The 11th chapter of How People Change started with an illustration of an instruction manual for assembling equipment we purchased, which we often failed to follow. As a result, we took the long turn by failing to follow the standard procedure. The story illustrates the importance of biblical counseling in dealing with life’s problems. The limitation in the story is that it was applied to a lifeless object, and so the harm done was minimal. In dealing with people and human relationships, failure to follow the “protocol” could be devastating.
Applying the illustration to the study of the present book, the authors explain the importance of taking the “slow process” to personal change. For us to appreciate the power of the cross, we locate it after discussing first the heat and the thorns, the ugly reality of life in this world, and our sinful responses. These are the proper contexts of the grace of God, as demonstrated in His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The authors devoted two chapters to explaining the role of the cross in the Christian life. Elsewhere, they summarized the content of these two chapters:
In chapter 11, we saw that God makes us new creatures in Christ and defeats sin’s power in our lives. In this chapter, we have seen what it looks like to depend on the Cross as we deal with ongoing sin (p. 167).
In chapter 11, they described the content of the two chapters as captured by 2 Corinthians 5:5:
Those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them....
This is the focus in these two chapters: “how this promise of new life in Christ delivers us from life-controlling idolatry” (p. 148).
Sovereign Preparation
After introducing the central theme of the two cross-chapters, the writers mentioned another illustration. This time, it is about life’s potentials both in childhood and in adulthood, as well as in facing life’s challenges. I understand the potential in life as God’s sovereign preparation for it includes family upbringing, education, skills and talents, and lessons from the past. Even though Lane and Tripp recognized the value of this sovereign preparation, they saw its limitation when it comes to living the reality of the Christian life. They elaborated on what they meant by such a limitation:
For you, as a Christian, each of these things has value because you know that your Lord has been sovereign over every experience and relationship in your life. Through each of them, he has been preparing you for what he has called you to do. Yet, at the same time, this standard of self-evaluation misses the core of your potential as a Christian. For example, it misses how a Christian can feel unprepared and ready at the same time. It misses how you can recognize past failures and present weaknesses and still step forward to do things you have never done. It misses how you can do things in a brand-new way, even if you have failed in the past. It misses why some of us can admit that we have neither good family models nor a successful track record, yet still have the potential to do genuine good in our circumstances and relationships. It misses why Christians can have hope and courage to face the things they failed at yesterday. Family, education, talents, experience, and success all have value, but they miss the core of our potential as children of God (p. 149).
Our Real Potential as Children of God
After identifying the limitations of our sovereign preparation, the authors emphasized that the indwelling Christ is the real potential for the children of God. Here, they based such insight on Galatians 2:20:
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
They corrected two misunderstandings about the above text. Paul was not only speaking about the cross as the basis for our acceptance by God or as a “doorway” to Christian life. It also does not speak of eternity. Rather, the text tells us about our need for Christ in the here and now.
Three Redemptive Truths
- God’s definitive action in the past.
The emphasis here is more than the benefit that Paul received from the death of Christ. Yes, Jesus died for Paul (for you and me) and more. In Jesus’ death, Paul died with him. Likewise, Christians died with Jesus when he died on the cross.
Consequently, Paul and Christians no longer live. By this, Paul meant that the dominion or power of sin over his life had been broken. This is God’s “definitive action in the past, with a continuing and permanent result” (p. 150) for all Christians.
- Present reality
The next insight, though classic, sounds mind-blowing for many Christians. The fact that our identification in the death of Christ took place in the past has a continuing relevance even at the moment. Our death in Christ did not just make us a new version of ourselves. Lane and Tripp emphasized that our old selves have been replaced by Christ himself:
He says that when he died, the old Paul was not replaced with a new and improved version of Paul, but with Christ himself!” (p. 151).
The old, sinful man has died. But it has not been replaced with a better me. The replacement is Christ! (ibid.).
- Consequences for daily living
This is described as “a new principle,” the “principle of the power and grace of Christ who now resides in us” (ibid.). The basis for daily living is no longer our family background, educational attainment, skills and talents, and personal experience. The basis is the fact that Jesus lives in us. As such, we can think, desire, and do what pleases God despite the intensity of heat in our lives. “Our potential is Christ!” (ibid.)
Three Redemptive Implications
Since Christ is our potential, how should this truth affect the Christian life? Lane and Tripp identified three redemptive implications:
- Personal integrity
They define integrity as understanding yourself biblically. Here, I think two popular ideas today influence the authors’ understanding of integrity: the role of the community and the proper place of emotion. They see the project of personal change not merely as an individual journey. The community plays a big role in the success of the sanctification process.
As for emotion, this does not mean that both reason and the will are taken for granted. I believe that the writers affirm the holistic interpretation of personality. Nevertheless, the emphasis on emotion is timely, and it means being honest with one’s feelings and struggles, such as fear, anger, anxiety, and other related emotional struggles.
- Becoming gracious in personal relationships.
Since Christ is the Christian’s potential, his personal relationships will be gracious. This would mean that he would be forgiving, serving, and persevering.
- Courage and constructive truth.
I see here the role of truthful speech and Christlike responses to the heat of life.
Christ as the Christian potential means that believers have been delivered from the power of sin. Such a deliverance does not mean perfection. The presence of sin both inside and around us remains, and in this side of life, struggling with sin and failure is an ongoing process; there are times when Christians fail to live up to their ideals. In times like these, Christians neither rationalize their sins nor surrender with guilt and regret. Instead, the cross gives him the confidence to confess and to receive forgiveness, to run to Jesus, and to continue the fight against sin.