THE RESURRECTION RULE

Man standing before a holy, burning cross

A daily framework of confession, crucifixion, and resurrection.

The goal of sanctification is not self-improvement. It is the death of the false self and the resurrection of the true one—the man or woman the Spirit is forming in Christ. The Resurrection Rule is a simple, repeatable way to step into that process on purpose: a daily, weekly, and “burning place” rhythm that kills what is killing you and makes room for the life God is waiting to raise.

This practice pairs especially well with the longer exhortation “Step Into the Light and Live: A Restoration of Apostolic Confession” . The article sounds the call. This rule helps you walk it out.

I. Daily Crucifixion (5–7 Minutes)

Before the day gathers speed, bring yourself honestly before God. The point is not to polish your image, but to expose the false self before it has time to hide.

Pray these questions out loud:

  1. “What version of myself am I trying to protect today?”
    Let the Spirit show you the image, role, or narrative you are tempted to defend.
  2. “Where do I already feel the instinct to minimize?”
    Notice the urge to soften, explain, or downgrade the truth. That is the old man reaching for a fig leaf.
  3. “What truth about me am I avoiding hearing?”
    Name it plainly. No spin, no spiritual phrasing, no excuses.
  4. “Lord, crucify what I cannot.”
    Sanctification is not willpower. It is surrender. You are not asked to kill the flesh in your own strength, but to bring it to the cross.

Then end with this simple resurrection prayer:

“Holy Spirit, raise in me what cannot be shaken. Form in me the self that lives in the light.”

II. Weekly Deep Confession

Once a week, set aside time to confess more than behavior. Confess the self that produced it. This is where confession sharpens into crucifixion.

  1. Choose one moment from the week.
    Look for a time when your ego flared: defensiveness, sharp tone, image-management, or quiet withdrawal.
  2. Name the behavior plainly.
    “I was harsh.” “I minimized.” “I manipulated the story.” Avoid soft words that make the sin sound smaller.
  3. Name the self behind the behavior.
    “This came from the part of me that fears being seen truthfully.” “This came from the part of me that still demands control.”
  4. Confess without shrinking.
    If you are tempted to soften, say it stronger. If you are tempted to explain, strip the explanation. Let the old man stand in full light.
  5. Agree with God about its death.
    Pray: “This false self is not who I am in Christ. Let this part of me die. Raise the new man in its place.”

Over time, this weekly rhythm breaks the structure of the false self. The accusations lose power. Shame loses its poison. You become less divided inside.

III. The Burning Place (20–30 Minutes)

At least once a week, step into what might be called “the burning place”—unhurried time where you let the Spirit choose the incision point and you stay in the fire until something breaks.

  1. Be still and let Him surface “the thing.”
    You will feel it as a tightening, a dread, a quiet “not that.” That is usually the exact place the Spirit intends to touch.
  2. Speak it to Him without fig leaves.
    Not poetically. Not safely. Not with managed tone. Say what is there, as it is.
  3. Stay in the heat.
    Everything in you will want to distract, move on, or soften the moment. Stay. This is where the old man loses his grip.
  4. Wait for the inner “crack.”
    Often there is a moment when fear shifts into surrender, when you stop negotiating and simply agree with God. That is the sound of something dying.
  5. Ask: “What truth replaces the lie?”
    When the resistance breaks, ask the Spirit to name the truth that belongs there. Write it down. This is how the resurrection self takes shape.

The burning place is not punishment. It is surgery. You are not being destroyed. You are being freed from what was destroying you.

IV. Living the Resurrection Rule

Put simply, the Resurrection Rule is a way of saying “yes” to the Spirit’s work every day, not just when life collapses. It is a lifestyle of stepping into the light:

As you practice this, you will begin to notice something almost shocking: the self that emerges is not smaller, weaker, or more fragile. It is more alive. Less divided. Less frightened of the light. Less controlled by shame. The ego dies, but you do not die with it.

This is the promise of the gospel lived at the level of the marrow: the old man truly can be crucified, and a new man truly can rise. Not in theory. In you.

If you choose to walk this rule, do not rush it. Bring your whole self. Let the Spirit search you. Let the fire burn what cannot remain. And as you do, remember:

You are not killing yourself. You are killing what was killing you.

Ground Rules for Walking in the Light Together

Confession will never be “safe” in the way the flesh wants it to be. There is no room on the cross for guarantees that you will never be misunderstood, disappointed, or wounded by people. Wheat and tares grow together in the visible church, and God allows that on purpose.

These ground rules are not here to remove the risk. They are here to restrain obvious abuses of the flesh so that what we offer each other is fear of the Lord, not spiritual chaos.

