Yet Christians — those that are truly born again by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ — are never called “sinners” even once in the entire Bible. Such a belief that Christians are called “sinners” is not only patently unbiblical, it is unhealthy and downright dangerous to the cause of righteousness, both personal and in the church.

Now at the outset let me say that I am not saying Christians never sin. They can and do sin, sadly and opposed to God’s will.

What I am saying is that you will not find even one verse in the Bible that calls Christians “sinners”. Not a single one. So what are they called? “Saints”. More on that later.

The Greek word for “sinner” is “hamartolos”*, meaning “devoted to sin, a sinner, not free from sin” or “pre-eminently sinful, especially wicked”. One can see from this definition of “hamartolos” that such a condition should not biblically describe a Christian. “Hamartolos” is found 45 times in the New Testament. Not a single time is it used to describe a Christian. Not even ONCE.

Some are quick to point out that Paul called himself the “chief of sinners” in 1 Timothy 1:15:

(1:15) This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”
To misuse this verse and use it as a means to make the argument that Christians are called “sinners” is to violate the meaning of the verse in its context, as well as the original Greek. Further, it is wrong to create an entire doctrine out of one verse.

First, looking at 1 Timothy 1:15 in its context, Paul in the verses preceding verses writes:

[12] And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, [13] although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. [14] And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

Verse 13 makes clear that Paul is speaking of his former life as a “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man”. He is making a clear point that God’s grace was exceedingly abundant in his life to not only save him from such a miserable state but also place him in the ministry!

Verse 16, right after the “chief of sinners” verse says, “However, for this reason I obtained [note the past tense] mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” Paul continues in the “past tense” vein speaking of how God by His mercy took him from his former life as the chief of sinners!

Furthermore, if indeed Paul at the time of this writing called himself — the “chief of sinners”, then he would be disqualified from the ministry, based upon the righteous standards he describes for those in ministry just two chapters later!

The Greek word for “chief”, “protos”, means “first in time or place, in any succession of things or persons” or “first in rank”. Someone has used the anology of a star track athlete who broke the school record in the mile race. When he returned to his alma mater 25 years later, he was surprised to find that no one had beaten his time. He can rightly say, “I am the record holder in the mile race at my high school”. Notice that he uses the present tense. Never mind the fact that that today he has middle age flab, huffing and puffing just going up the steps (poor guy). He still IS the chief record holder in the mile race. His trophy is still in the case. He still tops the list in the record books. He won that distinction.
The fact is, Paul was pointing out God’s rich mercy in his case as the record holder as a sinner to bring encouragement to people to come to the Lord of mercy.

Even if 1 Timothy 1:15 could be interpreted as Paul identifying himself — present tense — as the chief of sinners, it is improper to build an entire doctrine making the case that Christians are “sinners” out of just one verse.

Well, I’ve made my point (the first of three). Every single time the word “sinner” is used in the New Testament it NEVER is used in reference to Christians. Ever. That means it is patently unscriptural for Christians to call themselves (or any other Christian) a “sinner”.

So, what are we called? Ah, now we come to the wonderful part!

Before I get to that. It’s important to clearly understand that everything good that we receive from the Lord is given not upon our own worthiness or merit. It is given by grace, through the perfect merit of Jesus Christ and HIS worthiness. It is ALL of grace:

[8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Eph 2:8-9 NKJV

Romans 5:1-2 NKJV

[1] Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have° peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Grace is about what a loving God does for me, completely undeserved. Someone has said that grace is undeserved favor in the face of deserved wrath. It is given on the grounds of the perfect life and righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is enjoyed by simple faith in Christ.

God, solely upon the basis of grace and the perfection of Christ’s righteousness, makes and calls us His children (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1), He through that same grace calls us saints. The Greek word for “saints” is “hagios” meaning “most holy thing, a saint”. The word “hagios” is used in the New Testament 219 times. 161 times it’s used to describe that which is holy, i.e., the Holy Spirit, the temple, the holy city, etc. 61 times its translated “saints” or “saint”.

The core idea “holy” is of something that is completely set apart for God and his purposes. In the Old Testament, common objects were made holy when they were dedicated to the Lord upon the altar. They were called “holy” by virtue of the holy altar, not the inherent value of the object itself.

We are called “saints”, or “holy ones” or “set apart ones” because of God’s righteous decree. This is not because of our intrinsic worth or merit, it is based purely on the loving grace extended to us through Jesus Christ. It comes from the hand and heart of a holy God. It is all about HIS goodness and holiness and not our own.
1 Corinthians 6:19 declares, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” Notice the core concepts:

• Our body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, “whom you have from God“, and
• You are not your own – we belong to God

• Verse 20 gives the reason: “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

We all know that the Corinthian church was messed up, backslidden, worldly, carnal, fighting, arrogant, proud… and Paul greets them in his first epistle with, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints“ (1 Corinthians 1:2a).

So you see, my friend, everything good in your life is brought to you from the heart and hand of God. Including what He calls you: a saint.

By God’s doing you are justified, forgiven, pure, born again, made His child, a joint heir with Jesus Christ and called to be a saint (Romans 1:7).
The tragic thing about saints wrongly calling themselves “sinners” is when they do so they are identifying with sin and the work of Satan, not grace and the finished work of The Lord Jesus Christ. Further, it is actually thinly disguised pride. It is a waving our hand in the face of a Holy, gracious God who calls us holy and saying to Him, “not so.” However, recognizing that you are indeed a saint, based upon the grace of God through Jesus Christ alone, you identify with grace and the work of God. I can’t think of anything more humbling than understanding that you deserve to be called “sinner”, reprobate and foul, only to discover that by God’s amazing grace He lifts you out of the miry clay and calls you His child (1 John 3:1), totally blessed (Ephesians 1:3), not condemned (Romans 8:1), sanctified (1 Corinthian 1:2), a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21), a trophy of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:6 and 2:7)….

CALLED TO BE A SAINT (Rom 1:7, 1 Cor 1:2).

On All Saints Day (November 1), I like to greet my Christian friends by calling them “Saint so and so”. Saint Mike, Saint Cathy, Saint Ted. I greeted one sister in the Lord in this way, she looked down, rather embarrassed and said, “Well, I don’t know about THAT”. To which I said, “Are you born again?” She said, “Yeah”. I said, “GOD calls you a ‘saint’, get over it and enjoy it!” I then shared some of this truth with her that I am writing now. I could see the light bulb going on as I shared with her this glorious truth.

Dear Ones — Saint of the Living God — lift your eyes from yourself and look in the face of your Loving Savior. It’s all based upon the basis of the beauty of HIS holiness, righteousness and perfection. Don’t look to your own failure, look to Christ’s success. Jesus Himself said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). It’s all Jesus, all Jesus, all Jesus. That’s how we entered the new life, that’s how we walk through it, that’s how we are glorified and live forever with Him.

It’s all of grace. All of it. Even what He calls us: Saints. Children of God. Chosen ones. Dearly loved.

—————

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH
(Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38)

It doesn’t say (as most Christians think) that “the just shall live by try”, or “struggle” or “striving”. It says FAITH.

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

The antithesis of this is the ultimate definition of sin, found in Romans 14:23b:

for whatever is not from faith is sin.

Yet how often in Christian circles do we hear endless sermons about US, our performance, our failures, our sins, how we are falling short. Most sermons end with the dreaded “application”, where the focus is completely on us and “what we have to do”.

You can always tell the real thrust of any message by where it lands at the end. If a speaker is worth their salt, the end, the conclusion, is the fitting summing up of all that they have been saying. Good communication irrevocably leads to the conclusion. That’s the “take home” that our hearers need. And what do those hearers in most Christian churches get as the “take home”? “You are falling short in this area we have been talking about today.” “Here is the application/practical part of my message. This is what you have to do”.

In other words, the message lands on us.

Instead of landing on Christ.

Now what does the Bible teach with regard to the Christian life?

It is all of Christ. It’s about Christ, not about me.

In the book of Hebrews we see this statement “the just shall live by faith” after ten whole chapters about Christ, His perfect person, sonship, life, priesthood, sacrifice, blood, death and resurrection. Because of the perfection of Him and His perfection, we have all.

Then we get to Hebrews 10:38 and a new theme comes forward: the just shall live by faith. Only two verses later, chapter 11, what some have called “The Faith Hall of Fame”, we see something very striking: the phrase “by faith” appears 18 times in this one chapter alone. No other book of the Bible comes even close. And it’s all in one chapter.

So, we get the message, loud and clear: The just don’t live by do, or strive, or struggle, or trying — the just shall live BY FAITH.

Now our attention is captured with the necessity of faith in the Christian life. It is striking that the language of faith — words like “faith”, “believe”, “trust”, “hope” — is used a whopping 677 in the New Testament alone. More than the use of the word “love”. That alone should cause us to sit up and take notice.

In the mind of God the necessity of faith is paramount.

