And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 1 John 2:2 (NKJV)

The word propitiation means the appeasing or acceptable sacrifice.  It literally means that Jesus satisfied the wrath of God toward sin.  If the cross was the once and final solution for sin, and you have placed your faith in Christ, then God will never be angry with you again, no matter what you do.  What has God got to be angry with you about since He keeps no record of your sin?   

  that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19 (NKJV)

God is not keeping a record of your sin.  You sin account has a zero balance!  God is love and “Love keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor 13:5).  Everything He does is an expression of His love for you. If the wrath of God scares you, then you have the wrong picture of wrath because there is no fear in love.

1 John 4:17-19 (NKJV)
¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us.

Isaiah prophesied about this New Covenant that would come through the Messiah.  God swore that He would never be angry with you again.  “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 (Isaiah 54:9).

You Are Unpunishable!

You cannot be condemned for any reason.  Scandalous I know, but that’s what the Bible says in

Romans 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

God condemned sin in the flesh of His Son (Rom. 8:3).  The word condemnation is the Greek word katakrima which is from root word to condemn or to punish.  This statement from the Apostle Paul is a statement about those who are “in Christ”, it’s to Christians, but it is beneficial to those who are not in Christ, to those who are not yet Christians because many have misconceptions about God and sin. 

Nothing overwhelms me more than the display of the grace of God toward the woman in (John 8:1-11) that was caught in the act of adultery.  Did Jesus punish this woman?  Show me anyone that Jesus punished for their sin.  This story so beautifully portrays the grace of God through Jesus.  Why do you think they brought this woman to Jesus?  Because they knew He was full of grace.

Public stoning was the punishment for her sin, her accusers stood with the stones in their hands, that would soon take her life by this painful death.  The Law demanded her death, yet Jesus just stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger.  What did He write?  You’ve probably heard, as I have, lots of sermons about Jesus writing in the sand, as preachers share their ideas and speculation over what He may have written.  The only problem is that Jesus didn’t write in the sand or in the dirt.  According to verse two of (John8), He was in the temple teaching when the Pharisees brought this woman to Him.  There is no dirt or sand floors in the temple, not even in the temple courtyard.  Jesus was writing on STONE with His finger.  Let’s think for a moment, . . . writing on stones, . . . with His finger.  Sound familiar?  Where have we heard that before?  Mt. Sinai!  God wrote the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone with His finger.   What was Jesus doing?  He was reminding them that there was not just one commandment written in stone, but ten.  His writing on stone was a statement to the Pharisees, “You dare to instruct Me in the law?  I’m the One Who gave it.”   Remember in Exodus, God wrote on stone not once, but twice just like in this story.

As Jesus wrote on stone, one by one the accusers dropped the “stones” they were carrying and went out.  The stone in Biblical typology is the Law of Moses.   The law is holy, just and good but it is completely inflexible, demanding ABSOLUTE COMPLIANCE…….OR ELSE!  Paul said the law was “the ministry of death and condemnation” (2Cor. 3:7,9).   The Pharisees knew that if you broke even one commandment in the Law, you were guilty of all.  By the way, there were 630 commandments in the Law of Moses, not just 10.

 Jesus, the Grace-giver completely disarmed her accusers, they fled as the grace of God drove away the judgements of men.  Grace is that superior to judgement.  No one had to tell her that she needed to place her faith in Christ.  Grace is the atmosphere of Love that makes faith in Jesus the only reasonable response.  Why don’t we see more people placing their trust in Jesus today?  Because we need a greater revelation of His amazing grace.   Listen, if Jesus didn’t punish her, then He won’t punish you.  If it’s not true of the Son, it’s not true of the Father (Heb 1:3).  Religion threatens punishment to compel proper behavior, but the truth is that in Christ you are eternally unpunishable! “The punishment that brought us peace was on him…” (Isa 53:5).  How can God punish twice for one offense?  If Christ took my sins and stood as my substitute, then there is no wrath of God for me.

Nothing about “punishment” is part of our relationship with God.  Jesus took that all away when He was Punished for us on the cross. We are always forgiven. Continuously. Perpetually.   Eternally forgiven and accepted by Him.  His death has rendered us un-punishable! (Not un-discipline-able.)

Many people believe that when they have problems in life it is because God is angry with them for some past sin.  All my life I have heard people say things like, “I had a miscarriage and I believe that God is punishing me for the way I lived in the past.”  Statements like this prove that people have an incorrect view of God.   How did Jesus deal with this woman and her sin?  

Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?”  She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”  Which came first, the command to go and sin no more or the free gift of no condemnation?  The church often gets this backwards, we say, “go and sin no more and you will not be condemned”.  But it is the gift of no condemnation that empowers us to go and sin no more.  

When you can begin to fully understand His grace, forgiveness, mercy, and unconditional love, you can know with certainty His attitude toward you is merciful—not anger. I can assure you that no matter what you’ve done in life or no matter how many misconceptions you have about God’s feelings toward you, and no matter what your preacher told you, God will never stop loving you. God is not angry with  you and never will be!

Jonah 1:15 (NKJV)

15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

You usually read or hear sermons from preachers encouraging you to “get out of the boat” or to “walk on the water”.  This is not that message!  Some of you need to tell someone, “Get off my boat!”  Your boat is your destiny, your life.  There are times that you must not allow another person’s dysfunction to sink your boat.

When you have a Jonah on your boat, you start throwing your stuff overboard, throwing your money overboard, throwing your strength and energy overboard (Johah1:5).  You used to have joy, until you let Jonah on your boat.  You must understand that some people carry a storm with them everywhere they go.  They are Sister Katrina or Brother El Nino. 

I know that it is our desire to help people and we should, but you must also discern when it’s time to tell them to get off my boat, get out my house.  Some of you say, “the problem with Jonah is that he just got on the wrong boat, he just needs to come to our church or to my ministry”.  “If he would just get on my boat, come to my ministry, I can help him because my boat is the “Love boat”.  You better look at their track record, they have taken down bigger and better boats than yours.

Let me tell you what the Bible says that Jonah was doing while everyone else on the boat was worried and throwing their possessions overboard.  He was asleep down in the lower part of the boat.  Sometimes you want something for them that they don’t want for themselves.  When someone enters your life that needs change and they don’t change by being in your life,….then they didn’t enter your life to change, but to just ride your boat. 

Jonah 1:13 (NKJV)

13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.

Notice, the men rowed, but Jonah wasn’t rowing.  When your boat is taking on water and in danger of sinking, MEN will row hard.  Are you tired of being the only person “rowing”?  If you’re tired of rowing, then get to throwing!  Throw that Jonah off your boat. 

Some of you fear that if you do throw the Jonah in your life overboard, then what will happen to them?  You must know that you are not their Messiah, you are not their savior, God is.

Jonah 1:17 (NKJV)

17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

We must trust God that He will move of behalf of the Jonahs.  God has prepared in advance for their rebellion.  Notice in the above verse, God had prepared a great fish to swallow (not to eat) Jonah.  After three days and nights in the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord.  It took Jonah three days in the fish until he prayed for himself.

Jonah 2:1-2 (NKJV)

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.

2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.

The “Jonah” on board your ship may not be a person but can be anything we allow into our lives that don’t need to be there.  It could be allowing something in our lives that keeps us from moving forward.  Here are some take-aways from this story:

1. Be careful who you allow to come on board your ship and to enter your life. These sailors didn’t realize who was getting on their ship.  All the trouble that they were about to face could have been avoided by not letting Jonah on board in the first place.  Sometimes we allow people into our lives or things into our lives before we fully know if the Lord is involved in them coming into our lives.
2. Realize why this storm is in your life.  These men did a personal examination of what was going wrong and then they confronted Jonah as the cause of their storm.  Too many times people just keep riding through storm after storm, hoping it will eventually get better, when what they need to do is tell that Jonah, get off my boat!  You will not have peace until those things that need to be removed are removed.
3. Don’t get rid of the wrong things.  They threw their precious cargo into the sea trying to fix their problem.  Don’t throw away your marriage trying to save someone else’s marriage.  I don’t know all they lost in their efforts to help, but I do know this: Jonah was their problem, not the things they threw overboard.
4. When you get rid of your Jonah, your life will immediately get back on course.  As soon as they threw Jonah overboard, the sea calmed.  It is true today, that as soon as you surrender it over to the Lord, your sea will calm.

Who we really need to be warned about is all these bullies with bibles.  A bully with a bible is one who tells you what he wants you to hear, and he does so with the fire of an Old Testament prophet.  They brag about how they are tuff on sin, and they are constantly preaching against sin. If warnings and threats about sin stopped people from sinning, there would be no more sin. Trying to overcome sin by focusing on sin is like trying to overcome eating sweets while staring at chocolate cake.

Jesus reveals there is only one thing that can empower you to sin no more, and that is radical grace. I’m talking about the kind of grace that defends the sinner from her accusers, (John 8); grace that turns a thief into a giver, and the chief of sinners into the apostle of grace.  Rules don’t change people and bullies definitely don’t change people, grace changes people.

