The Conviction of Things Hoped For

When I first grasped freedom from the law or what I interpret it to be, I was left no longer knowing right from wrong. Should I murder? God opened the earth and swallowed up 250,000 in one shot. He marched them around the desert until they were all dead. Should I commit adultery? Well David had Bathsheba's husband killed by devious means then took her. He was the epoch King David whom God loved. They begat Solomon who built God's temple; the wisest man who ever lived. Should I steal? Jacob stole Esau's blessing and inherited the lineage to Christ. While this did not inspire me to follow their actions, I did dump my preconceptions of what was right and wrong. I did so because the revelation of freedom from the law had locked down in me and my previous alignment was no longer valid. So I believe our life is to be one of abiding in the Spirit not an orientation to right/wrong. We may think we know the difference between right and wrong but we really can't. I don't think Cain knew shit other than he was pissed. He bashed Abel's head in but there were no rules, no laws, no police. He even displays the attitude. I mean he's talking to God and says stop bugging me, who appointed me the caretaker of Abel. No indication he's bothered one iota.

I think that's what Paul's talking about in Roman 7:21 "So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand". The life of a Christian is not about thinking what's right or wrong. Our orientation should be other than that. There's a whole lot in the New Testament about abiding in him. I think that's more the vein of our relationship than any laws or rules.

I think of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil as a tree of self consciousness. The first thing that happened was they realized they were naked. Is that a good or evil thing? Before they ate, they didn't know naked from not naked. Prior to that they depended on God for everything because they were innocent. And I think that's the way it's supposed to be. We need to have a childlike relationship with God because really, we don't know anything. The real nature of sin is to say “Hey I’m naked, I better cover up”… cuts God right out of the picture. And what we do know is just shit. Knowledge will pass away!! I kind of Spiritually wandered around at first, walking into a few walls but began to read the Bible in earnest and found the attitudes and actions of the people in the New Testament a guiding light to who I am. I read Matthew one night from start to finish and could feel the dust on my face from the roads in Jerusalem. I believe the Spirit tuned my soul into the realities being described and made them mine. I came away, not remembering a single verse, couldn't quote you a single passage, but I had been there and remembered the tones and attitudes of Jesus and his followers. I also read Luke and the sequel Act's over two nights; same impact. When they began to sing in the prisons after being beaten I had chills run up and down me for minutes (as they are now) Who are these men? What makes them this way? The resurrected Jesus. So that (he)became my guide. Not the individual verses, which are important in defending the faith (apologetics) but the overwhelming tone and character that falls off the pages.

I don't think this would have happened if I had not been engaged by freedom. I would have had answers to my direction question. In fact, it never would have come up. I would have had a guide. Because I was at a huge loss, disposing of my prior determinator of correct behaviour, I was left with a vacuum that needed filling. And fill it he did. One of my favourite verses is Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." So through the renewal of my mind and me being obedient to that reality, I will find what the will of God is. When I found I wanted to tell someone about Jesus that became my new reality. If this is my new mind I better live in accord with it. So I told them. It was hard but it was also synchronized with what I truly wanted to do. Same on the subways or with people who gave me rides. Satan would try to attack constantly saying this or that to make it difficult to sort out what I wanted to do but I plodded on praising Jesus and praying to live in accord with my new mind. So it was a struggle but I began to find myself. Without freedom, I wouldn't have looked at things this way. Interpreting what I wanted to do was actually from the Spirit. And this ended up becoming my life. That's why the stories of the New Testament come to my mind so readily because my life is shaped by the attitudes they display. This whole way of thinking is not compatible with rules or right/wrong. What's right is Jesus and what's wrong is Satan. The religious leaders of the day thought Jesus was Satan for exactly what he said and did so the law is not a revealer of God.

If our contexts were the same then I don't think we'd still be hashing this out. Everyone does things that they know are wrong but that's not in the context that Paul writes of in Hebrews. In one sense this validates my points. If Paul is referring to your behaviour, and everyone else's for that matter, then you're all fucked. But is he really referring to you? Doesn't Jesus forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness? But Paul is saying "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins". The New Testament story is God reaching out to us so that we might believe in him and have everlasting life. The key here is the context, and it is unique. It is critical what Paul means by "sin deliberately" and "knowledge of the truth". They are the ying and yang of this passage. The deliberateness is a byproduct of the knowledge. The degree of the knowledge determines the required deliberateness to go against it.

