Our Eternal Redemption

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.             Hebrews 9:12

In my last article I wrote about the high price Christ Jesus paid for our right standing. His blood is the only currency accepted. It's the only acceptable payment. As I began to write this week's blog post I sensed the Spirit leading me to continue writing in a series of posts about our eternal redemption.

In this series of posts we will finally tackle the controversies concerning our eternal security in Him. So to begin a series about our eternal redemption we must first look at the nature of our salvation. 

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:4-10 ESV

Take note of what the Holy Ghost through the Apostle Paul said. Twice He states "By grace you have been saved". So what is the nature of our salvation? It is a work of Christ by grace alone. So what saved us? Grace saved us. It was Christ's finished work on that cross taking our place. The great exchange. He took our sin and gave us His righteousness. He became something He never was (sin) so we could become something we've never been (righteous). 

What about faith? Now this is where the foolish miss it. They see this truth and stop here. They say faith is unimportant and not part of the nature of salvation. Look at what the Spirit said through Paul in Titus.

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men            Titus 2:11 

Grace is the nature of our salvation, yet so is faith.  Grace combined with faith makes salvation active in one's life. Grace that brings the salvation is offered to all mankind. It takes faith to activate it, to partake of it. So what is the full nature of our salvation? It is His grace that purchased and made available salvation and faith is what activates it when we believe and receive it.

Our eternal redemption then is by Christ alone. Its by grace alone and by faith alone. This is the full nature of our salvation. Anything else is a mixture of works and grace. Teaching we must earn or maintain our salvation by works is not the good news. That is not the gospel of the grace of Christ. That is not the gospel Paul preached.

4 But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

Our eternal redemption is not anything we earn or achieve. It is not perfected by our actions. This is not an employee/employer contractual agreement. We are in the Family of God. He is your Father, if you have received Him as your Savior.

True Christians all agree being justified is a work of grace alone. To many though surmise that after Justification we are now charged with maintaining, sustaining, and preserving our salvation by our good deeds, our ability to resist sin, and our strength in overcoming discouragement and doubt. 

These mindsets need to be removed from us. This what I am endeavoring to accomplish through the guidance of the Spirit of God and the ministry of His Word in these upcoming posts. Remember the Words of the Spirit through Paul. Our eternal redemption is ours through His mercy and grace not our good works. 

Does this mean we can live anyway we want? Does this mean we need no longer pray or feed on the Word? Do we never share our faith or win the lost? Of course not. We will address more and more in the next posts. If you have questions or concerns feel free to comment. I know eternal security is a hot button issue. 

I pray this post has blessed you and sparked your interest in our eternal redemption. May the Lord bless you this week. 

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Only accepted payment...

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  2 Corinthians 5:21

Ever hear the song, Nothing but the Blood? In the song the writer sings about the only thing that can cleanse from sin and wrongdoing. Nothing but the blood of Christ cleanses and removes sin and shame. Here is my question then. If we sing songs about the blood, hear sermons about the blood, why then do we still continue to believe our goodness or faithfulness is what sanctifies us or makes us more righteous?

Brother, Are you suggesting that we need not be faithful in our relationship with our Father God? Of, course not. In actuality relying on His goodness and faithfulness and not our own produces a more fruitful life and relationship with The Lord. I allow Him to complete the work He began in me. 

What then, sanctifies us and cleanses us? It is nothing but the blood of Jesus. 
 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. Romans 5:9
What makes us right with God? It is only the blood of Jesus. Regardless the amount of good deeds performed, it's only the blood of Christ that makes us righteous before Him. If it's only His blood that cleanses and sanctifies no amount of bad deeds removes this right standing either. Again, I am not suggesting we live a life of sin and excess. Sin destroys. It corrupts and leaves destruction in its wake. This blood, which is the only payment which can be received to make us right, creates a new nature within us. We identify with this new nature not the old man. That's why we can walk in victory over sin and addictions.

