Category: justification

Sins That Are Past?

Thursday, July 5, 2012

“[Jesus Christ] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” (Romans 3:25 KJV).

Does today’s Scripture teach that we are only forgiven of our past sins?

Some believe that, once we trust Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, God will forgive us of our sins only up to that point in life. These are said to be the “sins that are past” in today’s Scripture. Whatever sins we commit after we trust Christ, we are urged to confess them daily (“short accounts with God”). First John 1:9 is then ripped out of its context here.

Hebrews 9:15 is the best cross-reference to today’s Scripture: “And for this cause he [Jesus Christ] is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” Here, we see how God dealt with Israel’s sins committed under the Old Covenant. Paul’s revelation not only gives us new information (the mystery program), it also further explains the prophetic program (what God has been revealing since man’s creation).

Israel was commanded to offer animal sacrifices, but this animals’ blood did not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). Those animal sacrifices typified, or previewed, the perfect blood of Jesus Christ that would one day be shed on Calvary (this blood would be efficacious in taking away sins). Israel will receive national forgiveness at Christ’s Second Coming (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 11:26,27; Hebrews 8:8-13; Hebrews 10:15-17). What national Israel has yet to experience, we have now received in Christ (Romans 5:11; cf. Romans 3:21-31). God was fair in passing over Israel’s “time past” sins because Christ’s blood, His propitiatory sacrifice, would permanently cover them. Despite their historical idolatry, Israel will still be His people one day by virtue of the New Covenant!

Colossians 2:13 says God has forgiven us Christians of “all trespasses.” Thus, the phrase “sins that are past” (today’s Scripture) could not refer to our past sins. It refers to Israel’s past sins.

The Children of God #2

Friday, June 8, 2012

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 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” (Galatians 3:26-28 KJV).

Today’s Scripture briefly describes “the children of God.”

According to the Bible, everyone is not God’s child. Only those who have “faith in Christ Jesus” are God’s children. Unless a person has “believed on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31)—relying on His sacrifice at Calvary’s cross as the fully satisfying payment for his or her sins—he or she is not a child of God.

Those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we “have been baptized into Christ.” This is not water baptism, for the Bible reads that we “have been baptized into Christ,” not “baptized into water.” When we trusted Christ alone as Saviour, the Holy Spirit baptized us into the Church the Body of Christ. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body…” (1 Corinthians 12:13). The Holy Ghost, not a preacher or priest, administers the only valid baptism for this Dispensation of Grace (Ephesians 4:5).

When the Holy Spirit baptized us into the Body of Christ, He identified us with Christ’s death: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ [not water!] were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death…” (Romans 6:3,4a). Just as Christ died, we died to sin. Now, sin does not have dominion over us. When Christ was raised, we were raised to “walk in newness of life” (verse 4b).

Literally, we have “put on Christ” (today’s Scripture). We have been made “the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). God the Father sees us in Christ: He sees Christ’s righteousness, not our unrighteousness. Saints, God will always accept us in Christ (Ephesians 1:6). We will always be “the Body of Christ,” “the children of God.”

The Children of God #1

Thursday, June 7, 2012

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 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” (Galatians 3:26-28 KJV).

Is everyone “God’s child,” as often claimed? Who are “the children of God?” Today’s Scripture explains that… and more.

Who are “the children of God?” “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (today’s Scripture). Obviously, everyone is not God’s child. The only “children of God” are those who have trusted Christ Jesus alone as their personal Saviour.

Once, we were lost hell-bound sinners, children of the devil (John 8:44). We “were dead in our trespasses and sins,” following the evil world system (under Satan’s influence), doing our own thing and offending God’s righteousness (Ephesians 2:1-3).

There came a point in our lives when we (finally) threw up our hands in exhaustion. We (finally) realized that we were no-good wretches: all our “good” works displeased God. There, we (finally) acknowledged that we could never “measure up” to His righteous standards. There, we (finally) quit working for salvation, and trusted in the bloodshed, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). We received God’s salvation as a free gift, something we did not deserve (Ephesians 2:4-9)!

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Saints, we have total access to and peace with God through Christ Jesus our Lord. We are no longer separated from God because of sin. God’s righteous wrath against our sin and sins was poured out on His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, at Calvary’s cross. “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of [God’s] grace” (Ephesians 1:7; cf. Colossians 1:14; Colossians 2:13).

Now, God, not Satan, is our Father (Romans 1:7 et al.). Now and forever, we are “the children of God!”

What Does God Want Me to Do?

Thursday, March 29, 2012

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

Someone recently asked, “What does God want me to do in life?” Well, what would God want us to do?

