Christian Learning Resource On The Gospel Of Jesus Christ
This may be the most impacting presentation you will ever hear/see. Paul shows us, in no uncertain terms, the state of grace in which Believers live! Or should live!! This change-your-life explanation of what took place on Calvary is doctrinal sound, yet rarely taught in churches today. What a truth release!!
Filmed at the 2010 Steeling the Mind Bible Conference
There is a teaching going around stating that Noah and his family were not saved by grace but by obedience to build the ark. They even go so far as to quote Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith” but the rest of the verse seems to be missing. The entire verse is,
“For BY GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the GIFT OF GOD: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast. For we are HIS WORKMANSHIP, created in Christ Jesus UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:9-10 KJV)
Wow. Look all that they left out in stating that Noah was not saved by grace but by obedience. Now let us look at the English translated word FAITH in this verse in the Greek for a moment.
The Greek of the English translated word faith in this verse is not a verb; it is a noun. It is not an action word but is instead a person, place or thing. So in this context it is a thing. The Greek word for faith in this verse is ‘πίστις pístis, pis’-this’ from Strongs Concordance G3982 and it is defined simply as ‘assurance, belief, believe’. The word faith here is a noun and that is very important to understand!
It is not about what a person DOES, it is about what a person BELIEVES. So it is the same as saying “ For by grace are ye saved through BELIEF”. If our salvation rests on our obedience then we are EARNING our Salvation. And Apostle Paul is telling us that believing that is boasting. He goes on in verse 10 to show that we are ‘His workmanship, created in Christ’ which is an inward change in our Spirit that happens when we believe on Christ and HIS finished work on the cross. We see this inward change and how our Spirit is reborn by the very words of Jesus in John 3:5-6, 14-18, John 6:37-40. We also see Paul teaching this all over His writings such as in Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Cor. 5:17-21, Colossians 2 and 3, Romans 5 and 6 as just some examples.
If it is our obedience that saves us and makes us a righteous person, then we are boasting in our on efforts and that is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ Crucified. There is a fine line here between grace and obedience and if we do not see the truth a person can be deceived by someone teaching that Noah was saved by obedience and not grace. Why? Because it appeals to our Flesh.
The first time the word grace appears in the Bible is in the story of Noah in Genesis 6:8,
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. ” (Genesis 6:8 KJV)
The number 5 throughout the Bible signifies this grace. In fact, this is the 5th time Noah’s name is mentioned in the Bible. That is no coincidence! That is because it is all about God’s Grace. Noah surely had some major evidence of his belief and trust in God’s Grace though didn’t he! He believed the flood was coming because God told him directly and specifically when it would come. He was given exact dimensions and plans by God in how to create the Ark as well. Noah believed and so his obedience is evidence in how much he believed God. The obedience is not what saved Noah though. God’s grace saved Noah! It is something we can look at today as believers so we can trust that our efforts in helping others come to Christ for Salvation by telling others of the Gospel, are not in vain as well. Noah was mocked by those he told about the coming flood. Yet, he pressed forward in the warning to them. Can you imagine the people back them gossiping about this guy building a huge boat on dry land? “Crazy old fart” is what they would say. But he knew the truth by God’s Grace. And he pressed forward warning them and preaching to them as he built the Ark. And one day, a day appointed by God, Noah and his family went in the Ark and it is not Noah who closed and sealed them inside safe and sound. It was God who shut and sealed that door.
“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and
THE LORD SHUT HIM IN.”
(Genesis 7:16 KJV)
God shut and sealed them safe inside that Ark. What a picture of our Salvation by God’s grace through faith/belief in Christ Jesus. Apostle Paul is clear so many times in his teachings which he received directly from the risen Christ. If obedience is required for Salvation what do we do with this verse?
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19 KJV)
By one man’s disobedience many were MADE sinners. Why do we sin? Do we sin and therefore have a sinful nature? Or were we born with a sinful nature and therefore we sin? This verse answers that question right? The one man that first sinned was Adam and since Adman this thing, this noun called sin has been passed down to all of humankind. And by belief on Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, who is God, who paid for the sins of the whole world on that cross (1 John 2:2), we are born again in the Spirit, in our core nature and MADE RIGHTEOUS. It is not that we made ourselves righteous through obedience. In 2 Corinthians 5 we see a truth that should make us shout the good news. In verse 17-21 we read,
“17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become NEW…21 For he hath made him TO BE SIN FOR US, who knew no sin; that we might BE MADE the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 and 21 KJV)
Let’s unfold this extremely powerful truth Apostle Paul is giving us to unpack. Let’s look at this in the Greek to see the real truth and meaning. The English translated word new is ‘καινός kainós, kahee-nos’ (Strong’s G2537) and is defined as ‘of uncertain affinity; new, especially in freshness’ . The English translated word creature is in the Greek, ‘ktisis ‘ and has a meaning of a word in English we use called ‘creation’. So Paul is telling us that when a person believe on Christ for righteousness they become a NEW CREATION in the Spirit. This is just as Jesus told Nicodemus about the need to be born again in the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God in John 3.
As we continue to verse 21 we see the truth that saves us. It is not by obedience but by belief in Christ and His finished work that we are saved. A divine exchange takes place for all who believe on Christ for righteousness. For all who lay down their outward dead works and instead have God recreate them in the Spirit; our core being. By imputation God placed all the sins of the whole world (includes your and mine!) onto Christ who had NO SIN and Jesus literally became sin for us and died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins in His shed blood as our substitute. Most Christians understand this. But the next part, is something many believers have not yet grasped. God also MADE US by imputation, the righteousness of God in Christ. When Jesus took our sin, He also gave us HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS which is perfect because He NEVER SINNED. This great exchange is seen in more detail in Colossians 2 where Apostle Paul tells us that all the Spirit Of Adam Sin Natures, of all who believe on Christ, were placed on the cross WITH Christ, died WITH Christ, were buried WITH Christ and already (past tense for us) ROSE again WITH Christ as the new Spirit of God which is IN CHRIST. Colossians 2, what an amazing truth it reveals along with 2 Corinthians 5!
Now I ask you, were we saved by obedience or did we come to God as sinners asking for mercy because there is no way to pay for our sins by our works and good deeds? Jesus paid it all! It is all by grace and belief in Christ. What a completely different picture this is than those falsely teaching that GRACE did not save Noah but obedience did.
