Tag Archives: New Life

Two Feet Away from Deeper Intimacy

Posted by D.L.Fuller on

Reaching-Hand

Christ engaged His disciples in a foot washing ceremony to teach them a few things about how they were to serve each other and to lay a foundation for them to better understand the purpose for His coming. When He prepared to wash the feet of Simon Peter, Peter reacted saying, “You will never wash my feet.” Peter’s reaction reflects a religious mind set based on a lack of understanding. In that moment, Peter was just like the Sadducees and Pharisees of that day who resisted the person and workings of the Savior. Today there are many followers of Christ, just like Peter, which still resist the washing of the Savior. This resistance is due to a lack of understanding and a religious mind set instead of the presence of a relationship with Christ based on trust and intimacy.

YESHUA’s desire to wash His disciple’s feet was a call to a more intimate relationship. Surrendering yourself to include the dirt of your past shows trust and creates intimacy. The resistance to entering the level of intimacy which the Creator is calling us to, creates a barrier between us and the many benefits of His mercy and grace. YESHUA responded to Peter saying, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” So, Peter allowed the washing, but the understanding of what was happening came much later. YESHUA told Peter, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” We must let Him take away the shame of our dirty past. We must allow Him to take our dirty feet into His pure hands and wash them clean. We must allow the weightiness of His love to break our pride and free us from our independence. We can never clean our own feet because all we have in our possession are filthy rags. The work of Christ is to clean us up and furnish us with white raiment; to empower us to walk in the Spirit, down clean paths. An understanding of His grace assures us, that if we should stumble, He will cleanse us yet again.

YESHUA taught that those who understood the abundance of grace which they had been given through His forgiveness would love Him greatly. In loving Him greatly, they would also forgive one another’s sins, or in other words, wash one another’s feet. Today they call it, “Paying it forward”. The bible calls it “letting grace abound.” However, if we hold on to our own sins, through not understanding how He cleanses us, we will not be able to minister this love correctly to others.

Today the Church still struggles to understand the washing by the Savior. When YESHUA washed Peter’s feet, He was in effect erasing the traces of the earthy places Peter had been before. Symbolic of cleansing him from his past sins. YESHUA also wiped Peter’s feet with His own covering. This symbolizes the extension of His righteousness in place of the removed dirt. Today many saints are still living soiled in the past, because they fail to grasp the understanding of the Savior’s washing. Christians all around the world celebrate the resurrection of Christ and His redeeming blood, but still have not excepted resurrection power into their own lives. Our resurrection to new life becomes possible when we believe He can cleanse and heal our souls. We can be transformed when we believe He can change us from the sinful people we have been in the past into the righteous children of the Father.

It is written in 2nd Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” This teaching is in direct conflict with the consensus I often hear among the confessing Christians of today. I have heard Christians saying of the Church that all have wicked hearts, all continue to be bound by sin, and that there are none righteous, as if Christ failed in His mission to set at liberty the captives, to heal the broken hearted, to give us beauty for ashes, to make us trees of righteousness, to turn us into the plantings of YAHWEH, that He might be glorified. These are things YESHUA said He was anointed to do as in Isaiah chapter 61. YESHUA read this prophecy while standing in a synagogue and then said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” (Luke 4:21 KJV) We cannot let the evil one convince us otherwise with his lies and accusations. We cannot fail to lay hold on these blessings through doubt and unbelief.

Don’t confuse old testament references to the children of Israel with the resurrected Church of Christ. We must enter our calling of being the holy and righteous people of GOD. The ones who show forth the righteousness of YAHWEH, by manifesting His good and perfect will through our obedience. YAHWEH sowed a Son that He might get a harvest of righteous children. We are the planting of GOD and should be bringing forth righteous fruit. Now, in this present life! We are the evidence of the Savior’s resurrected life. We are not just sinners that have been forgiven. We are the redeemed of the Lord who have been cleansed from our sins and endowed with power by His spirit to walk in newness of life. We are just two feet away from new life. Let Him take away your shame and give you a glorious new life. Remember what He told Simon Peter, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (John 13:8 NKJV)

Arise Shine, For The Lord Has Come!

