Sons and Daughters of the Kingdom, Pt. 2

Matthew 5:17-19 says, “17Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus did not destroy the law, but He fulfilled the symbolism and prophecies of those men of God. Never will you read in scripture where Jesus said that He did away with the law. When the rich man asked Jesus, “What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”, He responded by naming off the Ten commandments that were given to Moses on Mount Sinai (Matthew 19:16-19). He even said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). Jesus made it clear that He did not do away with His commandments, but rather told His disciples to obey them if they wanted to demonstrate and abide in God’s love!

Although we are under a new covenant, the law is fulfilled in Jesus, meaning that once Christ enters our lives, we spiritually obtain the very character and nature of God that teaches us the basic, fundamental principles of His Word so that we can refrain from wrongdoing. To enumerate, God has called us to holiness!

1 Thessalonians 4:7 says, “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” Holiness is not a branch of denomination in the body of Christ, neither is it perfectly following a list of manmade rules. It is simply “clean living.” It is not a dress code, but it is a code of conduct that is the result of a manifestation of a spiritual resurrection! It is not achieved through fleshly work, but rather a spiritual transformation.

Romans 1:4 says, “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Jesus was resurrected through a “spirit of holiness” because holiness is a spiritual character trait of God, and it is through holiness that we are declared children of the Most High God. 1 Peter 1:15, 16 says, “15But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” For Christians, holiness is not an option, but rather a calling, or a mandate. Since our God is holy, holiness brings us to a place where we are a mirror reflection of God Himself.

The modern-day church has been conditioned to believe in the fallacies of religious phrases, such as “once in grace, always in grace,” when it has no biblical foundation. The congregation just take a preacher’s word for it, without even studying for themselves, and they become diseases and create reasons for their sins and addictions. The truth of the matter is that one can fall from grace. Galatians 5:4 says, “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” When someone tries to live out their Christian walk in themselves by their own works, without prayer and faith, then they can quickly fall from grace.

Not only can people fall from God’s grace by abiding in empty traditions, but they can also do so when holiness is forsaken and a little room for sin is made available. Hebrews 12:14, 15 says, “14Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” Everyone is to be at peace with all men through holiness because if there is a certain area in a person’s life in which hurt and anger settles in and bitterness takes root, they can fall short of God’s grace. Bitterness is the result of an individual dwelling on the evil that someone else has done against them to the point that they cannot forgive them. Matthew 6:14, 15 says, “14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” In order for God to forgive, we must forgive others, and then God’s grace can cover our lives. Out of the magnitude of sins that we have all committed against God and He still forgives us, we can forgive the small amount of trespasses that others do against us!

Undoubtedly, churched people have fallen short of God’s grace through abusing it, and it is through abusing the freedom and grace of God that they are entangled again in the yoke of bondage. God will not deliver you from something that you need. It is called deliverance for a purpose! He frees you from things that will cause insurmountable harm in the future, and it does absolutely no good to run back to the same vomit that you need to leave behind. Only returning to your past for shelter will only heap destruction! It is by looking diligently into the future that God has for you that you can walk in freedom, and that is where God is calling us all too!

Now that we have freedom in Jesus, we cannot abuse that freedom for the occasions of the flesh. Romans 6:14-15 says, “14For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” God forbids us to use grace as a license for sin. The leg of holiness from the body of Christ has been broken and has used grace and freedom as its crutches! God’s grace was never meant to be abused to fulfill one’s carnal desires, but only to love Him that much more. If you really love God, you will not take advantage of Him. I have seen many teenagers just abuse their father’s love so many times. They will ask for this or that, but they never have any love to offer in return. They only look out for #1 and nobody else! Even though the father sacrifices and gives time after time again, they never show any gratitude and will look for anyway possible to break the rules. If you want the blessings, obey His commands and show how much you love Him!

That is why through freedom we are commissioned to love and serve one another, which fulfills all of the law! This is what Christian liberty is all about. It is not having the opportunity to dismantle others’ faith in God through consuming them with a gossiping tongue. It is distributing God’s love, doing to others as you would have them to do unto you. It is time to get rid of this nonsensical, religious, manmade garbage and get back to the true doctrines of God’s Word! If you want to truly be saved, it is only by His grace that it can firmly be accomplished!