"Forgive them for they know not what they do" Did they really not know what they were doing? They knew Jesus worked miracles, knew people held him to be a prophet, never hurt anyone, claimed to be God, yet here they were nailing him to his certain death. So Jesus doesn't assess them as knowing what they were doing yet on some level they certainly did. I think Paul is talking about a Spiritual knowing and Jesus is talking about a carnal knowing what you're doing. To the spiritual, a carnal knowing what you're doing is an antithesis. Without the Spirit, you just flat out don't know what you're doing. You may have a long list of right & wrongs and some type of religious connection to them but that's is not what Paul is addressing. That kind of, what I will call minor law breaking, is what Jesus died to forgive. When you receive the Spirit, only then do you have an opportunity to know what's going on. Although you don't think I can know this, most Christians are clueless and I think Jesus' forgiveness applies equally to them (as to those who crucified him) because they still don't know. There are a number of people who do know, and know that they know. And Paul appropriately describes the transgression as "throwing away your confidence" (v35) It is rejecting something/someone you are confident about.

And if you haven't recognized it, I am confident. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. It's not a namby pamby "I believe". It's a "this is f'n real, period". I have zero doubt about the reality of Jesus and his resurrection. I am still open to facts and evidence but still have zero doubt. The facts and information are part of the faith road (Jesus came to earth to provide evidence) but the Spirit can/will confirm truths in you which changes it to "the truth" rather than an accurate historical record. So Paul is referring to guys like me, who have confidence that can be thrown away. Thus the dark side looms, in the sense that I could throw my confidence away. I don't know what would cause this, perhaps some combination of sex, money, power, torture, imprisonment but I can't imagine it at this point. What would be the point of me denying anything I know? But every situation that involves another human being brings the potential of Satan's power into my life. Every thought is to be taken captive to obey my mind of Christ.

As to an objective validation whether I have the mind of Christ I can offer a few things. Your statement that “I justify all my thoughts and actions with faith that I have the mind of Christ” is not how it is in me. I do not have faith that I have the mind of Christ. I have a mind. Not my Spirit, not my body, but my mind, which is part of my soul. I know what I think. I can compare it to what Jesus, Paul and the disciples thought. On that front my mind pretty much mirrors the New Testament mentality. And Wycliffe, along with the other TST Colleges, pretty much attempted to obliterate my interpretations from my mind. I accept the Creation (6000 yrs ago), evolution is a doctrine of demons, the resurrection is a real event etc. All that I write is supported by the Bible. The supporting passages follow my initial writings, meaning the thoughts are first and references later. My thoughts make sense of all the New Testament and passages that I once hated (who are you a man to answer back to God) I delight in. At work people like my form of management because it's just, not fair. I don't always tell "the truth" but neither id Jesus in that narrow sense. It depends on who’s asking and why they're asking. He did what he wanted and was God. (told them he wasn't going to the wedding but went anyway) So I compare and check to see if I'm him.I read your concern but you must see I do not share it. As you can read I don't worry about whether my thoughts and actions are pure as Christ. I'm not sure how you'd even do that. And here's where there's a very big difference. At this point I would choke on saying "I can't believe that I have the mind of Christ". That is in my wheelhouse. Not only would I choke but I would definitely be tossing out some confidence, so to speak. I can't - not - say I have the mind of Christ. I must say it. Not because I believe it's true, or hope it's true, or like the sound of it, but because it is true. God has sent the Holy Spirit into me, at my request, to manifest Jesus in me. Some of that work is done and to whatever degree that is, I have the mind of Christ. From my view it's 100%, to Christ it might be a different number, but Jesus will have to show me and I’ll have to be open to see it. I could site numerous passages but I think you'd agree it's a totally warranted position. (1 Corinthians 2:16 to say the least)

You don't mention the Spirit, Soul, Body issue; very significant in my mind. It's the resolution of this type of issue that changes your thinking. If you have a mind and you're so sure it's not the mind of Christ, then what is it? Of course you don't have the question if you think we're just Spirit/Body. And if we are Spirit/Soul/Body then you should wonder where that other doctrine came from.