These bullies with a bible will make sin their focus and will have you turn from sin and turn again until you are just a dizzy sinner.  It is not turning from sin that frees you from sin, it’s turning to Jesus.  The Bible tells us in Hebrew 12:1-2, to “lay aside every sin that ensnares us”, but then tells us how to do it: “looking unto Jesus”.  You make Jesus the focus, not your sin. The good news that Jesus revealed, and Paul preached reveals a God infinitely more appealing than any sin. A bully will use threats to compel you to turn, and you might, for a little while, but a grace preacher reveals the goodness of God that leads you to genuine and lasting repentance (Rom. 2:4).

These bullies use the Bible as a stick.  Their sermons are packed with scriptures but are devoid of Truth. They take God’s grace and add just enough of the law to control and manipulate others.  They portray God as angry and tell you that God loves you, but He’s also mad at you.  Religion says, “God punishes you when you sin”.  Prior to the cross, it made sense to talk about a righteous God being provoked to anger by sin.  But it doesn’t make sense anymore.  Why not?  Because Jesus Christ “took away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  Jesus didn’t “cover” our sin, He removed the sin of the whole world, not just the sin of the believers.

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 1 John 2:2 (NKJV)

The word propitiation means the appeasing or acceptable sacrifice.  It literally means that Jesus satisfied the wrath of God toward sin.  If the cross was the once and final solution for sin, and you have placed your faith in Christ, then God will never be angry with you again, no matter what you do.  What has God got to be angry with you about since He keeps no record of your sin?   

  that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19 (NKJV)

God is not keeping a record of your sin.  You sin account has a zero balance!  God is love and “Love keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor 13:5).  Everything He does is an expression of His love for you. If the wrath of God scares you, then you have the wrong picture of wrath because there is no fear in love.

No Bullying Allowed

My purpose in writing this is not to shame anyone.  I know a lot of church bullying is unintentional.  Unfortunately, in my early ministry before God’s grace was more clearly revealed to me, I with the best intentions, bullied people from the pulpit.  I was just echoing what I heard other preachers say.  I want people to know the God who sits on the throne of Grace and be free from religious bullying.  

Below is a list of common statements that you will hear from a bully with a bible:

1. “If you’re not careful, Jesus will blot your name out of His book”.
2. “God don’t hear your prayers because of your sin”.
3. “If you take Communion with sin in your heart, God might kill you”.
4. “God loves you more if you obey Him.”
5. “If you don’t tithe, God will take it off you in doctors’ bills. You are under a curse”.
6. “Your baby died because God needed another angel in Heaven.  God took your baby, don’t question Him”.
7. “God allowed this sickness to come on you because He’s trying to teach you something”.
8. “If you’ve been divorced and remarried, you’re living in sin”.
9. “The KJV is the only version of the bible we accept; all other versions are wrong!”.
10. “Even though Jesus died, you still must pay for your sin!”

I hate that these types of statements and many more have been preached from pulpits and have done so much damage to people in the name of God.  Jesus was certainly not a bully and His church ought to be free from these bullies.  There’s hope and grace, even for bullies.  Paul was once the bully of all bullies.  The good news is that Jesus loves us at our worst and his love changes us.  He turned this bully into the Apostle of Grace!

Grace is in fact the completely undeserved favor of God – undeserved in that we didn’t do anything, nor do we need to do anything – to deserve it. He likes us, loves us, thinks the world of us. Ignore anyone who tries to tell you otherwise! I’d call that Good News! It’s so much the opposite of what religion has told us for centuries. It’s free, bought, paid for and credited to our accounts.

Grace is irrational to the thinker. It is unfair to the judge. It is radical to the religious. Grace is foolishness to the achiever. Grace is a mistake to the disciplinarian. But it is a stream of water to the thirsty. It’s freedom to the imprisoned. It is life to the dead. Grace is rest to the tired. It is another chance to the failed. It is hope to the despondent. It is a way out for the lost and a way in for those who can see the Door.

Right thinking equals right living, you cannot think wrong and live right and you cannot think right and live wrong.  The way you think determines the way you live. 

Romans 12:2 (NKJV),   And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

True transformation begins with the renewing of your mind.  Notice- God does not change us from the outside in, but from the inside out.  He changes the way we think and then that changes the way we live.  Religion basally does the opposite, religion starts with the outside-what you wear, eat or drink, the places you go, religion try’s to make us good be changing the externals.  Behavior modification never works, God’s method works.

