How To Get Right With God

How many times have you heard folks preaching, teaching or saying, “You gotta get right with God”? It’s said a lot and the truth of the matter is, there is really only one way to actually do that! The fact of the matter is that God made that way pretty simple. So simple that many of us miss it and go right back to trying to do it the hard way, which is actually an impossible way.

I am so grateful that God made the gospel so simple. Because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, we are made right with God, when we believe and receive what he did for us, period the end! There is nothing we can do to make ourselves “more right” with God. By faith and faith alone in Jesus, we have received the righteousness of God himself – HIS righteousness vs. our own. Read 2 Corinthians 5:21. No matter how many mistakes we may make, we will never lose that gift of righteousness that Jesus has faithfully provided for us. In the first place, God gave it to us APART from our own works. See Romans 4:5-6.

Another misconception about the simplicity of the gospel is when we hear folks using the word “balance” relating to the gospel; a huge red flag should go up. The flag is actually about someone using the word balance when what they really mean is partially going back under the law so that you can stay righteous (or right with God) or be holy or worthy. The irony of that is, the law actually strengthens sin. See 1 Corthinthians 15:56. You see, Jesus totally tipped the scale of balance when he took all our sins on his body and paid the ultimate price to totally redeem us. He completely fulfilled the law for us. Hallelujah! He did the total work for us himself by this one act. To try and bring it back to us “doing anything” to keep or maintain it, or to earn or be worthy of it, is like taking something that is completed or finished and bringing it back out and trying to un-finish it and then continually try to finish it over and over again. That’s really what many are teaching and believing in the body of Christ right now. It doesn’t work. And many are tired, hurt and confused. To try and explain that, we get all sorts of opinions, teachings and “explanations” of why it isn’t working. The common denominator in almost all of these different “teachings” is that they put the weight back on the person who is struggling and feels rejected again by God, when they have actually been totally accepted. It is a very effective strategy of the enemy to rip God’s people off and it works. The teachers themselves are still striving and trying to “make themselves right with God, too.” They are trying to be like this man or this woman of God, rather than just believing by faith that they are like Jesus. Why would you want to be like anyone else, really?

God did not give us righteousness because we were good. He gave us righteousness because we believe in Jesus and his finished work (his righteousness provided for us). Because of what he did for us at the cross, all our sins (past, present and future) are forgiven. He makes us like himself before God. He makes us “right with God.” “As he is, so are we in this present world.” See 1 John 4:17. God will not remember our sins or count them against us. See Hebrews 8:12 & Hebrews 10:17.

God made it very simple actually. If you keep the scriptures in context and take them all into account, you are less likely to be put back under the condemnation that comes from relying on your own righteousness or ability to keep the law, like Paul addressed in the book of Galatians. We must let scripture interpret scripture. The enemy of our souls LOVES to twist the scriptures or take them out of context and put us back under the law. It is the only way he can rip us off of what has already been freely given to us through what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. If we believe that it is not finished, we will go back under a heavy burden and hard yoke. Jesus said that his burden was light and his yoke was easy. Hmmmmmm, heavy vs. light…hard vs. easy….Are you seeing it? I sure hope so.

I have personally fallen for the rip off lies myself and am so grateful that God has helped me see that I could really trust in the finished work of my beautiful Lord Jesus. Ahhhhh, entering into and staying in his “rest” really is my only struggle. We have a very crafty enemy folks. Well meaning brothers and sisters in Christ have bought into his lies, and are unknowingly helping him put us back under a yoke of bondage by teaching the erroneous teachings of balance or getting right with God any other way. We can walk freely and be like little children if we will just go back to the simple truth of what Jesus did for each of us; The Simplicity of the Gospel of Christ. What a loving and good God we have. This brings such hope and joy back to our hearts. Come back and enter into the “rest of God” that has been freely provided to all who will just believe and receive. It is the only way to truly be "right with God."

Old Covenant, New Covenant ~ What Are the Differences?

Are you aware of the differences between the old covenant (LAW) and the new covenant (GRACE)?  It may be something you never thought of, or perhaps you may find it all a bit confusing.  But, the differences really are quite amazing.  As many will be celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ this Resurrection Sunday, I thought it would be a great time to reflect on what Jesus accomplished for each of us, as he established a new and better covenant.  Such love.  

