Christ died one death for our entire lifetime of sins- past, present and future.

Beloved of God, God's word in 2 Peter 1:9 tells us WHY the virtues of goodness, understanding, strength of self-control, patient endurance, godliness, mercy and unending love are lacking in the lives of many churchgoers today:

"9 But if anyone lacks these things, he is blind, constantly closing his eyes to the mysteries of our faith, and forgetting his innocence—for his past sins have been washed away."

See the NIRV- "But what if these things don’t describe someone at all? Then that person can’t see very well. In fact, they are blind. They have forgotten that their past sins have been washed away."

God's word is telling us that the virtues of goodness, understanding, strength of self-control, patient endurance, godliness, mercy and unending love are lacking in the church today not because people are not clenching their teeth hard enough to curb sins; it is because many are not convinced about the efficacy of Christ's blood in utterly wiping away our past, present and future sins.

It is sad to see churchgoers begging God to forgive them for the same sins that Christ has wiped away with His one death. It is sad that many churchgoers believe that God whom we call “Father” will let the devil have a go at them for the same sins that He sent His own Beloved Son to save us from. That's akin to letting a dog bite your own child because he peed on himself for whatever reason! See God's take on that will-power and human strength to curb sins which many think that they possess and believe that God is demanding of them in Paul's experience in Romans 7:18-

"For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

God's word says will-power (the arm of flesh) at accomplishing anything - in this context, living a godly life - will fail. But as it was with pre-denial Peter, Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort) that will fail DISAGREES and says:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the Ten Commandments and live a sinless life if I clench my teeth hard enough and other people should too. Afterall, I am doing it."

Many churchgoers disagree with God on the issue of "the arm of flesh (human effort) will fail" just as Peter disagreed with Christ concerning the issue of his then upcoming denials. Recall Amos 3:

"Can two walk together unless they are agreed?"

Only when one agrees with God about the utter "no good" default state of man and receives His undeserved, unmerited and freely-given forgiveness of sins and His GIFT of Righteousness to us in Christ can that victorious walk happen. So ask. He is eagerly waiting to pour out His Salvation (even salvation from sins) on all who look to Him.

The reason why anyone thinks that he can "choose" to not commit particular sins and wallow in its consequences is because he has not been tempted beyond what he can bear. Peter found this out when he denied Christ three times after he boasted and knew 100% that he would not. Boasting in your ability to keep even the “easiest” laws gives Satan the opportunity to sift a person like wheat hence the multiplication of sins among churchgoers whose pastors push into having that "I can never do that kind of thing" mentality of pre-denial Peter. No sin is beneath anybody. The arm of flesh will fail and you can be sure that Satan will not come into the boxing ring with “kid-gloves” tests. Never trust yourself. Trust in Christ.

Beloved, see how God sees all who believe in Jesus- having Him as our Righteousness and Strength in Romans 5:9-

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Many churchgoers are being deceived into believing that God still holds the same sins that Christ died to free us from against them and that they will experience the wrath of God if they don't produce these virtues by their human effort aka arm of flesh. Beloved of God, let’s not be found here. God's word says of these virtues of goodness, understanding, strength of self-control, patient endurance, godliness, mercy and unending love-

"But if anyone lacks these things, he is blind, constantly closing his eyes to the mysteries of our faith, and forgetting his innocence—for his past sins have been washed away."

These virtues are EVIDENCES of our salvation in Christ, not CONDITIONS. They are lacking in many churchgoers because many do not believe that their entire lifetime of sins have been wiped away by Christ. The law is not of faith so understand that trying to do things to get right with God or to "fulfill all righteousness" is the definition of "he is blind, constantly closing his eyes to the mysteries of our faith, and forgetting his innocence—for his past sins have been washed away." The law is not of faith.

Understand that every single sin that you have ever committed in your life up until this moment is a past sin; every single sin in your future, once you get into the future to commit it, whether in word, thought or deed, becomes a past sin. Hebrews 9:27 tells us:

"27 And as it is appointed for men to die ONCE, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered ONCE to bear the sins of many. ..."

