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Not Just an Old Sinner

Although it is true that believers once went by the name “sinners”, the same can not be said of a born again Christian anymore. After the crucifixion, throughout all the New Testament scriptures, the term “sinner” consistently refers to a person who has rejected God, choosing to live in subjection to the carnal desires of their sinful nature. It clearly talks about a person who has NOT been born again.

Well known Grace minister, Steve Mcvey (www.gracewalk.org) writes the following:
The primary project for most Christians in the modern church is to reduce the number or frequency of sins in their lives. It’s a sin management program that they devote themselves to with great zeal and sincere commitment.
  It all sounds so good on the surface. That’s the subtlety with legalism. It sounds right to the religious ear despite the fact that it contradicts and ignores what the Bible teaches. It sounds so right to some that to become Godly requires that we work hard to change our bad behaviors and replace them with good ones. To them it’s all about diminishing the number of sins that we commit and increasing the number of good things that we do. But Godliness doesn’t come from that. Godliness is not the absence of sin.
  The truth is this, the reason you’re godly is because the Spirit of God lives in you… Since the Holy Spirit came into your spirit, and your spirit is the core of your identity (you ARE a spirit, HAVE a soul and LIVE in a body), then you are holy, you are Godly, because God’s Spirit is inside you. It doesn’t have to do with resisting sin, or giving into sin. The truth is, you’re just as Godly whether you sin, or don’t sin. Your identity isn’t established by what you do. It is established by what He has done!

Let’s look at a few examples of verses dealing with this matter in the Bible:

[Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us]. This verse clearly says that while we WERE still sinners, Christ died for us, which by implication means that a believer is not a sinner anymore.

[1 Tim 1:9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers...] There’s quite a lot happening in this verse:
  Firstly It says that the Law (including the 10 Commandments) was not made for a righteous person, referring to a person who has been born again and who has received the righteousness of God as a free gift, making that person perfect for ever in His eyes: [Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified] (KJV).
  Furthermore this verse says that the Law was made for ungodly people and sinners and it also calls these people “lawless”. That is because under the New Covenant it is not those who fail to obey the written moral code of the Law that are considered to be “lawless”, but instead those who refuse to accept the free gift of salvation offered by God, who turn their back on His Grace and harden their hearts against the compassionate promptings of the Holy Spirit to repent and be saved. These people will retain their status as murderers, adulterers, liars, etc. because they refuse to accept the pardon for these sins that is freely offered by God to all those who choose to believe in Him.

Another scripture that proves this principle is the following: [1 Cor 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God]. Verse 9 says the “unrighteous” will not inherit the kingdom. And then it goes on to describe a list of deeds done by those who have not been forgiven their sins, in other words those who did not put their faith in Jesus to be reconciled with Him. And then in verse 11 we see the key to unlock this portion of scripture: Paul says “such WERE some of you”. And then he goes on to describe what happened to those who put their faith in Jesus, saying they WERE cleansed and justified, meaning they now stand clean, innocent and forgiven before God. Isn’t that amazing?

This serves to confirm that whenever the Bible (after the cross) talks about a sinner, it speaks about a person that has not been born again. Let’s look at 3 more scriptures:

[Jam 5:20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins]. This verse says that a “sinner” can be saved from death and his sins be forgiven if he is turned from the error of his way.

[1 Pet 4:18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”]. This verse is squarely in support of 1 Tim 1:9 (above) and it clearly contrasts the “righteous” with the “sinner & ungodly”.

The next verse nails it: [1John 3:9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God]. This confirms that a born again Christian can not be labelled as a “sinner” according to their level of good or bad works, because it’s a no-brainer that everybody makes mistakes almost everyday of their lives! And yet this verse says that whoever has been born of God (born again) cannot sin, because their identity is not based on their level of adhering to the 10 commandments but instead it is based on the finished work of the cross!

Therefore we can conclude that a born again person HAS received the righteousness of God as a gift and HAS BEEN sanctified (in their spirit) and can therefore not be referred to as a sinner anymore, even if their behaviour does not always reflect this. Yes we do not always live in 100% obedience to God, but that does not influence the fact that God still sees us as completely righteous, forgiven, sanctified and holy. And obviously to those who believe we are saying that Christians can now just go out and sin as much as they want, we are not implying this at all.

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Super Abounding Grace!

[Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more].

This verse is not referring to a particular sin because then we’d never be able to tell exactly which sin Paul was referring to. Instead it refers to the inherent tendency to sin that entered the human heart, which turned Adam into a sinner by nature. Adam then passed this inherent sinful nature on to all his offspring. Yes it was only a single act of disobedience, but it opened his heart to the entrance of the sinful condition.

