Sanctification and Justification Lesson 1

Transcription

1 Sanctification and Justification Lesson 1 Sanctify: Freed from sin and set apart as holy! 1 Corinthians 1 : 30 * But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: Jesus sacrificial death and Holy redeeming blood has purchased wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption for believers. By the work of God s amazing grace and the ministry of the regenerating power of the Holy Ghost we are in Christ. The word in as used in our text means a condition, state or attribute in other words what we are in Christ. We were foolish with no knowledge of God but by His amazing grace He has given us the mind of Christ that we may understand the hidden mysteries of God. We were guilty, depraved and corrupt sinners, who are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, praise His wonderful name! Our flesh, which is contaminated with hereditary sin from Adam, has been sanctified and set apart as holy through the sacrificial death and holy redeeming blood of Jesus. We who stood guilty sinners before God and sentenced to eternal damnation have been redeemed and set free from sin and the wages of sin suffering, pain, disease, poverty and the second death. In Christ we now have eternal life and peace with God. Hallelujah! Individuals receive all the blessings of the atonement in Christ Jesus by faith through knowledge of God s word. 1 Thessalonians 4: 3-4 * For this is the will of God, even your sanctification that ye should abstain from fornication: * That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor; * Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 1

2 Now that the death and blood of Jesus has sanctified us freed us from sins power and set us apart as God s Holy people, we should abstain from all sexual sin and live a life style pleasing to God, a life that reflects the righteousness of Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 2 : 13 * But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: God knew who would respond to His amazing grace and be His sanctified ones before the foundations of this world. However that does not mean that God has chosen some to be saved and others to be damned. The grace of God that brings salvation appears to all people during the course of their lifetime here on earth. God is good all the time! God knew before He created us which of us would respond to His amazing grace and be saved. He also knew those of us who would reject His amazing grace and be damned. A sure sign that a sinner is responding to God s grace is that they will start to read the Bible. When we respond to God s grace and believe the biblical testimony of Christ s death and resurrection, through knowledge of the scriptures, the Holy Ghost performs the miracle of regeneration when he comes to live in us. Our spirit that was dead in trespass and sin separated from the life of God, is quickened: made alive, joined unto God by the indwelling Holy Ghost and created in righteousness and true holiness with the righteousness and Holiness which Jesus blood freely purchased for us. This can only happen to individuals through unwavering faith and firm belief in the truth as is written in God s word. Salvation is all of God and nothing of mankind, those who are dead in trespass and sin can do nothing to save themselves dead persons cannot help themselves. It is God s grace working in us that draws us to Him. Ephesians 4 : * And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; * And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 2

3 Our born again spirit is created in righteousness and true holiness, therefore we clothe our selves with Christ s righteousness by Faith, and see our selves as God sees us, righteous with our Redeemer s righteousness. We have to renew our mind with the knowledge that we are now accepted as holy blood bought children of the Most High God. Our regenerate spirit is a replica, copy, duplicate of Jesus. The word spirit in the above scripture is not referring to our born again spirit or the Holy Ghost spirit in this case comes from the Greek word pneuma which means mental disposition or mental attitude. This means we have to reprogramme our minds with new information, which aligns itself with God s word. It is not only a renewing of the mind but also a renewing of our attitude. We are told to put on the new man; put on comes from the Greek word enduo, which means clothe one s self by faith, (like putting on a coat) with all that we are in Christ Jesus. Our attitude and actions must also be changed, we have to live to let Jesus live through us, therefore our attitudes and actions should glorify the lord. Our born again spirit was created in righteousness and true holiness, which is a gift from God, true holiness, is implying that there is a false holiness, which is selfrighteousness. God is a spirit and sees us for whom we are we are in Christ Jesus, and deals with us based on this true holiness, which is in our new man. Eph 4:22 tell us to put off the old man - our inherited sin nature that is corrupt with deceitful lusts. We must turn away from bad habits, wrong sensual conversations and jokes, sexual lusts as well as bad attitudes such as anger, bitterness, envy, covetousness, pride and rebellion, which were imputed to our flesh through hereditary sin from Adam. We must not carry on living as though the old man is still alive the old man was crucified with Christ sin was nailed to Calvary s tree with the death of Christ, we must not allow the old man to be resurrected. We must let the new man dominate our actions and allow Jesus to live through us. 3

