Grace - Blessing Magnet

God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

 

 

When Jesus was made to be sin, He did not have to fast and pray and ask the Father to pour out wrath upon Him. Jesus, who became sin and a curse, attracted God's WRATH like the ultimate wrath-magnet in all the universe. Likewise, when we were made to be righteous in Christ, we didn't have to fast and beg and ask for our Father's blessing.  All His blessings zeroed in on us and chased us down as though drawn by the greatest blessing-magnet in the universe.  Stop fasting, begging, and believing you're an orphan now abandoned by a neglectful, apathetic parent.  Our righteousness in Him is a super blessing-magnet that will never fail.

 

Grace=Peace,

 

 

Jeremy




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Definition of a friend: A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
A friend involves himself in your life and you in theirs.

Grace - The Old and the New

Hey Everyone,

 

Here's another article on Grace by Mick Mooney.  In it, he makes a very good point about how we are led by Jesus, since He Himself is "The Way".  Enjoy!

 

Grace=Peace,

 

Jeremy

 

 

The old and the new

By Mick Mooney

 

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Colossians 3:9-10

 

As a believer, it is so important to actually believe the reality of what Christ has done on your behalf. He has really made you into a new creation. You really are now a saint. You really do have a righteous nature! Christ really did cut away your sinful nature (Colossians 2:11) so that you can now freely live with him and for him. All of this was not the fruit of your work, but the fruit of Christ's perfect finished work upon the cross.

 

Whenever we look at ourselves apart from the revelation of the cross, we cannot see the reality of our new selves. This results in holding on to a religious mindset that believes that we are still the same people we were before we accepted him. When we continue to believe that we are our old selves, then our old mindsets, our old ideas about God and ultimately our old sinful practices begin to reflect this belief.

 

The old self is naturally spiritually inadequate because it was made through the body of Adam, the original sinner. However, the truth is that we are no longer the old self; we have been made into a new creation.

 

We were all born the first time through the body of Adam, but through our faith we have been born again spiritually through the body of Christ. He is not like Adam, he is not a sinner. Adam may have passed on the nature of sin, but Christ is the righteousness of God, and it is this nature that he passes on to all who are born through him!

 

Now if we believe that the old self was sinful, how much more should we believe that the new self is righteous? Think about it, if Adam's sin was powerful enough to make all mankind sinful, how much more is Christ's righteousness powerful enough to make all who are in him righteous? (Romans 5:15-17)

 

Now that we are in Christ, it is so important to believe the right things regarding both our true identity in him, and how God is now relating to us based on this reality. He relates to us based on the righteousness of Christ, not the sin of Adam. In fact, it is only through focusing fully on the work that Christ completed through the cross that we can have the confidence to believe it!

 

It is the glorious news that we are a new creation, made perfect by faith in the eyes of God. We are not only adequate in our relationship with him, but we also qualify, based on Christ qualifying on our behalf, to be citizens of heaven. (Colossians 1:12-13)

 

So now we are in the new covenant of grace, but what about the old covenant of law? Some believers might argue that the law is still applicable and essential to Christian living because it helps us know the way in which we should live, but is that really true? Some may genuinely ask: "how we will know what is good from bad without the law? How will we know what God expects from us without the law? How will we live a moral life without the law? How will we know the way God wants us to walk without the law to show us the way?"

 

The Apostle Thomas had a very similar thought. At the last supper Jesus said: 

 

'You know the way to the place where I am going.' Thomas replied 'Lord, we don't even know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' John 14:4-5

 

Thomas had a very sincere question. He was basically asking Jesus how they would ever be able to know the way if they didn't have a map or written directions?

 

What was Jesus' response to Thomas? Did he say, "You know the way because you have been instructed by the law?" Or did he say, "You know the way because you have the Ten Commandments to guide you?" If not, then what did he say? He answered:

 

'I am the way.'

 

As Christians, we know the way to live, because we are led by, and are living in, 'the way' himself! The Holy Spirit is not just a nice idea, he is real! One thing is for certain: When we do our part, he does his! Our part is to look to Christ for our justification before God, and the Holy Spirit's part is to bring about the transformational life.

 

You can't go the wrong way by putting all your confidence in Jesus and the fullness of his grace, because he is the way! It is when we try to find the way by following a written code that we actually lose our way, because our focus is no longer on our glorious Saviour, but our own failed attempt at legalistic righteousness.

 

Christ loves God's ways, and he loves to see his beloved living in God's ways. Christ also knows that this will only come to pass if we can look to him alone. Complete dependence on the Spirit of Christ to lead us is what brings about a transformed life! The Apostle Paul also testifies to this wonderful truth:

 

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.  Romans 8:3-4

 

Anything that is loving and moral and good is from God, and we can rest assured that these good qualities will bear fruit in our lives by the power of the Spirit without ever seeking direction or help from the law.

 

Why can we say with confidence, as Paul did, that Christ is the end of the law for all who believe? (Romans 10:4)  Because now that we see Jesus, we see the power of his life and understand that his powerful life is now living in us!

 

The law was never the saviour of wicked mankind; it was given to mankind that we might find the Saviour. Now that we have found him, let us believe him when he says 'I am the way' and follow without looking back to the law.

 

Living in the new covenant of God's grace and being led by the Spirit isn't a license for immorality. It is freedom to let Christ transform your life by the working of his Spirit in you. Praise God.

 

The next time you talk grace to someone and they start off with "Yeah, but we should...", just look at them, smile, and say to them: "Don't should on me!" Hehe, that'll get them. Don't let anyone "should" on you. (Read that out loud for the full effect!)

It's called the "Gospel of Grace", not the "Gospel of Grace, But". ;)

Grace - Is, Is Not

"Grace" is not a movement focused on taking jabs at "institutional religion", or hurling schoolyard-esque insults towards her leaders.

"Grace" is not a teaching which encourages you to curse like a sailor or dabble in taboo behaviors simply because, "you're free".

"Grace" is not a license to be rude, or act like a jerk towards those who believe the way you once believed.

"Grace" is not written permission to sequester yourself off from the rest of the Church, simply because they meet in buildings or tithe.

"Grace", simply put, is Jesus. And when He lives in you, He loves in you. He never has, and never will encourage or empower immorality. He never has, and never will cause you to be bitter, jaded, and angry at those who misunderstand Him. He never has, and never will cause you to be divisive, cold, or heartless towards those with differing opinions.

When Grace lives in you, Grace pours out of you.

- Jeff Turner

‎"Grace" is not a movement focused on taking jabs at "institutional religion", or hurling schoolyard-esque insults towards her leaders.

"Grace" is not a teaching which encourages you to curse like a sailor or dabble in taboo behaviors simply because, "you're free".

"Grace" is not a license to be rude, or act like a jerk towards those who believe the way you once believed.

"Grace" is not written permission to sequester yourself off from the rest of the Church, simply because they meet in buildings or tithe.

