Law and Grace cont.

There was no created being suited for the job of reconciliation after sin entered the world. Hence, God entered humanity in the person of Jesus Christ.

God so loved…

Every religion since the dawn of man, has attempted to know God, reach God, understand God, please God and claim God. Ironically, God wants the same for you. Religion is man’s way. 

God’s way: 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. (John 3:16-17)

We could stop right here, it says it all. However, the rest of the story is quite beautiful. 

He “entered” humanity, (physical) He was not of this world. We must understand that God is of a different realm, eternal, without time. Things are different in this realm, it’s paradise. It’s absent of sin, disease, hate, pride and death. It’s invisible to us here in the physical world, just as different light spectrums. It’s a real place, above the universe, known as the third heaven. (2 Corinthians 12:2) A place science hasn’t identified…yet. A place not subject to the laws of nature. (We get a glimpse of it as we travel beyond earth’s atmosphere)

A place where we will interact with one another and God. We will have bodies as we do here, compatible to this supernatural realm, much like we have now but absent of sin. Imagine this world without hate, hunger, earthquakes and death. 

God desires to reconcile us to Himself, as we were originally designed without sin. Divine intervention. (2corinthians 5:19) 

God so loved…

Divine intervention was planned before time (Ephesians 1:4) and manifested in the womb of a virgin – a sinner. Spoken there as was the universe in time, not transferred physically. (Luke 1:35-38) Divinity met humanity right there. Mary was not without sin, Jesus was. 

The blood of the fetus doesn’t mingle with that of the mother, so the child growing in the womb maintained His perfect, untainted blood needed to satisfy the stain of humanity. (Religion missed this until the twentieth century) All the while taking on the genetic makeup of His human mother – Truly all God and all man. How else would God enter humanity? 

He, by choice, took on human flesh because that’s were the sin was. It wasn’t in nature or the animals, but in the nature of man. (Even though all was cursed because of it) Your dog has never sinned a day in its life. 

God put on human flesh!  (John 1:14, 1 Timothy 3:16) It’s the whole message of the Love of God!  He took on human flesh to take on sin. He who knew no sin became sin, that we might become reconciled, redeemed and righteous. He came to fulfill all of the law and fulfill the covenant He made with Abraham thousands of years ago. He came to redeem His people, the Jew first, then the rest. 

God so loved…

They killed Him…He knew they would, it was part of the plan to offer Himself. He took the sin of the world to the cross, paying our debt. He rose to life, defeating our biggest problem, death. His perfect blood touched the dust of the earth beneath him, and was simultaneously offered on the alter in heaven. The one and only, perfect, final, sacrifice required to satisfy the debt of humanity. (Hebrews 10:14)

He died that we could live, trading places with us. He gave us His righteousness for our sin. Righteousness we needed to be reconciled, and in no way could achieve on our own. Grace. 

God so loved…

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Roman’s 5:8)

Don’t miss this! While we were yet sinners. Grace!

Is this not enough for you? That God manifested his love, power, wisdom, character and essence, so we could see it! 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, (Colossians 2)

That the blood, like no other blood, perfect, undefiled, was offered. Not the blood of animals but the one and only, Son of God?  

Must you now concoct the rest of the story?

Some want to continue crucifying Him daily, re-presenting the crucifixion in religious ceremonies. 

Did His one time sacrifice not work?

His Grace, now, is sufficient. 

Christ “is” the grace of God poured out… for us!  

His blood poured out, is the grace we need for life. His life! 

God so loved…

The risen Christ, after the cross and ascension met the apostle Paul, to reveal the mysteries kept since the beginning of time; the rest of the story. (Acts 9)

Christ’s finished work on the cross has cleared all obstacles between God and man. All, now, may come to and through the thrown of grace. 

God so loved…

We must see this as a fact, as real as we are alive today. If not, it’s just another religious myth. 

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” (C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity)

Jesus said: “search the scriptures, they speak of Me”. (John 5:39)

Is the Bible the word of God?

