Condition VS Position

 The Church Age is absolutely unique in God's timeline. In this dispensation, your position as a Christian does not equate to your condition as a human being.

In the Old Testament, you were either righteous or not. You had to keep the law and statutes, treat your fellow brethren correctly, and bring a sacrifice to the temple and have the priest offer it according to the Mosaic Law whenever you messed up to keep your standing as a righteous person.

Ezekiel 33:13,14,16 - When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

Therefore, the state in which you died, whether as an unrepentant sinner or as an obedient person, determined where you went after you died. If your body committed wickedness, then your soul would also bear the punishment of that decision. If you tried to walk in the laws of the Lord and obey, then your soul would reap the benefits of your wise choices.

This same framework for salvation will again become relevant in the Tribulation. You have to keep the law of Moses and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. If you mess up, you have to confess and get right and start all over again. However, if you take the mark of the beast then you are eternally damned.

Revelation 14:9-11- And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

At the time of this writing, we are in the Church Age. That wonderful, unique period of time where people are saved by faith. They are then sealed with the Holy Spirit, and are awaiting the redemption of their bodies.

Ephesians 2:8-9- For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Ephesians 1:13-14- In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Galatians 5:6- And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

This is where people get all messed up. They confuse their condition with their position. They believe that because they are still sinful (their condition) that they couldn't possibly be saved (their position). They fail to see that God is working on them in parts during this dispensation.

Romans 5:9- Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (SOUL)

Romans 8:23- And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (BODY)

Your body didn't get saved when your soul got saved. Your soul was sealed with the Holy Spirit so that when your body sins it no longer affects your soul. 

Our POSITION in Christ is how we are viewed by God. Our CONDITION is how we are seen by others.

I Corinthians 15:22- For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

You are linked by birth to Adam. When you get saved, you are then adopted by God and you are now viewed by God just like Christ is- sinless.

Ephesians 1:5-6- Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

We are accepted because of Christ and His work on Calvary, and when we ask Him to save us and apply that sacrifice to our sin debt, we are adopted into God's family- that's our position.

I John 3:9- Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

However, our condition is that we are all sinners. We daily need to confess our sins to God to get our relationship right with Him.

I John 2:1-2- 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: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Right now, your CONDITION does not affect your POSITION.

Romans 8:35,37,38,39- Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our POSITION is that we are more than conquerors. Our CONDITION could be distress, tribulation, persecution, backsliding, or any other number of things.

I Corinthians 6:9-11- Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

My POSITION is perfect because Christ is perfect, but my CONDITION is far from perfect. My actual daily experience may ot match what I truly am inside; the prodigal son got awfully far away from the Father, but he was still the Father's son!

Our POSITION will never change; our CONDITION is constantly changing. Some days I don't feel or act saved, but I am. Some moments I am walking in the Spirit and then other moments I am walking in the flesh, but I'm still a child of God. Should we be more consistent? Yes! Will our inconsistency change our status as adopted by God? No!

Ephesians 2:5-7- Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

If you are a part of His family, He will never reject you. He cannot accept you any more or any less than how He accepts you right now. You cannot be any more redeemed. You cannot be any more forgiven. 

Your CONDITION may not always reflect your position, but your POSITION is not affected by your condition! There are no degrees or levels to salvation. God doesn't have some complicated caste system.  You got and became the exact same thing that every other believer got and became when they accepted Christ as their Savior. The most carnal christian has the same POSITION as the most spiritual.

Colossians 1:21-22- And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Now, just because your POSITION is secure doesn't mean that your CONDITION won't affect your life. You will die and go to heaven regardless of how you live. But your quality of life can be greatly diminished by how you choose to live it.

I Corinthians 3:17- If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

I Corinthians 6:12-13- Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Galatians 2:20

I am crucified with Christ: (POSITION)

nevertheless I live; (CONDITION)

yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: (POSITION)

and the life which I now live in the flesh (CONDITION)

I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (POSITION)

When I am glorified, then my POSITION and my CONDITION will finally agree.

Romans 8:29-30- For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

I John 3:2- Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

That's where it's all going to end up. We will be perfectly conformed to the image of Christ. Your CONDITION will finally match your POSITION because the sin nature of the flesh will be gone and we will have a body just like Christ's resurrected one.

Don't allow the fact that your CONDITION is constantly changing to influence or overwhelm you in your everyday life. Instead, allow the fact that your POSITION is immoveable encourage you to strive to live for HIM through this life's ups and downs with a peace in knowing that your eternity is secure!

Church History: Part 6 (video sermon)

Church History: Part 5 (video sermon)

Church History: Part 4 (video sermon)

Church History: Part 3 (video sermon)

Church History: Part 2 (video sermon)

Church History: Part 1 (video sermon)

A Song For Christmas (poem)

 Chant me a rhyme of Christmas—

Sing me a jovial song,—

And though it is filled with laughter,

Let it be pure and strong.

