What does it mean to be Holy?

What does it mean to be Holy? Well first of all Holiness does not come through keeping a list of rules or regulations that some religious organization has made up for you to adhere too and follow, following a list of rules and regulations can never make you Holy. In fact did you know that following a list of rules and regulations only breeds pride and carnality?

Colossians 2:17  let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths,  which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. When we follow external lists and laws then we are still living in the shadow of the thing that has already come.  Today Christ is the substance that we live in and move in and have our being in and not external religious rules. Colossians goes on to say……So let no one cheat you of your reward taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has notseen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

God is saying that religion will try and cheat you out of what He has already freely given to us in Christ.  Today we actually mature and grow in Christ as we see ourselves in the same  way that God sees us  and that is completely 100% forgiven,  righteous and in Christ and as  we hold fast to this truth then we will be nourished and grow and mature.

Religion will try and cheat you out of what has already been given to you through this one little word But.

For example when you first believed the gospel that you are forgiven, Holy and made righteous because of what Christ did at the cross then religion will often step in with their Big But to try and cheat you out of your reward in Christ. Religion will often say yes we are forgiven, But you still need to do this and do that to maintain your right standing with God. Religion will try and convince you that yes it begins with grace through faith But then you must strive and work hard to keep all these rules and laws in order  to  maintain ,stay right and to grow in Christ and although this But  has a certain appeal to the flesh it is not the gospel. There is no But in the gospel. Our salvation begins and ends with grace. The only thing that God asks us to do is to believe and rest in the truth of the gospel, that God is working  in us both to will and to do His good pleasure.

My Bible says in the same way that I received Christ then I should walk in Him.

My Bible says that I don’t start off in faith and in grace and then try and perfect myself though the flesh. No! It begins with grace through faith and it continues the same way. As Paul tells the church in Galatia

Galatians 3:3

³ Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Holiness is not a work of the flesh but a work of the Spirit.  It’s not about following the doctrines and rules of men but seeing yourself in Christ and following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 2 goes on to say:   Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—  “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”  which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

The reality is that when Christ died we also died with him and when Christ rose we also rose with Him and in fact the Bible says that we are now seated with Him in heavenly places. This is our new reality and position in Christ Listen. I’m not trying to get to heaven through my fleshly rule keeping because in Gods eyes I’m already there!  As we agree with this reality truth then we will cease from our own works and finally enter the rest of God. God wants us to live in His rest and in His rest is the place that we will grow. Hebrews 4

The law was a written code of ordinances given to us by God himself and was Holy but even though  the law was Holy it could never make us Holy and neither can any law of man make a person Holy.                      Now let me say this “if you have believed into Jesus and have been born again then you are already Holy and you are Holy not because of a list of rules that you follow but because you have been joined to the Holy one and His name is Jesus. The Bible says that you have been baptized into Christ and that Christ is in you and you are in Him ; The Bible also says that you have sealed with the Holy Spirit but what about Holy behavior?  Holy behavior simply means to be set apart for the purpose that God intended..  So what is the purpose God intended for our lives?  And how do we fulfill His purpose? We do this by recognizing that we were first bought with a price and that price was the blood of Jesus. We fulfill Gods purpose by fully believing in Christ and what He has already accomplished for us at the cross and second we fulfill Gods purpose by recognizing that we have another person living on the inside of us and His name is the Holy Spirit and we are called to yield ourselves to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we are called to depend and cling and trust in Him and respond to Him.. When religion tries to determine what is Holy and then makes lists and then sets out to keep what’s on the Holy List they mess it all up! This is not Holiness but it is Holy Cow Religiosity that actually just breeds pride. To be Holy is to follow the Holy Spirit and to respond to His promptings.

We start out in the Spirit and we continue in the Spirit this is our new relationship with God.

Love Begins with God

Love is defined in 1 John not that we love God but that he first loved us

1 John 4:10

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins

John got it! He always referred himself as the disciple that Jesus loved and as we receive Gods love for us we will then walk in love

The law of love… says love God, Love God, Love God but did you know that it’s impossible for you to love God with all your mind, soul and strength ?

Let me ask you a question, which is more stable and sure your love for God or Gods Love for you,

We have often been taught a kind of He loves me He loves me not mentality, kind of like picking flower pedals off a flower… but that’s not right .. God’s love for us is not a guessing game because when it comes to God’s love for you it is always God loves you, God loves you loves you, God loves you! God loves when your doing good and God loves you when you’re doing bad.. God just plain loves you all the time!

