Pamela Harrison Ministries Blog

TBN interview: Pamela Harrison Ministries icanovercome.com

Disappointed?

What about 1 John 1: 9

The word clearly says Jesus paid for my sins once for all, but what about 1 John 1:9?

We have learned the powerful significance of being rooted in righteousness, which is the revelation that we have been forgiven of all our sins (past, present and future). This forgiveness of sins is solely based on Jesus’ shed blood, the very currency that paid for all sin. There is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22)

In the moment we put our faith (belief) in Jesus and His shed blood that cleansed us from all sin, we’re not only made right before God at the moment of conversion, we remain right.

Just as His sacrifice was once for all, the effect of what He did is equal - once for all. The result of the once for all sacrifice is that we’ve been made holy. “As He is, so are we in this world.” - 1 John 4:17

When we understand the following our faith (belief) is fortified:

• Our father Abraham was, like us today, made right before God (righteous) solely based on his belief in the living God. Abraham and his descendants experienced the abundant provision from the abundant God, solely based on his belief in the living, abundant God. At this time sin was in the world, but because there was no law sin was not counted against Abram; thus he was not punished for his wrong doing. Just as it is for us today! (Romans 4)

• The law would later come through Moses to show man what sin was, that he is a sinner and he is in need of a Savior. Galatians 3:24 says the law was put into place to lead us to Christ so that we may be justified by faith (that faith being the belief in Jesus having made us right before God, once for all).

• Jesus came, born to a woman and born under law to redeem those under the law. (Galatians 4:4) This was pre-cross, during the time Jesus was on earth and the law was in full effect. It was not until Jesus shed His blood (cutting a new covenant), rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven that the new covenant was enacted. Now no longer being under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)

• We are now post–cross. The law fulfilled by the shedding of innocent blood to make us right before God. The revelation of what Jesus did was not revealed until Jesus ascended to Heaven and sent His Spirit. His Spirit is the One that brought revelation of the “mystery hidden, but now revealed and made known.” (John 16:12-14, Romans 16:25-26, 1 Corinthians 2:7-12, Ephesians 1:9 & 3:2-12, Colossians 1:26-27 & 2:2-3, 1 Peter 1:10-11)

• The mystery is that Jesus’ finished work on the cross brought us forgiveness of all sins (past, present and future). Jesus’ finished work took place over 2000 years ago; all our sins at that time were future. God, Who is outside of time, Creator of time and all knowing… predestined each of us to be adopted by His Son. (Ephesians 1)

That adoption comes solely from our belief in Jesus being the Son of God, Who shed His blood for the cleansing of our sin - once for all; as a result of being forgiven, we’ve been made right before God - once for all.

We are not only made qualified, but we remain qualified for all God’s divine provision given to us through the broken body of Jesus and His shed blood. (Psalm 103:12, Romans 6:10, Colossians 2:13-14, Hebrews 7:27, 9:26, 10:10-14, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 3:18, John 1:7)

What about 1 John 1: 9? Now knowing the only currency for the forgiveness of sin is the shedding of innocent blood, we now understand that the asking of forgiveness is not what brings forgiveness.

Jesus’ shed blood brought forgiveness of sin.

This is how we access forgiveness according to the Apostle Paul in Romans 10:9-10. “If you confess (acknowledge) with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Important facts to fortify our faith (belief): This mystery of Christ was revealed to the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul wrote ¾ of the New Testament. Never once did the Apostle Paul teach the church to confess their sins. (Side note: confess simply means to acknowledge, this does not bring forgiveness, as only the shedding of innocent blood does.)

The apostles that spoke of confession of sins were the apostles to the Jews, as the Jews were accustomed to confessing their sins. Other leaders before them, those under the law, confessed sins on behalf of those under the law: Moses, David, Daniel.

Paul never did, rather Paul always prayed and encouraged with these words, “God give you wisdom of what you already have…” Galatians 2:7-10 tells us that Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles, while James, Peter and John to the Jews. It is imperative to our understanding and the development of our faith (belief) that we stop and look closely at who the apostles were speaking to while reading the Epistles.

Not doing so is what has led to many believing the Bible has contradictions, thus weakening the believer’s faith (belief). Another important fact is that 1 John 1:9 was written 35-45 years AFTER the revelation of Jesus’ finished work was revealed to Paul. Paul’s first letter was written to the Thessalonians about A.D. 51. John wrote 1 John between A.D. 85 and 95.

If forgiveness of sin was based on our confession and not faith (belief) in Jesus, this would mean that sins were not forgiven for almost 35 years after Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

If this is true it begs the question, what did believers do between Paul’s writing and John’s? The answer? The apostle John was not speaking to believers in 1 John 1, rather unbelievers. As an apostle to the Jews, he was speaking to a group of people called the Gnostics. 1 John 1 is the Apostle John confronting the heresy of the Gnostics. The Apostle Paul did the same in his letters to the Colossians.

The Gnostics were a fusion of Jew and Pagan beliefs. The word Gnostic means knowledge.

