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GRACE VS. LEGALISM

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand… (Romans 5:2)

The mystery and the glory of the believer’s life is that your life
is one with Him. – Mark Hankins

Salvation is the reuniting of God and man. God’s does not work on you while you are isolated from Him. He doesn’t gradually render you fit to be reunited to Him. Legalism teaches that God operates on you apart from Himself, but grace begins by uniting you to God. Through that union, He supplies the life and power necessary to bring you into His holiness.

Grace is the opposite of legalism. Legalism says that you are not good enough and will have to live in sin-consciousness for the rest of your life. Grace, however, says because of what Christ has done, your spirit is instantly joined to Christ.

God welcomes you because of faith in Christ. He takes you right in and gives you His righteousness. Consider the depth of this principle of the Gospel when it is applied: you are united with Christ!

Confession: I have access by faith into the grace of God. I rejoice in hope of the glory of God because of what Christ has done for me. I am dead to sin and alive unto God!

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BE A “YES” MAN

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Anything God has ever promised in Christ is affirmative- no question about it!
Mark Hankins

All the promises of God in Him are “yes.” I have a pastor friend in Chicago who has a toy “yes man” sitting on his desk. He is dressed nicely in a little suit, his hair is perfect, and his smile is just right. This little “yes man” has a switch on his back and is voice-activated. Anytime my friend is having a conflict and cannot find anybody to agree with him, his “yes man” agrees with him.

Too often you put undue pressure on yourself to come up with the victory or the answer. All you need to do is agree with what God says in His Word. God is the
Genius, and you are the “yes man.”

Now look again at 2 Corinthians 1:20, “All the promises of God in him are yea.” You do not have to wonder if God might or might not want to bless you, help you, or give you what you have asked for. He said, “It is an absolute yes in Him!”

Confession: For as many as were the promises of God in Christ is the yes that fulfills them; therefore through Christ again let the Amen rise through us to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 1:20 Twentieth Century)

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BEFORE YOU DIE

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19)

For your faith to be effective, you must acknowledge those things with the words in your mouth. – Mark Hankins

I heard Jesse Duplantis tell this story about his grandma’s birthday. She had been poor all of her life, so they bought her the most beautiful dress they could find. They said, “Granny, won’t you wear it to church?” She replied, “I can’t wear that dress. It’s too pretty. It’s just too beautiful. I can’t wear it. I’m going to keep it in the closet. I want to be buried in it.”

That is exactly the way most Christians are. As soon as you receive Christ, God gives you beautiful new clothes–robes of righteousness. Most Christians look at them and say, “Oh, I couldn’t wear that. I am unworthy, so I’ll hang it in the closet and wait until I am dead. When I die, I’ll be righteous.”

You are righteous now. You are righteous before you die! You are made righteous through faith in Christ!

Confession: I am made righteous through faith in Christ! God has reconciled me to Himself. I am winning the war against my flesh and my mind because I am acknowledging who I am in Christ!

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POWERFUL PREPOSITIONS

But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17)

The phrase, “in Christ” is never translated to mean anything else except, “in union with Christ.”
Mark Hankins

Important prepositions normally go unnoticed in Paul’s Epistles. The words for,
with, in, by, and through help us understand our identification with Christ. They are the connecting words that show the relationship of the subjects mentioned, in this case, the believer’s identification with Christ.

The preposition for shows substitution. Christ died “for” us or in our behalf. The preposition with shows identification. The preposition in shows union with Christ. The preposition through shows application. For example: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”(Philippians 4:13)

When you were born again, your spirit was joined to the Master, or joined to Christ. Like a bay of water is one with the ocean, your spirit is one with Christ. When the water rises in the ocean, it rises in the bay. The same stuff that is in Christ right now is in you — the same life, the same victory, the same joy, and the same power!

Confession: I am born again. My spirit is joined to Christ. The same life, victory, joy, and power that is in Christ Jesus is in me now!

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IN CHRIST DETERMINISM

A true Christian is not merely a man altered, but a man re-made.
(2 Corinthians 5:17 Deane)

God is your Father; Jesus is your older brother, and
some new things run in your family.
Mark Hankins

Psychology tells us that three factors have determined what kind of person you are. Those three factors are:
1. Genetic determinism (You are what you are because of your genes.)
2. Psychic determinism (Your identity, your behavior, and your potential are produced by your thinking. 3. Environmental determinism (Your surroundings and influences
limit your future.)

There is some truth to the fact that all of these factors can affect you, but God brings another factor into your life when you are born of Him. I call this factor “In Christ Determinism.” A person in Christ thinks God’s thoughts and sees himself in Him. Once you get born again, your future and your potential are radically altered as a result.
It is good news that all things are made new, but it is also good news that old things are passed away. If all you have as a Christian is something new added to you, you would still have to deal with and live with the old conditions. In Christ, your past is dead and gone!

Confession: I am not merely a man altered; I am a man re-made in Christ. Praise God my past is dead and gone!

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