No Condemnation

Romans 8:1 is one of the most comforting scriptures in the Bible. Most Christians believe that we are cleansed from sin and unrighteousness upon salvation, and they are correct. But many seem to be misinformed about the commission of and penalty for sin after the new birth.

If you're like me, you struggle with guilt over mistakes you've made since becoming a Christian. We seem to feel that mistakes made now are somehow different—worse, possible unforgivable. Many Christians of certain denominations believe that to sin is to lose one's salvation altogether, and that one must be born again—again and again and again.

Or we feel that we may be forgiven for sin committed after the New Birth, but God will no longer deliver us from the earthly consequences of that sin because we should've known better.

All of these mistaken beliefs result in guilt, shame, condemnation and fear...which in turn result in a crippled Christian walk. Hmm.....

NOW...No Condemnation
When we read Romans 7, we see that Paul felt the same way...wanting to do the right thing but missing the mark. He even called himself a wretched man!

But the Comforter—the Holy Spirit—must've whispered Romans 8:1 into his ear, because the very next thing he writes is that there is NOW...now, now, now...NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus!

'Therefore there is NOW no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

'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, so 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 8:1-4]

What I love about this passage is that is written to Christians, by one of the chief writers of the New Testament, and it is always in the now. Now is now, not a few minutes ago, but NOW. It's always now, and we're always free from the law of sin and death.

We’re redeemed from the curse of the Law! [Galatians 3:13]

Saints
Paul makes it clear that, while our spirits are reborn, our bodies need to be presented to God as living and holy sacrifices and our minds renewed. [Romans 12:1] He seems to be acutely aware of the struggle between wanting to do what is right and not always following though.

But what I really love is that we are referred to as 'saints' throughout the Word. The Greek word for saint is hagios...a MOST HOLY THING! God sees us as His most holy ones—a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession! [! Peter 2:9]

Titus 2:14 tells us that He gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession!

Freed from condemnation, holy, purified—that's us!

Satan
Of course, the adversary knows these things. He knows we're free, just like he knows we're one Spirit with the Lord and strengthened with all power in our inner man.

He knows that if he can keep us bound with guilt, shame and condemnation he can keep us powerless...which in turn lets him do whatever he wants because there's no one to stop him. He's called the Deceiver for good reason!

Revelations 21:10 calls him the accuser of the brethren—he who accuses them before our God day and night—but says that he has been thrown down! Hallelujah! If God isn't listening to him, neither should we! God didn't give him the time of day...He just threw that lying sack OUT!!

Enjoy your freedom
Only knowing the truth will set us free. There is NOW no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

1 John 1:9 says 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' In our spirit, we've been made the righteousness of God in Christ...but if we screw up in our minds or in our bodies, we confess our sins and are immediately cleansed.

"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins." [Isaiah 43:25]

'As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.' [Psalm 103:12]

Go ahead...enjoy your freedom. Jesus paid dearly for it, once and for all.

Related posts: Requirement Fulfilled!, An Eternal Perspective...God's POV, Be the Ball..., Thoughts on the New Birth

Let The Weak Say...

'...Let the weak SAY, "I am a mighty man." [Joel 3:10]

Because we live on two planes--two universes, if you will, the natural and the spiritual--it can get confusing. We walk in the earth but in the Spirit we are seated IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS [Ephesians 2:6]. We walk in a natural, physical body but we are also the Body of Christ in the earth--the temple of the Holy Spirit. We're in Christ but He's in us--we're one Spirit with the Lord! [1 Corinthians 6:17]

We know that God's Word is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and that His works were finished from the foundation of the world [Hebrews 4:3]. We know that all of the promises of God are YES in Him [2 Corinthians 1:20] and that we are redeemed from the curse of the law [Galatians 3:13].

From the Word, we see that we're healed, rich, protected by angels...that our children are blessed and that we're full of love, joy and faith. We know that we are capable of greater works than Jesus did and that AS HE IS SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD. That we can speak to mountains and storms and donkeys and trees and coins and fish and they will obey us.