4 Sanctification and Justification Lesson 2 1 Peter 1: 2 * Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. The elect of the Lord God are a holy people who belong to the Lord who bought us out of Satan s kingdom with His own life s blood, therefore we do not belong to ourselves we were bought with the great price of the sacrificial death and Holy redeeming Blood of the God-Man Christ Jesus! We are sanctified by the indwelling presence of God the Holy Ghost whereby we are created new creatures bearing the image and likeness of God perfectly holy and righteous possessing eternal life. Regeneration happens in our born again Spirit not our carnal flesh. Sanctification of the Spirit sets us apart as holy because God has taken up residence in our bodies which is now the temple of God. We are sanctified unto obedience to the will of God, before the indwelling Holy Ghost regenerated us we were rebellious sinners under Satan s dominion, we are no longer rebels! We obey the truth of the gospel through the Spirit v22. And the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ - we are sanctified by the indwelling Holy Ghost and justified by the blood of Jesus which cancelled out the sins of the world and set us fee from sins power to curse us with disease, pain and suffering, and damn us to the second death. Being sanctified through the truth of God s word by the indwelling Holy Ghost we are set apart as holy, for holy purposes! Justified: Declared Holy by Divine Justice through faith in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. The sprinkling of the blood of Jesus speaks of Jesus blood being applied by faith in the presence of the Holy Ghost by the individual, when we take by faith the imputed righteousness of Christ, which we wear as a garment. 4

5 John 17: * I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. * They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. * Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. Sanctified believers are in this world but do not belong to this world we are citizens of Heaven, pilgrims and strangers in this world, set free from sins power and set apart as God s holy people. We are sanctified through the truth of God s word and the indwelling Holy Ghost. We are in this world but not off this world, we belong to the kingdom of God and all the blessings, which have been freely provided in the atonement in Christ, are freely available to us. Which are forgiveness of sin, freedom from the guilt of sin, righteousness, divine health, having all our needs met by God, eternal life, a new glorified body and eternal home in the presence of the Holy Trinity forever - Wonderful Redeemer! Acts 20: * For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. * Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. * Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Grievous wolves are sheep in wolves clothing, hypocritical professors of Christianity who would infiltrate Christ s body after Paul was promoted to glory. Why did Paul not rebuke the devil and stop these terrible things from happening? Because the individuals will is involved and if some choose to be messengers of Satan we cannot cast out devils from those who are willfully yielding to evil. They have free choice! The other terrible thing in Paul s prophecy was that some believers present, who had worked with Paul, would bring in heresy and cause division in the body. One of the Lord s twelve disciples 5

6 (Judas) sold Him out to the devil for money, thirty pieces of silver! Pride and rebellion breed self-deceit - the result, bold rebellion against the authority of God s word and is the root cause of all division in Christ s body! Wolves in sheep s clothing are both proud and rebellious and are not interested in the extension of Christ s body; all they want is a following after them. Pride and rebellion are satanic attitudes that belong to those under the devils dominion; pride is an attitude of the old man that must be put to death. Pride must not be given place in the new man who has been regenerated by the indwelling Holy Ghost. Many wolves in sheep s clothing arose after the death of Paul, we in our day two thousand years later are surrounded on all sides by religious wolves in sheep s clothing. The only way the individuals can escape being deceived and seduced by such false brethren is to have Godly wisdom, have the mind of Christ - deep knowledge of God s word. We must try and test all things by God s word, which is our final authority. Acts 20: 32 * And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. All who are born of God the Holy Ghost and sanctified through the word are joint heirs with Jesus who have an eternal inheritance laid up for us amongst God s blood bought family. Acts 26: 18 * To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them, which are sanctified by faith, that is in me. The above scripture reveals another instrument used by God in the sanctifying of a believer, which is faith. Therefore we are sanctified by the indwelling Holy Ghost, the word of truth and faith, which is received through knowledge of the truth of God s word. We receive all the benefits of the atonement in Jesus by grace through faith in the promises of God s word. Justification and sanctification was accomplished through the sacrificial death 6

7 and redeeming blood of Jesus and has absolutely nothing what so ever to do with the individual s performance, justification and Sanctification is the free gift of God. Lesson Three Romans 15 : 16 * That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, this is sanctified because the Holy Ghost who is God and is Holy - The Holy One of the Holy Trinity has taken up residence in our bodies, which are now temples of God. The true fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in temples which are contaminated by hereditary sin, is almost too much to comprehend, never the less this is truth. The reason why God the Holy Ghost who is Holy can dwell in temples that are contaminated by hereditary sin is because of the Holy redeeming blood of Jesus has sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh. In other words the Holy redeeming blood of Jesus has washed us clean and made us fit vessels for His Holy Spirit to indwell. Hebrews 9:12-14 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood he entered in once into the holy place, HAVING OBTAINED ETERNAL REDEMPTION FOR US. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, SANCTIFIETH TO THE PURIFYING OF THE FLESH: HOW MUCH MORE SHALL THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, Who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God; purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. All the spiritual blessings and eternal blessings of the Old Testament saints were owing to there coming Messiah who fulfilled the types and shadows of animal sacrifices for the remission of sin. Christ s sacrificial death was a fulfillment of all that was typified under the Old Covenant. 7