"Grace", simply put, is Jesus. And when He lives in you, He loves in you. He never has, and never will encourage or empower immorality. He never has, and never will cause you to be bitter, jaded, and angry at those who misunderstand Him. He never has, and never will cause you to be divisive, cold, or heartless towards those with differing opinions.

When Grace lives in you, Grace pours out of you.

- Jeff Turner

"You realize this what this means right? The same power keeping Moses out of God's presence is the same power that's holding us in." - a quote from Sir Downing McDade in response my devotional text today.

Exodus 40:34-35 -- "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle." The Spirit that kept Moses OUT of the tabernacle is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead AND DWELLS in us. That's some crazy powerful stuff right there. What are we going to do about it? I say we start praying for people and expect that that power leak out of us.

Grace - The New Creation

Below is another article by Mick Mooney.  Read the bold if you're short on time.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

The new creation

By Mick Mooney

 

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

It's so good to know that when we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, God makes us a new creation in him. God doesn't try to fix the old you; he makes you completely new in Christ! It really is good news for our lives. The word 'gospel' literally means 'good news'. The good news of Jesus Christ is that through faith in him we are made a new creation and are given a new life.

 

The message of forgiveness through Jesus is a very significant part of the message; however, it is so important to recognise that it is not the full message. There is more good news within the good news! The gospel is the good news of the new covenant in which there is forgiveness of sins and also new life. When the angel of the Lord freed the Apostles from prison he said to them:

 

Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of new life!  Acts 5:20

 

Up to this point, the Apostles were only preaching the good news of the forgiveness of sins, however, now the Lord was encouraging them to start preaching the full message of new life. New creation life in Jesus!

 

In him you have not only been saved but you have also been made a new creation, with a new reality and new found blessings and privileges. God knew that if he had to fix the old you it would have taken him the rest of eternity, and he simply couldn't wait that long to pour out his unfailing love upon you. This is why he made you a new creation, so that there would be nothing in you that could separate you from the love of Christ.

 

Being made a new creation does not mean that we will now freely indulge in the sinful nature without any consequences. What it means is that a new reality has been given to us by which we are no longer trapped by sin. When you accepted Christ, your reality changed.  Now that you are a new creation in him, you have been born again, no longer with the nature of Adam, but now with the nature of Christ! This means that you no longer sin by nature, but you now live a righteous life by nature.

 

As a new creation in Jesus, the 'sin man', who led us to live sinfully, has been condemned at the cross with Jesus, and now as a new creation you have the 'righteous man' living in you—that is Christ in you. In fact, the Scriptures say that when you were 'in Adam' you were controlled by sin, but now that you are 'in Christ' you are controlled by righteousness. You are now controlled by Christ in you, who is leading you in his ways!

Grace - The Goodness of God

Below is"The Goodness of God" by A.W. Tozer.  I've highlighted some parts in bold; read those if you're short on time.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy



The Goodness of God
by A.W. Tozer


The word good means so many things to so many persons that this brief study of the divine goodness begins with a definition. The meaning may be arrived at only by the use of a number of synonyms, going out from and returning by different paths to the same place.

When Christian theology says that God is good, it is not the same as saying that He is righteous or holy. The holiness of God is trumpeted from the heavens and re-echoed on earth by saints and sages wherever God has revealed Himself to men; however, we are not at this time considering His holiness but His goodness, which is quite another thing.

The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank, and friendly. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people.

That God is good is taught or implied on every page of the Bible and must be received as an article of faith as impregnable as the throne of God. It is a foundation stone for all sound thought about God and is necessary to moral sanity. To allow that God could be other than good is to deny the validity of all thought and end ill the negation of every moral judgment. If God is not good, then there can be no distinction between kindness and cruelty, and heaven can be hell and hell, heaven.

The goodness of God is the drive behind all the blessings He daily bestows upon us. God created us because He felt good in His heart and He redeemed us for the same reason.

Julian of Norwich, who lived six hundred years ago, saw clearly that the ground of all blessedness is the goodness of God. Chapter six of her incredibly beautiful and perceptive little classic, Revelations of Divine Love, begins, "This showing was made to learn our souls to cleave wisely to the goodness of God." Then she lists some of the mighty deeds God has wrought in our behalf, and after each one she adds "of His goodness."

She saw that all our religious activities and every means of grace, however right and useful they may be, are nothing until we understand that the unmerited, spontaneous goodness of God is back of all and underneath all His acts.

Divine goodness, as one of God's attributes, is self-caused, infinite, perfect, and eternal. Since God is immutable He never varies in the intensity of His loving-kindness. He has never been kinder than He now is, nor will He ever be less kind. He is no respecter of persons but makes His sun to shine on the evil as well as on the good, and sends His rain on the just and on the unjust. The cause of His goodness is in Himself, the recipients of His goodness are all His beneficiaries without merit and without recompense.

With this agrees reason, and the moral wisdom that knows itself runs to acknowledge that there can be no merit in human conduct, not even in the purest and the best. Always God's goodness is the ground of our expectation. Repentance, though necessary, is not meritorious but a condition for receiving the gracious gift of pardon which God gives of His goodness.

Prayer is not itself meritorious. It lays God under no obligation nor puts Him in debt to any. He hears prayer because He is good, and for no other reason. Nor is faith meritorious; it is simply confidence in the goodness of God, and the lack of it is a reflection upon God's holy character.

The whole outlook of mankind might be changed if we could all believe that we dwell under a friendly sky and that the God of heaven, though exalted in power and majesty is eager to be friends with us.

But sin has made us timid and self-conscious, as well it might. Years of rebellion against God have bred in us, a fear that cannot be overcome in a day. The captured rebel does not enter willingly the presence of the king he has so long fought unsuccessfully to overthrow. But if he is truly penitent he may come, trusting only n the loving-kindness of his Lord, and the past will not be held against him. Meister Eckhart encourages us to remember that, when we return to God, even if our sins were as great in number as all mankind's put together, still God would not count them against us, but would have as much confidence in us as if we had never sinned.

Now someone who in spite of his past sins honestly wants to become reconciled to God may cautiously inquire, "If I come to God, how will He act toward me? What kind of disposition has He? What will I find Him to be like?" The answer is that He will be found to be exactly like Jesus. "He that hath seen me," said Jesus, "bath seen the Father."

Christ walked with men on earth that He might show them what God is like and make known the true nature of God to a race that had wrong ideas about Him. This was only one of the things He did while here in the flesh, but this He did with beautiful perfection. From Him we learn how God acts toward people. The hypocritical, the basically insincere, will find Him cold and aloof, as they once found Jesus; but the penitent will find Him merciful; the self-condemned will find Him generous and kind. To the frightened He is friendly, to the poor in spirit He is forgiving, to the ignorant, considerate; to the weak, gentle; to the stranger, hospitable.

