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What to do AFTER salvation
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Discipleship is the term used to describe one's growth as a Christian believer
after salvation. It is distinct from salvation in that while salvation specifically denies association
with works, discipleship is all about works.
However, it's not what you may think. To understand what discipleship
is all about we must first examine how God created you.
You were created by God as a being with three distinct components.
They are as follows:
BODY:
This is the flesh and blood portion with which we are all familiar. You share this aspect of your creation with
animals. It is your body that carries out your actions thoughts and intents.
LOWER MIND: This is the home
for the soul and the sin nature. The soul is that part of you from which are derived feelings (or emotions) and
instinctive behavior. Yes, animals were also created with a soul.
The lower mind is also home for the sin nature. The sin
nature was inherited from your father all the way back to Adam (after the Fall). Consequently, animals have no sin nature
(their behavior being learned or instinctive). The sin nature is a filter for all of the thoughts and intents of our
heart.
UPPER MIND: Home for the human
spirit. The human spirit is that portion of our mind that asks the questions like, "Why am I here" or "What is life all
about." It is that portion of you that seeks communion with God. Animals do not have a spirit.
The upper mind is also home to the Holy Spirit after one
is saved. Prior to salvation, this portion of you was empty and available on a temporary basis for possession by Satan
(or his minions). From this spot, Satan could influence you in a manner that would appeal to your sin nature to act as
he desired. Once saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence here and further possession is not possible. Only outside
influence by Satan is possible after salvation.
Why you behave the way you do
Now, a word about your old sin nature (OSN). The OSN was inherited from Adam and--while
not sin itself--is your autopilot toward sin. If left to itself, it will always tend to guide you toward sin. However, it
is subservient to direction from the upper mind. Both prior to and after salvation your sin nature acts to produce two kinds
of effort (or works) as directed by the upper mind. One was human evil while the other was human good.
The evil output of the OSN is easily recognizable. Human good is represented by those thoughts and actions that,
while on the surface (to us) appear to be noble, but actually still fall far short of God's perfect holiness and, thus, are
still deemed as sin. This is why all of our 'works' (as unsaved) are considered "filthy rags" to God. All
of these works by a less-than-holy human spirit are sin when compared to God's perfect holiness.
However, as an immediate consequence of salvation, each believer is permanently indwelt by the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the upper mind and effectively locks out "possession" by Satan or
his minions. External Satanic influence is still possible, but the indwelling Holy Spirit never allows the external influence
to force itself on you. The Holy Spirit will never allow your OSN to be externally tempted beyond your capability
to resist. [That's not to say, however, that you won't occasionally give in far short of your capability to resist.]
Once on board, the Holy Spirit acts to provide an available (yet never forced) option
to control by your human spirit. For someone who is saved, there is the option by the human spirit to yield to God's
sovereignty and direction as provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Yielding to God--while probably not your first or natural
inclination--allows the Holy Spirit to impose God's will through your human spirit to your lower mind and body
so that the resulting 'work' or effort produced is divine good. Or, one could elect never to yield control to the
indwelling Holy Spirit and, thus, never produce any divine good.
How to get and stay in fellowship
As a saved individual, how does one 'yield' to control by God?
Beginning at point 1, this is enabled by confession to God of your known sin(s) (1Jn.1:8-9). This places you back into
fellowship with God (via the indwelling Holy Spirit)--sometimes referred to as "walking in faith" (point 2). From this point
forward, God can direct your behavior toward the production of divine good (DG) until you break the fellowship again by electing
to ignore the Spirit’s guidance and commit a sin (point 3). At this stage (points 4-5), you are back to producing either
human good (HG) or human evil (HE). Fellowship with God is re-acquired by again confessing your known sin(s).
You can see from the illustration that there is no middle ground.
The fruit of the believer is very dichotomous. They are either producing divine good, or, a combination of human good/evil.
In Scripture, divine good is referred to as "gold, silver, and precious stones" while human good/evil is referred to as "wood,
hay, and stubble." Notice that there is no middle ground. There is no "polished brass," or "shiny quartz," etc.
What does it mean to grow in Christ?
The believer who is growing in Christ is asked to be Christ-like. This is only possible under
the dichotomous view illustrated above. We are Christ-like when we are in fellowship and are conduits for the production
of divine good. When we have sinned and fallen out of fellowship then our conduit is severed and all efforts are being
produced in our own strength. Growing in Christ is shown in the illustration by the increasing time spent in fellowship.
What are the results of becoming more Christ-like?
Grace is not a doctrine that is placed on a shelf after salvation. It is the means through which
God enables us to grow each and every day. As we spend time in fellowship (walk in faith) our faith becomes stronger resulting
in an increased desire to remain in fellowship. Thus, God is able to use us as instuments of His will for the production
of divine good on a more frequent basis, as illustrated above. We are never the producers of the divine good, mind you.
God performs the devine good while we are simply the yielded instrument. However, God pours out His grace on us as yielded
instruments. Thus, your Christian "experience" is not really yours, but is God's experience shared with you as the "vessel
unto honour."
Yes, there are future rewards for having yielded ourselves as vessels for God's use (see the
study on Dispensations, particularly the Judgment Seat of Christ), but that's just the icing on the cake. God's daily grace
is more than you can contain. It will fill you with contentment and spill out on everyone around you as fruit of the Spirit
(love, joy, peace, etc.) and as fruit of the vine (new believers).
During your studies please remember that as important as the correct doctrine
can be in your walk with God (2 Tim. 2:15), you are not saved by the doctrine but by the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Okay,
that's it in a nutshell. You may not be a shining example of Christianity (neither am I), but you know what it is really
important and that is to focus on staying in fellowship. That means your goal--your primary goal--in life is to focus
on your relationship with God. If that is in good shape, everything else will fall into place. Never focus on your efforts.
Never focus on what others think. Focus only on your relationship and He will take care of the rest.
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