Destined to Reign (3 page)

My friend, Jesus has accomplished everything on the cross. Our part is to trust in His perfect work, receive with open arms the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, and begin to reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. Today, let it be your prayer that you will stop trying to earn God’s grace and righteousness. Let the Holy Spirit teach you to start depending on Jesus’ finished work and to start receiving by His grace. This is God’s effortless way to success, wholeness and victorious living!

Chapter 2: The Law Has Been Fulfilled

I remember being invited to speak at a convention some years back and when one of the speakers got up to the podium to preach, he said with great conviction in his voice, “The greatest call in your life is to your family!” The crowd loved it, and the entire auditorium clapped and cheered in agreement. At the next session, another speaker stood up and declared with fiery passion in his eyes that “the greatest call in your life is to missions”. This time, the crowd went wild and the entire auditorium reverberated with shouts of “Amen!”

Then, it was my turn to preach, and I prayed, “God, they have used up all the ‘greatest calls’. Give me something.” And when I stood up, the Lord put this in my heart and I shared, “The greatest call in your life is to be a worshipper!” You see, long after all the missions have been accomplished on earth, and long after families are united in heaven, we will continue worshipping our beautiful Savior Jesus Christ for all that He has done for you and me, for all eternity.

It is all about Jesus! It is all about His finished work!

The more you appreciate the finished work of Jesus and all that He has done for you to reign in life, the more you will worship and glorify Him! Let’s look at the Word of God to see more of His finished work.

John 1:17, KJV

17
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Have you noticed that truth is on the side of grace, not the law? Notice also that the law was
given
. This implies a sense of distance. In contrast, grace
came
! Grace is personal and came as a person — the person of Jesus Christ. The law is hard, cold and impersonal. You cannot have a relationship with two pieces of stone. But grace is gentle and warm. Grace is not a teaching or doctrine. Grace is a person and you can have a relationship with a person. God is not interested in mere obedience and submission. He is a God of love and He longs to have an intimate relationship with you. This is what makes Christianity unique. Many of the world’s belief systems are governed by moral codes, rules and laws. But Christianity is not about these things. It is about having a relationship with Almighty God.

Our God came, died a cruel death on the cross and paid the full debt of sin with His own life so that you and I can reign in life today. His sacrifice on the cross speaks of relationship. Jesus came to reconcile sinful man with a holy God. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are made holy and righteous by His blood once and for all. And you can enter boldly into the presence of Almighty God without any guilt, condemnation or expectation of punishment. Because of the cross, the price for sin has been paid, the judgment executed, the anger toward sin exhausted, the veil torn and the way to intimacy with God opened. Sin no longer hinders you from entering His presence. His blood has removed all vestiges of your sins!

Our God came, died a cruel death on the cross and paid the full debt of sin with His own life so that you and I can reign in life today.

Jesus Fulfilled The Law

The moment you place the law of Moses between you and God again, you are negating the finished work of Jesus, for if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died in vain
1
. Christianity cannot be reduced to an impersonal list of do’s and don’ts. Jesus’ death has fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law of the old covenant. The Word of God tells us that the “handwriting of requirements” has been nailed to the cross
2
. Jesus came to fulfill all the requirements of the law on our behalf, so that the way to God is now opened. Hallelujah!

“Pastor Prince, you are saying that we are no longer under the law. But Jesus Himself said that He did not come to abolish the law.”

That is exactly right my friend, but you have to quote what Jesus said completely. He said, “I have not come to abolish the law,
but to fulfill it
.”
3
Jesus did not sweep the law under the carpet. He came and fulfilled every requirement of the law perfectly on our behalf. All that we were unable to do, He did on our behalf. So by Jesus, the law has been fulfilled!

When you have fulfilled your debt to the bank for the mortgage on your house, my advice to you is to stop sending in your monthly payments because the debt has already been fulfilled. If the bank sends you a letter demanding more payment from you, all you have to do is produce the title deed to your home. In the same sense, the debt that you and I owed to the law has already been fulfilled by our Savior Jesus Christ! Hallelujah! When the devil comes to accuse you with the law, and shows you how you have fallen short and failed, all you have to do is point to the payment that Jesus made on the cross. Christ is your title deed, which is why you are called a
Christ
ian today. You are not your own. You have been purchased with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The law has no hold over you anymore!

The Devil Has Been Disarmed

You probably know that the issue of “nuclear disarmament” is big news in the world today. But are you aware that there is someone more sinister who has already been disarmed? The Bible says that God has “disarmed principalities and powers”. We know from the book of Ephesians that “principalities and powers” refer to Satan and his cohorts
4
. So the devil has already been disarmed! But do you know what weapon he was wielding before his forced disarmament? Let’s see what the Word of God says about this:

Colossians 2:14–15

14
having wiped out the
handwriting of requirements
that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Based on the context of the verse, the devil was armed with the “handwriting of requirements that was against us”. What “handwriting of requirements” was so powerful that it required the death of Jesus to wipe it out? On Mount Sinai, God wrote the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone. The “handwriting of requirements” was thus a reference to the law that was written by the finger of God. The devil then armed himself with the
law
to accuse and condemn man! Now listen carefully to this: God didn’t give the law to arm the devil, but the devil, knowing that the law was against man, took advantage of it and has been using it against man.

