As a Christian, I do not confess sin to God in order to be forgiven; and furthermore, I am cleansed of sin and have become the righteousness of God in Christ. That does not mean I never interact with God about sin, but it does mean it is a fruitless religious exercise to ask for what has already been given.
(Pure Grace, page 95)

Confession of sin to God by a believer is for healing not for forgiveness. We have already been forgiven! It is certainly healthy to talk to God about sin and ask His help and instruction but He has already not only forgiven our sin but “taken them away”. There are no verses in the New Testament that instruct a Believer to confess sins to God for forgiveness. NONE!!

Pastor Clark Whitten

Grace Church Longwood, FL.

“Quotable Grace” is our way of sharing the message of the finished work of the cross through quotes that express God’s grace towards us. We are asking for your help in sharing the Quotable Grace to your social networks (Email lists, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Blogs … etc.) each week. We are also asking that you share your own thoughts concerning the quote of the week with your friends as well.

Is Christ’s work on my behalf finished or not?
Hosea 14: 1-7

What did Jesus “finish”?  Everything the Father sent Him to accomplish (John 17:4)

1. He came to reveal the Father – love!
          John 14:24

2. He came to fulfill the Father’s purpose, through perfect obedience
          Heb. 10:7-10; John 4:34; 6:38

3. He came to seek and save that which was lost
          Matt. 18:11-12; Luke 19:10; John 3:16-19; 1 Tim. 1:15

4. He came to destroy the works of the evil one
          1 John 3:8

5. He came to give life full and abundant
          John 10:10

6. He came to preach and reveal the Kingdom of God
          Mark 1:38; Luke 4:18-19; Isaiah 61:1

7. He came to fulfill the law
          Matthew 5:17

8. He came to redeem us from our sin
          1 John 4:10

9. He came to condemn sin in the flesh
          Romans 8:3-4

10. He came to lay down His life as a sacrifice
          John 10:11, 17-18; 1 John 3:16

11. He came to become sin on our behalf that we might become righteous as He
          2 Corinthians 5:21

What was man’s need that he couldn’t meet on his own?

1. He needed life (Zoe).  He was dead in his trespasses and sins
          Ephesian 2

2. He needed to be in right standing with God – his righteousness was a filthy rags
          Isaiah 64:6

3. He needed to be justified before God because he was condemned already as a sinner
          John 3:18

4. He needed to become sin-free, and guilt free (holy as God is holy)
          Romans 8:1 – no condemnation to those in Christ

5. He needed to become sanctified – made perfect by God, set apart by and for God
          1 Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 2:11

6. He needed a Savior who could do all these things for him.
          John 3:16

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To listen to the sermon audio, please click the player instance at the bottom of this post. To pick up the current podcast URL’s click here for the main website feed or click here for the podcast only rss feed. Our podcast is also available in the iTunes store as a free subscription. Enjoy and God Bless!

Imagine for a moment with me the awesome glory and beauty of LIFE the moment we step out of this body.  It is joy unspeakable and full of glory.  We will no longer live by faith, but we will see Him face to face.  We will know as we are known.  In that place there is fullness of love, joy, peace, and complete satisfaction!  Beauty beyond measure.  Perfect beauty.  Just imagine!!!!

Now let’s just imagine something else scripture talks about.  God has adorned His bride with His Splendor and Beauty!  It says that ” her fame went forth among the nations on account of her beauty, for it was perfect because of My Splendor which I bestowed on you declares the Lord God.”  To imagine the splendor and glory of the unseen realm is thrilling, but to walk and live more fully in that realm NOW is an adventure, oh so magnificent!!  Let’s go for it!

Scripture says, ” Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us…. we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.  To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen!  Soooo come, come let’s run with Him in the adventure!

Abba would You activate our imaginations in asking and thinking, so that YOU can DO in us and through us all the good things You have planned for us according to Your power that works in us!  For Your Glory in this generation.  Amen!

Click here or on the graphic above to download today’s church bulletin.

To listen to the sermon audio, please click the player instance at the bottom of this post. To pick up the current podcast URL’s click here for the main website feed or click here for the podcast only rss feed. Our podcast is also available in the iTunes store as a free subscription. Enjoy and God Bless!

Randy posted this on his personal Facebook profile:

The following question isn’t a result of any personal situation or conversation currently going on. Truly, it isn’t. That said, why do some folks find being the sin police so energizing?

