Believe on God’s Son1; love one another (other saints2) as Christ has loved us; abide in Christ, John 13:34,35; 15:1-4; 1 John 3:24, 25. These are the commandments for Christian’s today. Christians are not under any quality of law, but rather under grace3. This does not mean that there is no standard for a Christian or that a Christian may continue in sin without any penalty4. Grace is not a license to sin; rather, through grace we are provided the ability to act righteously. The law5 of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is the standard by which we live. We fulfill the righteousness of the law of the Spirit when we are governing our lives by the Spirit. We do not need the Mosaic law, or any other “Do Not” law because when we are governing our lives according to what God has said about us in Christ the Spirit fills us up where we lack in our ability to live godly so that our actions will never violate any quality of law before God6. We live by a higher standard. We are not children who need to be corrected and governed all the time like ones who are under law for we are sons in Christ; ones who can mature and act properly in any situation.
Since grace is an attitude that God has towards us which provides us benefits that cannot be earned, we need to examine our position and the benefits that come with it in order to understand how God expects us to govern our lives as members of His Church. We do not have access to this grace in which we stand by keeping any law or through self effort; rather, it is through Jesus Christ that we have access7. In Romans 5:2, “Stand” is very strongly worded in the Greek language so the reader understands that God is not going to change His attitude towards the saint. Since this is always going to be God’s attitude towards a Christian, we can and should grow in His grace and experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ our Savoir8 apart from fear, apart from law, and apart from self-effort.
“Abiding” is a term that describes how a person occupies a space, like their home. We abide in Christ when we feel at ease with who we are in Christ and are therefore living a life that takes God at His Word – out from faith. Take for instance the fact that we are righteous before God. Even after salvation a person can sin, even though we are given everything needed to overcome the temptation to sin and are not only no longer bound to obey the sin nature, but the very act of sinning is now contrary to our new nature, a Christian can still ignore all that God has given and chose to go against what he or she knows is God’s expectation. Failing by sinning can make a person feel unworthy. However, our righteousness is not based upon what we do but what Christ has done. Therefore, even when we sin, we still have access to God. We do not have fellowship with Him because our actions are contrary to who He is, but we still have access9. There is no manifestation of the works of the flesh in God (darkness); therefore, when we govern our lives in darkness (manifesting the sin nature) He has no part with our actions. Grace does not overlook sin so our sin has to be dealt with, but now it is a family matter and does not separate us from God10. Therefore, out of love He will child-train (discipline) His children even to the point of physical death because He will not allow His child to be condemned with the world11 if that child continues to sin and not address it before God by agreeing with God that the action is sin. Confession is not saying you are sorry, asking for forgiveness, or feeling remorseful. It is agreeing with God that our action is against Him. Confession does not make you Spiritual, that only happens when your mind is framed on the things above and you live your life accordingly. Confession starts you back on the road of light because it is a verbal acknowledgment (agreement) that you are sinning. We serve a living God, we do not bow to sticks and stones. Think about what you are doing. You are agreeing with your Creator that you are acting against His expectations and you are not going to live by the promises He has given you. This is a live that is not lived by faith. The logical response to confession should be to take the way of escape that He has provided, overcome the enemy that is attacking your mind and influencing you to sin, and again govern your life according to who you are in Christ, not after the desires of the flesh. There is no magic formula to being Spiritual. No seven step program that guarantees you always have a good relations with God. The Christian life is not about laws and regulations, it is about a relationship with the Living God.
As we grow in our understanding of God we learn that He is holy (set apart); therefore, we also should be holy – set apart unto God12. Since holiness is not being set apart from something, but to something or someone, when we act according to God’s opinion of us in Christ, we will naturally stop sinning and move away from the things in our lives that harm our ability to live out our salvation because we are acknowledging the fact that we belong to God and are setting ourselves apart unto Him even in our actions.
1 Expressing faith towards Christ that His death, burial, and resurrection saved us, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
2 A specific Greek word that means, “others of the same kind” is referring to other saints. Christians are not to direct love at the world, 1 John 2:15, 16
3 For the sin nature will not lord over you, for you are not under a quality of law, but under a quality of grace, Romans 6:14
4 Do not take lightly the child training from the Lord, Hebrews 12:5-8; 1 Corinthians 11:32
5 The Christian is not under the Mosaic law or any variation of it whereby righteousness before God and men is attained by keeping the law. The standard (law) for a Christian is being who you are in Christ, which is referred to as the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:2.
6 The Fruit that the Spirit produces in our lives, which is the character of Christ, has no law against it, Galatians 5:23
7 Therefore, having been justified out from faith we have peace facing God through out Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom also we have the access by faith into this grace in which we are in a state of standing and we boast upon the hope of God proper opinion. Romans 5:1, 12 (God proper opinion of who we are in Christ).
8 … but grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ…, 2 Peter 3:18
9 If we walk in the darkness we do not have fellowship with God because there is no darkness in Him, 1 John 1:5-7
10 If, perhaps, we verbally agree concerning our sins, He is faithful and just in order that He should send away our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9
11 Christians should not think that because God’s opinion does not change and therefore anything done does not change their righteousness before God that they could do anything they want. God disciplines His children, Hebrews 12:5-11; 1 Corinthians 11: 29-32. Disciple resulting in physical death is due to the habitual refusal to cease intentionally sinning. God will not allow one of His children to be condemned so He will take that child home.
12 But according as the one having called you is holy, also you yourselves become holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “You become set apart (holy) because I, on my part, am holy”, 1 Peter 1:15, 16. Saints are set apart ones. Romans 1:7 …to all the ones in Rome, beloved of God, called ones, saints (holy)…