Austin Bible Church
The Christian way of life is generally misunderstood and is the subject of much confusion today. Results of living the Christian life are confused with the means. Spirituality is generally not distinguished from morality or the Mosaic Law.
In the Christian way of life, as set forth in the Epistles, the believer is not under the Mosaic Law, but when they are controlled by the Holy Spirit, they fulfill the righteousness demanded by the Mosaic law, producing divine good and thus glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Christian way of life is the believer consistently learning Bible doctrine using the grace apparatus for perception to arrive at spiritual maturity. The resultant erection of the edification complex of the soul reflects the glory of God. See category on the Grace Apparatus For Perception.
Production
Nothing in the Christian life can count before God and for eternity apart from a clear understanding and application (gnosis to epignosis) of Bible doctrine. This involves the understanding of scar tissue, the edification complex, the grace apparatus for perception, and the Angelic Conflict doctrines. All are related to the main category of Spirituality.
The Christian way of life is higher than morality and the taboos of human life. It is a supernatural way of life executed by God the Holy Spirit in and through the believer while in fellowship (filled with the Holy Spirit). The Christian way of life is lived a moment at a time, even as you walk only a step at a time, but it progresses steadily as you grow in grace and knowledge (epignosis) of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All actions begin in the mind, therefore mental attitudes become the key to all actions of the believer. What you think can get you out of fellowship. We are what we think and this is not always evident on the outside. Every thought in life is either one of divine viewpoint (what the Word says) or human viewpoint. Isaiah 55:8-9.
““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9, NASB)
Divine viewpoint in the believer’s soul is only possible through the filling the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:5, “set their minds” refers to thinking. They keep on thinking divine viewpoint.
“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5, NASB)
Control of the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit which is a description of the correct thought pattern in the Christian way of life. Also, divine good is produced by the application of Bible doctrine based on the epignosis Bible doctrine in the right lobe of the soul that forms the edification complex. Gal. 5:22-23.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23, NASB)
The formula for the Christian way of life is a communicator of Bible doctrine being filled with the Holy Spirit communicates Bible doctrine to those in the congregation of a local church. This teaching in a public assembly emphasizing faith-transfer by the use of the grace apparatus for perception whereby gnosis doctrine is transferred by the Holy Spirit to the right lobe of the soul as epignosis Bible doctrine via the power of the Holy Spirit. This believed Bible doctrine forms the edification structure of the soul resulting in spiritual growth.
Purpose
God has a purpose for every believer. God is perfect. His plan is perfect. Therefore, the plan of God operates on grace and includes all believers. God is free to love all believers and be consistent with His own holiness. Every believer represents Christ on earth, full time.
Experiential Doctrines
Roll with the punch. Lean on the Lord and trust Him under difficulty, trial, adversity and pressure. Rom. 8:28.
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NASB)
Don’t be anxious about anything. Phil. 4:6-7.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, NASB)
Use confession of sin often. 1 John 1:9.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, NASB)
Use faith-rest in claiming the promises of God. 2 Cor. 5:7.
“for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NASB)
Keep moving in the spiritual life. Gal. 5:15-16.
“But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:15-16, NASB)
Traits of a self-centered life include; 1) the secret spirit of pride and the feeling of self-importance, 2) love of human praise and a secret fondness of being noticed and drawing attention to one’s self, 3) impatience and anger, and 4) a touchy, sensitive disposition to resent reproof. Prov. 6:16-19.
“There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19, NASB)
Traits of self-will include being stubborn, unteachable, argumentative, peevish, critical, finding flaws in others, speaking of other’s faults and magnifying one’s own virtues, discouragement, despondency, apathy, indifference and lack of concern for others.
Experiential Doctrines in Galatians 6
Restoring another believer is found in Galatians 6:1. This passage is addressed to believers. If another believer is out of fellowship, the spiritual believer is to carefully encourage them by conveying Bible doctrine at the right time and in the right tone.
“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1, NASB)
1 Corinthians 1:10 tells us to not have divisions among believers, but to be of the same mind – the mind of Christ. 1 Cor. 2:16; 2 Cor. 13:11; 1 Thess. 3:10; 1 Peter 5:10.
“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Corinthians 1:10, NASB)
“For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16, NASB)
“Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11, NASB)
“as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?” (1 Thessalonians 3:10, NASB)
“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10, NASB)
The attitude of restoration includes consideration of the source – the old sin nature. God deals with us in grace. We are to encourage other believers to have fellowship with other believers. If needed, we are to tell them about 1 John 1:9. The Holy Spirit makes us aware of Bible doctrine. The problem of the troubled believer is shown in Galatians 6:2.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, NASB)
“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2, NASB)
We are to keep bearing one another’s burdens and so fulfill the Law of Jesus Christ - the filling of the Holy Spirit. We are to help bear the burdens of others as well as our own. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to then cast all of them on the Lord and let Him handle them in grace.
“casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7, NASB)
The problem of self-deception is presented in Galatians 6:3-4. We are not to think too highly of ourselves as this is self-deception. We are to examine our own production is light of the Word, not that of others.
“For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.” (Galatians 6:3-4, NASB)
The responsibility after confession of sin to God the Father is to carry your own responsibility before the Lord, representing Him as an ambassador. Gal. 6:5.
“For each one will bear his own load.” (Galatians 6:5, NASB)
Fellowship is only possible after confession of sin. We are instructed to share with other believers the Bible doctrine we have been taught, in unconditional love. Gal. 6:6.
“The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.” (Galatians 6:6, NASB)
There may be adverse effects from your sins even after confession of sin according to Galatians 6:7-8.
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8, NASB)
Galatians 6:9-10 teaches about grace after confession of sin. We are to just keep on moving!
