I have a new perspective of James 2:14-26. James talks about faith without works being dead. I have always believed this to mean that you should labor in the faith. You must work hard at what you do for God; whether it is in the Children’s ministry (God knows those of you who work with the little kids labor) or in the sound-booth, or in pastoral ministry.
If you really think about what James said, he is not talking about laboring out of your own ability, but he is talking about putting faith into action. He is talking about not only believing that Jesus is lord, but he is talking about doing what Jesus told you to do by faith. And He says, the more you step out in faith and do what I told you to do, outside your natural ability, the more your faith will be perfected.
James 2:14 starts off with a perfect illustration of this. You see someone that is hungry and cold without warm cloths. Your heart burns for them but you only say to them, “Go in peace, be warm, and be filled”. You did not help them very much. You have your faith in God but you did not do what your spirit was calling out to do. You are the hands of God here on Earth. The Spirit of God lives inside you not just to give you warm fuzzies during Praise and Worship but to empower you to fulfill God’s will and your commission.
Additional illustrations? You see someone that is lost and searching and you feel led in your spirit to share the Gospel and lead them to salvation, but instead, you listen to them and tell them things will get better. You see someone that is sick and you know the Bible says to be an imitator of Christ, and Jesus says that we are to lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed. Your spirit leads you to believe the Word and lay hands on them, but instead, you still want to show your faith, so you only say, “I’ll pray for you”. Your faith without works is dead. You have these seeds of doubt in your heart that tell you, “What will they think of me”, “I might loose this sale if I say anything that offends them”, “What if I lay hands on them and they are not healed”, “What if”, “What if”.
We are set apart and justified not by our faith, but by what we do with our faith. Abraham believed in God. But, it wasn’t until he laid his son on the alter, and was prepared to sacrifice his son for God that he was justified (made righteous in the Lord). It was his works (or faith in action) that set the stage for us to be blessed through Abraham. It wasn’t that he was a good man, helped his people out, worked hard, it was that he believed God at His word and put his faith in action.
As Christians, we all believe in God. However, James says that’s not enough. He says even the demons believe in God and shutter. We need to step beyond believing in God and step into His calling. We need to be mindful of the Spirit (that voice inside you that tells you to do the right thing), even when it is uncomfortable. His calling is to continue the Ministry of Jesus. His calling is for us to be the hands and mouths of Jesus.
Whether we believe it or not, when we became born again, we became a new creation. In that new creation, the Spirit of God came to live within us. This is very different than pre-Pentecost where the spirit walked beside man. Now, if you are a born again believer, you have the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, dwelling inside of you. He didn’t come to do that for the heck of it. He indwells in you to empower you to be an imitator of Christ. It is such a shame that the full gospel has been watered down over the years. Can you imagine a world where every Christian walked in the full knowledge of who we are in Christ like Paul, James, Phillip, etc?
The only thing stopping us from living up to the fullness of God’s expectations for us is our selfishness. It is us giving into our doubt and being more concerned about “what-if” than helping our brothers and sisters.
I don’t know about your church, but at my church there are some amazing men and women of God called into the pastoral ministry. They touch lives everywhere they go. They will be in line at the grocery store and share the Gospel with a stranger. They will be visiting a friend in the hospital and lay hands on the sick they don’t even know. They have faith and selflessness that blows me away. They move into a new apartment complex and immediately start bringing their neighbors to a saving knowledge of Jesus. What kind of super-heroes are they? Well, they are just like me. They are just like you. I have the same calling and commission on my life as they do. The only difference is they have been justified, like Abraham, by mixing their faith with action. Their faith has been intermingled with their works, and as a result of the works, they are perfecting their faith.
I desire to be more of the man God has called me to be. I desire not be plagued and constantly succumb to doubt. I desire to see the manifestation of God’s power and glory on a daily basis. I desire my children not to be as ineffectual in faith as I have been and am. I desire to love people more than I have. I desire to have an answer to God when he asks me, “What have you done with what I have given you?”; will I hear, “Well done” or will I be ashamed when I see what could have been if I would have only put my faith into action.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Unpardonable Sin
A friend asked me the other day to brainstorm with her about the unpardonable sin. I recall the different sermons I heard from different pastors about it, and it seems that there is a great deal of confusion and disagreement about it in the body of Christ. Furthermore, any time Satan can divide the church and bring us out of one accord he steals some of our victories. Satan has used this confusion on the topic for a long time to bring doubt to both the unbeliever and believer; that they have sinned beyond God's capability to forgive and there is no hope for salvation.
I don't know all the answers but I do know that the Word cannot contradict itself, we must rightly divide the word of God, we must meditate on the word, and pray for wisdom and revelation.
