CONTROLLED BEHAVIOR 10/29/2007
I would like to focus our attention on the training of dogs. If anyone has taken on the task of training a dog (or any other animal) there are a number of ways you can go about it. There is one way based on rewards, another based on punishment, and some based on both. Overall, the reward/punishment pattern is generally considered the quickest and best way to train an animal; BUT no matter which way is used, REPETITION ends up being what causes the dog to learn to obey the commands given and results in rewards and the pleasing of the trainer.
We have all seen what some expert trainers can accomplish with various animals. There are various trials, competitions, performances, etc. where the dogs (or other animals) perform seemingly miraculous feats often at what appears to be absolutely no command by the trainer. Certain breeds of dogs are used in various types of competitions. We see some of them that can run faster, jump higher, turn and twist with precision, and even herd other animals.
No matter how marvelous these accomplishments are, at NO TIME does the nature of the dog(or other animal) change. They remain dogs, with all of the in-bred attributes, instincts, actions and reactions that particular type of dog has. As we have heard many times, a wild animal will ALWAYS BE a WILD animal. At no time will it change its nature. In fact, we are often told that we need to be very careful in dealing with these animals for given the right set of circumstances they will IMMEDIATELY revert to their normal behavior. For all of this training, all of this work, time, and even trust between animal and handler that does indeed develop, all that it amounts to is the trainer has controlled the behavior of the animal.
We can sit there watching these dogs accomplish these miraculous feats and at no time do we think about how we as humans are treated in a similar manner. We are taught as children to obey rules at home, in school, and eventually in society. We are taught there are prices that we must pay if we violate those rules. As children, we may learn that if we violate our parents rules we will be punished in some way. Today it is often verbal, but there are those that still subscribe to corporal punishment.
We are taught in subtle and actually quite often in not so subtle ways that violating the rules where we currently are will result in some form of negative reaction or results in our lives. Our parents may spank us or send us to our room; our teachers may make an example of us in front of the rest of the class, or worse, send us to the principal! Our classmates and friends may ignore or treat us in a manner that causes us to conform to their way of doing things, or worse we could end up being an outcast, which even that dreaded position has it own set of acceptable behaviors.
As we grow, we find that many of the negative results to violating the rules become harsher and more likely to deter us from violating those rules. There will always be those that violate them anyway, in fact, seem to take a specific joy from being a rebel in these areas. However, MOST people are not willing to pay the price of violating most of these rules. Oh there are acceptable violations that almost everyone does such as speeding a little, taking minor things from work home, perhaps lying occasionally, and other actions that though they are wrong, are more acceptable than extreme violations such as burglary and murder. These acceptable violations have become broader and more pronounced in more recent years. When I was young, when a commercial for bras came on TV, a fully clothed lady would hang the bra on her arm; then years later a lady with a flesh colored bodysuit would wear the bra; more recently we see women wearing or perhaps not wearing these undergarments, being very careful not to reveal themselves but pushing the limit as what America considers decent.
So there are acceptable behaviors and unacceptable behaviors. For the most part, the unacceptable behaviors are just acceptable behaviors pushed beyond the limits of what our society calls acceptable, as in the case of commercials I used above. We have a society that considers certain behaviors unacceptable and we are not supposed to act in that manner. However, this has NOT CHANGED THE INSIDE OF THE PEOPLE or THEIR HEARTS one bit.
The same is true in the modern Western Church. It is basically acceptable to gossip (to a point, for the purpose of prayer) to commit gluttony (at pot luck meals) to allow drunkards in the church (they need to be loved and understood so they will stop drinking) to even allow fornication and adultery (we need these talented people and we are so short of talent right now) in various ministerial groups in our congregations, for dont we all sin! (that lie has permeated the church so much that almost all say we are sinners who are saved instead of saints)
We have been TRAINED to behave certain ways. We control our behavior so that we do not exceed the acceptable level of sin. It has NOT changed our insides; our hearts have never been cleansed; we retain our sinful desires and lusts; we have NOT repented from our sin; we modify the way we act so that our behavior mimics the rules set forth in our particular branch of Christianity and we then claim we have been sanctified!
We follow a bunch of rules, commandments, laws, set down on paper and say we have been redeemed EVEN THOUGH our hearts have not ceased from desiring those same lusts those rules forbid! Please look at these verses.
Col 2:16 Therefore let no one sit in judgment on you in matters of food and drink, or with regard to a feast day or a New Moon or a Sabbath.
Col 2:17 Such [things] are only the shadow of things that are to come, and they have only a symbolic value. But the reality (the substance, the solid fact of what is foreshadowed, the body of it) belongs to Christ.
Col 2:18 Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit,
Col 2:19 And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
Col 2:20 If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world's crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?--such as]
Col 2:21 Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them],
Col 2:22 Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines. [Isa. 29:13.]