But when we look around in the natural, it doesn't always match up to what we know is 1) the will of God and 2) an already accomplished fact. Where's the disconnect?

Fear—The Deadly Enemy

I've been re-reading some of the posts on this blog...there's some great stuff here, full of hope and faith.

What stops the wonderful intention of God to bless us in our lives?

I think doubt and unbelief are probably at the root of the problem. Remember, Jesus almost always said to the people He delivered, "Your faith has made you well" or "Be it done to you according to your faith."

But when you take a good look at what's behind doubt and unbelief, you almost always find fear.

And fear is the real problem.

Righteousness
Isaiah 54:14 tells us "In righteousness you will be established; you will be FAR FROM OPPRESSION, for you WILL NOT FEAR; and from TERROR, for it WILL NOT COME NEAR YOU."

We know, from many New Testament scriptures, that we've been made the righteousness of God in Christ and that we were created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. We're call saints, which in the Greek means most holy ones. And we're one Spirit with the Lord.

According to God [and He's the only one that matters] we are righteous. Even Abraham, that scoundrel, was considered righteous because of his faith in God!

We may not feel righteous because, in the flesh, we're not perfect. Maybe we've just finished screaming at the kids or kicking the cat. Maybe we've just listened to a sermon that has told us what sinners we are.

But in the Spirit, we've been perfected in love! One Spirit with the Lord—crucified with Him, buried in baptism, raised up and seated together with Him in heavenly places! [Ephesians 2, Galatians 2, Colossians 2]

Hallelujah!

So we see that our righteousness is not the problem. Jesus became righteousness to us! [1 Corinthians 1:30]

Oppression
Yet many of us feel oppressed and defeated—joyless, trapped, alone.

Back to Isaiah 54. "...you will be FAR FROM OPPRESSION, for you WILL NOT FEAR; and from TERROR, for it WILL NOT COME NEAR YOU."

Oppression comes from fear! Fear, which we know from Job 4 and 2 Timothy 1, is a spirit. This is a Bible fact, not conjecture from a small group of wackos! [Read Fear]

Now, the interesting thing about this verse is the phrase '...for YOU WILL NOT FEAR...' If you recall, another thing Jesus almost always said to those He was about to deliver was "Fear not."

It seems, from the verse in Isaiah 54 and from Jesus' own ministry that 1) our fear—our response to the spirit of fear—is optional, our choice; and 2) both fear and faith have a direct outcome on whether or not we receive our requests.

So if you're feeling oppressed, you're probably in fear about something. That fear is the root of doubt, which turns quickly into unbelief. And since faith is how we access the blessings that God has already provided, this is a real problem.

Love
The Holy Spirit, writing through John, has some interesting things to say about the connection between love and fear.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. [1 John 4:15-18]

Okay, so let's put it all together. Fear is a spirit as well as an internal response to that spirit, and it brings oppression. I John 4:18 says it involves punishment.

Fear, like faith, is an attractive force—Job said "For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me." [Job 3:25] And we all know what happened to him!

That's why fear brings oppression—it attracts that which is feared!

According to Jesus, fear is a choice. According to Jesus speaking through John, fear is cast out by perfect love. And love is perfected in us if we abide in God and He abides in us!

Deceiver
So where's the problem? In our spirits, we are One with Him, seated in Him in heavenly places, with authority over all the power of the enemy. Love is perfected in our reborn spirits and we have the power not to fear.

The problem is deception. Christians, for the most part, reject any part the imagination plays in our lives. We point to New Agers and say because they believe in the power of imagination, it must be wrong.

But they got it from us! I've already written lots on that topic...suffice it to say that we use it every day and it is a powerful component of faith. Satan knows this—he also knows that he has no power over us. So he uses our own power against us.