Posted by D.L.Fuller on

a bride leaving

As many of you reflect on the resurrection of Christ, I would like to bring to light an element of resurrection life which is not often part of the focus at this time. First, know that resurrection life is for the here and now, while still on earth. We experience new life as a result of the rebirth of the spirit in us, which takes place once we are reconnected to the vine of life. Life flows through us once again as we are reconnected to GOD through Christ. This new life is invincible, and death cannot prevail against it. As this new life floods our soul, our minds are renewed and we become different people, because we think, see, and respond, to things differently. As our minds are renewed, we have opportunity to change the impact of past events still yoked to our soul. The breaking of these old yokes brings a peace and liberty that gives birth to new found joy.

The love of GOD gives us the strength to correctly bury the past. It is very common to have past experiences which caused embarrassment, hurt, and pain, that are still unresolved in our mind thus still tormenting us. They are like infected wounds still causing us pain.  These infected wounds of the soul are the real triggers behind the anger, frustration, apprehension, fear, and cold-heartedness which surfaces in us from time to time. When situations in life either touch or bring us close to these sensitive areas, our reaction is often centered from the wound instead of the spirit of love. Whenever you feel resentment, anger, strife, or shame, it is a sign that there is something you are still retaining. It is an area where the grace of GOD has not fully saturated. These wounds often need cleansed primarily with forgiveness. We often need to release others, as well as ourselves, from acts of the past. Pray and ask GOD to deliver you from the roots of any bitterness or shame. Be prepared to squeeze GOD’s hand as these wounds are reopened, to be sanitized with forgiveness and grace.

We can’t enter the resurrection life which Christ has prepared for us until we properly bury the pass. There is a saying, “Yesterday is in the tomb, and tomorrow is in the womb, all we have is the present.” If your yesterdays have not been properly put to rest, they can interfere with what GOD is doing in your life today. The Love we have found in Christ has provisions for this. One of the things which the powers of darkness continue to under estimate is the power of Love. Love showers us with undeserved provisions for life through charity and grace. The gift of salvation is an undeserved provision for life. Through this powerful Love we have received, we can provide others with the same undeserved provisions for life. None of us can live without forgiveness because we have all earned condemnation to death. If you disagree with this, then I am sure you also struggle with understanding your total need for Christ and salvation. Until you are able to understand how lies, deceitfulness, selfishness, envy, lust, and cold-heartedness are some of the sinful characteristics which breed death, you will not understand your role in the demise of others and the debts you have created.

For those of you who know you have done harm and confess that you need forgiveness, receive it from the Lamb of GOD, and also forgive those who have wounded you. We have all been hurt and wounded by someone, who also was hurt and wounded by someone else. Forgiveness destroys the perpetuation of death and allows Love the opportunity to bring new life. Your releasing of others actually frees you to walk in newness of life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reads,

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Put the past to rest and free your self to be a new creation in Christ. I have worked in ministry with former drug addicts for many years and one of the conflicts I see in their restoration is they have been taught to confess that they are perpetual addicts. As I witness the salvation of Christ to these men, there is a point where they have to see themselves as new creatures in Christ. If they continue to see themselves as addicts, then the potential to use is always present. If they can embrace that they are new creatures, which no longer need or desire drugs, through the knowledge they really needed and actually craved GOD all along, then they can shut the door forever on being an addict. Unfortunately, I see the same error in the church today among the children of GOD. False religion has fettered the children of GOD to the past by teaching them to see themselves as perpetual sinners. The counsel that those saved by Christ are still sinners, only forgiven, is not from the Spirit of GOD but from Lucifer the great deceiver.  Just like the men recovering from addiction I mentioned earlier, this flawed mindset wedges the door open for continual sin and does not allow the past to be properly buried.

YAHWEH sowed a seed in the earth, that seed was His son Yeshua Hamashiach, also referred to as Jesus Christ. A seed can only reproduce fruit after its own kind. Christ promised,

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)

The church today is called the Body of Christ, how can sin rule in the body of Christ if the seed that produced it was beautiful and righteous. False teaching has contaminated the church and robbed it of its glory. False teaching has robbed the children of GOD of their freedom to live righteous and gloriously.

Here is the truth about resurrection life:

“Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9)

“ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:13-14)

Believe the grace which is in the love of GOD, ministered through the workings of the cross. Let GOD counsel you on burying pains of the past that you might experience life anew. Don’t allow Lucifer, the father of all lies, to still the life Christ has set before you. I am including a link here to my book, “True Heritage: Recovering From Spiritual Identity Theft”, as an aid to you. I present a lot more on this subject to assist you in recovering the abundant life the resurrection of Christ put within your reach.  It is time that the church comes forth in her full glory. This is her time to shine!