The responses I got were really good. Well, a couple were a little silly but still good. I will only include the person’s initials:

AS wrote, “Self-centeredness whether it be to deny their own sinfulness or the desire to not feel alone in failure for perfection. Too much looking inward and not enough looking upward.”

MH wrote, “there is something rooted deep in the heart of the would-be censor that desperately wants to tell others what to say. You never hear them say ‘Oh, please ban this or that so that I won’t fall prey to it’, but rather they are all-too-quick to seek a ban to protect ‘others’, or the children.”

TC wrote, “Perhaps insecurity. They find comfort in pointing out others’ sin so they don’t feel as bad about their own. The old your sin is worse than my sin mentality.”

PK wrote, “Some think the Holy Spirit needs their help.”

VI wrote, “Some “mean well” as they want to love holiness and Christ, but often “other’s” righteousness tends to become an idol or it’s much easier to talk about “others” sins instead of their own. God needs to deliver us from our self righteousness, and replace it w/the fruits of the spirit and cause us to deal with the “beam” in our own eye.”

LS wrote, “prIde?”

AK wrote, “I believe it’s because they truly think the Father police’s them. Its kind of hard to give to others what you don’t have yourself.”

ED wrote, “They want to be the Holy Spirit DRAGNET. : “Just your sins, ma’am….Just your sins.”

AL wrote, “They’re hurting. They feel inferior and need a way to make themselves feel better.”

PR wrote, “to me, it’s taking “focus” off their own lives.”

AqS wrote, “Hahahahaahahahahaha………I’m completely laughing right now! Good question. Usually, it’s because they probably have their own sin hiding some where but they would rather point it out to others.”

BS wrote, “I like what AL said, and yet would also turn it inside out because some people feel superior and the need to impose their understanding of Christianity and right/wrong onto everyone else, in their relational networks, in their churches, and in this country. Sometimes, it’s all of a piece based on very black-and-white thinking about basically everything.”

CL wrote, “They want Gods job? Lol they haven’t looked in the mirror for the longest time?”

UA wrote, “because… nah!!, question didn’t qualify for answering on my radar, bahahaaa… too busy going about the King’s business, lol”

There is a lot in the above statements that could possibly true: Self-centerdness, the need to censor others to feel safe themselves, insecurity, inflated sense of spiritual authority over another person, distracted focus on what is the true standard of righteousness (others actions instead of the finished work of Christ), Pride, inwardly feel guilty/insecure/fearful and that God is mad at them (i.e. transference), hidden sin syndrome “If I yell about your sin that distracts me from mine …,” black and white thinking on a personal and community level … all of that is very insightful and possibly true for the Sin Police wanting to patrol our lives.

To be clear, I don’t think everyone who shares their concerns over what they think is biblical, or healthy, to be the “sin police.” We all know the difference between a well-meaning Christian friend and someone who assumes the worst at the expense of the obvious, and inconsiderate of reality. I do think we need to speak out against some things (like the sex slave industry for example.) However, I don’t think it is appropriate to stigmatize people … ever. It’s never appropriate for us to judge a person’s heart or ascribe our assumptions as fact. If I can’t at least try to see the person in front of me with the Love of Christ,  and be willing to serve them sacrificially, I probably need to keep my mouth shut.

And that obviously includes people I think are acting like the sin police .

In the above list of responses, BS referenced another important point; some segments of culturally driven Christianity teach that we must “confront sin” with “salt and light” to help preserve God’s witness in the world (as if He needs our help). In some legalistic sects/churches, confronting others sin is the primary way they teach to spread the gospel. They literally think that scaring people into the kingdom is the best way to approach the issue. Others style themselves after the Old Testament prophets. I blogged about how I think that is very wrong. In these realms, not only does this activity seem to produce a personal sense of commitment, fulfillment, and accomplishment, there are social rewards. Social rewards in that the community expectations are met so the community esteems the one meeting those expectations highly.

Who doesn’t love a pat on the back?

I don’t know how some people actually seem to like and are energized by policing, judging and convicting other’s sin. So while some are running around with sirens blaring from crisis to crisis, I will trust in the love of Christ to bring about the fruit of  the Spirit in my own life. I will trust in His grace and wisdom to open the door to conversations that will be life-giving, and mutually transforming, in all my relationships.

