I'm posting this as a very small beginning of what I hope will become a much deeper discussion about marriage and the beautiful unity that can be experienced between a husband and a wife. This to me is one of the saddest things that has happened and is happening in the church today, the increasing rarity of true marriage. I don't think most divorces are the break-down of true marriage, but the break-down of superficial imitations of true marriage.
Can a superficial marriage that started with attraction and infatuation and then built on law and duty ever ripen into mature and intoxicating love? I whole-heartedly believe it can! But too many times it doesn't. So let the discussion and revelation begin, and may our God enlighten us about his kind of love! And as he pours it out his lavish love on us may it transform every other relationship in our lives. And let's also remember: THERE IS NOW THEREFORE NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE IN JESUS CHRIST! This is not the time or the place for pointing fingers at people in self-righteous disgust. This is about freedom and joy!
The wedding vows...Do we doom marriages to failure when we base them on legal contracts and vows that are impossible standards of perfection? Did Adam and Eve make 'vows before a holy God'? (Also posted on facebook at the Free Believers Network with comments following.)
This is one of my comments, modified a little:
There's nothing more deadly in a marriage than one or the other feeling 'trapped'. The idea of marriage taught in the church is ridiculous and damaging. As soon as you tell someone they are tied for life to someone else no matter what, of course panic sets in. Not to mention it isn't true, it's a contract that can easily be gotten out of .
The church has been so busy preserving the outward image of marriage, teaching that living at the same address for the rest of your life constitutes a major accomplishment( sometimes even inferring that the more miserable you were the more faithful you were), that they've completely missed the point of marriage as God designed it. It was for a man and a woman to enjoy--revel in-- the same kind of love and unity as God himself does within the Trinity. And that would be a beautiful picture of Christ and the church as she enters into that union through redemption. It would truly be an unbreakable bond of love.
More and more to find an honestly happy couple who are truly enjoying intimate union in all the ways God has provided, is difficult. A happily married couple is a complete rarity. And to me, this false marriage is much much sadder than divorce because divorce is just the truth of what a marriage probably was all along in most cases, especially in the performance based 'church'.
Marriage is wonderful when you are able to experience it as the freeing unity and love it is supposed to be. We are not bound together with chains of rules , vows, or promises, but we melt together over time until neither can imagine life or joy without the other. It's not perfecting of roles or duties that make a marriage work, but husband and wife both letting go and truly enjoying the other's love and companionship, sharing every part of themselves until it becomes difficult to draw a line between the two and divide them into two separate entities. This is the same way we are conformed to Christ, not that there is no individual still, but that the harmony is so beautiful and wonderful that there is no desire for a solo part.
This is in no way intended to make anyone who is married and not happy feel bad about it either! I just long for people to be free and happy in every part of their lives...and so we continue to share and enjoy the best news in the world until it gets down into every fiber of our being and transforms our minds and sets us free more and more!
Showing posts with label living in grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label living in grace. Show all posts
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Dear Struggling Christian...(from the comment section somewhere back there)
I wrote this a while back in response to the question of whether or not we may lose our salvation. It was specifically in regards to fear and uncertainty...
I understand where you're coming from with the depression thing, I can so relate to the temptation to want to throw my hands up in the air and give up on it all! And in essence, that is what I finally did, just not in the way the old serpent was hoping for haha!
That merry-go-round you're talking about is lawgracelawgrace around and around, up and down. Roller coaster Christianity that depends on my performance, oh yes, by God's grace of course, but I must 'appropriate' the grace, or yes but we must 'balance' the grace. As a child of God slightly less brave than Paul, I can't write the words I really want to, but let's just say that's all a bunch of rubbish, I mean the kind that needs to be flushed down the toilet.
All the wrestling and fighting and anger you experience is the kicking of a living spirit! Before you were born again, you were dead in your transgressions, but you are alive! The fact that you are alive shows me that you have been born again, born in the same manner that Jesus was when he entered the world as a little baby. He had this weak flesh like us, but he was without sin. His father was not Adam, but the Holy Spirit. And he was the first born of many brothers--us! We are like him, we have been recreated in his image. He has already dealt with our sin and he will return, not to deal with sin, but to give us immortal perfect flesh to house our already immortal perfect spirit!
