Those in Christ are not lowly sinners saved by the grace of God. We are holy, righteous, sanctified saints who have been saved by the grace of God and have become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21) and in fact been perfected forever! (Heb 10:14).
We have become "one spirit with Him" (1 Cor 6:17) and we have become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). Romans 5:1 says that we (saints) have peace with God, having been justified by faith. We have been justified. (We are justified). We are righteous. We are holy. We are perfected.
All of this is due to the gift of God. It's not our gift to Him and it's not our work for Him. We could never attain any of this through our own effort, even with "God's grace" added to "our efforts." It all had to be a gift, and God did give it all to us as a gift.
Notice even in Romans 7 (and elsewhere), the struggle isn't MINE. The battle within is between the Spirit and the flesh. I am neither the Spirit, nor am I the flesh. I am a perfected, righteous, holy, spotless saint.
ALL our sin has been cleansed and taken away by nothing less than the blood of Jesus. To live as if we are lowly sinners is to spit on the work of Jesus. "It is finished!", he cried. He became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The problem isn't that we're lowly sinners. The problem is that we're a royal priesthood who don't understand that we're a royal priesthood! We're righteous, holy people who have become one spirit with God, who don't understand that we're righteous, holy people who have become one spirit with God! We think that because we still miss the mark (in our behavior), THAT defines us. But sin no longer defines us. Sinful behavior is a result of not living as who we truly are. But it never changes who we truly are. We remain the righteousness of God because He has given us His very own righteousness as a gift. Not because we deserved it. Not because we earned it. Not because we stopped sinning. But because of the sacrifice of Jesus. Because of His blood and nothing less.
We need to live in the reality of what He has done for us and who He has made us to be. We are new creations!
Great post, Joel! The teaching that we're just "sinners saved by grace" sounds so humble but it's the biggest, most destructive lie that religion has ever invented.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we think we're sinners, we'll continue to act like sinners but, when we begin to believe that we're righteous and have been given a good heart, our behavior will begin to be conformed to that righteousness. Renewing our minds is really the key to this new life in Christ.
A new friend has given me your blog address which brought me here. My husband and I are tracking on the road of grace. I write on my blog of my journey out of religion into relationship. I'd love to have you visit if you'd like. http://jewelsightings.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to find another sojourner on this road.
It's nice to meet you!
Aida, I agree... the "sinners saved by grace" teaching does indeed seem to be so humble, but yet it's really a hugely deficient, destructive teaching. It really does keep people from experiencing the fullness of who they really are in Christ!
ReplyDeleteJulie, thank you for stopping by! It truly is great to meet others who are journeying out of religion into relationship. I'll check out your blog!
I think those who survived the sword in the wilderness have FOUND GRACE..After college I got sucked in to a Christian cult that proclaimed a coming revival to our huge city....the prophetic was also emphasized...visions...signs. ..wonders...services 6 nites a week at 6 different llocations....tremendous music of worship and abandonment. ..a morning quiettime exalted...and leadership leaders submission...etc etc...YET, I COUNT ALL THAT DUNG COMPARED TO THE EXCELLENCY OF KNOWING CHRIST APART FROM MY OWN OBEDIENCE FERVOR DILLIGENCE LAYING DOWN MY LIFE ETC. ... ETC...HIS MATCHLESS GRACE IS REVIVAL....IS THE NARROW WAY...IS THE BEST OF THE GOSPEL. ...THE HOLYSPIRIT. ..AND THE LOVE OF GOD.....2 COR. 13.14
ReplyDelete24 hr prayer movements in one building. ..going to the poor and gang infested fatherless neighborhoods..megaphone street praching...bible studies that aim at endless acquisition of knowledge so the power ladder of the saints can be climbed...arguments can be won....and the praise of men secured like a good 401K....praise and worship to amass platform self image boost more than the current Superbowl MVP. ....ALL THESE CHARISMATIC ANTI-CHRIST DAINTIES FROM LUCIFER WITH ONE GOAL.....CUT OFF GRACE AND PROMOTE SELF IN THE BODY. ....
ReplyDeleteMost preach the Spirit and Jesus..God the Father is kinda in the nursing home of our mind...think about it. If we arent RESTORED to the Father then Jesus' earthly ministry failed for our generation...this preaching Paul's gospel of grace is much more a life or death issue than we consider. .in fact in Galatians I Paul boldly says IF ANYONE COMES TO YOU PREACHING A DIFFERENT JESUS THAN GRACE MAY A CURSE COME UPON THEM. ..WORKS and GRACE dont mix and never will. BUT GOD HAS GIVEN US A FREE WILL you say....there's the rub...yes God has. Yet free will is still under GRACE not law....and free will doesnt mean IT'S OF OURSELVES SO WE CAN BOAST IN HOW EXCELLENT WE USE IT....GOD RESISTS THIS. My answer to the question FREE WILL or GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY? YESNO. ....YESNO ....YESNO.....And that answer embraces MYSTERY......PLS. RESPOND.....
ReplyDeleteI didn't bring up free will or God's sovereignty in this post, but to briefly give my thoughts: In order to freely believe and in order to freely love, one by necessity must have the freedom of choice. They must have the freedom to use their will as they will. Technically speaking, we don't have free will, because free will means we can do whatever we want, but yet as humans we are limited in what we can do, so I like the phrase "freedom of choice," regarding the various choices that we have in front of us. God's sovereignty spreads far and wide as far as all that He Himself has provided for us, including the choices we in front of us regarding grace and life and the gospel, etc, but His sovereignty doesn't make us into puppets with no choice.
ReplyDeleteRegarding 'pls respond,' as you may be able to see in my great lack of blog posts over the past few years, I haven't had the time to blog nearly as much as I used to. :) This also goes for responding to comments, so I generally publish people's comments but I'm limited on spending a great deal of time responding. No offense is meant to anyone, and people are still quite free to comment, and hopefully I'll be able to take more time to respond.
ReplyDeleteNo worries. ...thete is a time for this and for that brother...ecclesiastes 3.....my prayers to ya...that you find yourself in his steps for you....this is God's blog anyways. ...not Joel s. ...but thank God he moved on you to start it up.....may you find balance in God first. Family second...and ministering third...lu brother. .....johnpeter
ReplyDelete