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Old 10-27-2008, 04:15 PM
JMWHALEN JMWHALEN is offline
 
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Forgiveness/Justification in this dispensation:

Believers in the gospel of Christ of 1 Cor. 15:1-4 have submitted themselves "unto the righteousness of God"(Romans 10:3).

We now have the righteousness of God, Romans 3:21-25, 4:5, secured through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ(1 Cor. 15:1-4)

The LORD God has justified us forever because He sees us "in Christ": Acts 13;43; Romans 3:24-28, 4:25, 5:1,9, 8:30; 1 Cor. 6:11; Galatians 2:16, 3:24; Titus 3:7. This is an immutable reckoning in the mind of God. Justification is that judicial act of God by which, on account of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I am united("in Christ") by faith, He declares me to be no longer exposed to the penalty of the righteous requirements of the law, but restored to divine favor. I have been declared righteous. Justfication is an act, not a process. Upon believing 1 Cor. 15:1-4, I was given a free gift(Romans 5:18)-a righteous standing before a Holy God. This gift, by definition, has nothing to do with what I have done or who I am. No amount of self-effort or good works could ever bring one to justification. I did not justify myself-it is God who justifies. This gift is unchanging. Once God declared me righteous on the merit of the eternal Son of God, the Lord jesus Christ, the sin question regarding me has been settled once for all.

Justification is more than forgiveness, since implicit in forgiveness is guilt and cancellation/removal of sin(negative), while justification is "not guilty" and the bestowing of the merit and standing of the Lord Jesus Christ(positive). Justification is not equivalent to being pardoned. A pardoned criminal is still a criminal. Justification removes the guilt. God thus not only forgets my sin, but forgets that I am a sinner-and all because He sees me "in Christ".

Because I am "in Christ Jesus", I have been "...made the righteousness of God in him..."(1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21). I am "... found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith..."Phillippians 3:9:

All my sins(plural-1 Cor. 15:1-4) were forgiven at Calvary and the resurrection 3 days later:

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness(emphasis mine-past tense)of sins" Col. 1:14

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven(emphasis mine-past tense) you all trespasses" Col. 2:13

"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave(emphasis mine-past tense)you, so also do ye." Col. 3:13

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness(emphasis mine-past tense) of sins, according to the riches of his grace" Eph. 1:7

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven(emphasis mine-past tense) you" Eph. 4:32.

In Romans 5:12 Paul is no longer dealing with sins(plural), but rather with the SOURCE, the principle of indwelling sin. Romans 5:12 is speaking of identification-our positional history. We were all identified positionally with the source of humanity-"in Adam". When Adam sinned and thereby positionally died to God, I died with him. When he became flesh, so did I in him. When he was judged I was also judged in him.

Unlike its product, sins(plural), sin COULD NOT BE FORGIVEN, for it would be sin still. A forgiven thief is still a thief! Hence, sin had to be condemned/judged in death:

"...God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for SIN(emphasis mine-not sins), condemned SIN(emphasis mine) in the flesh."(Romans 8:3).

Thus, my SINS were forgiven by the principle of SUBSTITUTION:
"...Christ died for our sins..."(1 Cor 15:3)/"...gave himself for our sins...." Gal. 1:4

But our SIN was condemned/judged by the principle of IDENTIFICATION-2 Cor. 5:21="...to be SIN(emphasis mine) for us..."


Again, sins(plural) can be forgiven, but sin(singular), cannot be forgiven-it must be judged. That is, the sin nature, who I was "in Adam"(1 Cor. 15:22), was not forgiven at Calvary. My then future sins were forgiven("Christ died for our sins"-plural-emphasis mine-1 Cor. 15:3), but I, as the Adamic "old man"(Romans 6:6, Eph. 4:22, Col.3:9), the source of those sins, was not forgiven. Sin must be judged/condemned, and it was at Calvary.. "For he(God the Father-emphasis mine) hath made him(the Son of God-emhasis mine) to be sin for us...."(2 Cor. 5"21)/"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh..."(Romans 8:3)

Thus, while the Lamb of God was on the cross, God the Father laid amm my as-yet-uncommitted sins upon God the Son, and His death by blood for those sins freed me from the penalty. While the Lord Jesus Christ was on that same cross, God the Father identified(the meaning of the word "baptize") me, in my Adamic life of sin, with His Son, who was made to be that sin(2 Cor. 5:21). In Him, I died to sin. In my death unto sin in the Lord Jesus Christ's death, I was freed from all that I was in the "first man Adam"(1 Cor. 15:45), and was re-created in the "last Adam"(1 Cor. 15:45)-Romans 6:5, 2 Cor. 5:17, Eph. 2:10.