Who Can Receive the Message of Salvation?

Posted by D.L.Fuller on

The Hook

To be born again, you must first die. The missionary can try to fix that up with whip cream and cherries and chocolate chips, but it will always be a bitter truth to those not fed up with their current life. If you love this current world, you will be offended by the cross. To be clear, you will be offended by anyone telling you that you have to sacrifice your life on the cross. Most people will say Christ sacrificing His life on the cross was a beautiful act of love, but when they are asked to take up their own cross to follow Him, they are offended. They know that taking up their own cross means they will have to stop fornicating and living lustfully, stop getting drunk, stop cheating and lying, stop hating their brothers and sisters. In other words, stop living in sin. I know some people will be offended at even reading this. They are offended because their stony hearts have not yet been broken by the love demonstrated from GOD through Christ. The scripture says in 1st John 2:15-16,

“15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

The refusal to surrender your life testifies to the fact that you do not yet love and trust GOD. That is verse 15 of the scripture cited above. You are still doing life your way, instead of putting your life in His hands. This is the reality that I had to face when I was resisting the cross. I had to come to terms with the reality that I was unwilling to surrender the things which were giving me pleasure and making me feel secure, for a chance at receiving the promise of something better in obedience to GOD. To even seriously ponder this proposition, you must know the feeling of a soul starting to buckle from weightiness of life in this world. To make that swap, you have to be convinced of two things; that Yeshua is GOD, and that He really does love you. If you are missing either of these elements in your belief toward GOD, its guaranteed that you have not taken up the cross and totally surrendered your life to GOD.  Hebrews 11: 6 states,

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Those who do not believe the Almighty Creator of all things, in the face of Yeshua the Christ, think they have more options than what are truly available. No greater love has ever been shown greater than the testimony of GOD’s love through the witness of Christ, and until you truly know that, you will always hold on to your self-life. I or know other person, can convince someone to surrender their life to GOD. That point in a person’s existence is orchestrated by GOD, where they will know who it is that is posing the question, “Will you trust me with your life?” Those that have accepted the offer from GOD and want so badly for others to have the same benefits, can only share His love as best they can, and testify to the benefits and terms of the amazing opportunity.

The message of GOD’s Salvation can’t be shared like a bad car salesman trying to get a contract signed by concealing all the cost. Christ new His target market,

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

When the rescue beacon of GOD’s voice finally reached my stony heart, it was shattered at the awareness of how I had dishonored and disrespected Him, and how I had rejected His love in counting Him unworthy of my trust, and at the depth of my injustice at refusing to suffer, in the face of the enormous cost that this salvation was being made offered. All of that, and He continued to pursue me, understanding that He alone had what my heart truly longed for and needed. In light of this, my self-life was wrecked into splinters, like a shipped washed into a mountain side by humungous waves. From that day forward, I have been compelled to surrender all.

The Gospel of Christ doesn’t need augmenting for the 21st century, or for any period in time. The cost of Salvation will always be same, His life in exchange for your death. The proselyte can be of good cheer, because resurrection life is real, and it is far more satisfying!

When Solving for Your Future

Posted by D.L.Fuller on

 

New Math

The anointing of GOD is greater than the person it works through. Don’t miss your blessing by quantifying a person without considering the power of “Y”.  The equation above illustrates that a person to the power of YAHWEH has infinite possibilities. If you haven’t learned to factor in the power of Y , you will get the wrong solution. I completed a training recently on how to recognize and correct unconscious bias. I really enjoyed it. There has been a lot of studies done to validate the reality of biases operating below people’s consciousness, which can impair their ability to process evident facts. One way to put this is that people will often see what they expect to see. If they expect to see nothing that is what they will see, even if something is present. Likewise, if they expect to see something, they will see it even if nothing is there. If you do not believe someone is capable of something, you could be placing yourself in a place unconsciously that will cause you to miss the manifestation of that which you doubt. When Christ went to Nazareth, not many people were healed or set free, because the people of His country only saw Him as a carpenter’s son. The explanation Yeshua gave is seen in Matthew 13:57,

“And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.”