Matthew 4:17 (KJV)  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Repent Doesn’t Mean What You Think

The Greek word commonly translated repentance (metanoia) literally means to change your mind. So to repent is to change your mind. Nothing more, nothing less.  You can change your mind about anything, but Jesus calls us to change our mind about God and believe the good news (Mark 1:15). Biblical repentance is evidenced by turning to God.

Religious people often complain that grace preachers don’t preach repentance.  Here’s something interesting:  Repentance is one of the most important things you’ll ever do but the Apostle John never mentions the word. Not once. Not in his gospel or in any of his three letters.  I suppose John was also a grace preacher.  I think the reason John never mentions it is you don’t get people to repent by preaching repentance. People will not repent just because you tell them to repent.  Your definition of repentance will reveal whether you are living under grace or works. In the Old Testament, sinners repented by bringing a sacrifice of penance and confessing their sins (Num 5:7). But in the new we bring a sacrifice of praise and confess his name (Heb 13:15).

To get people to repent (change their minds) Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom. He painted a picture of where God wanted them to be and He gave them clear directions on how to get there (have faith in God).  It was the same with Apostle Paul. He didn’t walk into Corinth, one of the world’s most depraved cities, and preach “turn or burn.” Instead he resolved to know nothing but “Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2).

People need to hear how much God loves them. They need to hear about his unconditional favor and grace. The best way to tell them is to reveal the finished work of the cross. When the Corinthian Christians fell into sin, Paul still didn’t preach “turn from sin.” Instead he reminded them of their identity in Christ. He understood that grace, not dead works, is the cure for sin. Got a sin-problem? Turn to the cross and behold Christ. Come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace. His grace is your only hope.

Should we repent? Of course! I repent all the time. You cannot renew your mind without repenting for repenting means to change your mind. So when I discover something new about the goodness of God, I repent – I change my way of thinking so that my life lines up with what is true.  We have to give people a  reason to repent and they’ll repent.  Repentance comes as a consequence of hearing about the goodness of God (Rom 2:4). So if you want people to repent, tell them how good God is. Preach the good news: God loves you, he died for you and he offers you His righteousness.  Jesus has done it all!

Despite 2020 and all that has come with it, Christmas is here. One thing that I have noticed this Christmas is people seem to be putting up more Christmas lights and doing it much earlier than in years past. I think many people are just trying to do something that brings joy and spreads more good cheer that is desperately needed.  Regardless of what is going on in the world, there are some things that remain the same.  My grandchildren are still excited about Christmas and cannot wait to open their presents.  Seeing Christmas through their smiles is such a blessing. 

While the Christmas season can bring much joy; it may also be more difficult for some this year as some due to their health concerns choose to limit contact with family and friends. Many have already been feeling a growing sense of isolation, but Christmas can amplify this feeling.  It is important to know that you are not alone in this, even though it may feel like it.  Reach out and call someone, not just text, facetime with them if possible. Reach out to people who you know that may be feeling alone… they come in all ages.

 This Christmas more than ever it is important to have hope.  We can’t live without hope. Hope gives us strength. Hope helps us endure. If you’re going through hardships, you need hope. If you’ve heard a bad report, hold onto your hope. But hope is only as good as the truth that your hope is connected to. If you’ve placed your hope in Washington DC or in a man or woman, you’re going to be let down. It’s inevitable. Our hope is in the Lord!  Hope is the joyful anticipation of good.  Any area of our life that does not have hope is under the influence of a lie.  Hope comes from God and He cannot lie!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom 15:13)  At one time we were “without hope and without God,” but “on him we have set our hope” (Eph 2:12, 2 Cor 1:9-10).

Place your hope in anything less than God and you set yourself up for failure and disappointment. But put your hope in him and you’ll reign in life. This world will crush your hopes, but your heavenly Father does not want you to become hopeless. When you are shaken by bad news the temptation is to look around for hope. Don’t look around; look up! Fix your eyes on Jesus.

But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. (Psa 39:7)

The remedy for bad news is good news. When the shaking comes, hold onto hope, and don’t let go. When the doctor speaks death, listen to Jesus who speaks life. When your boss says something bad, listen to your Father who says something good. You cannot walk by faith unless you’re walking by hope and you’ll never walk in hope unless you’re walking in your Father’s love. Faith, hope, and love go together, but the greatest of these is love. No love, no hope. Know his love and you’ll know hope.

May faith, hope, and love be yours in abundance as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. May the Lord reveal Himself as your rock, your fortress and your deliverer, a God in whom you can trust.