Gnostics believe they possess higher knowledge.

Gnostics believe the following:

1) Matter - including the human body - is entirely evil

2) Spirit - including God, Who is wholly Spirit - is entirely good Gnostics believe that salvation is escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ, but by special knowledge. They also believe that Christ was not truly human - they believe that Christ only seemed to have a body (Docetism) or The Divine Christ joined the man Jesus at baptism and left him before He died (Cerinthianism). They believe the body had to be treated harshly (Asceticism).

They believe that what is done with the body has no effect on the purity of the spirit, thus immorality has no moral consequence.

Simply put, Gnostics did not believe Jesus came in the flesh.

They did not believe you needed to believe in Christ for salvation, as they believed salvation was escape from the body. So the sin they committed while in the body had no effect on the purity of their spirit; therefore they denied having sin.

Now, let’s read 1 John 1 from the beginning with the understanding of who the Apostle John was speaking to and why:

1 That which was from the beginning , which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. (Jesus - Whom they have seen and touched proving that Jesus did come in the flesh, contrary to the Gnostics belief)

2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. (Jesus)

3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. (The Apostle Paul is challenging the Gnostics in their belief so that they will believe upon Jesus and become a son of God as well.) And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (Their fellowship is solely based upon their belief upon Jesus - cleansed by Jesus' blood.)

4 We write this to make our joy complete.

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness (to deny we sin, thus no need for His Son - Jesus), we lie and do not live by the truth.

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess (acknowledge we do sin and the need for a Savior) our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we claim we have not sinned (this is walking in the darkness), we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Keeping these verses in context, John was addressing the Gnostics (non-believers) and was contradicting their heresy.

The Gnostics believed that all matter, including the human body, was entirely evil. While Spirit, including God Who is wholly Spirit, is entirely good.

They also believe salvation is the escape from the body achieved not by faith in Christ, but by special knowledge.

Gnostics denied that their immoral actions were sinful. They denied having sin in their lives.

Gnostics did not walk in the light, they did not believe they sinned when they committed un-righteous acts; thus did not believe they needed to believe upon Christ Jesus to be made righteous.

This is where the hairs have been split. Many believe that when we sin, we (due to the sin just committed) break fellowship with God, and that our advocate, Jesus, cannot plead on our behalf until we confess our sin.

This is true for the unbeliever: The unbeliever does not have an advocate UNTIL He believes upon THE Advocate - Jesus.

The Apostle John, in chapter 2 now addresses the believer:

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sin, and not only ours but also for the sins of the world.”

The world doesn’t realize their sins have been forgiven. They don’t realize that the way to access that divine provision of forgiveness of sin is by faith (belief) in Jesus - our atoning sacrifice.

This is the Good News, the Gospel and the Truth! The Truth is that we’ve been made righteous, which enables us to live righteous, willingly and effortlessly.

It is this revelation that brings us peace with God - freedom, health, wholeness and prosperity.

The unbeliever does not have fellowship with God UNTIL he comes to understand that he is a sinner in need of a Savior. In the moment that he comes to the saving knowledge of God’s grace, confesses with his mouth Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Him from the dead, he is saved from the penalty of sin: eternal death.

But a believer who is forgiven of all sins - once for all - now walks in the light, cleansed of all unrighteousness ONLY because of his faith in Jesus. (Romans 10:9-10)

There is a fear of teaching that we've been made righteous - once for all - by the blood of Jesus. What will keep people from living a life of sin, justifying their action by claiming to be under grace? It’s this thinking that has kept the residual effect of the law firmly intact in many believers’ lives. The thought that we must do right to be right, we must do ‘something’ before we receive anything. The law being taught with a mixture of grace has weakened the faith of the believer. The law makes the believer sin-conscious and sin- consciousness causes us to fall under condemnation and condemnation empowers more sin and pushes us further away from God.

The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, calls the law the ministry of condemnation and the ministry that brought death. He goes on to say that the ministry of the Spirit (the ministry we are under now) is the ministry that BRINGS righteousness.

Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death (sin), so that we may serve the living God.”

Jesus’ shed blood was to clear our conscience of sin so that we will boldly stake claim to what is already ours. What has been given to us is not based on our merit (our right doing) but solely based on Jesus’ right doing on our behalf. (Hebrews 9:1-28)

As long as we remain sin-conscious we will fall under condemnation and sin will have dominion over us. It’s only when we no longer fall under condemnation that sin loses its power.

As we continue to renew our minds that we have been given the gift of righteousness; that we are forgiven once for all (made right before God once for all) we will become more and more rooted in righteousness.

The more rooted in righteousness we become, the more and more righteous we will live - and we will live righteous willingly and effortlessly. This is what the Apostle Paul says about the teaching of righteousness: Hebrews 5:13-14 says, “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness, but solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil (right from wrong).”

The difference between a babe in Christ and those that are mature: Being rooted in righteousness!

