Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The Ultimate Sacrifice Sermon Jam
Future Sins Are Already Forgiven - Steve McVey
from Gracewalk.org
“It can’t be true that my future sins are already forgiven!” This was the protest I heard one day after somebody heard me teach that all of our sins are forgiven. I read her the passage from Colossians 2:13-14. Then I asked her these questions, which I encourage you to answer as you read them.
1. How many of your sins did God know about before you were born? (All of them.)
2. How many of them did He record on your certificate of debt mentioned in the passage in Colossians referenced above? (All of them.)
3. How many of your sins did Jesus pay for on the cross? (All of them.)
4. How many of them were future at that time? (All of them.)
5. How many sins was He referring to when He said, “If is finished”? (All of them.)
6. At the time you were saved, how many of your sins did God forgive?
If you didn’t answer number six by saying, “All of them,” I encourage you to ask yourself if you’re being intellectually honest. Would it make sense that God would see and note all of our sins; that Jesus Christ would bear all of them upon Himself; that He would declare from the cross that payment had been made for all of them and then, after all that, God would only forgive you for some of your sins — namely the ones you had committed up to the point in time at which you were saved? Don’t make the mistake of trying to put God in the “time box.” He won’t fit. He has forgiven you for every sin you will ever commit, past, present and future. The verse clearly says that He has “forgiven us all our transgressions,” not just our past ones.
For many years I believed that in order to stay in a state of forgiveness before God, it was necessary that I ask Him to forgive me for each sin which I committed. This kind of faulty theology raises some serious questions. What happens if I don’t ask Him to forgive me for a specific sin? Does it remain unforgiven until the day I die? What happens then, when I go into eternity with an unforgiven sin? Nobody can go into heaven with unforgiven sin (Imagine being eternally separated from God for calling somebody an idiot in another car on the interstate and forgetting to ask God for forgiveness.).
On the other side of the issue, consider this question: Is there anything that you know is the right thing to do that you aren’t doing? James said, “Therefore, to the one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, it is sin” (James 4:17). Do you see the dilemma? If all our sins aren’t forgiven, then we had better make sure we are living a perfect life because not only do we have to deal with sins which occur when we do wrong things, but we also have to be worried about the right things we haven’t done. This would be enough to give the Christian a nervous breakdown!
"Then, are you saying that since His grace has covered our sin, we can go out and do anything we want?" I hope somebody is asking that because, if so, it shows I've made grace clear here. You're not the first one to ask that question. Read Romans 6:1-4 to see how Paul answered the question when it was asked of him.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Are We Literally Righteous Or Positionally Righteous? - Steve McVey
This is taken from Steve McVey's blog. Scroll down to watch a related video.
For years I couldn’t reconcile what I saw taught in the Bible. I read verses that clearly say we are righteous (Romans 5:17, Ephesians 4:24, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, etc.), but struggled with my own inconsistent behavior. So I took this aspect of truth to be only a positional truth. My argument went like this: “We aren’t literally righteous. God only sees us that way. Our position is one of righteousness, but our condition is that we are unrighteous.”
Let’s dissect that argument for a moment. We’ll get rid of the glaring error first — the idea that God only sees us as righteous. Exactly what could this mean? Would one suggest that God sees something that isn’t really there? It reminds me of the arrogant professor who saw the unlearned custodian reading his Bible and sneered, “Do you believe that book as it is?” Without hesitation, the custodian replied, “Do you believe it as it ain’t?” That’s a good question for this matter. Does God see something as it is or as it ain’t?
When we consider the argument that the righteousness of the Christian is positional, but not literal we must be intellectually honest. Romans 5:19 corrects the error of believing that we are only positionally righteous.
For as through the one man’s disobedience, the many were made sinners,even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
This verse very simply presents the truth of our present righteousness in Christ. Paul reminds us that in Adam we were made to be sinners. In the same way, he says, we are now made righteous in Christ. According to principles of biblical hermeneutics, we must be consistent in interpreting scripture. If the last half of this verse means that we are only positionally righteous in Christ, then the first part of the verse must be interpreted to say that we were only positionally sinners in Adam. Were we literally a sinner in Adam or was it only positional? If we were literally sinners then, we are literally righteous now.
Some say that the verse teaches that we will be made righteous when we get to heaven. Does that mean that a person doesn’t become a sinner until he gets to hell? We were sinners for one simple reason — we were in Adam. Now are righteous because we have been placed into Christ.
Let’s don’t resist the truth! God says we are righteous because we are in Christ. It is a literal truth. That doesn’t mean we always act that way. How we act and who we are may not always coincide. Sometimes I act like a child even though I was born in 1954. Identity isn’t determined by our behavior, but by our birth. Occasionally my wife, Melanie, has even called me a big baby. But I know it’s not true! I have my birth certificate to prove it!
Watch short video by Joshua Tongol -- www.JoshuaTongol.com
For years I couldn’t reconcile what I saw taught in the Bible. I read verses that clearly say we are righteous (Romans 5:17, Ephesians 4:24, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, etc.), but struggled with my own inconsistent behavior. So I took this aspect of truth to be only a positional truth. My argument went like this: “We aren’t literally righteous. God only sees us that way. Our position is one of righteousness, but our condition is that we are unrighteous.”