Thus, all my sins were forgiven via the principle of substitution, i.e., "...Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures...."(1 Cor. 15:3). But my sin was condemned/judged via the principle of identification, i.e., "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin...."(2 Cor. 5:21). The Lord Jesus Christ did not die for sin, but for sins. Being made sin, our sin, He was judged, condemned, and crucified in our place.

Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ did not die for SIN, but for SINS. Being made sin, our sin, He was judged, condemned, and crucified. He, being the sinless one, died unto sin-out of the realm of sin-having paid the price in full. Thence He was free to rise from among the dead into "newness of life"-heavenly, glorified, "new creation life."

I, the natural man in condemned Adam, was not forgiven for who I am "in Adam"(WRONG BEING) at the cross. My then future SINS were forgiven, but I, as the Adamic "old man", the SOURCE of those SINS, was not forgiven. Sin must be judged-it was -Romans 8:3. While the Lamb of God was on the cross, God the Father laid ALL of my as-yet-uncommitted sins upon the Lord Jesus Christ , and His death for those sins freed me from their penalty. While the Lord Jesus Christ was on that same cross, God the Father IDENTIFIED me, in my Adamic life of sin, with His Son who was made to be that sin(2 Cor. 5:21). In Him, I died unto sin positionally. Again, I, the sinful one, was not forgiven for who I am "in Adam"-my sins were forgiven, but not the "old man", the SOURCE of those sins. I was not forgiven in order to start all over as a "first-Adam" person. No! "I was crucified with Christ"(Gal. 2:20, Romans 6:6)-I died unto sin in Him. In that death I was positionally separated from my Adamic life, the SOURCE of sin. The Lord Jesus Christ's death FOR me redeemed me from the penalty of my sins; my positional death WITH Him freed me from the condemned/judged Adamic life and its rulership.

Romans 6:6 sets forth doctrinally, and positionally, what happened to believers as IDENTIFIED with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death unto sin on the cross. I, the old Adamic man, was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed-condemned/judged in death-not forgiven. I, the sinful one, was judged in the death of the cross in order that I might be re-created in the risen life of the "last Adam." In my death unto sin in the Lord Jesus Christ's death, I was freed from all that I was in the first Adam, and I was re-created in the last Adam as He rose from the dead-Romans 6:5 "planted together"=IDENTIFIED(the meaning of baptism)/UNITED, 2 Cor. 5:17, Eph. 2:10 "created in Christ Jesus."

I refuse to ask the LORD God to forgive me for something He already took care of 2000 years ago-that is unbelief. When Christ died, I died. When He was buried, I was buried. When He rose from the dead, I rose from the dead, When He ascended, I ascended. Hence, the meaning of "baptized into Christ"-Gal. 3:27, Romans 6:3/"baptized into his death"-Romans 6:3=IDENTIFICATION. I have been judged already, all my sins I have committed, or will commit, have been forgiven, and I have been justified. No one can 'lay any charges' against me-"...It is God that justifieth"(Romans 8:33).

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access(emphasis mine) by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Romans 1, 2

Peace means the war is over. I was an enemy(Romans 5:10 ), but I am no longer. Only enemies need reconcilliation. God is not angry with me any longer, and is not imputing my sins to my account(2 Cor. 5:19). And by His grace, I have not only reconciled, but justified. As hard as it is for The RCC to accept it, it is a FACT that when God looks at me, he does not see my sin, or my sins(sin, singular, was judged at Calvary, and all sins, plural, were forgiven by 1 Cor. 15:1-4-"my old man" was judged at the cross, all my sins are gone, never to be brought up again or charged to me again), nor my righteousness, he sees the righteousness of his son. So then, if God the Father has a problem with me, he would then have to have a problem with the Lord Jesus Christ-impossible!

