4 John, To the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:4-6 MEV
As Christians, those who've trusted in Christ alone, who've believed in Jesus and received His free gift of salvation, how do we live our lives? Are we to live our lives in the same manner as we did before Christ? Are there any differences or distinctions in how we live now that we are in Christ?
I am not speaking so much about no longer cussing or engaging in other sins without remorse or care as I am about how we think and believe. I am speaking about our outlook on life. How do we now see God? How do we see ourselves?
When we heard the Good News Gospel of Jesus and His Grace and freely received Him, something happened inwardly. Yes we received the New Birth, yes we partook of His Redemptive work, and yes we became children of God and joint heirs with Christ. What also happened is we received a new way of thinking and seeing.
This is the Grace of God working in our lives. The text I chose reveals this progression of Grace working in our life. First, He loved us;
...To Him who loved us...Revelation 1:5b MEV
Secondly, He forgave us of all our sins;
and washed us from our sins in His own blood Revelation 1:5b MEV
Lastly, He made us Kings and Priests;
and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father Revelation 1:6a MEV
This is how God's Grace worked in our lives. He first loved us and then He forgave us and made us Kings and Priests. This is such a powerful truth. In light of this truth, we are beginning a new study focusing on these works of Grace in our life.
In Christ, we have a new way of living. Our thinking and speaking change because of the Grace of God we have received. We now walk by Faith, not by sight. Life's circumstances and lies of the enemy are not what moves us but only what God has promised provided and purchased for us in the Finished Work.
We now walk in Love. We walk in the Love God has poured out upon us. We walk in His Love living life loved by the Shepherd and Savior. This supply of love cascading from Heaven unto us overflows so we can now love others.
We now abide in and live under Grace. We aren't under man's tradition or religious rules and regulations. We are no longer under the Old Covenant Law. We live under Grace and not works. We rest in Jesus' work and not our own.
We have confident hope and Faith because we know God loves us eternally and unconditionally. His Love is eternal and unchanging. He is for us and never against us.
We also have peace with God knowing that all our sins have been cleansed and washed away. Our sins weren't merely covered but actually cleansed. When something is cleansed and washed away there exists no trace or evidence of it ever again.
The believer's sins are completely cleansed and washed away. we are forgiven of all our sins. All means all. All our past and present and future sins are forever forgiven.
For those who've been hearing the Grace Gospel for some time, this seems elementary. However, this is such a vital truth and some believers reject the notion all sins are forgiven. They feel they must do something to gain forgiveness for the sins they commit after they received Jesus as their Savior.
The forgiveness of sins is the Gospel that the Apostles proclaimed in the Book of Acts. When Peter preached to the Gentiles, he spoke of the forgiveness of sins. What was the immediate result? The Holy Spirit fell in His fullness and Cornielus' house was saved and Baptized in the Spirit evidenced by praying in the Holy Ghost.
Grace works a mighty work in our lives. He loves us and forgives us of all our sins. What happens to believers who become fully aware of this work? Their thinking changes, and their perception changes.
Believers who know they are Loved by the Savior unconditionally and know they are forgiven are infused with a confident boldness. They see God as always for them and never working against them. They quickly recognize God as their Father and not the harsh taskmaster. They experience victory in life no matter the circumstances.
This leads us to the third work of Grace in our lives. These recipients of His Love and forever forgiveness are then made Kings and priests. This is an important work of Grace concerning our position in Christ, who we are in Christ, and what He made us.
When we know we are loved and forgiven we can walk in the fullness of Grace in our everyday life. We can then own our identity in Christ. We can walk in the power and authority He procured for us. He made us kings and priests.
We are going to study further our authority in Christ. In order to do this we first had to establish how loved we are and how forgiven we are. We must not allow the tradition and religious ideas of men to hinder our understanding of what we have in Christ.
In summation, Grace works a mighty work in our life. Grace first loved us eternally. Grace then forgave us of all our sins. There isn't any sin consciousness because we are forever forgiven and cleansed from them for all time. In Christ we can rejoice in this work of Grace in our lives, we are Loved and forgiven!
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