In Mathew 12 and Mark 3, Jesus was just brought a man that possessed a blind and dumb spirit. He cast this unclean spirit out and the Pharisees heard of it, they accused Jesus of using witchcraft and the power of Satan to cast out the demon. This ticked Jesus off and he tried to reason with them saying that how can you use the power of the devil to defeat the devil. This rebuke by Jesus is what instigated the teaching of what we call the unpardonable sin.
Jesus said (paraphrasing) , Listen, you can talk bad and lie about me and that's ok, but if you lie about and condemn the works of the Holy Spirit and call them works of the Devil, you will not be forgiven. In Mark, it goes a little bit differently and says that you are in danger of eternal damnation.
So how can it be that, over and over again, that God said that All of your sins are washed away if you believe, “and there is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ”, ... How can the word contradict itself? Well it can't so we have to look at this much closer.
Here are some keys that might be important as I share my thoughts brainstorming this.
In rightly dividing the Word, we must look at the context (who it was being directed towards). This was being directed at the Pharisees, old covenant Jewish religious leaders, whom had hardened their heart toward Jesus. It wasn’t directed at the disciples. Let us meditate and consider this for a bit while we move on.
Let’s look at the translation … Mathew and Mark were translated a little bit differently. Mark talks about eternal damnation but Mathew doesn’t. Ok, let’s look at the Greek to see if there are some clues there. Mathew translates pretty clear, but let’s look at Luke. Did they really get two different revelations on this message and which is closer to accurate?
Mathew:
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come .
Luke:
Verily I say (5719) unto you, All sins shall be forgiven (5701) unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme (5661) :
Amhn legw (5719) umin oti panta afeqhsetai (5701) toiv uioiv twn anqrwpwn, ta amarthmata kai ai blasfhmiai osa ean blasfhmhswsin; (5661)
But he that shall blaspheme (5661) against the Holy Ghost hath (5719) never forgiveness, but is (5748) in danger of eternal damnation:
ov d' an blasfhmhsh (5661) eiv to pneuma to agion ouk exei (5719) afesin eiv ton aiwna, alla enoxov estin (5748) aiwniou amarthmatov
I left the Greek translation attached to this because I want to bring out a point which I will touch on a little later.
KJV says, ‘is in danger of eternal damnation.’ Damnation was not in the original Greek text. The word for Damnation here is ‘Krisis’ and means separation, judgment, condemnation. The word used in the original Greek text is ‘amarthmatov’ which means sin. If you translate the original text it reads something like this … ‘But if someone speaks evil of or reviles the Spirit of the Most Holy, he will not receive forgiveness in this age, but will be bound to the evil deed forever.’
Now this reads a lot like Mathew. It doesn’t talk about eternal damnation.
We know that there has to be something that has been lost in the translation and or true intent of this message because of the following:
It cannot mean that anyone that assumes and accuses someone exhibiting a gift of the Holy Spirit as working with the devil is damned to hell, with out any hope. If that was the case, there would be a lot of pastors and congregations that would be walking on very thin ice when they say that the gifts of the Spirit are not for today, and that speaking in tongues is the manifestation of the devil (I have heard this preached).
We know this because the Apostle Paul, then Saul of Damascus, would have never received salvation. He personally did and gave authorization to have people killed for heresy. He accused and spoke evil of the Holy Spirit no differently than the Pharisees did and probably have evil in his heart while doing it. I am sure he was being egged on and influenced by Satan. Yet Paul did receive salvation, was baptized in the Holy Spirit, and proved this with signs and wonders following. Paul says that there is “No Condemnation To Those In Christ Jesus.”
So what’s the deal.
Did Jesus just favor Paul more than the Pharisees and possibly us? Peter says in Acts 10:34 that God is no respecter of persons.
Here is what I think, and this is just my opinion and what I have been able to discern up to this point. I am praying for wisdom and revelation on this. Not from Man, because every man has their own opinion, but from God. Looking on the internet, I have not found any that agree with me, nor have I heard anyone preach this, so I am alone in the desert on this one to some extent.
I believe that context is extremely important here. Jesus was speaking directly to these Pharisees. It says in Mathew 12 that when the Pharisees started accusing Jesus, that Jesus saw their heart and knew their thoughts. I believe he was addressing the church under the Mosaic Covenant (The Law). I believe that Jesus was saying that no sacrifice they can perform under the old covenant would clean them from the evil they were thinking and speaking; that this sin would be bound to them forever. This was a big deal for the Pharisees. They were very religious and knew what it meant for them if they were forever unclean. Telling them that Jesus wouldn’t forgive their sins and they wouldn’t receive salvation was not of any significance to them because they didn’t believe Jesus to be the Messiah anyways.