It’s a renewing of the mind thing… Proof that we understand grace (God’s divine provision given to us through His Son) and proof we are under grace is found in Romans 6:14 which says when we are under grace, sin shall have no dominion over you.

Titus 2:11-12 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It (grace) teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”

If we taught as the Gnostics believe, that the unrighteous thoughts, words and actions of a person is not sin - this would be heresy!

Righteousness by faith in Jesus' blood is this: I am only righteous because of my faith (belief) in Jesus - that He is the atoning sacrifice for all my sins.

The believer is now righteous, but is still capable of unrighteous actions. But when a believer does sin (commits an unrighteous act) because of the Spirit of God that now lives in the believer, that sin is pointed out by the righteous Holy Spirit, convicting the believer that he is righteous before God as a gift given out of love. This revelation of God’s goodness is what brings the believer to repentance (to the place where he changes his mind). Romans 2:4

Because the believer walks in the light (knowing that we do unrighteous acts), he understands that out of God's great love for us, He sent His Son Jesus, to keep the believer right before God. Even when the believer does wrong, it's the revelation of this great kindness of God that brings the believer to the place of repentance.

Repentance means: change of mind.

When we make a decision to change our mind - we change our lives.

When we believe we're righteous, we will live righteous... when we believe right - we live right.

Although the believer may commit an unrighteous act, it does not make the believer unrighteous, thus God never breaks fellowship with the believer.

The only way fellowship is broken is when the believer falls under condemnation. The believer that has fallen under condemnation will disqualify themselves and put a wall between himself and God, compartmentalizing God.

The believer understands God knows all but will not allow himself to fellowship with God until they do something that makes them ‘FEEL’ worthy again. This is all due to not being rooted in righteousness.

To be rooted in righteousness is the revelation that it is Jesus that has made us right - never our own right doing, only our right believing, it's understanding and renewing the mind to the following:

1. When we sin, we commit an unrighteous act that has ALREADY been punished in the body of Jesus, who IS our righteousness.

2. It's the revelation of God's kindness, that He put the punishment due us on Jesus, bringing forgiveness of all sin - once for all. This makes us right before God - once for all - and gives us the gift of righteousness and leads us to repentance, which means to change our mind.

3. It's when a mind has been changed that the actions will change from unrighteous actions to righteous actions.

4. It’s the revelation that God loves us and that brings us to a place of love for Him which results in grateful obedience.

He loved us first, BEFORE we loved Him, before we did anything right - He loved us and provided the blessing of righteousness.

We must realize that when we sin (and we ALL do) God loves us so much that He sent His Son - Jesus, not to condemn us but to save us, and by THAT sacrifice we remain right before God.

The kindness, the love, the goodness of God draws us to the place of REPENTANCE, which means to change our minds and results in our making the decision, "I no longer want to do ______."

It's whatever the Holy Spirit has pointed out to us individually. For example: "I no longer feel right about watching R-rated movies" – “I shouldn't reject this person" - "I shouldn't dress like this" or " I should not continue in this fornication or adultery."

Sin is NEVER acceptable to God - He has not gone soft on sin, rather He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and poured out His wrath for all sin, for all mankind, on the body of Jesus.

Now when we sin, we never lose our right standing before God, and THE only reason that we don't is because of Jesus' sacrifice - Him taking the punishment that was due to us.

It’s this revelation, that we are forgiven that keeps us from falling under condemnation.

No condemnation = us not breaking fellowship with God.

In other words, because we don’t feel guilt, shame, unworthiness aka: condemnation, we remain consciously aware of God in us, with us and for us.

As we remain conscious of our right standing before God, we are brought to the place of being acutely aware of His Spirit within us.

His Spirit was given to pour out God’s love in our hearts, to write God’s laws on our hearts and minds, thus giving us the inner knowing of right and wrong/good and evil.

This is proof we understand grace and are under grace. Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Under the law when people sinned, they had to not only acknowledge (confess) they had sinned, but also bring a blood sacrifice to the priest to cover that sin, and that is what made them “re-qualified” for God's blessing. This is called works or self-effort/self- righteousness.

Now we are under a better covenant, we have a High Priest that does not go before God with the blood of bulls and goats, but by His own blood. He is our 'once for ALL' sacrifice, thus making us right before God, once for all. (Hebrews 9:10)

Hebrews 10:10 says, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Because we have believed man's theology that our unrighteous acts or thoughts (sin) breaks fellowship with God, the result is our feeling condemnation for the wrong done. Then we shrink back from our faith (belief) in Jesus having made us right before God, thus causing intense feelings of being unworthy and unacceptable. And this is what God says about shrinking back in our faith (belief) as a result of condemnation: Hebrews 10:38-39 “But my righteous one will live by faith (in Jesus having made us right before God – once for all). And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those that believe and are saved.”

Our righteousness come by faith in Jesus' complete work on our behalf, and this belief is what gives us confidence to boldly approach God's throne of grace, and gives us a sound mind, peace and joy. (Romans 3:21-26, Romans 5)

Hope does not disappoint! Romans 5:5

Find yourself afraid you will be disappointed by God?

