THE GROWING DICHOTOMY

THE GROWING DICHOTOMY

                Words that add understanding to the word “Dichotomy” are contrast, opposition, gulf, contradiction, separation or irreconcilable differences.

                We see a growing dichotomy in America today because there are two very basic and opposing concepts of what America is, why it was created and where it should head in the near future.  One side wants to throw off all of the old moral constraints including our constitution, to surrender our sovereignty and to join the global community. For some time now, say, since the 60s, a part of society has rebelled against all that was once called truth, and godliness  and righteousness and in its place they want freedom from all restraint, from all morality, from all law and even from God Himself.

                This growing dichotomy is reflected not only in society as a whole, but in the church as well. In a struggle to remain relevant in a changing society, parts of the church keep lowering the bar of what it means to be a Christian. Seeker friendly churches roll out the welcome mat for any and all, even embracing over time, things that God has clearly called abominations.

                But even as this lowering of the bar results in an influx of church members and casual Christians who are no longer committed to the Word, or discipleship or any other discipline, it also leaves another group hungry and searching for the roots of the faith. What, if anything is worth living or dying for? What motivated our forefathers to face persecution torture, imprisonment and even death for the cause of Jesus Christ?

                So a certain percentage of disillusioned young Christians seek meaning by returning to the roots of the Christian faith. Some return to the Orthodox faith and to the church that has carefully guarded Christian traditions unchanged since the 3^rd century. Others Join Messianic congregations hoping to be restored to the faith of the first century, for indeed it was Messianic Jews that made up the first church and it was Messianic Jews that initially received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost… and that outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost came in fulfillment of the Jewish feast of Pentecost.

                There are some 30,000 denominations in the world today and thousands of sects all claiming to have a piece of the truth and so we find ourselves sitting back and asking one basic question. What is salvation all about? Why did God send His Son into the world? What did Jesus come here to accomplish? Did He really intend for there to be 30,000 different interpretations of His Word? Well… no.

                Jesus answered that question in His prayer to the Father in John 17:22 saying: “And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one.”

                In all of our searching then, are we not longing to understand what exactly God was intending for mankind in His plan of salvation? Was His purpose simply to pay for our sins and then drag us to heaven?

                One would almost conclude this to be the case today since getting saved seems to be the prime reason for coming to the Lord and beyond that there seems to be very little purpose other than a good cup of coffee and a lot of social activities.

                But I think that it is for lack of vision that people perish and a basic lack of understanding that is allowing for the great falling away or apostasy that is taking place in our nation and in many churches today. We no longer remember what Jesus came here to accomplish and since we don’t remember, we lose our motivation to become… to become what? What did Jesus come here to restore? What were we created to be that we have fallen away from?

                David gives us the answer to this question by asking a question of his own saying:

                “What is man that Thou dost take thought of him and the son of man that Thou dost care for him? Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God (Elohim) and dost crown him with glory and majesty! Thou dost make him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put ALL THINGS under his feet.” Psalms 8:4-6

                When God created the physical universe, He also created a special being to rule over His creation. In man there existed both the spirit of God and the matter from which the physical universe was made.  As a being of both physical matter and the Spirit of God, man was uniquely created to rule over God’s physical/Spiritual creation.

                When Adam sinned God had to back off, not only from Adam, but from all of His physical creation. As I mentioned before, before the fall of man the physical and the spiritual were one and mankind was the link between the two realms, being both spirit and matter. And as long as spirit and matter were united as one, the universe was self-correcting and therefore eternal. Adam too was eternal and created to inhabit eternity.

                But in the very instant that Adam sinned  and rebelled against God his spirit left him and Adam instantly began to die. Likewise the entire universe entered into entropy and began the long process of dying as well. Everything in this universe is now subject to decay and death and therefore just like Romans 8:20-21 says: “The creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but because of Him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

                Think about it for a minute. If everything in this universe is doomed to die, then life is futile. If our lives are temporary and come to an end with no further hope beyond the grave, then life is largely pointless. And this is the hopelessness that the theory of evolution has left us with today. Mankind, in order to escape responsibility toward God would rather choose futility and death.

                But then why is God redeeming us and giving us eternal life? Are we destined to sit on clouds playing harps and simply living forever?

