Yes, you read right, but before you get too upset, you can substitute ‘watching porn’ with any other sinful act. When not gossiping is a sin. When not stealing is a sin. When not lying is a sin. When not coveting is a sin. When not sinning is a sin. That probably didn’t help you much in regards to not getting upset but please note I am not going to advocating watching porn, stealing, coveting, living in sin or anything like that. Quite the opposite actually!

This article is actually not even about watching porn. It is simply about getting the full perspective on self-righteousness. What is self-righteousness? It is the degree of right standing and justification people try to earn before God based on their own performance and ability to do good and refrain from doing bad. It’s basically saying you can make it yourself, you don’t need Jesus’ righteousness. It is unbelief in the finished work of the cross in action. It’s saying Christ’s perfect work needs your help to improve it.

Most people think self-righteousness is only about them doing good, the holier-than-thou attitude, but it is also about their effort to NOT DO THE BAD. The law has two sides: One side instructs in what to do, while the other side instructs in what not to do. Thou Shall vs. Thou Shall Not. When you live self-righteously, it means you are trying to obey all the Thou Shall Commands AS WELL AS not breaking any Thou Shall Not rules. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but when you’re living under the law, the very action of trying to not break the rules becomes a sin. Why? Because the law is not of faith (Gal 3:12) and whatever is not of faith is sin. (Rom 14:23) So, to put it bluntly, if you believe your ability to stop watching porn will justify you before God, your very effort of abstaining becomes your unjustification, it becomes a sin. Your own best efforts are like filthy rags. (Isa 64:6) Jesus is the only one who justifies us before God.

Rom 10:4            For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Jesus is the end of the LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jesus is the end of trying in your own effort to do good and not do bad in order to gain righteousness and relate to God. You are saved (brought back into relationship with God) by grace through faith and it is not of your own works. (Eph 2:8-9) It’s got nothing to do with the amount of good things you do, nor does it have anything to with your ability to not do bad things.

Trying to qualify yourself for something you were disqualified from by birth is useless. You were born in sin. No amount of self-effort to stop sinful actions can remove sin from you. Only Christ can remove that. The law is a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ system. That is part of its purpose. (Rom 3:20, 1 Cor 15:56). The law is the very thing that gives life to sin. (Rom 7:8-9). That is why Jesus ended the law, to cut off sin’s life at the source. Faith in Him puts an end to your effort and you can enter into His rest with Him.

So what is my motivation to stop a sin I am struggling with if I am saved and thus no longer under law, under the commandment to not do something? Well, my answer is LOVE! Love lives in me, through me and love gives me life. Sin only destroys life and in Christ we have been called to preserve life. (Matt 5:13) You will only preserve something you love. When you find something of great value which you love, you do everything you can to preserve it. Imagine a man who bought a classic car. He polishes it, washes it, and takes really good care of it because he loves this car. Can you imagine this man taking a sledgehammer and knocking dents into his prized car, making it worthless? No, it would the most unnatural thing for him to do. Sin is the opposite expression of love, and when we are motivated by love, sin becomes the most unnatural thing for us to do.

My wife and our marriage is one of my great loves. I love my wife and do everything I can to preserve both her and our relationship. Will a porn addiction preserve the life of our marriage? No. Will anger and fits of rage preserve us? No. Will any sin ever preserve anything? Never. The sting of sin is death. Sin will kill the things you hold most dear. Decide what it is you love, what it is you value, and decide if you want it preserved or not.

Gal 5:13            For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but THROUGH LOVE SERVE ONE ANOTHER.

The first step to living out this love, is to realize you are loved regardless of your shortcomings (Rom 5:8). Christ’s sole constant motivation was His love for us and His desire to preserve us. As a result He lived a sinless life. When you live for love and the preservation of what you love, sin is the most unnatural thing to do. Live to love and love as Christ loved you, and sin will have no hold over you.

In the next article I am going to swing the pendulum all the way to the other side and look at ‘When praying for the sick is a sin.’

Yours in love!

Cornel

When I was young(er) there was an animated TV series about a superhero called ‘Captain Planet’. I personally think he was the dumbest superhero ever invented. Lately I have come to realize that much of the church world sees God in a very similar way to Captain Planet. I call this distorted view of God, “The Captain Planet Syndrome.”

