Thought: “Just because I don’t feel bad about a sin doesn’t make the sin right” . It just means I’ve justified it.
Truth: We are not called to concentrate on Sin, We are called to concentrate on Him
Question: How can I willfully sin and know Jesus in such a personal and life changing way?Throughout life, I’ve often looked at others and thought, “how can they say they know Jesus, and continue living a life full of self-doubt, regret, suffering, pain, depression, addiction, etc.? It wasn’t until my eyes were opened to my own insecurities, mistakes, and doubt, that I understood it happens threw justification.
All of my lack, ultimately lead me to a life of will full disobedience by justifying my actions or reactions. Even , if I knew it was wrong, I also knew how to justify myself and in turn completely negating the justification that has already been given to me through Christ. Until, I understood no amount of my own justification compared to the only justification that matters. The one that hung on a cross to make me justified.
The truth is there is only one Justification, there is only one Righteousness, there is only one Sanctification and it is not earned by my do’s and don’ts. The cost is without measure. It is held to a higher standard, a standard by which I gracefully get to enjoy. A standard that has already been paid for and given to me as a free gift. This is a gift I will spend my life learning how to enjoy, how to embrace fully, a gift that never expires or fades away. A gift of eternity.
Justification: “the act of declaring something to be right or reasonable”
If I justify myself or an action that I am taking, by the measure of my mind, which has been influenced by the people I surround myself with. Then I am justifying an action by the rights and wrongs as society sees it and not by the standard I have been called to live.
The reality is... I am made justified by God Himself, who has justified me by way of the cross. Jesus choose the perfect choice, in complete obedience, even through He expressed to his Heavenly Father He didn’t want to do it. He still choose to die on the cross. He choose to allow my sin to be sewn to his flesh and nailed to the cross for all of eternity; not only my sin but the sin of the world.
The moment Jesus said it is Finished, that meant It Is FINISHED. There is nothing I am going to do right that will add to what Jesus has done and there is nothing I am going to wrong that will take away from what Jesus has already done. My sins have been nailed to the cross; past, present, and future. I cannot be found in the quantity of my sin but I am found in all that He is, therefore, as He is So Am I...
Righteousness: “ the quality of being morally right or justifiable”
My righteousness has not been earned by me but It has been given to me as a gift through Christ. In all honesty, there is no doubt that I am going to fall short and I am even going to justify myself and my actions by a standard that is not mine but belongs to the world I live in. However, it will be my failures that are a constant reminder justification is a gift and it cannot be earned. It will be my lack that teaches me I am justified through Christ and I am made righteous by way of the cross. Nothing compares to what Christ has done and nothing can change how my Heavenly Father sees me.
Sanctification: “is the work of the Holy Spirit molding me into the image of the son”
The empowerment that is gained by simply knowing what Christ has done affords me the strength I need to allow the Holy Spirit to mold me into the image of my Savior. It allows me the grace that I need to grow. I cannot disappoint my Heavenly Father because He only sees me through Jesus. I am covered for all of eternity. It doesn’t mean I will forever be allowed to do what I want to do regardless of His rights and wrongs but it does mean He promises to walk with me and to talk with me and show me a better way to live. A way that is full of His fruits which are not dependent on any circumstance and is fully dependent on who He is; Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Father Thank you for helping me understand who I am in Christ and who You have made me to be. Thank you for giving me strength, wisdom, and understanding of the Power found in focusing on Jesus and His great Love for me. Thank you for teaching me the importance on meditating on what is good and pure and noble. Thank you for protecting me from being sin focused so that I can see clearly sin has no power over what Jesus Christ has already done on the cross. Thank you for Loving me so Beautifully and for bringing me into right standing with You. Thank you for the process of sanctification and giving me all the Grace I need to Grow. Help me to show Your Love and Your Grace to world I live in, so they will know Jesus came to save the world and He is for them and not against them.
In Jesus Name I pray Amen, Amen, Amen.
From the Author: There are so many more scriptures that support what I am trying to share, but I encourage everyone to read the word of God for themselves. Thank the Holy Spirit for giving wisdom and understanding in the scriptures. John 14:26 and May God Richly Bless You according to His riches and Glory Philippians 4:19.
2 Corinthians 5:21 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Romans 3:21-23 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b]boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.