A Clean Conscience

Hebrews 9:14

Many of us use the phrase “my conscience is clean” when we know that we have done nothing wrong in a certain situation. However, when we know that we have done wrong, our conscience haunts us and condemns our actions. This causes us to try and work our way back into favor with those that we have wronged; even if that one is God. These works are genuine efforts on our part to make amends for our failures, and they often make us feel better about the issue.

The author of Hebrews pointed out that the blood of Christ obtains eternal redemption for all of us who accept Jesus (Hebrews 9:12). Having paid for our salvation, the blood goes on to do much more than just guarantee us that we are pure; it actually purges our conscience from the need to perform “dead works” (Hebrews 9:14). This means that as we realize just how forgiven and accepted that we are because of the blood of Jesus; we do not try to appease our conscience with works that can change nothing.

Acknowledging the finished work of Jesus will show us that no work on our part could ever even match, much less supersede what great price that He has paid for us on the cross. If a believer has little or no recognition of the finished work, they will live by their conscience, always trying to pay God back for their sins and failures. Satan will exploit this dependency on conscience by heaping on guilt and condemnation, even going so far as to tell the believer that they are not reading enough scripture, or praying enough, or giving enough. Some seemed shocked to think that Satan would actually encourage believers to do these seemingly “good” things, but do not be surprised; Satan wants your focus off of the finished work and onto your own!

Every time that you concentrate on your sin or your failure, you inflame consciousness of sin. Some preach that if the believer is not sin-conscious then they will ignore sin and go deeper into it. The Word teaches the opposite:

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins” (Hebrews 10:1, 2).

If the sacrificial system of the law had made the individual offering them perfect, wouldn’t they have ceased to offer the sacrifices? Of course they would have, but the sacrifices did nothing to change man’s heart, thus he was always guilty. Once they were cleansed they should have no more guilt on their conscience, but we know that they did because the next verse makes that clear:

“But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year” (Hebrews 10:3).

Every time that they brought a lamb they became “sin-conscious”, and every time that they became sin-conscious, their conscience condemned them. Let us become “Savior-conscious” and watch Him purge us of our sin. Then we will have no more reason to be guilty in our conscience and we can live free in His righteousness and true holiness.

From Death to Life

1 John 3:14

We have all heard talk about passing from life to death; how we slip out of this mortal coil and into the next world, but there isn’t much talk about passing from death to life. The only place that we might hear such talk is at a Christian funeral, when the minister mentions the deceased as having picked up the next life. Thank God that we have better news than that!

John mentions the believer passing “from death unto life” (1 John 3:14), meaning that before you met Christ you were indeed “dead”. Paul said that you were “dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world…” (Ephesians 2:1, 2). Prior to our conversion, we had never really lived at all, awaiting the new life that only Jesus can provide, while we walked with all of the other sinners, in the course of this world.

The moment that we place faith in Jesus Christ, He enters our heart by the Holy Spirit and seals us until the day of redemption. This sealing is so that nothing can come in and nothing can get out. We are protected from the outside world and its influence and we cannot “lose” who we are inside. We may or may not be aware of all of these things when we accept Jesus, but the happen nonetheless.

God does not wish for us to be ignorant of all of the beautiful things that are happening inside of us, so John gives us a way to know that we have changed by showing us a fruit of our salvation. Many things will change about us when we get saved, but one thing that we cannot change on our own is how we feel about other people. In fact, if we have bad feelings toward someone, many of us will say, “Hey, I can’t change how I feel”. How correct we are! This is why John chooses the subject of loving one another as a way of knowing that you are saved.

When you come to Christ, he sheds His love abroad in your heart. As you accept His love for you, your love for others grows accordingly. In fact, it is impossible for you to know how loved that you are in the sight of God, and not give that same love out to everyone that you meet. I am often struck by the testimonies of new converts who cannot put into words what has happened in them since they met Jesus, but they can all make one, common statement, “I feel so much love!” This is the perfect work of Christ in their life, and they give that out with their action and their smile.

You know that you belong to him when the thing that you can’t change on your own is changing automatically. You truly cannot change how you feel about people, but as you change how you view your Father, and you accept His love for you, those other feelings change in turn. Our proof that we are as close to God as we claim to be is our feelings towards fellow believers. Take that litmus test in your own heart, and give God glory for the great things that He is doing and that He has done.