By our own attitudes we may determine our reception by Him. Though the kindness of God is an infinite, overflowing fountain of cordiality, God will not force His attention upon us. If we would be welcomed as the Prodigal was, we must come as the Prodigal came; and when we so come, even though the Pharisees and the legalists sulk without, there will be a feast of welcome within, and music and dancing as the Father takes His child again to His heart. The greatness of God rouses fear within us, but His goodness encourages us not to be afraid of Him. To fear and not be afraid - that is the paradox of faith.

O God, my hope, my heavenly rest,
My all of happiness below,
Grant my importunate request,
To me, to me, Thy goodness show;
Thy beatific face display,
The brightness of eternal day.

Before my faith's enlightened eyes,
Make all Thy gracious goodness pass;
Thy goodness is the sight I prize:
might I see Thy smiling face:
They nature in my soul proclaim,
Reveal Thy love, Thy glorious name.
Charles Wesley

Grace - The Self-Focused Disciples

The following is an amazing article!

The Self-Focused Disciples

By Mick Mooney

 

 

Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.' - John 13:7

 

 

How could the twelve disciples walk with Jesus, spend every day with him, and still misunderstand him and his message?  It was possible because during the time that they walked with him they didn't have the revelation of the almighty power of Christ's cross.  The cross is what changed everything.

 

The disciples in the gospel accounts did not realise God's greater purpose. They were focused on what, according to their religious upbringing, they believed the Christ would accomplish in regards to their worldly external situation. God's actual plan, to make them a new creation through the finished work of Christ with a new covenant and a new spiritual reality, was a foreign concept to them. Before the reality of the cross was revealed to the disciples, they were focused more on how they could be great disciples of God, how they could improve their own faith and what they could do to be considered great in God's eyes.

 

It's interesting to note that even eight years after the resurrection of Jesus, the Apostles still did not understand that the new covenant was available to Gentiles! (Acts 11:1-18)  They still believed it was an exclusive covenant only to the Jews. This is not the only time in the Scriptures that we see how the Apostles did not understand the fullness of God's grace. In fact, the whole book of Acts reveals to us how the Apostles went on a journey of growing in their understanding of the new covenant reality and the power and greatness of the grace of God. (John 12:16)

 

Seeing this situation in the gospel accounts helps us as disciples today to understand the necessity of being conscious of the true purpose of Christ. Even if we are so zealous for Jesus that we give up everything to follow him as the original twelve disciples did, without a revelation of his finished work we will end up zealously trying to finish God's work, misunderstanding God's purposes and burning out along the way.  (Romans 10:2-3)

 

Today there are many Christians that are zealous for God, but that do not understand the reality of what Christ accomplished upon the cross. Without a revelation of his finished work, a believer will naturally wander back into a religious 'works orientated' mindset.  This mindset makes a disciple look at their own ideas (when they should be looking at the cross) to understand the scriptures, God, the gospel, their identity and their worth. This perspective can lead believers to either harden their hearts to God's grace, or have an overwhelming feeling of spiritual inadequacy. When we see the fullness of what Christ has accomplished for us, we begin to see all things according to his grace and we finally begin to rest in his presence.

Hope you enjoyed this!

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - We are loved with a brand new covenant

By Mick Mooney:

 

Religion will always try to sell you the lie that God wants to relate

to you based on your 'works', but the gospel proclaims the truth

that God actually desires to relate with you based on the finished

work of his Son.

 

The life of Jesus completely interrupted mankind's obsession

with religious obligations, rituals and sacrifices. He put an end to

the idea that we could reach God by our own efforts and good

works. He revealed a better way—his way. It is the new and living

way, and it is glorious! (Hebrews 10:19-22)

 

Sometimes, even as Christians, we can still cling to our old religious

mindsets that demand that we work for our provision, prove

ourselves worthy and earn our place in God's presence. We may not

say these things out loud, but they remain in our sub-conscious and

cause our faith journey to be heavy and burdensome. However, God,

in his goodness, is always offering to take that burden off of our

shoulders and replace it with the truth of our new covenant reality—

the way has already been prepared for us.

 

The reality is that Jesus died not only for the forgiveness of

our sins; he also died to establish a brand new covenant in which we

could live. In this covenant there is not only forgiveness of sins, but

also new life. It is a heavenly agreement, not based on mankind's

faithfulness, but on the perfect faithfulness of Jesus. It is eternally

guaranteed, not based on mankind's offerings, but on the perfect

offering of Jesus. It is a personal relationship in which can God

reveal himself as he truly is: the God of all grace.(1 Peter 5:10)

 

Most of us, as followers of Jesus, understand the theory that

we are loved, but it's often possible to feel a much more tangible

sense that we are somehow a disappointment to God or a chronic

underachiever in spiritual disciplines. God's heart is to bring us out

of this religious mindset into the glorious freedom of his grace. The

truth is we are radically loved.

Grace - The Finished Work

"Jesus is the reason that we can walk our journey of faith with this mindset (Colossians 3:1) and not be burdened by a religious mindset of spiritual debt (Galatians 5:1).  Christ has paid for everything.  As far as God is concerned, all debts owed to Him have been paid.  Because of this, we can have peace before Him.  When we feel that we still owe God, we cannot rest in His presence.  Instead, we forever try to pay off our debt to Him through spiritual disciplines, and in the process fail miserably to live up to our own religious standards.

In Christ you can be assured God is not relating to you based on how much you pray or read your Bible.  He is not counting how many people you share your faith with, nor how much money you give away.  Naturally in our journey of faith we may do these things, however they are not an obligation or God's measuring stick regarding your spiritual condition.  They are simply a response to the reality of our salvation."  By Mick Mooney

Grace - Who Are You Following?

He was described as:

1.  a mad man
2.  a good man
3.  a prophet
4.  a false prophet
5.  a con man
6.  a heretic
7.  a drunk
8.  a glutton
9.  a wizard
10.  a mere man
11.  a myth that never existed

Who is He?

--- He is Jesus Christ ---

1.  John 10:20
2.  John 7:12
3.  Matthew 21:101-11
4.  John 7:52
5.  Mark 6:3
6.  John 7:12-13
7.  Matthew 26:65
8.  Matthew 11:19
9.  Matthew 12:24
10.  John 10:33
11.  2 Peter 1:16

Grace - Our Mindset

"Sometimes, even as Christians, we can still cling to our old religious mindsets that demand that we work for our provision, prove ourselves worthy and earn our place in God's presence.  We may not say these things out loud, but they remain in our sub-conscious and cause our faith journey to be heavy and burdensome.  However, God, in His goodness, is always offering to take that burden off of our shoulders and replace it with the truth of our new covenant reality--the way has already been prepared for us.

The reality is that Jesus died not only for the forgiveness of our sins; He also died to establish a BRAND NEW COVENANT in which we could live.  In this covenant there is not only forgiveness of sins, but also new life.  It is a heavenly agreement, not based on mankind's faithfulness, but on the perfect faithfulness of Jesus.  It is eternally guaranteed, not based on mankind's offerings, but on the perfect offering of Jesus.  It is a personal relationship in which God can reveal Himself as He truly is:  the God of all grace.