8 Under the terms of the Old Covenant the sacrificial death of animals, pouring out of sacrificial blood and sprinkling of sacrificial blood on the alter in the Holy Of Hollies in the presence of the Holy Ghost, sanctified to the purifying of the sinful flesh of the Jews, and set them apart as God s holy chosen people. That did not mean that the Jews ceased to sin in their flesh, once each year on the Day of Atonement the Jews had to confess their sins and receive forgiveness and imputed righteousness and believe that the curse had been removed from them. This was all achieved through obedience to the terms of the Covenant freely provided by God s amazing grace, and received by faith in the death and blood of animals that atoned for sin. If the substitutional sacrificial death of animals and sprinkling of the blood of animals on the alter in the presence of God s Spirit, in the Jewish temple sanctified to the purifying of the flesh and imputed God s righteousness to the Jews, set them free from the curse of the law as well as set them apart as God s holy chosen people. Of how much more value was the substitutional sacrificial death and pouring out of Christ s Holy redeeming blood. If the death and blood of animals could sanctify to the purifying of the flesh, how much more value and power did the death and blood of the God-Man Christ, carry, to forgive all sin and sanctify to the purifying of the flesh, impute Christ s righteousness to His body, set us free from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13) and set us apart as God s holy chosen people of New Covenant times. When we confess our trespasses and believe in the power of Christ s blood to cancel out our sin record and break sins power to curse us with disease and damn us to the second death, we by faith sprinkle Christ s Holy Blood on the alter of our hearts in the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the blood of Christ cleanses our temples- sanctifies to the purifying of our flesh as we clothe ourselves with Christ s imputed righteousness by faith. This sets us apart as God s holy Chosen people of New Testament times to do the same works as Christ and obey the great commission. (Mark 16:15-20) preach the word the gospel of grace, cast out devils heal the sick and raise the dead, that the world might believe that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, that the Father be glorified in the Son 8

9 1 Corinthians 6 : 11 * And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Such were some of you referring to the list of sins mentioned in the previous two verses such as, fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, covetous and drunkards now we are washed, cleansed of all sin through faith and knowledge of the word of truth, you are sanctified set apart as holy for holy service. You are justified: declared righteous through faith in Christ s redeeming blood and in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of our God. 2 Timothy 2: 21 * If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master s use, and prepared unto every good work. We must not allow the old man dominate us we have to purge ourselves, fight against the devil, the lusts of the flesh, the world and temptation, knowing that we are sanctified and set apart as holy for the master s use. Vessels fit to be used by God who reflects Jesus in our every day life. We are to be vessels of honor not dishonor yet it is a true fact that our flesh will never know sinless perfection; this truth keeps us ever humble before the Lord and prevents us falling into the pit of self-righteous, where one gets their eyes off who they are in Christ and rely on ones own performance, commandment keeping and good works for justification and fall from grace. Hebrew 2: 11 * For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Jesus is the sanctifier, who sanctifies the ungodly by His grace, through our God given faith in the word of truth. We are in Him and He is in us, we are members of His body. True believers are those who are sanctified and endowed with holy principles and 9

10 powers, separated and set apart for holy purposes. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren, which is indeed wonderful considering the vileness of our sinful flesh, which has been sanctified and justified by His Word His Spirit and His Blood. Jesus will never be ashamed of any who are not ashamed of Him. Praise His Holy name! Hebrew 10 : 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Jesus came into our world to do the will of His and our Father, this He did on two separate counts. 1. He fulfilled the law the Ten Commandments by perfectly keeping the law and proved Himself to be the sinless lamb of God who took away the sins of the world by the offering of His own sinless body of flesh to God as the once for all perfect sacrifice for sin. In so doing he fulfilled and annulled the Old Covenant and removed the first priesthood to establish His own Priesthood as only mediator between God and sinful mankind. 2. By offering His sinless body to God as the perfect sacrifice for sin He removed the curse of the Old Covenant and cancelled the sentence spoken against us as sinners. Thus Jesus blotted out the handwriting of the ceremonial ordinances and nailed it to the cross as He established the new better Everlasting Covenant of grace. Therefore we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews10: 14 states; by one offering he hath forever perfected those that are sanctified. Jesus has forever perfectly delivered His sanctified ones from the power of sin, guilt, physical sickness and suffering and punishment of sin the second death. Not only that, He has imputed His peace to our hearts, imputed his righteousness and health to our flesh, regenerated our spirit created us new creatures in Christ bearing the image of God s perfect holiness and eternal life. Praise His wonderful name our Redeemer has perfectly righted all the evil which Adam s sin brought upon the human race. Our good living standard, commandment keeping or performances do not sanctify us; we are not sanctified because we have given up 10