Every human being has inherited this sinful nature from Adam, and the reason why the Law was given was to stimulate our sinful nature so that we became more aware of our sinful condition.

[Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come]. Because of Adam’s sin, the whole world became guilty. If anybody were to end up in hell, it would not have been because of their own sins but because they inherited Adam’s sinful nature at birth. In the same way, nobody will go to heaven because of their own goodness or level of obedience, but only because of their faith in Jesus’ perfect obedience.

[Rom 5:15 But the free gift is not like the offence. For if by the one man’s offence many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many]. Because of Jesus’ obedience, those who believe in Him are justified by faith.

Now when God gave the Law it was meant to come in beside sinners to show how huge our lack of holiness really was. It wasn’t given to turn mankind into sinners, because sin existed even before the law was given (see Rom 5:14 again). The purpose of the Law was to show us the depth of our depravity. God didn’t introduce the Law because He wanted to make us sin more, but He wanted us to be more conscious of our sins and the fact that we had an utterly sinful nature. Notice in Rom 5:15 that Paul does not say “offences” (plural) but “offence” (singular), which is a reference to the sin (sinful state) of Adam. A few of the heroes of the faith made the following comments:

Charles Spurgeon: “A stick is crooked, but you do not notice how crooked it is until you place a straight rule by the side of it. You have a handkerchief, and it seems to be quite white. You could hardly wish it to be whiter. But you lay it down on the newly fallen snow, and you wonder how you could ever have thought it to be white at all. So the pure and holy law of God, when our eyes are opened to see its purity, shows up our sin in its true blackness, and in that way it makes sin to abound. But this is for our good, for that sight of our sin awakens us to a sense of our true condition, leads us to repentance, drives us by faith to the precious blood of Jesus, and no longer permits us to rest in our self-righteousness. It was the practical result of the giving of the law that men became greater sinners than they were before, and it was the design of the law that they should see themselves to be greater sinners than before. The law is the looking-glass in which we see our spots, but it is not the basin in which we wash them away. The law has a provoking power, for such is the perversity of our (old) nature that, no sooner do we hear the command, “You shall not do so-and-so,” than at once we want to do it”.

Dave Guzik: “The flaws in a precious stone abound when contrasted with a perfect stone, or when put against a contrasting backdrop. God’s perfect law exposes our flaws, and makes our sin abound. There is another way that the law makes sin abound. Because of the sinfulness of my heart, when I see a line drawn I want to cross over it. In this sense, the law makes sin abound because it draws many clear lines between right and wrong that my sinful heart wants to break. Therefore, the law makes me sin more – but not because there is anything wrong in the law, only because there is something deeply wrong in the human condition”.

John Piper: “I take it to mean that one crucial function of the law is to turn our original sin into actual transgressions of specific commandments. First, we are guilty in Adam and sinful by nature, and then the Law confronts us with the specific will of God: “Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Don’t covet.” And the effect is that it turns sinful nature into specific sinful acts of transgression. One writer said it well: the Law makes little Adams out of us all”. (“The law has the function of turning those it addresses into ‘their own Adam.”)

So we see the Law was given so that sin might abound. Our key verse however says that where sin abounded, Grace abounded much more! [Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more]. Let’s look at some quotes on Grace that abounds:

Wayne Barber: “Now there are two words used in that verse for abound or increase. The first one is pleonazo (used with “sin”), which means “is more than enough” or “to have enough.” The other word (used with Grace), perisseuo, is actually a synonym, but when they are used together, they are saying different things. Pleonazo means to abound, but perisseuo means to go even beyond that (and) takes it to a greater extreme. Not only that, but Paul put a preposition, huper, in front of the word perisseuo (huperperisseuo). So what he is saying is that not only does Grace extend beyond where sin increased, but Grace goes WAY beyond”.

In his book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace,” Phillip Yancey points out that part of our problem is in the nature of Grace itself. Grace is scandalous. It’s hard to accept, hard to believe, and hard to receive. Grace shocks us in what it offers. It is truly not of this world. It frightens us with what it does for sinners. Grace teaches us that God does for others what we would never do for them. We would save the “not-so-bad”. God starts with prostitutes and then works downward from there. Grace is a gift that costs everything to the giver and nothing to the receiver. It is given to those who don’t deserve it, barely recognize it, and hardly appreciate it. That’s why God alone gets the glory in your salvation. Jesus did all the work when he died on the cross.

Law added transgressions, showing even more clearly the super-abounding (huperperisseuo) Grace of God.  Grace did not set aside the Law, but rather completely satisfied it. As deep as sin goes, God’s Grace goes deeper. As wide as sin is, God’s Grace is wider. When sin abounded, Grace super-abounded. God’s Grace is greater than all our sin.