To start explaining this, I might need to give you bit of info about Captain Planet. He is a superhero whose main goal is to eradicate pollution on earth and there are 5 teenagers who need to combine their power-rings to summon Captain Planet. The reason why he is the dumbest superhero ever is because his only weakness is POLLUTION! The one thing that he is purposed to destroy is the very thing that makes him powerless. How dumb is that?! In every episode Captain Planet would be summoned to help fight pollution, but will inevitably get in contact with some pollution and instantly he looses all his powers and abilities. Then it’s up the teenagers to save Captain Planet and clean him up so he can regain his power and save the day.

Now when it comes to the Captain Planet Syndrome many believers walk around with, they view God in much the same way. They see God as having the ability to destroy sin, forgive them and save them, but they also see sin as the one thing that stops God from working. How often do you hear something like this from the pulpit: “God can’t do anything for you until you stop sinning.” Or “If you want God to work in your life, you must get rid of your sin first because that stops His power from working.” Then they imply a lot of human effort to essentially SAVE GOD FROM YOUR SINS so He is no longer powerless to help you. You have to work hard to remove all traces of sin otherwise God can’t do anything. Yeah, right!

Sin is not God’s kryptonite. He is not powerless against it. It is not the one thing that can defeat Him! Your sin does not stop His power from working. Your sin is not stronger than God. Your sin does not separate you any longer because Jesus bridged the gap! Your sin is defeated. Your sin is forgiven. Do not make God out to be as pathetic as Captain Planet. His power is limitless, His love eternal, His life indestructible and His family is the focus of His being! He is also not summoned or conjured up by human effort, He is the always abiding, living and indwelling Eternal Spirit, fully able to keep you, save and love you!

Now that is a superhero! Where sin abounds, GRACE ABOUNDS MUCH MORE!

Cornel

Face it, we have all been there. We mess up so badly and think God is utterly disappointed with us. We entertain thoughts of condemnation and guilt over our actions and feel totally unworthy of God’s grace. Whenever I have felt like this, these 8 verses have always helped me get over myself and run to Dad! They will help you too I know it!

Isa 43:25            “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.

 God blotted out your transgression FOR HIS SAKE, not yours. Sure it’s great for you too, but God did it for his own sake, because if He didn’t, He would have had no other choice but to kill you. So rest assured, God made the choice to not kill you.

Jer 31:34            “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

We will know the Lord? How? Because we will come to realize He is utterly good because He forgave us when we didn’t deserve it.

Jer 33:8     ‘I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.

ALL means ALL! All iniquity, all transgression, all sin pardoned and cleansed by Him

Rom 4:7-8            “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”

You are blessed! Why? Because your lawless deeds are forgiven, your sins are covered and sin is not imputed to you! What a Saviour!

Hbr 8:12            “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

God has already chosen to have mercy on your unrighteousness by forgiving you and not remembering your sin or lawless deeds. Then on top of that He graciously offered you the free gift of Christ’s Righteousness!

Hbr 10:17            then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Then He adds, for the 6th time now, “I am not remembering your lawless deeds or sins.”

2Cr 5:17-19            Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

The way God reconciled you to Himself was to NOT count your sins against you. If He were counting your sins against you, you would not have been able to be  reconciled!

Psa 103:10            He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

And lastly my personal favorite! God HAS NOT done to any of us what our sins deserved. He has not thrown the book at us, He is not holding the law over our heads, He is not condemning or finding fault with us. He is shouting it all throughout His Word: “I have removed the record of your sin from My mind for all time! I love you with an everlasting love!”

How great, oh how great is our Dad!

Cornel

We are saved by grace through faith and it is not of ourselves (Eph 2:8-9). Since it’s not of ourselves, it’s not of ourselves. That means your behaviour has nothing to do with it. Simple, right! But what happens when a believer does use grace as a licence to sin?