11 all vice. Keeping religious laws does not sanctify us. Belonging to a particular religion does not sanctify us. We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all. The individual through faith in God s word must appropriate our sanctification. Hebrew 10 : 29 * Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? Paul was here giving the Christian Jews who had accepted Christ as the Promised Messiah a very severe warning because they were being drawn back by religious demons into trying to be righteousness by obeying Old Covenant Law and works, as a means of gaining flavor with God. They were in danger of treating the blood of Christ through which they were sanctified as a common thing, which would greatly offend the Holy Ghost to the extent that He would remove His presence from their temple body. Heb 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, And have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost. And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come. If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. We are forever sanctified by the blood of the Everlasting Covenant- the sinless blood of Christ, providing we hold fast to this wonderful truth. If we move away from salvation being the free gift of God s amazing grace to a false gospel of works and Law keeping and renounce faith in Christ, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. If the Christian Jews renounced faith in Christ as the Promised Messiah and reverted to Old Covenant procedure to try and obtain righteousness with God, they would fatally fall from grace with no hope of being forgiven a second time. 11

12 So it is for believers today if we have been enlightened by the true way of salvation, by grace through faith, not of works, been regenerated by the indwelling Holy Ghost and used by God to demonstrate the miraculous gifts of God s spirit. Fed on God s word and seen the eternal world and eternal life through the eye of faith, understood the biblical doctrine of justification and sanctification as a gift freely provided by God s love and grace. To turn away from the truth and embrace a false gospel of religious Law keeping and personal performance to gain righteousness with God, such a one fatally falls from grace with no further hope of being forgiven a second time. Many religious people believe and preach gradual justification, which is self-salvation by ones, own efforts. They believe that they can gradually reach a level of holiness that God can accept by their good living standard and commandment keeping, which is false holiness. Such beliefs stand in opposition to the clear teaching of scripture. The blood of the Covenant sanctified us, once for all. Our sanctification and justification is an act of God s mercy, grace and unconditional love towards fallen humanity. God drew us unto Himself by His amazing grace. Regenerated our spirit and gave us the measure of Christ s faith to believe that we are accepted as sanctified, freed from sins power and set apart as holy by the blood of Jesus by faith. Continue to next page for lesson 4 12

13 Sanctification and justification Lesson four Justification is the sovereign work of God whereby He declares the guilty sinner righteous and innocent through faith in the promises of God s word concerning the sacrificial death and redeeming blood of Jesus, and the indwelling Holy Ghost. The gospel of Christ s grace does not make allowance for sin, but has made atonement for sin it does not tolerate sin but has destroyed sin power over those who are justified the Bible way. The only way born again believers can walk in sinless perfection before God, is to be washed and cleansed in the blood of Jesus, clothed by faith in the robe of righteousness which Christ s blood freely purchased for us. To stop Satan getting an in-road into our lives we must live a separated life, we have been set apart as God s holy people so must separate our selves from a worldly life style. We must be seen to be different from those still under the power and control of their father the devil. We were all under the control of the devil but thanks to God s amazing grace we have been translated out of the devils kingdom and we now belong to the Kingdom of God therefore we are citizens of the new eternal world. We have to learn to live by new principles such as grace and faith not being affected by what our carnal sense knowledge is dictating to us, to walk in the freely provided blessing of our King s Kingdom we have to learn to live by God s word. Our King is not a King; He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, every one that has ever lived in this universe will bow their knee before Him. (Phil 2:6-11) Those who love this world are under Satan s control and are therefore enemies of God and His Christ. James 4: 4 * Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? 13