Barnhouse also comments on Paul’s use of “abounds” and “super-abounds”: “In the Greek, these are two different words. “Where sin overflowed, grace flooded in.” Where sin measurably increased, grace immeasurably increased. Where sin abounded – pleonazo – grace did much more abound – huper-perisseuo. The prefix huper is like the Latin “super”. The movie ads have taught us what “super” does to a word. Instead of being colossal, something is super-colossal. So, where sin could be measured by multiplying the number of commands of the law by the number of human beings in the world, Grace could never be measured because it would require the multiplication of the number of acts of God’s Grace by the infinity of His being. Our text might well read: “Where sin was finite, Grace was infinite.”

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Renewing Your Mind

At salvation our spirit was created 100% righteous and holy, in the image of Christ. The last part of Eph 4 talks about our behaviour towards other people and v24 says that just as our inner man (which is of course the born again spirit)  has already been created according to the very image of Jesus, we should now also let our actions reflect this change that’s occurred inside us. [Eph 4:24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness].
There is nothing we can add to this perfect work which God accomplished in us. He did however tell us one way to transform ourselves:
[Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God].
This is also why we are told to set our minds on the things above [Col 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth], because the more we think God’s thoughts, the faster our minds will be transformed. When we still had an old sinful nature on the inside, we followed after its desires and trained our mind to think according to its lusts. But now that we have Christ living inside us, we need to re-train our mind to think according to the new nature. As our old sinful thought patterns then begin to starve, our mind will come more and more into agreement with our born again spirit.

Now you may be asking: “Isn’t it blasphemy to say we want to think God’s thoughts?” No, definitely not. I am not saying that we should become God; I’m saying we begin to think like Him.
“And how do we do that?” Well I’m glad you asked that question. Before anybody speaks, the words they say had to have been thoughts in their mind first, which they then speak or write down, thereby giving life to those thoughts and making them known to others. And since we have God’s thoughts written in His Word and available to us, then by reading the Word we can know what God’s thoughts are. Many people are waiting for God to speak to them when He has already written them a letter. So if you want to begin to think God’s thoughts, read and meditate on His Word – simple as that! Begin to understand how He sees you, familiarise yourself with the New Covenant, the New Creation, the atonement, your authority as a believer, how to hear God’s voice and much more! If we truly want our faith to become effective, we should reach a place in our life where our first thought is always what the Word of God says, and not “What does God’s Word say?”

Don’t be condemned by the following statement, but read the following words through the lenses of the New Covenant, and remember that the Holy Spirit is living inside you and that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Here we go: It’s not just knowing scripture that serves as proof that our minds have been renewed. [James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves]. The amount of Word that we actually begin to put into practice in our lives is a measure of the degree to which our minds have been renewed. If we’re not doing it, it means we don’t believe it. People will know what we believe by the fruit we bear, by the things we do. Actions speak louder than words.

There are generally 2 groups of Christians: Firstly there is the group that grew up under the Law. They always expected God to punish them if they made a mistake, and their minds were trained to think legalistically: Do good – get good. Do bad – get bad. So they trained themselves to always try and do more, live better and be more holy. Secondly there is the group that grew up outside of church, who lived with a disregard for any moral code, running blindly after the desires of their sinful nature. This group trained their minds to think in terms of self preservation and self gratification. Depending on what age you were when you got saved, generally most people have lived according to one of the above ways for the better part of about 20 years of their life.
Both these groups now have to come to terms with Grace and begin to retrain their minds to relate to God according to the way of the New Covenant. And there are two ways of doing this:
They can either choose to spend another 20 years attending church Sunday by Sunday and hope that their pastor is doing a decent job, and have him/her renew their minds for them on Sunday mornings. Then during the week they would go back to their normal life and live as though God didn’t exist and then finally, after about 20 years they would maybe begin to understand the revelation of Grace.
Or they can make a decision to get stuck in the Word of God, learn discipline, listen to sermons, worship God extravagantly, go to conferences and seminars and have their minds renewed in a couple of months or years. They can then spend the rest of their remaining life reaping the fruit of this season of their life, a season where they purposely dedicated themselves to re-training their mind to think according to the truth of God’s Word.
Nobody said it would be easy initially, but we can be assured of this: Once we dive head first into the ocean of God’s realm, of His Spirit and His Life, a passion for Him will begin to overtake us and we will find it becoming easier and easier to renew our mind.

Why do we need to renew our minds? Let’s read the second part of Rom 12:2 again: [Rom 12:2b ... that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God]. The world is tired of clever arguments and philosophies about the existence of God. [1 Cor 2:4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God]. We prove God’s will to the world by demonstrating His kingdom in power by healing the sick, freeing the oppressed, setting the captives free.

[Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him]. Since Jesus is perfect theology and He healed ALL, then it is God’s will for ALL to be healed. We also know that it’s God’s will that ALL be saved: [1 Tim 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth].
In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus prayed the following: [Matt 6:10b ... Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven]. The very fact that He prayed these words serves to prove that not everything that happens on the earth is God’s will, or else He would not have prayed “let Your will be done on earth”. So from these words spoken by Jesus, we see it is God’s will for everything that is happening in heaven to also be manifested here on earth and to have the will of the Father done in the earth. Because we know in heaven there is no sickness, no poverty, no corruption, no death, no suffering, etc. So by simply looking around us we can easily see where God’s will is NOT being manifested, and in that situation we can be the hands and feet of Jesus, making known to the world that it is in fact God’s will for them to be healed, to be saved and to be delivered from bondage. This is how we prove the will of God to the world; the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. Hallelujah!

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Heavenly Treasures

What you BELIEVE determines WHERE you will spend eternity (heaven or hell). What you DO determines HOW you will spend eternity (rich or poor). Yes, it is possible to be “poor” in heaven, and even though everybody in heaven will be happy, love each other and have no envy or strife, some people will be “richer” in heaven than other people (read the rest of the article if you want to find out what it means to be “rich” in heaven).

Firstly let’s just settle this one point: If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you WILL go to heaven. This message is NOT about whether you will go to heaven or not, it assumes you WILL. This message is about receiving a reward for your WORKS.

Firstly there are those people who say that everybody will be equal in heaven, have all things in common and that  they don’t care about whether they will have lots of treasure in heaven or not, as long as they get there! Although the first 2 statements may be partially true, there is definitely something wrong with saying you don’t care about having treasure in heaven, as Jesus specifically taught us to store up treasures for our self in heaven: [Mat 6:19 Do not lay up treasures on earth for yourselves, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. Mat 6:20 But lay up treasures in Heaven for yourselves, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal].

The New Covenant is full of passages that tell us we will be rewarded according to our WORKS:

[Rev 22:12 And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according as his work is].
[1 Cor 3:13 each one's work shall be revealed. For the Day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try each one's work as to what kind it is. 14 If anyone's work which he built remains, he shall receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work shall be burned up, he shall suffer loss. But he shall be saved, yet so as by fire]. These verses say we will receive a reward for our works, and if we didn’t do any works that are worth a reward, we will suffer loss and only just make it to heaven ourselves, we’ll almost be able to smell the smoke on our backsides, ha-ha!!

[2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the things done through the body, according to that which he has done, whether good or bad]. Note that not all “good works” will be rewarded. Good works done from a motive of trying to be justified through it, or from any other motive other than FAITH, will be burnt up.

How can we know which of our good works will be rewarded? It’s all about the motive, and no man can judge the motive of another man’s heart. [1 Sam 16:7 For man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart]. And what should our motive be? [1 Cor 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God]. We don’t store up treasures for ourselves to build our own empire or kingdom, but rather the Kingdom of God.

The next obvious question is this: What “treasure” is the Bible talking about? If even the streets of heaven will be paved with gold, of what use will an abundance of possessions be in heaven? The key lies in the parable of the faithful servant. When the master came back and he found the servant had doubled the 5 talents into 10 talents, he was very pleased with him: [Matt 25:20 And so he who had received five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, Lord, you delivered five talents to me. Behold, I have gained five talents above them. 21 His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord].

Our reward in heaven for being faithful with what had been appointed to us is not possessions: it is responsibility. We will be entrusted with more responsibility (called “heavenly treasure” or “true riches”) in heaven if we proved ourselves faithful here on the earth. [Luk 16:10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you?]

After the second coming of our Lord, the saints will rule the earth with Him and those who were faithful during their time on earth will be appointed in positions of higher authority.
[1 Cor 6:2a Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?]
[Rev 5:10 And You made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign over the earth].
[Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him].
[Rev 2:26 And he who overcomes and keeps My works to the end, to him I will give power over the nations. 27 And he will rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter they will be broken to pieces, even as I received from My Father. 28 And I will give him the Morning Star].

Is eternity to be a time when those still living out physical lives on the earth will be kept in subjection by a divine dictatorship? The verb translated “rule” in Revelation 2:27 is poimanei, derived from the word for a shepherd (poimen). It is the same word used by the apostle Paul in Acts 20:28 to describe the care that overseers are to show toward the Church of God. The rod or club carried by a shepherd was primarily for the protection of his sheep, not to frighten or punish them.