Peace means the LORD God has NOTHING against me. This involves:

1. That God has fully judged sin, upon the Lord Jesus Christ, my substitute.
2. That God was so fully satisfied with Christ's sacrifice, that he will eternally remain so; he will never take up the judgment of my sin again="What sin"?
3. That God is therefore at rest about me forever, however poor my understanding of truth, and however weak my walk is. God is looking at the blood of Christ and his righteousness, not my sins. All the demanding claims of the Law were met by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

My peace is not as between 2 nations before at war; but as a king and rebellious, rotten, guilty subjects. My heart is at rest because God, against which all sin is directed, has been fully satisfied at the cross(propitiation). "Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" does not mean peace through what he is now doing, but through what he did do on the cross. All the majesty of God's holy and righteous throne was satisfied by the Lord Jesus Christ by his death, burial, and resurrection. And now, being raised from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ is my peace. But is is his past work at Calvary, not his present work of intercession, that all is based upon; and this gives all believers a sense of peace which he made through his blood.

Re. " By whom also we have access", the word "also" sets this blessing forth as distinct from and additional to that of peace with God. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have believed, we have been given to the JUSTIFIED(the basis of our access) access into a wonderful standing in divine favor, totally "...accepted in the beloved...."(Eph. 1:6). Being in Christ, we have the very favor, access, in which Christ stands and has.

Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting something you do not deserve. THE FINALITY OF THE CROSS settled the sin issue-it was dealt with completely 2000 years ago, when JUSTICE, MERCY, AND GRACE. were all put on public display"-the meaning of "...set forth...." in Romans 3:25. God has already accomplished JUSTICE by judging His only Begotten Son in my stead, and thus I received 1. MERCY=not getting what I deserved because the Lord Jesus Christ took my judgment by taking my place="FOR"=the principle of substitution and identification, and 2.GRACE=getting something I don't deserve=the righteousness of God in Christ through the principle of imputation.

Again, the Holy Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ died once for all sin and sins inclusively-all issues were settled, including THE BARRIER which prevented my communication with a holy LORD GOD=access. While "short accounts" for forgiveness was the method God used to deal with the sin issue in the past(including the sacrificial system of continuous confession and sacrifice, and including the time of "the gospels"), it is no longer in this dispensation. I am complete in Christ(Col. 2:10), and thus there can never be a "sin issue" or "fellowship" problem, lest God somehow is not satisfied with the work of his Son. Either God took care of all issues, or he did not. He did.

All my sins were deposited in hell 2000 years ago. The Lord God sees me as completely justified and righteous, and no charges can be held to my account-the court and jury met 2000 years ago, the payment for sin was made, sin(singular)was judged, and all sins(plural) were forgiven. These charges were dismissed 2000 years ago, not because of anything I did, or will do or not do in the future, but because of already was done on my behalf by this great and only Saviour of ours, the Lord Jesus Christ. Since I am "in Christ", the LORD God sees His Son and His righteousness. My standing with God does not depend on me asking for forgiveness, or repenting of sin(my "walk"-sanctification)- that is unbelief, asking the LORD God to do something he has already done, and making justification dependent on my faithfulness to service, instead of the faithfulness of the Saviour.

Nowhere in Paul's inspired writings did the Lord Jesus Christ instruct him to teach about incremental forgiveness, or that we are to go to the "forgiveness bank" and to make a withdrawal each time we sin. Instead, we are to believe that we are forgiven, and to thank God, out of gratitude, and not fear(which never motivates man to serve God, as demonstrated by Israel's experience and testimony in the OT) for his grace! Is the riches of God's grace magnified when we believe in his completed work, and Christ's all inclusive forgiveness, or when you ask God to forgive you over and over again, when he told us that we have already been forgiven? Is your forgiveness conditioned based upon how many times you ask or plead or "confess", or are we to believe it is a done deal? I suggest you not ask "how you feel"(human emotions are unreliable and deceitful), or what you have heard from "mainstream" Christianity, which mostly fails to "rightly divide the word of truth", to find the truth in this dispensation.

