of Chrislian behavior
;
and resl. IauI vrole lo lhe ThessaIonians, saying, Nov may lhe
God of eace sanclify you enlireIy, and may your spirii and scu|
and |c!q be reserved comIele, vilhoul bIame al lhe coming of
our Lord }esus Chrisl. IailhfuI is He vho caIIs you, and He aIso
viII bring il lo ass (I Thess. 5:23,24). These are cIearIy differenli-
aled funclions lhal need lo be sel aarl in order lo reaIize God's
hoIy inlenl in our Iives. These verses in I ThessaIonians 5 have re-
cenlIy been dismissed as bul IauI's sign-off of his eislIe, vhich
cannol be vieved as having any doclrinaI imorl.
3
AarenlIy, in
lhis viev, a|| scrilure is nci insired, and rofilabIe for leaching,
for reroof, for correclion, and for lraining in righleousness (II
Tim. 3:16). Anolher Nev Teslamenl verse lo be considered is Heb.
4:12 lhe Word of God (lhis is nol lhe ibIe, bul lhe Iiving ex-
ression and reveIalion of God, }esus Chrisl, lhe Word of God vho
vas from lhe beginning and IS God. Cf. }n.1:1,14), is Iiving and
aclive and sharer lhan any lvo-edged svord, iercing as far as
lhe dividing of scu| and spirii, of bolh |oinls and marrov, and abIe
lo |udge lhe lhoughls and inlenlions of lhe hearl. The Siril of
Chrisl is abIe lo ierce inlo our inner being and dislinguish, and
cause us lo discern, belveen our deeesl siriluaI inlenlions and
lhe sychoIogicaI lhoughls lhal do nol aIvays coincide vilh our
siriluaI inlenls.
I cannol over-emhasize hov imorlanl il is for Chrislians lo
undersland lhe difference belveen siriluaI funclion and sycho-
IogicaI funclion. Wilhoul lhis dislinclion lhe Chrislian Iife viII re-
main ambiguous. When siril and souI and body are dislin-
guished, lhis has oflen been caIIed lhe lricholomous or lriarlile
underslanding of man's conslilulion. Il is robabIy besl lo avoid
such lerms, for lhey Ieave a vrong imression. Tricholomous
means, cul in lhree, and lriarlile means lhree arls. A human
individuaI is nol cul in lhree arls, comarlmenls, or arlilions. A
human being is a funclionaI vhoIe, vho funclions al lhree IeveIs:
siriluaI, sychoIogicaI, and hysioIogicaI.
4
To differenliale lhe
siriluaI and lhe sychoIogicaI funclion of man is nol an alleml
lo cul man inlo searale arls, bul is a necessary dislinclion for
underslanding hov God has crealed man lo funclion.

2 Siril-Union

In nrdcr tn undcrstand hov siril-union aIIovs for souI-resl, ve
musl firsl reilerale lhe foundalion of siriluaI union vilh Chrisl.
We musl lake lhe lime lo reviev lhe bibIicaI remises of siril-
union vilh Chrisl, and carefuIIy define vhal ve do, and do nol,
mean by siril-union.
y siril-union I am nol referring lo lhe ob|eclive union
vhereby humanily al Iarge vas reresenled in soIidarily vilh lhe
incarnalion of }esus Chrisl, vhen as lhe federaI or reresenlalive
head of lhe human race, lhe Son of God became uniled vilh man-
kind lo redeem faIIen man. The incarnalionaI union of ChrisloIogy
is nol lhe siril-union I am seaking of.
Siril-union, as I am using lhe lerm, is nol an ob|eclive al-
lribulion of osilionaI lrulh of idenlificalion vilh lhe hislori-
caI }esus vhen He vas crucified, buried, rose again, and ascended.
There is lrulh indeed in lhe facl lhal vhen He died, ve died,
lhal vhen He vas buried, ve vere buried, lhal vhen He vas
raised, ve rose vilh Him, and lhal vhen He ascended, ve as-
cended, bul lhal ob|eclive hisloricaI union, oflen caIIed osi-
lionaI union or idenlificalion union, is nol vhal I am referring
lo by lhe use of siril-union.
Nor am I referring lo an ob|eclive arlicialion in lhe bene-
fils of Chrisl's redemlive vork, vhereby lhose vho assenl in
failh lo Chrisl's subslilulionaI and vicarious dealh for lheir sins are
IegaIIy and |uridicaIIy uniled vilh Chrisl in lheir slanding and
slalus before God in heaven. In such an allribuled union vilh
,
Chrisl, Chrislians are decIared righleous, as Chrisl's righleous ac-
lion is imuled lo lhem in forensic |uslificalion. Though lheoIogi-
caIIy vaIid, lhis ob|eclive union is nol lhe siril-union I am refer-
ring lo in lhis sludy.
y lhe lerm siril-union, I am referring lo lhe sub|eclive
and inlernaI union of lhe Siril of Chrisl vilh lhe siril of a rece-
live individuaI in siriluaI regeneralion. This has been caIIed re-
generalive union, saving union, or nev-crealion union. If
any erson does nol have lhe Siril of Chrisl, he/she is none of
His (Rom. 8:9) i.e. lhal erson is nol a Chrislian. This is lhe bol-
lom-Iine of vhal conslilules Chrislianily. Ior, lhe one vho is
|oined lo lhe Lord }esus Chrisl, receiving Him by failh, is one
siril vilh Him (I Cor. 6:17). Thal is lhe siril-union I am refer-
ring lo in lhis sludy. Il is a ersonaI, reIalionaI, and siriluaI union
lhal every genuine born-again beIiever arliciales in. If you are a
Chrislian, you have siril-union vilh lhe Iiving Lord }esus.
The inlernaI, sub|eclive siril-union lhal I am seaking of
is nol a sub|eclive slale or condilion lhal lhe Chrislian has lo seek
lo allain or achieve by a Iilany of siriluaI disciIines such as cen-
lering rayer or siriluaI direclion, elc. Siril-union is nol an
eIevaled slale of consciousness or ecslasy vhereby a Chrislian
lranscends earlhIy concerns and becomes so heavenIy-minded,
lhey are of no earlhIy good. Siril-union is nol a melahysicaI
merging or commingIing vilh God vherein a erson is consub-
slanliaIIy and essenliaIIy deified in an organic union lhal consli-
lules lhe erson as no Ionger human.
Siril-union is lhe siriluaI condilion of every Chrislian
every Chrisl-one vho has been uniled vilh Chrisl, having ac-
celed God's grace in His Son, }esus Chrisl, by failh. Are you a
Chrislian` Have you received lhe Siril of Chrisl inlo your siril`
If so, lhen you have siril-union vilh lhe Siril of Chrisl, vilh
lhe Siril of God, vilh lhe HoIy Siril, i.e., vilh lhe lriune God.

This does nol mean lhal you are essenliaIIy, inherenlIy, in-
lrinsicaIIy }esus Chrisl. Thal vouId be bIashemy. This is nol an
essenliaI union of fused coaIescence or absorbed equivaIence. The
siril-union effecled al regeneralion is a ersonaI, reIalionaI un-
ion, vherein lhe dislinclion of Chrisl and lhe Chrislian is main-
lained. Thal is vhy il has lradilionaIIy been referred lo as a er-
sonaI reIalionshi vilh }esus Chrisl. ul lhe idea of a ersonaI
reIalionshi vilh }esus has oflen been vieved as bul a conlracluaI
conneclion lhal faiIs lo adequaleIy exIain lhe siril-union of lhe
Chrislian vilh lhe Siril of God.
One of lhe more imorlanl bibIicaI verses lhal refers lo
siril-union is I Cor. 6:17, vhere IauI slales, lhe one vho is
|oined lo lhe Lord is one siril (vilh Him). The conlexl of lhe
revious verse is a quolalion from Genesis 2:24, vhich refers lo
God's inlenl in lhe marilaI union as a man and a voman become
one fIesh in marriage. The one fIesh union of a husband and
vife in marriage, and lhe one siril union of Chrisl and lhe
Chrislian are inlerreIalionaI unions vherein neilher arly is dimin-
ished or denied in lhe union of lhe lvo, bul lhere is a reaI inle-
graled union.

What is 5piritua!?
Since lhe vord siriluaIily is such a buzzvord in our soci-
ely loday, ve shouId robabIy consider hov lhis vord reIales lo
siril-union, as ve are using lhe lerm. ReIigiousIy, siriluaIily
refers lo everylhing from conformily lo moraI slandards, amassing
doclrinaI knovIedge, failhfuI arlicialion in church aclivilies,
seaking in longues, ecslalic fIighls of myslicaI fancy, and so on.
On lhe olher hand, lhe vorId around us vievs aImosl anylhing as
siriluaI loday. Inlhusiasm is siriluaI, and so is coincidence,
lhe uninleIIigibIe, environmenlaIism, evoIulion, drugs, music, arl,
running, sobriely, sensilivily, and myriad olher lhings (even seIf-
ishness and sinfuIness). Whal is lhe bibIicaI underslanding of
;
siriluaI` In I Cor. 2:15, IauI vrole, He vho is siriluaI a-
raises aII lhings. In lhe conlexl, a siriluaI erson is conlrasled
lo lhe naluraI man in lhe revious verse (2:14), vho cannol un-
dersland lhe lhings of lhe Siril of God. The naluraI man is lhe
unregenerale erson. The siriluaI erson is one vho has re-
ceived lhe Siril of Chrisl and been regeneraled. A fev verses ear-
Iier (2:12) IauI had exIained, ve have received, nol lhe siril of
lhe vorId, bul lhe Siril vho is from God. A siriluaI erson is
one vho has exerienced siril-union vilh lhe Siril of Chrisl in
siriluaI regeneralion. Such a siriluaI condilion of siril-union
is nol an end in ilseIf, bul lhe characler of lhe Siril of God vho
Iives vilhin is lo be exressed in sychoIogicaI and hysicaI be-
havior. Thal is vhy IauI venl on lo vrile, I couId nol seak lo
you as lo (lhose acling as) siriluaI men, bul as lo men of fIesh, as
lo babes in Chrisl (I Cor. 3:1). And lo lhe GaIalians, IauI ex-
Iained lhal lhose vho are siriluaI shouId reslore one vho is
caughl in a lresass vilh genlIeness (6:1). ibIicaI siriluaIily in-
voIves lhe resence and funclion of lhe Siril of God, lhe Siril of
Chrisl, lhe HoIy Siril, lhe lriune God in an individuaI. In olher
vords, vhal ve are caIIing siril-union and souI-resl.

5piritua! Exchangc
Such a siriluaI condilion of siril-union is redicaled on
lhe siriluaI exchange lhal musl have lransired in an individuaI's
siril al regeneralion. We did nol receive lhe siril of lhe vorId,
bul lhe Siril of God, IauI exIained (I Cor. 2:12). To lhe Ro-
mans, IauI exIained lhal We have nol received a siril of sIav-
ery, bul a siril of adolion as sons (Rom. 8:15). }ohn exIained
lhal lhere is a radicaI difference belveen lhe siril of error and
lhe siril of lrulh (I }n. 4:6). In lhe faIIen sons of disobedience
lhere is a siril lhal is vorking (Ih. 2:2), bul Chrislians are
lhose vho have received inlo lheir siril lhe Siril of Chrisl (Rom.
8:9), in a siril-union. A siriluaI exchange has laken Iace.
8
Since ve have menlioned a siriluaI exchange, erhas
lhis vouId be lhe roer Iace lo address lhe correIalion of vhal
ve are caIIing siril-union vilh lhe famiIiar designalion of lhe
exchanged Iife lhal is so common in Chrislian circIes loday. I
lhink many Chrislians are befuddIed by lhe lerminoIogy of ex-
changed Iife. They are asking queslions Iike, Whal is being ex-
changed for vhal` Where does lhis exchange lake Iace` Is il a
siriluaI reaIily or a sychoIogicaI reaIily` When does such an ex-
change lransire` Is il a singuIar oinl in lime, or is il a rogres-
sive rocess` Hov do I faciIilale lhis exchange` Whal do I have lo
do` Many have discovered lhal lhere is much ambiguily in lhe
exchanged Iife leaching. Iarl of lhe robIem is due lo an inade-
quale dislinclion of siril and souI of siriluaI funclion and sy-
choIogicaI funclion. Much of lhe exchanged Iife leaching focuses
on lhe souIicaI or sychoIogicaI, emhasizing lhe need lo ex-
change my seIfishness for Chrisl's aclion. In lhe rocess il oflen
degenerales inlo anolher form of hov lo erformance reIigion,
encouraging surrender, brokenness, and more failh in order lo
enacl lhis exchanged Iife behavioraI exression. If I vere lo use
exchanged Iife lerminoIogy, and I cauliousIy lry lo avoid such, I
vouId be referring lo lhe siriluaI reaIily of lhe siriluaI exchange
lhal haens al siriluaI regeneralion, vhen an individuaI ex-
changes siriluaI dealh for siriluaI Iife. When a erson receives
}esus Chrisl by failh, lhe siriluaI exchange lakes Iace, and lhe
Chrislian has siril-union vilh lhe Lord. The Iiving Lord }esus
exIained lo SauI on lhe road lo Damascus lhal he vouId send him
lo lhe GenliIes lo converl lhem from darkness lo Iighl, and from
lhe dominion of Salan lo God (Acls 26:18). eyond lhal exchange
of siril, vherein ve are no Ionger deriving from lhe being of
lhe one siril (Greek cxcusia), bul deriving from lhe Siril of God,
lhere is no addilionaI exchange required. Henceforlh, lhe Chris-
lian arliciales in lhe overcoming aclivily of lhe Siril of Chrisl,
as lhe osilive svaIIovs u lhe negalive, and lhe grace of God
faciIilales lhe behavioraI exression of His ovn characler in our
behavior.


5piritua! Naturc
The siriluaI exchange lhal aIIovs for siril-union vilh
lhe Siril of Chrisl is aIso an exchange of siriluaI nalure. The hu-
manislic remises of lhe vorId's hiIosohies osil lhal man has
an inlrinsic human nalure, and lhen go on lo argue vhelher lhal
nalure is essenliaIIy good or eviI. ibIicaI Chrislian leaching does
nol aIIov for such human essenliaIism, bul recognizes lhal God
crealed man as a derivalive crealure vho derives his nalure and
characler from one siril or lhe olher, God or Salan. IauI ex-
Iained lo lhe Ihesians lhal in lheir unregenerale slale lhey
vere by nalure, chiIdren of vralh (Ih. 2:3). The unregenerale
sons of disobedience derive lheir eviI exressions of seIfish sin-
fuIness from lhe god of lhis vorId (II Cor. 4:4), for lhe vhoIe
vorId Iies in lhe eviI one (I }n. 5:19). ul in lhe siriluaI exchange
from Salan lo God (Acls 26:18), lhe Chrislian becomes a ar-
laker of lhe divine nalure (II Iel. 1:4), in siril-union vilh lhe
Trinily. The nalure of a man is lhe nalure of lhe siriluaI erson-
age lhal indveIIs him/her. Ours is a derived nalure. ul lhe hu-
manislic remises of an inlrinsic human nalure are so ervasive in
Weslern lhinking, lhal evangeIicaI Chrislian lhinkers accel lhe
remise and exIain lhal lhe Chrislian has lvo nalures, a so-
caIIed human nalure, sin nalure, Adam nalure, faIIen nalure, fIesh
nalure, seIf-nalure, or oId nalure, as veII as lhe divine nalure of
Chrisl. These concels of evangeIicaI humanism exIain lhal lhe
Chrislian has lvo nalures, an oId nalure and a nev nalure
(bolh hrases are nol bibIicaI), crealing a schizohrenic duaIily
lhal disaIIovs Chrislians from underslanding lheir siril-union
and vho lhey are in Chrisl. Iven some of lhe mosl ouIar ver-
sions of lhe Nev Teslamenl have inleroIaled lheir inlerrelalions
of evangeIicaI humanism inlo lhe lexl of scrilure, mislransIaling
lhe Greek vord for fIesh (sarx) as oId nalure or oId sinfuI na-
lure, elc. Il is lragic hov modern evangeIicaIism has obscured
Chrislian leaching, and denied lhe reaIilies of siril-union.
so

5piritua! LiIc
The exchange lhal aIIovs for siril-union vilh Chrisl is an
exchange from siriluaI dealh lo elernaI siriluaI Iife. This elernaI
Iife lhal ve receive in }esus Chrisl is nol some lhing lhal ve
ossess, ralher, elernaI Iife is a Ierson, }esus Chrisl, vilh Whom
ve have siril-union. }esus said, I am lhe resurreclion and lhe
Iife (}n. 11:25), I am lhe vay, lhe lrulh, and lhe Iife (}n. 14:6).
He vho has lhe Son has Iife, he vho does nol have lhe Son of
God does nol have lhe Iife (I }n. 5:12). In siril-union vilh
Chrisl ve have assed oul of dealh inlo Iife (I }n. 3:14), for
Chrisl Iives in us (GaI. 2:20), and Chrisl is our Iife (CoI. 3:4).
This siril-union of elernaI Iife in Chrisl is aIso a arlaking of im-
morlaIily. ImmorlaIily is nol somelhing ve are vailing lo arlici-
ale in afler hysicaI dealh. God aIone ossesses immorlaIily (I
Tim. 6:16), bul He has aboIished dealh, and broughl Iife and im-
morlaIily lo Iighl lhrough lhe goseI (II Tim. 1:10). Our sirils
and souIs are nol essenliaIIy immorlaI as evangeIicaI humanism
indicales, bul ve derive immorlaIily and elernaI Iife from lhe res-
ence of }esus in siril-union.

5piritua! Light
The Chrislian in siril-union has exchanged darkness for
Iighl. The risen Lord }esus loId SauI lhal his mission vas lo con-
verl eoIe from darkness lo Iighl (Acls 26:18). To lhe CoIossian
Chrislians, IauI vrole, He (}esus) deIivered us from lhe domain
of darkness, and lransferred us lo lhe kingdom of His beIoved
Son (CoI. 1:13). CaIIed oul of darkness inlo His marveIous Iighl
(II Iel. 2:9), Chrislians are sainls in Iighl (CoI. 1:12), sons of
Iighl (I Thess. 5:5), and chiIdren of Iighl (Ih. 5:8), for lhe Iife
vas lhe Iighl of men (}n. 1:4).

ss

5piritua! Idcntity
Siril-union is such an inlegraI and inlimale union lhal lhe
idenlily of lhe Chrislian is based on lhe resence of }esus Chrisl.
Siril-union is an idenlily-union. The deeesl sense of any er-
son's idenlily is in lhe reaIm of lhe siril. A Chrislian is a Chrisl-
one, idenlified by lhe resence of }esus Chrisl Who forms lhe basis
of his/her idenlily. Il is of ulmosl imorlance lhal a Chrislian un-
dersland lheir siriluaI idenlily, acceling and affirming vho
lhey are in Chrisl lheir derived siriluaI idenlily based on lheir
siril-union vilh Chrisl. If ve do nol knov vho ve are, lhen ve
viII never be abIe lo behave Iike vho ve've become.
Chrislians are scns cj Gc! lhrough failh in Chrisl }esus
(GaI. 3:26). We are cni|!rcn cj Gc! (I }n. 3:1,2) no Ionger chiI-
dren of lhe deviI, bul chiIdren of God (I }n. 3:10), for as many
as received Him, lo lhem He gave lhe righl lo become chiIdren of
God (}ohn 1:12). Chrislians are lhe pccp|c cj Gc! (I Iel. 2:10), in-
lended lo resl (Heb. 4:9) as God's ovn ossession (Tilus 2:14).
Chrislians conslilule lhe nev |srac| cj Gc! (GaI. 6:16, cf. Rom.
9:6). We are ncn|crs cj Gc!s ncuscnc|! (Ih. 2:19), and ciiizcns
cj ncatcn (IhiI. 3:20). Ivery Chrislian is a pricsi (I Iel. 2:9, Rev.
1:6) vilh access inlo lhe HoIy of HoIies of God's resence (Heb.
10:19). We are kings (I Iel. 2:9), vho reign in Iife lhrough }esus
Chrisl (Rom. 5:17). Though our siriluaI idenlily vas once lhal of
sinners (Rom. 5:19), ve are nov sainis (Rom. 8:27, Ih. 1:18,
4:12), having a derived idenlily as hoIy ones by lhe resence of
lhe HoIy One (Acls 3:14, I }n. 2:1), }esus Chrisl, vilh Whom ve
have siril-union.
Whereas ve vere once ungodIy (Rom. 5:6), ve are nov
idenlified as godIy (II Iel. 2:9). Whereas ve vere once ex-
cIuded from lhe Iife of God (Ih. 4:18) and searale from
Chrisl (Ih. 2:12), ve are nov lhe chosen ones of God (Ih.
1:4, CoI.3:12), vho have been reconciIed lo God (Rom. 5:10,11)
sz
and have been acceled lo lhe gIory of God (Rom. 15:7).
Whereas ve vere once unrighleous (I Cor. 6:9), ve have nov
been made righleous (Rom. 5:19), for ve have been crealed in
righleousness (Ih. 4:24), and have become lhe righleousness of
God in Chrisl (II Cor. 5:21), as lhe Righleous One (Acls 7:52,
22:14), }esus Chrisl, has become lhe basis of vho ve are. We have
been made hoIy, and bIameIess and beyond reroach (CoI. 1:22).
Chrislians are even idenlified as erfecl (IhiI. 3:15, Heb. 12:23)
in siriluaI condilion, because lhe Ierfecl One, }esus Chrisl, dveIIs
vilhin lheir siril in siril-union.

5piritua! Ncwncss
Iverylhing has become nev for lhe Chrislian vho is in
siril-union vilh Chrisl. The rohel IzekieI rohesied aboul lhe
greal renevaI lhal vouId be enacled in Chrisl vhen he soke for
God, saying, I viII give you a ncu ncari and ul a ncu spirii vilhin
you (Izek. 36:26). When lhe Chrislian receives Chrisl in regenera-
lion, lhis nev hearl and nev siril become a siriluaI reaIily
vilhin. This is nol a mechanicaI reIacemenl vhereby ve receive a
nev hearl-arl, nor is il a hearl lransIanl. Ralher, in lhe inner
man (II Cor. 4:16) of our siriluaI and sychoIogicaI funclion ve
receive lhe nevness of Iife (Rom. 6:4) of lhe resence and func-
lion of }esus Chrisl. }eremiah's commenl lhal lhe hearl is deceilfuI
above aII lhings, and deseraleIy vicked (}ere. 17:9) is no Ionger
lrue for a Chrislian. The Siril of Chrisl indveIIs our hearls (Ih.
3:17), and lhis conslilules a nev hearl vherein God has vrillen
His Iavs uon our hearls (Heb. 8:10, 10:16). If any man is in
Chrisl, he is a ncu crcaiurc, oId lhings have assed avay and nev
lhings have come (II Cor. 5:17). y siril-union vilh Chrisl, eve-
rylhing has become nev siriluaIIy in lhe Chrislian. We are a ncu
crcaiicn (GaI. 6:15). We are a ncu nan (Ih. 4:24, CoI. 3:10). The
oId man lhal ve vere in our unregenerale slale has been cruci-
fied (Rom. 6:6) and ul off (Ih. 4:22, CoI. 3:9), and ve are a nev
man in Chrisl. We are nol a schizohrenic oId man and nev
s;
man al lhe same lime, as ouIar evangeIicaI humanism has oflen
suggesled, bul lhe oId man has been exchanged for lhe nev
man, lhe comIeleIy nev idenlily ve have in Chrisl.

In Christ
Ierhas lhe mosl frequenl hrase used in lhe Nev Tesla-
menl lo refer lo our siril-union is lhe IillIe hrase, in Chrisl,
and ils varianl forms of in Chrisl }esus, in }esus Chrisl, in lhe
Lord }esus Chrisl, and in Him, elc. y His (God's) doing you
are in Cnrisi jcsus (I Cor. 1:30), IauI vriles. If any man is in
Cnrisi, he is a nev crealure (II Cor. 5:17). Whenever ve see lhal
hrase il is quile Iegilimale lo read il as in union vilh Chrisl. Ior
examIe, Consider yourseIves lo be dead lo sin, bul aIive lo God
in Cnrisi jcsus (in union vilh Chrisl }esus) (Rom. 6:11). And Ialer
in lhe same chaler, The free gifl of God is elernaI Iife in Cnrisi
jcsus cur Icr! (in union vilh Chrisl }esus our Lord) (Rom. 6:23).
The hrase in lhe Siril can aIso refer lo lhe siril-union vilh lhe
Siril of Chrisl.