Merry Christmas!

The grace of God has many expressions, but forgiveness is the first. Miss forgiveness and you’ll miss grace. One way to miss grace is to treat forgiveness as something other than a gift. If you work to earn what God has given, then it’s no longer grace and you’ve have made the cross of Christ of no effect. We just can’t seem to get it into our heads that God does not and did not need your permission to forgive you. That just sounds too good to be true. That’s why it is called The Good News! 

Jesus told the paralyzed man in Luke 5:20, “man your sins are forgiven you”.  Notice the man had not repented, he had not confessed his sins, he had not even asked for forgiveness, yet Jesus said his sins were forgiven.  The scribes and Pharisees got upset about this, and they still get upset about this today.  If Jesus said something or did something, there was a reason, a need for it.  This paralyzed man desperately needed to hear that his sins were forgiven. This world also desperately needs to hear the good news that God has forgiven them their sins and He is not holding their sins against them.

2 Corinthians 5:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹  that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Hebrews 8:12 (NKJV)
¹²  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Did Jesus take away the sin of the world or not?  (John 1:29) Whose sin did Jesus take away? The sin of the world! Does the world include sinners? Yes! Then sinners are forgiven. God has reconciled the sin of the world to Himself and He is no longer recording their sins.  God is not angry with them. 

Sin Has Been Dealt With By God

The 10^th chapter of Romans instructs us on how to be saved and the word ‘SIN’ is not even mentioned!  Go to the average church and ask them how to be saved and you will be told that the first thing you need to do is to “confess your sins”.  You will be told to “say the sinners prayer”.  You will find that instruction in churches, but that is not in the Bible!   

Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV)
⁹  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
¹⁰  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10 does not mention anything about having to confess sin in order to be forgiven or saved.  Why not?  Because God has already forgiven the world of their sin at the cross.  The only thing Romans 10 tells us to “confess” is the Lord Jesus!  Want more Bible proof?  Look at the man in Acts 16 who asked the Apostle Paul how to be saved:

Acts 16:30-31 (NKJV)
 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
³¹  So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Notice Paul never mentioned the word SIN to this man?  Why?  Because confessing sin has nothing to do with getting saved.  The church has made sin the big obstacle, yet Jesus took away the sin of the world at the Cross, the problem is most of the world don’t know it and most of the church don’t believe it.  A person is not saved by confessing sin but by believing in Jesus Christ! 

1 John 2:2 (NIV)
²  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Forgiveness does not equal Salvation

You are forgiven, but you will not experience it until you receive His forgiveness by believing that you are forgiven and trusting Jesus for your righteousness.  Everyone is forgiven but not everyone believes that they are forgiven. Those who don’t believe reject the gift that God offers them.  A proper response to this good news is to turn to God and put your trust in His amazing grace. This is called repentance. We don’t repent to get forgiven; we repent because we are forgiven.  See Jesus sitting down at the right hand of the Father. He’s not running around cleaning up your sins. His redemption work is done, and He now invites you to enter His rest.

 The New Testament warns us about the dangers of sin.  Why?  Not to make you doubt God’s forgiveness or grace, but to warn us of the consequences of sin.  Sin grieves our Father who loves us, when we hurt ourselves or hurt others by sin, it hurts Him.  But God is not holding our sins against us.  Sin can hurt you, make you sick,  and grieve the Holy Spirit, but one thing sin cannot do, is undo the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and cause God to UN-FORGIVE you. 

 It is so important that you settle this issue of forgiveness in your heart, if you don’t, you’ll spend your life in pursuit of what God has already given you.  Listen to Paul preach.  After the resurrection, forgiveness of sins is a done deal.

Acts 13:38-39 (NKJV)
³⁸  Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;
³⁹  and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV)
⁷  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJV)
¹³  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
¹⁴  in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

1 John 2:12 (NKJV)
¹²  I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

 Notice your sins ARE forgiven you, not will be when you confess them.

Many people believe that when they have problems in life it is because God is angry with them for some past sin.  All my life I have heard people say things like, “I had a miscarriage and I believe that God is punishing me for the way I lived in the past.”  Statements like this prove that people have an incorrect view of God.     

In John chapter 8 we have the account of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?”  She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”  Which came first, the command to go and sin no more or the free gift of no condemnation?  The church often gets this backwards, we say, “go and sin no more and you will not be condemned”.  But it is the gift of no condemnation that empowers us to go and sin no more.  

