Today, when reading the Word, we must determine if we're already saved and are reading God's Word as the redeemed of the Lord or are we reading it as still sinners? Even if you are saved, but continue reading the Word and see yourself as still a sinner, then you'll miss the grace and blessing of your inheritance.
1Corinthians 6:11 (Amplified) says, "And such some of your were (once), But you were washed clean (purified) (b a complete atonement for sin and made free from the guilt of sin), and you were consecrated (set apart, hallowed), and you were justified (pronounced righteous by trusting) in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit of our God."
The Body of Christ has read and continues reading the Word like we were still sinners and unrighteous before God. If you've received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you need to begin looking at God's Own Words concerning who you are now and not who you were before you were saved.
Only the Holy Spirit can reveal to you who you are in the light of your redemption. We have received total forgiveness and righteousness by the Blood and life of Jesus. If we read the Word in the carnal mind and with mere human understanding, then we will still see our own shortcomings. When you read the Word by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, you see yourself as the Father sees you because of Jesus.
This makes all the difference in how your faith will work on such things as laying hands on the sick and prayer. If you still see yourself as the dead unsaved man, then you won't have confidence in what you're doing or praying. Why would God even hear us if we were still dead sinners? If you see yourself as the new creation that Jesus' sacrifice has made you, then you'll see how "old things have passed away, and behold, all things have been made new. He that knew no sin was made to be sin for us, that we were made the righteousness of God, in Him," like 2Corinthians 5:17-21 (Amplified) tells us.
Without the Holy Spirit revealing the truth of this scripture to you, you will only read it "religiously" and not in truth. We always confess how we believe this scripture as truth and then we add a "but" to it after reading it. We say, "Well Brother, I know that's what the Word says, but you know that we still make mistakes and we're still not perfect." Or we say, "You know Brother, that we still sin and aren't righteous after all." The Holy Spirit is not the One telling you this, it's the spirit of the world. The Holy Spirit will always reveal you in the light of the cross and not the way you used to be.
The Holy Spirit speaks through Paul in 2Corinthians 5:14-16 (Amplified) and shows us how the Father sees us and the we are are to see ourselves and and one another and Jesus. Thus, Paul says, "(For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that 9if) One died for all, the all died. And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake." Verse 16 goes on, "Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a (purely) human point of view ( in terms of natural standards of value). (No), even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a Man, yet now (we have such knowledge of Him that) we know Him no longer (in terms of the flesh)."
This scripture can only be revealed and received in it's truth, if we allow the Holy Spirit to do so. The old natural man will say "It's boastful and prideful to think of yourself as being righteous before God." It's not what we have done, but what Jesus has done on our behalf. It's prideful to refuse seeing yourself as what Jesus has made you to be. It's like telling God that what Jesus did wasn't enough to cleanse us from sin and make us righteous. If Jesus wasn't enough to cleanse us, then what do we have left that can do it?
We confess that we've been forgiven, made new and were born again, then we speak contrary to that in the next breath. By faith in the Blood and sacrifice of Jesus, were are made us righteous before God. We must believe this as true in order to ever come before a righteous God. We can never accomplish this on our own through rituals, works or religion. It's only by faith in Jesus.
Without the Holy Spirit to reveal the depth of what Jesus has done, we differ very little from the old covenant people and we try to become what the Blood has accomplished already for us. We can never gain by "works" what grace has provided by "faith."
We continually try improving on our righteousness by our own works. We should abstain from sinning and live right before God, but not to gain righteousness. We should do this to honor the Gift of Righteousness that has been bestowed upon us by Jesus' sacrifice. If it's His righteousness that we now have, then how can we improve upon that?
The religious, carnal mind says it's boasting to say we're righteous, but to the Spirit of God, it rings of faith and truth. We wouldn't dream of coming before God and say that Jesus' sacrifice wasn't enough to cleanse us and we must work for salvation. But, when we act like our salvation still depends on our own works, we are saying the same thing.
I'm not saying that now grace has come, we can live in any way we want to. I will live right before God in order to honor what Jesus has done for me. If I make a mistake (and I probably will), then the Blood of Jesus covers me and I am still in right standing with God, because of Jesus. It's not my right standing that I have faith in, but His. I don't have to be born again every time I miss the mark, I need only to be born again one time and then grow up in truth.
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