Striving to Maintain Relationship?

        The following is the fifth in a series of eight of the benefits & blessings God has bestowed upon every one of His children:

Striving to maintain your relationship with God, so that He will not distance Himself from you by breaking fellowship with you or by severing you from Himself altogether, need no longer be a concern for you! How can this be true? It is because the success of the New Covenant, unlike the Old Covenant whose success depended upon the faithfulness of the people, depended upon the faithfulness of Jesus. This is evidence: (1) In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14); (2) And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it (Hebrews 9:15-16).  In other words, the success of the New Covenant depends upon Jesus, not you.

          When God entered into covenant with Israel, this was His message to them: “I will do My part [bless you!], provided, however, that you do your part [keep My laws!]. As you well-know, they were unable to do their part, not even close. Consequently, they never had access to God and they completely rejected Jesus.

          On the other hand, when God instituted the New Covenant, this was His message: “I will do My part [bless you with every spiritual blessing!] AND Jesus will do your part [live in perfect faithfulness and obedience to Me!].

          In other words, we can (and should!) cease striving and, simply, receive His gift of grace—LAVISHED GRACE!

         

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).

Facing the Great White Throne Judgment

       The following is the fourth in a series of eight of the benefits & blessings God has bestowed upon every one of His children:

Facing God at the Great White Throne Judgment and having Him reveal to everyone the secrets of your life need no longer a concern for you because He has chosen not to give you what you deserve, but to set you free from all judgment and condemnation. This is the irrefutable evidence: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).  Furthermore, He has chosen never to remember your sins again as is evidenced by this: And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more (Hebrews 10:17). In other words, God chose to provide a scapegoat for you and for your sins in the Person of Jesus. God gave Him what you deserved and gave you what Jesus deserved.

          My dear friend, God has already declared you to be as righteous as Jesus is righteous (see 2 Corinthians 5:21); you have been beatified (made holy) through the blood of Jesus! Please stop living in fear of facing God at the Great White Throne Judgment. Jesus proved to be the perfect sacrifice for your sins, the one that not only took your sins away, but also provided for your righteousness.

          This is His gift of grace to you. It is contingent upon nothing you might or might not do; instead, it is contingent upon what Jesus did in your behalf and for His glory.

          Hallelujah!

         

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).

Striving to Get to Heaven?

        The following is the third in a series of eight of the benefits & blessings God has bestowed upon every one of His children:

Striving to get to Heaven need no longer be a concern for you because God chose to give you a seat on the same return flight that Jesus took when He ascended back to Heaven, as is evidenced by this: But God being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6). In other words, you are already in Heaven and comfortably seated at God’s right hand in Jesus!

          Sadly, for many Christians the main focus of their lives is centered on trying to get to heaven, when truth be known, they are already there. As a result of this futile pursuit, they never enjoy the blessings of living in the here and now; instead, they are either digging through the past, trying to be sure they are forgiven for all of their sins, or they are worrying about and dreading having to stand before God on that day of the “great white throne judgment.”

          If the above text is true, when it indicates that we HAVE BEEN raised up with Jesus and seated with Him in the Heavenly places (and it is!), then surely it is obvious that our sins are forgiven—all of them—and it is just as obvious that we have already been judged to be as righteous as Jesus is righteous.

          All His doing! Blessed be the name of the Lord for He is worthy to be praised!  

         

         

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).

Forgiven--forever forgiven!

         The following is the second in a series of eight of the benefits & blessings God has bestowed upon every one of His children:

Living in a continued state of forgiveness need no longer be a concern for you because God has chosen to make you perfect—forever perfect, as is evidenced by this: By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every Priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Hebrews 10: 10-14). In other words, because of the death of Jesus, the once-for-all-time-death, every sin you will commit during your entire lifetime has been forgiven and taken away. As a result, you are sanctified and perfect—forever forgiven.

          Sadly many Christians spend much of their time trying to be sure that God has forgiven them for their sins, especially the ones they consider to be the worst. As a result they live under a cloud of perceived judgment and condemnation. Truth be known, they are attempting to convince God to do for them what He has already done through the death of Jesus!

          Dear friend, if your faith is in Christ for your salvation, then YOU ARE FORGIVEN FOR ALL OF YOUR SINS—PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. You can go ahead and freely accept what He has already provided for you—ETERNAL FORGIVENESS. Jesus’ sacrifice really sufficient to pay your sin-debt in full! You no longer have to live on the “installment plan!”

Joint-Heirs with Jesus!

          It is becoming increasingly clear to me that most of those who call themselves Christians have little or no idea of the benefits and blessings that are theirs, as the result of God’s having been predestined them to adoption as sons into the Family of God (See Ephesians 1:5).

          Most do seem to be aware that Jesus came to give us abundant life, but few seem to be living that life; instead, they are striving to become what they already are—children of the Living God, with all the benefits and blessings that pertain thereto. Sadly, they seem to be content living under the rules and judgments of the Old Covenant, rather than in the freedom and grace of the New Covenant.

          Although I have shared these before, over the next several days, I will be offering to you some of the benefits and blessings that are yours, as a participant in the New Covenant, a member of The Family of God. Below is the first offering:

Meeting the requirements of the Ten Commandments—perfect obedience—need no longer a concern for you because God did for you what the Law could not do for you, namely, this: For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:3-4). In other words, as a bona fide member of the New Covenant, you can cease striving to meet the requirements of the Ten Commandments (requirements that God knew you could not meet from the beginning) because Jesus satisfied the Law’s requirement for you, namely, that sin be punished by death. You can cease striving and rest in His finished work!

          Oh, I know that some of you are already wanting to add to that, wanting to be sure that I make it clear that, as serious Christians, we must strive to keep the Commandments; after all, they were not suggestions. Before you jump on that horse, may I remind you that Paul called the Ten Commandments “the law of sin & death”? He did (see Romans 8:2-3). May I also remind you that Paul also called the Ten Commandments the “ministry of death?” He did (see 2 Corinthians 3:7). As a matter of fact, he also called it the “ministry of condemnation” (see 2 Corinthians 3:8).

         

         

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).