Month: May 2015

Walk Worthy, part 2 (cheap grace?)!

/ grace country pastor / Leave a comment

1 Thessalonians 2:12… “That ye would WALK WORTHY of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory.”

I hear with relative frequency among the religious brethren, a term of degradation to grace teaching, such as what I write; that term is “cheap grace” and/or “easy believism”.  As if the grace teacher/believer somehow holds the grace of God in low or “cheap” esteem, using it as an excuse to sin willfully.  (As if a naturally sinful man requires an excuse to sin.)  While I cannot speak for all grace teachers/believers, I will certainly speak for myself.  Therefore, forgive me a short rant against the legalist preachers and believers who makes such claim; as Paul instructs our “worthy walk” to the absolute contrary of the concept of “cheap grace”:

Titus 2:7-8… “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part MAY be ashamed having no evil thing to say of you.”

Those legalist preachers and believers who deny the power of the grace of God to change a man from within (and apply liberally the bondage of the law externally to the supposed “glory” of the flesh) are instant to point out that the grace doctrine we teach “condones sin” in the believer, and is therefore “inferior” to the “higher standards” to which they hold themselves (and so become “superior” to the grace believer – ain’t religion grand!).  By the above verse it seems nothing could be further from true, and to those who do make such claim, shame WILL be involved.  I sharpen my focus toward the preacher and away from the believer because the believer is trusting what the preacher says.  Let’s put a fine point on that:

Romans 6:15… “What then?  Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?  God forbid.”

Sorry legalist preacher, read what Paul says.  You keep your “flock” under the bondage of the law whether you say you do or not.  I know why as well and so does the Lord.  Instructing the congregants that they must behave in certain ways to achieve God’s “blessing” is robbing them of the knowledge of all God in Christ has done on their behalf.  Grace indeed frees ultimately the individual to realize the infinite goodness and forgiveness of God “in himself” AND “toward others”.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15… “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

It is the love of Christ which constrains the believer, not the bondage of the law.  It is the internal awareness of what Christ has done for the believer that motivates the man to even “no longer live for himself” but unto Him which died on his behalf and rose again.  It is Christ that died (not the man) to destroy forever sin (and thus death itself) in the believer.

Romans 6:6… “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

Those who are dead to sin by being judicially crucified with Christ through belief (all truly saved men) ARE dead to sin.  Sin is NO LONGER an issue for that man.  His flesh, no matter how “refined”, can in no way make him any “better”.  His flesh IS sinful but Christ took sin completely away.  What happens to the believer who places himself once again under the Law to attempt to “control” sin in himself?

Galatians 1:18… “For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.”

That believer is attempting to revive in himself that sin essence (guilt) attached to the flesh which Christ died to destroy.  By the Law shall NO flesh be justified as by the Law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).  The Law demonstrates that we are sinful and causes the guilt that drives us to our knees in search of the Savior.  This is the purpose of God giving the Law in the first place.  Saving grace teaches that we are to reckon ourselves completely DEAD indeed UNTO sin, as that is what our Savior accomplished on the cross.  How then does placing the believer again under the Law help with such reckoning?  It does exactly the opposite.  It makes us once again a transgressor and renders the grace of God to no effect!

Galatians 5:4… “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

Romans 11:6…”And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.  But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Grace stands alone as the sovereign, precious and sacred gift of God to man.  As men saved by grace, we no longer live unto ourselves as we were bought with the most valuable price in creation, the atoning death of the Creator Himself.

1 Corinthians 6:20… “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods.”

Do these grace verses “condone” sin, preacher?  God forbid.  Does the religious bondage you preach help those under your trust learn what God has done on their behalf?  In no way, shape or form… it does just the opposite.  It causes the revival of the sin and guilt Christ died to forgive and whom we were crucified with.