Is God a liar?

How on “earth” can we make sense of it all?  

Only when we come to know the Author. 

There are theological scholars that know and teach scripture and admit they haven’t come to know the author. 

It’s foolishness to the most intelligent of men – Man’s way is not God’s way. 

Clay has no capacity to understand the potter unless the Potter allows it. 

Things of the spiritual realm are not discerned by that of the physical realm, no more than a fish understands a man. We both need oxygen but have a different capacity to obtain it. 

You will never understand the things of God unless God allows it. 

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2)

He has promised to share His mind, will, and emotions with you, His way. 

The law of God leads us to grace. 

They are as different as night and day. 

Law brings death, Grace brings life. 

Here is Grace:

Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15) WE WERE SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE THIS! 

What happened? Sin. 

We were created to be a perfect representation of God in the physical world. When the first man of its kind disobeyed God’s command or law, he lost eternal life because God can’t cohabitate with sin. Satan “fell” from heaven as a flash of lightning. He wasn’t thrown out, but fell as darkness does when light is turned on. Mankind, in the same manner was separated from eternal life, (never to die) and left with physical, temporary life – Separated from the spiritual realm and dead to God.  All mankind would now inherit this death, as a “crack baby” inherits the mother’s addiction.  

THERE IS A SOLUTION, AND WE CAN ONCE AGAIN LOOK LIKE CHRIST. 

What happened? Grace. (Unmerited favor) God so loved…

“Unmerited favor”, is a simple definition of grace and is all that’s needed, but a deeper meaning of grace, is that, with this unmerited favor, comes “Divine” influence. We don’t just receive a “get out of hell free” card, we get the presence of God living in and through us. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. 

Grace feels good on both sides. 

Grace is love on the move. It works, forgives, saves, teaches, transforms, heals, humbles, justifies, sanctifies and glorifies…law merely condemns. 

GRACE IS FREE AND IT’S AN INSULT TO ATTEMPT TO REPAY IT. 

In fact, it’s no longer grace when you attempt to repay. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11)

It’s not you trying to get better, it’s Him making you like Him.  

Grace is God promising to give you everything He’s got. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 

Grace is God “choosing” to look at you through the righteousness of Christ. God is aware of our sins but “chooses” to see us as cleansed and forgiven; loving, nurturing and enjoying us as His children, choosing never to hold sin against us again. 

God so loved…

To write about grace is to drink and empty the entire ocean. You’ll never stop, there’s always more. It’s overwhelming; grace upon grace.  16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace upon grace. (John 1)

YOU CAN’T OUT-SIN GOD’S GRACE! 

Oh! Religion says, “so you can go and live anyway you want”? 

Yes! Grace puts a smile on the sinner’s face. Not because he can sin, but because he doesn’t want to. He’s freed from the devilish hounding of the accuser. Now His heart is cleansed, and Christ has moved in!

You see, you are born dead to God and alive to sin. God doesn’t kill your old dead man, he’s dead!  He crucifies what you were born as, due to sin. You who were alive to sin goes to the cross with Him. You are then raised with Him!  This happens in His realm, by Him. (Romans 6) God brings you into His realm, alive as He is alive. You are now dead to sin and alive to God; the great exchange!

God’s realm is eternal – no time. 

 We entered “time” because we were cast out of “eternity”. (God’s realm) (Genesis 3:23)

Time is a gift from God for us to get back to eternity. 

God so loved… 

Your body by faith, now, is where God chooses to live. 19Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? (1 Corinthians 6) 

God so loved…

Many like to say, when your cup of grace is emptied, it’s then filled. No! It’s constantly full. The word for fulfilled in scripture means, full and filled, be being filled. It never stops being filled – Man that’s good!  

Folks, this is God we’re talking about here. 

I’m reminded of the woman in scripture who only had enough food and oil for one last meal, but trusting in what God had said, it never ran out. 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. (1 Kings 17)

Thousands of definitions, in thousands of books, have attempted to define this word grace. Read them and I suspect you will be filled. 