Indeed, “the just shall live by faith”!

Why should it be of faith? Romans 4:16 says:

[16] Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

We see 2 reasons why “the just shall live by faith” from this verse:

1. That it would be according to grace. Grace speaks of God loving us, totally accepting us and fully blessing us, not because of our performance, but purely because of His infinite goodness. Grace therefore maximizes the glory of God, as it lays man’s pride, striving and self-righteousness in the dust.

2. “So that the promise might be sure [guaranteed] to all the seed”. We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ (Rom 8:17), blessed with all spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3), having the blessing of Abraham (Gen 3:14), made partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). All of that is given to us guaranteed by the grace of God.

It is according to faith, that all this would be according to grace!

So, we might be tempted to say, “OK, I’ve got to buckle down and have faith, have faith, have faith!” Alas, now we’re back to miserable square one: it’s all about me.

No, even our faith doesn’t come from our trying, striving, struggling. Look at the incredible truth of Hebrews 12:2

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hallelujah! Even Jesus is the Author and Finisher of my faith! He is the source, He is the completer of my faith. He is the Alpha and Omega, all of my faith from A to Z and everything into between!

And you know what? JESUS gets all the glory! My Christian life works — amazingly well — because God the Father in His infinite brilliance has made it all of His Son Jesus Christ! Even the needed faith comes from Him who is the Source.

Looking unto JESUS, the author and finisher of my faith!

And here’s the best part of it all: Jesus isn’t “way out there, somewhere”, He is in me. Colossians 1:26-27 (NKJV)

[26] the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. [27] To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Have you noticed that some of the Bible’s greatest passages on the love of God express it in the past tense?

John 3:16 (NKJV)

[16] “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 5:6-8 (NKJV)

[6] For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.[7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.[8] But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

[37] Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

1 John 3:1-2a (NKJV)

[3:1] Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.[2] Beloved, now we are children of God…

Ephesians 2:1-3 (NASB) speaks of our desperate, awful and dead lives before salvation:

[2:1] And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, [2] in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. [3] Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Then there’s the intervention of God’s amazing love in verse 4:

[4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The past tense expression of these peak biblical verses of the love of God in no way casts a doubt on the present and future love of God toward us. To the contrary, it obliterates all doubt of His love. And gives us perfect assurance of His steadfast, unfailing and forever love. Why? Because if He loved us then as miserable, wretched, selfish, god-hating sinners, He certainly loves us now as His beloved saints and children!

So when did this love for us begin?

After we asked for forgiveness? No.

After we repented? No.

After we were born again? No?

After the cross? No.

After the resurrection? No.

After Jesus was born? No.

Check out 2 Timothy 1:9 (NKJV):

[9] who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began

If God the Father loved us before time even began, then certainly He loves us now. Yes, even after we sinned. His love is perfect, steadfast and unfailing.

There is a powerful Hebrew word that reflects this dimension of God’s infinite, amazing love: hesed. English translators have rendered it as “steadfast love” or “unfailing love”. Vines Expository Dictionary offers this enlightening insight:

In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: “strength,” “steadfastness,” and “love.” Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. “Love” by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet “strength” or “steadfastness” suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation.

God’s love for you is rooted in the eternality of His being. He has always been and always will be. He loved you from eternity past. He even gave you grace before time began. He certainly loves you now and forever.

After all, how can anyone improve on perfect? Perfect love. Now and always. Not because of you. But because of God Himself.

And that is how He is glorified most!

In this podcast, our study of Hebrews continues in Hebrews 6:13-20. We learn:

• The basis of our triumphant faith: God HIMSELF and HIS faithfulness!
• How God gives us strong encouragement through His promise and oath.
• As result of God’s faithfulness and performance we have: stability, safety and access into the most holy Presence of God!

It’s not every day that we hear a new band with an incredible sound and truly a powerful, life-changing message. So I’m excited about the national debut of the ALLAN SCOTT  and his premiere release, “Perfect Love”. The band hails from right here in the State College, PA area. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitar is Allan Scott, lead guitar and backup vocals is Hayden Miller, bass Ray Ceglar, drums Caleb Bush and the newest addition to the group is Blake Bratton, keyboards (not pictured).

With all original music, the band brings a great sound with passionate vocals and a sharp, catchy pop sound that will find you worshiping our great God of grace. The band has been phenomenally blessed to have the talent of Nashville-based producer Scotty Davis (who co-wrote the 2010 Song of the Year by the band Kutless, “What Faith Can Do“). Every song on the band’s new EP release “Blameless and Free” positively sizzles.

The great thing about this band, though, is their lyrics. Allan Scott has penned the music for all three of the songs on the EP. I’ve known Allan for years and I can testify how the message of God’s radical grace has had a profound impact on his life and ministry. That passion to communicate the grace of God and the sufficiency of Christ shines through the words of “Perfect Love”:

Christ is joy, Christ is peace
He is not far away
There’s nothing more our hearts could need
He lives in us today

Perfect love, perfect love
Lives inside, We are made complete
Perfect love. perfect love
Christ alive, Alive in you and me

Lyrics like that are desperately needed in the church today. Often, the message we hear today is “try harder”, “you’re not good enough”, “we are all sinful creatures”. It all sums up to Christian-centered (instead of Christ-centered), performance-based (instead of grace-based), law-based so-called “Christianity”. Such a wrong message has left many in the church hopelessly in bondage to self and sin, of little use to the Kingdom.

Then there’s the powerhouse grace message of Allan Scott.

His songs positively shine with the sufficiency and power of God’s amazing grace and Christ in us the hope of glory.

I believe the church is hungry for the message that Allan Scott brings.

Check out the band’s website here. You can hear for yourself the difference of the Allan Scott!

In this podcast, we deal with these questions head on:

• We need to remember to whom this epistle was written
• Who is the type of person being warned in verses 4-8?
• A very different type of person is addressed in verses 9-12, one that has experienced true salvation.
• The faith and perseverance that endures to the end.

Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]

[14] Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.[15] And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.  (NKJV)

To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it). [Amplified]

• Why would a person be considered a “spiritual babe”?
• What is the “word of Righteousness?”
• What’s the big deal about “righteousness”?

The subject of righteousness is huge in the Bible. Most Christians — even pastors — are confused about what it really means. Most Christians are loaded down with a sin consciousness, instead of realizing the JOY of being made righteous and the incredible difference it makes in their spiritual lives.

This episode plunges into these great truths that will set you free!

This is true for every child of God.

The Father’s love is so radical that He sent His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into a sin devastated world to rescue us and bring us into His loving embrace. Let me quote  John 3:16, personalize it and bring in the Father:

For Father God so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son, that if I would believe in Him I would not perish but have everlasting life.

Wonderful, isn’t it?

Father God really wants us to experience His love in a far deeper measure. I know: some might say, “Watch out for that experience and feelings stuff!” True, we don’t want base our understanding of truth upon an experience. However, the Bible is full of references of experiential knowledge of God. Jesus Himself said:

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. [John 5:39-40]

It is the scriptures which testify of Christ, but they do not bring us into the experience of eternal life. Coming to Christ — a person — is what gives eternal life. In other words, scripture “tells of” who Jesus is, but it’s in engaging Christ personally that we enter into all the benefits of eternal life.

The same is true about experiencing the Father’s love. Scripture abundantly testifies of the many dimensions of the Father’s love. Those same scriptures lead us toward a personal experience with the Father and His love. That’s the heartbeat behind the amazing prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21:

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Imagine that: knowing the width, length, depth and height — that’s four dimensions — of God’s love! Mere human knowledge can’t bring us into the Holy Spirit experience of the Father’s love.

I’ve devoted an episode on this subject in our latest “Daily in Christ” podcast called, “The Great Context of The Father’s Love“. I encourage you to listen to it here at our website or subscribe to our podcast via the iTunes Store.

Photo credit

Some of the topics covered:

• The all-important context of the Father and His love, bringing His children home.
• The Father’s love expressed
• Why sonship and the repeated references to “son” are so important
• We have received the Spirit of God’s Son in our hearts and the great difference that makes.
• God the Father loves us as His children just like He loves Jesus!

• Qualifications for high priest
• Jesus is qualified and called to be our High Priest
• The problem of dullness of hearing and how it hinders our ability to fully understand the greatness of Jesus and His finished work.

• What “keeping the rest” (cease from work) means as it applies to dead works versus life in the Spirit.
• The great salvation of the Bible vs. the myopic salvation of the modern church
• Jesus our compassionate High Priest and beginning the discussion on why Jesus is fully qualified to be our high priest.

(1) Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
(2) Why should the Gentiles say,
“So where is their God?”
(3) But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.

So what pleases God?

