Escaping Corruption Once And For All

Peter wrote...

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.


Peter clearly viewed the "escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust" as a PAST EVENT when viewed in context with partaking in the divine nature. If we compare those words with that of James...

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Therefore the issue is not so much as simply "escaping sin" but rather it is escaping the "root of sin" which is the "being drawn away of his own lust."

In other words, for a good tree to produce good fruit it is the root that must be dealt with, not the branches. Simply cutting off sinful branches from a sinful tree does not deal with the root problem which is why the "stop sinning and trust Jesus" message which has gained popularity amongst many passionate street preachers can be quite dangerous.

It is quite easy to stop a particular sin, at least for awhile, due to the fact that there are many underlying motives that can lead one to do so. A fear of being caught, an emotional burst wrought through temporal covetousness (ie. trying to impress someone), an "in the moment" feeling of good will etc. There can be many reasons. Yet for a cessation of sin to stick the root of sinning has to be addressed and that root is found in the heart of man, not in the deeds of sin themselves.

Jesus taught that...

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Truly, truly, I say unto you, except a kernel a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it exists alone, but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. Jesus taught that a death proceeds an abundant life and the context is that in order to live we have to hate our life and lose it once and for all.

Jesus is speaking of the life of a sinner, the life of a rebel to God. Through godly sorrow working a genuine repentance we experience a hatred of our rebellious life, so much so that we forsake it once and for all. In other words we put to death permanently our old self whom engaged in a life of rebellion to God. Thus our minds change and come to an agreement with God about sin, righteousness and judgement, not on a mere emotional level but upon a deep spiritual level. THE HEART CHANGES, the heart being our center of being, our spirit.

We basically empty ourselves of guile in coming truly clean with God and thus enter into a receptive state where God can then enter into a vessel prepared for Him. The rebellion in our heart, the rebellious root has been permanently destroyed. We are THEN raised up to newness of life by the power of the Holy Spirit and it is THEN that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.

This is why Peter spoke of "HAVING ESCAPED" the corruption that is in the world through lust. With the old man dead we are no longer drawn away by the lusts of the flesh into sin, we instead rule over those lusts because to yield to them is in opposition to our heart, and it is the heart which steers our vessel.

Paul wrote this...

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Those that are Christ's HAVE crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. This is something that has occurred in the past and is not to be repeated. Hence the grain of wheat dies ONCE first and henceforth much fruit is produced.

We see this aspect clearly implied in Hebrews chapter 10...

Heb 10:16  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Heb 10:17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 10:18  Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Heb 10:26  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Heb 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

We note...

1. The New Covenant involves drawing near God, via the blood of Jesus Christ, with a TRUE HEART in full confidence, whereby we are washed clean.
2. Willful sin after having been sanctified by the blood leaves one under condemnation with no sacrifice remaining.

The above two points are intrinsically connected together. Why is that so?

It is simply because the cleansing resulting from entering into the New Covenant (inclusive of godly sorrow, repentance, faith and the forgiveness of sins) leaves us in a state of being WHOLEHEARTEDLY YIELDED TO GOD ABIDING IN THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST. To willfully sin is to destroy that present manifest state of purity and defile oneself, thus condemnation is certain.

To engage in rebellion to God is no small matter. The wages of sin is death, spiritual death and a simple "sorry, I won't do it again" is not enough because the root of sin is a defiled heart. A defiled heart is purged through godly sorrow working repentance by which the OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED. In other words the GRAIN OF WHEAT DIES ONCE AND FOR ALL. It is not an experience intended to occur over and over again which is why the salvation of God is so powerful. The salvation of God truly sets us free from sin, TRULY.

Today we have people that contend that we must "stop sinning and trust Jesus" yet they do not contend for any actual PURGING OF THE ROOT OF INIQUITY WITHIN. In effect they are contending for the cutting off of the branches of corrupt tree and then contending that people trust in something external to themselves. This is NOT what the Bible teaches.

Jesus taught...

Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Luk 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

How can the seed take root in a heart that is not good?

Jesus did not teach "trust in me," rather He taught "abide in me." Jesus is the living water of which we must partake, we don't simply "trust in water," we DRINK IT.

This is why it is key to understand that we must HAVE ESCAPED the corruption that is in the world through lust BEFORE we can partake in the divine nature (new birth experience). If we don't then we are susceptible to fall into the deception of the sin/repent/sin/repent/sin/repent cycle. That deception is very evident in the "stop sinning and trust Jesus" movement because they simply do not contend for any sort of purging of iniquity from the heart in their preaching. That aspect is absent. There is no contending for the crucifixion of the flesh as a once and for all occurrence not to be repeated. Thus they make an allowance for future sin with the only consequence being that one "loses their salvation" yet it can be rectified via "confession and moving on." It is very deceptive.

Willful sin for a true born again Christian is a very serious matter and the seriousness of the matter is negated by many today due to an absence of an understanding of the purging of iniquity in the heart.

Please consider.



Scott.