No. Obedience to the truth is important. Living Godly lives and loving others as God loves us is very important. But what saved Noah and his family? Grace or obedience or both? The Grace of God! Just as in James 2, works do matter but they do not save nor keep us saved. James is talking about how a person is living outwardly since being changed in our Spirit. He is talking about the fact that we have been born again and so how are we living outwardly? Are we helping others or just living in carnality? Such a faith is DEAD, meaning useless in Greek, because it does not help others does it? Obedience does matter. Yes of course it does. Once we are changed in the Spirit, we should be ‘walking in the Spirit’ (Galatians 5) and loving others as Christ has loved us. By this love we share, by this ‘little light of mine’, which God MADE us, we become witnesses to others by our living and by our words.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. “ (Matthew 5:16 KJV)
Learn from Noah. Saved by grace and working for God, as Paul did as well, as ambassadors for God and Christ. You have been given much in your Salvation. Eternal life. And so many riches we do not even yet comprehend my sisters and brothers in Christ. Now, we need to go and tell others the GOOD NEWS of The Gospel of Grace Through Jesus Christ Crucified, Died And Risen.
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us:
we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
(2 Corinthians 5: 20 KJV)
There are some teaching to ignore Paul’s Gospel of Grace Through Christ Crucified, over Jesus’ teachings to the Jews in the Gospel books of the New Testament. Yet, doing so is not the Word of God we were given!
Jesus and Paul agree 100% because it is the risen Christ that sent Paul to the Gentiles and us living in our current dispensation after the cross.
We must realize that passages in the Gospels showing Jesus’ words, that are before the cross, are addressed directly to the Israelites; the Jewish people and Pharisees of that time who were believing that Law keeping is the way to be favored by God. That righteousness comes by the Law. This is in complete opposition to Paul’ and Jesus’ teachings when read in proper context.
In the Gospels, we see Jesus burying the Jewish people and Pharisees in the extremes of the Law to prepare them for the soon coming New Covenant of God’s Grace through Christ crucified. Law of Moses keeping does not ever justify a person and so Jesus uses extremes of the Law to have them Change Their Mind (Repent) about how to be justified with God. Jesus wants them crying to God for mercy because the New Covenant and dispensation of God’s Grace was about to begin, at the cross.
In Matthew 5 and Matthew 18 is a good example where Jesus tells the Jews to cut off their hand, pluck out their eyes… I certainly hope no believer today is doing such things. Jesus tells the Jews if they even just look at a person in lust – they have committed adultery in their heart and have broken the commandment. Jesus is just trying to bring them to their knees to cry out to God for mercy knowing they cannot keep all the Law of Moses!
The rich man asking what must he DO to be saved was being very boastful about his Law keeping. When Jesus asked him about his Law following, he said he kept all the Law of Moses; a blatant untruth. Law keeping does not justify a person ever and then Jesus tells him to sell everything and give to the poor and follow Him.
Even the disciples were SHOCKED asking.. ‘Who then can be saved?’. Jesus reply was that with man it is impossible BUT with God all things are possible.
“The law curses all who practice it and fail to do it perfectly.” (Galatians 3:10 KJV)
And remember, Paul was an EXPERT of the Law of Moses who persecuted Christians before his appointed meeting with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.
And NO ONE except Jesus, The Christ, God in the flesh, has kept all the Law of Moses. In fact, not even the Ten Commandments alone.
We must use proper context. And when reading the Gospels and passages before the cross, we need to see them through the lens of the Gospel of God’s Grace Through Christ Crucified as Apostle Paul was sent to teach us living in our current dispensation.
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14 KJV)
The English word ‘dominion’ here in the Greek is ‘kyrieuō‘ and is defined as ‘to rule over’. In essence, in today’s English would be the words ‘your master’.
Does that mean we will never sin as believers? No. But sinning will not be master over us. We have the Holy Spirit living within us to guide us into all truth and to change us by the renewing of our mind by the Word of God. It is an inward change that happens over time and changes us on the inside, in our inner man. This change slowly works it’s way outward into our lives and affects others.
What is it, according to Apostle Paul, that causes sin to not be master over us as believers anyway?
Is it because we work so hard to not sin? NO , it does not say that. Is it because we obey the Law of Moses? No, it does not say that either.
Because we are not under the law but under grace. Reading this verse backwards helps clarify what Paul is actually stating to us.
‘UNDER GRACE, we are NOT UNDER THE LAW, and so sin is not our master.’
Do you see how clear this verse is?
Paul goes on to say even more about Law following verses Salvation by the Grace of God through Christ Jesus in Romans 7:
“But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.” (Romans 7:8 KJV)
First off what is ‘concupiscence’? It is defined in the Greek as ‘lusts and desires’. So let’s replace the word so we can see exactly what Paul is meaning in this verse.
“But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of lustful desires. For without the law sin was dead.”
Paul is telling us that following the Law of Moses actually causes us to sin more! You see, that is the very purpose of the Ten Commandments. Here are other verses by Apostle Paul explaining this:
“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED in his sight: for by the law is the KNOWLEDGE OF SIN.” (Romans 3:20 KJV)
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence MIGHT ABOUND. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:” (Romans 5:20)
“The sting of death is sin; and the STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW.” (1 Corinthians 15:56 KJV)
The very STRENGTH of sinning is following the Law of Moses for justification. The Law and Ten Commandments as many know it by were given by God to bring the Jews to their knees in understanding that we CANNOT EVER justify ourselves nor make ourselves Holy in our own self righteous efforts. The Law is a mirror so we can see ourselves as God sees us; wretched sinners needing a Savior. The Law is meant to bring us to our knees and to cry out to God for mercy because only God can MAKE us Holy.
YES! The Ten Commandments are true and they are still valid as God’s Holy standard. However, following them will NOT make you Holy nor give you favor or justification with God. Only by belief in the Son of God, God in the flesh, Jesus The Christ, who never sinned in thought nor deed, who willingly died on the cross and shed His blood to pay for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD (1 John 2:2) and then rose again; it is through this belief a person is justified with God. (John 3:18, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
“For the law having A SHADOW OF GOOD THINGS TO COME, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.” (Hebrews 10:1 KJV)
The Law of Moses was just a shadow of the real deal folks! Under the Law of Moses, innocent animals were killed because without sin there is no remission of sin. Yet, these sacrifices are not what forgave their sins under the Law (Hebrews 10:4) . It was a remembrance of the one who is to come – the Messiah, and the sacrifice He would make. Jesus is that Messiah who came 2000 years ago. The perfect sacrifice without blemish and without sin. The real deal is Jesus Christ crucified, atoning for our sins on the cross.
The NEW COVENANT began when Jesus died on that cross, paying for the sins of the whole world. When this happened the Old Covenant was REPLACED by the NEW COVENANT of Salvation through the Gospel of Grace through Christ crucified.
“For Christ is the END OF THE LAW for righteousness to every one that BELIEVETH.” (Romans 10:4 KJV)
“Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can NEVER take away sins:” (Hebrews 10:9-11 KJV)
Jesus is the ONCE FOR ALL offering who paid for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) And if you believe this you are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14), have become a new creature, a new creation of God, called The Spirit. All your sins have been forgiven and God remembers them against you no more! Jesus paid for all the sins for all of time. We do not have to sacrifice anymore for our sins – they are all paid IN FULL already. Christ perfected all who believe on Him.
