1069. The Will of God for You (Part 2)

It is difficult to experience the peace of God to the fullest if we're steadily or periodically wondering whether we're in God's will. It becomes even more complicated if we're worried what the negative ramifications might be if we become convinced through external sources that we are "out of God's will."

Christ in you, that is God's will for you, and it is a place of peace and rest. He will be with you every step of the way through the earthly journey and through the many decisions being made over the years. If He impresses something unique upon your heart, you can still make choices. If you decide to go a different direction, God is flexible and has been known to be in the re-routing business ... working things together for good and never leaving you.




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1068. The Will of God for You

People can go through all kinds of stress and worry while wondering or trying to figure out what God's will is for their life. It can result in this life becoming heavy and hard instead of light and easy.

Sometimes it's just a matter of trusting God to lead and guide. This becomes easier when we can set aside the magnifying glass and begin to see the bigger picture of God's will for your life being Jesus Christ in you. Rest in that and begin to realize how much God cares for you affectionately in every area of your life. You no longer need to fear if you are "in God's will."




"Clash of the Covenants" book available on Amazon

908. False Assumptions: "I'm Just a Sinner Saved by Grace"

Christians have been told through religious sources they are identified as sinners saved by grace, which makes sense to most people ... because after all ... everyone has sinned, and all who believe have been saved by grace. But nowhere in new covenant writings are believers in Christ identified as sinners. We have now become a new creation, inheriting the righteousness of God. If we are stuck in a mindset that thinks "I'm just a sinner," we'll abide in that place of defeat, while missing out on the empowerment of God's grace and who we have already been made to be as holy, righteous and perfected people.

Do we still fail? Yes. But our identity is not based upon what we do, but who God has made us to be. Some might try to argue that Paul declared himself the chief of sinners—as if he were bragging about what a bad person he is. It's amazing how a few words can be misunderstood and taken out of context to be twisted into an entire doctrine or mindset which doesn't line up with the gospel message. So we'll take a look at this and how it really compares to the many other places where Paul referred to fellow believers as saints.



   
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800. The 800 Club: Looking Back - Believers Identified as Righteous

This week reaches a new milestone for our Growing in Grace podcast with the manifestation of program #800. In the weeks ahead, we’ll be reminiscing about some of the subjects that we feel have been some of the most significant when it comes to understanding the gospel of grace and what the finished work of Christ has provided for us. One of those is the gift of God’s righteousness.

Most church buildings are filled with believers who have assumed they are “sinners saved by grace,” when no such phrase is written within the pages. It’s a fake I.D.! We have inherited certain attributes from God as new creations in Christ and one of those is that we are now identified as righteous—the righteousness of God in Him.

   
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508. The Love Motivation

As we proclaim a message of God's unconditional love and free grace apart from the works of the law and commandments, those bound by legalistic teaching will ask us whether behavior matters. It's hard for them to grasp wanting to do what is right and good apart from rules and regulations. In the same way that God has shown forgiveness and love to us in this New Covenant, as new creations in Christ, we are now empowered to do the same. It's because we're branches, engrafted into the tree of life, bearing his fruit apart from law.



   

489. Guest Andrew Farley: Your Identity

Best-selling author and speaker Dr. Andrew Farley joins us for the third and final week, discussing who you are in Christ. We often hear about how Jesus died for us, but it seems we seldom hear about how we also died with Him. We are spiritual beings who also have a soul and a body. We had a heart transplant, having been made brand new through birth. Although there is a growth process with the renewing of the mind and behavioral changes, this is not to be confused with how you are identified as a new creation. Andrew also address the question about whether or not we possess two natures.

Check out more on Andrew Farley at andrewfarley.org and churchwithoutreligion.com.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3


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471. Stop Trying to Be Like Jesus

In Christ, we have a brand new identity. We're no longer "sinners saved by grace," but we're saints who are fully dependent upon God's grace. We've been made new. We're sanctified, holy, righteous, blameless and complete in Him. And while each of these things is true of every single believer, God has also made each of us as unique individuals.