Luke 12:32 - to give us the kingdom

(32) “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Ephesians 1:3-8, esp 5-9 – It pleases God to bless us, choose us, make us holy and blameless, in His love predestine us as sons, make us highly favored in the Beloved, redeem us through His blood, forgive us, pour out riches of grace upon us…

(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (4) just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (5) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (6) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (8) which He made to abound toward [lavished on] us in all wisdom and prudence, (9) having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself

Philippians 2:12-13 - to work in us both to will and do

(12) Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Hebrews 11:6 - faith in the God who is and rewards those who seek Him

(6) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 - To count us worth of His calling, fulfill His goodness that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in us and us in Him . . .

(11) Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, (12) that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(5) Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
(6) In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.

What changed things, so that God was pleased? Hebrews 10:7-10:

(7) Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’”°
(8) Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), (9) then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”° He takes away the first that He may establish the second. (10) By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

All biblical texts New King James Version (NKJV)

Topics covered:

• What “Sabbath keeping” really means for the believer
• For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
• “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” (Heb 4:10)
• How we can come boldly before the throne of grace, because of all that Jesus has accomplished.
• Religion warning

He gave His life for it.

Yet very few Christians know anything about it: It’s the New Covenant.

Our series, “Hebrews: The Glory of the New Covenant” is well underway. Join us as we dig into the amazing truths found in Hebrews. There are several ways you can get the series:

• Here at our website, click on the “Podcasts menu item above or click on the “Series” menu item above, then “Hebrews: the Glory of the New Covenant”
• You can subscribe to the “Daily in Christ” podcast via the iTunes Store.

• It’s about God’s rest, not yours.
• Why God would rest
• What God’s rest meant at the creation (Genesis 2)
• What God’s rest meant to Israel under Joshua’s leadership

But as you’ll find out in this clarifying podcast, the believer ALREADY has entered God’s rest — at the very moment he was born again.

• Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and why that makes a difference.
• The difference between Real Christianity and Religion.
• The Faithfulness of a Slave vs. the Faithfulness of a SON.
• A warning to non-believers not to harden their hearts against Jesus.

The Faithfulness of a Slave vs. the Faithfulness of a SON

• 6 reasons why Jesus, by the grace of God, had to taste death for everyone.
• Of the many things that Jesus accomplished by His perfect person, life, work, sacrifice and death is making us son (heirs) of God. Sons that He is not ashamed of!

[16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (NKJV)

Why would Paul, inspired of the Spirit, say “I am not ashamed“?

Obviously, the Spirit selected that word “ashamed” for an important reason. It isn’t “I am not afraid of the Gospel” or “I am not intimidated by the Gospel”, but “I am not ashamed“. The problem of shame is brought to light.

Most of us have thought that the problem was being ashamed of the Gospel itself. That we are afraid to speak to others about the Gospel because we don’t want to look like “religious fanatics” or they won’t like us anymore. But the context of the following verses — indeed, chapters — opens up another possibility.Here’s what the next two verses say:

Verse 17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Verse 18: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Here we see two things:

1. The righteousness of God
2. The ungodliness and unrighteousness of men

Ungodly and unrighteous men in the face of a totally righteous God. The full dimensions of the ruin of ungodly and unrighteous man are revealed from verse 18 all the way through chapter 3 verse 20.

The end result of such ungodliness and unrighteousness is shame. When Adam and Eve first fell, their reaction before God was one of fear because of their nakedness (Gen 3:10). Shame. Our sinfulness, in the light of God’s pure, marvelous righteousness equals shame. This shame is as prevalent as the universality of sin and unrighteousness throughout the human race.

The problem of shame involving the Gospel is one of being dogged by our own inadequacy, sin and shame. That’s what holds us back from freely sharing the Gospel with others. We look at ourselves and say, “Who am I to tell this to others?” We look to our own unrighteousness and in shame think “someone else more righteous than I am should do it, not me.”

But the Gospel is not about our righteousness. It’s about God’s righteousness. There are two very important “for’s” in verses 16 and 17, giving the reason for not being ashamed of the Gospel:

for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”*

Here are the two reasons:

1. The Gospel is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes”. “Power” in the Greek means “ability”. The Gospel is the ability of God to save. Now that answers our vast inability to be and do what is right.
2. In the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. That answers our ungodliness and unrighteousness.

At its core, the Gospel is not about us. It’s about God. His righteousness, His worthiness, His finished work in His Son, Jesus Christ. At the heart of the Gospel is Jesus Christ Himself. The Gospel is not about me, it’s about Jesus. We are not recommending sinners to ourselves, but to Christ.

Jesus Christ is our “wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30). Christian and sinner alike need Him. Evangelism isn’t about bragging about how great and righteous we are, but about how great and righteous Jesus is. And how our righteousness and godliness is found in another person, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That’s why verse 17 says that this righteousness of God is by faith. This means that it’s beyond ourselves. Faith implies dependence on another. Romans 4:16 says that “it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed”. The just live by faith precisely because it is all according to grace, which is all about what God and God alone does for us, not because we deserve it or perform right, but simply because He is good and loves us. If it is “of grace”, then it means that it is all God.

Isaiah 54 is one of the greatest New Covenant chapters in all the Bible. In verse 4, the problem of shame clearly comes out:

Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

Five “shame” words in one verse! Clearly, shame attends sin. We can also see the connection between fear and shame, as it was with Adam and Eve at the fall (Gen 3). And yet this verse answers our shame, disgrace and reproach. God says:

You will not be ashamed!

You will not be disgraced, because you will not be put to shame!

You will not be reproached anymore!

How can He say this? That’s what the Gospel and the New Covenant are all about. God says, “Now look what I have done”. Isaiah 54:7-8

[7] “For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
[8] With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the LORD, your Redeemer.

Christian: do you know that God is not angry with you anymore? That’s right and He’s even sworn an oath that He would never be angry with us again:

 [9] “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.

[10] For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

No Bible-believing Christian questions the fact that God will never flood the earth with water again, as He did in the days of Noah. Why do we believe that? Because God swore an oath that He would never do that again (Gen 9:11-16). Here in Isaiah 54 God, in like fashion, swears an oath to never be angry with us again.

How could God righteously promise such things, given the ungodliness and unrighteousness of humanity? The New Covenant promises of Isaiah 54 are made possible because of the finished work of Christ, foretold in Isaiah 53, the One who bore our sin and shame:

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (verse 4)

[5] But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Most Christians are familiar with Isaiah 53. Few know about Isaiah 54. That chapter resounds with the results of what Christ’s suffering, sacrifice and death accomplished for us: sin, shame and God’s anger forever removed. The New Covenant promises of God’s grace, blessings and total acceptance are based on the finished work of Christ.

Romans 1:16 says, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel”. Why? Because it is the power of salvation to everyone who believes and it reveals the righteousness of God — not man — received purely by faith, because of God’s grace.

Sin and shame forever removed, all because of Jesus. We are righteous because “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we would become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21), not because of our performance, good or bad.

That’s why Isaiah 54 opens with exultant joy:

Sing, O barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud!

Now that’s good news worth telling!

How should a person approach God’s holy Word, The Bible?  What should they be looking for?

Fundamentally, The Bible is about GOD, not me or anyone or anything else.

This is tremendously important. Most Christians approach the Bible as being about them, not God. They go to the Bible to “learn about life” or “how to live the Christian life”.

They are not alone in this error. People made the same mistake in Jesus’ day. Jesus, in speaking to the Jews — the people of God, the ones to whom God had made promises, including the bringing of the Savior, the ones who so missed the day of visitation that they wanted to kill Jesus — had this to say:

John 5:39-40 (NKJV)

[39] “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.[40] “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

We see two key things in this text:

1. They made the mistake of thinking that the scriptures could somehow give them eternal life. In other words, they searched the scriptures to somehow teach them how to live eternally. That THEY would somehow do something and by doing many somethings, by virtue of their doing obtain eternal life.
2. Jesus corrected their flawed thinking so that they would understand that scripture does not point to what they would do to get eternal life. They made the same error that the rich young ruler made when he came running up to Jesus seeking what he must do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17). That’s the same error that Eve fell into at the fall. She was seduced into thinking that she needed to be wise, by virtue of knowing good and evil, so that she could be like God (Genesis 3).

The scriptures testify of a PERSON, the Lord Jesus. Look again at John 5:39-40:

[39] “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.[40] “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

God’s answer is not me and what I do.

God’s answer is HIMSELF and what HE DOES and has already accomplished through Jesus Christ!

1 Corinthians 1:29-31 (NKJV)

[29] that no flesh should glory in His presence.[30] But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—[31] that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus

who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption

Christ Himself has become for me, for us, wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption! So in a very real sense, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption are not “it’s”, but summed up and part and parcel of JESUS Himself.

[11] And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.[12] He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

The equation is very simple. CHRIST Himself is life (John 14:6, Col 3:4, John 11:25). Therefore, the what’s all important is not whether one has “the life”, but rather the SON, the CHRIST, who is life. Therefore 1 John 5:11-12 can say axiomatically, “He who has the Sonhas life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life”.

