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‘But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee’. [Mark 14:38] It is the promise of the Lord. And, it is the message of Easter, the celebration of the risen Lord, and the jubilant and triumphal procession in which you now walk, as grace takes you from where you are to where God wants you to be.
And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. [Romans 1:4] There was valid certification that He was His Son, from God the Father, even when Lord Jesus went through the waters of baptism at the river Jordan. It was reinforced once again on the Mount of transfiguration. But after His resurrection from the dead, Lord Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power. It was the highest and ultimate proof.
It was where sin and its vicious bondage of death was broken, that you and I may receive victory in Christ, to boldly proclaim the words of the apostle, O death, where is your sting ? O grave, where is your victory ? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [1 Corinthians 15:55-57] Three things happened on the Cross, to give you victory in Christ ; 1. Sin was atoned for ; 2. the law was fulfilled ; and 3. death was overcome.
There can be no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. It is the truth of God’s word, what the sacrifices prescribed by God in the Old Testament point to, and establish with utmost clarity. And even other religions are able to realize this; for it is why they tend to offer certain animal sacrifices on occasions which they consider to be auspicious. But, the blood of bulls and goats, that are animals limited to five senses, cannot blot out the sins of a man who has six senses, and above all, made in the image of God.
And, call it what you may, an addiction, obsession, a behavioral dysfunction, whatever it may branded to be, when you dig deeper, you will see that the root of it all is the problem of sin. And by his own self effort, man can never make himself clean and righteous. If it was possible, the world today would not be progressing from bad to worse, morally and spiritually ! Man needs something indescribably greater; he needs a Savior, to be raised from the pit of sin, to be forgiven, redeemed and ultimately restored.
For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us to the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. [Colossians 1:13,14] On the Cross, it’s finished work, your sins are all forgiven. But, you and I know that the sin principle is still at work within a person. ‘Wretched man that I am’, Paul describes his propensity to commit a sin again. ‘If we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us’, says the apostle John, as he leads to the truth of Christ being the propitiation for our sins. Thus, it is more than forgiveness of sins, it is also the empowerment not to commit a particular sin again that you need. And, it is what redemption does in you.
The breaking of the bondage of sin, the power of sin, by the resurrection power in you, gives you the power now to say ‘no’ to sin, even some that may seem quite innocent and fun in the beginning. For, they would ultimately go on to show there is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death. There is always a painful price to pay, for any sin that you commit. And, any freedom that hurts you is not real freedom. In this scenario, redemption put simply, is the purchase of your freedom, a freedom that is real. It is for freedom that Christ has made you free. [Galatians 5:1]
It is the freedom to do the will of God, for you were held captive by the cords of sin. Now, you have the freedom to choose; choose to say ‘no’ to a sin, whatever it may be ! The devil may employ all its devious and deceptive tactics to tempt you into sinning, but now you have Christ living in you, the Lord who is full of grace and truth. Greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world ! Grace rescues you and goes on to empower you.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present age. [Titus 2:11,12] It is a wonderful verse of scripture that brings edification and encouragement to every child of God. Therefore, even when you are weak, you can declare, ‘I am strong’, for His grace is sufficient, and His strength is made perfect in your weakness.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [Romans 8:1] Christ bore it all on the Cross; He went through condemnation, so that you in Him, need no longer be condemned. There was a divine exchange that took place on Calvary, one that made it all possible, in your life and mine. And, Paul in the subsequent verse goes on to describe how it all works out. For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, has made me free from the law of sin and death. [vs 2]
The freedom, not to sin, comes to you through the higher law, the Law of the Spirit of Life, the revelation knowledge of which will lead you to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, every day of your life, for His resurrection power is now in you. Until you were set free from the bondage of sin through it, you were free; but, free only to sin. Now however, in Christ, you have the freedom not to sin. And, this freedom in Christ is healing and wholeness. Sin, on the other hand, is a bondage that will pull you down, and destroy you. It is the lower law.