In an effort to quickly simplify and help you contrast the differences, I am including a chart below, which is an excerpt from a great book called, "Unmerited Favor" by Joseph Prince.  It is a very useful visual to help us see clearly the differences of each covenant with several scriptural references.  (I highly recommend the book, by the way.)

*The Differences Between The Old Covenant of Law And New Covenant Of Grace

Under the old covenant of law…	Under the new covenant of grace…
God demanded righteousness from man.	God imparts righteousness to man through the finished work of Jesus (Romans 4:5-7).
God will visit your sins to the third and fourth generations (Exodus 20:5).	God will by no means remember your sins (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17).
The children of Israel were blessed only if they obeyed God’s commandments perfectly - inwardly and outwardly (Deuteronomy 28:13-14).	Believers don’t have to depend on heir self-efforts to receive God’s blessings, because Jesus fulfilled every one of the requirements of the law on their behalf (Colossians 2:14).
The children of Israel were cursed if they did not obey God’s commandments perfectly (Deuteronomy 28:15-16, 18, 20).	Believers can enjoy God’s blessings and undeserved favor because Christ became a curse for them on the cross (Galatians 3:13).
Depending on self-effort produces behavior modification without heart transformation.	Beholding the loveliness of Jesus and His finished work brings about inner transformation, which produces good works that are motivated by God’s love (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The blood sacrifices of animals covered the sins of the children of Israel for only one year, and the process had to be repeated every year (Hebrews 10:3).	The blood of Jesus has removed the sins – past, present and future – of believers, completely and perfectly, once and for all (Hebrews 10:11-12).
Obeying the law could not and did not give the children of Israel the power to stop sin in their lives. The law has no power to make anyone holy, just and good.	Sin has no dominion over believers (Romans 6:14), as the power of Jesus to overcome temptation kicks in when they are conscious that they are righteous in Christ apart from their works (Romans 4:6).
The children of Israel were robbed of their confidence in the goodness of God because they were always looking to themselves to see how well or poorly they performed (i.e. self-conscious).	Believers can have a tremendous sense of confidence and security in Christ because they are now looking to Jesus and not themselves (i.e. Christ-conscious).
The children of Israel could not have an intimate relationship with God because their unrighteousness put distance between them and God.	Believers can enjoy a close, intimate relationship with God as their Father because they are made righteous by faith in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 5:7-9; Hebrews 10:10).
The children of Israel could not enter the holy of holies (where the presence of God was). Only the high priest could, and that only once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:2, 14).	Not only can believers enter God’s holy presence, they can also come bodly to His throne of grace to find mercy and grace in their time of need because of Jesus’ perfect atonement (Hebrews 4:16).
The children of Israel were under the ministry of death (2 Corinthians 3:7).	Believers are under the ministry of Jesus’ abundant life (2 Corinthians 3:6; John 10:10).

*This entire chart is an excerpt from Joseph Prince’s book, “Unmerited Favor” – pages 178 & 179.  You can visit his site at:  www.josephprince.org .

Praying that as you read and reflect, you will get a deeper revelation of just how deeply loved you are by God and that you will know all that he has provided for you in the new covenant, by his great grace.  Would love to hear from you.

Grace, grace,

Ruben

Are You Under the Law or Under Grace?

Are you under the law or, are you under grace? Why does it matter?  Well, according to the scriptures, it matters a whole lot.  Let's take a look at Romans 6:14 that says:  "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."  I don't know about you but, I don't want sin to have an upper hand on me!  And according to this scripture (and many others) Grace is the solution for that problem.

I personally get so much hope, freedom and peace when I focus on God's grace and what Jesus has done for me.  When I remember that He gave his life for me and all that that provided(s) for me, regardless of my own performance (past, present or future), I get so encouraged. But, even in knowing that, I can still find myself struggling to stay in a place of resting in God's grace for me. Sometimes, I find myself falling back into trusting in or looking to myself. When I do that,  I can become edgy, confused, afraid, and even ultimately end up feeling condemned. The reason that happens is, I have gone back to being "under the law" or  become "law conscious" again  verses being "under grace" or "grace conscious."  I am becoming convinced that God truly meant for us to live 100% of the time being "grace conscious," or conscious of Jesus and what He has done for us in the 100% finished work of the cross.  Remembering that He did this for me, not because I deserved it, but because of his unconditional love for me, keeps me from falling into the trap of measuring myself by my own measure or self efforts.  Resting in that grace (undeserved favor), allows the grace of God to flow freely in my life, changing me without my even realizing it.