[26] the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.[27] To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

So, that great mystery hidden from ages and from generations but now revealed to the saints is this great, triumphant and simple fact:

Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

[29] that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Further, the verse following makes it clear that our glorying or boasting should be in the Lord:

[31] that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

The peak reason why God does this is so that He would be glorified alone as God and not we ourselves. In other words, God is glorified most by the fact that He placed us in Christ and that He has made Christ unto us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption!

The love of God does.

This is the fullest expression of the Love of God!

Love is the most powerful antidote to all that is wrong with us! Nothing has such power to take our minds and hearts and seize them from the stranglehold of temptation, sin and bondage and bring us to the place of a heartfelt JOYFUL and LOVING obedience to the Lord. Nothing!

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NKJV)

[14] For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;[15] and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

Remember: “all” includes me! So here are the verses personalized:

[14] For the love of Christ compels me, because I judge thus: that if One died for me, then I died;[15] and He died for me, that I who live should live no longer for myself, but for Him who died for me and rose again.

Someone may object by saying that the Bible doesn’t say *that* much about God’s love.

That’s because the Love of God DOES!

And what did God, in His love DO?

John 3:16 (NKJV)

[16] “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

[8] But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In its context the verse shines even more with the Love of God:

Romans 5:6-11 (NKJV)

[6] For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.[7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.[8] Note But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[9] Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.[10] For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.[11] And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

This is, after all, what GRACE is: the Love of God DOING!

• The problem of neglect and drifting away.
• This isn’t about bad news: it is great news: we have so great a salvation!
• Jesus was made lower so that He might taste death for everyone
• The reasons why the grace of God required Jesus to taste death for everyone.

Grace does not enable us to “get away with sin”, but enables us to get away from sin.

It’s odd how some think that when we tell Christians that they are under grace that somehow we are enabling people to get away with sin, when in fact the Bible teaches us just the opposite: the grace of God enables us to to get away from sin.

Here are some scriptures (of many) that teach us this:

Romans 6:14 (NKJV)

[14] For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

So, not being under law and in fact being under grace means that sin will not have dominion over us. It won’t master us, lord over us, but us in bondage to it. This is real freedom! The message of Romans chapter 6 is that We who are born again in Christ, because of the union with Christ:

• Have died with Christ and therefore are dead to sin (Rom 6:2, 3, 10-11)
• Have risen with Christ and therefore are alive to God (Rom 6:4,5,8,10-11)
• Sin absolutely does not* have dominion over us because we are absolutely not* under law but under grace [*literal Greek].

Here’s another powerful passage that teaches us that the grace of God does not enable us to “get away with sin”, but enables us to get away from sin:

Titus 2:11-14 (NKJV)

[11] For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,[12] teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,[13] looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,[14] who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

So, according to this passage, here is what the grace of God does for us:

• It teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts
• It enables us to live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age. Not just in heaven, but here and now in this dark, sinful world!
• It causes to look forward in hope (blessed hope!) to the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

And now the basis for these wonderful things that God’s grace gives us:

Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ has given Himself for us. That giving of Himself:

• Redeems us (purchases us back to God for His purposes) from every lawless deed
• Purifies for us for Himself
• Making us His special people
• Enabling us to be zealous for good works.

How silly it is to think that the marvelous grace of God enables people to get away with sin! Far from it, the grace of God enables us to get away from sin and so much much more.

This is indeed “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph 1:6)!

CC by-nc-nd 2011 Mark D. VanOuse. This article is under a Creative Commons copyright license.

• God Himself is the start of Hebrews, just like Genesis 1:1
• God is a speaking God and now speaks through His Son, Jesus.
• Jesus is the full and perfect expression of the Father
• The “so much” better of the New Covenant described in Hebrews begins.
• The greatness and excellence of the Son. Here in Hebrews 1 is some of the clearest teaching in all the Bible about divinity of Jesus Christ.
• The point of all this is that Christ is all. Christianity is not about “how to be a Christian” it is about Christ and faith in Christ alone.

• Hebrews has a lot to do with covenants. What is a covenant? Why would God make a covenant when He has perfect and infinite integrity?
• The Old Covenant: the covenant of law. Based on man’s performance and proves man to be a sinner and a failure.
• The New Covenant: the covenant of grace. Hebrews is chiefly about the New Covenant. It is based on the perfect person and finished work of Jesus Christ.
• How the New Covenant offers “so much more” than the Old Covenant.
• The importance of the context of Hebrews
• The warnings of Hebrews
• Therefore, consider Jesus.

[Note: a podcast of this article is available by clicking here]

Bring up Romans chapter 7 and most Christians immediately think of the “struggling with sin” discussion of verses 14 through 24. They therefore conclude that the chief subject of Romans 7 is about struggling with sin. Worse, they buy into a false theology, based on an improper reading of this chapter, that Christians are stuck “struggling with sin till the day they die”.

Nothing could further from the truth. Romans 7 is one of the clearest statements in all the scripture that those in Christ are not under law. That thesis is found in the first 6 verses of Romans 7. It is a natural continuation of the thought developed in Romans 6 that those in Christ are united with Him in His death at Calvary and therefore dead to sin. Romans 7 picks the same theme up and makes the revolutionary point that we are also dead to the law.Romans 7 brings out 3 elements:

• The bondage of sin
• law
• Deliverance from the law and sin through the body of Jesus Christ (grace)

The theme of the bondage of sin, law and grace first comes up in Romans 6:14

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Notice several things here:

• Sin not having dominion, which speaks of authority over, something being in subjection to, as under a king or being in bondage to, as is the case of a slave.
• Not under – speaking of the subservient position of one under a ruler’s or Master’s authority.
• Not under law – speaking of the Old Covenant law (including the Ten Commandments) of God and NOT being under the authority of the law.
• But under grace – but being now under God’ authority of grace, the unmerited favor of God.

Let me point out here that when some Christians hear that we are “not under law” they object, because they mistakenly imagine that we are not under anything. The scripture plainly teaches otherwise. It declares that we have been removed from one very limited realm of authority and placed under an infinitely superior realm of authority, Jesus Christ and His all-sufficient grace.

Romans 6:14 marvelously launches this theme which is more fully developed in Romans 7 and 8. This article will point out the fact that Romans 7 makes it abundantly clear that those in Christ are NOT under law. It also shows the precise reason for the law: to overwhelmingly convince the sinner that they are dreadfully and mortally entrapped by a cruel master, sin. It does this by provoking sin out of hiding in the sinner’s life.

Now, let’s dig into Romans 7 to see how it unfolds the amazing truth that those in Christ are not under law and therefore not under the dominion and bondage of sin:

The case is made that the law has dominion (lords over, rules over) as long as a man lives.

[1] Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?

The covenant of marriage is used as an example of this, in which the wife is “bound by the law to her husband” (verse 2).

[2] For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she isreleased from the law of her husband.

From this notice two things:

1. Being bound by the law to someone. This speaks of a relation, a legal one, which cannot be severed.
2. Being released from the law.

This twofold theme is developed in Romans 7. It is important to note that a very important thesis theme is “being bound by the law” versus “being released from the law”. This should raise the important questions: who is bound to the law? And who is released from the law?

These first verses in Romans 7 draw a parallel of our relationship with the law (and then to Christ) in marital terms. Scripturally, marriage is considered a covenant. This is extraordinarily important, as the Bible speaks chiefly in terms of covenants, the most important being the Old and New Covenants. Further, in verse 3, it is pointed out that if the woman, while still married, marries another she is called an adulteress. In other words, you must be married to one or the other, but not both:

[3] So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

Notice that the second part of verse 3 shows the way to be released from the law of the husband: death. Death itself annuls the marriage covenant and releases both parties from the exclusive claim that they have upon each other in the covenant of marriage.

The allusion to marriage here is meant to point to the covenant relationship that a person has with the law. We know that the law does not die. Jesus Himself said:

For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. (Matthew 5:18).

Therefore, if we are to be released from the law, we must die. But how does that happen so that we yet live? Romans 7:4a gives the amazing answer:

Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ

What incredible news! We have become dead to the law. That death has released us from the law. We are no longer bound to the law any more than a dead wife is bound to the law of her husband. How did we become dead to the law? Through the body of Christ. Romans 6 more fully developed this idea by saying that we:

• Have been baptized into His death (6:3) and buried (6:4)
• Have been united together with Christ in the likeness of His death (6:5a)
• Our old man therefore was crucified with Him. Crucifixion means death. Christ was crucified and we were crucified with Him and died (see also Gal 2:20, Col 3:3).

In Romans 6, we discover that our death through union with Christ and His death means death to sin. That death to sin means release from the bondage of sin. Now, in Romans 7 we discover that that same death also means death to the law. That same death with Christ means release from the law. It means we are delivered from the law (verse 6).

I cannot think of a more striking picture of the absolute end of something than the matter of death. Yet that is exactly what the Bible declares. Those in Christ are “dead indeed to sin” (Romans 6:11) and “dead to the law” (Romand 7:4)!  Romans 7:2 says that if we are dead to the law, then we are released from the law. We are no longer in bondage to it. It no longer has any authority or rule over us.