Yes, it's good news!
Here are a few warnings for you: if you stray from the flock, Jesus will leave the 99 to come find you. If you take your father's resources and go out into the world and spend it all on liquor and loose women, your father will wait for your return and he will not be disappointed. If you think you can escape his love, be forewarned! You never can! He is your bridegroom and however many times you play the whore to the old impotent husband he will receive you back with joy! If you are angry with him, he will comfort you, he will listen, he will win you back again. You will never reach the end of his mercy, you will never be able to outrun his love. Where ever you may hide he will chase you down and coax you out into freedom and joy.
You are his and he is yours, forever.
This striving you are now experiencing is not for no purpose! You will soon enter his rest.
I understand where you're coming from with the depression thing, I can so relate to the temptation to want to throw my hands up in the air and give up on it all! And in essence, that is what I finally did, just not in the way the old serpent was hoping for haha!
That merry-go-round you're talking about is lawgracelawgrace around and around, up and down. Roller coaster Christianity that depends on my performance, oh yes, by God's grace of course, but I must 'appropriate' the grace, or yes but we must 'balance' the grace. As a child of God slightly less brave than Paul, I can't write the words I really want to, but let's just say that's all a bunch of rubbish, I mean the kind that needs to be flushed down the toilet.
All the wrestling and fighting and anger you experience is the kicking of a living spirit! Before you were born again, you were dead in your transgressions, but you are alive! The fact that you are alive shows me that you have been born again, born in the same manner that Jesus was when he entered the world as a little baby. He had this weak flesh like us, but he was without sin. His father was not Adam, but the Holy Spirit. And he was the first born of many brothers--us! We are like him, we have been recreated in his image. He has already dealt with our sin and he will return, not to deal with sin, but to give us immortal perfect flesh to house our already immortal perfect spirit!
Yes, it's good news!
Here are a few warnings for you: if you stray from the flock, Jesus will leave the 99 to come find you. If you take your father's resources and go out into the world and spend it all on liquor and loose women, your father will wait for your return and he will not be disappointed. If you think you can escape his love, be forewarned! You never can! He is your bridegroom and however many times you play the whore to the old impotent husband he will receive you back with joy! If you are angry with him, he will comfort you, he will listen, he will win you back again. You will never reach the end of his mercy, you will never be able to outrun his love. Where ever you may hide he will chase you down and coax you out into freedom and joy.
You are his and he is yours, forever.
This striving you are now experiencing is not for no purpose! You will soon enter his rest.
Repost from 2007, Knowing God Under the New Covenant
I still remember this post and the powerful revelation that led to it, it's still one of my favorites!
My kids are staying with their Grandma and Papa for a few days so I get to enjoy lots of quiet time to read, write, listen, and well, hopefully clean and do some painting in the house. I was just reading in Hebrews a bit ago and this passage really struck a chord with me.
Hebrews 8:10-12, quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother , saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."
It just struck me almost my whole life in the church I have been taught "Know the Lord". I've experienced all kinds of methods, techniques, plans, motivational preaching, challenges to commit to this or that--all with one goal in view: That I know God. I tried to implement many things I've heard or read to the same purpose. Sadly, I have to say that they all pretty much failed. And for all my effort I managed to turn prayer, Bible reading, church, fellowship, loving others (even my own family) into great mountains of duty and obligation that I could never possibly fulfill. And this great mountain planted itself directly in the middle of the path to God. I was farther from him than ever.
When I read this today, I suddenly saw it. All those who teach "Know the Lord" are teaching Old Covenant, you know, the old obsolete broken inadequate way of coming to God-- the way that never lets you into the Holy of Holies where His presence is, the way that leaves us down at the bottom of his Holy mountain trembling in fear of death and judgement (Hebrews 12:20), the way that never cleanses us from our sin so completely that we can come boldly to the throne of grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). We have a new and living way! (Hebrews 10:20)
Under the Old Covenant, people have to be taught "Know the Lord". They must be pushed and bullied and forced to come near to God. Why? Because they are afraid. Their conscience is not clean, they are still fearfully conscious of their sin.
