Isaiah 66:5 “Hear the word of the LORD, You who tremble at His word: “Your brethren who hated you, Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, That we may see your joy.’ But they shall be ashamed.”
It seems the need to lay claim to personal rights is at an all time high in society today, or at least the determination to see everyone else accept them. From the right to call oneself a misplaced pronoun to the right of having an abortion, the endless struggle to maintain autonomy over one’s life is fought with endless fervor.
For those who have lost many of their rights, communist countries serve as a reminder of what can be if socialism is taken too far. If a person tries to exert a personal right for which the party disagrees, they’ll be arrested and tried for insurrection. In like fashion, many muslim countries that practice sharia law remove the rights of the individual unless they fall in alignment with the Quran. If a person practices a faith outside of the Quran, they are castigated as a heathen and could lose their life. The threat of being arrested and thrown into prison is a common concern among many believers throughout the world.
A New Order
When a person dedicates their life to Christ they make a decision to forsake their rights as individuals and adopt the standard that God has set before them.
Philippians 3:8 "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ"
Just because a believer chooses to relinquish the autonomy they knew apart from Christ doesn’t mean they have no rights, it just means these rights look different now. God’s people have been redeemed from darkness and brought into the light by Christ, it is by the light they see the world from a different perspective. Unbelievers live according the world’s standard of goodness, believers in Christ embrace God’s standard of righteousness, His Moral law. It was by His law that all believers understand their sin and the need for grace and it is by this law the expression of love toward God and others is defined.
The order of life shifts dramatically when it is being led by Jesus. It is along this path that a believer comes to know the reality of God’s hand working among them. The change in dynamics moves from a place of darkness that lacks knowledge, into a pattern of revelation as the Spirit of God guides the way.
The Believers Guide
To know God is to communicate with God, to walk with Him, to listen to instruction, and then respond with obedience. The Lord has a vested interest in His people’s growth and maturity, His desire to see as many people saved from death is the motivating factor of forming them into His image.
John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
The Lord has not left His people alone to fend for themselves but He has empowered them to walk in step with His Spirit.
There are certain privileges God’s people have been given.
The Rights of Believers
1. They have been adopted as children of God.
Ephesians 1:4-5 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,”
With adoption comes certain privileges as children of God.
A. God has given His Spirit as a guarantee for salvation.
2 Corinthians 5:5. “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”
B. With God’s Spirit comes the opportunity to walk with God and hear His voice.
1 Corinthians 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”
C. As co-heirs with Christ, His Kingdom has been given to His sons and daughters, heirs of the King.
Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”
The privileges believers have obtained in Christ are immediate in the sense that they have been elevated into a position of freedom from sin and death but there are other privileges that are realized over time. As a believer grows in their faith they learn to submit to His Spirit working in them. The transition from being a new believer and walking in the milk of the Word is like starting out with a basic understanding of God’s Truth—this continues to progress into a maturity of faith that manifests itself in wisdom and a revelation of God’s power in and through His people.
How does this growth occur?
By forsaking the old life of habitual sin and walking in obedience to God’s moral law, the believer can now walk in freedom.
1 Peter 1:1-3 “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
God’s moral law is key in not only evangelism but in walking in righteousness. Look how the short list in 1 Peter 1 parallels God’s moral law.
*Malice and evil speaking are consider the same as murder in God’s eyes—6th commandment
*Deceit is the same as lying—9th commandment
*Envy is the same as covetousness—10th commandment
You can take any list in the Bible that reveals the attributes of rebellion and sin and see that it offends God’s moral law.
*Growth occurs by forsaking the ways of the flesh. The flesh is mankind’s corrupt human nature and is counter to God’s righteousness. Walking in righteousness and the obedience gives way to the revelation of God’s holiness to His Word, this leads to a personal relationship with the Spirit.
God’s Supply
The Word of God is a revelation of His nature and His nature is love. If you desire to grow in Christ, spend regular time in devotion with Him, by His Word and in prayer. It is through the Word that you will realize the untapped potential that awaits those who want God to work through them.
The ability to hear God’s voice is a right not just a privilege. Many have relegated this right to only pastors or priests but the very definition of a saint is one who has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Many have corrupted this concept into an idolatrous worship of those who have died previously within their church, so the idea that a regular believer can have a significant impact in God’s Kingdom becomes foreign to many.
Daniel 7:18. “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’
God’s people have been set apart for God’s glory—it is an honored position.
If the Spirit of the Lord is in you, you have been given the privilege of His power working through you—walk in that power.
To know Christ is to understand that He intends to lead you and guide you until you stand before Him in glory.
A privilege bought with a price.
U.T. 