Let’s dissect that argument for a moment. We’ll get rid of the glaring error first — the idea that God only sees us as righteous. Exactly what could this mean? Would one suggest that God sees something that isn’t really there? It reminds me of the arrogant professor who saw the unlearned custodian reading his Bible and sneered, “Do you believe that book as it is?” Without hesitation, the custodian replied, “Do you believe it as it ain’t?” That’s a good question for this matter. Does God see something as it is or as it ain’t?
When we consider the argument that the righteousness of the Christian is positional, but not literal we must be intellectually honest. Romans 5:19 corrects the error of believing that we are only positionally righteous.
For as through the one man’s disobedience, the many were made sinners,even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
This verse very simply presents the truth of our present righteousness in Christ. Paul reminds us that in Adam we were made to be sinners. In the same way, he says, we are now made righteous in Christ. According to principles of biblical hermeneutics, we must be consistent in interpreting scripture. If the last half of this verse means that we are only positionally righteous in Christ, then the first part of the verse must be interpreted to say that we were only positionally sinners in Adam. Were we literally a sinner in Adam or was it only positional? If we were literally sinners then, we are literally righteous now.
Some say that the verse teaches that we will be made righteous when we get to heaven. Does that mean that a person doesn’t become a sinner until he gets to hell? We were sinners for one simple reason — we were in Adam. Now are righteous because we have been placed into Christ.
Let’s don’t resist the truth! God says we are righteous because we are in Christ. It is a literal truth. That doesn’t mean we always act that way. How we act and who we are may not always coincide. Sometimes I act like a child even though I was born in 1954. Identity isn’t determined by our behavior, but by our birth. Occasionally my wife, Melanie, has even called me a big baby. But I know it’s not true! I have my birth certificate to prove it!
Watch short video by Joshua Tongol -- www.JoshuaTongol.com
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The “Anointing”
Anointing is one of those buzz words doing the rounds in today’s church circles. This person is an “anointed” psalmist, that one is an “anointed” speaker, that one carries a prophetic “anointing” and that one a healing “anointing”. Every time somebody starts doing something better than somebody else, suddenly that person has to be anointed, specially called and gifted to do that certain thing. That is such nonsense and also an old covenant mindset. The Hebrew and Greek words for anoint, anointing or anointed all refer to two basic things. To physically smear or rub with oil and the appointment of a person to a specific office or service. In other words to anoint or to receive and anointing is to be bestowed with the legitimate authority to fulfill the duties of a certain position, be it king or priest or prophet. Kings, prophets and priests were the people who mainly got anointed into an office of service.
1 Sam 10:1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance? (NKJV)
Here we read about Samuel anointing Saul to be king. He physically poured oil out over Saul’s head and said, “Is it not BECAUSE the Lord HAS anointed you commander…” Samuel is saying God anointed / appointed Saul to be king already, and the physical oil being poured out is just to symbolize in the natural what has already taken place in the spiritual. The spiritual anointing is the one that really matters. The anointing that God gives is more important and significant than oil on your forehead. God’s anointing carries heaven’s power. But when did God anoint Saul?
1 Sam 9:15-16 Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.” (NKJV)
God made the choice to appoint / anoint Saul as king and rescue God’s people. He told Samuel to go anoint him in the natural, but the spiritual has already been established. Now remember that Saul got anointed to be king, but look what the anointing enabled him to do:
1 Sam 10:6-7 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. (NKJV)
Here Samuel says the Spirit of God will come upon you (after being anointed already) and then he will prophesy. Wait a minute!? Saul wasn’t anointed as a prophet, how come he can prophesy? Because we place the limitations on the anointing, not God. The anointing brings the Spirit of God and He has all the power needed to enable us to do what the occasion demands. Look at verse 7, “Do as the occasion demands; for God is with you.” If the occasion demands a prophetic word, the anointing ensures that God is with you and you will be able to bring that word. If the occasion demands healing, the anointing will enable you to heal because God is with you.
How long was Saul king for? Until he died, right. The anointing never left him. He remained a king until the day he died, even after his life went downhill and he got into major sin. The anointing was not given based on Saul’s good or bad behavior. It was given to provide the power to bring salvation to people. The gifts (spiritual endowments or miraculous faculty / office) and callings of God are irrevocable. (Rom 11:29) THE ANOINTING DOES NOT LIFT. Now let’s jump ahead to Jesus and pick it up where He just came back from the wilderness.
Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (NKJV)
Look at Jesus’ words: “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, BECAUSE He HAS ANOINTED Me to preach…heal…proclaim liberty…recover sight…set at liberty… proclaim God’s acceptable year. The Spirit came upon Jesus because He was anointed. The anointing didn’t come because of the Spirit. The anointing or appointment always comes first. The appointment to an office of service always precedes the outworking of the office. In other words I can’t just walk into any school and go sit behind the principle’s desk and run the school if I was not appointed to serve in that office. If I get appointed by the school board, then I can go sit there and run the school. Anointing always precedes the power to fulfill the duties of the office. Jesus didn’t do any miracles until the power came through the Spirit. What was Jesus’ anointing? He was called Christ which as you hopefully know was not His surname. Christ means the Anointed. Its Hebrew equivalent is Messiah. He was anointed to save. Interestingly, so was Saul and all the other Judges. They were anointed to save or set free. Power was always given to save. That is the nature of God’s Power.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation (NKJV)
The Gospel is the POWER unto SALVATION (Greek = soteria = save, heal, deliver, protect, make whole) The nature of the God’s Power is to save. Back to Jesus. He is called a high priest in the order of Melchizedek (Heb 5:10 & 6:20) who was a king, making Jesus a king, a priest and a prophet. This means Jesus was given the power and authority (king) to be the final mediator (priest) between God and man (prophet). Jesus’ anointing was the highest possible office of service before God and therefore He also had the most power to fulfill the duties of that office. The higher up you are in a company, the more authority and executive power you are entrusted with. As a New Covenant believer, reborn by the Spirit of God, the ‘anointing’ you received at the new birth is the same one Jesus had since we are now called sons of God. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6) and we have been blessed with EVERY spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3). Since the anointing is a spiritual blessing, Ephesians 1:3 confirms that there is not some other anointing we didn’t receive. We are co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17) meaning everything Jesus inherited we also inherited.
1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (NKJV)
As He (Jesus) IS, so ARE we in THIS WORLD. That means the same righteousness, the same holiness, the same favour, the same anointing and the same authority. We are one spirit with the Lord! (1 Cor 6:17) We have received everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). We have been anointed (1 John 2:20) and this anointing abides (1 John 2:27), it doesn’t lift or leave, come and go. You have everything you need to be what God destined you to be. Our only problem is we either don’t know it or we think if we deny what we have that it will remove the responsibility to step out do something for God. To make your faith effective, acknowledge every good thing that is IN YOU in Christ Jesus.
Philem 1:6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (NKJV)
Effective faith starts with the acknowledgement of what you have been given. So instead of saying I need more anointing, I need more power, I need more authority, acknowledge that you have received every spiritual blessing and that you have the anointing and the indwelling Spirit of God Himself and as His son you can do all things through Christ (the anointing) who strengthens you. The devil wants you to believe you don’t have everything you need because then you will be looking for more and more instead of just being who God created you to be!
Be, know, do!
Cornel Marais
Read some excellent follow-up comments here -
The “Anointing”
1 Sam 10:1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance? (NKJV)
Here we read about Samuel anointing Saul to be king. He physically poured oil out over Saul’s head and said, “Is it not BECAUSE the Lord HAS anointed you commander…” Samuel is saying God anointed / appointed Saul to be king already, and the physical oil being poured out is just to symbolize in the natural what has already taken place in the spiritual. The spiritual anointing is the one that really matters. The anointing that God gives is more important and significant than oil on your forehead. God’s anointing carries heaven’s power. But when did God anoint Saul?
1 Sam 9:15-16 Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.” (NKJV)
God made the choice to appoint / anoint Saul as king and rescue God’s people. He told Samuel to go anoint him in the natural, but the spiritual has already been established. Now remember that Saul got anointed to be king, but look what the anointing enabled him to do:
1 Sam 10:6-7 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. (NKJV)
Here Samuel says the Spirit of God will come upon you (after being anointed already) and then he will prophesy. Wait a minute!? Saul wasn’t anointed as a prophet, how come he can prophesy? Because we place the limitations on the anointing, not God. The anointing brings the Spirit of God and He has all the power needed to enable us to do what the occasion demands. Look at verse 7, “Do as the occasion demands; for God is with you.” If the occasion demands a prophetic word, the anointing ensures that God is with you and you will be able to bring that word. If the occasion demands healing, the anointing will enable you to heal because God is with you.
How long was Saul king for? Until he died, right. The anointing never left him. He remained a king until the day he died, even after his life went downhill and he got into major sin. The anointing was not given based on Saul’s good or bad behavior. It was given to provide the power to bring salvation to people. The gifts (spiritual endowments or miraculous faculty / office) and callings of God are irrevocable. (Rom 11:29) THE ANOINTING DOES NOT LIFT. Now let’s jump ahead to Jesus and pick it up where He just came back from the wilderness.
Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (NKJV)
Look at Jesus’ words: “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, BECAUSE He HAS ANOINTED Me to preach…heal…proclaim liberty…recover sight…set at liberty… proclaim God’s acceptable year. The Spirit came upon Jesus because He was anointed. The anointing didn’t come because of the Spirit. The anointing or appointment always comes first. The appointment to an office of service always precedes the outworking of the office. In other words I can’t just walk into any school and go sit behind the principle’s desk and run the school if I was not appointed to serve in that office. If I get appointed by the school board, then I can go sit there and run the school. Anointing always precedes the power to fulfill the duties of the office. Jesus didn’t do any miracles until the power came through the Spirit. What was Jesus’ anointing? He was called Christ which as you hopefully know was not His surname. Christ means the Anointed. Its Hebrew equivalent is Messiah. He was anointed to save. Interestingly, so was Saul and all the other Judges. They were anointed to save or set free. Power was always given to save. That is the nature of God’s Power.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation (NKJV)
The Gospel is the POWER unto SALVATION (Greek = soteria = save, heal, deliver, protect, make whole) The nature of the God’s Power is to save. Back to Jesus. He is called a high priest in the order of Melchizedek (Heb 5:10 & 6:20) who was a king, making Jesus a king, a priest and a prophet. This means Jesus was given the power and authority (king) to be the final mediator (priest) between God and man (prophet). Jesus’ anointing was the highest possible office of service before God and therefore He also had the most power to fulfill the duties of that office. The higher up you are in a company, the more authority and executive power you are entrusted with. As a New Covenant believer, reborn by the Spirit of God, the ‘anointing’ you received at the new birth is the same one Jesus had since we are now called sons of God. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6) and we have been blessed with EVERY spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3). Since the anointing is a spiritual blessing, Ephesians 1:3 confirms that there is not some other anointing we didn’t receive. We are co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17) meaning everything Jesus inherited we also inherited.
1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (NKJV)
As He (Jesus) IS, so ARE we in THIS WORLD. That means the same righteousness, the same holiness, the same favour, the same anointing and the same authority. We are one spirit with the Lord! (1 Cor 6:17) We have received everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). We have been anointed (1 John 2:20) and this anointing abides (1 John 2:27), it doesn’t lift or leave, come and go. You have everything you need to be what God destined you to be. Our only problem is we either don’t know it or we think if we deny what we have that it will remove the responsibility to step out do something for God. To make your faith effective, acknowledge every good thing that is IN YOU in Christ Jesus.
Philem 1:6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (NKJV)
Effective faith starts with the acknowledgement of what you have been given. So instead of saying I need more anointing, I need more power, I need more authority, acknowledge that you have received every spiritual blessing and that you have the anointing and the indwelling Spirit of God Himself and as His son you can do all things through Christ (the anointing) who strengthens you. The devil wants you to believe you don’t have everything you need because then you will be looking for more and more instead of just being who God created you to be!
Be, know, do!
Cornel Marais
Read some excellent follow-up comments here -
The “Anointing”
Sunday, December 20, 2009
IT’S TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK!
IT’S TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK!
Gal 1:8,9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
This passage of the bible is often used to threaten and scare people to only listen to the truth or gospel as preached in their denomination or church. But it begs the question, “What is this gospel that Paul preached?” Paul says in verses 11 and 12 that he did not receive this gospel from “man”. He says that, “neither was he taught this gospel by any man” and that includes the elders and leaders of the church in Jerusalem. So then how did he receive this gospel? He says he received it “by revelation” directly from Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the “Word of God” personified. John says that this Word became flesh and was full of “grace” and “truth”. Jesus revealed this word of grace and truth to the apostle Paul. Jesus said that He is the truth. So what is the truth? What is the true gospel? It is time that all Christians and churches do a reality check to see if the gospel they are hearing and preaching is the same gospel that Jesus Christ revealed to Paul.
So what is the gospel that Paul preached? Paul preached the good news of the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ Acts 13:38. He preached that:
• the punishment for the sins of the whole humanity came upon Jesus, so that we should not be judged for our sins anymore.
• Jesus was made sin, so that we might be “made” the righteousness of God in Christ. (Note that we are not becoming progressively righteous by our works, but He has already “made” us righteous).
• the very righteousness of God has been given to us as a FREE gift, free from our works or performance.
• the blood of Jesus has obtained “eternal” (not partial or temporary) redemption, which is the eternal forgiveness of sins.
• not only are we saved by grace, but our salvation is kept by His grace, not by our works.
• Christ has fulfilled the law and has removed the law as a means of our justification, since we could never keep the law.
• Christ has delivered us from the ministration of death and condemnation, which is the law written and graven on stones, by nailing it to the cross.
• Christ has set us free from religious laws and regulations and has given us the perfect law of liberty (freedom) in Christ Jesus.
• we are no longer led by the law, but by the very life of Christ in us.
• Christ also nailed our old self, the old man to the cross with Him. After nailing the old man, He then raised us up a new man, a brand new creation, who has the very life of God in us.
• we are saints, sanctified, made holy, righteous and perfected.
• there is no condemnation to those in Christ.
• we are already accepted and blessed with EVERY blessing in Christ Jesus, not based on our performance. He preached that we are complete in Christ, lacking nothing.
• we are God’s workmanship; it is He who is working in and through us.
He preached ALL about what God has done through the finished work on the cross in our lives. He preached the message of God’s grace and truth!!
Is this the good news that is being preached today? If anyone is preaching a mixture of law and grace, or the message of condemnation, or a message of “Jesus plus your holy works to stay saved”, or a message of perfection by the flesh, he is preaching another gospel. Please check your gospel and see if you are putting yourself under a curse!