I don’t believe that there is a sin that is too bad for the blood of Christ to wash. Nowhere in the teachings of any of the disciples and apostles does, in the hundreds and hundreds of places referencing forgiveness, does it keep throwing out the unpardonable sin disclaimer. You won’t find … 1 John 2:12 I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name, OH YEAH, INCASE YOU LIED ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THEN YOU ARE NOT ONLY UNFORGIVEN, YOU ARE DAMNED. Or Colossians 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins., UNLESS YOU MISTAKENLY ACCUSED SOMEONE MANIFESTING GODS POWER AS SUPERNATUREAL AND DEMONIC.
It says, He has Forgiven All our Sins, We are no longer condemned. We have been sanctified through His Blood if we believe. NO SMALL PRINT EXCLUSIONS.
Even though the King James translation in Mark is a little off, I think that somehow they may have captured the intent of the message. Jesus was saying that the sin of blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will be bound to you and that no sacrifices that you perform will make you clean. And that you will be held accountable for these words. And I think the part that KJV picked up is significant. And if you do not let your heart become sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, you will never hear Him convicting you of the truth of the Gospel, and that you are in danger of missing the Messiah and missing the calling to receive salvation through Jesus Christ.
But thank God we have a redeemer in Jesus Christ that has forgiven All of our sins, he sits at the right hand the Father as an advocate for us, and that there is no sin that is too ugly for the blood of Christ to wash.
Romans 10:9-10
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
I am sure this has stepped on peoples toes. As there are about as many opinions on this topic as there are denominations. If I did step on your toes, I encourage you to open up the word and meditate on the topic. Seek wisdom and revelation. Open your heart to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. He will bring to remembrance all things that Jesus said. You don’t have to rely on your pastor to spoon feed you every ounce of revelation. Dig in and pray that God will open your eyes and let you see things as never before; to make the Word come alive in your heart and burn with revelation and understanding.
I don't know all the answers but I do know that the Word cannot contradict itself, we must rightly divide the word of God, we must meditate on the word, and pray for wisdom and revelation.
In Mathew 12 and Mark 3, Jesus was just brought a man that possessed a blind and dumb spirit. He cast this unclean spirit out and the Pharisees heard of it, they accused Jesus of using witchcraft and the power of Satan to cast out the demon. This ticked Jesus off and he tried to reason with them saying that how can you use the power of the devil to defeat the devil. This rebuke by Jesus is what instigated the teaching of what we call the unpardonable sin.
Jesus said (paraphrasing) , Listen, you can talk bad and lie about me and that's ok, but if you lie about and condemn the works of the Holy Spirit and call them works of the Devil, you will not be forgiven. In Mark, it goes a little bit differently and says that you are in danger of eternal damnation.
So how can it be that, over and over again, that God said that All of your sins are washed away if you believe, “and there is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ”, ... How can the word contradict itself? Well it can't so we have to look at this much closer.
Here are some keys that might be important as I share my thoughts brainstorming this.
In rightly dividing the Word, we must look at the context (who it was being directed towards). This was being directed at the Pharisees, old covenant Jewish religious leaders, whom had hardened their heart toward Jesus. It wasn’t directed at the disciples. Let us meditate and consider this for a bit while we move on.
Let’s look at the translation … Mathew and Mark were translated a little bit differently. Mark talks about eternal damnation but Mathew doesn’t. Ok, let’s look at the Greek to see if there are some clues there. Mathew translates pretty clear, but let’s look at Luke. Did they really get two different revelations on this message and which is closer to accurate?
Mathew:
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come .
Luke:
Verily I say (5719) unto you, All sins shall be forgiven (5701) unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme (5661) :
Amhn legw (5719) umin oti panta afeqhsetai (5701) toiv uioiv twn anqrwpwn, ta amarthmata kai ai blasfhmiai osa ean blasfhmhswsin; (5661)
But he that shall blaspheme (5661) against the Holy Ghost hath (5719) never forgiveness, but is (5748) in danger of eternal damnation:
ov d' an blasfhmhsh (5661) eiv to pneuma to agion ouk exei (5719) afesin eiv ton aiwna, alla enoxov estin (5748) aiwniou amarthmatov
I left the Greek translation attached to this because I want to bring out a point which I will touch on a little later.
KJV says, ‘is in danger of eternal damnation.’ Damnation was not in the original Greek text. The word for Damnation here is ‘Krisis’ and means separation, judgment, condemnation. The word used in the original Greek text is ‘amarthmatov’ which means sin. If you translate the original text it reads something like this … ‘But if someone speaks evil of or reviles the Spirit of the Most Holy, he will not receive forgiveness in this age, but will be bound to the evil deed forever.’