Most of us, as followers of Jesus, understand the theory that we are loved, but it's often possible to feel a much more tangible sense that we are somehow a disappointment to God or a chronic underachiever in spiritual disciplines.  God's heart is to bring us out of this religious mindset into the glorious freedom of His grace.  The truth is we are radically loved."  By Mick Mooney

Grace - A Great Article by Mick Mooney

I highlighted some of this article because it's really good.  Enjoy.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Faith, Spirit, Grace, and Power

By Mick Mooney

This proposal pleased the whole group.  They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit….  Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.  Acts 6:5-8

            When we read the book of Acts, we find a disciple by the name of Stephen.  He was such an amazing follower of Christ that the Holy Spirit introduced him twice in the space of three verses.  I'm sure the Holy Spirit didn't do this because we have a very short attention span.  He was introduced twice because God wanted us to pay attention to this man and learn from his life and testimony.  He was introduced the first time as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.  Three verses later he was introduced again, this time as a man full of God's grace and power!

            These four characteristics that Stephen was introduced with are characteristics we all want to have, right?  Most believers desire to be filled with faith, the Holy Spirit, grace, and power.  The Bible doesn't record that he had some faith, some grace, and some power.  The Scriptures tell us that he was full of each of them. What is truly amazing is that all of these attributes that he had were gifts from God.

            You cannot earn more grace; it is a gift given from God, as is faith, as is God's power and as is the Holy Spirit.  They are all gifts, yet the Scriptures tell us that we can be given more faith, we can be filled with more of his Spirit, we can grow in grace and we can receive more power.  So the question is:  What did Stephen do to be filled to the full with each of these heavenly gifts?

            He did the one thing right:  he spent his time captivated by the fullness of the Lord Jesus in all of His glory and greatness.  The secret to Stephen receiving such an overflow of faith, the Holy Spirit, grace, and power is that he didn't have his focus on any of these gifts; he had his focus on Jesus.  He had a revelation that Jesus was more than enough for him, and because his focus was firstly on Jesus, God rewarded him with the fullness of all of these precious gifts.

            Because he gave so much of his attention to Jesus and His glory, he began giving less glory to religious traditions and self-elevated "spiritual leaders".  His faith was not controlled by men, but rather he was free in the truth of Christ.  It was his love for Christ that caused the religious leaders to persecute him, as he was putting more confidence in Christ than the institution of the temple and the traditional religious customs (Acts 6:12-14).

            As he stood before the religious council to give his defense, he did not just testify with his words, but with his life also.  His life and worldview was built upon the reality of Jesus, and it was this focus that caused him to shine with the light of Christ, even while standing before his accusers!

            All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was life the face of an angel.  Acts 6:15

            I'm confident that none of the members of the Sanhedrin actually knew what an angel looked like, so why did they think this?  It was because when they looked into the face of Stephen, they saw the radiance of God's glory reflecting off of him!

           

            When they looked at him, it looked to them like they were staring at heaven's glory.  And why was that?  Because when we spend our time as Christians being captivated by the fullness of Jesus in His glory, then His glory reflects onto us and we, too, shine in this world with His glory.  Not by our efforts, but by the work of the Spirit in us (2 Cor. 3:17-18).

            He was always looking at the glorious Son of God with the eyes of faith, and the result was the Lord's glory reflecting through his life.  He radiated with so much of God's glory that even those who considered themselves his enemy could see this.  More than that, it allowed the Spirit to completely transform his life to be full of faith, the Holy Spirit, grace, and power.  All of this happened to him with ever-increasing glory, not by the efforts and willpower of Stephen, but by the Lord.  When we do the beholding, God does the transforming of our lives! (2 Cor. 4:6).

            He was also filled with God's wisdom.  So much so that no one could stand up against his wisdom as he proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ.  All he wanted to do was to get people to take their eyes off of themselves, and off of their religious bias, and look to see Jesus for who He truly was.

            Even when he finished his passionate proclamation of the gospel and the Sanhedrin still refused to acknowledge Jesus, Stephen cried out to them all:

            "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."  Acts 7:56

            Right to the end of his life he was still captivated by Jesus.  He still had his eyes fixed on the Author of his faith.  Even to the end he was still trying to get people to just look and see Jesus for who He truly was:  The glorious Savior of the world, now at the right hand of God!

            When we start to see the reality of Jesus, it consumes our attention.  It gives a believer such joy just to see Jesus and to see the fullness of Him.  It is the greatest blessing we can have as believers:  the blessing of seeing Christ and knowing Him.

            Even at the point of being killed, he still tried to get people to see Jesus for who He truly was:  not their enemy, but their Savior.  The Sanhedrin thought of Jesus as a troublemaker, because He was messing with their religious traditions.  They refused to see Jesus in His true light, and so they thought themselves His enemy.

            Stephen wanted them to see the truth regarding Jesus, because he knew that if they could only see Jesus for who He truly was, they would realize that Jesus doesn't make enemies of men, He makes sons of God.  Jesus doesn't make people enemies of God; he makes them friends of God.  Jesus is not the one who condemns us; He is the one who saves us!

           

            Stephen wasn't stoned for being an evil-doer; He was stoned because He was trying to point people to the Righteous One.  The members of the Sanhedrin refused to look, and instead picked up stones and began stoning him.  Just before he died, he asked God for on final blessing.  The last blessing he asked the Father for was that God would forgive the men who were stoning him!

            Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."  When he has said this, he fell asleep.  Acts 7:60

            Who can love their enemies so much that even when they are in the middle of being killed by them, they can still ask God to forgive them?  This is a supernatural love that man cannot have in their own strength, but when we see the fullness of Jesus and receive Him as He is, it is the kind of love Christ gives us.

           

            Stephen did not want the sins these men committed against him to be the reason they were separated from God.  He prayed that God would forgive them this sin so that they may still come to know him as their Lord and Savior.  He did this because he witnessed first-hand how Christ had transformed his life.  He knew that if Jesus could do it for him, He could do it for them as well, if they would only look to Jesus and see Him in the fullness of His grace.

            God desires to transform your life and grow the fruit of His Spirit within you.  Love is not the fruit of your efforts and willpower; it is a fruit of His Spirit.  Take the time to see the fullness of Christ and God will happily transform your life by pouring out upon you the abundance of His grace.

            Stephen loved abundantly and had faith in abundance because he allowed God to pour out His grace into his life in abundance.  The Scriptures promise you that when you receive His grace freely, you will also receive His faith and love.  They are all part of this wonderful new covenant God has made with you!  (1 Tim. 1:14)

Grace - Lies Christians Believe - You Need to Love God More

Your Greatest Need Is to Love God More

By Steve McVey

 

One time a lawyer came to Jesus and asked Him, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"  Note the focus of the man's question here.  He was asking about the Law.  Jesus answered his question, saying,

 

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."  This is the great and foremost commandment (Matthew 27:37-38).