"For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:1-4)
In Israel people longed to be in near God on one hand, but not toonear, because to enter into God's presence was a terrifying experience. It was so dangerous the high priest had to have a rope tied around his leg in case God struck him dead while in the Holy of Holies. Why? Because of sin.
And how many of us are still living and teaching others to live as if still under that Old Covenant? If we are still saying to ourselves and others "Know the Lord" then we have an Old Covenant mindset. Under the New, we already know him! We come to him all the time because nothing stands in our way! All our sin is not only forgiven but completely taken away! Christ has done such a thorough job that we aren't even conscious of sin anymore. Think about that. The Old Covenant sacrifices served to remind people of their sins even more , to bring condemnation but the sacrifice of Jesus did just the opposite. He did not come to condemn us for our sin but to remove our sin completely so that we are never again subject to any condemnation. (Romans 8:1)
When we remember the cross, we remember that our sins are taken away. We should NEVER NEVER NEVER look at the cross and mourn our sins and feel shame and guilt. If we do that, we are looking at the cross saying "it wasn't enough for my sin". It doesn't impress God and it isn't humility, it is a rejection of the Perfect Sacrifice and evil unbelief.
So from Hebrews, here are two signs of a legalistic,Old Covenant mindset:
1. A need for "Know the Lord" type teaching.
2. Having a consciousness of sin.
If we see either of these in our lives, we need to pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of the Cross to us. And let us enter into His presence with joy and peace, no longer being held back by fear of judgement or consciousness of sin.
My kids are staying with their Grandma and Papa for a few days so I get to enjoy lots of quiet time to read, write, listen, and well, hopefully clean and do some painting in the house. I was just reading in Hebrews a bit ago and this passage really struck a chord with me.
Hebrews 8:10-12, quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother , saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."
It just struck me almost my whole life in the church I have been taught "Know the Lord". I've experienced all kinds of methods, techniques, plans, motivational preaching, challenges to commit to this or that--all with one goal in view: That I know God. I tried to implement many things I've heard or read to the same purpose. Sadly, I have to say that they all pretty much failed. And for all my effort I managed to turn prayer, Bible reading, church, fellowship, loving others (even my own family) into great mountains of duty and obligation that I could never possibly fulfill. And this great mountain planted itself directly in the middle of the path to God. I was farther from him than ever.
When I read this today, I suddenly saw it. All those who teach "Know the Lord" are teaching Old Covenant, you know, the old obsolete broken inadequate way of coming to God-- the way that never lets you into the Holy of Holies where His presence is, the way that leaves us down at the bottom of his Holy mountain trembling in fear of death and judgement (Hebrews 12:20), the way that never cleanses us from our sin so completely that we can come boldly to the throne of grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). We have a new and living way! (Hebrews 10:20)
Under the Old Covenant, people have to be taught "Know the Lord". They must be pushed and bullied and forced to come near to God. Why? Because they are afraid. Their conscience is not clean, they are still fearfully conscious of their sin.
"For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:1-4)
In Israel people longed to be in near God on one hand, but not toonear, because to enter into God's presence was a terrifying experience. It was so dangerous the high priest had to have a rope tied around his leg in case God struck him dead while in the Holy of Holies. Why? Because of sin.
And how many of us are still living and teaching others to live as if still under that Old Covenant? If we are still saying to ourselves and others "Know the Lord" then we have an Old Covenant mindset. Under the New, we already know him! We come to him all the time because nothing stands in our way! All our sin is not only forgiven but completely taken away! Christ has done such a thorough job that we aren't even conscious of sin anymore. Think about that. The Old Covenant sacrifices served to remind people of their sins even more , to bring condemnation but the sacrifice of Jesus did just the opposite. He did not come to condemn us for our sin but to remove our sin completely so that we are never again subject to any condemnation. (Romans 8:1)
When we remember the cross, we remember that our sins are taken away. We should NEVER NEVER NEVER look at the cross and mourn our sins and feel shame and guilt. If we do that, we are looking at the cross saying "it wasn't enough for my sin". It doesn't impress God and it isn't humility, it is a rejection of the Perfect Sacrifice and evil unbelief.
