Struggling with forgiveness of sins is a universal religious disease that needs to be cured. It is why we feel agitated at times. It is why we cry out, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” It is why we struggle with forgiving others. It is why we are easily angered. It is why we do not enjoy the fruits of the Spirit. It is why we are critical and judgmental of ourselves and others. It is why prayer and bible reading seems to be a chore and why church can be an absolute bore.
41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this IS that toucheth him: for she IS a sinner.
I live out of the new identity of who I am in Christ Jesus. I do not live with a sin consciousness. I behold myself as righteous and holy and not sinful and disgusting. I view myself as one who "doeth righteousness" (by faith/not law), and not one who needs to focus on making myself more righteous in the sight of God (Law/religion). I do not beat myself up over sin but rather lift myself up rejoicing due to His victory over sin and my death to sin. I am buried and I prefer keeping my old self there. I put off the old man and his deeds by putting on the new man that is renewed not by efforts to behave but rather, "renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col. 3:10).
***I decided to add a section explaining briefly my opinion of good works. I know some will assume that my being against religious behavioral modification that I must have a low opinion of good works. I know some will assume that since I say that we are perpetually forgiven and not to be sin conscious that I am saying that sinning no longer matters. Truth is, I am all for good works and advocate it. I am against the sins of the flesh as well.
Paul told us in Titus 3:8 that we ought to be careful to maintain good works. The focus upon the good works is upon others and not getting closer to God nonsense or proving I belong to Him. Paul said that they are good and profitable unto men. James said the same thing. He was talking about the poor man in chapter 2 and said that if one claims to have faith but has not works then what will faith profit the poor man. Can faith save/deliver/help the poor man? The answer would be no when you simply tell the poor man to be filled, clothed, and blessed but you do not give him what he/she needs. See my blog on James 2:14.
What confuses people is that they see verses that say, "Be ye perfect as I am perfect" and assume behavioral modification. We must remember that the Galatians sought to be made perfect after the flesh and were rebuked by Paul.
When people see that I am against religious behavioral modification then they think that I am OK with a life of sin. No I am not! The Corinthians were mindful of the flesh and the Galatians were after the flesh as well but both were two different extremes.
I am convinced that our behavior and the things we do is based on a mindset we have. If you are a shy person then it is because of a mindset you have. If you are a jerk then it is because of a mindset. Some have a mindset that everyone is against them and that affects how they live. If you are doing works or anything to feel saved, loved, or forgiven then it is because of a mindset. The mindset is leading you to do things that never will work as I tried revealing in this blog.
I am simply against trying to make myself something I already am in Christ. It always results in frustration and defeat. My renewing my mind after the image of Him affects how I see life. My mindset leads me to enjoy things that I did not enjoy while very religious. There are things I enjoy that my religion said were no-nos. I also do things and enjoy things now that I tried so hard to do and enjoy before when religious but failed.
My mindset has freed me from fear and it was my former fearful mindset that produced certain external works but it did not flow from a changed heart. I was as a deaf person dancing to music that I was unable to hear. I could not hear the beat of grace.
Paul spoke of the law of love. Love is what tells you to not cheat on your spouse. Love is what tells you to not steal from your neighbor. Love is what tells you to not murder. You cannot experience this love when your mindset is fleshly. I think we all know how in religion we would fake happiness and love to one another because we thought we had to "do" it as that is a fleshly mindset. It is beholding the unconditional love of God that changes the religious mindset into a mindset of love. It is beholding the love of Christ that compels us. If you are focused upon behavioral modification or trying to be like God because you feel so inferior and guilty then your mindset will be that of the first Adam. Your mindset will have you hiding from God and sowing on fig leaves (self-righteousness).
Condemnation is a mindset that causes people to do things they normally would not do if enjoying no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
Those who suffer from a guilty mindset tend to suffer from physical problems (migraines, insomnia, and so on).
Certain mindsets cause people to withdraw from others. Certain mindsets cause people to be critical and judgmental.
Believing God is angry will lead you to "do" things that flow from a fleshly mindset. You will not be a happy person but you will "do" things that are only you sowing to your flesh and the fruits you reap are corruption.
You might be praying, passing out tracts, going to church, and reading your bible due to a fleshly mindset. You probably find such things to be a chore.
There is a real danger here because people will be expecting certain changes. They think, "If I am really believing that I am forgiven then I will not be doing such things." The fact that they say, "I will NOT be DOING such things" reveals a fleshly mindset. They are condemning themselves before they even give themselves a chance to grow. Growth often begins just with the mind thinking in a new manner.
We can all do good works unto men. We can mirror our thinking to who we truly are in Christ. However, we cannot mirror our behavior to the person we truly are in Christ. We are not to be sin conscious. Such things are exactly what results in us feeling guilty and alienated from God. When we put demands upon ourselves to prove we must be saved or to somehow feel better about ourselves before God then everything goes south.
Knowing my sins are forgiven affects my mindset. Knowing that I am loved affects my mindset. Knowing that I am accepted affects my mindset. The changes I experience might not be yours and yours not mine. The first fruits I started to experience was a calmer Dave. People commented on it. The next fruit I can remember is having a love for others. Certain sins I had before still lingered on. I did not seek to do battle because the harder I fought the stronger that sin became. I simply lived life loved and the mindset began changing me from within. Enjoy your inner changes and over time it will begin to affect the outward. It might be something as simple as not being so easily angry. It might be you being a better dad/mom/husband/wife.
