WHAT YOU WEAR MAKES THE DIFFERENCE!

[DK Grooms]

2 Cor 5:17

          Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Eph 4:24

          And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

 

The Greek word found in the Strong’s Concordance for the word ‘put’ is en-doo, which means to wear. 

 

To wear something implies that we become a part of a garment, or suit, by simply getting into it, i.e. the knight got into his suit of armor.  Furthermore, it applies to our wearing this new man in every aspect; completely, spiritually, emotionally and physically.  It’s what we’re commanded to do as children of God. 

 

Note: You must remember that scripture is not for the unbeliever; but only those who are in Christ through the born-again experience. 

 

It is this ‘new man’ who was created after God in righteousness and true holiness.  This wonderful truth should bless you beyond measure.  The churches of today seldom convey this truth to their members, largely because they don’t understand it themselves.  As they say, “you can never teach a truth adequately, if you don’t understand it yourself”.  This is true about anything.

 

Now, about the method God used to forgive sin(s) in the Old Testament, which is found in this scripture…

 

Hebrews 9:12

          Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

Here’s what the context of this verse means.  In the book of Hebrews we see the method by which all sins were previously dealt with in the Old Testament.  Forgiveness of sin(s) for the Jewish people was only accomplished through an animal sacrifice. This was done in accordance with the laws God established for the nation of Israel during that time in history.  But it was not a permanent fix for their sinful condition.  It was only temporary.  Every time sin was committed by an individual, a specific blood sacrifice was required to atone for that sin.

 

Here is a partial list of the animals God required for that purpose.

1)   Goats

2)   Calves

3)   Bullocks

4)   Lambs

5)   Pigeons

 

Whenever an infraction of the law [sin] was committed, up to the temple they went, to present the appropriate offering to the priests. So it was, till the time of Christ’s crucifixion.

 

Once every year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies to offer up a special blood sacrifice for the entire nation of Israel for any sins that were not covered during the year.

 

Do you know what this means?  From the time the laws of God were instituted, until the sacrifice of Christ, the land was in a continual state of sin consciousness.  They could not escape it, because the LAW was a constant reminder to them of their failure and humanity’s inability to live up to the standards God had set before them.  The Ten Commandments that most of the Christian world still embrace today, was for the Jews a constant reminder of their failure to be holy apart from the law.  They could never be made completely free while the law [Ten Commandments] existed.  Every offering was at best a temporary fix for their sin.  It took the death of Christ, at Calvary, to finally break the grip of the law that had held them captive so long.

 

The sacrificial blood of countless animals continually flowed throughout the whole land of Israel, for the sins of the Jews.  In contrast, Hebrews 9-12 shows us the “too good to be true” Good News, when Jesus entered into the holy place after he died to present his blood sacrifice before the Father for the sins of all humanity.  His sacrifice obtained for us eternal redemption by his shed blood.  No longer would the blood of lambs and bullocks be necessary every time someone sinned.  The law had been replaced by grace. 

 

I rejoice in this truth constantly; thanking God for his great grace and tender mercy.  Because of this singular sacrificial event, we are now privileged to put on this new man, which was created in righteousness and true holiness.  It should be a highly esteemed honor for all saints to “put on” this new man.

 

In the book of Romans I showed you the love of God and the revelation of his grace poured out upon all mankind.  I have shown you the futility of trying to approach Almighty God through your own merits and self-effort.  Friends, this great truth has the potential to make you free, if you will simply believe it by faith.

 

Scripture says that Jesus entered into the holy place once and obtained eternal redemption for us through his blood sacrifice.  You will find nothing in scripture that says Christ enters the Holy of Holies [the presence of God], with another blood sacrifice, every time you sin.  If that were true, he would need to be crucified over, and over, and over again, to provide that blood offering. Putting it another way; it’s like saying his one-time sacrifice [atonement] at Calvary was never sufficient, or adequate enough to get the job done the first time.  Just think about that for a moment.  If this were the case, then you would never be truly born-again.  Every time you sinned you would feel you needed to be born-again, and again, and again.  That my friend is utter nonsense!  Christ completed the work the first time, and by his own words, proclaimed, “It is finished” – John 19:13 KJV.  He won’t do it twice.  It’s yours alone to receive this truth by faith, or to reject it, and him.  Another compelling scripture tells us the greatest truth concerning this one-time only event - Hebrews 10:18 KJV - Now, where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

 

Question…

If Christ claimed the work at the cross to be finished, then why isn’t it finished for you?

