Jesus' Victory Over Sin

Most think of sin as actions. Stealing is a sin, etc. But sin is not the actions themselves but the tally of those actions. A sin is a record of a negative action. Sins are scores & statistics that are kept. Sin is defined in both Hebrew & Greek as "a missing of the mark as in an archery contest."

2 Corinthians 5:19 says God is no longer charging anyone with sins. That means God is no longer keeping score. Jesus took away the sin of the world, meaning the score card, the record book. So people can still steal & lie, etc. but those things are no longer defined as sin because the game is over & Jesus has won for everyone! Because He won for everyone it was just for Him to throw away the record book. The consequence of the game was that the winner gets life & the loser gets death. Jesus just wants people to join in His victory party so they may live.

Do people still do bad things? Yes. Do people still sin? Only if someone other than God is keeping score. You do have the option to charge yourself with sin & feel like a loser or charge others with sin & make them feel like losers.

Adam lost the game for all mankind thus dooming their flesh & spirit to death. Jesus took Adam's place in the rematch & won eternal life for the spirit. One consequence for losing the first game still stands, death in the flesh for all. Since we ourselves didn't win & Jesus stepped in & won life for us we have to join in His victory party to receive life for our spirits. "Anyone who comes to God must trust that he exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." So getting saved is saying, "Hey Jesus where's the party? Auooo!" Remember the father threw a party for the prodigal son & angels party when someone is saved. "The Kingdom of God is at Hand" aka "It's Party Time!"

Game 1: Adam vs. The Serpent
Winner: The Serpent
Losers: Adam & all mankind after him
Stakes: The winner got control of the world. The loser dies physically & spiritually.

Exhibition Game: God's People, The Jews vs. The Law
Purpose: To exhibit, by keeping score, that mankind, on their own, cannot win back what Adam lost.
Winners: Those who realized the purpose of the exhibition
Losers: Those who defected to The Law's team
Notes: The only time in history score was being kept by God was while the law was in effect. Romans 4:15 says, "Where there is no law there is no sin." Romans 5:13 says, "Sin is not charged when there is no law." The law was the opponent, Colossians 2:14 & Ephesians 2:15 say the law was "against mankind" and "stood opposed to mankind."

Game 2: Jesus vs. The Serpent
Winners: Jesus & whoever wants to join in His victory party
Loser: Satan
Stakes: The winner can spiritually resurrect losers of the first game & give them eternal life in the spirit. The winner also regains control of the world when He desires to. The loser suffers forever.

Results for mankind of the 2 Games
Mankind can live forever in the spirit because of Jesus' victory if they join in His victory party.
Mankind still dies in the flesh because of Adam's loss.
Losers of the first game can still die spiritually in what is called "the 2nd death" if they never join in Jesus' victory party.

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Clarification on what sin is.
Hebrew words tend to have one meaning but many applications. For example the word iniquity means twistedness. It can refer to a twisted personality/heart, twisted actions, guilt because of twisted actions, or punishment for twistedness. I presume sin is the same way. We typically know sin as: a spiritual condition, a fleshly condition, & sinful actions. I believe sin is also the record of those actions (as well as the burden/guilt/shame from those actions).

Scripture says, Christ took away the sins of the world WHEN He came in the flesh BY the sacrifice of Himself. He has already taken them away. We know people still perform actions that we would call sin & we know people still carry the condition(s) of sin. So the sense of sin that Jesus TOOK AWAY for THE WORLD is the record of sins. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says God is no longer charging anyone with sins (recording anyone's sins) & He has reconciled the world to Himself.

The word forgive in the bible does not mean "to stop being mad" or "to accept an apology." It is another word that means "take away." When you are experientially "forgiven" as you are when you are first saved (described in 1 John 1:9) God takes away the condition of sin from your spirit & you are given a new spirit/identity. He also removes the burdens/guilt/shame of sin, at least in the moment before you are tricked into believing it is still there by thinking God still charges you with sin. I remember feeling the burdens of sin months & months before I got saved & I remember feeling Him removed those burdens when I got saved.

God did take away the record of sins for everyone so there is no barrier to keep mankind from approaching God. God never takes away the actions of sin because that would mean He would override people's freewill. But because He no longer charges people with sin, He no longer identifies actions as sin.

God can't take away the condition of sin in the flesh because of the fall & the flesh is destined to die, though through the willful renewing of the mind the condition can be improved.

God will take away the condition of sin in the spirit from those who trust (have faith in) Him. He will separate them spiritually & in their identity from sin & the flesh, freeing or delivering them from sin. Thus they, in their identity, their spirit, are not able to produce sinful actions (1 John 3:6,9).