Here, I believe it’s captured perfectly: God has in no word uttered Himself and all that was in His heart more distinctly than in this word grace!(charis)

As we experience what we think are “bad things”, grace shows us how to even use them for good. Grace teaches us to say no to sin.  We won’t even like it anymore. 

“Our whiskey starts to taste like acid and whores start to look like our sisters.” 

Do you see this? Christ is the Grace!

Christ is the gift and the only  mediator between God and man. Grace is not just a “concept” or a doctrine, it’s a person. We by faith, receive the presence, influence, guidance and mind of God! (Philippians 2:5-11)

It’s not only  the “free pass” that saves us, it’s the presence of Christ. When the believer faces death, we look just like Him and death has no power!  He’s defeated it. He’s light entering a dark room.  2 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)

In Him, we have all that God has for us. Just as Adam did before sin. 

We are God’s masterpiece and the Father’s gift to the Son. (John 17)

I encourage you to read the entire chapter. It’s a beautiful conversation between the Father and the Son; the true Lord’s Prayer. 

If you find this, you have the entire message of the Holy Scriptures: Christ in us, our only hope of Glory. (Colossians 1:27) 

We did nothing to deserve it. Grace.

God so loved…

Some find Him quickly and some through long arduous searching. At any rate, the road is worth traveling. Anyone that finds Him, will tell you there is nothing, absolutely nothing, they would trade for Him. You will never stop thinking about Him nor cease seeking His faith and understanding. In good times, bad times, sickness or health, victory and defeat, He will be your first thought. You will sing His praise as the martyrs did while they burned at the stake. (Read Fox’s book of martyrs) 

“You” will be the greatest evidence and proof of His truth. 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3)

This mystery of grace through Christ’s finished work is that you become like Him, by being placed into Him.  The true and only baptism that saves. Not of your doing, but of His done… (His done keeps doing) It was kept secret since the beginning of time, and revealed to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. 
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; as I wrote afore in few words, (Ephesians 3:3)

Nowhere, is this found in the earthly ministry of Christ under the law. (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) That by grace, through faith in His finished work, all could be reconciled to God. Everyone and anyone; Jew, Gentile, man, women, gay, straight, black, white and everything in between. (The world) The condition is you must be a sinner and receive the remedy for it. No sin is to small or too great for the remedy.

 God so loved…

Before this beautiful gift of grace, under the old covenant of law, you had to be a certain nationality and keep the law perfectly.  (James 2)

Law and grace are as opposed as light and darkness, never to be conflated. 

How on earth can we get our head around this? Answer: Rightly divide the word of God. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Christ was born under the law. 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (emphasis added) 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4)

His earthly ministry introduces the transition from law to grace. No one understood it! (Mark 9:32)

The book of Acts is also a book of transition. A transition, not a joining together. 

Actually, the entire scripture leads us to Grace. (Genesis 3:15, Hebrews 1)

It transitions from a shadow or picture to reality. From word to Word. 

Peter was still teaching law until he was shown that all was clean if God declared it; even Gentiles received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10) 

It took years for the disciples to understand and believe what had happened at Pentecost, and to Paul on the Damascus road. (Acts 9)

Peter was sent to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles. (Galatians 2:7-8)

Friends, Grace is a turning point in human history, and the greatest gift of love known to mankind. 

It took years to change the hearts and minds of people steeped in religion for thousands of years. 

Sound familiar?

We must understand that the law is good, and it is not done away with. It had a purpose and still does. It reflects the love and character of God, and leads us to grace. Ironically, unless you are a Jew, it was never given to you. (Ephesians 2:11-12)

We see Christ all through the old covenant (testament). We see Him literally, (Christophanies) and in the foretelling and shadows of Him in sacrifices and ordinances.  We see hints of transition during His earthly ministry, but nowhere was it revealed and explained until the mysteries were revealed to the apostle Paul by the risen Christ. (Acts 9 – through the epistles) That by faith in His one perfect sacrifice, sinners would be reconciled to Holy God. That all sin would be removed from the account of the believer, placed on Christ and carried to death on the cross. That Christ would raise from death to life, impart His righteousness to the believer… and come and dwell in Him!!!  

