Just a Thought "15"

Ministers of righteousness use the word reform instead of the word transform, and they would appeal to people to reform, but God does not make that appeal. Transformation is entirely a work of God in the believer.

Reformation would be a work of the believer for God. Paul was sent with a brand new message, and Paul would not to have wanted us to mix the message of the 12 Apostles in regard to God’s program to and with the nation Israel, with the message specifically given him for the Gentiles. Many people involved in religion’s domain are dealing with God on the basis of probation, rather than salvation.

God is not testing or proving people today in order to make a final decision as to whether or not to save them, or to keep them saved. All of the saving work that God could possibly do, he has already done through Jesus Christ. 

God now holds forth the reconciliation that Christ has accomplished, offering people the choice to either accept or reject that gift of salvation. Appreciation based on the reality of salvation, not apprehension based on religion’s message of probation.

The believer today then, is to be based upon appreciation of what Christ has already done, and the security that they have in him, rather than apprehension based upon a supposition of what God may or may not do in the future for them. On the other hand, many continue to hold on to the notion that they have insufficient worth to warrant what Christ’s death accomplished in the first place.

Equally as dangerous, the foolish notion that Christ’s shed blood was insufficient to have fully satisfied God where their sins are concerned, thus the continual need for something further required of them to keep God’s justice up to date. The issue with God is the son, not sin, what are they going to believe about what the son accomplished, or do they still think he is counting those sins against them and coming back to haunt them at some point and time.

Unfortunately the gift of salvation will not be accepted by the vast majority of people, but it is their choice to accept or reject it. The reconciliation Paul’s talking about was accomplished by God, he designed it, he provided the means by which it could be accomplished.

The vast majority of the people of this earth do not understand what reconciliation is all about, they think that new sin needs a new measure of reconciliation. Is that not the golden thread woven through every denomination out there, it is called religion. The truth is mankind could not obtain an ounce of forgiveness if they tried, because God has already forgiven all mankind.

Therefore the assumption is, God is not reconciled when they sin. In their mind they are separating themselves from God by their sin, and Paul is saying, God is already reconciled mankind were their sins are concerned.

The apostle Paul was commissioned to tell people that God is reconciled where the totality of the sin debt of all mankind is concerned, sin is no longer the issue on the table of God’s justice today. Sin has all been forgiven upfront, there is not an ounce of forgiveness to be obtained.

The reconciliation that Christ accomplished for mankind was total, complete, everlasting, and unalterable, it will always stand. Jesus did not die to give people a reprieve, he did not die to give people temporary relief. This is not difficult, God said what his son did for mankind was sufficient to absolve every one of their sin debt-past, present, and future, it is gone. 

If the flesh is incapable of producing righteousness, why is it then that Paul exhorts us to do certain things and to avoid other things? The flesh always points us to do that which satisfies the sin nature and brings credit to self. This is true of all of us.

We see that we need to die to self, although our salvation is not dependent upon how well we accomplish this. Yet, as ambassadors of the ministry of reconciliation our witness is dependent upon how well we accomplish this. Dying to self is not fun or easy, but what is particularly difficult about fighting this tendency is that it is not exactly a behavior or action.

It can certainly manifest itself in those forms, but underneath them is an attitude. Dying to self is a real change of mind and attitude towards sin itself and the cause of it. The fact that God took sins off the table of his justice through his son’s death, does not righteousify us.

We have to believe that message of what happened to our sins, and there’s where ministers of righteousness are having a hay day, because they are keeping the issue of sins on the table of God’s justice, when they are no longer on the table of God’s justice. Rather than asking for forgiveness when we sin, and we all sin, we should thank God every moment of our lives for the forgiveness that was achieved for us when Jesus Christ died for us.

In order to dwell with God in eternity future, we have to be as righteous as God, his justice will not allow nothing other. Until we believe what happened to the sins Christ died for, we are not placed into Christ.

It is a simple message, but very difficult for the pride nature to get past, because people’s pride nature says that if I broke it, I can play a part in fixing it, and we all attempt to do that, and religion is there to give us a hand along the way. We are told by Paul, the good news is what will we do when it comes to our taking God at his word, concerning what Christ accomplished where our sins are concerned.

This gift decree from God comes by faith, not by our works, not by our efforts, he can look at the sinning person who believes and call that sinning person a saint, because at the very point of our belief, we are that instant joined to Christ. In God’s eyes we are no longer who we once were, we are now a new creation, having been forever joined to Christ.

Most people have no understanding that there are divisions within God’s word, and those who do understand that God has a plan and purpose for the body of Christ, which is unique and different from his earthly plan and purpose for the nation Israel. Most of those people fail to see where in scripture God put his earthly plan on hold and thus they fail to see where the body of Christ had it’s beginning.


Our justification was something accomplished for us by God’s grace. God has already set every believer apart as holy. Every believer strands perfectly righteous or perfectly holy, justified according to God’s gift declaration of righteousness.

We that believed Paul’s good news, we have the very righteousness of Jesus Christ himself credited to our account. Our setting apart is not contingent upon the degree to which we set ourselves apart.