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Grace Blog:
"The Gift of Righteousness"
The Apostle Paul felt it was important to continually remind people to be careful not to fall back into the works and performance mentality where they were trying to earn their peace with God by their works. The tendency is for a person to be exposed to enough of the law, whether it be seeing the 10 Commandments posted on a courtroom wall or a TV show they see where the righteous demands of our Holy God are expressed or possibly even from seeing the life of a true believer living a Godly life and they come to the point in their life where they know they need a savior. That moment when a person comes to the end of themselves, they know they have failed and fallen short of God's absolute expectations and realize that they cannot obtain the holiness and righteousness of God through any amount of their own efforts, then they give their life to Jesus and trust in His completed works for their salvation. It is so unfortunate that our society so strongly promotes guilt, shame and a performance based maintenance of our salvation that many, if not most, tend to lose sight of that fact that they could not save themselves and they begin to work to repay a debt to God that they recall acquiring in their old life. The Apostle Paul refers to id as "Falling from Grace." Galatians 5:1-4 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." To be "fallen from Grace" is the word "ekpipto" in the Greek and it means to "drop away, especially to be driven out or off of one's course." In other words, that drive that compels people to perform for God to pay back a debt they owe to Him is actually doing just the opposite. It is driving them off the course of grace that God has intended for them. After all, if you are going to try to obtain or maintain your holiness and righteousness with God by keeping the demands of the law, you better be pretty good at it, because to miss the mark in one single point of it means that you are just as guilty before God as if you had missed it on every one. James said, James 2:10 "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." Now I like to balance out a radical message about the true grace of God with a reminder that being free from performance based Christianity by no means allows for or promotes sin or ungodly living as being acceptable. We still serve the same Holy, perfect and pure God that has always been, we just understand our inability to continue in holy living and righteousness apart from Him. Some of you however, are still living the same way you did when you were in a fallen state. You live just like you did before you supposedly gave your life to Christ. It may even be hard to tell if you are Christian or not just by watching your life cause you are still drinking like a fish, cussing like a sailor, lying like a rug, cheating like a card shark and stealing like a guy on second base! That same term used for "fallen" in this scrip we just read is only used in that sense one other place in the Bible and it is when Jesus is addressing the Church of Ephesus and He commends them for being able to recognize and not put up with evil and false teaching and hypocritical Christians that were among them, yet he says they had fallen because they had left their first love. Revelation 2:4-5 "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." He exhorts them to remember true grace and recall the love and passion they once had toward Him and turn back unto Him. In your walk there should be a continual repentance, or adjusting of your course to make sure your life is lining up with the ways and will of God. Seek to avoid trying to establish your own ways of trying to please God that were never God's intentions. Romans 10:1-4 "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. 2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." You can see how Paul is saying that his prayer is that these people, many of whom consider themselves to be the chosen people of God, will be saved. He is praying that they will be delivered from the lie of works based faith, which is reality there is no such thing. You either believe and are saved by grace through faith, or you do not believe and are not saved. Paul points out the two types of righteousness: Your own righteousness, or the righteousness of God. Which one do you think is going to be acceptable to God? God is not interested in your labor as a form of payment to pay off a sin debt. That was under the old covenant, the old Testament where they brought offerings to God as a sort of payment for their wrong doings. It is very deeply engrained into our society that if and when you do wrong, you have to pay for it. If you get a speeding ticket, you have to pay a fine right? Well, God's plan is to put it into your heart to do right from the beginning so that you will not speed and therefore never get the ticket to need to be paid off! The natural world still works that way, but in God's kingdom the debt for sin, has already been paid. There will be a natural consequence for sin, but God's ways are now written on our heart so they can be obeyed from the inside out, from the beginning, so those sins never even occur. Finally, we get to the central passage for this entire message. Rm 4:1-7 The summary of that passage is this: "Grace is no longer Grace if you are working for it." When you are earning your righteousness, you are fallen from Grace and are now expressing doubt in the plan and will of God. The scriptures are talking about how God imputed or imparted righteousness on Abraham simply because he believed God by faith. Grace is clearly described as a gift in the Bible. Righteousness is clearly described as a gift in the Bible, and so it therefore must be seen as a gift and not something that we labor to obtain or that is owed to us because of our labors or works. Romans 4:4-5 "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4:4-5 (Amplified Bible) "Now to a laborer, his wages are not counted as a favor or a gift, but as an obligation (something owed to him). 5 But to one who, not working [by the Law], trusts (believes fully) in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness (the standing acceptable to God)." Romans 4:4-6 (Good News Bible) "A person who works is paid wages, but they are not regarded as a gift; they are something that has been earned. 5 But those who depend on faith, not on deeds, and who believe in the God who declares the guilty to be innocent, it is this faith that God takes into account in order to put them right with himself." God is the one who paid the wages, to us, not because of our labor, but because of the labors of Jesus Christ. That is the gospel. That is the good news that Jesus Christ came to share with us. Believe that by faith and see how it changes your life. You are receiving something you didn’t earn. Jesus earned it for you. It's like you needed open heart surgery and you could not operate on yourself and were going to die, but then Jesus steps in and does the surgery and then tells them to pay you and give you his wages. You should be forever grateful and in the deepest sense of the work you are "much obliged" or feel a sense of lifelong obligation to Him for it. You now lay down your life and say, whatever you need, whatever you want, I will be there for you.