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Why Live Holy?

The entire New Covenant speaks against trying to “live holy” in our own strength and be justified though our own efforts. God does not relate to us according to our own level of obedience anymore, but according to the perfect obedience of the One Man, Jesus Christ.

[Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law].
[Rom 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience (first Adam) many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience (Christ) many will be made righteous].

Yet we see many verses in the New Covenant that still advocate a holy lifestyle. What would be the purpose of this? Well if we look at the 2 verses above, it talks about our standing before God. In God’s eyes, once we put our faith in His Son Jesus, we will always be justified and righteous before Him because when the Father looks at us, He sees Christ. We are IN Christ and nothing can ever take us out of Christ. [1 Cor 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him]. However, often we try and separate ourselves from Christ when we mess up and we feel that our actions are being scrutinized by God under a magnifying glass, but this is not the case. The Father sees the perfect obedience of Jesus on our behalf!

On the contrary, when it comes to PEOPLE, we are constantly stirred to “love one another”, “keep the bond of peace”, “forgive one another” etc. People are not as gracious as God and we need to maintain “good works” when it comes to relating to people, but NOT TO GOD. Note that we are not saying that people should live disobedient to God. But you will see that the context of most scriptures in the New Covenant that talks about holy living and good works, pertain to maintaining our relationships with other people. Let’s look at 3 examples:

[Eph 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour,” for we are members of one another]. If you keep lying to people you will get into trouble sooner or later.
[26“Be angry, and do not sin”. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil]. When you stay angry with someone for an extended period of time, you give the devil a foothold in your relationship with that person.
[28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need]. When we steal from others, this is bound to have a detrimental effect on our relationship with them when they find out.
[29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers]. Once again it talks about PEOPLE, because it says our words should edify the hearers.

[Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do].

[Gal 6:8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life]. When you follow after the desires of your flesh (which means your unrenewed mind with its carnal desires), you are bound to run into trouble with people if you lie, defraud, cheat or trick them. You might even be prosecuted by the law if you steal or commit other crimes. This is the “corruption” that this verse talks about – the NIV says “destruction”.

There are many other examples, but I think we get the point: God doesn’t love us less when we mess up, but people do – unless they are mature Christians that understand Grace & know that nobody’s behaviour is perfect.

Finally, a second reason for living holy is this: If we have died to sin (because our sinful nature was “cut” out of us through the circumcision of Christ (Col 2:11)), why would we want to live in it any longer? Why would we still want to run after the desires of our old sinful nature as though it wasn’t removed from us?

[Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace].

And here is how we do it: The more we try to sin less, the more we will fail. Our victory over the lusts of the flesh is to have our minds renewed, to have our thoughts transformed to discern the truth of God’s Word and spend time in His presence, allowing Him romance and woo us. When we begin to see how deeply His love runs for us, we will not be able to resist flowing in the fruit of the Spirit inside us, showing love and compassion to a world that needs to see Jesus!

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Don’t Ask God For What You Already Have

[John 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace].

A predominant doctrine doing the rounds in the church today is the fact that we have to keep asking God to give us more anointing, more power, more boldness, etc. to serve better and be more effective for God. And yet when we look at what Scripture says, we are told again and again that we have already been given EVERYTHING we will ever need, pertaining to life (which talks about our physical needs) and godliness (talking about our spirituality). [2 Pet 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness].

You will find that most mainstream church leaders are rejecting & opposing this theology because it takes the blame off God (for all the things He DOESN’T do for us) and it puts the responsibility squarely back on the believer to go out and do what God commanded us to do in the first place: [Matt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give]. Note that Jesus didn’t say we should pray for the sick, He commanded us to HEAL them! This clearly puts the responsibility on the believer, whereas simply “praying for the sick” puts the responsibility on God. Under the Old Covenant God fought for us – under the New Covenant He fights through us.

[John 14:12 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will]. Now consider this: Do you think that Jesus would have made this statement if He didn’t mean it? Would He have said this if He knew we would never be able to do the works He did, thereby making Him a liar? Of course not. Jesus would never make a promise like this and then leave the church short changed & unequipped to do what He commanded them.

Now I am not speaking as one who claims to be moving at the level of signs & wonders that Jesus did, but I have definitely made the shift in my mind that if the person I have prayed for didn’t get healed, I know the blockage and the problem is with me and not with God! The same principle goes for this verse: [Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me]. If I am not seeing this manifest in my life yet, then maybe it’s time I stopped blaming God for what’s going on in the world, stopped asking God “why me?” and stopped asking Him to give me more boldness, more power, more anointing etc and started to realise and use what I have ALREADY BEEN GIVEN. It is important to realise that at this very moment the Holy Spirit dwells in us in fullness, which means all His power, His nature & His character resides within us. [Col 2:9 For in Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power].