About Randy Thomas
Randy Thomas and is an artist, blogger, speaker and the Executive Vice President of Exodus International. He also happens to be an ordained minister as well.

His passion is to see God magnified and people edified through the various creative gifts not only in me but in the community around us. He also has an equal passion to invite those missing from the Body of Christ to come Home to Him.

Like many, He has an online life and I’ve been blogging and building online communities for the past fifteen years. He has traveled across the country and abroad speaking, writing and addressing topics related to sexuality, relationships and faith. He’s contributed to several books and his own story of redemption has been featured in a full-page ad in The Los Angeles Times as well as Chuck Colson’s book The Good Life and in media outlets around the world.

Several months back I was going through a difficult time in my life, and as much as I wanted to trust God to work things out in a specific area, I knew I was struggling, not resting.

If someone had asked me at the time, “Is God trustworthy?” I would have answered, “Of course He is!” But for some reason, in this one area of my life, I felt as if I was much better suited at handling things than He was. Oh – I knew He was God – and could see everything from beginning to end; it wasn’t that I thought I knew MORE than He did; I just felt like in this particular area of my life, He may not really know what was BEST for me. When things did not go the way I wanted, I felt it necessary during our times of discussion (when I did most of the talking and He did most of the listening) to tell Him the specifics of what I thought He should do for me, based upon how much I had come to understand my unique design and what I felt was going to really make me happy. After all, being in grace is about finding abundant life and happiness – right?

During this season of my life, a friend of mine was praying for me one day and was at a place where she had no answers for me and really didn’t know what to say to console me. She saw my hurt and pain and really wanted me to be content until the promises of God were manifest in my life. While praying for me one day, the Lord gave her a scripture for me. It was 1 Peter 2:25 which says, “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”

When she told me she had been praying for me and she had asked the Lord for something to encourage me, and that He gave her this verse for me, I remember thinking, “This really doesn’t do it for me Lord. I’m sorry, but this means nothing to me. What am I not seeing?” So I decided to look it up in several translations to see if there was something I was missing. Nothing more was revealed. They were just words on a page that were NOT speaking to my heart. I knew my friend would not have brought that scripture to me if God had not put it in her heart, so I kept looking at it and praying for some revelation. Then it occurred to me to look up the definition of the words Shepherd and Bishop, so I did.

This is what I read about the shepherd in my New Testament Greek Lexicon: “The tasks of a Near Eastern shepherd were: to watch for enemies trying to attack the sheep; to defend the sheep from attackers; to heal the wounded and sick sheep; to find and save lost or trapped sheep; to love them, sharing their lives and so earning their trust.”

Wow! All of a sudden this one word “shepherd” took on a whole new persona. I saw Jesus as I had never seen Him before. The picture I had of my Shepherd just got weightier by the minute! I knew Jesus was the Great Shepherd, but I had never ever thought that Jesus loved me so much that He was watching over me, defending me from my attackers, healing me, loving me, sharing my life AND working to EARN MY TRUST!

Immediately, I got the picture of Him being ok with me just as I was – living my life – even in my uncertainty – not hurrying me to get it all right – but patiently working in my life – day in and day out – in order to EARN my trust. He KNEW I didn’t trust Him to work things out for me, yet He was NOT scolding me for being cautious with Him and wanting to hold on to the little bit of control I felt I had in NOT surrendering every part of my life to Him.

I realized that in sharing my life, He was willing to unveil His plan to me at the pace that I was willing to let Him do it. Every day He was fervently at work, graciously displaying His trustworthiness to me, so that eventually I would turn everything over to Him and know that He IS my Shepherd and because of THAT revelation I would come to know that I lacked NOTHING, for He is truly my EVERYTHING.

Romans 8 | Galatians 5:13-18 | John 15:5 | 1 John 2:6-10

As a believer you can only walk by the Spirit

¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16

The law of Christ is to love

¹⁴ For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14

The desire of the flesh is to reject love and to exalt itself

¹⁷ For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Galatians 5:17

You were transferred into the New Car

¹³ For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
Colossians 1:13

Walking by the Spirit means being less sin conscious and loving more!

The Spirit guides us into all truth (John 16:13) revealing the love God has for us. John recounts seeing Jesus as “grace and truth”. The more we see the truth of God’s love for us our minds are renewed. The more renewal that takes place the more love we exhibit. The more we love the less sin we see.

