The Accuser

In the Old Testament: Satan;

translated from Hebrew as

Adversary.

In the New Testament: the Devil;

translated from Greek as

the Accuser.

His greatest accomplishment: bringing death to God’s creation.

His greatest defeat: losing it all in Christ’s victory over death at the moment of His resurrection and through His blood the reconciliation of all things back to God.

All things; including the world.

All things have been reconciled back to God.

The Adversary has been disarmed.

He has nothing.

Except…

Accusation.

If you listen to his accusations,

if you allow his accusations;

his false accusations,

to get to you

he still has a chance to keep you off balance,

unsure,

doubtful,

abandoned,

unacceptable,

unforgiven.

How?

With the Law.

The Accuser loves the Law

and will do all that he can

to keep you

under it.

Jesus fulfilled the Law.

He paid the price of the Law,

death.

No one can keep the Law completely. God knows this. It’s why He set up the ritual of blood sacrifice.

We transgress; we kill an innocent animal spilling its blood on the altar of sacrifice.

The Law was given to show us what it would take to be righteous before God.

First the Ten Commands.

Then the 613 other laws.

Each one is an opportunity for the Adversary to those who keep the Law.

Each one is a door that the Enemy can open

to mess with you.

Tempt you.

Harass you.

A rock put in your path to stumble over.

Resistance is hard work.

Resistance can seem futile.

No one can keep the Law completely.

However,

                  Jesus did.

He was, and remains,

the only One who did.

When Jesus died taking all of our sins upon Him and paid the just price—Death, He took all Sin to the grave with Him.

When Jesus was raised from death back to life—eternal life—Sin was left in the grave.

Sin is no longer an issue. It is no longer a thing that stands between you and the Father.

If there was even one single law left that needed to be kept, there would be an opportunity for Sin.

But the opportunity for Sin was taken away when Jesus fulfilled the obligation of the Law—Death.

The Law, having been fulfilled, was then put away. Not abolished, but fulfilled.

Fulfilled = Finished.

Done. No more.

Where there is no Law, there is no transgression.

There is also

no opportunity for

accusation.

Oh, you can be accused;

and you will be.

But it will only work

if

you let the Accuser put you back under the Law.

Or, if

you put yourself back under the Law.

The Law that you are no longer under because you are now in Christ.

The Law that Jesus fulfilled.

The Law that has been put away,

replaced by God’s Grace:

His undeserved mercy and kindness towards us;

His complete forgiveness;

His unceasing, steadfast love;
His adoption of us as His sons and daughters.

Being in Christ, you are a new creation;

the old things passed away;

behold, new things have come.

The Accuser will try everything he can to bring you back under the Law so that you may stand accused at any time.

He will keep you busy worrying about sin,
examining yourself for sins,
confessing sins,
bothering God with them and begging forgiveness when all of that junk has been put away forever.

It also keeps you from understanding who you really are in the Father’s eyes:

His child,
with nothing between the two of you except
complete acceptance and
unending love.

The accusations are false.

Don’t believe them.

Trust God.

The Fall

You know the story.

The man.

The woman.

The tree.

The fruit.

The serpent.

The temptation.

Her first bite.

His first bite.

The transgression. Disobedience.

And then…

They know.

They know they disobeyed.

They know they are guilty.

They know shame.

They know what God said.

They know they will die.

They know they have earned the separation from God who does not die.

They know there is no going back.

No do-overs.

No undo.

They know they have broken their bond with Him

and they know this is what they earned

for their disobedience.

They are naked in their shame.

Vulnerable.

Dead.

The man passed the blame to her.

She passed the blame to the serpent.

The serpent

smiled.

(that’s not what it says, but don’t you think he did)

God told the man what the consequence would be.

God is true to His word.

But first, the curse.

God cursed the serpent.

He would crawl on the ground on his belly and eat dust all the rest of his days.

He and the woman would hate each other and the woman’s offspring would hate the serpent’s offspring.

Her offspring will wound his head and he will wound her offspring’s heel.

God spoke to the woman.

Having offspring will cause her pain.

She would also desire her husband even as he had charge over her.

God spoke to the man.

Since he ate from the tree that he was told not to eat from, the ground was cursed.

He would toil and sweat to grow the plants he eats.

The ground will grow thorny plants with the crops.