Galatians 2:20-21… “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

We are to glorify God in our body and spirit (which ARE Gods) and in our daily conduct, as we are His ambassadors in this fallen satanic world; and it is the FULL ASSURANCE of GRACE and FORGIVENESS of ALL SIN which motivates and empowers that man to do the same.  The religious preacher/believer who denies Gods ULTIMATE grace, ultimately denies Gods ultimate sacrifice, and thereby demonstrates his own fundamental ignorance of all God has indeed done for man.  Such a one WILL BE ashamed at the judgement seat of Christ and is HIGHLY encouraged to study Gods Word to shew himself approved; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed RIGHTLY DIVIDING the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

That was necessary and refreshing at the same time; as I despise legalism in all its forms… thank you for your indulgence.  Onward…

Now we understand the “why” of the worthy walk (we have been given a responsibility – see part 1), “how” then is the saved man to walk in this world?

2 Cor 4:1-2… “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

First of all, we do not quit (faint).  Come what may (and plenty may well come from religious men against the man of God teaching free grace, right preacher?) we continue to speak with those we have opportunity to speak with; the word of reconciliation which is the gospel of our salvation, the simple gospel of Christ as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.  That is the ambassadors ultimate message.  The ambassador should know his song well before he starts singing.  He should sing with the attitude of Christ in Paul.  We don’t quit because we don’t see results (God gives the increase – 1 Corinthians 3:6-7); we don’t quit because this is what God would have us do; come what may.  We are to be faithful to that which we have received, as this is not done for our own increase in any way, this is for the One who made us who and what we are in Christ; God Himself.

We renounce the hidden things of dishonesty (the legalistic bondage of religion) and handle the Word of God as He would have us handle it.  Honestly, rightly divided between what is for “Israel and the Gentile nations” and what is for “the body of Christ” which is neither Jew nor Gentile.  We DO NOT compromise the simple TRUTH of the gospel of Christ.  We present the truth as simply as we are able under whatever circumstances we find ourselves.  We manifest the truth of Gods final revelations to man as given to the Apostle Paul.  We live in today’s world, this dispensation of free grace, and honor those responses from man which God now honors… simple belief and trust in the atoning death of His Son.

We preach truth, establishing, instructing and edifying others that they can go and do the same, as Paul instructed his son in Christ, Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:2… “And the things thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

This is how the message of grace has propagated itself throughout human history since God saved the Apostle Paul.  From faithful man to faithful man.  The relative few honest grace teachers among us in comparison to teachers of religion, is a sad testimony to the number of men faithful to the message of free grace in the world.  It is little wonder the church finds itself in the fractured condition it is in.  Paul was witness to this falling away in his own day:

2 Timothy 1:15… “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.”

But Paul was NOT ashamed however and never compromised the message of absolute grace that God gave him to demonstrate to the world at large and committed to Holy Scripture in 13 epistles after the death of His Son.

Romans 12:1-3… “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may PROVE what is that GOOD, and ACCEPTABLE, and perfect, will of God.  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

“Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” this is only accomplished through learning, study.

Let us look one more time what is that “GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and perfect will of God” for mankind that we may PROVE in this dispensation of grace…

1 Timothy 2:3-4… “For THIS is GOOD and ACCEPTABLE in the sight of God our Saviour; who WILL have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Our “reasonable service” then, our daily and “normal” walk as ambassadors for Christ is (as much as is in our control – Romans 1:15) to be NOT conformed to this world, the inevitable course it is on; not to think very highly of ourselves but to think soberly (logically, clearly) to the extant to which we have learned of Gods grace toward us through study; it is to testify the gospel of Christ to those with whom we come into contact.  As Paul says:

Ephesians 3:9… “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”

It is NOT the gospel which was NOT hid; the gospel of the circumcision – Galatians 2:7.  It is NOT the gospel of the Kingdom prophesied, spoken of, since the beginning of the world.  It is the gospel committed unto Paul and Paul alone by the risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ.  The hidden, secret gospel of the free grace of God through Jesus Christ, NOW made manifest to ALL men in the completed canon of scripture.