 

In response to the man's question about the greatest law, Jesus answered that it is to love God.  Therefore, what could be wrong with telling people they need to love God more?  Once again, with some probing we find that what sounds good on the surface doesn't work in real life.  So what's the answer!

 

Simple.  By our own power, we can't love God the way that command demands.  God knew this, of course, which is one of the reasons He gave the commandment.  Just try commanding your children to love each other more.  It might be right and a good thing to want, but commanding people to love just doesn't work.  Commanding people who don't already possess love to love does nothing but expose their inability.

 

Remember, Jesus was quoting the Law of Moses to people who were under the Law.  Pushing the idea that we need to love God more is right in line with the Law.  Although it sounds good on the surface, it is actually legalistic teaching.  It's an ironic fact that when a person focuses on the demand to love God more, the whole thing actually backfires and causes him to become painfully aware of how much he lacks in the area of loving God.

 

That's the weakness of laws.  They are true and right about what we ought to do—but there is no power in them to enable us to do!

 

The Truth Is So Much Better!

 

The Bible says that when the Law of God confronts us, the result is that it stirs up more sinful passions.  Look at these passages:

 

            The Law came in so that the transgression would increase (Romans 5:20).

 

While we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death (Romans 7:5).

 

What shall we say then?  Is the Law sin?  May it never be!  On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, "You shall not covet."  But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law, sin is dead (Romans 7:7-8).

 

The Law stimulates rebellion against the very thing it demands.  So if you focus on how much you should love God, that command will condemn you and cause you to be filled with a sense of guilt.  In fact, people often feel that they ought to love God more already.  So why don't they?  They can't.  So what is the answer?  It's right there in 1 John 4:19:  "We love, because He first loved us."  It isn't possible to love Him as we want to until we understand how much He loves us.  Then, and only, we will find love for God swelling up within our hearts.

 

Haven't you found this to be true in your own life?  When you've focused on loving Him more, did you feel like you were succeeding?  Or did you find yourself literally praying for help to love Him more?  Praying, "Lord, help me to love you more" is evidence that you felt you were falling short in that area.

 

The key to loving God more, then, is to focus on how much He loves us, not on how much we love Him at any given moment in life.  Shake free from the lie that the most important thing in your life is to love God more and begin to focus on how much your heavenly Father loves you.

 

This is why Paul mentions so often in his letter his desire that those to whom he wrote would gain the spiritual understanding of God's love for them.  I suggest you pray the same thing for yourself that you can see in this great passage:

 

            I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19).

 

I promise you:  People who are growing to know deeply the transforming love of God in Jesus Christ in their hearts and minds find that loving God in return comes without need of His command.  These are the people who begin discovering what a grace perspective accomplishes in our lives—without a struggle.

 

Clarify Your Thinking

 

As you grow in your understanding of the great love that He has for you, you'll discover an awakening and motivation within your.  In response to His love, you will grow and flourish.  You'll find yourself loving Him more and more (and even loving everybody else around you more and more too).

 

The idea that the greatest need in your life is to love God more may sound true on the surface, but it is a legalistic lie.  The Bible says that God loves us, and everything revolves around that.  When you focus on His love for you—instead of your love for Him—you will discover that knowing the love of God for you is a truth that will set you free in your own grace walk.

Grace - Totally Forgiven, Totally United, Totally Filled, Part 2

Totally Forgiven, Totally United, Totally Filled, Part 2

by Ryan Rufus

Totally United With Christ

 

"If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection."  (Romans 6:5 NIV)

 

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."  (Ephesians 2:6 NIV)

 

"But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit."  (1 Cor. 6:17 NIV)

 

This is one of the most profound revelations that you will ever have.  Your spirit has been fully united with Christ.  That means that you are united with Christ in His death, in His burial, in His resurrection, in His ascension and in being seated on the throne at the right hand of the Father.

 

Everything that happened to Jesus also happened to you.  You receive the benefits of it all, yet without having to physically go through it.  He hung on the Cross in our place.  He took all our sins and sicknesses and the full weight of the judgment and wrath of God.  Thank God we didn't have to face that judgment!  Jesus faced that for us so we will never have to!

 

If God has already punished Christ for your sins, He cannot then punish you for those same sins!  Some people preach as though God is going to punish you for your sins.  Some will preach that God has made you sick because He is punishing you for your sins.  If that were the case, then God is dishonoring the Cross.  The Bible says that Jesus was punished for all of our sins.  God will never, ever punish you with sickness because of sin in your life.

 

Some of you reading this are sick and think it is God punishing you for your sin.  You need to get free right now in Jesus Name!  You need to challenge that lie that is from the pit of Hell and reject it.  You have been forgiven of all your sin, therefore it is impossible that God has afflicted you because of sin.  Challenge that lie and receive your healing right now!

 

You died with Christ, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised to new life in Christ.  You used to be dead to God, but then God raised you up in new creation life in Christ.  The life of Christ is now your life.  You were born again!  All people are born naturally of water (flesh), but as a believer, you have been supernaturally born of the spirit by the Holy Spirit, who made you alive with Christ.

 

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ…"  (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV)

 

Do you know where you are seated right now in the spiritual realms?  On the throne with Christ!  You are a co-heir with Christ and joined to Him.  That is greater than any of us realize.  That is so powerful and extremely profound.  You are seated with Christ and reigning together with Christ!

 

Do you know that when you experienced the miracle of rebirth through faith in Christ, your spirit was united with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and glorification?  Do you know that once that has happened to you, it can never be undone?  Do you know what that means?  It means that you can never lose your salvation! Why?  Because Christ is your life.  In order for you to lose your salvation, you would have to spiritually die again.  But it is impossible for you to spiritually die, because you are united with Christ and His life is now your life.  That is our eternal guarantee!  He will never die again!  He has an indestructible life.  He is our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, and He ever lives to intercede for us.  And because we are united with Him, that means we can never die again!  If you can never die again then you can never lose your salvation!

 

"But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.  Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."  (Hebrews 7:24-25)

 

I have looked at many of the scriptures that seem to imply that you can lose your salvation, but when those scriptures are read in their proper context, they actually only reinforce the fact that you can't lose your salvation!  People have taken those scriptures and used them to try and put illegitimate fear into Christians to motivate them to live a certain way for God.  But that's not true New Covenant motivation of faith, love, and hope in the Spirit.  Rather, it's that Old Covenant manipulative motivation of blessings and curse.  I don't resist sin because I'm scared of God's judgment or losing my salvation.  I resist sin because I love God and His nature is inside of me.  I don't serve God because I'm scared of what will happen if I don't, or because I want to get some blessing.  I serve Him because my spirit has been awakened to Him and my spirit if full of His passion, love, and purpose.