 Visualize this: His blood freely flowing down the cross,setting us free! We are forgiven for our sinful ways by the richness of His grace, Ephesians 1:7 Voice
What is the only payment received for our forever forgiveness in Him? It's the blood. No more trying to earn our forgiveness. The blood is the only acceptable payment for forgiveness. Our works and efforts and achievements are not acceptable payment if you will. 

With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.             Hebrews 9:12 
This passage couldn't make it any clearer. The only payment for our righteousness in Him, our sanctification, our eternal salvation is only His precious blood. His blood alone is what saved and set us apart forever in Him. 

It is settled. The only acceptable payment for our sins is the blood of Christ. Rest in this truth. When we blow it or miss don't try to earn forgiveness or "work" your way back to Him. Our efforts aren't acceptable payments in the New Covenant. Confess your righteousness in Him by His perfect and precious blood. When we continually speak this we will begin to identify with our righteous new nature and walk out who we really are. Sin and addictions will no longer have dominion over us. 

I trust this has encouraged you today. I pray the Lord bless and keep you in His strength. Please consider sharing if this has blessed you. Someone may need to hear this freeing message. 

Rejoice! Again I say Rejoice in The Lord!

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice          Philippians 4:4 

While preaching this beautiful gospel of grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ last weekend I had a learning opportunity. I encountered an attack from the enemy I was unfamiliar with. Now we give no "glory" or "honor" to the work of enemy but we are not ignorant of his tricks or schemes either. 

The Lord gave me a word of knowledge to minister healing to those with chronic pain during my preparation time before the service. So after ministering the Word of God I proceeded to lay hands on the sick and minister His healing power. Suddenly, the enemy bombarded my thoughts with negativity and doubt and taunts of this won't work. Thoughts were screaming no one will receive. 

So I pressed on in faith. I gave no words to those thoughts. I exalted Jesus in the midst of those lies. I realize now after hearing a minister speak this was the enemy attempting to get me over into a place of mistrust. I also saw from the Word a great way to counterattack this attack from the enemy.

Go back to the old testament, even before the Law. Go to the book of Job. Of course Job is a source of great contention amongst believers. How could a loving God allow the devil to destroy someone's life and kill their family members and bring absolute desolation to their possessions? The answer is simple but traditional religion always rejects it. God had nothing to do with Job losing it all. God is good all the time. Always has and always will be. In a nutshell Job was simply the recipient of an all out attack from satan. In truth this level of attack is not possible today for the people of God. Why? Because Jesus has come. He is interceding for us. The enemy is defeated through the victory of Jesus. 

One thing to take note of is at the final chapters of this book God reveals Himself and speaks to Job. He reveals an important truth to Job that he and his other friends had no knowledge of. God pointed out to Job there is an enemy out there. He comes to steal and kill and destroy. 

Having said all this we now have the back drop to the passage I want to bring to your attention.

In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.        Job 41:22

I truly believe the 41st chapter of Job is referencing the adversary, satan. Let me show you why

34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride. Job 41:34

The enemy is the king of pride. What is pride? It is human effort, it is man exalting self over trusting in God. Doesn't that sound like a chief character trait of the enemy? Deceiving us to trust in our own effort and not God? 

Take note at verse 22. He rejoices at our sorrow. When we get over into worry or fear or anxiety the enemy is actually rejoicing. So lets not let this already defeated, broken, enemy out rejoice us! When we hear his lies and thoughts of unbelief that we can't receive or whatever lie he states, pause, and rejoice in the Lord. We know Jesus is exalted and the devil is defeated. Rejoicing proves to the enemy we trust God and it also gets our minds to focus back on Jesus and His finished work! So rejoice more and more in His love, grace and goodness extended toward us. 

I pray this post has blessed and encouraged you. Remember to rejoice this week and every week. We have the victory already in Him!

















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Learning the Unforced Rhythms of Grace!

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

What does it actually mean to learn the unforced rhythms of grace? This is a great question to ponder. The Lord put it on my heart to write about this. So to begin with I am no expert on what this passage completely means. I am not saying I know it all. I can only share with you what I see the Lord showing me concerning this passage.

