Restoration of the Believer

• Print

Details

Category: Salvation

Hits: 2242

Restoration

Restoration is an enormously important concept to people of faith. We are imperfect and I think we need to spend more time teaching Christians how to recover themselves after falling into sinful behavior. Unfortunately, Christians do fall into all kinds of ungodly behavior, and when they attempt to recover their relationship with the Lord, often find it not so easy to renew the depth of relationship they once enjoyed. Even though confession is made, and the offending behavior is stopped, they continue to find regret, shame, and guilt quite formidable. The scriptures are clear about God's willingness to forgive, but without an inward restoration, a rebuilding of who we are, usually we do not come back to a place of spiritual and emotional wholeness.

Sin is Emotional and Spiritual Trauma
Sin is trauma to the soul. It deadens our heart to God. It is an emotional and spiritual defilement, a "hum" in the background of our mind that reminds us of our uncleanness. David was forgiven of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, yet he had no rest. Listen to the anguish of his soul, "there is no rest in my bones because of my sin. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long." Nathan the Prophet brought a message of forgiveness to David but still David could find no rest. The effects of sin are comparable to a spiritual snake bite. Once bitten we find a poisonous substance has been released into our system and we are no longer the same person. We may not be physically dead, but like David, we find the cost of our sin to be greater than we anticipated.

Sin takes our identity, our integrity, our self-respect, and once we lose these, we find their recovery to be almost impossible. But with God, all things are possible!

Things Happen That Open the Door to a Sinful Lifestyle
We all face circumstances and temptations that if not managed well have the potential to destroy our faith. For example: marriage problems, divorce, abusive relationships, betrayal by friends or business partners. And then there are the fleshly appetites that war against the soul: occult practices, prescription and non-prescription drugs, alcohol, sexual sins including porn, vulgar movies, lewd conversation, the love of money, bitterness, hatred, arguments, envy, pride, and arrogance. Bad company: we can form wrong relationships that lead us away from God. The scripture says bad company will corrupt good morals. 1Cor. 15:33.

Restoration Cleanses the Conscience
Sin by its very nature is destructive to one's soul. When the believer gives way to sin, the conscience is always left in a damaged condition. Fortunately, the redemptive work of Christ is not limited to forgiveness alone but is also corrective. The redemptive work of Christ is medicine for the soul for it restores a sick conscience back to health. That great hymn "Rock of Ages", spoke of both forgiveness and healing with the words 'be of sin the double cure, save from sin and make me pure" We cannot emotionally live in the shame of our past and be spiritually healthy. The work of Christ provides the truths that empower us to walk away from the guilt and shame of our past. The cross is the power of God to be fully healed, fully cleansed, and fully brought back to emotional and spiritual health.  

How Do We Enter Into the Process of Restoration
We will look at the Return of Israel from Babylonian Captivity for in their return from Babylonian captivity we are given the principles of how we can regain ourselves from the defilements that sinful living brings to us. 

First, We Must See That Restoration Is by Invitation
It is God Himself who invites us into the restorative process. It is not that we initiated the process of restoration, God did. Even though we sinned we still belong to Him and it is not His will that we live in the bondage of our sin. It is by His mercy and love that we are invited to rebuild our lives. However, it is important that we understand that restoration is by invitation which means we have to respond to the invitation. We are responsible to respond to God by making the decision to rebuild our life. 

Whosoever, Let Him Come
The invitation to rebuild is open to all who are in bondage from their sin. King Cyrus had been tasked by God to "build Him a house in Jerusalem", Ezra 1:2. King Cyrus responded to God by giving invitation to the captive Jews of returning to Jerusalem with the words - "who is there among you that wishes to return to Jerusalem and build". One would think that all would want to return to their land but that is not the way life works. Some prefer Babylonian over Jerusalem. Remember, some chose Barabbas over Jesus. Staying in Babylon has its appeal. There was plenty of food and to remain in Babylon meant no longer would a person be bothered by the religious life of Jerusalem. In their mind, one could find real freedom in Babylon. If a person is wise, they will learn from Moses who chose to suffer reproach with the people of God rather than enjoy the riches of Egypt. Again, restoration is by invitation, and a choice we are invited to make. We have to do more than think about leaving; we can't equivocate, we can't procrastinate, we have to leave.  Healing of the soul never, never, occurs without a decision to recover ourselves from the bondage of Babylonian captivity.    

Leaving Babylon is always difficult. Israel had to walk from Babylon to Jerusalem which is approximately 600 difficult miles. It was dangerous, there were robbers and thieves along the way, they had to carry and cook their own food, carry their own water, and there were no comfortable beds or hot showers along the way. The point is that restoration can be a very long, very tedious, and a very troublesome process. We must tell ourselves the truth about the nature of recovery. It will be difficult, but when completed, once again will we enjoy close fellowship with God.  

Leaving Babylon is about coming home. God did not make you to live in Babylon. He never made you to live in bondage to anything. He created you, He put His Spirit in you, and He has called you to live in His freedom. Leaving Babylon means we are no longer living in the bondage of our past. Leaving Babylon is about making right choices, about being led by the Spirit and by the Word of God. Leaving Babylon is choosing whom we are going to serve. Leaving Babylon is coming back to the place of obedience. We are making a decision that the Lord is our God, we are going to follow Him, and we are going to do whatever He tells us to do, even if the journey is 600 miles by foot and we have to carry our own water! 

After Coming Home, You Rebuild the Altar
Rebuilding is work. God gives the stones and the plans, but we take the stones and arrange them according to God's instructions. He gives the directions, and He tells us how to make His truths (the Word of God) the building blocks of our new life. The process is called living by faith; we simply believe and do what God says. We take His truths and manage our new life with them, which includes managing our thoughts, our emotions, and our behavior. 

