How Does The Christian Life Work? Is It Legal? - Is It Moral? - Or Is It NATURAL??

Why do so many spiritual teachers constantly preach out of the Old Testament? Certainly there are individual lessons to be learned from the lives of Old Testament people and the way that God dealt with them. But I believe that there is too much time spent in the Old Testament and not enough emphasis placed on the new birth in union with Christ found in all of Paul’s epistles, parts of John’s gospel, and parts of Peter’s and John’s epistles.

The history of modern Christianity shows that it has so intertwined the scriptures applying to grace with scriptures applying to law and morality that the church is missing much of the true gospel of the purpose of God.

You may wonder how anyone could so easily miss the in-Christ message when it is so prominently stated by Paul. But, in fact, many of the new Bibles being published today have cut out nearly all of the “in-Christ” statements.

A major problem in Christ’s Church that has greatly affected the true gospel of grace is the rise of the so-called “kingdom message”. This is a gospel based primarily on the Old Testament prophecies and greatly ignores the final gospel based on Paul’s revelation. It is a message devoid of pure grace and is essentially based on Israel’s laws. It attracts believers because it emphasizes human works and earthly benefits and promises healing and prosperity if you do all the right things. While these things can be a blessing to people, their greatest harm is that the law gospel – the gospel of circumcision given to Israel (Gal. 2:7) is denying them the greater blessing of knowing the Christ who lives in them and is their true life containing the nature of God.

Those who mix law and grace are unable to separate Israel and the Body-of-Christ Church. The entire plan of God for Israel was to establish God’s kingdom on earth through them – if and when they would accept it. To this day, Israel has never qualified, by accepting their Messiah, to be a part of this plan and has been set aside by God for now (Acts 28:27-28).

The Church of Jesus Christ has never been included in this plan. Four-fifths of the Bible is given to this plan. This leaves only one-fifth of the Scriptures dealing with grace and God’s plan for the born again believer. It is for this reason I urge all believers to first find their place in union with Christ as is stated in the grace scriptures in the aforementioned parts of the New Testament. Only then can the Old Testament be properly understood and used. Believers should be firmly grounded in these scriptures first, and then go to the rest of the Bible to see how it all happened.

But modern believers do not want to give up their mixing of scriptures on the keeping of law and the receiving of grace. When God speaks to people in four-fifths of the Bible, He is dealing with them in a pre-cross and pre-newbirth in Christ time. Israel was never given Paul’s revelation of the in-Christ nature of the Christian, and no one in the Old Testament knew anything about it. The new Body of Christ includes believing Jews and believing Gentiles, but when either of these accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, they no longer retain their previous race. They become an entirely new race of people, a new creation race birthed by a new Father (2 Cor. 5:17).

The Legalistic Approach

Those of us who have spent any time at all in church can no doubt resolve legally from the Bible most questions. We were taught that the Bible clearly states what we should and should not DO in living this life on earth. We were taught the appropriate “thou shalt” or “thou shalt not” to apply to situations. If we use this approach, we have either introduced or reinforced legalism.

If we are going to believe what the apostle Paul has told us about law, then this solution isn’t a workable one. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you aren’t under the law, but under grace.” (Rom. 6:14). “But if you are led of the Spirit, you aren’t under the law.” (Gal. 5:18). The legalistic approach operates at the simple CHILD level of understanding of 1 John 2:12-14. This may be adequate as a first understanding of God while the new Christian is under “…tutors and governors until the time appointed by the Father” (Gal. 4:1-2), but a time will come when we are moved on by the Father.

The Morality Approach

As we move on in our understanding, the concept of appealing to the morality of the person begins to emerge. It basically consists of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Our actions here could certainly be commended by most in the world, as this is quite often a psychological approach to deal with guilt (such as the many philanthropic acts of “goodness” in the world) as well as to earn the respect of others by our “moral” deeds.

It appears likely that any approach along these lines is no more than a partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Although this approach is an improvement over the legalistic method it is, at best, a level of understanding that can be classified as the YOUNG MAN level in 1 John 2 where we are attempting to use our personal strength to overcome the world by our own self-effort.

The “Natural” Approach

A “more excellent way” (Acts 18:26) is applicable to any and all of life’s situations – bar none! The reason I make this statement is because most people we interact with basically are asking the wrong questions about life. “What can I do to please God?” “What should I not do that will displease God?”

THE SINGLE QUESTION THEY SHOULD BE ASKING IS: “WHO AM I?” After our new birth, knowing who we are in union with Christ living within us is the ultimate answer to every situation and question of life!

We are to take the “natural” approach to the Christian life – living from the power of the divine nature of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17; 1 Pet. 1:23; 2 Pet. 1:4). We were never meant to live the Christian life apart from the divine nature in Christ. In fact, it is impossible to live the Christian life out of our own human effort – either legally or morally. Everything that we ARE in Spirit and are BECOMING in soul (these two must be rightly divided) is to have its origin in the nature of God.

However, it isn’t enough to be a partaker of the divine nature – the legalizing Christians and the moralizing Christians have the divine nature given to them when they are born again. It is equally important to learn to trust and allow Christ to express His Life through us – in other words, to LIVE NATURALLY SPIRITUALLY! The Holy Spirit of God teaches us by daily lessons that we aren’t meant to live by legalistic means or by moral and philanthropic self-effort, but naturally by the only true Life we have – Christ!

When this revelation occurs, the Father is moving us into the third level of knowing in 1 John 2, the FATHER understanding. It is at this point that we begin to see “from the beginning” (Eph. 1:4) what being in union with Christ and He living in us is all about. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). “…the life I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God…” (Gal. 2:20).

In this way, the creature would finally be a completed human being (Col. 2:10). A human being was never intended to live a life without the NATURE of God in him. When we move into this father level of understanding, we now act out of our one and only true nature, which is Christ, rather than trying to live by legalism or by our own moral strength (which at best is an illusion).

Before our new birth, we lived naturally – unknowingly relying on the indwelling nature of Satan. This was the nature of the species.

Now, as Christians, we are a new species with a new nature – the divine nature of God. As we learn to trust in this divine nature, we will receive the earthly consequences for our sins and the fatherly correction to turn us again in the right direction. But Christ will never leave us or forsake us. We are children of God for the long haul. And the Father will instill His lifestyle – NATURALLY!

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