Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
The Book Warning This Book Will Shock You |
Warning This Book Will Shock You By Roxy J Nolin Chapter Three |
But it went even further; it also qualified them to right of inheritance with all privilege, favor, blessings, acceptance and stature in the house of God. This is called the work of grace! Again understand, humanity through the fall of Adam was born with a fallen nature. They did nothing to deserve it. Yet because of being born in it, they now lived a life of the flesh, dictated by the Law and its motivation. Which is works and performance! A change had to come but it had to come by the Spirit, on the inside of man. Because the fallen nature, man was in debt to sin. Sin has no place before God because He is just and holy. It must be punished. Jesus delivered us from the Law. In this, humanity had no hope because they could not pay the debt. The Law reflected their inability. But this is where the Messiah stepped in as the perfect sacrifice. Through His death on the cross at Calvary, He took upon Himself our sins. He paid our punishment. He stood in our place and suffered our deserved chastisement. Today if we except Christ into our hearts we are instantly justified in God's sight, declare in right standing before Him. He has now become our peace. Now this could not be accomplished by us but it was done out side of us, it is a completed work of righteousness in Christ. Credited to our account. All we did was by faith believed and even this was a gift from God! The Laws demand of punishment for our sins was ratified and is no more. We need not be afraid of punishment or judgement, we are no longer under law, but under grace. This means that God has had mercy on us by not giving us the penalty we deserve. Yet by grace he has given us the free gift of salvation, a gift we did not deserve. Now this does not mean the law in and of it is dead or bad. On the contrary the Law is very mush alive, it is holy, perfect and good but because we are in Christ we are dead to the Law and it's control. It has no legal right to give us guilt or condemnation, because we have no relationship to it! We must understand that when Jesus died on the cross, we died with Him. When He was buried, our old man was buried with Him. When He arose, we were raised with Him in the newness of life. The new life which is in Christ Jesus. Paul wrote in Galatians, we know that a man is justified or reckoned righteous and in right standing with God not by works of the Law, but only through faith and absolute trust in Jesus Christ. Therefore even we ourselves have believed on Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law, for we cannot be justified by any observance of the ritual of the law given by Moses, because by keeping legal rituals and by works no human being can ever be justified or declared righteous and put in right standing with God. For us to return back to the Law of works is to fall back into bondage and its curse. It is a fall from grace and her blessings and into condemnation and guilt. Galatians says that we are not to treat God's gracious gift with minor importance, we are not to set aside or frustrate the grace of God. For if right standing comes through observing the Law then Christ died for no purpose and in vain. Jesus delivered us from the curse of legalism. The Law in and of it cannot produce what God desires within in His people because of its motivation. Which is fear and insecurity, but grace can! Yet grace has already blessed us. We can not earn it. It's free! It removes fear of the Law and replaces it with love as a motivation. Under Law the results and blessings are all up to us. Our performance. Our works! Under grace we are already blessed and have free accesses to all of God's resources, without any guilt or condemnation. Jesus has simply abolished the effects of the Law, through the cross and redeemed us from the working of its curse. Christ purchased our freedom, redeeming us from the curse of the Law and its condemnation. By Himself becoming a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree or is crucified. Jesus became the curse for us, fulfilled all its demands, and absorbed all its penalties. Thank God we live under Grace! We are free in Christ Today as a believer we are free, free, free, free indeed! Freedom meaning the right and privilege to become everything God desires us to be. To be able to choose God's ways, instead of the control of the Law. Freedom gives us, as God's children, the privilege to be able to walk into the presents of a holy God. Without guilt or feeling inferior. To be able to present our petitions, to express our desires and love as a child with a Father. Paul wrote in Hebrews to let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace, the throne of God's unmerited favor, that we may receive mercy for our failures and find grace to help in good time for every need. The only way we can come into God's present fearlessly is if we have no reason to be afraid. To come confidently before the throne of grace, we must be secure in Christ. The only way we can come boldly to have audience with an awesome God is if we have favor and free access to loving Father. Now in no way am I saying that our freedom means the absence of standards concerning our temporal life. Traffic lights and police are there for our safety. Governments and churches for our guidance. Freedom does not mean we can live and do as we please without consequences in this world. God forbid. Imagine the chaos we would have without restraints. Freedom comes from and is in Christ. He is the essence of our freedom by the Spirit. This is the grace that has come. |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Warning |
Copyright Roxy J Nolin 2002 |