As sons we have a covenant with our Father that is not based on our performance. All our sins have been forgiven and He is not keeping count of what we are doing wrong. If you don’t believe me, try believing Him. Read Isa 43:25, Jer 31:34, Heb 8:12, Heb 10:16-17, 2 Cor 5:19, Rom 4:7-8 to name but a few. Since He keeps repeating Himself, I believe He is pretty serious about the things He has said. So serious that He would rather have His Name be put to shame than violate His Word. (Ps 138:2) We need to realise how serious our Father takes covenants. There is actually a great example of this found in the Bible. Samson, one of the many men appointed by God to bring deliverance to Israel also had a covenant that was not based on his performance or behaviour.

The stipulation of Samson’s covenant with our Father was regarding his hair. As long as Samson didn’t cut his hair, he would be supernaturally strengthened by the Spirit of God to bring deliverance to Israel. But when we actually take a step back and look at Samson’s life, we see him using this covenant to do whatever he felt like doing. Let me give you few examples:

• After gambling and losing a bet with a bunch of Philistines at his wedding (to a Philistine woman), Samson went and murdered 30 men, took their clothes and possessions and used that to repay his debt. (Jdg 14:12-13, Jdg 14:19)

• When Samson’s father-in-law refused to let him see his wife, Samson went and caught 300 foxes and burned down the Philistines’ fields. This in turned caused the Philistines to murder his wife and father-in-law. (Jdg 15:1-6)

• When Samson’s own people arrested him for making their oppression under the Philistines worse instead of better through his actions, he broke free of his bonds and killed 1000 Philistines. (Jdg 15:10-15)

• Samson went to Gaza and slept with a prostitute. The Gazites plotted to kill him over this so he ripped their city gates out of the ground and carried them to the top of a hill. (Jdg 16:1-3)

• Finally, he lied about the source of his power 3 times before giving it up. (Jdg 16:6-15)

So Samson was a gambling, thieving, murdering, aggressive & anger-driven liar who slept around with prostitutes. Very holy… The interesting thing about all these instances is that the Spirit never left Samson. Even though his behaviour was far from moral, upright or holy. He remained Israel’s judge, empowered by the Spirit. Why is that? Because he never shaved his head. The covenant was never broken therefore the promise defined by the covenant was always in force. The moment Delilah had his head shaved, the covenant was broken and the Spirit left Samson.

He had his eyes gouged out and was thrown into prison. The man who was appointed to deliver Israel’s from the Philistines ended up to be their prisoner and was further humiliated by having to entertain the Philistines at a royal party. (Jdg 16:23-25). Through his own carefree actions, Samson robbed himself of fulfilling his destiny as Israel’s deliverer. Yet the moment his hair grew back the stipulation of the covenant was again met and the Spirit returned to him. He then famously pushed the two pillars over and killed more Philistines in his death than in his life.

The tragedy of Samson’s life teaches us that even though our covenant is not kept in place by our actions, sin is still the seed of destruction in our lives. Samson’s hair grew back; his eyes and destiny, not so much. We too risk our lives, relationships, health, reputations and destinies by using grace as a licence to do whatever we want.

Gal 6:7-8            Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (NKJV)

Tts 2:11-13            For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. (NIV)

Grace teaches you to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions. It trains you to live self-controlled and upright. Not because that is what will uphold your covenant, but because God did not sacrifice His Son to save you from corruption only for you to stay in corruption. Saying ‘No’ to sin is exactly what grace empowers you to do. If you are using grace to say ‘Yes’ to sin, you are not being taught by the grace that brings salvation. There is no salvation in sin, there is only salvation from sin. You can be genuinely saved and call yourself free but fail to see that where you are in sin, you are still not free. Therefore freedom is not measured by not having any rules you can’t break, but in how little sin still has dominion over you.

Be Free!

Cornel

Ps. For more on this topic, see ‘Whose Grace Message Are You Listening To?‘

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This the follow-up part on my previous article about confessing sin and how that is NOT the way to overcome sin. This article was written by my friend Daniel Silva and will show you how to overcome sin as a believer. Enjoy! Oh, his website can found here: http://saintsnotsinners.org

These are things that I live by, that have completely changed my life and set me free. I went for 6 years, being trapped in sin and hating myself for it because I knew God wanted me to do good, but I couldn’t do it. That’s reminiscent of Romans 7, the chapter that most Christians will use to say, “See look, my constant struggle with sin is normal and Paul went through it too!”