 

Don't ever be manipulated to serve God.  You don't need to be manipulated to serve God!  Your spirit wants to serve God!  It's been united with Christ.  You have all of His life inside of you!  If you are a leader, you don't need to manipulate Christians into serving God with clever techniques.  You don't need to make Christians fearful in order to motivate them to do things for God, or promise them special blessings.  No!  Teach them about what has happened inside of them.  Show them their new nature and what God has done in their spirit and watch those Christians come alive.  You won't be able to stop them from serving God!

Grace - Totally Forgiven, Totally United, Totally Filled, Part 1

Totally Forgiven, Totally United, Totally Filled

by Ryan Rufus

Here are three truths that will ruin you forever, in a good way, that is! Once these are in your heart, your life will take on a persona of peace, security, stability and confidence like never before. You will live free from useless religious activities and find it easier to live in the sweet spot of a supernatural grace life.

 

Totally Forgiven

 

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive in Christ. He forgave us all our sins." (Col. 2:13 NIV)

 

Most Christians have no trouble believing that Jesus has forgiven them of all their past sins. Many, however, have great trouble believing that Jesus has already forgiven them of all the future sins as well. Because of this lack in revelation, they fell they have to continually confess and repent of their sins and be cleansed of them, and they feel far from God until they have done so. They get caught up in what the Bible calls "dead works" or "faithless works" because they do not have a revelation of total forgiveness.

 

The truth is, God doesn't forgive us our sins, He forgave us our sins! Forgiveness is past tense, not future tense. It is a completed work, not something we hope will happen one day, and is also not an ongoing process via installments. Our forgiveness is past tense, it happened 2000 years ago. When we came into Christ, we came into total and complete forgiveness of all the sins we have ever committed, and all the sins we will ever commit! The Cross looked ahead at every sin and dealt with it right there!

 

If the Cross only dealt with past sins, it would mean that only those who sinned before the crucifixion could be forgiven. Everyone born after Jesus would not be able to receive forgiveness and would be stuck with their sin! Their only hope would be for Jesus to be crucified again.

 

Similarly, if Jesus' crucifixion didn't atone for your future sin, then every time you sin, He would have to be crucified again in order for those newly committed sins to be atoned for. This is clearly impossible, as Christ can never die again! Nor is it necessary. The Bible is clear: He forgave us all our sins: past, present, and future!

 

The reason many can't accept this, is because they still have an Old Covenant mindset of having to offer a sacrifice to pay for their sin. When you don't see how the "once for all" sacrifice of Christ has completely dealt with all sin, from the start of time to the end of time, then you'll feel you need to continually offer something to pay for your sin and get rid of the guilt.

 

"Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Hebrews 10:11-14)

 

Did you notice, in there, one of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible? Here it is again, "But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins." This scripture is saying that Jesus offered one sacrifice of all sin, for all time! Not many sacrifices, but one sacrifice. Not some sins, but all sin. Not just time past, but for all time! That means past, present, and future sin! All sin was included and completely dealt with!  I want to declare to you today that all of your future sins have already been forgiven, even before you have committed them!

 

Knowing this will seriously affect how you live your life and the relationship you enjoy with God. It will free you from a whole lot of lifeless rituals and release you into a new and living way of serving God and being fruitful.

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience for dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14)

 

Many Christians, when they sin, feel unrighteous, dirty, and guilty. They feel that have let God down and that God is no longer pleased with them. Their guilt then drives them to try and deal with their sin. So they pray and confess their sin. They repent and promise God that they will never do it again. Do you know that there is no Scripture under the New Covenant that commands born-again believers to confess their sins, repent of them, or even ask God to now forgive them? I know this challenges our modern-day sin conscious mindset and strikes fear into the hearts of some believers who think this will lead to a casting off of restraint. But to confess, repent and ask God for forgiveness of sins is a contradiction to the Gospel. Why? Because by one sacrifice He has dealt with all your sins for all time! And you need to go back and have a good look at all the scriptures that people use to try and get you confessing and repenting, in their proper context. You'll be surprised!

 

Under the New Covenant, we are not called to confess our sins, we are called to confess our righteousness in Jesus Christ!

 

Take your eyes off your sin and get your eyes onto Christ. The more you do that, the more you will overcome sin in your life! We are not even called to ask for forgiveness if and when we sin now! I know this confounds the traditional way in which we were discipled. You may have been taught in church that, as a Christian, after you sin, you have to confess your sin and ask for forgiveness. But let me ask you this: Have you found where the Bible teaches that in the New Covenant? You shouldn't always believe everything we preachers tell you! You should always find out for yourself and then base your life on the truth of the Word of God, not just on what someone else says.

 

The desire to want to say sorry to God and to ask for forgiveness is the result of a conscience that is more aware of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil than a consciousness of the finished work of Christ. A conscience that wants to get rid of guilt by practicing these dead work rituals is a conscience that needs to be washed by the blood of Jesus. You need to renew your conscience to grace.

 

Of course we'll feel guilt after sin. That's normal. Something would be seriously wrong if we didn't! But it's how we deal with that guilt that's important. Do we try to achieve righteousness and forgiveness, or do we rest in the finished work of Christ and confess our perfect righteousness and purity in Him?

 

This is the kind of confession I make if I mess up: "God, I'm sorry. I did not want to do that. That's not part of my new creation nature. But I am not going to get all morbid and introspective or sorrowful and guilty! You don't want that. You want me to lift up my head and stay in the spirit, and to thank You for Your free gift of righteousness and total forgiveness. I fix my eyes and consciousness on Jesus, whose blood has washed away all my sin. Thank You that I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I believe it!"

 

God doesn't want guilt-ridden introspection that focuses on our sin. He wants us to continually focus on Him. For many years in my Christ life, I would always feel like I needed to ask God for forgiveness when I sinned. In fact, I did always ask God: "God, please forgive me. Please cleanse me." That was until I came into the revelation of total forgiveness! Once I came into the revelation of total forgiveness, do you know what started to happen? When I sinned and went to God to ask for forgiveness, I would hear the voice of the Father saying straight back to me, "Ryan, I already have! I did it two thousand years ago at the Cross. And you know all those sins you are going to commit in the future? I have already forgiven those too!"

 

Christians who are not secure in grace will immediately say: "Oh, come now, Ryan, be careful! If you say this stuff, Christians are going to go wild and sin even more!" They say this as though having to ask God for forgiveness after they've sinned is a deterrent that stops believers from sinning. But let me ask this: Which has the most potential to stop you from sinning: Knowing you are forgiven before you sin? Or, knowing you can get forgiveness after you sin? Neither! Christians will sin either way! Some people accuse grace as just a license to sin and think that if we were a bit under the law, then we wouldn't sin. They say this as though law is not a license to sin. Yet under the law, if you sinned, you could go and offer a sacrifice for that sin, and you'd be forgiven.