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Living the New Life
Let me start by asking you some pretty basic questions. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Do you believe that He lived a perfect, sinless life? Was He crucified on the cross, put to death bearing the punishment for all of your sin? Did He raise from the dead, conquering sin and death forever? Now for the big question. Having believed all those things, do you place your faith and trust in Him, and accept Him as your Lord, your Master and your Savior? I want to solidify these things right up front, because if you answered yes to all these questions, then He has replaced your stony, hardened heart with a new one, giving you a new life in Him. Ezekiel 36:24-27 "For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." Essentially, just like Jesus told us about in John Chapter 3, you have been born again and now have been spiritually made new. Jesus said in order to see and experience the Kingdom of God, you must be spiritually born again. John 3:1-2 "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, 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. " Just to believe on in Jesus because of His miracles is not enough however. Countless denominations and religions teach that He was a good man, that He was a prophet and promote the idea that we should believe in Him because He did miracles. But they leave out the answer that Jesus gave Nicodemus… John 3:1-7 "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, 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. 3 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. 4 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? 5 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. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." Most of you are thinking, "Yeah, please tell me something I don’t know. I've already accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I've already been born again." But, as the title of today's message implies, I want to not just see you be saved and on your way to heaven, but to live in the blessing of the new life that He has given you. For starters, you have to quit thinking of yourself as who you used to be and start seeing yourself as who you are now in Christ. You are a new creation in Christ. Spiritually, you got to start over. Your slate was wiped clean by your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ shed for you. All things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Your flesh however was not born again. Remember that Jesus said, "That which is flesh is flesh and that which is Spirit is spirit." You may have wondered at times, "Why if I am a totally new creation do I still lose my temper or lust or say and do things I know are wrong?" You were born of the spirit by faith. Your spirit got born again, but your soul, your mind will and emotions, did not experience the instant transformation. The scripture did not say that you have a new mind, or that you will not remember the life and experiences that you once had. We are instructed as believers in Christ to renew our minds with the word of God. Jesus said, Luke 4:4 "That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." You do not live by the natural, "what you can see with your eyes" realm anymore. We now live according to the word of God and what it says rules your life. The Bible tells us that the faith that we need to believe in the completed works of Christ comes through hearing and hearing the word of God. Romans 12:2 "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." Your spirit is already as pure and holy as it can get. Your mind however can still think evil thoughts. You can sill lust or hate or be prideful. You have to renew your thinking so that it lines up with God's word and His way of thinking. If you have a lusting problem or struggle with wanting to look at pornography, you have to line your way of thinking about women up with the way God sees them. They are not an object, but a beautiful and wonderful and precious creation He has made. If you have a problem with greed or love of money, then you have to altar your thinking from the way of the old, unregenerate man's ways, to God's. Money can be useful, but it is not what life is about. As a child of God, we bring our body under subjection, renew our mind and live from our spirit. Romans 8:5-9 "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." You are a new creation in Christ. You are now a spiritual being capable of living out the ways of God, not being dominated and governed by your flesh any longer. Colossians 1:20-23 "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;" What Jesus has done through his life, death and resurrection that we place our faith in, has given us free and open access in the spirit to the love, power and righteousness of God. You can live out the life that God intended for you. You do not have to live with a failure mentality, that you will never be good enough. God has done what He needed to do to make you good enough and given you access to live it out. Ephesians 2:10-14 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;" You at one time were incapable of pleasing God. You were not capable by your own willpower or the strength of your flesh to live righteously. But now, you are spiritually a new man. But it takes faith in the unseen to see it come to pass in the natural. You have to believe more in the plan of God, than just what you can see with your own eyes. We are instructed in more than one place in the scripture to put on and live from the new man. Ephesians 4:17-24 "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But ye have not so learned Christ; 21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." When we first trusted in Christ, something changed in us that now makes us capable of living out the ways of God. Your understanding is no longer darkened. You are no longer ignorant or blind to godliness and holiness. The truth of who you are now, is in Jesus. You were recreated by faith in Him to be Holy, righteous and without blame. Again as Paul wrote to the Colossians, he reminds them too of this change that has taken place and says, ""Don’t live like the old man, but live like the new one you are now." Colossians 3:1-15 "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. 12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." I love the way he ends this passage here as he says, "Don’t live like you used to be, but live like you are now and 'be ye thankful' that you don’t have to be that way anymore!" Praise God that He has given you a new heart. Praise God that He changed you on the inside. Thank God that you are not who you used to be! |
AuthorGary Gilbert has been serving in the ministry of Christ since 1995 and is the author of "The Narrow Road- What it takes (and doesn't take) to go to Heaven" and "The Covenant of Grace.". He is currently a loving husband, father of 2 wonderful sons and a full time Pastor. Archives
December 2018
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