He will return to the dust he was made from. In short,
he will die.

Neither man nor woman was cursed.

The serpent and the ground he crawls on were cursed.

Death was not a curse, it was a result.

What the man earned.

His wage for disobeying God.

Neither of them died right away, but they did eventually die.

Just as God told them they would.

And God made a sacrifice.

God drew
first blood.

He gave the man and the woman the skin of an animal

that He killed

to cover their

nakedness.
Their shame.

The blood of the sacrificed animal did not forgive the transgression; it only sustained them until they eventually died.

Returned to dust.

We all die, not because Adam sinned, but because we now know
good
and
evil.

We can choose between good or bad.

Right or wrong.

Nice or naughty.

Love or hate.

Create or destroy.

Save a life or take it.

No one always chooses the right thing.

It comes with knowing the difference,

then choosing to do the wrong thing.

We all die.

Because of this one man’s transgression,
we all die.

Because of one man’s death,
we all live.

Jesus knows good and evil. He lived His life without a single transgression.

He’s the only one that has.

Unlike the first sacrifice, Jesus’ blood was sufficient to remove the punishment for all transgressions for all time,

past, present and future,

including Adam’s.

The original transgression:
Paid for.

All past transgressions:
Paid for.

Your transgressions:
Paid for.

All future transgressions:
Paid for.

Oh, and one more thing.

Through Jesus,

God also reconciled the World to Himself.

That means: Everything Is Redeemed.

The serpent has nothing left to reign over.

Everything has been taken from him and reconciled back to God.

Everything.

Including you.

The Fall
is ancient
history.

The Message

God is loving, kind and merciful.

Abundantly loving, kind and merciful.

There is no end to His love, kindness and mercy.

God loves you.

He is showering you with His loving kindness.

He has given you mercy.

God has removed the problem of Sin by placing the wage of Sin,

the punishment for Sin,

completely on Jesus.

Every Sin;

Every trespass;

Every transgression;

Every debt toward God
past, present AND future

has been paid,

in full,

by Jesus’ death.

He took our punishment

in our place.

The wages of—the result of—Sin is death.

God laid all Sin on Jesus while he hung on the cross,

therefore

Jesus died with all Sin;

taking Sin to the grave with Him.

God promised He would punish Sin, and He did.

With a substitute.

With Jesus.

He who never sinned, took our Sin;

willingly,

gladly,

because He saw us
as worth
the price.

The price He paid was death.

The debt was paid in blood.

His blood wiped our account—our slate—clean.

All accounts.

Your account.

This is the richness of God’s great mercy.

He was merciful to us all by sparing us from reaping the just rewards for our sins by putting all Sin—everyone’s sin—upon Jesus to suffer and die in our place.

Great is God’s mercy on us.

All Sin (noun) was buried with Christ in the grave.

All Sin (noun) was put away in Christ in the grave.

Here comes the Love.

So great is God’s love for Jesus and for us all, He raised Jesus from death, back to life.

God raised Him from the grave to live eternally,

never to die again.

Ever.

Jesus, raised from the dead is proof that Sin is no more.
He could not have been made alive if there was any of the huge burden of all the Sin that God put upon Him left in Him.

Since Sin = Death
and there is no death left in Christ after He was raised, then

all Sin

was left in the grave.

Buried.

Dead.

Gone.

No more.

When Jesus was raised,

God raised us

together

with Christ.

We are in Christ Jesus.

We are in His eternal life.

God has lifted us up with Jesus

into the Heavenly Places,

and God sat us down

next to Himself

at His own right hand.

The place of honor.

You were once a slave to Sin.

Sin has been put away.

You are now free.

Jesus set you free.

When Jesus set you free,

you became free

indeed;

in fact;

in reality;

in truth;

truly freed.

It’s God’s gift;

God’s Grace,

to you.

Because He loves you.

Out of His loving kindness, it is given to you without expecting anything—not a single thing—in return.

That’s the meaning of Grace.

You cannot keep a Law to earn it.

You cannot keep a special day to earn it.

You cannot keep a sacrament to earn it.

You cannot say a prayer to earn it.

Change a habit.

Change a thought.

Do a good deed.

Do a penance.

If you could earn or gain it somehow, then it’s not a gift—it’s not Grace.