People in your own family, as well as those who have known you for many years can often miss your transformation; the work of the Holy Spirit transforming you from glory to glory. Friends and family can miss benefitting from the supernatural call on your life as the anointing works through you. What is worst, you can fall short of your calling in life due to doubting yourself, and what GOD can do through you.  Matthew 19:26 basically says that for a man to transform himself is impossible, but with GOD all things are possible.

Several years back, I can remember feeling very challenged as I reflected on my life, searching for the substance to carry me to callings beyond the horizon.  Being raised by a second-generation single, black, teenage mother, comes with a lot of challenges in America. We are talking government assistance, pay check to pay check, eviction notice apartment living. That is to say nothing of the missing affirmations a young man needs from his father as he faces the responsibilities of manhood. Kudos to my mom for her courage and determination. It is good to know where you have come from as long as you don’t allow it to dictate your future. I love the scripture that proclaims that now that you are born again “BEHOLD, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW!” (The emphasis is all mine). Here is the scripture from 1st Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Don’t allow the narrative of your life to be set in the vision of the blind; those who do not yet see by faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrew 11:1. As you calculate the next steps in your life, remember the equation of faith and factor in the power of “Y”.

The Power of Your True Heritage

Posted by D.L.Fuller on

9781641114097-Cover-DustJacket.indd

My first book has been released to the world. I know that I was called to write this book, and the hand of the Lord is in it. It’s entitled, “True Heritage: Recovering From Spiritual Identity Theft”. Many fading traditions, around the family, have been based on biblical principles in order to lay a foundation for understanding eternal truths about our relationship to GOD the Father. The traditions are fading due to an epidemic of confusion, masquerading as liberty, progress and positivity, infecting the general public, as well as the church community. The result has been a disconnect with GOD, in whose image we are all made. Many of the churches in our community today offer an understanding of GOD based on modern societal views, when the church should be correcting society based on GOD’s eternal views. To have a clear understanding of who we are meant to be, we must first have a clear view of the GOD in whose image we are made. This book has been manifested to assist with the restoration of the family of GOD, and the brightness of His true glory. The book can be purchased at many online outlets and stores around the world. I am including a link to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/true-heritage-d-l-fuller/1132715728?ean=9781641114097

https://www.amazon.com/True-Heritage-Recovering-Spiritual-Identity/dp/1641114576

What Does Real Freedom Look Like?

Posted by D.L.Fuller on

Fake Freedom

In the Black Community, there is sometimes teasing about one’s worthiness to carry the Black Card. The meaning has strayed from its true roots in the struggle for Civil Rights.  One of the chants often heard by protesters during Civil Rights rallies was “A PEOPLE…UNITED…WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!!” To be a proud Black Card carrying American meant that you were identified with the struggle, and no matter what it cost you individually, you were going to stand in solidarity with the persecuted Black race, until they all overcame. The Black folk that broke ranks to avoid persecution or took a bribe to be silenced were considered sell outs, so their Black Cards were revoked. By bribe, I’m not talking about a few hundred dollars, people often had to choose between a job to feed their families and risking their lives or taking a stand against injustices in the community. Nowadays, references of a Black Card are thrown around by the children and grandchildren of those early activist in relation to mere cultural taboos like; if you didn’t watch the NAACP awards, if you are unfamiliar with some trending Black icon, or if you don’t fit into any of the branded stereotypes like having great rhythm, being athletic, or understanding the latest slang terms. Truth is, if the Black Card was still enforced by the old standard, millions would be considered “sell outs” today because the efforts used to break up the solidarity in the Black Community has been enormously successful.

I have done volunteer work at a transition home for men recovering from chronic homelessness and addiction for over a decade. I have also served as Chairman of the organization, and over the time I have worked there, the predominant supporters have been White churches and the White community. Why is that significant…Because over that same period and from its beginning, Black men have made up 99% of the clients receiving service. Where is the support from the Black community? I told a group of black men about the organization once after a round of golf and invited them to come down to the organization to offer some support and encouragement. Their response, to summarize, “they got themselves into that mess and they need to get themselves out.” Also, “if we made it through with hard work, so can they.” The lack of empathy and understanding shown by these men was somewhat disappointing. I say only somewhat because I understand the origin of the disconnect. These men have souls wounded by the shame and disgrace of four centuries of enslavement, followed by decades of systematic oppression. Their wounded souls have not received the proper care or attention because of a lack of self-awareness in the light of truth. The cigars, expensive liquor, and constant posturing is nothing more than the jangling chains of the enslaved proclaiming, “See, I’m a man too!”. Proverbs 3:31 says, “Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.” I say they are still enslaved because they have a mindset shaped by their oppressor. You are owned by whomever manufactures your treasure. The reason those golfers can’t see the value in those homeless men is because the homeless lack the treasures from which the golfers themselves draw their own value.

One of the signs that you are truly free is that you have learned to see your innate value as a being created in the image of GOD without any relation to the trappings of this present world system. This will also enable you to see the value in others regardless of their social status or current circumstances. You will even find that you have a burden for those who are suffering as a result of not knowing their true value. Christ stated that His main interest was to liberate the captives, and to give sight to the blind, and to mend the broken hearted. These are the world’s castaways. One of my oldest friends is a master mechanic. He owns and operates his own repair shop. Once he saw an old rusted out car in a lady’s yard and offered to buy it. She sold it to him for a meager price. After he finished restoring this car that the previous owner had pretty much discarded, and which hundreds of people had driven by every day without interest, it was published in a calendar for winning first place in a car show. When he showed the restored car to the former owner, she was so astonished that she actually cried. This is the same response I have seen repeatedly from family members of the graduates that complete the program from the outreach ministry I mentioned earlier. We have to develop the vision to see the potential in every human, based on the power of GOD. When your heart is closed off from the true light of GOD, it is easier to see the value in an old car that’s been neglected, than a human that’s been broken by this world.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s dream was inspired by the word of GOD. We will all be free at last when we learn to see and value one another as one human family. When we learn to stand against oppression and injustice with everyone carrying a human card, then things will really change. The race card will then be much less significant. This will only happen when our minds are renewed by the word of GOD. This is what the scripture means when it says in John 8:36, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

How to Live in A Society Of Broken Hearts

Posted by D.L.Fuller on

walking on broken glass

Life on earth is traumatic. Sin creates debt, and the hearts of everyone have been heavily taxed. There is a saying, “Hurt people, hurt others.” We have all been impacted by the rejection, hate, envy, covetousness, strife, and contentions flowing from all the broken hearts. The lifestyles of extremism in the world today are a symptom of this brokenness. The failed attempts to self-medicate and to compensate for the weary heart is evident in the cries for more…more…more. Ecclesiastes 4:1-2:

“So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.”

The grace of GOD has provided a balm for our hearts, a peaceful and soothing ointment poured from above, the Comforter. YSHUA the Christ said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” (John 16:7) The Holy Spirit, also known as the Comforter, has been sent from Heaven to console us. The Comforter consoles us by fortifying our faith and hope, through bringing us to a deeper knowing of the Father’s love. Our hearts were made for the infinite love of the Father. The re-introduction of this holy knowledge to our hearts brings healing and restoration. This restoration of the heart gives us a greater capacity to be patient, hopeful, kind, merciful, compassionate, and empathetic. I have found when I become lacking in any of these virtues, it is only a sign that I am in need of more time in communion with the Holy Spirit. I commune with the Holy Spirit in prayer, in meditation, and in studying the Word. Lately I have found meditation to be one of the most effective ways to restore my well-being. YAHWEH tells us in Psalm 46:10,

“Be still, and know that I am GOD: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

In the age in which we live, there is always a lot going on around us to keep our minds occupied and running. Even when we are physically still, our minds are often far from at rest. I love the 10th verse of Psalm 46 because it gives special instruction on how we are to be still. We are told to holt all things and focus our consciousness on the knowledge of GOD. When I meditate, I rid myself of all other thoughts, and focus in on the awareness of who and what GOD is to me as my Father. I focus on His face in the person of YESHUA. I focus on His beauty as seen through His glorious creations. I focus on His loving essence revealed through His laws, precepts, and counsel. It is here that I find a rest like no other place. If I do not prioritize this time and seek it with intentionality, I will never slow down long enough to give my mind, soul, and heart time to rejuvenate.