But if you read the context of the chapter, Paul is talking to people under the law, not people under grace. The previous chapter in Romans 6, is where Paul was talking to people under grace about sin. If Paul was talking about his current situation in Romans 7, he completely contradicts himself in Romans 6.

Romans 6: “I’m free from sin! It doesn’t control me anymore. I’m no longer a slave to sin!”

Romans 7: “I know the good I want to do, but I cannot carry it out because sin lives in me.”

It’s a contradiction if Paul was talking about his current life, rather than his life under the law, in which many Christians are still living.

This post is kind of lengthy, but I hope it will set you free and move you into walking in constant victory, instead of constant defeat.

Romans 8:29 says that we are being CONFORMED to Christ’s likeness, not being TRANSFORMED into it, as many Christians think and call “sanctification”. We are already like Jesus is (1 Jn. 4:17), but we are learning how to walk it out. Getting rid of your sin is not what makes you holy, being holy is what makes you get rid of your sin; because holy people don’t sin, sinners sin.

If you think you’re a sinner, you will be stuck in your sin, because you believe it’s who you are and it’s your nature to sin. If you know you’re holy, you will be stuck in holiness because you will know that sinning is contrary to who you are. Does that mean you will lose your ability to sin? No. Adam sinned without a sin nature, so can we. But the more wrapped up we are in who we are, the less likely we are to do things that are contrary to our character. But that goes both ways:

The more wrapped up I am in how much of a sinner I think I am, the less likely I am to do things that are holy.

The more wrapped up I am in how holy I know I am, the less likely I am to do things that are sinful.

With a sin nature I have to try not to sin.

With a holy nature I have to try to sin, because sin now becomes a choice, as opposed to being prone to it.

The Bible says, ”BE holy because I am holy,” (1 Peter 1:14-16) It doesn’t say, “BECOME holy because I am holy.”

Do you see the difference? You are already holy (Hebrews 10:10), so being holy is the natural way for a Christian to live. As opposed to, “You’re a smelly sinner who needs to stop sinning so you can become holy.”

Here’s the rest of the verse:

“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Some things I want to point out in this verse.

1. Peter said, “do not conform to the evil desires…” One of the definitions for “conform” is “adapt”. So this can be said another way, “Do not adapt to the evil desires…” The implication is that they did not currently have those evil desires, therefore they would have to adapt them. And the rest of the verse proves it…
2. One of the things I used to always miss while reading the Bible were the teeny words that gave meaning to the entire verse. Often times we are so determined to find something deep that we miss the treasure on the surface. Peter said, “Do not conform (adapt) to the evil desires you… had…when you… lived… in ignorance. He didn’t say that they currently had evil desires and they must pray and fast for God to make them holy. He said that when they used to live in ignorance of God, they… had… evil desires. He does not say it as if they still have them. I want to make that clear. When you were an old creation, you had evil desires… but you are a new creation in Christ. “Behold! All things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

Many Christians still think they have evil desires when they don’t. It doesn’t mean you can’t think bad things on your own or that every bad thought is a devil, you still have to manage your thoughts and take every thought captive. But your nature is to have a mind that is set on the things above, because you have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), and Christ does not have, for example, a lustful mind. You have to learn to manage your own thoughts. But, bless God! You already have everything needed to do so (2 Peter 1:3).

I’ll make myself vulnerable. Sometimes I get lustful thoughts *gasp*. Sometimes the “pull,” or whatever you want to call it, gets incredibly strong to where it goes from a passing thought, into a full on battle. I used to think that that was my sinful, evil nature, trying to lead me into sin and destruction, so I would begin to beg God for forgiveness, and tear myself to bits with my words. But in reality, it’s a demonic attack, and that’s when you start exercising your authority (Luke 10:19) and commanding the devil to leave and take that stupid stuff with him. The trick of the devil is just that, when you think it’s you, you won’t exercise your authority over him, the real culprit. It’s like if a guy broke into your house and stole all of your furniture, and then convinced you that it was you who did it. You’re not going to get angry and go after him if you think you’re the one to blame. Make sense?