God wants to use us for His glory, but sin interferes: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So, in order to use us, God must first save us from ourselves (sin, death, and ultimately hell). This is why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, to shed His innocent blood for our forgiveness (to wash away our sins), and to resurrect the third day for our justification (to give us a right standing before God). That is Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of the Grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

God’s will is to have “all men saved” (1 Timothy 2:4a); God wants no one to go to hell forever (2 Peter 3:9). Do you want to do God’s will? Get saved! Trust Christ Jesus alone as your personal Saviour (Paul’s Gospel) and receive eternal life in heaven. God the Holy Spirit will then take you and place you into the Church the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Salvation is that simple!

But, God’s will is to also have “all men… come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4b). Once a person is saved, God then wants him or her to learn why He saved them. God wants to teach us His overall goal for creation and our role in accomplishing that purpose (we learn this by studying His Word, the Bible). Do you want to do God’s will as a Christian? Follow the Apostle Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1)! Learn about God’s will for you in this Dispensation of Grace by focusing on Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon.

As today’s Scripture teaches, God wants to accomplish a magnificent work in us, a work that will literally reverberate throughout the ages to come (eternity future). He wants to save us forever so He can use us forever.

Hast Thou Life, or Not?

Monday, February 27, 2012

“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12 KJV).

Look at today’s Scripture, and notice its simplicity. If you have God’s Son Jesus Christ, you have life. If you do not have God’s Son, you do not have life. The Bible could not be more straightforward!

While every breathing human being has physical life, how many have spiritual life? “Few.” The Lord Jesus explained: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait [small] is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13,14). According to the Lord Himself, many people will go to hell and few will go to heaven. Why?

Many people have gone (and will go) to hell because they have chosen to remain dead in their sins (Ephesians 2:1-3). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a)—the rewards of sin is physical death and spiritual death (hellfire). But, we can be saved from our sins and hell by trusting Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt by dying for us and as us, and He was raised again for our justification (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). By faith, we accept His resurrection life, eternal life.

Whether in Israel’s program, or our Dispensation of Grace, salvation is only found in Jesus Christ. The Apostle John wrote to Israel: “he that hath the Son hath life” (today’s Scripture; cf. John 3:36). Our Apostle Paul wrote in our dispensation: “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).

Hast thou life, or not? Salvation is not a “hope so.” You have either trusted in Christ Jesus alone (and you are going to heaven), or you have rejected Christ and have chosen to remain dead in your sins (and you are going to hell!). You can have eternal life through Jesus Christ if you trust in Him alone!

Our Gospel Hid #3

Sunday, February 12, 2012

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

Satan’s modus operandi is to multiply the counterfeits so you never discover God’s will for you. Over 4,200 world religions keep lost people from finding Christ. Religious tradition of 38,000-plus “Christian” denominations hinders Christians from discovering sound doctrine and spiritual growth. Over 200 (perverted) modern English Bibles keep Christians and lost people from even finding God’s pure Word in the first place! People “handling the word of God deceitfully” is how Satan “blinds the minds of them which believe not.”

Recently, I spoke with a family member about salvation. I asked her, “What is the gospel of your salvation?” Her reply was, “I believe in Jesus and I do the best I can!” This is the false gospel that God condemned in Galatians 1:6-9. It sounds good, deceptively mentioning “Jesus,” but this is “another Jesus,” what Satan’s men preach to send lost people to hell, and to confuse believers and ruin their Christian lives (2 Corinthians 11:3,4; Galatians 5:1-5)! This gospel mixes faith in Christ and man’s works, and God will NOT tolerate it—with lost people and with Christians (Romans 4:1-8; Galatians 2:16-21; Galatians 3:1-5; Ephesians 2:8,9; et al.).

Sinful men cooperate with Satan’s policy of evil by fabricating religious systems to mimic God’s work. But, they have also polluted Christianity (resulting in “Christendom,” the paganized version of Christianity). There are some people who have genuinely trusted in Christ alone. They are totally secure in the salvation in Christ Jesus, but they are “taken captive by [the devil] at his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26).  They are told they need to work to make God happy, never being told that God has permanently accepted them in Christ (Ephesians 1:6)!

Paul’s Gospel—Christ crucified for our sins, buried, and raised again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)—is the only way to heaven. NO WORKS FOR SALVATION! NONE!

Saved for a Purpose

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7 KJV).

Verse 3 explains that we once walked in foolishness and disobedience, fulfilling the sins of the flesh (cf. Ephesians 2:2,3). Today’s Scripture explains that now God’s love and kindness have been shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. If we have trusted alone in Christ Jesus, by God’s grace, we are “justified” (made right, declared right) in God’s eyes. Grace is everything that God can do for us through Christ Jesus’ dying for our sins, His burial, and His resurrection for our justification.