Good news!  As a result of believing in Jesus, His blood cleansing us from all sin, once for all- qualifying us to be the Temple of the Spirit of God ( as God cannot dwell in a temple that has not been cleansed by blood, and God cannot remain in a temple (us) unless the blood sacrifice was able to cover all sin- once and for all- as Jesus' did- otherwise, God Spirit would have to leave us every time we sinned, every wrong motive, thought, attitude, etc). 

But God never has to cut off fellowship with us.  Why? Because of Jesus' once for all sacrifice, we are given the GIFT of Right Standing before God, it is a gift, was not and cannot be earned by right doing, only right believing, which is belief in Jesus having made us right (righteous) before God.   As a result of our belief in Jesus, God Himself takes up residency within us (Eph. 1:13), and it's for a purpose.

That purpose is to give us an inner knowing of several things (here is a short-list):

1. That we're loved by Him (Romans 5:5)

2. To give us Hope (Romans 5:5)

3. To write His law on our hearts / Give us the inner knowing of right and wrong, aka: being led by His Spirit in all things ( Hebrews 8: 8-13)

4.  He leads us into all Truth / we know Truth when we hear it (John 16: 13)

As a result of believing in Jesus, we access the forgiveness of God, for all sin, once for all- qualifying us to be the Temple of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 6: 19)- God takes up residency within us, the believer, and by His Spirit, He pours out His Love within us, giving us an inner knowing we are loved by Him, which, gives us Hope, and Hope Does Not Disappoint us!

The biblical definition for hope: A confident expectation of good

Romans 5: 5

And hope (confident expectation of Good) does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (which is God's Spirit) whom He has given us.

 Encouragment: Refuse condemnation, the feelings of guilt, shame, etc., rather, insist on believing what Jesus has done for you- made you righteous (right before God), and He's done this as a gift to you- Jesus was sent and came to us as a gift from God - out of His love for you. 

As a result of knowing you're right before God, knowing that He did this out of His love for you, you now have a confident expectation of ONLY good things for you and your loved ones.  

Refuse to be afraid, rather, know that God is always setting you up for His best, and though things may not unfold as you see them, it doesn't mean that God is going to let you down - trust Him, that He is bringing what it is that you need / desire, in His way- which is THE best way for you!

*Meditate - roll over and over in your mind, as you picture God holding you, "God loves me..."

Choose to believe and receive, and watch how you and situations transform- effortlessly!

When we are afraid - We push away

What causes us to shrink back in our faith (belief) in Jesus having made us right, worthy, acceptable before God - Once For All?

Jesus, who went around doing good and healing all, was preaching one day and asked a man by the name of Simon to use his boat to teach from to the crowd that was around him at the lake of Gennesaret.

Simon oblidged, and Jesus began to teach. When Jesus was finished teaching the people, he directed Simon to "Put out into the deep, and let down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

Jesus, being the excellent pay master that he is, when they let down their nets, they received a net breaking, boat sinking load of fishes!

Notice, Jesus did not have them confess their sins or repent before He blessed them. Rather, Jesus showed them who He is: Accepting, loving, forgiving and giving, and not a little giving, but an abundant giver.

Romans 2: 4 - It's the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.

Though Jesus and the Jews were still under law while Jesus was alive on earth (before He shed His blood cutting the New Covenant), Jesus was showing people the heart of God: Kind, loving- forgiving.

Under law, the people were required to obey first, to do right first to receive the blessing of God.

Now, under Grace, we are ALREADY blessed and it's these blessings that empower us to obey- the result is obedience from the heart, willingly - effortlessly. (Eph. 1)

When Simon saw this blessing unfold before his eyes, he became acutely aware that he was a sinner and asked Jesus to "Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man".

Jesus said, "Don't be afraid; from now on, you will catch men." ( John 5: 1-11)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Heb. 13: 8)

While we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly (the blessing before asking or obedience).

Jesus shed His blood to reconcile us to God... why did we need to be reconciled? What separated us from God? Sin. (Romans 5: 6-11)

Jesus took care of the sin- debt issue so that we may not only have salvation and 'escape hell', but more than that, Jesus shed His blood cleansing us from ALL sin, enabling us to remain in 'the right'/ to remain righteous before God, which enables us to remain in an unhindered relationship with God- FREE FROM FEAR- no matter what.

According to 1 John 4: 18, fear has to do with punishment. The punishment due us was put upon Jesus (Is 53). Because Jesus did right on our behalf, we are now right before God- not based on our right doing but belief (faith) in Jesus' right doing on our behalf!

No longer is it a matter of right doing before God that qualifies us for all the Divine provision provided by God through Jesus' finished work on the cross, which is: Forgivness of all sin, healing, prosperity and authority over the enemy, but rather right believing IN Jesus having done it all for us!

