Something Already Done

The Apostle Paul made this astonishing statement … "Jesus hath abolished death."

2nd Timothy 1:10 … "But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."

As Paul was writing these words … who hath abolished death … people were still dying, and still are today. Death is still active, right? So how has Jesus abolished death?

In this chapter, Paul is speaking of what God intends to do through Christ … as being so certain, that it may be spoken of … as a thing that is already done. Let me repeat myself and say it this way. Jesus, through His resurrection has made it so certain that death will be abolished, that it is spoken of as something already done.

In John 11:25-26, Jesus speaking to Martha after Lazarus died said … "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

Jesus wasn't saying that no one would ever die again. Natural man has an appointment with death. That's how God set it up. Hebrews 9:27 … "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." The sad part is … for the lost the opposite is true, spiritual death and separation from God will last forever.

But there is some good news as Paul states in the last half of 1st Corinthians 15:22 … "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

Through the power of the resurrection, the very same power that entered into our hearts through the process of the new birth, the life that was in Christ, now residing within us … makes what Jesus has done so certain, that it may be spoken of … as a thing that is already done.

Physical death will be done away with at the end of this age. Paul continues speaking of this assurance about death in …

1st Corinthians 15:53-54 … "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."

John writes in agreement in Revelation 21:4-5 … "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new."

When God sent Jesus into the world He intended to do more than just abolish death. There are some other things God wants to make certain in our lives. It has to do with what is called making … a declaration of faith.

When we make a declaration of faith concerning something that we consider as needing to be done by God; such as healing or salvation for a loved one, etc., we need to speak of it as … something already done.

You may say … "You're repeating yourself." Yes I am. I intend too! What moves God? Faith! When you ask God, when you pray … you need to see whatever you ask for as … something already done.

2nd Corinthians 5:7 … "We walk by faith, not by sight." This is what faith is all about. Believing that what you have asked your Lord for is … something already done.

I wasn't going to use this most familiar scripture but it just stays in my mind, so here it is. Hebrews 11:1 … "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." In other words it's … something already done.

Speak of it and treat it with faith as … something already done. That way we do what the Apostle Paul said in 1st Corinthians 11:1 … "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." If I may use my words, I think Paul was saying … "Pattern yourself after my example of following Christ. Be so certain about what God intends to do that you can follow Him as I do."

That's why Paul could make the astonishing statement I started this dissertation with … "Jesus hath abolished death." Paul was certain in his heart and mind because he knew Jesus … who He really was and what He was like in every situation of life. Paul knew he could have faith in the words of Jesus.

I don't care what people say or think about me … I may not get the job done … but I intend to make every effort to believe the words of Jesus. Words like we find in …

Mark 11:22-23 … "Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

But He doesn't stop there. Jesus now adds in the next verse what I think is something even stronger when He says …

"Therefore … (because of what I have just said) … I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

It sounds to me like Jesus is saying ... be so certain in your heart and mind that what things soever you have asked for in prayer, may now be spoken of as … something already done.

Something already done. It's a … declaration of faith.

If you think about it … faith (trust and confidence, perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses) says it's true. Why should you decide it's true? Because of the three words Jesus said on the cross before He died; three words confirming He gave you complete restoration and freedom from sin, sickness and death.

"It is finished" … and I believe Him. No more can be done … therefore whatever your need is, it can be spoken of as …

Something already done.



Comments welcome.

Words

Words are very important; once they are spoken they can never be taken back. You can try by saying … "I take that back, I didn't mean it." The problem is, even after you say, "I'm sorry," they still linger in the hearer's heart and mind.

God can and does forgive and "forget" all the sin, wrongs and words spoken … but man cannot. That's one attribute God has that we don't. You can forgive the person who spoke the words, and even if you do put those words way in the back of your mind somewhere … in time, someday it will be brought back up to you, I guarantee it.

How do I know? It's happened to me a few times. Have you ever heard of "the accuser of the brethren?" I'm speaking of the enemy of your soul, the one described in Revelation 12:9-10 as … "the great dragon, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world … the accuser of our brethren … which accused them before our God day and night."