I am for good works. I am against gratifying whatever my sinful passions desire as I am not thinking about my sins. Does that mean anger never gets the best of me? Of course not, but even if anger gets the best of me or anything else is when it never affects my knowing who I truly am in Christ. I know I am forgiven, loved, accepted, the praise of His glory, righteous, and as Jesus is, so am I in this world!
Religion is all about conforming. We are not to conform to the world as religion is of the world. Religion calls the grace teaching a "doctrine of devils" but if you read the context then you will see that those who teach a "doctrine of devils" are those who "forbid" you from things that hardly is a picture of pure grace we teach. Religion are those who teach the "commandments of men." Their "touch not, taste not, handle not" might appear to have a form of wisdom but it truly is a powerless religion that produces nothing but clean looking empty shells.
We are not to be conformed but "transformed" by the renewing of our "minds" and not behavioral modification. Paul tells us in 2nd Corinthians 3:18 that we are "transformed" into the same image and that does not come from conforming behavior but beholding our identity/true reflection in the face of Jesus Christ. As He is, so are we in this world. We are to put off the old man and his labels (lies) and put on the new man (reality/true identity) that is renewed after the "image" of Him!!
I have done a 4-part blog on confession of sins and why we do not confess sins today so I will not repeat it here. I do believe the religious invented judicial versus parental forgiveness hinders the full enjoyment of sins forgiven and I speak from past personal experience.
Would you agree with a child who says, “I must be good to be loved”? Does that child need to be good to be loved? Would you not feel sorry for a child who is trying hard to be loved, forgiven, and accepted by his/her parents? This describes much of Christianity when it comes to a loving heavenly Father. People are on an endless struggle to be loved, forgiven, and accepted by Him. They say with their lips, “I am forgiven” but their heart is crying out.
You agreed that a child does not need to be good to be loved. Now does it make sense to say that in order to enjoy forgiveness is to refrain from sinning? How do I enjoy forgiveness of sins if I do not sin? I raised this question in my previous blog on October 18th:
How can you enjoy forgiveness of sins if you are busy trying not to sin to enjoy forgiveness of sins?
If you are trying not to sin to enjoy forgiveness then you cannot and will not enjoy forgiveness every time you sin. You will think that God is not pleased with you. You might even question whether God has forgiven you when you keep repeating the same sin. You will see forgiveness as only conditional and that is how religion presents forgiveness. I have seen so many people defeated because they cannot accept that God would forgive a repeat offender. They certainly cannot accept that they are already forgiven before they even sin. It should be no wonder why they do not enjoy forgiveness.
Instead of being sin conscious is to be forgiven conscious. Am I saying to be forgiven conscious even when you sin? Yes, even when you sin.
What is sin? It is missing the mark. How do we sin? By trying to be like God through efforts, religion, and anything else you impose upon yourself. This is why I am against the religious teaching of Standing and State of the believer. This teaching states that you are positionally righteous but you need to make your state (daily behavior) match/mirror your standing or position in Christ. This is no different from Adam from trying to be like God. This religious teaching is for you to see how short you come of God’s perfection and for you to do whatever it takes to make your behavior somehow mirror God’s perfection. This ONLY breeds failure and frustration. No wonder so many keep going forward in altar calls to rededicate their lives, “God, I vow not to do that sin again. I vow to refrain from this and that. I promise I will be more faithful” and such vows are broken in days or weeks.
We are not to be like Adam and assume that we can do something that will make us more like God. Cease from the religious efforts and behold instead, “As Christ is, so are ye in the world.” You are perfected forever. You have been made holy once for all. You are complete in Christ. You are forgiven and loved. You are accepted in the Beloved and never rejected. He will never leave you or forsake you. You can forsake Him but He remains faithful to you because that is what love will do.
Make your thoughts mirror your reality and get the eyes off the behavior. Viewing behavior will make you feel disqualified even though He qualified us in Him. There is no darkness as the light now shines. The only alienation one experiences is in his/her own mind (Colossians 1:19-21; Ephesians 4:17-18). Darkness is only the lies you choose to believe. The light speaks only truth concerning you. It reveals what God believes about you. You are the son or daughter He always wanted. You are cherished by the Father. His arms of love and grace embrace you right now regardless if you believe that.
Here is a good short video about the man-made standing/state of the believer or what is known as progressive sanctification:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz6fu2TO2y4&feature=youtu.be
I am not against behavioral change but never to get closer to God or to be more like Him as that is impossible. I am as near to God as Jesus Christ and not one bit of righteousness or sin will change that one iota. No wonder so many feel distant and alienated from God because they are too busy self-analyzing how they are not like the Almighty. They keep trying to be more like Him that only breeds the sense of distance. Their prayers are, "Oh God, I failed you again. I sinned again. I done this again. I did not demonstrate you in my behavior. I am so sinful and rotten." Such only appeals to a self-righteous heart. It opens the door to misery.
