Believe Right!

Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 (TPT) says of Him: " God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone." Sometimes, we wonder why some people (even people in the church) just won't stop sinning and believe Jesus Christ, Grace-personified, despite what we see as overwhelming evidence. Believers, this is why you and I believe: John 6:44- "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him [giving him the desire to come to Me]; and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day." See the MSG version: John 6:43-46 "Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End...." And there we were thinking we decided to follow Jesus and shun sin because we know ...

Believer, believe right. Many among us don't yet realise that the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to get tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas of our "strength." See 1 Corinthians 10:12-13: "12 So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously." If God lifted His restraining hand that restrains us from sins, we would all be wallowing in heinous sins by now. Our success at doing the right thing has got nothing to do with our strong moral resolve or non-existent prowess at ke...

Believer, believe right. Galatians 5:4 says- "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." Notice "fallen away" ? Now see the “fallen away" of Hebrews 6 that many misinterpret as committing sin: "4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace." The way to this "fallen away" is to turn back to keeping the Law in order to get right with God/become godly after tasting righteousness by faith in Christ: "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have b...

Believers, there are some who try to replace the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with sheer license to sin. Such respond to God's saving grace with statements like:  "Yes we are justified by faith but we still have to keep the law as guiding principles for maintaining morality." Believer, beware of such teachers and their adultery! God's word is very clear on this particular issue. See Romans 7:1-4: "1 Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries. 4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the l...

Believer, the letter kills, whatever the purpose it is used to achieve. Moral excellence is a godly character. A believer seeking his moral excellence from the law is in essence, aspiring to attain godliness (be like God) through the law, after we have been made perfect and complete in Christ (Hebrews 10) by faith. Perfect. See Paul's typology of the forbidden fruit as a picture of the law that many who profess Christ are trying to keep in a bid to have moral excellence (to be like God) in Romans 7. The MSG version brings it out well: "8-12 Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me." The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a picture of the Law which provides the same knowledge of good a...