Redemption accomplished and applied.

Steve Brown:
Redemption accomplished and applied, on this edition of Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
If you’ve suffered too long under a do more, try harder religion, Key Life is here to proclaim that Jesus sets the captives free. Steve invited Justin Holcomb to teach us this week. Justin is a priest, a seminary professor, and the author of God With Us: 365 Devotions on the Person and Work of Christ.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. Hi Justin.

Justin Holcomb:
Hi Steve.

Steve Brown:
Well, we got good start yesterday talking about the Holy Spirit being a gift and not only a gift, but a person. Let’s talk about how that works out in real life with a Christian. You know, it’s not easy to be a Christian, is it?

Justin Holcomb:
No, it’s not, because everything inside of us is going the other direction. I mean, we were dead in our sin. And we just read from, Jesus from Luke 11 saying.

You being evil, know how to give good gifts.

And you look at Romans 3.

No one’s righteous, no, not one.

You hear all that and you have a, you’re spiritually dead and then when you’re made alive, you’re genuinely new, but not completely new. And there’s a war going on. So no, it’s not easy.

Steve Brown:
And we live in a world that doesn’t help us make it easy either.

Justin Holcomb:
Not one bit.

Steve Brown:
So, God in his wisdom and a wise action has given us the third person of the Trinity, who you said yesterday isn’t out there somewhere, but is in here, living in me right now.

Justin Holcomb:
Absolutely.

Steve Brown:
What difference does that make?

Justin Holcomb:
Makes a huge difference because one we can, Ephesians says.

Continue to be filled by the Holy Spirit.

What that actually says is continue to be being filled. So, it’s a continual, it happens when you’re converted and you can keep on asking to be filled by the Spirit to indwell you to apply the work that Jesus accomplished. And so, that’s why you said at the beginning, redemption is accomplished and applied. And that’s, those are important words in theology, because there’s a book by John Murray, a theologian you and I both know, called Redemption Accomplished and Applied. And you got that from John Calvin and others. But the whole idea is Jesus accomplished the work of our redemption by his Incarnation, perfect life, death, resurrection, that he did the work to release the debt that we owed and reconcile us to the Father. The Holy Spirit actually applies the work of Jesus to us. And so, it’s an objective thing that Jesus did. It was a historical thing that he did a few thousand years ago where he lived, died, and rose again. And so, okay, that’s great. What does that mean? Well, it means you should have faith in him. What is that? Okay. How does that play out to me with my relationship with God? Well, the Holy Spirit applies the work of Jesus and applying that is in a few things. He he makes us alive. He makes us born again. The Holy Spirit is who makes us born again when we were dead in our sins. And so, one is being made alive spiritually, the Holy Spirit does that, actually changes our soul so we are alive and have a new heart and a new mind, so we can actually, again, we’re genuinely new, not completely new. So that happens, the Holy Spirit encourages us in our faith in Christ. I mean, we have faith, it’s your having of faith. But the Holy Spirit also gives us the gift of faith, encourages that faith, fans into flame that faith, but it is your faith. Then the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, it’s the Holy Spirit. And that’s, Philippians 2 says.

Work out your salvation in fear and trembling,

A lot of people stop there and then just tell you the ten things to do in a fearful way.

because it’s God who works in you to will and to do his good pleasure.

And so, the Holy Spirit works in you to will and do. He changes your desires, so you actually want to do the will of God.

And then he works in your will, so you will actually do some of those things. Now, that goes back to the war, the difficulty. Unless we’ve been made new by the Spirit, we’re not going to have changed desires and changed behavior. It was, Thomas Cranmer in summarizing his view of humanity says.

What the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies.

What the heart loves, the will chooses, the mind justifies.

And so, the Holy Spirit works on our heart, changes our heart, makes our heart new. So, we actually do have new affections. And then the Holy Spirit also changes our will, so we actually walk in that. That’s the language of walking in the Spirit, it’s actually really encouraging. It’s like, well, you’ve been changed, you’re not completely changed, but walking in the Spirit, walking in faith means, okay, I’m, I think the Lord’s calling me to do this, and this is, said in Scripture, let’s do it. And so that, that’s, I’ll stop there, but that’s, I don’t want to.