Col 2:23 Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.]
But LOOK at what Paul says just PRIOR TO THIS>>>>
Col 2:6 As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him.
Col 2:7 Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving.
Col 2:8 See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men's ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah).
Col 2:9 For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature].
Col 2:10 And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].
Col 2:11 In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a [spiritual] circumcision [performed by] Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts).
Any attempt on our part to comply with the commandments of scripture INCLUDING the 10 Commandments thinking we are obeying God or in someway pleasing Him by our actions is, of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.]
If we do not naturally, from our hearts, walk in obedience to the Lord, having no lusts in our hearts to sin, then all we are doing is CONTROLLING OUR BEHAVIOR no different than if we had trained some dog! Can we not see what Paul says above in Col 2:11? In Christ, we have BEEN CIRCUMCISED of our flesh, our WHOLE CORRUPT CARNAL NATURE with its passions and lusts!!!!
If that is true, then how can we still have those same lusts in our hearts? If we DO still have them, then no matter what we have been taught, no matter what we think, WE ARE NOT IN CHRIST JESUS and we are still in our sins!
If we believe we must follow some list of rules, some commandment, some LAW, that does not come directly out of our own heart, then we are no different than the Pharisees and our righteousness is just as good as theirs was, or should I say as BAD! What did Jesus say about the heart when referring to the Pharisees?
Mat 23:25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but within they are full of extortion (prey, spoil, plunder) and grasping self-indulgence.
Mat 23:26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may be clean also.
Mat 23:27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you are like tombs that have been whitewashed, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and everything impure.
Mat 23:28 Just so, you also outwardly seem to people to be just and upright but inside you are full of pretense and lawlessness and iniquity. [Ps. 5:9.]
Can we see what Jesus is saying? Is this description ANY DIFFERENT AT ALL from what is commonly practiced in modern Christianity? Are we willing to admit our failure to apprehend His life and way of living? Do we honestly believe we can have those self-indulgent and impure passions within our hearts and not receive the same judgment the Pharisees will receive? The Law, the 10 Commandments, those articles of faith, those creeds though in themselves are nothing evil, but when we attempt to conform our lives to them, our hearts, our lusts, our desires, are continually there with us and until we do allow the Lord to CLEANSE US of the whole corrupt carnal nature with its passions and lusts, our righteousness is no different than that of those same Pharisees Jesus pronounced all of those woes upon.
MANY people look at the scriptures using their own intellect and decide for themselves what is good and what is evil. They determine that if we follow Gods Laws than it is good. They have fallen into the very same trap the Pharisees were in; eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were NOT LED by the Holy Spirit they were led by their OWN understanding of what they THINK the scriptures say.
But I ask any person reading these words>>>Where in the New Testament are we told that whoever obeys the scriptures, is led by the Bible, or in any other way has their behavior conditioned or controlled or modified by a book that they are the children of God? In fact, are we NOT TOLD that whoever is LED by the HOLY SPIRIT, NOT some book, NOT EVEN THE BIBLE, is a child of God? This idea of being led by the Holy Spirit goes against the grain of all of those who lead lives of some form of legalism; once again, no different than the Pharisees.
Please do NOT think I am putting down the Bible, it is through the scriptures that we are taught BY THE HOLY SPIRIT the TRUTH of the Lord. But as long as we are the ones who determining what the Bible says, what we are to, how we are to control our behavior, it is exactly that OUR OWN DOING, not the power of God working in our lives. The kind of life we see portrayed in Col 2:11 is one where the old man, the flesh, the corrupt, carnal nature has been actually put to death and REMOVED from the very heart of the true believer. There is no more corruption within the heart to lust after or desire things that are not in agreement with the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ who now lives within us. From this point on the Christian will now NATURALLY perform the commands of the Lord without having a list of rules to follow; we need not try to obey the Lord or conform our behavior to exclude those things that God calls sin for the very life of Jesus Christ will then live through the life of the believer.
Gal 2:19 For I through the Law [under the operation of the curse of the Law] have [in Christ's death for me] myself died to the Law and all the Law's demands upon me, so that I may [henceforth] live to and for God.
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Rom 2:12 All who have sinned without the Law will also perish without [regard to] the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged and condemned by the Law.
Rom 2:13 For it is not merely hearing the Law [read] that makes one righteous before God, but it is the doers of the Law who will be held guiltless and acquitted and justified.
Rom 2:14 When Gentiles who have not the [divine] Law do instinctively what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, since they do not have the Law.
Rom 2:15 They show that the essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts and are operating there, with which their consciences (sense of right and wrong) also bear witness; and their [moral] decisions (their arguments of reason, their condemning or approving thoughts) will accuse or perhaps defend and excuse [them]
Let me use a personal example to help convey the idea of the LAW being written on our hearts. This is not for the purpose of lifting myself up, but only to be used to illustrate my point.