And God’s love is unchangeable and there is absolutely nothing that you could ever do to change Gods love for you. Romans 8 say what could ever separate us from the love of God? The answer is absolutely nothing!

Now John was one of the few disciples that really got the revelation of Gods great Love for Him and while the others fled in fear John was at the cross he did not flee.. Why? Because perfect love casts out all fear! And again all love begins with God’s love for us not our love for Him.

Before Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil He first heard these words. This is my beloved son…in whom I am well pleased  … Jesus heard this before the temptation

When we know Gods great love for us and know that He does not just tolerate us but is really very pleased with us then temptation cannot succeed. Temptation will actually lose its power over us as we know and believe that we are extremely loved by God

To the degree we receive Gods love will be the degree we will be able to love God and others.

John boasted of God’s great love for Him but this wasn’t always the case.. With John for at one time He was also known as one of the sons of thunder..   wanting to calling down judgment on everything that moved especially on those who rejected him or Jesus

Mark 3:17

¹⁷ James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder”⁾ and they said should we call fire down from heaven so that will be consumed? And Jesus said to them you don’t know what Spirit your of.. God didn’t send His son to judge the world or to condemn the world but to save it. Understand at this point John had not yet received the great revelation of Gods great love for Him so he walked in a lot of judgment.

Now every Sunday we hear preachers preach like the sons of thunder calling down judgment on everyone who is rejecting Jesus and even on many who have! But we need to understand that they are of the wrong Spirit! And they like John need a fresh revelation of Gods great lover for people

Preachers often preach if God doesn’t Judge America he will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah but really it’s the opposite if God does Judge America then He will have to apologize to Jesus because all judgment has already been poured out for all sin on Jesus. Today we don’t live in a day of wrath and judgment but grace and truth. Is there a Judgment day coming? Yes and all will stand before God on that day. But today is the day of salvation.

Believing and embracing Gods great unconditional love for you will set you free from insecurity, fear and every other bondage in life. God’s love will cast out all fear. If we have any unhealthy fear controlling our lives then the only solution is embracing Gods love for you.

Now the old covenant commands us to Love God with all our heart, strength and might but did you know that man could never do this law of love no matter how hard he tried? To love God by sheer will power it is impossible. Today under the new covenant we love God and others because we first know and believe Gods great love for us… What we need today is a revelation of Gods great love for us.

The main thing that the Apostle Paul prayed was that all would know and understand the Love that God has for them.

Peter actually denied Christ because he boasted of his great love for God. Peter was in self denial and this is the main reason that he denied Christ! And do you remember what Jesus did to restore Peter back from his failure? He asked him three times if Peter loved Him.

Why three times? Because the first two times Peter said He loved him but the last time Peter had to admit that His love for Jesus was  maybe not as great as he had boasted of before.. Jesus was actually bringing Peter out of His own self denial so that He could bring him into the reality of Gods great love for Him. Again love does not begin with boasting about our love for God but of Gods great love for us.

The law of love is impossible to do. This is why Jesus asked Peter do you love me three times! Peter in his legalistic heart said yes I love you, Jesus asked Peter again do you really love me? Peter said yes you know I love you, Jesus asked Peter again do you love me? Peter then answered honestly and said well you know all things Lord and you know that I like you but I don’t really love you because I don’t know how too ! Peter failed to see that legalistic love was impossible no matter how hard he tried to love he could not love God with all his heart soul and strength. Peter boasted of his love for God and denied Christ. His failure came as a result of Him trying His best by the flesh to Love God but this is not how true Love comes So how is it possible to love God with all our heart, soul and strength? Again 1 John defines what true love is, not that we love God but that He but that he first loved us. True always Love starts with the realization of Gods great love for us. As we receive His great love then we will bear the fruit of His love.

1 John 4:10

¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

No More Conscious of Sin

The new covenant says that we are to have no conscious of sins; listen If God remembers your sins no more than neither should you. If you’re under the law then you are constantly conscious, aware and reminded of your sins but this reminder is not from God!. Teachers who are under law will teach and preach on sin constantly. In fact sin, judgment and working hard to please God will be their main message. Why? Because they still have an old covenant, sin conscious mentality, but those under grace do not have a  sin conscious  because they have been perfected in their conscience by the blood of Jesus, instead they are righteous conscious or  they now that they are 100% right with God because of the cross. They know they have been cleansed by the blood once and for all and they believe what God says in  2 Corinthians 5:17 that says they have been made a new creation in Christ where old things have passed away an all things have been made new. They believe that the blood of Jesus Christ took care of all their sin once and for all time. They do not need to offer up anymore sacrifices for sins whether it’s a blood sacrifice or a works sacrifice because they believe that Jesus Christ paid it all! They believe that Jesus paid the price for all sin once and for all time. Those under grace agree with the cross and the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. When those under grace fail then they know the blood is there to continually wash them and cleanse them from all sin and all unrighteousness. Of course they do not use the grace of God as a license to sin but they understand that grace now gives them freedom from sin so that they can walk with God in a new and exciting way. Those under grace refuse to have a conscious of sin, condemnation, shame or guilt neither do they have a works or performance conscious because they no it’s not by their works or performance that they are saved but it’s by Gods grace and they know that their sins have been  once and forever  dealt with.

