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[HR][/HR]Romans 5:17For 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.
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I want to share something with you, because I used to find myself bound by Christianity when I first started hearing it. I was raised by my mother who sadly passed away from cancer last month. She was a Christian who instilled in me from birth that Jesus Christ died for me, but I didn't quite understand it completely.[HR][/HR]
Growing into my teenage years, it just started to make more and more sense that the world all comes down to scientific evidence and Christians could only be dim and ignorant fools who were not willing to accept anyone outside of their own beliefs. Since my mother's death I have really felt the reasons that she loved Christ, and I understand now the reasons that I want to love Him, and I often see other people having my struggles.
First of all, I want to take the biggest common perceptions of Jesus and for us to look at it, keeping in mind the verse that I had mentioned at the top of this thread.
"You must live a holy life for Christ, turn from your ways and repent if you wish to enter the Kingdom of God."
I know what a lot of you are thinking. "What? But that is Christianity!"
In truth, yeah, that's the common stereotype. You see, the devil is clever. There are a lot of ways at looking at things in the Bible, and if he can twist even one thing it can do a lot of damage. He doesn't attack things directly, the Bible says he is like a snake, he comes in the dark when you aren't looking and perverts and distorts the gospel.
Am I saying that Holiness is bad? Am I saying that we should all start sinning like there is no tomorrow because we're safe anyway? Well, in short, no. I'm not saying that.
You see, people like to have control. Whether you're a church or a government, control over people is just something everyone more or less desires and when the devil can twist things around to suit the gospel to those controlling needs it makes man think it's their place to do God's job without even realizing it.
Let's go to Romans 5:17 which is the verse I'm prioritizing for this message. There are two things there which are key when dealing with this: abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. If there are two things which I see the devil attack and twist, it is these most of all. The less you focus on God's grace and His gift of righteousness to you, the more you become occupied with yourself, and the more you fall under the Law.
There is one thing that I am sure of above all when dealing with this misconception, that is that the work Jesus did on the cross was to perfection. Now, let's look at what Jesus did on the cross.What actually took place? What was so important that God would need to send his only son to die?
Well we know that Jesus had to die for our sins. The sad thing is that people hear this, they accept it, but they reject it at the same time because they still feel the need to put themselves under the Law.
I want to take a look at a very important verse right now which is Hebrews 10:1-18.
To save space I won't be putting the entire verse into this but in order to gain the full understanding of this message I suggest that you read it.
So now you've read it? Good. Let's take a few bits from that verse and look at what it means.
First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
In the Old Testament people were sacrificing animals to God each year, again and again as atonement for their sins but it would never appease Him. There is something pure about blood. I won't go into this today, but there is something about the blood which sanctifies that which is unholy.
So these people were constantly in a state of repentance, but then he sets aside the first to establish the second, and by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE AND FOR ALL.
Why do people take Jesus' death and only accept half of it? They will say "Yes, I believe that Jesus died for my sins, so I will stop sinning." and when they sin, they will repent again. They repent once, and continue repenting every day when Hebrews 10 says that by Jesus' body you are made righteous once and for all.
Once you accept Jesus into your life, you are righteous in the eyes of God.
So then, why do people keep sinning?
Because you occupy your mind with yourself. You say "I can stop sinning" When God says you can't. You will never be able to stop - but here is what Jesus offers you. The gift of righteousness. Let's focus on the word GIFT here, for a minute. You did not earn this, you cannot un-earn it. It is not by your works that you have received this.
The devil does not want you to know that you are righteous, because when you know that you are righteous sin will have no dominion over you. When you know that you are righteous in the eyes of God, you will have power that is appointed to you.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. -Romans 6:14
When you take your eyes off of the Law, and begin to look at Jesus, sin becomes less attractive and Holiness becomes more attractive. Not sinning is a naturally recurring by-product of loving Jesus. Because it is a relationship, and He loves you as you are.
See that you are not saved by your works, but by grace, and the abundance of grace that is appointed to you and is every man and woman's entitlement to behold so they may live in life. It does not matter how many good things you do, or how many bad things you don't do, it is the fact that the work Jesus did on the cross was to utter perfection. Stop sacrificing your well being, emotional state and stress levels trying to please God when you cannot impress Him, because He sent His son down to you.
From the moment you repent, and accept Jesus, you are under grace. You are in a secret relationship between you and Him that no-one else is invited to. Hebrews 10:16 says
“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
Do you see that God's law is automatically written into your hearts when you receive Jesus? You are loved for you, and nothing will take away that perfect image.I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
Accepting Jesus is also about accepting that when He died for your sins, He died for every one that you would ever commit. Hebrews 10 again says your sins I will remember no more. God has forgiven you before you even commit your sin, God has forgotten your sins before you commit them. You are under the perfect grace that was given to you when the perfect work of Jesus was completed at the cross.
The devil wants to make you focus on yourself, and make you believe that you can stop sinning by your own works. He wants you to think that you are under the law, and that you have to keep repenting because God sees your sin.
Whether you sin or don't, your relationship with Christ stands. Sinning will naturally become something that you detest as your relationship grows because he will write his laws into your hearts and minds. God does not look at your thoughts and actions to judge you, He looks at Christ's thoughts and actions.
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
You are not under Law but under Grace.
Notice how grace and truth are in the same sentence?
John 8:31-32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
When you hear the truth, the burden of modern Christianity denying grace and still upholding law should feel as if a weight has come off your shoulders. The devil hates this message, because it takes away the power and dominion of sin from him, because by getting people to focus on themselves they will continue to fall. The Bible says that grace is the truth though, and Jesus says that the truth will set you free! So rejoice, and hold onto this message, because the devil suppresses it enough today!
When people start to tell you that you're not being a good enough Christian because you are sinning in areas of your life and are failing in certain ways remember this verse Isaiah 1:18 and read through Romans 8.
Take your eyes off of yourself and cast them onto JESUS! Stop believing that you are capable of saving yourself and accept His love and acceptance for who you are.
It took me a long time to realize this, and I'm only 18 now, but Christ has revealed so much to me and I tell you it has changed my life. The Holy Spirit has comforted me and guided me since the passing of my mother and I am so grateful for this message and what I have learned from the father.
God does not see your sin, and you are perfect to Him!
I can only hope the understanding this will bring you guys the same love and comfort that it has brought me. I used to think Christianity was unfair and a burden to carry until I started understanding these things, and just as Jesus said it would; the truth set me free.
Please do send me any private messages, I would love to discuss this more, and my fingers are hurting for now. I adore talking about Jesus with other people and there have been some really fantastic people on this site. I hope my testimony and message has brought some peace and hope to you all.
God bless! x