So this week we talk about how we're not trying to be like each other - and we're also not trying to be like Jesus! Rather, while we are in union with Him, we live our daily lives as the unique individuals He has made us to be. Along with this, we talk about two common words that are often used in the church to describe believers, and yet aren't mentioned in the epistles of Paul, Peter, James and John: "disciples" and "followers" of Jesus. Hmmm!


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470. A New You

Many believers, who in reality have been made brand new in Jesus Christ, still carry some of the old ideas about themselves that were true of them before they came to know Christ. The Old Covenant scriptures say that the heart is "deceitful and desperately wicked," and so believers continue to believe that that is true of them, even in Christ. What they don't realize is that in Christ we've been given a NEW heart, and our new heart is not wicked or deceitful - it's holy, righteous and sanctified! Many believers also refer to themselves as merely a "sinner saved by grace," not realizing that in Christ their identity is no longer "sinner," but "saint"! In Christ, we've been made new, and it's very liberating when we begin to understand these core things about our true identity in Christ.


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439. New & Improved Vs. Recreated

New life in Christ. We've become a brand new creation. What exactly does this mean for us? It's the reality in which we now live. Jesus actually became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. You weren't just changed but rather you were recreated from nothing. The old life has passed away (died). Having passed from death to life, we can now experience freedom the way God meant for it to be.

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415. Eternal Life - It's More Than You Think

God has provided us with eternal life in Christ. This is not simply life that lasts forever without end. Eternal life is HIS life in us and it also had no BEGINNING. Your life was replaced with His life and in Him we are brand new creations. This (eternal) life in you provides the power to bear the fruit of the Spirit as He produces it through you.

Performance-based religion will emphasize behavior. It will attempt to put you in a position where the responsibility is on you to live up to a certain moral standard. When compared to the gospel, this is backwards thinking. Relying on your efforts is guaranteed to fall short. Stop trying! Begin to rest in Him and trust His life that is in you.

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410. God's Gift to You (Obtaining Victory Over Guilt, Obligation and Condemnation)

Very few would say they haven't struggled with guilt or condemnation from time to time. But for believers in Christ, this doesn't have to be a way of life nor should it be. One of the greatest and most effective ways to overcome this battle is to grow in understanding our identity in Christ and who He has already made you to be. What Jesus accomplished for us goes far beyond just being forgiven. You have become a brand new creation, filled with His life, love and holiness apart from works. The Spirit of God is with you constantly reminding that you are His righteousness and are in right-standing with Him.

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224. Not Judging One Another By Our Performance

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This week Kap and Joel share some thoughts on Paul's words in 2 Cor 5:16, "From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh." People tend to focus on what we do and don't do - our performance and outward appearances - and to judge one another according to that, rather than focusing on what Christ has already done. We are to no longer regard ourselves and others according to our own efforts and performance. Rather, in Christ, our sin has been taken away and what counts is not our performance and abilities, but rather "what counts is a new creation" (Gal 6:15 NIV).

190. Our Message To the World: God is Not Counting People's Sins Against Them

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This week we take a peek into the deeply rich passage of 2 Corinthians 5. Not only does it talk about us being New Creations in Christ (not simply "changed" or "improved," but made completely new), but it talks about the ministry that we have to the world as believers. Is our ministry to point out people's sins? Is our ministry to protest all the sinful behavior of the world?

What about the message in 2 Cor. 5 that "God was in Christ reconciling (exchanging sin for righteousness) the world to Himself, not counting people's sins against them?" The very same passage goes on to say that God has committed to us that ministry - the message of reconciliation. The message of reconciliation is our ministry to the world - that God was in Christ exchanging our sin for His righteousness!

160. Convicted of Righteousness

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In Christ, we have a brand new identity. The Bible says that in Christ we've been perfected, and we are holy, righteous and complete in Him. This week Mike and Joel talk about how the unbelieving world had to be convicted of sin (see John 16:8-11, Romans 3:19-20) in order to come to Christ, but now that we're in Christ we're convicted of righteousness - because that's who we are! When we sin, we are simply not being who we (already truly) are, and the more we're convinced, and convicted, of our true identity as the righteousness of God, the more we'll live as who we really are. All of this is based upon the finished work of Jesus and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It's all Him, not us!