I'm Not Perfect: More Pruning and Lessons in the New Covenant

As a Christian, to expect perfection in our life in Christ while walking this earth goes against what is written in the Bible. Not only that, but it can cause discouragement and guilt. It is an absolute sin. Here’s why:

• We are expecting to do things of our own strength.
• We are going against God’s Word.
• We fall prey to a spirit of pride.
• We are going against the very work the Spirit of God is here to do for us; reveal our weakness and sin, convict our heart, draw us to repentance, and cleanse us through sanctification.

This false image of the perfect Christian has an even greater impact!

Our sin overflows into the lives of others and draws them away from Jesus rather than drawing them to His heart. This false sense of perfectionism and sinless life sets a standard that others simply are unable to meet. It portrays a false image of Christianity shining hypocrisy into the world rather than the light of Christ in us.

The only upside to the mask of perfectionism is that it causes persecution of Christians, which is not only biblical but justifiable.

I stand on what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

The creation of the born again Christian begins the moment we profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. But what we must understand is we are continually shaped, pruned, and molded by the power of Holy Spirit in us. This process of sanctification, of being cleansed of our sin, is similar to that of the recovery process for anyone afflicted with some sort of addiction. There will be relapse. It is part of the recovery process and it is part of our transformation into our new life in Christ.

I was just telling a dear friend of mine how some addicts are delivered form their addiction all at once, without relapse, while others may endure relapse several times before complete deliverance. The same goes with the transformation in Christ. I can attest to God’s swift deliverance of certain things where other characteristics and behaviors take time.  Fruit takes time to ripen, doesn’t it? And pruning a grapevine is a painstaking process!

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. John 15:1-2

The word purgeth in John 15:2 in the Greek means; to cleanse, that is, (specifically) to prune; figuratively to expiate: - purge.

Have you ever pruned a grape vine? It is very tedious and takes years to train, and prune to ultimately produce fruit. There is no pruning at all for the first year. In the winter of the first year, the strongest stem is kept while the rest are pruned away. In the second year, the BEST side shoots are removed. If the vine is not branching where you want it to, the top of the main branch is pinched to encourage growth of new side branches. Any branches that don't fit your plan are removed. It takes two years to form the basic frame of the vine!

Now that is a new vine we're talking about. The older the grape vine, the more serious pruning is required! After all, the plant has been sitting dormant with no growth.  Once you trim away the dead branches, new growth begins. All the new growth after the first year is trimmed away. All growth is again trimmed away in the second year!

I understand Holy sorrow so much more after my time with the Lord yesterday. It is a time of pruning for me...

My emotions got the best of me recently. I demonstrated lack of self control. It hurt my heart that I did this in front of my daughter. An innocent woman became the target of my frustration. Of course, the adversary began accusing me. I had to take those thoughts captive in Christ. I had to run to Him. He's been leading me to read about His everlasting Covenant and learn what this means. It just so happened that I was at this very section that explains the purpose of the New Covenant which is to gift us with the power of Holy Spirit in us which causes us to love God and desire and delight to do His will and keep His statutes. 

"And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe my ordinances." Ezekiel 36:27

The Old Covenant was dependent on man's faithfulness.

Andrew Murray writes in his book, "The Two Covenants: Your Blessings in Christ"...

"The one supreme difference of the New Covenant; the one thing for which the Mediator and the blood and the Spirit were given, the one fruit God sought and committed Himself to bring forth was this: a heart filled with both fear and love of God, a heart in which His Spirit and His law dwells, a heart that delights to do His will. The inmost secret of the New Covenant deals with the heart of man in a way that involves divine power....with God's "fear put into our heart" by His own Spirit, and our heart thus responding to His holy presence; with our hearts thus made right with God - we can, we shall walk in His statutes and keep His ordinances."

One of the things we can count on as Christians covered under the New Covenant is to be compelled to love God's law and statutes, because His Spirit is ever present. When we feel His presence, any time we fall short of the glory of God there should be a Holy sorrow.  We are humbled as we are drawn to repentance. Sanctification takes hold. Our love and devotion to God and His unconditional love for us, through the power of His Spirit in us, makes us new.

Therefore, when the Lord reveals our weaknesses, we should not beat ourselves up. On the contrary; we should be grateful our weaknesses and shortcomings are revealed, be willing to submit to God, and expect Holy Spirit to do a beautiful work in us. Others need to witness this process through our confession and repentance. What glory comes from these opportunities!