In the Old Covenant Gods people would have to offer up sacrifices for sins every year so that they could have a clear conscience before God for the rest of the year. Isn’t it amazing how that we have often treated the blood of Jesus to not even be as powerful or effective as the blood of bulls and goats?  You say how’s that? Because today even though the Bible says that we are under the blood of Jesus and 100 % forgiven we still want people in church to be reminded of their sins every day and every week!

But God does not want us to be sin conscious He wants us to be righteous conscious. God wants us to be constantly reminded and aware that we are completely forgiven and made new in Christ and that there is now no more condemnation for those who are in Christ. God wants us to know that Christ is in us and that we are in Him! And as we see this we will be transformed not through our own fleshly efforts but by the Spirit of the Lord who lives in us

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Too many preachers today are still have an the old covenant mentality and are acting and teaching  like old covenant priests!

Hebrew 10:1 for the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.  For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.  But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins

According to this scripture the law was just a shadow of the good thing that was to come. What was the good thing to come? The good thing to come was Jesus who would offer up Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin once and for all so that we who would believe could not only be perfect in our Spirit but  perfect in our conscience as well.

God then  goes on to tell us in Hebrews about this brand new covenant that is far better than the old.

Hebrews 10:16-23

¹⁶ This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

¹⁷ And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

¹⁸ Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

¹⁹ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

²⁰ By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

²¹ And having a high priest over the house of God;

²² Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

²³ Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised 😉

As a new covenant believer we are to saturate ourselves with the agreement of the new covenant and we are to never allow religion to cause us to waiver in Gods promise to us. God says that we are 100% forgiven of all sin and that we do not have to have a sin conscience anymore. This means that we are to no more be conscious of sin or guilt for sin. Sin should not even be on our minds. Sin should not even be a main subject or topic in the church! So what should we be teaching? We should be teaching the gospel  of the kingdom or the good news that we are forgiven and loved by God and that we now have full access into His presence because the veil has been torn in two  and there is now no more veil between ourselves and God. We should be teaching people to lay hold of eternal life and faith in Christ and do not be moved from this for God is faithful who has given us these promises

What did Jesus Preach?

Mark 1:15  Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

So what did Jesus preach?  He preached the good news of the kingdom. The Bible says that He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil and preaching that everyone would believe the good news

Jesus  main ministry was to convince everyone to believe the good news that God was a good God and that He was not against them but for them, that Gods desire was only to heal them, deliver them,  to save them, to restore them, to bless them, to make them righteous as they placed their faith in His Son Jesus Christ. The only ones that Jesus was  really harsh with were the self righteous  Pharisees or  those who continued to stubbornly try to justify themselves  through their own good works  and even when Jesus was harsh with them it was again only to get them to wake up to the reality that they could never save themselves . Jesus was telling them that If they meet God on the Judgment day and all they had  to show were their own good works then they would not be accepted and probably hear the words depart from me you who work iniquity.

The gospel is that Christ came to save us by taking our place for sin and for the judgment of all Sin. John 3:16 is the gospel and  as we believe and continue to believe the gospel then we  will experience all the benefits of salvation  and the kingdom of God that come through believing the gospel.

To believe the gospel means to keep believing the good news ; that Jesus did not come to condemn you but to forgive you and to save you. As we believe the gospel it will set us free from the power of sin.

People are not set free from sin by us constantly preaching reminding them about sin, No! They will be set free from sin as they hear the good news and believe the gospel and the gospel says that Christ died for your sin and makes you righteous in Him. The gospel is that God through the power of the Spirit makes you into a new creation in Christ where all the old is done away and everything becomes brand new. 2 Corinthians 5:17. The gospel says that God loves you and is for you not against you!

