JC Blog

Why was Paul so careful making sure he mentioned that the result of Abrahams faith extended to us? The Scriptures say that, "Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." ( Genesis 15:6 ). Paul is noting that the same credit of righteousness is extended to everyone who firmly relies in Jesus as Lord.

Abraham's faith was a conduit of the righteousness that God bestowed upon him, but his faith rested in the promise. The promise extends to us because the promise referred to the Messiah. Abraham saw a glimpse of this and knew that the Salvation of the world would come through his heir. Fortunate for us, God extends this hope of salvation to everyone who believes in Jesus. Romans 2:11 says, that God is no respecter of persons (KVJ). This is a great thing because it doesn't rely on who we are or what we do, it only relies on the person and the grace of Jesus.

There is a caveat however. To have righteousness credited unto your account you have to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. To the natural man, this is utterly ridiculous and hard to understand. On the other hand, many people confess this, but their confession is merely words. The Amplified Bible explains what truly believing is... to believe you must firmly rely on, trust in and adhere to what you confess. We can take lesson from Abraham because he was fully persuaded in the promise and because of that any doubt that remain was overpowered by his faith. To have God's righteousness credited to us, we have to be fully persuaded that He raised Jesus from the dead, and we have to believe this by faith.

Today, I praise God that we have Abraham as a powerful example of faith. I praise God that the blessing he received extends to us. I am so thankful to have obtained this righteousness apart from the Law, which is by faith. The same faith working in all who believe in Jesus. What a marvelous thing!

No matter what the circumstances around you, when you have a promise from God from his written word, then that promise is as strong and faithful as the guarantor of that promise. Abraham knew this and that is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham believed God, even though, what he was believing for had not yet come to pass.

The amazing thing from this passage of scripture is that Paul reminds us that this was written. Psalms 138:2 says, "...thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." (KVJ) So the written word of God carries much weight. We know that everything in heaven, on earth and under the earth will one day bow down and confess that Jesus is Lord. He is given the name above every name. ( Philippians 2:9-11 ). However, the Psalms said that God himself magnifies his word above his name. Why? Because His name rests on his word.

You have heard it say that a man is only as good as his word. Meaning that unless one does what they say the will do, they cannot be trusted. God holds himself to the same standard. In other words, if a promise has been spoken by him and has been recorded in his word, then that promise is as good as the name he bears and you can consider the promise fulfilled. The name to which one day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord.

Abraham believed God when he told him that he would be the father of many nations. No matter what the circumstances, he clung to that promise. It didn't matter that he was nearly one hundred years old. It didn't matter that Sarah was over ninety years old. No, didn't matter that she was barren. The scriptures tell us two things regarding this promise. First, God told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. Secondly the scriptures tell us that Abraham believed God.

In fact, Abraham believe God before he believed his circumstances. He knew that when God spoke and promised something that he would deliver it. He reasoned that God would do what he promised even when, in the physical it seemed impossible. And Abraham saw the fulfillment of part of that promise through Isaac and had glimpses of the rest of the fulfillment through Jesus. His faith was the catalyst to bring the promise to realization.

The second half of this verse is so powerful. '...God gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.' ( Romans 4:17 ) We see this example in creation. Nothing existed before hand, but God spoke and believed that what he had spoke would come to pass. As he spoke, things that did not exist, came into existence. He called things that were not as though they were, and suddenly the were.

Abraham believed God in such a way. Even though in the present physical condition, there was no heir to the promise, he believed God. He knew that God was able to call things into existence. All of this steams out of a personal relationship with Him and knowing him. It also comes from knowing his word and the promises within. When we know God in an intimate way, then we know who he is and what he will do. The more we know about him, the more we look to him and forward to the outcome rather than the circumstances.

This is so important for us today, because no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the doctor has said, no matter what we feel, we need to rest of what God has said about it. He is the one who 'gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.' ( Romans 4:17 ) When we believe him in such a way, then, like Abraham we operate in unwavering faith. Also like Abraham, we see the promises of God that are done and complete, called to manifest into the physical realm where we can interact with them.

Today, I praise God, that He is the one who gives life to the dead and changes circumstances. I praise God that the more we know him, the more we are able to operate in the faith that Abraham had. Because of this, 'He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believe' ( Romans 4:17 ) His faith has blessed us and will continue to do so for the many generations to come. Amen!

Sin existed before the Law was given and sin dominated the lives of every human being dating back to the fall of Adam. With Adams transgression, all authority that had been given to him by God was transferred over to Satan legally. Since that time Satan and the sin nature ruled mankind. Sin had dominion over everyone born into the world and we were subjected to Satan's kingdom because of it. When the Law was given it merely strengthen the hold of sin upon our lives because pointed out the obvious, that we were sinners. It gave humankind the means of comparison between God's standards and our shortcomings.

Because we were able to compare ourselves against God's holy standard for the first time, the Law brought about the consciousness of sin. We fell short, then we experienced guilt, shame and remorse on new levels. Sin was allowed to express itself in the commandments and accuse us before God. The Law strengthened sin against us and awakened the desire within us to sin. Sin had always existed but the craving of our sin nature came through awareness of the Law. That is why Paul said that ‘apart from the law, sin is dead' ( Romans 7:8 ). Meaning that the knowledge between right and wrong is what gives sin power. It wasn't dead in that it didn't exist before the law was given, but dead in the sense that it was an inactive and lifeless thing. We still sinned in ignorance because of our sin nature, but knowledge brought about awareness and awareness brought about our willingness to participate.