The greatest obstacle is NOT knowing what we already have! [Philemon 1:6 That the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus]. We will become more effective in communicating our faith (this includes healing, deliverance, provision, etc) when we begin to acknowledge that which is already inside us. If God has commanded us to rule the earth, and given us EVERYTHING that pertains to life & godliness (see 2 Pet 1:3 again), then by saying we want “more” power, “more” faith, “more” anointing, etc. we are basically telling God He HASN’T given us everything. No, we discover what God has already given us by getting to know Him better. [2 Pet 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness].

Many of the songs we sing in church tell God how thirsty and how hungry we are and that He should come and fill us and let His water flow over us. In the following 2 verses Jesus is talking SPECIFICALLY about salvation, and He says that whosoever comes to Him (which means to receive salvation for the first time), such shall never hunger or thirst again. [John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life]. [John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst]. Whilst there is nothing wrong with being passionate for God and seeking after Him more and more, there is definitely something wrong with telling Him that the reason we are not moving in signs & wonders is because He hasn’t equipped us! The truth is that acknowledging any form of “lack” in what God has given us, is actually an insult against the cross. If we tell God that we are thirsty for Him, well then maybe we should get saved and receive the Holy Spirit so that we will never hunger or thirst again. [Matt 5:6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled]. Once you receive the righteousness of God as a gift (when you are saved), you ARE filled!

Almost all the times the apostle Paul prayed for “more”, he was talking about knowing God better & having more revelation of what we HAVE BEEN given (Col 1:9, Eph 3:19, etc).

Now you may be thinking: “But we are sincere when we sing these words to God (that we are hungry & thirsty), and He would still honour our sincerity.” But have you considered that many people in this world who believe they are sincere, are sincerely wrong? Being sincere doesn’t make it right, and God wants us to worship Him in Spirit and in TRUTH. Muslims & Satanists are also sincere in what they believe.

If you’ve managed to keep reading this article up to here, it means you are probably looking for truth on this matter. The key is simply to make the shift in our minds and to decide to live FROM our position of victory, living from the inside out. We need to let what’s inside us flow out to change the world around us. [Col 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory]. When the world begins to see Jesus living through us, they will not be able to deny the authenticity of the love and power flowing from the lives of God’s children. And it all begins with acknowledging what we have ALREADY been given: Fullness in Christ!! Amen!!!

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Divorced from the Law

[Rom 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another – to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God].

This verse says that we have to become dead to the Law in order for us to bear fruit. This implies that if we have not died to the Law, we cannot actually bear fruit. What is fruit? It is the result of the Holy Spirit living through us (Gal 5:22-23), the very manifestations of His character, and not our own efforts to “live holy”. Instead of letting the Holy Spirit live through us, we suppress Him when we try to earn the approval of God through our own obedience and try to live according to the Old Covenant Law.

As a child I was raised in a very conservative Christian home, made to go to church and attend Sunday school every Sunday and I learned to relate to God on the basis of my own performance. For our final year church exam (can you believe that such a thing exists??) just before we were “confirmed”, we had to write a test that included writing down word for word the 10 commandments by heart. I scored the highest in the class with 98% and felt very good about myself, thinking I was a model Christian. But the very next week I caught myself having lustful thoughts and I spent the night on my knees, crying and begging God for forgiveness because now I was “bad” again.

This is a pattern in the life of most Christians who live under the Law: One week you’d have a good week, feeling that you didn’t make too many mistakes and that God is pleased with you. But then you’d find yourself doing that one thing you swore you’d never do again, and you’re back to square one. The Law demands a level of obedience that no human being is able to achieve, and failure to comply is punishable by death. And that’s where Jesus comes in: He lived a perfect sinless life, fulfilling ALL the requirements of the Law and effectively ENDING it (Matt 5:17-18). He destroyed the hold of sin (which was strengthened by the Law) by removing the consequences / punishment for sin completely. [1 Cor 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law]. And He set us at liberty to live free from the fear of judgement (1 John 4:17-18) and the power of sin. [Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace].

When two people marry, they make a vow to stay true to each other until death should part them. Now back in the old days when a person’s vow still actually meant something, a vow could not be broken except through death by one of the parties involved. Well the same goes for vows / covenants / oaths made by God. When God makes a vow, it WILL come to pass and stay in power for all eternity. So when God made a covenant with Israel and gave them the 10 commandments and the Old Covenant Law, the only way for them to be able to get out of that Covenant was to fulfill it or to die for breaking it. Now watch this: Jesus Christ both fulfilled it (and earned ALL the blessings for perfectly obeying it) and then went even further and died for us because mankind could not hold up their part either (and carried all the curses & punishment for disobedience on our behalf as well). Now if that isn’t love, I don’t know what is…

Now by simply putting our faith in Jesus, we also die to the law (and all the curses for disobedience) and become alive to God (and through Christ are given ALL the blessings for His obedience – [Eph 1:3 Blessed (be) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly (places) in Christ].