You see, Satan delights in bringing misery to mankind in any way he can. He will take every opportunity to inflict pain and hurt on us even if it comes through our memories. He will bring up every hurtful word spoken to you from those you love and care about.

How does he do that? It's easy … all those words … all of them are still out there. Every word spoken in anger or frustration that entered your heart and mind are stored away somewhere. Some words spoken by others may have caused unintended wounds that the one speaking didn't even know were hurtful. But they were.

No one knows where spoken words go. I don't know if they go out into the air circulating around the world or perhaps deep in the recesses of your mind … but Satan has access to them. The proof of that is in how he brings them back up, reminding you of who said what … and he usually suggests the "real reason" as to why they were spoken. It will be a lie … but we listen and many times believe it.

I don't really know … this is just a thought … but words must go into a different dimension or realm. Perhaps a depository or a type of library; but instead of a collection of books, it's where all of our words must be stored because someday they will be played back for us in God's presence.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:36-37 … "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

Just before Jesus spoke about "every idle word," He was speaking to (as He put it) "a generation of vipers" when He said to them … "How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure (of the heart) bringeth forth evil things."

That should remind us that when we speak hurtful, unkind or judgmental words … we had better stop and take inventory of what's in our heart … "good treasure or evil treasure."

Where did the first lie come from? Wasn't it from the mouth of a viper, a snake that lied to Eve in the garden? Didn't he twist and change God's words about the tree of knowledge to the point where she accepted his lies? Can Satan still do that today with words spoken to us; especially someone's words that may have cut you deeply in the past? He will make sure there are some things you never forget. He won't let you; he keeps bringing them up.

I remember one Pastor speaking to a group of believers, started his remarks with … "I know exactly what I'm going to say, but I have no idea what you are going to hear." He said … "It's as if the words as they leave my lips are changed somehow before your ears hear them."

It's like they get snatched by Satan right out of the air and twisted in whatever "dimension and realm" spoken words are in, so that they are different by the time you hear them.

When Jesus said in Matthew 11:15 … "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear," He was implying that the highest attention should be given to what was spoken. "He that hath ears" … could mean not everyone had spiritual ears and understanding to hear and take in and seriously weigh and consider the importance that His words had to the hearer. You see, they were really God's words spoken through Him. If that was true then … it is also true today; we need spiritual ears to hear God's voice.

This was said about Jesus in John 7:46 … "Never a man spoke like this man."

Who is this Jesus that spoke like none before Him? The Apostle John's writings start with a statement that the Christian faith is based upon. He wrote … "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And then a couple of sentences later he says … "And the Word was made flesh …"

That's who Jesus is. The Word of God … wrapped in flesh. You could say it this way … "The spoken words of God were made flesh."

The words Jesus spoke are important because not only was He speaking for God … He was God speaking.

The only problem I now have is reconciling the exalted words of Jesus with the everyday reality around us. I'll give you one example …

Mark 11:23 … "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

All I can think is … wow! Really? What do I do with that? Talk about exalted.

There must be something here to use. Let's see … say and saith are each used two times, while believe and doubt are each used only once. Okay, say and saith means words spoken … so am I supposed to understand that our words are important? Is that the main thought here?

Here's another verse in John 15:7 … "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

I think the key to these last two scriptures must have something to do with … faith … and that is a whole different subject not covered in this discourse.

I'm going to end this post, not with my words but with some of God's Word itself; words of instruction and perhaps a warning about what we say. Remember … "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

Psalms 19:14 … "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."

Proverbs 6:2 … "Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth."

Proverbs 17:27 … "He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit."

Proverbs 29:20 … "Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him."

Ecclesiastes 5:2 … "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few."

Ecclesiastes 10:12 … "The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself."

Words … we might be better off if we just listen.



Comments welcome.

A Better Covenant … Part II

I ended Part I of this study with … It is not that we are innocent, or are declared to be innocent. We are not innocent; we never have been and we never shall be. It will always be true that the justified sinner has no claim to the mercy and grace of God.