So from Hebrews, here are two signs of a legalistic,Old Covenant mindset:
1. A need for "Know the Lord" type teaching.
2. Having a consciousness of sin.
If we see either of these in our lives, we need to pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of the Cross to us. And let us enter into His presence with joy and peace, no longer being held back by fear of judgement or consciousness of sin.
Friday, September 25, 2009
God of Second Chance or Chances???
It may be a sign that I'm a little overwhelmed with being a mother that I find Veggie Tales so thought-provoking, or maybe it's just that I'm pretty careful to point out legalism to my kids in order to teach them the truth about grace...anyway, in the past I've thought quite a bit about the idea that comes out in Jonah, the Veggie Tales movie. I'm certainly not bashing Veggie Tales haha, but of course there is some moralizing that they do which is pretty Old Covenant sometimes. To be expected...Anyone who grew up learning Old Testament Bible stories in Sunday school will be familiar with that practice.
At first my line of reasoning was that God doesn't give us a second chance, but infinite 'chances', then I realized that was totally a legalistic mindset. There are only 2 chances in this life, the first is Adam , the second is Jesus. With a law mindset we are constantly begging God for just one more chance to do it right, to make up for our sin, to change. We want forgiveness for our past sins but we want to continue on to try harder next time. This is the kind of mentality that causes Christians to teach that we need to continually confess sin, repent, and rededicate ourselves to be holier or grow in sanctification. The law provided infinite chances to bring your sacrifice, to shred your clothes and put ashes on your head, to commit to doing a better job of obeying God.
But in Adam, we are doomed to fail every time no matter how many chances we get! Our nature is sinful through and through, we cannot meet God's standard no matter how many times we get our slate wiped clean, no matter how hard we try, even if we pray and fast and beg God for strength to obey. We will always fail, we will die trying and failing and falling short.
So God in his wisdom decided not to give us infinite chances, but instead to give us only two chances. The first chance was Adam...and he failed. The second chance is Jesus, and he completely succeeded in accomplishing every single thing the Father desired! So now, every single one of us has access to a second chance! Our second chance is Jesus, and as soon as we receive his righteousness we are placed into an unbreakable covenant, the one chance we needed, the chance to believe in the one who leaves nothing up to chances but is able to fulfill every promise he's made.
Some think that grace means unlimited chances to try to keep the law better,that God will sanctify our efforts somehow. But that is not grace. Grace is Jesus, and the only way to access that grace is by throwing yourself on him completely, not looking for any other 'chances'. Are you satisfied that Jesus passes God's inspection? If he doesn't, there is no hope for any of us.
God gave mankind only two chances, don't you think he took special care that we wouldn't be able to blow the second one??? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!!!!!
At first my line of reasoning was that God doesn't give us a second chance, but infinite 'chances', then I realized that was totally a legalistic mindset. There are only 2 chances in this life, the first is Adam , the second is Jesus. With a law mindset we are constantly begging God for just one more chance to do it right, to make up for our sin, to change. We want forgiveness for our past sins but we want to continue on to try harder next time. This is the kind of mentality that causes Christians to teach that we need to continually confess sin, repent, and rededicate ourselves to be holier or grow in sanctification. The law provided infinite chances to bring your sacrifice, to shred your clothes and put ashes on your head, to commit to doing a better job of obeying God.
But in Adam, we are doomed to fail every time no matter how many chances we get! Our nature is sinful through and through, we cannot meet God's standard no matter how many times we get our slate wiped clean, no matter how hard we try, even if we pray and fast and beg God for strength to obey. We will always fail, we will die trying and failing and falling short.
So God in his wisdom decided not to give us infinite chances, but instead to give us only two chances. The first chance was Adam...and he failed. The second chance is Jesus, and he completely succeeded in accomplishing every single thing the Father desired! So now, every single one of us has access to a second chance! Our second chance is Jesus, and as soon as we receive his righteousness we are placed into an unbreakable covenant, the one chance we needed, the chance to believe in the one who leaves nothing up to chances but is able to fulfill every promise he's made.
