Simple Truths about the Gospel: "I will remember your sins no more"

Today, I'm starting off with a banger of a question, so brace yourself: Do you believe God is waiting to punish you for your sins?

I can't tell you how long I used to believe this and was even taught this in some of the churches I have been a part of. But today, I stand free in the Truth of the Gospel.  

Hebrews 8:12 "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." 

This is God's promise of the New Covenant. On the Cross, Jesus paid the price for all sin, for all time. And as this verse states, God no longer remembers our sins. I'm going to pause here, to let the Holy Spirit help you get your mind and heart around this Truth. It is almost too good to be true, right? But hold on there is more....

2 Corinthians 5:19 "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them..." 

Now hold on a minute there buddy, are you saying that God is not counting our sins against us, and that He has even forgotten our sins? Yes sir, rebob! That is exactly what the Word of God is saying.

This simple Gospel Truth truly blows me away and continues to astound and amazing me as I embrace this more and more and deeper and deeper within me. It has literally dissolved away every distorted view of God that I've ever held. 

But the sad reality is that the way many Christians live out their faith (as I once did) is in the fear of being punished for their sins. They see an angry God who is just waiting to bring judgment onto people for their sins. And when leaders preach this, they reinforce this distorted image of God as an angry Judge, rather than a loving Father. They preach a God who is holding to the Law of the Old Covenant, rather than a God who has made a New Covenant free of the Law (Hebrews 8:13).

What I understand of the Gospel is that Jesus paid for it all, so we don't have to suffer the judgments and consequences of sin any longer. He became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). He became our curse (Galatians 3:13). He took our punishment for sin (Romans 3:25). 

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." 

God is all about salvation and life, not condemnation and death. God is not out to get you, but is for you. His desire is to release greater and greater abundant life to you, but the Enemy of God is the one wants to steal, kill and destroy your life (John 10:10). God is love.

1 John 4:19 "...God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 

We no longer need to fear, "because fear has to do with punishment" and we no longer need to fear punishment! "We will have confidence on the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus." If you are a Christian, when God looks to you, He sees the perfect life, work and sacrifice of Jesus. Has it clicked yet? Has the light switch been flipped inside of you? Come Holy Spirit!

Now, there maybe some natural consequences from when we sin (for example, if I steal there is a good chance I will get caught by the police), I do think we reap what we sow at times, but God is not the one dishing these consequences out. There are systems and laws already set in place that function in this way, not to mention principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12) who are also ready to mete out punishments.

No, I believe it's in these moments that God is actually the One who is showing us love, grace and mercy because from His perspective, Jesus has already paid the price for all sin for all time, so God no longer holds our sins against us, nor does He even remember them!

Wow! Jump up and down! This is the Gospel! It's like it's too good to be true, but that's why it's called The Good News.

Remember Jesus paid for all our sins even before we were born. Think about that for a minute. Even before you were born Jesus paid for all your sins. But that doesn't automatically save us in a universalist kind of way. No, we each need to personally believe in the work of Jesus as John 3:16 states.

The Gospel is all about believing in Jesus. And it's really important that we are believing the right things because what we believe will influence our thinking about who God is and our behavior in how we approach Him. We are no longer standing before God as a Judge, but can now run into the arms of God as our Father.

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." 

God is not angry with you, He loves you so much. And if you have put your faith and trust in Jesus, you can rest in this simple Gospel Truth, that each and every day God remembers your sins no more. Some may think this is dangerous teaching, that people will run wild into sin, but the Gospel was never about control but about freedom. God is never afraid because He knows what His perfect love has already accomplished and will continue to accomplish in the world. It's man who fears and controls. God's desire is that we would fully live in His perfect Love, never in fear.  

Be Encouraged! Embrace the Truth of the Gospel and Stand Free! You are deeply, deeply loved by God. 

Simple Truths about the Gospel: "Joined to the Lord"

I've decided to spend some time talking about the Gospel. I've recently had some revolutionary revelations about the simplicity of the Gospel and want to share what I believe the Holy Spirit has revealed to me with you. 