The law of sin and death is in some ways like the law of gravity. What goes up has to come down; it is the law of gravity, which of course is advantageous to all, in many ways, in physical life. But, sin on the other hand, will pull you down inexorably deeper and deeper, to make you unable to rise up in life, and ultimately lead you to death, which is nothing but an eternal separation from God. Laws, both physical and spiritual, cannot be broken. But the good news is that, they can be superseded by a higher law. It is how the aircraft flies; the law of lift, sees it majestically soaring in the skies, defying the law of gravity.
And so it is in the spiritual realm. Grace takes you from where you are, to where God wants you to be. It is to be lifted up from the entanglements of sin that will pull you down, to soar in the life of the Spirit. But, it also has to be remembered, that the aircraft has to have its engines running all the time in order to stay above, and in its flight path. So it is, when you are cruising with God, covered by His grace. You can never afford to think that you can let your engines stall and still stay above.
The higher law is not about soaring in the Spirit in worship with the congregation of saints just on a Sunday, only to think that you can do what is wrong and sinful, as you descend to operating in the lower law, during the course of the week ! For, Christ Himself is your engine, and His Spirit in you the empowering, all through the day, and every single day of your life ! It is the Spirit of Christ that lifts you up from the law of sin and death, to set you free.
The law that was given by God through Moses demands obedience, only to lead you into the awareness of the truth, that you can never fulfill it all. It is how sin gets its power. The whole of the twenty eighth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy describes the wonderful blessings of God that come with obeying all of the law, and also the very frightening curses that can come otherwise. It is why the very elaborate sacrificial system was established by God in the old covenant, building up to the coming of the Messiah, Lord Jesus Christ. For, the law demands obedience; and otherwise a sacrifice needs to be offered. And, Christ laid down His life on the Cross to offer up Himself as the one perfect sacrifice, for the sins of the whole world ! Oh, what a Savior !
For by one sacrifice, He has perfected forever, those who are being sanctified. [Hebrews 10:14] It is with a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise therefore, that you now freely enter into the presence of the Holy God, to receive grace and mercy in your time of need. And, how do you know that the finished work of the Cross was the one perfect sacrifice, for the sins of the whole world ? Christ rose again from the dead ! The resurrection of the Lord is the overwhelming proof that Him being the perfect sacrifice, atoning for the sins of the whole world.
The wages of sin is death. It is why sin is powerful. And, sin derives its power from the law. It is like the prescribed speed limit on the road, that makes you realize that you are driving dangerously, when you over speed, to go beyond it. But then again, rules that are designed to keep people safe can end up making some of them restless, to the extent of doing away with rules altogether ! It is the world’s twisted logic in many occasions, and one that invariably ends in disaster, where innocent people are affected. A physical relationship between a man and a woman needs to abide in the sanctity of a commitment in marriage that involves responsibilities.
One needs to live in the knowledge of it, in order to enjoy the protection and blessings of God, for throwing away the boundaries of matrimony would be at one’s own peril. When it comes to God’s law, it is in its essence good, but it makes you aware of your transgressions, and it is the sinful nature within you, that keeps you from obeying it wholly. It is also a condition that has been radically altered in the glorious aftermath of the new covenant, when the law is now written in the tablet of your heart, with the Holy Spirit Himself testifying in you to the nature of Christ’s sacrifice. And, where does this revelation lead to, in you ? The Almighty God has forgiven all your sins and remembers them no more, when you are in Christ Jesus.
But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after He had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days’, says the Lord, ‘I will put my laws in their hearts, and in their minds I will write them’ Then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’. Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. [Hebrews 10:15-18] This is the glorious truth of the new covenant. And therefore, now when you are reminded of your sins, the Holy Spirit will reveal the right perspective of your position in Christ, in and through His one perfect offering.
That you are a child of God, is something that the Holy Spirit Himself testifies in you. And, when He says you are one, who else needs to ?! In much the same manner, when you remember your past sin, and find springing within you, a desire to commit it again, The Holy Spirit will testify in you that through the perfect sacrifice of Christ, you are now a sinner cleansed by grace, with the power to say ‘no’ to it. And God’s word goes on to give you the procedure by which you can accomplish it.
Therefore brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, for He who has promised is faithful. [Hebrews 10:19-23] Now, when the devil, the accuser of the brethren tries to disturb your intimacy with God by reminding you of your sin, and fill you with guilt, it is by confessing that your sins have been forgiven on the Cross, that you resist him. In the Old Testament times, when the people of God offered a sacrifice as the atonement for sin, they were reminded of it.
