Do you know that, as a believer in Christ, “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light?” (1 Peter 2:9, NKJV)
If you believe you are special to God and chosen by Him to receive the grace of His Son’s righteousness, then you know that “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:1-2, NLT).
You are a believer in Christ. Has the Holy Spirit transformed your understanding of your relationship with God to the place where you believe you are totally forgiven and you can live without plagues of guilt? You can’t pay a debt you don’t owe. When you know you owe nothing, then you know you are guilt-free. You are in right-standing with God. When you believe that Christ has completely paid your debt, then you live in the freedom of His grace.
When you first received Christ, you received His finished work of grace in your born-again spirit. In your spirit, you became His new creation—debt-free of your sin and forgiven by His grace. In your reborn spirit, you received the righteousness of Christ, and in your spirit lives the fullness of God. But in your mind, you are all too aware of the failures of your flesh. You know you aren’t perfect. You know you make mistakes. But having a repentant heart is not having crippling feelings of guilt and shame. Having a repentant heart is a decision you make to turn from the sin that drew you away from God’s presence. It is unnecessary and spiritually unhealthy for you to live in condemnation when Christ doesn’t condemn you. He has given you His righteousness. What is necessary and spiritually healthy is for you to be renewed in your mind to understand the righteousness Christ has given you and who you are as a result of it.
When you learn to know the new person Christ has made you, you live in the freedom of your new life. Knowing who you are in Christ changes your perspective from perpetually experiencing guilt over your failures to knowing “in your heart—in your belly—in your gut” that you are free of condemnation. You know Jesus paid it all! You believe you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. You believe you had no righteousness of your own, but because of His love and mercy, Jesus gave you His. You don’t need to prove you have His forgiveness! There is no penance you have to perform. There is no perfection you have to maintain. You owe nothing because of His grace. There is no greater love than His—that He would give His life for you. No other love could fulfill God’s law, setting you free from the demand of its requirements. That law was never able to save you from your sin. Only Jesus could meet those requirements so you could be free.
“The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature,” Paul writes. “So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4, NLT).
Jesus did what the law could never accomplish! Through His sacrifice for us on Calvary, Jesus rendered a complete, thorough, and finished work of grace—declaring with His life that sin no longer has control. He fully satisfied the requirements of the law because we were unable to meet them. Where we once were weak, He gives us the power to live the righteousness He has given us.
Jesus has given you abundant life! The power of darkness is utterly defeated! The prerequisites of the law are completely satisfied. When you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into the truth of God’s Word so you will understand what it means to be debt-free, the knowledge of His Truth sets you free.
This is Truth! God loves you! You don't have to live in fear of not being good enough. You are forgiven! There is no debt you have to pay. Jesus paid it all! There is no guilt or shame or condemnation you need to wear. When you believe in your heart that you owe nothing for your sins, you know you are forgiven. You are free indeed! You are His chosen child. You carry the royalty of your Father. He has called you out of darkness into the freedom of His marvelous light. And out of your life flows rivers of living water, Christ in you, the hope of glory.
(Scriptures: 1 Peter 2:9; Romans 8:1-4, 12:2-3; 2 Corinthians 5: 17, 21; Ephesians 1:4-5, 13-14, 22-23; John 8:32, 10:10, 8:36, 7:38; Colossians 1:27)
© 2022 Lynn Lacher
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