14 Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Whosoever is a friend of the world is a friend of the one who rules this world, the devil who is the god of this world. No one can serve two masters; you cannot serve both Jesus and the devil. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. If you are a friend of the world you are the enemy of God! Satan is the enemy of our King therefore he is also our enemy, who was in league with Adam and his rebellion against the authority of God s word which robbed God s creation man of our entire God given qualities and blessings. God in Christ had to come into our world and give His life a ransom for sin to buy us back to God, and restore to us our entire God given qualities and blessings. We cannot mix friendship with the world, the flesh and the devil, and at the same time, be set apart as Holy for the Master s purposes. We are in the world but not of the world, when the Holy Ghost took up residence within us and regenerated our spirit we were translated out of Satan s kingdom into the kingdom of God. Therefore God s sanctified saints must separate ourselves from the things of this world. Salvation by grace through faith is the gift of God; a gift is a gift, a gift cannot be earned. No amount of good works or commandment keeping can buy our justification or sanctification. Good works come about as a result of saving grace! Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. We are God s workmanship created in Christ Jesus; we are God s work of art. It is indeed foolish for anyone to boast of his or her part in his or her salvation. Works does not save us we are saved unto good works; good works affirm that salvation has been received by grace through faith. Good works cannot produce regeneration but regeneration produces good works. Our union with Jesus causes us to do good deeds, which God has foreordained that we walk in. God has ordained a perfect plan and purpose for the lives of those, whom He has sanctified, but we 14

15 have free choice and He will not force us to walk in his perfect plan. Gradual sanctification and justification is not written in the Bible, but are false doctrines taught by those who do not understand the true way of salvation being the free gift of God s love, mercy and grace towards fallen humanity. Romans 5: 19 * For as by one man s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Adam s disobedience made all people sinners, Christ s obedience to His fathers will, even to the cursed death of crucifixion made a way for all people to be Justified and sanctified. True believers are accepted as holy and righteous because they are washed in the blood of Jesus by grace through faith in the promises of God s word. Revelation 1: 5 * And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, The great reason for Jesus coming into our world to die as our sinless sacrifice to set us free from sins power to curse us with disease, pain and suffering and damn us to the lake of fire the second death, was because He loves us! Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Even though we were dead in trespass and sin Jesus loved us, He did not love in word only but in deed, even unto the cursed torturous death of crucifixion. Salvation of the sinner is the sovereign work of God amazing grace which is motivated by His great love for His creation mankind who fell from His perfect will because of one mans disobedience. God s agape love is so different to our human love; God s love is unconditional and therefore carries no conditions. As far as the sinner s salvation is concerned it is a done deal finished, accomplished by the sinless sacrifice, redeeming blood, resurrection and ascension of Christ the Saviour of the World. Christ has done all that is needful and necessary to reconcile sinners with our Holy God and Creator. All the sinner 15

16 does is respond to God s amazing grace, believe the testimony of the crucified resurrected Lord Jesus as written in the bible, and receive by faith Jesus sacrifice on our behalf. At that moment the Holy Ghost comes in us and regenerates our spirit, we are born of God and accepted as a joint heir with Jesus. Praise His Holy name! Romans 3 : 24 * Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 4 : 5 * But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Those who do not try to earn right standing by works, but simply accept and believe that they are justified through Christ s sacrifice on their behalf, are accepted as righteous through faith. We did not make the calculated decision to become sinners; we became sinners through Adam s sin, and stand guilty before God through imputed heredity sin. God being the most just judge made a way for Christ s righteousness to be imputed to us. When we accept Jesus sacrifice on our behalf we stand in right standing with God, clothed in Christ s imputed righteousness by faith. Ephesians 2: 1- * And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; * Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: * Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Quickened: made alive! Our spirit that was dead in trespass and sin is joined unto God by the regenerating indwelling power of the Holy Ghost and created a new creature in Christ. Our born again spirit is as holy now as it will be throughout eternity. Therefore we no longer walk according to the prince of the power of the air, we 16

17 are no longer under the dominion of the devil, like those who continue to reject God s grace and choose to walk in disobedience and rebellion, and are children who will face the wrath of God in the lake of fire and brimstone. Romans 5: 1 * Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: The knowledge that our salvation is all of God s amazing mercy and grace and that Jesus did all the works necessary to reconcile us with our Holy God, brings great peace to our hearts, we no longer strive in our willpower to gain God s favor, we rest in the knowledge that Jesus did all that was needful and necessary to purchase our right standing with our Holy God. We were saved by grace through faith, and continue to walk by grace through faith throughout our lifetime in this world. Justification and Sanctification Lesson 5 Romans 10: 3-4 * For they being ignorant of God s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. * For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Those who are religious have zeal of God but not according to Godly knowledge and are therefore ignorant of God s righteousness the imputed righteousness which God has freely provided for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. So they go about to establish their own righteousness by their own works, law keeping and abstinence. Through ignorance and pride they refuse to yield to God s word and the free gift of Christ s imputed righteousness. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one who believes. 17