“But this man (JESUS), after he had offered ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOR EVER, SAT DOWN on the right hand of God;…” (Hebrews 10:12 KJV)
Jesus sat down because IT IS FINISHED! Sins have ALL been paid for!
” From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by ONE OFFERING he HATH PERFECTED FOR EVER them that are sanctified.
Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
And their sins and iniquities WILL I REMEMBER NO MORE.
Now where remission of these is, there is NO MORE OFFERING FOR SIN.” (Hebrews 10:13-18 KJV)
What does that mean? Glory to God! It means our freedom! At last! Freedom from the chains of our sin debt. Free at at last through belief and trust in the FINISHED work of Jesus on the cross.
“For whosoever shall be ASHAMED of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26 KJV)
The word “ashamed” here in the Greek is ‘epaischynomai‘ and Strongs concordance shows the meaning as ‘with the accusative of a person and the infinitive of a thing’. Jesus is talking about those who are accusing Him that He is not the Messiah but a false prophet. That is a serious offence indeed.
An interesting note about this passage using the King James Bible is that when you compare Mark’s account we see something more specific.
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words IN THIS ADULTEROUS AND SINFUL GENERATION; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38 KJV)
Mark is stating Jesus said, “IN THIS…GENERATION”. Jesus is speaking DIRECTLY to the Jewish people during the time of His ministry. The context becomes clearer when we go back verses to see the context.
“31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man MUST SUFFER many things, and BE REJECTED of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and BE KILLED, and after three days rise again.
32 And he spake that SAYING OPENLY. And Peter took him, and began TO REBUKE HIM.
33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words IN THIS ADULTEROUS AND SINFUL GENERATION; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
The Jewish people of THAT generation expected the Messiah to come in power and glory to be king. For some reason they ignored the prophecies about the suffering that the coming Messiah would have to go through. They did not expect Him to come in meekness, being humble as He did. To them Jesus words did not line up to what they envisioned the Messiah would be like when He came.
Peter was, just beforehand in Mark 8, the only disciple to answer Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” with the correct answer “The Messiah”. Yet here we see Peter rebuked Jesus when He stated He would suffer and die. And then we see a chilling verse when Jesus replies to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan”. Peter believed Christ was the Messiah but not that He would have to suffer and die. This was not what the Jewish people envisioned of the Messiah. Peter likely thought that as the Messiah, Jesus was about to take over and vanquish the Romans ruler-ship over them. This was the belief in that day and we know it to be wrong today as Jesus did die on the cross for our sins and rose again. Jesus knew just how horrible the suffering was going to be and Satan was trying to tempt him to not go through with it. Peter was seeing as the Jewish people were seeing and not as God sees and planned for Jesus and Christ’s reply to Peter is “for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.”
Jesus then calls other people to come and hear Him speak and tells them not to reject Him but to pick up their cross daily and follow Him despite what the common view of the day and the teachings of the Pharisees and Scribes was. Jesus says to DENY THEMSELVES. The Pharisees and Jewish people believed that it was their self righteous Law keeping that would save them. Yet, within they all still had a debt of sins to be paid for. Jesus then warns them to not reject Him as the result will not be a good one as they thought and instead tells them,
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words IN THIS ADULTEROUS AND SINFUL GENERATION; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
This passage in Mark 8 is directed solely at THAT GENERATION in specific. That said, the warning of rejecting Christ applies to all people in our generation as well. If a person relies on their own goodness or self righteous works or religious rituals (all of which is SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS), thinking it will save them because they are less sinners than others; the result is the same. If in unbelief a person rejects the free gift of Salvation through Christ, without works required (Ephesians 2:8-9), the end result for them will be Christ rejecting them when He comes back in glory at the Second Coming of Christ in our future.
Jesus gave a grave warning about this because their very Salvation is at risk if they continue believing that Law keeping will save them. Jesus gave another strong warning about the belief that Self Righteousness will save a person in Matthew 7 where we see a person is not saved by what they DO but by belief on Christ and His atonement for our sin (John 3:14-18, 36).
To those in that generation, and to those in our generation, who reject Christ because they think they are good enough on their own merit they will one day, at the White Throne Judgement, hear the most horrifying words of Jesus,
“…I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:23 KJV)
This need not be you hearing these words. Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world and that includes your life long list of sins. God became flesh in the person of Jesus, The Christ, who lived a perfectly sinless life and willingly died on the cross to take the punishment for the sins of the whole world. And Jesus says to Nicodemus and to you,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned ALREADY, because he hath NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 KJV)
Trust in the finished work of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and not in your own ‘goodness’, nor your good works, nor any religious ritual. BELIEVE on what Christ already accomplished for you on the cross and God will forgive all your sins (past/present/future) and SEAL you from the very moment of your belief (Ephesians 1:13-14) and MAKE YOU the very righteousness of God, in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). If you believe on Christ alone to save you from the penalty of your sins this is true of you now, whether you feel it or not:
God says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12 KJV)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ” (Romans 8:1 KJV)
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
This NEW CREATURE is the new you now in the Spirit within. You still reside in this sinful flesh body but now the new you, the Spirit, will war with the evil flesh desires. When you sin, you are going to feel guilty. When you are about to sin, you will have that small voice telling you to resist. Yes, you will fall and fail and still sin. But the Holy Spirit will chastise you and teach you over time. Renew your mind by reading the Word of God to see the truth and it will set you free.
“But not as the offence, so also is the FREE GIFT. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the GRACE OF GOD, and THE GIFT BY GRACE, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath ABOUNDED unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is THE GIFT: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the FREE GIFT is of many offences UNTO JUSTIFICATION. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive ABUNDANCE OF GRACE and of the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the FREE GIFT came upon all men UNTO JUSTIFICATION of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be MADE RIGHTEOUS.” (Romans 5:15-19 KJV)
How are we made righteous then? Is it by us doing good works? By not sinning (even though we should not)? By religious rituals? By attending a church building? By helping the poor? These are all things we should do after Salvation but NOT as a requirement of our justification and righteousness. No, instead out of great gratitude and love for what God did for us. For GOD’S GREAT love for us is so higher than any love that we can bestow on others, that HE became flesh (Jesus The Christ) and died horribly on the cross so that we might be saved and with Him for all eternity. No greater love is there than what God has done for us, even when we were once His enemies.
Some believers are teaching and telling believers… ‘there is too much talk about grace, Salvation is not eternal, you must add to what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. Add good works. Add religious rituals. Add doing good. Add not sinning again.’ The list goes on and on.. Yet what we really need is to realize God’s GRACE is ABOUNDING TOWARD US CONSTANTLY.
Believe it. Accept it. Walk in it. Walk in the Law of Liberty we have in Christ! He shed His blood so that we could have this GREAT GRACE.
From this truth will flow out of us good works. Not forced good works to keep us saved! No! Good works with the right motive and that motive is showing grace to others and sharing what God has done for us.