God still deals the people's actions. He isn't blind to helping us but He holds nothing we do against us. He only wants to work things to people's good. God is not keeping score. The game/war is over. God doesn't care about your performance, He only cares about your person. He knows that your actions can harm your person. Remember he is our "Father" & our "Wonderful Counselor."

The actions of sin point to the condition of sin which points to God as the solution. The good news is God is not counting your actions of sin against you & He is willing to remove the condition from your spirit by giving you a new everlasting spirit.

God Never Wants His Children to Feel Shame

Isaiah 6:4-7, "The house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away and your sin is blotted out.""

People use this passage from Isaiah to say that we should be broken over our sin or hate our sin or feel shame for our sin. But notice these things that speak to the contrary.

The house filled with the smoke of the coals before Isaiah said anything. God had the coal ready for Isaiah before he even got there. God had the removal of sin & guilt ready for Isaiah. It wasn't dependent upon what Isaiah said or felt about Himself.

God didn't call Isaiah an unclean man or tell Him to feel ruined. I repeat, despite the fact that Isaiah had sin God did not call him out for it or even address what Isaiah said. God didn't condemn Isaiah instead He cleansed him. He immediately took His sin & guilt away. This is the same way Jesus treated Peter when Peter said, "Depart from me because I am a sinful man, Lord." Jesus ignored Peter's sin & simply said to him, "Do not fear. Come with me." The father in the parable of the prodigal son did the same thing as well. The son said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father ignored the sin and feelings of shame and immediately said, "Quick let's celebrate because my son is now with me!" God did not command or endorse what Isaiah felt about himself thus there is no reason at all for us to say we should feel like Isaiah did here. The opposite is in fact true. God doesn't need you to feel bad about your sin He just wants to heal you & move on.

Once Isaiah's sin was blotted out he didn't continue to feel guilty or speak in shame. Christ has already forever taken away our guilt & our sin thus we have no reason to ever feel woeful, ruined, sinful, or unclean because of things we have done. Our spirits have been united with the King.

An unsaved man need only know that he is sick & ask God for the cure, he doesn't have to beat himself up about how sick he is for God to cure him. A saved man has already been cured. Saved actually means cured/made whole. There is no sense in wallowing in a sickness that is already gone. God refused to be conscious of the guilt of Isiah's & Peter's sins even while they tried to confess them. He loves them & sought only to save them, not to shame them. Likewise Jesus pictured the Father in the prodigal son story as treating everyone without ever using a moment of shame or guilt. Let that sink in..

Psalm 51:17 says, "God will not despise a broken & crushed heart," it doesn't say He delights in it. The word "saved" also means "healed" or "made whole." "God heals the brokenhearted" (Psalm 147:3). The other half of Psalm 51:17 says, "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." This was written before God provided His own sacrifice. Of course God will not despise us for feeling bad about ourselves but the sacrifices of God are no longer a broken spirit. Jesus broke Himself & felt our shame so He could give us an unbreakable spirit, His own! GOD WILL NOT COMMAND YOU TO BREAK YOUR OWN HEART! "A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22).

Sin makes unsaved men feel guilt & shame, that is a fact God has to live with but He'll do all He can to not give aid to those feelings for even a moment. Jesus felt our shame on the cross & He despised it (1 of only 2 things the NT says Jesus hates). He despised the way shame made us feel far from Him & unloved by Him. His heart was broken & crushed feeling empathy, pity, & compassion for our shame.

God already condemned sin on the cross. God doesn't demand you join in on His sin hating party, He's not having one. He instead invites you to celebrate in His victory party. The victory that freed us from having to be conscious of sin & freed us from having to feel guilt & shame.

Where's the Party?

People complain about how this generation has a "gimme, gimme, gimme" mentality. But sprinkled throughout all generations are those with the "I'm reluctant to let anyone give something to me without earning it first or paying them back" mentality. I believe some of those reluctant to receive haven't been in a situation where they couldn't possibly pay someone back. The prodigal son had a "gimme" mentality & his bitter older brother had a "I must earn it' mentality.

Which brother came to understand his father's love first? The one who asked for the Father's wealth. The Father gave it to both of them at the same time. The younger used it & abused it. The older ignored it & slaved away as if it was never given to him.