18 The Law; the Ten Commandments was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, Christ fulfilled the Law on behalf of sinners who were incapable of perfectly keeping the Law. Jesus did for us that which was impossible for us He perfectly kept the Law! Jesus was the substance that fulfilled the shadow. The sacrifices and offerings for purification as practiced in the Old Covenant prefigured and pointed to Christ and were fulfilled by Christ s sacrificial death and Holy redeeming blood which made an end of sin broke sins power to curse us with pain, disease, poverty and damn sinners in the lake of fire the second death. No one can be justified by keeping the law (commandment keeping) because no sinner is capable of perfectly keeping the law. Christ made an end of the law as a means of gaining righteousness, by perfectly keeping and fulfilling the law on our behalf. A great number of believers have been deceived by a religious ecumenical false gospel of works, and are ignorant of Christ s imputed righteousness, so try to establish their own righteousness through their own good living performance and religious law keeping. Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and nailed the law to Calvary s tree along with the curse of the law, which had the power to make us sick and diseased and keep us in poverty and damn sinners to eternal fire as punishment for sin. We are no longer under law but under grace. Hallelujah! Romans 10: 9-11 * That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. * For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. * For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. A biblical principle that never fails is we get what we believe in the heart and confess with the mouth. This works even for those who do not understand this as an established biblical principle, even those who are dead in trespass and sin get what they believe in the heart and speak with the mouth. If the doctor tells them they 18

19 have cancer, they believe they have cancer and possess the disease by the confession of their mouth. In every walk of life we eat the fruit of what we believe with the heart and speak with the mouth. It is a Biblical principle that governs every ones life for advantage or disadvantage God has ordained that death and life are in the power of the tongue and we receive the fruit of what we believe and speak. If we are wise we will believe God s word and speak God s word and walk in God s blessings. (Proverbs 6:2, proverbs 18:7 and verse 21) 2 Corinthians 5 :21 * For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Jesus who was sinless was made to be sin for us; this means a substitutional sin offering a sacrifice for sin to cancel out our sin record and reconcile us with our Holy God. Jesus death was the ransom paid which made an end of sin and broke sins power to keep believers under the curse and sentenced to eternal damnation in the lake of fire and brimstone - the second death. The sins of the world were imputed to Christ so that Christ s righteousness could be imputed to sinners as a free gift from God. We are living in a world surrounded on all sides by sin and sin is still present in the our human flesh even after we have been regenerated by the Holy Ghost, so how can it be that Jesus made an end of sin cancelled out sin by the sacrifice of Himself. It is sins power to keep us under the curse of punishment for sin that was abolished by Christ s sacrifice on our behalf. Sin is still present in our flesh but sins power to make us sick and diseased and bind us in poverty and damn us to the second death has been annulled. The blessings of keeping the law and the curses for breaking the law are recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 28. God gave the Law to the Jews for varied reasons. A) To reveal to humanity that we are all fallen sinners who need a Savoiur. B) To reveal God as the God full of mercy grace and compassion towards fallen humanity. 19

20 C) God used the Law as a schoolmaster to bring fallen humanity into knowledge of why Jesus would come into our world and die the cursed death of crucifixion. As no sinful being was ever capable of keeping the law, God made a way whereby sinners could be protected from the curses of the Law and eternal death by the substitutional sacrificial death of animals as was practiced under the Old Covenant, which was fulfilled in Christ s substitutional sacrificial death. Adam and Satan dishonored the Lord God in this world. His word was mocked and disobeyed His claims disregarded His name blasphemed, regardless of these facts our Creator did not seek revenge on the contrary He put His great plan of salvation into action whereby He would break sins power to keep sinners under the curse of the Law and sentence of Eternal damnation. Sanctification and Justification Lesson 6 Through His great plan of redemption wrought in and through the sufferings, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, God revealed His unconditional love, His mercy, His grace, His kindness, His longsuffering, His compassion, His patience, His goodness to His fallen subjects. Jesus who was God come to earth in a human body perfectly kept the law on our behalf, and redeemed us from the curse of the law and provided eternal life as a free gift to all who accept His sacrifice on their behalf by faith. Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The wages of sin is death- the death of Christ paid the full wage the full ransom to annul the power of sin over regenerate believers, and set us free from the curse of the law which is all the sicknesses, diseases, poverty and want written in Deuteronomy chapter 28. The curse of the second death in the lake of fire and brimstone has also been abolished and replaced with the gift of God, which is eternal life in Christ our Lord. So now all the Blessings of Deuteronomy 28:2-14 can come upon us as we take them by faith as God s chosen Holy people, these blessings can only be ours if we wholeheartedly believe in the provisions of the 20