Next time you find yourself 'afraid' to be consciously aware that God is in you, with you and for you, remind yourself what Jesus has done for you- made you right before God, qualified you for all blessings provided through Jesus' finished work- refuse to shrink back from your faith (belief) in Jesus having made you right and worthy and continue to receive what is already yours.

Condemnation, which is the result of being sin- conscious instead of being righteousness conscious, causes us to be afraid of God, to expect punishment and to pull away from the very source of acceptance, love and power source for change.

Falling under condemnation is evidence we are not yet rooted in righteousness.

Being rooted in righteousness come from our re-newing our mind that Jesus IS our righteousness, and that righteousness is only accessed by our belief (faith) in Jesus having made us right before God- Once For ALL. ( Romans 6: 10, Col. 2: 13 & 14, Eph. 1: 7, Hebrew 7: 27, 9: 29, 10:10, 12, 14, 1 Peter 3: 18, 1 John 1: 7)

Only when we don't come under condemnation will sin lose its power. ( Romans 8)

Encouragement: Believe, receive and remain in what is ALREADY ours in Jesus!

 

Ever notice that people gravitate to those that are kind and accepting? Drawn to spend time with those they feel freedom to be themselves- those that accept, even when the wrong thing is said or done?

The above describes our God. Because of God's love and never ceasing desire to be in constant fellowship with each of us, He has removed the very thing that caused hindrance between us and Him- Sin.

Jesus has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (Hebrews 9: 26) God sent His Son so that we would no longer be sin conscious, rather, Righteousness conscious!

God is always with us, never leaves us- never breaks fellowship with us.

As we renew our mind to what Jesus has done for us, we will gravitate- even desire, more and more to spend time with the one that has Reconciled us to Him before we even asked. Romans 5: 6- 11

When we're conscious of our Right standing before God, solely based on our belief that Jesus' blood has cleansed us from all sin- once for all, we will not shrink back from being aware that God is with us, rather, we will recognize the freedom that is ours to remain connected to Him, aware that He is with us... mindful that He is our very source for change- effortless change!

Forgiven- Once for all: Romans 6: 10, Col. 2: 13 & 14, Hebrews 9: 26, 10: 10, 12, 14, Eph. 1: 7, 1 Peter 3: 18

Christians struggle with sin because of the "Old Self" within? Romans 7: 20

No, it's not the "old self" within. The Apostle Paul explains it like this:

Romans 7: 20 "Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin living in me that does it.

To help us better understand, it's important to know that in the book of Romans, only 1 time is the word sin a verb (an action). Romans 6: 15

All other references to sin are nouns: person, place or thing.

In Romans 6, we learn that we have been set free from sin / dead to sin (noun).

But if I'm dead to sin, why is it that I still sin? Do I stop sinning gradually as I convince myself that I am dead to sin?

The answer to the question above: No

Jesus didn't die gradually to sin for us; He died "Once for All". (Romans 6:10)

In the simplest of terms: Jesus adopted us out of the family of sin and brought us home to the Righteousness family.

Though we were born into the sin family, because of Jesus' payment for us, His shed blood being the currency, we went from being a sinner to being the Righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

In the moment we believe in Jesus, we go from being a sinner to being a saint / Righteous before God-The word saint comes from sanctified, which means: to be made Holy. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5: 17)

Common misconception: if we have died to sin (noun), we will not sin (verb).

Let's look at this in context:

Apostle Paul says in Romans 6 that we are dead to sin and alive with Christ.

Then the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7, "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do- this I keep on doing;" (Romans 7: 19)

However, right after he explains that he desires to do good, but still finds himself doing wrong (even though he is / we are dead to sin), he says in Romans 8: 1

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..."

Now that we are dead to sin (noun), the key to not committing repetitious sins (verb) is when we realize that we are no longer sinners, but righteous. This is called being Rooted in Righteousness.

Our un-righteous thoughts or actions do not make us a sinner again.  We remain righteous before God = permanently righteous. 

It was not our wrong doing that made us a sinner and it was not our right doing that made us righteous. 

It was Adam's sin that made us a sinner and it was the 2nd Adam- Jesus, who did right on our behalf. (Romans 5)

Jesus, by shedding His blood, cleansed us from ALL sin, reconciling us to God. (Romans 5: 6-11 & 2 cor. 5: 17- 21)

 We get to choose to put our faith (choose to believe) in Jesus - that His blood has cleansed us and made us right before God. It's this revelation that keeps us from shrinking back in our faith (in our belief) that Jesus has made us righteous, and it is this understanding that enables us to remain consciously aware of God's presence in us and with us-  the very source for change.

Condemnation aka: feelings of guilt and shame, keeps us out of the presence of God (our very source for change).

Simply put: It's when we no longer come under condemnation that sin will lose its power in our lives.

Fact: Condemnation empowers sin.

We have been set free from sin (noun); however, we still sin (verb), but because of our adoption, we are no longer sinners, but Righteous before God, only because of Jesus making us righteous due to His shed blood.