The older son said to the father, "I have been serving you & slaving for you & I have never neglected a command of yours. But you have never given me something so that I might celebrate." But the father had already given Him everything. The older son was obedient but bitter, serving but surly, slaving but sullen. He was rich but lived like a slave. Freedom & riches can make people go wild & do stupid things for a while but look at the opposite of freedom.. slavery. I repeat the opposite of freedom is SLAVERY. Those who want to put you under the law in any way or want to take you out from under grace (even a little) want you to see yourself as a poor obedient slave rather than a free, rich, & partying son.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1)

The younger son, while he was gone, became poor & hired himself out. When returning to his father he wanted to be his father's slave. The father wouldn't even hear it. He said, "Son lets party! I'm so glad we're together!" This son knew he was free but he had no clue about how much the father loved him so he went out to party without his father. That's the difference. Knowing you are free & even knowing you are rich does not mean you know you are loved. Grace is God's love for you. The good news of grace never makes someone live destructively. It is the message of freedom that does so. The truth of freedom without the truth of grace is harmful. You can party with your Father or party without your Father. Regardless of which you choose your Father isn't going to love you any less. He won't even acknowledge your mistakes as something shameful.

Those who refuse freedom judge those who accept it. They say, "Look at the terrible things they've done with your freedom Father." And they list to God & others the things their brothers have done. They stand like Satan, accusing the brethren before God. The Father just says, "You've got the freedom, riches, & even the party throwing love of mine that your brother has. Enjoy it! But know I won't hear it when someone speaks ill of my children, so you're wasting your breath."

[This post was also used as a response to Michael Brown's Hyper-Grace Horror Stories]

The Victory of Jesus Has Brought Liberation from Sin

Whether or not we sin isn't the primary issue of life. We are free from sin (Romans 6:6-7,18,22, 8:2).

If I am freed from a country that once enslaved me I could..
    1. Stay there and try to fight against the people who imprisoned me.
    2. Go enjoy my freedom elsewhere.
I don't have to fight to maintain freedom, Christ freed me.

Hebrews 10:1-2 says that when we know we are cleansed, we lose consciousness of sins, meaning we no longer have to count sins against ourselves.
"The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt and consciousness of sin would have disappeared." (Hebrews 10:1-2)

I've been perfectly cleansed for all time because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ. God's value of me as His child is not based on my behavior. God does not charge His children with sin (2 Corinthians 5:19-20; 1 John 3:5-6,9; 1 John 5:18). Because He loves me I want to love others & do good.

Romans 6:8-14 says to "Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." God does not intend for us to focus on or strive to "be good." God intends for us to focus on Him and His goodness.

A liberator's victory brings freedom. Jesus is our savior, our liberator. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). Our victory doesn't come from trying to obtain or abstain it only comes from trusting in the victory Christ has already won, what He has already obtained for us. "The victory that overcomes the world is made evident through our faith, our trust in Christ's victory" (1 John 5:4).

Freedom from Struggling with Sin

The actual struggle most have is not with sin but with their perception of what sin is and how God feels about their behavior.

If you think you have to repent, say you're really sorry and promise not to do something again, and ask God to forgive you then you don't understand what Christ bought for you on the cross.

God does not count people's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19). No matter what you do He doesn't get angry with you, He doesn't break fellowship with you, He doesn't love you any less.

So many fail because they think it is their job to succeed. Jesus already won the victory over sin. You only defeat it when you take part in Christ's victory party. The bible says many times that we are free from sin. You only live that freedom if you believe it is there. I live it and my spiritual life is indescribably wonderful because I don't try to improve myself, I just bask in The Father's love for me and my behavior is transformed as a side-effect.

Freedom doesn't come from perfect behavior but from properly placed trust. Christian your freedom is a fact. You experience freedom by trusting in God's love for you. His love is unconditional. His love for you is not dependent on your behavior, if you ask for forgiveness, if you ever read your bible. His loves passes all understanding because we think we have to earn love. Jesus fulfilled every condition for you. Believe it and live it. If you don't you will always fall & always fail.

While my flesh still causes me to behave in harmful ways I am indeed free from sin. My identity is in my spirit, not in my flesh. When you understand & believe this you can be free from sin while in this body. The experience of that freedom doesn't come from perfect behavior but from trust in God & what He has done for you.

Miracles of Love: The Great Catch of Fish

The miracles of Jesus weren't just to show off. They were to show love.

The Miracle of The Great Catch of Fish
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, "Depart from me because I am a sinful man, Lord." For he and all his companions, which included James and John, were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken.

Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear. Follow me and from now on I will make you become fishers catching men." When they had brought their boats to land, they immediately left their nets and everything and followed Him.

Knowing the Giver is the Ultimate Gift
Jesus did a miracle of love. We often think of miracles as simply signs and wonders but Jesus' miracles were acts of love. What man who fishes for a living wouldn't love catching such a large amount of fish? Healing and giving are acts of love. Jesus restored people and set them free. When He turned the water into wine He turned it into good wine with a taste that pleased the people at the wedding. Miracles shouldn't be viewed only as "Wow God!" but "Wow God loves us!"