The Biblical order is SONSHIP(justification), then SERVICE(sanctification). Those who reverse this biblical order are putting the proverbial "horse before the cart", and are confusing service to our Father AS SONS with service TO BECOME SONS. Those who make statements such as "make Jesus Lord of your life", "turn your life over to Jesus, give your life to Jesus", despite the fact that the heart of the gospel is the Lord Jesus Christ GIVING HIS LIFE FOR US, and has nothing to do with us giving him anything, make this deadly error. The LORD God needs nothing from us(Acts 17:25, Job 35:7, Haggai 2:8) and is not, and will not, condition/make "giving our life to Him"(service) the basis for His acceptance of us. Again, The LORD God has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ's voluntary sacrificial offering of HIS LIFE, not ours, as proptiatory(satisfactory). All service is a priviledged responsibility given as a gift to those who have been declared adopted sons by faith in the finished and faithful work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Holy means "sanctified"=set aside for God's purpose. But God only uses those instruments that are His sons, and "saints" describes those who are already justified=His="in Christ". And the LORD God would have us know this biblical order in Corithians-Paul calls the Corinthians, the most carnal, dirty, lustful group of believer SAINTS.

Consider the book of Galatians, which is a stern, severe, corrective, and solemn message-there is no word of commendation, praise or thanksgiving. Paul's "heart" is laid bare here as the letters are peppered with deep emotion and strong feeling. This is his "fighting epistle"-he is on a war path, with no tolerance for legalism! It is the declaration of freedom from all types of legalism. While Romans was from Paul's "head" with its lawyerly, systematic treatise on justification by faith, and faith alone, Galatians was from his heart. It is the boldest, strongest declaration and DEFENSE(as is this post) of the doctrine of justification by faith in and out of the scriptures, and, as such, is God's polemic on behalf of the most vital truth of the Christian truth against any attack. That is, not only is a sinner saved by grace through faith(not commitment), but the saved sinner lives by grace(sanctification=commitment=the Christian "walk"). But we must not confuse justification(the declaration of righteousness) with sanctification! Yes, we are saved from the penalty of sin(justification), the power of sin(sanctification), and the presense of sin(glorification), but these are not equivalent biblical doctrines, and people are perverting the gospel of Christ by putting the proverbial "horse before the cart", i. e., they are placing sanctification=commitment=give your life to Christ in the wrong biblical order-as a "prerequisite" to justification, or as the means to justification. No, No, No!! Interestingly enough, Paul had nothing but condemnation for the Galatians, and yet, for the Corinthians, as mentioned, the most carnal bunch of Christians, who were engaged in adultery, drunkeness, gluttony.....he had words of encouragement, and never questioned their justification, as witnessed by his continual reference to them as "in Christ", and as SAINTS. This should be an object lesson for us all, and should cause each of us to cry with joy and praise for the truly amazing grace bestowed upon e! ach one of us wherby we are made "...accepted in the beloved...."(Ephesians 1:6) by this great God of ours(Psalms 145:3). And this should be our motivation to "...walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called...."(Ephesians 4:1), "..walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God...."(Colossians 1:10), "...walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory...."(1 Thessalonians 2:12), "..walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more...."(1 Thessalonians 4:1),."...as children of light...."(Ephesians 5:8), which is our "....reasonable service...."(Romans 12:1) as sons.

No one would disagree with anyone who would say we should "live a holy life before God"(sanctification), BUT NOT AS A BASIS FOR OUR ACCEPTANCE by Him-not as our basis for JUSTIFICATION! We live a holy life because we are sons, because we are justified, because we are saved, NOT TO BE SONS, NOT TO BE JUSTIFIED, NOT TO BE SAVED.

No one has,or can, truly(and this is a subjective criteria)repent(ed) of all their sins", no one has, or can "surrender 100% to the Lordship of Jesus Christ"(and this is a subjective criteria), no one has "put away the things or our previous life and life style", no one has, or can, "live(d) for God 100%", for all have been pronounced "guilty"(Romans 3:19 ), and "...come short of the glory of God...."(Romans 3:23), in not only what we do, but what we do not do, and how we think. Sin is not just "wrong doing", it is "wrong being". Nor will the LORD God accept any offering these acts of service as a basis for justification, but will only accept the death by blood OFFERING of the Lord Jesus Christ's spotless life, NOT OURS, and his resurrection, as a basis for our justification as sons.