Other times it’s not a devil, but my mind begins to wonder, and I have to start taking thoughts captive and say, “Nope. I’m not even going to go there.”

Just to be clear, while I’m on the subject of lust. Having a desire to have sex is not evil; God gave us a sex drive. But in that, we also have to learn how to be in control of it. Back before I knew any better, I’d get frustrated and upset when I started thinking about that stuff, and go, “No! That’s evil and gross! I’m so dumb! Forgive me for having a lustful heart, Jesus!”

Having a sex drive does not make you evil, but it does need to be managed, and as Paul put it, we have to make our bodies our slave instead of becoming a slave to our bodies.

But one thing that has helped me tremendously in managing my thoughts, is learning that I’m already holy. Now I know that it is not my nature to lust after girls, because that nature and those desires are dead (Galatians 5:24), so I can easily overcome those moments where I start to.

Though not every battle is easy, every battle is winnable (2 Cor. 2:14), because you have allpower and authority, the devil has none. The devil only has authority when you give it to him; you give him permission to harm you when you come into agreement with the lies he tells you. You being a sinner is one of those lies.

This knowledge of identity makes sin so much easier to battle because it’s not a struggle of, “I want to do good, but I know I’m going to lose this battle because I’m evil!” It’s a victory because you begin to live out of Christ’s victory and say, “I’m a saint, and saints don’t do that.”

This is usually the part where people say, “But do you still sin?” Yes. “So, doesn’t that make you a sinner?” Nope, my identity is in Him. Who I am is based on His works, not my own. Why? So no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-10). If who I am were based on what I do, I can legally rub it in your face if I obey more rules than you do. But since my actions do not give me my identity, His do, I cannot brag about anything but what He has done because the same thing that is available to me is available to every single human being on this planet, whenever they choose to have faith in His work.

That’s how Paul could say, “If anyone boasts, let them boast in the Lord,”(1 Corinthians 1:30-31) because Jesus is the one who did it all for us, not us. We can only boast in His work because our work and performance cannot add to or take away from what He has already done. So now we have two choices: refuse His work and continue in our own (also known as the law of sin and death, or self-righteousness), or rest in His work and accept that we are already sanctified and holy, and are already His righteousness (Hebrews 4:10-11, Hebrews 10:10, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

You are not a sinner who is prone to sin, you are a saint who is prone to righteousness, because righteousness is who you are, and the you that was prone to sin is dead (Romans 6:2,Romans 6:7, Romans 6:10-11, Galatians 5:24, Colossians 2:11). The reason you cannot be a sinner, even if you sin, is because who you are is no longer based on what you do, who you are is based on what He’s done. Remember: You are dead! It’s no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you. If you believe that, but also believe you are a sinner, you believe Christ is a sinner because He is the one living in you and through you. We are not God’s righteousness because we did something for it, we are God’s righteousness because He did something for it and we chose to receive.

It’s not just by grace you have been saved, it’s by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10). That simply means that you have to put your faith in what grace has already made available. Grace is what made this stuff available, but faith is what makes this stuff a reality that you will walk out. Just like grace made salvation available, but faith is what makes it a reality in someone’s life.

It is simply repenting (changing how you think) and putting all of your faith in His work, and none of your faith in your own works, whether good or bad. His finished work outranks your good work, His finished work outranks your bad work. You can never sin enough to be a sinner because you can never taint the righteousness of God, which is who you are (2 Corinthians 5:21). He has forever perfected those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14), and yet, you have already been sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ (Hebrews 10:10).

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)

Not by the effort of your prayers.

Not by the length of your fasting.

Not by the volume of your crying.

Not by how genuinely you sing in church.

Not by how well you can avoid sin.

Not by how often you read the Bible.

Not by how well you quote the bible.

Not by how well you preach the bible.

Not by how well you learn the bible.

But only by renewing your mind and changing the way you think. If you are struggling with sin, change the way you think. Renew your mind. That simply means to bring your mind into a newcovenant way of thinking about things. That you are not the victim of sin, but the overcomer of it through Jesus’ finished work. That is how you will be transformed and begin living it out.

