We feel unworthy to come into God’s presence. When we have sinned, we feel guilty and have a sense of unrighteousness. Second, He cleanses him from all unrighteousness. The answer to this question is found in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” When the believer who has sinned confesses his sin and asks for forgiveness, the Lord does two things: First, He forgives him. “But I have committed sins since becoming a Christian. And if He doesn’t remember them, why should we? God said that He would not remember our transgressions (Jeremiah 31:34). When we were born again, our sins were remitted because our past life stopped existing. We can come into God’s presence because we belong there. We don’t have to be tongue-tied because of fear. We can stand in His presence without sin-consciousness, without any feelings of guilt or shame. We are sons and daughters of God as though we had never sinned. We know that God did not make any unrighteous new creature. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (I John 1:7) and therefore by the new birth we become a righteous new creature.
3 – Failure to Understand RighteousnessĢ1 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. Getting this understanding cured this woman of her worry habit. She, just as many other Christians, didn’t have an understanding of what Christ is in her life, and this hinders faith. She was amazed at herself and couldn’t help but say sometimes, “Is this really me?” I told her that she was just now beginning to walk in the light of what she had all the time. She said that she thought and acted differently. She had found that she didn’t worry any more. She said that since she had been doing this, she had become an entirely new and different person. After awhile this woman came to me and said that she had written down twenty-five of these scriptures and had begun to confess them. During our revival there I urged the people to begin memorizing and claiming these verses.
She was graduated from a leading seminary with a degree in Christian education, and she gave her services to the church free of charge. In one church where I visited, there was a woman who the pastor described as one of the most outstanding Christian workers he had ever known. As you read these verses, say to yourself, “This is who I am. If you will read and meditate on these scriptures until they become a part of you, life will be different for you. There are 133 such expressions in the New Testament. 2 – Failure to Understand Our Place in ChristĮverywhere I go I suggest that Christians go through the New Testament, particularly the epistles, and write down the phrases, “in Christ,” “in whom,” and “in Him.” Writing them down will help you to remember them. We are children of God, sons of God, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ Jesus.
We are new creatures, created by God in Christ Jesus with the very life and nature of God in our spirits. We are not living at the end of the block on Struggling-to-get-to-heaven Street next to Grumble Alley. We are not barely-getting-along church members. He has to become a new creature, putting off his old sinful ways. But it would do little good if this were all the sinner received, for he is a child of the devil and would still go to hell. Many people do not realize that they are actually new creatures they think that when they were saved God just forgave them of their sins. II Corinthians 5:17Ī lack of understanding of what it means to be a new creature hinders our faith life. 1 – Failure to Understand What It Means to Be a New Creature in Christġ7 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away behold, all things are become new. In this lesson we deal with six enemies to faith. If there were no enemies to faith, there would be no fight to it. The only fight that the believer is called upon to fight is the “good fight of faith.” And if there is a fight, then there must be enemies or hindrances to faith. I have also heard folk say that they are going to fight sin. Secondly, Jesus has already defeated the devil for us. I don’t know why, because in the first place they are no match for him. I have sometimes heard folk say that they are going to fight the devil. Our lesson today discusses the Christian’s “good fight of faith,” as referred to in our text in I Timothy 6:12. Central Truth: When we “fight the good fight of faith,” we can step out of the narrow place of failure into the boundless power of God.