Did God save us because of something we did? NO! Today’s Scripture says that God saved us “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” The only works we did were those things that offended God (Romans 7:5; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 2:3; Colossians 3:5-10; et al.). God saved us simply “according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

“For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God” (Romans 4:2). We cannot brag because our salvation had nothing to do with our good works—the best of our “good” works was “dung!”  We “glory” (rejoice) in Christ’s righteousness, not in our “goodness” (Galatians 6:14).

So why did God save us? “[God] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6,7). God wants to show us how good and great He is. He saved us so He can eventually install us in the government of heaven to rule for His glory forever.

Preach the Gospel of the Grace of God!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14 KJV).

Saints, God has entrusted us with the greatest message of all time, “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), so that we can preach the greatest Person of all time, Jesus Christ. “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord…” (2 Corinthians 4:5a). As today’s Scripture indicates, if the lost world is to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, they need us to first preach this wonderful message to them!

According to James 2:17-26, God had always demanded faith and works for salvation (Abraham was the one exception; Romans 4:1-5). But, when we come to Paul’s ministry in Scripture, God declares that Sabbath day keeping, water baptism, physical circumcision, tithing, and animal sacrifices are no longer required for salvation.

Today, in the Dispensation of Grace, God is not operating Israel’s works-religion. The good news of God’s grace is that we can be saved solely by God’s grace without us doing anything but trusting in Christ alone! “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” (Ephesians 2:8,9). Until Paul, God had never revealed a message like our Gospel of Grace: the Gospel of the Grace of God declares what God did for you because you are unable to do anything for God. We can be saved without works today!

The Gospel of Grace is 1 Corinthians 15:3,4: “…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.” Jesus Christ shed His sinless blood to pay for your sins, He was buried to put away your sins, and He was raised again for your justification (Romans 4:25). Place your faith in Christ  alone, and He will save you forever. Then, preach the Gospel of Grace for others to hear!

The Expensive Getaway

Thursday, December 15, 2011

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9 KJV).

We often hear of exotic getaways like Fiji, the Caribbean Islands, and Hawaii. While these vacations are pricey, they are ridiculously cheap when compared to heaven, “the expensive getaway.”

“[God] will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life” (Romans 2:6,7). God will give eternal life to any individual who has perfect righteousness. He demands 100 percent perfection—even 99.999 percent righteousness is far too less for God to accept.

The price to enter heaven’s glory is far too expensive for us. We all have a few “good” works here and there… mere pocket change! By nature, we are spiritually poor, bankrupt of righteousness. We have all offended God: “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Our lives are filled with many sinful acts, including hatred, lying, gossiping, cursing, and coveting. These sins offend God’s righteousness, so what will you do with them?

Today’s Scripture gives us the Good News. At Calvary’s cross, God fully and completely dealt with our unrighteousness. Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, died for your sins, to give His life so you could have an opportunity to be made righteous in Him! King David wrote: “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

When we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, God “imputes” (applies) His righteousness to us (2 Corinthians 5:21). As today’s Scripture says, in Christ, we are rich indeed: we are spiritually rich because Jesus Christ accomplished our salvation. In Christ Jesus, we are justified, made perfect in God the Father’s sight, thus able to enter heaven (Romans 3:21-31).

One day, at the rapture, we Christians will take our expensive getaway. Are you ready for the vacation of a lifetime? Saints, our flight is coming! Stay tuned…. 🙂

The Worthless Résumé #2

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

“Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:8,9 KJV).

Saul of Tarsus, the most religious man of his day, had persecuted Jerusalem’s Jewish believers in Jesus Christ (Acts 8:1). Now, anger propelled him to pursue believing Jews in Damascus (northeast of Jerusalem).

En route, Saul realized that Damascus was not his only destination—he was headed to hell too! Despite his religious performance (described in Philippians 3:4-6), he did not have God’s righteousness. His religious works could not erase the fact that he was still a sinful son of Adam, a persecutor, and a blasphemer (1 Timothy 1:13,14).

In Acts chapter 9, the Lord Jesus Christ graciously discarded Saul’s worthless résumé and replaced it with something far superior: His (Christ’s) accomplishments on Calvary’s cross. Thus, Saul “suffered the loss of all things [his religious accomplishments]”—his religious activities “but dung” (today’s Scripture). Saul was now “in Christ”: He had been placed into Jesus Christ, and had God’s righteousness.

We who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should be ever grateful to our Saviour that our worthless résumés have been replaced with His well-pleasing résumé. We are saved by “the righteousness which is through the faith of Christ” (today’s Scripture). Christ’s faith never wavered. Unlike us, He always pleased His Father. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; cf. Mark 1:11).

As Christians, we are “the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). To wit, in Christ, we are just as pleasing to God the Father as Jesus Christ is! Wow! Like Saul, we realize that our religious activities will never give us this righteous position. It only takes the accomplishments of Christ to get us to heaven—anything less is “but dung.”

*Adapted from the poem “The Worthless Résumé.”