Now this reads a lot like Mathew. It doesn’t talk about eternal damnation.
We know that there has to be something that has been lost in the translation and or true intent of this message because of the following:
It cannot mean that anyone that assumes and accuses someone exhibiting a gift of the Holy Spirit as working with the devil is damned to hell, with out any hope. If that was the case, there would be a lot of pastors and congregations that would be walking on very thin ice when they say that the gifts of the Spirit are not for today, and that speaking in tongues is the manifestation of the devil (I have heard this preached).
We know this because the Apostle Paul, then Saul of Damascus, would have never received salvation. He personally did and gave authorization to have people killed for heresy. He accused and spoke evil of the Holy Spirit no differently than the Pharisees did and probably have evil in his heart while doing it. I am sure he was being egged on and influenced by Satan. Yet Paul did receive salvation, was baptized in the Holy Spirit, and proved this with signs and wonders following. Paul says that there is “No Condemnation To Those In Christ Jesus.”
So what’s the deal.
Did Jesus just favor Paul more than the Pharisees and possibly us? Peter says in Acts 10:34 that God is no respecter of persons.
Here is what I think, and this is just my opinion and what I have been able to discern up to this point. I am praying for wisdom and revelation on this. Not from Man, because every man has their own opinion, but from God. Looking on the internet, I have not found any that agree with me, nor have I heard anyone preach this, so I am alone in the desert on this one to some extent.
I believe that context is extremely important here. Jesus was speaking directly to these Pharisees. It says in Mathew 12 that when the Pharisees started accusing Jesus, that Jesus saw their heart and knew their thoughts. I believe he was addressing the church under the Mosaic Covenant (The Law). I believe that Jesus was saying that no sacrifice they can perform under the old covenant would clean them from the evil they were thinking and speaking; that this sin would be bound to them forever. This was a big deal for the Pharisees. They were very religious and knew what it meant for them if they were forever unclean. Telling them that Jesus wouldn’t forgive their sins and they wouldn’t receive salvation was not of any significance to them because they didn’t believe Jesus to be the Messiah anyways.
I don’t believe that there is a sin that is too bad for the blood of Christ to wash. Nowhere in the teachings of any of the disciples and apostles does, in the hundreds and hundreds of places referencing forgiveness, does it keep throwing out the unpardonable sin disclaimer. You won’t find … 1 John 2:12 I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name, OH YEAH, INCASE YOU LIED ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THEN YOU ARE NOT ONLY UNFORGIVEN, YOU ARE DAMNED. Or Colossians 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins., UNLESS YOU MISTAKENLY ACCUSED SOMEONE MANIFESTING GODS POWER AS SUPERNATUREAL AND DEMONIC.
It says, He has Forgiven All our Sins, We are no longer condemned. We have been sanctified through His Blood if we believe. NO SMALL PRINT EXCLUSIONS.
Even though the King James translation in Mark is a little off, I think that somehow they may have captured the intent of the message. Jesus was saying that the sin of blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will be bound to you and that no sacrifices that you perform will make you clean. And that you will be held accountable for these words. And I think the part that KJV picked up is significant. And if you do not let your heart become sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, you will never hear Him convicting you of the truth of the Gospel, and that you are in danger of missing the Messiah and missing the calling to receive salvation through Jesus Christ.
But thank God we have a redeemer in Jesus Christ that has forgiven All of our sins, he sits at the right hand the Father as an advocate for us, and that there is no sin that is too ugly for the blood of Christ to wash.
Romans 10:9-10
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
I am sure this has stepped on peoples toes. As there are about as many opinions on this topic as there are denominations. If I did step on your toes, I encourage you to open up the word and meditate on the topic. Seek wisdom and revelation. Open your heart to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. He will bring to remembrance all things that Jesus said. You don’t have to rely on your pastor to spoon feed you every ounce of revelation. Dig in and pray that God will open your eyes and let you see things as never before; to make the Word come alive in your heart and burn with revelation and understanding.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Apples or Unbelief
Have you ever heard a minister say that Sin is Sin and that no sin is greater than another; they are all an abomination in the eyes of God?
I have heard this since a child and believed it true. But had never understood why and had always thought there might be some mistake in the translation. Because, after all how could God look at the sin of telling a white lie the same as the sins of someone like Jeffrey Dahmer; (homosexual, cannibal, serial killer). I knew what the Word said, but how could this be true? Do we really have a God that is so narrow minded that He can’t see the difference between doing something that may only hurt yourself and someone doing something that destroys the lives of countless people. How could stealing a gum ball from the Quick-Mart be looked at the same way as what Hitler did in Germany to millions of God’s people?