The drive for bigger and better things, greater success and acceptance, and more sensory stimulation, is just displaced desire for the comfort that only GOD can provide. The ministry of the Holy Spirit can be seen most clearly in the nurturing care of a loving mother. Her main focus is the well-being of everyone in the family. Proverbs 4:23 says,

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

The sin, along with many of the other faults in our lives, will continue to plague us until our broken hearts are renewed. Yeshua says in Matthew 11:28,

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

This rest is the promise of comfort that comes through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

False Doctrine Can Be Like Cholesterol in the Body of Christ

Posted by D.L.Fuller on

Blocked Artery

In His zeal for His Father’s house, Christ went into the temple and made a scourge of cords, then proceeded to drive out the money changers and those that were in the temple selling sacrifices to be offered to GOD. As the account goes, Christ turned over some tables and made quite a ruckus while ridding the temple of this perversion of a sacred practice. We need to have the same zeal today regarding a lot of the perversions that go on in the church; however, we can’t approach it the same way, as the temple and the perversions are dynamically different. We are now the temple of GOD. GOD no longer dwells in a temple built by the hands of man, but in a temple made of living stones, the body of believers in Christ.

Christ promised that if any man would love Him, then He and His Father would come and make their home inside him. Christ still has the same zeal for His Father’s house, whom we are. He cleanses us by filling us with His Holy Word, and by delivering us from unclean principalities and powers. Christ comes into our souls with the light of truth, and topples belief systems built on foundations of lies, and drives out unclean spirits of lust, pride, greed, violence, and dumbness. One of the most damaging lies polluting the temple of GOD today is the belief that the Fathers children are all sinners. This lie has been received, with such wide-spread acceptance in the body of believers, that it is has become a major blocker of the arteries of the body. This lie is hindering the life of Christ from flowing into all areas of the body, hindering healing and growth. If as a born again believer, you bow down to the false principle that you are just a forgiven sinner, you leave the door open for sin to rule in your life. If you believe you are a sinner, then you will sin. GOD made us in such a way that our bodies conform to our belief. You may have heard it stated this way before, “Mind over matter”. If you accept that lie, you will always be vulnerable to the powers of lust and pride. You will remain a slave to sin. Though Pharaoh has been defeated, and his kingdom fallen, you will remain in Egypt, shackled to much of your old life.

Now for the GOODNEWS! Let us allow Truth to tear down the lie. During the early church, when the revealed gospel of Christ was first being preached, many of the Jews of that day didn’t see the superiority of the New Covenant in the blood of Christ. They were reluctant to let go of the old law of “sin and death” under Moses, to enter the new law of “spirit and life” under Christ. The law of sin and death was put in place to facilitate a life of sin, because at the time, no other life was available. However, now that the life of Christ has been made available to all that have faith in His resurrection power, there is a way to escape the life of sin in the blood line of Adam. We have to suffocate and bury the old man who was in the image of Adam, through the baptism of repentance. Then we have to take up our cross daily to make way for the resurrection life of Christ.

Everything made in creation came through the Word of GOD. When you abandon your old life in surrender to Christ, this same power calls you a new creation of GOD, made in His likeness. This same Word has created a new you, but you have to receive it. The Word of GOD is powerful, but you have to believe, so that your mind can be renewed and your transformation can take place. This part of the Gospel of Christ has been oppressed by the powers of darkness, and it is time for it to be spread throughout the body of Christ. The acceptance of this Truth can unblock the arteries in the body of Christ, so that the fullness of His life can quicken every part of the body. This will cause the glorious light of the risen Christ to break forth in the earth through His body, the church.

Here are a few scriptures people use in the wrong context to support the lie that the born again in Christ are still sinners, ruled by sin.

Romans 3:23

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

True context: Paul is declaring there is no distinction between Jews or gentiles when it comes to the need for salvation through Christ, because all “have” sinned and need redemption through the blood of Christ; whether you have been practicing Judaism, paganism, or whatever in your past, you have sinned. Pay attention to the context of past sin as he says, “all have sinned”. This is frequently used in the context of equalizing all believers as present sinners. Paul even refers to Christ in this block of scripture as the propitiation for “past” sin.

Romans 3:11

“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one”

True context: Paul is quoting scripture from the book of Isaiah in the old testament, regarding mankind before the workings of Christ. This old testament prophecy was never meant to describe the state of the resurrected church of Christ. In the same scripture it goes on to say,” there is none that understand and there is none that seek the Lord”. If the first part applies, then the second part has to be true for the church today as well…thank the Lord that it doesn’t.

Read the entire chapter of Romans 3.