Under the Curse

Galatians 3:10-13

When Jesus died on the cross, He took all of our sins into His body, but He also took upon Himself the curse that accompanied the law. That curse could not come upon Jesus for His own law-breaking, for He had none, so it came upon Him because at Calvary, Jesus took our place. What was meant to come upon the whole of humanity was put upon Christ with full force at the cross. The curse was death, and its application on Jesus freed the rest of us from torment.

Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Not only did Jesus take the curse intended for law-breakers, but He actually became the cursed object at Calvary. As the perfect sacrifice, He became the object of scorn for the wrath of God, and literally, the lightning rod for God’s judgment. The fullness of that punishment gave liberty to all of those who would accept Jesus by faith, thus coming under His wonderful grace.

When a believer sins, they do not fall out of God’s grace, nor do they go under the curse of the law. They can’t fall from God’s grace for they are positioned under grace, not above it (Romans 6:14). At the same time, while under His grace, they are truly surrounded by it, for Paul told us that if there is an abundance of sin, there is a super-abundance of grace (Romans 5:20). This means that when the believer fails, they do not fall from grace, but rather they fall into grace!

Failure by a saint does not put them back under the curse of the law either, for Jesus has already been made the curse for us. He fulfilled the law in its entirety; therefore no failure on your part can put any portion of the curse on you. If Jesus had failed to completely finish the work at the cross, there would be something left to be done by you and I, but thank God He meant it when He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

How does one go back under the curse of the law? Paul makes it clear that “As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse” (Galatians 3:10). He does not say that if you fail to keep the law you are under the curse, for we know that is why Jesus became the curse. Instead, he emphasizes that everyone who works the law to achieve righteousness is going back to their own performance of the law, and they must suffer the curse that accompanies failure. Why would we want to take upon us that which Jesus has already taken upon Himself? Why would we desire to seek justification by our ability, when Jesus has freely justified us based upon His finished work?

It takes no faith to live according to the letter of the law; it simply takes obedience (Galatians 3:12). You can obey the instructions of the law and not even like it. You can obey the law and have no heart change. You can obey the law and hate the law-giver! You cannot help but rejoice in pure righteousness, and have a change of heart and fall in love with Jesus when you receive His free gift of salvation and sanctification by faith and none of it comes from your talent.

You are not cursed believer, for Jesus was cursed for you. That which is blessed cannot be cursed so reject the lie from Satan that you have been hexed or any such foolishness. Take your stand in the knowledge that Jesus bore your curse so that you can always bear His blessing!

Free Because of His Choice

John 4:4

This is the day that Americans celebrate their Independence as a nation. Over two centuries ago, our forefathers raised arms to fight for the right to govern themselves, and to determine their own fates and destinies. Subsequent generations have given life and limb to preserve that freedom which was won and which has been sustained through much bloodshed. Thank God today for your personal freedom, and for those who paid a great price to make it free.

Jesus paid for our redemption on the cross of Calvary some 2000 years ago. Just as many troops have voluntarily laid down their lives for our freedom as a nation, Jesus voluntarily laid His life down so that we could go free from the shackles of sin. Jesus had over 12 legions of angels (72,000+) at His disposal if He changed His mind about dying at Calvary (Matthew 26:53), but He went anyhow, because as the old gospel song says, “When He was on the cross, I was on His mind”.

Doing for others because He was prompted by the Spirit was not a new thing for Jesus. He told us, “I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things” (John 8:28). His entire life was one of hearing the will of God and then acting accordingly. It was God’s will that Jesus live a sinless life and then give that life for humanity. God poured His wrath on His Son because He did not want to pour it on us.

In the time of the Bible, when a Jew wished to journey from Judea in the south of Palestine, to Galilee in the north of Palestine, they would cross the Jordan river and head north through Decapolis. This was not the shortest route from Point A to Point B, for this cost them an extra day of travel. The quickest route was directly north through Samaria, without the mundane practice of crossing the Jordan and then crossing back over into Galilee. The Jew went through this routine simply to avoid having to step foot in Samaria, such was their hatred for Samaritans. Samaritans were a breed of people whose ancestors were half Jew and half Gentile, thus Jews felt that they were an inferior race, and one unworthy of even the footprint of a good Jew.