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I know there are many verses that specifically say our sins have been forgiven. Please note that I am not trying to disprove scripture. I just want to let you see forgiveness from a different perspective in order to see the extent of God’s grace that is lavished on us. The way I personally understand what happened at the cross, has made me come to believe that our sins weren’t forgiven. Let me go through my deductions with you:

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death (NKJV)

The wages of sin is death. We all know this well. Now read this verse together with the following one:

Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NKJV)

One of the root meanings of the word forgive in the original Greek means to disregards. So if God were to forgive our sins, it would mean He had to disregard them. If it were true that He could just disregard or forgive them, then why did Jesus have to die? If the penalty for sin is death and Jesus died to pay that penalty, it tells me that God didn’t disregard or forgive our sins. But why do all those verses say our sins were forgiven? The answer lies in the word sin. The confusion lies in the English language. Whenever we hear the word “sin”, we immediately think about some action or deed that transgresses the laws of God. Our minds are somehow trained to think of sin as a verb. In English, we only have on word for both sin, the noun, and sin, the verb. The verb refers to the action of committing a sin and the noun refers to a person’s state of guilt because of the trespass, their collective sinfulness, or their universal inability to “hit the mark”. In light of this common confusion, let’s look a little closer at a few of those well known verses:

Acts 5:31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins [noun]. (NKJV)

Acts 13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins [noun]. (NKJV)

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins [noun] and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. (NKJV)

Rom 4:7-8 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds [noun] are forgiven, And whose sins [noun] are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin [noun].” (NKJV)

Col 1:14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins [noun]. (NKJV)

Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins [noun], according to the riches of His grace (NKJV)

All the words ‘sin, sins and lawless deeds’ in these verses are not all the same Greek word, but they are all nouns. Not one of them refers to the action of committing a sin technically. Now I know some of you will say that is merely semantics, what am I really on about? This is what I mean: Your sins were NOT forgiven, YOU WERE! You received forgiveness, not your sins. People are forgiven, people are set free, and people are redeemed. Their every sin gets punished unto death in Christ Jesus. The wages of sin is death and Jesus died to pay them. His death secured forgiveness for you. When you believe, you become forgiven. That means God will ‘disregard’ you when He has to enforce final judgment on His great day. When you stand before Him, He can disregard you because the wages for your sins have already been paid, you don’t owe anything for them.

So instead of thinking that every act of committing a sin needs to be forgiven, rather realize that all sins have to be punished unto death. If your sins are punished in Christ, you are forgiven, regardless of the action and also regardless of when the act is, was or will be committed. The noun-sin, the sinfulness that resulted because of the actions, the guilt and the inability to hit the mark are disregarded in Christ. You might need to say this to yourself a few times to let it sink in. Say it out loud too: “I am forgiven.” Why do you need to realize this? Because as long as you think actions are forgiven, actions won’t bother you. As long as you think sin gets forgiven, sinning won’t bother you. You will just commit them over and over because they can just be forgiven, right? Once you realize people get forgiven, but that somebody had to die in order for you to be forgiven, you might want to honour the person who died for you by thinking twice about what you are about to do. If it wasn’t for Jesus, you would have had to go through what He went through. You’re only free if you choose to live free. Grace gives you the choice, now make it.

Glory, Honour and Praise to Jesus!

Cornel

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Please note that this article is by no means meant to condemn anybody, but to actually show you the true purpose of the law. Now I know the whole thing about missing the mark as the definition of sin. This is not that teaching. I do not want to show you where you miss the mark but instead I want to show you the true size of the target the law requires you to shoot at if you choose to live under it. We all have our own ideas about the size of the target, where we draw the line between sin and not sin. But to be perfectly honest, the size we think the target is, is nowhere near its true size according to scripture. I am going to show you how people try to make the size of the law’s target bigger.

“I might tell a little lie now and then, but at least I don’t steal.” Have you ever heard people compare what they think is acceptable and what is not? Both lying and stealing are included in the law, it doesn’t matter how big and small the lie or the value of the item stolen is. Reasoning like that is their way of making the target bigger. But that is of no use really.