The pulpit has been notorious for constantly preaching on the law, works righteousness, on sin , on judgment and on condemnation when it should be preaching the gospel ,the finished work of Jesus , teaching people to receive  the abundance of God’s grace and the free gift of righteousness.  I’m not called to constantly remind people of their sin but to remind them of the finished work of the cross and the free gift of righteousness and to remind them of who they are now in Christ that they are a new creation; they are the temple of God and that God loves them and is for them not against them!   Read Romans 8:31

³¹ What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

³² He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

³³ Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.

³⁴ Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

³⁶ As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I’m called to preach the gospel because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes it. What is the gospel? The gospel is the almost too  good to be true news and the good news says that Christ took all your sin and judgment for all your sin so that you would not have to, it also says that there is now no more condemnation for all those who are now in Christ .

Now listen did you know that most of the Bible was written by  X  Murderers .. Moses, David,  and Paul. The Law condemns the very best of us but Gods Grace saves the very worst of us. Today it does not matter who you are or what you have done Gods grace is able to forgive and save you if you will simply believe it.. that is the good news that we have been called to preach and teach!

We are not made right with God by our  own goodness but through Gods goodness. We are not save by what we do but what Chris did when He died on the cross.

One day many will come before God with all their good works and this even includes preachers and will only hear the words depart from me! Why because they failed to see that justification before God only comes through believing and knowing Christ.

Matthew 7:21 Not  every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

What does it mean to do the will of the father? Well it does not always mean that you know how to preach, cast out devils or do many other works. To do the will of the Father means that you cling and trust in Jesus for salvation and not your own works.

Remember what the Pharisees asked Jesus?

John 6:28

²⁸ They then said, What are we to do, that we may [habitually] be working the works of God? [What are we to do to carry out what God requires?]

²⁹ Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].

Who was the messenger  that God sent? Jesus . The entire work that God has called us to do is to believe in His Son,

A Christ Inside Mentality

Today we have been given everything we need in Christ which includes His very Life and God wants us to wake up to the reality of this new life that abides in us.

Now Hebrews 5:13 basically says that you are still a baby if you are unskillful in the word of righteousness. What is the  word of righteousness that Paul is speaking of ?  its the true righteousness that comes through faith in what Christ did not what you strive to do to earn it. Listen ,If you’re still trying to earn what was already given to you in Christ then you are stuck in baby land! You are still a baby in Christ and will remain a baby until He comes back ! and this includes baby preachers and baby teachers who still believe and teach others that right standing with God comes through works instead of faith..  But sad to say many in church today will never mature beyond who they sit under.

We have churches filled with babies because they are under a works righteousness mentality, or righteousness based on what they do instead of a righteousness that comes through faith or what they believe has already been done

Now this may sound strange but all true growth and ministry  does  not come as a result of  us first doing the right things but first believing the right things. We cannot get the cart before the horse. What do you mean? First as  we believe  that we are righteousness of God in Christ ( 2 Corinthians 5;17 ) and that there is now no more condemnation for those in Christ Romans 8:1 , that we are one with Christ( 1 Corinthians 6;17), that we are in Him and He is in us and that We are called  to grow up into Him who is the head ( Ephesians 4:15) then true growth and ministry is released In through us. All true ministry originates from the inside out and is released as we believe

Listen ,Jesus did not come to give us external religion or formulas, but internal life and no I didn’t spell it wrong.. As we receive Christ He comes into us and it’s through His internal life in us that we are changed and enabled for ministry! The truth is that we really didn’t give our life to Christ; He gave His life to us. When we first came to Him we were dead in sin and had no life to give to Him. True life begins as we receive the Life of Christ, this is internal life and as we believe in this internal life at work in us that we are also transformed into His image. ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 )

Romans 5:10

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin’s dominion) through His [[a]resurrection] life.

The cross reconciled us back to God but it’s through the resurrection that we receive His Life and its by His life working in us that we are delivered from the power of sin , changed and engaged in true ministry

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that rose up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that lives in you.

The word quicken means to make alive! As we really believe the reality that Chris lives in us and depend on this life then our mortal body that is subject to all kinds of junk will suddenly be made alive by the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead! This means not only will we experience this resurrection life but all those around us will experience it as well. This is true ministry! A lot of ministry today is more a performance based legalistic, fleshly type ministry. In other words its people trying their best to minister  to others from their soul or mind , will and emotions rather than by the Spirit and much ministry today is motivated more by guilt, shame or pride rather than love. God wants us to be engaged in true effective ministry called the ministry of the Spirit.

I just heard a friend of mine say that people often move their residence to be closer to something they love, believe in, and desire to invest in. That is pretty much what God did with us. His residence is now in us.