As believers if we see each other as we now are what we see we will love!

¹⁶ Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17

As believers we should love unbelievers as Jesus did.

²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20

Click here or on the graphic above to download today’s church bulletin.

To listen to the sermon audio, please click the player instance at the bottom of this post. To pick up the current podcast URL’s click here for the main website feed or click here for the podcast only rss feed. Our podcast is also available in the iTunes store as a free subscription. Enjoy and God Bless!

Have you ever wondered what people think of you? As my husband is Alan Chambers, the President of Exodus International, I have. At present, he is somewhat of a conundrum for a lot of people. There seems to be some confusion about who he is, what he is saying and what he stands for. Here it is in a nutshell: while he has repeatedly stated his biblically orthodox view of sexuality, he has also stated his belief that one particular sin is not somehow more offensive to God than another. As his wife, I have stayed out of most of the chaos, but there are a few things that I cannot be silent about any longer. So here it goes…

It literally astounds me that there are some who would still point Alan, or other same-sex attracted people, towards “heterosexuality”. Heterosexuality by definition is “sexual relations or attractions between opposite sexes”. Alan has openly admitted his same-sex attractions. As his wife, I can honestly say that the last thing I want him to pursue is heterosexuality. Why, you ask? How am I not threatened by my husband’s same sex attractions? If he pursued heterosexuality, wouldn’t I be more fulfilled in my marriage? Truthfully, I know plenty of marriages where “heterosexual” men and women have made very poor choices as they endeavored to fulfill their heterosexual desires. I do not want Alan to be more attracted to people of the opposite sex. I am thrilled that he is attracted to me and that I am the only person he chooses to direct his attraction toward. What wife doesn’t want that from her husband? Heterosexuality doesn’t guarantee that in any marriage. What would happen to the divorce rate if it did? He is a man after God’s own heart. He is the head of our household. He is my very best friend, my lover and he knows all of me. He is the father of my children, the very best son and son-in-law to our parents. Pursuing “heterosexuality” wouldn’t help him do any of those things better. None of them.

While we are talking about our marriage, there is a consensus between two polarized groups of people as to the probability of the demise of our marriage. Their differences lie in what will cause that demise. Some say it will be the inevitability of Alan’s inability to repress his “true gay identity”. Of these folks, some have pitied me. Some say the demise will come as a result of a “hyper-grace” mentality and at any moment Alan will take advantage of God’s good grace and sin all over the place. Of these folks, some have said that I must be on the verge of a total breakdown.

The truth is that both groups are making these assumptions based on the reality of their own personal lives.

I actually don’t need pity because I’m incredibly fulfilled in my marriage. As for “hyper-grace,” how can being in awe of God’s grace destroy my marriage? It is the hope for my marriage. The peace that comes with knowing that I am a daughter and Alan is a son of the King, the peace that comes with knowing I can trust the God who is in Alan and trust the God who is in me, far exceeds any insecurities that come with unrighteous thoughts or deeds either of us experience in our flesh. It is in God’s grace that our marriage is secure.

While we are talking about God’s grace, I’d like to comment on the belief that true repentance and forgiveness and right standing with God only come when we desperately seek Jesus and desperately try to or at least want to fix what is broken. This simply does not logically fit into my heart and mind as a mother. I do not need my children’s desperate pleas for forgiveness in order to forgive them. I do not require them to fix anything they break in order for them to be in right standing with me. Do I want them to recognize when they have done wrong. Yes. Is it good for them to apologize? Yes. Is it good for them to try to fix things they have broken? Yes. Is it good for them to change their minds, learn from their mistakes in hopes of not making them again? YES!! All the while, none of that is required for them to be my children. The moment they became mine, they became MINE and nothing can change that! If I, as an earthly mother feel this way about my children, how much more so does our Heavenly Father feel this way about us? There isn’t anything hyper about that. It’s simply giving God credit for being at least as good a parent as I am…. Knowing all the while He is infinitely better!