Galatians 1:11-12… “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Romans 1:16… “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

To sum this post up as best as I currently can, examine carefully and internalize to yourself these last two verses.

2 Timothy 4:5… “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

Afflictions will come.  Endure… knowing what has been accomplished on our behalf.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10… “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”

Afflictions will come.  Nevertheless…

1 Corinthians 15:58… “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

If we labor correctly the gospel committed unto Paul, our labor CANNOT be in vain.  Since it is for His sake we labor and not our own, we can endure all things this fallen world can throw at us.

2 Timothy 4:3-4… “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

This is the condition of the world today.  Yet Paul, knowing full well what God in Christ had accomplished on his behalf, soldiered on, as should we.

Acts 20:24… “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”

How did Paul have such joy in all this affliction?  Why was he such a faithful soldier?  There was a reward waiting for him.

Next post: “Walk Worthy, part 3 (Rewarded)!“

Walk Worthy!

/ grace country pastor / 2 Comments

Ephesians 4:1-3… “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye WALK WORTHY of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

“Vocation?  Isn’t that like a job of some sort?”

Colossians 1:10… “That ye might WALK WORTHY of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

“Work?  I thought grace was not about works…!”

Ephesians 2:8-9… “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.”

“See, I told you… no works!”

Wait for it… we all love Ephesians 2:8-9; but verse 10 does follow.

Ephesians 2:10… “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus UNTO good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Why should we, under free grace, walk worthy?

The saved man is created in Christ Jesus UNTO good works.  That’s why.  Works can have absolutely nothing to do with our salvation as Christ is all sufficient toward that end, but we were saved (created in Christ) in order to perform a function; work.  If this is not the case, why did God save us and NOT bring us directly into His world?  What are we still doing here?  Being “in Christ” we are judicially perfected and seated with Him in heavenly places, right now.  Why not simply make it physically so as well?  The reason is, that God has a purpose for all saved men.  We learned in the last post that Gods simple will for all men is for them to be saved and to then come unto the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:3-4).

Allow me to ask: How is that to happen when Christ is not personally, physically present in the world and God has declared a period of grace and peace; whereby He is not imputing men’s trespasses unto them, and therefore, has left us all to our own mostly wicked devices?  Sure, He has left us with His completed Word, but how are people supposed to become aware of what it says?  True, people have the free will to either explore the Bibles pages or to ignore them.  Everyday experience shows however, that the vast majority are way too preoccupied with worldly things to bother.  satan loves that, satan encourages such preoccupation tirelessly.  Therefore God asks His own, those saved (and at least somewhat learned) in the dispensation of free grace, those who ARE His body in the world, to occupy a certain position while He is away.  Let’s examine:

2 Corinthians 5:18-21… “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

The saved man, reconciled to God in Christ, has been given something (all things in fact – Romans 8:17) by God, to whom ARE all things.  He has given us specifically a ministry, which is defined as “the office, duties or functions of a subordinate agent of any kind” according to Websters 1828.  This ministry is one of reconciliation which Websters defines as: “the means by which sinners are brought into a state of favor with God after natural estrangement or enmity; the atonement.”  That (since God has, in this dispensation of Grace, reconciled the sinful, fallen world back to Himself) we, as men in recognition of our sinful state and reconciled back toward God, now have OWNERSHIP of this ministry of God toward the world.

We have ownership of this ministry IN Christ’s STEAD (“instead” of Christ Himself) since He is not currently in the world.  Christ is not in the world today as much of the world awaits His second coming.  He has left us here to make the world aware of what God in Christ has done on its behalf, in His place.  These verses call those He has saved and left on earth “ambassadors”.  Webster defines an ambassador as: “a minister of the highest rank employed by one prince or state, at the court of another, to manage the public concerns of his own prince or state, and representing the power and dignity of his sovereign.”

The cross-work of Christ then, as commissioned by God, has made us ambassadors of God the Father, that, in Christ’s stead, we are to beseech those around us to be reconciled to God as He has reconciled Himself in Christ to all men.

