Salvation - Maintenance and Security

This is why we do not "maintain" our salvation:

Jesus' one sacrifice has put away sin forever (Hebrews 9:12,26; 10:12).
Jesus' blood has provided remission or forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).
His blood has cleansed our conscience (Hebrews 9:14; 10:22).
We have been sanctified once for all (Hebrews 10:10).
We have been perfected forever (Hebrews 10:14; 12:23).
Since sins have been remitted, there is no need for another sacrifice (Hebrews 10:18).
He has obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12).
We have been washed, sanctified and justified in the Name of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Our old sin nature has been crucified with Jesus and since we are no longer under law but grace, we no longer are slaves to sin (Romans 6:6; 6:14).
God has removed our transgression as far as east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
He does not even remember our sins anymore (Hebrews 10:17).

As a result of Jesus' sacrifice, our past, present and future sins have been forgiven. For those of you who chocked on the previous statement, Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, only once (Hebrews 9:12, 26; 10:10-12,14). And we were in His future when it happened.

Does that mean we can go ahead and sin? Our sin nature that drove us to sin has been crucified and now that we are under grace and not under law, sin does not have dominion over us (Romans 6:6; 6:14). It is the knowing and renewing our mind (Romans 12:2) with this truth that sets us free (John 8:32).


This brings us to the next point - SECURITY. This is why our salvation is the most secure thing in the world:
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” - Jesus (John 10:27-30)

Highlight/underline the "they follow Me (Jesus)" part in your Bible. Our security rests only in Jesus; not in a doctrine, principles, religion, tradition, good works, etc.

Gospel is really simple and liberating. It is the religion that makes it complicated and burdensome.

The Great Christian Cliché

By Samuel Mathew

Luke 7:48 ……Your sins are forgiven

What is the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ? The good news is that “Your sins are forgiven!”

This statement has become a cliché in the church. To understand this statement, it is necessary to take a fresh look at the cross. What happened at the cross?

Sin separated man from God by the disobedience of one man, Adam. Hebrews 10:1-4, 11 says that the old covenant, which was a type and shadow of the real thing, had a sacrificial system for the atonement of sins. Since the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins, it could not make anyone perfect. If perfection could be achieved by that system, then there would be no need to offer the same sacrifice again and again. So the people were constantly conscious of their sins. They could never have a perfect or sinless conscience (Heb 9:9; 10:2). The priest had to offer sacrifices for himself and the congregation continually.

Now contrast that with the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, which is the real thing. He was offered ONCE for the sins of many (Heb 9:28). He entered the most holy place with His own blood. How does the ONE sacrifice of Jesus and His blood compare with that of the sacrifices of the old covenant? (Please pause and think about each of the following points):

1. His ONE sacrifice has PUT AWAY SIN FOREVER (Heb 9:26; 10:12)
2. His blood has provided remission or forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22)
3. His blood has cleansed our conscience (Heb 9:14; 10:22)
4. We HAVE BEEN sanctified ONCE FOR ALL (Heb 10:10)
5. We HAVE BEEN perfected FOREVER (Heb 10:14; 12:23)
6. Because sins have been remitted, there is no need for another sacrifice (Heb 10:18).
7. Because sins have been taken away by His one sacrifice, He is now SEATED and not standing anymore to offer more sacrifices (Heb 10:11-12).
8. He has obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION (Heb 9:12)

We have received eternal, not momentary redemption (Heb. 9:12). One sacrifice was made for all sin forever, and we have been perfected forever. Isn’t that awesome news?

So does that mean Christ forgave all our sins (past, present, future sins)? You better believe that Christ has forgiven all your future sins too, because he died for our sins once; 2000 years ago, before we were born or committed any sin. All our sins were future sins when he died. God is not bound by time as we are. When we believe in Jesus and His finished work, we receive the forgiveness for all our sins that He has already provided 2000 years ago.

He did this purely by His grace, not because of any of our good deeds, confessions, sin consciousness or introspection. Rather, based on Heb 10:2, we should have no more sin consciousness, because of his perfect sacrifice, which has done a perfect work in the area of sin. We have eternal redemption, which is eternal forgiveness of our sins (Eph 1:7 and Col 1:14). 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that, He was made sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Beloved, righteousness is a free gift that He has given us - not by our own works. Forgiveness of sins and the free gift of righteousness (apart from law/works) is the gospel that Paul preached, that was given to him by direct revelation by Jesus Himself (Acts 13:38; Gal 1:12).

Jesus has taken away not only our sins, but the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2; John 1:29). This is the good news that needs to be shouted from the roof tops. The sin barrier has been removed once for all. God has reconciled the whole world to himself through Christ and is not imputing anyone’s trespasses anymore (2 Cor 5:19). Christ took the punishment for the sins of the entire humanity.

