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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

586. How to Be Righteous

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If we went into the vast majority of Christian churches and asked for a show of hands on how many in attendance consider themselves to be righteous and holy, typically very few hands would go up. Why? They haven’t been taught about their new identity as a child of God. They are ignorant on the subject of God’s righteousness, and much like the Israelites, they may even be trying to establish their own right standing with God through their works. It’s a good thing to behave in a way that reflects godliness and be an example to others. But this is the result of coming to a revelation of how God has provided us with His total acceptance. We aren’t meant to dedicate “our lives” to Him, He has fully committed His life to us. The gospel is not about our doing, but rather it’s about what Christ did. For us, it’s about “being,” while resting in His gift and living out of response to that.



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586. How to Be Righteous

by

If we went into the vast majority of Christian churches and asked for a show of hands on how many in attendance consider themselves to be righteous and holy, typically very few hands would go up. Why? They haven’t been taught about their new identity as a child of God. They are ignorant on the subject of God’s righteousness, and much like the Israelites, they may even be trying to establish their own right standing with God through their works. It’s a good thing to behave in a way that reflects godliness and be an example to others. But this is the result of coming to a revelation of how God has provided us with His total acceptance. We aren’t meant to dedicate “our lives” to Him, He has fully committed His life to us. The gospel is not about our doing, but rather it’s about what Christ did. For us, it’s about “being,” while resting in His gift and living out of response to that.



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585. A Confession Recession

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It has kept people in fear and bondage - the belief that confessing individual sins is needed to receive a renewed forgiveness from God, or to maintain fellowship with Him. It weakens the truth in our minds that the blood of Jesus Christ brought forgiveness by taking away the sin of the world, once and for all. This week we discuss some thoughts in common sense fashion regarding our position in Christ, and why as believers we should recede from this practice of confessing sins when it comes to seeking forgiveness from God. As a new creation, your confession can focus on your identity in Him as being a righteous and holy child of God.



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584. The Confession of Jesus Christ

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Continuing our series about the misunderstood Bible verse of 1 John 1:9, we take a look at this specific verse as we consider the context leading up to it. John was writing to people who denied Jesus came in the flesh, that they had ever sinned, and that sin didn’t even exist. He couldn’t have been addressing Christians in this first chapter, who would’ve previously admitted a sin problem and the need for a savior. We find what John addressed actually syncs with something the Apostle Paul wrote on the subject of confession. Not the confession of individual sins in order to acquire a renewed forgiveness over and over, but a confession of Jesus Christ as Lord. We also find John comes back to the subject of confession later in his book and it brings further clarification.



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583. The Context Leading Up To 1 John 1:9 (Confession)

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A common doctrine found in Christianity is that of confessing sins in order to receive a renewed forgiveness from God. Interestingly, the Apostle Paul, who wrote more books in the New Testament than anyone, never once instructed us to confess our sins in order to be forgiven. Considering previous scriptures we’ve covered which declare we’re already forgiven in Christ, where does this concept come from? It basically revolves around one verse in the entire Bible. This week, we look at the context leading up to that verse, who John was speaking to, and what his message was really meant to communicate.



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582. Reminding God of Sins He Remembers No More?

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Under the Old Covenant, Israel was constantly reminded of sins through the repeated offering of animal sacrifices, which resulted in a guilty conscience. Under the existing New Covenant, God declared long ago that He would be merciful to our iniquities and He would remember sins no more. Yet religion has made it a point to pull a single verse from the Bible out of context by advocating that sins need to be confessed in order to be forgiven (again). What’s wrong with this picture? That’s our discussion on this week’s program.



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581. “How Can I Be Sure God Has Forgiven Me?”

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Forgiveness from God has nothing to do with whether you confess all of your sins or because a pastor or priest declared it to be so; it is because of the blood of Jesus that has already been shed, once for all. Christian religionists have hammered a single verse from the Bible to imply you must confess every wrongdoing in order to be forgiven and cleansed. This week, we’ll quickly run through a list of passages showing the assurance we have already acquired when it comes to God’s forgiveness.



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581. “How Can I Be Sure God Has Forgiven Me?”

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Forgiveness from God has nothing to do with whether you confess all of your sins or because a pastor or priest declared it to be so; it is because of the blood of Jesus that has already been shed, once for all. Christian religionists have hammered a single verse from the Bible to imply you must confess every wrongdoing in order to be forgiven and cleansed. This week, we’ll quickly run through a list of passages showing the assurance we have already acquired when it comes to God’s forgiveness.



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580. Revisiting “If We Sin Willfully…”

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As we talked about a couple of podcasts ago, the writer of Hebrews was telling his readers that the animal sacrifices through the law came to an end, so they were not to go down that path anymore for forgiveness of sins, but rather they were to believe in the one sacrifice of Jesus that was sufficient for all sins for all time. If they reject the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. That’s really what Hebrews 10:26 is saying.

During a discussion on social media, a statement was made by someone that the sacrifice of Jesus "does NOT cover willful sinning." That is quite a breathtaking statement - and quite sad - and it misses the entire point of the book of Hebrews. So this week we dig a little more into this controversial passage in Hebrews. We also take a look at other scriptures about sin being taken away, that have no such added conditions regarding "willful" sin. Many scriptures plainly say that we are saved by grace, through faith (by believing), and they do not add any such caveat that this isn’t true if we sin willfully. In fact, many scriptures highlight the fact that we have the forgiveness, remission and removal of ALL sin through the blood of Jesus. The book of Hebrews was not written to scare believers, but rather to assure them of the sufficiency of the blood of Jesus. The warning about "willful sin" was not directed at people who sin, but rather at people who reject the sacrifice of Jesus as the only sacrifice that takes away all their sin.



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579. God With Us: Merry Christmas

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We know Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus as the savior of the world.  But it can be a challenge to grasp the idea of God becoming human, becoming one of us and enduring temptation in the same way we do, yet without sin.  Why is it that it would require a man who would bring redemption to a fallen human race?  We know this occurred, but we don’t always stop to think about why.  We often think of Jesus as the Son of God but He was also the Son of man.  This week, we have a conversation that takes a closer look at the human side in the life of Jesus.



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578. If We Sin Willfully…

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A verse that is often misunderstood and used ruthlessly by religious legalists within Christianity, is found in Hebrews 10:26: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” Individual verses without context will lead us into a place of misunderstanding. Various teachings from this passage have led people into a place of fear and uncertainty. Our program this week will bring a reminder of that “blessed assurance” so many have been missing.



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577. Forgiveness “For All Time” Through One Offering

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Our focus continues on the sufficiency of Christ’s one offering that has taken away sin once and for all. While religion has promoted the false need for people to keep seeking a renewed forgiveness from God, the tenth chapter of Hebrews reveals much better news for us. All of the forgiveness God is going to give has already been poured out through this one sacrifice. Once forgiveness has occurred, there is no longer the need for another offering. Whereas the priests kept standing while seeking more forgiveness with more offerings, Jesus offered Himself once and sat down.
It is finished!



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