Whenever we mention grace two opposing sides appear with their rhetoric. One rejects the gospel of grace because they fear losing control of the people in their church or ministry. They get overly concerned their flock will begin to sin wildly if grace is taught in its fullness. They also realize they would have to throw away half of the sermons they ever preached. Their book writing revenues would falter as well. No more would people buy the “ten ways to…” or “the 4 steps to divine …”  grace is "bad for business" because it puts religion out of business.

The other side apparently receives grace in all its fullness. They begin to talk the right “grace lingo”. They buy all the “right” grace books. They attend all the “right” meetings. In spite of all this outward display of their reception of the gospel of grace their true heart is revealed. They turn rebellious and claim any spiritual act is apart from grace, it is therefore works and legalism. They refuse to pray or give or read their Bible. This is also a rejection of pure grace. Grace doesn’t say feeding on the word is works or self efforts. So both sides of the debate are in error because they both reject pure grace.

I believe this passage in Matthew 11 really sums up pure grace in our daily living. It addresses both extremes and the rejection of pure grace. Let’s look at the first portion of this passage.

“Are you tired?” “Worn out?” “Burned out on religion?”

This is exactly what religion does to the Saints. It burns us out. It places so many into bondage to performance based trappings. It wears us out with the strivings and toils.

Where religion misses it is in this simple explanation of what works are. Works are us trying to earn or achieve what God has already provided for us. This is why religion burns us out. It gets us so focused on trying to earn, or achieve or deserve.

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. We are not trying to earn or achieve anything. Works based salvation is us trying to do something to become something. Religion doesn’t get that we are already made perfect in Christ. We already became something in Christ.

We need not try and do more in order to become righteous. We need not try to achieve a status to become more righteous in God’s sight. We need not put forth more effort to become anointed. Jesus, by His grace has already made us righteous and anointed. We flow with grace to walk out daily who we already are made within. It’s a maturing into who we’ve been made to be.

If we look at the middle portion of the passage Jesus states come away with Him and you will recover your life. In other words get away with grace and recover. Let Jesus heal the wounds of abusive churches and leaders.  Follow and flow with grace that’s where real growth occurs.

As for those who say grace means I just sit on my couch and never do anything productive Jesus says this.

“Walk with Me, work with me-watch how I do it.”

Jesus is saying flowing in the unforced rhythms of grace produces fruitful lives. Can we just sit on the couch? Can we do nothing until Jesus returns and God still love us and take care of us? Certainly, we are His beloved children. However, is this fruitful living? Is this a growing relationship with the Lord? Of course, we’d say no. So flowing in grace produces a fruitful life without effort or striving.

We can flow with grace allowing Him to lead us into all truth and guiding our lives into victorious, abundant living.

I trust this message has blessed you and encouraged your walk with the Lord. I pray you pass it on to bless others. I pray The Lord blesses you this week.

What about John 11?

My beloved friend, I pray that everything is going well for you and that your body is as healthy as your soul is prosperous.  3 John 2

In the last two posts I've been answering an objection to healing in the finished work. Whenever you teach about healing in the finished work of Christ, someone always ponders the thought doesn't God get glory in our sickness? This objection is a considerable stronghold in the lives of many believers.

By rightly dividing the Word we can remove this obstacle. So today I wish to address the Scripture that many point to in endeavoring to establish their view that sickness brings God glory.

Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”            John 11:3-4

"You see brother? It's right there." 

At face value I would have to agree that it seems to be teaching exactly that. The issue many fail to recognize is that this passage is being lifted out of its context. When we remove the text from its context all you have left is a con. If you try and teach a doctrine based on lifting this passage out of its context you are conning people. 

Staying in context what can we see about the 4th verse? Jesus was trying to point to a truth that those present needed. Look again at the passage. Jesus stated this sickness is NOT unto death. Yet Lazarus did in fact die from his sickness. Is this a contradiction? Is the Word unreliable? What is actually happening here? 