Justification is a free gift.

What is justification? It is the declared purpose of God to regard and treat sinners who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as if they had not sinned, on the ground of the merits of the Saviour.

It is not mere pardon. Pardon is a free forgiveness of past offences. The offences are still on your record … just pardoned.

Justification needs pardon first but also respects the sinner in regard to his past conduct and to God’s future dealings with him … as though he had never sinned. God now looks at the believer through the filter of Jesus.

A Saviour was provided … before sin was committed … and the method of man's redemption was settled even before his creation without any regard to any works or merits of men. Man's redemption is wholly owing to the sovereign will and grace of God.

God alone has saved us. God all by Himself took on the responsibility of man's salvation. It has already been said …

"Man had a debt he could not pay … Jesus paid the debt He did not owe."

None has said it better than the writer of The Book of Hebrews when he wrote about the finished work of Jesus as our High Priest …

Hebrews 9:26 … "But as it now is, He has once for all … appeared to put away and abolish sin by His sacrifice of Himself. And having been offered … once and once for all …" Amplified Bible.

Never again will another offering, sacrifice or even "good works" be needed or accepted by God. "It is finished."

Do you know … you displease God … if you are trying to make your salvation more secure by good works?

An example is given in the O.T. to show the importance of the completed work of Christ on the cross. Moses when bringing forth water in the wilderness was unaware of what his actions meant but he had to pay just the same.

In Exodus 17:6, God told Moses to strike this one rock with his rod and water would flow freely out of it. Paul stated in 1st Corinthians 10:4 … "The Rock was Christ" … meaning the rock that followed Israel through the desert for forty years and gave all of Israel water to drink.

After traveling to another camp, the rock that followed them needed its water to start flowing again for the people. God gives Moses a new command …

Numbers 20:8 … "Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock …"

Numbers 20:11-12 … "And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."

Why wasn't Moses allowed to enter the Promised Land with Israel?

The Rock … Christ … once smitten did not need to be struck again, meaning to be crucified again. Moses was just to speak to the rock and it, Christ, would give His life giving water.

To smite the rock twice was to imply that Christ's death on the cross … was not effectual or sufficient … more had to be done.

Even though Moses was not aware of the significance of what he had been ordered to do, nevertheless God held him responsible for not obeying His command. Because of striking the rock twice, Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land with the rest of his people.

Obedience to God's will is important and must be followed, whether or not we understand His purpose.

I would be doing the Word of God injustice, if I were to conclude from both Paul's teaching as well as this lesson with Moses, that Christ's death on the cross was not sufficient; that God the Father sent Jesus to only go part of the way; that Jesus didn't pay the full price for sin; that just a little more is required; that we must somehow work, earn or add to whatever is needed to complete our salvation.

When believers in Christ somehow feel the need to do something more than just simply believe that Jesus paid the price … they are doing exactly what Moses did; and that is … to imply that Christ's death on the cross … was not effectual or sufficient … more has to be done.

Moses was kept from the Promised Land. Remember, the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 5:4 that believers can … "fall from grace" by going back under "the covenant of works." I guess my question would be … "If you are fallen from grace, will that keep you out of our promised land, Heaven?"

Jesus said … "It is finished." Nothing more can be added or should be added to what Jesus did on the cross. God wouldn't accept it anyway.

It has never been about us, what we do … it's always been about "Jesus" and what He has already done.

Hebrews 8:6-8 … "He (Jesus) is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second … Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant …" (Jeremiah 31:31)

Finally … all of us need to judge the "motive" behind why we work for the Lord.

All believers should have "good works" in their lives. But these actions or works, should be "automatic" … they should just happen; the love of God in us should birth them in our lives.

Do we do them automatically out of love; or do we do them … "to make our salvation more secure?" Again motive … it's a heart thing.

Nicholas Herman, a seventeenth century Carmelite monk from French Lorraine, known as Brother Lawrence once said … "God judges not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed."