Do get a hold of this. This is not my teaching, this is the crystal clear teaching of the Bible.

Praise God, the story doesn’t end in death!  Romans 6:4 declares:

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Romans 7:4 gives us the reason why our death with Christ and therefore death (release) from the law was necessary:

that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.

So this death with Christ makes possible two wonderful things:

1. Marriage to another, the One who was raised from death, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are now brought into a covenant of love with Jesus. This speaks of Jesus entering into relationship with us.
2. Fruitfulness to God. And what greater fruitfulness than that of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23): love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. This speaks of the “output” of the Christian life, full of the rich fruit of God: His character, His effectiveness. Fruitfulness always speaks of productivity in the Bible.

Romans 7 is a striking study in contrasts:

• Being married to the law versus being married to Jesus (v. 4)
• Being in bondage to the law versus being released from the law (v.1-4)
• Serving in the oldness of the letter (law) versus serving in the newness of the Spirit (v. 6)
• Bearing fruit to death versus bearing fruit to God (v. 5-6)
• Being killed by the law versus being alive in Christ (v. 9)
• Being in bondage to sin, under law, as a sinner (v. 7-24) versus being released by Jesus Christ (v. 25)
• The life of the sinner in bondage to the law and sin versus the life of the saint walking in freedom and fruitfulness to God (Rom 7:4, 8:2)

Viva the difference! The difference between the sinner’s bondage to the law, sin and death versus the saint’s freedom from the law, sin and death to be married to Jesus and bear fruit to God!

Now we get to the matter of the great controversy of Romans 7: do the “struggling with sin” verses (14-24) depict the experience of a Christian or a person before salvation (a sinner) or both?

Most Christians agree that verses 7 through 12 speak of a person before salvation. The controversy exists over verses 14 through 24. Probably most Christians would say that these “struggle” verses speak of a Christian’s experience (or at least the experience of both the sinner and the Christian. The reason for this position may not necessarily be theological, but rather one founded on their own struggling with sinning. Notice I used the verb “sinning” there and not the noun “sin”. More on this later.

Let me say that the focus of this debate, however, is completely wrong. Romans 7 is not about “struggling with sin”. You may say, “Wait a minute, what about all those ‘struggle verses’!” Yes, there are a lot of those, but that is not the principle thing that Romans 7 teaches.

What does Romans 7 teach? I just taught you a little earlier. Remember? The thesis verses of Romans 7 are not found in verses 14-24, but in verses 1-13, particularly verses 4 through 6:

[4] Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.[5] For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.[6] But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spiritand not in the oldness of the letter.

Take a moment and read those three verses again. Pay close attention to what I’ve emphasized.

Dear friend, may I challenge you? Would you allow the inerrant, inspired Word of God to correct your thinking? Would you repent? The Greek word for “repent” is “metanoia”, which literally means “change the mind”. Would you change your mind about what you think about your relationship with law and sin so that it lines up with what the Bible teaches here about these things? Would you forsake and renounce your own personal theologies and be willing and humble to allow God, by His Word, to correct your thinking and theology in accordance with His holy Word?

Oh, I’ve had to do that many times in my own life! I still do. But what freedom we discover, what riches of God’s grace are found when we allow God’s word to teach us and lead us where God wants us to go! If you struggle with this ask God, by His Spirit, to open your mind (Eph 1:17-23) so that you may see and understand it.

Now, with fresh eyes, an open mind and the Spirit’s help would you read verses 4 through 6 again?

[4] Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.[5] For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.[6] But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of theSpirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Observe the following great truths from this passage:

• You have become dead to the law. What kind of relationship does a dead person have? None. Is a dead person under anyone’s authority? No. We are dead to the law. Therefore, we have no relationship to it. We are not under its authority.
• This has happened through the body of Christ. Romans 6 declares that we are united with Christ in His death (verses 3-5) and by virtue of that same union Romans 7 tells us that we are dead to the law.
  This means that the law has absolutely no claim, no authority, no jurisdiction whatsoever over one in Christ ever again.
• As mentioned earlier, the reason for this death through Christ to the law is so that we may be married to another, the Lord Jesus Christ (verse 4b).
• Another reason for this death through Christ to the law is so that we may bear fruit to God (verse 4c).
• We have now been delivered from the law (verse 6a).
• Now that we are delivered from the law we can now serve in the newness of the Spirit (verse 6b).
• Now that we are delivered from the law we should not serve in the oldness of the letter (the law) (verse 6c).

Remember, you are dead to the law and released from its authority, so that you may be under something else: grace. We are under a far greater authority than the law: Jesus Christ and His grace. We serve in the newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter (law).

God gives us a far greater and better way to serve Him. Hallelujah!

What about the “struggle” verses of Romans 7:14-24?

The answer is found in verses 7 through 13. After having clearly established in verses 1-6 that those in Christ are dead to the law, an important question is raised and answered in verse 7:

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

Now the discussion moves from the plain declaration that those in Christ have been released from the law through death to the purpose of the law to make known sin. Up until this point it can sound like Paul thinks that the law is not a good thing. He anticipates this objection and tells us what the relationship is between law and sin:

I would have not known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

First, it is important to understand that two very different Greek words are used for the “known” of “known sin” and that of “known covetousness.” It is extremely important understand these two words, as the English “known” in both cases comes off as a “know about”, sort of head knowledge, whereas the Greek words speak of a far greater thing.

The “known” of the phrase “known sin” is the Greek word “ginosko” which means “to come to know”.  Then the verse says “FOR”.  Whenever you see “for” at the beginning of a clause it gives the reason for the first clause. So, the reason why I come to know sin, the problem of sin in me is the “FOR” of Romans 7:7b:

For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

The Greek word for this second “known” is far different and far deeper. It is the Greek word “eido”, which means, literally, “to see” or “see full well”. The best way that I can describe this is as “I see it!” knowledge. It’s a lot like what happens when a light is turned on in a dark room. Now you can see what’s there, as opposed to not being able to see just moments before.

Putting this together in Romans 7:7, apart from the law the sinner doesn’t clearly see and fully understand how serious their sin problem is. They have no idea of the furious strength of the bondage of sin. To them, sin is a problem “out there” and not a problem with me. The law lets the sinner SEE that he is hopelessly in bondage to sin, that the very nature of himself makes him an object of God’s wrath (Eph 2:3). How does the law do that?

This is precisely what Romans 7:7-24 is all about! Romans 7:7 describes the process succinctly:

On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

We see the following:

First: The law steps in to the life of a sinner and says “Do not covet!” The Greek for “covet” means “an inordinate desire”. The law describes this as an inordinate desire for someone else, someone else’s spouse, someone else’s possessions.

Second: What is this law supposed to do? Stop sin? To the contrary! The sin nature within the sinner is actually aroused and awakened by the law (verse 9). In other words the law provokes the sinful nature of the sinner out of hiding and sinning increases (Romans 5:20).

Third: The sinner’s hopeless bondage to sin becomes as obvious as the horror of a person trapped in quicksand. The more he struggles, the more he is hopelessly entangled in the mire and sucked deeper into the vortex of death. In a shocking moment, he realizes he will never escape and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it. Unless someone else rescues him.

The real nature of the beast–sin in the sinner–rouses to life when the sinner encounters the law! Let’s clarify: the noun “sin” is used repeatedly in Romans, as opposed to the verb “sin” (as in “sinning”). “Sin” used here and throughout Romans is a far more comprehensive word here. It refers to a dread condition, like cancer. The problem isn’t merely the individual “sins” committed, but the fact that they happen as the result of the condition of sin in the sinner. The sinner has a nature that is sinful. It is the antithesis of all that is good in God. Therefore, that sinful nature makes them an object of God’s wrath (Eph 2:3).

God uses a divinely appointed instrument — the law — to prove to the sinner just how bad they are and how shockingly dreadful is this condition of sin in them. It does this by agitating the sinner, so that his real nature — a sin nature — is provoked and comes out of hiding. The purpose of this isn’t to prove anything to God (He knows all things), but to prove to the sinner that he is a sinner, hopelessly in bondage to sin, with a sinful nature that is so bad, it’s a target for the wrath of God.

This is similar to a man who starts having headaches all the time. His wife insists that he go to the doctor and get it checked out. For weeks he says, “Oh, it’s no big deal, it’s just a headache” and doesn’t go to the doctor. Finally, after weeks without relief he agrees to go to the doctor. After medical examinations and diagnostic tests, the doctor sits the patient down to tell him the horrible news that he has cancer. The doctor shows the patient the images of his brain — and the large tumor in his brain. Finally, the patient is convinced that he himself has cancer. Not someone else, not his co-worker, not his neighbor, not even his wife – he is the one with the dread condition of cancer. Now that the patient is convinced that he has this awful, deadly condition he agrees to radical measures to be rid of the cancer: surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

Now, imagine if the doctor didn’t try to convince the patient that he had cancer. He doesn’t tell the patient the results of the tests. He doesn’t show the patient the scans of his brain. Instead, he skips over all that and tells the patient (who has no idea that he has cancer), “I’ll tell you what, I know a great brain surgeon who would be glad to drill into your skull and cut out part of your brain. What do you say we schedule you for surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30?”