Do you recall the first time you trusted Christ? Did you initially experience a great joy from believing your sins were all forgiven? What if it is possible to experience that same joy daily? It is available to you. The reason you are not enjoying it is because your mindset is fleshly. Fleshly mindset is a person who is law/religious/sin oriented. It would be you believing that God is still angry and holds sin against you. If you are not 100% assured you are forgiven right now then you serve a “god” who still imputes sin and there is no getting around that.
How many times have you prayed, “God, reveal to me my secret faults. Do I have any unknown sins that need confessing”? No wonder you struggle. No wonder forgiveness is anything but precious to you. Your mindset is OT Law. Your mindset is that of Adam/death. You are sin oriented and it is killing you.
Forgiveness can only be enjoyed by someone who sins. Forgiveness is not something a self-righteous person enjoys as they are the ones who will read this and despise what I am saying because they feel it takes advantage of God’s grace. If grace cannot be abused by those who are foolish enough to be grace abusers then it was never grace.
There are three types of people:
Person A: One who enjoys forgiveness but sins.
Person B: One who strives hard to not sin to enjoy forgiveness.
Person C: One who is forgiven but does not know that they are forgiven.
Tell me, which one of the above is self-righteous? Do not kid yourself because you instantly knew which person would be considered self-righteous out of the above 3. Are you self-righteous? If you are doing anything to enjoy and experience forgiveness right now then you are fleshly. You are seeking to sow on fig leaves to cover your “shame” versus those of us who can stand naked before God without the shame.
Were the men who nailed Jesus to the cross enjoying their forgiveness? No. Let us be clear that Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Do you believe God honored that prayer? Religious people do not live conscious that they are forgiven. Everything they attempt to do in order to enjoy forgiveness robs them of instant joy. They merely arouse the same feelings any other religion experiences when they confess or do extreme things to feel and enjoy forgiveness. The feelings/assurance never last in a religious person. There is also a question mark in the back of that persons mind whether God has truly forgiven them entirely.
We read how Jesus went to His death with forgiveness on His lips, “Forgive them for they know not what they do” but supposedly He came forth victoriously from the grave with an unforgiving chip on His shoulder. Instead of freely forgiving sinners like He did hanging on the cross is for people to somehow earn or do things to get it. People will object to being freely forgiven because they always add the word “but” to forgiveness. As one pastor said, when a person says “but” will be when do-do comes out of that but (but you must do this and that to be forgiven/remain forgiven).
I said this in my blog on October 18th:
I do not commit sins to purposely enjoy forgiveness of sins and I do not quit sins to enjoy the forgiveness of sins.
I simply am not thinking about sins. I am not thinking how short I come from the mark of perfection in my performance because as Christ is so am I.
I know the religious mind twists and perverts truth so let me clarify what I just said. I said that forgiveness is enjoyed by the one who sins. I did not say that one is to sin to enjoy forgiveness. I walk in the light of that truth. I am a child of light perpetually (Ephesians 5:8). Knowing that I am perpetually light in the Lord gives me that assurance that my sins are forgiven. I do not live sin conscious. I do not live with the view, “OK, what wrongs can I do today?” I live life conscious of my true reality/identity in Christ and do not allow religion or things of this world to remove me from that reality. If you doubt your forgiveness then you doubt your identity/reality you have in Christ. You are still trying to be like God as did Adam.
Those who misunderstood Paul would have said, “Shall we sin that grace might abound?” I do not want to be accused, “So shall we sin that forgiveness might be enjoyed?” The answer is “no” because we have died to sin. We do not rejoice in sins committed but in sins forgiven. We are not to be sin conscious (Hebrews 10:2) that religion who butchers 1st John 1:9 knows nothing about. The sacrifices of the OT covered sin but never removed them. However, there was a yearly reminder about sins in the OT, but those who twist 1stJohn 1:9 make it a daily reminder under the new covenant where God somehow remembers and imputes child sins but never judicial sins that is just unscriptural. Please see my blog: Do you have a seared conscience?
1st Corinthians 13:5 tells us that love keeps no record of wrongs. Question, is God’s love perfect? Is God’s love beyond measure? When you sin is God keeping record of your wrongs? Does He keep parental records of wrong (whatever that is)? Why then do you doubt you are forgiven even while sinning? Remember, you only come up short (sin) when you try to be like God. Get your eyes off of the religious performance roller coaster.
Let me ask you this: Can anything separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus? If nothing can separate you from the love of God then can we not be sure that such love that keeps no records of wrong will always embrace us? Can we be sure that no sin can separate us from that love because that love keeps no records of wrong? If sin can separate you from His love then He lied to us concerning the true definition of love. Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!
Maybe you keep records of those who wronged you and it could be why you question whether God would forgive you. Many people tend to vision God through their own set of beliefs. If the person is reluctant to forgive then they assume God must be reluctant to forgive as well.