But now, every time you partake of the Lord’s Supper, you remember and proclaim that your sins have been forgiven. And, a remembrance of your past sins only fills you with gratitude, for you know that your sins have been washed away by the Blood of the sinless Lamb of God. Communion connects you, brings you together with God; it does not condemn you, to separate you from Him. For, your death, He died, and rose again, and now His life is in you. Communion is when you remember, that His Body was broken for you, His Blood was shed for you, and now, by His stripes you are healed. Sin was atoned for, and the demand of law fulfilled by Christ’s perfect sacrifice. And, one more problem, which was death, the last enemy, was also dealt with on the Cross.
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself shared in the same, that through death He may destroy the one who had the power of death, that is the devil, And release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. [Hebrews 2:14,15] When your child sees you partaking of the medicine that it dreads, and nothing dreadful happening to you because of it, then the little one is emboldened to have it too ! It is an example that gives you a picture of what God has accomplished on the Cross, on an incomparably and immeasurably greater and grander scale, in your life and mine. God, being God, cannot die. But, you and I die, because the wages of sin is death. And therefore, the Son of God Himself, shared in flesh and blood, to become man, so that by dying, He may overcome death, and the fear of dying.
When sin has been dealt with, another adversary still lurks around, keeping you in bondage, by putting the fear of death in you. Fear is, faith in the devil; and courage is, faith in God ! It is the all important difference; and to discern and choose what is right, between the two, what you need is the comprehension and right understanding of the truth. The Lord’s words to Martha and Mary, as they stood by the tomb of Lazarus, rang loud and clear; ‘If you believe, you will see the glory of God’. [John 11:17-44] The glory of God is the revelation of His nature, and the demonstration of His power. And, His glory is what the Lord went on to declare, as He said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this ?’ [vs 25,26]
When you believe in the words of Christ, you will never die ! It is His promise to you, as you understand and believe the truth of God’s word. Death has authority over you, only when you do not comprehend the truth. For, when the Lord arose, death was dealt a death blow. Death could not keep Him down, because sin, its root cause, was dealt with. And, the law which gave sin its power was fulfilled in Christ’s perfect sacrifice. The sting of death therefore, has been removed, and the devil defeated and rendered powerless. For, Christ arose from the dead, and lives in you and I, and every child of God today. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is in you today. It is the magnificent and glorious reason to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, who leads you now, as He goes ahead !
Christ in you, is your Leader this day. He is the One who has atoned for your sin, and the sins of the whole world, fulfilled the law, overcome death, and destroyed the devil. He is the champion of your faith, and He is leading you saying, ‘I have overcome’. And, He gives you the power to overcome, for He lives in you. He is the King, the Breaker who goes ahead, removing all hindrances in your path to your divine destiny. [Micah 2:13] God’s promise to Moses is with you today; the promise of His presence that will go with you, to give you rest. [Exodus 33:14] You can restfully do your work knowing that Christ has taken care of the rest. Everything that needs to be done has already been done on the Cross of Calvary. He is leading you now in victory !
Now thanks be unto God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. [2 Corinthians 2:14] It is in this triumphal procession that He leads you now; one in which the defeated are in chains, and also the victorious ones who have fought the battle and won. And, because Christ has won, you have also won. Your Champion has defeated the enemy on the Cross. The devil is in the procession, but in chains, as a defeated foe, as you walk ahead in victory with your Leader, the risen King ! Lord Jesus is your Leader, going ahead; you too are moving ahead with Him in triumphal procession, declaring in victory, ‘Where is your sting, O death ?’ Christ died and rose again triumphantly.
He leads you now to a land of promise, of purpose, your land of destiny that He has prepared for you, even before the foundation of the world. All you need to do now is to lift up your cup of salvation, giving thanks unto Him in worship and praise, as you proclaim not only His death on the Cross, but also the Lord’s victory over death. And may every blessing that flows out of what has been accomplished on the Cross of Calvary, become part and parcel of your life, your portion and inheritance in life.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