Note carefully and make no mistake here: just because God has reconciled Himself to mankind, does not mean mankind has in turn reconciled itself back to God.  Mankind is an extremely stubborn creature and reconciliation is a two way street.   See “Simple Salvation” to learn how a man is reconciled back to God.  God in grace has CHOSEN to reconcile Himself back to mankind.  An opening (a way back to God who forsook all men at the tower of Babel – Romans 1:18-32) has been made for mankind.  Mankind must now CHOOSE to reconcile itself (each man individually) back to God.  The death, burial and resurrection of Christ is the pathway to reconciliation.

When the saved man attempts to fulfill his vocation and help to reconcile an unsaved man back to God, presenting to him the gospel of his salvation; it is as if God Himself in that ambassador is speaking to that man (as long as that ambassador is functioning properly with the proper gospel message – the word of reconciliation and NOT another gospel – 2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6-7).  Comprehend fully these words: “As though God (God Himself) did beseech you by us…” to be reconciled back to Him through His Son Jesus Christ.  God today speaks through the body of Christ… saved man, to unsaved men.  Wow!

See how Paul regarded this calling upon his own life:

Acts 20:24… “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”

This ministry of the grace of God was to Paul more dear than his own life.  I ask you in all candor… could there be a higher calling for a man then to represent his Sovereign Creator in this foreign world?  How then ought a man in such a position to walk or conduct himself daily in this foreign land, this world without Christ?  Paul provides counsel:

Titus 2:11-14… “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

Clearly we are to daily conduct ourselves in a manor pleasing to the one who sent us; denying ungodliness and our worldly lusts, which are far too numerous in this sinful flesh to mention.  This is difficult as the flesh is naturally sinful.  It is the full understanding of what Christ has done for us working inside us; the absolute grace and mercy we have been shown, that, as we reckon (internalize) this knowledge unto our selves, we will eventually be enabled to, more and more, put our sinful carnal desires aside.  They will mean less and less as we learn more and more (through Bible study) what Christ has done on our behalf.

We are to look forward with anticipation to the glorious appearing of the Lord that we might be caught up together with Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17) and perfected physically; but until then, His desire is that we are to remain here and be a “peculiar people” zealous of the good works He ascribes to us.

I’d like to end this first part of “Walk Worthy” with this, Paul’s prayer (Gods desire) for all saved men:

Colossians 1:9-17… “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might WALK WORTHY of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

Ephesians 1:17-23… “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”

What more is there to say on this prayer for the believer that the Holy Spirit in Paul did not say?

Next post: “Walk Worthy, part 2 (cheap grace?)!“

A new creature, part 3.

/ grace country pastor / 2 Comments

Philippians 3:13-14… “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Forgetting those things which are behind…

2 Corinthians 5:17… “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

…as old things are passed away…

Romans 6:11… “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

…we are dead indeed unto sin and made alive unto God through the atoning work of Christ Jesus…! Amen and AMEN!!!

1 Corinthians 15:1-4… “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

Believe this, and you are a new creature, whether you feel like one or not.  It seems too good to be possible, it seems to easy to be true.  Believing the gospel for today, the gospel of Christ and Christ alone, is all God asks of mankind to make of him a new creature and to bestow upon him the fullness of the riches of His own Glory.  How is it even remotely possible that men everywhere fight tooth and nail against this very thing?  But I digress…

Since we have been made anew in Gods sight, we must then begin the effort to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto the sin nature which once had control over us.  This is easier said than done as the “flesh” will constantly remind the believer of sin’s existence in the believers physical body.  This takes time, patience with oneself, and learning.  The saved man is now essentially 2 beings in one… an “old man” and a new creature; and that old man does not give up his influence in the believers life.

Romans 6:6… “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

Ephesians 4:22… “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;”

Notice that Paul says to “put off” the old man… this is essential to the “reckoning” process taking place in the believers mind, body and soul.  It is with mental, physical and spiritual effort on the believers part that the old man is put off.

But how is this done?