John 4:3 tells us that Jesus left Judea, and departed again into Galilee, “And he must needs go through Samaria” (John 4:4). The Holy Spirit specifically mentions where Jesus is coming from and where He is going through and that He goes through Samaria by design of the Spirit. It is just like our Savior to ignore the trend of the day and go directly through Samaria. He was never afraid to get His hands dirty, and He felt no less love for Samaritans than He did for anyone else.

The reason for His journey into Samaria is the little woman at the well, who is only at the well at noon because her reputation has sent her into social isolation. The Spirit knows where you are and why you are there and He perfectly orchestrates Jesus to enter your Samaria on purpose. Thank God that Jesus went to the cross, though it would have made more sense for Him to “cross the Jordan” to avoid the issue. We can’t be worth the price that He paid to save our souls, can we?

We are free today through the blood of Jesus Christ and it was His choice to lay down His life. As you are grateful for physical freedom today, say a “thank you” to your Heavenly Father, that He whom the Son sets free, is free indeed.

A Clean Conscience

Hebrews 9:14

Many of us use the phrase “my conscience is clean” when we know that we have done nothing wrong in a certain situation. However, when we know that we have done wrong, our conscience haunts us and condemns our actions. This causes us to try and work our way back into favor with those that we have wronged; even if that one is God. These works are genuine efforts on our part to make amends for our failures, and they often make us feel better about the issue.

The author of Hebrews pointed out that the blood of Christ obtains eternal redemption for all of us who accept Jesus (Hebrews 9:12). Having paid for our salvation, the blood goes on to do much more than just guarantee us that we are pure; it actually purges our conscience from the need to perform “dead works” (Hebrews 9:14). This means that as we realize just how forgiven and accepted that we are because of the blood of Jesus; we do not try to appease our conscience with works that can change nothing.

Acknowledging the finished work of Jesus will show us that no work on our part could ever even match, much less supersede what great price that He has paid for us on the cross. If a believer has little or no recognition of the finished work, they will live by their conscience, always trying to pay God back for their sins and failures. Satan will exploit this dependency on conscience by heaping on guilt and condemnation, even going so far as to tell the believer that they are not reading enough scripture, or praying enough, or giving enough. Some seemed shocked to think that Satan would actually encourage believers to do these seemingly “good” things, but do not be surprised; Satan wants your focus off of the finished work and onto your own!

Every time that you concentrate on your sin or your failure, you inflame consciousness of sin. Some preach that if the believer is not sin-conscious then they will ignore sin and go deeper into it. The Word teaches the opposite:

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins” (Hebrews 10:1, 2).

If the sacrificial system of the law had made the individual offering them perfect, wouldn’t they have ceased to offer the sacrifices? Of course they would have, but the sacrifices did nothing to change man’s heart, thus he was always guilty. Once they were cleansed they should have no more guilt on their conscience, but we know that they did because the next verse makes that clear:

“But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year” (Hebrews 10:3).

Every time that they brought a lamb they became “sin-conscious”, and every time that they became sin-conscious, their conscience condemned them. Let us become “Savior-conscious” and watch Him purge us of our sin. Then we will have no more reason to be guilty in our conscience and we can live free in His righteousness and true holiness.

From Death to Life

1 John 3:14

We have all heard talk about passing from life to death; how we slip out of this mortal coil and into the next world, but there isn’t much talk about passing from death to life. The only place that we might hear such talk is at a Christian funeral, when the minister mentions the deceased as having picked up the next life. Thank God that we have better news than that!

John mentions the believer passing “from death unto life” (1 John 3:14), meaning that before you met Christ you were indeed “dead”. Paul said that you were “dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world…” (Ephesians 2:1, 2). Prior to our conversion, we had never really lived at all, awaiting the new life that only Jesus can provide, while we walked with all of the other sinners, in the course of this world.

The moment that we place faith in Jesus Christ, He enters our heart by the Holy Spirit and seals us until the day of redemption. This sealing is so that nothing can come in and nothing can get out. We are protected from the outside world and its influence and we cannot “lose” who we are inside. We may or may not be aware of all of these things when we accept Jesus, but the happen nonetheless.

