Grace tidings: Jesus paid the price

“He who didn’t spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans8:32).

If God didn’t spare His most precious gift in the form of His Son, why would He withhold His blessings to you and I? It is unfortunate that most believers act as if God is withholding His blessings because of their sins.

Consequently, their relationship with Christ is profiting them little or at the very least less than God intended.

These are people who have accepted Jesus as their saviour. Yet, they can't get healed, they're unhappy, depressed, fearful, and full of unbelief.

Let me start by making this radical statement — If you're conscious of sin, then you truly don't understand the grace of your salvation through Jesus. It sounds radical, but it's true.

It's different from what most of us have been told. But this is what God's Word declares. God is not imputing, or laying to our account, our sin.

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Second Corinthians 5:19 says, God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their sins to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation”.

Sin consciousness has been ground into us. Grace is not the way of the world. Your employer doesn't hire you by grace and promise to pay no matter what you do; they have expectations of performance. In marriage, spouses don't always love each other unconditionally. Even in most Christian families, children are either rewarded or punished based on their performance.

On this earth almost everything is based on performance, and because it is, it always forces us to focus on our weaknesses. That performance mentality then transfers into religion where we're taught to focus on our sin. However, where God is concerned, it's just the opposite. In fact, sin isn't even an issue with God. I know this statement sounds blasphemous to our religious colleagues. Why is it not an issue? Because our sin is not being imputed, or charged, to our account. It's being charged to Jesus' account, and He already paid the bill.

I know a lot of churches that would throw me out for saying that, but it's what the Bible teaches. It's time to let the Bible get in the way of wrong theology. Hebrews is one of my favorite books of the Bible.

Hebrews 9:11-12 says, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place, once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

If words mean anything, think about these words: Jesus entered in once!  It means He doesn't do it over and over again. Every time you sin, the Lord doesn't have to wait until you repent and then get that sin under the blood.

Most Christians believe that when you're born again, you get your sins forgiven up to that point. Then, every time you sin after becoming a Christian, you've got to run to the Lord with that sin and confess and repent, or you could be lost. If not lost and on your way to hell, then at the very least, God would not fellowship with you, and He certainly wouldn't answer your prayers.

If that were true, then everybody would be on their way to hell. There isn't a person on this earth who doesn't have either a known or an unknown unconfessed sin. Or, if sin just means the loss of relationship with God and unanswered prayers, then God wouldn't have a single person qualified to receive an answer to prayer or fellowship with Him. Was Jesus enough or not?

This is a huge issue. It's the reason many believe God isn't healing them or prospering them. They say out of one side of their mouths that He loves them and sacrificed His Son, Jesus, for their salvation, and then out of the other side, they say that He is still judging them for sin. Those are incompatible!

Hebrews 9: 13-15 goes on to say, “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason, He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

It isn't God who is condemning us when we sin; it's our own consciences. We haven't purged our consciences with the truth of what Jesus has done with sin. Satan knows that and is using it to condemn us and destroy our faith and confidence in God by reminding us we don't deserve God's blessing.

Praise God, He isn't giving you what you deserve; He is giving you what Jesus deserves. Jesus paid for sin one time, past, present, and even the sins you will commit in the future. How can that be, you may ask? I don't know exactly, but let me tell you this, Jesus only died one time for our sins two thousand years ago, so you better hope He can forgive your sins before you commit them (Hebrews 9:25-28).

God knows the end from the beginning and He knew all the sins of the whole world. Jesus paid for all those committed before His sacrifice and for all that had not yet been committed. He made the payment once and it will never be made again. The price for sin, all sin, has been paid!

We have received an eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15) that cannot be taken away. Your inheritance is not temporary; it's eternal. You aren't disinherited and you don't lose the benefits of being part of the family because of sin.

To understand this, you have to see yourself as God sees you. In your born-again spirit, you are as clean and holy and pure as Jesus is. Religion has you looking at your flesh. It has you searching the soulish realm of thoughts, attitudes, and feelings. But that is not what God is looking at. He is looking at your spirit, the part of you that's become a new creation.

Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

And in John 4:24 we read, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

What part of you is new? It's not the flesh and it's not the soul; it's your born-again spirit. When you go to God in prayer and say "O God, I'm so ungodly and so unworthy, please forgive me, please answer my prayer," you are not in the spirit; you are in the flesh. Your spirit is righteous, holy, and pure. Sin does not affect your spirit.

Am I saying sin is okay or am I giving you license to sin? Absolutely not! When you sin, you give Satan an open door to the soul, your mind and emotions, as well as opportunity to destroy your physical body. It's just unwise or silly to open yourself up to the devil.

Maturity in the Christian life isn't about trying to grow your spirit up; it's trying to educate, or renew, your mind to what you already have in your spirit. Your spirit is already perfect! You already have the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, long-suffering, and the rest.

God loves you even though you've messed up, even though you aren't perfect. He loves you not because of your performance but because of Jesus' sacrifice. If you can ever get a revelation of this teaching, it will change the way you see God forever. He paid the price.

• Dr Doug Mamvura is a graduate of Charis Bible School. Feedback: drdoug@corporatemomentum.biz or Twitter @dougmamvura