Steve Brown:
It’s so good. You know, I’ve said often, as an old guy, I thought I would be better than I am by now, and it hasn’t happened. And that’s true. I, you know, when I was young, I looked at my heroes, and I thought, if I work at this, and if I pray, and if I’m spiritual enough and good enough, then I’ll be like them. And I never became the spiritual giant. So, what I said is true. But something else is true. I’m better. And in some ways, I’m significantly better. And I don’t know how it happened, until I realized that what you just said is true. And that God allows us to see that in our lives to encourage us. Sanctification mostly happens in secret because righteous people don’t know they’re righteous. And neither do self righteous people know they’re self righteous. Because God knows that if he gives us an inch, we’ll take a mile. But occasionally, he gives you a glimpse of the change, of the places you’re loving where you didn’t before, where you’re faithful, and you would rather not have been faithful. The places where he has used you in people’s lives. And you will know when that happens, that it wasn’t you.

Justin Holcomb:
I, the way I describe it is very similar. So, 100 percent, yes. It feels like I’m looking in the rear view mirror of my life and I see something that changed, where I’m like, Hey, wait a second, the chains off my wrists are in the rear view mirror. The chains around my neck, the chains around my feet, kind of realize it after the fact. Rarely do you realize it in the moment.

Steve Brown:
That’s so true.

Justin Holcomb:
And the Holy Spirit seems to use ordinary means. It’s usually not spectacular, extraordinary things. I’m not opposed to that happening. God does miracles.

Steve Brown:
Sure.

Justin Holcomb:
I’m an Episcopalian, I’m Anglican, I think that God actually unites us with Christ in communion and that he illuminates the Scriptures that he inspires. I expect the Holy Spirit to be doing a lot of work because I’m just reading liturgy. I mean, we’re actually counting on the Holy Spirit being active, but ordinary means of people having conversations of people, there’s songs that people sing, he enlivens the Scriptures in our failures and that moment where you’re like, I’ve come to the end of my rope and what am I going to do now? And the Holy Spirit sustains you in those moments. And so, I think it’s important to be able to take a step back and say, okay, I’m not completely new and not expected to be completely new. He’s not even expecting that, God’s not expecting that, the call is holiness and perfection, that’s what the law is. He’ll get you there at the end when he completely glorifies you when there’s no more sin after the resurrection, all that kind of stuff when we’re raised from the dead. But sanctification, let’s just define the term too, so people, and I think people know what it means, but it means being sanctified, being set apart and walking in holiness. The two big pieces of that, there’s fancy words for it, so let’s go ahead and say the fancy words cause it makes us all feel better and smarter, vivification and mortification. Vivification means being made alive to holiness. Mortification means dying to sin. So basically, the work of the Holy Spirit is to kill the desire for sin in our hearts that works out into our behavior because that doesn’t honor God and it harms us and it harms other people. This isn’t some type of pietistic, I mean this is God’s compassion and care for us and for his world and for other people and his holiness. And then not just, Hey, stop doing bad stuff. But like, don’t greed, but being generous. You know, don’t exploit, but love. Love your enemy. Those are all miracles. And this is the thing, when sinners do things that are holy, that is on the realm of miracle, not technique. Technique is about us. Miracle is what God’s doing in us. Now, It’s God’s providential stuff, but he’s doing miraculous work in us. And so, we kind of look back on the rear view mirror, we’re basically not looking back at our trophies of holiness, we’re looking back at God’s faithfulness and miraculous work of making enemies of God, lovers of God and lovers of other people who are also enemies of God and enemies of each other. That’s some beautiful stuff. And so, taking a, just stopping and saying, thanks be to God. I’m not there yet, but I’m not where I used to be.

Steve Brown:
That is so good.

Justin Holcomb:
Someone I know you said that kind of stuff to me.

Steve Brown:
You know what, you know, this all, if you’re just listening, sounds pretty religious. And we’ll address maybe later this week, but I think the early church called the Holy Spirit, the Happy Spirit. We, you know, this isn’t just a thing about being nicer and better and sweeter and smiling all the time. It has to do with an inner joy, laughter, the freedom that comes with that in the life that we live. All is a part of the Holy Spirit who is in us. So maybe, tomorrow we’ll talk about the laughter that comes with the Holy Spirit. Hey guys, I’m talking to Bishop Justin Holcomb. We’ll do it again tomorrow. Don’t miss it. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve and Justin. All this week we are continuing our study of the Holy Spirit, just in a little different way. We’re calling the series, The Spirit Who Gives Life. And I trust you’re enjoying it. More to come tomorrow, hope you will join us again then. And speaking of the Holy Spirit, we recently chatted with the wise and winsome Michael Reeves about his classic book called Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith. If you think you’ve heard everything there is to hear about the Trinity, you might want to check this one out and you can. Just call us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. And we will send you that whole conversation on CD for free. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for the free CD featuring Michael Reeves. And finally, if you value the work of key life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone right now and text key life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word, two words. It doesn’t matter. Just text that to 28950 and then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And KeyLife is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.