 What did Jesus go about doing while He was here on Earth? He went about teaching. He saw Lazarus sickness as a teachable moment. This does not mean God brought the illness and death with the intent to teach. The enemy brought the sickness and death. God can utilize any situation good or bad to bring instruction. Again, God never brings hardship or pain or suffering to instruct His children. He can however, use a circumstance that already exists to instruct. 

So what was Jesus endeavoring to instruct? Faith! He wanted to teach those around to trust God even when it seems impossible or the situation is dead. This also reveals that we can do nothing in and of ourselves. We must rely totally on Him and His power and performance. 

So how was He teaching faith here? He was speaking the end from the beginning in this passage. That is why He could state the sickness was not unto death. Yes, Lazarus did die but Jesus knew in the end He would raise him up. So Jesus counted Lazarus healing and raising up from the dead as done. He spoke those things which be not as though they were. 

Declaring the end from the beginning,And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Isaiah 46:10a

As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.  Romans 4:17 

Understanding how faith is released through words brings clarity to Jesus words. Jesus was not saying the sickness was for God's glory. He was teaching that by faith in God the healing and miracle of the dead being raised would bring God high praise! He not only is the God that heals but the One that makes alive dead things! 

What brought God glory then in this passage? Was it the sickness or the healing and raising up of Lazarus?

 

Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. John 11:43-45

Many believed in the Lord because they saw how good God is. No one was believing while Lazarus was sick or when he died. So healing and God's goodness is what brings glory to God. Does God get glory out of sickness? No, a thousand times no! God is good He gets glory out of your wholeness not brokenness and sickness. 

I trust this post has blessed and encouraged you in your walk with the Lord. I pray the healing power of God to flow into every area of your life. In Jesus name, amen! 

What about John 9?

who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.  1 Peter 2:24

In my last article I posed the question is God glorified when we are sick and diseased? To ask it another way, does God get glory when we are sick? I proved with Scripture that healing and wholeness is what truly brings glory to God.  

 Inevitably though, some will raise objections and point to John 9 and John 11. So I want to reflect on John 9 today and see if it in fact does teach that God sometimes is glorified when we are sick. 

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. John 9:1-7

This passage has been interpreted by many in religious traditional circles to mean God in His infinite "wisdom" and "sovereignty" caused this man to be born blind so that Jesus later in his life could walk by and heal him of blindness. Thus demonstrating to all His power, thereby proving He is the Messiah. The problem with this interpretation is it creates a very disturbing universe. Allow me to elaborate.

If this is the right interpretation of this passage this would mean anytime a disturbance, or distress in your life occurred it was God prearranging events. This would be so God could "show off" His "glory" through you to your unbelieving relatives and acquaintances when He delivered you. More clearly stated, God brings affliction or sickness upon you just to later deliver you. Is this the way God operates? 

Think of this in the natural. What would we think of a Police force that went around hiring men of ill repute to burglarize or vandalize property? Then have those same Officers apprehend those they hired, to prove to the public how effective their crime reduction programs work? Sound absurd? Yet this is exactly what religious tradition teaches about God using this passage. 

This interpretation has given much fodder for religious preachers to pass poetry and philosophy off as God's will. They emotionally stir up a crowd by saying whatever they are going through must be God working on them to "show them off" after He delivers them. They make statements like this. 

"The same God that brought you in, is about ready to kick the door open and bring you out!"

Sounds poetic. It gets folk jumping and hollering aloud. The problem is it is not Bible. Notice they seem to add the words about ready. These afflictions God brings you is always about ready to end. This keeps folk in the pews, giving their offerings and waiting for their deliverance. 

These are enticing words of men's wisdom is it is not God's will! If God who is the Alpha and Omega, the Almighty has to afflict you to show how great He is then I question how great He is. To make you sick just to heal you is quite a weak or poor display of power. 

So lets get the accurate true interpretation of this passage. If you read the passage again it reveals something many don't take into account. Apparently, the Jews at this time believed a baby could sin in the womb. (It is interesting to note here that even Jesus followers didn't believe blindness was good.) 