God so loved…

This is the gospel of grace by which we have salvation.  (1 Corinthians 15)

Friends you can’t park in Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, when Christ, who was on earth under the law, died to bring in the new covenant of grace by His perfect sinless blood. A covenant that is ratified in blood, is always promising that the life of the one sacrificed, was given to the one to whom it was sacrificed for. 

Watch this: God told Abram to kill innocent animals and lay them out to walk between, as was the custom in those days to seal a covenant. (Genesis 15) They were swearing that if the covenant wasn’t kept, may they become like the dead sacrifice. Abram fell into a deep sleep, and only God walked through the innocent bloody sacrifice, swearing by Himself, that His promise would not be broken. Nothing Abram did could break the covenant. A covenant is always subject to both parties keeping their part of the agreement. God swore by Himself!

He became both parties!

Do you think it was binding?

This very scripture (Genesis 15) is used to explain this new covenant of grace. 

In Hebrews 6, we see this old covenant promise repeated for us!  (We are the heirs of promise by faith) 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, He  guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which lit is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, (Hebrews 6)

Christ has entered into the inner place behind the curtain, the Holy of Holies and the true inner place in heaven. The final sacrifice. 

He has made a covenant or promise with Himself, that by His perfect blood sacrifice, sin is gone for the believer, and what God has promised will come to pass… by grace, through faith, we are saved. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Is God a liar?

Christ can be understood as the oath that God is swearing by Himself. In Hebrews 6:13, it says, “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself.” This highlights the unchanging nature of God’s purpose and His faithfulness to fulfill His promises. In the context of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises. He is the embodiment of God’s faithfulness and the mediator of the New Covenant. Through His sacrificial death and resurrection, Jesus secures our salvation and serves as the guarantee of God’s promises. Christ can be seen as the oath that God is swearing by Himself, assuring us of His unwavering commitment to fulfill His promises to His people. 

God the Son, is the innocent sacrifice, and the One walking through to keep the covenant. Just as He did in the case of Abraham. 

Christ is sacrifice and Savior!

Just as Abraham did nothing, we do nothing because the new covenant is God swearing by Himself, that if you by faith believe who Christ is, and what He has done, you are forgiven, past, present and future. You are born from above (born anew or born again) as His righteous child. (John 3) You can’t cease being his child anymore than you can cease being your earthly father’s child. God promised. 

He has breathed His eternal life back into us, never to die again. We are safe and secure, sealed with God  the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. That’s His promise! 

God so loved…

Christ didn’t cover sin, (atonement) as did the blood of bulls and goats, but took it away! 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1)

You and the entire world are included in the new covenant in Christ’s blood. 

Just as God’s promise to Abraham, this covenant will not be broken!

By grace, through faith, you and every other believer become blood relatives in the family of God. 

Christ did not die in vein. 

Christ has risen to life, never to die again. You have all that He has, including eternal life. 

He stands at the door of “whoever” and knocks. It’s not locked, open it! If you don’t have the strength, call on Him and He will open it. 

He “is” the door. You walk right into the presence of God. You will become as He is. A part of Him, as a glass of water thrown into the ocean. 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17)

Can you imagine the mess we humans would be in if the story ended with Christ’s ascension into heaven?  If we had to keep the law perfectly?

Everyone would be dead in sin. 

Not one human would make it. 

No, not one (Romans 3:23) 

Or if we had to keep our part of the covenant?

Don’t miss this:  

GOD DID NOT MAKE A COVENANT WITH US! He made it with Himself and gave it to us! Grace!

Christ moved on after His earthly ministry, and we must as well. 