You have been redeemed from the curse of the law.

The law always condemns and keeps man away from God. Hence, the devil uses it as his weapon to further alienate man from God. That’s why when God nailed the law to the cross, He made a public spectacle of the devil and all the powers of darkness! Once the law was nailed to the cross of Jesus, God knew that the law no longer had the power to condemn man as long as he believed on Jesus. Therefore, when you know and believe that
Jesus has fulfilled completely the righteous requirements of the law, the devil cannot use the law to condemn you every time you fail
. Even if he uses the law and points to your sins today, you can point to the cross of Jesus and reject the condemnation. You may say, “No one can blot out God’s handwriting.” Yes, you are right. No man can, but God can! And God did it righteously. My friend, you have been redeemed from the curse of the law. The devil and his crew have been disarmed. Hallelujah!

However, if you insist on being under the law, you are actually arming the devil again! God has nailed the law. He has blotted out its requirements, taken it out of the way and disarmed the devil. But when you subject yourself to the old covenant system of the law, you are putting that weapon back into the devil’s hands. Every teaching that says, “We have to keep the law to be blessed by God,” is putting the weapon of the law back into the devil’s hands. Instead of resting in God’s disarmament, people are rearming and remilitarizing the powers of darkness!

Let me stress that the law is holy, just and good. Please don’t misconstrue that I am saying otherwise. But even though the law is holy, just and good, it has no power to make you holy, just and good. You see, the law was designed to expose your weaknesses, your sins, and your inability to be holy, just and good. It is like a mirror that exposes your flaws — your blemishes and pimples. But you cannot take the mirror, and begin to rub your face with it to clean off your blemishes and pimples, because that is not the mirror’s purpose! You need to understand that no amount of keeping the law can make you holy. Only the blood of Jesus can do that. Nevertheless, the law
is
holy. It is not from the devil. It is from God Himself.

The Purpose For The Law

God gave the law for one purpose, and that is by the law, the world would have the knowledge of sin
5
, and recognize their need for a Savior. Without the law, there would be no sin
6
. For example, if there were no law on how fast you can drive on a particular road, that is, there were no speed limit, the state trooper cannot stop you and give you a ticket for speeding. In simple terms, no law equals no sin. No recognition of sin equals no need for a Savior! The law was given to bring man to the end of himself so that in his despair, he would see his need for Jesus. Because of the law, no man can say that he is not a sinner and no man can say that he doesn’t need Jesus. That is the purpose of the law. It was not designed to make you godly, but to expose your ungodliness.

What the devil has done is to keep the law over people’s heads all the time, so that they will constantly feel condemned and guilty. The devil is the master legalist who constantly reminds you of how unworthy you are. He is known as the accuser of the brethren
7
. Here are some of his common attacks:

“You call yourself a Christian?”

“You are a hypocrite!”

“Forget about praying. God will never listen to your prayers.”

“Look at your life. You dare step into church?”

My friend, these are lies, ALL lies! The devil is using the law to make you conscious of all your shortcomings. But through Jesus Christ, you are no longer under the condemnation of the law. The devil has been disarmed by the power of the cross! Jesus, who knew no sin, has been condemned on your behalf on the cross. Through Jesus Christ, you are now made righteous apart from the works of the law. So when you hear the voice of the accuser condemning you, remind yourself that you are the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. Declare it out loud! Come on, say it with me three times, each time louder than the first:

“I am the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ!”

“I am the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ!”

“I am the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ!”

Righteousness is a gift. It is not a reward for perfect obedience to the law. You are clothed today not in your own righteousness, which is self-righteousness, but with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. God sees you as righteous as Jesus Himself.

Only Grace Brings Hope

Only the radical preaching of grace brings hope to believers. Only the finished work of Jesus can bring us wholeness, completeness and shalom-peace. Some people say that the Christian life is very hard. My friend, it is not hard, it is impossible! The only one who can live it is Jesus Himself, and He wants to do it in us today. That is why it is not up to our own efforts to fulfill the law of Moses. It was fulfilled on our behalf and the price for our sins has been paid on the cross. Our part today is to believe in our Savior, and receive from Him the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. The Christian life is a life of rest in Christ Jesus and His finished work. It is time to rest from your own efforts and to enjoy Jesus! The devil hates the gospel of grace because it causes the believer to reign in life. And when you reign, the devil does not!

Only the finished work of Jesus can bring us wholeness, completeness and peace.