I'd like to point out that "follow me" doesn't just concern Jesus' leadership but also His companionship. These men spent years with Jesus. They weren't trailing and trembling. They were loved by Jesus, open and free to be themselves.

Here is another thing we should be careful not to miss. Jesus just gave these men more fish than they could dream of ever catching yet they left the miracle to follow the man. The miracle was meaningless compared to the man. The gift pointed to God the Giver. Too often people make the gift into God and throw God out with the packing peanuts. These men dropped the gift and followed God the Giver. What a perspective to have! To be so enthralled with God that you leave what seems to be the gift of a lifetime.

May we start being more grateful for the Giver than the gift. May we marvel at the Messiah more than the miracle. May we not be more consumed with receiving than we are with our relationship with Jesus.

The Miracle of God Not Counting Sins Against Us, The Removal of Shame
Jesus and Simon Peter had already met (John 1:35-42). That is why he called Jesus "Master," a worldly term meaning "one of a higher rank." The miracle caused Simon to recognize Jesus as "Lord," a term Jews used for God. But Simon's shame over his sins caused him to fear Jesus. Jesus ignored Simon's sinful state. He didn't count it against him. Jesus said to him, "Do not fear. Follow me." If only we would realize that this is Jesus' response to all sin!

The father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) wasn't concerned with what his son had done. He just wanted to celebrate with him. When he returned the son in that story said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son." What a statement of shame! He basically said, "My guilt from sin is so great I am invaluable in your sight." So many people think that, both lost and saved, but what they don't count on is the love of an incredible father.

Like Jesus did to Peter the father ignored the sin and feelings of shame and immediately said, "Quick let's celebrate because my son is now with me!" Please realize and remember, this reaction is exactly what it looks like for God to "no longer remember the sins of His people" (Hebrews 8:12,10:17). He forgot your sins before the confession of your sinful state could leave your lips.

God says to all who come to Him, "Do not fear. Come with me and let's celebrate! We will invite others to the party so they too can enjoy my gracious love!"

God's Old Target, Our Own Targets, Jesus's Victory Party

The Target of God's Law Before the Cross
Sin means "to miss the mark." The law is like a target with multiple marks to hit that hangs close above your head. Whatever you shoot at it that misses the marks falls back down as sin. No human being has the skill to hit every mark every time and will in fact miss most of the time.

The more laws you know the more marks you see on the target. The target lowers the more you miss the marks. Jesus came along and taught the law to the fullest. Those who thought they had always been hitting the "not committing adultery" mark every time found out the mark was much smaller and harder to hit because adultery is "looking with lust." The majority who seemed to easily hit the "do not murder" law found out that they had been missing it most of the time when Jesus said "hate is murder in the heart." At this point people are being crushed flat by the target with no room to shoot or even lift up their bow. When that happens the law fulfills its purpose by getting people to cry out "Help me Lord! I can't do this by myself!"

This illustrated the experiential reality of the law. It was meant to crush self-righteousness out of people so they would appeal to God for His mercy. The spiritual reality was if you missed one mark one time you would be as guilty as one who missed every mark every time.

Our Targets of Rules After the Cross
God's law target was removed at the cross because Jesus hit all the marks Himself. There are no God imposed marks on a target to hit. Christ took away the sin of the world so there is no more hit or miss mentality with God. There is just an open armed invitation of "Trust me to experience the abundant life of my love."

If you trust Him Jesus puts you under grace. Grace reaches high into the heavens and sends down beams of love. Where you stand under grace is high off the ground from where the law was. If you build a new target (a set of laws, rules, principles, obligations, & expectations) you experientially fall from grace, stand on the ground, and put the target over your head. The target blocks many of God's beams of love and grace and you feel down and lowly. You keep yourself from experiencing God by putting yourself under a law target. Under your own law you keep your own score. You condemn yourself (feel guilt and shame) by keeping score. God is not counting anymore because His law was fulfilled by Jesus.

Some people put themselves under law as a means of inflating their ego. They choose what they are good at & put that up as a target. Then they look down on others who don't have the same target with the same marks. Having any target makes you self-righteous because you aren't relying on God's grace or the righteousness of Christ.

The Victory Party
Jesus hit every mark every time. The archery contest is over and Jesus has won! He invites you to share in His victory. Jesus did all the work and you get the same benefits of the victory as He does! You could say that salvation is trusting that Jesus really did win and accepting His invitation to His victory party.

The apostles were whipped and beaten and they rejoiced about it (Acts 5:40-41). Paul and Silas sang praises while bound in a horrid jail (Acts 16:25). For these men Jesus' victory was so great that even persecution was a party! The law is taken away so this party has no rules! Who needs rules when you're partying with the most loving guy in the universe? His good company improves our character!

Party on, Christians! Party on, Jesus!