Indwc!!ing Trinity
Siril-union is broughl inlo being by lhe resence of lhe en-
lire Trinily vilhin us. The Ialher, lhe Son, and lhe HoIy Siril have
come lo dveII and lake u residence in our siril. When ve be-
come arlakers of lhe divine nalure (II Iel. 1:4), ve become ar-
lakers of God lhe Ialher, arlakers of Chrisl (Heb. 3:14), and
arlakers of lhe HoIy Siril (Heb. 6:4). }esus exIained lo lhe
disciIes in lhe uer room discourse, If anyone Ioves Me, We
(My Ialher and I) viII come and make Our abode vilh him (}ohn.
14:23). In his firsl eislIe, }ohn vriles, Whoever confesses lhal }e-
sus is lhe Son of God, Gc! a|i!cs in Hin and he in God (in union
vilh God) (I }ohn 4:15,16). Il is lhe aoslIe IauI vho is so cIear
aboul Chrisl indveIIing us. This is lhe myslery of lhe goseI, IauI
s
slales, Cnrisi in qcu, lhe hoe of gIory (CoI. 1:27). Il is no Ionger
I vho Iive, bul Cnrisi |itcs in nc (GaI. 2:20), IauI leIIs lhe GaIa-
lians. IauI asked lhe Corinlhians, increduIousIy, Do you nol rec-
ognize lhal jcsus Cnrisi is in qcu unIess indeed you faiI lhe lesl`
(II Cor. 13:5). Likevise lhe Hc|q Spirii !uc||s in us (II Tim. 1:14).
God gave us lhe Siril in our hearls as a Iedge (II Cor. 1:22),
and has senl lhe Siril inlo our hearls, crying, 'Abba, Ialher
(GaI. 4:6). Siril-union is eslabIished by lhe resence of lhe enlire
Trinily.

5pirit Actinns
Since God dveIIs in us in Siril-form, lhe scrilures emIoy
numerous exIanalions of hov lhe siril-union is eslabIished and
funclions. We musl be born of lhe Siril (}ohn 3:5,8), }esus loId
Nicodemus. We receive lhe gifl of lhe HoIy Siril (Acls 2:38),
Ieler exIained in lhe firsl sermon of lhe church. We are seaIed in
lhe Siril (Ih. 4:30, II Cor. 1:22), seaIed in Him (in union vilh
Chrisl) vilh lhe HoIy Siril of romise (Ih. 1:13), as God's ovn
ossession. Ivery Chrislian is balized in lhe Siril (I Cor. 12:13)
vhen our sirils are overvheImed by lhe Siril of Chrisl, and ve
become arl of lhe one ody, lhe Church. Ivery Chrislian has an
anoinling of lhe Siril (I }n. 2:20,27), vhereby lhe Siril of God
becomes our inner leacher. To lhe Romans, IauI exIained, AII
vho are being Ied by lhe Siril of God, lhese are sons of God
(Rom. 8:14). Nolice, he does nol say, Those vho are foIIoving lhe
Ieading of lhe Siril are sons of God. Nor does he say, Those
vho seek lhe Ieading of lhe Siril are sons of God. No, he says
lhal every Chrislian, every son of God, has lhe inner Ieading and
direclion of lhe Siril of God vhelher, or nol, lhey seek or foIIov
lhal Ieading.

s,
Inncr 5cnscs
In Iike manner, every Chrislian has an inncr tisicn, vhereby
vilh lhe eyes of lheir hearl (Ih. 1:18) lhey can Iook al lhe
lhings vhich are nol seen, vhich are elernaI (II Cor. 4:18), and
behoId lhe gIory of God (II Cor. 3:18). In siril-union, Chrislians
have an inncr, spiriiua| ncaring lo hear vhal lhe Siril is saying
(Rev. 2:7,11). }esus said, My shee hear My voice (}ohn
10:3,4,16,27). If anyone has an ear, Iel him hear (Rev. 13:9) and
Iislen lo vhal God is saying. Il mighl even be noled lhal ve have
an inncr iasic vhereby ve can lasle and see lhal lhe Lord is good
(Is. 34:8).

Inncr Knnwing
Those vho arliciale in siril-union vilh God oflen faiI lo
areciale and lune-in lo lhe inluilive siriluaI knovIedge lhal lhe
resence of God rovides. IauI exIained lhal lhe naluraI man
does nol undersland siriluaI lhings, bul he lhal is siriluaI (i.e.,
has siril-union) araises aII lhings (I Cor. 2:14,15). This inncr
kncuing is bolh an inluilive knovIedge and an inlimale reIalionaI
knovIedge. We kncu (siriluaI inluilion) lhal ve have come lo
kncu (siriluaI inlimacy of reIalionshi) Him (I }ohn 2:3). To lhe
Corinlhians, IauI vrole, We have received lhe Siril of God, lhal
ve mighl kncu lhe lhings freeIy given lo us by God (I Cor. 2:12).
We are abIe lo ccnprcncn! vhal is lhe breadlh and Ienglh and
heighl and delh (of God's vays), and lo kncu lhe Iove of Chrisl
vhich surasses (naluraI) knovIedge (Ih. 3:18,19). eyond
naluraI Iogic and reasoning, lhere is lhe Theo-Iogic vhereby ve
can arehend lhe suernaluraI and unseen inlenls of God. y
naluraI reasoning, God and His vays are asl finding oul (Rom.
11:33), bul lhe Chrislian in siril-union vilh God can kncu God's
vays (Heb. 3:10), kncu lhe grace of God (II Cor. 8:9), kncu lhal
he has lhe anoinling of lhe Siril (I }ohn 2:20), kncu lhal he has
assed oul of dealh inlo Iife (I }ohn 3:14), kncu lhal he has eler-
s
naI Iife (I }ohn 5:13), and, in facl, kncu aII lhings (}ude 1:5) lhal
God vanls him/her lo knov. IauI exhorled lhe IhiIiians lo Iel
lheir Iove (God's Iove) abound in rca| kncu|c!gc and spiriiua| !is-
ccrnncni (IhiI. 1:9), abIe lo !isccrn good and eviI (Heb. 5:14).
The Son of God has come and given us un!crsian!ing (I }ohn
5:20), }ohn vrole. And IauI rayed lhal lhe CoIossians mighl be
fiIIed vilh lhe kncu|c!gc of His viII in aII siriluaI uis!cn and un-
!crsian!ing (CoI. 1:9). To Timolhy, he exIained, lhe Lord viII
give you un!crsian!ing in everylhing (II Tim. 2:7). God reveaIs
lhings lo lhe Chrislian vilh vhom He has siril-union. IauI loId
lhe IhiIiians, Have lhis allilude, and if you have a differenl al-
lilude, God viII rctca| il lo you (IhiI. 3:15). May God granl you a
siril of uis!cn and rctc|aiicn in lhe kncu|c!gc of Him (Ih. 1:17),
he rayed for lhe Ihesians. This siriluaI reveaIing of God's
characler, God's vays, and God's direclion cannol be laughl by
didaclic melhods, il musl be caughl in lhe siriluaI ercelion
and avareness of siril-union vilh God. The IsaImisl reorled,
My inner man inslrucls me in lhe nighl (Is. 16:7). Much of evan-
geIicaI reIigion is afraid of lhis inluilive siriluaI direclion, and
seeks lo Iimil reveIalion lo lhe knovIedge and underslanding lhal
can be dravn from sludy of lhe ibIe, denying lhe inner inslruc-
lion and direclion of lhe Siril of God.

Mind nI Christ
Whal does IauI mean vhen he vriles, We have lhe nin! cj
Cnrisi (I Cor. 2:16)` One young man vilh vhom I soke ada-
manlIy reacled, saying, I don'l see hov a Chrislian can say lhal.
I began vilh lhe basic foundalion, and asked, Are you a Chris-
lian` He reIied, Yes. I conlinued, Did Chrisl come inlo your
siril vhen you became a Chrislian` Again he resonded, Yes.
Then I asked, Do you lhink lhal }esus came inlo you vilhoul His
mind` Did He Ieave il u in heaven` No, he said sheeishIy.
Then you have lhe mind of Chrisl, I concIuded. ul lhe mind of
Chrisl is more lhan |usl a slalic resence, for lhe mind of Chrisl
s;
vilhin is dynamicaIIy conveying lhe divine inlenls via siriluaI
reveIalion. Thal is vhy IauI admonishes, Lel lhis mind be in you,
vhich vas in Chrisl }esus (IhiI. 2:5), encouraging lhe reneving
of lhe mind (Rom. 12:2: Ih. 4:23) for lhe deveIomenl of eslab-
Iished alliludes in lhe souI.

Lnvc nI Gnd
Ivery Chrislian, in siril-union vilh Chrisl, nol onIy has
lhe mind of Chrisl, bul he aIso has lhe |ctc cj Gc! vilhin his
siril. To lhe Romans, IauI slaled, The |ctc cj Gc! has been
oured oul vilhin our hearls by lhe HoIy Siril vho vas given lo
us (Rom. 5:5). God is Iove (I }ohn 4:8,16), so vhen He dveIIs
vilhin us in siril-union, His Iove is resenl and aclive vilhin us.
The Iove of Chrisl comeIs us (II Cor. 5:14), and lhe Iove of lhe
Siril (Rom. 15:30) romls us lo exress God's Iove for olhers.
Whereas lhe unregenerale vanl lo do lhe !csircs of lheir falher,
lhe deviI (}ohn 8:44), lhose in siril-union vilh God have an inner
!csirc for goodness (II Thess. 1:11), and a !csirc lo Iive godIy in
(union vilh) Chrisl }esus (II Tim. 3:12).

Wi!! nI Gnd
IauI exIained lo Timolhy lhal lhose vho are nol Chrislians
are under lhe snare of lhe deviI, being heId calive lo do his viII
(II Tim. 2:26). Chrislians, on lhe olher hand, have lhe ui|| cj Gc!
vilhin lhem. God did nol come inlo us vilhoul His viII, and He is
al vork in us, bolh lo ui|| and lo vork for His good Ieasure
(IhiI. 2:13). In siril-union, ve can undersland vhal lhe ui|| cj inc
Icr! is (Ih. 5:17), and do lhe ui|| cj Gc! from lhe hearl (Ih.
6:6) by lhe dynamic of His grace. The viII of God is nol some-
lhing exlerior lo lhe Chrislian lhal ve musl seek lo discover and
find, and lhen aim al il as if il vere lhe buIIs-eye of a largel. No,
ve have lhe viII of God vilhin us, and lhe viII of God is aI-
s8
vays lhe Iife and characler of }esus Iived oul as us and lhrough us
lo lhe gIory of God.
Ivery Chrislian has lhe mind of Chrisl, lhe desires of
God, and lhe viII of God granled lo lhem in siril-union. They
can, and viII, inluiliveIy knov vhal God vanls lo be and do in
lhem. This is lhe reason vhy some leachers allribule mind, desires,
viII, and inluilion lo lhe siriluaI funclion of man, bul lhis musl
nol be lo lhe excIusion of menlaI, emolionaI and voIilionaI caa-
biIilies in lhe sychoIogicaI funclion of man aIso (as viII be ad-
dressed Ialer).

Lnrdship nI Christ
Il is nol ossibIe lo have siril-union vilhoul recognizing lhe
Lordshi of }esus Chrisl. When ve receive lhe Trinily inlo our
siril al regeneralion, ve receive lhe Lord God. Some have sug-
gesled lhal }esus can be received as one's ersonaI Savior, and
Ialer acceled as Lord. This is imossibIe, for }esus is bolh Savior
and Lord, and lo receive Him is lo receive Him for aII lhal He is.
He cannol be dissecled and received arliaIIy. The iniliaI confes-
sion of lhe earIy Chrislians vas a verbaI confession lhal }esus
Chrisl is Lord (Rom. 10:9, IhiI. 2:11) by lhe HoIy Siril (I Cor.
12:3). Those vho lhink lhal lhey can agree lhal }esus is Lord,
and disaIIov Him lo Iord il over lhem, have no underslanding
of lhe Lordshi of }esus Chrisl. }esus has been given aII aulhorily
in heaven and in earlh (Mall. 28:18), and vhen ve are converled
from lhe aulhorily of Salan lo lhe aulhorily of God (Acls 26:18),
ve are agreeing lo submil lo lhe one Lord, }esus Chrisl (I Cor.
8:6). Walchman Nee referred lo lhe indveIIing }esus as Residenl
oss. In siril-union, ve sanclify Chrisl as Lord in our hearls (I
Ieler 3:15).

s
5piritua! Charactcr
When Chrisl comes lo dveII in a Chrislian, He comes com-
Iele vilh lhe divine characler of God, for His characler cannol be
delached from His eing. IauI describes lhe divine characler as
lhe fruil of lhe Siril vhich is Iove, |oy, eace, alience, kind-
ness, goodness, failhfuIness, genlIeness, and godIy conlroI of lhe
seIf (GaI. 5:22,23). These are nol mereIy exlernaI behavioraI lrails
or sychoIogicaI alliludes, bul lhey are lhe divine characler lhal
ve receive vhen lhe lriune God indveIIs us in siril-union. Ior a
Chrislian lo comIain lhal he/she Iacks alience or genlIeness
or any olher fealure of divine characler, and lhen lo seek lo de-
veIo such lhrough educalionaI inslruclion or sychoIogicaI ro-
cedures, is lo deny aII lhal ve have received in siril-union. The
inner siriluaI characler lhal is ours by lhe resence of God in
siril-union is inlended lo be lransformed inlo alliludes in lhe souI
and behavioraI exression in lhe body.

5piritua! GiIts
Iven lhe cnarisnaia, lhe so-caIIed siriluaI gifls, are aII
ours in siril-union. These are bul lhe grace-exressions or lhe
Siril-aclions of lhe minislry of Chrisl. Chrisl enlers inlo us in
siril-union vilh aII lhe olenliaIily of His minislry vilhin His
ody, lhe Church. The siriluaI gifls are nol lrohies of siriluaI-
ily, nor are lhey over-loys vilh vhich Chrislians erform lheir
minislries. When lhe Iiving Chrisl comes inlo each Chrislian, He
comes comIele vilh aII of His abiIilies lo minisler and serve. We
have gifls lhal differ according lo lhe grace given lo us (Rom.
12:8), and lo each is given lhe manifeslalion of lhe Siril for lhe
common good (I Cor. 12:7). In siril-union Chrisl vilhin us os-
sesses and conveys aII of His inlended aclion and minislry lhrough
us.

zo
Cnmp!ctc in Christ
In siril-union ve are comIele in Chrisl (CoI. 2:10), Iack-
ing nolhing siriluaIIy. AII has become nev (II Cor. 5:17), and
ve have received everylhing God has lo give. As one ralher un-
educaled ruraI reacher exressed il, You gol aII lhere is lo gel
vhen you gol }esus. You ain'l gonna gel no more, 'cause lhere
ain'l no more lo gel. IauI advised lhe Corinlhian Chrislians, aII
lhings beIong lo you, vhelher lhings resenl or lhings lo come, aII
lhings beIong lo you (I Cor. 2:20,21). To lhe Ihesians, IauI ex-
cIaimed, God has bIessed us vilh every siriluaI bIessing in lhe
heavenIy Iaces in Chrisl }esus (Ih. 1:3). Ieler concurred, God
has granled lo us everylhing erlaining lo Iife and godIiness
lhrough lhe lrue knovIedge of Him vho caIIed us by His ovn
gIory and exceIIence (II Ieler 1:3).
}esus said, I came lhal you mighl have Iife, and have il more
abundanlIy (}ohn 10:10). In siril-union vilh Chrisl ve have
a|un!ani |ijc. He is abIe lo do exceedingIy abundanlIy beyond
aII lhal ve couId ask or lhink, according lo lhe over lhal vorks
vilhin us (Ih. 3:20). Union-Iife is gracc |ijc. God is abIe lo make
aII grace abound lo you, lhal aIvays having aII sufficiency in eve-
rylhing, you may have an abundance for every good deed (II Cor.
9:8). My grace is sufficienl for you (II Cor. 12:9), God loId IauI.
In union vilh Chrisl ve arliciale in lhe supp|ic! |ijc, Iiving and
minislering by lhe slrenglh vhich God suIies (I Ieler 4:11).
Nol lhal ve are adequale in ourseIves, lo consider anylhing as
coming from ourseIves, bul our adequacy/sufficiency is from God
(II Cor. 3:5). Chrisl vilhin is lhe over of God (I Cor. 1:24), and
ve are slrenglhened vilh over lhrough His Siril in lhe inner
man (Ih. 3:16), slrenglhened vilh aII over, according lo His
gIorious mighl, for lhe allaining of aII sleadfaslness and alience
(CoI. 1:11). We have lhis lreasure (}esus Chrisl) in earlhen vesseIs,
lhal lhe surassing grealness of lhe over may be of God, and nol
from ourseIves (II Cor. 4:7). Thal is vhy IauI couId say, I can do
aII lhings lhrough Him Who slrenglhens me (IhiI. 4:13).
zs
Hov good can il gel` Can il gel any beller lhan lhal` Imos-
sibIe!
Yel, one young Iady angriIy Iashed oul, Il's loo good lo be
lrue. I don'l beIieve il. Thal is her righl, bul she has a very inade-
quale viev of God and His grace in }esus Chrisl. Olhers have re-
sonded, Il sounds loo sub|eclive, loo myslicaI. Are you sure you
aren'l siriluaIizing` Is lhis some form of lriumhaIism or erfec-
lionism` Some have resonded, I heard a reacher say lhal lhese
vere |usl 'osilionaI lrulhs' lhal vere lrue from God's osilion or
erseclive, bul lhey couIdn'l be considered 'acluaIIy lrue,' or lhey
vouId Iead lo assivism. No, lhese are acluaI lrulhs of our siril-
union vilh lhe Ialher, Son, and HoIy Siril, abundanlIy docu-
menled in lhe nev covenanl scrilures. They are lhe essence of
vhal il means lo be a Chrislian. UnliI ve undersland vho ve are
in Chrisl (our siriluaI idenlily) and aII ve have in Chrisl (our
siriluaI rovision or suIy), ve viII never begin lo behave Iike
vho ve have become in accord vilh aII ve've been given by God's
grace.

zz
3 SouI-Resl

Our prcmisc is, siril-union aIIovs for souI-resl. Whal do ve
mean by resl` The IngIish vord resl has lvo rimary mean-
ings. The firsl definilion is lhal of remainder, referring lo lhe
arl lhal remains. The second rimary definilion signifies cessa-
lion and freedom from erformance or aclivily. Il viII be lhe Ial-
ler of lhese lvo definilions lhal viII be lhe emhasis of lhis sludy
on souI-resl, for ve inlend lo exIain lhal lhe Chrislian can
resl from lhe erformance of lrying lo Iease or aease God,
and can exerience lhe freedom of ceasing from aII erformance
aclivily lhal mighl alleml lo gain or enacl vhal he aIready has in
siril-union vilh }esus Chrisl.
Siril-union aIIovs for souI-resl, and shouId Iead lo sycho-
IogicaI funclion lhal derives from lhe sufficiency lhal lhe Chrislian
has in siril-union vilh Chrisl. Nolice lhal lhe lilIe indicales lhal
siril-union aIIovs for (ve couId have said, rovides for)
souI-resl. Siril-union does nol inevilabIy and immedialeIy cause
and roduce souI-resl. SouI-resl is nol an aulomalic oulcome of
siril-union. SouI-resl is a rogressive exerience of aIIoving lhe
Siril of God vho dveIIs vilhin lhe Chrislian lo funclion vilhin
lhal Chrislian's behavior. SimIy slaled, souI-resl is ceasing from
our erformance of doing and slriving lo gel vhal God has aI-
ready given lo us.
The cessalion of lhe erformance aclivily of vorks does
nol imIy lhal souI-resl is acquiescenl inaclivily or irresonsibIe
assivily. SouI-resl is nol inerlia or indifference. The reIigious ad-
vocales of a Chrislian Iife of lreadmiII erformance oflen caricalure
z;
resl as lhe assivism of recIining in lhe La-Z-oy of Iife, doing
nolhing, and having no concern for vhal goes on. This is a mosl
unfair caricalure, for lhose vho exerience souI-resl are lhose vho
are recelive lo lhe grace-aclivily of God, aIIoving lhe Iiving Lord
}esus Chrisl lo be lhe erformer of lheir Chrislian Iives as He
Iives His Iife oul lhrough lhem. In lhe resl of lhe Chrislian Iife,
everylhing is ek Chrislos, derived oul of lhe dynamic of lhe Iife of
lhe indveIIing }esus. Chrislianily is Chrisl in aclion.

5urvcy nI Christian Cnnccpts nI "Rcst"
A survey of Chrislian lhoughl concerning resl reveaIs lhal
lhis concel has suffered from various misemhases. Many have
reIegaled resl lo an execlalion of heavenIy resl lhal is Ionged
for, onIy lo be reaIized in lhe fulure. This is lhe lheme of lhe Iuri-
lan cIassic by Richard axler, enlilIed Tnc Sainis |tcr|asiing |csi. A
Trcaiisc cj inc B|cssc! Siaic cj inc Sainis in incir |njcqncni cj Gc! in
Hcatcn.
5
There is no doubl lhal lhe fulure heavenIy exerience viII
indeed be reslfuI vilhoul any need for ersonaI erformance, bul
lhis is nol lhe concel of resl lhal redominales in lhe nev
covenanl scrilures. Il is queslionabIe vhelher any of lhe Nev
Teslamenl references lo resl refer lo heavenIy resl. Il is a favorile
lheme of Chrislian hymnody, hovever. Anolher form of fulure
resl soughl by many Chrislians is lhe aradisiacaI reose in an ex-
ecled earlhIy miIIenniaI kingdom, bul lhis is a doublfuI inlerre-
lalion of Chrislian resl.
In a simiIar Iine of lhoughl, many have iclured resl as lhe
recIining reose of resling on lhe romises of God. In lhis case
resling is simiIar lo reckoning lhal God viII failhfuIIy kee
His romises. Though nol iIIegilimale, lhis is rimariIy an oId
covenanl concel. }evish eschaloIogy aIvays focused on lhe fu-
lure romises, vhereas Chrislian eschaloIogy reveIs in lhe facl lhal
lhe romises of God have been fuIfiIIed and reaIized in }esus
Chrisl. Ior as many as may be lhe romises of God, in Him lhey
z
are yes (II Cor. 1:20). Ralher lhan resling on lhe romises,
Chrislians are lo resl in lhe ever-resenl grace of God reaIized in
}esus Chrisl.
Many Chrislians lhink of resl in lhe conlexl of lhe Sabbalh,
lhe day of resl, eilher Salurday or Sunday, sel aside as a day of
vorshi. There is no doubl lhal lhe bibIicaI concel of resl is
connecled vilh lhe Sabbalh, for God resled on lhe sevenlh day of
crealion, ceasing from His generalive aclion of crealion (Gen. 2:2).
This does nol mean lhal God ceased from aII aclion, assiveIy Ias-
ing inlo inaclion. God aIvays acls Iike lhe God lhal He is, and does
vhal He does because He is Who He is. His eing is aIvays in ac-
lion, and His aclivily is aIvays exressive of His eing. When lhe
sevenlh day of lhe veek vas eslabIished as lhe Sabbalh day of
resl for lhe eoIe of IsraeI (cf. Ixod. 20:8), lhey vere lo resl from
lheir Iabors lo remember vhal God had done and vas doing. In-
slead, lhe }evish reIigion focused on lhe reslriclions of Iabor, and
lurned lhe Sabbalh day inlo a Iabyrinlh of IegaIislic Iimilalions.
The romised Iand of resl (Deul. 12:9) did nol rovide resl (Is.
95:11) eilher, for aII lhe icloriaI lyes of resl in lhe oId covenanl
vere designed lo oinl lo lhe resl lhal vas onIy lo be found in
}esus Chrisl. Chrislian resl is nol connecled lo a arlicuIar day of
lhe veek, nor is il a geograhicaI Iace in IaIesline or heaven.
Chrislian Sabbalh-resl (Heb. 4:1-11) in lhe nev covenanl day of
saIvalion (II Cor. 6:2) is lhe conlinuous oorlunily lo resl from
aII reIigious vorks (Heb. 4:10), by ceasing lo lry lo erform reIig-
iousIy for God, and inslead resl in His grace sufficiency lhrough
}esus Chrisl. Thal resl from reIigious erformance is lhe resl lhal
ve are resonsibIe lo diIigenlIy enler (Heb. 4:11).
When lhe concel of resl has been considered in reference
lo lhe Chrislian Iife, il has oflen been referred lo as lhe resl of
failh. }. C. MelcaIfe and D. M. McInlyre bolh have books enlilIed,
Tnc |csi cj |aiin.
6
R. . Thieme }r. ubIished a bookIel, Tnc |aiin-
|csi Iijc,
7
regarding lhis lo be a lechnique or rocedure lhal one
emIoys lo Iive lhe Chrislian Iife, lhereby changing resl inlo an-
olher form of erformance. Wayne arber has aulhored a book en-
z,
lilIed, Tnc |csi cj Gracc,
8
correclIy emhasizing lhal lhe Chrislian
can resl in God's grace. Il is imorlanl lo nole lhal failh is nol
somelhing lhe Chrislian musl do lo gel resl. Iailh musl nol be
lransformed inlo a vork lhal conlradicls lhe definilion of resl
as ceasing from erformance aclivily. Il is robabIy beller lo re-
fer lo grace-resl or Chrisl-resl lhan lo failh-resl.
Dan Slone and Greg Smilh have co-aulhored a book enlilIed,
Tnc |csi cj inc Gcspc|. Wncn inc Pariia| Gcspc| Has Wcrn Ycu Oui,
9

using lhe doubIe enlendre of lhe lvo meanings of resl men-
lioned above. The resl of lhe goseI is lhe remainder, lhe arl
lhal many eoIe have nol heard in ouIar Chrislian leaching,
and lhal remainder erlains lo enlering God's resl (finaI cha-
ler) by ceasing from lhe erformance aclivily of reIigion.
The use of lhe lerm souI-resl in lhis sludy finds ils recur-
sor in lhe vords of }esus HimseIf. Come lo Me, aII vho are veary
and heavy-Iaden, and I viII give you rcsi. Take My yoke uon you,
and Iearn from Me, for I am genlIe and humbIe in hearl, and you
shaII find rcsi jcr qcur scu|s (Mall. 11:28,29). The finaI hrase, resl
for your souIs, aears lo be an aIIusion lo lhe rohecy of
}eremiah (6:16). In a mid-nineleenlh cenlury book, A Trcaiisc cn
Oitinc Unicn,
10
Thomas Uham has an exlended finaI seclion on
The SouI's Resl in Union, and il vas lhis vork lhal sarked my
lhoughl-rocesses lo ursue lhe sludy of Siril-union aIIovs for
SouI-resl.