[Rom 7:1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another – to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God].

[Gal 2:19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God].

Once we realize that we are actually dead to the Old Covenant Law, we will stop trying to relate to God on the basis of our own good or bad behaviour, and simply love Him because He is a good Dad. Gone are the days of Do’s and Don’ts, of us running around like slaves to try and live up to the demands of the old husband of the Law, that slaps us around and always demands more! Here are the days of being married to our new husband, Jesus Christ, who loves us because we are His glorious bride, His beloved church. Yay God!!!!

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Walking in the Light

[1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin].

At a first glance, this verse seems to say that as long as we hold up our end of the bargain, the blood will cleanse us from our sin. However to walk in the light as God is in the light is actually a result of God giving us HIS righteousness – John is talking about our secure position in Christ here, not our behaviour. Our position in Christ is eternally secured the day we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. From that day on we walk “in the light”.

Now some people may ask “what is light?” In John 8:12 Jesus said “I am the light of the world”, therefore Jesus is light. When we are born again we are placed in Christ (1 Cor 1:30, Eph 2:10), and therefore we are in the light. But because we are in the light, we also become light. [Eph 5:8 you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light]. Jesus also says we are the light of the world: [Matt 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden]. As He was (and still is) the light, so we have become as He is: [1 John 4:17b ... because as he is so also are we in this world].

Most of the arguments against the Grace message come from the 3 epistles of John. Most legalists that read these books see it as a set of instructions that tell us what we are supposed to do, instead of reading it in the correct context (as we’ve already discussed previously): The epistles of John were written by John to his “little children” who had just come out from under the false teachings of Gnostics. John was by no means trying to tell them to “DO THIS!” or “DO THAT!” Instead he was telling them how secure they were in Christ, assuring them of their eternal salvation.

1 John 1:7 (our key verse) says the blood cleanses from EVERY sin and to any sensible believer that should pretty much mean exactly what it says: EVERY sin. In the original Greek language the word that was used for “cleanses” was katharizo. This literally means to “continually cleanse”. So if we make a mistake the blood removes it completely and this happens day & night without ceasing. Also if we believe we can “walk in the light” based on our own obedience, why then would we need the blood to continually cleanse us? Because now we are doing it all our self! No, we walk “in the light” because we have been given the righteousness of God as a free gift. Once again note that John is talking about our position in Christ and not about our external behaviour. Here are some more verses to explain this:

[Eph 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord]. This says that we were once lost (in darkness), but now we have been born again (we have become light).

[Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, nor of the moon, that they might shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 And the nations of those who are saved will walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honour into it]. This verse says that those who have been saved will walk in the light. Once again “walking in the light” refers to the believer’s secure position in Christ and not to some physical thing they are supposed to do.

Yes when we look at our behaviour we will clearly see that we make mistakes every day and that we don’t necessarily walk in the light in our actions, but that is because our minds have not been fully renewed yet. Until the day we go to be with the Lord there will always be some area in our lives that we will need to bring under submission to the authority of God, whether it be thought patterns, habits, or whatever. The point is that we don’t practice “correct behaviour” in order to earn God’s approval, but it happens spontaneously as a result of us falling more in love with Jesus and becoming more and more aware of how wonderfully we have been saved.

During our entire time spent on the earth we will always be able to improve our external behaviour and bring it more in line with our perfect position in Christ. But until we receive our gloried bodies, God has already provided more than enough Grace to cover any mistakes we may make along the way: [Rom 5:20b But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound]. There is nothing wrong with living moral lives, but we should not use our ability to live ethically as the measure or standard of our relationship with God.

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Sons of Abraham

The Gospel of the New Covenant centres around the fact that God has changed the way He relates to mankind, not through the obedience of the law, but through Grace alone. Through faith in Jesus Christ alone we are justified: [Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.]

God made promises to Abraham in Gen 12 that Abraham would be blessed, that God would make his name great and that in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. God later in Gen 17 confirmed these promises to Abraham with a covenant. And for the simple reason that ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, God counted Abraham’s faith to him as righteousness. [Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness] and also blessed Abraham with earthly possessions [Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.]