This question plagued me for a long time and when I would ask pastors about it they would respond that God can’t look at sin, no matter what it is. Sin is Sin. However, this seemed contrary to common sense.
James 2:10 says “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Well, that is pretty clear.
This bothered me for a long time until I received the following revelation. It was one of those (Ohhhh!; now I get it moments.) Thank you Jesus that you came to fulfill the law and brought us under Grace!
Stay with me till then end here because this is going to get a little deep …
Did you know that when Jesus shed his blood and submitted himself to die on the cross, that act of atonement was sufficient to wash away the sins of the world? Not only did that wash away the sins for believers, it washed away the sins of the non-believers too. Sure it did. 1 John 2:2 says, “And he is the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins: and not for ours only (the born again believers), but also for the sins of the whole world.” When Jesus died on the cross, his sacrifice was so great that it covered the sins for everyone, until the end of time.
Did you know that when God looks at us, he doesn’t see our sin? He sees us white as snow through the blood of Jesus. He sees you as an heir and child. He sees you as so clean that you may come to him boldly in the Holy of Holies. This is cleaner than the high priests in the Old Testament. The high priests were worried that they were going to be found unclean and would tie a rope around their waist, so that in case they were killed in the presence of Jehovah, they could be pulled back outside. God sees us as perfect. When he sees us through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, he sees his pride and joy. That is the Grace of Jesus.
Now here’s the part that is hard for our religiosity to receive, He sees the lost people the same way. Jesus’ atonement was for the world, not just for those born again. He washed their sins too. Now before you send me hate-mail, please read on and open your heart to what I am sharing.
The only sin that God sees is the sin of Unbelief…
What have you done with the knowledge of the sacrifice God made for you in His son, Jesus. Have you believed in the Good News of Jesus’ atonement and received that revelation into your spirit? Have you believed that he is that is the Messiah and is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world? If you believe, he will make you a new creature, in him.
Unbelief is the sin that will keep you out of heaven. That is the sin that the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of. John 16:9 says that the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of sin … of sin, because they do not believe in me. God’s problem is with Unbelief. The Holy Spirit is here to bring us into fellowship with Jesus.
So since God sees us white as snow through Jesus’ atonement, what is the problem with sin?
The problem with sin, is that it brings us out of fellowship with Jesus. This is the case with all sin regardless of severity. And, this is why, in God’s eyes, all sin is the same. You see, when you are making a conscience decision to do what you know is wrong, you are distancing yourself from God. You give Satan the opportunity to start planting seeds into your mind that distance you even further from God. For example, he will shoot thoughts into your head of … You’re a sinner. You’re ashamed to come back into fellowship with God, because you’re embarrassed. You’re powerless to change. You’ve committed the unpardonable sin! God’s ashamed of you. You let Him down. He doesn’t love you now. These are lies from the devourer himself.
The truth is, that even though you sinned and failed to meet the expectations that you have for yourself, in your self-righteousness, God has not changed his opinion of you. He still loves you. He knew you were going to mess up. His desire for you when you mess up is to get right back into fellowship with him. He wants you to receive, in your spirit and visualize in your conscience, that you are righteous and spotless. He wants you to come back boldly to the throne and take your position as heir.
He wants you repent (change your mind about sin). He wants you to come to him boldly and say, Abba Father, I am sorry that I missed the mark. I thank you that you have provided the atoning blood of your Son to cleanse the sins of the world so I can stand boldly in front of you spotless. I receive the sacrifice you made for me, Jesus. Holy Spirit, thank you for guiding me down the path of righteousness. I will strive to be your light in this dark world. Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice.
You know King David was a big sinner, but he was God’s pride and joy because he had a heart for God. Moses … sinner. Abraham and Sarah … sinners. But, they knew how to reestablish fellowship with God.
Everyone knows what Adam and Eve’s big sin was right? They ate the apple that they were forbidden to eat. Not exactly, the sin that Adam and Eve committed was that of Unbelief. They believed what the serpent said over God. They fell out of fellowship with God because they believed the lie that God was hiding something from them that was in their best interest. They fell out of fellowship with God and hid themselves naked and ashamed. The original sin was unbelief. Nothing has changed with human nature since the beginning of time. We still have the same vulnerabilities and Satan still uses the same tricks to foul us up.