God does not wish for us to be ignorant of all of the beautiful things that are happening inside of us, so John gives us a way to know that we have changed by showing us a fruit of our salvation. Many things will change about us when we get saved, but one thing that we cannot change on our own is how we feel about other people. In fact, if we have bad feelings toward someone, many of us will say, “Hey, I can’t change how I feel”. How correct we are! This is why John chooses the subject of loving one another as a way of knowing that you are saved.

When you come to Christ, he sheds His love abroad in your heart. As you accept His love for you, your love for others grows accordingly. In fact, it is impossible for you to know how loved that you are in the sight of God, and not give that same love out to everyone that you meet. I am often struck by the testimonies of new converts who cannot put into words what has happened in them since they met Jesus, but they can all make one, common statement, “I feel so much love!” This is the perfect work of Christ in their life, and they give that out with their action and their smile.

You know that you belong to him when the thing that you can’t change on your own is changing automatically. You truly cannot change how you feel about people, but as you change how you view your Father, and you accept His love for you, those other feelings change in turn. Our proof that we are as close to God as we claim to be is our feelings towards fellow believers. Take that litmus test in your own heart, and give God glory for the great things that He is doing and that He has done.

Under the Curse

Galatians 3:10-13

When Jesus died on the cross, He took all of our sins into His body, but He also took upon Himself the curse that accompanied the law. That curse could not come upon Jesus for His own law-breaking, for He had none, so it came upon Him because at Calvary, Jesus took our place. What was meant to come upon the whole of humanity was put upon Christ with full force at the cross. The curse was death, and its application on Jesus freed the rest of us from torment.

Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Not only did Jesus take the curse intended for law-breakers, but He actually became the cursed object at Calvary. As the perfect sacrifice, He became the object of scorn for the wrath of God, and literally, the lightning rod for God’s judgment. The fullness of that punishment gave liberty to all of those who would accept Jesus by faith, thus coming under His wonderful grace.

When a believer sins, they do not fall out of God’s grace, nor do they go under the curse of the law. They can’t fall from God’s grace for they are positioned under grace, not above it (Romans 6:14). At the same time, while under His grace, they are truly surrounded by it, for Paul told us that if there is an abundance of sin, there is a super-abundance of grace (Romans 5:20). This means that when the believer fails, they do not fall from grace, but rather they fall into grace!

Failure by a saint does not put them back under the curse of the law either, for Jesus has already been made the curse for us. He fulfilled the law in its entirety; therefore no failure on your part can put any portion of the curse on you. If Jesus had failed to completely finish the work at the cross, there would be something left to be done by you and I, but thank God He meant it when He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

How does one go back under the curse of the law? Paul makes it clear that “As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse” (Galatians 3:10). He does not say that if you fail to keep the law you are under the curse, for we know that is why Jesus became the curse. Instead, he emphasizes that everyone who works the law to achieve righteousness is going back to their own performance of the law, and they must suffer the curse that accompanies failure. Why would we want to take upon us that which Jesus has already taken upon Himself? Why would we desire to seek justification by our ability, when Jesus has freely justified us based upon His finished work?

It takes no faith to live according to the letter of the law; it simply takes obedience (Galatians 3:12). You can obey the instructions of the law and not even like it. You can obey the law and have no heart change. You can obey the law and hate the law-giver! You cannot help but rejoice in pure righteousness, and have a change of heart and fall in love with Jesus when you receive His free gift of salvation and sanctification by faith and none of it comes from your talent.

You are not cursed believer, for Jesus was cursed for you. That which is blessed cannot be cursed so reject the lie from Satan that you have been hexed or any such foolishness. Take your stand in the knowledge that Jesus bore your curse so that you can always bear His blessing!

Free Because of His Choice

John 4:4

This is the day that Americans celebrate their Independence as a nation. Over two centuries ago, our forefathers raised arms to fight for the right to govern themselves, and to determine their own fates and destinies. Subsequent generations have given life and limb to preserve that freedom which was won and which has been sustained through much bloodshed. Thank God today for your personal freedom, and for those who paid a great price to make it free.