If we are going to be effective in this life then we must have a Christ inside mentality… Galatians 2:20

We cannot see ourselves separate from the Lord. That is to say God is way up beyond the clouds somewhere and we are way down here. No .. We must see the reality of Christ alive in us working in and through us again Galatians 2:20.

When I pray for others its not just my hand but His hand.. more to come..

 

Thoughts about law and grace

Moses was  judged in the wilderness  because he misrepresented God. Moses lost his temper and struck the rock twice. The rock represented Christ who was struck once and for all. Preachers who preach that God is still angry are misrepresenting God. God’s anger has been appeased because the rock ( Jesus ) has been struck once and for all time.

Gods people were under grace in the wilderness until they came to Mt Sinai and said bless us according to our obedience..  Instead of your mercy, when this is happened God granted there request and gave them 10 laws to follow. They broke the first one almost immediately and 3000 died in one day.

The law condemns the best of us but grace saves the worst of us.

2 Corinthians 3:6-7 we are ministers of the new covenant not of the old. I am calling on all preachers and asking “what are you preaching? Law or Grace are you ministering death or life? Are you rightly dividing the word?  Are you mixing the two? Are you going back to the old and preaching the old to motivate people to right living? Are you using the Big 10 to motivate people with guilt and condemnation? If you are then you are preaching the law and your ministering death and not life cursing and not blessing. Paul had some words for those mixing law and grace together and he prayed they would be cursed with a curse.

The law gives strength to sin. The law is like fertilizer on the lawn when it comes to sin. The law only excites and gives strength to sin. The law also helps equip the devil to oppose us and to keep us shut down in religious activity.

Colossians 2 says God nailed the law to the cross and when this happened He also disarmed the devil , when we  preach the law  we  re-arm the  devil that God stripped.. The devil has got us running in circles. He encourages us to preach the law and when we do this we equip him with weapons of condemnation to come against the church. If we want to strip the devil of his power then we must preach grace and believe grace

Repentance means to change your thinking.. Thinking toward what?  Thinking toward the old covenant law and to embrace the new covenant of grace .. When Jesus came on the scene John was preaching all to turn from following the old covenant and to now follow Christ or  the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.

To follow the Kingdom of God that is righteousness, peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost. The Pharisees did not like this message because it was telling people to turn from there way to another way called Jesus and Grace.

Modern day Pharisees today don’t like the grace teaching for the same reasons. They feel like they will lose control of the people if they do  Religion loves to control people.

Repentance simply means to change your mind or thinking. As we repent then right believing will lead to right living.

Our behavior will never change until we fully believe the gospel of grace. As we embrace grace then you will change for the inside out! Why because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (which means to be healed, delivered, made whole) for everyone that believes..  What is the Gospel? The gospel is the almost too good to be true news and says first that Christ died for all your sins this means you have forgiven once and for all sin past, present and future sin, not some sin but all sin and you will never to be judged or condemned for sin  ever again.  The gospel says that you have been fully acquitted and pardoned once and for all for all sin because someone else took your judgment and His name is Jesus. The gospel also says that you have also been completely made righteous in Christ                             2 Corinthians 5:17 old things have passed away and all things have become new and all things are of God. The gospel says that not only did Christ die for our sins but on the third day He was raised from the dead and has sent His Spirit into our Spirit, to come and live in us and through us forever. The gospel is that we are called to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ and to rest in the one who is now alive and works in us Galatians 2:20… The gospel says that we are righteous by faith in Christ not by works and we have peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit. As we fully believe this then grace is made active in us to change us from the inside out! When we don’t fully believe this then we frustrate grace and grace cannot work. We are saved by grace through faith.

Hebrews 9:14 says if  the blood of bulls and goats covered sin for a year how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

God is trying to convince us that the blood of His Son was more than enough to take care of all sin and so that we no longer need to have a guilty condemned conscience and work hard at pleasing God through good dead works.. We only need to believe that we are forgiven and we can confidently approach God and walk with Him because of the blood of Jesus. This is the gospel.

Are you saying we can continue in sin because we are in grace? When people start asking you this question or accusing you of preaching grace to promote sin then you are probably preaching the right gospel. Why? Because this is the same question and accusation they confronted Paul with. Romans 6

All have sinned !

When Adam sinned Adams sin passed upon everyone even on those who had not committed the same sin that Adam committed. All inherited the sin nature of Adam.  Now this means  even though you may be a good person and  even do good things you are still by nature a sinner because of what Adam did sinned passed upon all men and no amount of good righteous  acts or works  can ever change  your  lost sinful nature. I don’t care if your a nice little old lady who bakes cookies for all the kids in the neighborhood, Apart from Christ you still have a dead sinful nature that needs to be changed and no amount of good works can change it. I know this sounds harsh but its truth..