Our Salvation is through belief in the only atonement for our sins, by God become flesh, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus The Christ, who never sinned, and who died on the cross taking the full penalty for our sins.
If you believe that then you have been forgiven any sins of the past/present/future. You are Heaven bound.
But we are given more than that! Heaven is a perfect place and only perfect people can go there. But we are not perfect right? We still have sin after our Salvation, though we strive to not sin. Before the moment of our Salvation, it is true that we just are not perfect enough with our sin nature to make it to Heaven based on our own merit and good deeds. As John stated clearly, before receiving the free gift of Salvation without good works (Ephesians 2:8-9), we stood condemned to hell.
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth NOT is condemned ALREADY, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)
The good news is that all BELIEVERS in Christ have been MADE the very RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD, IN CHRIST! Did you know that? So amazing grace God has bestowed on every believer!
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE: old things are passed away; behold, ALL THINGS ARE BECOME NEW. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he HATH MADE him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM.” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 KJV)
We have, right now, the very perfect righteousness of God in our newly created Spirit. This new creation (our Spirit) is the real us now. We also have our fleshly sinful body side. Our fleshly minds need to be renewed by the Word of God by the Holy Spirit and that takes time. A believer has two natures (Romans 7) until our resurrection when we will shed the sin nature, which is described as The Flesh. In the flesh we sin because it is our physical nature. With our Spirit, it never sins and is the perfect righteousness of God (1 John 3:9).
In John 17, Jesus prayed for us an amazing prayer. Read it all!
In this prayer it reads,
“11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are….
…20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US: that the world may BELIEVE that thou hast sent me.”
As saved believers through Christ, we are one with the Father, IN CHRIST. Yes, RIGHT NOW.
Because we still have a sin nature we do not always feel like it is true. But it is true. And once our bodily resurrection takes place, the sin nature in us now will be gone forevermore!
“Beloved, NOW ARE WE THE SONS OF GOD, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2 KJV)
THINK HOW AWESOME THAT IS!!
Knowing this, set your goal to walking by the new you. Renew your mind by the Word Of God and watch how God will work in your life to help others come to the knowledge of the truth.
It is important to understand that the context of John’s letter is to thwart a heresy that false teachers were trying to get true believers to accept. This heresy is called –Gnosticism–. This is THE SIN that John is referring too in his letter. Those believing this heresy. John is not talking about all sins.
Gnosticism in incompatible with Biblical Christianity because Gnostics do not believe that a person can be born again IN THE SPIRIT through belief in Christ. They deny that we are saved because Christ died in our place and took on the punishment for our sins but instead rely on extra Biblical ‘secret knowledge’ they say has been imparted to them as if they are special somehow. This was a big heresy in the early church and is being shown as false.
The Gnostic’s teachings were causing fear in some of the believers and had them questioning their faith on Christ alone for Salvation. John is exposing this false heresy to believers who he is addressing.
The Gnostics denied the deity of Jesus as God. They denied that His death on the cross was the remedy for all of our sins. John wasn’t saying that Christians don’t sin; he was saying that those who adhered to the specific sin of Gnosticism were not saved. He was stating that no born again believer could accept Gnosticism, and no one who accepted Gnosticism could be born again in the Spirit. The Gnostics teaching are wrong right to the very core of the Gospel truth about salvation.
It is important to understand that John wrote his letters TO SAVED BELIEVERS. He is addressing people who are ALREADY born again in the Spirit by belief on Christ (John 3) and who are eternally saved through belief on Christ. The key to understanding this passage of Scripture is in the understanding what it means to ‘walk in the light’ and ‘walk in the darkness’. John is giving a comparison here to be sure that the one reading the letter is confident that they are truly saved in opposition to what the Gnostic false teaching was. He uses the contrast of ‘dark verse light’ to achieve this. Let’s move forward in the verses in 1 John.
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have FELLOWSHIP WITH US: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL” (1 John 1:3-4 KJV)
John wants to settle any confusion about the false heresy of the Gnostics and the truth of the Gospel in opposition so that they may not have any fearful questioning in their hearts about the true Gospel. So that their joy may be full. This is the goal of John’s letter. The Gnostics had come in and joined the believing community but they were not believers. They were there to refute the truth about salvation in Christ. John is giving the born again a teaching to encourage them so that their joy may be full. The true Gospel of our salvation ,is what produces such joy and also keeps our faith stable to stand against the enemy lies.
“If we say that we have not sinned, WE MAKE HIM A LIAR, and his word IS NOT IN US.” (1 John 1:10 KJV)
Pretty clear right? We need to remain humble and know the truth. The truth is, we all still have sin. Maybe not ‘really bad ones’, but sin none the less. That is why we needed Christ and His atonement for our sins. No one can save themselves by works and deeds.
“If we say that we have FELLOWSHIP with him, and WALK IN DARKNESS, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we WALK IN THE LIGHT, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:6-7 KJV)
John tells us right there that he is not talking about salvation in these following verses, but FELLOWSHIP AFTER our salvation. At the same time, the Gnostics where in community fellowship with other believers but in deceptiveness. So John is talking about both; (i.) The Fellowship of a believer to the Lord. (ii.) a person walking in darkness that was never born again by belief on Christ.
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5 KJV)
First, the Gnostics were spreading lies and stating the opposite to the believing community. And John is going to end any confusions! So many people ignore verse 5 and the context is lost. THAT GOD IS LIGHT and IN HIM is no darkness. Not that the saved cannot walk in darkness and light. Of course, it is better to walk in the truth of God’s light in our life! A believer is eternally saved the moment they believe on Christ (John 3:14-18, 36, John 6:37-40, Eph. 1:13-14, Colossians 2 etc. ). After we are saved, we still have free will to walk in the light of God or do wrong. Of course, we are to strive to do right and avoid sin, absolutely. Sin has consequences in this life and loss of eternal rewards at the judgement seat of Christ. Again, John’s writing in 1 John is about FELLOWSHIP after being saved – not mainly about salvation by John’s own writing in the chapter.
Let’s now look at the passage in whole to see the truth about fellowship, as a born again saved believer, with our Lord an dhow John at the same time is refuting the Gnostics false teachings.
“5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. “
Verse 5: God is LIGHT and God has no darkness in Him. God is perfect. Jesus is God and is perfect. All light. No darkness. Jesus is who we should be imitating in our daily walk in life as believers. Doing so gives strong fellowship with our Lord. We are not to walk in darkness by following any others teaching falsely, who are denying the deity of Christ as the Gnostics were.
“6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”
Verse 6: Here John teaches about a believer’s fellowship to the Lord and also refutes any in the community of believers, who are not even in the light. Claiming that you are close to God in fellowship, but then living outwardly in darkness all the time is not good fellowship. It is also not true salvation for some who associate with born again believers but are not really saved and born again. Churches today are filled with such people. They are living in darkness thinking they are saved but they are not. Judas Iscariot is a good example. He lived with Christ during His Earthly ministry to Israel but was never a true believer. In the end, he betrayed Jesus. Here John is explaining both situations about FELLOWSHIP.