When it comes right down to it, I don’t feel “desperate” for Jesus at all. I am not desperate to fix things that I have broken or what is broken in my flesh. I have no ability to do either, even if I “desperately” wanted to. The definition of desperate is “without hope.” Microsoft Word lists the following words as synonyms for desperate: frantic, anxious, despairing, worried, and fraught to name a few. A Google search for desperate synonyms lists “atrocious, careless, dangerous, fool hardy, frantic, frenzied, heinous, and violent”. That does not represent how I feel towards my Savior. I seek Him with hope! Because of God’s good grace, I’m actually in agreement with the antonyms listed for desperate. They are: confident, content, satisfied, secure and unworried.

I am unworried about who Jesus is and who I am in Him. I am unworried about who Alan is in Him. Jesus in Alan is the hope for my marriage. That is Alan’s hope concerning me. That is my hope for my children. That is my hope for my friends and neighbors. That is the hope for the Church and for Exodus…. I am cleansed by God’s grace even if my efforts towards repentance of sin and my conscious need for Jesus falls short of what they should be. We can be confident, content, satisfied, and secure in Him. If we are relying on anything within our flesh or on anything we can do to earn or to receive any part of what He has to give away… we are without hope and should feel desperate!

Instead, show me a rooftop where I can shout… THANK YOU JESUS! Christ in me … I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in me and in Alan and in all of us who believe in Him, He will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus!! He will do it. He has done it. Amen!

As a Christian, I do not confess sin to God in order to be forgiven;  and furthermore, I am cleansed of sin and have become the righteousness of God in Christ. That does not mean I never interact with God about sin, but it does mean it is a fruitless religious exercise to ask for what has already been given.
(Pure Grace, page 95)

Confession of sin to God by a believer is for healing not for forgiveness. We have already been forgiven!  It is certainly healthy to talk to God about sin and ask His help and instruction but He has already not only forgiven our sin but “taken them away”. There are no verses in the New Testament that instruct a Believer to confess sins to God for forgiveness. NONE!!

Pastor Clark Whitten

Grace Church Longwood, FL.

“Quotable Grace” is our way of sharing the message of the finished work of the cross through quotes that express God’s grace towards us.  We are asking for your help in sharing the Quotable Grace to your social networks (Email lists, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Blogs … etc.) each week. We are also asking that you share your own thoughts concerning the quote of the week with your friends as well.

 
By Greg Stier

The fear of grace it robs us
Of the joy we once had in Christ.
It turns our eyes from Jesus
To look deeply down inside.

And what we see it scares us.
We see sin and self and lust.
When it comes to being saved
It says we’ve missed the bus.

It points to all the lingering sins
We wrestle with everyday.
It whispers doubts about our salvation.
And shouts we’ve missed The Way.

Those who bow their trembling knees
To this Satanic fear of grace
Replace the joy of their salvation
With a slap to Jesus’ face.

A slap that says “Grace must be earned!”
We must turn and try and cry!
There’s no free lunch in this world
Pick up your cross and die!”

So we try and fail and try and fail.
Then we try and fail again.
But it’s too heavy for us to bear.
We’re forced to live in secret sin.

But our failure brings us to our knees
And helps us know our need.
It drives us to utter helplessness
So we can finally live our creed.

The creed of Sola Gratia,
The creed of faith alone,
Reminds us Jesus carried the cross
That we could never bear alone.

His death it wiped out all our sins.
His resurrection gave us life.
We live in grace through simple faith
And can cease our painful strife.

His love drives out the fear of grace
And makes law run and hide.
For it’s not by works we stand before Him
But by His matchless grace inside.

And in this grace we stand strong.
Not looking at our ugly sins.
We learn to fix our eyes on Jesus
And through this gaze we win.

We gladly carry our heavy cross
Through the power that He provides,
Not to earn or prove salvation
(For that would just feed our pride!)

No! In JOY we die to ourselves
And surrender every single part,
Empowered by His love and grace
Flowing from our grateful hearts.

When we sin we look to Jesus.
When we fall he lifts us up.
For the same grace that saved us
Will always fill our empty cups.

So don’t fear God’s amazing grace.
It’s too good and it’s true!
It was purchased on Calvary’s cross
And given freely to me and you.

Used with permission from Dare 2 Share Ministries. Dare 2 Share Ministries is committed to mobilizing teenagers to relationally and relentlessly reach their generation for Christ. Dare 2 Share’s youth evangelism training conferences, curriculum and books motivate and equip teenagers to share the gospel with their friends.

More from Greg Stier or visit Greg at www.dare2share.org