a failure proof righteousness

"Your obedience and my obedience never ever produces righteousness! It is the obedience of the one Man that has given us the gift of right standing with God forever! This is a fool proof, failure proof and Satan proof righteousness! Because if it depended on the level of my performance then it wouldn't be failure proof because there is not one day where I can keep the law 100% but I live in faith that every split second of every day I am right with God because my righteousness is based on Jesus Christ obedience and never on mine!"

Rob Rufus

...a definition of sin...

"The most penetrating and devastating definition of sin that I am aware of in Scripture is the last part of Romans 14:23: "Whatever is not from faith is sin." The reason it is penetrating is that it goes to the root of all sinful actions and attitudes, namely, the failure to trust God. And the reason it is devastating is that it sweeps away all our lists of dos and don'ts and makes anything, from preaching to house-painting, a candidate for sin. In the original language, this is stressed even more than in our versions: it says, "Everything which is not from faith is sin." Anything, absolutely any act or attitude which is owing to a lack of trust in God is sin, no matter how moral it may appear to men. God looks on the heart."

by John Piper

DOCTRINES OF DEMONS !

1 Tim 4 "1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

"As I saw this yesterday it suddenly came to me what doctrine of demons is. Doctrine of demons is any teaching that takes the focus off the completed work of Jesus and places focus on anything else, including us. If we are taught to add anything to what Christ has done, by own own human effort, or to even retain what has been given us as a gift, i.e righteousness and justification, by our own ability, good behavior, fasting, prayer, reading of the bible- as good as these this are for us to do- then it takes the focus off Christ's' completed performance.

The ploy of the devil is to sow doubt and unbelief. One of the major ways that he does this is by getting us doubt the fact that there is nothing we need to do to gain or retain our right standing with God, to walk in supernatural power of the anointing in order to minister to people, heal the sick etc. We are made to believe that we need to earn the presence of the Holy Spirit. All these things take the focus off the factual truth that Jesus Christ has performed and completed the task on our behalf.

If the focus is taken off Jesus through these teachings then it is not the gospel that is being preached, but may I be bold as to say, that it is lies, it is doctrines of demons.
Of course we need to read the bible, we would be stupid not to, same with fasting, spending time in prayer and meditation of God, but these are desires that come from a place of knowing and being and not out of a place of "earning". If we are taught to earn anything or perform in order to obtain anything, it is human effort, it belittles the work of the cross by making it seem uncompleted, not enough, it is doctrines of demons put in place to take the focus off the King and place it on to anything else, mostly ourselves."

Brad Dearlove

...empowered by the righteousness of God...

"You can’t change your own attitude......If your marriage is on the rocks, submit to God. Trust in His will and your faith will be accounted as righteousness. The righteousness of God will be the shaping factor that will change your attitude. The same is true for every area of your life. If you trust God, His righteousness will be your strength. On the other hand, if you don’t trust God and take matters in your own hands, you will sin.

Look at Hebrews 3:12 "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." Just as faith is accounted for righteousness, unbelief is accounted as sin and we depart from God when we let our unbelieving nature drive our will. God will not leave you in a neutral position. You must live your life by faith or by the flesh. To choose to live by the flesh, just do nothing and allow the world to carry you in its current. Any dead fish can float downstream, but only Jesus Christ can give you life and empower you to swim against the current. Each stronghold in your life that you surrender by faith will be empowered by the righteousness of God"

Eddie Snipes - Exchanged Life Outreach

the assurance of love

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God ... "

The word "manner" means "what sort or quality," and is from a root word which implies "what country, tribe or race." So John marvels at the foreign, unearthly, other-worldly quality of God's love for us. Surely we have never seen this kind of love apart from His! To know that He has bestowed this love as a permanent possession upon such unworthy persons as we are, and has called us, or named and confessed us, as His sons, is earth's greatest knowledge.

Paul describes it as the riches of God's glory that will make you strong in the “little” man inside. Jesus Christ dwelling in your heart by faith will securely and deeply settle you, and will enable you to take eagerly for yourself a greater confidence in the limitless dimensions of His love. You will progressively learn by your daily experience with Him the eternal security of His love for you, and earth's knowledge will fade into insignificance as He fills you with the fullness of Himself.

All your heart needs are met in the perfect love of God for you. God is for you. Who can set themselves against you with any success? He will freely give you all things that are for your good and His glory

By H.L. Roush, Snr

FREEDOM !!!!

Galatians 5:1-5
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is bound to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness.

"The text begins with a clear and refreshing statement of Christ's will for our lives. Sometimes we get bogged down in a quandary about God's will. And often we worry about decisions which are simply not a great issue with God (where to go to school, what job to take, where to live, etc.). We need to orient our lives on the clear statements of Scripture regarding God's will. And here is one: "For freedom Christ has set us free." Christ's will for you is that you enjoy freedom. Where you go to school, what job you do, where you live, etc., are not nearly so crucial as whether you stand fast in freedom. If they were, the Bible would have commanded those things as clearly as it here commands freedom. But it doesn't.

So your enjoyment of freedom is much more important to God than many of the day-to-day decisions that fill us with so much concern. A good test of your priorities in life would be whether you are just as concerned about the command to enjoy your freedom as you are about other pressing decisions in your life. Do you exercise as much diligence in prayer and study to stand fast in freedom as you do to decide about home, job, school, marriage partner? It is a clear and unqualified command: "Stand fast and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." This is the will of God for you: your freedom. Uncompromising, unrelenting, indomitable freedom. For this Christ died. For this he rose. For this he sent his Spirit. There is nothing he wills with more intensity under the glory of his own name than this: your freedom"

by John Piper

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

...the just SHALL live by faith....

Those living under law, living with a mix of grace and law, although justified, bound for heaven, saved, dont live by faith, they live by rules, regulations, religeous rituals and a myriad of other things to keep them holy and in check...NO, those actions dont require faith, they are an affront to the cross...they null-and-void the cross...those that live like that recieve Gods grace in vain...its as if they dont recieve it at all....

The just SHALL live by faith! Those under grace, who believe it and live it, SHALL live by faith...God has ordained it that way...when THE revelation of our righteousness comes we automatically begin to live by faith...the two go hand in hand....

the just SHALL live by faith...the just are supposed to be out from under the law and into Gods glorious gospel of grace....

the just SHALL live by faith...the just are just supposed to live like that...

...frustrating grace...

"If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." — Gal. 2:21.

"The most sacred things revealed to us in the word of God are these two — the grace of God, and the death of Christ; and they are joined close together. They are two things that all who have a mind to be saved must constantly have in their eye — the grace of God, and the death of Christ; and yet there are not a few that despise both — that frustrate the one, and make the other in vain; and this charge the apostle lays upon an error that he is reproving the Galatian churches for, and that was, their seeking righteousness by the law, and the works of it. I have spoken unto these words, as containing two strong arguments against seeking of righteousness by the works of the law.

1st, That thereby the grace of God is frustrated.

2dly, That thereby Christ's death is made to be in vain..."

by Robert Traill

...don't bribe God for a blessing...

Gal 2:3-5: 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

"The point of verses 2 and 3 is not that circumcision in itself is wrong, but that any act is wrong that we do to bribe God for blessings. Circumcision happened to be the foremost requirement of the Judaizers who were teaching the Galatians to work their way into God's favor. Galatians 2:3-5 reminds us how circumcision relates to freedom and slavery. Paul went up to Jerusalem, "but even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek, but because of false brethren (probably the Judaizers), secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage—to them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you." That's what Paul means in 5:1 by "stand fast and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." That is, do not let the Judaizers bewitch you into thinking that circumcision or any other outward act of obedience can be offered to God as a benefit to him, which he must then reward with some payment."

By John Piper

you CAN reign in THIS life NOW!

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:17)

"I find this verse incredibly exciting! Those who “receive God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness” can actually, “reign in life through Jesus Christ!” God’s rule and reign come through His grace and the gift of His righteousness. This kind of life is above the natural plane, it is the essence of life that God Himself enjoys (Greek= zoe’). The same life that raised the dead body of Jesus, lifting Him above sin and death, is infused into the person who by faith receives Christ as their life and righteousness!"

By Dane Gressett

soak on the message...get it in at all costs.

"...you get sin out by getting the message of grace in."

By Jim Hoag

The Error of the Gratitude Ethic

"I say this is surprising because there is a very common view of Christian behavior which this verse contradicts (Gal 5:1 -it is for freedom that Christ has set us free). It is called the "Gratitude Ethic." It says that God has done so much for me that I will devote my life to paying back my debt, even though I know I will never be able to completely. And even though most Christians who work out of this gratitude ethic would say that they are not trying to earn their salvation, nevertheless, when they start working for God because he has given them so much, it is very easy to begin to think of God's free gift as a loan to be repaid or as advance wages to be earned. So the gratitude ethic tends to put you in the position of a debtor instead of a son. And that is slavery. None of us feels completely free while we are burdened with a debt to be repaid. Christ does not want you to relate to him as a debtor who uses the law to make installment payments on an unending loan."

by John Piper

...over and over, and over again...

"Over and over again in the New Testament, Paul is absolutely clear that the gospel is simply grace. Anything else does not merely fall short of the full gospel, it is actually opposed to it. `"The gospel plus x'' is always less that the gospel alone.

This makes it crucial that we fully understand grace, and understand how it can be undermined in our lives by its arch enemy, legalism, which is essentially any attempt to improve on what God has done for us by adding things that we do for him. "