Destined to Reign (20 page)

Jesus believed that when someone really has a revelation that God does not condemn them, they would have the power to get out of the vicious circle of sin.

Do you think that the woman would go off, look for her lover, and jump back into bed with him after she had received the gift of no condemnation? No, of course not! It is obvious that Jesus believed that when someone really has a revelation that God does not condemn them, they would have the
power
to get out of the vicious circle of sin. They would have the power to “go and sin no more”!

What are you going to put your trust in today? Jesus’ grace which swallows up sin? Or man’s fears that believers would use “grace” as a license for them to sin?

Condemnation Perpetuates The Cycle Of Defeat

Let me tell you this: If you are under condemnation, you are doomed to repeat your sin. Why? Because when you are under condemnation, you feel guilty and condemned, and you believe that fellowship with God is broken. And since you believe that God is far away, you will end up committing that sin again. You may do something good that makes you feel that you have restored fellowship with God, but when you fail again, you start receiving condemnation again, and the cycle of defeat continues.

Jesus’ method of countering sin is completely different. When you sin, He says to you, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” When you receive the gift of no condemnation from Him, you will know beyond any doubt that fellowship with God is never broken because the blood of Jesus continually cleanses you. Believing that you are the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus and simply receiving the gift of no condemnation give you the power to go and sin no more.

Do Not Back Away From Grace

“Pastor Prince, I know of someone who says that he is under grace, but is clearly living in sin. Can a person be under grace and still live in sin?”

My friend, do not back away from the gospel of grace just because you see some negative examples. Go to the person and confront him! If he says, “Well, I am under grace,” but still lives a lifestyle of sin, this is what I’ll say to him: “No, you are
not
under grace. The Bible says that sin shall not have dominion over you when you are
not under law but under grace
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. So if you are living in sin, you are
definitely
not under grace. You are not enjoying the gift of no condemnation and the free, unmerited favor of God. That is why sin has dominion over you. You cannot claim to be under grace when you continue to live in sin!” Such people become agents that the devil uses to instill suspicion and fear against the gospel of grace. But our part is not to back away from the gospel that Jesus preached just because a very small group of people use grace as an excuse for their lifestyle of sin.

If someone has really known and experienced grace and the gift of no condemnation, he will NOT want to live in sin. Sin will be the last thing on his mind! Let me put it very clearly:
Anyone who is living in sin is not under grace
and has not experienced the gift of no condemnation. Grace always results in victory over sin!

The Power To Sin No More

I believe that most believers desire to live lives that are glorifying to God and that most of us normal, rational human beings are NOT looking for an excuse to sin. But there is a struggle which Paul himself wrote about: “For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.”
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I am writing to believers who have this genuine struggle with the law and who like Paul are crying out, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
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If this is your cry, then this is written especially for you: The person who will deliver you is Jesus. His amazing grace will save every “wretched man”. In all your helplessness, weaknesses and vulnerabilities, Jesus looks at you with His tender loving eyes and says to you, “Where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Every time you fail in thought, word or deed, receive this afresh: There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, all your failures were already condemned in His body. Today, you are free to live a victorious life not because of your obedience to the law, but because of your obedience of faith in Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

Every time you fail in thought, word or deed, receive this afresh: There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ.

Paul said, “For
what the law could not do
in that it was weak through the flesh,
God did
by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.”
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What the law could not do, God did (notice the use of the past tense) by sending His Son. The law could not save the “wretched man” that we were. It could only condemn us. But God saved us by placing all the guilt, punishment and condemnation for our sins on Jesus’ body at Calvary.

Your inheritance today is no longer guilt, punishment and condemnation for your sins, but righteousness, peace and joy through Jesus Christ. This is God’s way for you to experience effortless success in your life. He has already done it all on your behalf. Your part is simply to believe and receive. That is how you walk in victory over sin, addictions, negative thoughts and every cycle of defeat that has you in bondage. Good news? That is the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Chapter 14: No More Consciousness Of Sin

One of the things that I was taught during my formative years as a Christian was that I had to search my heart for sin before I could worship the Lord. I was told to bow my head and search my heart for sin. Each time I did so, I felt like I was entering a dark and dingy storeroom filled with cobwebs. I pictured myself peering around and searching for all my sins with a little torchlight. And the more I searched, the more I felt unworthy to worship the Lord. The more I probed, the more I found, and I would start to feel too condemned to even think that I was qualified to enter His holy presence.

So instead of being more conscious of the love of my Savior, I became more and more self-conscious — more conscious of my sins, uncleanness, guilt and unworthiness. Initially, my hands would be raised and I’d be all ready to praise and worship God, but the more I searched my heart for sin, the more my hands would hang down with dejection and my head bow down with disappointment. How could I worship God? How could I have the courage and audacity to enter His courts with praise?

