I Boast in Jesus Christ Alone
My whole salvation-sozo {4982. sózó – Derived from a primary word σώος (sóos), meaning “safe” or “sound.”}experience in Christ was not about me accepting Jesus. This verbiage you hear so often in the evangelical world, and as I reflect on my own experience seems silly to me. As if I could ever help myself. No…. my sweet friends, it was Jesus who accepted me, and it was long before I could ever see that He accepted me. Jesus invaded my life, my heart, and the very fiber of being. I can see it now, I couldn’t then. He was always pursuing my heart and captivating it with a drawing, warm honey-like love. It was transpiring within the fiber of my being and was nothing but an embrace of His love.
In a time of weakness, when the world was buckling me, I heard whispers of Grace and compassion that simply overwhelmed me. Oh the audacity of His love! When the heaviness of my own self effort, self protection, and my own inner critical voice of self-condemnation dimmed my sight, it was He who caused me to hear His voice. And that Voice was warm, gentle, and relentless love. His kindness, His compassion, His goodness, His faithfulness cleared my mind to unveil my heart and His face as in a mirror. I was being fully persuaded that I am not alone and I belong to Him. This gospel is about our beloved union. Oh and He is SO GOOD!
Jesus is relentless y’all. He never gives up on us. He never stops pursuing people and certainly doesn’t use coercion, threats of hell, or leaves it all up to us in what scripture calls our weakness, to make it happen.
There is such a bait and switch in man-made religion. Here, let us tell you how to get back to God and then once you think your there, just to be sure here is a lifelong journey of doing or not doing to keep you there. His goodness and favor rely on you. And you’re never really assured of this cause there is a never-ending threat of being cut off and separated that is hanging over your head.
But what were these whispers of Jesus speaking to me in assurance?
- Lisa, you are worthy.
- Lisa, you are loved.
- Lisa, I love you.
- Lisa, your life matters to Me. It’s hidden in Me.
- Lisa, we are face to face and you belong to me.
- Lisa, we are face to face and you are one with me.
Every single bit of my experience was by His Grace as I was drawn in through His faith and not of my own doing. I was simply blind and asleep to His truth. But it was relentless love that woke this sleeping beauty up and restored my sight.
This is the GOSPEL, my friends. It is GOOD NEWS!
“In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” John 14:20 This is the truth of our origin.
SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST!
The entire westernized evangelical gospel is rooted in man. It teaches people they “make a decision” for Christ or “choose Jesus”. Yet even Jesus spoke the powerful words Himself, “you didn’t choose Me, I chose you”. Those are powerful words Jesus spoke, and they render us all powerless to save ourself. Paul told us we were actually dead in our sin {Ephesians 2:1 & Colossians 2:13}. Yet Jesus Christ, who is the Last Adam and who embodies Grace and Perfect Love, chose us, each of us beautifully included in His salvation.
But for me, may it be never to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Galatians 6:14
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness. 2 Corinthians 11:30
SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST!
Each of us if we were honest know we didn’t wake up to glorious redemption because of one single thing we did. We weren’t even looking for a face to face encounter and then bam Jesus revealed Himself in Love, Grace and Truth. We were living alienated and it was through the loving-kindness of our Father that He revealed a love and belonging that penetrated and provoked our hearts from within to see. He wooed and drew us and this is what Agape love does.
Yet so often, right after we encounter Jesus who is a Person, we receive this beautiful truth but in our traditions, we get swept into a system of religion. It happened to me, I know this system well. Our language then begins to shift from a beholding to transactional doing.
Conversation becomes about our *church denomination*, our *prayer life*, our *ministry*, our *good works*, our *tithe*, our *worship* our *anointing*, our *calling*, our *fasting*, our *dying to self*, our *strong faith* our *number of salvations*, our *evangelism*, our *bible knowledge*, our *doctrines*, on and on this performance based weary list can go. Many of us unaware that we have now left the glorious gospel and the truth. Hear me gently, the gospel is not about any of these things.
SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST!
Here are some simple yet powerful truths:
*It’s actually the Faith OF Jesus Christ that any of us know Him. We don’t produce faith. He supplied it. Galatians 2:20 YLT
*It’s Jesus Christ who was the only Faithful One. He alone tore the veil and today we have unhindered union and communion with Abba, Son and Holy Spirit.
*Holy Spirit is the Spirit of revelation and we all can hear and experience Holy Spirit directly. It is not just for the “special people”. There is no “don’t touch my anointed” anymore. We all can hear God.
*Scripture tells us that we have good works prepared for us but it’s not our good works that we gain any favor in the kingdom.
SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST!
The TRUTH of the Gospel is God the Father was IN CHRIST reconciling us {2Corinthians 5:19}. He is the WHO that made a decision for us long before we ever said “thank you”. If we have any special ministry it is the one Paul gave us in 2 Corinthians 5 as ambassadors of a New Covenant. We see no one after the flesh (as they are behaving). We call no one unclean that God has made clean. We instead see people through the truth, as reconciled and then go out and tell people, Christ reconciled you! Telling people they have been reconciled and deeply loved provokes hearts to see and it is the Holy Spirit who convinces people “who they BE” in truth, RECONCILED!
JESUS DID IT ALL and because of all that He accomplished in His death (for us and as us), burial (for us and as us) and then, by the power of all salvation, He resurrected (for us and as us) a New Creation reality.
Today, because of His Finished Work, this is who we are:
*Radically loved
*Wholly Forgiven
*Holy, set apart by His Love
*Blameless
*Redeemed
*Righteous
*Blessed
*Fully Accepted
*Healed and made whole
This is the Glorious Gospel!
This is the glorious Gospel. This is exactly what my experience was, my journey into the light of union. And if you aren’t hearing this message, I pray your heart is provoked to question the message. If instead we are hearing a gospel message of separation, sin consciousness, work’s righteousness, moral superiority, weekly alter calls, us vs. them, progressive sanctification, dying to self, we can be sure we are hearing the leaven of religion and a “potential gospel” handed to us by a weak potential Savior whose words of “Tetelestai” didn’t fully work all that well and we need to help Him. The fact is, It Is Finished!
Please understand as you read this, this is the Good News and it is not a new message. Paul proclaimed this message, the early disciples proclaimed the Resurrection and Christ’s complete work. Paul who was called to bring the gospel to all the gentiles compelled people to “Awake oh sleeper” & “Awake to righteousness and not sin”. In other words, “Be who you are; Be ye reconciled.” In the first 3-4 hundred years post resurrection this was this message of the global church. Christ alone and Him crucified.
And they were turning the world upside down!
I Believe Him!
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