We all know God forgives, but can we emotionally possess our forgiveness. It is never enough to intellectually "know", we must emotionally "possess" what we know.  If we are not impacted emotionally by what we "know" about Christ and His redemptive work, then we can't enjoy the freedom of the gospel. We cannot be emotionally or spiritually whole if we continue to live in the guilt and shame of our Babylonian past.

The work of the Altar is to provide an Offering that brings cleansing to our conscience. Acceptance, optimism, freedom - all flow from a cleansed conscience. Once our conscience is cleansed, then we are well on our way to the blessings of emotional wholeness which will lead to a healthy relationship with our Father. Good-by depression, fear, anxiety, turmoil, guilt, shame, and that condemning "hum" in the background of our mind that daily accuses us.  

The cleansing of our conscience is the fruit of an Altar that works! It is possible to build an Altar that leaves one in the guilt of their past. We can build an Altar that is so locked in religious tradition that it has no power at all. To find freedom we may have to tear down everything we thought we knew about God. Our relationship with God may look good but have no real power to bring us into new life. If we are wise, we will build until we get it right. For sure, we will have to fight, there is always resistance to rebuilding our faith. Change is always difficult, we have to fight to possess even a single promise, how much more to rebuild a broken life.

Israel experienced great resistance when attempting to rebuild their relationship with God. It is no different now. We may have developed patterns of thinking that make it impossible to be whole; we can live physically in Jerusalem but emotionally in Babylon. If we have a damaged self-image then most likely we will see ourselves as unworthy of grace. We can be super perfectionist, legalistic, or simply not believe that we will ever be able to measure up. The value of building an Altar, and not some other structure, is that the Altar is the single place God has reserved for the complete restoration of our soul. The Altar is the only place of full deliverance from all the guilt and shame of our past. We need to stay with this truth until healing comes. Once we have a healthy, and functional Altar, one that cleanses our soul of all guilt and shame, then we will find the emotional and spiritual rest promised by the gospel.   

The cleansing, healing, and restoring power of the Altar is found only in the death of the Offering.  In the gospel, the Lord joins the sinner to the death of the Offering. By joining Christ in His death we are made free from the guilt and shame of our sin. God's redemptive healing favor meets us at the place of a bloody Altar, and it is through the blood of Christ that we are given freedom. The penalty has been paid, the sinfulness is forgiven, our crime is pardoned, and full reconciliation is made. Restoration is a gift; it is precious and is accessed by believing what God says. How do we enter into a faith that is real, a faith that joins the sinner to the Offering? Faith becomes the kind of faith that heals when we make a decision to believe, and then act, on what God says! How do we know if we have come to the Altar in faith? We will know because our conscience has been cleansed, and we now enjoy a relationship of peace with God.  

We Are Made Free from Sin
The altar is about the remission of sins. Not forgiveness only, but also remission which means the complete removal of our sins. The Altar becomes the place of our new identity, an identity that is guilt free and sin free. The Altar is that place that God has given where we are translated out of our old life and into the new, out of the Kingdom of Darkness and into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Once our uncleanness is removed then we can step out of the dark identity of Babylon and into our New Identity found in Christ. The Altar is God's way of separating His people from the bondage of their sins.  

The Altar is the place of a Burnt Offering where the offering is completely consumed by fire. The symbolism shows our sin, our sinfulness, our guilt, and all defilements are removed, i.e., fully consumed by the fire. The Altar is the only place of God's satisfaction; it is the only place where we receive full and complete reconciliation with God.  

Where Is Our Altar
In the Old Testament the altar is a physical altar, with physical animals, located in the Temple in Jerusalem. In the New Testament our Altar is not a place made with physical hands, but is in Heaven where Christ carried His blood to make an eternal redemption for us, Heb. 9:24. This truth should encourage the one who struggles with God's acceptance. Jesus entered into Heaven itself to make an eternal redemption for you. By His blood, He prepared the way for you to enter into the very presence of God, unashamed, and without spot or blemish. Take this truth, do not let it be stolen from you, and rebuild your life! Our Altar is in Heaven and Christ is our Offering! This is where we rebuild our mind and our life.

We Don't Look Back
During Israel's return from Babylon to Jerusalem, Haggai was their Prophet. He instructed Israel to not look back. He said do not make comparisons for they would see their present work as "nothing". This is good advice for all of us. Comparisons always lead to discouragement because we will not be able to relate to what God is doing at the present time. Haggai said they were not to focus on the past but were to focus on the truth that God was presently with them. So, listen to Haggai and get out of the past and into the present for God says I am presently with you!

Look Forward
Haggai also told Israel to not focus on the past Temple or the present Temple because there was going to be a future Temple whose glory would be far greater than either the past or the present Temple. This is a word for every Christian who is in the process of restoration. Don't look at your past or your present but look at Christ who has promised to come again and bring us to our eternal home in glory.

My Spirit is With You, Be Strong!
The Lord spoke through Haggai reminding Israel that even though they had been in Babylonian captivity for the past 70 years He was still with them. The Lord brought to their memory their deliverance from Egypt approximately 1400 years earlier. The point being His covenant promises that were with them when Israel came out of Egypt continued to be in effect. Furthermore, the Lord told them that His Spirit continued to be with them. What a wonderful truth. Even though they had fallen into gross sin and had been in Babylonian captivity for the past 70 years, the Lord was still with them, He did not withdraw His mercy, or His Spirit, but was with them. Be encouraged that God is still with you and His purpose for you is to restore your life!

Restoration is never quick or easy, but as we see from Israel the Lord is with us and will supply the resources we need to regain our life and our relationship with God.

God bless you,

Jim

If you wish to comment on this article, I may be reached at the below contact info.