That patient would run away fast from such a crazy doctor! And who would blame him? Why in the world would anyone agree to such a radical procedure unless he was thoroughly convinced that it was he himself who was the cancer patient?

That is precisely what the law is for. It is meant to chase down the sinner and relentlessly prove that he has the cancer of sin which drives the sinner to cry out, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). Now this sinner is fully convinced (convicted) that he is indeed a sinner, with a hopeless, awful sinful nature that does nothing but draw the righteous and holy wrath of God. He is now ready and willing to receive God’s glorious answer:

I thank God– through Jesus Christ our Lord! (verse 25)

Romans 7:14-24 graphically shows just how the law convinces and convicts the sinner of his dread condition of hopeless bondage to sin. Verse 14 says, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” This definitely cannot describe a Christian, for in the very next chapter it says, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you…” (Rom 8:9). Verses 14-24 use the first person narrative form to vividly describe what this collision of law, sin and the sinner looks like. It’s so striking, that everyone can relate with it very well, saying, “That’s me!”

The problem, however, is that we can so easily get lost in the dramatic use of the present tense and highly personal force of verses 14-24 and completely forget the clear theological truths established in verses 1-13. When we focus on verses 14-24 and neglect the theological verses of 1-13 (as well as the wider body of truth presented heretofore in Romans) we end up with wrong theology. A theology that says that Romans 7:14-24 is about Christians struggling with sin. Even worse is the positively false theology that claims that Christians will hopelessly struggle with sin until the day they die. Such dreadful theology keeps Christians needlessly locked up in a dungeon of sin, with no hope of getting out until their last heartbeat.

No wonder so many Christians are living lives of needless bondage to sin!

They’ve been taught they are sinners. That’s patently unbiblical.

They’ve been taught they have a sinful nature. That’s patently unbiblical.

They’ve been taught that “there is a continual war” going on inside of them, the “new man” (new nature) at war with the “old man” (the sinful nature). That’s patently unbiblical.

They’ve been taught that they have corruption throughout themselves. That’s patently unbiblical.

They’ve been taught that they will be in this hopeless condition of bondage until the day they die. That’s patently unbiblical.

Away with these awful, carnal doctrines of men that subvert the clear teaching of the Word of God! All it does is dishonor the finished work of Jesus Christ and leave Christians thinking they are in a hopeless bondage to sin, thus depriving them of the only real opportunity for victory over sin.

Praise God for the glorious truth of all of Romans, not just a few verses taken out of context. The entire epistle rings with great clarity the simple and powerful message:

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

What could be clearer? All true righteousness is from God alone. Any other “righteousness” is an abomination. This is not by works, but by faith. It is “of faith that it may be according to grace” (Rom 4:16).

In summary, here is the real message of Romans 7:

1. The law has dominion over a man as long as he lives (verse 1)
2. We are dead to the law through the body of Christ (verse 4).
3. The reason for this is so that we could be married to another, Jesus, and bear fruit to God (verse 4b)
4. The sinful passions of a sinner are aroused by the law, with the result of bearing fruit unto death (verse 5).
5. NOW that we are dead to the law in Christ, we serve in a new way: in the Spirit and NOT in the old way of the letter (the law, verse 6).
6. Someone may object, claiming that we’re saying the law is sin. NO WAY (verse 7)!
7. The reason why the law arouses sin in the sinner is that the very command that says “thou shalt not” awakens and arouses the latent sinful nature of the sinner and sin springs to life, producing death (verses 7-12).
8. This is how a sinner comes into intimate, first hand experience and knowledge of the dread problem of sin and his sinful nature (verse 13).
9. Verses 14 through 24 uses graphic, firsthand experience language to make it abundantly clear just how the law’s interaction with a sinner results in that sinner being completely convinced and convicted of the fact they are indeed a guilty sinner, hopelessly mired in a dreadful sinful nature, that rightly evokes the wrath of God.
10. The result all this is that the sinner now says, “I SEE IT!”
11. Finally, the sinner cries out for rescue from someone else and finds his savior, his rescue, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Here’s the wonderful truth of what Christ has accomplished in the believer (Romans 8:1-4):

[1] Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. [3] For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, [4] so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

CC by-nc-nd 2010 Mark D. VanOuse

The results will surprise you. You’ll see what the relationship is between law, sin and the sinner on one hand and grace, freedom and the saint is on the other.

• Another of Satan’s key tactics: to attack who you really are in Christ.
• God is the only “I AM”
• Our “I am” is out His “I AM”
• The Christian life is a walk of faith, not to “become” but out of who we already are in Christ.

• Do Christians have a “sinful nature”?
• What the difference is between the “sinful nature” and the “flesh”.
• How that a sinner sins because they have a sinful nature versus the fact that a saint sins, contrary to their god-given holy nature, because they are deceived.
• A saint sins because they are trying live under law, rather than living under grace.
• How Adam and Eve sinned, even though they didn’t have a sinful nature or a sin consciousness.

A friend of mine raised a very good question: Does blessing really precede obedience?

The question came up in the context of my saying that one of the greatest things I’ve learned in my Christian life is the vast difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. How that, as Christians, we are not under the Old Covenant of Law, blessings or curses given based on our performance, but under the New Covenant of grace, granting us blessings from God based on Christ’s performance. “In other words”, I said, “under the New Covenant, the blessing precedes our obedience. We obey because we are blessed in Christ (Eph 1:3), not the other way around.”

That statement threw him off. He emailed me and said, “Why is this ‘God blesses us, and then we respond in obedience’ idea not more clear in Scripture? You would think God would want it to be clear. I would like to hear your answer to that.”

Here, then, is my response:

The question is a very good one that deserves a vigorous answer:

Actually, it is abundantly clear! In fact, it is one of the greatest themes of the entire Bible. No other theme is mentioned more in the Bible:

It’s called the New Covenant. This is the very covenant that Jesus instituted with His blood (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25, Hebrews 9:18, 9:20, 12:24, 13:20).

Sadly, most Christians believe that Jesus shed His blood merely to “forgive their sins”. Actually, Jesus shed His precious blood “for the remission of sins” (Mat 26:28) and to institute a New Covenant.

The entire book of Hebrews is taken up with the vast difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, law and grace, the inferior priesthood of the Old Covenant versus the superior, the perfect, eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ, the inferior mediation in the Old Covenant, and the superior mediation of Jesus Christ in the New Covenant.

We know that a covenant, particularly a blood covenant, is the most binding promise of performance or contract that exists.

Sadly, most Christians know little about what exactly the New Covenant is (I used to be one them!) They also don’t know about what the Old Covenant is. How can this be? Jesus died a gruesome death to fulfill and do away with the Old Covenant and institute the New Covenant! The New Covenant the birthright of every child of God!

I actually heard a pastor (of a large church, yet) say, “Well, the Old Covenant is simply the Old Testament in the Bible and the New Covenant is the New Testament!” Wrong. There are many places in the Old Testament where we find the New Covenant and there are many places in the New Testament where we find the Old Covenant. In short, the Old Covenant is the Covenant of Law. It is a contract between God and man, based on man’s performance. In essence the Old Covenant says:

• IF you obey, perfectly, all of the law, THEN you will be blessed (Deuteronomy 28:1­-14).
• If you fail to perfectly obey, you are cursed. (Deuteronomy 27:26, 28:15-­68). Jesus made it even clearer when He said that perfect obedience must come from the heart (Matt 5:21-30).

I urge you to stop right now, open up your Bible and read all of Deuteronomy 28. Read it all. Read it carefully.

Well, did you read the whole chapter? Pretty painful, isn’t it? Fourteen verses are dedicated to the blessings and fifty-five verses to the curses. I wish more Christians would do what you just did. That would wake them up to the harsh and hard reality of living under the law.

The problem is, most Christians want to have only a part of the law. God does not see things like that. The law, the Old Covenant is a total contract. You can’t pick and choose what parts are relevant to you and what parts are not. That would be like signing a mortgage contract on a house and then telling the mortgage company later, “Well, I didn’t pay that part you wanted me to pay, because it’s the part I don’t want to keep!” Wrong! That signature on the contract binds you to keep the whole contract.  It is precisely the same with the Old Covenant of law (Gal 5:3).  You either are obligated to perfectly obey and adhere to the whole thing or nothing at all.

In short, the Old Covenant is a conditional covenant, based on the performance of man, based on man’s obedience. It says “Perfectly, totally obey and then you will be blessed. Disobey, even at one point, and then you will be cursed” (James 2:10, Deuteronomy 27:26).

