This episode applies the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to sanctification, which rests on the historical fact that "the old self was crucified with Christ." (Romans 6:6) The result, the verse concludes, is "that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin." All sanctification rests on this fact, so believers do well to KNOW this and subsequently CONSIDER themselves "dead to sin, but alive to Christ. (Romans 6:11). "Knowing" which goes on to "Considering" is the process of applying the death, burial, and resurrection to our new life in Christ. The episode emphasizes that this new life in Christ is not automatic. Christians must do the work of knowing and considering to benefit from the historical fact that our old self was crucified with Christ. The result, that "the body of sin MIGHT be done away with," largely depends on Christian identification and application of this fact. This "already/not yet" dynamic largely explains why many believers are still, to some extent, slaves to sin.
Identify with the Costs as Well as the Benefits
This episode applies the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to sanctification, specifically how we gain the victory over sin. Romans 6:7 states that our old self was crucified with Christ, in order that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Victory over sin begins with identification with the historical fact that our old self was crucified with Christ, and the result is that we are no longer slaves to sin. The key variable linking this historical fact with liberation from sin is the degree we identify with Christ's death, burial and resurrection. The goal, that "the body of sin might be done away with," largely depends on our active application of the death of Christ to our own sin. And the application of the resurrection, as we learn in later episodes, is that we rise to the newness of life. So before we naturally identify with the resurrection of Christ, we should also readily identify with Christ's death, which energizes us to mortify the flesh.
The Flesh Profits Nothing
This episode emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in weaning believers off their natural dependence on the flesh. Christ said that "the flesh profits nothing." (John 15:5) The prerequisite to embracing the power of the resurrected Christ is thorough conviction that the flesh cannot please God and is utterly inadequate in fulfilling the great commandments. The Holy Spirit is the indispensable helper Who enables us to keep God's statutes, AFTER convicting us of the bankruptcy of the flesh to accomplish any good. This sanctifying work of the Spirit helps us unite with Christ in the likeness of His death, abandoning all hope in the flesh, and then invites us to identify with Christ in His resurrection, so we might walk in the newness of life.
“Are You Dying to Live?”
Application of the resurrection of Christ to everyday life is largely contingent on acknowledging the depth of spiritual death that dominates the flesh. New Christians typically see sin mostly as outward manifestations, without appreciating the depth of spiritual depravity that warps the soul. The work of sanctification is designed to expose the futility of the flesh in accomplishing any genuinely "good" thing. Ideally the recognition that "the flesh profits nothing" leads the believer to completely rest on Christ till His power is manifested. So while we all naturally want to identify with the resurrection of Christ, the presumptive precondition of spiritual life is in fact acknowledgment of spiritual death. Intimate acquaintance with our own spiritual poverty opens us up to resurrection power that strengthens us to walk in the newness of life.
Get a Life
Coming mostly from Romans 6:4-6, this initial episode affirms that Christ is the model for sanctification, and the natural application of the resurrection of Christ to everyday life is the vigilant pursuit of His life. Identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ leads to walking "in the newness of life." While the passage mostly addresses the Christian hope of physical resurrection, our future resurrection is foreshadowed by regeneration and subsequent embrace of the life of Christ. Sanctification largely corresponds to the realization that "the flesh profits nothing" (John 6:63) and needs to die--hence we unite ourselves to Christ in the likeness of His death. This self-mortification clears the way for the life of Christ to become more prevalent, as we progressively walk more and more in the newness of life.
