Embrace the Within no. 188

“But now, independently of the law, the righteousness of God is tangible and brought to light through Jesus, the Anointed One. This is the righteousness that the Scriptures prophesied would come. It is God’s righteousness made visible through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And now all who believe in him receive that gift. For there is really no difference between us, for we all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God. Yet through his powerful declaration of acquittal, God freely gives away his righteousness. His gift of love and favor now cascades over us, all because Jesus, the Anointed One, has liberated us from the guilt, punishment, and power of sin!

Jesus’ God-given destiny was to be the sacrifice to take away sins, and now he is our mercy seat because of his death on the cross. We come to him for mercy, for God has made a provision for us to be forgiven by faith in the sacred blood of Jesus. This is the perfect demonstration of God’s justice, because until now, he had been so patient—holding back his justice out of his tolerance for us. So he covered over the sins of those who lived prior to Jesus’ sacrifice. And when the season of tolerance came to an end, there was only one possible way for God to give away his righteousness and still be true to both his justice and his mercy—to offer up his own Son. So now, because we stand on the faithfulness of Jesus, God declares us righteous in his eyes” (Romans 3:21-26 TPT)!

Two paragraphs to sum up all that Jesus has done for us in righteousness. The faithfulness of Christ even in death is the example that gives everyone the ability to receive His gift freely. Again, Paul repeats that there is no difference in any of us because we are all sinners and in need of God’s glory. And there is nothing within my power to change any of that. God’s power is the only thing that can change that. God’s power is the only thing that can liberate me.

I need to have faith in God. I need to have faith in Jesus. I need to have faith in the Spirit. Just as Jesus was faithful to Him, I need to be faithful to Him. Faith is an action. Faith isn’t passive. Faith isn’t just saying something. Faith is lived.

So, I didn’t ever get sucked into the whole debate about faith and works because being faithful is a decision that only means anything if that faith is acted upon. Faith without works is not only dead, it’s hypocrisy. You can’t have faith and trust in something and not act live a life that reveals that. You can’t have hidden faith. You can’t have secret faith. It can’t be some idea you wear on the weekend like church clothes and then put back in the closet until next week. Faith is lived daily.

Faith is the action of living my philosophy. I can think all manner of things about what I truly believe. I can talk and read and put on a show about my beliefs BUT, when the rubber meets the road, my actions will show my faith. And that is a big issue for a lot of people because there is a lot of hypocrisy in people.

Hypocrisy is a huge issue for me. I was quite the hypocrite. And what bugged me about other people was their hypocrisy as well. I couldn’t stand all the hypocrites of all different faiths. BUT, as I began to focus on my own hypocrisy and aligning my idealized faith with my faithful actions, I found there was a lot more forgiveness. I was not really good about being faithful to what I thought I believed. It takes a lot of work to be faithful.

And three years ago, I started that journey of fourteen days to becoming faithful. And being faithful took a lot of change. If I was going to live aligned to what I thought was important, then it was going to take a transformation. And change is not easy. Courage is choosing to change. It takes a lot to start getting healthy. It takes a lot to start making better choices. It takes a lot to stand outside the system. It takes a lot to become liberated. It took the death and resurrection of Jesus and He was God. How much more is it going to take for a dirt creature like me?

Luckily, I don’t have to worry about that because God covered it all.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 187

“Then what is the advantage of the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God [His very I.e. the Old Testament promises.words].

What then? If some did not believe or were unfaithful [to God], their lack of belief will not nullify and make invalid the faithfulness of God and His word, will it? Certainly not! Let God be found true [as He will be], though every person be found a liar, just as it is written [in Scripture],

‘That You may be justified in Your words,

And prevail when You are judged [by sinful men].’

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? God is not wrong to inflict His wrath [on us], is He? (I am speaking in purely human terms.)

Certainly not! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? But [as you might say] if through my lie God’s truth was magnified and abounded to His glory, why am I still being judged as a sinner? And why not say, (as some slanderously report and claim that we teach) ‘Let us do evil so that good may come of it’? Their condemnation [by God] is just.

Well then, are we [Jews] better off than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) are under the control of sin and subject to its power. As it is written and forever remains written,

‘There is none righteous [none that meets God’s standard], not even one.

There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God.

All have turned aside, together they have become useless;

There is none who does good, no, not one.’

‘Their throat is an open grave;

They [habitually] deceive with their tongues.’

‘The venom of asps is beneath their lips.’

‘Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.’

‘Their feet are swift to shed blood,

Destruction and misery are in their paths,

And they have not known the path of peace.’

‘There is no fear of God [and His awesome power] before their eyes.’

Now we know that whatever the Law [of Moses] says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the excuses of] every mouth may be silenced [from protesting] and that all the world may be held accountable to God [and subject to His judgment]. For no person [flesh] will be justified [freed of guilt and declared righteous] in His sight by [trying to do] the works of the Law. For through the Law we become conscious of sin [and the recognition of sin directs us toward repentance, but provides no remedy for sin]” (Romans 3:1-20).

Again, another huge chunk of Paul’s epistle, however, it is one unit to look at in detail about how all of us are guilty. A fact that I too often forget. “They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalms 14:3 AMP).

Lawful or lawless. Presbyter or congregant. Jew or Christian. Gentile or American. Not one.

“Their feet run to evil,

And they rush to shed innocent blood.

Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness

[of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing];

Devastation and destruction are in their highways.

They do not know the way of peace,

And there is no justice in their tracks.

They have made them into crooked paths;

Whoever walks on them does not know peace” (Isaiah 59:7-8 AMP).

This study has started to take a turn here. BUT that does sound a lot like American society. It is almost like if Paul was writing letters today that there would be an epistle to American Christians. We live in a community, all across this world BUT definitely in America, where “devastation and destruction are in [our] highways”. We have a system that is based in inequality and founded in violence so much so that we no longer “know the way of peace”. Folks murder blatantly and there “is no justice” because our system has “made them into crooked paths”. How can we walk in those systems and know peace? We can’t. There is only peace through being part of His Kingdom. There is no justification in the Law. The Law is there to show me how wrong I am. And the systems around me show just how far away from His Way I can get if allowed to make my own decisions. If I try to judge what is good on my own, I get the systems and societies that surround me.

Israel had the Law and failed. Israel was set apart and favored and failed. BUT through the lessons of the past, I can build upon the Law’s fulfillment. I can look beyond the Law and to The Christ to make a way for me to salvation and sanctification. I can turn away from the kingdoms of men and the goodness I judge with my own eye and look towards His Kingdom and see things through the Spirit.

I pray that I begin to live as The Christ taught. I pray that every day my walk with Him is better aligned to the love and grace and mercy He has shown to me and to all humanity. I pray that I daily deny myself, take up His cross, and follow Him obediently. I pray that through my walk I am a better Ambassador of His Kingdom.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH