Incorrectly discerning the totality of the forgiveness given us by Jesus Christ leads to a never-ending, vicious circle that keeps the born again believer bound up in seeking and re-seeking his own forgiveness instead of allowing the believer to get on with the life/growth that God intends for us all!
Having a proper understanding or our identity in Christ greatly depends on how we view God's Forgiveness toward us. Our understanding of God's Forgiveness will virtually impact "everything" we do, say and touch! If we see ourselves as unforgiven or not worthy of forgiveness, it perverts our understanding of "God's Love", and there is nothing more important than a child of God understanding just how much God loves them! In a world where God's forgiveness has to be "earned" or "paid for", unconditional forgiveness is sometimes difficult to understand. However, scripture (God's Word) tells us that this is the way God has forgiven us!
When Christ died on the cross, His last words were, "It is FINISHED!" In other words, "The payment for sins has been satisfied!" ALL of the worlds sins -- past, present and future -- were paid for! THIS is the "FREEDOM" we have as Children of God!
Please allow me to clearly explain this most important action that God so greatly wants all His children to know:
"Once and for all, I have made up my mind that there will only be one God I will love! The God of Abraham!"
Now what did I just say? I said I will love the God of Abraham only, and I will love Him "once and for all"... That means forever! Right? ....... Right! So, what does scripture say concerning our forgiveness?Hebrews 10:9-10;
"9 Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."Any way you read it, the scripture says, "Once For All"! That means our past sins have been forgiven, and our present sin and our future sin has already been dealt with! What a glorious gift! How absolutely incredible! How completely TRUE!
So how is it our "present" sin and our "future" sin has already been dealt with?
Romans 7:6 "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."
This scripture clearly states we have been "released" from the law of God. Without a law, there is nothing to "condemn" us! Incredible I know, but true, never-the-less! That is how God dealt with our future! And we so needed that because of this flesh we deal with. being honest, we are not "perfect" are we? But there is more!
2 Corinthians 5:18-19; "18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."
Again, any way you read it, God is no longer "counting our sins against us"! He can't, because there is no longer any LAW to convict us! Incredible! Absolutely Incredible! Our deliverance from evil is all about Jesus! "We" have nothing to do with it except to "receive" it! If we could have delivered ourselves, Jesus would not have had to die!
Now there are those that will say this is a "license to sin". This greatly saddens me... What this is is an "Incredible Truth"... To interpret this as a license to sin, in my opinion, is to adulterate the very core of the incredible Truth of what Jesus did for us through His sacrifice and resurrection! It can be considered nothing less than a slap in the face to The One that delivered us from our sin!
Now, being "set free" from the law that condemns us, are we now to live any old way we want, doing that which disappoints God?
Romans 6:15-18
Slaves to Righteousness
"15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obeywhether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."
As Paul says here, "Certainly Not!" What Paul is starting to describe here, is what was first mentioned in this blog in Romans 7:6. We are now to "live by The Spirit" of God. This has nothing to do with the law that condemns us, but rather our heart we have for God, given to us through The Holy Spirit, as born-again believers in Christ! This is a concept that is astoundingly mis-understood by Christians today through false teachings and mis-interpretations --- this "living by The Spirit"... And what a shame! It is the very core of properly understanding "who we are in Christ"! If you cannot properly understand who you are in Christ, it is impossible to fully understand many things happening around you and fulfill all that God has set for you... Impossible to become who God wants you to be...
I walked in this bondage of "ignorance" for the first twelve years of my walk with God. I always had many questions to things that just didn't add up according to the way I had "been taught". therefore, if there is anything at all I can do to prevent this "lack of understanding" from happening to any of my other brothers and sisters in Christ, by God's Grace and Power, I will do it!
No longer do I walk in mis-understanding. No longer do I have questions unanswered. I have read the bible more times than I have bothered to count, but now it is as if I am reading it for almost the very first time! My eyes have been opened to the "spiritual" things of which God speaks! It is by The Spirit of God I have been given these things - It's by the Spirit of God that we will receive ANYTHING good! And I thank God for these gifts... And God will give to you, and all those that diligently search for Him also! Glory to His wonderful Name!
"Living By The Spirit" is our new way of life as a born-again believer... Free from the condemnation of the law... "Eternal" life is our guarantee... God's "assurance" to His children that we will certainly be with Him forever is our inheritance! Thank You, God... Thank You, My Lord! Thank You God... In Jesus' Mighty Name, I thank Thee! Amen!
