I
t’s interesting to note in the biblical account of the crippled man being healed at Lystra that even as hearing the gospel of grace produced a wonderful miracle of healing, it also produced outright opposition to it. The Jews there who held on to the old covenant of law came to see what all the commotion was about, won the crowd to their side, and began to stone Paul and left him for dead (Acts 14:19).
The gospel the apostle Paul preached is not a man-pleasing gospel and was opposed by legalists everywhere he went. (Today’s legalists are still doing the same thing. I call them the “religious mafia,” those who depend on their own efforts to achieve their own sense of righteousness.) Yet, Paul preached the truth of the gospel even if it meant being stoned by his opponents and being expelled from cities. Why? Because the gospel is
the power of God
to salvation!
Are you faced with an impossible situation today? Are you trusting the Lord for a breakthrough or wanting to see more of His power in your life, body, finances, or career? If so, make sure you are hearing the gospel that Paul preached. I encourage you to get hold of good teachings that are full of the good news of Jesus. The more you hear about Jesus, His beauty, His forgiveness, and His finished work, the more you will stop being preoccupied with yourself, your lack, and your weaknesses. You will become fully occupied with Jesus, His glory, His perfection, and His grace, and freedom, healing, and wholeness are the result!
Josephine, who lives in Virginia, adds a heartfelt “Amen!” to this truth. She is in her twenties and has been a Christian since she was very young. However, when she went to college, she fought a losing battle with depression that lasted seven years. Treated with therapy and medication, she had to constantly increase the dosage but still felt completely miserable and in her case, continually terrified. People told her she just had to love God more, but she never seemed to measure up. She struggled with depression to the point she couldn’t even get up in the mornings because she was so tormented in her mind.
Then, her mom gave her one of my books. Josephine wrote to me and said, “After reading your book and accepting God’s love for me and trusting in Him and His finished work, I was totally and miraculously healed. I learned to just say, ‘God, I know that I cannot overcome this on my own. I rest in You. You live the victorious life for me. I know I cannot overcome these thoughts on my own, but I can rest in You.’
“I now live a life of joy and peace that I never imagined was possible for me. I am so in love with my Savior and now the gospel all makes sense. He first loved me and healed me, and now I have the ability to love and to live life with peace and joy. Just like the Word says, knowing the truth set me free!”
What an amazing testimony of the power of simply hearing and believing the gospel of grace. My friend, if you have been struggling with a particular challenge, keep feeding on the abundance of God’s grace through the hearing of the gospel. Don’t let anyone from the “religious mafia” add more conditions to your forgiveness. You are already forgiven of all your sins simply because you believe in Jesus! Nothing more, nothing less. This is the gospel that Paul preached. And when you get a hold of this truth and simply believe it, you will see the power of God come into your situation to give you the breakthrough you need!
Today’s Thought
I am already forgiven of all my sins simply because I believe in Jesus! Nothing more, nothing less
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Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You for the work You are doing to renew my mind with right beliefs based on eternal truths from Your holy Word. Open my eyes to always see that I am forgiven of all my sins simply because Jesus took my punishment at the cross. I believe this truth with all of my heart today and I choose to reject anything that tries to add conditions to the forgiveness and righteousness I have through Christ. By Your grace I will win the battle for my mind and see healing in my body. I believe that You are working on my behalf, turning depression into joy, sickness into health, and lack into supply as I rest in Your grace. Amen
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And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God
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D
EUTERONOMY
28:2
AMP
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
I
SAIAH
26:3
NLT
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things
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P
HILIPPIANS
4:8
Today’s Scripture
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
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R
OMANS
6:23
W
hen I was a teenager, I got hold of a teaching that said a Christian could commit the “unpardonable sin.” Have you heard this “unpardonable sin” teaching before? This erroneous teaching says that all sins can be forgiven, but if you commit the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31), there is no forgiveness.
As a young Christian, it really frightened me. The more I thought about the possibility of committing the unpardonable sin, the more I was convinced I had committed the sin! My thoughts became increasingly negative and I even started to doubt God, giving me even more reason to believe that I had indeed blasphemed against the Holy Spirit.
I went to my church leaders to seek counsel, but instead of leading me to the new covenant of grace, they told me that it was indeed possible for a Christian to commit the unpardonable sin. By then, I was getting more and more depressed. The devil was oppressing me with thoughts of guilt and condemnation. The more I believed that I still had unforgiven sins, the more I believed that I had used up all of God’s grace in my life. No one taught me about the blood of Jesus, or showed me that my thinking and believing were actually dishonoring the blood of Christ and negating Jesus’ work on the cross for me. I really thought that my sins were greater than God’s grace. I felt like I was losing my mind and on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
It was through this tumultuous journey that I began to understand the grace of our Lord Jesus. I now know beyond the shadow of a doubt that a Christian
cannot
commit the unpardonable sin. Here’s why. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit came to testify of and witness about Jesus Christ (John 15:26). To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is therefore to
continually reject the person of Christ
whom the Holy Spirit testifies of. Study the Word of God carefully. Who was Jesus speaking to when He spoke of the unpardonable sin? He was speaking to the Pharisees, who continually rejected Him as their Savior and even accused Him of having an unclean spirit. Jesus’ response was, “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven…but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” (Mark 3:28–29). Why did He say that? The next verse tells us that it is “because they said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’”
Therefore, in the context of the Bible, Jesus was warning the Pharisees to stop committing the sin of rejecting Him, the only Savior, and depending on their own efforts to be saved. This clearly does not apply to the believer. You see, in reading the Bible, it is important to note who the words were spoken to and to ascertain if the words are relevant for the believer. In this case, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees who had rejected Him and who even made claims that He had an unclean spirit. Imagine their audacity!