A saved person who is walking in darkness needs to restore fellowship with the Lord and ‘walk in the light’. As believers, we are to walk in the light, that is to walk by what Jesus said. We should have good works in love for others. Not that these works saves us. No. We are saved by belief on Christ alone; it is HIS finished work, not ours that saves us.
An unsaved person needs salvation before fellowship will even matter. Jesus warned about this in Matthew 7:15-23 as well. Having ‘many wonderful works’ does not save anyone. Being born again does (John 3:5-18, John 6:37-40). They are walking in darkness because they are not even born again, nor saved. Again, it is not by their works determining salvation. It is by accepting or rejected Christ.
“7 But if WE walk in the light, as HE IS in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Verse 7: John then shows a true believer that is born again, walking in proper fellowship. This should be our goal as believers. He writes that confessing our sins ‘cleasnses us from ‘unrighteousness’. So that means a born again believer still has sins to contend with doesn’t it? Right there refutes any person who says they never sinned since their conversion. They are making Jesus as a liar and are also deceivig themselves. They are walking in darkness and are far from fellowship with the Lord; they may even not be saved. As a born again believer, Christ removed all our sins and we are now complete in Him in The Spirit (Colossians 2), and were MADE BY GOD the righteousness of God, in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17-21). Not that WE MAKE OURSELVES righteous. We need to follow The Lord as believers and this produces a very close fellowship and relationship with the Lord.
In the Greek this was originally written, the tense for the word ‘cleanseth’ is a present and continuous action. Once a person accepts the FREE GIFT of Salvation through Christ’s shed blood on the cross, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on and keeps on cleansing you from every sin! Just like an ocean’s waves on a beach, the Grace of God keeps rolling in to cover all and any sin committed in the life of a believer. Amen!
“8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Verse 8: In 1 John 1:8, John reminds us that we’re all sinners – even as born again believers! Be humble and not boastful over your ‘many good works’ (Matthew 7:15-23, Eph. 2:8-9, Gal. 3, 5:4-5). John is refuting the false Gnostic teachings. As a believer, we will still sin and stumble. Our mind has not yet been made perfect (1 Cor. 15:50). That is why one day we need a bodily resurrection. Only our Spirit has been MADE perfect (2 Cor. 5:21, Colossians 2:10) . The devil and his angels, they are working and scheming against believers (Eph. 6) and sometimes, as a believer, we just ‘blow it’. Acknowledge this. God is certainly NOT SURPRISED! As a believer, I may stumble and fall in sin. Yet, Jesus foreknew about that sin and still died on that cross for us! (Romans 5:8) In fact, later in 1 John 2, John writes that Jesusu paid for all sins of the whole world. Not just believer’s sins (1 John 2:2). Again, context matters. We cannot be SINLESS until our bodily resurrection when our minds will be like Christ’s mind; perfected for ever. But acknowledging our sins and confessing them to God, motivates us to sin less.
“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:9-10 KJV)
Verse 9 & 10: In 1 John 1:9-10, John tells us how sinners can remain in fellowship with the Lord. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The indwelling Holy Spirit works to restore you to proper fellowship with the Lord. When we fall into a sin as a believer, confess it to the Lord (He knows about it anyway! He knew you would do it, BEFORE you did it!) Acknowledge your sin to God. Thank Jesus that He already paid fro that sin on the cross for you (1 John 2:2).
Do not run away from God in guilt. Know that that sin was paid in full by Christ. Feel the remorse! But run TO GOD. That is a very health thing to do. Ask Jesus to help you overcome that temptation next time. Think God will not answer that prayer? Yes He Will! It is called truth and growth in faith. Move forward knowing Jesus already paid for that sin you committed (1 John 2:2). This is faith. That is walking in the light as well. It is building a stronger bond relationship between you and your heavenly Father. It is true fellowship with the Lord who wants to help you. He loves you more than you can imagine.
The Gnostics taught that no one has sinned and no one needs to believe in the Christ. They completely denied the deity of Christ. John refutes their false teaching and states clearly that ALL HAVE SIN – even born again believers. If a person does not acknowledge this, then they are not only walking in darkness; they are walking in the boastful sin of pride. Pride is the sin Lucifer (who was the closest to God’s throne in heaven, the top angel) when he wanted to be as God in boastfulness. It is the sin that started this whole mess humankind is in. We need to be HUMBLE before God. All glory to Christ crucified, died and risen (1 Cor. 15:1-4)! It is HIS work to be boastful about – not ours (Eph. 2:8-9). That is true faith. That produces great gratitude in the love and what God has freely given to us! Eternal life. His love for us is what motivates us to help others come to the knowledge of the truth and hopefully to believe and be saved.
“…freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8 KJV)
In the Greek this was originally written, the tense for the word ‘cleanseth’ is a present and continuous action. Once a person accepts the FREE GIFT of Salvation through Christ’s shed blood on the cross, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on and keeps on cleansing you from every sin! Just like an ocean’s waves on a beach, the Grace of God keeps rolling in to cover all and any sin committed in the life of a believer.
By the continuous waves of God’s Grace, born again believers are always in God’s light in regards to salvation. But to remain in close relationship with God, and to live a life for Him and His Kingdom, walking in darkness is in opposition. It causes a drift and a distance which we want to avoid. Why?
“So that your joy may be full!”
We still have sin after Salvation but they were already penalty paid by the power of Jesus’ shed blood. Until we are resurrected with new immortal bodies, without this disease we have called sin and The Flesh, sin will happen in a believers life; though our Newly Created Spirit wars against the Flesh (Romans 7). These two conflicting beliefs IN THE MIND exist within every believer. Renewing these old Spirit thoughts by God’s truth in the Word is the goal (Romans 12, John 17:17). The holy Spirit is within a believer orchestrating this renewal.
Do not misunderstand me. The struggle against sin for a believer is VERY REAL. The Apostle Paul struggled greatly with the fight against the Flesh in Romans 7. Although our sins after Salvation do not separate us from the family of God, sin will affect our fellowship with our God as our Father. That is what John is talking about in 1 John. Thankfully, loss of Salvation and being kicked out of the family of God is not found in the Scriptures. Jesus already paid for all sins of the whole world and anyone who believes this, has had all sins ‘paid in full’ by Christ. He became sin for us and imputed His righteousness to us (2 Cor. 5:21).
When I tell you it affects our fellowship with God, that does not mean God turns away from us when we sin and turns back to us when we repent and change our mind about a sin. No God is within us always. Jesus said that he would never leave us nor forsake us. We are His for ever. It does affects our fellowship because WE FEEL GUILTY and may not turn to God in this guilt. We should do the opposite though and run to God when we sin and confess it and ask Him for help. That is a prayer He will answer!