I put "once" in caps for emphasis. The wages of sin is death. ONE death. Christ is not constrained by Time and Space aka waiting for you to sin before He can forgive. Whether you sin ten times or ten million times in your entire lifetime, you can only die ONCE. He died that death ONCE for ALL. He died the death that the Law demanded of us, fulfilling every single demand that the Law made of us. Believer, Jesus is not going to come and die again or demand payment for sins that you might commit in the future. All of our lifetime of sins have been fully paid by Him. Also Hebrews 10:12 says:

"Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective forever, and then He sat down at the right side of God."

See the NLT: "But our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand."

Christ's one sacrifice for sins isn't just for the sins that we committed before we became born-again. His one sacrifice for sins is good for all time. Based on Christ's one sacrifice for sins that is effective forever, the Holy Spirit testifies to us in verse 17 of the same Hebrews 10:

"14 And by His one perfect sacrifice He made us perfectly holy and complete for all time!

15 The Holy Spirit confirms this to us by this Scripture, for the Lord says,

16 “Afterwards, I will give them this covenant: I will embed My laws into their hearts and fasten My Word to their thoughts.”

17 And then He says,

“I will not ever again remember their sins and lawless deeds!”

Understand that in Christ, God does not remember our sins because Christ died for our entire lifetime of sins. ONCE. Understand that for God to not remember our sins, it means we have sins that He would have remembered were it not for the sacrifice of Jesus. This Grace: undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. This is the Good News for those who AGREE with God concerning our utter need for His Salvation, even salvation from sins. But to the self-righteous who trust in their strength to be sins-free and are yet to see that the reason why they are not committing heinous sins or denying Christ like Peter did is because God did not allow them to be tempted to that extent, it is "license to sin" and blasphemy.

God's ways and thoughts are higher than man’s. His word tells us that knowing and believing that in Christ, our entire lifetime of sins are forgiven forever and that we are forever righteous in His sight “EVEN THOUGH WE ARE GUILTY OF MANY SINS” (Romans 5:16) is how we get to overcome sin and death. Earthly ills such as fear, anxiety, stupid mistakes, depression, sickness, fast-tracked ageing, etc are all “death begun.”

Christ’s gift of utter forgiveness aka “Neither do I condemn you” is what makes us “go and sin no more.” Many reject Christ’s utter "lifetime" forgiveness by clinging to their sins/imperfections and condemnation and try to right themselves before God the Righteous Judge by doing what the law commands....like Judas. But see what God's word says about this in Romans 3:19-20-

"Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."

For those who do not believe and receive God's utterly unmerited forgiveness of sins and His gift of righteousness to us through Christ; for those who reject the Witness of the Holy Spirit to us that in Christ, God does not remember our sins, no amount of righteous works cuts it when it comes to getting a "not guilty" verdict before God. See how His word describes those human effort-driven fasts, seeds and other righteous works that many feel should make God bless or save them:

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight." Isaiah 64:6.

HaSatan is literally "prosecutor at law" in Hebrew. As it is in any earthly court of law, upon proof of guilt by the accuser/prosecutor, the condemned must pay the wages of sin: the death that Christ died for all. Beloved of God, by Grace, believe and receive your birthright as a BORN-again child of God- His gift of righteousness to us in Christ. This is true repentance: forsaking our silly efforts to save ourselves and turning to God for Salvation from sin and death. Beware of those who teach that Repentance is beating your breast in agony, telling God that you will "not do it again" and trying to right your wrong by human effort in order to show God that you mean business aka in order to be godly/be like God. That is not Repentance. That is Penance aka righteousness of the self aka self-righteousness. It points man back to his non-existent strength aka arm of flesh for godliness and salvation. It is trying to pay for your sins that Christ died to free you from. Judas towed this path of Penance and look where it got him.

Antichrist pastors exalt themselves against the knowledge of God by questioning God's word and Christ's power to "save His people from their sins" with questions such as:

"So you are saying because we are saved by Grace, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue to live in sin and have no good deeds?”

These ones have already shot themselves in the foot. Like Peter before he fell flat on his face three times, such proudly trust in their human effort aka arm of flesh that God’s word says will fail in their bid to overcome sin. Such deign to think that they have some strength/good in them to be able to keep even a tittle of the law when God’s word says man cannot. Believer, let's take our blessed brains to church. Matthew 1:21 tells us the purpose for which Christ the Word became flesh:

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Also Titus 2:14- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Beloved of God, how can we who believe continue to live in sin and produce no good deeds when we are utterly trusting and depending on Christ whose job description is "Saviour from sins" for salvation? These antichrists are saying that Christ cannot or will not save you from your sins because you sinned, so it’s up to churchgoers to free themselves using the arm of flesh aka human effort. Such antichrist pastors prey on man's tendency to look for the (human) logic in the message of the saving Grace of God whose ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than man's. But man's logic cannot comprehend God's Grace- 1 Corinthians 1:18-

“18 For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God.”

