We as Christians believe that Jesus Christ died for us on the cross, laying down His own life for us, so that whosoever believes might be saved and inherit eternal life (Jn 3:16), and whosoever disbelieves remains condemned under the law by which they could not be justified Jn3:17; Jn 5:45 ; Rom 3:20; Acts 13:39). We've heard for centuries that our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ (1Jn1:7). We know that we are saved by His free grace (Eph 2:8), and not by any works that we may have done. We know that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Gal3:13), we believe that we are no longer under the law, but under grace (Rom 6:14). Why then do we still feel condemned?
Do we really believe He carried our sins, or do we still want to make right? Do we really believe that His blood cleanses us and keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations (1Jn1:7) or do we still believe that we are sinners, who still need to be cleansed. When will we enter the promises of God which is yea and amen in Christ, now or one day in heaven, one day when we die?
At some stage you need to realise that something has changed since Jesus Christ died on the cross. Heb 10:17-18 says (Amplified) "He then goes on to say, And their sins and their lawbreaking I will remember no more. Now where there is absolute remission (forgiveness and cancellation of the penalty) of these [sins and lawbreaking], there is no longer any offering made to atone for sin." You can not make right what you messed up. Jesus made it right 2000 years ago. That's why we believe! He's not out to judge you, He wants you to be safe and sound (John 3:17). He wants you to realise that He has already dealt with all your sins!
Now here comes the whole point: Since you are redeemed by His blood, you are no longer a sinner! You are now a saint! Rom 3:23-24 says: "Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives. [All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus" Rom 4:5 says "But to one who, not working [by the Law], trusts (believes fully) in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness (the standing acceptable to God)." Heb 10:10 "And in accordance with this will [of God], we have been made holy (consecrated and sanctified) through the offering made once for all of the body of Jesus Christ (the Anointed One)." Heb 10:14 "For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy." You are a holy saint by faith in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. Why do you still listen to the voice of condemnation coming from the law?
1Tim 1:9 (Amp) "Knowing and understanding this: that the Law is not enacted for the righteous (the upright and just, who are in right standing with God), but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinful..."
1 Tim 1:9 (KJV) "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners..." Where do you believe you fit in? In the category of the sinners and the guilty, or in the category of the holy blessed saints who are sanctified and consecrated by grace by the blood of Jesus through faith?
If you are a faith person, you are totally and absolutely free, guiltless and holy. Not by what you did, but by what He did! If you are a law person, you always come short of reaching your goal. You always feel guilty and never have any form of boldness toward God, never mind love toward Him! You can not be a faith person when you cling to the law! You are either a sinner, or a saint. Either totally condemned, or totally saved. Either holy, as God is holy, by the sacrifice of Jesus, or totally wicked and evil like the devil. Which side are you on? What do you believe?
Either the blood of Jesus is stronger than your sinful nature, or it isn't. If it is, you are holy, if it isn't, nothing will ever be able to make you holy! You are either in Adam with all the sinful passions of the flesh, or you are in Christ, with all the bliss of the Holy Spirit and the inheritance of the Spirit and power we have in Him.
You must choose between flesh and spirit. You must choose between death and life. You can't have both.
The law of Moses was added later on because of transgression. The law was given to the sinful Israelites in the desert, because they refused to believe the message of promise, the Gospel which was preached to them in Egypt (Heb 4:1-2). They even ate the pass over meal, which shows to the death of Christ and the communion table. The law was given to them because of unbelief. (Gal 3:19; Is 28:12-14). They did not want to hear and did not want to believe the Gospel when it was again preached to them after the crucifixion of Christ. Because of their unbelief they were broken off from the vine and cast away as the people of God (Rom 11:20-23) and the Gospel went to the Gentile nations which would bear the fruit thereof. Now the Jews need faith in Christ to be grafted in again, just like Gentiles. Paul said in Gal 4:12 "Brethren, I beg of you, become as I am [free from the bondage of Jewish ritualism and ordinances], for I also have become as you are [a Gentile]."