Then Jesus came along and put the law on steroids. He declared in Matthew 5:20:

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

The reason was simple: God demands perfect obedience, from the heart. He is not interested in fake, artificial or counterfeit (external) righteousness.

Thus the Old Covenant is a covenant of failure, condemnation, curses and death. Romans 1:18-­3:19 provides ample evidence of the total, abject failure of all men in sin. Romans 3:19 says:

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

That is why Romans 3:20 declares:

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The whole point of the Old Covenant – a covenant that promises blessings, IF you totally, perfectly and always obey, wholeheartedly (and curses if you fail) – is this:

To exalt the righteousness of God and condemn the “righteousness of man”.

The reason is simple: all righteousness apart from God is idolatry, it is sheer blasphemy. If we could derive righteousness and obedience from ourselves, then God would have to worship us. God will have nothing to do with that.

The Bible plainly declares in myriad places that man is not good. That God alone is good.

“No one is good but One, that is, God.” (Mark 10:18b)

Romans 3:10­-12:

[10] As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;

[11] There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.

[12] They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

So, the idea that we “get blessings from God because of our obedience” is crushed repeatedly in all 66 books of the Bible! The Bible is abundantly clear in at least 1,000 verses that man is an abysmal failure and that God alone is righteous.

So what does the Bible teach that man deserves? Guilt, wrath, condemnation, curses and death. Hell.

Thank God He doesn’t stop there! Thank God our God is a redeeming God!

You see, then, that the entire plan of salvation rests on a cornerstone, foundational concept in the Bible that says:

“Unless God blesses us, we have no hope”!

Praise God, because God is GOOD, He goes out of His way to bless us. Not because of our obedience (because we are such failures), but based upon the perfect obedience, perfect righteousness and perfect goodness of God Himself, The Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8­-11:

[8] But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[9] Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.[10] For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.[11] And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus

That is precisely why God instituted The NEW COVENANT, in the precious blood of Jesus!

How sad, indeed tragic, that 95% of Christians have no idea what the New Covenant is. If asked, they couldn’t even find it in their Bibles!

The book on the New Covenant is the Book of Hebrews. The New Covenant, prophesied centuries earlier by Jeremiah (Jer 31:31i­34) is cited twice in Hebrews, once in chapter 8 and again in chapter 10. Here is the reference in chapter 8:31­-34

[31] “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—[32] “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.[33] “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.[34] “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

The first thing to observe about the New Covenant is that it is not about our “I wills”. It is not about us or what we “do for God”. It is about what God does, what He initiates, what He wills, what He performs. Look at the same passage with some helpful highlights:

[31] “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—

[32] “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. [33] “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. [34] “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

So what does God do in the New Covenant?

He puts His law in our minds and writes it on our hearts. In other words, His action, His blessing enables us to wholeheartedly obey.

Because of His action, we are blessed with a personal relationship with Him. “I will be their God and they will be my people”. We are His people as the result of His action, His choice, His will. Not ours.

Because of His action, His will, He forgives our iniquity and remembers our sin no more.

Let me ask: are not these things blessings from God? How do we get them? Through our obedience? No! But through the perfect righteousness and obedience of our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ!

What is the result of that blessing?

• Wholehearted obedience (because He blessed us by putting His law in our minds and writing them on our hearts!)
• We become His people (because He blessed us by saying, “I will be their God and they shall be my people”!)
• We are completely cleansed and God doesn’t even recall our sins against (because He blesses us by declaring, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”)

The New Covenant also appears in other places in the Bible. One dramatic reference is found in Ezekiel 36:25-­27:

[25] “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.[26] “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.[27] “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Let me ask: isn’t this the case of God blessing us, not because of our obedience, not predicated or conditioned on our obedience?

In this recitation of the New Covenant God promises and blesses us with:

• Cleansing, real cleansing from our filthiness and idolatry (verse 25). Is this not a blessing? Is it conditioned on our obedience or God’s goodness and grace?
• God gives us a new heart and a new spirit. He takes out that dead heart of stone, that’s lifeless and unresponsive to Him, and gives us a new heart and a new spirit – one that’s alive and responsive to Him! Is this not a blessing? Is it conditioned on our obedience or God’s goodness and grace?
• God puts His Spirit – that means Himself (“Christ in you the hope of glory”, Col 1:27) – inside of us. What is the result of Jesus Christ, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, living in us? God Himself, internally causes us to “walk in My statutes” and “keep my judgments and do them”. Is this not a blessing? Is it conditioned on our obedience or God’s goodness and grace?

Here’s the New Covenant in Jeremiah 32:40-­41a:

(40) ‘And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good [that’s blessing!]; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. (41) ‘Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good [that’s blessing!]

Isn’t it ironic, though, how we – in our unrenewed, fleshly minds – think that there is some sort of an “I will” on our part that can somehow merit the favor (blessing) of God? Where does such thinking come from?

Here are the words of Lucifer, when he was cast out of heaven, Isaiah 14:12-­14 (ESV)

[12] “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star [KJV: “Lucifer”], son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

[13] You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high;

I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;

[14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

Do you see it? “I will…, I will…, I will…, I will…, I will…” Lucifer, when he was a bright archangel said in his heart of corruption, of idolatry “I WILL”.

And the real killer is “I will make myself like the Most High”. Isn’t that what most Christians think? “I will make myself like Jesus”, “I will imitate Jesus”. That is idolatry, plain and simple! There is only One Who can fashion Himself into the lives of man and that is almighty God Himself!

I contend that the “I will” Christianity, “I will obey…”, “I will do this for God…”, etc, ad nauseum, is said from an unrenewed, fleshly, sinful, idolatrous mind. Oh, I know it “sounds good”, but it is rotten from hell to the core! That’s because it is from hell!

This is precisely the way the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes thought: “I will make myself like the Most High”. And when the Most High showed up in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, they hated Him, they murdered Him.

What made Jesus furious wasn’t necessarily the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes themselves. What made Jesus furious was: SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jesus, prefaced the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector “sinner”, by saying:

“Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (Luke 18:9)

What we don’t realize is that all the while we denounce the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes, we are ourselves are guilty of worshiping at the shrine of our own self-righteousness!

Jesus said, John 15:4-­5:

[4] “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.[5] “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Is not this “abiding in the vine” speaking of receiving from the Lord, receiving His blessing? Jesus said that apart from Him we can NOTHING.

No obedience.

No righteous response.

No true victory over sin.

How about Ephesians 1:3­-14? Look at what it says in verse 3:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

The “blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” refers to our giving God glory, adulation, honor as God. How does that happen? Precisely because He HAS BLESSED US (past tense, accomplished, done) with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!

And what are those spiritual blessings?

[4] just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

He chose us – not that we chose Him (John 15:16), that was done before the foundation of the world. The result of that is a life of holiness and blamelessness.

[5] having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

HE predestined us to be adopted as His sons by [Greek “dia”, “by means of”] Jesus Christ – not by means of our obedience or our “I will”. It was done according to the good pleasure of His will.

[6] to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted [Greek, “charitoo”, literally “graced, highly favored”] in the Beloved.

This is the reason why God blesses us first. Why HE is the first cause. Why the input of His blessing us by grace results in the output of our obedience and glorifying Him.

The reason is “to the praise of the glory of His grace”.

That grace has made us (we didn’t make it or obey our way into it) “accepted [graced, highly favored] in the Beloved”!

[7] In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace [8] which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,[9] having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

[10] that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

[11] In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Is an inheritance something we earn or deserve? Is it not a blessing that we receive simply because of the goodness of the One granting it?

You can see here that God HIMSELF “works all things according to the counsel of His will”.

[12] that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.[13] In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,[14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

On what basis is the guarantee of our inheritance (our blessing)? Our obedience and performance? No! It is the guarantee of the Holy Spirit of promise.

Not our promises, but the Holy Spirit of promise.

This is not the only place in scripture speaking of a “guarantor”. In Hebrews, the book I call the Magna Carta of the New Covenant, we read in Hebrews 7:18­-22 (ESV):

[18] On the one hand, a former commandment [speaking of the Old Covenant] is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness [19] (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

[20] And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, [21] but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘ You are a priest forever.’ ”

[22] This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

I trust you are starting to see that the New Covenant, the covenant of grace:

• Is not based on our performance our or our obedience,
• Is based on the infinitely righteous, holy and perfect performance of JESUS
• Is a covenant that provides blessings to us, based on the perfect obedience and righteousness of Jesus Christ, contrary to what we deserve (wrath)

I would forcibly argue that the very cross, crucifixion, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is no small matter in the Bible. And that Calvary is founded upon grace – what GOD does for us, how He accepts us, how He blesses us — not on law (what we do for God), in spite of enormous deserved wrath and condemnation on our part.

