Читать книгу The Mechanic's Gift - It is Finished - John Saurino - Страница 13

CHAPTER 9

Two Wooden Chairs

I was lost in thought as I gazed at the silver streak of moonlight cutting a path across the water’s glassy surface. The tranquility of the moment was interrupted by his voice when he repeated the question.

“Did you hear what I said? When you believe with one hundred percent of your heart in what Jesus has given you, how long does it take God to act with his blessings?”

My answer came as easily and quickly as God’s response to our consummate belief. “Instantly!” I replied. “Why do you ask?”

He continued as if no time had passed since our lesson last Saturday.

“If you recall, God said your job is to believe in Jesus. He wants to be closer to you and sin will hurt the relationship he desires. Because of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, God has forgiven your sins so you can live on a more intimate basis with him.”

I took a sip of iced tea while trying to catch up with his words.

“Remember, you are justified by faith in Jesus under the New Covenant. God’s law required a blood sacrifice in payment for the sins committed by his people. And Jesus’s death on the cross paid that price for all mankind, forever. The old Mosaic Law was known as the law of sin and death, and disobedience to that law carried the condemnation of sin, which resulted in death. But the new law, is called, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. If you believe in Jesus, you receive his Spirit, and, through faith, gain eternal life for your soul. The work of Christ on the cross fulfilled the requirements of God’s law and has set you free from its eternal consequences!

“I prefer the King James version for this one.

“Romans 8:1-4—There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law (the Mosaic Law) could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” He used fingers to express the parentheses when he inserted (the Mosaic Law) into the verse.

He reached for his glass while the beautiful simplicity of the passage found its home in my soul.

“John, you are not supposed to live according to the sinful nature of the flesh, but instead, walk according to the Spirit. Jesus put an end to the old law of sin and death. You now have the ability to gain righteousness for your soul, if you believe in Christ and what he has given you.”

He quoted from memory.

“Romans 10:4—Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

“You do not live under the old Law. It has come to an end for the Jewish nation and does not apply to any believer in Christ. Let me explain this in another way. If someone lives in your home, they live under a certain set of rules or laws you have established for living there. For example, if you are under ten years of age, you must go to bed by 9:00 p.m. and may not eat food or drink beverages except in the kitchen. You must take your shoes off at the door and finally, no dogs sleep on your pillow! These are all ‘Sins’ in your house and punishable by a near death experience.”

We both laughed at the inferred reality of what he said, then I pondered how he might know the detailed truth of his words, which I had never shared with him. His voice interrupted, once again.

“On the other hand, in my house, you live under a different set of laws. In my house, you are allowed to stay up until 11:00 p.m., you can eat in my living room, and under my laws you can walk around with your shoes on. And best of all, the dog sleeps anywhere he wants to sleep! In essence, because I do not live in your house, the laws of your house do not apply to me or anyone who lives in my house under my laws, do they?”

I was beginning to see his point. “No, I guess not,” I said and reached for another cookie.

He smiled in affirmation.

“Correct! You must be living under the law for it to apply to you. God provides some insight to this matter in the book of Romans when describing marriage and widows. He explains how a woman is bound to her husband by law until he dies, but, upon his death, she is released from that law allowing her to marry another man. This is a type and shadow of how the nation of Israel was bound by the old Law until Christ’s sacrifice, but was released from that Mosaic Law upon his death. And you have become an heir to that promise by your faith in Jesus. Now all believers live under God’s new law of the Spirit of life, as the bride of Christ.

“Romans 7:1-6—Do you not know, brother—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”

I raised my glass to toast his revelation and he touched mine with confirmation, stating, “Let us move on to righteousness.”

He glanced at me over his glasses with a smile and continued.

“Galatians 2:19-21—For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

“Tell me, John, did Christ die for nothing?”

I shook my head with a smile and replied, “No.”

“Of course not! Christ died with great purpose! He died so he could bring the new law and covenant into effect for all who believe in him.”

Joshua reached for a cookie and sat back in his chair. Passion filled his face as he explained, “Do you remember Abraham? He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham was not righteous because he followed every element of God’s law at that time. He was deemed righteous because he believed in the promises of God with all of his heart. Your job is to believe! You can now gain righteousness for your soul simply through faith, just like Abraham.

“Consider this, will you become righteous and allowed into Heaven by your own human effort while trying to follow the Mosaic Law? Or will you get there through belief in Christ?”

“I believe I will go to Heaven because of my faith in Jesus.” This was my obvious answer as a Christian.

He smiled in confirmation and read from his ever-present Bible.

“Galatians 3:8-11—The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

“All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”

“You do not live under the curse of the Law. The Law held a potential curse as a consequence to man’s inability to comply with all of the rules that had been established. But because of your belief in Jesus, you have become righteous through Christ. Jesus saved the nation of Israel from the curse of the law and your faith allows you to join in this blessing.