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Romans 5:12 says  Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, no one being able to stop it or to escape its power] because all men sinned..

The Bible has declared all the good, the bad and the ugly even the little grandmas baking cookies for the neighborhood to be sinners because of one man’s disobedience. But there is good news just as all became sinner through one man’s disobedience, all now can be declared righteous through the obedience of one man and that one God man is Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17-19  For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

¹⁸ Well then, as one man’s trespass [one man’s false step and falling away led] to condemnation for all men, so one Man’s act of righteousness [leads] to acquittal and right standing with God and life for all men.

¹⁹ For just as by one man’s disobedience (failing to hear, and carelessness) the many were constituted sinners, so by one Man’s obedience the many will be constituted righteous (made acceptable to God, brought into right standing with Him).

When Christ came He was called the last Adam. Jesus the last Adam took away what the first Adam passed on and that was the sin nature. Remember John said behold the lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Once you believe in Christ the Bible says that you are then made new the old nature is taken away and the new nature of Christ is put in its place and you are a new creation in Christ 2 Corinthians 5:17. Once this is done it cannot be undone. Just as no amount of good works or righteous acts could ever change or undo what was passed down from the first Adam  no amount of unrighteous acts will ever change what was passed down to you from the last Adam ( Jesus ). Once you are made righteous you are righteous. We are not made righteous one day and unrighteous the next… just as behavior couldn’t change your first state behavior cannot change your last state,  now this does not mean that sinful behavior cannot hurt you. If you are a Christians and sin then sin can and often will hurt you. Sin is like kind of like fire, Fire does not care if your lost or saved if you stick your hand in it then fire will still burn you and if you willfully sin you will get burned. Sin will hurt you. Many Christians have suffered needlessly because of sin. The prodigal went through many unnecessary hardships because he left the father house and indulged in sin. Did the prodigal son stop being the son because he was in sin? no! But he did put his self through a lot of unnecessary pain because of his actions. There may be a certain amount of pleasure in sin but it is only temporary because Sin will always hurt you in the end. Many Christians have wasted their entire lives dabbling in sin and many lives have been cut short because of sin.. Grace does not teach us to sin but to live righteous and holy in this life. Grace does not say “yes  your forgiven so just go out and sin and God will understand” no this is not grace this is flesh and deception. Sin will harden your heart towrd the love of God and sin will still burn you but if we do sin we have an advocate with the father and His name is Jesus.

What were we wired for?

 

What were we wired for? A microwave is wired for a certain function, a television is built and designed and wired for a certain function but what were we wired for? What were we created by God for? The main reason that we were created by God was to receive, contain and express His Spirit and His Love and His Glory!  This is our main function in life, this is what we were wired and designed for and if we are not doing this then we are not doing what God created us to do. Remember when God first made man He formed man from the dust of the ground and then God breathed into man His Spirit and man then became a living soul. Man was never created to just possess a body and soul or a body with an Independent mind, will and emotions but man was designed to be a container of Gods Glory and Spirit; without the Spirit of God in man then man is not really functioning in the way that God wired Him to 2 that is the Spirit of God that once inhabited man was gone and man was then left with a body controlled by his own mind, will, emotions, appetites and imaginations. Man without the Spirit of God is in a state of malfunction. One of the main reasons Christ came and died was not just to forgive us of sin so that one day we can all go to heaven but it was to make a way for God to once again restore His Spirit and Glory back into man. As we put our faith in Christ then the old is gone and we are made brand new. It’s through the new birth that God moves His Spirit back into us so that we can once again become the container and expression of Gods glory. Today God does not live in buildings of brick and wood He lives in all those who have placed their faith in Christ. You are the temple of the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 6:16 for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

How to be an effective Christian

 How can we become a more effective Christian to others in this life? Well first of all it may surprise you to know that its probably not  like the usual  teaching you’ve heard or even in  many of the latest How to become a better Christian  books you’ve read. Let me ask you a question How did Jesus do the works that He did? How was Jesus effective to others in this life did you know that the same way Jesus did  is  really no different then how we as Christians today are called to do it as well? So how did Jesus do it?

John 10:38

But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

John 14:10  I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works.

John 14:11

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Then listen to what Jesus goes on to say,

¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

¹³ And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

¹⁴ If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

¹⁵ If ye love me, keep my commandments.

¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees  him not, neither knows  him: but ye know him; for he dwell with you, and shall be in you.

How was Jesus effective? Jesus was effective by responding to the one who was in Him! How are we effective? the same way by acknowledging and responding to the one who now lives in us. First lets look and see what is in us.

 Ephesians 1:3 says

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ

 The Bible says that God has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

Where are all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places? In Christ and where is Christ? In me

We don’t have to beg or plead with God to give us spiritual blessings because we already have them in Christ.

We already have all we need in Christ. He is in us and we are in Him so all that He has and all that He is , is in us. We simply need to wake up to the reality of what has already been given to us in Christ and this was the Apostle Paul’s constant prayer to the church was that our eyes of understanding would be opened to the reality of what has already been given to us in Christ. As you read the word begin to notice the words In Christ or In Him. If you have placed your faith in Christ then you are in Him and He is in you.
We need to be more Christ inside minded Gal 2:20 and we need to get out of this idea of always trying to get something from God that He has already given to us in Christ. We need to begin to acknowledge what God has already given to us and simply thank Him and glorify Him for it, that’s called faith..
 Again Ephesians 1:3 says that God has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

 How does our faith become communicated in an effectual way? Not by begging and pleading but by the acknowledging every good thing that’s already in you in Christ.

Philemon 1:6   that the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

 As we acknowledge every good thing that is in us ,in Christ then our faith  and the power of Christ will become effective in and through our lives. As we acknowledge that Christ lives in us and all that is in Christ is in me and It’s real! Galatians 2:20 is reality it is not just a nice scripture that we quote to make us feel better but it is real! Christ really does live in me! And wants to manifest Himself in and through the unique me It’s no longer I that lives but Christ. I am the temple of the Holy Ghost..

 Today it is In Him that I live and move and have my being..

Rev 3:20 is real where Jesus said if you open the door of your heart to me I will come in to you and fellowship with you and you with me.. The moment we opened up our heart to Christ the old man died and Christ moved in and we became a              2 Corinthians 5:17 new creation in Christ

 Philemon 1:6 is a major key to being effective: There is a direct connection between knowing, believing and acknowledging that Christ lives in you and you becoming spiritually effective in this world.

Do you believe the Holy Spirit lives in you and that He is your guide and teacher? That you can be led by His internal promptings and the unforced rhythms of grace? Religion is all about fleshly external striving and performance. Religion lives by externals because it does not believe that God lives in them. Religions mentality is all about separation. Religion will try and convince us that God is distant way up there  beyond the clouds somewhere and we  way down here on our own trying our best to reach God , please God and bring God down to visit us! But Christianity is not about separation but oneness with the Lord! We are not separate from Him we are one Spirit with Him!                                                                                                       1 Corinthians 6:17 He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

As long as the enemy can keep us from seeing the reality of Christ in us then He can keep us from being effective in this world.

All we ever need is in Christ and Christ is in us! All healing, All provision, All blessing, All that is in heaven is in Christ and Christ is in me! So as He is so am I in this life..

We don’t have to beg or plead for God to give us this or that neither do we have to plead for God to come down to visit us because He is already here! Neither do we have to try and become righteous through striving and doing because He who knew no sin became sin so that we would be made the righteousness of God in Him!  Today I am righteous and whole and blessed because I am in Christ and Christ is in me and when you were saved you were permanently joined to Christ and nothing will ever separate us from Him again!

In the Old Covenant God with come down at certain times to visit with His people but today He does not visit He has come to stay!

If the enemy can keep us seeing ourselves separate from God and in a needy place then he can keep us involved in full time ministry to self! But as we acknowledge that we have already been blessed with every heavenly blessing in Christ then our faith can become more effective to others.

What does it mean to Abide in Christ?

Christianity is not about us looking back and then trying our best to imitate the historical Jesus this is not Christianity. Christianity is not about us trying to imitate Jesus but it’s about us receiving the very life of Jesus through the new birth and then Jesus living His very life in and through us. Gal 2:20 is real Christianity!  , like the old song says “Jesus be Jesus in me, no longer me but thee resurrection power fill me this hour Jesus be Jesus in me. Christianity is not about us trying and striving to do our best to live for Jesus No!  It’s about Jesus alive and living in and through us! We are called to know that we are righteous by faith and that Christ now lives in us. Just as the Father lived in Jesus and Jesus responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit Christ now lives in us and we now live by His promptings. This is called the Spirit led Spirit filled life! Now religion will often get angry at what I just said because religion always wants to take some kind of credit for what it does. The flesh always seeks some kind of glory or credit, but grace cannot glory in the flesh. All glory goes to Jesus. Its Jesus who died, Its Jesus who made me righteous and its Jesus working n and through me unto the glory of God!

