Becoming Instruments Of Righteousness

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, 

that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 

Neither yield ye your members as 

instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: 

but yield yourselves unto God, as those 

that are alive from the dead, and your 

memebers as instruments of 

righteousness unto God. 

Romans 6:12-13 

     Liberalism is destructive to Authentic Christian Faith for it teaches an experiential Christianity, that man con ge "good" and have blessings from God due to their various actions, those actions that are not found in Scripture. These actions are to prove to themselves, even to God that they are sanctifying themselves, even by this to be atoning for sin, and in a large sense achieving redemption. The facts are: 1. You cannot save or sanctify yourselves. 2. You cannot atone for sin. 3. You cannot redeem the world let alone yourself. 4. You cannot make holy that which is unholy. 5. You cannot make pure that which is impure. All this is the work of God and God alone for He is sovereign over all things, not you. Do you have faith in what Jesus Christ has done? Do you believe that He has made perfect Atonement? Do you realize these facts? Experiential Christianity is all about doing and though this is the need for a believer. This is not what Christianity is about for it is about belief. Redemption is not an experience, it is this great act of God which He has done through Jesus Christ and upon that you build your faith. Think on this: if you build your faith upon experience, you will produce an unscriptural type of faith, an unscriptural Christianity. You cannot make your self white in the eyes of God and have your eyes affixed on this to be piety, no, for it has no presupposition in the atonement of Jesus Christ. This belief will render a person useless to God, to have a life that is squandered only attempting to achieve what your lusts are, what your desires for yourself are, and making God, even Jesus Christ to conform to this type of thinking. Authentic Christians will measure ever experience by Jesus Christ and this is found in Scripture, not man-made doctrines, or even creeds (as good as they may be). Mankind cannot please God unless there is intentionality, deliberately building upon the Atonement. 

     The Atonement of Jesus must be worked out in practical life, to not be obtrusive in our ways of life. Obedience must coincide with the grace of God. Obedience, leaving all the consequences to God, means that you have banked everything upon the Atonement and as soon as you do this: the supernatural grace of God becomes your delight. Yes you have a natural life and you should not deny this fact, that is do not allow some form of piety to deny that you have a natural life for this is fraud. You cannot dance around, speak in "gibberish" sounds, go about acting as little gods by praying for those who do not believe in god as though you have a special power with god for those people. You do: it is called being an ambassador, a witness for Jesus Christ and this by bringing the Gospel to your world, to those you come across. If a person does not come to the realization that they are a sinner in need of a Savior, nothing you say or do will change them into a child of God, The Holy Spirit is calling all to repentance and this by you and by His word and every person can either accept this call or "hang up" on the Holy Spirit and deny His call. This should not deter you in your work as an ambassador for Jesus Christ, in fact it should drive you to continue, to do intention witnessing so that those who will hear will come to faith in Jesus Christ. 

     Do not think more of yourself that what God has said you are: a child of His, and saved from the wrath that is coming to this world and that your life must be brought to the bar of the Atonement for this is where the discernment of the Atonement resides. Measure everything by Scripture, your actions, your words, your life, this is where you will find God's blessings. You did not earn it: you only did what a child of God was called to do and by doing it: well this is pleasing to God. 

Again, when the wicked man turneth away 

     from his wickedness that he have committed, 

and doeth that which is lawful and right, 

    he shall save his soul alive.

                        Ezekiel 18:27

All the Atonement to work out in you

Richard L. Crumb