Thinking God's thoughts

 

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT

The importance of right thinking is an essential element in living the victorious life in Christ. Christ purchased and procured our redemption and complete victory at Calvary. Yet we will never experience it fully if our thinking isn't aligning with God's.

 That is a strong statement. It is but is it true nonetheless. For example, Christ paid the price for our forgiveness. Yet if one thinks their sin is too great for God to forgive, they will cower in God's presence. They will shrink back from Him, disqualifying themselves, and seeing their sin as a barrier between themselves and God. 

 We must renew our minds to think God's thoughts. We must relinquish the thinking of the world system and embrace God's thoughts. We must pull down strongholds of traditional religious thinking and wholeheartedly accept and receive God's thoughts. 

 Sometimes our thinking is born out of negative experiences we have endured. We must allow our experiences to be challenged by His Word. We must align our lives with His truth and not our experience. 

 True freedom and victory are only found in embracing God's thinking. When we renew our minds to who God is, what He has said about our circumstances, our identity, and how He sees us and has forever accepted us in Christ we will walk in His fullness and promises. Thinking His thoughts bring hope and peace that surpasses human limitations.

 So how do we think God's thought? First, we have to know Him. I would never know someone's thoughts on a given topic if I didn't know them, or didn't spend quality time with them. 

 How do we get to know Him? First, look at Jesus. Jesus revealed the Father to us. I like how one minister described Jesus, the will of God in action. If we have seen Jesus we have seen the Father. 

 I don't see Jesus condemning people. I don't see Him sending disasters or plagues. I don't see Him causing someone's death. I don't see Him bankrupting businesses or making someone sick. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the enemy. 

 Secondly, we need to know the Word of God. We need to know it  rightly divided between the Old and New Covenant. We need to know the Word revealed through Jesus and His Grace and the Goodness of God. 

 Jesus is perfect theology. He perfectly revealed the Father. He revealed a Good Father whose desire is to do good and heal all who were oppressed by the enemy. Supernatural provision, deliverance, raising the dead, forgiving sins, and bringing the gift of no condemnation revealed a loving Savior and a Good God. This is who Jesus is.

 Thirdly, we need to receive of God's gifts to the Church, the fivefold ministry. No, not ministries blinded by tradition but ministers who are anointed and have received the fullness of the Gospel of Grace, understand His Goodness at all times, and are full of Faith and not unbelief. God's gifts help break the bread of life so we can freely feed on God's Word. Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ.

 We will renew our minds by fellowshipping with God in personal prayer time. We will renew our minds by looking at Jesus and seeing the Good Father He revealed to us. We will renew our minds when we read and study the Word of God rightly divided. We will renew our minds by feeding on God's Word taught by ministers of Faith and Righteousness. 

The more we continue in this, the longer we do this, and the more attention we give to this, we will see a radical shift in our thinking. We will be able to rightly divide the Word from tradition to truth. We see a Good Father who is for us and not against us. We will embrace a different outlook concerning our circumstances. We will trust in Him and see Him as the help and hope rather than the one ordaining difficulties.   

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Discover Grace: Forgiven of all our sins

 9 God saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace in King Jesus before all time and ages, 10 but has now made it visible through the appearing of our saviour King Jesus, who abolished death and, through the gospel, shone a bright light on life and immortality. 2 Timothy 1:9-10 NTE 

 We are on a continued journey of discovering Grace. Looking at the Grace of God and its effects on our lives. We are examining all aspects of the Father's extravagant Love and Grace. 

 Grace is the person of Jesus manifest on earth. Grace is the unearned, undeserved, and unmerited favor of Father God. Grace reveals our forgiveness in Christ. 

 Today, I want to continue examining further our complete forgiveness in Christ. We had asked some questions concerning sin in our last study. We answered what must we do if we sin. We asked and answered if it was required to confess our sins in order to receive forgiveness. You can find this study here.

 We also asked how much are we forgiven of and do we lose fellowship with our Father if we sin. Let me briefly answer the loss of fellowship question. If we stay with Scripture we will see this notion of lost fellowship is not substantiated by the Word.

 We have already seen how 1 John chapter 1 was addressing the lost gnostics and not believers in Jesus. The notion of confession of sins finds its roots in this chapter. What you won’t find is this confess your sins and be forgiven repeated anywhere else in the New. So it also is with this concept of broken fellowship when we sin.