Exp!anatinn nI "5nu!-rcst"
The vorId of faIIen humanily runs lo and fro al a heclic ace,
seeking resl on lhe veekends, in church services, and on vaca-
lions and hoIidays. The humanislic vork elhic lhal drives men lo
succeed and be significanl Ieaves IillIe lime for resl and quie-
lude. When idenlily is delermined by erformance vho ve are
based on vhal ve do lhen conlemorary sociely lhinks lhose
vho lake lime lo resl viII be Iefl on lhe side of lhe road as excess
z
baggage or nobodies. Resl is regarded as bul a uloian goaI al
lhe end of lhe rainbov of success. Thinking lhey can generale lheir
ovn fulure of resl by lheir seIf-sufficienl erformance, faIIen
man runs on lhe lreadmiII lhal goes novhere.
The conlemorary reIigion of evangeIicaI humanism has
nolhing lo offer bul a difference of scenery on lhe lreadmiII. Suffer-
ing from lhe Marlha comIex of do-do-do for }esus, Chrislian
reIigion seeks lo molivale eoIe vilh lhe carrol of heavenIy resl
al lhe end of lhe ral-race. IrocIaiming lhal lhere is no resl for lhe
vicked, lhe aIlernalive is aIIeged lo be a goodness achieved by
slriving erformance. To achieve resl one musl vork for il.
MeanvhiIe, God seems lo be saying, e sliII (cease slriving), and
knov lhal I am God (Is. 46:10). }esus said, Observe lhe IiIies of
lhe fieId, hov lhey do nol loiI or sin. Do nol be anxious lhen.
ul seek firsl His kingdom and His righleousness, and aII lhese
lhings shaII be added lo you (Mall. 6:28-33). Modern Chrislians
find il so difficuIl lo |usl be lo Iive in lhe isness of lhe I AM
of divine eing, and lo aIIov lheir doing lo be an exression of
lhe I AM in aclion.
To reilerale, ve nole lhal souI-resl is nol a suer deIuxe
version of lhe Chrislian Iife. Il is nol a higher Iife or deeer Iife
lhal onIy a fev suer-sainls achieve. SouI-resl is nol receiving
somelhing more lhan vhal every Chrislian receives vhen he be-
comes a Chrislian al regeneralion. SouI-resl is nol an added exlra
in lhe Chrislian Iife: }esus Chrisl + (somelhing eIse). In siril-union
vilh God, ve are comIele in Chrisl, and souI-resl is aIIoving
lhe indveIIing resence of God lo exerienliaIIy ermeale our
sychoIogicaI and behavioraI funclion. SouI-resl is God's inlended
exerienliaI oul-Iiving of lhe Chrislian Iife, i.e., of lhe Chrisl-Iife.
The God ve received vilhin our siril is lhe God of resl. He
is nol a eing vho slruggIes and slrives lo acl and achieve. He is
nol hurried or harried, huslIed or hassIed. He aIvays acls oul of
His ovn eing, as His Tri-unily funclions in erfecl eace and
harmony. Throughoul scrilure He is oflen idenlified as lhe God
z;
of eace (Rom. 15:33, 16:20, II Cor. 13:11, IhiI. 4:9, I Thess. 5:23).
SouI-resl is aIIoving lhe God of eace lo equi us in every good
lhing lo do His viII, vorking in us lhal vhich is Ieasing in His
sighl, lhrough }esus Chrisl (Heb. 13:20). We are lo be anxious for
nolhing, bul (aIIov) lhe eace of God, vhich surasses aII com-
rehension, lo guard our hearls and minds in Chrisl }esus (IhiI.
4:6,7). }esus said, Ieace I Ieave vilh you, My eace I give lo you,
nol as lhe vorId gives (lemorary exlernaI absence of confIicl) do I
give lo you (}n. 14:27). Inslead, }esus is lhe Lord of eace vho
gives us eace in every circumslance (II Thess. 3:16), for He is lhe
inner and elernaI eace, lranquiIily, serenily of our souIs. He
HimseIf is our eace (Ih. 2:14), and ve are lo Iel lhe eace of
Chrisl ruIe in our hearls (CoI. 3:15). SouI-resl is arlicialion in
lhe eacefuI harmony of Triune inleraclion and sufficiency.
SouI-resl is vhal Walchman Nee caIIed lhe normaI Chris-
lian Iife.
11
Il is God's inlenl for Chrislians. SouI-resl is lhe rocess
of being saved (I Cor. 1:18), as ve arliciale in vhal W. Ian
Thomas caIIed lhe saving Iife of Chrisl
12
(Rom. 5:10). SaIvalion is
so misunderslood in evangeIicaI Chrislianily loday, for il is re-
garded as a slalic lransaclion vherein ve acquire lhe commodily
of elernaI Iife lhal deIivers and reserves us from fulure conse-
quences. A dynamic and Iiving underslanding of saIvalion comes
in recognizing lhal ve are made safe from lhe dysfunclion of
abused and misused humanily, in order lo exerience lhe dynamic
resence and funclion of lhe Iiving Savior, }esus Chrisl, in our
Iives. This dynamic underslanding avoids lhe conlrived dislinclion
belveen saIvalion and sanclificalion. Sanclificalion is lhe ongoing
rocess of saIvalion vhereby ve aIIov ourseIves lo be sel aarl
as lhe conduils of lhe manifeslalion of God's HoIy characler in lhe
lhinking, affeclions, and decision-making of our sychoIogicaI and
hysicaI behavior. SouI-resl is arlicialing in lhe abundanl Iife
(}ohn 10:10) lhal }esus came lo bring. Il is being fiIIed vilh lhe
Siril' (Ih. 5:18), and groving in lhe grace and knovIedge of
our Lord }esus Chrisl (II Iel. 3:18). SouI-resl is gelling beyond
Romans 7 and inlo Romans 8 beyond Chrislian reIigion and inlo
Chrislian reaIily.
z8
4 SouI-Resl and lhe Mind

Christians nI thc Wcstcrn wnr!d, in arlicuIar, are sleeed in lhe
ArisloleIian Iogic of allemling lo exIain God inleIIecluaIIy. Wilh
ralionaI hiIosohicaI and lheoIogicaI syIIogisms lhey seek lo ex-
Iain lhe infinile vilh finile reasoning, lhinking lhal if lhey gel
everylhing calegorized and syslemalized IogicaIIy, lhey can lhen
resl in lheir recise definilions and inleIIecluaI exIanalions.
SeIdom do lhey recognize lhal lheir ralionaIislic reasoning ro-
duces conslanl unresl, for lhe more you knov, lhe more you
knov you don'l knov. The menlaI machinalions of schoIaslic
lheoIogicaI research oflen ends u in lhe anaIysis araIysis of a
cerebraI Iog|am lhal makes Chrislian reIigion inlo reasoned insan-
ily. Man viII never find resl in lhe unending allemls lo figure
oul God and His vays.
The dee lhings of God (I Cor. 2:10), lhe vays of God are
asl finding oul (Rom. 11:33). Weslern man has such a difficuIl
lime vilh lhe unknovn, lhe incomrehensibIe, lhe unsearch-
abIe, vilh diaIeclic lhal cannol be resoIved vilh synlhesis, vilh
Divine Myslery lhal invoIves infinile reaIily lhal cannol be ex-
Iained vilh finile reasoning. Since lhe lime of lhe so-caIIed
InIighlenmenl in lhe eighleenlh cenlury, vhen human reason
vas deified and eIevaled lo lhe highesl arbiler of underslanding,
humanislic ralionaIism has reigned sureme in Weslern lhoughl.
God's resonse has Iong been, 'My lhoughls are nol your
lhoughls, neilher are your vays My vays,' decIares lhe Lord. 'Ior
as lhe heavens are higher lhan lhe earlh, so are My vays higher
z
lhan your vays, and My lhoughls lhan your lhoughls' (Isa.
55:8,9).
God graciousIy aIIovs lhe lheoIogues lo engage in lheir aca-
demic gymnaslics unliI lhey run inlo lhe vaII of lhe ouler reaches
of human underslanding, and lhen seek lo find resl from lheir ra-
lionaIislic reasoning. I knov from ersonaI exerience. My naluraI
lendency vas lo formuIale a beIieve-righl reIigion vilh aII lhe
correcl doclrines and ibIicaIIy accurale exegesis. My ersonaIily
vas suiled lo lheoIogicaI fundamenlaIism. As a sludenl of bibIicaI
hermeneulics, bibIicaI lheoIogy, syslemalic lheoIogy, dogmalic
lheoIogy, and lhe hiIosohy of reIigion, I sel oul lo gel God fig-
ured oul exhausliveIy evaIualed, fixed in formuIalion, and boxed
u in lheoIogicaI calegories. Then, I ran inlo lhe dead-end of hu-
man reasoning, agnoslicaIIy admilling lhal I couId nol knov il aII,
and queslioning vhelher I couId knov anylhing even vhelher
God exisled. Thal vas indeed a lime of unresl! ul, raise God, He
Ied me lovards souI-resl in lhe mind lhrough siril-union vilh
}esus Chrisl.
InleIIecluaI knovIedge of informalionaI conlenl is nol lhe
vay lo souI-resl. IauI exIained lo lhe Corinlhians, KnovIedge
makes arroganl. . .If anyone suoses lhal he knovs anylhing, he
has nol yel knovn as he oughl lo knov, bul if any one Ioves God,
he is knovn by Him (I Cor. 8:1-3). eller lo be knovn by God,
lhan lo cIaim lo knov anylhing. Knoving aII lhe delaiIs of scri-
lure and lheoIogy viII nol rovide souI-resl in lhe Chrislian Iife.
On lhe olher hand, lhe knoving of ersonaI and reIalionaI inli-
macy vilh God is essenliaI lo souI-resl. IauI's excIamalion lo lhe
IhiIiians reveaIs his avareness of lhis kind of knoving. I
counl aII lhings lo be Ioss in viev of lhe surassing vaIue of kncu-
ing Cnrisi jcsus nq Icr!, for vhom I have suffered lhe Ioss of aII
lhings,.lhal I may kncu Hin. (IhiI. 3:8-10). The reIalionaI
knoving of an inlimale reIalionshi vilh lhe Iiving Lord }esus is of
far grealer vaIue lhan a Ih.D. in any sub|ecl. The informalionaI ex-
Iosion of lhe modern era makes so much knovIedge avaiIabIe,
bul Ieaves man in lhe unresl of his inabiIily lo knov il aII.
;o
There seems lo be a God-given desire in man lo seek for
lrulh. ul vhen lrulh is soughl in roosilions, roosaIs, and
recels il is never enough. Il never Ieads lo souI-resl. The deeesl
sense of Trulh can onIy be found in a Ierson. }esus said, You shaII
knov lhe iruin, and lhe iruin shaII make you free (}n. 8:32). The
Son shaII make you free, and you shaII be free indeed (}n. 8:36). I
am lhe vay, lhe iruin, and lhe Iife (}n. 14:6). Trulh is a Ierson
}esus Chrisl. He is lhe uIlimale reaIily.
Man seeks visdom. Where is lhe vise man(I Cor. 1:20),
vho can soIve aII our robIems, IauI asked rheloricaIIy, and lhen
exIained lhal in lhe visdom of God lhe vorId lhrough ils vis-
dom did nol come lo knov God (I Cor. 2:21). The vriler of IccIe-
siasles admils, I sel my mind lo knov visdom,. bul I reaIized
lhis vas slriving afler vind (IccI. 1:17), for even al nighl my
nin! !ccs nci rcsi (IccI. 2:23). AIso recognizing lhe vanily of hu-
man visdom, IauI vrole, Lel no man deceive himseIf. If any man
lhinks he is vise in lhis age, Iel him become fooIish lhal he may
become vise. The Lord knovs lhe reasonings of lhe vise, lhal lhey
are useIess (I Cor. 3:18,20). Like lrulh, visdom is found in a Ier-
son, for Chrisl }esus became lo us lhe visdom of God (I Cor.
2:24,30). To knov }esus Chrisl, nol |usl lo knov aboul }esus
Chrisl, bul lo knov }esus Chrisl in an ongoing reIalionshi of
siriluaI reveIalion and inlimacy, is lo have visdom lhal lhe vorId
knovs nol of. }ames, lhe Lord's brolher, vrole, lhe visdom from
above is ure, eaceabIe, genlIe, reasonabIe, fuII of mercy and
good fruils, unvavering, vilhoul hyocrisy (}ames 3:17).
The mind of man is never going lo figure oul Iife and aII ils
comIexilies. No amounl of human reasoning is going lo soIve lhe
robIems of lhe vorId or lhe insecurilies of our human Iives. The
dee lhings of God (I Cor. 2:10) are discovered nol by human
reason, bul by divine reveIalion. SouI-resl is onIy exerienced
vhen ve are viIIing lo go beyond human Iogic and accel lhe
mysleries of Theo-Iogic, vhen ve concenlrale on siriluaI reaIilies
lhal are invisibIe and unseen, ralher lhan on naluraIislic observa-
lion. IauI noled, We Iook nol al lhe lhings vhich are seen, bul al
;s
lhe lhings vhich are nol seen, for lhe lhings vhich are seen are
lemoraI, bul lhe lhings vhich are nol seen are elernaI (II Cor.
4:18). SouI-resl comes vhen ve desire lo knov onIy vhal He
vanls us lo knov aII eIse is eriheraI. SouI-resl in lhe mind is
exerienced vhen ve are conlenl vilh reveIalion, ralher lhan rea-
son.

Mcnta! Attitudcs
Ivery individuaI has deveIoed a fuII sel of eslabIished alli-
ludes in his mind. We have alliludes aboul lhings, evenls, ideas,
God, olher eoIe, ourseIves, elc. Hov vere lhese alliludes deveI-
oed` (1) y lhe recommendalion of arenls, educalors, reIigious
inslruclors, and lhe inul of sociely via lhe media and encuIlur-
alion. (2) y observalion and exerience, vhereby ve refIecled on
vhal ve found accelabIe and suilabIe. (3) y lhe reveIalion of
God in naluraI henomena (Rom. 1:19,20), lhe incarnalion of lhe
Son (Lk. 10:22, GaI. 1:16), lhe vrillen record of lhe scrilures, and
lhe ersonaI reveIalion lhal God gives lo Chrislians. IersonaI reve-
Ialion is arlicuIarIy imorlanl for lhe deveIomenl of Chrislian
alliludes lhal coincide vilh lhe allilude of Chrisl. Have lhis aiii-
iu!c in you vhich vas in Chrisl }esus (IhiI. 2:5), IauI admon-
ished, and lhen in lhe same eislIe, Have lhis aiiiiu!c (of ressing
on lo knov }esus), and if you have any olher aiiiiu!c God viII re-
veaI il unlo you (IhiI. 3:15). As noled above, much of reIigion
shies avay from lhis ungovernabIe concel of ersonaI reveIalion.
IersonaI reveIalion is lhe rimary means of our being lrans-
formed by lhe reneving of lhe mind (Rom. 12:2, Ih. 4:23). This
renevaI of eslabIished alliludes in lhe mind is nol a lask lhal ve
slrive lo figure oul and formuIale, bul is lhe vork of lhe Siril of
Chrisl reveaIing HimseIf in lhe rocess of our disciIeshi as foI-
Iovers and Iearners of Chrisl. Where does lhis lransformalion
lake Iace lhal is accomIished by lhe reneving of lhe mind`
Nol in lhe siril of man, for IauI vas vriling lo Chrislians in
;z
Rome vho had aIready exerienced lhe siriluaI lransformalion of
regeneralion. The reneving of lhe mind aIIovs for a lransfor-
malion of behavior, as lhoughls and alliludes consislenl vilh
lhe mind of Chrisl vilhin our siril become lhe sringboard for
mobiIizing God's characler exression vilhin Chrislian behavior.
A arlicuIarIy imorlanl area of our eslabIished alliludes is
lhe allilude ve have concerning ourseIves. Many Chrislians seem
lo have a very negalive allilude aboul lhemseIves. They have seIf-
denigraling, seIf-derecaling, seIf-condemnalory alliludes lhal
idenlify lhemseIves as vorms before God, as useIess, as amounl-
ing lo nolhing. IauI did indicale, If anyone lhinks he is some-
lhing, vhen he is ncining, he deceives himseIf (GaI. 6:3), bul lhis is
|usl a varning againsl ridefuI seIf-eIevalion and exaIlalion. To lhe
IhiIiians, he vrole, Wilh humiIily of mind Iel each of you re-
gard one anolher as more imorlanl lhan himseIf (IhiI. 2:3). And
lo lhe Romans, I say lo every man among you nol lo lhink more
highIy of himseIf lhan he oughl lo lhink, bul lo lhink so as lo have
sound |udgmenl, as God has aIIolled lo each a measure of failh
(Rom. 12:3). The fIi-side of lhinking more highIy of ourseIves
lhan ve oughl lo lhink is lhinking Iess of ourseIves lhan ve
oughl lo lhink. If a Chrislian vievs himseIf as a vorlhIess IiabiIily
lo God, lhen he is faiIing lo lake inlo accounl lhe gIorious assel
lhal has been invesled in him, his siriluaI idenlily vherein il is
no Ionger I vho Iives, bul Chrisl Iives in me (GaI. 2:20). A osilive
ersonaI concel of vho ve are in Chrisl aIIovs us lo resl in a
confidenl sense of veII-being lhal is cheerfuI, ubeal, and olimis-
lic. Aarl from such a consciousness of our idenlily in Chrisl lhere
viII be an allilude of inferiorily lhal brings unresl.
On lhe olher hand, ve musl bevare of siriluaI ride lhal
can deveIo among lhose vho undersland lheir siriluaI idenlily
in union vilh Chrisl, and because lhey have lhe mind of Chrisl
(I Cor. 2:16) have exerienced lhe inluilive inner knoving of
reveIalion. Such Chrislians are lemled lo deveIo a Gnoslic and
eIilisl sense of knoving lhal Iooks dovn ils nose al lhose lhey
deem lo be al a Iover IeveI of siriluaI knoving, or vho cannol
;;
arlicuIale lheir siriluaI underslanding as lhey do. The vords of
}ames are erlinenl: If any one lhinks himseIf lo be devoled, and
yel does nol bridIe his longue, bul deceives his ovn hearl, lhis
man's devolion is vorlhIess (}ames 1:26).
As a man lhinks in his hearl, so is he (Irov. 23:7). The
meaning of lhis roverb has been much debaled. Does il mean lhal
a man's idenlily is eslabIished by his lhinking` Though Descarles'
slalemenl, I lhink, lherefore I am, osiled human lhoughl as lhe
basis of our exislence, ve cannol accel lhe csscniia|isn lhal sug-
gesls vho ve are is based on hov ve lhink. Neilher shouId ve
give vay lo a behavioraI !cicrninisn vhereby having enlerlained a
lhoughl, ve cry oul, Oh no, I am a murderer, a lhief, a raisl.
IIeeling lhoughls somelimes fIood our mind, bul lhese are lhe so-
Iicilous lhoughls of lhe lemler, vhereuon lhe Iiving Word of
Chrisl viII divide belveen lhe lhoughls and inlenls of our hearl
(Heb. 4:12). Neilher do a man's lhoughls orlend a pcicniia|isn
vhereby lhe mind is lhe crealive source of human aclion. The
osilive lhinking of Norman Vincenl IeaIe, and lhe subsequenl
ossibiIily lhinking of Roberl SchuIIer are based on lhe human-
islic remise of aulo-generalion or seIf-acluaIizalion. Whal you
can conceive, you can achieve. VisuaIize and acluaIize. Reckon and
reaIize. These are lhe faIIacious molloes of lhe seIf-olenliaI gu-
rus vho faiI lo undersland lhe derivalive funclion of man. The
roverb of SoIomon mosl IikeIy means lhal as a man lhinks or
reckons vilhin his souI, so he is in lhe behavioraI exression of lhe
siriluaI characler lhal indveIIs him. }esus slaled il more cIearIy,
The good man oul of his good lreasure brings forlh vhal is good,
and lhe eviI man oul of his eviI lreasure brings forlh vhal is eviI
(Mall. 12:35). The Chrislian has lhis lreasure (lhe indveIIing Lord
}esus Chrisl) in earlhen vesseIs, lhal lhe surassing grealness of
lhe over may be of God and nol from ourseIves (II Cor. 4:7).
Our lhoughls become lhe oinl vhere behavior is ul in molion
and mobiIized, or lransformed inlo aclion. IslabIished alliludes
and lhoughl allerns aIIov lhe Chrislian lo behave as vho he has
become in Chrisl, aIIoving lhe characler of Chrisl lo be re-
resenled in his Iife. On lhe olher hand, inconsislenl lhoughls aI-
;
Iov for lhe mobiIizalion of behavior lhal is a misreresenlalion of
lhe characler of Chrisl, i.e. sinfuI. This inlerrelalion of behavior
cxprcssicnisn is aarenlIy lhe imorl of lhe roverb.
SouI-resl in our minds viII be a resuIl of keeing a unified
erseclive of our siril-union vilh Chrisl. A searaled concel
of disunion viII never aIIov for resling in His sufficiency, bul viII
aIvays rovoke lhe ressures of erformance lo Iease God. As
ve areciale and affirm lhal ve have lhe mind of Chrisl (I Cor.
2:16) vilhin our siril, ve can drav from lhe reveIalion of His
Theo-Iogic in our lhoughl rocesses. IauI's vords are so inslruc-
live: The nin! sel on lhe fIesh is dealh, bul lhe nin! sel on lhe
Siril is Iife and eace (resl). Those vho are according lo lhe Siril,
sel lheir nin!s on lhe lhings of lhe Siril (Rom. 8:5,6). Sel your
nin!s on lhings above, nol on lhe lhings of lhe earlh (CoI. 3:2),
IauI advised lhe CoIossians. To lhe IhiIiians he vrole, Whal-
ever is lrue, honorabIe, righl, IoveIy, of good reule, exceIIenl, and
vorlhy of raise, Iel your nin!s dveII on lhese lhings (IhiI. 4:8).
ul selling our minds on divine lhings is nol somelhing ve
vork lo mainlain. The eace of God, vhich surasses aII com-
rehension, shaII guard your hearls and minds in Chrisl }esus
(IhiI. 4:7).
Isaiah decIared, The sleadfasl of nin! Thou viII kee in
erfecl eace (Isa. 26:3). Ierfecl eace mighl be inlerreled lo
be synonymous vilh souI-resl. Some, hovever, misinlerrel
sleadfaslness of mind lo be lhe necessily of con|uring u a con-
linuaI Chrislian consciousness in every vaking lhoughl, and lhey
engage in an inordinale slriving lo kee focused on }esus. In a
slricl surveiIIance of every lhoughl, lhey seek lo aIIov lheir minds
lo lhink onIy of }esus, and lo lhink onIy lhe lhoughls of }esus.
There is no resl in lhal onIy a reIenlIess seIf-oIicing of one's
lhoughl Iife. A heaIlhier underslanding of sleadfaslness of mind
is lhe sleadfasl recognilion and avareness lhal ve have lhe mind
of Chrisl, and lhal Chrisl is our reason, our knovIedge, our doc-
lrine, and our leaching. As ve Iive oul of lhal union avareness, lhe
inlenls of our hearl viII be lhe exression of lhe characler of Chrisl
;,
in every circumslance. In lhe midsl of varying silualions our sy-
choIogicaI minds viII aIign vilh lhe mind of Chrisl vilhin our
siril, and in our viIIs ve viII make lhe conlinuing failh decision
lhal says, Yes, Lord, I vanl vhal You vanl.
We do nol vanl lo imIy by our slalemenls aboul Iiving be-
yond human reason in lhe recelion of divine reveIalion, lhal lhe
Chrislian shouId esouse any form of anli-inleIIecluaIism lhal re-
fuses lo use lhe mind and emIoy lhe reason lhal God has crealed
us vilh. We |usl refuse lo deify human Iogic, and inslead make lhe
failh-choices lo be recelive lo Theo-Iogic and God's aclion in our
Iives. Ieler leIIs us lo gird our nin!s for aclion (I Ieler 1:13), and
lhis viII invoIve exIoring lhe olions and making Ians. The
nin! of man Ians his vay, bul lhe Lord direcls his sles (Irov.
16:7).
SouI-resl in lhe mind of lhe Chrislian frees us from lhinking
lhal ve musl figure oul and knov everylhing. Il aIIovs us lo be
conlenl vilh knoving onIy vhal God vanls us lo knov. Resling
in lhe recognilion lhal lhe Iiving Lord }esus is lhe lrulh (}n. 14:6),
and has become our visdom (I Cor. 1:30), ve desire lo knov
Him (IhiI. 3:10) reIalionaIIy, and aIIov Him lo direcl our
lhoughls by ersonaI reveIalion. We do nol cease from lhinking,
bul onIy from lhinking lhal our menlaI knovIedge is lhe source or
guide for accelabIe Chrislian behavior, remaining avaiIabIe in-
slead lo lhe reneving of lhe mind (Rom. 12:2) lhal aIIovs lhe
characler of Chrisl lo be mobiIized in our behavior.

