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Discussion Forum : Articles and Sermons : What Kind of Christian? by Major Ian Thomas

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 What Kind of Christian? by Major Ian Thomas

What Kind of Christian? by Major W. Ian Thomas

“God is the absolute source of righteousness, but there is also an absolute source of unrighteousness—the devil. All human activity derives from one or the other of these two origins. That is why the Bible says, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23 KJV). Whatever does not derive from your attitude of total dependence upon God, …whatever does not release God's activity through your life…, is sin. It is sin because it stems from an attitude of independence that makes you open to any and all of Satan's deceptions in his long history of usurping God's authority. Every step you take, every attitude
you adopt, every decision you make, everything you do and all you hope to be, is either in dependence upon the God who created you as His own dwelling place, or else the byproduct of the demon spirit of this world, ‘who now works in the sons of disobedience’ (Ephesians 2:2), and who perpetuates his lies through a mindset of self-reliance in fallen humanity.

“The Bible calls this attitude of independence a ‘carnal mind’ (Romans 8:7). It is a mind that is ‘set on the things of the flesh’ rather than on ‘the things of the Spirit’ (Romans 8:5). It means exercising the faculties of your personality in ways that are not dependent on the God whose presence alone imparts to you the quality of true humanity that He always intended for you. It means thinking godlessly. You take a step, you make a decision, you conceive your plans, you assume a responsibility, all without relating the situation to God, to His guidance and to all that He is within you.

“This carnal mind can be in the believer just as much as in the unbeliever. Carnal or “fleshly” Christians have been regenerated by the restoration of the Holy Spirit to their human spirit. In certain ways, however, they still repudiate the Spirit's legitimate right to reestablish the rule of Christ in their minds, in their emotions, and in their wills. Although they profess Christ as Redeemer, their actions and decisions typically are made for the sake of their own interests. They are made for who they are in themselves, rather than for God's interests and for who He is. Their minds are still the plaything and the workshop of the devil, for the devil is smart enough and cunning enough that he can always persuade countless numbers of professing Christians to try and be Christians without Christ. They are willing to do anything for Jesus' sake, but they fail to understand that His presence is absolutely imperative to do it, that without Him we are nothing, have nothing, and can do nothing.

“To be a carnal Christian is to still claim the right to exercise your own jurisdiction, make your own decisions and plans, and choose your own pathway. But you will be USELESS to God…

“What kind of Christian do you want to be? To choose to be a carnal Christian is to choose spiritual oblivion. But if you decide genuinely that Christ must be everything, and have everything, in your life, …if you say in your heart, ‘I want nothing less than to become everything for which Christ’s blood was shed’…, then He is ready to lead you into discoveries that can completely revolutionize your whole humanity for time and eternity.” — The Indwelling Life of Christ, pp 33-35.

 2016/6/19 22:21Profile









 Re: What Kind of Christian? by Major Ian Thomas

The problem in Christianity today is that no one is telling God’s people to turn from the worldly way of human effort - the old flesh-life. You must seek out the supernatural life of Jesus Christ. It is only His activity and His work clothing you and being displayed through you that will ultimately find the approval of God. You are not to be the original actor. Only what you permit Him to do in and through you by His divine power and in His nature will merit His approval.

Before Christians will truly enter into this kind of life, where they walk wholly by faith within God’s Sabbath-rest, they must first recognize their own spiritual bankruptcy. But this is a hard lesson to accept when people have grown up under the influence of the "spirit of the world." (1 Cor. 2: 12) Only after their self-sufficient spirit has been completely broken will they truly begin to wholeheartedly seek out the spiritual wealth that comes from the life of Jesus Christ,through faith.

Can we begin to see why we should be praising God when He brings us to the end of our self-life. While the soul will experience some suffering, it is a time of rejoicing. Only when we have given up all human effort and have truly begun to trust God to direct and empower our every step are we in a condition for God to use His power to take us into His Sabbath-rest. There remains then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for everyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work...Let us, therefore, make every effort {by coming out from the carnal ways of the world} to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. (Heb. 4:9-11]

The Indwelling Life of Christ

 2016/6/20 6:31





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