For the last three weeks we’ve been exploring New Covenant deliverance from strongholds. We’ve looked at what strongholds are (imaginations, thoughts, emotions, feelings, and traditions that exalt themselves above Jesus), and we also saw the foundation of the finished work of Christ and our new identity in Him upon which our freedom stems.
Today we are going to continue from where we paused last week and go deeper into how to apply the deliverance of Christ based on His sacrifice, and our new identity in Him as reborn new creation.
Jesus is perfect. As believers that statement might not be too surprising. Most Christians would say “Amen” to it, and agree with the statement without thinking twice. Yet in practice there are some areas where we don’t take into account just how very deep His perfection runs. For example, let me ask you a simple question: If you could obey the Law of Moses perfectly, would you be righteous?
Most of the Christians that I have discussions with, would answer “yes”, and indeed many are trying to do exactly that… they are trying to continually improve their behavior to align to what they call the “moral law” (even though the Law of Moses really has no divisions or separate categories).
Additionally, many of the Christians that I speak with, believe that this is all that Jesus did; they believe that the reason Jesus was the perfect sacrifice was because He simply kept the Law of Moses perfectly.
And what I want to share with you today, is the fact that Jesus’ perfection is so much deeper than that! I want to expand your vision and broaden your horizon to see much more of His perfection than what is generally seen. And as you see the perfection of Jesus today, you will be able to more fully appreciate what He has accomplished for you.
Obedience. The word conjures up images and thought of behavior and performance for many people. Legalistic pastors and leaders often teach on obedience in an effort to spur people on in their works – trying to make people fall in line and follow rules and regulations; leading many people into guilt, despair, confusion and fear when they fail… wondering how they could ever measure up, “be good enough” or be accepted and approved-of by God.
New Covenant obedience as defined in the scriptures, however, shows us a different kind of obedience. One not founded on the works or self-effort of man, but one based on the perfect work of Jesus Christ. This kind of obedience is backwards to man’s idea, and the thinking of the world. The world says that we must perform to become… we must perform properly to become accepted. However the scriptures tell us that in the New Covenant, we believe that through Christ, we have become accepted already, and we perform because we are New Creations through the Spirit. In reality, our belief is our obedience. We are obedient to the truth. And this is what we will be studying today.
How clean are you? This question is often posed to congregations of believers in an attempt to motivate them to good works. However I am posing this question to you today for an entirely different reason... Not to expose your perceived failings or shortcomings, but instead to show you how completely clean you are in Christ Jesus today. You see, many believers are living life with the belief that they are clean one-moment (when they think they are behaving well) and then dirty the next moment (when they fail), so they are on some sort of spiritual teeter-totter – up one moment and down the next moment.
This however is not how God wants us to live. This shifting-sand, roller-coaster mentality is not the abundant life which Christ died to give us. So today we will be examining the truth of how completely clean you are in Christ (in every way) and how by seeing this truth, you will be on the unshakable foundation of Jesus Christ, instead of the shifting sand of emotions, feelings and your own performance.
Have you been struggling to be obedient? In many Christian circles today, the focus is on obedience. Many times people say that obedience is important – and I completely agree… the Bible has much to say on the topic of obedience. Where we tend to differ, is the manner of that obedience. And this manner is defined in the covenant that we are under today as believers in Christ. It is important to understand our covenant today in order to truly understand the type and manner of obedience that is required by the covenant.
Most people automatically assume that when they see the word obedience in the Bible that it is always referring to outward obedience via performance and actions. This was certainly true in the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses. However the Bible describes a different type of obedience for believers today who are under the New Covenant of Grace in Christ. This is what we will be studying today, because it is very difficult to be obedient under the terms of our covenant if we do not know what the terms are.
One day I was speaking with a gentleman and proceeded to invite him to our weekly Bible study. His response to my invitation was unexpected. He replied “You're not one of those fluffy grace guys are you? I don't want any of that!”. He proceeded to tell me that in his opinion, what we all need is more fire and brimstone preaching against sin, and how all of these fluffy grace preachers are diluting things further.
This kind of thinking is actually fairly common. However, is this what the Bible actually teaches? I know that it is a commonly held belief that too much grace is a dangerous thing… but is that commonly held belief supported by what the scripture says? This is what we will be studying today. As we see the truth of what the scripture says, it will quench any doubt that we have have regarding the message of Grace.
Once someone said to me: “James, I just don't understand God.” I responded “in what way?” Because there are some aspects of God which we will never understand while still under the confines of our human brain. However there are some aspects of God which we are not only made to understand, but it is vital that we do so,. This man replied, “I don't understand how God can still love me when I sin.”
At this point I realized that this man was struggling with something that all of us at one point have wrestled with, and many believers are still battling with this very same thought. Many still do not understand that marvelous work which Jesus Christ has done for them. Even in the church, there are a great number of people who profess Christ with their mouth, and claim to have received the gift, but they have not even started to unwrap it. So in this study today, we will be examining the gift of justification which Jesus Christ has freely given to each and every one of us, and how seeing this truth, can bring peace to any lingering doubt about where you stand in Christ today.
What does it mean to be holy? People have many different ideas about the word… from piousness and being overtly spiritual like the Pharisees, secluding yourself and meditating, or some other combination of self-effort and works. The Biblical definition of holiness is “to be set apart for your intended purpose”. But this definition has been largely misinterpreted and misunderstood, and has become something much more carnal and fleshly.
That's why today in this study, we will be taking a look at holiness, in the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ; and as we see this truth from the scripture, the false burden of trying to be holy will be replaced with receiving the holiness that Jesus has paid for us to have.
Here in America, we value freedom. Freedom to choose this thing or that thing, freedom from oppression and from the shackles of slavery. In my discussions with people, I am occasionally asked how I can believe in such an oppressive book as the Bible; they say that the Bible is outdated, or closed-minded. I have responded by saying that quite to the contrary, the Bible has not oppressed or enslaved me, but it has liberated me and set me free. You see, freedom is just an illusion, if you are still a slave to sin, still a slave to negativity, depression or the lusts of the flesh – and there are a great number of people in churches today even who are still bound by these things.
So today, we will be studying how Jesus Christ can give us true freedom from sin and self, and how as a result of His redemptive work, we can be truly free.