I believe we needed to see the death of Christ to believe our sins are forgiven. Sacrificing animals or humans are not uncommon in places that never heard of Christianity or the Bible. It is in man that believes some god out there must be angry and requires blood. God did not put His Son on Calvary but we did. We like to say that God exhausted His wrath on Jesus Christ at Calvary (no verse teaches that) but the only anger demonstrated was our hatred for Him. God did not rip the beard from His face. God did not punch Him in the face. God did not whip Him. God did not spit upon Him. God was never said to be in humanity doing such things to Him. 2ndCorinthians 5:19 said that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. It never said that God left Jesus at any time as only religion never bothered to fully read Psalm 22 where it shows that He was not left alone. God never turned His back on Jesus.
I do believe the shed blood was vitally important as I do not deny that but I want you to consider something for a moment. Religion says that Jesus paid our sin debt in full. If Jesus paid our sin debt in full then how are we forgiven? If a debt has been fully paid then what left is there to forgive?
If you were going to be evicted from your property for not paying your mortgage but someone came along and paid the bank what you owed then would you claim the bank had forgiven you? No! Imagine you owed me a large sum of money but your friend came and paid me what you owed. Would it make sense for me to call you up and say, “Do not worry about that money you owe me because I have forgiven your debt”? No as that would be a lie.
You can read about Jesus freely forgiving people apart from any sacrifice throughout the gospels. Religion claims that Jesus was looking ahead to what He was going to do and was able to forgive on account of that, but that is how one reads into the bible words nowhere taught.
Luke 7 reads:
42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
He “frankly forgave them both”? So He did not have to beat one of His other servants to be paid back? No, He frankly forgave them both.
Jesus before Calvary stated to His disciples 'forgive to be forgiven' but Paul after Calvary said to 'forgive because you ALREADY have been forgiven.' Paul told us to freely forgive as we have been forgiven in Christ. Are we freely forgiven then in Christ???
Now if we are to demonstrate the same forgiveness that religion claims God did then should we not beat the tar out of someone first before we forgive others? Why does God get payment but we are told to simply forgive our debtors? Is that not God being, “Do as I say and not as I do”? If God is going to shake violently the money out of another man’s pants to get paid back then so should we. I hope you can see that God freely forgives and not had to beat the tar out of Jesus to forgive you. It is in God’s nature to forgive.
The above is just few of the reasons why the Penal Substitutionary death has some serious holes in it. I do not believe the penal substitutionary death theory.
It was God who imputed sin to man and it was God who no longer imputes sin to man (see 2nd Corinthians 5:19). If God is not imputing sin to your account (love keeps no record of wrong), and if God remembers our sins no more according to Hebrews 10:17 then why would you doubt forgiveness even while sinning? Are you still trying to be like God? Trying to be like God will make you doubt you are forgiven. Are you living life through the eyes of the first Adam or are you enjoying forgiveness and life through the eyes of the second Adam?
The only way we do not enjoy forgiveness of sins is when our identity is based upon what we see in ourselves (fleshly focus). If you behold your sins and believe God is angry then do not expect to enjoy forgiveness. Those who try to quit their sins to enjoy forgiveness are those seeking to sow on fig leaves to cover their shame. The shame is gone. You can come out of hiding/darkness. There is no angry God. There is no God scolding you. Stop seeing imperfection when God only sees perfection. Let the world despise you and your grace beliefs but know that you are loved and cherished by God Himself. He never despises you even when you feel you are at your ultimate sinful low in life.
There are people who think that if God opens their eyes to see how sinful they are then they will love and appreciate Him more. I used to be one of those people. I knew that the one forgiven much will love much, so I desperately wanted to see how utterly sinful I was so that I could love much. Did it work? NO!!! It made me feel worse.
Love much is only to the degree you see forgiveness. Most believers live with a “Did God forgive me? I feel guilty. Is there unconfessed sin in my life? Is God hiding His face from me?” Such are those who love little because they feel forgiven of little. When you get those erroneous thoughts out of your head then you will love much because you will behold that you are forgiven much. Those who enjoy forgiveness are those who sin and not those who try not to sin. It is you walking in that light of truth that you enjoy forgiveness of sins.
It is not that I walk conscious of sin but rather walk conscious always that I am forgiven. It is not where I say, "Oops! I just did that sin again but I am forgiven!" It is rather I behold my forgiveness without eyes beholding my sins. I do not view how I come up short (sin) as religious people do. I get my mind out of the sinful mindset gutter. If I become conscious of any sin then I simply rejoice in forgiveness that is mine that nothing can take it away. Nothing shall separate me from that love that keeps no records of wrong. God is NOT imputing sin to us. It is only religious people who imputes sin and not God.
Really quick, religion teaches that when you sin that God hides His face from you and will quote OT pre-cross Psalm 66:18 to prove it. Do you know that the Pharisees refused to believe a blind man who was born a sinner could be given sight by God? They quoted, “We know that God heareth not sinners.” Were they right? Not at all. Be careful of the things religion is dishing out to you. If your religion says that God gives you the silent treatment and takes away assurance/joy when you sin are liars. Such people love to mix the old with the new.
Religion is against any sinner enjoying the forgiveness of sins while sinning but look now at Luke 7 again:
38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this IS that toucheth him: for she IS a sinner.
The harlot was forgiven but still seen as a harlot. How can you be a harlot forgiven? She was still a harlot but religion will not accept that. They want us to believe that the harlot might have believed she was forgiven but after believing she would have to quit being a harlot to stay forgiven or prove she was forgiven. This is the error of religion. The harlot (not former harlot) was weeping and washing the feet of Jesus knowing she was forgiven and Jesus affirmed that. Only religion rejects sinners. Are you a friend to sinners or those who stop sinning? Think about that question.