  Now if we sin we may see natural consequences as a direct response. Tell a lie to someone and the truth may come back and reveal your lie. That's a consequence, that's not God punishing you. Remember Jesus said He is always with us. He didn't add a clause saying the only exception is if you sin. 

 The idea we break fellowship with our Father when we sin is simply a misunderstood and misapplied scripture turning into a tradition and thus into some new doctrine. Grace is greater than our failures. God isn't turning His back on us. Here are some more detailed studies answering this question about broken fellowship, here and here. 

 Just how forgiven are we in Christ? Maybe you've heard only to the point of conversion. That your sins were forgiven only up to the point of conversion, of accepting Christ as Savior. Is this true?

 The issue this raises is what happens when you sin after receiving Christ? What must you do to receive forgiveness? The same ones saying this would claim you must confess it in order to be forgiven. 

 We have already addressed this issue about confession. Only the shedding of blood forgives sin. Does Jesus need to shed His Blood over and over and over to bring us forgiveness? This is of course an unreasonable idea. Jesus' once for all sacrifice for sins was enough.

 In light of Jesus' perfect work of Redemption, His once for all sacrifice for sin, and the Father's acceptance of this final offering for sin, we are forgiven of all our sins. Not just the sins we have committed up to the point of conversion, but all our sins. We are forgiven of all our sins. We are forgiven past and present and future.

 One may say that can't be possible. That's saying we are forgiven of sins we haven't even committed yet. Let's look at what the Bible actually says;

14 who bought our freedom with his blood and forgave us all our sins Colossians 1:14 TLB

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. Colossians 2:13 NLT

12 I am writing to you, little children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake [you have been pardoned and released from spiritual debt through His name because you have confessed His name, believing in Him as Savior]. 1 John 2:12 AMP

2 He is the one who took God’s wrath against our sins upon himself and brought us into fellowship with God; and he is the forgiveness for our sins, and not only ours but all the world’s. 1 John 2:2 TLB 


32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 NLT

13 bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive. Colossians 3:13 AMP 

  The Scripture is clear. We are forgiven. We are forgiven forever. Take note of how often the word all is used in conjunction with our sins. 

 All means all. All our sins past and present and future are forgiven in Jesus. Rejoice this is the Good News of Grace. 

 What about that passage in 2 Peter that mentions only past sins forgiven? What about James 5 saying sins will be forgiven us? Glad this concern was raised. Let's answer with the Word.

 We can see 2 Peter 1 here. The wording here from the Greek word some translated past is actually better stated as former. This is Peter simply reminding the believer they are a New Creation in Christ. The old has passed away and the New has come. 

 Not considering your new nature is what Peter was warning about. He was not claiming we are only forgiven for our sins up to conversion. Peter wasn't contradicting the Scripture. What about James?

 James 5, deals with an order of gathering and offering prayers one for another. While a surface reading of the passage could give credence that we aren't forgiven of all sins, we know Scripture cannot and does not contradict other Scripture. Whatever God was conveying in this passage we know what it can't mean. 

 The forgiveness of sins is in relation to prayers offered for healing the sick. Based on the context it can be simply seen as a sin that may have the consequence of sickness, (not claiming sickness is the result of sin), such as smoking or some poor choice, because the next passage refers to confessing our faults to other believers to find wholeness. 

 Whatever the purpose the passage isn't offering a doctrinal stance that forgiveness isn't once for all time. We can't take obscure passages and create doctrines all the while ignoring clear, plain Scripture.

 In summation, we have discovered the Good News of Grace. We are forgiven of all our sins in Christ. Christ's perfect redemptive work, the Father's acceptance of the final offering for sin by Jesus, and the Word of God make it clear, we are forgiven of all our sins, past present, and future.

Discover Grace: Forgiveness and Confession

 9 God saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace in King Jesus before all time and ages, 10 but has now made it visible through the appearing of our saviour King Jesus, who abolished death and, through the gospel, shone a bright light on life and immortality. 2 Timothy 1:9-10 NTE 

 God is calling. He is heralding the Good News of Jesus Christ. He is shouting it from the mountaintops and the highways and byways. Jesus has paid it all. He is proclaiming I am satisfied with Jesus' work. It is all paid in full, and the work is complete. God is saying discover Grace!

  The amazing Grace of God is limitless in scope and eternal and unchanging. The Grace of God reveals how loving our Father is and also the entirety of Jesus' redemptive work on our behalf. Grace invites us on a journey to enter and grow up in an eternal relationship with a Good God. 

