Rabbi’s Reflections – Sunday, December 1, 2024
Shavuah Tov,
“The Grace of Repentance–Part 4”
By Jerry Miller
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself as having taken hold of this. But this one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal for the reward of the upward calling of God in Messiah Yeshua.” (Philippians 3:13-14, TLV)
“So also continually count yourselves both dead to sin and alive to God in Messiah Yeshua.” (Romans 6:11, TLV)
In my previous RR I shared about a time when I was a new believer in Yeshua. I described my first personal experience of true repentance and how life-changing it was. That repentance brought a sense of cleansing and freedom, and that became a turning point for my life. Over time, and with much helpful input from mentors and teachers the Lord had in my life, I was growing in my walk with God. The verses quoted above are significant and insightful for showing us the nature of this daily walk in which we find ourselves.
The Philippians verses give us a general sense of what repentance is pointing us toward. In other words, repentance is not an end unto itself, but the repentance process points us in a new direction, described here by Paul as “the upward calling of God in Messiah…” Paul saw this “upward call” as a goal of his life—something he “pressed on” to take hold of. In other words, God’s upward call on our lives is not something we fully arrive at or fully take hold of. Rather, it is something we are pressing into whole-heartedly as we embrace this life-long process of growing in Messiah.
The verse from Romans gives us some helpful insight into the daily process of embracing this upward call of God. Paul instructs us of the need to “continually count yourselves both dead to sin and alive to God…” Other translations use words such as “reckon yourself” or “consider yourself” dead to sin and alive to God. When Paul presents the concept of the believer now being alive to God, he is referring to the supernaturally empowered life in God that is now available to us through Yeshua. I think this is a similar idea to the “upward call of God” mentioned in Philippians.
We know that before we came to faith in Yeshua, we were under the authority of sin and our flesh. Turning to Yeshua, we can receive forgiveness and cleansing from our sin, making it possible to receive and experience Yeshua’s life. Before turning to Yeshua, I think it is accurate to say that we were dead to God and very much alive to sin. But in receiving salvation we are receiving the potential for reversing that condition. But this great blessing of salvation is such that it must be embraced and appropriated by faith. This why Paul instructs us to “consider yourself” as now being dead to sin and alive to God. We must consider this as describing our new identity and new reality as those whose lives are now joined to Messiah Yeshua. Let me explain the practical dynamic here.
As Yeshua-followers, we experience daily the tension between, what we might call, the downward pull of the world, the flesh and the devil—versus the upward call of God in Messiah. The world, the flesh and the devil are at work seeking to pull our lives downward, away from the the Lord and His presence and life. But the Lord Himself beckons us to get our focus upward, looking to Him for the grace to live more & more fully for Yeshua. Paul is telling us that a key to our victory in this tension is found in our faith capacity to see the nature of what God has done in our lives. We are now “dead to sin” and “alive to God.” We must see ourselves according to this truth. Being “dead to sin” does not mean we no longer have the potential to sin. It means we are no longer under the rule and authority of sin. The idea of being “dead” to sin means we are not compelled to yield to sin’s temptations. But that being said, we do still experience the temptations. So, we are dead to sin’s rule, but not to its capacity to influence us. This is why Paul emphasizes the need to continually consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. In the Spirit, that is who we truly are. Throughout the day we must remind ourselves who we truly are in God.
In my own prayer life, I like to confess this verse from Romans 6, but I take the liberty to expand it a bit. I usually declare daily something along these lines: “Lord, I thank You that I am dead to sin and alive to You…I’m dead to the pulls of the world, the flesh and devil, and I’m alive to righteousness…alive to the beauty of Your holiness…alive to Your upward call on my life.” You see, we do experience the downward pulls I mentioned earlier, but we do not have to be dominated by those downward pulls. But the key is getting our focus on that which is far greater and more powerful—the glorious presence of the Lord Himself and the beauty of His nature. Through Messiah forgiving us and cleansing us of sin, we are now alive to Him & alive to the upward call He has on each of our lives. By His grace we can be lifted up from that place of feeling in bondage to the downward pulls of the old life.
So then, coming back to the issue of repentance, it is repentance that sets us in the right direction, enabling us to recognize and embrace the glorious upward call He has for us. Repentance positions us for victory over sin and compromise, enabling us to see who we really are in Messiah—enabling us to connect with this upward call. I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to help you to love righteousness and love His ways, while hating every form of sin and compromise. I believe that is a prayer He loves to answer. May His upward call on your life become more & more real to you each day that you live!
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sun 01-Dec-2024 30th of Cheshvan, 5785
Rosh Chodesh Kislev I
Ge 28:10-22, Nu 28:11-15 Jdg 17-18 Ps 40 Mt 28 (Ro 11)