How? By deceiving us. By showing us pictures of bad stuff happening, by whispering in our ears and telling us it's not going to work for us this time. [Job 4:12]

Agreement
The concept of agreement is an important one in the Bible. Adam agreed with Satan instead of God and fell. The people agreed to build the tower at Babel and God said "...now nothing they purpose to do will be impossible for them."

God said that! Nothing will be impossible to those who purpose and speak in agreement! And He was talking about mere men, not those reborn of His Spirit!

Jesus said if two agree about anything it would be done for them by His Father!

Faith is agreeing with God. Agreeing that His Word is true and settled forever...already accomplished. Faith believes that what God says is finished, settled, true and available for us in the earth.

Ditto for fear, but in reverse. Fear believes that the deceptions and lies of the enemy are truer than God's word, a kind of inevitable reality. Fear is faith in evil—faith in being abandoned or neglected by God, faith that His Word isn't for us today, faith in the lie that He sends sickness and poverty to teach us something. Fear is faith in His being a capricious tyrant...good to some and awful to others. Whatever will be will be, God is sovereign.

Yikes.

Yes, God is sovereign, and what He decided to do with His sovereignty is to give us the power to reign in life through the One Christ Jesus! He gave us the power to talk to mountains and trees and storms and fish...to heal sick bodies and raise the dead!

He's sovereign, that's true... and His plan is for us is to be His Body in the earth, to be kings and priests and to reign on the earth! [Revelations 5:10]

Agreement is key to walking by faith and defeating fear. Agree with God, even if it's not what you learned in Sunday School, even if your pastor and church friends think you're blaspheming. Agree with Him in your imagination—see yourself blessed, healed, rich, joyful and protected by angels. See the angels ministering to you like they did to Jesus because you are an heir of salvation! [Hebrews 1:13,14; Matthew 4:11]

Agree with His forever settled word in your heart and in your mouth and enter into His rest. Then and only then can you 'fear not' and be far from oppression

Related post: Fear, What Are The Giants Saying To You

The Power of Purpose...Again!

[Originally published May 1, 2009—I've already re-posted it once, but every time I re-read it, it impacts me. So, here it is again!]

Proverbs 13:12 says ‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick…’ I was praying, feeling very heart sick, because while I know the hope of the gospel, I was not seeing the results I had hoped for in the natural realm.

And I heard “You must take hold of the hope set before you. Look at the unseen—you have seen the truth that, in the Spirit, all things belong to you, richly to enjoy. You have seen the truth that, in the Spirit, all of My promises are yes in Him. And I have showed you the truth about the unseen realm from My word…Hagar’s well, Isaac’s ram, Elisha’s army…you have heard that My angel encamps around those who fear or revere Me. My word is true and established forever in the Spirit. You must take hold of spiritual reality to bring the unseen into manifestation.”

I asked “How do I do that, Lord?”

He replied “You purpose in your heart to take hold of the blessings that belong to you. You purpose in your heart to see the unseen, to walk in My blessing, to walk in the fullness of My Spirit.”

In Jeremiah 4:28, God says “…because I have spoken, I have purposed…” We know that our words are important in creating our reality from both New and Old Testament truths. But we may be missing the element of intent, or purpose, when we speak.

Easy Does It

I wrote this several years ago...still good today!

One thing the world and the church agree on…life is hard, and it’s supposed to be hard.

Our first clue that something may be amiss is that the world agrees with us—that in and of itself should throw up all sorts of warning signals. Any assumptions commonly held by unregenerate man are usually wrong, and this is no different.

Jeremiah 32:27 says “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” This is the same statement God made to Abraham regarding Sarah’s ability to conceive and bear a child at her advanced age [Genesis 18:14].

Similar statements in the New Testament confirm this:

"All things are possible to him who believes…" [Mark 9:23]

"...for all things are possible with God." [Mark 9:23]

"...nothing will impossible to you" [Matthew 17:20]

"For nothing will be impossible with God." [Luke 1:37]

Believes what? That all things are possible—nothing is impossible! All things, nothing—these are absolute words, promises without restriction. And they belong to us…they are the easy way!