Gal 1:8,9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
This passage of the bible is often used to threaten and scare people to only listen to the truth or gospel as preached in their denomination or church. But it begs the question, “What is this gospel that Paul preached?” Paul says in verses 11 and 12 that he did not receive this gospel from “man”. He says that, “neither was he taught this gospel by any man” and that includes the elders and leaders of the church in Jerusalem. So then how did he receive this gospel? He says he received it “by revelation” directly from Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the “Word of God” personified. John says that this Word became flesh and was full of “grace” and “truth”. Jesus revealed this word of grace and truth to the apostle Paul. Jesus said that He is the truth. So what is the truth? What is the true gospel? It is time that all Christians and churches do a reality check to see if the gospel they are hearing and preaching is the same gospel that Jesus Christ revealed to Paul.
So what is the gospel that Paul preached? Paul preached the good news of the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ Acts 13:38. He preached that:
• the punishment for the sins of the whole humanity came upon Jesus, so that we should not be judged for our sins anymore.
• Jesus was made sin, so that we might be “made” the righteousness of God in Christ. (Note that we are not becoming progressively righteous by our works, but He has already “made” us righteous).
• the very righteousness of God has been given to us as a FREE gift, free from our works or performance.
• the blood of Jesus has obtained “eternal” (not partial or temporary) redemption, which is the eternal forgiveness of sins.
• not only are we saved by grace, but our salvation is kept by His grace, not by our works.
• Christ has fulfilled the law and has removed the law as a means of our justification, since we could never keep the law.
• Christ has delivered us from the ministration of death and condemnation, which is the law written and graven on stones, by nailing it to the cross.
• Christ has set us free from religious laws and regulations and has given us the perfect law of liberty (freedom) in Christ Jesus.
• we are no longer led by the law, but by the very life of Christ in us.
• Christ also nailed our old self, the old man to the cross with Him. After nailing the old man, He then raised us up a new man, a brand new creation, who has the very life of God in us.
• we are saints, sanctified, made holy, righteous and perfected.
• there is no condemnation to those in Christ.
• we are already accepted and blessed with EVERY blessing in Christ Jesus, not based on our performance. He preached that we are complete in Christ, lacking nothing.
• we are God’s workmanship; it is He who is working in and through us.
He preached ALL about what God has done through the finished work on the cross in our lives. He preached the message of God’s grace and truth!!
Is this the good news that is being preached today? If anyone is preaching a mixture of law and grace, or the message of condemnation, or a message of “Jesus plus your holy works to stay saved”, or a message of perfection by the flesh, he is preaching another gospel. Please check your gospel and see if you are putting yourself under a curse!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Grace by Faith
How do we access the things that God has given us Freely by His grace. It is through Faith (Rom 5:2). Is faith something that we have to work up? No! Rather, this Faith comes by hearing the word of God (logos- reasoning of God). Jesus himself is the logos of God and His word is full of grace and truth. What is the truth? Listen to this powerful message to hear what is the Truth from God's perspective or reasoning (logos). Once you know that, you can align your reasoning with God's reasoning and this will manifest success in your christian life.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
I Am The Righteousness of God in Christ
Powerful Stuff!
In this recent sermon, Pastor Paul White teaches that there is great power in the tongue and that we are not necessarily what we say, but we need to confess who we are in Christ.
In this recent sermon, Pastor Paul White teaches that there is great power in the tongue and that we are not necessarily what we say, but we need to confess who we are in Christ.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The "Giant Flat Panel TV" in Heaven - Joseph Prince
The following article is from the Daily Devotional by Joseph Prince. You can subscribe to these devotionals from www.josephprince.org.
When I was a young Christian growing up in Singapore, I read a little tract entitled This Was Your Life. In that tract, it said that when you get to heaven, God will replay your entire life, including all your sins, on a huge video screen for all the angels and other saints to watch!
The idea that God was making such a video of my life with the intention of screening it for everyone to watch used to make me feel awful and condemned before God. How could I ever stand boldly in His presence? And how was I going to face my loved ones and Christian friends in heaven?
I was a nervous wreck, thinking about all my sins that God was recording down, until I read this in the Bible: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” (Romans 4:8) Hallelujah! I jumped for joy when I found out that God was not counting my sins against me, and that He has given me something called “non-imputation of sins”!
My friend, the reason that God does not impute any of our sins to us is that He has already imputed all of them to the body of His Son Jesus when He hung on the cross 2,000 years ago. Not only that, when God punished His Son for our sins, He caused the curse of the law to fall stroke by stroke upon Jesus’ entire body until every curse had been fully satisfied. That is why we have been redeemed from the curse of the law. (Galatians 3:13) That is why, instead of imputing sin to us, God imputes righteousness!
God wants us to know that our sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. The words “no more” in the original Greek text carry a strong double-negative meaning. In other words, God is saying, “No way, by no means, will I ever remember your sins again!”
Beloved, since God says that He will remember your sins no more, why do you still remember them? Or for that matter, your spouse’s or neighbor’s sins? God does not want you to be conscious of sins because He is not. So rejoice! Come to Him boldly and expect Him to show you mercy and grace because He remembers your sins no more!
