And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:15 NIV)
Last week I discussed condemnation, a scheme that Satan uses to rob the believer of peace with God. The believer should never allow condemnation in his life because of past sin. The blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover that sin, and in God, there is a power to forget.
Once again, here are some foundational verses regarding God's desire for the beliver walk in the peace of God. When a believer goes into spiritual battle, he should be established firmly in God's peace.
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3 NIV)
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27 NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15 NIV)
Also, last week I said that the believer must understand the following two things regarding condemnation. Last week I examined the first item. Today, I will examine the second item.
Sometimes a believer will presume upon the grace of God and continue to sin in spite of the repeated admonitions of the Word of God to repent and to walk holy with God. Every believer struggles in some area, but the person I am speaking of is the believer who willfully sins, not the person who sins from a position of weakness. If a believer continues to willfully sin, not only can he expect condemnation, he can expect to see the judgement of God manifested in his life. Look at this passage from the book of Hebrews.
- Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, sin is forgiven completely. You should remember your sin no more.
- Forgiveness of sin is not an excuse to continue to willfully walk in sin. If you choose to live in sin, you will have problems with condemnation because your own heart will condemn you.
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31 NIV)
It is a dangerous position for the believer to presume upon the grace of God. God's grace has been manifested to forgive sin, but God's grace does not wink at willful sin. A believer will reap what he sows. That is an unalterable law of the kingdom of God.
It is necessary to confess your sin. A believer must agree with God that sin is wrong. Here is a verse I used last week. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9 NIV)
If we confess...God is faithful, and he will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Here is another aspect of condemnation that traps the believer. Most believers usually have some type of sin that causes problems on a habitual basis. Let's take road rage as an example. Let's say, Billy, has a forty-five minute commute one way to work each day. Billy loves God and doesn't want the enemy to have any foothold in his life. But, rude discourteous drivers on the freeway tend to make Billy very angry. Billy may shout at them, or on occasion even cuss or make an obscene gesture at the rude drivers. Each time this happens Billy feels terrible, and he truly repents. He comes before God based on I John 1:9. He confesses his sin. He agrees with God that it is wrong. What does God do? God forgives Billy and purifies him from all unrighteousness.
How often will God forgive Billy of the sin of road rage? Peter once asked Jesus a similar question. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." (Matthew 18:21-22 NIV)
Peter thought he was being quite generous in being willing to forgive his brother seven times. But, Jesus said, to forgive your brother seventy-seven times, or some translations say seventy times seven times. In essence Jesus is saying always forgive your brother. If God expects us to always forgive our brother, how much more will God always forgive us?
Satan will attempt to condemn Billy over his road rage, especially since it tends to happen on a habitual basis, but Billy should refuse that condemnation. Billy has confessed, and God has forgiven and purified, so there is no room for the condemnation of Satan.
Billy should seek God, and ask God to help him walk more fully in the love of God, so that the road rage will become less and less of an issue in his life. However, Billy should seek God from a position of peace, not a position of condemnation.
I want to make one last point regarding condemnation. John said, Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. (I John 3:21-22 NIV)
Freedom from condemnation is directly tied to answered prayer in this passage by John. If your heart does not condemn you, then...
Don't allow Satan to condemn you because of your past sin. Refuse to walk in willfull sin in the present, so your own heart will not condemn. Rather learn to walk in the freedom, peace, joy, and forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- You have confidence before God.
- You receive whatever you ask from God.
- You are pleasing God because you are obeying his commands including his commands to confess your sins and walk free from condemnation.
Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org
Wisdom From the Word
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