Grace - Sin can lay claim neither on Jesus, nor you. Part 3

Here is the second part of an excerpt from Paul Ellis' book "The Gospel in Ten Words":

http://jdkrider.blogspot.com/2013/02/grace-sin-can-lay-claim-neither-on.html

Below you may read the third and final part.  I've highlighted a few meaningful sentences.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

So how do we walk in that freedom?  "Count yourselves dead to sin."  Your old master Sin will tempt you and pester you and try and bait you back into captivity.  One of Sin's more cunning strategies is to so sinful desires into your mind and make you believe they are your desires.  Do not be fooled.  You have the mind of Christ, and Jesus never has a sinful thought.  So, if a sinful thought enters your head, you can rest assured it did not originate in your sound mind.  Don't take ownership of it.  If it flew in your left ear, let it fly our your right.  But what you must not do is engage with it.  Don't react, don't dialogue, don't wrestle.  Just play dead.

Playing dead is your best response to a provocateur such as the devil.  Understand that the devil doesn't particularly care how you respond to sinful desires as long as you respond in the flesh.  Sin like a sinner, or resist like a Pharisee, and he wins because you will be distracted from the grace that preserves you.  Your eyes will be on your sinful- or self-righteous self instead of Jesus.

That's the first part; here is the second:  "Reckon yourself alive to God in Christ Jesus."  If all we did was play dead, life would be dead dull.  Life is meant to be lived in spite of all the temptations we face.  We have to live for something, so let us live for Him and His righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).  If we react to anything, let us react to Jesus and the beauty of His holiness.

Choosing to live for Jesus IS spiritual warfare.  It is resisting the devil by submitting to God.  It is the choice that brings ever-increasing freedom and freedom is fun!

Grace - Sin can lay claim neither on Jesus, nor you. Part 2

Here is the first part of an excerpt from Paul Ellis' book "The Gospel in Ten Words":

http://jdkrider.blogspot.com/2013/02/grace-sin-can-lay-no-claim-on-neither.html

Below you may read the second part.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

So how do we partake?  How do we walk in this new way of life and resist the temptation to sin?  The wrong way is the old way.  It's trusting in the might of Adam and striving in the flesh to be an overcomer.  It is telling ourselves, "Don't do this.  Don't do that."  Such an approach cannot succeed because it relies on our own resolve and determination rather than the grace of God.  It's flesh-powered Christianity.

The problem is we have been eating from the forbidden tree for so long, we just don't see it.  We think the remedy for bad behavior is good behavior.  We think the solution for sin is to lay down the law.  "Just stop it!"  But this is a misuse of the law.  It's like fighting fire with gasoline.

The law is good, but it is not your friend.  We have a far better friend in Jesus.

"The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."  (Romans 6:10-11)

If our co-inclusion with Christ's death is to remain anything at all, we need to consider the nature of his death.  "He died to sin once for all."  Sin has no claim on Jesus, therefore sin has no claim on you.  Sin's wage has been paid and all outstanding debts have been cancelled.  You don't need to do anything to earn your freedom; you are free.  Freedom is your starting point.

So how do we walk in that freedom?  (To be continued....)

A king who has power and authority, but not the heart of a servant, will rule as a tyrant over people. He will be a burden to them, not a blessing. His will will not be for their good or benefit. A servant who has no authority or power may have love and compassion for the people, but as much as he wills it, he will be unable to render aid to those in need. For this reason, the Bible declares that Christians are kingly servants (royal priests). We must know that we are empowered with all of heaven's resources to proclaim and render healing, forgiveness, and the goodness of God's salvation to all who are in need. If you have great compassion for the sick and dying around you, you must also know that you are also a king, ruling with full authority and power, completely equipped to render aid by healing the sick, raising the literal and spiritual dead, and proclaiming the goodness and
rule of our great and merciful King-Priest's dominion. We are kings who reign in power and compassion. Will you receive His gift of righteousness and super-abounding grace to actively live as such?

I always thought that John the baptist was referring to a water baptism when he said to Jesus "I need to be baptized by You". But, John wasn't referring to a water baptism, because he had already pronounced that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. There you go--something that most Christians reject, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, John clearly desires as a second, separate, and greater baptism. Oh, how ignorance and arrogance limits one's experience on earth! We must leave any powerlessness in our existence behind and respond to the call to live from the higher realm in which every Christian reigns as a servant-king.

If God's love is unconditional, then His forgiveness must be unconditional too--forgiveness is an act of love. Therefore, forgiveness is no longer the issue, for because of Christ, all have been forgiven. The issue, then, is whether or not one has heard this message and believed this good news. Those who hear and believe are made new creations; those who do not hear and do not believe remain unchanged and in need of a Savior. In short, all have been forgiven, but not all have been changed through faith.

Grace - Sin can lay claim on neither Jesus, nor you. Part 1

Below is an excerpt from Paul Ellis' book "The Gospel in Ten Words".  I've highlighted a few key sentences.  Enjoy!

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

When you were in Adam you had no choice but to walk according to the flesh.  Trusting in your own abilities and walking by sight is what unbeliever call normal life, but it's a faithless life.  Since anything that is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23), your former life was inherently sinful.  I don't mean to say you were a raging criminal.  It's just that you were incapable of pleasing the Lord, no matter what you did.  You may have been a good sinner or a bad sinner, but you were a sinner nonetheless.  You were separated from the life of God through your ignorance and unbelief.

But now you are a saint, and a sinner no more.  You have a new identity, a new life, and a new master.  You are no longer a slave to Sin.  You now have the freedom to choose how you will walk, either in the old way of the flesh, or in the new way of the spirit.  But here's the important bit:  If you choose to walk in the old way, your new life will resemble your old one.  This is why some Christians are still bound.  They have left Egypt, but Egypt hasn't left them. They are still thinking like slaves and heeding the voice of their old master.

It certainly doesn't help matter when these precious brothers and sisters are told that their sinful behavior proves they still possess a sinful nature or an innate tendency to sin.  This is simply not true.  Your old self was crucified.  Any sinful nature you once had has been cut off, and that circumcision was not done by the hands of men (Colossians 2:11).  You are one with the Lord.  You do not have two natures dueling for control inside you.  You are a partaker of the sinless life and divine nature of Jesus Christ.

So how do we partake?  (To be continued...)

Grace - The Love of God

Here's a great 5-minute video I came across.  May the Lord pamper you!

Enjoy!

http://dynamicministries.com/5-minute-grace-bible-school/english-5-minute-grace-bible-school/212-5minbs-lesson2-theloveofgod-session3

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy