"Tested Through Time"

"They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness." (Psalms 111:8)

 Okay, so yesterday I heard the same message, but this time I know who gave it, it was Pastor Jon. There is no doubt I understand that it is so, yet I am always taking myself to the woodshed; if you know what I mean. I think it is just how we are wired, where it just doesn't feel right to be set free unless we do something somehow to help pay for our freedom. That is why so many of the cults are so successful and have people in such a stronghold, they use works as the means for salvation, which makes them feel right at home. Take a look at the very first example, which was Adam and Eve who tried to cover up their nakedness with leaves; no matter how many leaves they used to cover up, they still needed to hide and they still were ashamed of their nakedness. That is how it works with works, you can never do enough and there is always going to need more to be done. You think of all of sacrifices that were made for sin, they were only a temporary covering, and none of those sacrifices actually took the sins of the people away; not like the blood of Jesus Christ, which washes all my sins away, forever! That is what Pastor Jon was trying to explain yesterday, that we have been set free from the law; we are free to do whatever we want, because there is no more requirement for us to be saved, other than believing in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ. Does that mean that we are free to sin? It means that we are set free from sin, so why would we want to mess up a good thing and not take advantage of all the blessings that come from following Jesus? That is really what it is all about: to be able to walk in the victory that He has given us, not to get tangled up in the things that will make us feel defeat. We are above all of that now, so why make to rule over us? That is all that Paul was trying to say, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1-2) As Jesus said, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:36) We are no longer under the law, but we are in Christ, who fulfilled the law and all of its ordinances. Real life feels pretty good...

"Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does that mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law." (Romans 3:27-31) NLT