 

The answer is quite simple. You honestly don’t believe that the work of the cross is finished, or in fact sufficient, for every sin and need you have.  Religion has taught you the error which says you need to repent and get your sin “under the blood” one more time.  Hogwash!  It’s true that you need to sincerely repent of any sin you commit, but not by offering another blood sacrifice for it.  That is no longer necessary – thanks to Calvary.

 

By grace, God made a way for us to be restored unto him through Christ’s blood atonement, permanently.  Sin was the barrier that separated us from God and certainly needed to be dealt with.  However, the blood sacrifice of Christ broke the strength of all sin, thus reuniting us with our tender, merciful, and loving God.  Scripture tells us we will sin, as long as we’re in our flesh and our minds remain un-renewed.  When we do sin, we’re to go quickly to the throne of grace to receive mercy in time of need [to repent].  God quickly forgives us of any repented sin because he loves you and doesn’t want anything hindering you from intimacy with him.

 

Remember, there is always a cost for sin in your lives, if you continue in it, but it does not restrict your access to the Father.  Scripture admonishes us to forsake sin and cling to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.  Since sin brings death to our flesh, then let us rather chose life that we might live unto God.  As scripture admonishes us in John 8:11 …”go, and sin no more”.

 

Understanding un-repented sin…

1)   What happens if you commit a particular sin and you fail to repent of it?  Would it mean that atonement could not be made, or provided for it?  Absolutely not!

2)   Does it mean that your sins are not eligible to be under the covering of God’s forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice?  Absolutely not!

3)   Does it mean that you no longer can enter into the presence of God, or have access to him when there is un-confessed sin in your life?  Absolutely not!

 

Many believe there can be absolutely no fellowship with God once they’ve sinned; that their sin causes alienation from Almighty God?

 

Response…

If this is how you view your salvation, then the blood of Christ has no greater value to you than the blood of goats and bulls did for the Children of Israel. 

 

For every sin committed in the Old Testament a new sacrifice had to be made on an altar – a lamb – goat – bullock, etc.  Many believe the same applies today.  Every time you sin in the New Testament, you still feel that your sin(s) must be put “under the blood” one more time [Old Testament Law]. 

 

You’ll also seek…

1)    A place of repentance – again

2)    To rededicate your life – again.

3)    Seek to be born again – again.

 

Salvation, as viewed from eyes of religion, is an event that is ongoing, simply because you can never seem to get your life in order or straightened out.  Because of this, the church believes you’ll never be in a favorable enough place with God to have the kind of intimacy and closeness I’m teaching is possible; all because of sin.

 

This also implies that…

1)   You’ll never have assurance your sins are actually forgiven.

2)   You’re never going to feel secure in your fragile faith.

3)   You’ll never have genuine peace which comes from knowing the truths of scripture.

4)   You’ll never feel you have sufficient boldness to enter into the Throne of Grace.

5)   You’ll never have confidence enough to approach God because you are always in a state of repentance and feel completely unworthy.

6)   You’ll feel that blood must be continually applied every time you trip, stumble, and fall.

 

You see unworthiness written everywhere, but God says you have been made worthy in Christ.  Shame and rejection comes because the child of God does not understand what Christ has done through the atonement.  Scripture clearly tells us that Christ entered in once and thereby obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

The results of stinking thinking…

1)   You always feel unworthy and condemned because of your sin.

2)   You feel rejected by God and man because of your sin.

3)   You don’t enjoy being in the presence of God because of un-repented sin.

4)   There is no joy, singing, or dancing in your life because of sin consciousness and resulting condemnation.

