On Account of Sin

It is written in Romans 8:3 that Jesus came on account of sin. Actually, everything revolves around getting victory over sin. And for that we need grace and the power to take action. We are very dry and unfruitful by nature, and therefore we need a tremendous grace from God so that all of our conduct and ministry can be anointed. God has given His laws con­cerning grace. All of the humble receive grace from God. God looks at the heart, and He is not at all impressed or deceived by outward piety. On the day of trial it becomes apparent whether we are among those who receive the sure mercies of David. Is. 55:3. David was in need, and he got to know God in his circumstances. His faith and confidence in God made him extremely powerful when it was time to take action. When God worked in him, he was full of the spirit of power, and he went on the attack against the host of the enemy.

Egypt was called the “great boaster who sits idle.” Is. 30:7 (Norw.). Sometimes there is a lot of preaching and many elo­quent words, but little action. God wants to see action. So we need to have the mind and Spirit that were in Boaz: “The man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.” Ruth 3:18. We need grace to overcome all our enemies and cleanse our body from every defilement of the flesh and the spirit. When God shows us that there is still some discontent or irri­tation in our life, we have to do something about it today! We are called to live and reign over sin. Rom. 5:17. The upright know “where the shoe pinches” when they come into tribula­tion through the circumstances in their life—they know where the difficulty lies. That is why it is so important that we come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace to help in our time of need. Heb. 4:16. Go to the Word and to the testimony, and get help for your life so that everything bitter or grumpy or discontented is done away with.

When we practice godliness, Jesus’ death will work in our body, and then Jesus’ life will also be manifested in our body. The sufferings that we endure can be entirely hidden from people. Just as the armies of Egypt sank into the Red Sea when they pursued Moses and the people of Israel, all the en­emies in our flesh will be brought to silence in the lives of those who hold fast to godly fear and the prophetic Word. That is why all of heaven is enthusiastic when the prophetic Word resounds in the church. That Word brings help; that is how God speaks to His church! Through the prophetic Word, faith and hope become living, and we deal directly with God in the circumstances of our own life. We are raised with Him and placed in heaven, and there the evil hosts of wickedness have no point of contact.

People are full of anxiety. They realize there are conse­quences for breaking the laws of life. Those who stand fast in their covenant of discipleship have nothing to fear. They can face the future with their heads lifted up, free from anxiety. Just like the heroes of faith in the old covenant, they can greet the kingdom of heaven in their circumstances of life. Our call­ing is to stand in the intimate counsels of the Lord.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, “The Lord has said, ‘You shall have peace’” and to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, “No evil shall come upon you.”’ For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it?” Jer. 23:16-18.

You cannot give people the counsels of God if you yourself have drifted away from His Word and His voice within. God pays very close attention to whether you are seeking your own or exalting yourself in the thoughts of your heart. There­fore, we need to have a Spirit of fear over us. A council in heaven is watching carefully, and they make their decisions according to whether we exalt ourselves or humble ourselves in the thoughts of our heart. Clearly, this is how God dealt with King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4 and 5.

In the book of Revelation most of the churches in Asia Mi­nor were on the brink of death. They no longer stood in God’s counsels, and they had departed from simple faithfulness to Him. God comes with His angels and takes vengeance on those who have been disobedient to His gospel, vengeance on the harlot and on false grace. Therefore Jude also writes that ungodly people had crept in unnoticed among the saints and perverted the grace of God into lewdness. Jude 4. These people thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the social life of the church, but they had not become disciples of Jesus. They had not personally made use of the grace to become free from sin. Once we have received forgiveness for our sins, we must be saved by His life. Rom. 5:10.

False teaching about grace is often a means of hiding an evil life. The spirit of victory must rule in the church. Let us follow the widow in her wholehearted zeal. Luke 18:1-7. With­out that same fervent, intense, unrelenting zeal, you will not be avenged of your adversary. You will not come to real vic­tory over sin. It takes some time to come to real victory in your life, and God takes no pleasure in pride or human strength. That is why He often rubs our nose in our own dung so that we become humble of heart.

Brothers who have responsibility in their home church must be examples in love and goodness. If we want to be anointed and if we want our ministry to bless people, we must personally be a sacrifice. When love reigns, hearts are knit together. This does not happen by knowledge alone. Life unites us. And if we do not live the life the gospel speaks about, we will not experience genuine fellowship and brother­hood. We must live the life Christ lived, where sin was con­demned in the flesh. Our spirit must have a savor of sacrifice and witness that we are finished with everything of this world. When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, God comes to meet us and opens His abundant storehouse to us. The Word is a fire that creates judgment in our flesh, and everything strong and arrogant is crushed.

The gospel contains the power of God to salvation. In this power all the enemies in our flesh can be eradicated, and the life of Christ can be manifested in our body. It is unbelievable what people will do to get some honor or renown from their works. This is far from the mind of Christ. Covetousness is also a sin that wars against the whole spirit of the gospel. Jesus was a gift and a sacrifice, and He desired nothing for Himself. He didn’t even desire to be like God. When we are led by the Spirit, sin ceases—all sin. We do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Gal. 5:16-17. What a glorious liberty we can come to in our lifetime! Everything in the flesh with respect to favor­itism, preferences, liking and disliking certain people, envy, discontent, arrogance and pride can be eradicated so that unity and fellowship are established wherever we are.