Below was copied and pasted from my October 18th blog:
If you are not free then do not think that you are embracing the true gospel. Do not be the person I once was by thinking it will only get better. Do not think getting rid of that one sin will make it better. Do not think understanding more theology will make it all better. Do not think that a little more clarity on your gospel will make it all come together, as it just might be "your gospel” making you miserable.
The wrong gospel is never the power of God unto salvation as it simply does not work. The gospel speaks directly to the mind while the devil (Law/Religion) blinds/veils the mind and speaks to the flesh. If your gospel is presented as a formula then remember that it is not true milk.
Question any gospel that has "points" that have to be in a specific order. Question any gospel that preaches bad news. Question any gospel that preaches alienation and separation that God removed (see 2nd Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 1:20-21). Question any gospel makes you worry if you did not do something right. Question any gospel that makes you worry if you did not do something enough. Question any gospel that produces anxiety. Question any gospel that makes you sin conscious. Question any gospel that limits what God can do until you do something first. Question any gospel that makes the first Adam more powerful than the second Adam. Question any gospel that uses fear to get you to respond. Question any gospel that will backdoor works into it. Question any gospel that makes you doubt God based on your future works or sins. Question any gospel that makes any law declarations in it. Question any gospel that tells you things you must start doing.
The true gospel will bring out the real you. The real you will stop trying to hide from God every time you believe you screw up. The real you will no longer be thinking He is ticked off with you. The real you is based on God's faith and not yours. We believe His faith concerning us. What God believes about you (not religion) is what the heart rests in.
Stop thinking the real gospel will make you stop sinning or sin less because that alters ones perception of the glorious 'gospel of grace' and perverts it into the 'gospel of conforming' that is no gospel. I wish believers would learn the lesson that God is not answering the prayer, "God, take away this pet sin of mine." How many times have you prayed about that certain sin(s) you struggled with now for a long time that has yet to go away? How many more prayers before you will learn that it will not be answered? The only reason you keep praying for God to take it away is because you think God is worried and upset about it. You think God is irritated with you. You think God has some anger in Him against your faults. You think God still imputes sin because you keep repeating that one sin. You think there is a certain amount of unhappiness in God's heart toward you. You think God's love and forgiveness is conditional. You think God has to be at least a little disappointed with you. You are believing lies!
Those who are worried and fighting against their sins are always those who do not enjoy forgiveness of sins. Fighting sins is not how one enjoys forgiveness of sins. Fighting sins is how one will perpetually question whether God has forgiven them. It will make you aware of your failure that was the purpose of the Law. I rather fight against a sin consciousness than some sin that clearly I am unable to beat. Fighting against those repeated sins only gives strength to such sins. Fighting against sins will make you aware of how weak your flesh truly is and that is no way to live.
Feeling that my sins reveal my shortcomings before God will NEVER allow for 'forgiveness of sins' to be enjoyed. It is "forgiveness of sins" and not "forgiveness of not sinning." It is enjoying sins forgiven and not sins refrained. How can you enjoy forgiveness of sins if you are too busy trying not to sin to enjoy forgiveness of sins?
Forgiveness of sins are enjoyed by those who sin and not the self-righteous. Only religious people will read into what I just said and will say, "So shall we sin to enjoy forgiveness of sins?" Forgiveness of sins is what we enjoy and never some erroneous fixation upon sins to enjoy. I am not enjoying sins committed but sins forgiven. I do not commit sins to purposely enjoy forgiveness of sins and I do not quit sins to enjoy the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins are enjoyed by those who sin so do not read more into that statement than I gave.
Where sin abounds is to behold the grace that super abounds. Grace will always exceed all sin ever committed. This does not mean that we turn fleshly and think about doing sins to allow grace to demonstrate its beauty. It is for us to not be sin conscious (we have died to sin) and to live in the glorious reality that grace super abounds in all areas of our life always. Remember, grace is greater than our sins but never forget that grace is even greater than us as well.
You do not come up short today. Religion loves to quote Romans 3:23 that tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God that was before Calvary but fails to read what happened as the result of Calvary in verse 24. We were "justified freely by His grace." Freely means, "without a cause/reason." Do not live your life feeling "shorted" because you have all things in Christ Jesus.
Those who are forgiven much are said to love much, and never those who sin less love more. A sin less attitude makes one conscious of failure and Law. I never get out of bed thinking, "How can I sin less today?" because that will lead to an exhausting day made up of failure. I do not dwell on my sins as I have died to it. I do not allow sin to reign as king. There is a reason why we are to have our hearts sprinkled clean from an "evil conscience" (sin conscience; guilty conscience). An evil conscience does not enjoy forgiveness of sins as everything to an evil conscience is impure.