When we sin, God doesn’t want us to wail and cry, “Oh, I am so unworthy. I am nothing but a lowly sinner. I deserve to be cast into the pit of hell for my sin. Oh God, please find mercy and grant me, just one more time, forgiveness. I promise I will never do it again.” How insulting is that to God. You are telling Him that the sacrifice of his Son wasn’t enough to wash your sins. You’re asking him to make another atonement for you because the first wasn’t good enough. God is looking at you saying, you are my child. You are spotless. You have been given access to the Holy of Holies and My throne. You are my heir. Stand up and come to Me boldly and say, Abba Father.
All you need to do is cast the devil off your shoulder and get back into fellowship with God. Don’t believe the lie for another hour that you are not worthy. Don’t believe for another minute that God is ashamed of you. Don’t distance yourself one step further from God saying you’ll get right with God tomorrow. Just stop what you are doing and say, Jesus your Grace is all that I need. Thank you for making me a new creature in you. I receive your Grace. Teach me how to be more like you.
I have heard this since a child and believed it true. But had never understood why and had always thought there might be some mistake in the translation. Because, after all how could God look at the sin of telling a white lie the same as the sins of someone like Jeffrey Dahmer; (homosexual, cannibal, serial killer). I knew what the Word said, but how could this be true? Do we really have a God that is so narrow minded that He can’t see the difference between doing something that may only hurt yourself and someone doing something that destroys the lives of countless people. How could stealing a gum ball from the Quick-Mart be looked at the same way as what Hitler did in Germany to millions of God’s people?
This question plagued me for a long time and when I would ask pastors about it they would respond that God can’t look at sin, no matter what it is. Sin is Sin. However, this seemed contrary to common sense.
James 2:10 says “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Well, that is pretty clear.
This bothered me for a long time until I received the following revelation. It was one of those (Ohhhh!; now I get it moments.) Thank you Jesus that you came to fulfill the law and brought us under Grace!
Stay with me till then end here because this is going to get a little deep …
Did you know that when Jesus shed his blood and submitted himself to die on the cross, that act of atonement was sufficient to wash away the sins of the world? Not only did that wash away the sins for believers, it washed away the sins of the non-believers too. Sure it did. 1 John 2:2 says, “And he is the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins: and not for ours only (the born again believers), but also for the sins of the whole world.” When Jesus died on the cross, his sacrifice was so great that it covered the sins for everyone, until the end of time.
Did you know that when God looks at us, he doesn’t see our sin? He sees us white as snow through the blood of Jesus. He sees you as an heir and child. He sees you as so clean that you may come to him boldly in the Holy of Holies. This is cleaner than the high priests in the Old Testament. The high priests were worried that they were going to be found unclean and would tie a rope around their waist, so that in case they were killed in the presence of Jehovah, they could be pulled back outside. God sees us as perfect. When he sees us through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, he sees his pride and joy. That is the Grace of Jesus.
Now here’s the part that is hard for our religiosity to receive, He sees the lost people the same way. Jesus’ atonement was for the world, not just for those born again. He washed their sins too. Now before you send me hate-mail, please read on and open your heart to what I am sharing.
The only sin that God sees is the sin of Unbelief…
What have you done with the knowledge of the sacrifice God made for you in His son, Jesus. Have you believed in the Good News of Jesus’ atonement and received that revelation into your spirit? Have you believed that he is that is the Messiah and is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world? If you believe, he will make you a new creature, in him.
Unbelief is the sin that will keep you out of heaven. That is the sin that the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of. John 16:9 says that the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of sin … of sin, because they do not believe in me. God’s problem is with Unbelief. The Holy Spirit is here to bring us into fellowship with Jesus.
So since God sees us white as snow through Jesus’ atonement, what is the problem with sin?
The problem with sin, is that it brings us out of fellowship with Jesus. This is the case with all sin regardless of severity. And, this is why, in God’s eyes, all sin is the same. You see, when you are making a conscience decision to do what you know is wrong, you are distancing yourself from God. You give Satan the opportunity to start planting seeds into your mind that distance you even further from God. For example, he will shoot thoughts into your head of … You’re a sinner. You’re ashamed to come back into fellowship with God, because you’re embarrassed. You’re powerless to change. You’ve committed the unpardonable sin! God’s ashamed of you. You let Him down. He doesn’t love you now. These are lies from the devourer himself.
The truth is, that even though you sinned and failed to meet the expectations that you have for yourself, in your self-righteousness, God has not changed his opinion of you. He still loves you. He knew you were going to mess up. His desire for you when you mess up is to get right back into fellowship with him. He wants you to receive, in your spirit and visualize in your conscience, that you are righteous and spotless. He wants you to come back boldly to the throne and take your position as heir.
