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Authors: Joseph Prince

Tags: #Devotional, #Grace, #Joseph Prince

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BOOK: Reign In Life: 90 Powerful Inspirations For Extraordinary Breakthroughs
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Unfortunately, there are well-meaning people today who are afraid that when you tell a believer that he is completely forgiven by grace and no longer has to earn his right standing before the Lord via the law of Moses, it will cause him to go out and live a life of sin and debauchery. However, the Bible is very clear that the “strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56). It is not grace that gives people the strength to sin; it is the law! The more you are under the law, the more sin is strengthened! Conversely, the more you are under grace, the more sin will be depleted of its strength.
In fact, the Bible declares that “sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). Now, don’t just gloss over this powerful revelation. This means that
the more grace you receive, the more power you have to overcome sin
. In other words, sin shall not have dominion over you when you receive the abundance of grace!
So who switched the roles? Will the real gospel please stand up? Do you see how the devil has pulled the wool over the eyes of God’s sheep and put up fences surrounding the gospel of grace?
My friend, the truth that has the power to break down your prison doors and
make you free
is the truth of His grace. Your freedom is found in believing in Jesus—His grace and His love in your life. Every dark thought and evil addiction that may have held you captive cannot but scatter when they are exposed to the light of His grace and truth!
Today’s Thought
The truth that has the power to set me free is the truth of the grace of God
.
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You for the truth that it is the abundance of Your grace that liberates me from sin, guilt, condemnation, fears, and addictions. I praise You for breaking down the prison doors that have held me captive. I receive and rest in Your love and grace for me today. Let me see more and more of Your beautiful Son, Jesus. Let me receive more and more of His love, His grace, and His goodness so that I may fully experience the liberty You have purchased for me. Amen
.
“The Spirit of the L
ORD
is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the L
ORD
.”
L
UKE
4:18
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage
.
G
ALATIANS
5:1
Today’s Scripture
For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God
.
R
OMANS
10:3
A
re you, like some believers today, still rather confused about the gift of righteousness you have received through Christ? Perhaps you’ve heard through conventional theology that although you were made righteous by grace (called “positional righteousness”), you now have to do right and keep the law to continue being righteous. (They call this having “practical righteousness.”)
My friend, this is something that Apostle Paul never taught! Today’s Scripture declares that there is only one righteousness of God that we are to submit to. It is clear that Paul is against any teaching that says you have to merit or maintain your own righteousness. You are either righteous or you are not. There is no such thing as first having “positional righteousness” and then having to maintain that through “practical righteousness.” You are the righteousness of God in Christ, period!
There are many believers who are very sincere about keeping the law and establishing their own righteousness, but I’m sorry to say this: they are sincerely wrong. God’s way is by grace. Righteousness cannot be earned by good works. It can only be received as a gift. A gift is no longer a gift if you have to work for it. If I gave you a brand new, dazzling red Ferrari on the condition that you pay me US$20,000 every month until it is all paid up, is the Ferrari really a gift? Of course not! How can it be a gift if you have to pay or work for it? That is double-talk! So stop trying to earn God’s gifts with your own works. His gifts to us are without conditions attached and can only be received by faith.
Many believers are defeated today because they are trying to earn their own righteousness by their law keeping and good works. My friend, start believing that righteousness is a gift because of what Jesus has accomplished on the cross for you. All your sins—past, present, and future—have been washed away by His precious blood. You were completely forgiven the moment you received Jesus into your life. You will never be held liable by God for your sins ever again. You have been made as righteous as Jesus not through your behavior, but by faith in Him and His finished work on the cross (Phil. 3:9).
Perhaps you are saying, “But I didn’t do anything to become righteous!” That is exactly right. And Jesus did nothing to become sin. Being clothed with Jesus’ perfect righteousness is a gift that He purchased for you with His own blood! Therefore, righteousness before the Lord cannot be earned. Your righteous standing or right standing before Him can only be received as a gift. Today, your right to be righteous is a blood-bought right! There is nothing you can do that will make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do that will make Him love you less. He loves you perfectly and sees you clothed with Jesus’ righteousness.
My dear friend, you no longer have to live confused about your standing before God. Know that when God sees you today, He sees you clothed with Jesus’ righteousness. Use your faith to believe that God accepts you and sees you righteous, blessed, favored, and healed. See yourself as God sees you and begin to be set free from every pang of guilt, all forms of condemnation, and every kind of bondage and sin!
Today’s Thought
God loves me perfectly, and He sees me clothed with Jesus’ perfect righteousness—always
.