 

I don't know about you, but I'm born-again! I don't want to sin. My new nature, God's nature, wants to live for God. It wants to serve God! It is not even a sacrifice! The desire and passion of my spirit is to live one hundred percent for God! And if I could live just by my reborn spirit—my new creation nature—then I would live absolutely perfect for God and in His perfect will. The problem is that our body and our mind get in the way, and are tempted by sin because they haven't been made perfect yet. My mind and my body may get tempted to sin, but the real me, my spirit, doesn't want to sin. Sin is foreign to my new nature. This is why the Bible says we must offer our bodies as living sacrifices and renew our minds. This simply means learning how to surrender our mind and our body to our spirit, so that our spirit is in control and leads us. As we walk by our spirit, we will live out all the riches of God's nature that He put inside of our spirit at the point of salvation.

 

"…and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph. 4:24 ESV)

Your new nature has been created after the nature of God in perfect righteousness and perfect holiness. The Bible says that God has put His law in our hearts (Hebrews 8 & 10). That's not talking about the Ten Commandments. Goodness gracious, if God did that, it would just kill us! No, the law which God put on our hearts is His nature. It is His perfect nature.

 

No one has to say to God: "God, You shouldn't life. You shouldn't steal. You shouldn't commit adultery." Why? Because it's not in His nature. His nature is perfect! God cannot sin. And when we live by our new nature, we live by His desires, His perfect and holy nature. This is when sin becomes easy to overcome! Now, let us continue with our original point.

As a New Covenant, born-again believer, to go and ask God for forgiveness after you have sinned, is in fact, a sin! It is the sin of unbelief. You don't believe in the finished work of the Cross, and therefore you are trying to achieve what you don't realize you already have: Total forgiveness of all sin from the start of your life to the end of your life.

 

Preaching total forgiveness is not giving people a license to sin. I don't personally know of any grace preachers that are preaching a license to sin, not one! However, if you do sin (now, brace yourself…), don't start asking God for forgiveness. Don't start confessing that sin and repenting of that sin. Get your eyes on Jesus and keep your faith in Him! Keep walking in the spirit covenant, the grace covenant. Keep declaring your absolute forgiveness. Confess your righteousness and keep reminding yourself of the finished work of Christ!

 

"Father, thank You, that even this sin has been dealt with, and I am still perfectly righteous!"

 

Do you know that some Christians think that when you sin, you become unholy until you have confessed, repented, been forgiven and cleansed of that sin? Do you know that is absolute deception? Other than Scripture being abundantly clear about that, there is another proof that your purity and your relationship with God is not broken by sin: it's called the every-abiding presence of the Holy Spirit! If your sin made you unholy and unrighteous, then the Holy Spirit would have to leave you every time you sinned, until you received forgiveness and were "made holy" again. You would have to be re-baptized in the Holy Spirit. That is ridiculous! He never leaves! He is ever present! Why? Because you are ever righteous, ever holy, and eternally forgiven! Joy comes when we believe that!

 

The Gospel of Grace should make you happy, because it is good news! It is always good news! If someone turns the good news into bad news, don't listen to them! They are not preaching the good news. It is always good and should always make you happy and produce supernatural joy, peace and freedom in you.

Grace - Quote

We still struggle with our old sinful nature because we believe we should. In fact, the reason there is any sin whatsoever in our lives in any area is because we have a framework of belief that empowers it. - Phil Drysdale

Grace=Peace,
Jeremy

Grace - Why Do I Sin?

Why do I sin?

by Phil Drysdale

As discussed in my last blog Jesus has paid the perfect sacrifice for you to have perfect righteousness. Your sinful nature was crucified on the cross and it is dead, it wasn't raised up again but rather a new you was raised; a new creation, as Paul writes to the Corinthians in his second letter. As a side, the word used (in the passage) means new in a totally different way than we often interpret it. There are two words in the Greek for "new"; one means something new in the sense of a replacing of something with something of the same kind. For example, if an apple tree was cut down and you planted another apple tree, it would be a "new" one. This is the word "Neos"; it means new of the same kind. "Kainos", in contrast, means something new but wholly different. To follow the same example, it would be planting an orange tree in place of the apple tree, a new tree but a totally different kind!

The big question

So for many Christians, including myself when I first came into this revelation of the gospel I had a gnawing question in my mind night and day – If I'm righteous by nature and my sin nature is dead then "why am I not perfect? Why do I still sin?"

The answer surprisingly is incredibly simple. We still struggle with our old sinful nature because we believe we should. In fact, the reason there is any sin whatsoever in our lives in any area is because we have a framework of belief that empowers it.

I'd encourage you to read through the New Testament again and, every time you come across the topic of seeing grace appropriated in your life, read the verse in its immediate context and you will see that while we HAVE everything through grace, we RECEIVE it by our faith.

Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace you have been saved through faith…

Romans 4:16 - Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace…

Romans 5:2 – Through [Christ] we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

There are countless verses about faith and grace--even Solomon understood this principle in the old covenant when he said "For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Pr. 23:7).

Another side note, look at what Ephesians 2:8 actually goes on to say: 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God'. Your faith isn't even yours; it's a gift from God! Lest you could boast in your own faith! haha

Activating grace

So if the grace has already been paid for and given to us on the cross by the power of what Christ did, then how do we see it activated in our lives? By faith. By believing.(Faith. Belief) This is what Paul means in Romans 12:2 when he stated that we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

You see, transformation cannot be brought by you trying to do better. This is what Jesus was talking about with the vine producing fruit: he called you branches for a reason. We don't try to produce fruit. We can't. Our job is to just be what we know; that it is your nature to produce fruit.

In our old nature we constantly had to fight against the current of a stream flowing towards unrighteousness. If we did nothing we would just float down the river towards sin. If we fought hard enough we might do some good acts but with effort and strain that ultimately is not good enough (Isa 64:6, Phil 3:9). However now we have a righteous nature, we flow down the stream towards righteousness! We do good by nature! In fact – and this will be a hurdle for some - you striving to do good actually produces sin in your life! If you try follow the law it will always lead to sin. (1 Cor 15:56, Rom 4:15)

So why do I still sin? Because somewhere along the lines we were taught that we are still sinners, or worse, that we are righteous, but we have to "work" out our salvation.

The key then is to stop resurrecting the old man and operating out of that nature! Which, given the world around us and our old thought patterns, can be harder than it seems at times but really is profoundly simple: Take those thoughts captive.

Warring against the flesh

On that note, look at 2 Co.r 10:3-4 – "…we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God".

It is not in the flesh we war, we aren't fighting against our nature but rather it is against the strongholds of the minds and arguments/high things that war against the knowledge (i.e. the way you think) of God.

Eph 6:12 says "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." – Again you are not fighting your flesh and blood but rather you're combating the attacks of the enemy. And we all know his way, the ONLY way he can attack: through our beliefs. It was the only way he could attack Adam and Eve in the garden, it's the only way he could attack Jesus and it was the only way he could attack the NT believers. It's always been a war over what we think… never about what we do.