Beloved, are you willing to see yourself as God sees you today - forgiven, holy, righteous, sanctified, and perfected because of the PERFECT sacrifice of Jesus? Quit trying to add anything more to his finished work by your religious works. It is an insult to His finished work. He doesn’t even remember your sins anymore (Heb 10:17; Ps 103:12). Jesus said, “It is FINISHED”. Do you believe?

Your sins are forgiven!

The Do-Do Christianity - Part II

If you were born and raised in a legalistic church, the question that you might have after reading Part I of this series might be, “what about Ephesians 2:10; aren’t we created to do good works?”

Nowhere in this series am I suggesting a life of passivity. The crux of the matter is our motive behind our well-meant actions. Are we ‘working the principles’ or are we yielding ourselves so that He can work through us (Philippians 2:13)?

Suppose Tim (a fictitious character) is suffering from a certain illness. If Tim is trusting in his prayer and fasting for the purpose of getting healed, then he is excusing him from depending on the healing provision that he already has in Christ Jesus (assuming he is a believer). Why? In his mind, Tim thinks he is not healed and therefore to be healed, he is sincerely following a bunch of godly sounding principles prescribed, probably by his church or a ‘Christian’ book. The truth is, Tim does not know that he is biblically already healed, in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus bore Tim’s sickness two thousand years ago by His stripes (1 Peter 2:24) so that Tim, the child of God (John 1:12), can live in abundant health. But the manifestation of the healing comes only when - a) he knows the truth b) he receives that truth, by faith.

We can see plenty of Tims in the body of Christ - trying to be healed, trying to be prosperous, trying to be righteous, when they already are healed, prospered and righteous in Christ Jesus, regardless of the circumstances – by putting trust in their actions over resting in what Jesus did. The Bible calls it disobedience when we do not rest in His works (Hebrews 4:10-11).

There is no delicate way to put it but another word for this mindset of “I don’t have it OR regardless of what I have in Jesus, I am going to earn it with my effort”, is pride. [I am not sitting on a high throne and pointing my finger at you. I was in this very same trap of self-effort, which stems from the ignorance of knowing who I already am in Christ Jesus and I dearly paid for it.] The prominent voice here is the ‘self’. This is why the legalists were offended by the teachings of Jesus - ‘how dare he questions our traditional beliefs?’ Legalists today get offended when the message of 'grace through faith' is preached, for it is hard for the legalistic mind to acknowledge the truth that we cannot ‘move’ God with our actions. Jesus Christ, made us (who believe) righteous (Romans 5:19). We do not or cannot earn our righteousness. It would be called self-righteousness if righteousness came as a result of our effort. It is impossible to earn and maintain our right standing with God with our effort. This is why the Gospel is ‘Good News’.

We will look into the origin of the mindset of self-effort in Part III of this series.

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The Good-O-Meter

An Encounter with Jesus

You might be a professing Christian with several years or decades of experience, a Pastor, a famous preacher, a church leader, a theologian, a theology student, a new believer or a skeptic - but are you sure that you have heard the pure Gospel (Good News) yet? Listen to these messages with an open heart and receive Jesus Christ (not your traditions/principles/works) as your only anchor, for only in the person Jesus (not in a religion that loves to put people in bondage and condemnation), in His perfectly completed works, will you find true literal liberty.

An Encounter with Jesus: Message by Bertie Brits. Translated to Malayalam by George Varghese.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Part 6


Part 7


Part 8


Click here for more of Bertie Brits' messages, which can be downloaded free of charge.

The Do-Do Christianity - Part I

Edited to add - Nov 18, 2009

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. – James 1:22

We have interpreted this scripture as “be ye doers of the law”. And in an effort to “please God” and/or be justified by God, we zealously jump on the treadmill of law keeping; either Mosaic, traditional or a mixture of both and hope that God would be pleased with our tenacity and sincerity. Just a minor problem – the Mosaic law is not a multiple-choice questionnaire. We have to keep it all or we break all the laws; there is no middle ground (James 2:10, Galatians 3:10-11). And the laws formulated by the traditions vary from culture to culture. Which law must we adhere to?

The bigger question is, will we be justified by our attempts at keeping the law? The Holy Bible is crystal clear on this topic. We are not justified by the works of the law (Galatians 3:11, 2:16). When people asked what they should “do” to do the works of God, Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him (Jesus) whom he hath sent.” (John 6:28-29). Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf (Matthew 5:17) and through the crucifixion, He redeemed us from the curses that stood against us, of not keeping the law (Galatians 3:13). Therefore, to assume that we can be justified with our futile attempts (James 2:10, Galatians 3:10-11) to keep the law, is foolishness. The Galatians thought they could mix the law with the grace of God. Listen to how Paul responded, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you,… Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:1-3). It is foolishness because we are voluntarily inviting curses (Galatians 3:10) to our lives when we trust in the law, for it is impossible for us to keep all the laws. We fall from grace [the very gift that saved us from the curse of not keeping the law] when we have the audacity to think that we can be justified by our own works (Galatians 5:4).

Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the revelation knowledge of who you already are in Christ Jesus. Believe that you have been made righteous (right standing with God) apart from your works. Just like you were made sinners without your effort, you have been made righteous by Jesus, without your effort (Romans 5:19). Read the previous statement, again and again and allow the truth to sink in to your soul. Believe that you are financially prosperous, not because you sow or tithe, but because Jesus became poor for you (2 Corinthians 8:9). Believe that you are healthy, not because you pray, fast, work out and eat organic food, but by His stripes (1 Peter 2:24). Your new-creation reality (2 Corinthians 5:17) is based on what the Word of God says; not your current circumstances, which you perceive by your carnal senses. We access this grace through faith. By faith we receive what is freely available to us through Christ Jesus. Faith is not something we manufacture. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Faith is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22 KJV). Rightly divide the scriptures. Meditate on the scriptures which reveals what Jesus Christ has already done for you and who you already are in Him; and get ready to be exploded with the revelation that you do not have to earn your blessings. The Blessing (JESUS) in all His glory is in you and you are in Him, right now.

Does this mean we are to stay idle? Paul says he labored more abundantly than everyone else, but he did not give credit to his effort; the glory went to the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10). We can do nothing according to His perfect will, apart from His life flowing in and through us (John 15:5). God can do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to His power that is in us (Ephesians 3:20) – if we let Him. All that we need to be is an yielded vessel who is sensitive to the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let us be free from the Do-Do mindset and allow God to do His perfect will in and through us (Philippians 2:13). It's all about my Jesus.

Click here for Part II of this series.

That's My King!

Let's not keep the common sense aside

by Bino Manjasseril, Branch of Vine - A journey from religion to Christ...

I have been listening to the 'growing in grace' podcasts a lot lately. In more than one episodes, I heard Mike Kapler saying, "let's not keep the common sense aside". He says that especially when it comes to obedience and keeping the law.I think, being honest to ourselves is all it takes to come to the conclusion that religion doesn't work. It doesn't matter which religion it is. Each has its own 'ways' to please their god. For some, their god is pleased when they follow certain set of rules, laws, regulations or a list of do's and don'ts. Some gods are pleased when we gather at particular place at a particular time of a week. Some are pleased when we chant some prayers or starve through fasting. Some are pleased when we put some dollar bills into an offering plate. Some are pleased when we confess all our sins.

I am not excluding Christian religion from this. Christians says their god is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is a perfectly holy god. He is self-sufficient. That being the case, isn't it a futile act attempting to please that god through our puny works? Who in their right mind can logically come to a conclusion that they can somehow please god through all these? Not just that, some people think that they can make god angry! As though god has an emotional imbalance or something- easily angered, easily provoked but somehow hard to please.

I feel stupid for believing such a lie for a long time in my life. I thought my god would be pleased when I achieve sinless perfection. I thought I was pleasing him when I did the works of evangelism. I thought, the more I studied the Bible, he is more pleased. The more I set apart a 'quiet time', I thought I can somehow tap into his presence. I thought I could manipulate god through 'effective' prayer (by quoting scriptures, for example). I thought god was a genie who comes out and bless me when I give my money. I kept doing all these for years and years even though I never felt contented nor reached a satisfying point in my life to boldly say that I pleased him. I tried to do all the right things and tried not to do any wrong things to keep god from getting angry at me. But I always felt that I fall short. So, I successfully hid my burned out heart from others.

For a long time in my life, I lived an illogical spiritual life. I kept my common sense aside and listened and followed other illogical spiritual leaders out there. I wasn't even honest to myself. I pretended as if my spirituality was working.

Then there came a time in my life that I had to take a step back and look at the foolishness of my belief system. Trying to achieve sinless perfection? Trying to earn forgiveness through confessing all my sins on a daily basis? Trying to keep the law? Trying to love my neighbors as myself? Trying to love the enemies? Are you kidding?

I didn't know that James said, "whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." Will I ever be accepted by this god? Will I ever be able to say that I confessed all my sins that I am now fully forgiven? Will I ever feel the security of god's love? Will I ever feel any kind of security, contentment or peace?

If you don't cheat in answering those questions, if you can be honest to yourself, the only thing you can do is - give up! That’s true - just give up!

That’s where my journey started. I first gave up, then God took over…

BOO!

BOO! (scroll down to read the whole comic)

Happy Halloween!