Jesus paid for our redemption on the cross of Calvary some 2000 years ago. Just as many troops have voluntarily laid down their lives for our freedom as a nation, Jesus voluntarily laid His life down so that we could go free from the shackles of sin. Jesus had over 12 legions of angels (72,000+) at His disposal if He changed His mind about dying at Calvary (Matthew 26:53), but He went anyhow, because as the old gospel song says, “When He was on the cross, I was on His mind”.

Doing for others because He was prompted by the Spirit was not a new thing for Jesus. He told us, “I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things” (John 8:28). His entire life was one of hearing the will of God and then acting accordingly. It was God’s will that Jesus live a sinless life and then give that life for humanity. God poured His wrath on His Son because He did not want to pour it on us.

In the time of the Bible, when a Jew wished to journey from Judea in the south of Palestine, to Galilee in the north of Palestine, they would cross the Jordan river and head north through Decapolis. This was not the shortest route from Point A to Point B, for this cost them an extra day of travel. The quickest route was directly north through Samaria, without the mundane practice of crossing the Jordan and then crossing back over into Galilee. The Jew went through this routine simply to avoid having to step foot in Samaria, such was their hatred for Samaritans. Samaritans were a breed of people whose ancestors were half Jew and half Gentile, thus Jews felt that they were an inferior race, and one unworthy of even the footprint of a good Jew.

John 4:3 tells us that Jesus left Judea, and departed again into Galilee, “And he must needs go through Samaria” (John 4:4). The Holy Spirit specifically mentions where Jesus is coming from and where He is going through and that He goes through Samaria by design of the Spirit. It is just like our Savior to ignore the trend of the day and go directly through Samaria. He was never afraid to get His hands dirty, and He felt no less love for Samaritans than He did for anyone else.

The reason for His journey into Samaria is the little woman at the well, who is only at the well at noon because her reputation has sent her into social isolation. The Spirit knows where you are and why you are there and He perfectly orchestrates Jesus to enter your Samaria on purpose. Thank God that Jesus went to the cross, though it would have made more sense for Him to “cross the Jordan” to avoid the issue. We can’t be worth the price that He paid to save our souls, can we?

We are free today through the blood of Jesus Christ and it was His choice to lay down His life. As you are grateful for physical freedom today, say a “thank you” to your Heavenly Father, that He whom the Son sets free, is free indeed.

Redeemed: How I Love To Proclaim It

Ephesians 1:7

Paul opens this wonderful letter to the church at Ephesus with a most blessed description of what Jesus means to the believer. He tells us in verse 5 that God has adopted us to himself by Jesus Christ, showing forth the mighty power of His grace, accepting us in His beloved Son (verse 6). This means that as believers, we are as accepted in the eyes of God as is Jesus, His beloved one. This is great news!

Through the shed blood of Jesus, we have redemption, meaning that we have been bought off of the slave block of sin. This doctrine of redemption is the New Testament doctrine, and literally means, “to deliver by paying a price”. Actually, there are three Greek words used in the New Testament which all mean “redemption”.

The first word is “agorazo” which means, “to purchase in the market”. This is why I stated that redemption bought us off of the slave block of sin. Christ’s blood took us off the market, as we were “sold under sin” (Romans 7:14).

The second word is “exagorazo”, “to buy out of the market”. This denotes that not only did Jesus buy us from the slavery of sin with His blood, but we have been removed from circulation, assuring us that we will not be slaves to sin ever again.

Finally, the word redemption is rendered “lutroo”, meaning, “to loose”, or “to set free by paying a price”. This shows us that we are purchased from sin, with no chance of being sold back and then we are set free to live our lives in total liberty. This final step is what makes the Christian walk one of absolute beauty. The Holy Spirit in our life brings liberty to live in abundance.

Redemption provides “forgiveness of sins”. All of your sins, past, present and future have been taken care of in the body of Jesus at Calvary. You are no longer viewed as guilty, and you never again can be. Only God’s rich grace can provide such a promise, for only with grace can great things be granted with no payment expected in return.

Do not feel that you owe God today, for Jesus has already paid your debt for sin and righteousness. This gift of abundant grace is yours for the taking. Allow that grace to minister to you of who Christ is and how He wants to live through you. Don’t worry about sin anymore, as the Holy Spirit in you will render sin and its dominion, obsolete.

Go in God’s rich grace today, knowing that you are free in Jesus.