Chpt 8 – Standard Gospel Questions
God’s Word says He accepts you based on whether your spirit is righteous or not. Righteousness comes through confessing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. As you are born again, God gives you this brand-new spirit. Righteousness is NOT based on your actions or attitudes!
Why should a Christian live holy? Your new nature desires it! It’s compelled to live for Christ. Plus you don’t want to give the devil access to your soul and body through sin!
Sin’s Strength
God has changed your nature. (Rom. 6:2-3). You do still sin, but it’s not your nature anymore. Your spirit has been changed and you no longer enjoy it. Every born-again believer has a built-in desire to live holy (1 John 3:3). You might not be fulfilling it, but it’s there!
Romans 7:9 (NKJV) “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.”
Once upon a time, we thought we were doing okay. Then the law gave us knowledge of sin and we died! Imagine a man who does not know he has cancer. He feels fine and fully alive. But after a routine check-up and an x-ray he discovers the awful truth. The law does not create sin. It reveals the sin that is already there (Rom. 3:20).
Galatians 3:24 (NKJV) “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
The Law drove us to holiness to show the futility of self-salvation. This prepared us for the message of Christ bringing salvation as a gift. Only those who have known the oppression of the Law fully appreciate the redemption provided by Jesus as a gift. Now that Christ has come, we no longer need the custodianship of the Law (Gal. 4:4-5). To continue acting as a slave (through law-keeping) is to insult the One who died to set us free.
We have a far better tutor/guide in the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13). We don’t need external rules when we have an internal Counselor who reveals the mind of Christ and shows us the way to go. Some say the Holy Spirit convicts us through the law. “When you sin, the Holy Spirit will remind you of God’s holy commands and show you the way to go.” In other words, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of law, and not the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29). The Spirit and the law have nothing in common. The law will point out our flaws and condemn us, but the Spirit of grace will always point us to Jesus and convince us of our righteousness. The life-giving ministry of the Spirit is far more glorious than the death-dealing ministry of the law (2 Cor. 3:8-9).
Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV) “Jesus Christ is the same YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER!”
The context of this verse is that the author had just spoken about following the faith of those who have rule over us. Then he reminded us that Jesus is always the same. We can place our complete trust in Him. Why? Because He would never say one thing on Sunday and do another thing on Monday. When considering what our leaders are saying by the Spirit of God, we need to apply this test. This will keep us from being carried about with strange doctrines (Heb. 13:9).
1 John 1:3 (NKJV) “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
We do not need a degree or years of study to be a witness for Jesus. All we need is to tell others what we have seen and heard. Tell them what the Lord has done for you. He is saying, “Get plugged into Jesus because that’s where the life is” (1 John 4:9).
Fellowship literally means partnership or participation. It is a word that describes the life lived in spiritual union with the Lord and each other. We weren’t made to be alone. We were designed to live out of our connection with the Author of Life. Through people like John, God invites all of us to come to Him to be made whole and partake in His blessed life.
When Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches,” He was giving us the secret for abundant life (John 15:5). Real life is found in living out of our connection with the Author of Life. In union with the Lord we experience the freedom to know and be known, to give and receive, to love and be loved. Fellowship with us is about living fully out of our connection with Christ and His body. It’s the authentic sense of community that comes from having our hearts knitted together in love (Col. 2:2).
Fellowship with the Father and Son brings acceptance, intimacy, righteousness, holiness eternal life, and all the blessings and privileges of heaven. Those who are one with the Lord lack no good thing.
Romans 6:16 (NKJV) “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”
When we surrender our will to another, we become their servant or slave. There are two voices speaking into our lives. One is the voice of the Lord who speaks to us through our spirit; the other is the voice of sin or Satan who speaks to us through a fallen world.
We have been taught that sinning is bad because it makes God angry. It doesn’t. It makes Him sad (Eph. 4:30). And we have been told that God is watching us and recording our sins in His book. He isn’t (2 Cor. 5:19). If we eliminate these manmade caricatures of a judgmental deity and replace them with the Heavenly Father that Jesus revealed, what is to stop us from sinning? We stop because we realize sin incurs a terrible cost (Rom. 6:23).
Heed the call of the Spirit, and we will be right with God. Walk in the new way of the spirit, and we will sanctify our conduct and be free (Rom. 6:19).
Actions and attitudes do determine how we get along with other people. That’s why it’s still to our advantage to live a holy life!
Accidental Holiness
We can relate to God based on perfection, holiness, and righteousness in our spirit! This can set us free from sin – not to sin. Relate to God based on who we are in our spirit. This will make our relationship with Him stable and secure.
Mark 16:18 (NKJV) “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Desire to live holy because it’s good for us. It helps us minister better to others, and it’s happier to live holy than unholy! Living holy doesn’t make God love us more, but it will increase our love for Him!
Come Boldly
Our Heavenly Father has invited us to draw near to His throne at any time by faith in His Son and who we are in Him. It’s our birthright as a child of the King!
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