 One of the most amazing works of Grace is the revelation of the complete and total payment for all sins once and for all time. This means once we receive Jesus as Savior we receive the free gift of the forgiveness of our sins that He paid for. Our sins are forgiven forever.

 So what if we sin after we receive Jesus? Are our sins just forgiven up to the point of conversion? Is our fellowship broken with the Father because of our sins? 

 Grace is so amazing, God has the answer to all these questions and more. Let's answer these questions one at a time to receive a greater understanding of what Jesus' Finished Work accomplished. Let's not be in a hurry and simply skim the surface of all that Jesus has done on our behalf.

 Through Jesus' work of redemption, all our sins were paid for. In other words, there is nothing left for us to do concerning our sins. Think of it, if sins can only be forgiven by the shedding of blood, what else could we possibly do to contribute to ensuring our sins are forgiven? 

Do we need to confess our sins? 

 Perhaps we may still be thinking there must be something we must do whenever we sin in order to receive forgiveness for that sin. That may sound rational and reasonable. We must, however, yield to the final authority of Scripture and see what it says. 

then he says, · “Their sins and · their lawless acts I will never again remember.” Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Hebrews 10:17-18 MOUNCE 

 God has declared something to be true. He has declared something to be finished. He has stated truly and eternally that forgiveness is a completed work. 

 Take note that He said, not man, not denominational creed, not the "Grace Message", not a Grace preacher, He said that nothing can be added to His completed work. Once there is forgiveness for all these sins and lawless deeds, there is nothing to be added. That means our sacrifices are adding to the work of Jesus.

 We may think when we sin we must therefore offer a confession of our sins in order to receive forgiveness for the sins we have committed. We may feel compelled to offer some form of sacrifice for our unlawful deeds. We may feel the need to apologize or confess, because of a sense of guilt and shame on our part.

 Some of this compulsion stems from a misapplied and misunderstood interpretation of 1 John 1:9. We can see 1 John in context here. Look at the famous verse. 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 NKJV

 These few isolated passages in 1 John may appear to be teaching that we break fellowship with God whenever we sin. It appears that it is telling believers whenever they sin they must offer a sacrifice of confession in order to be forgiven of all sin. It also may appear to reveal we are forgiven judicially but not familial.  

 Rest assured when seen in the full context of the entire Epistle these concerns are readily cleared up. Again stay with the final authority of the Word

In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22 NLT

 I believe God knows what He was saying. Grace was revealed in and through the work of Jesus. Why do we think we can improve on it? 

 God's Word isn't contradictory. He declared in Hebrews 10, where there is forgiveness of sins, the work is complete and there is no more offering for sin. He then declared that only through the shedding of blood is forgiveness received. So why would we add a separate or private interpretation to 1 John 1:9?

 Believing that we must confess our sins in order to receive forgiveness, would counter what God already declared about our sins. John wrote his Epistle years after Hebrews was written. John would have known what was written in the Word before he penned his Epistle.

 What then is John talking about? John was addressing a segment of unbelievers that were corrupting the Gospel message. They were of a sect called Gnostics. They were a mind science type of religion. They concluded all things natural are evil.

 They, therefore, rejected the notion Jesus came to earth as a physical man. They also thus concluded that sin isn't a reality because life is more realized on the spiritual plane not the natural. Therefore they would say they are without sin. If one is without sin why does he need a Savior?

 With that understanding, look at the passages again. Look at the first chapter and you will see John dismantling the heresy of Gnosticism. When he mention confession of sin, he was telling them by acknowledging their sin they could receive the once for all forgiveness of sins and the gift of Righteousness as the believers had. 

 John is not instructing us to confess or speak out to God each and every time we sin in order to receive forgiveness. How can we get more forgiven? We need to cease finding ways to add to Jesus' work and trust in Christ alone.

 What must we do when we sin? Thank God for Jesus. Thank God for having paid the price in full. Agree with God that our sins are already forgiven because of Jesus' shed blood. Confess our Righteousness in Christ. The price is paid in full.

 In summation, as we discover Grace we see just how amazing God is. We are discovering how forgiven we are. We are discovering we can't add to His work, we can't add to His blood. We need not confess or say we sinned aloud every time we blow it. We can rest in His work that we are forgiven. Keep discovering Grace, and we will find the answers to the other questions soon enough. 

Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net