Colossians 3:9-10… “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him:”

The new man is “reckoned” (internalized in the believer) with the internalization of the knowledge of all that Christ has done for him.  Without this “reckoning” the old man will never be put off to any degree in the believers life; and the believers “walk” will suffer for it.  The “new man” is put on as the believer studies Gods Word and learns more and more of what was accomplished at the cross on his behalf.  Paul himself prays for the believer…

Colossians 1:9… “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;”

Ephesians 1:17… “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: ”

…and compels the believer to study Gods Word.

2 Timothy 2:15… “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

As we become more and more “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” through the study of Gods Word rightly divided, we will be more and more apt to be able to forget those things which are behind, and thus more able to move forward in the knowledge of Him; no longer serving our carnal sin nature which has been crucified with Christ in Gods sight.  Paul provides great insight into this internal struggle and process.

Romans 7:18-19… “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”

The frustration Paul feels is palpable.  He knows that he is physically a sinner, as the will to “do good and not evil” is now in him; yet he admits that the good he wants do do is foiled by the corrupt flesh he still exists in, with evil the inevitable result.  Look at the next verse however…

Romans 7:20… “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”

It is the internalized realization, through the cross-work of Christ, that it is NOT “Paul the new spiritually awakened/quickened man” (Paul the new creature) which performs the evil act, it is his old inescapable sin nature which does. Two beings in one…

Romans 7:22-23… “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

While we exist in these “old” sinful bodies, sin is inescapable; we are captive to it, it is the result of Gods curse on creation itself.  The old man can’t not sin.  Yet, again and again in scripture Paul shows us that we are dead to sins effects upon us as we are crucified with Christ and baptized into His death; who took sin upon Himself that the sin issue between man and God would be put away for ever.  The new man created by Christ’s efforts.

2 Corinthians 5:21… “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Romans 6:3… “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?”  NOTE” this is NOT water baptism but the Holy Spirit baptizing us spiritually into the church which is His body (Ephesians 4:4-5).

Galatians 2:20… “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”

What Paul is exhorting us to remember is that we are dead indeed unto sin as God has forgiven us ALL trespasses.  That we are to live by the faith OF the Son of God (the very SON of GODS FAITH and NOT our own meager faithfulness to Him).  Such a critical difference.  We have the faith OF Christ, God’s own faith, on our side and within us!

Colossians 1:27…” To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

Again, it is NOT US which can accomplish any of this, it is Christ IN US which can.  As Christ paid the WHOLE penalty, He takes the WHOLE burden.  ALL OF IT!!!  AMEN!

Let us consider extremely carefully these next extraordinarily important verses…

Colossians 2:13… “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses;”

Forgiven ALL trespasses.  (Why in the world pray; “forgive us our trespasses” when He has already?)

2 Corinthians 5:19… “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

NOT imputing trespasses unto them.

The new man, made in the image of Christ, while existing in the sinful physical body it exists in, is completely and totally 100% immune from sins effect on his “present” AND on his “eternity”.  That man is completely, totally and 100% forgiven of ALL his trespasses; past, present and future.  Now THAT is freedom my friends.  NOT what is written on some bill of rights somewhere…

The fundamental key to remember is this: we have been given ultimate forgiveness that we may “forget those things which are behind and to reach forth unto those things which are before and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ!” Reckon this within yourself and you are on your way to realizing practically and spiritually what God has done and is doing in the world today.

We must remember forgiveness in Christ always, to keep it always at the forefront of our minds (WE ARE FORGIVEN ALL TRESPASSES) that we may forget our sinful past (no matter how miserable), that we may deal effectively with our present condition (no matter that conditions condition), and reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin; that we may move forward here on earth in that knowledge; that we may be effective ambassadors for Him (come what may).

2 Corinthians 5:20… “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

(satan does not want people to know this.)

What an exalted state the true Christian actually exists in.  How sad so few truly understand.  This is what God would have us know after coming to salvation in Christ Jesus.  All professing Christians wonder what the “will of God” is for their lives.  What is the simple will of God for all men?