Religion would have you live life with the OT mentality, "Woe is me." Religion would have you live in remorse over your sins of omission and that of commission. Living in remorse does not breed love but rather a sense of distance and alienation from the one who so loved you. Those who struggle to believe they are forgiven tend to be easily angered and appears to be quite often. They tend to be critical of others and even love to argue. It seems that the more one doubts forgiveness the more critical they are of others. Those struggling with forgiveness are easily irritated. They often quote all the verses on forgiveness of sins to arouse some nice brief feelings but that is never the route where one enjoys the forgiveness of sins perpetually.
How do you experience "forgiven much/love much"? By focusing on the very person you are right now while beholding "no condemnation" over a single thing you do or not do. It is you saying, "Wow! What a screw up I am and God loves me and accepts me as I am and not with some demand to clean myself up." Our response should be, "Wow! God has forgiven someone like me!" and not, "How can God forgive someone like me?" The moment we say, "Oh no! I just did that sin again" is when the mind experiences condemnation and feelings that God is angry and hiding His face from us. This is what causes people to question forgiveness rather than enjoy forgiveness because their "god" is, "Clean up your act or else."
I personally do not view myself as a screw up but was using that as an example. I merely view the obvious contradiction of how I see myself through the eyes of the flesh/law and who I truly am in Christ Jesus. Looking at myself through the eyes of the Law is when I see myself as a train wreck but looking at myself through the eyes of Jesus Christ is when I see righteousness and true holiness. I see a person free of blemish and spot. I see one accepted and loved. I see one who is the praise of His glory.
A fleshly mindset will see flaws but a spiritual mindset sees "perfected forever." I do not mix the fleshly mindset with the spiritual mindset that religion attempts to do because my years of experience taught me that religion only knows death rather than life and peace in the Spirit. This is not the progressive sanctification nonsense, "Make your behavior match your position in Christ" that never works. It is mirroring my mind to that true reality I have in Christ.
People often fight against sins because they fear punishment. Why are you in such a heated battle with your sins? Is it because you think someone is angry or might retaliate for your sins? Ask yourself if it is because you fear consequences from God. Religion says that they fight against their sins because they love God and do not want to do things that are not pleasing in His sight. That sounds so good but it is not what honest Christians experience deep down. You are only aware of constant failure to "please" God who is already pleased with you! You will only question the sincerity of your love every time you fail. Live out of the reality that you are well-pleasing 24/7 regardless of what you do or not do and see how that affects your life.
Those who are worried and fighting against their sins are always those who do not enjoy forgiveness of sins. Fighting sins is not how one enjoys forgiveness of sins. Fighting sins is how one will perpetually question whether God has forgiven them. It will make you aware of your failure that was the purpose of the Law. I rather fight against a sin consciousness than some sin that clearly I am unable to beat. Fighting against those repeated sins only gives strength to such sins. Fighting against sins will make you aware of how weak your flesh truly is and that is no way to live.
Feeling that my sins reveal my shortcomings before God will NEVER allow for 'forgiveness of sins' to be enjoyed. It is "forgiveness of sins" and not "forgiveness of not sinning." It is enjoying sins forgiven and not sins refrained. How can you enjoy forgiveness of sins if you are too busy trying not to sin to enjoy forgiveness of sins?
Forgiveness of sins are enjoyed by those who sin and not the self-righteous. Only religious people will read into what I just said and will say, "So shall we sin to enjoy forgiveness of sins?" Forgiveness of sins is what we enjoy and never some erroneous fixation upon sins to enjoy. I am not enjoying sins committed but sins forgiven. I do not commit sins to purposely enjoy forgiveness of sins and I do not quit sins to enjoy the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins are enjoyed by those who sin so do not read more into that statement than I gave.
Where sin abounds is to behold the grace that super abounds. Grace will always exceed all sin ever committed. This does not mean that we turn fleshly and think about doing sins to allow grace to demonstrate its beauty. It is for us to not be sin conscious (we have died to sin) and to live in the glorious reality that grace super abounds in all areas of our life always. Remember, grace is greater than our sins but never forget that grace is even greater than us as well.
You do not come up short today. Religion loves to quote Romans 3:23 that tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God that was before Calvary but fails to read what happened as the result of Calvary in verse 24. We were "justified freely by His grace." Freely means, "without a cause/reason." Do not live your life feeling "shorted" because you have all things in Christ Jesus.
Those who are forgiven much are said to love much, and never those who sin less love more. A sin less attitude makes one conscious of failure and Law. I never get out of bed thinking, "How can I sin less today?" because that will lead to an exhausting day made up of failure. I do not dwell on my sins as I have died to it. I do not allow sin to reign as king. There is a reason why we are to have our hearts sprinkled clean from an "evil conscience" (sin conscience; guilty conscience). An evil conscience does not enjoy forgiveness of sins as everything to an evil conscience is impure.
Religion would have you live life with the OT mentality, "Woe is me." Religion would have you live in remorse over your sins of omission and that of commission. Living in remorse does not breed love but rather a sense of distance and alienation from the one who so loved you. Those who struggle to believe they are forgiven tend to be easily angered and appears to be quite often. They tend to be critical of others and even love to argue. It seems that the more one doubts forgiveness the more critical they are of others. Those struggling with forgiveness are easily irritated. They often quote all the verses on forgiveness of sins to arouse some nice brief feelings but that is never the route where one enjoys the forgiveness of sins perpetually.
