Q: Sin may have “knocked” you down, but when Jesus Died and shed His “Blood”, He “knocked” out the power of Sin once and for all you…SO GET UP OUT OF YOUR SIN AND RUN TO THE FATHER.
A: Most Christians would agree that Christ lives in them. However, when they are asked, "Do you believe you have total forgiveness of all your sins?" many questions arise. This is because the forgiveness of sins has often been presented to people as a separate offer. Too many times the gospel presentation has been, "Come down the aisle and receive the forgiveness of sins." Certainly this is part of the good news, but it's not all of the good news. Salvation isn't like a vending machine, where I put my coin in and get a little forgiveness here, a little holiness there, or a little power of some sort. The gospel message is an invitation to turn to the person of Jesus Christ by faith. And when you have received Him, you have received everything, including the resurrected life of God!
Let's say you have a pen representing forgiveness and the Bible representing Jesus. If you place the pen inside the Bible where is forgiveness found? It is found in Christ. It is impossible to have one without the other. It is a two-for-one deal. The moment you receive Christ, you receive His total forgiveness because forgiveness is in Him. That is why Ephesians 1:7 says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." All that God has to offer us is in His Son, Jesus Christ.
To believe that Christ lives in you and still doubt your total forgiveness is a contradiction. Jesus Christ could never live in a person unless all of his sins were forgiven. He died for you so that He could live in you! His life in you is our assurance that you are totally forgiven and secure in salvation. It's impossible to receive Christ without receiving forgiveness of sins. It would be like offering you the pen separately from the Bible. If you're struggling with your forgiveness, ask yourself if you are in Christ. If you are in Christ, you can rest confidently in the fact that you have total forgiveness of sins. Be blessed. (excerpts taken from Grace Stories by Bob George)
Q: The "righteous" shall live by faith? Practically how do we(Christians) walk this out?
A: We walk it out by resting in who we are and all that we have been given in Christ. We are righteous in God's eyes because we have been given the righteousness of Christ. I do not have "a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith (Phil 3:9)." Faith must have an object and Jesus is the object of our faith. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2)." Because of our righteousness and faith in Christ we have "an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you (1 Pet 1:4)." Therefore, we are righteous and have an inheritance from God because of our faith in Jesus Christ, who gave us the Holy Spirit as "a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession (Eph 1:14)." Knowing all this, the only thing we can do as Christians is live a life of thankfulness. We allow the Holy Spirit to live His life through us, as only He can, because we are resting from our works in all that we have been given through faith.
Be careful, however. There are those that do not understand the role of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's life and who will deceive you into living a life of works under some for of law. In Galatians 3, Paul says, "Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith (Gal 3:11)." He said this because the Galatians had been deceived into a life of works trying to obtain or maintain through self-effort that which they already received through faith. "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort (Gal 3:3)?" Don't be foolish. Often times the enemy will deceive us in ways that will sound convincing. For example, you will hear people say things like "we don't live a life of doing rules and regulations," but turn around and give a list of rules and regulations you are to "obey" because you "love God." And, of course, none of us want to be thought of as not loving God. Therefore, we eagerly step up to the plate and do exactly what the Galatians were guilty of. Remember, the life we live is motivated by the love of God for us, not our love for Him. "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died (2 Cor 5:14)." It is not our obedience to God that is evidence of living by faith. It is our faith in His obedience on our behalf. When you realize that all you can say is "thank you, Jesus."
Q: Don't be so "heavenly" minded your no "earthly" good..What does that mean?
A: I don't know what one considers being "heavenly" minded to the point they are no "earthly" good. To me it gives the impression again that we are focused on the behavior of another. Without defining terms we can get ourselves into trouble here. What does one consider "heavenly" minded and no "earthly" good? There are at least a couple ways to look at this. "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him (1 Cor 7:17)." Wherever you are in life, as a Christian, is just fine with the Lord. Sometimes we can be made to feel that if we aren't like another Christian who appears to be "evangelizing" up a storm, or highly respected by their peers, or off in some far off land as a missionary that we are of no use to the Lord. In my opinion, the best evangelism takes place on a one on one personal level. That is why it is okay to be right were you are now. There are people in your own circle of influence, whether it is your family, friends or coworkers who need to hear about the Lord. And when you are ready to share with them you will. Don't worry about where, when or how. Just be available to the Lord to use you. If you're in Christ, you are "heavenly" minded and are of "earthly" good.
Secondly, we can make the mistake that focusing all our attention on ourselves and our lifestyle is not being "so heavenly" minded. From my standpoint, there are way too many Christians who believe that the Christian life is all about focusing on themselves. As Paul exclaimed, "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort (Gal 3:3)?" Everyday I hear Christians talking about we have to "turn away from sin" and "turn to God." That sounds great. Nobody wants to sin, but when we live a life focused on defining what sin is and turning away from it when do we have time for anything else? Our lives become mastered by sin. It is all about don't do this, this and this and do this, this and this. It is not only living under the law, it has you consumed with sins God no longer remembers or counts against you. It is in that way that you are so "heavenly" minded that you are no "earthly" good. There is rarely a time when you will be a witness of God's grace and mercy when you are living an impossible life of trying to clean your flesh up. A flesh that will never be clean, is headed to the grave and doesn't inherit the Kingdom of God. Your only witness will be to try and get people to come live the life your are not living. That is not a life of rest and peace. Christ didn't set us free to put us under a "yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear (Acts 15:10).." Don't be so "foolish." Focus on Jesus, who you are in Christ and the heavenly things He has given you. Then you will be of more earthly good then you could have imagined. Be blessed.
Q: When fear tries to present itself, how should we as Christians fight fear?
A: We always fight fear with truth. When Adam sinned in the Garden, what was the first thing he said to God? "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid (Gen 3:10)." Adam was afraid because he knew he had lost something that God had given him. In this case it was the very life of God. Adam was spiritually dead. For many Christians we live in fear because we are afraid of God. We are afraid of Him because we feel that what we want and need from Him is determined based on our obedience or withheld by Him based on our disobedience. This incorrect understanding of how God sees us and who we are in Him is at the root of the fear many live in. "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 (1 Jn 4:18)." When we are in fear of God we cannot experience His love for us. Too many of us are afraid that God will take something away from us or not give something to us based on our behavior. However, it is not our behavior that determines our right standing with God, what He has given us or how He treats us. Ultimately, the battle is between the truth and the lie. When Satan was tempting Jesus (Luke 4), Jesus responded to every Satanic temptation with "It is written." In other words, Jesus rebuked Satan's lies with God's truth. It is the same with us.
The lie of Satan says that Christians must live a holy life. God's truth says "he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—(Col 1:22)." Satan says you must keep getting forgiven. God's truth says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Eph 1:7)." Satan says you must be progressively sanctified. God's truth says that "by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Heb 10:14)." Satan says you must earn God's blessings. God's truth says He has "blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph 1:3)." This is just a small sampling of who we are in Christ and how God sees us. It is evidence of how truth sets us free. When you know how God feels about you and who you are in Him, the fear leaves. That is why we can "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:16)." You can't draw near to a God you are afraid of. You can't experience God's love when you are in fear of Him. And, ultimately, you can't rest or be at peace if fear has entered your relationship with Him. If you are experiencing fear you know that you are believing error. That means it is time to push that fear away with truth. Be blessed.
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