With each blog post, I will start with a Scripture and then expand on it.  Not too long, I will try my best to be short and concise. My aim is to speak the truth in love and then allow the Holy Spirit to confirm within you the things I am saying.

1 Corinthians 6:17 "But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him."

When a person becomes a born again Christian, they have 1) believed that Jesus has paid the price for all sin with His very life, 2) have surrendered the control of their life to Him, and 3) received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit supernaturally transforming them into a new creation in Christ. It is in this moment that they are welcomed back into God's family as a once lost but now found beloved son or daughter of God. 

As the verse states, they become "joined to the Lord" in the most intimate of ways by becoming "one spirit with him." This means there is no longer any gap between a Christian and God. They have in fact become one. Just pause here a moment and meditate on this amazing truth. If, you are a Christian you must believe that there is no separation between you and God now. This is really, really Good News. 

I've felt the need to emphasize this Gospel Truth because this Truth should describe and define our reality, and not our current experience. Trust me I have been there and done that when it comes to sinning and then feeling the shame or guilt and then feeling distant or separate from God. But, this goes directly against what this verse says. You see, our feelings of separation are just that "our feelings." But we mustn't allow our feelings to supersede this Truth. 

Why I believe this is such an important Gospel reality is because this means you are never ever alone, but are always, always in the Presence of God, period. You no longer need to cry out to God to come near you or beg God to love you. God loves you and has already come near you.

And there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God in Christ (read Romans 8:31-39). Practically speaking this means there is nothing you could ever do to cause God's presence to leave you because you are "joined to Him, you are one spirit with Him."

Be Encouraged! Embrace the Truth of the Gospel and Stand Free! You are deeply, deeply loved by God. 

schism

This video intrigues me because in many ways it shows the transition a believer needs to make in their journey with Jesus. Let me explain, the Scriptures talk about being a new creation in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17) where a person is to take off their old self and its practices and put on the new self, which is being renewed as we learn more about our Creator, becoming more and more like Him (Colossians 3:9, 10). Simply put, when a person gives their life to Jesus, God begins to transform them from the inside out through His Word and Holy Spirit.

But, what I've found out from personal experience is that walking this out is much easier said than done because living as my old self is what I know, it's what I'm comfortable with. So, like in the video, I'm walking around trying to live as my new self, but find myself stumbling about because I'm still trying to live according to my old life and its practices. Maybe this is a bit of a stretch with the video, but what I've come to realize is that living as my new self in Christ demands a persepctive change: It demands a new way of seeing myself, others, and the world.

Unlike in the video, instead of trying to figure it all out and trying to take matters into my own hands, I need to continue to live by faith and trust that God is not done with me yet (Philippians 1:6) and that He will help me to transition into this new life that He has for me in Jesus which for all intensive purpose means I need to become more comfortable with my new self and let my old self fade away. It means embracing the future God has for me and doing all I can in not fighting this transition from old to new.

Schooled in Denial

Walter Brueggemann raises some interesting insights in this video. Does ministry to the wounded take an artist? I would have to agree with him and say "yes." It does take an artist to maneuvering past people's denial. It takes a creative approach to reorient people towards a fresh perspective on faith and life. Vincent Van Gogh once said, "The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." I wholeheartedly agree. If we really let ourselves get lost in the love of Christ, I believe we will find ourselves creatively loving those that God brings into our lives (be it for a moment or for a lifetime). But because of sin, we are self-absorbed when it comes to loving people where loving people becomes a hassle and/or way too much work. Creative loving never even makes it onto the scene, let alone into the relationship.

To be able to prophetically speak to people's hearts in love, in order "to get them in touch with their pain," will take a creatively gentle hand. One that seeks to illuminate the dark painful areas in people's hearts that are enshrouded with shame and guilt with the loving light of the Gospel. It will take artists who are steeped in the Word of God and filled with the Holy Spirit. Trustworthy people who understand that worshipping the Father in Spirit and in Truth is a non-negotiable (John 4: 23, 24). I believe that the more a person lives in worship to the Father in Spirit and in Truth, the greater their capacity for creative love to the wounded will be.