If you cling to the law now, you are actively resisting the saving power of the cross of Christ. If you believe that you are still a sinner after coming to believe in Him, you are actively resisting the grace which is offered to you. All the epistles are given to the saints at Corinth, to the saints at Ephesus. The Gospel speaks to the saints, who are justified freely by grace, who are washed in the blood and consecrated to God, who are the temple of the Holy Spirit! If we are truly the temple of the Holy Spirit, then surely we are sanctified by the blood, because the Holy Spirit will not dwell with iniquity.
The Gospel is the only way to know the Holy Spirit. If we believe the Gospel, we believe the sacrifice, and we are holy. If we read the law, we distrust His sacrifice and try to bring our own. The Law was given to the unrighteous, to those who refuse to believe that they are righteous by His sacrifice. The Gospel was given to those who never tried by the law, the Gentiles, who were excluded, so that it could never be by the works of man, but of grace and by faith. We who do not try by the law, are justified, because we believe in Him who justifies the ungodly.
Religion is for unrighteous men who still think they need to become righteous by their deeds. The need for religion comes from a deep seated belief that one is sinful, i.e a deep seated unbelief or distrust in the free gift of the forgiveness of Christ. This creates the need to justify and redeem one's self, leaving the religious struggling against a sinfulness that their very struggle sustains. No law can justify you.
If then we are truly justified by His blood, it means that we are free from accusation and sanction which the law could bring upon us. This means that there is a just cause for you to assume the identity of a holy person. You are clean (Jn 15:3), therefore you can regard yourself as clean and holy!
You have faith in Christ. You have faith in God. Now you need to lose your faith in your own sinfulness. The lower nature is in Adam, not in Christ. Christ's sacrifice is stronger than Adam's sin (Rom5:17), so much stronger in fact, that it is not even to be compared.
We are totally forgiven, and set free. The Holy Spirit has made us His home (Jn 14:23). So now you are filled with His ability. You are filled with the Holiness of God Himself. You have been made His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). Now we believe that He Himself is in us, and His ability is our ability.
I will explain it like this: in an aerosol can, there is compressed gas, which can be released by pushing the nozzle on the top. The ability of that gas, becomes our ability, when we have sufficient faith that the gas is in fact in the can. Air freshner for example, is found in an aerosol can. Press the nozzle, and the gas which has the ability to produce a fragrant odour, is released. You are then concidered to be the one who released it.
Scuba gear: If a Scuba diver has no faith in his scuba gear, he will drown under water, because he doesn't have the natural ability to breathe under water. If he however has simple faith that there is air in the tank, he will reach out for the DV (Demand Valve - through which a scuba diver breathes) and he will have the ability to breath under water. Faith will always lead to certain deeds. If then it is true that this cylinder has breathable air on the inside, the diver will reach out and use it.
We are filled with the Holy Spirit, the very essence of the Life of God. The very same spirit that raised Christ from the dead (Rom 8:11). This is like compressed holiness in us. If we can have simple faith that He is in fact in us, His ability becomes our ability. By faith, we the believer then reaches out and places a demand on His ability which is resident in him. If Christ lives in us, His ability also lives in us. Jesus is with the Father, and we are with Him on the throne (Eph 2:6). The Father is in Him, He in the Father. He is in us, and we in Him. Because we are ultimately one by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us, His ability becomes ours. Jn 14:12 "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father." We believe that He exists (Heb 11:6) and that He will do through us what we believe He could do in His own body on earth, therefore, us believers reach out and lay our hands on the sick and see them recover. What we believe, we carry in our bodies, in our hearts. Faith that Christ paid the price, and that through Him we have an inheritance by the Holy Spirit, makes us conscious of the reality of Christ in us, and faith works become a reality.
The woman with the issue of blood (Matt 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-48) pressed through the crowd, because she had faith in the ability of Christ which was in Jesus. She touched His garment, and immediately, her issue of blood dried up. Jesus perceived that someone had touched Him, because He felt virtue go out of Him. The origional language reads: "someone has placed a demand on My ability". She was healed, because she had faith in Christ. Now we can do the works of Christ, because that same Christ now dwells in our bodies! We are Christians! If you are a Christian, you are a believer, which makes you justified, holy, sanctified, and which qualifies you to work the works of Christ! Hearing and believing the Gospel produces the ability of God Himself inside you, and you become His representative on earth. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God that is preached, which is, Jesus Christ and Him crucified!
Bless you!
Gerrit
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