So on that note I'll finish up with a final thought…

In the beginning

Look at Adam and Eve, they had absolute authority over everything, they were put entirely over everything on the earth and yet they had one area that Satan could attack them: Their beliefs. Notice that this is all Satan did, he challenged their beliefs. Did God really say that about you? The fruit? Are you really like Him? The funniest part is they were both perfect in nature and in their environment (bar one bothersome snake). Yet we believe there is no way we could be perfect in nature, because we sin!

The simple fact of the matter is that your old nature is dead, there actually is almost no way to argue that biblically – maybe 2 or 3 verses which you have to take out of context quite drastically. The fact that the traditional church has rewritten our theology of this, not on the basis of scripture but our experience, is terrifying. I'd challenge you to reread through the epistles and ask yourself, are they written to people who need to believe they are righteous or people who need to act more righteous?

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - New Covenant Motivation

Here are excerpts from an article by Wayne Duncan.

New Covenant Motivation
by Wayne Duncan


On resting and bearing fruit:

"Jesus did not assign us to simply bear fruit.  Merely having some fruit does not mean we are living the abundant life that Jesus gives.  We are called to so much more.

"By the my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." -- John 15:8

Here we see that Father is glorified by us bearing much fruit.  I believe that the key to much fruit is found just three verses before this, in verse 5:

"I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." -- John 15:5

Working from rest does not speak of passivity, but rather active duty from a place of rest.  This rest comes from knowing our identity and security.  It's important to know this.  The ultimate goal of working from a place of rest is not passivity, but resting from dead works.  It is based on a revelation that we are righteous because of a gift of God's grace."


On the fear of God:

"God had given Adam and Eve a mandate to be fruitful and to multiply, but when fear was introduced, they became unfruitful and hid from God.  You cannot be fruitful while you are in hiding!  You are not abiding when you are hiding!

It's interesting to me that Adam was not commanded to fear God.  Fear was not part of the motivation that God gave Adam in the garden.  God did not introduce fear into this perfect environment, it came by the knowledge of good and evil.

In Luke 1, we see John the Baptist's father prophesying over John about how he would prepare the way for the one who would bring salvation, and fulfill the covenant God swore to Abraham.  In this prophecy, Zechariah says the Messiah would, "enable us to serve Him without fear".

"Well, fearing God can have a restraining effect when it comes to sinning less:

"Through love and faithfulness, sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil." -- Pro. 16:6 (NIV)

"By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD on turns away from evil." -- Pro. 16:6 (ESV)

So, here we see fear producing a turning away from evil, or as the NIV says, "avoiding evil".  This is obviously a good thing.  But notice that it mentions here a superior way.  The way of love.  It produces atonement or purging.  Fear turns away, or avoids.  Love, however, changes the person from the inside out, and this has a purging effect.

Purge - To cleanse, clear, or purify by separating and carrying off whatever is impure, heterogeneous, foreign, or superfluous. -- Webster's Biblical Dictionary

Fear has effect on a single event at a time, purging affects everything, at every level.  This is a new creation, Holy Spirit reality.  Thus we see that although there is some value, it is inferior motivator, with partial, unsustainable results.

Here is what I consider to be the perfect motivator:

There are no cautions to this motivator.  There are no pitfalls.  There need be no balance or guidelines established.  It is the most powerful motivator, the most pure, the most effective.  This has the ability to produce much fruit, sustainably.  It upholds Jesus' call to abide.

It is superior by far to fear, and completes rewards.

The New Covenant motivation, through the finished work of the Cross, is:

Love expressing itself through faith.

We love and we believe, and therefore, we do.  Jesus said that all the law and the commandments hang on love, and that love fulfills the law.

Love changes the way you think, it changes the way you feel.

We have been given free grace, in love.  If we will receive it, believe it, be rooted and grounded in it...then we can live a life of abundantly more than all we ask, think, imagine.  That is abiding, and that is much fruit.

This is a well-motivated son of God, bearing much fruit.


Grace=Peace,


Jeremy

Grace

Hi Everyone,

Here's a great quote:

"There are two kinds of Sin Consciousness. One is the man who has never been born again. The other is the undeveloped believer--one who has never grown beyond the state of babyhood, doesn't know his rights and privileges in Christ" -- E.W. Kenyon

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Here's a very important teaching

Hello Everyone,

Follow this link for a very important audio teaching series for every Christian:

http://dailyinchrist.org/series/living-in-the-reality-of-perfect-sanctification/

In this teaching you will find out how it is that we ARE perfectly sanctified, made righteous, and redeemed. You will also find out why you remain so even when you sin.

I encourage you greatly to listen to these teachings and apply them to your life in Christ.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy


















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Definition of a friend: A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.

A friend involves himself in your life and you in theirs.

Grace - God’s Unfailing Love (Hebrew: Chesed)

Hi Everyone,

Here is some additional information on God's Unfailing Love (Hebrew: Chesed) taken from various Bible dictionaries:

God's chesed (unfailing love) denotes persistent and unconditional tenderness, kindness, and mercy, a relationship in which He seeks after man with love and mercy.

In general, one may identify three basic meanings of chesed, and these 3 meanings always interact -- strength, steadfastness, and love. Any understanding of chesed that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness.

Chesed is related to covenant and also to the idea of grace in that chesed was (is) extended by God when it was not deserved (in truth chesed is never deserved!). God's chesed is His persistent, unconditional tenderness, kindness, and mercy; a relationship in which God seeks after man with love and mercy.

Chesed often has this flavor: it is not merely love, but loyal love; not merely kindness, but dependable kindness; not merely affection, but affection that has committed itself.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace

Hi there!

The mercy seat ("kapporeth" in Hebrew, "propitiation" in Greek) is the lid of the ark where blood was sprinkled for Israel's sins. It was made of solid gold which had to be beaten into shape. It was also gilded around the edges with a crown design. The mercy seat and sprinkled blood hid the contents of the ark, which represent man's sin. Thus, mercy was above (triumphed over) the law and man's sin was no longer in view. In fact, it was forbidden to look inside the ark (sorry Indy). Given that the same word propitiation is used to refer to Jesus, can you see the symbolism in who He is and what He has done? Quit trying to look inside the ark to find your sin! – Joseph Prince

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace

Hi Everyone,

"Grace does not hide God's eyes from your sinfulness. That's what we've been taught—but the true Gospel is far better.

"Grace actually eradicates sinfulness itself. It's not a cover up—instead, it's an absolute removal of your old heart. Grace is not a freedom to sin, but it is freedom from sin. On the Cross, your sinfulness itself was destroyed in His death. Your old sinful self was co-crucified together with Christ. Grace mystically transformed your identity from a sinner to a saint. There's no mixture left.

"Grace does not merely "cut you slack" while leaving you with indwelling sinfulness. Grace fully nailed that indwelling sinfulness to the tree—your entire old corrupt nature was abolished as a free gift (Romans 6; Galatians 2:20).

"What I am saying is that there is nothing left for you to do, but simply be who you are—that perfect new you who is one spirit with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17). Now your chief end is to glorify God, simply by enjoying Him forever. As John Piper often says, "God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him."" – John Crowder

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy