INTRODUCTION
The previous message examined the bondage of lying and deceit and explained the lying methods that serve bondage to undermine God. It called on believers to renounce lying and deceit towards liberty.
This message examines God’s Truth that brings liberty over the bondage of lies – the Truth that saves. It presents the condition of spiritual death in lies and demonstrates that salvation truth is to believe in Christ; and that belief comes by Grace and by being born of God.
1. LIES AND SPIRITUAL DEATH
Sin and death were conceived in mankind by Satan, the father of lies from the beginning. (John 8:44; 1 John 3:8). Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lies that they will “not surely die” over God’s word that they “shall surely die”, if the ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:4-6).
So, mankind lost God’s Spirit of life and truth with which we were created and plunged into ‘spiritual death’, a fleshly condition that causes insensitivity to God’s word but is attractive to Satan’s ways of lies – e.g. heeding seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
2. GOD’S TRUTH THAT SAVES
Deliverance from spiritual death and lies requires one to BELIEVE in the Truth that saves by the grace of God. “No lie is of the truth” (1 John 2:21). It comes by knowledge of the redemptive power of the word of God that restores the world from sin, death and the flesh.
God’s word, which is the Spirit of life, was made manifest in the flesh through Jesus Christ. He is “…the Word [that] was made flesh and dwelt among us, …full of grace and truth….”. He was conceived as a “holy thing” by the “Holy Ghost”, the “power of the Highest” and called the “Son of God” (Luke 1:35; John 1:14,16; Luke 1:31-35; Colossians 1:19).
God sent His own Son (Spirit) in likeness of sinful flesh (human form) so that he may condemn sin of death in the flesh. (Romans 8:3). Jesus therefore is “the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6).
3. SALVATION TRUTH IS TO BELIEVE
This SALVATION Truth is to BELIEVE that in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, God has made perfect sacrifice to redeem the world and reconciled mankind to himself by Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Colossians 1:20). God sent the Christ because of his love for the world so that those who would believe in him would not be condemned to spiritual death, or to a life of evil deeds; but shall live in the light of life that is in Christ Jesus, in truth. (John 3:16-21).
3.1 ‘BELIEF’ COMES BY GRACE
Belief in salvation truth comes by the spirit of GRACE. It is distinguished from the mosaic laws. Performance of the laws cannot deliver its adherents from sin or spiritual death. This is because, the law is not conditioned upon ‘BELIEF’ by God’s Grace; but on one’s desire or effort in relation to the obligations which, one must do, or face the punishment. (Romans 7:13-24; 8:3).
One is not required to believe in the estimated 632 mosaic laws to fulfill them and you fail in all if you fail in one. The law itself holds one in bondage of death because it “worketh wrath”. Thus, “the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Romans 4:15; Galatians 3:22).
So “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” and we are justified freely by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (John 1:17; Acts 13:39; Romans 3:21-24).
To access God’s grace for salvation requires BELIEVING IN GOD’S WORK THROUGH CHRIST, than one’s own efforts. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Roman 6:14; Ephesians 2:8).
One therefore is made righteous not by own deeds, but because the grace of God that brings salvation will appear to all who will believe and will teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live righteously and godly in this present world. (Titus 2:11). In other words, God will sanctify believers with His Spirit of truth, which is His word and they will resist lying and deceit. (John 17:17, 19).
3.2 BELIEF COMES BY BEING BORN OF GOD
God hast given power to Jesus over all flesh that he may restore them from spiritual death with “Life eternal”. That is, THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ONLY TRUE GOD AND JESUS CHRIST, WHOM GOD HAST SENT. (John 17:2-3). To obtain life eternal, one must be “born of God” which is to be “born again” in spirit and not by blood, flesh or man. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit” (John 1:12-13; 3:3-6).
Brethren, just as sin reigned in our flesh by spiritual death, so also grace reigns to bring righteousness and eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:21). And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness (Romans 8:10-15). “The Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 5:18-20).
Whoever is born of God does resist to tell a lie or serve Satan because his seed remains in him. He will keep himself and the devil will not touch him. It was for this purpose that the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8-9).
4. THE TRUTH BRINGS LIBERTY
Those who believe in Christ and continue in his word “…shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. You shall know that the son of God has destroyed the devil’s hold over you. And that if the son therefore has made you free, ye shall be free indeed. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (John 8:31-32,36; 2 Corinthians 3:17).
Brethren let us “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” of lies. (Galatians 5:1). “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made [you] free from the law of sin and death”. (Romans 8:2).
The next message will explain how one may walk under the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord to resist Satan’s schemes of lusts, deceits and lies.
PRAYER
Almighty Father, thank you for your word.
Holy Father, to thee be GLORY, HONOUR and PRAISE, for your grace and truth that redeems us.
Let not the death of Satan’s schemes and lies engulf us.
Lord let your truth by Christ Justify us as your elects.
Spirit divine, convince us that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; be it tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or peril.
By your Grace Jesus, may we in all these things remain more than conquerors through him that loved us.
I make this prayer in JESUS NAME.
Have a blessed and fruitful week.
Lots of Love, P. Schwartz (SOG) 19/07/2020.