As an analogy, a son or daughter, leaves home for drugs and partying. This greatly grieves their father. They are still his kids and he loves them move than anything. Didi they stop being the father’s son or daughter? No. But fellowship has been broken. If the son or daughter comes back home and confesses how wrong they were, will the father forgiven them? Well, yes, with great joy! We see this also in the Parable of the Prodigal Son Jesus taught right. Salvation and fellowship are NOT the same thing is my point. By salvation we are born again in unity into the family of God and we become His children. That is when fellowship comes into play. We want a good relationship with God. He has so much love for us!
As believers we are all on a journey and we all have struggles in life and battles with the schemes and temptation of evil in the world (Eph. 6). The struggle is real but we must believe in faith as the Apostle Paul wrote,
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence MIGHT ABOUND. But where sin abounded, GRACE DID MUCH MORE abound:” (Romans 5:20 KJV)
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17 KJV)
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2 KJV)
“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.” (Matthew 17:1-6 KJV)
What is this all about? Was it just to show the disciples that Jesus was who He said He was? Or is there something more to this passage of Scripture?
First, who appeared with Jesus? It was Moses and Elijah. Elijah was a prophet found in the Old Testament and it is through Moses that God gave the Law written on stones.
So here is Moses, Elijah and Jesus. Basically here is ‘The Law’, ‘The Prophets’ and ‘Grace’. Now we are seeing it right?
Peter said lets make some tents for each of you. By doing this Peter either knowingly or unknowingly was making the three equal because they were all shining and transfigured before him.
And then God the FATHER weighed in quite sternly actually. We know this because after God The Father spoke the disciples were very fearful and covered their faces.
God said… “THIS is my BELOVED SON, in whom I am well pleased; HEAR YE HIM!”
Some people take what the prophets wrote and did in the Old testament and some take the law and try to put them on equal plateaus as Jesus and the grace of God. God the Father steps in and puts an end to that idea in quite a remarkable and stunning manner in Matthew 17.
Jesus is FAR ABOVE Moses and the prophets! Listen to JESUS and the Gospel HE taught which is Salvation by believing Jesus is the Son of God who bore our sin punishment and forgave the sins of the whole world. ALL the sins of ALL time – even future sins in your life. REST in your Salvation!
“For by GRACE are ye saved THOROUGH FAITH; and that NOT of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should BOAST.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)
“For there is ONE God,and ONE mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself A RANSOM for all, to be testified in due time. ” (1 Timothy 2: 5-6 KJV)
“Now to the one who WORKS, his wage is NOT RECKONED on the basis of GRACE, but as what is DUE. But to the one who DOES NOT WORK, but BELIEVES in Him (Jesus) WHO JUSTIFIES the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
(Romans 4:4-5 KJV)
“Knowing that a man is NOT JUSTIFIED BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW, but BY THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, even we have BELIEVED in Jesus Christ, that we might BE JUSTIFIED by the FAITH OF CHRIST, and NOT BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW: FOR BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED.. But if, while we seek to be justified BY CHRIST, we ourselves also are FOUND SINNERS, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make MYSELF a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for IF RIGHTEOUSNESS COME BY THE LAW, THEN CHRIST DIED IN VAIN.” (Galatians 2:16-21 KJV)
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.“ (John 3:14-18 KJV)
Just as the Hebrews bitten by deadly snakes in the desert in Moses time had only to look up and upon the lifted up serpent in the desert and were healed instantly, so are we saved by beholding Jesus on the cross which took our sin penalty against us, away. We were MADE clean, Holy, Righteous and Redeemed by the New Covenant. From the day we believe and accept the atonement Christ provided fro our sins we became the very righteousness of God, in Christ. The New Covenant of GRACE is FAR above the Law and the Prophets!
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.“ (Hebrews 10:16-17 KJV)
THE GRACE OF GOD is the ONLY thing that can save us from our sins against a Holy God. It is not by our own works in self righteousness. It is not by following the Ten Commandments. It is not by penance or by being a good person. It is only through God’s amazing grace and grace is a person and that person is the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you believe on the atonement for sins by the only begotten Son Of God, Jesus Christ, who took our punishment for sin on the cross, died and rose again, then you are what is known as born again from above in The Spirit and eternally saved. Now some believe that from the time of salvation that we are supposed to sin no more and obey the Ten Commandments or we could lose our salvation. This is not a biblical teaching though and it is important to understand that once forgiven, you have come under God’s grace and you are no longer held accountable under The Law of Moses which has 613 laws including the Ten Commandments. In the book of Romans 5, the Apostle Paul made this very clear:
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21 KJV)
Paul is saying that the Ten Commandments were given to man so that sins might increase! That is not what many are teaching today is it? I remember very well that high school religion taught me just the opposite of this. In fact, I would say that many in this age, even Christians, believe something very different. So what’s up? What is the truth about the Law and the Grace provided to us through Jesus Christ?
Do we first need to keep the 10 commandments and then God will forgive us ? Or did Jesus pay our sin debt in full? You cannot have it both ways. You cannot mix the Old Covenant of Law with the new covenant of Grace through Christ crucified. Jesus Himself spoke of doing such. Jesus paid it ALL for us. Since the time of Moses and up until the time of Jesus (and yes even until today) the Jewish people have added many other rules and regulations to the Ten Commandments. One such law was regarding fasting as we see in Matthew 9, when Jesus was asked, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus’ reply shows clearly that Jesus has come to take away the sins of the world and that there is a NEW covenant that overrules the Old covenant and the results of the Law given to Moses:
“Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:14-17 KJV)
“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17 KJV)
The law given to Moses is the Ten Commandments. No one has ever kept all of the Ten Commandments (except Jesus, the Christ). That is why the Jewish people sacrificed animals without blemish as a temporary covering of the sins of the people each year. It was a foreshadowing of when the Messiah would come and be the final sacrifice for all humankind. We see this truth in Hebrews 9 and 10. So power packed with truth.
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He TAKETH AWAY THE FIRST, THAT HE MAY ESTABLISH THE SECOND. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:1-14 KJV)
When Christ who knew no sin, became sin for us and died in our place (2 Cor. 5:21) , taking the penalty of the sins of the whole world from all of time (past/present/future) upon Himself (1 John 2:2) by the shedding of His blood, Jesus ‘taketh away the first’ Covenant of Law and ‘established the second’ Covenant of the Grace of God Through Christ Crucified. This New Covenant that we current are living under from the cross until today (The Church Age) is what the Old Testament believers looked forward to happening. The Messiah had come as foretold, as foreshadowed in their annual, year after year, animal sacrifices as a temporary covering of their sins. For Old Testament saints, it was their belief in the Messiah and Christ who would one day come and be the final blood atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. In their BELIEF of this, they offered animal sacrifices without blemish as a remembrance of their sins and hope in the promise of Messiah one day coming in fulfilment.