Let it be clear and ringing,

And though it mirthful be,

Let a low, sweet voice of pathos

Run through the melody.

Sing of the hearts brimmed over

With the story of the day—

Of the echo of childish voices

That will not die away.—

Of the blare of the tasseled bugle,

And the timeless clatter and beat

Of the drum that throbs to muster

Squadrons of scampering feet.

But O let your voice fall fainter,

Till, blent with a minor tone,

You temper your song with the beauty

Of the pity Christ hath shown:

And sing one verse for the voiceless;

And yet, ere the song be done,

A verse for the ears that hear not,

And a verse for the sightless one:

For though it be time for singing

A merry Christmas glee,

Let a low, sweet voice of pathos

Run through the melody.

-James Whitcomb Riley

Angels from the Realms of Glory (song)

The Law And The Pardon

 ​The book of Romans has some very large, legal words in it. Just like the book of Hebrews, Paul is taking us through a Spiritual legislative process to show us what Christ actually accomplished for us on Calvary.

​First you must note that there are two words that do not appear in Romans- parole and probation. See their meanings below:

Parole- the release of a prisoner temporarily (for a special purpose) or permanently before the completion of a sentence, on the promise of good behavior. 

 Probation- the release of an offender from detention, subject to a period of good behavior under supervision. 

​Both of these words are contingent upon the person's behavior after their release from prison. They may have been temporarily forgiven, but now they must maintain a certain standard to remain that way.

Now let's look at what the Bible says, and the specific words that Scripture uses.

Romans 5:1-2- Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Justified means declared or made righteous in the sight of God. I've heard justified explained this way- it's just as if I'd never done it! As far as God is concerned, a Christian is righteous in his sight.

Why? How did he get justified?

Romans 5:9-11- Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Atonement means reparation for a wrong or injury. It is through Christ's death on Calvary that we receive the atonement. Because of this we are saved from the wrath of God upon our sin.

You see, we didn't get off scot free. There was a price that had to be paid. A Christian is someone who has accepted Christ's payment for their sin and asked God to apply this payment to their personal sin debt.

Romans 8:3-4- For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Christ never came to do away with the law. He came to fulfill the law.

The purpose of the law was to show people that they were sinners, and that there was nothing they could do that could completely eradicate their sin debt.

Galatians 3:24- Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

No one could keep the law perfectly, and in God's sight it only takes one sin to be considered a lawbreaker who is guilty of punishment.

James 2:10- For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Romans 3:19-20-Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The purpose of the law was so that we could see ourselves as sinners before God.

The only way for anyone to become justified in God's sight was for someone to keep the entire law without messing up a single time, and then that person willingly offering their sinless self as a substitutional sacrifice for all those who could not keep it perfectly.

Romans 3:22-26- Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

There are some big words in there!

Redemption means the action of gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt. We gained possession of forgiveness in exchange for Christ's suffering on the cross.

Propitiation means the action of appeasing a god, spirit, or person. Christ was the only one who could appease the wrath of God. He's the only one who could have traveled from earth, to hell, up to heaven, and then back down to earth. He's the only one who knew the proper protocols required to present the sacrifice before God in heaven. Without Him, there is no hope.

Remission means the fact of being forgiven for breaking laws or rules. Through Christ's sacrifice we are forgiven.

Not only are we forgiven, but our relationship with God is now changed. He no longer looks at us as sinners deserving His wrath.

II Corinthians 5:18,19,21- And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 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. ​For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

​Reconciliation means the act of coming to an understanding and putting an end to hostility. Christ made a deal with God to reconcile sinners. The deal was that He would die in their place, and if they accepted His death as payment for their sin, and requested that God apply that payment to their sin debt, then they would no longer be at enmity with God.

​Another word that we don't see in the Bible is pardon, and yet this word accurately describes what has happened to every person who has put their trust in Christ.

Pardon- the action of forgiving or being forgiven for an offense. 

 In order to obtain a pardon, one must admit guilt and be convicted in a court of law. You are already condemned by God’s law. Can you admit guilt, and beg for God’s forgiveness? Christ had already paid the required price for the offense. 

Because I acknowledged my sin, and pleaded for mercy, I received an eternal pardon because of Christ’s actions. My sins are not just forgiven and waiting to see if I mess up again, they are pardoned, never to be brought up again.

How about you? Would you like to be pardoned by God?

Romans 10:9-10- That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

All it takes is belief in that Christ died, was buried, and rose again the third day just like the Scriptures foretold he would. You have to exercise humility in acknowledging your state as a sinner who will one day face God's wrath for breaking His law. And the call out to Him in faith, believing that He will pardon your sins just like He has promised to do in the Scriptures.