How do you experience "forgiven much/love much"? By focusing on the very person you are right now while beholding "no condemnation" over a single thing you do or not do. It is you saying, "Wow! What a screw up I am and God loves me and accepts me as I am and not with some demand to clean myself up." Our response should be, "Wow! God has forgiven someone like me!" and not, "How can God forgive someone like me?" The moment we say, "Oh no! I just did that sin again" is when the mind experiences condemnation and feelings that God is angry and hiding His face from us. This is what causes people to question forgiveness rather than enjoy forgiveness because their "god" is, "Clean up your act or else."
I personally do not view myself as a screw up but was using that as an example. I merely view the obvious contradiction of how I see myself through the eyes of the flesh/law and who I truly am in Christ Jesus. Looking at myself through the eyes of the Law is when I see myself as a train wreck but looking at myself through the eyes of Jesus Christ is when I see righteousness and true holiness. I see a person free of blemish and spot. I see one accepted and loved. I see one who is the praise of His glory.
A fleshly mindset will see flaws but a spiritual mindset sees "perfected forever." I do not mix the fleshly mindset with the spiritual mindset that religion attempts to do because my years of experience taught me that religion only knows death rather than life and peace in the Spirit. This is not the progressive sanctification nonsense, "Make your behavior match your position in Christ" that never works. It is mirroring my mind to that true reality I have in Christ.
People often fight against sins because they fear punishment. Why are you in such a heated battle with your sins? Is it because you think someone is angry or might retaliate for your sins? Ask yourself if it is because you fear consequences from God. Religion says that they fight against their sins because they love God and do not want to do things that are not pleasing in His sight. That sounds so good but it is not what honest Christians experience deep down. You are only aware of constant failure to "please" God who is already pleased with you! You will only question the sincerity of your love every time you fail. Live out of the reality that you are well-pleasing 24/7 regardless of what you do or not do and see how that affects your life.
The gospel is you ALREADY accepted even with that pet sin. You do not lose the pet sin to be accepted and you do not lose the pet sin to stay accepted. The Law revealed that none is righteous so what will all the inconsistent efforts to do legal righteousness do for the gospel? Also, what will it do for you? Will legal righteousness make you more righteous in the sight of God? Will sin make you less righteous in the sight of God? Will legal righteousness make you more forgiven than you already are? Will it make you more accepted in the Beloved than you already are? Will it make you better in the eyes of God? Will it make God bless you? Did you find your insane efforts made life better for you? Are you happier? Did those insane efforts make God's love and forgiveness seem so incredibly real to you? Get rid of the religion!
The gospel did not come along with magical powers to make you behave righteously. You will find that the sins you committed before believing the gospel are still there after you believe the gospel. All of your attempts to fight those sins away only kept them around all of these years. Give up the battle! I said, "Give up the battle!" and not "Give in to your sins" as there is a difference, since "both" (battle/give in to sin) are a fleshly mindset.
Giving up the battle is knowing that sin is dead and defeated. Giving up the battle is knowing that all of those sins you are conscious of are forgiven and forgotten. Giving up the battle is you knowing that those sins will not and cannot make you any less accepted than you already are. This is how we can get our minds out of the fleshly gutter of sin consciousness. If you are sin conscious then you believe that God is sin conscious too. If sin can cause you to doubt who you are in Christ then you fail the test of faith that is more precious than gold and silver. Never doubt your true identity based on anything you do or feel.
I cannot describe the joy of living my life without worrying about my sins. I am being myself and no longer faking it. I am not wearing the mask of religion anymore. I threw away the fig leaves and now live naked before God without the shame. I do not have to put on a holier than thou performance. I do not have to do the daily bible studies to feel better. I do not have to listen to Christian music all day to try to keep myself in some godly frame of mind with nice feelings to accompany it.
I live in my new identity that NOTHING can affect. The life I live is CHRIST who lives in me as the old me is dead and buried. As Christ is, so am I in this world. My mindset is not upon the flesh. It is not upon the fleshly mindset of, “What sins can I do today?” that is not the mind of Christ. It is also not upon the other fleshly mindset of, “God, I vow not to do this sin today but will be as obedient as possible to every Law commanded” as that is not the mind of Christ for us. I live out of the new identity of who I am in Christ Jesus. I do not live with a sin consciousness. I behold myself as righteous and holy and not sinful and disgusting. I view myself as one who "doeth righteousness" (by faith/not law), and not one who needs to focus on making myself more righteous in the sight of God (Law/religion). I do not beat myself up over sin but rather lift myself up rejoicing due to His victory over sin and my death to sin. I am buried and I prefer keeping my old self there. I put off the old man and his deeds by putting on the new man that is renewed not by efforts to behave but rather, "renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col. 3:10).
***I decided to add a section explaining briefly my opinion of good works. I know some will assume that my being against religious behavioral modification that I must have a low opinion of good works. I know some will assume that since I say that we are perpetually forgiven and not to be sin conscious that I am saying that sinning no longer matters. Truth is, I am all for good works and advocate it. I am against the sins of the flesh as well.
