Below is an extract from a book or series of sermons with the above title by Jessie Penn-Lewis.
Every serious Christian should consider her work and teachings.
These are a few paragraphs taken from her writings.
You can find all this book at the following link.
http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/jessiepenn-lewis/8791/8791tc.htm
Put simply the cross of Christ is the key to Christian Living,Experience and Victory.
Some
teachers like John Stott,Neil Anderson, Charles Solomon,Frank Hunting
and others will show you how we can exchange our lives for the life of
Jesus.
The Great Exchange.
Romans 6 is the key.
from Jessie Penn-Lewis
"Now let us pass on to see the Cross as the centre, or 'fixed point', for
VICTORY OVER SIN, OVER THE WORLD, OVER THE FLESH, AND OVER THE DEVIL. For a
clear unveiling of the Cross as the 'fixed point' for the Christian's victory
over sin, we turn to Romans 6. It is the basic chapter in the whole of the New
Testament, where the deep meaning of the death at Calvary is set forth, in
language which is extraordinary in its simplicity and clearness, and marvellous
in its comprehensive explanation of the gospel. No wonder that the "god of this
world" has influenced so many to relegate Romans 6 to the theologians, so as to
keep believers from understanding its simple truth, because the deceiver knows
it to be the CRUCIAL MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL from the experimental standpoint.
God-ward, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was the atonement, and the
propitiation for sin, but in Romans 6 we are shown the Cross in its manward
aspect-in its dealing with the sinner. Here is the practical, deep and vital
message to the sinner, showing him the way of deliverance from the power of
sin, from the world, the flesh and the devil. Here in the Romans 6 message of
Calvary, Paul laid the foundation deep and, strong. Here lies the bed-rock
depth of the Cross, as the 'fixed point' for the personal life of the believer,
personal equipment, and personal victory in every aspect of need.
Let us read the passage slowly and carefully: Verses 1-2, "What shall we
say then? Shall we persist in sin that the gift of grace may be more abundant?
God forbid! WE WHO HAVE DIED TO SIN." Here is the Cross in its aspect of the
death of the sinner with the Saviour. It is clear from this that Christ's Cross
was the sinner's cross, not, of course, in the matter of atonement God-ward,
but in the taking of the old creation life to the Cross, that the believer
should be delivered from the power of sin; and that, not by conquering it, but
by dying to it. Here is the key to victory. The deepest things are the
simplest.
The real trouble about understanding the sixth of Romans is not a
theological, but a moral one. When we sincerely want deliverance from the power
of sin, it is within our reach. It lies just here for the simple soul who will
take the statements as a fact. For the sake of a lost world, let us have no
'moral' hindrances to our knowing the reality of the Cross. If men and women
would be utterly willing for the deepest work of the Cross to be wrought in or
applied to them, there would be a trembling of the powers of hell, a shaking of
the kingdom of darkness. The pivotal secret of God's plan for the redemption of
a lost world lies in the meaning of Romans 6. The central fact of the Cross
being the sinner's cross, as well as the Saviour's.
Moreover, this Romans 6 meaning of the Cross must be recognized as the
root foundation of the Christian life, just as the 'root' is necessary to the
life of the tree. A tree cannot part with its root, but must strike it deeper
into the ground, so that all external growth may have strong support in the
earth, and strong life-force for its maintenance.
" We who have died to sin," how can we any longer live under the mastery
of sin? Or "have you forgotten that all of us ... were baptized into fellowship
with His death?" writes the Apostle. 'All of us'-not the few who wish to be
advanced souls, but young converts also! If every convert to Christ was 'born
again' through the gospel message of this chapter, and they knew its power in
experience at the very beginning of their Christian lives, there would be less
backsliding, and need of careful nursing lest they fell away, for a new life
would be imparted to them in stronger power, and Christ as the Living One would
be known as a real Saviour."
No comments:
Post a Comment