When I was a young Christian growing up in Singapore, I read a little tract entitled This Was Your Life. In that tract, it said that when you get to heaven, God will replay your entire life, including all your sins, on a huge video screen for all the angels and other saints to watch!
The idea that God was making such a video of my life with the intention of screening it for everyone to watch used to make me feel awful and condemned before God. How could I ever stand boldly in His presence? And how was I going to face my loved ones and Christian friends in heaven?
I was a nervous wreck, thinking about all my sins that God was recording down, until I read this in the Bible: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” (Romans 4:8) Hallelujah! I jumped for joy when I found out that God was not counting my sins against me, and that He has given me something called “non-imputation of sins”!
My friend, the reason that God does not impute any of our sins to us is that He has already imputed all of them to the body of His Son Jesus when He hung on the cross 2,000 years ago. Not only that, when God punished His Son for our sins, He caused the curse of the law to fall stroke by stroke upon Jesus’ entire body until every curse had been fully satisfied. That is why we have been redeemed from the curse of the law. (Galatians 3:13) That is why, instead of imputing sin to us, God imputes righteousness!
God wants us to know that our sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. The words “no more” in the original Greek text carry a strong double-negative meaning. In other words, God is saying, “No way, by no means, will I ever remember your sins again!”
Beloved, since God says that He will remember your sins no more, why do you still remember them? Or for that matter, your spouse’s or neighbor’s sins? God does not want you to be conscious of sins because He is not. So rejoice! Come to Him boldly and expect Him to show you mercy and grace because He remembers your sins no more!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
What Bread Are You Feeding On? -Part 2
Matt 4:4 It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
My last article under this topic was an attempt to show that Jesus is the “Word of God” that proceeds out of the mouth of God, just like manna proceeded from the mouth of God in the Old Testament. He is the heavenly bread that came down from God. To establish this truth, I had to delve into the Hebrew and Greek. I understand that it may not be easy for casual reading.
To summarize, the apostle John says that Jesus is the “Word of God” who became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the embodiment or essence of the word of God. In other words, he is a perfect representation of God the father and what the Father speaks to us (Heb 1:1, 2).
In the temptation in the wilderness, one of things satan tempted Jesus to do, was to prove His Sonship by works. He said, “If you be the son of God, then turn these stones into bread”. To which Jesus replied, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Jesus refused to prove his Sonship by His works because He was very well established in the knowledge of His identity. (This is a very important lesson for us to know our identity in Christ)
The stones represents “the law given on tablets of stone”. Turning “stones into bread” signifies making the law our food. Jesus was now very hungry after 40 days of fasting and the tempter wanted Him to turn the stones into bread and thereby have Jesus eat of it. This would serve satan’s purpose of Jesus feeding on the law by establishing His Sonship or identity by His works, apart from the identity which the Father had proclaimed over Him. The Father had proclaimed that “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
This is very similar to the temptation with which satan tempted Eve in the garden of Eden. He told her that she could become like God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which represents the Law. But man was already like God, since they were created in the likeness and image of God. God had warned them against eating from this tree. He wanted them to eat from the tree of life which signifies the life of Jesus. Eve, unlike Jesus, had an identity crisis and gave into the temptation. She wanted to establish her own identity apart from God.
Jesus refused to give into satan’s deception to prove His identity by His works and partaking of the bread from stones (law). Rather, He said that you will live by the word of God or the bread of life that proceeds from the mouth of God. The word of God is Jesus himself. He is the bread of life. This word is full of grace and truth (John 1:14,16,17)
We have the same choice today. Do we want to feed on the bread of life (Jesus) or do we want to feed on the bread of the law? Eating from the bread of life will result in life; eating from the bread of law will result in death.” Live by my life” says the Lord!!
My last article under this topic was an attempt to show that Jesus is the “Word of God” that proceeds out of the mouth of God, just like manna proceeded from the mouth of God in the Old Testament. He is the heavenly bread that came down from God. To establish this truth, I had to delve into the Hebrew and Greek. I understand that it may not be easy for casual reading.
To summarize, the apostle John says that Jesus is the “Word of God” who became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the embodiment or essence of the word of God. In other words, he is a perfect representation of God the father and what the Father speaks to us (Heb 1:1, 2).
In the temptation in the wilderness, one of things satan tempted Jesus to do, was to prove His Sonship by works. He said, “If you be the son of God, then turn these stones into bread”. To which Jesus replied, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Jesus refused to prove his Sonship by His works because He was very well established in the knowledge of His identity. (This is a very important lesson for us to know our identity in Christ)
The stones represents “the law given on tablets of stone”. Turning “stones into bread” signifies making the law our food. Jesus was now very hungry after 40 days of fasting and the tempter wanted Him to turn the stones into bread and thereby have Jesus eat of it. This would serve satan’s purpose of Jesus feeding on the law by establishing His Sonship or identity by His works, apart from the identity which the Father had proclaimed over Him. The Father had proclaimed that “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
This is very similar to the temptation with which satan tempted Eve in the garden of Eden. He told her that she could become like God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which represents the Law. But man was already like God, since they were created in the likeness and image of God. God had warned them against eating from this tree. He wanted them to eat from the tree of life which signifies the life of Jesus. Eve, unlike Jesus, had an identity crisis and gave into the temptation. She wanted to establish her own identity apart from God.
