Letter 12 – May 2, 2010

Dear Sisters,
Rom 8:1
[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Many people just quote the first part:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
That’s comforting. But what does it mean?

Then there are people like me, that want to take the whole word…and read the whole thing….and get stuck on “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

And those verses….
Matt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
1 Pet 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Combined with:
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

And I get drug down by the truth…
The truth:
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
The warning:
Rev 21:8 But the fearful,
and unbelieving,
and the abominable,
and murderers,
and whoremongers,
and sorcerers,
and idolaters,
and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Rev 21:27
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth,
neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination,
or [maketh] a lie:
but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The truth is, if we have continual sin in our lives….our heart condemns us!
1 John 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
God KNOWS all about our sinful nature. It’s supposed to be dead, but that smelly rottin’ thing keeps on a’ kickin’!
On the other hand, if we have continual sin, do we have HIS word in us? Are we truly followers of Christ?

1John1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
Dear Brother John is going to talk about our sin….THAT OUR JOY MAY BE FULL!!!
This is God’s Normal – that we know about sin, how to deal with it, and how to go to HIM for help!
It’s not God’s normal for us to wallow in sin, or to hide sin, but to confess our sins one to another that we may be healed!

1John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Walking in the light doesn’t mean no sin.
Saying we have no sin, makes God a liar, and we’re not in a good place!
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with the saints, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN!
How much sin? Just a little? Just one? Just the non political sins? No –
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from ALL sin!

Is it just past sins? Well, we’re walking forward…..and, if Jesus’s blood only cleanses past sins….well, everyone born since 0AD is out of luck!
If God is outside of time…then when Christ was on the cross, He bore the punishment for ALL of our sin…not just the sin up to the time we confessed Him as Lord.

When Jesus went to the cross, He knew He was going to bear the punishment of all sins of all men for all time. My sins are NOT a surprise. This is truly AMAZING GRACE!!!

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
And God’s people said: God forbid.
How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Rom 6:2)

The true Christ follower will show by their heart that they do not want to profane that precious glorious gift of the stripes, blood and death of our dear Savior on the cross. Without believing in the payment for our sin, we have no basis for salvation, Without recognizing the price paid, we do not count the cost of being a follower.
1 Cor 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us].
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
The truth is:
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I recognize the gift, and try to comprehend the enormity of it’s efficacy, but, I still sin. And my heart condemns me of that sin….what am I supposed to do?

When Jesus died on the cross….He broke the bands of the old nature…and set us free to live in the image of God.
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
:13 Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.
:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

We are new…but we have to do the work to reckon ourselves dead to sin….not let it reign in our mortal bodies. We are to be led of the Spirit!
Gal 5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The battle is real:
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

The victory is obtainable:
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
There are some lists of things to put off and to put on….that will help us to walk in the Spirit.
Eph 4:22-32; Col 3

God has given us ways to know that you are walking in the Spirit is that you are growing in the fruit of the Spirit.
Gal 5:19-23

To not press on to walk in the Spirit, is to grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30).

And then, we can rest in the verse:
Rom 8:1 [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

And we can rest in the promise:
1John 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

What things are pleasing in His sight?

1John 3:23 And this is his commandment,
That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ
and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him and He in him.
And hereby we know that he abideth in us,
BT THE SPIRIT which HE hat given us.

Jesus said it this way:
And he answering said,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul,
and with all thy strength,
and with all thy mind;
and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luke 10:27

What does your heart say? Is this how you want to live day by day? Following God’s salvation way?

Condemnation = death pains → from the enemy
Conviction = growing pains → from the Holy Spirit.
It’s our choice….
Condemnation – go to Is 54:17
Conviction – go to Ps 51

There is no promise of perfection when we come up out of the baptismal waters…just the indwelling of the new nature at salvation, enabling to cast down the old nature, standing up to the enemy and walking on the narrow way, pressing on toward the prize of the high calling of Christ Jesus.
Count it all joy….offer yourselves as a living sacrifice, be purified for Kingdom work, but walk as perfect as we can moment by moment…rejoicing that IF we sin, God has the advocate plan!

I pray that we will all learn to recognize condemnation and conviction, and the appropriate actions for each. Cast down every imagination and high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.(2 Cor 10:5-6). If we are told to do it, then we are empowered to do it, and must be bold to do it.

There is NOW, no condemnation to us, who are in Christ Jesus, as we walk not after the flesh…but after the Spirit. The issue is, in what direction are you walking?

In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi

bible verses from http://www.blueletterbible.org
© 2010 M.C.Wildman