I recently heard a sermon from a pastor from Hawaii who relayed the story of his travels through Indonesia. He was walking through remote hill tribes to bring the Gospel to the people, many of whom had never heard the name of Jesus. On one day he passed a Buddhist temple and one of the monks walked by. The pastor’s interpreters explained that he was a Christian. The Buddhist had heard of Christians and asked the question “Is it true that you Christians can do whatever you like and you are forgiven?” The pastor was taken aback for a short while at the simplicity of the question but shortly realised that it required a simple answer “Yes, it is true” he replied.
This Buddhist monk seemed to have grasped the concept of grace more that most Christians that I have met! Could it be true, that as a follower of Jesus Christ I am free to do whatever I like without fear of judgement? Well, shockingly, the simple answer, just as the pastor told the Buddhist monk is “Yes it’s true”. Christianity truly is the most lawless faith on the planet!
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Romans 5:17 “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 “ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Romans 6:14 “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”
The bible is stuffed full of verses about grace. We are told that we no longer live under the law, the law has been nailed to the cross once and for all. Did you know that in the secular UK the only person who is not under the law is the monarch (for now the Queen). She actually could never be prosecuted for anything. It’s only recently that she started paying tax, but this is entirely voluntary. Even her car doesn’t have a number plate and our fine traffic officers can do nothing about it! The same applies for us in the spiritual. If I am not under the law as the bible tells me, then I can’t break the law, and just like the queen, I cannot be prosecuted or judged.
You see the problem of sin between us (followers of Jesus) and God was dealt with at the cross of Calvary once and for all. Thanks to Jesus, sin can never be a block between us and God, ever! If sin still blocked the followers of Jesus access to the Father then Jesus utterly wasted his time on that cross. The big issue post Calvary is whether we trust in God or not, that’s where the true blockages come in.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not in any way condoning sin, or suggesting that we crack on with anything we like. No, our Father in heaven is a good, good Father. He knows what is good for his kids and he knows what will harm us. The law, even though no longer applying to us, has always been, and always will be good. If we as Christians ignore the law, even though it won’t make a jot of difference to our salvation (and it really won’t!) we will live appalling lives. All the ills of the world will inevitably be visited upon us and those around us as a natural and spiritual consequence (spiritual not from God but from Satan). So, yes, sin is bad and hugely unhealthy and damaging and will lead us to misery. If you are not saved (not born again), then even a single sin will also lead you to eternal separation from God (a place Jesus referred to as Hell).
So if you are a follower of Jesus, then as the bible tells us, you are free indeed. As the Holy Spirit lives in you from the day you put your trust in the Lord, He will be your guide to the life your Father in Heaven wants you to have, free, free, free! So shake off your guilt and condemnation because these are worldly things and you are no longer of the world.
It is truly wonderful to have the revelation of just how vast grace is, your walk with Christ will never be the same again as you enter into His rest.
If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus yet and would love the unbounded freedom this brings, then please contact us and we’ll be happy to show you how easy it is to break your chains!