When you can begin to fully understand His grace, forgiveness, mercy, and unconditional love, you can know with certainty His attitude toward you is merciful—not angry.  Why?  Because Jesus took away the sin of the world at the cross which included your sin and mine!   I can assure you that no matter what you’ve done in life or no matter how many misconceptions you have about God’s feelings toward you, and no matter what your preacher told you, God will never stop loving you. God is not mad at you because God has forgiven you your sins!

The verses above are Jesus’ mandate.  Jesus didn’t come to institute a behavior reform program for convicts.  He came to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty throughout the land!  Jesus is our long-awaited year of jubilee – acceptance by God that never ends.

A Prophetic Play

I love reading the Old Testament because it is like watching a video of the realities revealed in the New Testament.  The Hebrews were captives and enslaved in Egypt.  Their deliverance from Pharaoh was a prophetic picture of our deliverance from sin.  Moses who is a type of Jesus was used by God to bring their deliverance.  Moses was unique because he was the only Hebrew not owned by Pharaoh.  Moses was a free man.  In the same way, Jesus was special because He was the only human who knew no sin.  Since Jesus was not of Adam, He was not part of the slave race.  This makes Him the perfect deliverer.  When you’re locked up on the inside, you need help from someone who is on the outside.

In this play, Pharaoh represents the enslaver called sin.  Moses the deliverer said to Pharaoh, “Let my people go”.  Pharaoh refused, so he was destroyed.  At the Red Sea, Pharaoh and his army was drowned.  The Hebrews no longer had to fear Pharaoh and his corrupt slave system. 

Exodus 14:13 (NKJV)
¹³  And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.

God’s destruction of Pharaoh demonstrated what God planned to do with sin on the cross.  The Amplified Bible says, “God condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],”

Romans 8:3 (AMP)
I want you to see Pharaoh wiped out, lying at the bottom of the Red Sea.  That’s what God did to sin. Micah 7:19 says, God will “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Another verse, Isaiah 1:18, says that God will make our scarlet sins as white as wool. Psalm 103:12 expresses the thought in yet another way: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

This image of our sin at the bottom of the sea means that Jesus accomplished what He came to do.  He was the Lamb of God who TOOK AWAY the sin of the world!  He took sin away just as the Red Sea took Pharaoh away. The idea that our sins are lost in a sea of forgetfulness is a comfort. We are no longer judged by our sins (Romans 8:1). When we fear judgment, ironically, we are tempted to sin even more, because we want to escape from the fear of judgment, and sin is often pleasurable for a time (see Hebrews 11:25). But, eventually, the fear of judgment returns. This is a vicious cycle. Spiritual growth requires that we recognize the total forgiveness that exists in Jesus Christ and that we rest in that forgiveness.

Sin in these passages is not a verb, but a noun.  This is important to understand .  See https://dellyoung.net/2017/04/03/sin-is-a-noun-grace-is-a-verb/

Jesus didn’t stop our ability to sin, He stopped sins ability to have dominion over us (Romans   6:14).  Since sin had no hold on Jesus, on the cross Jesus took hold of sin and held on as God condemned sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3).

Why the cross?  Why did God remove sin in this way?  Think of it like this:  If God had dropped the H-Bomb of judgement on Egypt and Pharaoh, all of the Hebrews would have been killed.  In the same way if God judged sin in all of us, we would’ve been vaporized.  God couldn’t tackle sin directly without judging us all.  To save us, God became one of us.  He marched right into the enemy’s camp, disguised in human flesh, yet without sin! 

The good news of the Cross is the power of sin has been broken.  Our enemy has been disarmed and defeated.  Your sins are no longer held against you (Romans 4:8).  Do this mean we can sin freely?  Why would you want to go back and eat out of the dumpster when you now are seated at Christ’s banquet table?  Before the cross, we had no choice; we were slaves to sin.  But now we have a choice and that’s freedom!  Not free TO sin, but free FROM sin!