The more we focus on our new standing before God: Right before God = Righteous - the more we will believe who we really are now: Righteous.

The more we believe we are righteous, the more we will become righteousness conscious, and the result intended by God is that we become less and less sin- conscious.  It is when we're not sin- conscious, yet Righteousness conscious, that our behavior will effortlessly become righteous. (Hebrews 9: 14)

This is called renewing our minds with the Word of God.

As we renew our mind to this fact:

We are no longer un-righteous, even when we sin.

Why? Because of Jesus' finished work, sin has been put away (Heb. 9: 26) and as a result, we are now dead to sin (noun) and Alive in Christ!

By this adoption we are now heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ; we now have the right to call God- Abba Father... Daddy. (Romans 8: 15-17)

The more we focus on the fact that God so loves us that He sent His son, NOT to condemn us, but to save us; that Jesus put us in a position of Freedom to be who we are Right now before God, freedom to be in relationship, and the right to constant fellowship, even with all the un-righteous actions and thoughts, the more we will stay consciously aware of His presence with us and spend time acknowledging Him, receiving His acceptance and love- which is fellowship with THE very SOURCE for Change- Effortless change!

If our effort worked, we would not have needed a savior.

God has made it so simple; however, man /religion has made it hard.

It's when we KNOW God loves us, (un-conditionally) just as we are- we are drawn to that place of repentance.

It's His kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2: 4)

Repentance means: change of mind

When we believe we are righteous, we will live righteous- Effortlessly!

 

Ripped Off! How to Overcome by Pamela Harrison

  Have you been wronged? Do you feel that both God and man are against you, or worse, have forgotten you?  You are not alone.

God did not, and will not be the one to bring pain into your life.

Ripped Off! is Pamela Harrison's story of surviving childhood sexual and physical abuse, as well as rejection and abandonment up in to her adult years.

A daily witness to the miracle working power of God, she has become an instrument of healing, restoring the faith of those who have been physically, sexually, spiritually and emotionally abused.

Forward by Jim Stovall, Author of the book turned major motion picture, The Ultimate Gift

 Book: $5.00

 

No need to worry! Matt. 6: 33

Seek His Righteousness?

But seek first His kingdom and His Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matt 6:33

According to Romans 3: 21- 26 His Righteousness has been provided to us through Jesus, and we become Righteous, just as Jesus is Righteous, simply by believing IN Jesus.

When we believe that we're righteous, simply because we take God at His word, that it is by Faith (IN Jesus having made us Righteous before God) we will then have peace within ourselves knowing, that we cannot do anything right or wrong to increase or decrease God's love for us.

According to Ephesians 1: 3 we are already blessed by God with EVERY spiritual blessing through Christ.

This means that God has ALREADY supplied EVERYTHING we need and desire, and the key to accessing the blessings is our FAITH IN Jesus having made us right before God.

When we know that we are right before God, no matter what wrong thought we just had, no matter what wrong deed we just did, no matter how we blow it, our wrong doing does not negate Jesus' right doing on our behalf, we will then, will full faith, receive AND expect the blessings of God.

Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness AND ALL these things will be added to us- explained:

When we know we're righteous, we have peace with & before God, we in turn become full of Joy and we stand firm in the Faith (this faith is faith IN Jesus having done everything for us) having a constant, confident expectation of God's best, and this is the kind of Faith that moves mountains- this is faith without doubt.

God's promises to us are not contingent on our right doing, rather our right believing.

** When we believe right, we will live right- we will experience all the spiritual blessings provided for us through Jesus- Effortlessly!**

We do not break fellowship with God when we sin 1 John 1:9

Let's look at 1 John 1: 1-10 in context:

¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. (Jesus)

² The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. (Jesus)

³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. (Believe upon Jesus and become a son of God as well)

And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (Because they believe upon Jesus- cleansed by Jesus' blood) ⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. (Walk in the dark: denying that we do wrong/ sin)

⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (The light: God is Righteous, no evil, no darkness. However, man does sin and in order to recognize the need for God's Son, each person must come to realize that he does sin and needs to be forgiven and cleansed by blood- the blood of His Son- Jesus)

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned (this is walking in the darkness), we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

The above verse is often read as: You must first confess your sin, ask God to forgive you and then you're forgiven, but if you don't confess a sin, you're not forgiven and therefore unrighteous and have broken fellowship with God - This is man's theology.

In context: John was addressing the Gnostics (Non- believers) and was contradicting their heresy.

The Gnostics believed that all Matter - including the human body, was entirely evil, while spirit, including God, who is wholly spirit, is entirely good, and they believed salvation is the escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ, but by special knowledge.

Gnostics denied that their immoral actions were sinful. They denied having sin in their lives. Gnostics did not walk in the light, they did not believe they sinned when they committed un-righteous acts, and thus did not believe they needed to believe upon Christ Jesus to be made righteous.

This is where the hairs have been split.

Many believe that when we sin, we, due to the sin just committed, we break fellowship with God, and that our advocate, Jesus, can not plead on our behalf until we confess our sin.

