Cleanses from Dead Works
Cleansed from Dead Works
Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror that was intentionally designed with curves in it so that the image it portrays is distorted? You may have seen one of these mirrors at a county fair. You see yourself in this mirror, and it's almost humorous as you see a very odd image of yourself. Some of these mirrors are curved in such a way so that you appear much taller, or much shorter than you actually are. The distortion is vast. I believe that in many ways we can tend to see ourselves in a way similar to how these mirrors portray the person that stands before it. Even though we have died to our old self, we still believe the lies that we were told before our salvation.
The Bible tells us that through baptism our old self that was corrupted through the fall is put to death, and we are now new creations. This is true, but oftentimes in the church today we still walk around feeling defiled in our minds. As I write this, there are still moments that I bump into feelings of condemnation, but it does not have to be this way. Additionally, I don’t believe it will stay this way as we align ourselves to the completed work of Christ. One of the passages that I have been chewing on is Colossians, chapter two, which combats the lie of an unclean conscience.
“Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him,” (Col 2:12-15 NASB).
Even while we were dead, and stuck in sin, He canceled the record of our sin. And not only this, but He raised us to be one in Him. So even before I knew Him, He loved me, and died for me. And not only this, but He completely wiped out the record of all of my sin. This is so amazing!
The prophet Jeremiah, in prophesying of the New Covenant said, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember,” (Jer 31:34 NASB). This is absolutely incredible! When we walk right before Him, He promises to not remember our sin. So if God chooses not to remember our sin because of the work of Christ, then we have peace with God. So then, if I feel as if I do not have peace with God because of who I was even though I am in covenant with Him, then that reveals I may be believing lies about who I am, or who God is.
If we revisit the distorted mirror metaphor, the mirror represents our life circumstances. More specifically, sin habits, as well as difficult things that come against us. If I struggle with anger, and I declare over myself that it's simply because I am an angry person, then it's as if I am looking into a distorted mirror and believing that my identity is based off of the image that I see. It sounds kind of silly to base our identity off of a distorted image. The image is false, which means it is obviously a lie.
In relating it back to my life, if I am born again, and baptized, my old self that struggled with anger is dead. Dead dead dead dead. Gone forever. But if I don’t believe that by faith, and the enemy sows lies in my mind that make me feel condemned before God, my conscience becomes defiled. This is as if I am looking into the distorted mirror. And because of this, I won’t believe that I have peace with God, and I will continue to be more aware of my own faults instead of what Christ has done for me. As a result of this, I will cut myself off from the grace of God to save me from anger because I have deemed myself unworthy.
In combating the lies, there are tools found within Scripture. The best, and only way to combat lies is with the Truth. Romans chapter five says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Rom 5:1 NASB). Whenever a thought comes into my mind that tries to defile my conscience, I remind myself, and thank Jesus for making peace between me and the Father through His work. Another scripture that I love to meditate upon whenever a thought may come against my mind is found in Hebrews, which says “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb 9:13-14 NASB). In this passage the author of Hebrews compares the peace offerings of the Old Testament to Jesus’ sacrifice, and how it eternally secured peace between God and man. These are just some “handlebars,” as some would say that have helped me in renewing my mind.
If this has challenged or resonated with you, I would encourage you to apply this in your own life however it would be beneficial for you. As the people of God, it is so essential for us to walk with no walls between us and the Lord.
Woodland Church Member
June 9, 2021
Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror that was intentionally designed with curves in it so that the image it portrays is distorted? You may have seen one of these mirrors at a county fair. You see yourself in this mirror, and it's almost humorous as you see a very odd image of yourself. Some of these mirrors are curved in such a way so that you appear much taller, or much shorter than you actually are. The distortion is vast. I believe that in many ways we can tend to see ourselves in a way similar to how these mirrors portray the person that stands before it. Even though we have died to our old self, we still believe the lies that we were told before our salvation.
The Bible tells us that through baptism our old self that was corrupted through the fall is put to death, and we are now new creations. This is true, but oftentimes in the church today we still walk around feeling defiled in our minds. As I write this, there are still moments that I bump into feelings of condemnation, but it does not have to be this way. Additionally, I don’t believe it will stay this way as we align ourselves to the completed work of Christ. One of the passages that I have been chewing on is Colossians, chapter two, which combats the lie of an unclean conscience.
“Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him,” (Col 2:12-15 NASB).
Even while we were dead, and stuck in sin, He canceled the record of our sin. And not only this, but He raised us to be one in Him. So even before I knew Him, He loved me, and died for me. And not only this, but He completely wiped out the record of all of my sin. This is so amazing!
The prophet Jeremiah, in prophesying of the New Covenant said, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember,” (Jer 31:34 NASB). This is absolutely incredible! When we walk right before Him, He promises to not remember our sin. So if God chooses not to remember our sin because of the work of Christ, then we have peace with God. So then, if I feel as if I do not have peace with God because of who I was even though I am in covenant with Him, then that reveals I may be believing lies about who I am, or who God is.
If we revisit the distorted mirror metaphor, the mirror represents our life circumstances. More specifically, sin habits, as well as difficult things that come against us. If I struggle with anger, and I declare over myself that it's simply because I am an angry person, then it's as if I am looking into a distorted mirror and believing that my identity is based off of the image that I see. It sounds kind of silly to base our identity off of a distorted image. The image is false, which means it is obviously a lie.
In relating it back to my life, if I am born again, and baptized, my old self that struggled with anger is dead. Dead dead dead dead. Gone forever. But if I don’t believe that by faith, and the enemy sows lies in my mind that make me feel condemned before God, my conscience becomes defiled. This is as if I am looking into the distorted mirror. And because of this, I won’t believe that I have peace with God, and I will continue to be more aware of my own faults instead of what Christ has done for me. As a result of this, I will cut myself off from the grace of God to save me from anger because I have deemed myself unworthy.
In combating the lies, there are tools found within Scripture. The best, and only way to combat lies is with the Truth. Romans chapter five says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Rom 5:1 NASB). Whenever a thought comes into my mind that tries to defile my conscience, I remind myself, and thank Jesus for making peace between me and the Father through His work. Another scripture that I love to meditate upon whenever a thought may come against my mind is found in Hebrews, which says “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb 9:13-14 NASB). In this passage the author of Hebrews compares the peace offerings of the Old Testament to Jesus’ sacrifice, and how it eternally secured peace between God and man. These are just some “handlebars,” as some would say that have helped me in renewing my mind.
If this has challenged or resonated with you, I would encourage you to apply this in your own life however it would be beneficial for you. As the people of God, it is so essential for us to walk with no walls between us and the Lord.
Woodland Church Member
June 9, 2021
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