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Cor 11:3)

Satan’s aim is to take our focus off the simple, childlike faith and trust in Christ.  The primary way he does this is to get us to engage him in “spiritual warfare”.  ‘Spiritual warfare,’ as it’s popularly presented today, is actually a ploy of the devil.  Many believers think they have little to no power and that satan has plenty. They are wrong on both counts. Yet in their ignorance and unbelief, they re-empower a disarmed enemy. Many people don’t know the truth about Satan’s defeat. In fact, many Christians are the very instrument the devil is using to foster the deception that he is still a powerful foe. See article on 5 ways Christians glorify satan. https://dellyoung.net/2018/07/13/five-ways-christians-glorify-satan/

“Spiritual warfare” is again a hot topic in the church today. People are expending great amounts of energy constantly battling the devil in ways contrary to Scripture. They are trying to defeat satan, but in reality, satan has already been defeated.  Jesus defeated him! We don’t need to defeat him again.  We need to believe that Satan has already been completely defeated (Heb. 2:14) and simply enforce his defeat. The only power he has is the power to deceive. Our battle should be against the wiles (trickery) of the devil, (Ephesians 6:11), not the devil himself. Any other approach is actually giving the devil authority and power which he doesn’t have, and he uses that to intimidate us. The only weapon Satan has is the power we give him when we believe his lies.

We must know that warfare only takes place between two undefeated foes. Once an enemy has been conquered, the war is over. Satan is a defeated foe.

Colossians 2:15 (NKJV)-Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Colossians 2:15 (MSG)-He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.

“A public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”  This means that after Jesus defeated Satan, He stripped him of everything he had, specifically the keys of death and hell (Rev. 1:18). Satan has no power to imprison anyone. This is specifically referring to the way the Romans had a “triumphant procession” after they had defeated their enemies. The same thing happened to the devil. That’s what this verse is referring to. Jesus not only beat the devil, but He had a triumphant procession to display the devil to the universe as a totally conquered foe. Satan should never terrify us again. Unfortunately, many Christians have missed the parade.

Satan is still alive, and we do have to reckon with him but only because he has so many lies circulating about his power against us. Some Christians actually spend more time in their prayers talking to the devil and rebuking him than talking to the Lord.  But God has given you His authority. He has promised that the devil will flee when you resist him (Jas 4:7).  We do not have to enlist a million Christians to fast and pray and bind powers. The best antidote to Satan’s deception is the truth. It’s knowing the Truth that sets people free.  We wage true spiritual warfare every time we speak and send God’s truth!

Look to Jesus who has overcome the world! We should be fighting from a place of victory, not fighting to get the victory. Satan would have you conscious of your lack but Jesus has already given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). His instructions to us are the same as what He told the Christians in Thyatira:

Only hold on to what you have until I come. (Rev 2:25)

The only way we can lose what we have is if we put more faith in the devil’s lies than in God’s word.  Don’t take your eyes off Jesus and His work.  Satan wants you to focus on the violence and evil in this world instead of what God is doing.  God’s divine power is revealed in our life “through the knowledge of Him who called us” (2 Pet 1:3). If the devil can get your eyes off Jesus, he wins, and you lose.

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (NKJV)  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁸  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Romans 8:15-16 (MSG) This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?”  God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.

In Genesis 1 God is revealed as creator.  When man is created, God reveals Himself as Lord God Yahweh a covenant keeping God.  He revealed Himself to Abraham as His provider.  But the greatest revelation of God came through Jesus.   Jesus revealed God to us as Father, He came to show us the Father.

In our culture, fathers are mostly absent.  Even in the stories we grew up reading, the fathers are missing.  Ask yourself, what do the following characters all have in common? Cinderella, Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Pollyanna, Heidi, Matilda, Oliver Twist, Mowgli, Spiderman, Batman.  Answer: They are all orphans.  None of them know their fathers.  The stories we tell shape our children.  In contrast, the stories Jesus told often featured good fathers. In his most famous story, a father is the hero who falls on his wayward son, not with blows, but hugs and kisses (Luke 15:20). I like that story because it speaks to the universal need for a good father who loves us as we are and not as we should be.

Jesus promised us in John 14:18 (NKJV), “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you”.  The root of all anxiety, worry and fear is the same — it is an orphaned spirit.  Orphans are on their own and they must take care of their own problems.  The orphan spirit manifest itself in unbelief.  The root of unbelief is not knowing that God really loves us and the He is a good Father who will provide for us. The real reason a person breaks God’s commandments is due to this orphaned spirit.  A person steals, because they don’t believe that God will provide for them, and the reason that the don’t believe that God will provide for them is they don’t believe that God really loves them, (orphaned spirit).

The Answer to the Orphan Spirit is Adoption

 Romans 8:14-16 (NKJV)

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

EPH 1:5 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 has made us accepted in the Beloved.

Look again at Ephesians 1:6, this verse is such good news for those who want no part in the acceptance game.  Look at the first part of that verse. Does it say, “To the praise of the glory of your service?” It does not.  His acceptance of you is to the praise of the glory of his grace! That’s wonderful good news!

