Freedom from Sin

John 8:36 “If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall

be free indeed."

We need to see us as God has made us through Christ. Look at

all of the names, labels, and qualities that God has given us

through Christ.

Thanks to Him, we are: free, clean, washed,

holy, brand new, beautiful, restored, forgiven, strong,

disciplined, healthy, mature, holy, righteous, godly, and pure.

God in His desire to make known to the world the riches

of His mercy has accomplished the reconciliation (or restored

relationship of harmony and friendship) of everyone, both Jews

and Gentiles, to Him through the death of His Son, and the

shedding of His blood.

God, in His desire to make known to us His love for us

has caused the sins of the entire world to rest upon Jesus.

When Jesus died on the cross, He bore all of the sins of the

world. He paid the penalty for us. We do not have to die for the

sins that we have committed, thanks to what He accomplished

for us. It never ceases to amaze me, Jesus died for us, so we

might have the restored relationship of friendship and harmony

with God.

God in His desire to bring the entire world into a

relationship with Him, has effected a new covenant in Christ.

Now that we have the second covenant in Christ, we no longer

need to have a priest offering up sacrifices for us on a daily,

weekly, or yearly basis. The sacrifice of Christ is timeless. Christ

through His blood has obtained eternal redemption for us.

I am sure you have heard the phrase, "covered by the

blood of Christ." All of us, as believer, are in fact covered by the

blood of Christ. God through Jesus has sprinkled the nations

with His blood so that all might be saved.

Isaiah 52:15

"Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths

on account of Him; for what had not been told them they will

see, and what they had not heard they will understand."

Isaiah 45:22

"Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am

God, and there is no other."

Remember, the first covenant entered into with God was

inaugurated by the sprinkling of blood upon the people and the

tables of the Law. The blood is what sealed the covenant. The

blood of animals only covered sin, but the blood of Christ

removes them. The blood of Christ cleanses our consciences so

there is no longer a reminder of sins. Earlier we discussed how

the blood is that which brings satisfaction to God, because it is

the severity of the loss of a life which He has created.

Remember from earlier, the soul is identified with the

blood and that it is given to us on the altar to make atonement

for our souls. God does not take pleasure in the blood of

animals because of this very reason, they are animals. The

penalty for breaking His law is death. The death of animals does

not satisfy, because the animal isn't the one who broke God's

law.

God is a God of justice. Remember, He loves righteousness.

He wants the guilty party to have to pay. However in His

great amounts of mercy and in order to save the entire world

from the sentence of death, God placed all of our sins upon

Jesus. There is a good reason why Jesus is referred to as the

Lamb of God.

Think for about this for a moment. The sacrifices of

animals covered sins because their life was cut short and their

blood was spilled. The animals that were to be sacrificed had to

be perfect. They had to be free from any and all blemishes, as

well as any defects. Jesus was perfect not only physically, but

spiritually as well.

Here is the sinless Son of man who is blameless and

righteous. He did not commit any sin and as a result did not

deserve to die. God sent Jesus to earth for this very reason, to

save the entire world from the sentence of death that was

written upon all of the peoples of the world.

Thanks to God, through Christ, we, both Jews and the

Gentiles are offered a means of salvation that formerly was not

there. Christ has obtained for us eternal redemption. Even

though as Gentiles we were never given the Law, we were still

under it because God said so.

So, now what is necessary for us to have righteousness

or be righteous in the sight of God? What does that mean for

those of us who know Christ? What commandments are we to

keep? Well, what does the Lord Jesus Christ Himself have to

say regarding keeping the law and the commandments?

Christ says to keep all of the law and its commandments. Most people

might think that is the ten commandments. The ten

commandments are great, but Christ says to keep all of the

commandments.

Matthew 19:17 "And He said to him, "Why are asking Me about

what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to

enter into life, keep the commandments."

Matthew 22:35-40 [35] "One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a

question, testing Him, [36] "Teacher, which is the great

commandment in the Law?" [37] And He said to him, "'You shall

love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your

soul, and with all your mind.' [38] This is the great and foremost

commandment. [39] The second is like it, 'You shall love your

neighbor as yourself.' [40] On these two commandments

depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Listen to what Jesus has to say in verse 40, ‘on these

two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.’

So all of the Law and commandments that are given by God,

are instructions from Him on how to love Him with all that we

are, and how to love our neighbor as ourselves.

It is by the keeping of the commandments that we enter into the

life that Christ has obtained for us by His sacrifice on the cross.

John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."

John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them,

he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by

My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him."

Christ died to save us from the penalty of sinning against God,

which is death. Christ didn’t die to do away with the law or its

meaning. He satisfied God’s requirements which is the death of

the transgressor.

Matthew 5:17-19 [17] "Do not think that I came to abolish the

Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. [18]

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the

smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is

accomplished. [19] Whoever then annuls one of the least of

these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called

least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches

them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

The penalty of breaking God’s law is death. The shedding of

blood to the point of death satisfies God’s law. Jesus kept all of

the law of God according to Moses, perfectly, completely, to the

point of death. He was circumcised, did not round off the side

growth of His head nor shave or trim His beard. Christ attended

all of the appointed festivals and feasts, in obedience to the

commandment of attendance by all of the males of Israel

according to the law of God. Jesus died on the cross and paid

the penalty for us, not to free us from the Law, only the penalty

of the law.

Leviticus 17:11 [11] “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I

have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your

souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes

atonement.”