430 Years later, God made another covenant with a group of “stiff-necked” people. [Deut 6:9 Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.] After having just brought them out of Egypt with 10 mighty plagues, providing for their every need in the desert, Israel still refused to believe that God wanted to bless them SIMPLY because He is a good God – therefore God gave them the Law. Under the law they would have to live morally, perform rituals, make sacrifices and fully hold up their side of the deal in order for God to bless them. But during a major part of the Old Testament in the Bible, we see the sad unfolding of Israel’s failure to comply with the requirements of the Law. They were defeated, taken captive, their cities destroyed, and scattered across the earth.

And here is the shocker: At any moment in their history, Israel could have chosen to come out from under the law, and live under the covenant that God had made with Abraham, once again believing that God would bless them & see them as righteous NOT BECAUSE they tried to live up to the Law, but simply because they believed in God. The covenant of the Law did not cancel the promises that God made to Abraham!! [Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.] During that period there would have been two covenants operational in the earth, since the Old Covenant only became obsolete after the cross.

Under the Old Covenant, the Laws were given to obey. Under the New Covenant, promises are given to believe in. Jesus came to the earth more than 2000 years ago to fulfil the requirements of the law, thereby cancelling it and effectively nullifying the Old Covenant. (Heb 8:7-13). Those who were still trying to live according to the Old Covenant tried to oppose Jesus, claiming that they were children of Abraham because of their natural descent. This was Jesus’ reply to them: [John 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him... 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not]. Here we see that these people did not believe in Jesus.

Therefore we see that those who believe in Jesus are sons of Abraham, and are blessed along with Abraham simply because they believe. [Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham]. [Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all].

When we understand this, it changes the way we receive (because we don’t have to think about whether we’ve been good or bad in order to receive from God); it changes the way we pray (because we’re praying from a place of victory, and not for victory); it changes the way we see God (not a harsh being who judges us for being bad or blesses us for being good, but a loving Father that blesses simply because we believe in Jesus His Son).

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe
www.NewCovenantGrace.com

The True Test of Your Gospel

Each person’s belief in the Gospel is influenced and shaped by their exposure to it, by the extent to which their mind has been renewed and unfortunately also by the earthly traditions they still hold on to. [Mar 7:13 making the Word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have delivered.]

Paul the apostle, who wrote most of the New Testament, preached a gospel that was revealed to him directly from God. [Gal 1:11 And, brothers, I make known to you the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not according to man. 12 For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it except by a revelation of Jesus Christ.] This Gospel is known as the Gospel of Grace.

[Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Gal 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel.
Phil 1:7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.
Acts 14:3 Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Acts 20:32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.]

There is a flood of Grace hitting our planet at the moment, with millions and millions of people waking up to the truth that we are not justified by observing the law or living up to some moral standard, but simply by believing in Jesus Christ. [Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law.]

Just like Paul the apostle prophesied in Galatians 4 however, those who believe in this Gospel of Grace will be persecuted by those who want to be justified by their own works. [Gal 4:29 But then even as he born according to flesh (Ishmael the son born out of the flesh, which represents the works of the law) persecuted him born according to the Spirit (Isaac the son born out of the promise, which represents Grace), so it is also now.]

And here is the true test of the Gospel of Grace: If the gospel you are preaching does not put you in danger of being misunderstood by the legalists (people who claim that your level of righteousness depends on your level of law-obedience), in the fact that they might think you are saying that people can just go out and sin as much as they want, then you are not preaching Grace to the extent that Paul was preaching it. Because true Grace lifts the law off believers so completely that according to the legalists, it sets us free in more ways than it SHOULD. Legalists believe that the moment you lift the law off a believer, that he or she will simply run out and begin to live in full blown depravity and fall into all kinds of wickedness. But they forget that we have a born again spirit on the inside of us that DOES NOT WANT TO live like that!!

Paul had to defend the gospel of Grace in the same way. We can see from the “question and answer – manner” that much of the book of Romans was written in, that he was countering many of the questions that the religious crowd of the day was throwing at him. They were probably accusing him of preaching that the believers, because they weren’t under the law anymore, could go out and sin as much as they want! Here was Paul’s reply:

[Rom 3:8 Why not say, then, "Let us do evil so that good may come"? Some people, indeed, have insulted me by accusing me of saying this very thing! They will be condemned, as they should be (GNB).
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? 2 Let it not be! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Rom 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under grace? Let it not be!
Gal 5:13 As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another (GNB).]

Therefore if Paul, the champion apostle of the New Testament (that was preaching the true Gospel of Grace) had to defend the Gospel against these accusations and was persecuted by the legalists for preaching this Gospel, then we should be considering that perhaps something is wrong if our Gospel is NOT making the legalists of our day rise up against us…

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe
www.NewCovenantGrace.com