5)   You have no awareness of being saved to the uttermost.

 

The word of God proclaims that Christ entered once into the holy place and obtained eternal redemption for us. 

 

What is eternal redemption?  It occurs when we become born-again by faith, inviting Christ to be our Savior and Lord; committing our lives to him alone, for the rest of our human existence and then into eternity.  At this momentous event, our sins, which were many, were completely washed away by God and cast away from us, as far as the east is from the west, to be remembered no more, forever.  At that instant, we were completely sin free.  Our sinful nature was removed and a new life in Christ instituted.  This new man was then sealed by the Holy Spirit. 

 

What happens after that?

Generally, since our minds have not been renewed [taught] to understand all that Christ has done for us, we’ll ultimately revert back to our old familiar ways.  We’ll sin.  It may not happen right away, and we certainly don’t want to sin, now that we’re born-again.  But at some point sin will occur.  Scripture tells us so - 1 John 2:1 KJV - My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

 

In the Old Testament the nation of Israel was given the original Ten Commandments and a host of additional laws to obey, without exception.

 

The Old Testament “law(s)” commanded the children of Israel to be in control of their actions as the law dictated, while the New Testament commands us to be in control of our thoughts.

 

Here’s a well-known example…

If a man commits adultery in his mind, then scripture says he is just as guilty as if he actually performed the act.

 

This scripture lends credence to the example given.  Proverbs 23:7 KJV - For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

 

Who of us can stand up to a standard like the law?  It is impossible. We must realize our need for “eternal redemption” which can only come through Christ.  It is absolutely necessary for each of us today and available in the future for times when we’ll surely fail again.  Eternal redemption is, as it states, eternal [without end].  What was sufficient for the early church is just as sufficient now and will to be till the end of the age. 

 

The book of Hebrews shows us the transition made from animal sacrifices in the Old Testament to the final and permanent solution for sin, the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary, and all it implies.

 

Heb 9:13

          For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

 

This verse tells us that the sacrifices made during Old Testament times were only temporary.

 

Verse 14

 …much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

 

Verse 14 identifies the need we have to purge our conscience from unbelief, to that of faith and trust in the finished work of Christ.

 

Verse 15

          And for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

 

Notice, there are two fundamental truths concerning Christ’s sacrifice.  He obtained for us eternal redemption, and eternal inheritance.

 

Few of God’s children understand this radical truth.  When you come to a place of surrender, salvation, and personal commitment to Christ, you are atoned of your past, present and future sins. Hearing this truth, most people generally ask what they feel is a logical question.  “Can we then do whatever we want [continue sinning], since our sins have already been forgiven”?  NO!

 

That is not what I am saying and it isn’t what scripture teaches. The thought of sinning again, once you’ve received Christ as your Lord and Savior, should be appalling to you, as the mere thought of it was to Paul in this next scripture reference. 

 

Rom 6:1-2 KJV - 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

 

This is what the good news of the gospel proclaims.  We can be free and remain free from all sin, when our minds are renewed. Understanding this good-news separates you from your former sinful desires and causes you to be drawn closer in love to your new master and Lord.

 

In Christ, sin no longer abounds, but grace does, and unto every good work. This transformation is about you decreasing [becoming less of what you were] and Christ increasing [becoming more of what Christ is like] in your life.

 

 

The scriptures I’ve referenced confront the teachings of most denominations.  The truths are clear…

1)   He obtained eternal redemption.

2)   He obtained eternal inheritance.

3)   He entered in once into the holy place and offered up his blood sacrifice to the Father.

 

In closing…

Religion tells you that God is totally unapproachable on your own. Don’t you dare believe it!  He loved us enough to send his most precious gift – Jesus, so that you can have more in this life and the next, than you ever thought possible.  God is completely approachable!

 

If you have difficulty with this teaching, ask the Holy Spirit to minister to you and help bring understanding, so that you will abound to every good work in Christ.  If you’re anything like me, you’ll do exactly that, since you’ll long to have absolutely everything Christ has given us through his atonement.

 

Putting on the new man is a mandate from Almighty God.