Two thousand years ago Jesus came and took upon Himself the punishment for the sins of every person from all of time and until this very day. It is a gift from God; A free gift. As a gift, it can be accepted or rejected but it can never be earned. It is God’s grace upon those that receive Christ as personal savior and Lord. Jesus made this crystal clear in John 3 when a chief Pharisee leader asked Him directly how a person is righteous with God. Nicodemus seen the miracles Jesus performed. He heard how Jesus taught with an authority and knowledge of the Torah (what we refer to today as the Old Testament). He was perplexed because Jesus was teaching against works of the Law for righteousness, which the Pharisee rulers believed and lived by. Nicodemus was so perplexed and confused that he went to see Jesus personally, under cover of the night so that the other Pharisee leaders would not know.
“Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” (John 3:2 KJV)
Jesus knew of his anguish as the Holy Spirit was trying to reach Nicodemus with the knowledge of the truth and replied,
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3: 3-7 KJV)
Every person who is born of the Spirit is an eternally saved person. In the clearest passage of Jesus in basically answering, ‘What must I do to be saved?’, Jesus then goes on to tell Nicodemus how to be saved,
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:14-18 KJV)
Jesus was asked directly and He answered very directly and simply. Yet, do we see the words to follow the Law? No. How about having good works? No. What do we see in Jesus’ words in answering the question? BELIEVE. BELIEVE. BELIEVE on Jesus as Messiah. And Nicodemus knew the Messiah is the foretold one who would come and be the final sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus was asked directly, would He not have told Nicodemus if works of the Law were a requirement for salvation? Yet, Jesus did not. Later in John 6:37-40 Jesus was asked again and His answer was the same, BELIEVE ON Jesus as Messiah.
The Ten Commandments are a mirror that when we look at it, we recognize our sin against a Holy God.
“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED in his sight: for by the law is the KNOWLEDGE OF SIN.” (Romans 3:20 KJV)
It is interesting to note that the first miracle performed by Moses was turning water into blood, thus causing death to people. But the first miracle mentioned in Scriptures by Jesus is at the wedding in Canaan when He turned water into wine, during a wedding celebration: a celebration of new life. It is no coincidence! Today, we are under the New Covenant whereby Jesus took our sin punishment and on the cross and cried out “It is finished!”. We are now under the NEW covenant of God’s grace, an undeserved and unmerited favor. It is nothing that we deserved or that we have because of our good works. It is 100% God’s free gift to us. It’s His loving grace.
I see many believers today and pulpits teaching that we are still to be under the Ten Commandments. That we should be obeying them and that God did not ‘do away with them’ when Christ came. From the perspective that the Ten Commandments are God’s absolute truth and are Holy, they are correct but they are missing the point. The Law is dead to the Christian because it is all about how the source has changed. What do I mean by that? Let’s look at a few Scriptures and then you will see it more clearly:
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that NO MAN IS JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW in the sight of God, it is evident: for, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH. AND THE LAW IS NOT OF FAITH: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” (Galatians 3:10-13 KJV)
In this passage of Scripture we see that there has been a change when the New Covenant came into effect. The just (believers) are to now live by faith with the Holy Spirit indwelling as our source. Jesus Christ is now become our source and God lives within us now as the comforter and Holy Spirit. The Law and Ten Commandments are not to be our source. Our source is God within us! Faith and trust in Him that is indwelling us.
In Romans 7 we are told by Apostle Paul that,
“…ye also are become DEAD TO THE LAW BY THE BODY OF CHRIST; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, WHICH WERE BY THE LAW, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now WE ARE DELIVERED FROM THE LAW, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.“
We are dead to the Law of Moses which had 613 man made laws, including the Ten Commandments given directly by God. We were delivered from The Law from Christ crucified and belief in His finished work on the cross and His rising from the dead. There has been a change! After receiving Christ as our Savior in belief of the atonement for sins He provided on the cross, we now have the spirit of God dwelling within us. How much closer can a believer be to God? The Holy Spirit within has now become our source and replaced the Law of Moses. The foretold Messiah came in the person of Jesus, The Christ, and He fulfilled the promise and paid for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). It is a done deal. All our sins have been paid in full and already judged on the cross. The full payment for sin, that is sufficient to the Father, has been accredited to the account of each believer on Christ. And that includes our future sins because all of our sins today are future from the cross.
It is all about the source; a person is either following the Ten Commandments or he is following The Holy Spirit indwelling. But does that mean it is okay to lie, murder, covet? Not at all. So what does this mean? Let’s think about this logically a moment. Let’s compare what life is like using these two different, yet connected sources.
Living under the Ten Commandments and all the Law of Moses as our source is like us trying our best in our own ability to keep every commandment without fail. So if we are coveting, in self righteous efforts, we keep saying to our self, “Stop coveting. Stop coveting. Stop coveting. Stop coveting!” Yet, when we do that, we find ourselves in the same situation as Paul in Romans 7, we keep coveting! It is like a kid who sees a sign on a lawn that reads.. “Do not step on the grass or else!” What does the kid do huh? Stomps around on the grass. (Okay maybe not all kids but you get my point.)
Following the Law as our source will not make you stop disobeying. It also will not forgive the sin you have committed. Romans 5:20 shows us that “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound.” Paul also states that ‘…the strength of sin, is The Law’ (1 Corinthians 15:56). Because the Ten Commandments were given, humankind now sees just how sinful we are. And not only that, it increases our sin. Why? Because we have a sinful nature within us and it is bent toward sinning. Plus, doing good works of the Law will not erase any sins committed. That is why they needed to sacrifice animals as a temporary covering of their sins until Messiah would come.
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE.” (Romans 6:14 KJV)
If we walk in the spirit we avoid the sins of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). God resides within the believer and so if we find ourselves having trouble with the sin of coveting for example, we need to go to our new source, the Holy Spirit within us. With the same example of coveting, we acknowledge (confess) and thank God for forgiving all my sinful ways and we pray to God knowing that without Christ as our source, we cannot bear good fruit (John 15) in self righteous efforts. We pray to God that we are having a problem with coveting. You want to stop but you cannot do this on your own. “God, please renew my mind on this and help me to stop coveting.” Do you think that is a prayer that God will not honor? Yes, it is! When God looks at you, He is not remembering or holding your sins against you in condemnation. We have become sons and daughters of God by our belief on Christ. If your child fails and does something wrong, do you chastise them to teach them or do you kick them out of the family forever? Then why would our heavenly Father?
The more we renew our mind by the Word of God, with the help of the Holy Spirit within us to guide us and help us, we will eventually come to the place where coveting ends in your life. This is following our new source within, our comforter, the Holy Spirit of God. And His guiding and help will follow the Ten Commandments because they are absolute truth and are Holy and right. Plus, Christ fulfilled them!