So the question asked was worded this way, who sinned, the parents or the man that made him to be born blind. This allows Jesus only three responses, the parents, the man or neither. So what do we see Jesus say in the passage? He responds with neither. He simply answered their question. He didn't give them a reason for this man's condition. It wasn't their concern. Jesus knew we live in a fallen World. That because of Adam's transgression sin is passed from one generation to the next. Sin itself is destructive and corrupt. That's why many children are born disabled, (not referencing a personal sin, but rather the sin of Adam). 

So Jesus simply answered their question. Then He said but that the works of God should be manifest in Him I must work. Jesus was only saying because of this condition I must work the works of God which are healing and deliverance. The problem with many translations of this passage is in the punctuation. The punctuation isn't what is inspired it's the word's themselves. Is there a translation that fits this view I presented as truth? Yes, the Lamsa translation. 

1 AND as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from his mother’s womb. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Teacher, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus said to them, Neither did he sin nor his parents. But that the works of God might be seen in him, 4 I must do the works of him who sent me, while it is day; the night comes when no man can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 6 When he said these words, he spat on the ground and mixed clay with his saliva, and he placed it on the eves of the blind man. 7 Then he said to him, Go and wash in the baptismal pool of Shiloha. He went and washed, and he came seeing. John 9:1-7 Lamsa

See how punctuation changes things? This translation gets it right here I believe. So throw away those old sermons or turn off those preachers on TV saying whatever you're going through is God's doing and He is just getting ready to "show you off". Listen Jesus defeated the devil and finished the work at Calvary! He is showing us off when we receive all He has already accomplished. We show off God's goodness and grace because we know we don't deserve it and haven't earned it! 

God is good all the time. He isn't afflicting you just to deliver or heal you to prove His power. That is tradition and not the truth of the Word. God already paid for our healing at the Cross. Thank God! I pray this article has blessed you. Thanks for reading. Consider passing this on to bless others with this truth.

Still More Objections to healing in the Finished Work

 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.           1 Peter 2:24

Over the past several weeks we've been looking at healing in the finished work of Jesus Christ. In a brief review we have seen that Jesus purchased for us the healing of our physical bodies in His finished work on the Cross. He has paid the full price for our wholeness. We answered some objections such as not looking at the experiences of others. We saw how by the blood of Jesus we are perfect in Him and God isn't withholding healing from us. We answered the sovereignty and God's willingness objections with God's love and His Word. We looked at focusing on the finished work and not bitterness or unbelief. 

Even after all these truths are revealed there still remains some objections to healing. This week I'd like to address a major objection to healing that many sincere believers cling to. That God is glorified when we are sick. This is a belief among many in the Church, that God gets glory sometimes when we suffer with sickness and disease. 

This idea has its roots in some misunderstood Scriptures in the Gospel of John:

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. John 9:1-3 

This verse is coupled with John 11

Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. John 11:3-4

See brother, its right there. God gets glory out of sickness. Paul said in the mouth of two or three witnesses will a truth be established. Twice we see how God uses sickness to glorify Him. This is usually how the dialogue goes. Trying to reach these folk who steadfastly hold to this interpretation of Scripture is rather difficult. Some folks minds are likened to cement. Thoroughly mixed and well set.

The interpretation of these passages usually plays out like this. God made men sick so that Jesus could come around and heal them. Then all those who saw would realize Jesus came to be the Messiah and many would believe. That is where they totally miss God. They reason that Jesus only went about healing to prove His Divinity and who He was. If this is so why did Jesus many times discourage people from revealing who He was? 

The missing element to the equation in tradition ruled thinking is the love and mercy of Almighty God. Jesus healed people because of His compassion and love for them. Newsflash, God so loves you too. He wants you well and whole. 

Here is something to consider. If Father God gets glory out of sickness why did Jesus go around healing ALL who were oppressed of the devil and "rob" God of all that glory? Was Jesus being counter productive to God's plan?