He wants you repent (change your mind about sin). He wants you to come to him boldly and say, Abba Father, I am sorry that I missed the mark. I thank you that you have provided the atoning blood of your Son to cleanse the sins of the world so I can stand boldly in front of you spotless. I receive the sacrifice you made for me, Jesus. Holy Spirit, thank you for guiding me down the path of righteousness. I will strive to be your light in this dark world. Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice.
You know King David was a big sinner, but he was God’s pride and joy because he had a heart for God. Moses … sinner. Abraham and Sarah … sinners. But, they knew how to reestablish fellowship with God.
Everyone knows what Adam and Eve’s big sin was right? They ate the apple that they were forbidden to eat. Not exactly, the sin that Adam and Eve committed was that of Unbelief. They believed what the serpent said over God. They fell out of fellowship with God because they believed the lie that God was hiding something from them that was in their best interest. They fell out of fellowship with God and hid themselves naked and ashamed. The original sin was unbelief. Nothing has changed with human nature since the beginning of time. We still have the same vulnerabilities and Satan still uses the same tricks to foul us up.
When we sin, God doesn’t want us to wail and cry, “Oh, I am so unworthy. I am nothing but a lowly sinner. I deserve to be cast into the pit of hell for my sin. Oh God, please find mercy and grant me, just one more time, forgiveness. I promise I will never do it again.” How insulting is that to God. You are telling Him that the sacrifice of his Son wasn’t enough to wash your sins. You’re asking him to make another atonement for you because the first wasn’t good enough. God is looking at you saying, you are my child. You are spotless. You have been given access to the Holy of Holies and My throne. You are my heir. Stand up and come to Me boldly and say, Abba Father.
All you need to do is cast the devil off your shoulder and get back into fellowship with God. Don’t believe the lie for another hour that you are not worthy. Don’t believe for another minute that God is ashamed of you. Don’t distance yourself one step further from God saying you’ll get right with God tomorrow. Just stop what you are doing and say, Jesus your Grace is all that I need. Thank you for making me a new creature in you. I receive your Grace. Teach me how to be more like you.
Revelation
About five years ago, God gave me a powerful revelation that changed my life spiritually forever. I came from a Baptist/Nazarene background and knew of, and believed in, the Trinity since before I can remember. However, at 35 years old, I could not tell you much about the Holy Spirit other than you are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. I was hungering for knowing more when I ran into Andrew Wommack’s teaching. I was listening to a series called “The Positive Ministry Of The Holy Spirit”. While listening to the second CD, “The Comforter”.( http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1020 ), I had an experience where the Holy Spirit witnessed to my spirit some truths about Jesus.
It was an experience that I have had since, but not anywhere near the same in magnitude. I have not effectively been able to clearly communicate all that I experienced and felt , although I have tried many times. When I do try to explain the content of the revelation and the feeling of assurance that I received, I get reactions from people like “you didn’t know that?”, or “didn’t they teach you that in Sunday School?”. So I share one more time, more for myself so I never forget, and also so that it might be of some benefit to anyone else who hungers.
I always understood (from Sunday School) that Jesus was man and God. However, I always believed that Jesus had so many more advantages over man because of His Deity. I believed that he suffered on the cross, because it was painful, but he was God, so he knew how everything was going to turn out. He was God, so He had to know that this was going to happen and that it would only be for a short time and then He would rise in victory. How bad could it have been? I saw the temptation of Jesus in the Desert by Satan the same way. He was God, how tempted could he have really been. He was God, he just touched people and the power flowed through him and he raised the dead and healed the sick and cleansed lepers. He lived a perfect life and never sinned; yeah but He was God. He couldn’t have sinned if He wanted to. There are many others, pick a Bible story. This bad seed had worked it’s way into my understanding of who Jesus is and had diminished the sacrifice and cheapened the love He had for me.
Wommack was reading and expanding on scripture I have read and heard before when something bore witness to my spirit. Wommack started talking about how Jesus was a man, almost just like me (ok, I’ve heard it before). He was different because he was born without a sin-nature (Again, been there, understand that.). Jesus had to perceive everything through faith just as I do (wait a minute!!!, Woosh!!! A wave of revelation!). Jesus had to perceive through faith that he was the Messiah (What! He didn’t know he was the Messiah because he was ½ God? Woosh!!!). Jesus had a body, soul, and spirit just as I do. He had the Spirit of God indwelling in him at a time when the Spirit primarily only walked among people. He had the same Spirit of God inside of him, just as I do now as a born again believer. (The same spirit of God? Woosh!) He had to perceive revelation from his spirit-man into his conscience, just as I do (What, Jesus didn’t know everything? Woosh). He had to pray and believe by faith that laying down his life, as he did, was to fulfill prophesy and would be essential for the future of the Kingdom (Woosh!). He had to perceive and have faith that the spoken word of God through his lips had the power to heal, forgive sins, raise the dead, deliver from the demonic, and to fulfill messianic prophesy(Are you kidding me? I have to perceive this through faith also! Woooooosh!! )
All this hit me over and over again, as in waves the stories in the Bible all started having new meaning and clarity. I felt the love Jesus has for me and more clearly understood the sacrifice Jesus made for me. So many different parts of the scriptures were making more sense. Here I am, hungering to get a better understanding of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is saying ‘You want to know about me, let me introduce you to Jesus’. The Comforter will always bear witness of Jesus and bring revelation to His Word. Oh, we have such a good God in Jehovah.