This is true for the un-believer: The un-believer does not have an advocate UNTIL He believes upon THE Advocate- Jesus.

The un-believer does not have fellowship with God UNTIL he comes to understand that he is a sinner in need of a savior, and in that moment that he realizes, confesses with his mouth Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Him from the dead, he is saved and now walks in the light, cleansed of all un-righteousness, ONLY because of his faith in Jesus. (Romans 10: 9&10)

This is the fear of teaching that we've been made permanently righteous by the Blood of Jesus.

"What is going to keep people from sinning? If they are told they are righteous, even when they sin, why would they stop?"

If we taught as the Gnostic's believed, that everything a person DOES is now righteous- this would be heresy!

Righteousness by Faith in Jesus' Blood is this: I am only righteous because of Jesus' sacrifice. The believer is now righteous, but is still capable of un-righteous actions.

And when a believer does sin (commits an un-righteous act), because the Spirit of God lives in the believer, who is righteous and reminds the believer of their righteousness before God (only because of Jesus) the sin the believer just committed, be it action or thought, is pointed out by the Righteous Holy Spirit, convicting the believer that he is Righteous, and that brings the believer to repentance (to the place where he changes his mind)

Because the believer walks in the light, knowing that we do un-righteous acts, however, understands that out of God's great love for us, He sent His Son, Jesus, to keep the believer right before God, even when the believer does wrong, it's the revelation of this great kindness of God that brings the believer to the place of repentance.

Repentance means: Change of mind. When we make a decision to change our mind- we change our lives. When we believe we're righteous, we will live righteous... when we believe right- we live right.

Although the believer may commit an un-righteous act, it does not make the believer un-righteous, it does not constitute the believer breaking fellowship with God, nor God breaking fellowship with the believer.

1.When we sin, we commit an un- righteous act that has ALREADY been punished in the body of Jesus, who IS my Righteousness.

2. It's the revelation that God's kindness provided for my punishment/ forgiveness / my right standing/ my righteousness before Him in advance, that leads me to repentance, which means to change my mind.

3. It's when a mind has been changed that the actions will change. From un-righteous actions to righteous

4. It's the revelation that God loved me first, and provided the blessing of Righteousness that brings me to a place of love for Him which results in grateful obedience.

When we realize that when we sin, (and we ALL do) and the fact that He loves us so much that He sent His Son- Jesus, not to condemn us but to save us, and by THAT sacrifice that keeps us right before God, that is the Kindness, the Love, the Goodness of God that it draws us to the place of REPENTANCE, which means to change our minds, which results in our making the decision, "I no longer want to do ______".

It's what ever the Holy Spirit has pointed out to us- individually, be it, "I no longer feel right about watching rated R movies"- I shouldn't reject this person" - "I shouldn't dress like this" to " I should not continue in this fornication or adultery"

Sin is NEVER acceptable to God; however, when we sin, we never loose our right standing before God, and THE only reason that we don't, is because of Jesus' sacrifice- Him taking the punishment that was due us - is what keeps us from breaking fellowship with God.

Under the law, when the people sinned, they had to not only acknowledge they had sinned, but also bring a blood sacrifice to the priest to cover that sin, and that is what made them re-qualified for God's blessing= Works, self-effort/ self- righteousness.

Now, we are under a better covenant, we have a High Priest that does not go before God with the blood of bulls and goats, but by His own blood, He is our 'Once for ALL' sacrifice, thus making US (not our actions/thoughts) Permanently Righteous. (Hebrews 9 &10)

Hebrews 10: 10 ... we have been made Holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Because we have believed man's theology, that our un-righteous act or thoughts (sin) does break fellowship with God, the result is our feeling condemnation for the wrong done, and that is what causes us to shrink back, feel unworthy and unacceptable.

And this is what God say about shrinking back (due to condemnation)

Hebrews 10: 38 & 39

But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those that believe and are saved.

Our righteousness come by faith in Jesus' complete work on our behalf, and this believe is what saves us, as well as, give us confidence to boldly approach God's throne of Grace, and gives us a sound mind, peace and joy. (Romans 3: 21- 26 & Romans 5)

 

 

 

 

 

Holy Spirit in us - proof we are permanently cleansed! Hebrews 9

The fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in the believer, and made the Temple of the Holy Spirit, is proof that Jesus' blood cleansed us from all sin: past, present and future = a clear conscience, which allows us to boldly approach God, develop relationship, to the point of daily fellowship, that God has long desired to have with His people.  This was His original plan, and through Jesus, He made a way for us to be worthy to not only enter His presence, but to STAY in His presence.

It is by Grace that we are saved (Eph 2: 8-10).  Grace being God's unmerrited favor, that while we were still in sin, He sent His son, out of His great love and desire to fellowship with us, to put us in right standing before Him. 

Under the old covenant, there was a High Priest that went before God on behalf of the people, which was just a Shadow of what was to come. 