1 John 1:8

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

True context: We are all in the process of being healed and cleansed from the rudiments of this world. If we say we have no traces of Adam left in us, we don’t understand how far man has fallen into darkness, nor do we realize how righteous and pure GOD is, in whose image we are made. Having sin is different from sin having you. The bible says in Romans 6, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Just because you are inclined to do something doesn’t mean you have to yield to it. Confess the inclination to your Father GOD and He will cleanse you of it.

I have cited a few of the most popular verses, used out of context, to support the false belief that the salvation of Christ is in effect forgiveness without deliverance from the condition that causes sin. He who the soon makes free is free indeed. The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. Let nothing or no one rob you of the victorious life promised you by Christ.

 

 

Fire Insurance or Life Insurance

Posted by D.L.Fuller on

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As we approach another religious observation of Easter, aka Resurrection Sunday, what is the take away from reflection on the Cross? I have spoken with many Christians on the topic; it seems the prevailing take-a-way is “Fire Insurance”. The carnal man, as we all are initially, is mostly concerned about avoiding hell fire. He wants that fire insurance. Knowing this, many churches have parked on the gospel of forgiveness to fill the pews. Most see the Cross of Christ as a means of avoiding damnation and relieving the burden of guilt. These are great blessings, but they are not the benefits most emphasized in scripture. A gospel centered primarily on the Cross as a means of forgiveness will always promote sin consciousness. This is so prevalent that most Christians see themselves as mere sinners. What is the result of this perspective? …more sin. Proverbs states, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” If you see yourself as a sinner, then you expect that you will sin. This mindset binds you to the habits of death that the Savior came to free you from. This fire insurance is a carnal interpretation of salvation from those who have failed to understand the true virtue of the Cross.

As far as fire goes Christ doesn’t save us from fire, He assures us of fire. He tells us that our life’s work will be tested by fire, we will be purified by fire, and the Holy Spirit is the Baptism by fire. In fact, He desires that we would be ablaze for Him and His Kingdom. Fire is common for believers.

When I was a teenager, I had a discussion with a man on the bus who tried to persuade me that Christianity was a religion taught to me by my oppressor. He also told me that the cross symbolized death. He went onto to say that he couldn’t understand why people would wear a symbol that represented death. While the Cross does remind us of the death of Yeshua, it also reminds us more importantly of the power of His resurrection. Yes, Christ died for all, but He was also resurrected and obtained new life for all. The teaching of the Cross in Holy Scripture emphasizes this new Life. Yeshua said, “I come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly.” The Cross of the Gospel of Christ is where the eternal life of Yeshua is made available to those willing to lay down their own interpretation of living. Existence outside of the life that Christ gives is filled with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life, and fear. The life given to us through the Cross of Christ is the life of an obedient son of GOD. The obedience in this new life is rooted in Love and is lived out in Spirit and Truth. It is a life that is pleasing to GOD; a life that is centered in GOD.

When the teaching of the Cross is limited only to forgiveness, it leaves men attached to their carnal lives. It offers them compassion without a cure for their suffering. So much more has been provisioned through the Cross. It was nearly impossible to know GOD before the Life of Christ was made available through the Cross. The only life obtainable was the life inherited through Adam, which rebels against GOD and questions His Love in unbelief. This carnal life from Adam is alienated from GOD in that it has made a god of its own carnal reasoning.

We have to leverage the love manifested to us in the Cross of Christ unto a new hope and belief, and to faith in the promises of GOD’s love, which goes beyond forgiveness but also brings the promise of a new and powerful Life.

The powers of darkness don’t want you to know the fullness of the Love manifested through the Cross. It is a divine Love that breaks the shackles of sin and enables you to manifest the Light of GOD. All sin is rooted in selfishness and fear. The scripture teaches us that GOD’s perfect Love cast out fear. Fear is diminished in us as we grow in our understanding of the Love of GOD. The secure embrace of GOD’s love frees us from self-concern and empowers us to love others with divine love. Divine love being that beautiful and sacrificial love, that gives at the cost of self to benefit others.

The true sign that we understand and appreciate the Cross of Christ is that we have also taken up our own cross, by daily sacrificing carnal living, that the spiritual Life of Yeshua might be manifest in us. Just as the Spirit raised Yeshua from the dead, the Holy Spirit is present in the earth to empower new life in us. The Holy Spirit opens the life-giving teachings of Yeshua to us, and affirms the love of the Father in our hearts. He who the Son makes free is free indeed. He frees us through the workings of the Cross.