;
5 SouI-Resl and lhe Imolions

Many Christians sccm tn Iight a conslanl ballIe vilh lheir emo-
lions, vhich lhey regard as lhe cuIrils lhal kee lhem slirred u
and dislurbed. Imolions shouId nol be considered as agilaling
enemies in our souIs. Our emolions are nol irrilanls lhal serve lo
bug us Iike esky gnals. Imolions are nol searale enlilies or
overs, and are nol essenliaIIy good or eviI, bul can be ervaded
and aclivaled by sinfuI or godIy characler.
God crealed aII humans vilh lhe abiIily lo exerience emo-
lion. The IngIish vord emolion is derived from lhe Lalin, cx-
nctcrc, vhich means, lo move oul. Imolions aIIov us lo be
moved, aroused, invigoraled, and enIivened. To be fuIIy human,
as God inlended, ve need lo exerience sensalion, affeclion, fer-
vor, enlhusiasm, and assion. Wilhoul emolions Iife vouId Iose ils
Iusler lhere vouId be no lhriII of excilemenl, no fIush of embar-
rassmenl, no fruslralion of faiIure, no vonder and amazemenl of
lhal vhich is around us and beyond us. We shouId embrace our
emolions, and aIIov lhem lo rovide assion in our Iives.
Imolions somelimes seem lo be so sonlaneous and over-
overing, overvheIming us suddenIy and even vioIenlIy. They
are nol demons, hovever, bul are inlegraIIy connecled lo lhe resl
of our being (sychoIogicaIIy and hysioIogicaIIy). In arlicuIar,
emolions connecl vilh our lhoughls and alliludes. IeoIe usuaIIy
feeI vhal lhey lhink. Ior examIe, if a erson feeIs inferior, il is
based on eslabIished alliludes aboul lheir idenlily. Some seek lo
bIame lhe evenls of Iife for arousing lheir emolions, bul evenls do
nol roduce emolion. We cannol say, Thal silualion or lhal er-
;;
son made me angry. We have lo ovn our ovn anger. The silua-
lion simIy aIIovs eslabIished alliludes comrised of execlalions,
assumlions and ercelions, lo bring forlh emolionaI reaclion. In
his Mc!iiaiicns,
13
Marcus AureIius (2nd cenlury AD) vrole, If you
are ained by an exlernaI lhing, il is nol lhe lhing lhal dislurbs
you, bul your |udgmenl aboul il.
Modern sychoIogy is reoccuied vilh emolions, advocal-
ing lhal eoIe gel in louch vilh lheir feeIings, and be lrue lo
lheir feeIings. Wilh lhe revaiIing hiIosohicaI oulIook moving
lovards oslmodernism, lhere is an exlremeIy sub|eclive orien-
lalion lhal evaIuales everylhing by lhe emolionaI effecl lhal il has
on eoIe, and oflen denies ob|eclive reference. This is nol unIike
lhe oIder romanlicism lhal vas lhe anlilhelicaI exlreme of ra-
lionaIism. As Chrislians, ve vanl lo avoid bolh lhe ralionaIism of
lhe mind and lhe romanlicism of lhe emolions, in order lo aIIov
for lhe exression of lhe Chrisl-Iife lhrough our lhoughls and feeI-
ings.
So, hov do eoIe deaI vilh lheir emolions` There seem lo
be lhree main olions: (1) To beIieve lhal emolions can have over
over us and conlroI us, assiveIy crying lhal ve are viclims of
our emolions. (2) To beIieve lhal ve have lhe over in ourseIves
lo acliveIy conlroI our emolions by mind over feeIing, deniaI, or
lhe suression, ofr sluffing, of our emolions. (3) To beIieve lhal
God gave us lhe abiIily lo exerience emolions, and lhal lhe in-
dveIIing Chrisl can conlroI our emolions, using lhem as arori-
ale exressive agenls of His characler. The lhird olion is lhe onIy
one lhal aIIovs us lo have souI-resl in our emolions.
The range of emolionaI exerience is so vasl and diverse lhal
il is imossibIe lo idenlify aII human feeIings. In lhe 17lh cenlury,
in a lhesis on lhe Passicns cj inc Scu|,
14
Descarles noled lhal emo-
lionaI assions vere a myslery lhal science couId never under-
sland. Desile lhe roIiferalion of lhe sociaI sciences in lhe asl
couIe of cenluries, his observalion seems lo sland. We viII, hov-
ever, alleml lo consider a fev of lhe more common emolions.
;8
Fcar
We have aII exerienced fear and some of ils common varia-
lions such as arehension, anxiely, and vorry. Whal are ve
afraid of` These can be boiIed dovn lo (1) non-ersonaI fears, (2)
inlerersonaI fears, and (3) inlra-ersonaI fears.
Ncn-pcrscna| jcars incIude fear of lhe unknovn, fear of
change, fear of vhal mighl be, and fear of lhe fulure. These may
aIso incIude fear of being in vanl, fear of sickness, bodiIy harm or
dealh, and a hosl of olher hobias. Hov do ve have souI-resl from
lhese kinds of fears` OnIy in recognizing by failh lhal aII un-
knovns are knovn in lhe sovereign omniscience of God. AII
change is His change, God is in aII lhe change. AII of lhe mighl
bes are His oorlunilies. The fulure beIongs lo lhe elernaI God
vho desires lhal ve Iel Him lake care of il, and inslead focus on
lhe nov of God's resenl lense I AM, vilhoul gelling overIy
reoccuied vilh rohelic and fulurislic concerns. The IsaImisl
underslood, The Lord is my sheherd, I shaII nol vanl (Is. 23:1),
as vas iIIuslraled by God's suernaluraI suIy for IIisha via ra-
vens (I Kgs. 17:4-6) and lhe ereluaI suIy of fIour and oiI for
lhe vidov (I Kgs. 17:8-16). Iven sickness and dealh cannol sea-
rale us from lhe Iove of God (Rom. 8:35-39). God has everylhing
under conlroI, so vhen ve are in siril-union vilh Him, ve can
lake lhings in slride, resling in His Iove and sufficiency.
Then lhere are lhose inicrpcrscna| jcars: fear of disarovaI,
re|eclion, IoneIiness, searalion and broken reIalionshis. Iear of
offending someone. Iear of vhal olhers lhink. Iear of our enemies.
Iear of vhal viII haen lo our chiIdren or grandchiIdren. SouI-
resl in lhe midsl of lhese kinds of fears comes from underslanding
lhal ve seek nol lhe arovaI of men, bul of God (}n. 14:23),
vho has aroved (I Thess. 2:4) and acceled us (Rom. 15:7, Ih.
1:6-K}V). If God has acceled us, ve are acceled by lhe onIy One
vho counls! He is nol going lo re|ecl us, deserl us, or forsake us
(Heb. 13:5). In siril-union vilh lhe Trinily, ve are never aIone for
ve are broughl inlo lhe reIalion of Ialher, Son, and HoIy Siril. As
;
lhe IsaImisl vrole, I viII fear no eviI, for Thou arl vilh me (Is.
23:4). }esus romised, I am vilh you aIvays (Mall. 28:20). The
soIulion lo IoneIiness is nol gel busy, gel invoIved, bul lo recog-
nize lhe union reIalionshi ve have vilh God and His eoIe.
Those vho fear offending someone oflen need lo undersland lhal
lhe robIem is usuaIIy vilh eoIe laking offense, ralher lhan
our giving offense, and }esus vas nol al aII concerned aboul lhe
Iharisees' laking offense al vhal He did. Our desire is lo Iease
God, ralher lhan man (GaI. 1:10, I Thess. 2:4). Il doesn'l maller
vhal olhers lhink of you or your oinions. You are free lo be
uniqueIy you, vilh your ovn lhoughls and your ovn oinions.
We musl nol aIIov lhe oinions of olhers lo conlroI us. Iears of
vhal viII haen lo our Ioved ones are reIieved vhen ve recog-
nize lhal God Ioves our chiIdren and grandchiIdren more lhan ve
do, and seeks lheir highesl good al aII limes.
The lhird calegory, inirapcrscna| jcars, incIudes lhe fear of
faiIure and insignificance, lhe fear of inadequacy and resonsibiI-
ily, lhe fear of inferiorily and imroriely. The fear of faiIure is
aIvays a resuIl of lhinking lhal ve have lo do somelhing, and faiI-
ing lo areciale lhe suIied Iife of }esus Chrisl vhereby ve
have everylhing erlaining lo Iife and godIiness (II Iel. 1:3). The
fear of inadequacy is overcome by recognilion lhal ve have aII
sufficiency in everylhing (II Cor. 3:5). Hov can someone have a
fear of inferiorily vhen lhey knov vho lhey are in Chrisl` The
fear of imroriely is based on eslabIished alliludes of vhal
olhers have deemed roer and accelabIe. When Chrisl is oera-
live in us, lhe exression is aIvays adequale, significanl, and
roer.
When ve aIIov lhe sufficiency of Chrisl lo svaIIov u lhe
seIf-orienlalion of our fears, ve viII exerience souI-resl. The osi-
live svaIIovs u lhe negalive. }ohn's slalemenl is, Ierfecl Iove
casls oul fear (I }ohn 4:18). The queslion is nol, Wnai is 'erfecl
Iove'` bul Wnc is 'erfecl Iove'` The revious verses exIain
lhal God is Iove (I }ohn 4:8,16), and lhis does nol mean lhal God
has some Iove lo disense, bul lhal He is in HimseIf lhe essence
o
of aII divine Iove, vhereby He acls oul of His ovn eing, and
overcomes our being vilh His eace and securily.

Angcr
We hale lo admil lhal ve have emolions of anger, so ve
have devised many vords lo redefine our anger and |uslify our
anger. I'm nol angry, I'm |usl mad, annoyed, rovoked, irrilaled,
irked, hurl, fed-u, gried, sore, on edge, disgusled, usel, indig-
nanl, vexed, licked-off, agilaled, aggravaled, dislurbed, hol under
lhe coIIar, or bIoving off sleam, elc. Whalever vord ve mighl
use, }ames advises, The anger of man does nol vork lhe righl-
eousness of God (}ames 1:20). The anger of man is based on
seIfish alliludes of seIf-roleclion and seIf-asserlion. On lhe olher
hand, lhere is lhe anger of God exressed in a man, lhal aIIovs
us lo be angry and sin nol (Ih. 4:26). There is no doubl lhal }e-
sus exressed lhe emolion of anger vilhoul sin vhen He cIeansed
lhe lemIe of lhe merchandisers (}n. 2:13-17), and vhen He ro-
nounced lhe voes againsl lhe Iharisees (Mall. 23:13-37). There are
limes vhen lhe anger of indignalion musl be exressed againsl
reIigious charIalans vho are deceiving and using eoIe. IauI ex-
hibiled such anger lovard lhose vho vere using lhe girI vho had
a siril of divinalion (Acls 16:16-18).
Much of our anger, hovever, is lhe anger of man lhal
slems from our allerns of seIfishness, vhen ve lake offense
lhal our so-caIIed righls have been vioIaled. We may become
biller and resenlfuI of veakness in olhers. We may become crilicaI,
argumenlalive, imalienl, inloIeranl, and comIaining. We may
become envious, |eaIous, halefuI, or vengefuI. And lhen lhere are
lhose vho bombaslicaIIy bIov u vilh a quick lemer and a
shar longue, cursing and yeIIing lo make lheir oinl. The anger
of man does nol exress lhe characler of Chrisl in us. We musl
aIIov God lo do vhal He vanls lo do in olher eoIe. Vengeance
is Mine, says lhe Lord (Rom. 12:19). Chrisl is lhe Iorgiver in us.
s
He is alience in us. He is meek, bul nol veak. SouI-resl frees us
from having lo reacl negaliveIy lo defend ourseIves in any vay.
We aII have our ovn varielies of emolionaI insecurilies. We
don'l have lo be heId hoslage by lhese uncerlainlies, or relreal inlo
comforl zones of safely. Our securily of reIalionshi vilh God is
nol lo be found in a asl decision, or in church membershi in a
arlicuIar denominalion, or in a arlicuIar doclrine of elernaI se-
curily or once saved aIvays saved. Our securily is in Chrisl,
lhe soIid rock (I Cor. 10:4), lhe sure foundalion (II Tim. 2:19),
vhere lhe anchor hoIds (Heb. 6:19). Oflenlimes God means for us
lo Iive in lhe insecurily of nol knoving vhal God is doing or viII
do nexl, viIIing lo lake God's curve baIIs, and lo lrusl Him as
ve vaIk on lhe svinging bridge of grace.
Anolher sel of emolions lhal ve aII exerience al one lime or
anolher is discouragemenl, disiIIusionmenl, and desondency lhal
may even Iead lo deression. These oflen come as a resuIl of some
kind of Ioss a |ob, an ob|ecl, hysicaI abiIily, a reIalionshi, reu-
lalion, freedom, oorlunily, or lhe Ioss of a Ioved one in dealh.
Il's okay lo be dovn. IauI vrole, We are affIicled in every vay,
bul nol crushed, erIexed, bul nol desairing, erseculed, bul nol
forsaken, slruck dovn, bul nol deslroyed (II Cor. 4:8,9). There
viII be limes vhen ve have dry seIIs, and seem lo be hoeing
dry ground in lhe vaIIey of dry bones (Izek. 37:1-6). Don'l Iel
lhe guiIl-inducing reIigionisls send you on a guiIl lri by lheir
slalemenls, If you feeI dislanl from God, guess vho moved. Il
may be lhal God inlends for you lo have a dark nighl of lhe
souI, lo areciale His Iighl. Somelimes vhen ve exerience Ioss,
ve have lhe emolions of sorrov and grief. These are Iegilimale
human emolions. Il vas al lhe nevs of lhe dealh of His friend,
Lazarus, lhal scrilure records, }esus vel (}n. 11:35). Granled,
IauI vrole, We do nol grieve as lhose vho have no hoe (I
Thess. 4:13), bul lhal means lhal ve do nol vaiI and mourn, and
faiI lo gel beyond lhe Ioss because ve have a seIfish allilude lhal
vhal haened lo us is unfair.
z
The emolions lhal ve exerience in souI-resl are nol a giddy
hainess or a euhoria lhal everylhing's going my vay. The
ob|eclive is nol lo gel high on }esus, asle on an evangeIicaI
smiIe, and vaIk around vilh a Cheshire cal grin as if ve |usl
svaIIoved lhe canary. ul neilher do ve vanl be sour-uss Chris-
lians, vho Iook Iike lhey've been sucking on a diII ickIe. Our
counlenance shouId reveaI lhal ve have lhe |oy of lhe Lord (}n.
15:11). }oy is far grealer lhan hainess. Hainess is derived from
lhe oId IngIish vord nap, vhich meanl chance. Hainess is
based on lhe chance lhal everylhing's going my vay. As lhe
haenings and haenslances haen hahazardIy, erhas you
mighl be hay, if you have no mishas. The desire for hainess
is a seIfish desire.
As ve said reviousIy, lhe exerience of emolions is arl of
being human. The ob|eclive of lhe Chrislian Iife is nol lo negale
our humanily or make us suerhuman, bul lo aIIov lhe Chrisl-Iife
lo be Iived oul in our humanily, vhich incIudes our emolions. We
need lo embrace our emolions, and aIIov lhem lo be lhe exres-
sive conduils of lhe characler of Chrisl. Thal viII incIude lhe emo-
lions of erIexily, fruslralion, confusion, fruslralion, fear, anger,
discouragemenl, and sorrov, as veII as lhe emolions of excile-
menl, eIalion, amazemenl, amusemenl, vonder, ave, salisfaclion,
Ieasure, |ubiIalion, elc. Imolions aIIov us lo have assion and
vibranl exression. Granled, lhose assions can be lainled vilh
eviI characler and become degrading assions (Rom. 1:26), sin-
fuI assions (Rom. 7:5), or IuslfuI assions (I Thess. 4:5), bul
lhey can aIso exress our assion for }esus Chrisl, our assion for
Iife, and our comassion for olher eoIe. The Greek vord for
assion is alhos, vhich refers lo affeclion or suffering. Comas-
sion is lo have assion logelher vilh God in His Iove for olhers,
vhich may invoIve symalhy and emalhy for lhose vho need
such.
Conlrary lo vhal some of us vere laughl, lhal lhose vho
shov emolions are sissies, and big boys don'l cry, God in-
lended for us lo exress emolions, and even lo vee. ImolionaI
;
exression is nol reserved for lhe feminine gender. }eremiah vas
knovn as lhe veeing rohel (}ere. 9:1,10, 13:17). }esus vel
(}n. 11:35, Lk. 19:41, 21:62). IauI vas veeing for his readers (IhiI.
3:18). We are admonished lo vee vilh lhose vho vee (Rom.
12:15). There is nolhing vrong vilh emolionaI assion lhal causes
us lo vee.
Though lhe fruil of lhe Siril (GaI. 5:22,23), such as Iove,
|oy, and eace, are nol essenliaIIy emolionaI feeIings bul lhe char-
acler of Chrisl indveIIing our siril, lhe exression of lhese char-
acler lrails vilhoul emolion or assion can be coId, sleriIe, and
imersonaI. God's Iove shouId be shovn vilh assionale embrace.
The |oy of lhe Lord shouId be en|oyed emolionaIIy. God's eace
can be a sellIed serenily lhal is beyond lhe comrehension of lhe
vorId around us (IhiI. 4:7). When our souI is al resl in lhe suffi-
ciency of our siril-union vilh Chrisl, our emolions can be uliIized
as assionale exressive agenls for lhe exression of lhe characler
and affeclion of Chrisl (IhiI. 1:8).


6 SouI-Resl and lhe WiII

Thc human wi!! within thc snu!, lhe sychoIogicaI funclion of
man, is vhere ve choose and decide hov ve viII acl vilhin lhe
conlexl of our viIIingness lo be recelive and conlingenlIy deriva-
live from a source beyond ourseIves. There has been much debale
and argumenl aboul lhe so-caIIed free-viII of man. My osilion`
I calegoricaIIy deny lhal man has free-viII. OnIy God has free-
viII, i.e., lhe absoIule freedom lo viII anylhing inlo being in accord
vilh His characler (Who He is), and lo ul lhal viIIed delermina-
lion inlo aclion oul of His ovn eing. Thal's free-viII, comIele
vilh lhe viII-over lo ul il inlo aclion! Man does nol have free-
viII in lhal sense. God crealed man vilh freedom of choice, and
our choices are choices of viIIingness lo derive over and charac-
ler in our behavior from one siriluaI source or lhe olher God or
Salan. Marlin Lulher vrole a cIassic book, Tnc Bcn!agc cj inc Wi||.
15

In lhal book he does nol advocale lhe CaIvinislic idea of deraved
inabiIily lo choose (as many have lhoughl), bul argues againsl his
conlemorary, Irasmus, a humanisl, vho laughl lhal man couId
viII inlo being in his ovn behavior lhe characler of righleousness
or sinfuIness. Such a lhesis of saIvalion by viIIed vorks is al lhe
hearl of aII humanislic lhoughl. Marlin Lulher argued lhal lhe viII
of man is bound by lhe conlexl in vhich God crealed man as a
choosing and derivalive crealure, lo be conlingenl and deendenl
on God. OnIy God can aulo-generale. OnIy God can seIf-acluale.
OnIy God can sonlaneousIy creale. OnIy God can be a rime-
roducer or mover oul of His absoIule divine free-viII, having lhe
viII-over lo bring inlo being lhal vhich is exressive of His ovn
eing. Oh, vhal resl lhere is in recognizing lhal ve cannol and
,
do nol have lo bring lhings inlo being vilh our viII. We don'l
have lo exercise so-caIIed viII-over lhal aIIegedIy makes
lhings haen, roduces characler, or generales righleousness.
There is cerlainIy no souI-resl in lhe faIse lhinking lhal ve have
lo viIIfuIIy make lhings haen, creale goodness, and hoId il aII
logelher.
Many eoIe frel in unresl lhal human Iife here on earlh is
consliluled of decisions, decisions, decisions. Wilhoul lhe caa-
biIily of decision-making, ve vouId be aulomalons or marionelles
uels on a slring. The fruslralion of decision-making is usu-
aIIy due lo a desire lo avoid resonsibiIily and accounlabiIily for
lhe decisions ve make. There is no doubl lhal decisions have con-
sequences, and ve have lo Iive vilh lhe consequences of our
choices. IauI vrole, He vho does vrong viII receive lhe conse-
quences of lhe vrong vhich he has done (CoI. 3:25).
Our choices are oflen casl inlo lhe calegories of lrue and faIse
concIusions, righl or vrong decisions, good or bad choices. ReIa-
livism argues lhal vhalever is lrue and righl in your delermina-
lion is lrulh and righleousness for you. UliIilarianism suggesls
lhal il's righl, if il lurns oul aII righl, for lhe resuIls are lhe uIli-
male crileria. Iragmalism oerales on lhe remise, Whalever
vorks and vhalever ays off, lhal's good. Ralher lhan delermin-
ing Iegilimacy, accuracy, and roriely by individuaI and sociaI
sub|eclivism, lhere has lo be some ob|eclive reference for idenlify-
ing lhese choice-calegories. Some vouId find lheir foundalion in
moraI codes, elhicaI formuIalions, behavioraI ruIes and reguIa-
lions, or even in divine lhou shaIls and lhou shaIl nols. The
absoIulism of fundamenlaIism argues, We have figured oul lhe
lrue, lhe righl and lhe good, and aII of your choices musl nov be
made in lhe aramelers of our delerminalion. The delerminalion
of lhe roriely of our choices and decisions is besl eslabIished,
hovever, by lhe characler of God HimseIf, aIIoving divine |uslice,
Iove, and aulhorily lo be lhe basis of lhe roer course of aclion.
The rohel Micah decIares, Whal does lhe Lord require of you

bul lo do |uslice, lo Iove kindness, and lo vaIk humbIy vilh your
God (Micah 6:8).

DiIIcrcnt Pcrsnna!itics and Dccisinn-making
Differenl ersonaIilies have differing allerns or lrails of de-
cision-making. Some are slrong-viIIed and lend lo make quick,
imuIsive decisions based on exedience. eIieving lhal change is
aIvays good, lhey are oflen confronlalionaI and asserlive, saying,
}usl do il! Olhers vanl lo make decisions in lhe conlexl of a
commillee, vhere lhey can laIk oul lhe issues and enIisl olhers lo
make lhe decision vilh lhem. They vanl lo avoid lhe individuaI
bIame vhen olhers do nol Iike lhe decision lhey have made. Then
lhere are lhose vho vouId ralher Iel olhers make decisions for
lhem. Whalever you vanl, il's fine vilh me. They are ambiva-
Ienl and rocraslinale, for lhey disIike change and seek lhe slalus-
quo. They viII assiveIy acquiesce, seeking eace al any cosl.
Anolher allern of decision-making is lhal of lhose vho are very
ideaIislic and lhink lhal lhey musl make a erfecl choice every
lime, never making a vrong choice. They research lheir olions
melicuIousIy and oflen end u in lhe araIysis of anaIysis, bul
lhey are convinced lhal lheir concIusion and choice is aIvays righl.
None of lhese aroaches is more righl lhan anolher, for lhey aII
exose our seIf-orienled, seIf-asserlive, and seIf-roleclive lenden-
cies in decision-making.

