The episode incorporates the stages of Christian growth present in 1 John 2: 12-14 into the discussion on the beatific vision. Experiential knowledge of God, as opposed to mere cerebral knowledge of God, stands out as the defining characteristic of spiritually mature believers. In essence, they have taken the Word of God and applied it to everyday life. They experience God as real and trustworthy. Well this experiential knowledge is naturally related to degrees of the beatific vision. As we are transformed by applying the Word of God, we gain more insight into Who God is, His character, and the way He works in our lives.
Master the “milk”…or backslide
This episode expands on the theme that Christians at a certain point should be able to teach the basics to others. If they're not, then they are on the equivalent of spiritual "welfare." Consumption of "milk" without putting the Word into practice characterizes their Christian experience, and spiritual growth is put on hold indefinitely, as they are "dull in hearing." All Christians are expected to grown in maturity into the stage of young men and women who, according to 1 John 2:12-14, have victory over the enemy because they put into practice the Word of God which abides in them. Serving the living God rests on knowledge of the Word of God and mastery of "milk," the foundational principles of the Christian faith (Hebrews 6:1-2)
Cleansed to Serve
This episode challenges believers to become God-obsessed and not sin-obsessed. Since the ultimate objective of the forgiveness of sin is heartfelt, unimpeded service to God, believers err when they make salvation mostly about getting the victory over sin. While this is a noble objective, it should not be the ultimate objective. According to Heb 9:13, the blood of Christ has cleansed our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Forgiveness is the foundation of peace that allows us to serve God more fully. The author of Hebrews even notes that no worshiper in the Old Testament had a totally clean conscience (Heb 9:9), and subsequent service to God was always tinged with sin. But New Testament believers now have a cleansed conscience, and this allows them to serve God more completely. When the ultimate objective of the Christian life becomes service to God, repentance is more readily embraced as the ongoing practice of the believer.
Forgiven to Serve
This episode marks a major transition in the series as we focus on the primary objective of repentance from dead works, which according to Hebrews 9:14, is "to serve the living God." The purpose of salvation is not simply the forgiveness of sins. Initial repentance and faith in Christ results in the forgiveness of sins, but this is really the necessary precondition to effectively serving God. Once forgiven, "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1) Now we can run the Christian race, which is not about forgiveness, but finds service to the living God as the ultimate objective.
The Word reveals, we choose LIfe or Death
The Word of God reveals carnality and exposes the believer to sinfulness in both intention and action (Heb 4:12). This episode presents the either/or option that all of have when the Word of God exposes carnality in our lives. We can either receive the Lord's correction, repent, and grow closer in our relationship with the Lord, or we ignore his voice and harden our hearts. If we choose the latter, we should read the Scripture anyway, knowing that a revelation of God's gracious character can lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4)
Repentance from the Old Self
This episode contains my personal testimony of the futility of merely repenting from transgressions without repenting, turning away from the old sinful self. Many Christians see their salvation experience primarily in terms of resolution of sin-debt, without dealing with the primary culprit: the old self, the flesh. Sanctification is so designed to bring every believer to abandon hope of living the Christian life in their own flesh. This repentance from the old self (the full expression of repentance from dead works) lays the foundation for life in the spirit.
Repent of everything, especially the old self
This episode highlights the necessity of repenting from dead works in its fullest sense: we repent of transgressions AND we abandon hope in the flesh itself, specifically its ability to live the Christian life. If we don't embrace this holistic approach to repentance, we likely fall into the Galatian error, which is living the Christian life in the power of the flesh. Based on this all-encompassing repentance, we make progress in sanctification by identifying with the circumcision of Christ (the cutting away of the flesh) and the death of the old self on the cross, based on Romans 6:7. Holistic repentance from dead works makes sanctification possible.
Biblical repentance goes deeper than you might think
This episode goes deeper into the depth of spiritual death in which all mankind participates. Spiritual death does not simply refer to outward transgressions, but also describes the spiritual state of the inner man that produced them. Paul says in Colossians 2:13 that we were "dead in our trespasses AND the uncircumcision of our flesh," indicating that spiritual death is descriptive of both the acts themselves (dead works) and the one who is uncircumcised in the flesh. So when one repents of dead works, he also has a change of mind about the self that produced them characterized by death. The solution to spiritual deadness is the circumcision of Christ, the supernatural cutting away of the flesh in regeneration.