How Convictions become Character (part two)
By Jay Wegter
Section Objectives:
- To deepen our conviction that God alone is the source of life.
- To understand that the satisfaction Christ accomplished in redemption is the basis for our satisfaction in God.
- To learn that biblical convictions develop an eternal value system.
- To grasp that biblical convictions are necessary in order for believers to be continually conformed to the truth.
- To understand that our convictions are closely tied to what we love.
Why are so many believers apathetic about deepening their biblical convictions?
Paul told us that in the normal Christian life we are striving to live out our identity in Christ (1 Tim 1:18; 2 Tim 2:3; 2 Cor 10:1-6). “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Cor 9:24-27; Heb 12:1-2).
Now the question arises, “Why aren’t men pouring their energies into this endeavor of developing their convictions?” Part of the answer is that they don’t see the value in it because they do not understand their calling. In addition, without aggressive faith in gospel promises, it can seem like more trouble than it is worth. After all, if one has been experiencing defeat in his Christian life, why would he want to set a higher standard only to feel that he is coming short of it? Men already tend to be discouraged and so rather than developing their convictions they often go to other men for encouragement; seeking personal validation. But other men really can’t provide strength to our identity. The biblical answer is as follows: the only real source of solid identity comes through reckoning our sonship in Christ. Then we will count it a privilege to keep believing the gospel and consenting to receive God’s love for Christ’s sake. The Holy Spirit manifests Christ’s love to those who are taken up with Christ and who abide in Christ (Rom 5:1-5ff.; Jn 14:21).
What is the cost of developing biblical convictions?
By ongoing repentance and by conforming ourselves to the truth we ‘close the gap’ between faith and practice (only then do faith and practice operate in unison). Biblical convictions are necessary in order for us to fight for joy, fight for purity, and fight for holiness. Scripture calls this renewing the mind (Rom 12:1-2; Col 3:10ff.). As we walk through this corrupt world, we tend to pick up contamination like dirt sticking to our shoes. We are assaulted with litany of false offers of fulfillment, and at times we are tempted to pursue happiness directly through lust. Our flesh seeks to usurp the role of the Spirit as it proposes and offers temporal objects of desire in place of God. It’s at this point that our convictions play a key role in Spiritual warfare. God has called us to a kind of activism called the mortification of sin (Rom 6:11-13; Col 3:1-5).
That activism involves a proper use of our freedom. We’re told in Galatians 5 that Christ has called us to freedom. But boundless freedom is dangerous if not used properly. “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal 5:13). Sinful behavior is to be put off, and godly behavior put on (Col 3:5-4:6).
Living by faith is difficult because it is filled with the necessity of spiritual discipline and self-denial; therefore the life of faith is totally self-renouncing. In other words, to live by faith is to live upon Another, upon Christ instead of upon our own strength and wits. This goes against the grain of self —for the self-life is attracted to self-reliance and also self-indulgence. People naturally gravitate toward pride, comfort, and complacency. Convictions involve swimming against the current of what remains of our lower natures in the power of the Spirit (Gal 5:16-18ff.). Convictions come with a cost, but the cost of not developing them is far greater (Ps 1:1-6; 25:14; Prov 4:23; 30:5-6).
Biblical convictions work together effectually with our sonship in Christ
Proactive service through love yields a byproduct of godly masculinity. We assume responsibility on behalf of others, and God advances our sphere of influence. God is calling men to be a clear channel of agape love to others (1 Jn 4:19). This involves allowing the gospel to order our inner world and our relationships over and over again (Lu 6:35ff.). Living out our convictions has a rectifying effect upon our life direction—‘tuning’ us to the purposes of God for us. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY” (1 Pet 1:14-16).
God describes the blessing of the new covenant in relational terms such as sonship. Sonship is the motive and meaning of gospel holiness (Lewis Sperry Chafer). In the blessing of sonship God ‘harnesses’ His glorious attributes and puts them to work in the salvation of His people. “He is our God and we are His people” means that God has pledged His power, care, wisdom and love to work for the temporal and eternal good of His people (1 Pet 2:9-10). We see these ‘harnessed attributes’ most clearly in the promises of the gospel. It is the believer’s responsibility to live upon these promises and in so doing, live the life of sonship. This begins with reckoning our identity as sons of God and relying upon the Father’s love and care of us (1 Jn 3:1).
Living by the promises of sonship involves esteeming our sonship very highly—so as to walk worthy of our calling (2 Cor 6:14-7:1). As a spiritual discipline, we will need to frequently explain the infinite blessings of sonship to our own souls. This can be formed as questions such as “Who is God toward me in Christ?” How is my sonship in Christ tied to my security, happiness, goals? The ‘Spirit of sonship’ will assist us in these meditations; for He produces the consciousness of sonship in us (Rom 8:14-17). “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Gal 4:6). The Father’s claim upon us is ever joined to the bountiful promises inherent in our sonship (2 Cor 6:14-7:1). Living our convictions is all about “be who you are as sons of the Father.” May the reader strive to gain valuable insights into why our sonship identity is so closely tied to our biblical convictions.