But wait, it gets better. Look at the middle part of that verse. “He made us accepted.” His acceptance is not something you ever need strive for; you already have it. What relief! What freedom!  But wait, there’s more. Look at the final part of the verse: “in the Beloved.” This is referring to Jesus. God’s acceptance comes to you on account of his Son. So, if you want to know just how acceptable you are to God, you only have to look at the One called Beloved.

Shouldn’t church resemble or reflect heaven?  Revelation 7:9 says,  After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne.  What a more powerful witness it would be to the unsaved man to see churches all over our cities full of Christians worshipping together of every race!  The spirit of racism seeks to prevent this from becoming the norm.  In Matthew the 24^th chapter, Jesus was asked “what would be the sign if His coming and the end of the age?”  His answer was:

    Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. [8] All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matthew 24:7-8.

  The word that is translated “nation” in this text is the Greek word ethnos, from which we derive our English word ethnic or race. Jesus declared that a prominent sign of the end of this age and His return would be ethnic or racial conflict.  If the church does not face this problem, overcoming the racism within our own ranks, so that we can take spiritual authority over it, the world will continue to fall into chaos and confusion.  If the church does not address this issue and admit that problems exist, then we cannot expect that the world will listen to our message.

Unfortunately, many church leaders that I have known don’t desire to see their congregations multi-racial and multi-cultural. They don’t preach on it or write articles about it.  One of the reasons for this lies sometimes in that the “powers that be” would not like such issues addressed. 

 There are mainly two foundations to racism.  The first is pride.  Pride in the flesh.  It is judging others by the externals, which is the ultimate form of pride.  Pride in the flesh is simply the feeling of being better than others.  This creates an obvious barrier between us and others.  The second foundation to racism is fear.  Insecurity is a result of the fall and the separation between God and man.  The insecure are afraid of those who are different.  Racism is a combination of both pride and fear.    

The cross of Christ confronts and overcomes both the pride of man and his insecurity. This destroys our pride by making us dependent on the Savior. When we see that holy God has accepted us, based not on our own merit, then we no longer have anything to be proud of in this flesh. His grace then begins to work tolerance in us for those who are different. Then we begin to look at people from a spiritual perspective, not after the flesh.   2 Cor. 5:16-17 Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. [17] Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (NASB) 

The church is called to not only have an answer to the problem of racism, but to BE a reflection of that answer.  In other words, to demonstrate our answer by our actions, not just give lip service to it! 

Mark 11:17   ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?   The church has not fulfilled her destiny until she truly becomes a house of prayer for all ethnic people.

Over Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and gave one of the most stirring speeches of all time. His “I have a dream speech” was a defining moment in the American Civil Rights Movement. It called for Civil and economic Rights and an end to racism.  I remember the first time I heard this speech.  I was moved by how anointed this speech was and how it painted a vivid picture of the kingdom of God to come. It describes the world, not as it is, but as it could be. It was prophetic, it was out of sync with the present age but in sync with the age to come. It not only was Dr. King’s dream, but it is God’s dream. 

We want justice!

These are the words that are being shouted today by so many.  The Bible speaks of justice in 157 verses.  Most today understand little of God’s justice.  They are crying out for legal justice.  I’m not saying this is wrong, I’m simply saying there is a higher justice than merely legal justice where crooks get punished. I’m referring to the greater justice of the Kingdom that sets things right and restores that which has been lost.  Legal justice just makes bad guys into convicts, but Kingdom justice turns them into new men. The justice Jesus revealed turns sinners into saints, enemies into friends, and haters into lovers.   

Those who have been raised under Old Covenant Law tend to say, “God, give me mercy, not justice.” But those who have seen the finished work of Jesus on the cross don’t hesitate to cry out for justice for they know that only the justice of heaven can heal the injustices of this world. And this is a world riddled with injustice. For Dr. King, the number one injustice was racial inequality. But what about you? What is the injustice that bothers you?  Is there something that breaks your heart or makes you angry?  Now imagine a world where that injustice no longer exists. Can you see it?

You may be thinking what can I do?  Listen, the Kingdom is within you. When you understand that the gospel is not about getting you to heaven, it’s about bringing heaven down to earth, it is then that real change can come.  It’s about moving in the opposite spirit of this world, opposing violence with peace and speaking out while others remain silent.

    The church is the place where all men will be unified again, regardless of race, culture, language, etc.  I thank God for the progress that has been made in this area, but there is still more needed.  The church will be different,….the church is different. The spirit of racism must be resisted and defeated.  ‘Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red, yellow, black, and white, they are precious in His sight, yes Jesus loves the little children of the world.’  Amen!