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” (NKJV)

You can’t decide what you think is sin and what is not. If you choose to live under law, you have to live by every single law. Others make the target bigger this way, “I have only stolen once, and never again.” The law gives no second chances. In fact, ‘once’ has some pretty serious consequences.

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. (NKJV)

Only doing one thing wrong makes you guilty of every single law. How big is that target now? Do you still think you can hit it and be righteous enough to have right standing before God? Let’s go a little smaller. Have you ever heard the term ‘habitual sin’? This is sin that people repeatedly commit even though they know it is wrong. They usually try to make the target bigger by classifying one sin as worse than the next. What do you think is worse: Compulsive lying or long term adultery? Or, driving while speaking on the phone or driving over the speed limit? You might be wondering why I put those in there. It’s because I want to show you a different kind of habitual sin.

Ezra 7:26 Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him. (NKJV)

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. (NKJV)

How many times a day do you exceed the speed limit in your car? Do you speak on the phone while driving? Do you drive without your seatbelt? In most countries, all three those things are considered breaking the law. If you do it daily, that would also make it habitual. You know it’s wrong but do it anyway. I bet that target just got way smaller right? But wait, the next sin I am going to show you is actually often overlooked and makes the target even smaller.

James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. (NKJV)

This verse makes it sin to not do what you know to be good and right. That means if you turn up your radio and ignore the beggar at the traffic light, you are committing a sin. If you see a sick person and don’t pray for them, you are committing a sin. If you get too much change at the shop and don’t give it back, you commit a sin. If you see a need and don’t meet it, you are sinning. How small is that target the law paints now? And I haven’t even used the lust = adultery or hate = murder spiel. We have one arrow to shoot at the target the law paints, and most of us shot that arrow before we even knew we had to hit the target. Missing the target on the one and only try you get means you fall short.

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (NKJV)

All means everybody. There is not one person who can honestly say they can live righteous enough to have any sort of right standing before God, no matter how pious or holy they think they are. Trying to keep the law in order to have right standing before God which leads to eternal life, is of no use.

Gal 3:21 For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law (NKJV)

There is no law that can give life. Even Jesus, who kept the law perfectly died and went to hell. The Spirit of God had to go get Him and resurrect Him back to life. He could be resurrected because the sin that was punished in Him was your sin. Once He was punished and sent to hell, the punishment for all your sin was dealt with. Once the punishment was complete, He could be resurrected based on His innocence. No matter how good a person thinks they can be, trying to hit the law’s tiny target with one arrow is impossible. It is much easier to believe in Christ and be united in His death and resurrection to eternal life, than to try and shoot at that target. To end off, honestly take a good look at the target painted by the law and decide if you are going to risk taking the shot yourself, or will you instead believe in Jesus’ perfect shot on your behalf. Put down the bow and arrow and accept the gift Jesus secured by hitting the target for us! Secondly, stop telling others to aim for a target you can’t hit yourself, and instead tell them there was somebody who hit the target for them already!

Thank you Father for Your Grace!

Cornel

This is a longer one, but worth it!

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

1. When you fellowship with God, do you confess your sins to Him and ask for His forgiveness?
2. Do you do it every time you pray?
3. Do you feel guilty if you don’t confess and seek forgiveness?
4. Do you think you have to do this every day?
5. Do you make a list of every single sin you committed in a day and ask forgiveness for each one or is it a more general confessing and asking?
6. How do you do it? Do you acknowledge what you did wrong, say sorry, ask forgiveness and then feel that God is happy with you again?
7. Why? Were you taught to do it?
8. If so, did you check to see if what you were taught was true or did you just swallow it hook line and sinker?
9. Is confession and asking forgiveness your idea of repentance?

Did you answer ‘yes’ to a few of these questions? If you did, you really need to read the further and answer a few more questions for your own benefit.

Rom 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. (NKJV)

Wouldn’t it be awesome if God didn’t impute our sin to us? We wouldn’t need to confess or ask forgiveness anymore if God stopped holding our sins against us. We would be blessed for sure as this verse says. But God is a just and righteous judge, so it is wouldn’t be possible for Him to not count our sins against us, right? Wrong!

