Discover Grace: No More Sacrifices Needed

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 such a Good Father. The more we see the Father and look at the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,  we discover Grace more and more. Grace isn't just a message of hope and healing and happiness. Grace is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 Grace reveals a Savior greater than our sins. Grace reveals forgiveness that is eternal and isn't obtained through apologies or our words, but rather only through the shed Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace reveals how forgiven we are.

 Grace is what our focus should be. Our focus shouldn't be on our flaws and faults and failures. The only way to overcome failure and walk in victory over sins and habits is to realize and understand and comprehend the depth of His Love, His Grace, and how cleansed and forgiven we are through the Blood of Jesus, His death on the Cross and Him bearing all the judgment for our sins forever.

 When we mention sin, apparently in the thinking of believers and ministers it appears to be some majestic mountain that not even God can climb or remove. To many, sins can halt, hinder and hold back our Father's Love for us. That the moment we sin we are dead to God and alive to satan and destined to eternity in hell. 

 Why is this? We can see how the New Covenant speaks of sin. Look at Romans 6 and Ephesians 4 and 5. Sin is not something we celebrate. We don't make light of its effects on our lives and on those around us. We can see where there is a loss of heavenly rewards for perpetuating sinful lifestyles. We can see that sin can put us in bondage to bad habits and such. 

 Yet nowhere did it state a loss of God's Love, mercy, favor, or Grace in and on our lives. One quick point. Much of what people focus on when it comes to "sinning" is the "R-rated" stuff. Sex outside marriage, pornography, adultery, cussing, R-rated movies, and TV shows, and secular music. 

 What I see little of is the way we treat others. The bitterness we hold inwardly toward others. The way we behave in traffic, the way we work at our jobs. Such as coming in late and leaving early, which can be stealing time from the company. My point is, if sins hinder all of God's Goodness in our life, what about the "little things?"

 Grace, the Gospel isn't saying sin all you like it's cool. Grace isn't winking, saying boys will be boys it's not that serious. Grace isn't saying let's pursue sin because there are no lasting consequences. 

 That said, we must not also go to the other side of the road and believe and teach that sin is greater than His Grace and Love. That sin is some great barrier between the believer and Christ. That sin makes God turn away from us. 

 Often we as believers as soon as we sin feel a need or urge to make up for our sins. Why is this? Because we are not fully persuaded and deeply convinced that all our sins are completely forgiven and the price totally paid in full. 

   And after everything is forgiven, there is no more need for a sacrifice to pay for sins. Hebrews 10:18 ERV

 This is a powerful clause of the New Covenant. Everything is already paid for. Therefore since it is paid in full what else is there to pay? What is it you can offer as payment?

 This powerful, awe-inspiring, majestic merciful loving sacrifice of Jesus' shed Blood is enough. Jesus is enough. His Blood is enough. God has accepted this final once for all payment.

 There is nothing we can do to make up for our sins. There is no price we can pay to cover our failures or mistakes. There is no sacrifice we can make that will pay for our sinful habits or deeds. We must fully accept and receive this absolutely free gift of God's Grace.

 As the Body of Christ, we need to fully honor and embrace the perfect sacrifice of Jesus as being enough. We as believers need to cease from our own works trying to make up for our failures and freely accept Jesus' payment for our faults and failures. Jesus is more than enough.

  Honor the Finished Work. Exalt the mighty name of Jesus. Give thanks for His final sacrifice. Be thankful His shed Blood is enough. Uplift the once for all payment for all the sins we have committed or will commit. Stand in awe of this lavish gift of forever forgiveness and complete cleansing from all sins. It's all because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

 In summation, discover His Grace more and more. Discover this Loving Father and amazing Savior. See the work of Jesus as final and finished. See all the sins of all of us cleansed and forgiven forever. Discover Grace, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Discover Grace: Focusing on Grace

  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 

Grace, God's Grace, is not just a doctrine or a minor aspect of the Faith. Grace is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is the person of Christ manifest on earth. Grace is never earned, merited, or deserved. It's all about Jesus.

 Grace reveals Jesus and keeps Him as the central theme and figure for all we do in God's name. Grace reveals that we need not confess our flaws and failures in order to receive forgiveness for our sins. Grace reveals our sins are completely forgiven.

  What are we focusing on in light of this perfect redemption and the price wholly paid for our total forgiveness? Are we still focusing on our failures and flaws and sins? Or are we focusing on the Grace of Christ?

 Do we still have a sin consciousness or a Righteousness consciousness? Do we have a Grace awareness? Or are we more mindful of our sins and misdeeds? 

 In light of the perfectly purchased redemption Christ died and rose again for, and the Grace of God revealed in Jesus, are our sins actually hindering and creating a barrier between us and God? Does our sin cause the blessing of God not to flow in our lives? Does sin stop the rain of God's Goodness and favor and abundance?

 The truthful answer according to the New Covenant is no. We must agree with what Jesus actually accomplished. We must honor His Finished Work. We must align with the revealed Word of God.

 Sin is not a barrier between the believer and the Father. Sin is not blocking the blessing from manifesting in our lives. Sin is not hindering our prayers nor is it stopping the rain of the free favors of God. Why? Because Jesus' offered a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Why? Because Jesus perfectly procured and purchased our eternal redemption and forgiveness through His sinless, spotless Blood.

 Look at the New Covenant in its fullness. In light of all Jesus has done and the Father's acceptance of Jesus' once for all sacrifice for all time, how can we now claim our sins are greater than Jesus' Finished Work? Our sins and shortcoming hinder the flow of what only the Blood could pay for? In essence, Jesus' Blood could provide salvation regardless of our sins, but anything else; joy, peace, answered prayer, healing, provision, and protection all are only procured by our good behavior. This is wrong believing and thinking, the Blood is greater than our sins. 

 But exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13 MEV

  Now this passage seems to indicate everything I just said is incorrect. Let's take a closer look. Look at the context fully.

 This passage is dealing with the hardness that comes from rejecting God which produces even more unbelief. This passage is not instructing us that our personal sins cause the promises of God to be kept from us. This passage is dealing with stubborn, hard-hearted, unbelief in those who hear the Gospel of Grace, the Good News of Jesus but reject it for their own sense of goodness and what's right and wrong. 

 Jesus and His perfect redemptive work have fully procured every promise, every blessing, and every good thing the Father has for us by His Blood. Let's honor the New Covenant. Our sins are forgiven forever. He said He would never remember our sins again. He said our sins are no longer imputed, or charged to our account. Jesus is enough.

 Now we don't rejoice in sin. Sin is not God's best for us. Sin can put us back into bondage, or service to habits or thoughts, or addictions. Like the master ringing a bell, and the servant dutifully reporting, sin can become a "master" if we allow it to dictate our thinking and believing.

 In summation, Jesus is more than enough. His Blood is more than enough. Grace is an ocean and we are overcome with His kindness and free favors. The blessings are ours, always through Jesus alone. Let's focus on Grace and not our works. 

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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. 

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