By Ken Fletcher
“Everyone who believes in Jesus receives His eternal life. Everyone! Regardless of their prior or present performance and, regardless of their future performance! They are born into the life of God perfect and entire–all of us believers are! We stand in the presence of God now! Not based upon what we’re doing, but based upon who we are in Christ!
It was impossible for us to reach God before. No way back to His life! Separated! Doomed eternally! You think not? Then why did Jesus do what He did? He brought us eternal life by His death and resurrection from the dead. An act of God! Because we did not have it! And had no way to get it back!
We were not involved in God’s rescue mission. It was ALL God! And, so it is now with us. It is supposed to be all about Jesus now! Not focusing on our shortcomings. But focusing on who we are together with Him! Bringing out who we are on the inside to the outside. Living in oneness with Jesus.
This it the true meaning of holiness. The inner man is created holy as Jesus is Holy. Perfect and entire! Sealed with the Holy Spirit. Kept entirely holy by the power of God. The born again spirit and soul is infused with God’s Spirit. The life of God flows into the believer constantly.
There is no condemnation with Jesus. Only positive leadership and wisdom. It’s ours with Him. We can access His wisdom for anything in our lives. We can find answers to complex problems that we face in this imperfect body and imperfect place.
The rest that comes from our understanding of our union with Jesus and the grace we are living in is peace. We learn to live in a place of complete trust in His word. Whether in the Bible or in our souls spoken to us by Him.
We are complete in Jesus! We are created perfect and entire in Christ. We are seated WITH Him in the heavenlies! Fact! So, people can focus on their sins or the sins of others if they want. And, they can argue about whether or not one can loose their salvation because of their sins if they want. I am going to endeavor to focus on who we really are in Christ! When we behold Him as He is inside of us, we see how we are re-created in Him. When we really know who we are in Him, who we are created to be, who we really are is like Him. In Him!
He in us, us in Him! We’re one! I would rather focus on the truth of who I am created IN Christ Jesus. As believers, in our heart of hearts we want to live from our spirits out. From our inner re-created being in Christ. But, for various reasons many times we do not get out to the outside what we have on the inside.
And, that’s what we call missing the mark. Or, otherwise known as sin. Does that change who you are in Christ? No! It does not! Especially because He already knew how you and I would miss it later on after we initially believed! And, even though He knew, He wanted us anyway!
He will never leave you or forsake you or I! That is a faithful, loving, real friend! Like no other! Who sees through all the misunderstanding and condemnation. All the failures or mis-steps. All the pride. All the selfishness. Does He understand completely? Certainly! Through and through! And, He won’t leave you anyway!
He sees through it all! He sees through it all right to your heart of hearts. The real eternal you! The one He redeemed with His own blood! How can we try and take any credit for anything apart from His grace? But, people do. My dear friend, it’s religion! That’s what it is.
The spirit of it reminds me of the religious leaders in Jesus’s day. They were so learned in the scriptures. Yes they were! So, they knew their Bible up and down! Like a lot of leaders in our day do. Think about it! They were looking face to face with God’s Messiah, Who the scriptures were all about, and did not recognize Him! Religion!
All they could see was their religious interpretations of the Word and their traditions. And, they were looking right at the fulfillment of the Word! How amazing! But, friend, religion is the very same today! It’s the same spirit! It always condemns us. When God never condemns us.
How could Father condemn us when we’re seated next to Him in Christ? We’re the reason He sent Jesus for us! The only way we could be condemned is if God condemned Christ! And that will never happen! Because, we are one with the Father also! We ARE His children! There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ, dear friend. We are God’s very own! His beloved! He gave everything to have us!
It’s absurd to think that we in ourselves could somehow complete the payment that was paid by Jesus! I remember as I boy, I would hear at church the people would testify on Wednesday nights. They would say things like, y’all pray for me that I’ll hold out till the end and make it into the City!
As if it’s up to them making it into heaven by not sinning. Basing their entrance into heaven upon how good they can perform. Going day to day, week to week, trying not to sin because it would disqualify them from heaven. I saw a fear of missing it that seemed to always loom constantly over their lives. Condemnation was present. The truth is, even when we think we’re doing good and not sinning, we are. Then, there are our willful sins. Pride and selfishness is sneaky and we can find ourselves there! Sin!
Nobody is right with God because of their performance! It’s all by God’s amazing grace! It’s all about Jesus! It’s all about the new birth into the Kingdom! It’s all about being part of the body of our Lord Jesus.–Joined with Him forever! Nothing can take you out of His body! Nothing and nobody! If there was, then our faith in Him is futile from the beginning!
Then, I see some people focusing on sin and saying, if you are in sin, you cannot go to heaven. That is false! Even the ones who say they are not living in sin, are sinning every day in one form or another! They are not recognizing it as themselves sinning. So, they have justified themselves as not being in sin. Even though, in reality, they are.
It’s possible they are in pride and falseness. A sin. So, are they not qualified to go to heaven in this state? Did Jesus move out because of their sin? What do you think?
