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Thursday, December 17, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
The Will of God
Bill Johnson
Bethel Church - Redding, California
If you cannot see the video, click here, to watch it from YouTube.
Bringing Heaven to Earth
Bill Johnson
Bethel Church - Redding, California
Featured Books:
When Heaven Invades Earth
The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
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. People doubt the security of their salvation because they trust in their efforts to become righteous than in the finished work of Jesus. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
Gospel is really simple and liberating. It is the religion that makes it complicated and burdensome.
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. People doubt the security of their salvation because they trust in their efforts to become righteous than in the finished work of Jesus. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
Gospel is really simple and liberating. It is the religion that makes it complicated and burdensome.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
The Great Christian Cliché
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 Eph 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?
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 himself from depending on the healing provision that he already has in Christ Jesus. Why? In his mind, Tim thinks he is not healed and therefore to be healed, he is sincerely following a set of godly sounding principles prescribed, probably by his church or a Christian book. The truth is, Tim does not know that he is already healed, in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus bore Tim’s sickness two thousand years ago by His stripes, so that Tim, the child of God, 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. The writer of the book of Hebrews calls it disobedience when we do not rest in His works.
There is no delicate way to put it, but another word for this mindset of “I don’t have it OR I am going to earn it with my effort”, is pride. [Please know that I am not sitting on a high throne and pointing my finger at you. I speak from experience.] The prominent character 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' is proclaimed, for it is hard for the legalistic mind to acknowledge the truth that we cannot ‘move’ God with our actions. Jesus Christ made us righteous. 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 called the ‘Good News’.
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?
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 himself from depending on the healing provision that he already has in Christ Jesus. Why? In his mind, Tim thinks he is not healed and therefore to be healed, he is sincerely following a set of godly sounding principles prescribed, probably by his church or a Christian book. The truth is, Tim does not know that he is already healed, in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus bore Tim’s sickness two thousand years ago by His stripes, so that Tim, the child of God, 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. The writer of the book of Hebrews calls it disobedience when we do not rest in His works.
There is no delicate way to put it, but another word for this mindset of “I don’t have it OR I am going to earn it with my effort”, is pride. [Please know that I am not sitting on a high throne and pointing my finger at you. I speak from experience.] The prominent character 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' is proclaimed, for it is hard for the legalistic mind to acknowledge the truth that we cannot ‘move’ God with our actions. Jesus Christ made us righteous. 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 called the ‘Good News’.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
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