But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. Matthew 9:6-8

 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. Matthew 15:30-31

What do we see that gives God glory? The healing power of God in demonstration. The Lord in His loving mercy removing painful illness and restoring brokenness into wholeness caused men to truly glorify God in Heaven. God's Word is not contradictory. We must not allow obscure passages to rob us of clear passages that prove beyond doubt what God's will is on a certain truth. The problem with the obscure passages is we haven't rightly divided them. 

So I want to rightly divide these two passages to remove this concept that God gets glory out of you suffering with sickness and crippling and painful disease. I will do this over the next couple of posts. If you want the truth about these passages then don't hesitate to stay tuned to get the answers. God and His Word are one. They never lie. God desires you to live in wholeness. This is the good news of the gospel, the finished work of Christ.

I truly pray this post blesses you abundantly. Consider sharing with others so we can get this truth out there that God is good and sickness is bad! May the blessing of the Lord overtake you this week. 

Today's Lesson: affliction, sickness and disease?...

He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed. Isaiah 53:3-5

We've been in a series of posts discussing the finished work of healing. A central theme is apparently becoming the central point. Focus on Christ's work on the cross and receive your healing. Remove all distractions and give attention to what Christ has done.

In our last post I shared how by grace we can lay aside unbelief. That we can allow the supply of grace to remove strife and unforgiveness from our thinking. With these weights removed we can give our full attention to the finished work and freely receive all He has done. 

Today I want to address a tradition that is rooted deep in the minds of some Christians. This idea that God instructs us with afflictions, sickness and disease. How can we fully trust God to heal us if we believe He is the one placing disease upon us? So is this in fact a Bible truth? 

It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes. Psalms 119:71

Isn't it clear in this passage that the author was afflicted and apparently attributed that affliction to God? This passage, out of it's setting, would appear to be teaching just that.  In context however, it paints an entirely different picture. Context is always key, as well as properly defining the words in a given passage. 

You see we attribute our own definition to the words in any passage based upon our traditional understandings of the Bible. In this passage we see a word translated as affliction, or suffering in some Bible translations, and assert the idea of pain, sickness or calamity into it's meaning. Did you know the meaning of the word simply means to be humbled? Read it in context to see what the author is really saying.

Before I had trouble, I strayed from the true path, the path of righteousness, but now I live according to Your word.You are truly good, and Your acts are too; teach me what You require.The proud smear me with their lies; I will keep Your instructions wholeheartedly.Their hearts are dull and callous; I am delighted to study Your teaching. It is a good thing that I was humbled because it helped me learn Your limits. Psalms 119:67-71 VOICE

See how context and proper definitions make this passage more clearly understood? The author even attributed the right character traits to the Lord. He is good and does only good. Any trouble he encountered was by the direct results of his own straying from the right path. The natural consequences of foolish pursuits actually humbled him. Nowhere in context did it state God did anything to him. The author realized he should have stayed with God's ways of living and when he didn't he had to acknowledge that his ways and thinking were wrong and God's ways were right. That is the true definition of humility. 

So does God teach us with afflictions of sickness or disease? I must emphatically state no, never! Let's look at the life of Jesus. 

Jesus the Anointed One is always the same: yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Jesus is the same God today as He was when He walked the shores of Galilee. Now we have account after account of His healing the masses. Not one time in the ministry of Jesus did He withhold healing from anyone. It is also not recorded in Scripture that He actually placed infirmity or illness upon anyone to instruct them. 

This is what Jesus ministry consisted of:

Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. Matthew 4:23

Jesus only went about preaching the good news, teaching God's way of doing things and healing all who came to Him. Why don't we see Him bringing disease to the masses to cause them to turn away from rebellion or pride? The reason is because that is not who Jesus is. So if He never used sickness to instruct Israelites then what makes us think He has changed and is using disease to teach us? Tradition may say He does but they are misinformed. 

Religion and tradition do not actually know Him. They may know about Him but they don't understand His goodness. So it is clear that sickness and disease is not God's training method for anyone. So how does God teach us? What about the chastening of the Lord?  How does He correct us? To be continued in the next post...stay tuned for these answers to come. 