Paul told us in Titus 3:8 that we ought to be careful to maintain good works. The focus upon the good works is upon others and not getting closer to God nonsense or proving I belong to Him. Paul said that they are good and profitable unto men. James said the same thing. He was talking about the poor man in chapter 2 and said that if one claims to have faith but has not works then what will faith profit the poor man. Can faith save/deliver/help the poor man? The answer would be no when you simply tell the poor man to be filled, clothed, and blessed but you do not give him what he/she needs. See my blog on James 2:14.
What confuses people is that they see verses that say, "Be ye perfect as I am perfect" and assume behavioral modification. We must remember that the Galatians sought to be made perfect after the flesh and were rebuked by Paul.
When people see that I am against religious behavioral modification then they think that I am OK with a life of sin. No I am not! The Corinthians were mindful of the flesh and the Galatians were after the flesh as well but both were two different extremes.
I am convinced that our behavior and the things we do is based on a mindset we have. If you are a shy person then it is because of a mindset you have. If you are a jerk then it is because of a mindset. Some have a mindset that everyone is against them and that affects how they live. If you are doing works or anything to feel saved, loved, or forgiven then it is because of a mindset. The mindset is leading you to do things that never will work as I tried revealing in this blog.
I am simply against trying to make myself something I already am in Christ. It always results in frustration and defeat. My renewing my mind after the image of Him affects how I see life. My mindset leads me to enjoy things that I did not enjoy while very religious. There are things I enjoy that my religion said were no-nos. I also do things and enjoy things now that I tried so hard to do and enjoy before when religious but failed.
My mindset has freed me from fear and it was my former fearful mindset that produced certain external works but it did not flow from a changed heart. I was as a deaf person dancing to music that I was unable to hear. I could not hear the beat of grace.
Paul spoke of the law of love. Love is what tells you to not cheat on your spouse. Love is what tells you to not steal from your neighbor. Love is what tells you to not murder. You cannot experience this love when your mindset is fleshly. I think we all know how in religion we would fake happiness and love to one another because we thought we had to "do" it as that is a fleshly mindset. It is beholding the unconditional love of God that changes the religious mindset into a mindset of love. It is beholding the love of Christ that compels us. If you are focused upon behavioral modification or trying to be like God because you feel so inferior and guilty then your mindset will be that of the first Adam. Your mindset will have you hiding from God and sowing on fig leaves (self-righteousness).
Condemnation is a mindset that causes people to do things they normally would not do if enjoying no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
Those who suffer from a guilty mindset tend to suffer from physical problems (migraines, insomnia, and so on).
Certain mindsets cause people to withdraw from others. Certain mindsets cause people to be critical and judgmental.
Believing God is angry will lead you to "do" things that flow from a fleshly mindset. You will not be a happy person but you will "do" things that are only you sowing to your flesh and the fruits you reap are corruption.
You might be praying, passing out tracts, going to church, and reading your bible due to a fleshly mindset. You probably find such things to be a chore.
There is a real danger here because people will be expecting certain changes. They think, "If I am really believing that I am forgiven then I will not be doing such things." The fact that they say, "I will NOT be DOING such things" reveals a fleshly mindset. They are condemning themselves before they even give themselves a chance to grow. Growth often begins just with the mind thinking in a new manner.
We can all do good works unto men. We can mirror our thinking to who we truly are in Christ. However, we cannot mirror our behavior to the person we truly are in Christ. We are not to be sin conscious. Such things are exactly what results in us feeling guilty and alienated from God. When we put demands upon ourselves to prove we must be saved or to somehow feel better about ourselves before God then everything goes south.
Knowing my sins are forgiven affects my mindset. Knowing that I am loved affects my mindset. Knowing that I am accepted affects my mindset. The changes I experience might not be yours and yours not mine. The first fruits I started to experience was a calmer Dave. People commented on it. The next fruit I can remember is having a love for others. Certain sins I had before still lingered on. I did not seek to do battle because the harder I fought the stronger that sin became. I simply lived life loved and the mindset began changing me from within. Enjoy your inner changes and over time it will begin to affect the outward. It might be something as simple as not being so easily angry. It might be you being a better dad/mom/husband/wife.
I am for good works. I am against gratifying whatever my sinful passions desire as I am not thinking about my sins. Does that mean anger never gets the best of me? Of course not, but even if anger gets the best of me or anything else is when it never affects my knowing who I truly am in Christ. I know I am forgiven, loved, accepted, the praise of His glory, righteous, and as Jesus is, so am I in this world!
Religion is all about conforming. We are not to conform to the world as religion is of the world. Religion calls the grace teaching a "doctrine of devils" but if you read the context then you will see that those who teach a "doctrine of devils" are those who "forbid" you from things that hardly is a picture of pure grace we teach. Religion are those who teach the "commandments of men." Their "touch not, taste not, handle not" might appear to have a form of wisdom but it truly is a powerless religion that produces nothing but clean looking empty shells.
We are not to be conformed but "transformed" by the renewing of our "minds" and not behavioral modification. Paul tells us in 2nd Corinthians 3:18 that we are "transformed" into the same image and that does not come from conforming behavior but beholding our identity/true reflection in the face of Jesus Christ. As He is, so are we in this world. We are to put off the old man and his labels (lies) and put on the new man (reality/true identity) that is renewed after the "image" of Him!!