This is why it is so important to understand several things concerning the Law, our sin nature and what was accomplished through Christ Jesus. First of all, the Law strengthened sin against in order that we would realize our inability to keep the law. ( James 2:10, Romans 3:19-20, Galatians 3:10-11, Galatians 3:21-22 ) When we realize this, then we hopefully will realize our need for a Savior. ( Romans 3:21, Galatians 3:13 ) When we understand that Jesus is able to save us from the curse of the law then hopefully we will also understand that he saved us from the sin nature as well. ( Romans 6:6-7, Galatians 3: 13 ) Lastly he provided for us the righteousness that the Law describes as our new nature so that we would no longer struggle under the burden of sin or the law. ( Romans 3:22, Romans 6:18, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 4:24 ) Understanding all of this will allow you to be free in Christ Jesus. ( John 8:36, II Corinthians 3:17 )

If we don't understand who we are in Christ and what he has provided for us in our redemption then we will never be free from those things that use to keep us in chains. For example when slavery was abolished in America, many slaves remained with their former masters. Some of them chose to remain even though they were freed because they were comfortable and didn't know how to live apart from their former owners. Some remain because they did not know they were free. This news had been kept from them. This is a risk for Christians as well. If we are too comfortable with the old nature and its desires then we will choose to stay in bondage to it even though we are free. On the other hand, if we are not aware that we have been freed by Christ Jesus when we received our born again spirit, then will unknowingly remain in bondage to our previous nature. But if we know we are free based upon God's Word and we choose to walk in who we are in our spirits rather than what we know in the flesh, that is when we will experience the abundant live that Christ Jesus paid a heavy price for us to have. Today, my you encourage yourselves through these words to walk in newness of life. May you walk in freedom steaming out of the incredible gift that has been purchased and provided for you. Amen and Thank you Jesus!

It is easy to get distracted in life while we wait for the Lords return. We look forward to the day when we will see him face to face. We talk about it at church and among groups of believers excitedly anticipating his return to takes us to heaven. We long for the day when we will be united with him eternally. However, as equally exciting but not as readily talked about is the fact that one-third of our entire existence has already been completely redeemed.

Paul said in today's verse, "But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]" ( Romans 8:10 Amp ). When we were born again God put his Spirit of righteousness inside us to replace the sin nature or spirit of this world that he took out of us. By giving us this new spirit, he imputed His righteousness to us. This righteousness fulfills the entire law and brought us into relationship with God. While it is true that we were freed from the sin nature at this time, it is also true that eventually our bodies, which haven't been fully redeemed yet will die, be buried and remain in the grave until Jesus returns. This physical death happens to everyone and is a result of the fall of Adam. That is what Paul is saying here, even though your bodies will die, your spirit is alive right here and now!

How can we exist in two states at once? Our body is waiting for full redemption, our spirit has been fully redeemed and our mind or our soulish realm will experience rebirth by living by the spirit and renewing our mind to the word of God. So we exist in this dual state of redemption because the Lord is still offering this amazing gift to others. Peter said, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" ( II Peter 3:9 ). And again, "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation..." ( II Peter 3:15 ). Why is God waiting to physically redeem us? It is because he is not willing that any should perish, he provided this salvation to everyone and is waiting for people to accept and believes this awesome gift. We are of those who are privileged to be able to share this amazing news with the world. That is why we are still here.

We have been given this new spirit to assure eternal redemption. We have been freed from sin, we have been forgiven of our sin, we have been freed from any guilt and shame associated with our sin, but our bodies die because our bodies haven't been fully redeemed yet. We are waiting for this redemption, but while we wait, it is important to understand that full payment has been made for our entire spirit, soul and body. We have the down payment inside us right now. "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory" ( Ephesians 1:13-14 ). This is why we need to be born again. Because we need to have an imperishable spirit that cannot die when our earthly bodies perish. Right now we are waiting on the redemption of our bodies, but our spirit has already been redeemed and completely change. The payment has been made for all of these things even though we haven't seen it in our own bodies yet.

It is amazing to know that we currently possess the down payment of our salvation. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time" ( I Peter 1:3-5 ). Our born again spirit is where our rebirth took place. In our born again spirit is where we currently possess eternal life. In our born again spirit is where the mind of Christ exists. Everything needed for life on this earth while we wait for the redemption of our bodies is in existence there ( II Peter 3-4 ). Jesus provided it so we would be fully prepared navigate this life.

In yesterday's verse Paul reminded us that we belong to Christ because we bear His spirit. Today we know that although we are waiting for the redemption of our bodies, our salvation is secure in Him through the promised Holy Spirit that we possess. And if we currently possess it, then we can rest assured that he is able to rescue our bodies as well. "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" ( Philippians 3:20-21 ). So we can look forward to that time when we see Jesus face to face and our earthly bodies become like his, but equally as important we must remind ourselves of the sweet and precious promises that we currently posses through Christ Jesus. Today it is my prayer that you take this truth into your workplaces, coffee shops and everywhere that you go to take full advantage of your calling on this earth. Amen!