“The Sound of ‘One Hand Clapping’ Doesn’t Sound like Salvation”
This episode begins with the provocative question: "can you put on the breastplate of righteousness and ignore the helmet of salvation?" The answer provided by Paul is a resounding NO. The breastplate of righteousness corresponds with the imputed righteousness of Christ, based on the double-transfer of 2 Cor. 5:21. The helmet of salvation implies the transformation of mind that progressively thinks more and more like Christ. The breastplate of righteousness principally addresses the PENALTY of sin, while the helmet of salvation points to the POWER of sin being broken, as believers put on the mind of Christ. Paul presents a holistic picture of salvation in Romans 8:1-6, in which both the penalty and power of sin are part of the salvation package. The episode notes that 4 of the first 6 verses begin with "for," alerting the reader that the entire passage is one thought. The primary thought is Romans 8:2, the optimistic resolution of the flesh/spirit conflict of Romans 7:14-25: "the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the Law of sin and death." So the focus of Paul's argument is that the power of sin has been broken in salvation. Verses 3 and 4 undergird this fact. Sin-debt is paid in the substitutionary debt of Christ and, with the penalty paid, the requirement of the Law is fulfilled in those who are "in Christ," who now live a life according to the Spirit. The evidence that one has received the imputed righteousness of Christ is the mind set on the Spirit. The proof that one wears the breastplate of righteousness is that he ALSO dons the helmet of salvation. The episode concludes with a challenge to all to assess their understanding of salvation and modify it as needed, based on Paul's holistic description given in Romans 8:1-6.
Liberated to Think Spiritual Thoughts
This episode spells out the application of the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation, using Romans 8:3-4. The first deals with our hopeless position apart from Christ. God judged all of our sins in the flesh of Christ, while he accounts us righteous based on the righteousness of Christ. This breastplate of righteousness makes us POSITIONALLY perfect before God. The helmet of salvation principally addresses our thought life. As we identify with our perfect position in Christ, God works on our CONDITION, replacing bad thinking with the mind set on the Spirit. Sanctification, the process by which the Holy Spirit conforms our CONDITION to our POSITION, utilizes both the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation. The episode highlights the substitutionary death of Christ and warns against a nonchalant view of Christ's sacrifice or a "Christ-and-penance" view of justification.
God Won’t Fit in Your Comfort Box
This final episode merges the lessons of affliction learned by the psalmist with the role of discipline spelled out in Hebrews 12:4-13. Affliction/discipline are the divinely sanctioned means of conforming believers into the image of Christ. Just as the psalmist didn't wholeheartedly follow God and His Law without affliction, so Christians don't surrender fully to the Lordship of Christ without discipline and affliction. The results, according to Hebrews 12:10-11, are very consequential: sharing in God's holiness as we enjoy the "peaceful fruit of righteousness." This is the New Testament equivalent to the psalmist's plea that God establish his ways to keep God's statutes. (Psalm 119:5) So when Christians affirm their desire to be like Christ (establish their ways), they shouldn't be surprised when God answers through affliction.
Don’t Despise the Divine Whipping
Psalm 119:75 states "in faithfulness You have afflicted me." This odd statement by the psalmist makes sense because the psalmist, like all sinners, didn't naturally obey God's law and was prone to going the wrong direction. Put together with the psalmist's previous comment, that before he was afflicted, he went astray (Psalm 119:67), God demonstrates His love and faithfulness by afflicting the psalmist to correct the error of his destructive ways. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is destruction." (Proverbs 14:12) This dynamic certainly applies to believers, who though they are regenerate children of God, they nevertheless require periodic scourging to discipline their unruly flesh. "He scourges every son whom he receives." (Hebrews 12:6) The net effect of affliction should be practical holiness, the keeping of God's Law. "He disciplines us for our good that we might share in His holiness." (Hebrews 12:10) So the psalmist declared, "before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word."
Affliction Leading to Awe of God and His Law
This episode takes the central theme of Psalm 119, "oh that my ways may be established to keep your statutes," and applies it to Christian sanctification. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit conforming us into the image of Christ: He gradually conforms our condition with our perfect position in Christ. With respect to the believer's attitude and obedience to the Law, the Holy Spirit cultivates the inner delight of God's law in the inner man (Romans 7:22), making it the governing disposition of the soul, where we love God (and His Law) with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Psalm 119 describes affliction as one of the means God uses to force the issue of holistic delight in God's Law. Similarly, the Holy Spirit orchestrates affliction to push the urgency of sanctification, hopefully leading to a more exhaustive embrace of God and His Law. God intends that affliction graduate the believer from simply parroting God's Law into apprehending the "why" of God's Law, leading to delight.