Jesus refused to give into satan’s deception to prove His identity by His works and partaking of the bread from stones (law). Rather, He said that you will live by the word of God or the bread of life that proceeds from the mouth of God. The word of God is Jesus himself. He is the bread of life. This word is full of grace and truth (John 1:14,16,17)
We have the same choice today. Do we want to feed on the bread of life (Jesus) or do we want to feed on the bread of the law? Eating from the bread of life will result in life; eating from the bread of law will result in death.” Live by my life” says the Lord!!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
What Bread Are You Feeding On?
Matt 4:4 It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
What was Jesus saying here? Was he saying that we should read the Bible every day and obey all the scriptures? (Don’t misunderstand; I am all for reading the Bible). Let’s examine prayerfully and with an open mind!
Jesus was quoting from Deut 8:3 which says, He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna ……………. that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone (physical bread), but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD - NASB.(brackets mine). What is the thing that came from the mouth of the Lord - - It is manna, the heavenly bread. So God is saying, He fed them with this heavenly bread manna which came from Him, and not with physical/earthly bread, to show that they can live by what comes from God and not just by physical bread.
Now, when Jesus quoted this same verse to satan, He replaced “everything or manna” with “rhema – which means “utterance” or word that comes from the mouth of God. So what is this word or rhema that comes out of the mouth of God that we are supposed to eat and live by? It is the word of God, who came from God, in the form of flesh, His name is Jesus!
Let me explain! The manna in the Old Testament was only a type and shadow of the real heavenly bread Jesus. This heavenly bread became flesh. Jesus said in John 6:50 this is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Hallelujah! The bread from heaven became flesh.
Jesus was referring to Himself when He told satan, that man shall live by every “word” that comes out from God. Jesus is the embodiment of every word that comes out of the mouth of God. When John talks about the “word” becoming flesh, he uses the greek word “logos”. Logos means the reasoning or computation of God or the essence of the word of God. Jesus is the essence of all the word or rhema or utterances of God. This logos (word) or Jesus is full of grace and truth. There is no condemnation His word.
What is God’s reasoning or logos word? It is simply that, by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, but by the obedience of another man, many shall be made righteous (Rom 5:19). His reasoning is that because of Jesus’s obedience to the law and taking upon Himself the curse of the law, the righteousness of God comes as a FREE gift upon all who believe in this reasoning or logos of God. Can you align your reasoning with that of God’s and see yourself as He sees you – righteous and holy? Or are you trying to look for the do’s and don’ts in the scripture and still trying to become righteous and attain eternal life by obeying those scriptures like the Pharisees (John 5:38-40).
If you feed on the bread of life Jesus, you will never need the bread from stones (Law). Which bread are you eating and living by? The one leads to life the other to death! Don't mix the two breads either, because a little poison will poison the whole lump!
Please check Part 2 of this article......
What was Jesus saying here? Was he saying that we should read the Bible every day and obey all the scriptures? (Don’t misunderstand; I am all for reading the Bible). Let’s examine prayerfully and with an open mind!
Jesus was quoting from Deut 8:3 which says, He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna ……………. that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone (physical bread), but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD - NASB.(brackets mine). What is the thing that came from the mouth of the Lord - - It is manna, the heavenly bread. So God is saying, He fed them with this heavenly bread manna which came from Him, and not with physical/earthly bread, to show that they can live by what comes from God and not just by physical bread.
Now, when Jesus quoted this same verse to satan, He replaced “everything or manna” with “rhema – which means “utterance” or word that comes from the mouth of God. So what is this word or rhema that comes out of the mouth of God that we are supposed to eat and live by? It is the word of God, who came from God, in the form of flesh, His name is Jesus!
Let me explain! The manna in the Old Testament was only a type and shadow of the real heavenly bread Jesus. This heavenly bread became flesh. Jesus said in John 6:50 this is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Hallelujah! The bread from heaven became flesh.
Jesus was referring to Himself when He told satan, that man shall live by every “word” that comes out from God. Jesus is the embodiment of every word that comes out of the mouth of God. When John talks about the “word” becoming flesh, he uses the greek word “logos”. Logos means the reasoning or computation of God or the essence of the word of God. Jesus is the essence of all the word or rhema or utterances of God. This logos (word) or Jesus is full of grace and truth. There is no condemnation His word.
What is God’s reasoning or logos word? It is simply that, by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, but by the obedience of another man, many shall be made righteous (Rom 5:19). His reasoning is that because of Jesus’s obedience to the law and taking upon Himself the curse of the law, the righteousness of God comes as a FREE gift upon all who believe in this reasoning or logos of God. Can you align your reasoning with that of God’s and see yourself as He sees you – righteous and holy? Or are you trying to look for the do’s and don’ts in the scripture and still trying to become righteous and attain eternal life by obeying those scriptures like the Pharisees (John 5:38-40).