Some think that grace means unlimited chances to try to keep the law better,that God will sanctify our efforts somehow. But that is not grace. Grace is Jesus, and the only way to access that grace is by throwing yourself on him completely, not looking for any other 'chances'. Are you satisfied that Jesus passes God's inspection? If he doesn't, there is no hope for any of us.
God gave mankind only two chances, don't you think he took special care that we wouldn't be able to blow the second one??? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!!!!!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Changing People
I don't know if I put the right title for this post, but it's the best I could come up with. It seems lately that many of my grace friends have been coming under attack lately, having people close to them bring serious accusation and condemnation. Well, I guess I decided to join in! Well, not really...but I'm getting a small taste here and there. Honestly, it's been good for me and I hope it will be even better for my friends, since their attacks have been more brutal I can only imagine God will step up with an even more amazing demonstration of the grace and blessing they already believe in!
It seems that when people come to us with accusation, it is often a thinly cloaked attempt to change or conform us to their idea or standard of who and what we should be. They hold us up to themselves and/or other ideals they have invented as 'godly' and see us as fallen short. They are not happy with our performance or even our whole personality and therefore they come to us demanding us to change. They come assuming they know us, what we truly think and feel; they come presuming they can control us by humbling us (or perhaps more accurately, humiliating us) through judgements they pronounce on us. Often all this is very subtle, and most often it is a reflection of how these people live from day to day, under constant condemnation and fear of failure. They are not happy people, but insecure and beaten down. They are trying to change the people around them so they can feel better about their own lives.
My unbelieving response to this kind of pressure to change through guilt manipulation would be to try to defend myself against accusation, trying to justify myself even by repenting and confessing sin to the human accuser, apologizing for something that may not even be wrong. But the way I respond to accusation is changing, because the more I realize I AM JUSTIFIED ALREADY, the less power condemnation holds over me. I still struggle at times with people trying to put guilt on me, especially when those people are very close to me (such as husband or parent...) but God's grace is changing me.
This change is coming by a deep trust in God's love for me, that when I hear accusation I KNOW it is not from him. Immediately when accusation comes, the first thing I feel is God's love, his manifest presence, his voice speaking to me that he loves me just the way I am. He loves everything about my personality, my weaknesses do not concern him. I can trust that his grace IS changing me and I can live in rest and joy knowing that it's his timeline, his seed will grow and grow because it is supernaturally powerful to overcome all hindrances that may come. This amazing security I have in my Father and his love for me is producing fruit! I am able to handle accusation, even closely examine it without being angry with the person bringing it. Without bitterness, resentment, or fear or doubt!
My ideas about how to change people are changing. The more I understand that it is God's love changing me on his schedule, the more I have patience and love for my brothers and sisters who are also on God's schedule. There is only one thing we do to change people, or ourselves: sow grace. I recently listened to Rob preaching on the parable of the sower (which was excellent by the way!) so I've been thinking about it a lot.
"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:23
Before we can sow the word of grace, we have to receive it, hear it and understand it. We have to let it stay in the soil of our hearts until it grows, not giving up when it doesn't yield a crop on the first day, or second, or third...being patient and trusting the power of the seed that God has planted in us.
I think the best way to deal with accusation is to boldly and unashamedly stand in the gift of righteousness before our accusers, understanding that ALL accusation ultimately comes from Satan and never our father in heaven. We can allow our shield of faith to quench every fiery dart and our temptation to pick up the same demonic weapons of condemnation and accusation will be overcome as we realize God has already fully equipped us to stand firm against these attacks. God has accused Jesus of ALL our sin (yes, past, present, and future), has completely punished it in his body, and given us perfect righteousness as a gift because we have believed in Jesus. He will never never accuse us of sin or faults. The more we understand this, the more accusation becomes irrelevant. God changes us by his loving presence, by speaking the truths of the gospel to us over and over in fresh ways.
So when accusation comes, I can peacefully recognize that someone is merely regarding me according to the flesh and not according to faith and I don't need to panic or hang my head in shame. I bring the accusation to my Father, and he says 'That's a LIE, I have declared you RIGHTEOUS!!!" I am free to be who I am because I am in Christ! And now that I am free, I can joyfully allow others to also be free without feeling I need to be changing them either. Changing people, either ourselves or anyone else, is not our job. We sow the seeds of grace that come from Jesus, and he makes the seeds grow!