The rest of the story:

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 8)

With the death of Christ, the sin debt is satisfied, paid in full, never to be levied or imputed again to the believer. The veil that separated God from man in the temple, separated the Holy of Holies – God’s presence from the rest of the temple. Only the priest could enter, once a year, to offer a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. It literally was torn from top to bottom at the death of Christ on the cross. Christ is now the High priest that has entered for us. (Matthew 27:51) 

It represented the separation of God and man, God’s chosen people from the nations, and law and grace. 

It was a picture or shadow of what was to come. 

Christ’s torn flesh was the true veil that took on the sin of the world, taking it to death, clearing the way for “All” mankind to enter God’s presence. 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; (Hebrews 10)

The way into the Holy of Holies is now clear for all to come. We become the dwelling place of God. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?  (1 Corinthians 3:16) 

9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. )2 Timothy)

By Grace, Amazing Grace! God so loved…

It’s God’s gift to mankind in this age, and sufficient to redeem the vilest sinner. 

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: (Ephesians 3 – King James Version – KJV) 

Wow! Do you see this? 

25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the “dispensation”of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

Paul was given this task according to the “dispensation” of God. It’s what God was doing… at the time. 

Sidebar: Paul is saying here that throughout history, God has dealt with man differently. A dispensation could be referred to as an administration. Many translations use “administration” instead of “dispensation”: 2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, (Ephesians 3:2, New International Version. NIV)

Simply stated, a “dispensation” is what God is doing at the time. Religion erroneously placed an “ism” on it and it now has its own denomination.  (Dispensationalism) 

Technically, you can’t study the Bible correctly and not be a dispensationalist, discerning that God has done different things at different times. It doesn’t need its own denomination, any student of the Bible will see it. 

Salvation has always been by faith. 

Faith in what God was doing at the time!  6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15)

This is God telling Abraham he will be the father of many nations. Abraham knew nothing of a codified law, or grace, in the finished work of Christ! This was a time when God “promised” to those who would believe Him. Poor Abraham was told he would have as many offspring as the stars of the heavens. He didn’t even have a son and his wife was barren!  But he believed God and it was counted for righteousness. 

Abraham knew nothing of Christ!

But he is the father of faith! (Romans 4:11)

God has done different things at different times and we just happen to be in the dispensation of grace. At one time, law was the dispensation, now it’s grace. 

This parenthetical time is the gift of God to an undeserving people, Grace. God so loved…

What God is doing NOW, is what we need to put our faith in. 

We needn’t be an “ist” or “ism” of any kind. However, it is important to rightly divide the word of God in the context of His administration or dispensation. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Rightly dividing God’s word and dispensations are the greatest way to understand God’s message and progressive revelation without contradiction and confusion. 

God did, and we must. 

You cannot use law when God is using grace, it’s like a fish out of water. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. (Galatians 5)

That’s scary! It seems to conflate them, nullifies both. 

Paul is saying here that if you can keep the law, go ahead, you’ll be the first to do it. Law has never justified anybody. It only showed our need for grace. (Galatians 2:16, Roman’s, 3:20)

We are only accountable for what God has given to us in this age. Grace!

Why on earth would you want to place yourself under an administration that God hasn’t placed you in? God is now in the administration of grace. No longer is He using law. He knew we couldn’t do it, but had to show us the impossibility of keeping His perfect standards. He had to show us our need for a savior. 

All is fulfilled in Christ.  Why are you running around exhausted, with your tongue out worrying about your sin?  Christ took it to the cross and chooses not to remember it. Mercy and grace. 

It’s actually as simple as accepting a gift you did nothing for. God so loved…

He will draw everyone to Him, and you will have the choice to receive or reject Him. (John 12:32) 

Greasy or cheap grace?

This phrase was coined by one of the greatest humans to work in the twentieth century, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Religion has twisted it into a works based concept, or maybe Bonhoeffer himself had it wrong. I can’t say.  Grace was never cheap or greasy, it cost Christ everything!  It’s not greasy because you can’t slide out of it. 

The problem is a cheap or greasy view of the law!  Those who understand the law, hold it up as the perfect standard of God that we can’t keep and accept His gift of grace. 