Phrases such as "giving one's life, heart("commitment") is not the proper object of faith.. Again, salvation has nothing to do with "giving" God anything! Salvation is not my gift to God. Rather, it is the issue of receiving a gift from God. The issue in salvation is not what we give to Him, but what He gives to us-eternal life. The issue is not giving your life to Christ-it is Christ giving up His life as an atoning sacrifice for you. Salvation has nothing to do with "giving up your life", "surrendering your life".........-It was the Lord Jesus Christ who gave up His life and made full surrender when he yielded His life at Calvary. Again, when a lost person is told to "surrender his life, give his life to Jesus, commit his life to Jesus.........", this wrongly presumes that a person has something worthy to give(whether that is time, money, service......), and confuses SERVICE with SALVATION. It requires a "commitment" to serve Christ "up front" before salvation, and it presents a work-based performance system as a basis for acceptance by God.

Phrases such as "Give your heart to Jesus" may sound very romantic, but we are not saved by "falling in love with Jesus"-we are saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ's finished work at Calvary and His resurrection 3 days later. Giving one's heart, life(commitment) is an activity of service to the Lord, and and, as such, service and dedication is something the LORD appeals to believers to do(Romans 12:1-2, for eg.). But this is service from those who have become his own. The biblical order is sonship, then service. Service, then sonship is a work-based performance system, as typified by the Roman Catholic Church, and "perverts the gospel of Christ"(Gal. 1:7). Statements such as " ...I believe salvation is a journey; it is not a moment in time" reflect this mindset and false doctrine. Sanctification is a journey, but justification is not. Justification is a "moment in time" declaration of righteousness based on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Practically every false doctrine is a result of "getting things out of order", as I mentioned previously. The divine order is justification, then change/sanctification, not change/sanctification and then salvation. Notice in Romans 5:6, God "JUSTIFIES THE UNGODLY(emphasis mine)"-no "fixing yourself up first", no "stop sinning first".......... Notice in Romans 5:8, "while we were yet SINNERS(emphasis mine), Christ died for us". Again, those who make statements such as "make Jesus Lord of your life", "turn your life over to Jesus, give your life to Jesus, commit your life to Jesus"(despite the fact that the heart of the gospel is the Lord Jesus Christ GIVING HIS LIFE FOR US, and has nothing to do with us giving him anything!) make this deadly error-confusing sancification with justification.

Many error by thinking that "stop sinning"=acts of commission "solves the sin issue". You could "stop sinning" all the rest of your life(which is a self righteous PRIDE that no one can do), and that would not allow you in the presence of our Holy God. Sin is not just wrong acts, it is "not doing what you are suppose to do", and it is "wrong thinking"-thus,"all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". The LORD God has pronounced all of us GUILTY, with no exceptions(read Romans again)-guilty of not only what we do, but guilty of falling short of his absolute standard, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST="who he wants us to beThe biblical requirement is not just forgiveness=a pardon for an offence, but JUSTIFICATION=a legal declaration of righteousness, and includes not just "stop doing what is wrong", but also DOING EVERYTHING THAT IS RIGHT in thought, word, and deed(had any evil thoughts today? I have). And this is "the righteousness of God in him"(2 Cor. 5:21), the "righteousness of God"(Romans 1:17), " righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe"(Romans 3:22), "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith"(Philippians 3:9).

The divine operation works from within to without, the opposite of Satan's "modest operandi"(sic), which works from the outside of man to within. We need to preach the gospel of Christ, and not confuse the "fruits" of salvation, the effects of salvation, which is our "walk"/sanctification, with the CAUSE of salvation. Only the gospel of Christ is the"power of God unto salvation"(Romans 1:16)- and this is the power of God from the PENALTY of sin (justification), the power of sin(sanctification), and the presence of sin(glorification).

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4:5


In Christ and with Christ ,

John M. whalen