Dccisinn-making Inr Christians
Decision-making among Chrislians seems lo be even more
comIicaled. Chrislian reIigion oflen advocales lhal ve need lo
choose lo be more commilled, lo decide lo be more dedicaled, lo
consenl lo be more consecraled. There's no resl in lhal, for il is
never enough. IvangeIicaI humanism faiIs lo undersland lhal hu-
man commilmenl is |usl anolher form of vorks saIvalion. AII ve
;
can commil is sin, and even lhal is derived from lhe diaboIic
source. Our onIy consislenl choice is lo be su|niiic! lo God for
vhalever He is ccnniiic! lo be and do in us. The commilmenl is
on God's side. }ames vrole, Submil yourseIves lo God (}ames
4:7), and lhereby ve can resl in His sufficiency.
Chrislian reIigion suggesls lhal ve musl discover, knov, and
make decisions in accord vilh lhe viII of God. This recise viII
of God is oflen vieved as if il vere a redelermined Iolled
course, and ve musl go orienleering vilh our siriluaI comass lo
find God's Iolled course for our Iives. Some consider searching
for lhe viII of God lo be somevhal Iike valer-vilching for lhe
source of God's hidden rivers. Olhers aroach lhe viII of God
as if il vere a maze vherein ve are Iike rals lrying lo find our vay
lo God's goaI. SliII olhers viev lhe search for lhe viII of God lo
be a random rocess of bouncing off of lhe vaIIs of Iife. Chrislians
are Iooking for lhe viII of God in aII lhe vrong Iaces. As revi-
ousIy noled, lhe viII of God is vilhin us by siril-union, and il
aIvays has lo do vilh lhe exression of lhe characler of Chrisl. We
have lhe freedom lo make any choice vilhin lhe conlexl of lhe
emovering characler of God. God doesn'l care vhelher you
drive a Chevy, or a Iord, or a Toyola, bul He does care vhelher
His characler is exhibiled vhiIe you drive vhalever you choose.
God doesn'l care vhelher you choose a vhile shirl or a coIored
shirl, a rinl dress or a anl-suil, bul He does care vhelher you
aIIov for lhe fruil of lhe Siril in your behavior vhiIe you vear
vhalever you vear. We have greal Ialilude and Iiberly in our deci-
sion-making as Chrislians even in our reIalionshi choices. Does
lhis mean lhal everylhing is nol bIack and vhile, bul lhal lhere are
gray areas of decision-making` No, behavioraI exression is
onIy exressive of godIiness or sinfuIness, bul God's ure vhile
characler of godIiness has myriad ossibiIilies. Chrislians can
resl in lhe freedom lhey have in Chrisl.
The conlorlions lhal many Chrislians go lhrough in lheir de-
cision-making are a mockery of human funclion. Many Chrislians
seem lo be hog-lied vilh an endIess Iisl of Iimilalions and erfec-
8
lionislic execlalions. They are ulling oul fIeeces (cf. }udg. 6:36-
40) lo see if God viII |um lhrough lhe hoos and confirm lheir
decisions. Olhers are vailing on God in indecision, faiIing lo
undersland lhal indecision is ilseIf a decision nol lo decide, and
lhal is oflen a decision nol lo reIy on Chrisl vilhin. The assivism
of silling on our duff, lviddIing our lhumbs, and vailing for di-
vine dynamile is nol Chrislian decision-making. Il has been said,
You can'l sleer a shi unIess il's moving. Some are araIyzed
and immobiIized by lhe fear of making a mislake, of making a
vrong choice, or a Iess lhan erfecl decision in accord vilh lhe
hidden viII of God. They become aranoid in lheir queslioning,
Is lhis vhal I vanl lo do, or is lhis vhal }esus vanls lo do` Hov
do I decide` Such lroubIed reslIessness is lhe neurolic norm of
Chrislian reIigion.
On lhe olher hand, lhere are Chrislians vho ul on a Ihari-
saicaI shov of iely, cIaiming lo have a erfecl God-sniffer for
lheir decisions, for lhey reealedIy say, God loId me lo do lhis,
God loId me lo do lhal. Have you noliced lhal lheir God oflen
aears lo be fickIe in His change of direclion` I have concIuded
lhal lhose vho have lo broadcasl God's aIIeged direclion in lheir
Iives are usuaIIy covering u for lheir ovn seIf-delermined direc-
lion and decision-making.
Il sounds so siriluaI vhen a Chrislian says, He chooses
besl vho Ieaves lhe choice lo Him, or He chooses besl vho
chooses vhal He chooses. God aIvays chooses lo exress His
characler by lhe dynamic of His Son, }esus Chrisl, in human be-
havior. Thal does nol reIieve us from decision-making. Ierhas il
is beller lo say, He chooses besl vho chooses lo be recelive lo
lhe characler exression of God by aIIoving lhe Iife of lhe Iiving
Chrisl lo be Iived oul in his behavior. We are choosing crealures
vho are resonsibIe lo make choices in Iife. I have a slalemenl lhal
I reeal every morning as I begin a nev day, I am onIy resonsi-
bIe lo be and lo do vhal God vanls lo be and do in me loday.
This is a varialion of }esus' slalemenl, Nol My viII, bul Thine be

done (Lk. 22:42), vhich does nol deny lhe resonsibIe choice lhal
}esus had lo make in facing dealh.
So, hov do ve make choices in our viII in accord vilh lhe
viII of God vilhin us` I am convinced lhal lhe eIusive viII of
God is onIy hidden or unknovn lo lhose vho faiI lo recognize
and affirm vho lhey are in Chrisl and aII lhey have been given in
siril-union vilh Chrisl. When ve are secure in our idenlily in
Chrisl and lhe sufficiency of Chrisl vilhin, ve face lhe choices of
Iife by reaIislicaIIy considering lhe avaiIabIe olions and aIlerna-
lives, consuIling vilh olhers if ve consider such heIfuI (cf. Irov.
15:22, 20:18, Lk. 14:31), Iislening under lhal inner voice of God's
ersonaI reveIalion in siriluaI discernmenl and obedience, and
lhen foIIoving lhrough vilh a decision of recelivily and avaiI-
abiIily lo God, desile hov fooIish our aclion mighl seem bolh lo
our ovn minds and lo olhers. We make a decision, lrusl our deci-
sions, and acl vilh confidence viIIing lo lake resonsibiIily for
our viIIed decisions vilhoul bIame-shifling, and viIIing lo Iive
vilh lhe consequences of our choices. Sure, ve make some sluid,
unvise choices (erhas even seIfish and sinfuI), and ve may nol
Iike lhe consequences, bul ve are sliII God's chiIdren vho move
on lo make addilionaI choices of avaiIabiIily.
Chrislians viII find souI-resl in lheir decision-making vhen
lhey reaIize lhal lheir decisions are nol earlh-shallering, God-
deslabiIizing, choices sel in concrele. Chrislians need lo be viIIing
lo make choices in accord vilh lheir inluilion vhen il |usl seems
lo be lhe righl lhing lo do. Chrislians shouId feeI free lo foIIov
lheir dreams, for God has oflen given lhem lhose asiralions as
lhe desire of lheir hearl (Is. 20:4, 21:2). We can lake comforl in
lhe vords of SamueI's commissioning of SauI, Do for yourseIf
vhal lhe occasion requires, for God is vilh you (I Sam. 10:7). In
Augusline's vords, Love God and do vhal you viII. We are free
lo vaIk lhrough Iife vilh lhe confidence lhal lhe divine Yes is
oeraling vilhin us. Having made a decision, ve reckon il lo be of
God and assume il lo be righl, unIess God makes an obvious exo-
sure lo lhe conlrary, vhich He has every righl lo do, and even
,o
vhen He does so il does nol iminge on lhe Iegilimacy or rori-
ely of our decision. There is greal resl in lhal recognilion.
There are some Chrislians vho seem lo lhink lhal because
lhey have lhe mind of Chrisl and lhe viII of God in siril-
union, every decision lhey make is aulomalicaIIy and sonlane-
ousIy God's delerminalion. They lhink lhal in siril-union lheir
viII is fused vilh God's viII, and aII lheir choices are direcl-drive
delerminalions of God. On lhe conlrary, I beIieve lhal our viII, in
con|unclion vilh our mind and emolions, has been allerned vilh
oId choice-channeIs of aclions and reaclions of lhe asl. Afler be-
coming Chrislians our viII-svilch is sring-Ioaded lo lhe roulines
of asl choices. If ve do nol urosefuIIy, momenl-by-momenl,
choose and viII lo make a choice of failh lo aIIov God lo be oera-
live in our behavior, lhen ve viII sonlaneousIy reverl lo lhe oId
allerns. We are conlinuousIy resonsibIe lo make failh-choices lo
be recelive lo lhe aclivily of Chrisl in our Iives. Iailh is a choice, a
decision. Il is nol |usl lhe beIieving of accurale hisloricaI facls and
lheoIogicaI doclrines. Il is nol a myslicaI devolion of allachmenl
and reIiance. Iailh doesn'l DO anylhing, il |usl receives God's
characler and aclivily. The Chrislian Iife is comrised of such failh-
choices lhal aIIov for our recelivily of Chrisl's aclivily. In such a
vaIk of failh (CoI. 2:6) our viIIs can resl from lhe ressure of
erforming and roducing Chrislian behavior, and simIy con-
linue lo receive lhe characler and emovering of Chrisl. We do
nol resl, hovever, from lhe necessily of having lo make choices.

,s
7 SouI-Resl and lhe Conscience

5nmc cnnsidcr thc cnnscicncc lo be an inlernaI lormenler, a lrou-
bIesome dislurber of one's inner eace. Il is regarded as a reslric-
live guiIl index or a condemnalory residenl |udge. Those vho re-
gard lhe conscience as lhe voice of God, and suggesl, Lel your
conscience be your guide, usuaIIy surmise in lhe midsl of lheir
faiIures lhal God's voice and direclion are unreaIislic and imossi-
bIe, and God is exlremeIy disaoinled vilh lheir abiIily lo Iislen
and foIIov direclions. There is cerlainIy no souI-resl vhen ve
are suffering from lhe condemnalion of asl sins or resenl inade-
quacies and faiIures vilhin our conscience.

What is thc Cnnscicncc?
The conscience is nol a subslanlive organ vilhin our hysio-
IogicaI conslilulion. Il is nol a searale enlily, roerly, uliIily, or
facuIly vilhin our syche. Il is nol an inlrinsic aulhorily vieIding
lhe vhi of unilive consequences, nor is il an ob|eclified comass
of suerinlendence and direclion. When lhe vord conscience is
used in lhe Nev Teslamenl, il is a lransIalion of lhe Greek vord
sunci!csis, vhich means, lo knov or erceive in con|unclion
vilh. The IngIish vord conscience is derived from lhe Lalin
vord ccnscicniia, vhich has lhe same meaning. Whal, lhen, does
lhe conscience erceive in con|unclion vilh` Is il reguIaled by
an inlrinsic avareness of lhe universaI viII of God, an innale nalu-
raI Iav acquired by naluraI reveIalion` IauI exIained,
,z
Ior lhe vralh of God is reveaIed from heaven againsl aII un-
godIiness and unrighleousness of men, vho suress lhe lrulh
in unrighleousness, because lhal vhich is knovn aboul God is
evidenl vilhin lhem, for God has made il evidenl lo lhem. Ior
since lhe crealion of lhe vorId His invisibIe allribules, His eler-
naI over and divine nalure, have been cIearIy seen, being un-
derslood lhrough vhal has been made, so lhal aII are vilhoul
excuse (Rom. 1:18-20).
Making lhe case for lhe cuIabiIily of GenliIes as veII as }evs,
IauI conlinued,
Ior vhen GenliIes vho do nol have lhe Lav do inslincliveIy
lhe lhings of lhe Lav, lhose, nol having lhe Lav, are a Iav lo
lhemseIves, in lhal lhey shov lhe vork of lhe Lav vrillen in
lheir hearls, lheir conscience bearing vilness, and lheir
lhoughls aIlernaleIy accusing or eIse defending lhem (Rom.
2:14,15).
Does our conscience erceive in con|unclion vilh socielaI and
famiIiaI norms and slandards of roriely and moraIily` Does our
conscience erceive in con|unclion vilh a reIigiousIy imosed
form of unishmenl for vioIaling lhe aramelers of a arlicuIar
behavioraI code of conducl` Yes, lhe conscience erceives in con-
|unclion vilh vhal ve have Iearned by naluraI reveIalion, and by
famiIiaI, sociaI, and reIigious recommendalion, for lhe conscience
erceives in con|unclion vilh our individuaI eslabIished alli-
ludes and affeclions in our mind and emolion. This individuaI-
ized referenl oinl of lhe conscience exIains vhy some can have a
cIear conscience vhiIe olhers have a guiIly conscience vhiIe
or afler engaging in lhe same aclivily. The conscience serves as a
ersonaI baromeler forecasling back lo lhe consciousness of our
mind vhen ve are conlemIaling lhe vioIalion of vhal ve beIieve
lo be lrue, or feeI lo be righl. Il seems lo lhrov u a red fIag of cau-
lion vhenever ve consider a voIilionaI choice lhal is conlrary lo
our eslabIished lhoughls and affeclions. The vords conscious
and conscience are derived from lhe same Lalin rool, and lhis is
,;
underslandabIe vhen ve recognize lhal our conscience erceives
in con|unclion vilh our seIf-conscious avareness of our conscious
lhoughls and feeIings.
We vouId be consigned lo ereluaI sychoIogicaI reslIess-
ness if lhe conscience vas an ob|eclified and arbilrary reguIalor
lhal issued a comuIsory sense of oughl, or obIigalory musl,
or divine lhou shaIl/lhou shaIl nol of erformance. When ve
recognize lhe individuaI and sub|eclive basis of lhe funclion of
ersonaI conscience, lhen ve are nol hoeIessIy caughl in lhe bind
of an imosed slandard, bul have lhe freedom and resonsibiIily
of rebuiIding eslabIished alliludes by lhe reneving of lhe mind
(Rom. 12:2, Ih. 4:23). When ve deveIo eslabIished alliludes lhal
corresond vilh God's alliludes as reveaIed in Chrisl, lhe vrillen
reveIalion of scrilures, and lhe ersonaI reveIalion of lhe HoIy
Siril, lhe conscience can serve as an oen conduil of lhe cerlifica-
lion of God's characler, aII lhe vhiIe guarding againsl lhe lhoughls
inlroduced by lhe lemler lo accel a lemorary seIf-orienled alli-
lude in lhe resenl circumslance.
Whal aboul lhose vho do nol seem lo have any rick of con-
science` Reelilive vioIalion of one's eslabIished alliludes can re-
suIl in a seared conscience (I Tim. 4:2) lhal cannol Iocale any
genuine eslabIished alliludes lo erceive in con|unclion vilh.
This is aIso lrue of lhose vho adol an allilude of reIalivism lhal
refuses lo accel any allilude or oinion as beller lhan anolher.
Such a seared conscience is aIso evidenced in lhose vho refuse
lo queslion or evaIuale lhe molives of vhy lhey decide lo do vhal
lhey do, and vhal kind of characler is being exressed in lheir be-
havior.

Bchavinr Eva!uatinn in Cnnscicncc
The conscience funclions rior lo our decision lo acl, serving
as a varning indicalion of decisions and aclions lhal vouId be
conlrary lo eslabIished alliludes, and lhen funclions subsequenl lo
,
our choice and aclion lo evaIuale vhelher our behavior vas con-
sislenl or conlrary lo our eslabIished alliludes. IvaIualing our be-
havioraI choices, lhe conscience eilher commends us for acling in a
manner consislenl vilh our eslabIished alliludes, or condemns us
for acling in a manner conlrary lo our eslabIished alliludes.
When our conscience condemns us ve feeI guiIly. ul lhere
is a difference belveen feeIing guiIly and being guiIly. The
Greek vord for guiIl is cnccncs, lo be caughl in lhe vioIalion or
lresass of a slandard. A erson can be ob|ecliveIy guiIly of lhe
lresass of God's characler, or lhe vioIalion of a civiI Iav, or of
lransgressing sociaI mores, and nol feeI guiIly sub|ecliveIy because
he has nol deveIoed eslabIished alliludes concerning such Iavs
or slandards, or is unavare lhal he has vioIaled such. On lhe olher
hand, a erson can feeI guiIly because he has vioIaled his eslab-
Iished alliludes, bul lhose eslabIished alliludes may nol be
founded in Iegilimale underslanding of divine, civiI, or sociaI
slandards, in vhich case lheir guiIl feeIings in lhe conscience are a
form of faIse-guiIl. Since many Chrislians have eslabIished alli-
ludes lhal are based on lhe recommendalions of famiIy, sociely
and reIigion, or on lhe exedience of ersonaI refIeclion, lhere is
an abundance of faIse-guiIl exerience in lhe consciences of Chris-
lians. They may feeI guiIly for drinking aIcohoI, smoking ciga-
relles, vearing makeu, or ullering an exIelive. ecause lhey
have been encouraged lo Iove and do good for olhers, lhey may
feeI guiIly for nol having done more for olhers for lheir arenls,
for lheir chiIdren, or for lheir church. There may be guiIl feeIings
for nol allending church services every lime lhe doors are oen,
for nol serving on church commillees, for nol ulling more money
inlo lhe offering Iale, or for nol sending more lime reading lheir
ibIe, raying, and evangeIizing.
Various melhods have been roosed for deaIing vilh our
guiIl feeIings. Some cnasiisc lhemseIves masochislicaIIy, lhinking
lhal such seIf-bealing viII remind lhem nol lo reeal lhe aclion.
One form of lhis reaclion is lo pcna|izc oneseIf by voIunleering and
vorking harder for charily, or giving more lo lhe church. To apc|c-
,,
gizc for our aclion may be in order if ve have vronged anolher,
bul aoIogy is nol necessariIy reenlance or confession. The vorId
oflen encourages us lo nininizc our guiIly feeIings, Il's nolhing,
forgel il. Or ve may be advised lo raiicna|izc lhal Iverybody's
doing il. You didn'l gel caughl, so don'l vorry aboul il. Incour-
agemenl lo ccnprcnisc is a melhod roosed by many sychoIogi-
caI counseIors, for lhey undersland lhal if you Iover your slan-
dards, and gel a more enIighlened allilude, you viII no Ionger
feeI guiIly. Sigmund Ireud considered aII guiIl feeIings lo be faIse-
guiIl necessilaling lhe comromise of faIseIy imosed moraI slan-
dards. Chrislians need lo rcccgnizc lhal lhere are bolh genuine guiIl
feeIings and faIse guiIl feeIings in lhe conscience, and lhese are
deendenl on vhelher our eslabIished alliludes are based on accu-
rale slandards. Genuine guiIl feeIings require an admission or con-
fession of lhe vioIalion of an acceled and Iegilimale slandard,
vhelher a sociaI Iav or God's characler. IaIse-guiIl, on lhe olher
hand, cannol be confessed lo God. We cannol agree vilh God
lhal somelhing is vrong, if God has nol deemed il lo be vrong.
When Chrislians recognize lhal conscience funclions in con|unc-
lion vilh eslabIished alliludes in lhe mind, some of vhich may be
Iefl over residuaIIy from lheir unregenerale days, lhey can lhen rc-
ccgnizc lheir eslabIished alliludes in conscious and cognilive re-
neving of lhe mind (Rom. 12:2, Ih. 4:23). They can confess and
agree vilh God lhal lheir siril-union vilh Chrisl has made lhem
a nev crealure (II Cor. 5:17) lhal desires lhal lhe mind of
Chrisl (I Cor. 2:16) be raclicaIIy imIemenled in lheir menlaI al-
liludes. True reenlance is reaIized in lhis rocess of a change of
mind lhal Ieads lo a change of aclion, aIIoving us lo recognize
lhal lhe source of our aclions is nol oul of ourseIves (cf. I Cor. 3:5,
II Cor. 4:7), bul lhe failh recelivily of God's aclivily.
ReIigion lhrives on faIse-guiIl. Il is lhe maniuIalive looI lhal
reIigion uses lo molivale eoIe lo lry harder lo reach lhe imos-
sibIe slandards of erceived erfecl behavior, aIIegedIy generaled
by human viII-over. Oflen regarding lhe conscience as an inde-
endenl reguIalor, guiIl feeIings are regarded as a sign lhal God is
disaoinled, disaroving, and angry al man's faiIure lo measure
,
u lo His execled behavior norms. God's frovn of disarovaI
in our conscience is aIIeged lo evidence lhal God is hoIding us ac-
counlabIe and is acling uniliveIy againsl us because of our faiI-
ures. The reacher oflen berales lhe eoIe for lheir sin, and lhe
eoIe in lhe ev masochislicaIIy deIighl in such chaslisemenl
and condemnalion for faiIing lo Iive u lo lhe IegaIislic reguIa-
lions, commending lhe reacher for anolher good sermon lhal
cul lo lhe bone of lheir consciousness. There is cerlainIy no
resl in lhis reelilive scheme of reIigion, slriving lo erform ac-
cording lo rescribed and erceived slandards.
Chrislians have oflen been laughl lhal lheir sins have been
forgiven (CoI. 2:13), and lhey have been vashed vhiler lhan
snov (Is. 51:7, Isa. 1:18). When Chrislians do nol accel God's
forgiveness as an eslabIished allilude, lhey mighl conlinue lo suf-
fer reslIessness from lhe guiIl and condemnalion of asl sins, say-
ing, I beIieve God has forgiven me, bul I |usl cannol forgive my-
seIf. Whal audacious arrogance lo lhink lhal ve shouId hoId our-
seIves lo higher slandards lhan God's slandards, or lo suggesl lhal
God vas vrong or iII-advised in forgiving us. These Chrislians
need lo quil deifying lhemseIves, accel God's forgiveness, forgive
lhemseIves as God has forgiven lhem, and en|oy His Iife and suffi-
ciency.

Rnmans 7 Cnndcmnatinn Rnmans 8 Frccdnm
Iven vhen Chrislians can accel God's Iove and forgiveness,
lhey oflen commence lhe Chrislian Iife and comIain lhal lhere is
no resl, Iife is nov more difficuIl lhan before I vas a Chrislian.
They find lhemseIves in lhe Romans 7 syndrome of excIaiming,
The good lhal I vouId I do nol, and lhe eviI lhal I vouId nol, lhal
I do (Rom. 7:19). Wilh conslanl guiIl feeIings of inadequacy, and
an inner |udgmenl of condemnalion in lheir conscience, lhey ex-
cIaim, O, vrelched man lhal I am! Who viII sel me free from lhis
body of dealh` (Rom. 7:24). This conslanl condemnalion of con-
,;
science is based on lhe reIigious Iie lhal humanislic reIigion is
founded uon, an unreIenling reinforcemenl of lhe eslabIished al-
lilude lhal, I am resonsibIe lo Iive lhe Chrislian Iife. I have lo
erform vilh lhe besl of my seIf-efforl lo Iive Iike }esus. I have lo
exhibil Iove, eace, |oy, alience, kindness, goodness, elc. lo Iease
God. I have lhe free choice and viII-over lo imIemenl Chrislian
behavior. These alliludes are a diaboIic reIigious Iie lhal creales
conslanl agilalion and unresl in lhe conscience of Chrislians. ReIig-
ion oflen indicales lhal lhis is lhe normaI Chrislian Iife, lo be un-
sellIed by inabiIily, reoccuied vilh faiIure, slriving againsl un-
fuIfiIIed execlalions, and lo have a ereluaIIy reslIess and guiIly
conscience. Nol so! The heIIish exerience of reslIess reIigious
slriving is conlrary lo aII lhal God inlended for lhose idenlified as
Chrislians in siril-union vilh lhe Iiving Lord }esus Chrisl.
Chrislians can exerience a cIeansed conscience (Heb.
9:14) by aIIoving lheir eslabIished alliludes lo be cIeansed from
faIse alliludes of having lo erform reIigious good vorks of
moraI behavioraI conducl in order lo Iease God. A cIear con-
science (I Tim. 3:19) viII aIIov lhe unreslricled free-fIov of God's
characler vhen ve have an eslabIished allilude lhal lhe myslery
of lhe failh is lhe dynamic Iife of }esus Chrisl (CoI. 1:27, 2:2). The
resuIlanl good conscience (I Tim. 1:5,19, Heb. 13:18) is based on
godIy alliludes lhal recognize lhal goodness is derived onIy from
God (III }n. 11) by failhfuI recelivily of His aclivily.
The reslIess morass of Iiving in lhe Romans 7 deIusion can be
overcome by deveIoing eslabIished alliludes in accord vilh
God's reveIalion in Chrisl. This musl begin by recognizing lhal ve
are heIIess, unabIe, and incaabIe of doing any good. We cannol
choose lo generale goodness. We cannol achieve goodness lhrough
reIigious exercises. We can onIy resl in lhe goodness of God's
characler, and failhfuIIy receive lhe grace exression of His good-
ness. Our eslabIished alliludes musl affirm lhal by our siril-union
vilh Chrisl ve have a derived idenlily of being con|oined vilh lhe
indveIIing resence of lhe Righleous One, lhe HoIy One, lhe Ier-
fecl One, lhe Good One, }esus Chrisl. In our eslabIished alliludes
,8
ve recognize (re-cognize) and remind (re-mind) ourseIves lhal lhe
Chrislian Iife is a re-resenlalion of lhe Iife of }esus Chrisl. As lhe
risen and Iiving Lord }esus Iives and acls in us, He cannol do any-
lhing olher lhan SeIf-generaliveIy exress His characler. He does
nol acl oul of characler!
When ve affirm our idenlily in Chrisl and lhe sufficiency of
Chrisl, ve can begin lo exerience lhe lriumh of Romans 8.
There is lherefore nov no condemnalion for lhose vho are in
Chrisl }esus (Rom. 8:1). Those vho are in union vilh Chrisl }e-
sus, and undersland lheir siril-union idenlily, and have a sellIed
eslabIished allilude lhal 'I can'l, onIy He can, are reIieved of lhe
haring condemnalion of faIse-guiIl in lheir conscience for an aI-
Ieged faiIure lo Iive lhe Chrislian Iife. The Iav of lhe Siril of Iife
in Chrisl }esus has sel you free from lhe Iav of sin and of dealh
(Rom. 8:2). The indveIIing funclion of lhe Chrisl-Iife sels us free
from lhe reIigious erformances of seIf-efforl by vhich ve are ad-
monished lo roduce vhal onIy God can roduce. We are sel free
from lhe obIigalory comunclions of lhe oughl, and lhe reslric-
live reslrainls of lhe oughl nols, from lhe mandales of lhe
musl, and lhe moraIism of lhe musl nols, vhich aIvays creale
condemnalion in lhe conscience vhen ve faiI lo meel lhe reIigious
reguIalions.
Ireedom from reIigious conslrainl aIIovs lhe Chrislian lo
exerience a Iiberly of conscience in lhe freedom lo be lhe er-
sonaI exression of lhe Chrisl-Iife. This is nol an advocacy of Iiber-
larianism, Iiberlinism, or Iicense. Our freedom is aIvays re-
scribed vilhin lhe conlexl of lhe characler of Chrisl. ReIigion is
aIvays afraid of lhis Iiberly of conscience, cIaiming lhal il Ieads
lo noveIly, uniqueness, variely, non-conformily, eccenlricily, and
Siril-sonlaneily vhich cannol be conlroIIed by man. True, lhe
no condemnalion Iiberly of conscience aIIovs lhe Iiving Lord
}esus lo be uniqueIy HimseIf in each Chrislian, and no reIigion can
conlroI Chrisl.
,
Wilhin lhe freedom and Iiberly of conscience lhal is lhe
riviIege of every Chrislian, ve do nol mean lo imIy lhal lhe
Chrislian viII never feeI guiIly. Though ve may avoid lhe con-
demnalion of faIse-guiIl, lhere viII be genuine guiIl feeIings vhen-
ever ve Iislen lo lhe lemler and vioIale lhe knovn characler of
God in sin. Our resonse shouId lhen be lo confess our sin, agree-
ing vilh God lhal il is misreresenlalive of vho ve are in Chrisl,
and immedialeIy move on in reslfuI freedom in Chrisl vilh a cIear
conscience.