Don’t mistake the fact that grace when accepted by faith will always work. 

This work was prepared for the believer in advance. (Ephesians 2:10)

I like the way Andrew Farley explains it: 

“It is important to note that these good works are not a means to earn or maintain our salvation. Rather, they are a natural outflow of our new identity in Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit within us. We are empowered by God’s grace to live a life that reflects His love and goodness. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that God’s grace not only saves us but also transforms us into vessels for good works. Let us embrace this truth and allow God’s grace to flow through us, impacting the world around us for His glory”.

The problem comes when we become fruit inspectors and judge another’s work. 

Many feel like grace is too easy, (cheap or greasy grace) that they should have to work to get Him, or at least work to to maintain the relationship. That’s religion, man’s attempt at reaching and pleasing God. The problem is, there’s nothing a human can do to satisfy the sin debt of mankind. Perfection is required to cohabitate with Holy God – Jesus Christ is the ONLY propitiation. 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2) Propitiation means to satisfy.

Every attempt at satisfying God failed throughout human history. Every commandment, law and covenant is broken unless all are kept. (James 2:10) 

The old covenants or agreements, that were between God and man, failed, because man never kept up his end. 

The “new” covenant is God making a covenant with Himself, swearing by Himself, so it would never be broken. (Hebrews 6)

God so loved…

God has made a final declaration in Jesus Christ.  1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Hebrews 1)

In Christ, God has said: 

“It is finished“. (John 19:30)

The one and only solution for sin is finished. 

The one and only solution for death is finished. (Life as God knows life- eternal, not temporary)

The solution for death is life. Life swallows up death as light does darkness. 

The word finished, (teleiosis) means to reach a goal. 

The goal since the beginning was to reconcile His beloved mankind (masterpiece) to Himself. 

19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5)

This was the goal since the beginning of the age. 

Imputing sin to mankind is finished. 

So where did the sin go? To death, where Christ left it. Are you trying to revive it? You do, every time “you” attempt to do something about sin.

The great exchange!  Christ traded our sin for His righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

All your sins are gone in Christ. 

(See: sin is gone @ sinner’s pulpit.com)

Do you honestly think God would lose the battle?

The means of redemption, (bought back) and reconciliation (made right) is finished. By faith in His finished work, we have peace with God. 5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. (Romans 5)

“The thousands of lambs and bulls and goats, the innumerable herds of animals slain, were all types of the one great sacrifice, brought on Calvary’s cross. The tabernacle in all its appointments, down to the minutest details, had some meaning in connection with the Person of Christ.” (“Past, present and future work of Christ”. Arno C. Gaebelein)

Bondage is finished. We are no longer slaves to sin. No longer slaves to traditions, holy days, statutes and religious doctrine. (Colossians 2:16) All of the laws, commandments, animal sacrifices and temple practices are complete and fulfilled in Christ. (Colossians 2:16) We are free to focus on Christ. There was a need for them as men were being led to Christ. (Roman’s 7:12) The law shows us our sin, and need for a savior. Law is still the tutor that leads mankind to Christ. (Galatians 3:24) 

His one perfect, unblemished, sacrifice for sin is finished. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10)

Christ is “all” of the law of God culminating in one law, Love.  This is the law of Christ, that you love as Christ loved us. We can’t love like Him unless He is in us, so it’s not our work but Him loving through us. (Lest we boast) Everything that God has for you is summed up in Jesus Christ and His finished work. A gift. 

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Well, we’ve come full circle. 

Every religion since the dawn of man, has attempted to know God, reach God, understand God, please God and claim God. Ironically, God wants the same for you. Religion was man’s way. 

God’s way: 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.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed! (John Newton)

Of the 800,000 words in the Bible, Grace comes down to one Word:

Christ. God so loved. 

If God gave you a gift…won’t you take it?

It’s impossible to stop writing about grace, so we’ll pause for now. 

God Bless,

SINNER’S PULPIt 

“Come in a sinner, leave a saint”