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You for Your Word that tells me my only righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus that You have given me as a gift. I cannot merit this gift so I humbly receive it with gladness. I believe right now that You see me clothed with Jesus’ righteousness and that I stand completely forgiven, with every sin paid for and the right to live free from condemnation. As I look to You to help me live by this truth every day, I believe that sin will no longer have dominion over me. Thank You for Your abundant grace and gift of righteousness. Amen
.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him
.
2 C
ORINTHIANS
5:21
…
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith
.
P
HILIPPIANS
3:9
Blessings are on the head of the righteous…
P
ROVERBS
10:6
Today’s Scripture
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
R
OMANS
6:15
W
hen I share—even from the Bible—the gift of righteousness we have through Christ, someone will inevitably ask, “But, Pastor Prince, if you preach that one is forever righteous before the Lord apart from his works and law keeping, won’t people go out and live a licentious life? Won’t it give people a license to sin?”
In addressing this question that today’s Scripture deals with superbly, allow me to make this explicitly clear in black and white, so there is no doubt in anyone’s mind:
I, Joseph Prince, am vehemently, completely, aggressively, and irrevocably against sin!
Sin is evil. I do not condone sin. A lifestyle of sin leads only to defeat and destruction. My goal is for people to live a life of victory over sin, but I do not believe a victorious life comes by preaching the law. I am convicted that it happens by preaching the grace of God.
When you visit our church, you won’t find a congregation that, having received the good news of the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, wants to run off and start living in sin. In fact, some of the top business people, management executives, entrepreneurs, lawyers, accountants, and consultants in my country attend our church, and you will find a congregation that is deeply in love with the person of Jesus. You will hear wonderful and amazing testimonies of how marriages have been restored, how terminal diseases have been miraculously healed, how long-term addictions and bondages have been supernaturally overcome, and other awesome testimonies that the good news of Jesus brings.
What you will see in our congregation is that sin loses its appeal when you encounter the person of grace, Jesus Christ, and realize all that He has done for you on the cross and blessed you with. You will begin to realize that you have been given this great gift of righteousness and that you did nothing to deserve it. You did nothing to earn it and you did nothing to merit it.
Now, will such an encounter with Jesus cause you to want to go out and sin? Of course not! On the contrary, it will cause you to fall in love with Jesus all over again. It will make you a better husband, a better father, a better housewife, a better student. It will make you someone who desires with all your heart to guard the glory of our Lord Jesus by living a life that is victorious over sin, by His grace and strength. The preoccupation with Christ instead of self will cause you to start reigning in life through the one, Jesus Christ. That is what we call the Grace Revolution!
The Word of God says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not…” (1 Cor. 15:34
KJV
). The more you realize that you are righteous, the more you will experience victory over sin! So wake up every morning and give thanks that you are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ!
Today’s Thought
Sin loses its appeal when I encounter the person of grace, Jesus Christ, and receive all that He has done for me and blessed me with through the cross
.
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You for unveiling to me the person of grace, Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for all that He has done for me through His finished work on the cross. I praise You for the gift of His righteousness that I can never deserve or earn. I want to keep encountering Jesus and His grace for me—in increasing measure, day by day. Thank You that as I grow in the revelation of Your grace and gift of righteousness to me, You will cause me to overcome the challenges I face and live for Your glory and honor. Amen
.
…there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother
.
P
ROVERBS
18:24
Oh, taste and see that the L
ORD
is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
P
SALM
34:8
Awake to righteousness, and sin not…
1 C
ORINTHIANS
15:34
KJV
Today’s Scripture
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
M
ATTHEW
11:28–30
P
erhaps by now you are wondering whether the grace teaching you have been reading or hearing is doctrinally sound. Here’s the litmus test, my friend: the preaching of the new covenant of grace should always exalt Christ. It should always reveal more and more of Jesus—His beauty and the perfection of His finished work on the cross. Jesus and what He has done are always glorified when true grace is taught. There is no proper grace teaching without Jesus Christ. So ask yourself, have you been hearing about Jesus and what He has done, or have you been hearing about man and what he must do?
Now, what is the effect of hearing Jesus and His finished work exalted? It leads to a life of rest and good success, because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Today’s Scripture explains this very simply. Jesus was speaking to people who were weary and worn out by the requirements of the law of Moses. The yoke of the law is hard and heavy. The yoke of grace is easy and light because it involves none of you and all of Christ. He has borne the burden of sin on your behalf. Under grace, your part is to only believe on Jesus Christ, and when you believe, you are made righteous and blessed!
I love this testimony from Nadia in South Africa that showcases the amazing grace that Jesus brings.
This
is the undeserved, unearned, and unmerited favor of God that leads to rest, joy, and true success for the weary soul:
BOOK: Reign In Life: 90 Powerful Inspirations For Extraordinary Breakthroughs
5.18Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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