21 New Everlasting Covenant and have no other gods before the Lord. The wages of sin is death our physical body grows old and dies because it is a mortal body subject to death and decay, however we need to understand that the death of the physical body has nothing whatsoever to do with our being punished for our sins, Jesus substitutory sacrificial death on our behalf perfectly paid the wages of sin. Death to the regenerate believer is gain - promotion to Glory to be clothed in immortality to live in the presence of our Redeeming Lord forever. Hallelujah! Jesus substitutory death perfectly satisfied the Laws demands. Divine Justice was legally and justly satisfied by the atoning death of Jesus on behalf of sinners. Romans 5 : 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. Adam s disobedience brought the curse of sin and death upon all people, Christ s obedience to the will of His Father even to death by crucifixion provided righteousness and life for everyone who believes. Everything God provided for us in Jesus is the free gift of God s mercy, grace and Agape love towards fallen humanity. Romans 5: * For as by one man s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. * Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: * That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. God made the way for sinners to be saved and reconciled to Him on the basis of what Jesus has done for us. The Lord Jesus Christ died as our substitute His death paid the full penalty or ransom for 21

22 the sins of the world. The precious fruit of Christ s death is the free gift of justification and sanctification, reconciliation, sin is pardoned, the power of sin abolished, the curse annulled. Sinners are accepted as righteous, can walk in divine health and possess eternal life. We are justified by our Redeemers blood and reconciled to our Holy God by our Redeemers death. Thus sins power to keep us under the curse of the law and the sentence of eternal death was forever abolished. Faith in Jesus atoning blood wipes our slate clean and cancels out all sin past, present and future sin has lost its power to make us sick, keep us in poverty or damn us to the lake of fire and brimstone. By faith in the promises of God s word believers are clothed in Christ s righteousness, healed by Christ s stripes and are accepted as righteous by God. Christ s righteousness is imputed to us, set down to our account. Being justified by grace through faith means we are accepted as holy, by our Holy God and Creator not because we cease to sin in our flesh, but because of the atoning work of our Lord Jesus on behalf of fallen humanity. The first Adam caused mankind to fall from a place of sinless perfection, Christ the second Adam recovered us from the fall and has put us back in a state of sinless perfection by means of His death and redeeming blood. Justification and sanctification was freely purchased for us by the atoning sacrifice and redeeming blood of Jesus, this does not mean that we cease to sin in our flesh, the flesh serves the law of sin and regenerate believers are in a constant battle, fighting against the lusts of the flesh the world and the devil. Being justified by grace through faith does not mean that our flesh ceases to sin, the sins of the flesh are sanctified by the blood of Jesus washed away by the cleansing power of Christ s Holy blood. It was not our mortal body that was quickened: regenerated and created in righteousness and true holiness. It was our spirit, which was quickened: regenerated and created in righteousness and true holiness. When we are clothed in immortality our redemption will be completed. Redemption begins in the Spirit and is perfected in immortality then we shall forever walk in sinless perfection before our Lord. Whilst living in our mortal body we can only be Holy and righteous by faith, our righteousness is faith righteousness! 22

23 Justification and sanctification does not cause our flesh to cease to sin. Divine Justice declares the sinner righteous through faith in the atoning blood of Jesus. Justification is not a result of any good thing we have done or give up, but rather faith in what the Lord Jesus Christ, gave up and did to save us from damnation. Divine Justice has declared us righteous; therefore God regards us as righteous- and is no longer imputing sin to our charge. Some may ask, If justification does not initially change me or make me a better person in the flesh, what is the point of it? The point is as follows: As soon as you are justified you are in right standing with God and are ready for heaven, accepted by the Father as holy in Christ Jesus and sin no longer has the power to curse you with sickness, disease, poverty or damn you to the second death. Justification and Sanctification sets us apart as God s holy chosen people, that we may work the works of Christ, that the world might believe that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, that the Father be glorified in the Son. Ephesians 1: 4-7 * According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: * Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, * To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. * In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; As adopted children of the Most High God we enjoy exceeding great and precious benefits all our blessings come from the Father through our Lord Jesus. Before the foundations of the world God knew us and ordained that we be holy and without blame before Him in love. That is holy with Christ s imputed righteousness, there can be no remission of sin without the redeeming blood of Jesus, and our justification is a result of God s amazing grace in giving His only begotten Son to be our sinless sacrificial Lamb who paid the full ransom to set us free from sins power. 23