  • We fear God more than we fear one another. The point is not to keep everyone comfortable, but to handle confession as something holy, in the presence of the One who already knows.
  • No using someone’s confession as a weapon. No gossip, no leveraging what was shared for control, no bringing it back up later to win arguments. What comes into the light is not ammunition.
  • Confession, not performance or storytelling. We name sin plainly without dramatizing it or describing it in ways that stir up temptation in others. The goal is repentance, not shock value or self-branding as “the raw one.”
  • We protect the truly vulnerable. If someone shares about harm, abuse, or danger, we do not hide behind “confidentiality.” We respond with sober care, including appropriate reporting or pastoral involvement when needed.
  • Everyone stands at the same cross. No one in the circle is the expert, the therapist, or the “fixed one.” We all come as sinners in need of mercy. The only righteousness we lean on is Christ’s.

Even with these boundaries, this practice will still cost you. You may feel exposed. You may feel the sting of being known. That discomfort is not a sign the Resurrection Rule is failing. It is often a sign that the old man is losing his power.

Using the Resurrection Rule with Others

The Resurrection Rule can reshape a Bible study, house church, or discipleship group. It does not remove the cost or the risk— it simply gives believers a shared way to walk in the light together with honesty and holy fear.

  • Leaders go first. Those who call others into the light must already be living there. Leadership does not grant exemption from confession; it requires it.
  • Set expectations with sobriety. Explain what this practice is and is not. It is not spiritual therapy, emotional purging, or a place to polish an image. It is a place where the old man goes to die.
  • Invite; do not coerce. The Spirit convicts; we open the door. No pressure, no forced vulnerability, no demanding disclosure. Compulsion creates performance, not repentance.
  • Always end at the cross. Every confession must be answered with Christ’s finished work— His blood, His cleansing, His resurrection. We do not leave anyone standing in their shame.
  • Expect mixture. Wheat and tares grow together. People will sometimes misunderstand, disappoint, or fail one another. This is not a sign the practice is broken. It is the soil God uses to crucify the ego and raise the new man.

When Someone Confesses to You

The Resurrection Rule is not only about how you confess. It is also about how you handle the holy moment when someone brings their sin into the light in front of you.

  • Listen before you speak. Let them finish. Do not rush to fix, advise, or soften. You are standing on holy ground where the old man is being exposed.
  • Agree with God, not the ego. Do not minimize what the Spirit is naming. Do not help them reframe it as “not that bad.” Call sin what Scripture calls it, with grief and clarity.
  • Carry them to the cross, not to yourself. Your job is not to be their savior or their judge. Remind them of Christ’s finished work, read a passage of Scripture if appropriate, and pray with them, not just about them.
  • Ask how obedience will look this week. Confession is the doorway, not the destination. Gently ask, “What needs to change?” and “How can I help you walk this out?” – then honor any commitments you make.
  • Guard what was entrusted. Do not turn their confession into a story to tell. If further help or authority needs to be brought in, include them in that process rather than talking around them.

Questions You May Be Asking

“What if I’m afraid of being exposed or hurt?”

That fear is honest. Confession has never been risk-free. The field of the church has wheat and tares in it, and God has not promised you a circle where nothing will ever sting. What He has promised is that He meets you in the light, not in the arrangements you make to protect your image.

“What if I’m the only one around me who wants this?”

Then you are not failing at the Resurrection Rule – you are tasting its cost. Many believers are content to manage appearances. If the Spirit is calling you deeper, start with your own obedience. Ask Him to add one or two others in His time, but do not wait for a crowd before you walk in the light.

“What if my sin feels too dark to say out loud?”

The cross has already heard the worst of you. When you confess, you are not informing Jesus; you are agreeing with Him about the death of the old man. The shame that says “this is too ugly to name” is often the very chain the Spirit intends to break when you drag it into the light with a brother or sister.

“What if someone mishandles what I share?”

That possibility is real. People can sin in how they respond to sin. If that happens, it grieves the Lord – but it does not make walking in the light a mistake. Bring your pain to Him. If needed, widen the circle to wise, sober believers or shepherds who can help address the wrong without calling you back into secrecy.

“Why risk this when private confession to God feels safer?”

Scripture never separates fellowship with God from walking in the light with His people. The flesh loves privacy because privacy lets it negotiate. The Resurrection Rule is not about abandoning private confession; it is about refusing to use it as a hiding place for the ego. We confess to God – and where the Spirit leads – we confess before one another.

A Simple Way to Begin This Week

Sometime in the next few days, ask the Spirit a simple question:

“Lord, is there anything I have kept in the dark that You are asking me to bring into the light with another believer?”

When He puts something on your heart, don’t negotiate with it. Reach out. Set up a time. Step into the light. The old man will feel like he is dying – because he is. That is where resurrection life begins.

Companion Message: Step Into the Light and Live

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