As for you, my friend, have full assurance in your heart that it is impossible for a believer to commit the unpardonable sin. Today’s Scripture shows us that a believer (who is in Christ) has already received the gift of eternal life and will never be “subject to eternal condemnation.”
Beloved, do not be deceived. Because we are in His Son, Jesus Christ, we will never experience God’s anger or rejection. Be anchored and secure in the Father’s love and your complete acceptance in Christ. His finished work on the cross has wiped out your entire life’s sins—past, present, and future—once and for all, bar none!
Today’s Thought
Jesus’ finished work on the cross has wiped out my entire life’s sins—past, present, and future—once and for all, bar none!
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You that my faith is anchored and secure in Your love and in what Jesus has done for me on the cross. I am in Christ Your Son, the one who is true. Help me to see through all of the enemy’s mind games, lies, and distortions of truth that oppress me with thoughts of guilt and condemnation. My eyes are fixed on Jesus, my righteousness and justification, and my glory and boast are in Him alone. Amen
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“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”
J
OHN
15:26
“I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to Me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”
I
SAIAH
44:22
NLT
Today’s Scripture
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ
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2 C
ORINTHIANS
11:3
T
here is a lot of confusion and wrong believing in the church today, and the repercussions of deception that surrounds the simplicity of the gospel of grace that is in Christ can be devastating. I received this heartfelt praise report from Robin in Michigan, whose experience highlights what can happen when you don’t understand the difference between the old and new covenants.
After I became a born-again Christian three years ago, I was studying the Gospels at Bible college and read about the “unpardonable sin.” Immediately, a very negative thought about the Holy Spirit entered my mind. I felt as though I had died on the inside and my mind was immediately bombarded with thoughts of, “You’ve done it now! There is NO pardon or forgiveness for what you have just done!”
I felt short of breath and sick to my stomach. All throughout the night, I was inundated with crazy, condemning thoughts that I was no longer saved. The first thought I had when I woke up the next morning was, “You’re going to hell. You had your chance to make it to heaven but you blew it!”
This hurricane of swirling emotions took me on a six-month downward spiral of condemnation and oppression. It was the hardest time I have ever experienced. I felt so nauseated at the thought that I had lost my relationship with God that I lost fifteen pounds and couldn’t function properly
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I tried everything that I thought I should be doing—praying, crying, pleading, casting out, and fasting. I searched the Bible looking for something to obey, because I was taught that my breakthrough was contingent on my obedience. I thought that since what I was going through was “radical oppression,” only “radical obedience” could pull me out of it. However, that only brought on a string of dead works that did nothing for me
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During that period, I even thought that I was demon-possessed because I would have twisted, perverted thoughts about the people who were around me, and the more I tried to stop the thoughts, the worse they became. I got to the point where it was as if I could feel my life slowly draining away day by day. I had to garner all my strength just to go to work and get through the day. Then I’d just come home and cry on my bed. I thought I had lost everything
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By the grace of God, I discovered Joseph Prince on his television program. I listened to sermon after sermon on grace—a message I had never heard before! I began to feel alive on the inside, with feelings of peace and joy. Better yet, I started to fall in love with this beautiful Jesus in ways that I had only dreamed about before! It was as if someone poured “miracle growth” onto my spiritual life. My eyes were opened to revelations I had never seen. Starving for God’s grace, I was brought closer to God than I ever thought possible!
The condemning thoughts faded and the thoughts of failure changed to thoughts of God’s love for me. When I was trying to be a good Christian, I was only crawling along inch by inch, but now that I’ve got hold of grace, I am running in my relationship with God! My life has been radically changed by God’s love and the more I learn about God’s amazing grace, the more I desperately want to glorify Him with my life!
My friend, do you see that there is a battle for your mind that can only be won through a revelation of Jesus and His grace? The power to break the enemy’s condemnation that paralyzes and holds you back from enjoying a truly intimate relationship with God comes the moment you believe the gospel of grace. The simple truth is that Christ is your righteousness, your obedience, your sanctification, and your justification. Ignore the enemy’s accusations and keep your eyes on the beautiful one, Jesus, who has accomplished it all for you!