24 God does not stop there, the indwelling Holy Ghost changes our lives, as we renew our minds by reading the scriptures. So that we can reflect the nature of our Redeemer- Jesus, in our every day lives. Not only reflect Christ s nature of love, humility, forgiveness, gentleness, goodness, honesty and truth but also demonstrate his power over the works of the devil. Sanctified saints have Jesus power to preach the gospel, cast out devils, heal the sick, and raise the dead. John 14 : 12 * Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. God requires us to co-operate with Him, work with Him, and stand in unity with Him against the flesh and the devil. We must fight the devil, the world, and the flesh. James 4 v 7 tells us Submit yourselves unto God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Being justified by grace through faith, we then go on to strive to live as Godly a life as is possible; not to gain right standing with God, but to keep the devil from gaining an inroad into our lives, knowing that the devil comes only to steal, kill and destroy. The Holy Ghost enables us to reflect the nature and power of Jesus and do the works of Christ on earth. Justification and Sanctification Lesson 7 The Holy Ghost enables us to reflect the nature of Jesus in our every day life and has imparted to us the power of Jesus to do the works of Christ on earth. This process of change is wrought in us as our minds are renewed. This change is gradual and everyone is on a different step of the ladder, we have to bring our body, mind, thinking and speaking under the control of the Holy Ghost and God s word. We have to put on the new man, our born again spirit is created in righteousness and true holiness, because Jesus dwells in us by His Spirit. Our spirit that was dead in trespass and sin has been regenerated, united with God and created in the image and likeness of God, and possesses eternal life. So we have to mortify the works of the flesh, the world and the devil in our lives. 24

25 Mortify means; discipline; subdue or put to death. Colossians 3 : 10 * And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: We have to put off the old man with its bad habits and lusts, and put on the new man! We cannot conquer our flesh in our own strength we need God s supernatural ability to bring the flesh under control; we can do nothing of ourselves. We must allow the Holy Ghost through God s word to dominate our thoughts and actions. Every born again Christian has two minds. 1. Our physical mind, which is controlled by our carnal senses. 2. The mind of Christ, which is gained through knowledge of God s word, we also possess the wisdom of Christ which is lodged in our born again spirit, because Christ s Spirit dwells in our regenerate spirit. A double-minded believer is one who is being led by two-minds; his carnal mind has not been brought under the control of the mind of Christ as is revealed in God s word. One day he is in the flesh, being led by his carnal mind. The next day he is in the Spirit, being led by the Holy Ghost through the word. This is the condition of all believers who are not truly committed to renewing the mind through knowledge of God s word. As we renew our minds we will quickly move away from the double-minded, seesaw position of being in the flesh one day and in the spirit the next day. We must learn to bring our carnal mind into complete agreement with our spiritual mind, the mind of Christ, so that they can function as one with the mind of the Spirit in control. This is done through studying the word of God and yielding to obedience to the Spirit through the word. 1 Corinthians 2:16 states, We have the mind of Christ. Present in our born again spirit is the perfect wisdom and knowledge of Christ. We must make a calculated decision to daily, submit our carnal physical mind to come under the control of our spiritual mind; the mind of Christ. Colossians 3: 1 25

26 * If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things, which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. All born again believers are raised with Christ, we are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus in the Spirit realm, and the devil is under our feet- our authority, in and through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Risen with Christ denotes our supreme position of authority to do the works of Christ, cast out devils and cure all diseases. Colossians 3 : 2 * Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Set your affections on things above, our physical body is a temporary house. This present world will pass away, it is a temporary world, but we have an eternal world of perfection, happiness and unspeakable joy, to look forward to. Laid up for us is eternal life in the presence of our God we will be clothed in our new glorified immortal bodies, and live in the mansions He has prepared for us. So let us set our affections on those things above, which has everlasting value. Thinking on the riches we have in Christ will fix our hearts on heavenly things. Colossians 3 : 3-4 * For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. * When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. The death spoken of here is the death of sin -sins power to condemn us and keep us under the power of the curse and damnation is dead. Though our flesh falls short from time to time sin power over us is annulled, abolished cancelled out. When God gave the law to Moses sin had the power to condemn and damn the entire human race. God in His great wisdom brought the Jewish race under the law, in order to save His Creation by fulfilling the law on our behalf. Our death to sin is that we have been delivered from the curse of the law- delivered from damnation - delivered from paying the penalty for our sin. (Rom 6:23, Gal 3:3) 26