Mercy and grace, two wonderful gifts that Jesus has given to us. His mercy and grace are always available to us, and they are always active; never dormant or stale. Yet oftentimes we find ourselves feeling as though God’s mercy has somehow left us. Sometimes we think that His grace has abandoned us in the midst of a crisis. I understand those thoughts and feelings, and I’ve felt them myself many times before. I know that it can be very disconcerting, frightening and even depressing; again I have experienced all of that.
But is it actually true that God’s mercy has left us? Is it true that God’s grace has abandoned us? It can be difficult to even confront that thought, because on the one hand, we are uncomfortable even contemplating it. Yet even so, no problem of any significance is ever solved by ignoring it. We can and should approach the problem directly, and we shouldn’t be fearful about it. For if we do indeed believe as we proclaim that “God is good all the time”, then whatever answer we find, we can be certain that it will be good and beneficial for us.
So today I’d like to have a discussion about the mercy and grace of God, and perhaps tackle some of the more palpable aspects of it, both negative and positive.
I had a conversation with a gentlemen once who asked me what I did [for a job] – and I told him that I was a Gospel minister – to which he paused awkwardly, and then said “Oh, I’m not religious”. So I chuckled and said, “That’s okay neither am I!” – after that we each went our separate ways.
It wasn’t until three days later, that we met again and he said to me in a puzzled voice: “What did you mean, when you said that you weren’t religious?!”.
You see, religion is not at all the same thing, as having a relationship, a union with Christ. And sometimes I think that we use the words and say these phrases, but haven’t really stopped to consider what they mean, or what the implications of them are.
It may also surprise you to hear that a great number of Christians also do not understand these differences. And so we are going to explore this today, and look at how the mentality of religion, is actually quite backwards to the truth of the Gospel of Christ taught in the scripture. And right-away I need to mention that when I say “backwards mentality” – I am not using that term as slang for stupid or unintelligent; not at all…
What I am saying, is that there is a religious mentality among many Christians, that is actually 180 degrees opposite to what the scriptures actually teach, and what the Gospel of Christ actually says. And this is what we will be exploring (and exposing) in today’s study.
There is a persistent idea, and ideology among some Christians, that has been around for quite some time actually, which says that as believers, we must maintain a certain level of guilt and shame. That every time we fail in our behaviors or fall short in our performance, that it is right and proper to feel guilty, and be ashamed, and that to not feel these things indicates some level of depravity – or worse that we have a seared conscience, and God has given us over to a carnal mind (whatever term they use, it’s the same underlying idea).
I have heard these ideas over and over again. They often seem as though they are “holy” and “right”, and anyone who doesn’t agree is a heretic.
However is this what the scriptures actually teach? Is the perspective of perpetual guilt and shame based on our behaviors and performance, truly biblical? Is this the abundant life and freedom and peace that Jesus died for us to have? That’s the question that we need to answer – and we will answer it today in this study.
The title of this study today, is honestly a topic that people have struggled with from the very beginning of time. When a thought, emotion or feeling comes your way, especially a negative or even oppressive one, what do you do about it? How do you handle it?
For some, thoughts, emotions and feelings can be controlling and even rule their life. Some people are held captive by their emotions, and allow their feelings to rule their life. But what can be done about it?
Well, in-fact God has quite a bit to say on the subject, and we are going to answer these questions today, as always by looking at Jesus, and seeing the reality of His finished work for us.
I invite you to look at the title of today’s study, and ponder it deeply for a few moments. What if God wasn’t recording your sins? How would that change your life? How would that change the way you think, or the concerns of your heart? How would that affect your conscience, or the guilt and shame that so easily burdens us? How would this change your relationship with God and how you view Him?
In this study today, we will be looking at these questions, and the truth of scripture that surrounds them. We will be examining all of this through the lens of the grace of God, and in the light of the finished work of Christ – His sacrifice for you, and who you are today in Him.
As you see this truth today, your eyes will be opened to the amazing Grace of God, that we sometimes sing about, but never stop to consider the reality of what it means for us. And many chains of guilt, shame and condemnation will be broken as a result of seeing this today.
As believers, we hear a lot about God in our heart; and I often speak a lot about God changing us from the inside, but it occurs to me that we haven’t studied how that actually happens, (at least we haven’t for a while); and this is another aspect of our identity that is vital to our proper understanding and of who God is, and living through the relationship with Him.
So since this question comes up quite often, today I’m going to share with you, how exactly God changes a person from the inside; how exactly a right relationship with Him, actually effects your heart, in the best possible way. And by seeing this truth, you will understand how “religion” has greatly sold your personal relationship with God very short… and how Jesus has done a much greater work than what you can possibly imagine, and He loves you more than you have ever thought possible.
I’ve encountered many people throughout my years, whom I have shared the truth with, that God is not angry with them. And many times, their response, was “I wish I could believe that.” They couldn’t receive the truth of God not being angry with them, because they were measuring His attitude towards them using a different standard. Instead of looking at the truth in scripture, they were looking at their current circumstances, their emotions and feelings of the moment, to gauge God’s mood, instead of what His eternal word says. When things were going well, God was obviously happy, and when things were not going well, God was obviously displeased. And so for these people, thy were constantly living a roller-coaster of ups and downs. Never on a solid foundation, but always on the shifting sand of the present moment.
However, God does not want us to live that way… that’s not the abundant life that He came to give us. He paid a high and precious price to reconcile us with Himself – and that is not a maybe, or a half-hearted reconciliation. Jesus has done a complete work, one that has a sure result; one that we can be confident in, and one that does not waiver back and forth like the wind, or get tossed around by the waters of daily life. What we will be studying today is why you can be absolutely sure of your status with God today. Why you can be bold and confident in your relationship with Him, and know beyond all doubt, why He is not angry with you today.
One of the issues that keep resurfacing in Christian circles today is covenants. Many believers still do not have a fundamental grasp of which covenant they are under today in Christ, or why they cannot have both Mosaic and the Messianic covenants (The Law and Grace). It's interesting to note that while there were many different covenants in the Bible, only the Law of Moses, only the Mosaic Covenant has seemed to persist and be a point of confusion and an area of stumbling for many believers today. Of-course this is not a coincidence, Satan knows all too well, that the strength of sin is the Law which brings about the sting of death as mentioned in 1st Corinthians 15:56. As long as the enemy can keep believers in confusion about their place and position in Christ Jesus, then they will always be weak and vulnerable due to plain and simple ignorance of the truth. And God does not want that.
That's why in this study today, we will be taking an in-depth look at the covenant which we are under today, the Messianic Covenant of Grace in Christ, and we will also be addressing the common areas of confusion that many believers have today regarding the Mosaic Covenant of the Law and how it relates to us today in Christ. By seeing these truths, you will be set free from confusion, able to freely enjoy the Covenant which Jesus has placed you in today.
One day someone asked me straight out “what is the ministry of the spirit?” – now this man was a believer, and as embarrassing as it may seem, I hadn't actually considered that there were believers today which did not know what the Bible says about the ministry of the spirit, or even that there has been a change in ministry. So his question caught me a little bit off-guard. Since that time, I've come to realize that the majority of believers also have the same question, unaware that there has been a change in ministry due to Jesus Christ.
This is what we are going to be studying today, seeing the change that has occurred in our ministry. It's important to see this truth for two reasons: first because as ambassadors for Christ, we should know what the message from our King is! And second, this will also help us to distinguish between truth and falsehood in ministry.