Judges: Chap 2: How does a sinner mature in grace?

Title: Judges: Chap 2: How does a sinner mature in grace?         

 

Announcements / opening prayer:

 

 

In the Mosaic law the blood of the animal only covered the sin, but it did not remove it, HEB 10:1-4. It did provide for forgiveness of sin and restoration to fellowship.

 

HEB 10:1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.

 

HEB 10:2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?

 

HEB 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

 

HEB 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

 

HEB 10:5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says [PSA 40:6-8], "Sacrifice and offering Thou hast not desired,

But a body Thou hast prepared for Me;

 

HEB 10:6 In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast taken no pleasure.

 

HEB 10:7 "Then I said, 'Behold, I have come

 (In the roll of the book it is written of Me)

To do Thy will, O God.'"

 

HEB 10:8 After saying above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast not desired, nor hast Thou taken pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law),

 

HEB 10:9 then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Thy will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

 

HEB 10:10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

 

We are permanently holy in the sight of God and hence we are free and without guilt because of the blood of Christ.

 

Now the author goes from what Christ did through the cross to what He is doing now.

 

HEB 10:11 And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices [morning and evening sacrifices], which can never take away sins;

 

HEB 10:12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,

 

The priesthood of Christ is different than the Levitical priests. Christ's is one sacrifice for all time. His sacrifice took away sins forever. He sits at the right hand of God because His work is finished.

 

HEB 10:13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.

 

HEB 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

 

Verse 14 is the result: His one offering perfected the saints forever. This is a verse that is good for showing the contrast between position and practice. In position we are permanently sanctified and perfect and holy in God's sight. We are not perfect in practice but we are perfect because of what we are in Christ. In practice we still sin; so in the walk of lives there is a practical or experiential sanctification.

 

The Holy Spirit within the yielded believer is slowly conforming him to the image of Christ. The Spirit is bringing him more into conformity with who he is in position.

 

Without the position, experiential sanctification in impossible. It would be like trying to make a rock perform like a complex machine. A rock can only perform what a rock can do. It does not have the engineering, chemistry, intricate gearing, computer processors, etc. of a complex machine. Without our position in Christ our only experiences can be that of the flesh, what we are: mental attitude sins, pride, arrogance, self-absorption, competition, etc. But, being in Christ, holy and perfect, we can actually mature into His image. It is the Holy Spirit's job within to accomplish this. What we need to do is yield or submit to Him in faith by submitting to the word of God, obeying in faith the commands of God, recovering from sin without guilt resulting in more sin, following Christ.

 

As believers grow in grace, their practices must be more and more conformed to their position.

 

The Mosaic law as well as the commands for the NT believer reveal that God cannot fellowship with a standard of unrighteousness, which will be what any plan that man creates.

 

God cannot and does not arbitrarily choose who He will fellowship with, nor who He will spend eternity with. God has a standard of righteousness and it must be fulfilled in any creature if he is going to be in heaven with God or if he is going to fellowship with God in time. No man can make or create or determine anything of perfect righteousness.

 

Therefore, through the Messiah, God judged sin so that man would be reconciled to Him and so that any man would be saved through faith.

 

Through that faith in Christ, God imputed to him perfect righteousness. In Christ every believer is perfectly righteous forever.

 

ROM 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — 

 

ROM 5:13 for until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

 

ROM 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

 

ROM 5:15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

 

ROM 5:16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

 

ROM 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

 

ROM 5:18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

 

ROM 5:19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

 

ROM 5:20 And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

 

ROM 5:21 that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Also, God made a perfect plan for the saved one to walk in so that the believer may fellowship with God in time and thus thoroughly enjoy his relationship to His Father in time, not having to wait for eternity.

 

God's plan is perfectly righteous, and though the believer is not, God through grace enabled the believer to walk in that plan.