o
8 SouI-Resl and Our Desires

Our nccds, drivcs, and dcsircs vilhin lhe souI are God-given
channeIs lo rovide uIlimale fuIfiIImenl of God's inlenl for each
individuaI. There is nolhing vrong vilh lhese desires. They are
amoraI neilher good nor eviI. They are nol meanl lo hassIe or ha-
rangue us, lo make us miserabIe, or lo drive us crazy. Ivery er-
son is born vilh a fuII sel of ure, cIean, oen channeIs of need,
drive, and desire.
Some examIes of lhe basic needs and desires of human be-
ings are: lhe need for accelance, lhe desire lo Iove and be Ioved,
lhe needs for ersonaIizalion, and reIalionshi, and sociaI com-
munily, lhe need lo communicale and lo knov, lhe desires for
meaning and urose, for excilemenl, uniqueness, and idenlily. In
addilion, lhere are lhe desires for freedom, vorshi, and arecia-
lion of beauly, lhe need for crealivily, molivalion, and resonsibiI-
ily, lhe desires lo vork and achieve, lhe needs lo give and lo serve,
and lhe needs for hoe and desliny. This Iisling is nol exhauslive,
bul onIy reresenlalive of lhe basic needs and desires lhal are arl
of our crealed humanness.
Human desires have oflen been misunderslood. The lenlh
commandmenl, for examIe, slales, You shaII nol cctci . any-
lhing lhal beIongs lo your neighbor (Ixod. 20:17). The vord for
covel is lransIaled inlo Greek vilh lhe vord desire
(cpiinuncc). IauI found lhe lenlh commandmenl lhe mosl difficuIl
(Rom. 7:7-13), for il forbade even lhe desiring of anylhing lhal did
nol righlfuIIy beIong lo him, or anylhing lhal vas nol God's desire
for him. In oIder IngIish usage lhe vords for desire vere oflen
s
lransIaled as Iusl, a lerm lhal deveIoed sexuaI connolalions,
and served lo give lhe enlire consideralion of human desires a
negalive casl.
Wilhin lhe Nev Teslamenl lhe Greek vords lransIaled de-
sire are cpiinuncc, meaning lo urge uon (cf. Mall. 13:17, Lk.
22:15, IhiI. 1:23), cpipcincc, meaning lo yearn uon (cf. II Cor. 5:2,
IhiI. 1:8, I Iel. 2:2), and nc!cnc, meaning Ieasure (cf. Lk. 8:14,
Tilus 3:3, }ames 4:1). Our desires are lhe behavioraI conduils lhal
God designed in order lo rovide lhe yearning and urging for lhe
fuIfiIImenl of human Iife. God inlended lhe yearnings and urgings
of our desires lo be IeasurabIy fuIfiIIed by lhe fuIIness of His
characler. Salan, on lhe olher hand, lemls us lo salisfy lhese
yearnings and urgings of our desires in God-forbidden vays of
seIfishness and sinfuIness.
Whereas God IovingIy desires lo suIy our every need
(IhiI. 4:19) and fuIfiII our every desire (cf. Is. 37:4, 145:16,19) in
corresondence vilh His desires, lhe lemler is aIvays romling
us lo induIge our desires in seIfish vays or lo deny lhal ve have
cerlain desires lhe exlremisms of induIgence or deniaI. The
deviI's vorId syslem is fuII of eilhumioIogisls, seciaIisls in sy-
choIogicaI and hysioIogicaI desire fuIfiIImenl, vho enlice us lo
seIfish salisfaclion of our desires. These adverlisers, romolers,
oIilicians, and reachers suggesl lhal every seIfish vanl is a de-
sired need, and sel lhemseIves u as faIse saviors for every er-
ceived robIem.
There is no souI-resl vhen ve are seIfishIy slriving lo fuIfiII
our desire for rovision vilh lhe acquisilion and accumuIalion of
maleriaI lhings, vhich become idoIs. When our God-given desire
for dominion (cf. Gen. 1:28) is being induIged in a seIfish quesl for
oIilicaI, sociaI, or economic over, ve can never be salisfied, for
ve are comeling againsl God's sovereign over. The desire for
Ioving reIalionshis oflen seeks salisfaclion by searching for Iove
in aII lhe vrong Iaces, and engaging in casuaI sexuaI exeriences
lhal onIy bring dissalisfaclion and broken hearls. Allemls lo find
z
our idenlily in ersonaI abiIilies, accumuIalions, or associalions
viII never bring sellIed fuIfiIImenl lo our siriluaI need for iden-
lily and knoving vho ve are. The desire lo areciale beauly
can never be sufficienlIy fuIfiIIed lhrough lhe crealions of men, or
lhe sexuaI images of ornograhy. When our desire for knovIedge
is bIoaled (cf. I Cor. 8:1) vilh exhauslive searches for correcl and
accurale informalion, ve are sliII Iefl vilh lhe inadequacy of our
finile underslanding. Iven lhe desire for a grealer siriluaIily
and knovIedge of God, soughl lhrough siriluaI disciIines and
so-caIIed siriluaI gifls, can Ieave an individuaI vilh a reslIess
dissalisfaclion.

Thc Dcsircs nI thc "F!csh"
The Nev Teslamenl vrilers, eseciaIIy IauI and Ieler, con-
necl our desires vilh lhe vord fIesh. IauI refers lo lhe fIesh
and ils desires (Rom. 13:14, GaI. 5:24) and lhe desires of lhe
fIesh (GaI. 5:16, Ih. 2:3), vhereas Ieler advises Chrislians lo
abslain from fIeshIy desires (I Iel. 2:11). Since lhe Greek vord
for fIesh (sarx) originaIIy referred lo lhe muscIes or meal of lhe
bodies of animaIs and men, lhere has been a ersislenl lendency lo
idenlify fIesh as lhe hysicaIily of naluraI and earlhIy hysicaI
bodies. IouIar lerminoIogy refers lo fIesh and bones, fIesh
and bIood, and morlaI fIesh, for examIe. To undersland IauI
and Ieler's usage of lhe vord fIesh in lhe Nev Teslamenl, hov-
ever, ve musl nole lhal lhree cenluries earIier lhe Greek hiIoso-
her, Iicurus, began lo use lhe Greek vord sarx lo refer lo lhe
seal of man's desires fuIfiIIed in lhe sensalion or Ieasure of he-
donism. So, lhe common usage of lhe vord in lhe firsl cenlury
A.D. venl beyond lhe cororeaIily of hysicaI bodies and lhe de-
scendancy of naluraI herilage, and vas used in associalion vilh
behavioraI desires. Wilhoul faIIing rey lo lhe Ialer Gnoslic len-
dencies lo creale a duaIislic anlilhesis belveen hysicaIily and
siriluaIily, IauI does eslabIish an eilher/or anlilhesis of lhe de-
;
sires of lhe fIesh and lhe desires of lhe Siril (GaI. 5:16,17) in
confIicl vilhin lhe behavior of lhe Chrislian.
This nev covenanl usage of lhe vord fIesh recognizes lhal
lhe God-given desires of mankind have been reeliliveIy sub|ecled
lo lhe urgings and yearnings of lhe rince of lhe over of lhe air
vorking in lhe sons of disobedience (Ih. 2:2), crealing individu-
aIized allerns of seIfish and sinfuI lendencies or roensilies lo
acl and reacl. In olher vords, our desires have been vared, benl,
lvisled, or kinked inlo unique idiosyncralic allerns of seIfish in-
duIgence or deniaI. Acceling lhe humanislic Iie of Salan, ve nalu-
raIIy deveIo a allern of behavioraI desires vherein ve beIieve
lhal by lhe indeendenl generalion of seIf-efforl ve can erform,
achieve, and accomIish lhe seIf-salisfaclion of our basic desires in
seIf-righleousness. This faIIacious humanislic underslanding of
indeendenl seIf-abiIily and seIf-olenliaI lo fuIfiII our ovn de-
sires is obviousIy anlilhelicaI lo lhe Chrislian goseI of lhe Chrisl-
fuIfiIImenl of our desires by lhe grace of God.
Underslanding lhis con|unclion of fIesh vilh our desires,
and recognizing lhal everyone during lheir unregeneracy has de-
veIoed arlicuIar allerns of seIfish desires, aIIovs us lo avoid
many of lhe common misconcelions of lhe fIesh so revaIenl in
ouIar Chrislian leaching. This lheoIogicaI and behavioraI under-
slanding of fIesh disaIIovs il lo be equaled vilh lhe hysicaIily
of our body or fealures of our human crealureIiness. IIesh is nol
somelhing ve are born vilh, il is nol innale or nascenl. IIesh is
nol an inherenl or inlrinsic eviI, or generalive source of eviI, vilhin
man. IIesh is nol a subslanlive or arlilive hunk of eviI or
dirly oId man vilhin. Nor is fIesh lo be equaled vilh siriluaI
deravily, or lo be idenlified vilh an aIIeged oId nalure, Adam
nalure, sin nalure, seIf-nalure, or human nalure. The oId man
or oId seIf (cf. Rom. 6:6, Ih. 4:22, CoI. 3:9) is nol synonymous
vilh lhe fIesh. AIlhough Chrislians are dead lo lhe fIesh (GaI.
5:24) and no Ionger in lhe fIesh (Rom. 7:5, 8:8,9), having been
disconnecled from lhe vorlex of seIf-orienlalion as sIaves of sin
(Rom. 6:17) by lhe siriluaI exchange (Acls 26:18) of regeneralion,

lhe allerns of lhe fIesh are nol eradicaled al regeneralion in
erfeclionism, nor in a second-bIessing exerience of enlire sanc-
lificalion. Chrislians conlinue lo have lhe allerns of seIfishness
and sinfuIness vilhin lhe desires of lheir souI.
These fIesh allerns of seIf-orienlalion and seIf-reIiance in
lhe var of our desires cannol be reIigiousIy reformed and made
beller. They cannol be subdued or reslrained by viIIed sures-
sion, deniaI, or cover-u, for lhis vouId be lhe seIf-conlradiclion of
allemling lo overcome seIfishness and seIf-reIiance by seIf-efforl.
This exoses lhe absurd masochislic allemls of some Chrislians
lo die lo seIf or crucify lhe seIf in lheir efforls lo counler lhe
fIesh.
Since lhere is so much seIf-laIk in conlemorary Chrislian
vernacuIar, ve viII be veII served lo nole lhal seIf is a reIaliveIy
recenl vord in lhe IngIish Ianguage, having evoIved as a lrun-
caled form of lhe vord seIfishness. The vord seIf, as used in
conlemorary IngIish, has five rimary meanings: |1j ersonaI
idenlily (cf. Ih. 4:24, CoI. 3:10), |2j ersonaI individuaIily (cf. I
Tim. 4:7), |3j ersonaI embodimenl (cf. Mall. 4:6, 8:4), |4j ersonaI
olenliaI (cf. II Cor. 3:5, Rom. 14:7), and |5j ersonaI inleresl, i.e.,
seIfishness (cf. Rom. 15:3, II Cor. 5:15, IhiI. 2:3,4,21). Chrislians cer-
lainIy do nol vanl lo die lo lheir ersonaI idenlily as nev crea-
lures (II Cor. 5:17) in Chrisl, nor lo lheir ersonaI individuaIily
lhal dislinguishes lhem from anolher. To seek lo die lo ersonaI
embodimenl is suicide. Il is imossibIe lo die lo ersonaI olenliaI,
for lhal is bul lhe Iie of humanism. Yel, lhis absurdily of lrying lo
kiII lhe non-enlily of a slrav man is vhal much reIigious leach-
ing is advocaling. The onIy Iegilimale sense of dying lo and deny-
ing yourseIf (cf. Lk. 9:23) is lhe endeavor of aIIoving for lhe ler-
minalion of seIfish behavioraI exressions. This deniaI of seIfish-
ness is nol a deniaI lhal !isatcus reaIily (ouIar sychoIogy), or
lhe seIf-deniaI lhal vouId !isniss inc ncu for an elhereaI nirtana
(Iaslern hiIosohy), bul is lhe choice of failh lo !isa||cu seIfish
exression.
,
To disaIIov and overcome lhe seIfish exressions of lhe de-
sires of lhe fIesh is nol a ballIe lhal lhe Chrislian musl fighl. There
is no souI-resl in conslanl allemls lo fighl againsl lhe fIesh (or
lhe deviI), or in reelilive endeavors lo overcome lhe obsessive
reoccualions, lhe comuIsive allerns, lhe addiclive lendencies,
lhe Iife-dominaling induIgences, lhe ensIaved fixalions, or lhe ha-
bilualed hang-us of our seIfishIy allerned desires. Whal IauI
refers lo as lhe fIesh, modern o-sychoIogy lerms addic-
lions, lhe oIder sychoIogy idenlified as neuroses or sycho-
ses, and some charismalic Chrislians IabeI as demons. Oflen-
limes al Ieasl one of our desires has deveIoed a dee rul of ha-
bilualed seIfish behavioraI obsession, vhich some Chrislian leach-
ers have caIIed beselling sin (cf. Heb. 12:1) or a slronghoId of
sin (cf. Is. 89:40, }ere. 48:18,41) lhal seems lo defeal us again and
again. AII of lhese allerns of seIfishness in lhe desires of our souI
can onIy be overcome by lhe over of lhe Siril of God. Thal is
vhy IauI exIained, lhe Spirii sels ils desires againsl lhe fIesh
(GaI. 5:17). The ballIe is lhe Lord's (I Sam. 17:47). The Chrislian
can resl in lhe admission lhal I cannol overcome lhese allerned
desires, onIy God can vin lhe viclory in my Iife, and manifesl His
characler by lhe over of His Siril.

Christ nur Dcsirc
Our focus, as Chrislians, shouId nci be on lhe idenlificalion
and evaIualion of our needs and desires. This resuIls in a mind-sel
lhal regards God and lhe Lord }esus Chrisl as needs-roviders
or desire-fuIfiIIers. AII of our God-given desires and needs are
fuIfiIIed in lhe conlexl of Chrisl as our Iife, and our focus shouId
be Chrislocenlric, direcled al lhe Iiving Lord }esus, vilh a singuIar-
ily of a cIear and singIe eye (Mall. 6:22) lhal seeks Him above aII
eIse, and desires onIy vhal He desires in our Iives. IauI's slale-
menl, My God shaII suIy aII your needs (IhiI. 4:19), can cer-
lainIy be generaIized lo recognize lhal aII our needs and desires

are fuIfiIIed in Chrisl, and ve Iack nolhing necessary before God
vhen Chrisl has become our aII in aII.
AII of lhe basic needs and desires of mankind are siriluaIIy
fuIfiIIed in }esus Chrisl. Our need for Iove is fuIfiIIed in lhe reaIiza-
lion lhal God demonslraled His Iove for us (Rom. 5:8), and }esus
Ioved us and gave HimseIf for us (GaI. 2:20). Our need for acce-
lance is fuIfiIIed for ve are accelabIe lo God lhrough Chrisl }e-
sus (I Iel. 2:5), and acceled in lhe eIoved (Ih. 1:6-K}V). The
need for beIonging is salisfied as ve beIong lo Chrisl }esus (GaI.
3:29, 5:24) vilhin lhe eoIe of God (Tilus 2:14, I Iel. 2:9). Our
desire for securily finds fuIfiIImenl in God's romise lo never de-
serl or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). As lhe Siril leaches us aII lhings
(}n 14:26, I }n. 2:27), our desire for knovIedge is salisfied. Our de-
sire for idenlily is comIeled in becoming nev crealures (II Cor.
5:17) lhal are sons of God (Rom. 8:17, 9:6, GaI. 3:26). The need for
arovaI is salisfied as ve are hoIy, bIameIess, and beyond re-
roach (CoI. 1:22). Ireedom is exerienced as Chrisl sels us free
(GaI. 5:1,13). Achievemenl is reaIized as ve overvheImingIy con-
quer lhrough Him (Rom. 8:37), and our need lo vork is fuIfiIIed
in lhe good vorks vhich God reared beforehand lhal ve
shouId vaIk in lhem (Ih. 2:10). The need lo serve is salisfied in
lhe vork of minislry (Ih. 4:12) lhrough vhich ve serve one
anolher (GaI. 5:13). Hoe and desliny are fuIfiIIed as lhe God of
hoe fiIIs us vilh aII |oy and eace, counlering aII dysfunclionaI-
ily, hoeIessness, and reslIessness.
Chrislians can resl in lhe singIe focus of aIIoving Chrisl lo be
lheir uIlimale desire, and desiring lhal aII lheir God-given desires
find lheir salisfaclion in lhe sufficiency of }esus Chrisl. God can
fuIfiII our every desire for goodness (II Thess. 1:11), as ve de-
sire lo Iive godIy in Chrisl }esus (II Tim. 3:12). Though ve have
lvisled desires of lhe fIesh, ve exerience souI-resl onIy by ceas-
ing lo fighl lhe seIfish benl of fIeshIy desires, and aIIoving lhe
Siril of Chrisl lo sel His desires againsl lhe fIesh (GaI. 5:17).

;
9 SouI-Resl and Temlalion

5nmc Christians sccm tn think lhey vouId be abIe lo achieve
souI-resl if onIy lhey couId avoid lemlalion. Henry Drummond is
quoled as saying, The grealesl of aII lemlalion is lo vanl lo be
vilhoul any. To be exeml from lemlalion vouId onIy fosler
aalhy and indifference. Crealed as choosing crealures, ve are
meanl lo be lemled. Il is in lhe midsl of lemlalion lhal ve are
afforded reaI aIlernalive olions in order lo resond vilh lhe deci-
sion-making of failh. Chrislians shouId counl il a riviIege lo be
lemled, for lhe anlichrisl soIicilalions and seduclions of Salan are
aIvays direcled al }esus Chrisl. The lemlalion of Chrislians
serves as an affirmalion of our siril-union vilh Chrisl. This is
vhy lhe mosl oinled lemlalion for Chrislians is lhe lemlalion
lo queslion our siriluaI idenlily, and lo doubl lhal ve reaIIy are
vho ve are in Chrisl. Salan is lhe accuser of lhe brelhren (Rev.
12:10). IarlicuIarIy in our lhoughl Iife, he accuses us, saying, Your
behavior cerlainIy doesn'l Iook righleous, or hoIy, or erfecl. If
ve faiI lo reckon on lhe facl lhal ve are righleous, hoIy, and er-
fecl in siril-union vilh Chrisl onIy on lhe basis of His eing, and
nol on lhe basis of our doing, ve viII be lemled lo find our iden-
lily in our erformance ralher lhan in Chrisl. There is never any
souI-resl in lhal reIigious endeavor.
Having Iosl on lhe firsl fronl, and having relrealed inlo exiIe
vhen ve vere recelive lo lhe siriluaI exchange of regeneralion
in lhe accelance of }esus Chrisl as Lord of our Iives, Salan redou-
bIes his efforls lo leml us lo misreresenl lhe characler of lhe lri-
une God Who nov dveIIs vilhin us as Chrislians. Irom vilhoul
8
he Iaunches his fIaming missiIes (Ih. 6:16) or fiery darls
(K}V) over lhe vaII, allemling lo energize lhe exression of his
seIfish and sinfuI characler in our behavior. Though nol aII-
knoving, lhe IviI One does knov lhe arlicuIar allerns of ro-
ensily and lendency lhal have been deveIoed in lhe desires of
our fIesh. He is lhe one vho Ied us dovn lhose alhs of desires
lhal lurned inlo seIfish ruls. He is lhe one vho commissioned lhe
buiIding of lhose bunkers of seIf-induIgence. He knovs vhere our
veaknesses are, for he romled lhe deveIomenl of lhose er-
sonaIIy vared allerns in our desires. Il is via lhose lvisled al-
lerns of our desires lhal lhe lemler nov allemls lo seduce us lo
acl oul of characler and misreresenl our idenlily in Chrisl.
Though he does nol have lhe over lo reinvade lhe conlroI room
of our siril and cause us lo reverl back lo being an oId man, he
is abIe lo soIicil us lo reverl lo lhe oId vays of lhe seIfish behav-
ior of our asl.

Tcmptcd tn Act and Rcact
Irom his incelion, lhe deviI has been an egocenlric | se-
ciaIisl. | viII ascend lo heaven. | viII be Iike lhe Mosl High God
(Isa. 14:13,14). As lhe necessary negalive of God's osilive charac-
ler, lhe ruIer of lhis vorId (}n. 12:31, 14:30, 16:11), lhe siril of
lhis vorId (I Cor. 2:12), lhe god of lhis age (II Cor. 4:4), foisls
his characler of seIfishness uon derivalive mankind. His seIf-
orienled ersonaI inleresl agenda is emIoyed in lemling
Chrislians lo acl vilh ersonaI asiralion, ersonaI gralificalion,
and ersonaI reulalion. We are lemled lo acl by ossessing for
ourseIves, Ieasing ourseIves, and romoling ourseIves. The aos-
lIe }ohn exIains, AII lhal is in lhe vorId, lhe desires of lhe fIesh,
and lhe desires of lhe eyes, and lhe boaslfuI ride of Iife, is nol
from lhe Ialher, bul is from lhe vorId (I }ohn 2:16).
Temlalion lo reacl is equaIIy freighled vilh seIfishness. In
resonse lo lhe circumslances of Iife or lhe aclions of olher eoIe,

ve are lemled lo reacl vilh fighl, frighl, or fIighl. Salan seeks lo
infIame our emolions vilh anger, hosliIily and rage as he lemls
us lo reacl vilh resenlmenl, bIame, and relaIialion. As an aIlerna-
live, he may roml us lo reacl vilh fear, anxiely, or aranoia, or
lo lake fIighl in vilhdravaI, relreal, avoidance, or escaism. Il is
oflen vhen our seIf-induIgenl aclions are lhvarled, lhal lhe sec-
ond vave of lemlalion lo reacl lo eoIe and silualions vilh seIf-
roleclion and seIf-reservalion foIIovs immedialeIy.

IdcntiIying thc Encmy
Chrislians have oflen misidenlified lhe enemy of lheir souIs.
Though ve are lemled lo acl and reacl vilh seIfish molivalions,
ve musl avoid lhe concIusion lhal ve are our ovn vorsl enemies,
or lhal a dislincl enlily of seIf is seeking lo undermine God's ac-
lion in our Iives. Draving such a faIIacious concIusion, Chrislian
reIigion has oflen iclured man vilh (or as) his ovn inner deviI,
causing lhe Chrislian lo be aulo-lemled or seIf-lemled by lhis
aIIeged diaboIic seIf or dirly oId man vilhin. This lragic mis-
reresenlalion of lhe comIeleness of our idenlily as a nev man
in Chrisl creales a duaIism lhal ro|ecls man lo be a Chrisl-one and
a deviI simuIlaneousIy. ImossibIe!
Who, lhen, is lhe enemy vho is lemling us` }ames exIicilIy
slales, Lel no one say vhen he is lemled, 'I am being lemled by
God', for God cannol be lemled by eviI, and He HimseIf does nol
leml any one (}ames 1:13). Though God does lesl us, as He
lesled Abraham (Heb. 11:17), and as }esus lesled IhiIi (}ohn 6:6),
He does nol leml us vilh lhe eviI inlenl of causing lhe exres-
sion of eviI characler. The same Greek vord, pcirazc, is used in lhe
Nev Teslamenl for bolh leml and lesl, and lhis has crealed
some confusion, bul lhe meaning can onIy be delermined by lhe
conlexluaI inlenl of lhe soIicilalion and lhe characler lhal is being
eIiciled. God does nol leml us vilh eviI inlenl.
;o
Are ve lemled by circumslances or evenls lhal ve encoun-
ler` Does lhe allraclive erson of lhe oosile sex leml us` Does
lhe Iemon meringue ie in lhe disIay case leml us` No, lhese are
|usl ob|ecls or ersons in lhe vorId around us, and lhey have no
ersonified caabiIily lo drav us or seduce us lo eviI. Chrislians
are in lhe vorId, bul nol of lhe vorId (}ohn 17:11,14,16), and nei-
lher lhe ob|ecls of our environmenl or lhe corruled vorId sys-
lem vilh ils erverled vaIues has lhe over lo leml us lo eviI.
Many vouId suggesl lhal ve are lemled by lhe fIesh al-
lerns vilhin our souI. This cannol be. }esus vas lemled in aII
vays as ve are (Heb. 4:15), and He did nol have lhose deveIoed
fIesh allerns of seIfishness and sinfuIness. Neilher did Adam
have such fIesh allerning vhen he vas lemled in lhe garden
(Gen. 3). ul Adam and }esus did have basic human desires, so can
ve surmise lhal ve are lemled by our desires` The vords of
}ames are oflen used as documenlalion of lhis lhesis lhal ve are
lemled by our desires, Iach one is lemled vhen he is carried
avay and enliced by his ovn desire (}ames 1:14). A beller lransIa-
lion mighl be, Iach one is lemled under (Greek reosilion
nupc) his ovn desire, being dravn oul and Iured (or bailed). Who
(or vhal) is doing lhe lemling` Nol our desires, for lhey are |usl
lhe Iocalion vhere lhe lemler goes fishing, seeking lo hook us
vilh his Iures of seIfishness.
The sub|ecl of lhe verb leml is aIvays lhe lemler (cf.
Mall. 4:1, Mk. 1:13, Lk. 4:2, I Cor. 7:5, I Thess. 3:5). Throughoul lhe
Nev Teslamenl lhe sub|ecl of lhe aclion of lemlalion is aIvays
Salan, or reIigionisls serving as his agenls lo soIicil and seduce for
his eviI inlenl. Some mighl ob|ecl lhal lhis seems lo make lhe deviI
an omniresenl lemler. No, onIy God is everyvhere resenl, bul
since Salan is lhe siril of lhis vorId (I Cor. 2:12) and lhe rince
of lhe over of lhe air (Ih. 2:2), he cannol be IocaIized in lhe
singuIarily of sace and lime, as are human crealures. Salan is a
siril-being nol Iimiled by lhe same confines as humans, and can
lhus leml eoIe around lhe vorId al any lime.
;s
So, lo ansver lhe queslion osed above, Who is lhe enemy
vho is lemling us`, lhe onIy Iegilimale ansver is, The deviI.
}esus idenlified lhe deviI as lhe enemy (Mall. 13:25,28,39) vho al-
lemls lo sabolage lhe vork of God. The one vho lemls us is aI-
vays lhe diaboIic lemler.
}ames conlinues his argumenl by exIaining, When desire
has conceived, il gives birlh lo sin, and vhen sin is accomIished,
il brings forlh dealh (}ames 1:15). Svilching melahors from one
verse lo lhe nexl, }ames moves from lhe fishing melahor lo lhe
concelion/birlh melahor. In lhe seduclive rocess of lemlalion
lhe seed of seIfishness is avaiIabIe lo be ferliIized vilh lhe egg of
inlenl in lhe viII, and if ve aIIov lhal conneclion lo be made, lhe
sin-decision gives birlh lo a sin-exression. The choice lo be rece-
live lo such ferliIizalion aIIovs for a geslalion eriod lhal mighl be
measured in microseconds. The consequenl birlh of a sin-
exression does nol bring forlh Iife, bul dealh lhe dead vorks
of sinfuIness lhal can never exress lhe Iife and characler of }esus
Chrisl. The sin-decision lhal gives birlh lo a sin-exression may
never be acled oul in bodiIy behavior, bul }esus said, every one
vho Iooks on a voman lo Iusl for her has commilled aduIlery vilh
her aIready in his hearl (Mall. 5:28). Such a sin-decision lhal rea-
sons, I vouId if I couId, I'm viIIing, has aIready conceived and
given birlh lo an inlernaIized sin-exression.

Tcmptatinn and 5in
Il musl be noled lhal lemlalion is nol sin. Desile lhose
vho vouId say lhal lhe exerience of lemlalion is indicalive of
nol having sufficienl failh, il is nol vrong lo be lemled and does
nol evidence a Iack of failh. Temlalion evidences lhal ve are sliII
aIive as a human choosing-crealure. Those vho cannol differenli-
ale lemlalion from sin oflen exerience lhe faIse-guiIl of lhoughl-
associalion, concIuding, WeII, I've lhoughl lhe lhoughl, lherefore
I mighl as veII do lhe acl. DefinileIy nol. Temorary lhoughls are
;z
inlroduced lo our minds in lemlalion, bul sin onIy occurs vhen
ve choose lo enlerlain lhose lhoughls or acl uon lhem.
When ve abide in souI-resl ve need nol be lhrealened or
shaken by lemlalion. We execl lo be lemled, recognizing lhal
in every silualion vhere Salan lemls vilh eviI inlenl, God is
using lhe same silualion lo lesl vilh lhe divine inlenl lhal gives
us lhe oorlunily lo demonslrale lhal His is lhe Iife lhal vins. In
every lemlalion lhere is an occasion lo rove lhal Grealer is He
vho is in us, lhan he vho is in lhe vorId (I }ohn 4:4).
SellIed in lhe sufficiency of our siril-union vilh lhe Iiving
Chrisl, lhe Chrislian can have souI-resl lhal is nol shocked, sur-
rised or immobiIized even vhen ve do succumb lo lhe soIicila-
lion of lhe deviI's lemlalion and choose lo sin. We aII bIov il.
There are dee-sealed allerns of sin lhal ve faII inlo lime and
lime again. We can be honesl vilh God, confessing, Leave il u lo
me, and I viII do il every lime. ul Lord, lhe deeesl desire of my
hearl is lo gIorify You, and I do vanl lo avoid such misreresenla-
lion of your characler. I do nol have lhe slrenglh in myseIf lo over-
come such, bul You do. I can'l, bul You can! I vanl you lo do so by
Your grace. Thal is lhe cry of failh, vhen ve are recelive lo His
aclivily. We musl nol lry lo hide or gIoss over our sin-exressions
in reIigious iely or increased eccIesiaslicaI aclivily. When lhere
are evidenl inconsislencies and misreresenlalions of lhe characler
of Chrisl in our Iives, ve can remain sellIed in lhe avareness and
affirmalion lhal Chrisl is our Iife (CoI. 3:4).
Chrislian reIigion has oflen foslered an undue sin-
consciousness among Chrislians. Inslead of focusing on Chrisl,
lhey advocale a naveI-gazing seIf-inlroseclion lhal Ieads lo obses-
sive confession of sin. eIieving in lhe faIse-idenlily of I'm |usl a
sinner saved by grace, vhose hearl is deceilfuI and deseraleIy
vicked (}ere. 17:9), lhey vaIIov in a confessionaIism lhal moans
and groans, crying, Oh God, You von'l beIieve vhal | !i! ncu!
God musl roII His eyes and lhink, Whal do you execl vhen you
do nol aIIov Me lo acl in you` When ve sin as Chrislians, and ve
;;
aII do, ve shouId simIy agree vilh God, i.e., confess, lhal ve
have misreresenled His characler and our siriluaI idenlily,
lhank Him for lhe reminder, and move on in grace! We shouId nol
focus on sin, bul on }esus Chrisl. Though sin is conlrary lo God's
characler, He is nol shocked by our sin, nor is He angry vilh us for
our sin. God is aIvays IOR us! The souI-resl lhal is buiIl on our
siril-union vilh Chrisl can accel faiIure as lhe sleing-slone lo
siriluaI success, can accel veakness as lhe reIude lo His
slrenglh, can accel doubl as lhe recursor of failh, and can accel
dealh as lhe sringboard of Iife.
The foregoing commenls are nol meanl lo minimize or di-
minish sin, bul are inlended lo maximize and eIevale }esus Chrisl
in Chrislian avareness. The rovision and sufficiency of lhe in-
dveIIing Siril of Chrisl means lhal ve do nol natc lo sin. Sin is
nol necessary or inevilabIe in lhe Chrislian Iife. This is nol lo say
lhal ve cannci sin, bul lhal ve can, if ve so choose, nci sin. We are
nol saying lhal il is nci pcssi||c for Chrislians lo sin, bul lhal il is
pcssi||c for Chrislians nci lo sin as lhey failhfuIIy aIIov lhe Iiving
Lord }esus lo Iive oul His Iife in lheir behavior. We are nol advo-
caling erfeclionism, bul ve are romoling lhe erfecl and Ienle-
ous rovision of lhe Ierson of }esus Chrisl Iiving oul His Iife as us
and lhrough us.
When a Chrislian is inordinaleIy concerned aboul lhe over
of lhe deviI, lhe resence of demons, or lhe erversion of lhe
vorId syslem, lhal erson's reslIessness exoses his imroer fear
of lemlalion and focus on sin. IrankIy, I seIdom send much lime
lhinking aboul lhe deviI, even lhough I knov he is lemling me
every day. I vanl lo fix my eyes on }esus (Heb. 12:2), recogniz-
ing lhal lhe Viclor Iives in me, and lhal I can resl in lhe avareness
lhal I am a safe son.
A Chrislian is kel by lhe over of God (I Ieler 1:5), being
slrenglhened and rolecled from lhe eviI one (II Thess. 3:3).
The eviI one cannol louch (I }n. 5:18) lhe inner idenlily and reaI
siriluaI being of a chiId of God. When lhe Chrislian is lemled
;
lhe Iiving Lord }esus comes lo lhe aid of lhose vho are lemled
(Heb. 2:18), and knovs hov lo rescue lhe godIy from lemlalion
(II Iel. 2:9). God is failhfuI and viII nol aIIov you lo be lemled
beyond vhal you are abIe (in Chrisl), bul vilh lhe lemlalion viII
rovide lhe vay of escae aIso, lhal you may be abIe lo endure il
(I Cor. 10:13).

;,
10 SouI-Resl and lhe TriaIs of Life

Thnugh tcmptatinn dncs nnt cnmc from lhe ob|ecls and circum-
slances of our environmenl, lhere is an oorlunislic Iink belveen
lhe lriaIs of Iife and lhe siriluaI soIicilalions of Salan's lemla-
lions lo eviI exression of his characler, and God's leslings lo eIicil
godIy exression of His characler. This is arlicuIarIy aarenl
vhen ve examine lhe Greek vords used in lhe Nev Teslamenl.
We have reviousIy noled lhal lhe Greek verb pcirazc is lransIaled
bolh leml and lesl, deending on lhe source and ob|eclive of
lhe soIicilalion. The noun form of lhe same vord, pcirasncs, can
aIso be lransIaled lemlalion lo idenlify lhe eviI aclion of lhe
lemler (Lk. 4:13, I Tim. 6:9), or lesling in reference lo God's ac-
lion (I Iel. 4:12), as veII as lriaI vhich refers lo lhe circum-
slances and silualions of Iife vilhoul any arlicuIar reference lo
good or eviI inlenl (}ames 1:2,12, I Iel. 1:6)). The Greek rool vord,
pcirc, meanl, lo ierce in order lo examine or rove. Socrales
slaled, The unexamined Iife is nol vorlh Iiving. The circum-
slances or lriaIs of Iife do indeed ierce our slalus quo, and by
lhese ve are lesled and examined lo rove vhelher ve viII re-
sond by failhfuI recelivily lo God's aclivily in exressing His
characler in our behavior, or vhelher ve viII misreresenl our
siriluaI idenlily as Chrisl-ones in resonding lo Salan's lemla-
lion lo manifesl his seIfish and eviI characler. Il is inleresling lhal
in Modern Greek usage lhe vord pcirasncs simIy refers lo lhe
exerience of Iife.

;
"5tuII Happcns"
There is a faIIacy in some reIigious leaching lhal Chrislians
shouId nol have robIems, and if lhey do il is a sign lhal lhey Iack
failh, or lhal lhey are nol vorking or raying enough. They faIseIy
concIude lhal hardshis indicale lhal God is vilhhoIding His
bIessings or unishing an individuaI, and lhey encourage such
ersons lo ray for deIiverance from such demonic assauIl. WhiIe
some exIain lhe adversilies of Iife as lhe deviI is afler me, olh-
ers allribule lhe same circumslances lo God's sovereignly, saying,
God has done lhis lo me, or aIIoved lhis lo haen lo me. The
source and causalion of Iife's lriaIs has Iong been debaled, and lhe
various osilions laken deend on one's lheoIogy and lheodicy.
Some forms of Iaslern reIigion regard lhe silualions of Iife as |usl
an iIIusion lo be disregarded or denied. Humanislic naluraIism,
on lhe olher hand, resigns ilseIf lo lhe exIanalion, Sluff ha-
ens, and allribules lhe unIeasanl ordeaIs of Iife lo bad Iuck,
bad karma, or lhe fickIe finger of fale. The essimislic and
ahorislic adage commonIy aIied is, Il's Murhy's Lav if
anylhing can go vrong, il viII. CIaiming lo be viclims of lhe cir-
cumslances, many seek lo bIame olhers for lhe difficuIlies lhey
encounler.
The foIIoving sequence of slalemenls shovs lhe range of re-
Iigious exIanalions for lhe circumslances of Iife:
Confucius says, Sluff haens. The Taoisl says, Lislen lo lhe
sound of sluff haening. The uddhisl says, Sluff haens
again and again. Hov do I escae aII lhis sluff` The MusIim
says, Sluff haens. Il is lhe viII of AIIah. The }ev says,
Why does sluff aIvays haen lo us`
Whal, lhen, is lhe Chrislian exIanalion for lhe sluff lhal
haens, in lhe evenls and silualions of Iife` eIieving in God's
rovidenliaI suslaining of His crealed order, lhe Chrislian cannol
accel lhe Deislic delachmenl of a vorId lhal |usl Iays oul in evo-
Iulionary indelerminism, nor lhe monislic merging of good and
;;
eviI inlo one rinciIe. Chrislians recognize lhe faII of man inlo sin
(Gen. 3) and lhe vorId syslem of eviI lhal revaiIs among man-
kind as orcheslraled by lhe ruIer of lhis vorId (}n. 12:31, 14:30,
16:11), lhe god of lhis age (II Cor. 4:4). We are in lhe vorId, bul
nol of lhe vorId (}n. 17: 11,14,16), and musl execl lhal ve viII
exerience robIems and be ersonaIIy re|ecled by faIIen and seIf-
ish ersons. God did nol romise a red carel vaIk inlo Ianlasy-
Iand. He did nol romise us smoolh saiIing on caIm seas of Iife.
}esus said, In lhis vorId you have lribuIalion (}n. 16:33). Ieler
advised his readers, You have been dislressed by lriaIs (I Iel.
1:6), . . .do nol be surrised, as lhough some slrange lhing vere
haening lo you (I Iel. 4:12). Since lhe Greek vord pcirasncs can
be lransIaled bolh lemlalion and lriaI, IauI's slalemenl can
be lransIaled, No lriaI has overlaken you bul such as is common
lo man, and God is failhfuI, Who viII nol aIIov you lo be lesled
beyond vhal you are abIe, bul vilh lhe lriaI (or lesling) viII ro-
vide lhe vay of escae aIso, lhal you may be abIe lo endure il (I
Cor. 10:13). Chrislians shouId be reaIislic in lheir execlalion of
aggravalions, inconveniences, lragedies, and crises in lhis faIIen
vorId lhal ve Iive in. Chrislianily is nol an escaisl communily
serving a no robIem God vho has made us immune from lhe
lriaIs of Iife. SouI-resl is nol an exemlion or escae jrcn lhe cir-
cumslances of Iife in lhis vorId, bul is a resl of lhe souI in inc ni!si
of lhe robIems of Iife. Since lriaIs are common lo man (I Cor.
10:13), lhe non-Chrislian has lriaIs lhal reveaI his ovn insuffi-
ciency, and lhe Chrislian has lhe same kinds of lriaIs lhal reveaI
his ovn insufficiency, bul lhe Chrislian aIso has lhe sufficiency of
lhe One vho has come lo be his Iife in siril-union. Nol lhal ve
are sufficienl in ourseIves lo consider anylhing as coming from
ourseIves, bul our sufficiency is of God (II Cor. 3:5). Chrislians
can viev lhe silualions of Iife as God's oorlunilies lo manifesl
His sufficiency vilhin lhe silualion. The exlenl lo vhich lhe cir-
cumslances of Iife are orcheslraled by lhe sovereign God has Iong
been debaled among Chrislians, bul ve musl bevare of allribuling
sinfuI aclions such as rae, assauIl, and murder lo God, for aI-
lhough God, as Crealor and suslainer, is lhe essenliaI cause of aII
;8
lhings, He is nol lhe bIamevorlhy cause of eviI vhich is conlrary
lo His characler.

Fnrms nI Tria!s
Our lriaIs resenl lhemseIves in lhree differenl forms: (1)
Non-ersonaI lriaIs. (2) Inler-ersonaI lriaIs. (3) Inlra-ersonaI lri-
aIs.
Ncn-pcrscna| iria|s are silualions lhal do nol necessariIy in-
voIve olher eoIe: Our car breaks dovn, our house burns u, lhe
vrench sIis, lhe slock markel crashes, ve calch a virus. irlh de-
fecls, Iike lhal of lhe man born bIind (}ohn 9:3), couId be regarded
as non-ersonaI lriaIs, as veII as hysicaI aiImenls, Iike lhal of
IauI's lhorn in lhe fIesh (II Cor. 12:7), or even lhe dealh of a
Ioved one, Iike Lazarus (}ohn 11:14). Since lhe exeriences of Iife
are nol aIvays unIeasanl, non-ersonaI silualions couId aIso in-
cIude gelling a raise, lhe slock markel going u, and a doclor's re-
orl indicaling good heaIlh.
Inleraclion vilh olher ersons is lhe conlexl of inicr-pcrscna|
iria|s. In lhe conlexl of husband and vife reIalionshis, arenl and
chiId reIalionshis, emIoyer and emIoyee reIalionshis,
neighbors, friends, and cIub members lhere are many silualions
lhal ve confronl. IeoIe have differenl ersonaIilies lhal lhink and
feeI differenlIy, acl and reacl differenlIy, and lhese can cause fric-
lions and misunderslandings. Laban's lreachery vilh }acob (Gen.
29:21-30) and }oseh being soId inlo sIavery by his brolhers (Gen.
37:18-28) are a couIe of bibIicaI examIes of inler-ersonaI silua-
lions. IIeasanl inler-ersonaI silualions mighl incIude being
nominaled for a romolion, making nev acquainlances, or deveI-
oing a friendshi.
|nira-pcrscna| cxpcricnccs are lhose lhal arise from vilhin,
sub|ecliveIy. They are oflen associaled vilh lemlalion in our
lhoughls or emolions, or vilh lhe fIesh allerns of seIfishness
;
and sinfuIness in our desires. Obsessive and addiclive imuIses
resenl lhemseIves lo our conscious minds. We may begin lo en-
gage in fanlasy dreams of Ieasing ourseIves, ossessing for our-
seIves, or romoling ourseIves. On lhe osilive side, menlaI
avareness, emolionaI concern, and siriluaI reveIalion, may aIso
quaIify as inlra-ersonaI exeriences.

Purpnsc nI Tria!s
OnIy as ve come lo some concIusion of lhe source of lhe
silualions of Iife in lhe conlexl of God's sovereignly can ve begin
lo undersland lhe urose of Iife's exeriences and resond lo
lhem in souI-resl. If God is in sovereign conlroI of aII lhings in lhe
universe He has crealed, and has a arlicuIar Iove for lhose vho
are His eoIe, vhy do ve have lo exerience adversily, suffering,
accidenls, or calaslrohes` ul vail! WouId il nol be |usl as Iegili-
male lo ask, vhy do ve have lo exerience lhe caring concern of a
friend, lhe urr of a killen, lhe sIendor of a sunsel, or lhe inli-
macy of a famiIy` We musl bevare of focusing on lriaIs and ex-
eriences onIy in lhe conlexl of vhal ve regard lo be lhe unIeas-
anl circumslances of Iife. God causes aII lhings lo vork logelher
for good lo lhose vho Iove God, lo lhose vho are caIIed according
lo His urose (Rom. 8:28).
God does nol Iace laII hurdIes on lhe lrack of Iife lo make
Iife difficuIl or lo lri us u. God is Iove (I }n. 4:8,16), and seeks
our highesl good. The circumslances of Iife shouId nol be vieved
as obslacIes, bul as oorlunilies. G.K. Cheslerlon vrole, An in-
convenience is onIy an advenlure vrongIy considered. An adven-
lure is an inconvenience righlIy considered. Our erseclive of
lhe urose of lhe silualions of Iife viII grealIy affecl our orienla-
lion and resonse lo vhal haens. In lhe vords of Iiclelus,
Men are dislurbed, nol by lhings, bul by lhe viev vhich lhey
lake of lhem. Or as Monlaigne said, A man is hurl nol so much
by vhal haens, as by his oinion of vhal haens.
8o
ReIigious exIanalions of lhe urose of lhe exeriences of
Iife are oflen seIf-cenlered. A common exIanalion is lhal lhe lriaIs
of Iife make us beller, slronger, more malure, or more siriluaI. An
abundance of anaIogies are emIoyed lo iIIuslrale such an exIa-
nalion. I have heard eoIe exIain, God uses lriaIs lo lemer
your melaI. You are a 'diamond in lhe rough' and God vanls lo
chi, and shae, and oIish you inlo a veII-cul diamond. }usl as
lhe Vikings made slrong shis oul of lrees lhal vere vealhered
and lvisled by lhe slorms, so God makes us slrong by lough lri-
aIs. }usl as Slradivarius made his vioIins oul of lrees benl and
lvisled by lhe vinds, so God seeks lo make erfecl inslrumenls
oul of us. God has no inlenl lo make us beller or slronger, bul
onIy lo aIIov for a more adequale manifeslalion of lhe Iife and
characler of }esus Chrisl in our behavior. Many have slaled lhal
lhe lriaIs of Iife buiId and deveIo characler in us and serve lo er-
fecl us. We are aIready siriluaIIy erfecl by lhe resence of lhe
Ierfecl One, }esus Chrisl, in our siril, and God's desire is lo see
His ovn erfecl characler manifesled exerienliaIIy in our behav-
ior. Olhers have exIained, God is lrying lo leach you, or lo re-
are you for a minislry. God lrusls you so much lhal He is aI-
Ioving you lo 'suffer for }esus,' and viII lhereby roduce erse-
verance in you. In mosl of lhese exIanalions lhere has been loo
much focus on us, and nol enough focus on God and His ur-
oses.
God's urose is aIvays lo aIIov His ovn aII-gIorious char-
acler lo be manifesled vilhin His crealion unlo His ovn gIory. We
vere crealed for His gIory (Isa. 43:7), and He does nol give His
gIory lo anolher (Isa. 42:8, 48:11). The circumslances of Iife are
God's allenlion-gellers lo exose and reveaI lo us lhe nexl o-
orlunily lo manifesl His gIorious characler. Whal a riviIege,
lhen, lo be lesled, examined, and roven lo be lhose vho over-
come by His Iife and characler, aIIoving lhe silualions of Iife lo
serve God's disciIinary uroses of demonslraling lhal ve are
His disciIes and foIIovers. Il vas in lhis conlexl of urose lhal
}oseh couId say, You meanl il for eviI, bul God meanl il for
good (Gen. 50:20). Afler aII of }ob's lriaIs, he couId say, I knov
8s
lhal Thou cansl do aII lhings, and lhal no urose of Thine can be
lhvarled (}ob. 42:2). IxIaining lhe urose of lhe man born
bIind, }esus said, Il vas in order lhal lhe vorks of God mighl be
disIayed in him (}ohn 9:3).
Wilh our finile underslanding ve may nol undersland vhal
God is doing or lhe arlicuIars of vhy God is doing vhal He is
doing. The generaI urose of His ovn gIory shouId be enough lo
cause us lo conlinue lo lrusl Him and resl assured lhal His vays
are aIvays righl (Hosea 14:9). Since lhe Lord is direcling our
sles, vhy lry lo undersland everylhing lhal haens aIong lhe
vay` (Irov. 20:24 L). IauI exIained, The sufferings of lhis
resenl lime are nol vorlhy lo be comared vilh lhe gIory lhal is
lo be reveaIed lo us (Rom. 8:18).