1 Timothy 2:3-4… “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Salvation first; knowledge of what salvation accomplished (total forgiveness and so much more), second.

With these taken care of… God would have us to walk worthy of this exalted position the saved man finds himself in.

(It is here we begin to pose a direct threat to satan’s plan of evil in the world.  To hell with satan I say.)

Next Post: “Walk Worthy!“

A new creature, part 2.

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This new creature we have been made in Christ was a complete and total mystery, an unknown entity, until the Apostle Paul.  Up until Paul, and through the first half of Paul’s ministry, God was dealing with mankind in terms of the separation between Jew and Gentile.

Deuteronomy 7:6… “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”

After the nation Israel failed to come to terms with their Redeemer, God set them aside.

Acts 28:28… “Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”

Paul went to both the Jew and to the Gentile/Greek (non-Jew) with the gospel of Christ and, I believe, this is where the confusion begins as to whether or not Peter and Paul preached the same gospel message, which we have demonstrated they could not have been.

Romans 1:16… “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

If the Kingdom gospel was for the nation Israel (as is clear) why did Paul go to them (first even) with the new “gospel of Christ” (free grace/zero works) that the risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ gave to him specifically for the Gentiles?

Romans 11:13… “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:”

Let’s take a look back in Matthew 12 to get an idea.  Most professing Christians have heard of the “unpardonable sin”.  What was it exactly?

Matthew 12:31-32… “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.”

The one thing that was unpardonable to the nation Israel then was blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.  Commit this sin and you were not going into “thy Kingdom come”.  Israel rejected and thus blasphemed God the Father by way of their rejecting the prophets He sent specifically to the nation.  This was forgivable.  They rejected and ultimately blasphemed His Son in Christ at the cross.  This too was forgivable.  They rejected and thus blasphemed the Holy Ghost during and after Pentecost as only a relative few heeded the message of repentance Peter preached in Acts 2 and 3.  Paul himself as well was a blasphemer…

1 Timothy 1:13… “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”

This was unforgivable.  Few in the nation Israel then could have hoped to attain everlasting life in the Kingdom as only a few successfully recognized their prophesied Messiah when He arrived among them.  Only relative few were baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Paul did not recognize his Messiah.  God was justified to sent His wrath upon the world right then and there at the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7.

Long before this time, at the tower of Babel in Genesis 11, the “Gentile” nations (those nations Abram was called out of) were concluded in unbelief.  Now His nation Israel had come to their “third strike” if you will and rejected the giving of God’s Holy Spirit, the new covenant, that the Law would be written in their hearts (Jer 31:31, Heb 8), that they would be able to walk worthy of their calling.  In short… Israel (and the rest of the world) was up a creek without a paddle, all concluded in unbelief.

Romans 11:32… “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all.”

Since these could not have been saved into the Kingdom program, God, in infinite and longsuffering mercy; NOT YET wanting to pour His Just Wrath out upon the world, saved the Apostle Paul, giving not only His nation Israel but the whole world a new possibility at salvation.  Something the world had never before seen nor experienced.  Absolutely free grace with zero effort required or accepted.

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

Mankind’s very essence is to boast in what he has done.  We ARE prideful creatures by nature.  God will have none of it.  I heard brother Steve Atwood say just the other day that if salvation required the wiggling of our little finger just slightly, we would boast in eternity just how amazingly well we wiggled our little fingers… and he is right.  It is only the Divine Activity of God Himself could save such prideful creatures as we; humbling us in the process.

This zero effort/free grace dispensation produces the heretofore unprophesied new creature and offers all men, Jew or Gentile, salvation completely apart from inherent “Jew-ness” or “Gentile-ness”.  The new creature is neither Jew nor Gentile and, as a matter of fact, neither male or female!

Galatians 3:28… “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

What once were Jews and Gentiles are now NEITHER as God is not recognizing His chosen nation Israel at this moment in time.  They are NO LONGER His people in this dispensation.

