Jesus Became Sin 2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (NASB 2020) “Jesus became sin” is just about the only way to express how He took away our sin. In the old covenant we see…
The Accuser When we get the idea that we don’t measure up, we’re failing at bearing fruit, or maybe even that we might not be saved, we are miserable. That comes from our enemy, the accuser. He wants us to be confused, ashamed, guilty, and fearful. He knows that two things he loves will result…
Don’t be Sin Conscious A friend of mine once said that if someone asked him whether he still sinned he’d answer, “I don’t know; I haven’t been paying attention.” To most Christians that response would sound irresponsible, even crass, but I want to encourage you to consider it carefully. The Law says, “Do good, get…
Struggling with the Flesh Though we are no longer of the world, we still live in the world. (John 15:19 & 17:14-16) The world is fallen, cursed, and held in bondage to the evil one. Everything about it constantly pressures (tempts) us to believe that we will find satisfaction and fulfillment everywhere but in Christ….
Superhero Complex We cannot expect people in the world to live godly lifestyles. Neither can we expect world governments to be run according to the laws of The Kingdom. For far too long many of God’s people have been distracted by their attempt to right wrongs and fight against evil. For far too long many…
Propitiation and The Just Justifier Romans 3:25-26 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the…
Sins in the Life of a Believer Saint, you have believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently, sins in your life have no effect upon your right standing or acceptance with God. When you falter, Father does not turn His back on you. When you stumble, you have not fallen out of…
Quenching and Maturing We don’t need to spend time groveling or punishing ourselves for our failures. There may well be earthly consequences and pain, but as far as Father is concerned the failures never happened. We are 100% fully and completely secure in Him. Jesus said He would lose none of those who are His…
Your Debt is Paid in Full You may have heard it said that you should keep short accounts with God. I just want to reassure you that your account with God couldn’t possibly be any shorter. You have a paid-up account with God. As my friend Mike Q. Daniel says, God didn’t buy your debt,…
You Are Dead to Sin Christ died to sin once and He can never die again. The same thing is true of you. The instant you believed on Jesus, your old sinful nature inherited from Adam died with Him and you were raised with God’s righteous nature. So don’t allow sin to rule in your…
Bad Behavior Sometimes, maybe even often, we may find ourselves behaving in ways we wish we didn’t. Ways that are inconsistent with who we are in Christ. When that happens, run to Papa. He has provided grace for you. He commanded light to shine out of darkness and He shines in our hearts. We have…
Great Failures When you feel inadequate, useless, unqualified, or think you’re a failure remember this. Father put His treasure in jars of porous clay. Abraham laughed at God’s promise and bent the truth to protect himself from people who might desire his wife. Moses was a murderer who could not speak well. Rahab was a…
Struggling with Sin Romans Chapter 7 has a lot to say about sin and the desire to do good. Paul spends some time beginning at verse 15 talking about wanting to do what is good and right, but finding himself doing the very things he hates. In verse 17 he says something odd. He says…
Dead to Sin You have died to sin. Sin is no longer your master. You are now a child of God. He has given you a new heart and a new spirit, so you are not who you used to be. Sin used to fit you. That’s why old you could do it and not…
Ditch It We are encouraged to rid ourselves of Anger,Rage,Malice,Slander,Filthy language, andLying. Why? Because we might lose our salvation?Because we might make God angry?Because we might fall out of fellowship with God? Nope! It’s not for any of those reasons. It’s because we have taken off our old selves, which practiced those things.It’s because we…
Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. These guys were institutional religion personified. These folks wanted everyone to live by their rules and if they didn’t the Pharisees condemned them. They taught that obedience to the Law was what made people righteous and put them in right standing with God.