Some more resources for overcoming condemnation:
Victory Over Condemnation (Rob Rufus)
City Church International message archives
Dynamic Love Ministries (Bertie Brits)
Joseph Prince Ministries
It seems that when people come to us with accusation, it is often a thinly cloaked attempt to change or conform us to their idea or standard of who and what we should be. They hold us up to themselves and/or other ideals they have invented as 'godly' and see us as fallen short. They are not happy with our performance or even our whole personality and therefore they come to us demanding us to change. They come assuming they know us, what we truly think and feel; they come presuming they can control us by humbling us (or perhaps more accurately, humiliating us) through judgements they pronounce on us. Often all this is very subtle, and most often it is a reflection of how these people live from day to day, under constant condemnation and fear of failure. They are not happy people, but insecure and beaten down. They are trying to change the people around them so they can feel better about their own lives.
My unbelieving response to this kind of pressure to change through guilt manipulation would be to try to defend myself against accusation, trying to justify myself even by repenting and confessing sin to the human accuser, apologizing for something that may not even be wrong. But the way I respond to accusation is changing, because the more I realize I AM JUSTIFIED ALREADY, the less power condemnation holds over me. I still struggle at times with people trying to put guilt on me, especially when those people are very close to me (such as husband or parent...) but God's grace is changing me.
This change is coming by a deep trust in God's love for me, that when I hear accusation I KNOW it is not from him. Immediately when accusation comes, the first thing I feel is God's love, his manifest presence, his voice speaking to me that he loves me just the way I am. He loves everything about my personality, my weaknesses do not concern him. I can trust that his grace IS changing me and I can live in rest and joy knowing that it's his timeline, his seed will grow and grow because it is supernaturally powerful to overcome all hindrances that may come. This amazing security I have in my Father and his love for me is producing fruit! I am able to handle accusation, even closely examine it without being angry with the person bringing it. Without bitterness, resentment, or fear or doubt!
My ideas about how to change people are changing. The more I understand that it is God's love changing me on his schedule, the more I have patience and love for my brothers and sisters who are also on God's schedule. There is only one thing we do to change people, or ourselves: sow grace. I recently listened to Rob preaching on the parable of the sower (which was excellent by the way!) so I've been thinking about it a lot.
"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:23
Before we can sow the word of grace, we have to receive it, hear it and understand it. We have to let it stay in the soil of our hearts until it grows, not giving up when it doesn't yield a crop on the first day, or second, or third...being patient and trusting the power of the seed that God has planted in us.
I think the best way to deal with accusation is to boldly and unashamedly stand in the gift of righteousness before our accusers, understanding that ALL accusation ultimately comes from Satan and never our father in heaven. We can allow our shield of faith to quench every fiery dart and our temptation to pick up the same demonic weapons of condemnation and accusation will be overcome as we realize God has already fully equipped us to stand firm against these attacks. God has accused Jesus of ALL our sin (yes, past, present, and future), has completely punished it in his body, and given us perfect righteousness as a gift because we have believed in Jesus. He will never never accuse us of sin or faults. The more we understand this, the more accusation becomes irrelevant. God changes us by his loving presence, by speaking the truths of the gospel to us over and over in fresh ways.
So when accusation comes, I can peacefully recognize that someone is merely regarding me according to the flesh and not according to faith and I don't need to panic or hang my head in shame. I bring the accusation to my Father, and he says 'That's a LIE, I have declared you RIGHTEOUS!!!" I am free to be who I am because I am in Christ! And now that I am free, I can joyfully allow others to also be free without feeling I need to be changing them either. Changing people, either ourselves or anyone else, is not our job. We sow the seeds of grace that come from Jesus, and he makes the seeds grow!
Some more resources for overcoming condemnation:
Victory Over Condemnation (Rob Rufus)
City Church International message archives
Dynamic Love Ministries (Bertie Brits)
Joseph Prince Ministries
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