                The truth is God sent His Son into the world to redeem us from the fall and to restore us to the position from which we have fallen. He wants to put us back in charge of the works of His hands. For this we need a good deal of training since we have become selfish and self-destructing and greedy and mean hearted and very ungodlike.  To have dominion over the works of His hands in our present condition we would end up with… well… what we see in the world today… war and poverty, sickness, injustice and chaos on every side.

                So Jesus came not only to rescue us and to save us, but to model for us, the new man in Christ, becoming once again both spirit and flesh. And in learning to live by His Spirit we are learning how to have dominion over the works of His hands once again… but we have to do this in accordance with eternal principles. Love is an eternal principle. Righteousness, truth, and the fruit of the Spirit… these are all eternal things that He is placing back into our lives so that when we are restored to our original position we will be like Him and we will rule and reign with Him for eternity.

                When we don’t have a vision for what salvation is all about, we become casual and directionless Christians. We fail to see that we are in training for high positions in His eternal kingdom. We fail to see that HE is going to put us in charge of all of the works of His hands. We fail to see that our uniqueness is in the unity of spirit and flesh. We have been created to rule in both realms. NO one else can do this and that is why it says in Romans 8:19 “for the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. We are the sons of whom Jesus has become our prototype. He is the first fruits of a new race of spirit filled sons and daughters of the King. And Christ in us is our hope of this glory. HE has sent His very Spirit into our hearts by which we cry out “Abba Father.”

                We are being saved not only to be forgiven, but to become like Him. AS such we need both mercy and grace. Mercy forgives us, but grace empowers us.

                This then is why Pentecost becomes the birth point of the church. It is at Pentecost that Christ sends down HIS Holy Spirit to replicate His life in us.

                For this training and empowerment the Law of Moses is not enough. We need the very spirit of Christ dwelling in us making us into sons of God. The Law, as Paul says in Galatians, makes us servants, but the Spirit makes us into sons and daughters.

                “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all the things written in the book of the Law to perform them. Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for the righteous man shall live by faith, However the Law is not of faith; on the contrary he who practices them shall live by them.” Gal. 3:10-12.

                Now, elsewhere Paul tells us that the Law is holy and righteous and good, so there is nothing wrong with the Law. There is, however, something wrong with us. We were created to function as both spirit and flesh, but flesh without the spirit cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-7) We can never become sons by keeping the Law, because keeping rules will never restore us to what we were created to be.

                We were created as physical/spiritual beings in the image of God in order to rule over the works of His hands. Therefore we need the very Spirit of God dwelling in our hearts restoring us to our original purpose. This is a training ground in which the flesh is at war with the Spirit and the Spirit with the flesh and we are learning how to put the Spirit back in charge of our lives.

                This is why we enter into Christ’s death and resurrection. This is why we must be born again. This is why we must be transformed into His image. This is why we are crucified with Christ, nevertheless we live, yet not us, but Christ lives in us. He is bringing many sons to glory.

                In seeking God’s purpose for our lives then it is important to understand God’s plans and goals for us. Without understanding these things we will just sit down in the nearest church and wait for Him to return. We will not enter into the disciplines of discipleship. We will not seek to be transformed into His image. We will not seek to live by His Spirit. We will continually ask for His mercy, but we will not ask for HIs grace… His power to transform us into His image.

                The Holy Spirit with His fruit and His gifts then is not optional. He is not given to entertain us with parlor tricks, or even to give us goose bumps per se. He has come into the world to transform us into the image of Christ and to train us in the work of Christ… teaching us how to rule and reign with Christ, by serving one another in love.

                If we are to rule and reign with Christ, then we must not do it like the heathen do that lord it over one another. Instead, we must, with great humility, love and serve one another even as He loved and served us   and we must do it all by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and not by the works of the flesh that are corrupted with wrong motives and selfishness.

                You are a child of the King. Be blessed today and live to bless others in your path. You are a carrier of His presence. You are a temple of the living God. (1Cor. 3:16)

                The growing dichotomy in this world is a growing rift between God’s purposes and mankind’s purposes. This rift will eventually make way for the coming antichrist… and when he comes, he will try to force the whole world to do it Satan’s way. At some point Jesus will rescue us from this chaotic mess, but until He does, we are in training to learn how to live by the Spirit of Christ and not by the spirit of this world. Selah.