My wife has had recent pelvic pain, at times debilitating. We are in the process of moving and we have been packing and cleaning. She decided to remove the curtains we had put up and clean the windows. Now whether or not anyone understands this, my wife actually enjoys cleaning windows. But today, due to her condition, she needed help in removing the screens and various other things. So, as soon as she asked me to remove a screen, I stopped doing what I had been doing and helped her exclusively to finish all the windows. In fact, I did far more than she had originally asked not because I felt it was the thing to do, not because I was considering Ephesians 5 or any other scripture. NO. I love my wife and am naturally willing to lay down my life for her. The Holy Spirit has so changed me on the inside that I do not even consciously think about obeying this or any other scripture, conforming to some rule, or anything else. I just naturally want to love my wife, care for her, nurture her, do what I can to make things better for her. There is no conscious decision to obey some scripture but rather the LOVE of Christ is so written on my heart that my normal action and reaction is to obey the Lord no different than a bird flies or a fish swims. It is their nature to fly and swim and it is my nature to love my wife as Christ loved the Church!
NO RULE, NO COMMAND, NO LAW, NO WRITTEN ORDINANCE, NO BOOK has told me to live in this manner. NO! It is written on my heart by the Holy Spirit, it does NOT come out of a book.
In the same way, if we must look at scripture to regulate the way we behave; if we must look to a list of rules NO MATTER THEIR ORIGIN that Command us to behave in a specific way; if there is some external Law outside of our own heart that we use to control the way we live, then all we have done is become trained monkeys! Our natures have NOT been changed but our behavior has been modified to an acceptable form in our specific circumstance. Our righteousness is the same as the Pharisees and we will in no way see the Kingdom of God!
We are to be constrained by the HOLY SPIRIT, not by our idea of what is acceptable behavior in our particular circumstances. We are to HATE SIN as Jesus hated sin. But if this hatred does not blossom naturally from our hearts, then we have NOT had our carnal nature put to death. No amount of legislation should be necessary to those who are in Christ Jesus. If we need a LAW of ANY KIND in order to modify our behavior, then our hearts have NOT been changed and II Cor 5:17 is NOT real in our lives.
There are many things we could discuss about this deep spiritual truth. However if we find ourselves becoming angry, upset, unbelieving this to be true, or in any way attempting to disprove or justify our continued unsanctified, corrupt, carnal heart, then not only are we fighting against the truth of the scriptures, but we have yet to come over to the Lords side and totally submit ourselves to Him. I am not necessarily speaking of salvation, but IF we do not allow the Lord to circumcise our hearts in such a manner that the corrupt, carnal nature with ALL of its passions, appetites and desires to the point of death, then we may eventually find ourselves truly apostate, at enmity with God Himself.
Please do not argue with me, I am just presenting the scriptures. In order for there to be a TRUE DOCTRINE, it MUST be in agreement with ALL verses that deal with that particular subject. The above idea of controlled behavior is one that is not only prevalent in scripture, but is rampant in Christianity today. In the case of the Bible, it totally rejects any possible form of controlled behavior as being acceptable to God because it has its origin in man. In the case of Christianity today, the vast majority of those who claim Christ either have never truly received Him or have been taught so poorly they teeter of the edge of an abyss that could easily result in eternal damnation.
Mat 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness (your uprightness and your right standing with God) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Pharisees and scribes had a righteousness that appeared good to man but was rejected by God. Why? because it was an OUTWARD righteousness, one of BEHAVIOR but NOT of the heart. The ONLY way to have a righteousness that is greater than the Pharisees is to have one that is TRULY of the Heart. But remember this, as Jesus said, IF the inside is cleansed, the outside will be clean as well! No amount of behavioral control will ever amount to any type of spirituality in Christ Jesus. It is a trap and a deception to the reality that is found in Christ Jesus. Therefore any who claim to have had their heart cleansed by Christ WILL ALSO WALK IN RIGHTEOUSNESS JUST AS JESUS WALKED WHILE HE WAS ON THIS EARTH! If they routinely fall, habitually sin, or in any way do not walk in love and humility, then their hearts have NOT been cleansed as this time!
Please do not attempt to justify any form of following a rule, Law, Command, or any written ordinance. These are deceptions to our own selves and in reality only give indulgence to the flesh, causing it to grow stronger and stronger until it overwhelms the soul! Only one who is led, taught, and constrained by the Holy Spirit will truly understand these things. Others will find themselves speaking against His truth of the reality that is found by faith in Christ Jesus. This life ONLY comes about by faith; faith in and through Christ Jesus, repentance from sin, faith toward God, and absolute surrender of the whole being to Him who brings life to all who will call upon His name.
A bondslave in Christ Jesus, Dirk
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