Christ fulfilled the law by having His blood shed to the point of

death and satisfied the requirements of God, who applied it to

all of us who believe. Christ the perfect, flawless, blameless,

holy, and righteous Lamb of God. He who having done nothing

wrong, took upon Himself the penalty of sin, which is death.

All of the laws of God, from beard, to clothing, to what to eat or

not eat, to how to grow crops, are instructions in holiness and

righteousness.

Isaiah 42:23 "The Lord was pleased for His righteousness' sake

to make the law great and glorious."

The law, morals, standards, holiness, and righteousness of God

are eternal. They do not change, grow, or evolve.

Malachi 3:6 "For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O

sons of Jacob, are not consumed."

The law of God is alive, and well, and forever.

Psalm 111:7-8 [7] “The works of His hands are truth and justice;

all His precepts are sure. [8] They are upheld forever and ever;

they are performed in truth and uprightness.”

God says that His precepts are sure, upheld forever and ever.

Let’s take a look at the definition of the word precept.

Precept

1. a commandment or direction given as a rule of action or

conduct.

2. an injunction as to moral conduct; maxim.

a procedural directive or rule, as for the performance of some

technical operation.

3.Law.

a. a writ or warrant.

b. a written order issued pursuant to law, as a sheriff's order

for an election.

So the precepts of God that are upheld forever and ever are His

commandments, directions, rules, laws, and written orders.

Psalms 19:7-11 [7] "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the

soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

[8] The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the

commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. [9]

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of

the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. [10] They are

more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter

also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. [11]

Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them

there is great reward."

Listen to what verse 11 from Psalm 19 has to say, by the law of

God we are warned, and in keeping His law there is great

reward. It is the law of God that instructs us on how to behave

or conduct ourselves in such a manner that is pleasing to God.

It is also the law of God that instructs us in holiness. God

commands that we be holy, because He Himself is holy.

Leviticus 20:7-8 [7] “You shall consecrate yourselves therefore

and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. [8] And you shall keep

My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies

you.”

Let’s look at the definition of consecrate.

Consecrate

1. To declare or set apart as sacred.

God is commanding us to set ourselves apart as sacred to Him.

The definition of sanctify is to set apart for sacred use;

consecrate. It’s also to make holy or purify. God is the one who

sanctifies us. He tells us that it is the keeping of His statutes

and practicing them that makes us holy, purifies us, and sets us

apart from the rest of the people of the world.

The law, statutes, ordinances and precepts were given in order

to teach the Jews about God and His holiness. Christ kept every

aspect of the Law, and died sinless in order to be the perfect

unblemished sacrifice for us as the Lamb of God. He also told

His disciples to keep all of the law. The standards, cleanness,

values, morals, righteousness, goodness, and holiness of God

which we receive from His law do not change.

God's standard for holiness has not changed, nor has His

standard for righteousness changed. The blood of Christ which

gives us, both God's holiness and righteousness through faith,

is also God's standard for sin. God's standard for holiness is the

same as it has always been. The holiness of God is complete. It

is perfect. It does not change, grow, evolve, or do anything new.

Malachi 3:6 "For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O

sons of Jacob, are not consumed."

Being consecrated, sanctified, set apart, and holy, means being

special. Now, remember when the sons of Israel called God a

liar? Remember the flames of fire as a punishment? God hasn't

changed at all. Now the same penalty applies to the whole

world. Whoever will not believe what He has testified

concerning His Son, is calling Him a liar and subject to the

penalty, eternal flames of fire.

Proverbs 11:31 "Since the righteous will be rewarded in the

earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!"

Listen to John 3:18, [18] "He who believes in Him

is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged

already, because he has not believed in the name of the only

begotten Son of God."

Deuteronomy 7:9-10 [9] "Know therefore that the Lord your

God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and

His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who

love Him and keep His commandments; [10] but repays those

who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay

with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face."

It is not for us to repay those who hate God and reject

Him, otherwise we would have to destroy most of the western

world that has heard about Christ, yet rejected Him. We learn

from Deuteronomy that God Himself does it and with good

reason. He sacrificed His first-born Son for us. Someone who

hears the gospel and rejects it with hatred towards God or

indifference is sure to suffer for it by the hand of God.

Psalm 64 tells us that those who go against the

righteous, how much more so the Righteous One, Jesus Christ,

are made to hurt themselves with the power of their own

mouths. If you are interested, then stop for a moment and read

what Psalm 64 says God does to the wicked who are opposed

to the righteous. How much more so must He Himself deal with

those who hate Him, take His name in vain, and rally

themselves against Him!! Listen to what He says when handing

out the ten commandments about those who take His name in

vain.

Deuteronomy 5:11 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your

God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who

takes His name in vain."

God in His great mercy and loving-kindness has set it up

in such a manner, that all we have to do in order to obtain all of

the blessings He has to offer is believe what He has spoken

concerning Christ, ask for forgiveness, and repent of our sins.

Keep His commandments which are not grievous or hard.

What are the blessings God offers us for doing this? He

gives us: the reconciliation or restored relationship with Him so

we are back in harmony with Him. He gives us the gift of His

own righteousness. He also graciously forgives us our sins so

that we do not have to die according to the Law.

These are probably the most significant of the blessings

that come from believing what God has testified concerning

Christ.

This was an excerpt from Chapter 2 of "Freedom in Christ."

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Until next time, keep Christ first, and may God bless you.