Romans 9:25-26… “As he saith also in Osee (Hosea 1:9-10), I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.  And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.”

God NOW recognizes the new creature and the new creature alone.  But in this, for the past 2,000 years, He is giving (Israel and the Gentiles) ALL MEN EQUALLY yet another chance at redemption before His just wrath is poured out on a most deserving world.

The new creature is an individual man saved by the gospel of grace (he becomes a new creature) AND it is a body of believers as well.

It is in the epistles of Paul alone that we find mention of “the church – the body of Christ”, of which Christ is the Head.  While there are many “churches” mentioned in the Bible, they are not all the same church.  The Jerusalem church was in the Temple Beautiful (Acts 3)… the wandering Jews belonged to the “church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38), for example.  Men were first called “Christians” at the church in Antioch (Acts 11:26) which was NOT a temple.  This church, the body of Christ (an assembly of believers, a church is not a building) is made up of ALL believers saved by the gospel of Christ in this dispensation of free grace.  It expresses itself in local areas via individual “churches” of which Grace Country Bible Church is but one.

The church – the body of Christ is made up of NEITHER Jew nor Greek, male nor female…  No man today is lifted up above another man for any reason whatsoever, as God has concluded ALL men equally in unbelief.  The above verse in Deuteronomy (7:6) has been made temporarily void by the verses in Hosea (1:9-10).

1 Corinthians 12:13… “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

The reason saints in time past (Jews AND the Gentiles who blessed them) could NOT acknowledge the “unsearchable” riches of Christ, is because these riches were not prophesied in scripture.  One could not search the scriptures in time past to find out about what God is doing today because God kept it secret. Paul writes:

Romans 11:33… “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past finding out!”

Ephesians 3:8… “Unto me, who am less than the least of all the saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”

While Christ’s birth, death and resurrection WAS prophesied, the fullness of the riches of His death, burial and resurrection was completely unknown.  A Jew and a Gentile in time past could indeed search the scriptures to learn what they had to do to be saved: the Jew was to believe on Christ his prophesied Messiah risen from the dead, and the Gentile was to somehow bless the Jew (Gen 12:3, Mat 25:31-46… notice carefully these did not understand how they made it into the Kingdom!).

The unprophesied new creature (NOT Jew and NOT Gentile) has only to believe that Christ died for his sin nature and rose again for his justification, and eternal salvation is his!  The only place in scripture a man can learn this, is in the epistles of Paul.  The new creature (believers today) was therefore hidden in God since the foundation of the world and a part of the mystery given unto the apostle Paul alone (therefore Peter could NOT have spoken of it), and of which Paul was the first.

1 Timothy 1:16… “Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me FIRST Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.”

What believers are today therefore, is not only NOT found in what is called the Old Testament section of the Bible, we are NOT found in Matthew, Mark, Luke John or the first half of Acts, as these are all books of the Law or the “old testament”.  Nor is this new creature, the church the body of Christ found in the Hebrew epistles of Peter, James and John, as God is once again dealing with the Jew and the Gentile in these “New Testament” books.  Where we see the distinction existing between Jew and Gentile we do not see the unprophesied new creature.

Right division therefore, is NOT dividing between the old and new testament sections of the Bible, it is NOT dividing between Christ and not Christ, IT IS dividing between that which God kept secret versus what God prophesied throughout time.  It is dividing between Israel and their relationship to the Gentile nations, and the NOT Jew / NOT Gentile “body of Christ” being formed today to eventually take up residence in the heavenly places with God.

Where we see, even in Paul’s epistles, the distinction between Jew and Gentile, we must “rightly divide”.  Romans chapters 9, 10 and 11 are NOT about the church the body of Christ.  These are about the condition of Israel today, and their dealings with the Gentiles in time past, and in the ages to come, when God will once again be dealing with the Jew and the Gentile.

I have one last issue to tackle with the new creature in the next post: “The new creature, part 3.“