If you have ever hungered to know more about the Holy Spirit, what His role is, why He is here, and why it is important to have a relationship with Him, please let me know. Bishop Jerry Pruitt has been teaching on The Holy Spirit for weeks now at Faith Builders on Wednesday night. You ought to join us one night. Also, the sermons for this series are free and available online at http://www.fbimaz-media.com/ . Another great place to get free downloads on the Holy Spirit is on Andrew Wommack’s website (http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1020 ) If this is really new to you, as it was to me, you might want to listen to a foundational series first called “Spirit, Soul, and Body” ( http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1027 )
It was an experience that I have had since, but not anywhere near the same in magnitude. I have not effectively been able to clearly communicate all that I experienced and felt , although I have tried many times. When I do try to explain the content of the revelation and the feeling of assurance that I received, I get reactions from people like “you didn’t know that?”, or “didn’t they teach you that in Sunday School?”. So I share one more time, more for myself so I never forget, and also so that it might be of some benefit to anyone else who hungers.
I always understood (from Sunday School) that Jesus was man and God. However, I always believed that Jesus had so many more advantages over man because of His Deity. I believed that he suffered on the cross, because it was painful, but he was God, so he knew how everything was going to turn out. He was God, so He had to know that this was going to happen and that it would only be for a short time and then He would rise in victory. How bad could it have been? I saw the temptation of Jesus in the Desert by Satan the same way. He was God, how tempted could he have really been. He was God, he just touched people and the power flowed through him and he raised the dead and healed the sick and cleansed lepers. He lived a perfect life and never sinned; yeah but He was God. He couldn’t have sinned if He wanted to. There are many others, pick a Bible story. This bad seed had worked it’s way into my understanding of who Jesus is and had diminished the sacrifice and cheapened the love He had for me.
Wommack was reading and expanding on scripture I have read and heard before when something bore witness to my spirit. Wommack started talking about how Jesus was a man, almost just like me (ok, I’ve heard it before). He was different because he was born without a sin-nature (Again, been there, understand that.). Jesus had to perceive everything through faith just as I do (wait a minute!!!, Woosh!!! A wave of revelation!). Jesus had to perceive through faith that he was the Messiah (What! He didn’t know he was the Messiah because he was ½ God? Woosh!!!). Jesus had a body, soul, and spirit just as I do. He had the Spirit of God indwelling in him at a time when the Spirit primarily only walked among people. He had the same Spirit of God inside of him, just as I do now as a born again believer. (The same spirit of God? Woosh!) He had to perceive revelation from his spirit-man into his conscience, just as I do (What, Jesus didn’t know everything? Woosh). He had to pray and believe by faith that laying down his life, as he did, was to fulfill prophesy and would be essential for the future of the Kingdom (Woosh!). He had to perceive and have faith that the spoken word of God through his lips had the power to heal, forgive sins, raise the dead, deliver from the demonic, and to fulfill messianic prophesy(Are you kidding me? I have to perceive this through faith also! Woooooosh!! )
All this hit me over and over again, as in waves the stories in the Bible all started having new meaning and clarity. I felt the love Jesus has for me and more clearly understood the sacrifice Jesus made for me. So many different parts of the scriptures were making more sense. Here I am, hungering to get a better understanding of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is saying ‘You want to know about me, let me introduce you to Jesus’. The Comforter will always bear witness of Jesus and bring revelation to His Word. Oh, we have such a good God in Jehovah.
If you have ever hungered to know more about the Holy Spirit, what His role is, why He is here, and why it is important to have a relationship with Him, please let me know. Bishop Jerry Pruitt has been teaching on The Holy Spirit for weeks now at Faith Builders on Wednesday night. You ought to join us one night. Also, the sermons for this series are free and available online at http://www.fbimaz-media.com/ . Another great place to get free downloads on the Holy Spirit is on Andrew Wommack’s website (http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1020 ) If this is really new to you, as it was to me, you might want to listen to a foundational series first called “Spirit, Soul, and Body” ( http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1027 )