Breathe

When a human is born again by faith in Jesus Christ, he becomes an alien in the devil’s world. He has been baptized into Christ and given Christ’s righteousness. He is a new creation. That all happens instantaneously. Nothing will ever change that fact. The new believer has a great deal to learn, however, about his new identity and culture. Many start out being misled by legalists who want to remind them of their sins and give them a list of behaviors to avoid and good deeds to practice. This is extremely confusing to the newborn Christian, and many try to pattern their lives after someone they admire. When that doesn’t work out to the satisfaction of the new believer or the mentor, discouragement can set in and even bring about despair.

God has a system whereby His believers are oriented and trained to know their position and be productive for His kingdom. It is the daily inhale and exhale of the Word of God.

Psalm 119:11-16 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

It is through learning the Word that we come to know God’s standards; what is and what is not sin, and how to deal with our ongoing personal sins to maintain fellowship with Him. God has decreed the universe and all of creation and has a purpose for everything that exists. He has taught us His standards by giving us written law. When the new believer, or older but spiritually ignorant believer realizes the treasures of wisdom that are available to us in God’s Word, it is an occasion for great rejoicing! There is an emotional response to finding the Truth and knowing it is God’s Own Truth: pure joy! Truth actually “feels good” to the believer who really wants to understand God. Better than riches or any physical pleasure we know. When we discover the only source of knowledge and strength, we don’t want to ever neglect it again.

119:24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. The World’s wisdom cannot compare.

119:80 May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, that I may not be put to shame. We must know God’s Word, because the worldlings will challenge us by their false concepts of Christianity and it is our duty to respond with the Truth of the Word.

119:89-90 Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. God is immutable. As He decreed it, so it stands, forever.

119: 91-92 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.
If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. The only reason anything exists is to glorify God. His Word is preserved to assure that He is glorified. The believer who does not know God’s Word is hopelessly confused and unproductive in this life.

119:104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. How do we know it’s wrong? Because the Bible tells us so.

119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Without God’s Word, we have no direction.

119:136 The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. One doesn’t need human genius to learn God’s Word, because the Word interprets itself, and the Holy Spirit helps through God's grace provision.

119:152 Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever. God’s Word does not change, and does not die. Isaiah 40:8, Luke 21:33

119:160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. There is no part of God’s Word that is not true, and it will never cease to be true.

So, growing in grace and knowledge means to saturate ourselves in God’s Word. He gives us teachers to help us understand systematics, but the Word itself must be learned, stored  and cherished in our souls to be of value to us. We must learn our way around the Bible, and how to find references that we can only remember a word or two of. There are wonderful helps nowadays that enable us to do these things.

The growing and mature believer inhales histories, doctrines, promises and prophecies from the written Word into his soul. He makes personal application, then he exhales faith toward God and testimony toward people. By so doing, he cultivates, practices and demonstrates the Mind of Christ.