Comments welcome.

A Better Covenant … Part I

There are two covenants involved in the covenant of redemption. The first is the "covenant of works" which was made between God and Adam before the fall. The second is the "covenant of grace" which God makes with Adam and his descendants after the fall.

The original "covenant of works" refers to the fact that God places Adam and Eve in a state of probation (a trial period during which their character and abilities are tested; in other words … their works) and then promises them everlasting life by eating the fruit from the tree of life forever … if … they can keep the one command that God requires of them; do not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The destiny of the human race is now dependent upon their obedience according to the terms of this original "covenant of works." If they pass their probation, if they are obedient, if their works are pleasing to God, then they may stay in the Garden and eat of the tree of life for all of eternity. But they fail miserably; and with that failure, they and their descendants fall into a state of ruin and are in need of redemption.

Once the "covenant of works" is broken, God did not just let the human race perish; but spared Adam and Eve and gave them a way to be redeemed. God does this on the basis of a new promise; which is "a covenant of grace" by which they will be redeemed by another man, the second Adam so to speak … Jesus the Son of God.

Why couldn't the first Adam somehow "work" to redeem his and Eve's fallen state? Sinful man can never meet the requirement needed to satisfy a Holy God's justice. Only God Himself was equal to the task. This is why God had to become one of us … the Lamb of God in human form … His Son Jesus Christ.

Keep in mind, two things …

1.) For God to enter into any covenant with man, the creature that He made, to make any promises to that creature, under whatever conditions He chooses to place that creature under; any dealings God has with man is already … an act of grace.

2.) God is not required to give, nor does He owe His creation anything; in fact everything He gives is always from His grace.

The point is … that even the "covenant of works" and its promises are founded upon "the covenant of grace."

Now here is where I want to bring both "works" and "grace" together. God accepted both "works" and "grace" as equals only in His Son Jesus.

Jesus becomes the second Adam; and as such God places Him back under the very same obligation to fulfill the "covenant of works" that the first Adam could not obey.

Now stay with me here …

We are not saved by the death of Christ only, but also by His life of obedience that fulfilled all of the terms of the first Adam's original "covenant of works." Adam could not keep the original covenant, but the man Jesus did.

Therefore … since a man, the second Adam, kept all the requirements of the Law by fulfilling all the terms of the original "covenant of works" … the contract which meant trying to earn God's approval … was done away with when Jesus fulfilled it. Man can no longer work to earn his salvation.

So, in the final analysis, we were "saved by works" … not ours … but Christ's works, with-in "the covenant of grace."

But you may ask … "I thought we are justified by faith alone?"

Justification by faith alone means … justification by putting our faith in Christ alone … because Christ alone has fulfilled the "covenant of works." You can say it this way … we will never be saved by our works; only by the "works" of Christ.

Therefore the new "covenant of grace" does not nullify the "covenant of works," but rather, it fulfills the "covenant of works."

The works of Christ and the grace of God fit together as one like a hand in a glove to accomplish the "covenant of redemption" God made with not only man, but also with His Son.

This is why Jesus is called "the second Adam." He fulfilled and completed what the first Adam couldn't.

And yet today, men by their own personal "works" are still trying to add to what Jesus completed and finalized forever.

Galatians 5:4 … "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."

If you are trying to add to your salvation by works of any kind; which is the same as being justified by the Law of Works; Paul said you are "fallen from grace."

You have left the "Covenant of Grace" and went back to the "Covenant of Works" which Jesus fulfilled. It's no longer any good. We can't do anything to add to what Jesus has done; if we think we can, we have only deceived ourselves.

Justification is not a declaration on the part of God that we deserve salvation, or that we have any claim for what the Lord Jesus has done; it is a free gift. Justification is given only by God's mercy and grace.

It is not that we are innocent, or are declared to be innocent. We are not innocent; we never have been and we never shall be. It will always be true that the justified sinner has no claim to the mercy and grace of God.

Justification is a free gift.


To be continued …