2 Cor 5:19 that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, (NKJV)

It seems like God isn’t imputing our sins to us if we are in Christ. Now if He is not holding our sins against us, are we blessed as Romans 4:8 says? Of course. So what sins do you need to confess if God is not charging you with any of them?

Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (NKJV)

So Jesus is the end of the law of righteousness, the end of the measure of right standing before God based on a person’s moral performance, a person’s ability to keep the law. If He ended the law, meaning it is not applicable any longer, why should I keep measuring myself according to it? Easy, I shouldn’t and I don’t.

Rom 4:15 the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. (NKJV)

Rom 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law (NKJV)

Many people believe when we sin we deserve God’s wrath because we broke His laws. But sin is only sin if there is a measure that defines what it is. That measure was the law and it has come to an end. Where there is no law, no transgressions are counted against us. If no transgressions are imputed, there is no need to confess them since there aren’t any to confess. If there aren’t any sins held against us that we need to confess, we also don’t need to worry about God’s wrath. There is only wrath when transgressions are counted. If no sin is counted against you, you also do not need to ask forgiveness. But how can all this be? How can God just end the law and not count people’s sins against them any longer?

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

Jesus was made into sin for you. God counted every single wretched vile sin of every single person throughout time and history against Jesus. All the wicked rebellious sin of the entre world was tied together in one person in one place at one time and that gave God the opportunity to punish all sin in one go. All the wrath God had against all the sin of the entire human race, was poured out completely on Jesus and He was put to death.

Heb 10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, (NKJV)

One sacrifice paid for all sins FOREVER. So if it is paid for, it is dealt with. How many of your sins were included in sins Jesus died for? All of them? If you said yes, then don’t you think God knew every sin you would ever commit and remembered to count all of them against Jesus? If He already counted your sin against Jesus and poured out His wrath, then He doesn’t need to do the same thing for you. If He counts your sin against you and Jesus, then Jesus died for nothing. Since He doesn’t count them against us, stop trying to count them against yourself by confessing them to God.

At the point of salvation, we merely accepted and believed that Christ took our punishment already. When we believed that, we were reborn and created as new beings. We were made the righteousness of God in Christ. All our unrighteousness was taken away and we now have the same right standing before God as Jesus has. How can that be? Because when Jesus became sin for us, the righteousness He had from perfectly keeping the law, was given as a free gift to all mankind.

Rom 5:18-19 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. (NKJV)

In light of this, let us look again at 1 John 1:9.

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

Have you been cleansed from all unrighteousness? Yes. So if you have been cleansed, does that mean you have been forgiven? Logically, yes. If you were forgiven, when did you confess your sins? The day you said, “Jesus, I can’t do this. I trust You to save me.” That was your confession. Now that you know God doesn’t count your sins against you anymore, you can also stop counting them. God did His job perfectly. Just trust Him.

But what about sinning again after salvation? That doesn’t change the fact that ALL your sins were forgiven already. You don’t need to confess “new” sins. When you do, all you are saying is that God apparently forgot to count those ones against Jesus. Since Jesus isn’t going to die again, you have a problem if God messed up and forgot to count even one of your sins against Jesus. Rest assured that God didn’t mess up. He forgave ALL your sin, even the ones you are going to commit tomorrow. Does that mean I can just go out and sin? Technically yes, but just remember that Jesus removed the punishment, the eternal separation sin brought between us and God. He didn’t remove the consequence of sin. If I cheat on my wife, the consequence is that my marriage is over. If I steal or murder, the consequence is that I go to jail and become an outcast from society. Does that mean God is punishing me? No. It means I sowed destruction in my own life. The thief on the cross next to Jesus was forgiven but he still stayed and died on his cross. Jesus’ sacrifice didn’t make you immune against consequence, it made you immune from ever falling out of right standing before God.

That’s enough for now. I have already given you enough reasons to go thank God for being so awesome!

Glory to Glory!

Cornel Marais

Ps. If you think I am saying go out and sin, you missed the entire point of the article!  Rom 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

Click here to read a preview of Cornel’s new book, “So You Think Your Mind Is Renewed?” If you’re tired of religion, legalism and the traditions of man, this book will be a great starting block for you to starting living the life you were destined to live in Christ!