I can understand why these things may not be clear. It was not clear to me until about 6 years ago. The problem with the modern church is that we are given over to moralism, which is about what “I’m supposed to do and not supposed to do”.

That, plain and simple, is a false Gospel. It is idolatry. It is an outrage to the exclusive holiness of the Most High. It is echoing the words of Satan himself when he was cast out of heaven – “I will make myself like the most high” (Isaiah 14:12).

Paul called those who hold to such a false “gospel” anathema (that is the Greek word for the strongest condemnation and damnation to hell!).

It is at the epicenter of the problem of the Galatian church. It is what evoked a stinging response from Paul, Galatians 3:1-­6:

[3:1] O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?[2] This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?[3] Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? [4] Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?[5] Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—[6] just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

We also see from Galatians 3:10-­14:

[10] For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”[11] But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”[12] Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”[13] Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),[14] that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Are the blessings of God conditional on our obedience? Absolutely not. Hundreds – perhaps thousands – of scriptures attest otherwise. Why? Because man is man and he is not God. Man is not intrinsically good, like God. Therefore it is a sheer impossibility for man to produce perfect, faultless righteous obedience.

But the blessings of God ARE conditioned upon obedience!

They are conditioned upon the perfect, total obedience of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:5-­10 declares:

[5] Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.

[6] In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.

[7] Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’”

[8] Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), [9] then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first [the Old Covenant, the Covenant of Law, man’s works, failure and deserved curse] that He may establish the second (the New Covenant, the Covenant of Grace, based on Christ’s perfect works, obedience, success and blessing). [10] By that will [Whose will? Our will? No! Jesus’ will!] we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Believe it or not, I’m just getting started. I’ve been studying this for years. Some of the greatest Christians of all time have discovered this central Biblical truth. I’ve been leading a Bible study and this message has been revolutionizing their life. They would be glad to attest to that.

The bottom line: this is the Gospel! It is the Gospel of grace. It speaks not only to our prior condition of saving us from the wrath of God, from being “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1) and being born again. The Gospel also speaks to our present condition in preserving us from this corrupt generation (Heb 10:39, Romans chapters 5, 6, 7 ,8:1-­16). It speaks to our future condition, being glorified with Christ (Romans 8:18­-39, 1 Cor 15:35­-58, Col 3:1­4).

I said that great Christians of the past have seen this. I cite as “Exhibit A” the Reformers themselves – Luther, Calvin, Knox, etc., who tenaciously maintained that the Gospel is:

Salvation, in its totality, is through grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone.

Grace, by definition in the Bible, is God blessing us, accepting us, and favoring us, all because of JESUS CHRIST. NOT because of our obedience, righteousness or goodness.

Biblical salvation has a past, present and future element. So, biblically, it is accurate to say “I was saved, I’m being saved, I will be saved”. Past salvation is regeneration and justification, present salvation is walking by the Spirit and future salvation is glorification.

The question which was raised – and it is a very good question – was: “Why is this ‘God blesses us, and then we respond in obedience’ idea not more clear in Scripture? You would think God would want it to be clear.” As you can plainly see, God has made it abundantly clear (Hebrews 6:13-­19). The problem is neither with the clarity nor the massive volume of scripture on this. The problem is that we are so “dull of hearing” (2 Cor 3:14, Isa 6:10). The writer of Hebrews laments:

of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. (Heb 5:11).

A significant reason is that the American church has by and large ignored huge swaths of scripture on this, and “preaches” a man-­centered – not Christ-­centered – “Christianity”. We are teaching “moralism” at the expense of the Gospel of grace. We are teaching LAW – blessings based on our obedience and performance, rather than GRACE, blessings based on CHRIST’S obedience and performance. It is a “performance-­based” (law­-based) “Christianity” that is man­centered and man-­glorifying. True biblical Christianity is grace­-based, Christ­-centered and God glorifying.

A truly righteous man says, “I don’t need the law, I need The Lord.”

[8] But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,[9] knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers . . .  (1 Timothy 1:8-9, NKJV)

Did you know that a truly righteous man will actually run from the law?  Why?  Because the law places the demand on his ”righteousness” (which is no righteousness at all), not God’s righteousness. Philippians 3:9 makes the point quite clearly:

not having my own righteousness, which is from the law . . .

A truly righteous man recoils in disgust at the prospect of his own “righteousness” and so does God (Isaiah 64:6).  Yet that is exactly what the law demands:

‘You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD. (Lev 18:5, also Ne 9:29, Ez 20:11,13,21, Rom 10:5, Gal 3:12)

Notice the contrast between faith in God and His righteousness versus man and “his doing” in Galatians 3:12:

Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”

And yet, Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38 all clearly declare:

“The just [or righteous] shall live by faith.”

Do you see it?  The only way to live a holy, righteous and godly life is to live it by faith in Christ.  Period.  He is the King of Righteousness (Heb 7:1-2), not you.  One of the most important verses in the entire Bible is Romans 1:17:

For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

We see three important things here:

1. Righteousness is of God.  It comes from Him, not from anyone else, least of all, me.  It is of Him, meaning God is the righteous One. True righteousness is part and parcel of God Himself and comes from Him alone.
2. This righteousness of God is all of faith.  It proceeds “from faith to faith”.  This speaks of the totality of our Christian life.  It starts by faith and continues by faith (see also Col 2:6-7)
3. Here is a key principle: The way that the just, the righteous, live is by faith.

This is not by law.  These two are contrary to one another.  It is all of faith. Here’s why:

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace (Romans 4:16)

Here is the bottom line:

If it is by law, then it is by my doing, my righteousness..

If it is by faith, then it is by grace and is all of God, His righteousnessand his doing.

And that’s why the righteous man runs from law.

He says, “I don’t need the law!  I need the Lord!”

Mark D. VanOuse

• Why it is so dangerous to think that either you or a part of you is bad.
• Why the idea that our sanctification is somehow “imperfect in this life” is patently unbiblical.
• Why the idea that “there abides still some remnants of corruption in every part” is patently unbiblical.
• Why the idea that a Christian struggles with a “continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh is patently unbiblical.
• Scripturally debunking The Myth of the Christian “Sinner”

• A challenge and a word of clarification.
• More about the fact that we have perfect sanctification now because of the perfection of Jesus and His finished work.
• We now have perfect sanctification, just like we now have perfect justification.
• The admonitions are spoken to a people already perfectly and forever sanctified in Christ.
• It is a “walk according to”, not a “walk to become”
• A prime example: 1 Cor 6:9-20.

• One of the most important verses in all the Bible on sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:28
• Perfect sanctification, like everything else given in “such a great salvation” (Heb 2:3) is entirely based on the finished, perfect work of Christ Jesus.
• There are many verses in the New Testament that make it abundantly clear that our sanctification is perfect and complete, already done, because of the perfection of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
• This is who we really are, not who “we will be” or who “we will become”.

• The importance of relying on God’s Word, not human (carnal) wisdom.
• Much of the teaching on the subject of sanctification today is at odds with what the Bible has to say about the subject.
• The word “sanctification” is a Bible word, so we must be careful to define it in the context of how the word is used in the Bible.
• Sanctification, like justification is all God, it is by grace, it is through faith in Christ Jesus, it is already done, it is all yours now, so enjoy it!
• What the Bible means by “sanctification”
• God’s “funny glasses” versus the reality of who you really are in Christ.

The fact is, in Romans 7:14-23, it’s all about self… doing.   This is clearly seen to be someone in the flesh… walking by the flesh.   Of course, this sets up Romans 8 well, with its emphasis on walking by the Spirit vs. walking by the flesh.

The flesh walker asks “How can I please God?  How can I walk obediently?  How can I overcome sin?   How can I be a faithful witness?” etc., ad nauseum.   Do you see the pattern here?   Just like Romans 7:14-23, it’s all about me and my doing.

That’s the point of the Old Covenant:  to glorify God’s righteousness and holiness by exposing our unrighteousness and sinfulness.   The Old Covenant emphasizes man’s doing.   It proves what a failure man’s “doing” is.   How thoroughly corrupt it is to do anyting apart from God.

Now comes the New Covenant.  The emphasis is not on “how” (do this, don’t do this), rather the emphasis is on WHO.

In Romans 7:24-25:

(7:24) O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (7:25) I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

When you cry out, “Who will deliver me…” you’ve given up dependence on your doing and admit the need of another’s doing.

That’s the whole key to the New Covenant!   The answer is not “how” (implying a method/technique featuring my doing)…. the answer is:

WHO!   The answer is another Person altogether… The Lord Jesus Christ!   It is HE who performs!   It is HE who walks holy, without sin, totally pleasing God the Father!

Hallelujah!   The answer is not “how”, the answer is Christ Jesus!

The provision of the New Covenant isn’t power, technique, teaching or any such thing.  The provision of the New Covenant is Christ!

Most Christians understand this relative to forgiveness for sin, but fail to see Christ as the New Covenant means of righteousness and holiness.

Ezekiek 36:36b
” I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it.”