If you feed on the bread of life Jesus, you will never need the bread from stones (Law). Which bread are you eating and living by? The one leads to life the other to death! Don't mix the two breads either, because a little poison will poison the whole lump!
Please check Part 2 of this article......
Monday, December 7, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Love not the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life
1 John 2:15-17
15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
The apostle John exhorts us, not to love the world and the things in the world namely the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. For these things are not of the Father, but of the world.
The "world" here refers to the world's system in general. The whole world runs by the system of knowing right & wrong, good & evil and doing the good or right thing as much as possible. The reward is determined by ones performance. The driving forces behind this system are called the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The flesh denotes human strength and ability. The flesh always wants to live life based on ones strength, will-power and ability. The prospect of living a life based on ones resources and ability and acheiving the end result looks very appealing (lust of the eyes). Pride in one's ability is also a factor.
Verse 16 says that this system is not of the Father. In the garden of Eden, God told man, not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil. God never wanted man to live by knowing good & evil or right & wrong (Law), but He wanted them to live by eating from the tree of Life (God's life). God made them in His image and likeness - just like Him. All they had to do was to live by His life and enjoy everything that He had created for them to enjoy freely. He did not give them 10 or 15 rules or principles on how to live a holy, moral, successful and prosperous life. The only command he gave them was to stay away from living by knowing good and evil or living by rules or principles. He warned them that eating that fruit would result in death.
But the tempter came and told Eve that eating this fruit would cause her to be like God. Remember, they were already like God, not by any of their works, but because they were created in His image and likeness. So Satan, put this idea in the mind of Eve, that she could be like God by her own doing and not by how God made her to be. She decided that she wanted to be like God, independent of God, by her own works by knowing good & evil. Gen 3:6 says that the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh) and it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes) and a tree desired to make one wise (pride of life). By eating that fruit, man implemented this system of works or performance for the whole humanity.
Beloved, are you still eating from that forbidden tree by living by knowing good & evil or rules & regulations or are you living by the tree of life (the life of Jesus in you)? Living by rules and commandments may appear very good, may boost your ego by your performance and will satisfy your flesh, but the end result is death. Are you satisfied with how God has made you to be like Him - holy and righteous in Christ Jesus or are you trying to become like God by your holy living and good works? Verse 17 says that the world and it's system will pass away, but he who does the will of the Father will abide forever. The will of the Father for you is to believe on the good news of the removal of your sins by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, whereby He has made you perfectly holy and righteous, just like Him, free from any of your works!
15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
The apostle John exhorts us, not to love the world and the things in the world namely the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. For these things are not of the Father, but of the world.
The "world" here refers to the world's system in general. The whole world runs by the system of knowing right & wrong, good & evil and doing the good or right thing as much as possible. The reward is determined by ones performance. The driving forces behind this system are called the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The flesh denotes human strength and ability. The flesh always wants to live life based on ones strength, will-power and ability. The prospect of living a life based on ones resources and ability and acheiving the end result looks very appealing (lust of the eyes). Pride in one's ability is also a factor.
Verse 16 says that this system is not of the Father. In the garden of Eden, God told man, not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil. God never wanted man to live by knowing good & evil or right & wrong (Law), but He wanted them to live by eating from the tree of Life (God's life). God made them in His image and likeness - just like Him. All they had to do was to live by His life and enjoy everything that He had created for them to enjoy freely. He did not give them 10 or 15 rules or principles on how to live a holy, moral, successful and prosperous life. The only command he gave them was to stay away from living by knowing good and evil or living by rules or principles. He warned them that eating that fruit would result in death.
But the tempter came and told Eve that eating this fruit would cause her to be like God. Remember, they were already like God, not by any of their works, but because they were created in His image and likeness. So Satan, put this idea in the mind of Eve, that she could be like God by her own doing and not by how God made her to be. She decided that she wanted to be like God, independent of God, by her own works by knowing good & evil. Gen 3:6 says that the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh) and it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes) and a tree desired to make one wise (pride of life). By eating that fruit, man implemented this system of works or performance for the whole humanity.
Beloved, are you still eating from that forbidden tree by living by knowing good & evil or rules & regulations or are you living by the tree of life (the life of Jesus in you)? Living by rules and commandments may appear very good, may boost your ego by your performance and will satisfy your flesh, but the end result is death. Are you satisfied with how God has made you to be like Him - holy and righteous in Christ Jesus or are you trying to become like God by your holy living and good works? Verse 17 says that the world and it's system will pass away, but he who does the will of the Father will abide forever. The will of the Father for you is to believe on the good news of the removal of your sins by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, whereby He has made you perfectly holy and righteous, just like Him, free from any of your works!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Encounter with Jesus - Philadelphia
He that hath an ear let him hear. The truth will set you free. Listen to this powerful preaching of the real gospel of Jesus Christ. It may challenge your traditions, doctrines and religion!!
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