You see, Christ fulfilled the Law and now God resides within you as the Holy Spirit. Will the Holy Spirit as the source want you to murder, or lie, or covet? No. The Holy Spirit is Christ in you. Christ follows the Ten Commandments perfectly. Apostle Paul puts it this way, “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:10 KJV). This righteousness is not our self righteousness. It is the righteousness we now have because Christ is indwelling us as the Holy Spirit. Having accepted the Free gift of eternal life and forgiveness of our sins through belief on Christ crucified as our sacrificial substitute without our own efforts (John 3:18, Ephesians 2:8-9), we are set free from the punishment of our sins. We now have a newly created spirit within us. Set free from sin and free to live in love for others without worrying about eternal condemnation ever again. The fear of that is gone. The love of God now permeates our very being.
When you hear that believers are dead to the Law, it means we are no longer using following the Law as our source. We follow the Holy Spirit as our source now and the Holy Spirit never guides us to do things against the morals of The Ten Commandments. Besides that, The Ten Commandments were given to Israel, not church age believers who are under a New Covenant that replaced the Old. The Ten Commandments are 100% truth and always will be. God is HOLY and never changes! Th Law is still good for our learning but not addressed directly to Church Age believers; we are under a different Covenant then Old Testament saints. The Law is actually for the UNRIGHTEOUS and not the RIGHTEOUS.
“But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient…” (1 Timothy 1:8-9 KJV)
THE UNRIGHTEOUS are the group of people who are in the prison of unrighteousness. They cannot erase their sin by being a good person through good deeds and Law following. Trapped in the prison of unrighteousness with no way to escape in their self righteous deeds. No matter how many good deeds they do, they still have unpaid sins.
THE RIGHTEOUS are the group of people who trust in the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus paid for all their sins as a gift and they accepted the gift. They had a prison transfer to the prison of righteousness. In this prison, with all sins paid in full, no sins they commit will have them escape this prison.
For the believer today, there has been a change! Our new source is the eternal indwelling of the Holy Spirit; sealed in life eternal with God (Ephesians 1:13-14).We are the righteousness of God, in Christ. All things have become new in our Spirit which is born again (2 Cor. 5:17-21). We are no longer under The Law. We are under God’s grace and are eternally righteous by the imputation of God. Jesus took our unrighteous Spirit to the cross where we died with Christ (Colossians 2, Romans 6) and He gave us His righteousness in exchange. Now, read that again and again. Get that in your mind as truth. It is such an amazing truth!
Jesus’ commandment to believers under the New Covenant is to, “…love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 KJV)
Under this new covenant of Grace God declares:
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:16-17 KJV)
Sins are every bad thought or deed we commit. Iniquities is a sin which is of a religious bent. In Matthew 7, Jesus used the word iniquity in describing a person who think they are saved by their ‘many wonderful works’ who instead are not even born again and are headed for condemnation. It is the same as Law following for righteousness which will save no one.
You see, for all that accept His free gift of salvation from our sin debt against God, God does not even remember our sins anymore! That is why Jesus cried out on the cross “It is FINISHED!”
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14 KJV)
In fact, the Bible states clearly that teaching people to obey the Ten Commandments as a way to gain God’s righteousness and forgiveness is called a “ministry of death”. And yet, it is preached so often in the pulpits theses days one starts to question if the presenter has read the Bible at all? We need to stop living under the Old Testament Covenant!
“But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-9 KJV)
Now don’t misunderstand me. The law is Holy and good and true 100%. It is not done away with but remains. It is Holy. However, the point is that it cannot MAKE you Holy!! Break just one and you broke them all (James 2:10). The law is a mirror causing a person to see the truth about how sinful we all are. After all, a look in a mirror can show that you have a grease stain on your shirt you otherwise may not have known about, right? We see as God sees; it is all filthy rags. A dog can go outside all clean. When he comes back with mud on the fur, is he allowed back into the clean home? Or does the owner have to clean him first?
So many Christians are preoccupied with our sin. But not being under the Law and eternally saved by grace, we should have no consciousness of sins (Hebrews 10). When we sin as a born again believer, we can easily think it stops God’s grace and we try to make up for the sins by doing good works. This is simply not Biblical! God is not waiting to hit you with a stick when you sin! He foreknew all your sins and Christ placed them all on Christ on that cross and paid the penalty for all sins. If you received His free gift of salvation through Jesus, God does not remember your sins anymore because Jesus already paid the debt of sins for the entire world; past, present and future. If you accepted the pardon Christ provided on the cross, it is 100% finished! Look at 1 Corinthians 15:56-57,
“The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57 KJV)
Yeah, there it is, the Strength of sin is the law. That is pretty clear right? Apostle Paul talks about the very same thing in Romans 7. It is so unfortunate that Satan is being allowed and using the pulpits of many churches/denominations to fool people and accuse people of their sins and wrong doing and he is teaching the ministry of death to already eternally saved believers. The devil is using the Ten Commandments to condemn you and accuse you. This is NOT God’s way! And NOT what God is like at all. He has nothing but love for humankind; Look to Christ, He gave His only Son to die for us. God is love.
God is teaching people the New Covenant Of Grace in these last days. It is time to for the redeemed born again to stand up and get the truth of the Bible out. Don’t just take every word from a pulpit or someone saying they are Christian telling you to use good works to cover your sins. It is the biggest lie of the devil himself. Who do they think they are? They think they are better than you? Better than Jesus Christ? We are all sinners and Christians should not be boasting as if they are clean while others are not because they do more good works. That is utter non sense! Stop boasting about your good works! They will not save you from your sin debt.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8-9 KJV)
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14 KJV)
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV)
Do not boast about how good you are as a Christian while the “other people” are evil. Boast about the truth; even as a Christian you too still sin!
The Bible is not telling us about a God waiting to bash you in the head every time you do something wrong. Nothing is further from the truth. The Bible is God’s word showing us how much He loves us. It is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord unto salvation from the Wrath of God to come upon all sinners who have not accepted the pardon of God.
“Salvation comes through condemnation.” Ever hear this taught?
They accuse you of your sins and try to convince you to repent. Yet, their own ministers are doing all kinds of evil. This is the times we live in; the last days! But God is moving today and the truth of the Bible is coming alive and the Gospel of grace is spreading like wild fire. Why? Because once people see the truth of Scripture regarding Law verse Grace, it sets people free.
“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17 KJV)
Just look at what Jesus did! Read everything He did and that is how God truly is. In every case you will see that the goodness of God comes before repentance. Jesus never condemned a person and said “go and sin no more”. Instead He said, “…Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. ” (John 8:11 KJV). THAT IS A BIG DIFFERENCE!
Jesus showed people the truth about God. He showed God’s GRACE and then the people repented. Jesus healed people and they repented. He saved a women from stoning by her accusers, forgave all her sins and she repented. This is the Gospel! The Grace of God! Do not mix the Law with the Grace of God. We are living in the days of God’s loving grace being poured on all who believe. Receive it. It’s yours for the taking.