I originally heard a pastor, Joseph Prince, who is from Singapore, teaching this good news of the gospel of grace (very much like Paul preached), back in 2007.  It resonated within me as he shared some of the very things that God had put in my own heart.  As I listened, it breathed life and hope into me.  Because of that, I want more than anything to encourage others that may find themselves struggling with the same challenges of being totally "grace minded" verses "law minded."  I am including below, an excerpt of a message given by Joseph Prince called, "Over-Supplying Grace".  I pray that it encourages you, ministers grace and hope to you,  and that you will find peace and rest in the the finished work of Christ that He has accomplished on your behalf at the cross.  God's grace is God's love for us.  God's grace is Jesus. 

Grace, grace,

Ruben Cortez

EXCERPT from Joseph Princes message titled, "Over-Supplying Grace" below:

"You know, I asked the Lord once what it meant to live under grace.  He said, 'When you are conscious of My constant supply to you, you are living under grace.  Conversely, when you are conscious of the demand put on you to achieve, you are living under the law.'  Simply put, the principle of grace is supply, while the principle of the law is demand.  The law says, 'You shall...You shall not...You shall...' But under grace, God says, 'I will...I will...I will...'  (Hebrews 8:10-12). Can you see the difference?  Under grace, God is the one doing all the doing and supplying, not you.  Praise God, this is our relationship with Him under the new covenant of Grace!

When you are demand-oriented, you see everything as a demand placed on you - 'I must do this...I must do that...'  The result?  You feel stressed and pressurized to perform, meet people's expectations and achieve results.  But when you are living under grace, you see the rich supply from God providing whatever you need for your situation despite the demands.  The result?  You walk in peace and always see God's provision because your eyes are focused on His unfailing supply.  As we deal with life on a day-by-day basis, we can be demand-oriented or supply-oriented. So, let me ask you this: Are you demand oriented or supply-oriented?"

Link to Joseph Prince Ministries Here

Guiltless Not Sinless

Are you a Christian but, still find yourself feeling guilty?  Do you often think about your performance or sin in your heart? Do you get down on yourself or feel confused about your failings?  Do you ever feel like you are chasing your tail, like you can never be quite "good enough" and can never stay in a place of peace?  It may be that you have unknowingly fallen into a trap of wrong thinking rather than wrong doing.  God did not promise to remove sin from our heart; that my friend, will not happen until the rapture.  He promised that He would forgive our sin, once and forever.  He did that through the work of his son, Jesus Christ, on the cross.  That finished work at the cross makes us no longer guilty of our sin in the eyes of God.  Aren't you glad that God does not see our sin before His eyes, because of the cross?  BUT, when we take our eyes off of the cross and put them back on ourselves, our efforts, our failings, our sins, we then can find ourselves feeling guilty again.  We feel confused.  We lose our peace.

But God has given us peace because of Jesus and His (Jesus') perfection.  It's not about our perfection.  God's kind of peace doesn't come once we are good enough, or when we have totally quit sinning. It is a peace that comes when we receive the gift of righteousness or perfection from Jesus, the gift of forgiveness of all our sins.  That kind of peace passes all understanding, because it was given to us, not earned by us.

God also sent us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.  The scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit will always point us to Jesus (not to ourselves). So, when we look inside ourselves, we are trying to make ourselves sinless, rather than receiving what Jesus has done for us and given to us.  By His sacrifice on the cross, He once and for all made us no longer guilty of our sins. He once and for all made us guiltless.  He made us righteous.  When we start focusing on ourselves, we are actually mixing our righteousness with the righteousness of Christ.  That my friend, is actually mixing the law with grace, which will only bring confusion.  No wonder we are losing our peace.

Because of Jesus dying on the cross for us and being raised from the dead, those of us who believe and receive that great gift are considered guiltless, shameless, and we are no longer condemned.  Jesus has given us our victory. That's grace.  It is finished.  We don't have to DO anything else, other than "receive" what has already been "done" for us. That is great news! The more we remember and focus on Jesus and what He has done for us, the more His grace can work in our lives and we will actually find ourselves being changed by Him, rather than trying to change ourselves.  We will be living guiltless, not sinless.



Mat 12:1-8
Hosea 6:6
Galatians 4:28-31