Many Christians wonder why they are such losers. "How could a Christian be a loser"? you ask? The Bible gives us all the answers about how to be overcomers, but there is one way of explaining it which has been particularly helpful to me.
When the Israelites crossed the desert, the young men who had grown up during this 40-year period had not been circumcised. Before Joshua could lead them into the Promised Land of Israel, he had to make sure this was carried out according to the law of Moses. This was extremely important because this cutting of the flesh represented a blood covenant between man and God, a promise of faithful trust between them. God knew that many battles were to be fought before they could possess the land, and He wanted them to be in right standing with Him so that they could win these battles. When God had originally given this law, Moses had told the people that circumcision was not only outward, but that they were to circumcise the foreskin of their hearts (Deut.10:16).
"But what has that to do with the Christian life?" you ask.
The Old Testament requirement of male circumcision helps us understand the necessity of getting rid of fleshly ways. Too much flesh gets in the way of our getting close to God. Even as Moses knew that circumcision represented the need to have sin cut from the heart, Paul in the New Testament says, "circumcision is that of the heart" (Rom.2:29). Christianity, then, does not require outward circumcision, but it does require us to get rid of sin "by the circumcision of Christ" (Col.2:11).
When we allow Jesus Christ to dwell in our hearts, He writes His laws on them (II Cor.3:3), that is, He makes us conscious of our sin against Him. If we truly want to obey these laws, He will cut out the sin which prevents us knowing and serving Him as He wants us to. Our fleshly interests are replaced with a desire to love and serve Him.
Just as the uncircumcised men in the Old Testament did not bother to obey the Mosaic law, many Christians do not bother to ask Jesus Christ to circumcise their hearts. The Word of God in Eph.6:17 is called a "sword of the spirit" to cut out sin. The Word of God can come to us through reading the Bible, or by speaking directly to us through circumstances, through dreams or revelation or by a direct quiet or audible voice.
Because many Christians have failed to deal with their sin, they have come into much disrepute in the eyes of the world. People outside the church want to know the truth about the real God, but very often Christians have actually been a stumbling block to others knowing Him. But times are changing!
As Christian renewal sweeps around the world, the old religious systems with their denominational arguments are collapsing. In their place God himself has broken into our midst with signs, wonders and miracles to once again cause us to believe in Him. As people see these miracles, they become willing, even anxious to allow Jesus into their hearts and let Him cut the sin out of them.
A new day--a revival of the Christian faith--a new joy for today and a new hope for tomorrow. The doors of deception over the church are being closed by the prayers of God's people, and we are determined to walk the talk instead of acting like the hypocritical Pharisees of Jesus' day who looked sinless on the outside but inside their hearts were full of evil (Matt.23:27-28).
Let each of us who call ourselves Christian allow the Holy Spirit of the resurrected Christ to cut the sin out of us that we may be overcomers in the end-time church. Not losers. Overcomers!
© 1999, Doreen Palmer