Thanks so much for reading. I pray this teaching helped resolve any doubts about God's goodness. I trust the post blessed you. Thanks to all those who share this with others and have signed up via email.

Focus on the finish work and live free!

He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed. Isaiah 53:3-5

"Jesus knew now that His work had been accomplished, and the Hebrew Scriptures were being fulfilled. 

Jesus: I am thirsty. 

A jar of sour wine had been left there, so they took a hyssop branch with a sponge soaked in the vinegar and put it to His mouth. When Jesus drank, He spoke: 

Jesus: It is finished!" John 19:28-30 Voice

The price for our healing is paid in full. We can now freely receive from Him. This is wonderful news. This should make every born again heart shout with resounding praise. The best way to receive is to get our focus off our circumstances, off our experiences, and off traditions and objections. We should instead look intently at His provision. At times however, we have hindrances that try and weigh us down. Their primary objective is to get us off focus of Christ's finished work. These weights typically compel us to center on ourselves.

What are these weights? Many ideas will immediately rush into our minds. Is it sin? That's got to be the biggest weight, right? Actually, sin is not a weight. Read Hebrews 12:1

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 

Weights and sins seem to be distinguished apart from each other here. Besides sin was dealt with by Jesus. If our sin presently makes God withhold from us then God would be punishing us after Jesus already bore the full punishment for our sins. God is never punishing us. Now to be clear. Sins do still have natural consequences and they bring about a corrupting influence upon us. So the "punishment" some sense is not God withholding blessing or afflicting them. It is the direct consequence of a foolish decision. 

So if it's not sin then what are these hindering weights? I believe they are three major hindrances that can apply to many areas in our daily lives. I want to expose these weights to the light of God's love and grace and let them slip off our lives. 

1. Unbelief

Unbelief is a weight that pressures us to reject God's Word. It brings us to a place where we say no to God. God's healing flow is hindered when we reject it. 

And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.  And he was amazed at their unbelief. Mark 6:5-6a

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief... Hebrews 3:12a

Unbelief is an evil heart. Why? Because it rejects the love and goodness and grace of God. What is the key to lay aside this weight?

Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people. 

Mark 6:6b

Jesus cures unbelief by teaching the Word. It is simply taking God at His Word. When we accept His Word as truth, this weight is removed. It simply falls away. 

2. Strife

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.             James 3:16

Strife is that fussing and always offended, and always seeking its own way mentality. We see here that where strife is evil follows. This fussy attitude or way of thinking harms one's health. It will hinder the healing flow. Yes, the healing is accomplished. Yet, if one persists in this thinking pattern they're stepping away from the flow to focus on their, "Right to be right," if you will. How do we lay aside this weight?

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Philippians 2:3

Esteeming others over yourself is the key. In other words giving others the right of way. It is walking in His love. We can love with His love because He first loved us. Trust God to take care of you and be a blessing to others. Then the, I must fight and fuss thinking, loses its appeal and this weight will fall by the wayside. 

3. Unforgiveness

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13

Walking in unforgiveness towards others hinders us and actually has detrimental effects on our health. Read what Pastor Joseph Prince wrote about forgiveness here. Again, healing is a finished work. Yet if one harbors unforgiveness it is like grasping a live electric wire and continually holding onto it. All the while asking for medical treatment for the burns afflicted.  Medical assistance couldn't do anything until the wire is relinquished. That's why we need to let things go. Don't hold onto offense, it produces bitterness. Unforgiveness is really like drinking poison to make another sick. What is the key to freedom from this weight? 

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you

Ephesians 4:32

As we have already been forgiven, we should forgive. Grace supplied us with forgiveness. We just respond with the forgiveness God already gave us, towards others. This allows this weight to fall away effortlessly.

Now we know how to be free from these weights we can run the grace race and finish our course. We can freely receive all God has for us in this life. Thanks again for taking the time to read these articles. I pray this post has blessed you. Please consider sharing with others if this has blessed you. At the top right you can sign up via email so you won't miss any posts. May the Lord bless you this week. 

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