No More Condemnation (2)

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” – Romans 8:1-2 (NIV 2010)

Leviticus probably ranks high up there for some of us as one of the most legalistic books of the Bible filled with ‘the law of sin and death’. Yet when we approach it with the light that grace brings we find even here the shadows of ‘the law of the Spirit of life’ in operation as we see very clearly God’s eternal answer for man’s guilt in passages like Leviticus 5:1-13.

It starts by saying: ‘If a person sins…- even though he is unaware of it, he has become unclean and is guilty’ (vs. 1-2). Man’s guilt comes from sinning against God. Man has offended his Creator and because of his vital link with God, the disconnection that sin produces leaves a weight upon man’s soul. This is why the problem of guilt is too deep to be resolved by man-made solutions.

So what is God’s solution for guilt? In verse 5 we read ‘he must confess in what way he has sinned’. The first step towards freedom from guilt is not to deny your sin or try to justify yourself. It is to agree with God by confessing your sin. Confessing our sin is taking sides with God against ourselves. Think of a court-room where you stand guilty of your sins before the righteous demands of God. Now imagine that at the same time you also have the opportunity to be your own advocate – to defend yourself. But instead of being your own advocate by defending yourself, you become God’s advocate by defending his verdict on you and declaring yourself guilty. That is what we do when we confess our sins – we take sides with God. ‘Let God be true and every man a liar’. (Romans 3:4 NIV)

Our problem today is that we are often not willing to take sides with God against ourselves. We would rather hide or excuse our sins hoping that it will make the guilt go away. Confession of sin is not just what our mouth says but what our heart is saying. This is the powerful first step to deliverance.

‘If we claim we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness’ – 1 John 1:8-9 (NIV)

Immediately we take sides with God, we receive forgiveness on the basis of the sacrifice of Christ. This is so aptly illustrated in David’s example when he sinned in 2 Samuel 12:13. Confronted with the conviction of God, David takes side with God against himself;

‘Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die’.

Notice that God’s immediate response through Nathan was forgiveness. God took away the sin and freed David from his guilt.

In verse 6 of Leviticus 5, we read ‘and the priest shall make atonement for him (the guilty one) for all his sins’. Can you see that God provides a way out of sin and guilt! Essentially God was saying bring this and do that and your guilt with be taken care of. He comes as the Great Physician to deal with the sin-sick heart. Even in the Old Testament God provides a way out from guilt for helpless men. God provided these sacrifices to make a way out of guilt. God was not in need of their goats or bulls, he was providing a way out of guilt. And those sacrifices were pointing to the Perfect Sacrifice to come – the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And there is no sin that he does not take away. Yes God’s will is that we live free from sin, but if we sin there is forgiveness and cleansing.

‘My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” – 1 John 2:1-2 (NIV).

In verse 13 of Leviticus 5 God says, ‘and he will be forgiven’. That is the goal of God – to provide a way out of sin and guilt. Listen, it is not God’s desire that any man should live in guilt. Once he has forgiven you, he has forgotten it. It is finished. What he forgives, he removes; it does not exist again.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us” – Psalm 103:11-12 (NIV 2010)

Picture the court-room again: You have sided with God and declared yourself guilty. Then God, whose righteous judgement had declared you guilty and worthy of punishment, now takes sides with you – not to say you are not guilty but taking your guilt upon himself! He steps forward and provides a Way out. He steps forward through Jesus and pays the price. You are free, there is no more condemnation! Let it sink in – God has forgiven and forgotten. He calls you now to leave the past behind, and to go on and grow into Christlikeness.

Ingredients of Effective Prayer (Part3)

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.’ – James 5:16 (NIV)

God is gracious and because of this he sometimes answers prayer even when we are not living right, but it is dangerous to make this exception a rule. The general testimony of scripture is that our walk with God has a lot to do with the effectiveness of our prayers.

The Bible says ‘The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful.’ James 5:16 (Message). It is prayer born out of a correct walk with God that produces power. Our walk with God is a crucial ingredient in effective praying. The NIV puts it this way: ‘The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective’.

There are many who are careless about this. They seem to feel that the way they live has no bearing on their prayers. Our prayers cannot be divorced from our lives. We cannot live wrong and pray right. The Bible teaches that unconfessed sin hinders prayer. The Psalmist said: ‘If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened’ (Psalms 66:18).

The Lord Jesus taught that when we stand to commune with God and remember that there are issues in our lives we should stop and sort them out with God and man before proceeding with our prayer (Matt 5:23-25). One of the sins that hinders many is the sin of unforgiveness. We cannot bear a grudge against another and be effective in prayer. Jesus said, ‘And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins’ (Mark 11:25)

Of course one of the enemy’s fiery darts is to keep us continually  in condemnation thinking that perhaps we have sinned. If there is sin, you will know it. If you have repented of it in the past, then it is done and doesn’t count before God again. But it is sin that we are holding onto and not releasing to God that hinders.

The beautiful thing is that we can easily remove this hindrance by repenting of that sin. God is gracious. God forgives us when we confess and repent of our sin because of what Christ has done. So let us remove every hindrance and receive an open heaven for our prayer from God once again.

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Comments? Questions? etc. If these messages have been helpful or unclear it would encourage us to hear from you, please write to chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
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PLEASE are you born again? It is not enough to believe in the existence of God, to go to church, or be interested in spiritual things. Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus died to deliver you from sin so that you can come to God. (John 3:16) If you ask him to forgive you and give you a new heart he will. (Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-11).Try it. I’d love to hear from you @ chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
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Chim’sWRITE are regular articles on Christian living and cross-cultural missions from Chimezie Onyebilanma a cross-cultural missionary with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO). CAPRO is an indigenous African non-denominational cross-cultural  mission agency involved in reaching the remaining unreached peoples in 22 countries of Africa and the Middle East as of present. CAPRO is involved in missions mobilization, training, and research as well as church-planting and mercy ministries (literacy, rural development, primary health-care, relief and rehabilitation). CAPRO is a faith mission, both the ministry and its missionaries depend on God’s provision through the giving of his people. None of its missionaries are salaried. All gifts are used as designated.

Surface Address: CAPRO MISSIONS SA, Durban, 47 Sutherland Rd, Waterfall, 3610, Durban, P.O.Box 207, Hillcrest, 3650, South Africa.Tel: +2731 766 2336; +27 794737208 (cell)

To learn more about the ministry of Chimezie Onyebilanma and how you can partner with us please email chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
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