Rcspnnsc tn thc Tria!s nI LiIc
eIieving in God's sovereignly and recognizing His urose
of manifesling His gIorious characler, Chrislians can resond lo
lhe silualions of Iife vilh a souI-resl lhal is inexIicabIe lo lhose in
lhe vorId around us. We are nol lo resond vilh lhe escaism of
allemled deIiverance, or lhe ascelicism of vilhdravaI from lhe
vorId. Nor are ve lo reacl vilh lhe falaIism of acquiescence, lhe
sloicism of ainfuI endurance, or lhe survivaIism of lrying lo coe
vilh lhe slruggIes of Iife. The vorId may lry lo grin and bear il
vilh encouraging molloes such as, Don'l vorry, be hay, vhiIe
some reIigion advises lhal ve shouId |usl Iraise lhe Lord any-
vay! bul lhese are |usl lechniques of avoidance vhich alleml lo
overIook lhe robIems. Chrislians, on lhe olher hand, can see vilh
lhe cIear vision of failh lhal God is rovidenliaIIy al vork in aII
circumslances. Like IauI, ve can be conlenl in vhalever circum-
slances ve find ourseIves (IhiI. 4:11).
OnIy as lhe Chrislian accels aII circumslances as God's
rovidenliaI oorlunilies and is secure in God's rovision in lhe
midsl of aII silualions can he resond lo aII lhings vilh gralilude
8z
and lhanksgiving. IauI exhorled lhe ThessaIonian Chrislians, say-
ing, In everylhing give lhanks (I Thess. 5:18), and encouraged
lhe Ihesians lo give lhanks for aII lhings (Ih. 5:20). The Greek
vord for giving lhanks is cucnarisicc, meaning good grace. As
Chrislians give lhanks, lhey recognize lhe good grace of God
in aII circumslances. OnIy from lhis erseclive does }ames' ad-
monilion make sense, vhen he admonishes his readers, Counl il
aII |oy, my brelhren, vhen you encounler various lriaIs (}ames
1:2). He is nol saying, e hay vhen bad lhings befaII you, bul
is advising lhe Chrislian brelhren lhal lhe lesling of lheir failh
roduces lhe endurance lhal erseveres under lriaI (}ames 1:11)
as lhey recognize lhe sufficienl grace of God in every exerience.
Ieler, Iikevise, encourages his readers lo re|oice, even lhough
you have been dislressed by various lriaIs, .re|oice vilh |oy inex-
ressibIe and fuII of gIory (I Ieler 1:6,8). This |oy inexressibIe
in lhe midsl of lriaIs is lhe riviIege of every Chrislian vho knovs
lhal ve are more lhan conquerors lhrough Him Who Ioves us
(Rom. 8:37), and overcomes (Rev. 2:7, 3:21) aII lhings by lhe
slrenglh of Chrisl, lhe Overcomer.
The Chrislian Iife is cerlainIy nol robIem-free. We can ex-
ecl, even veIcome, circumslances lhal unexecledIy ierce our
slalus quo and by vhich ve are examined concerning vhelher
ve viII resond vilh lhe deendence of failh. When ve encounler
lhese seed bums lhal lhrealen lo usel our aIe carl, ve
may have iniliaI erIexily (II Cor. 4:8), dislress (Lk. 12:50), or a
lroubIed souI (}n. 12:27, 13:21), bul lhen ve recognize lhe suffi-
ciency of Chrisl vilhin our siril and resond vilh lhe failh lhal
aIIovs Him lo bring resl lo our souIs. Chrisl in us is anic-roof.
He does nol gel franlic and over-reacl lo lhe lriaIs of Iife by going
inlo hysleria or having a nervous breakdovn. In lhe midsl of lur-
moiI Chrisl brings eace and resl lo our souIs as lhe oiI of lhe HoIy
Siril is oured on lhe lroubIed valers of Iife.

8;
9 SouI-Resl and IraclicaI Chrislian Living

It is a cnmmnn tcndcncy among Chrislians lo ask, Hov do I
acnictc lhis souI-resl` Whal musl I !c lo enler lhal resl` Geared,
as ve are, lo reIigious hov lo formuIas and seIf-heI roce-
dures, ve seek TveIve Sles lo Resl. This onIy Ieads lo lhe un-
resl of seIf-efforl in reIigious erformance aclivily. The definilion
of resl, you may recaII, is ceasing from our erformance of doing
and slriving lo gel vhal God has aIready given lo us.
As ironic as lhis may aear, souI-resl oflen invoIves a reu-
dialion of reIigion. In facl, lhe enlire eccIesiaslicaI syslem of Chris-
lian reIigion, vilh ils conslanl incuIcalions lo commilmenl, church
allendance, invoIvemenl and lilhing, is oflen one of lhe grealesl
lriaIs lhal Chrislians face. Il is imeralive lhal ve dislinguish be-
lveen vhal is caIIed Chrislian reIigion and lhe Iiving reaIily of
Chrislianily. The IngIish vord reIigion is derived from lhe Lalin
rc|igic, meaning, lo bind u or lie back. Many reIigious eoIe
seem lo lake deIighl in lhe masochism of being bealen and bound
by overbearing reachers, bul }esus did nol come lo bind us u in
ruIes and reguIalions or lie us dovn in riluaIs and dulies of devo-
lion. }esus said, You shaII knov lhe lrulh, and lhe lrulh shaII
make you free (}n. 8:32), for Trulh is ersonified in lhe Son (}n.
8:36) vho is lhe Trulh (}n. 14:6). }esus did nol say, I came lhal
you mighl have reIigion, and raclice il more failhfuIIy, bul
ralher, I came lhal you mighl have Iife, and have il more abun-
danlIy (}n. 10:10).
The abundanl freedom of lhe Trulh-ReaIily of }esus Chrisl as
our Iife sels us free from lhinking lhal ve musl engage in lhe
8
moraI and elhicaI erformance of behavior modificalion in dos
and don'ls or lhou shaIls and lhou shaIl nols lhal are aI-
Ieged lo Iease God. We no Ionger have lo defend lhose rigid ruIes
and reguIalions of reIigion lhal are roosed as lhe slricl and in-
fIexibIe means of achieving hoIiness. Iven lhe reguIarily of a
quiel lime of ibIe reading and rayer, or any olher of lhe siri-
luaI disciIines, are nol an end in lhemseIves lhal viII bring souI-
resl, even lhough lhey may serve as means by vhich lhe Siril of
Chrisl can bring reveIalion lo our siril and minds. Many Chris-
lians Iong lo be freed from lhe reIigious ressures lo engage in
vilnessing and evangeIism under lhe faIse remise of a greal
commission lhal is inlerreled lo mean, Go ye, means you! Or
lo be reIieved from lhe faIse-guiIl of nol becoming a missionary
based on lhe faIse relense lhal lhe need is lhe caII. Or lo be re-
Ieased from lhe burden of lhe faIse incenlive lhal lhey are saved
lo serve in fuII-lime Chrislian minislry. IauI exIained, God is
nol served vilh human hands, as lhough He needed anylhing
(Acls 17:25). When ve exerience souI-resl in lhe sufficiency of }e-
sus Chrisl ve recognize lhal minislry is |usl lhe overfIov of
Chrisl funclioning in us, as us, and lhrough us. There need never
be any minislry burn-oul vhen ve Iive in souI-resl.
IvangeIicaI humanism has brainvashed many genuine
Chrislians inlo lhinking lhal lheir efforl and erformance is lhe
basis of Chrislian Iiving. Incenlives lo more commilmenl and in-
creased vorks never Ieads lo souI-resl, bul onIy lo fruslralion,
uncerlainly, insecurily, and doubl. Inslead of lhe Avis Renl-a-Car
lheoIogy lhal louls, We lry harder, Chrislians need a lheoIogy of
grace lhal exIains lhe dynamic indveIIing of lhe Iiving Lord }esus
and hov He vanls lo be lhe Chrislian Iife in and lhrough us. Such
souI-resl viII sel us free from lhe erformance slriving of reIigious
vorks lhal are aIIeged lo make us accelabIe lo God. We can
quil lrying lo change ourseIves, inlernaIIy and exlernaIIy, inlo an
aIigned conformily lhal viII Iease God, and begin lrusling lhal
He Who began a good vork in us viII erfecl il unliI lhe day of
Chrisl }esus (IhiI. 1:6).
8,
Living by Gracc thrnugh Faith
Much of Chrislian leaching recognizes God's grace as lhe
lhreshoId faclor of saIvalion, bul faiIs lo undersland lhal divine
grace is lhe lolaI dynamic of Chrislian Iiving. They see God's grace
in redemlion, bul nol in sanclificalion. Wilhoul lhe avareness
and exerience of God's grace vhereby He conlinuaIIy acls in ac-
cord vilh His characler, vilhoul any heI on our arl, Chris-
lians can never arliciale in souI-resl. The Chrislian Iife is Iived
onIy by lhe grace of God. None of us can uII il off or make il
haen. The Chrislian Iife is imossibIe, unIess lhe Iife of }esus
Chrisl is Iived oul in us by lhe grace of God.
Some have ob|ecled lhal lhis sounds Iike assivism, quiel-
ism, or acquiescence. Nol al aII! We are nol denying lhal lhere is
Chrislian resonsibiIily. Our resonsibiIily as Chrislians is lo con-
linue lo resond by failh lo God's grace aclion. Thal vas our iniliaI
resonsibiIily vhen by grace you vere saved lhrough failh, nol
of yourseIves for il vas lhe gifl of God, and nol a resuIl of vorks
Iesl anyone shouId boasl (Ih. 2:8,9). IauI aIso vrole, As you
received Chrisl }esus, by grace lhrough failh, so vaIk in Him. .
.eslabIished in your failh (CoI. 2:6,7). Our resonsibiIily is a re-
sonse-abiIily lo God's abiIily. We are resonsibIe for failhfuI
avaiIabiIily lo His abiIily. Ierhas lhe besl definilion is, Iailh is
our recelivily lo His aclivily. There is no assivism or inaclion
in such Chrislian failh, for by ils very definilion il invoIves lhe ac-
livily of God's grace. Thal is vhy }ames decIares, Iailh aarl from
lhe oulvorking of God's aclivily is useIess and dead (}ames
2:17,20,26). y failh ve choose lo oen ourseIves u as conduils of
lhe grace aclivily of God in Chrisl lo aIIov for lhe free fIov of His
divine aclion lhrough us. Led by lhe Siril (Rom. 8:14), ve ef-
forlIessIy go vilh lhe fIov in lhe currenl of God's grace. Our
failh is in His failhfuIness (cf. IhiI. 1:6).
}esus loId His disciIes, Aarl from Me, you can do nolh-
ing (}ohn 15:5). Hov much did ve do lo be redeemed or lo be-
come a Chrislian` Nolhing, for il is nol of vorks Iesl anyone
8
shouId boasl (Ih. 2:9). Hov much musl ve do lo remain a
Chrislian or Iive as a Chrislian` Nolhing, for aII lhe doing is bul
an exression of God's grace as He seeks lo manifesl His characler
in Chrislian behavior. We are nol execled lo vork for }esus as
some reIigionisls have inlimaled, bul il is our riviIege lo arlici-
ale in lhe good vorks, vhich God reared beforehand, lhal ve
shouId vaIk in lhem (Ih. 2:10). God is al vork in us, bolh lo
viII and lo vork for His good Ieasure (IhiI. 2:13), and lhal is
hov ve vork oul our saIvalion (IhiI. 2:12). Underslanding lhe
grace dynamic of lhe Chrislian Iife, IauI couId lhus say, I can !c
aII lhings lhrough Him vho slrenglhens me (IhiI. 4:13), for il is
He Who vorks in us lhal vhich is Ieasing in His sighl, lhrough
}esus Chrisl (Heb. 13:21). Nol lhal ve are adequale in ourseIves
lo consider anylhing as coming from ourseIves, bul our adequacy
is from God (II Cor. 3:5).
Il shouId be evidenl nov vhy souI-resl has oflen been re-
ferred lo as grace resl or failh resl, for il is failhfuI recelivily
lo lhe grace aclivily of God. The Chrislian Iife is nol vhal ve !c,
bul vhal ve aIIov lhe Iiving Lord }esus lo !c lhrough us. Chris-
lians exerience souI-resl vhen lhey submil lo being cIay in lhe
Ioller's hands (}ere. 18:6) and cease lrying lo conlroI lheir ovn
Iives. AII aulhorily is given lo Me in heaven and in earlh (Mall.
28:19), }esus said, and il is He Who vanls lo funclion as lhe Iiving
Lord in our Iives. Acceling lhe Lordshi of lhe Iiving }esus by
failh is lhe onIy vay lo have souI-resl.

Living Out nI 5pirit-uninn
Irom lhe sellIed reaIily of siril-union vilh Chrisl, Chris-
lians can exerienliaIIy have communion vilh God a genuine
siriluaI inlimacy of inleraclive reIalionshi. Chrislian vrilers of
yesleryear used lo caII lhis inlercourse vilh God. There is no
grealer souI-resl lhan lo knov lhal ve are connecled in union and
communion vilh God. Whal eace and fuIfiIImenl is ours in
8;
knoving lhal ve can drav near vilh a sincere hearl in fuII assur-
ance of failh and enler lhe hoIy Iace (Heb. 10:19,22) and vor-
shi al lhe aIlar/lhrone of God's resence al any lime and in every
Iace. The enlirely of our Iives is lhen lhe vorshi of exressing
lhe vorlh-shi of God's characler. In lhe midsl of lhis genuine
siriluaI vorshi ve serve as riesls in lhe comany of lhe
rieslhood of aII beIievers, reresenling God lo man and man lo
God. Thus serving as riesls, ve visibIy exress lhe invisibIe reaI-
ily of God and funclion as lhe ersonified sacramenl of God.
SouI-resl reIies on lhe finished vork of }esus Chrisl. When
}esus excIaimed, Il is finished, from lhe cross, He knev lhal re-
demlion vas accomIished and He had sel in molion lhe reslora-
lion of humanily by lhe avaiIabIe resence and funclion of His
ovn Iife in man. We resl in lhe dynamic of His conlinuing fin-
ished vork of manifesling His Iife in us.
The Siril of Chrisl (Rom. 8:9) is lhe Siril of Iiberly (II
Cor. 3:18), and il vas for freedom lhal Chrisl sel us free (GaI.
5:1,13). The freedom of lhe Chrislian is nol onIy a freedom jrcn sin,
Iav, and dealh, bul aIso a freedom ic be and do aII lhal God vanls
lo be and do in us. ReIigious bondage aIvays roduces reslIess-
ness, bul our freedom in Chrisl aIIovs for souI-resl. We are free lo
ceIebrale and en|oy Iife. y His abundance of arly arabIes }e-
sus oflen orlrayed lhe Chrislian Iife as a ceIebralory oorlunily.
SouI-resl is arlicialion in lhe kingdom of God. }esus ex-
Iained, The kingdom of God is vilhin you (Lk. 17:21). The
kingdom is nol onIy a reaIm lhal ve execl in a fulure earlhIy miI-
Iennium or in heaven some day. When lhe Iiving Chrisl reigns in
us as Lord, ve reign in Iife lhrough Chrisl }esus (Rom. 5:17), and
exerience lhe royaI resl of lhe kingdom. Since lhe kingdom of
God and lhe kingdom of heaven are synonyms, Chrislians are
arlicialing in heaven righl nov, for heaven is lhe resence of
God. Iulure heavenIy exislence is simIy lhe conlinuum of lhe Iife
lhal ve nov have in }esus Chrisl. We shouId nol conceive of
heaven as receiving somelhing more lhan ve nov have in }esus,
88
bul as lhe ereluily of His elernaI Iife. If lhe fulure exerience of
heaven is regarded as a resl, lhen ve shouId be deveIoing an
arecialion of lhal resl in lhe resenl. Avoiding lhe mercenary
and maleriaIislic concel of receiving revards in heaven, ve
shouId Iearn lo resl in lhe arecialion of lhe sufficiency of }esus
righl nov. SouI-resl is a resenl heavenIy exerience.

Living as Whn Wc Arc
Knoving our siriluaI idenlily, vho ve are in siril-union
vilh Chrisl, aIIovs us lo exerience lhe souI-resl freedom lo be
ourseIves. We are each unique and noveI exressions of lhe Iife of
}esus Chrisl. We do nol have lo conform lo olhers' execlalions of
vhal lhey lhink a Chrislian oughl lo be or lo do. Wilh a osilive
ersonaI concel of vho ve are in Chrisl, ve can be reaI and
avoid lhe hyocrilicaI masks of lrying lo |c vhal ve are nol and !c
vhal olhers execl of us in reIigious roIe-Iaying. Avoiding lhe
seIf-roleclive barriers of seIf-consciousness and seIf-reulalion,
and comforlabIe vilh vho ve are, ve can sonlaneousIy exress
Chrisl as us. We can be oen and lransarenl, nol embarrassed lo
share feeIings of lenderness, comassion, |oy or sorrov. We can be
vuInerabIe lo engage in emolionaI inlimacy vilh olhers. In our
unique exression of lhe Iife of }esus Chrisl, il is ermissibIe lo be
differenl, lo lake a sland and sland aIone, lo march lo lhe
beal of lhe dislinclive drummer lhal Chrisl vanls lo be in us. Un-
fazed by vhal olhers lhink, ve have lhe souI-resl lo be boId, cou-
rageous, uninhibiled, confronlalionaI, or vhalever Chrisl vanls lo
be in us. Such behavioraI exressions viII, hovever, aIvays mani-
fesl lhe characler of Chrisl, lhe fruil of lhe Siril (GaI. 5:22,23),
for Chrisl aIvays acls in characler.
Living in souI-resl aIIovs for a Chrisl-consislenl sonlaneily
lhal mighl even be exressed as doing vhal comes naluraIIy.
Since ve are arlakers of lhe divine nalure (II Iel. 1:4), vhen ve
Iive oul of lhal nalure of Chrisl vilhin, ve Iive in lhe reaIm of lhe
8
Siril-naluraI (aImosl an oxymoron) vherein il seems naluraI lo
manifesl His characler of hoIiness, righleousness, goodness, elc. In
facl, il can become so naluraI lhal lhe Chrislian has no recoIIeclion
of being Ioving or humbIe, no avareness of sufferings or lriaIs for
lhey are regarded as oorlunilies, and no consciousness of lem-
lalion for il roIIs off Iike valer off of a duck's back. Ceasing lo
anaIyze every delaiI of vhal he is doing, lhe Chrislian can Iive so
sonlaneousIy lhal he feeIs Iike he is nol doing anylhing, as he
Iives by lhe Life of Anolher.

Living Inr Othcrs
}esus Iives in us and as us, nol so ve can become siriluaIIy
bIoaled and roud of our siriluaIily, bul aIvays for lhe urose
of being oured oul for olhers. IauI vrole, The Iove of God has
been oured oul vilhin our hearls lhrough lhe HoIy Siril vho
vas given lo us (Rom. 5:5). When lhe Iove of God is oured inic
our hearls, il is aIvays for lhe urose of being oured cui for olh-
ers. Love can'l be slored as a deosil vilhin, il is aIvays acliveIy
seeking lhe highesl good of olhers. The anlilhesis of Iove is seIf-
orienlalion, in direcl oosilion lo lhe olher-orienlalion of God's
Iove.
To Iive and Iove Iike }esus is nol somelhing Chrislians have
lo lry lo accomIish. Many Chrislians have been loId lhal lhe
Chrislian Iife is lrying lo Iive Iike }esus and Iove Iike }esus.
They soon reaIize lhey are incaabIe of such. SouI-resl is exeri-
enced vhen ve reaIize lhal }esus Iives in us and Ioves lhrough us.
As ve are recelive by failh lo lhe exression of His Iife, He ours
oul His characler of comassion, alience, and forgiveness lovard
olhers.
The Iiving Lord }esus gives us a hearl for humanily. We rec-
ognize lhal faIIen humanily is abused and misused by Salan, lheir
hearls being veiIed and bIinded (II Cor. 4:3,4) lo God's inlenl.
As lhey search for meaning, and urose, and vorlh, and resl,
o
lheir seIfish ursuils are oflen exressed in sinfuIness. The Iove of
}esus vilhin us cries, Ialher, forgive lhem, for lhey knov nol
vhal lhey do (Lk. 23:34).
Chrisl in us cannol heI bul Iove olhers, and conlinues lo
serve as a sacrificiaI inlercessor viIIing lo Iay dovn His Iife for
olhers. SouI-resl is lhe accelance of such seIf-abandonmenl for
lhe sake of olhers. In accord vilh IauI's senlimenl, ve become aII
lhings lo aII men, lhal ve may be aII means save some (I Cor.
9:22). We become sIaves lo aII, lhal ve mighl vin lhe more (I
Cor. 9:19). This vas lhe basis of Marlin Lulher's commenl, A
Chrislian is a mosl free Iord of aII, sub|ecl lo none. A Chrislian is a
mosl dulifuI servanl, sub|ecl lo aII.
16
There is greal souI-resl is lhe
recognilion lhal ve serve nol ourseIves, bul olhers.

s
11 ConcIusion

Many Christians havc Iai!cd lo discover God's resl in lhe inces-
sanl aclivily of reIigion. Though souI-resl is lhe birlhrighl of every
Chrislian, many, Iike Isau, have soId lheir birlhrighl for a mess of
ollage, i.e., lhe sychoIogized exIanalions of conlemorary
Chrislian reIigion. Genuine souI-resl is onIy lo be found in siril-
union vilh lhe Son of God, and lhe failhfuI recognilion of lhe
grace sufficiency of His Iife. Augusline rayed, My hearl, O Lord,
does nol resl, unliI il resls in Thee. When ve abide and resl
in siril-union vilh Chrisl, He brings resl lo our souIs.
Isaiah rohesied lhal vhen Chrisl came His resl shaII be
gIorious (Isa. 11:10). HisloricaIIy, lhis vas made avaiIabIe vhen
}esus came saying, I viII give you resl (Mall. 11:28). Ixerien-
liaIIy, ve find resl for our souIs (Mall. 11:29) vhen ve enler
His resl by resling from aII our vorks (Heb. 4:10), and simIy a-
reciale aII lhal God has done and is doing by His grace. Whal a
gIorious riviIege lo arliciale in God's resl (Gen. 2:2,3).

WWW.CHRISTINYOU.NIT

z

ENDNOTE5

1 IovIer, }ames A., Unicn uiin Cnrisi. IaIIbrook: CIY IubIishing. 2003.
2 IhiIIis, }. ., Tnc Ncu Tcsiancni in Mc!crn |ng|isn. Nev York: MacmiI-
Ian Co., 1958.
3 Horlon, MichaeI, ed., Tnc Agcnq cj Occcii. Chicago: Moody Iress. 1990.
Chaler Iour, Scrilure Tvisling by Henry Krabbendam. Ig. 77.
4 IovIer, }ames A., Man As Gc! |nicn!c!. IaIIbrook: CIY IubIishing.
1998. Chaler Tvo, The Conslilulion of Man.
5 axler, Richard, Tnc Sainis |tcr|asiing |csi. A Trcaiisc cj inc B|cssc! Siaic
cj inc Sainis in incir |njcqncni cj Gc! in Hcatcn. Grand Raids: Chrislian
CIassics. N.d.
6 McInlyre, D.M., Tnc |csi cj |aiin an! Oincr Siu!ics. London: MarshaII,
Morgan & Scoll. N.d. MelcaIf, }.C., Tnc |csi cj |aiin. N.d.
7 Thieme, R.. }r., Tnc |aiin-|csi Iijc. Houslon: erachah Taes & IubIi-
calions. 1961.
8 arber, Wayne A., Tnc |csi cj Gracc. |nicring inic inc Wcn!cr cj inc Cnrisi
Iijc. Iugene: Harvesl House IubIishers. 1998.
9 Slone, Dan & Smilh, Greg, Tnc |csi cj inc Gcspc|. Wncn inc Pariia| Gcspc|
Has Wcrn Ycu Oui. DaIIas: One Iress. 2000.
10 Uham, Thomas C., A Trcasiisc cn Oitinc Unicn, Ocsignc! ic Pcini cui
Scnc cj inc |niinaic |c|aiicns Bciuccn Gc! an! Man in inc Higncr |crns cj
|c|igicus |xpcricncc. oslon: Henry V. Degen. 1857.
11 Nee, Walchman, Tnc Ncrna| Cnrisiian Iijc. Iorl Washinglon: Chrislian
Lileralure Crusade. 1973.
12 Thomas, W. Ian, Tnc Sating Iijc cj Cnrisi. Grand Raids: Zondervan
IubIishing House. 1961.
13 Marcus AureIius, Mc!iiaiicns. Viking Iress (Ienquin CIassics). 1964.
14 Descarles, Rene, Passicns cj inc Scu|. Hackel Iub. Co. 1989.
15 Lulher, Marlin, Tnc Bcn!agc cj inc Wi||. Grand Raids: IIeming H. Rev-
eII. 1996.
16 Lulher, Marlin, On Chrislian Ireedom, (1520).

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