“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” (Galatians 6:9-10, NASB)
Techniques in The Christian Life
God has provided for every believer in the Church Age which is absolutely unique. Never have believers in the history of the human race had so much with which to do so much. There are five techniques available to us in the Christian way of life and are mechanics whereby doctrine is translated into your experience. Usage of these techniques causes you to glorify God and produce for Him a basis of divine good production in the Christian life.
Technique #1 - confessing sin biblically. This is 1 John 1:9 consistently used. This repairs the damage of carnality and neutralizes the effects of human good. This is the only biblical means of getting back into fellowship with God.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, NASB)
Technique #2 – the filling of the Holy Spirit. You are filled with the Holy Spirit only after you have confessed known sins to God the Father. Then, the Holy Spirit controls your soul and produces divine good through you. Knowing you are in fellowship produces confidence in the Christian life.
Technique #3 - faith-rest. This is knowing, believing, and applying the promises and doctrines to the situations, decisions and difficulties in life. Confidence is developed by perpetuation of faith-rest into all sorts of circumstances.
Technique #4 - occupation with Christ. This results in thinking divine viewpoint as a habit of your life. It is also the result of confidence being thoroughly developed by perpetuation of faith-rest. It results in doctrine being your life with everything else being merely a detail. Heb. 12:2.
“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2, NASB)
Technique #5 - living in the Word. This is studying, knowing and using the Word. It is a spring-board from which we move into spiritual maturity and a completed edification complex in the soul. Isaiah 33:6; Psalms 138:2.
“And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure.” (Isaiah 33:6, NASB)
“I will bow down toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.” (Psalms 138:2, NASB)
Old Testament believers had only three techniques available to them – confession of sin, faith-rest, and occupation with Christ. In the Church Age, two more techniques were added – the filling of the Holy Spirit and living in the Word from the completed Canon of Scripture - 66 books.
Doctrinal Vocabulary
Living the Christian way of life has an initial challenge for the believer. The Christian way of life is a mental attitude. Correct mental attitude comes through the filling of the Holy Spirit and knowledge of Bible doctrine. To think, you must have words to complete thoughts called a vocabulary.
One of the by-products of the Christian way of life is the development and learning of Bible doctrine, consisting of a vocabulary to hang your thinking upon. Within this vocabulary are numerous categories which organize and systematize your vocabulary. A category is a vocabulary which is built around a point of doctrine. Every point of doctrine has nomenclature for a title. You can never think beyond your vocabulary. If your vocabulary is small, you have a limited field of thinking.
When the Holy Spirit teaches the human spirit, you develop a new vocabulary causing your thinking to expand and develop resulting in discernment and stimulation. You then have orientation in life. If you grow in the Christian way of life, you do not need to have any kind of inferiority complex because of a lack of academic education.
You are no longer handicapped by your lack of talent, personality, education, or anything that is considered to be a human handicap. You understand on the basis of the grace apparatus for perception, not on the basis of human ability, talent, or intellect. The grace apparatus for perception includes the Canon of Scripture, the local church, the pastor-teacher, the priesthood of the believer, confession of sin biblically, the resultant filling of the Holy Spirit, the mentality of the soul (the mind), the human spirit, and the application of epignosis Bible doctrine to life’s situations and decisions.
The right lobe of the soul is the storage area for epignosis Bible doctrine. It stores the Word of God systematically. 1 Cor. 2:16.
“For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16, NASB)
Pressure situations require thinking doctrine, which requires divine vocabulary, categories, etc. The doctrine of vocabulary is first used by Adam in naming the animals in Genesis 2:19. Adam had to use vocabulary to intelligently name all the animals. Among all the animals, he found none that he could name “Woman.” This proves that man is not an animal and did not evolve from a lower form of life. The Woman was not named Eve until after the fall. The name Eve means eternal life.
“Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.” (Genesis 2:19, NASB)
Benefits of The Christian Life
Why do we quote biblical promises like Hebrews 4:12 and 2 Timothy 2:15? The pastor-teacher is always claiming God’s promises for their worship services: 1) that the Word might do the work there is to be done and 2) believers will be built up in the faith by Bible study.
"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12, NASB)
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, NASB)
The basic reason a local church exists is to teach and explain Bible doctrine so that the believers in the congregation will be able to apply the Word of God to experience. The local church is not a lonely hearts club or a place to come and look pious, or to promote an Easter parade, or a program of some type. The local church exists for the dissemination of the Word of God and that alone.
Yet people have gone to church for years and often know next to nothing about the Bible. They do not have a working knowledge of salvation, or how to claim the promises of God, or how to confess sin biblically, or how to live in the Word. They do not understand spirituality, spiritual growth and maturity, or understand thinking divine viewpoint, or the difference between human good and divine good. They do not have a working knowledge of the pattern of the old sin nature, or the chronology of God’s plan, or how to take all these things and make them workable in everyday life.
The cookies must be put on the lower shelf where we can eat them! Romans 5 gives some of the benefits of becoming a Christian. The first benefit is peace. The second benefit is access into His grace. The third benefit is confident hope. Rom. 5:2-5.
"through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:2-5, NASB)
Hope is a word for eternity. Eternity is the believer after death or the Rapture (whichever comes first) with Christ in eternity. The faith-rest life dovetails into the hope of eternity, a new resurrection body, heaven and so on. See the category on Eternity.
Content of our hope is a resurrection body. At physical death, we will be absent from the body and face-to-face with the Lord. Phil. 3:21; 2 Cor. 5:8.
"who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." (Philippians 3:21, NASB)
"we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:8, NASB)
This is our confidence that we will have perfect happiness and an eternal home as our inheritance in Jesus Christ. Rev. 21:4; 1 Peter 1:4-5; John 14:1-3.
"and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."" (Revelation 21:4, NASB)
"to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:4-5, NASB)
""Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3, NASB)