Come To Him Just As You Are

As I grew and matured in the things of God, I realized that the idea that you had to be “right” before you could worship Jesus is man’s
tradition
. The woman in Luke chapter 7, who came to Jesus with an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, simply fell at His feet and worshipped Him. She washed His feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair before anointing them with the oil. The Bible clearly records that the woman was a sinner, but it says nothing about her searching her heart or confessing her sins before she worshipped Jesus. She worshipped Him just as she was, and after that, Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
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Whatever your need is, come to Jesus. He is your Savior, your healer, your provider and your peace. He is your “I AM”.

I think that the devil has tried to rob us of this tremendous truth. Whatever your need is, whether you are mired in debt, trapped in a particular sin or fearful for your future, come to Jesus. He is your Savior. He is your healer. He is your provider. He is your peace. He is your forgiveness. He is your “I AM”, which means that He is the great “I AM” for whatever situation you are facing in your life.

Whatever lack you may be facing right now, He is your solution. Come and worship Him just as you are, and He
will
meet you at your point of need. You don’t have to worry about your sin because you are worshipping your forgiver. You don’t have to worry about your sickness because you are worshipping your healer. If believers really knew this truth, even wild horses would not be able to stop them from coming to worship God!

Do you know anyone who cleans himself before he takes a bath? Sounds ridiculous, right? Yet, there are people who avoid going to Jesus because they feel that they should “straighten things out” in their lives first. Can’t they see that what they’re really saying is that they need to clean themselves before they can take a bath? Come on, Jesus is the “bath” that makes us clean! He
is
the solution and He will help us straighten out what we will never be able to straighten out on our own.

The lie that you have to clean yourself first is so entrenched in the church that many believers say, “Pastor, I don’t want to come to Jesus until I make my life right.” If that is your refrain, then the sad truth is that you will
never
come to Jesus because you will never come to a place where you can make your life “right”. Come to the bath and the bath will make you clean. Come just as you are with all your sins, and Jesus will wash you clean of all guilt and condemnation.

The world needs to hear this truth, and not be given a bunch of do’s and don’ts. Preach the truth and the world will come flocking to churches for their answers. They are searching for the real thing and that’s what we can offer them. But the real thing is not found in two pieces of stone. You cannot have a relationship with the cold, hard and impersonal law engraved on stones. But you can definitely have a relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ. He is warm, loving and full of grace. People will flock to where the true gospel of Jesus is being preached

— the gospel that God commissioned Paul to preach, the gospel of grace, forgiveness and no more condemnation!

God’s Grace Will Teach You To Deny Ungodliness

Do you know what can produce character, godliness and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ? Contrary to what some preachers of the law are saying, it is the unadulterated gospel of the
grace
of God that will produce all these good fruit. The Bible states it plainly: “For the
grace of God
that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts
, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”
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Clearly, it is the “grace of God” that will produce sober, righteous and godly living!

Grace is not a teaching. It is not a doctrine. It is not a topic in Bible school curricula. Grace is a person and His name is Jesus.

What I love about preaching the gospel of grace is that God’s Word is always being preached in its context. I honestly don’t understand how those who oppose grace can still teach within the context of the Scriptures. It is not the “law of God” that appeared to teach man how to deny ungodliness and worldly lust. Yet, this is what you hear being preached all the time.

It is time to emphasize what the Bible emphasizes. The new covenant is all about the grace of God that brings salvation. And grace is not a teaching. It is not a doctrine. It is not a topic in Bible school curricula. Grace is a person and His name is Jesus. Grace “appeared to all men” teaching us the secret to godliness, character and holiness. He showed us that it is all found in Him and His work on the cross. When you have Him, you are godly. When you have Him, you are made righteous. When you have Him, good character will manifest. When you have Him, you are made holy!

Understanding Holiness

What is holiness? The conventional understanding of holiness is that it is about doing right. But check the word “holiness” in the original Greek and you will find that it is the word
hagiasmos,
which means “separation to God”
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. Therefore, being holy means that you have been set apart, made
uncommon
from the rest of the world of unbelievers.

In the old covenant, when God set the children of Israel apart from the world, He insulated them from the plagues that were brought against Egypt. God takes care of His own. In the old covenant, He provided for the Israelites and protected them because they were made holy and set apart unto Him by the blood of bulls and goats. How much more for us in the new covenant, who are made holy and set apart unto God forever by the blood of the everlasting sacrifice of Jesus Christ!

What this means is that even when the world is facing a financial crisis, we who are made holy by Jesus’ blood will have more than enough in our storehouses. It means that even when there are all kinds of pestilences, sicknesses and diseases in the world, like mad cow disease and bird flu, we are made holy and set apart to enjoy God’s protection and divine health!

My friend, God does not require you to search your heart and locate your sins before you can worship Him. When the psalmist David cried out, “Search me, O God, and know my heart,”
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he was asking
God
to search him. He was not searching his heart himself. In any case, today, all that God will find if He searches you is your righteousness in Jesus Christ, for He sees you as righteous, holy and forgiven. He has already declared, “Your sins and your lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
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