John 15:4-8

⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same will bring forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

⁸ Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

So what does it mean to abide in Christ? This word abide has been misunderstood by many. To abide in Christ is not a work that you do, It’s not something you strive to do or accomplish through religious activity, to abide in Christ is your present position and it is the place you now live. if you’re a Christian you now abide in Christ this is  your new permanent residence or address and this will never change! Before Christ you once use to abide in sin, in the world and in the kingdom of darkness but now that you have received Christ you no longer abide in the world, or in sin or darkness you now abide in Christ.. You have been in grafted into Christ. You now live in Christ and He lives in you and to the degree you believe this will be the degree that you will walk in and experience your new nature and freedom in Christ.  So what happens if I fail or sin? If you fail or sin which many often do it does not change your position in Christ. You are still in Christ you are not in sin or darkness because you sinned or your behavior wasn’t Christ like one day. No! You do not have to be re grafted into Christ every time you sin or misbehave neither do you have to be born again and again and again…. You not saved, lost, saved,  lost every other day or week!  No! You’re born again once and for all time and you are engrafted into Christ once and for all time. Every Christian who is born of God now lives or abides in Christ that is his or her new position. Abiding is not a work that you do but it is a place that you live. If you don’t abide in Christ then you are not part of the body of Christ and you are still in sin and in darkness. So many say “well if we preach this message of our new position in Christ will not this encourage people to sin?”  NO! It will actually have the opposite affect.. When The Apostle Paul addressed the Corinthian church about their loose conduct he did not tell them that they were lost. No he reminded them that this was no longer who they were. He reminded them that their body was the temple of the living God and that there new position was in Christ and he told them they should not take their body and use it in a way that was opposite to their new nature?  The Apostle Paul  said don’t you know that your body is the temple of the living God?

God wants us to understand and see who we are in now Christ so that we may experience all that Christ died for. Again all born again Christians now live or abide in Christ. This is your new spiritual address. Abiding is not a work you do but it’s a spiritual place that you now live.

Now Feelings come and go and so often times people feel like they are not real close to God but your feelings do not change the reality that you are in Christ and Christ is in you despite your feelings. You do not have to do anything to get closer to God. You are as close to God as you will ever be because He is in you. Let me ask you a question how much closer to God can you get then Him being in you?  So why do I feel distant at times even though He is in me? We often feel distant because of the thing between our ears called the mind or our thoughts. Sometimes our minds get set on things that it shouldn’t be set on this is why God instructs us to think on certain things and not to think on other things. Often times a wrong religious attitude will also make us feel distant form Christ when in reality He is not distant at all because He is in us.. A religion will often tell us that we are only close to God if we do the to do list, If we pray a certain amount of times a day or a certain way. If we go to church, if we read our bibles, if we worship the Lord in a certain way or if we behave right then we will be closer to Him then if we don’t do all these things . Now I’m not saying that doing these things are wrong in fact the word encourages prayer, assembling together and reading the bible but what I’m saying is that although these things may and often do make us feel closer to God the reality is that whether you are doing these things or not doing these things you are still in Christ and He is in you that is a constant that will not change.. Listen when you opened up the door of your heart and let Christ come in He came in and He aint leaving!  He said I will never leave or forsake you. So we are not too ever look at abiding in Christ as a work we do. Abiding is a place we always live as a Christian its our new spiritual address. Just as I now live physically in Myrtle Beach right now I now live spiritually in Christ. Christ is my new eternal permanent residence. I have live in Christ since 1977 when I first saw His love for me through the cross and invited Him to come in. Now have I always obeyed Christ since receiving Him? No! In fact there were times like the prodigal that I wandered pretty far off but did that ever change my position in Christ or did I ever stop being a child of God. No! I was still in Christ and I was still His child, Yes I was acting like a lost sinner but my acting like a lost sinner did not change my new nature or position. Now sin is never something to be encouraged or ever taken lightly because sin  still brings forth death and not life, there is not benefit to sin. Sin is destructive and has destructive consequences. Sin will get you nowhere. Sin will make the Child of God miserable; his own heart will condemn him. When a Christian sins he knows that it is no longer a part of his new nature because his new nature is Christ. I always said that when you received Christ that God ruined your life! That is He ruined your old life! Like the prodigal as a new creation in Christ you will enjoy sin again, It will never satisfy you. It’s like trying to drink from a dry well.