Jesus is our High Priest, and instead of slaughtering animals or sacrificing Himself over and over, Him being perfect, and Him taking on all our sins at the cross, this is what has cleansed the believer permanently, and this is what enables us to go into His presence, and we connect with the source that empowers us to change- effortlessly.

But we must first understand how this ties together, otherwise, we will believe that when we sin, we have lost our righteousness before God, lost our right standing before God.

Hebrews 9 shows the comparison of the sancturary built by Moses, specs given by God as it was a replica, a copy of the heavenly sancturary, and it had to be cleansed by blood, by the High Priest, before God could dwell in it, and the temple that God now dwells in, the believer, by His Spirit,  has been cleansed with the blood of Jesus, our High Priest. ( 1 Corinth. 3: 16 & 1 Corinth. 6: 19)

Under the old covenant, blood was shed only to COVER sin, not cleanse man from sin.

Cover: To deal with; hide from view

vs.

Cleanse: to clean or purify   Clean: pure

Under the new covenant, Jesus' blood CLEANSED us; thus making it possible for us to not just be forgiven of past sins or present sins (as under the old covenant), but stay forgiven, a clear conscience before God. 

If we were not fully forgiven, then the Holy Spirit would have to leave every time we sinned.  Thus proving WE'RE required to make ourselves right- that we would have to do something to be cleansed again- impossible!  We can not make ourselves right before God.  All our righteousness is as filthy rags to God. (IS. 64)

Side note: When we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us we're righteous (John 16: 7-11) and in that moment of realizing we're righteous, however, a thought or action is not righteous, yet by the Holy Spirit we're reminded as to WHY we're righteous, only because of the Blood of Jesus, which was shed for us only because of the kindness of God - it is the revelation of God's kindness, His grace thru Jesus, who is Grace, that leads us to repentance, which means to change our minds - Romans 2: 4. 

Summarized: When we sin, we realize we're wrong, thanks to the Holy Spirit, who reminds us we are righteous, and that is when we desire to repent (acknowledge/ confess) to God that we recognize we were wrong, and then we RECEIVE the forgiveness that is already ours, and continue on in the presence of God, uninhibited, as if we never sinned.  (Hebrews 8: 12)

I John 1: 9

⁹ If we confess (acknowledge) our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

This is often read as:  You must first confess your sin, ask God to forgive you and then you're forgiven, but if you don't confess a sin, you're not forgiven and therefore unrighteous.

The above scripture is confirmation that though we all sin and all fall short of the Glory of God (Romans 3: 21-26), that God is faithful, He is just, true to His word, and that as we confess/ acknowledge what the Holy Spirit has revealed to us as unrighteous behavior, gives us the confirmation/ the comfort of knowing, we are STILL RIGHT before God -  our conscience may REMAIN clear, AND goes on to give the promise that God will cleanse us from the unrighteousness in our lives- clearly showing He is the one that cleans us up- not our self- effort.

 This clear conscience is what enables us to stay connected to the source that empowers us to live a righteous life aka: cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Important: However, when we believe that we have transitioned from righteous to unrighteous when we sin, and must confess every sin to be right before God, that is being sin- conscious, which is law conscious, which put the believer under condemnation and condemnation empowers more sin.

The law in 2 Corinthians 3: 9 is called the ministry of condemnation.  The ministry of condemnation is the 10 commandments, which is the making one self - righteous.

FACT:  Condemnation keeps us out of the presence of God. 

Condemnation brings fear and expectation of punishment; however!  Now, under the new covenant, cut in Jesus blood, we've been given a Spirit that cries Abba, Father, and does not make us a slave to fear again (Romans 8: 15) 

Fear has to do with punishment (I John 4: 18)

God, who is Love, and out of His love for us, He sent His Son, not to condemn the world (us) but to save us. (John 3: 16)

This all ties together:  When we know we're forgiven, we realize how much God loves us, and as a result, we trust that He is for us and never against us, never the one withholding anything good or desirable or sending/allowing anything evil in our lives.  He's a giver, not a taker.

Comparison:

The old covenant, not fully forgiven, constant slaughtering of animals.

New covenant, no slaughtering of animals, rather Jesus was the last and final sacrifice for all sins (Hebrews 10: 1-18), and also known as the sacrificial lamb (John 1: 29).

 

Hebrews 9 

Hebrews 9

Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle

 ¹ Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. ²A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lamp-stand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. ³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, ⁴ which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

 ⁶ When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. ⁷ But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. ⁸ The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. ⁹ This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. ¹⁰ They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

The Blood of Christ

 ¹¹ But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

 ¹⁵ For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

 ¹⁶ In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸ This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.

Side note: While Jesus walked the earth, the law was still in effect.  It was not until He cut a new covenant in His blood, died and was raised from the grave, that the New covenant, putting us under grace, was made effective.

¹⁹ When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”²¹ In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

 ²³ It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. ²⁵ Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.  

²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many (for those that would believe upon Him); and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin (not to punish sin), but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.