Christian, have you ever thought, “Boy I’ve blown it this time, God couldn’t possibly let me into Heaven now.”

Or “This is the umpteenth time I’ve committed that same sin, I can’t possibly be a Christian.”

Or “Look at all those gleamy-teethed Christians at church, I’m not like them at all.”

If so, take heart and read on …

What if my mental paradigm is backward? What if I’ve been conflating two concurrent “states of being” into one, leaving my religious “glass” always half empty.

2 States of Being

The two states of being to which I refer are, (1) My immutable Positional state — that which God declares to be true of me regardless of my daily ups and downs and (2) My variable Practical state — my day-to-day lived experience.

To conflate these two states is to become hopelessly confused as to where I stand with God. Worse, it can drive me into a fruitless works-based mentality and away from grace in an attempt to “maintain” my relationship with the Almighty. Not good.

Complete and Whole in Christ

Did you know that at the instant of his/her new birth in Christ, the lowliest Christian is made positionally as spiritually complete and whole as they will ever be for all eternity?

As shared in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

If I am a “born again” believer in Christ, I am NOT on probation. I am NOT going through a “qualification period” on earth to get into Heaven at some unspecified day in the future.

My position before God is eternally secured in Christ, as written in Galatians 2:19-21:

“For through the Law I died (positionally) to the Law, so that I might live (practically) for God. I have been crucified with Christ (positionally); and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (practically); and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law (works), then Christ died needlessly.”

Note the tense, “have been” crucified (in Christ), it’s a past fact, not a future possibility. Now either the above passage of Holy scripture is true, or it is not. No fence to sit on here.

That is every believer’s immutable position before God. Period.

Growing in Christ

So, what does it mean to “grow” spiritually in my faith walk? What about my daily experience — those maddening bouts of sin, spiritual dry spells, attitude issues, occasionally dreadful thought life, etc.?

Let’s start with an illustration. We are all familiar with “time-release capsules” that release their active ingredients slowly over a set period.

This controlled delivery maintains steady blood levels, improves drug efficacy, and reduces potential side effects compared to immediate-release pills.

Now read Ephesians 1:13-14 with that thought in mind:

“In Him (Christ),  you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation —having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Imagine the moment of your spiritual rebirth as when you swallow “the capsule.” Immediately, the full biological/genetic potentiality is placed inside you, but the “active ingredient” is released in stages, as you are ready to receive it.

The capsule does the work, you don’t add or subtract anything.

Similarly, Christian author Milis Stanford writes in his book, The Complete Green Letters, “Since we are complete in the Lord Jesus, it will not do to try and add to that finished work. It is now a matter of walking by faith and receiving, appropriating, from the ever-abundant Source (capsule) within. Walter Martin is concise here: ‘Christ’s resurrection was our resurrection to a life of holiness, as Adam’s fall was our fall into spiritual death.’ 

“And we are not ourselves the first makers and formers of our new holy nature, any more than of our original corruption, but both are formed ready for us to partake of them. And by union with Christ, we partake of that spiritual life that He took possession of for us at His resurrection, and thereby we are enabled to bring forth the fruits of it …”

How About You?

Are you worried that the Christian life is all up to you? Would God just plant the seed and then leave? What farmer would do that?

No, the farmer carefully tends the plant to harvest, fertilizing, protecting, watering, pruning, etc.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 1:6

“… for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.”
— Philippians 2:13

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