Beloved of God, trust in the word of God whose ways and thoughts are higher than man's. Antichrist pastors exploit man's nature which sees trying to overcome sin and its deathly effects by human effort (aka arm of flesh) as the right thing to do. Such promote dependence on human effort for the attainment of godliness, just as Satan did with Eve in Eden. But the word of God whose ways and thoughts are higher than man's says differently. God's word says in Christ, we who believe get to live in triumph over sin and death through our wonderful Saviour who was born to save the world from sin and death:

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16-17.

Even though we are guilty of many sins. Christ came to save us from those same sins. Beware of fake pastors whose trade is pointing out sins and who tell you that your sins or lack of good deeds are what make you unable to approach Christ and get His blessings. That is as clueless as saying that a sick person cannot see or benefit from the healing of the Physician because he is sick.

Believer, by grace, may the virtues of goodness, understanding, strength of self-control, patient endurance, godliness, mercy and unending love abound in our lives as we constantly remember that in Christ, God remembers our sins and lawless deeds no more. Only people whose walk is still imperfect can enjoy this benefit. Only the sick need the Physician and because of His work in us, we never remain the same. With Christ as our righteousness/justification, our path is like the morning sun that shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.

By God’s Grace, don’t let any “pastor” guilt you into Judas’ depression and suicide mode with their horrid “Yes God saved you by Grace but at least you still have to try to do and become godly and xyz...” false doctrine that subtly pushes one back into self-dependence and self-occupation like Judas. There is no good in man of himself (Romans 7:18.) Know that whatever good we produce is a product of God’s Mercy and Grace. If an iota of our arm of flesh/human effort at obedience is involved in our access to “not perish but have eternal life,” Christ becomes of no effect:

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's Grace." Galatians 5:4.

Being cut off from Christ equals no salvation from sins, so sin multiplies in the lives of those who are doing the seemingly good but actually self-righteous thing of depending on their human effort for the attainment of godliness aka law-keeping. These ones are always fluctuating between two grounds: smug in their self-righteousness when "pastor" focuses on a sin that they are not committing or riddled with guilt when the sermon focuses on any one of their imperfections. Such do not have the revelation of the utter forgiveness of sins that we have through Christ Jesus. Satan and his pastor agents know this so instead of pointing the sinner to Christ who FREELY saves from sin and death (including earthly ills,) they are actively keeping many churchgoers focused on doing Christ's work of cleansing themselves of their sins and trying to be free from earthly ills like disease and unemployment with preaching such as:

"How can God bless you when you are still committing xyz sins?" or "Come and sow seed and fast for 70 days so that God can deliver you from unemployment and disease."

Believer, beware of such antichrist preachers who remove Christ from the equation of man's salvation from sin and death and place the burden of freedom from same on man's shoulders. Just look at the life of Christ in the gospels. Nobody had to go and fast or sow seed before they could freely receive from Him. Traitor tax collectors, prostitutes, demoniacs, the sick, the blind, the lame, the idol-worshipping Canaanite woman with the demon-possessed daughter- none of these people were born-again yet they freely received from Christ. All who looked to Him freely received a "no questions asked" salvation from whatever bugged them.

But the Pharisees who positioned themselves as "good" and depended on their deeds to get God to bless could not receive from Him. The same thing is happening in many places of worship today. The way some pastors misrepresent God to the flock will make even earthly courts charge Him with child abuse! Beloved of God, by His Grace, watch what you are hearing in your local church. Is it Death or Life? The letter kills but the Spirit gives life and with the Spirit of the Lord, it "not by might, nor by power..."

Once again, see God's diagnosis for churchgoers lacking the virtues of goodness, understanding, strength of self-control, patient endurance, godliness, mercy and unending love in 2 Peter 1:9-

"9 But if anyone lacks these things, he is blind, constantly closing his eyes to the mysteries of our faith, and forgetting his innocence—for his past sins have been washed away."

It is Christ's freely-given forgiveness of sins aka "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "go and sin no more."

Right believing always produces right living