What we need is a paradigm shift...to start seeing things the way God sees them and not through these natural eyes!

Our God Reigns

Our God reigns...and I've got news for you. He's reigning on the earth through the Body of Christ.

The only problem with that is that the Body of Christ isn't doing anything. Oh, yeah, we're sending missionaries to Africa and China, and wringing our hands when they're murdered or defeated.

We organize prayer rallies on the steps of Congress and bemoan the direction our country is going in; we wave protest signs at abortion clinics.

But we don't really reign anywhere because we don't believe that God is reigning through us, that reigning in life is our job, not just a great blessing if we can somehow manage to figure out how to do it!

We're so busy repenting and navel gazing and arguing that we're supposed to be poor, sick, etc for Jesus that we miss the whole point!

Victory? Never heard of it... Conquering? Reigning in life? Ruling upon the earth? Administering the kingdom? No--that's God's job. We're too humble, poor souls trudging through this mortal life, until that glorious day. God is in control, whatever will be will be...

Yikes!!!

Bound

A Dream [06/13/2010]
I was standing with Jesus when several large angels came in, carry a chain-bound satan between them. They threw him on the ground, and Jesus said to him "Give it to her."

Without looking at me, satan handed up a check for a portion of the sevenfold penalty for everything stolen from me. [Proverbs 6:31]

Jesus turned and said to me, "I already had authority over him. I came so that you would have authority over him."

I walked over and put my foot on his head.

Then, in a commanding tone, He said to satan "Go get the rest."

Unfortunately, I was awakened by noisy family members, yucking it up outside my door! Blast!

Proclaim!

It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to DECLARE Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night...' [Psalm 92:1,2]

Sing to the LORD, bless His name; PROCLAIM good tidings of His salvation from day to day. [Psalm 96:2]

On this blog, we've talked a lot about the power of the spoken word, both God's words and our own.

We've examined how important our words are in the earth, and even more so...how God's Word is settled forever and runs very swiftly in the earth. We also see that He watches over His word to perform it!

Wisdom Confessions

I have an anointing from the Holy One and I know all things. [1 John 2:20,27]

I understand all things, because I've sought the Lord. [Proverbs 28:5]

My mouth will speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will be understanding. [Psalm 49:3]

The Lord gives me wisdom; from His mouth com knowledge and understanding. [Proverbs 2:6]

I say to Wisdom "You are my sister," and I call understanding my intimate friend. [Proverbs 7:4]

I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ and my mouth flows with wisdom. [2 Corinthians 5:21; Proverbs 10:31]

The Spirit of Truth guides me into all the truth--He discloses to me what is to come. [John 16:13]

I am One Spirit with the Lord and I have the Mind of Christ. [1 Corinthians 6:17; 1 Corinthians 2:16]

Jesus became to me wisdom from God... [1 Corinthians 1:30]

I am filled with all knowledge...in everything I am enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge. [Romans 15:14]

I manifest the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. [2 Corinthians 2:14]

God has shone the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ into my heart. [2 Corinthians 4:6]

I have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. [Ephesians 1:17]

In Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge...I'm in Him and He's in me! [Colossians 2:3]

Grace and peace are MULTIPLIED to me in the knowledge of God and of Jesus my Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to me everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him Who called me by His own Glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to me His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them I may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. [2 Peter 1:2-4]

Requirement Fulfilled!

The requirement of the Law is fulfilled in Jesus...if you belong to Him, you have been redeemed from the curse of the Law.

'Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

'For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

'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, so 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 8:1-4]

'For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM.

Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "THE RIGHTEOUSMAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."

However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE "--in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. [Galatians 3:10-14,29]

The requirement has been fulfilled, eternally, for all who receive it...in fact, Romans 5:18 says that one act of righteousness resulted in the justification of life to ALL men! Hallelujah!