Grace

Hebrews 10:26, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,”

1 John 3:8, “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

Grace is one of those spiritual truths that, like all spiritual truths swings out of the middle of God’s will, plan, and purpose to the left as justification for all manner of behavior, and to the right as bearing too little importance as it relates to sin. But grace as the unmerited, undeserved favor of God is an essential component in Christian salvation. As well, this grace does not end at the moment of salvation. Grace is there from before our existence into eternity allowing Christ's blood to atone for ALL of our sins past, present, and future.

Yet even though we are already forgiven of future sins, it does not allow us to go about “willfully” sinning. Grace is not an entitlement to “practice” greed, lust, gluttony, laziness, anger, pride, or envy. That does not mean that when we as Christians, when we are on a path pursuing Christ stumble and fall that we fall under condemnation. Because there is no condemnation in Christ. Grace is what allows us to fall into sin, to pick ourselves up, and to once again approach the throne of God.

Let’s face it. We are sinners. Every human being ever born sins, and it is impossible for us to stop sinning in some facet. If it were possible for a human to stop sinning, then God would have no need to send Christ. Instead stop sinning would be the standard, but it is not. Christ is the standard, and that is grace. I believe what God is saying is that there is a difference between the Christian who pursues Christ and falls from time to time, even daily; and the person who is a Christian in name only. A person that in their heart uses their faith as a stepping stool perhaps, or club membership, but that continues in the life and lifestyle they had prior to encountering and choosing to follow Christ. The Christian must struggle, must strive against the world in their heart, and if there is this struggle then there is also the assurance of grace.

Why must men make lists of sin? Jesus when questioned about the commandments and which is greatest said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all you mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Hello? Who is not guilty of violating this every day of their life. You say you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind but I promise you that if you will become aware of His presence, that and that alone will show you how incompletely you are loving Him and what is your heart stands between you and God. Love you neighbor as yourself? Just drive in Houston traffic for a few minutes and see if that’s true. And yet men make lists of sins to condemn others with. List and doctrine like drinking, music, movies, tv. Folks there is a much bigger sin we are all guilty of… failing to love as Christ loved. This is no something learned in church, this is experienced in relationship to Him. This understanding of your own sin is a consequence of being aware of His presence. Of practicing His presence. 

So we depend on this grace, knowing we are going to sin, but all the while striving to know Christ, and to allow Him to move in us. And this is the key between sin and grace… the key is Jesus.

We have got to be aware of His presence. In this awareness the sin falls to the side. If we will not focus on sin, and focus on Christ the sin will take care of itself through the Holy Spirit. Relationship with Jesus will change your character inch by inch. Struggles of yesterday will fade painlessly, and today’s struggles will be as new as the image He presents of Himself today. We come to Christ and discover what today’s, this week's, this year’s surrender is to be. And patiently He accompanies us on the path. But we must rely on grace to keep coming to Him even in our failures.

If you are in Christ, walking the path of surrender to perfect love, then you are not of the devil.  You are not “practicing” sin when you stumble. You are simply being human. Stop thinking in terms of tomorrow, and start thinking in terms of today. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, and that is done, complete, finished, not tomorrow, not after Armageddon, but right here, right now. Armageddon is the beginning of Satan’s judgment as the battle is already won. Sin and death were defeated when Christ rose from the dead. The kingdom of God is not to come… it is here inside of you for those who are in Christ. Allow grace to allow you to be aware of it. Stop condemning yourselves and others and go to God.

Jesus did not come condemning the sinner. He dined with the sinner, He forgave the sinner, He had compassion for the sinner, He healed the sinner. But Jesus did condemn the religious, the Pharisees. He condemned the group that held everyone accountable to a list, yet in their heart had no relationship with God. Their god was the list of sins. Will we be like the Pharisees and join the choruses calling for the adulterer to be stoned, or will we join Jesus and draw in the sand waiting for the judges, the jury, and the executioners to walk away in their own judgment of themselves. 

Sins v. Sin

Romans 6:11, "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

I don't like to repeat what someone else has obtained by revelation, but this lesson in the difference between sins and sin is really too crucial to pass up.

I first came across the topic reading T Austin-Sparks, but the reading was a little lengthy and very heavy so I didn't spend a lot of time meditating on it. But then I picked up Watchman Nee's book "The Normal Christian Life." Nee wrote this after spending 8 months with Austin-Sparks.

Using Romans Nee and Austin-Sparks show this different between Sins - the acts or omissions of being disobedient to God v. Sin - the character trait within us that causes us to sin. The DNA of the soul that makes us all of the species Sinner. The sins, and the sin, create a dual problem for us that is solved by Christ on the cross.

Nee says, "...He only has one answer for every human need; His Son, Jesus Christ. In all His dealings with us, He works by taking us out of the way and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God died instead of us for our forgiveness; He lives instead of us for our deliverance. So we speak of two substitutions: a substitution on the cross who secures our forgiveness and a Substitute WITHIN who secures our victory." To summarize Christ died so we would be forgiven by the blood. He lives so that we can be delivered by the cross.

When talking about the cross, it is not there for crucifixion. We are not crucified again to make reparations for ourselves. That was done. We were crucified, rather "our" cross is that place of utter weakness where we depend on no one other than God and His Son Jesus. It is here "sin" is defeated. It is here the DNA of our soul is changed from SIN to Christ. Nee says, "If we are preoccupied with the power of sin and with our inability to meet it, then we naturally conclude that to gain the victory over sin we must have more power. 'If only I were stronger,' we say, 'I could overcome my violent outbursts of temper.' and so we plead with the Lord to strengthen us that we may exercise more self-control... But this is altogether fallacy; it is not Christianity. God's means of delivering us from sin is not by making us stronger and stronger, but by making us weaker and weaker... God sets us free from the dominion of sin, not by strengthening our old man, but by crucifying him; not by helping him do anything, buy by removing him from the scene of the action."

The explanation of dying to self, of ego crucifixion, can be articulate no clearer. Or at least the necessity of it. In dying to self, we are delivered from Sin (Noun), we look more like Christ, and we become effective for the gospel. It is the place where we can truthfully say, it is no longer I that lives, but Christ. Perhaps most importantly, it is the place of being poor in spirit, it is the place where the kingdom of God becomes visible, it is the place where love becomes unconditional.