“Galatians 3:13-14—Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

He took a sip of lemonade allowing me time to process the truth of his words. I drank from my glass then asked for clarification.

“So, as Gentiles, we receive the blessings God promised to Abraham’s children because of our faith in Jesus? And we also have received the Holy Spirit and all of God’s Divine Nature for our souls, if we will only believe this to be true?”

He smiled with recognition of my struggle at accepting the simplicity to obtaining God’s incredible gift.

“John, it is simple…but not easy. I know how hard this is to believe, but God says your job is to believe. This is the Good News! Faith brings righteousness to your soul!

“Galatians 3:21-22—Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

“Because of your faith in Christ, you live under the new law of the Spirit of life and are considered to be a son of God. You need to realize that sons receive inheritance blessings from their fathers.

“Galatians 3:26—You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

He turned the page as he continued to express God’s plan for our souls.

“You do not have the ability to achieve righteousness on your own, because you cannot keep all the requirements of God’s law. It is only through belief in Jesus that you can gain righteousness for your soul.

“Philippians 3:8-9—What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

He closed the book and gazed beyond the moon lit horizon dancing on ripples of water. We both sat quietly as I tried to absorb the outpouring of God’s revealed love. The sound of ice rattling in my glass broke the tranquility before I questioned him.

“Okay, if we have received righteousness for our souls through faith in Christ, why are Christians so stuck on sin?”

A look of overwhelming love accompanied his answer.

“Most Christians believe that because their flesh continues to break God’s law, their soul cannot attain perfection in Christ. Many Christians feel they are sinners, because they are thinking, believing, and living in the flesh and not in the Spirit on the issue of sin. Interestingly though, these same Christians will ignore their flesh when questioned about possessing eternal life.”

I nodded in agreement.

“But God loves you so much that he forgave you and forgot your sins. Sin hurts your relationship with him and he does not want to be separated from his children in any way.”

He took a sip of his drink and quoted the final statement of the New Covenant, “I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more!”

I stood up to stretch my legs and turned to ask, “Why can’t I forget those very same sins that God will remember no more?”

He stood to join me, before he asked, “Do you recall the three parts of you?”

“Yes, the Spirit, Soul, and Body or Flesh.”

“And what did God’s Spirit bring to your soul?”

“Because of my faith, my soul gained the Holy Spirit’s eternal life.”

“And what did the flesh bring to your soul?”

“The flesh brought the sin nature and death.”

“Correct! But, what did God tell us in Romans about these things?”

“You said a lot of stuff, Joshua, you will have to remind me.”

He spoke from memory, “Romans 8:1-2—Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

“Remind me, John, what law leads to your condemnation?”

I knew this one, “The law of sin and death. My sins lead to my condemnation.”

“And what did we just hear from Romans?” He was leading the witness.

“It said God no longer condemns us, if we believe in Christ Jesus. The debt of the law of sin and death has been fulfilled by Christ’s blood on the cross. That law does not apply to us as we receive his Spirit of life.” My words fell deep into my heart bringing freedom’s peace to my soul.

Joshua smiled at my enlightenment stating, “The Bible says the truth will set you free!

“John 8:31-32—To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

He looked back across the lake, took a sip from his glass and asked, “When you say, ‘I am a sinner,’ does this statement set you free?”

I could feel my inner conflict with his question and paused in consideration before I spoke, “No, it condemns me.”

“The truth has set you free! When you say that you are a sinner, you are believing with your soul’s heart and thinking with your soul’s mind and living your life as if you were bound by the old law of sin and death. Therefore, you are condemned by the old Law, under which you believe you are living. But Romans 8 says, ‘There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ There was condemnation before the new law and the new covenant, but now there is no condemnation for those who believe in Christ.”

“That is pretty cool, Joshua and you are right. Sometimes we get confused on what we have actually received through our faith.”

He nodded his head in agreement stating, “Yes! I hear many Christians say, ‘I have the righteousness of Christ living in my heart,’ and then, with their very next breath, state, ‘I am a sinner.’ I’m sorry, but a person who has the righteousness of Christ is not a sinner! Interesting dichotomy, isn’t it?”

“It sure is. So, what’s really going on when we say these things?”

He answered by quoting a verse, “James 3:7-10—All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

“When you say these things, you are initially looking at your Spirit and the righteousness it contains, then in the next moment, you are gazing at the inherent sin nature of your flesh. This is where the confusion arises. What you really need to consider is the nature of your soul. Your soul is where the battle exists. Because of your faith in Christ, your soul now lives under a new law and new covenant which doesn’t mention sin. Let us examine this new law and covenant currently governing your life.”

Joshua pulled a sheet of paper from between the pages of his book and handed it to me. I stared at the written columns it contained as he walked toward the rear glass doors of the country club.

“Where are you going?” I asked in mild confusion.

He turned and smiled with his servant’s reply, “Why to get you more iced tea, Sir. We still have much to discuss.”