One of our problems in faith as Christian men is that we tend to see our sonship through the cloudy lens of our own experiences with our earthly fathers (some refer to this as the ‘father wound’). So often we have memories of their disappointment with us and our disappointment with them. Then this sentiment leaks into our Christian experience and we wind up seeing God the Father through this distorting lens. We reason carnally, “If my own sinful mortal dad found so much to criticize in me, how in the world will my Heavenly Father take pleasure in me?” In many ways we also project upon the Father our own disillusionment with ourselves (assuming He also is fed up with us).
How we need to believe the gospel at this point—to grasp that our Heavenly Father contemplates us, and sees us as IN CHRIST. To see us in Christ is to see Christ as having borne all of our liabilities and to see Christ as clothing us in His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). This is much needed good news; for we are disappointing sons and we are tempted to define ourselves by our failure to obey God adequately. When we slip into that mindset, and cease defining ourselves by sonship and adoption, it is incredibly easy to fall into cynicism, sensuality, and self-direction. Only the gospel can correct this slide by renewing our thinking and allowing us to see God and life and ourselves from the gracious vantage point of God’s perspective in Christ. How God sees reality is the infallible perspective from which we must think and operate. For the growing believer, how we think about ourselves is to be conditioned upon how God thinks of us in Christ. This is why sonship is so vital to our identity, security, treasure, direction, and priorities (1Thess 5:5-6).
“In Christ eats up all else” says my missionary friend, Michael Graham. In others words, the finality and immutability of our identity in Christ must hold sway over us, for God has the last word in this matter as well as all others matters. And in terms of the prioritizing importance of our sonship, we could cast its influence over our lives in a set of terms:
Story of God (the glorious gospel)
Sonship in Christ (our identity and adoption in Christ)
Satisfaction in God (our life direction pursuing the abundant life in Christ)
Surrender to the Lord (submission in faith and obedience to the Lord)
Soma, the life of the Body (the N.T. Grk. word for body, soma is deep community)
Script, our part in Redemption’s drama (the narrow way of life in Christ)
Sanctification (our identity in Christ and our gradual conformity to Christ)
We can see from this list of life under grace that sonship establishes our priorities and keeps our ongoing conformity to Christ on track. Sonship living is reckoning the Father is for us (Lu 12:30-32), and that He wants our sonship to shape our controlling motives in life. The very shape, contours and path of our lives are to be scribed by sonship. Living by the conviction of our sonship means the new man puts off the old man deeds and asserts himself in new man (sonship) behaviors (Col 3:9-11).
Sonship is about ‘God for us’ (Ps 56:9; 118:6) and our about our passion for His glory. We must know that the Father sees us in Christ and is for us (Eph 1:3-9). One of the most important truths for believing men to ‘process’ is “how do I receive God’s love?” We must know that the gospel gives us God. Joy, hope, peace, love are ‘byproducts’ of God giving us Himself in the promises of the gospel. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13).
What is needed for us to be lifted above the allure of created things so that we look for ultimate satisfaction and delight in God? Why is it so important to receive God’s love? The gospel makes possible for forgiven sinners to experience endless satisfaction in our holy God. Christ ‘exports’ the wealth of joy of the Godhead into the lives of the redeemed. That becomes the power for holy living. The gospel opens up the floodgates of God’s boundless desire to share Himself and to extend His glory thereby (Eph 3:8-12).
We have seen that conviction taking root in our affections is not in opposition to denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily. If God has committed in His sworn covenant (Heb 6:17-20) to love us and care for us; then it is reasonable and rational for us to view denying ourselves and serving Him as the most logical thing in the world (Rom 12:1-2). The conviction of who we are in Christ shapes everything. As we grow spiritually and as we are discipled, our true identity in the Lord becomes more and more visible to us (by faith). As a result we are motivated by our controlling convictions to ‘step into’ the sonship ‘script’ without reservation. We feed on gospel promises in order to abide in Christ. And, as we abide in Christ, life on life ministry flows out of us, for it is impossible to receive constant tokens of Christ’s love and then not want to pour your life into others (1 Jn 4:19).
We’ve seen that biblical convictions flesh out our identity in Christ as sons. God is for our happiness by way of holiness. He is for our godly masculinity. When we are controlled by these sonship realities we reckon God’s love and as a result, obedience is easy. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 Jn 5:3). In that sense, our identity and our sonship becomes a kind of ‘script’ that marks out our path in this drama of redemption. We could describe that path as: sonship (God the Father is ‘for me’—who I am in Christ in my adoption), satisfaction (delight in God), soma (the deep community of body life), and surrender (consecration and presentation of ourselves to Christ)—resulting in sanctification (Rom 6:22). “Sonship” in that God holds me in His heart of love and cares for me, “Satisfaction” in that our deepest desires are met in the Lord, “soma” which is the Greek word for body means we experience deep community in our fellowship with the saints, and “surrender” which means our “sanctification” progresses as we submit to Christ and are ruled by His word.
We have seen in this lesson that the basis for our convictions is God giving Himself to us in Christ and adopting us as sons that we might live unto Him and find our ultimate satisfaction in knowing and trusting Him.
Chapter Review Questions:
- Why don’t we actually have the truth if we do not do the truth?
- How does the redemptive work of Christ make possible our ultimate satisfaction in God?
- What is the cost of developing biblical convictions?
- What is the connection between convictions and transformation by the truth?
- What carnal traps do we risk falling into if we devalue our sonship?
- Describe the connection between our sonship and our identity.