Here’s the point of all of this:

Since God put all Sin upon Jesus

and Jesus died with all Sin upon Him

and He was made alive again leaving Sin behind

and now Sin has been put away once, for all,

then Sin
is
no more.

Follow this logically:

Since there is no longer any transgression or trespass or offense or guilt, there is no need for laws.

With no laws, there is no offense.

With no offense, there is no guilt.

With no guilt, there is freedom, there is liberty.

Let’s be clear:

Jesus did not abolish the Law:

He fulfilled it.

Only Jesus lived His entire life without breaking even one of them.

No one else did.

No one else could.

To fulfill something is to bring that thing to an end—like a contract; a covenant.

The first covenant God made with His people was:

if you will; I will.

This covenant had an end and has been fulfilled.

Jesus, the son of man has; so now God has.

The new covenant God made with mankind is:

I have; so I will.

This covenant is eternal.

It was made once for all.

It is a covenant made with Himself; sealed with the blood of Jesus.

We are only mentioned as the recipients of the benefits;

the beneficiaries;

the heirs;

the ones being ‘gifted.’

In the truest sense of the word, we are the blessed;

that is:
marked with blood.

God has written His Law in our thinking (minds) and our affections (hearts).

He is our God, and we are His people;

even those who were once called “not His people” i.e. everyone.

Everyone’s sins are forgiven by God,

and will never

be recalled—remembered—by Him.

Great is God's Love,
God's Mercy,
God's Kindness.

The Mercy

God is rich in mercy.

His love for us is great.

You may ask,

“How rich is God’s mercy?”

“How great is God’s love for us?”

Even when we were dead in our transgressions,

God made us alive together with Christ.

He raised us up with Jesus.

God seated us with Himself in the heavenly places

in Christ Jesus.

“Why?”

you may ask.

So that in the ages to come

God can show us the surpassing riches of His grace

in kindness toward us

in Christ Jesus.

For by Grace

you

have been saved

through Faith.

You did not save yourself.

It is the gift of God.

It was not the result of anything you did or try to do.

If it was, you would boast about it.

God is merciful to me because I…

God loves me because I…

God made me alive in Christ because I…

God raised me with Christ because I…

God seated me next to Himself in heavenly places because I…

I…

I…

I…

Sorry, no.

If you can do anything;

if you can say anything;

if you can keep a day,

keep a promise,

say a prayer,

anything that you can point to and say this is why God shows me favor,

then it ain’t mercy.

Grace is God’s unmerited favor.

If you have to do anything to earn God’s favor, then it is not unmerited.

To earn something is to merit something.

You got it on your own merits.

Cuz you got game.

Cuz you got mad skilz.

By ur own bad self.

(psssh)

If you can do anything to earn God’s grace, it just isn’t grace anymore.

It’s payment.

It’s a merit badge.

Something to pin on your chest.

Grace is a gift.

Undeserved.

Unmerited.

Unearned.

Given because God is merciful and because His love is so great.

God had mercy on mankind when He sent Jesus to us

to show the way,

to reveal the truth,

to give life.

God had mercy on mankind when He allowed His only begotten Son to be shamed and brutally put to death

to take our rightful punishment,

our just reward,

the wages of our transgressions.

This is what we deserved,

what we merited,

what we earned.

In God’s great mercy and love for us—in His loving kindness—He laid the entire payment on Jesus who willingly took it upon Himself because He knew it was worth the price.

That you are worth the price.

Your transgressions:

Paid in full with His own blood.

With His own life.

Nothing owed.

No I.O.U.

Not on credit.

Not on an installment plan.

Done.

This is God’s gift.

God’s grace.

Given to us in His rich mercy and great love for us.

For you.

But wait, there’s more:

Then—in an even greater revelation of just how great His mercy really is—God raised Jesus up from the grave.

He who once was dead

is now alive.

“How rich is God’s mercy?”

“How great is God’s love for us?”

you ask.

Here’s how…

God raised us

with Jesus

to eternal life

AND

sat us down next to Himself

in the heavenly places

in Jesus.

How many times did Jesus die for sins?

Once.

How many times was He raised from the dead?

Once.

For how many sins?

All.

For whose sins?

Everyone’s.

How do we earn this?

We can’t.

What do we owe God for this?

Nothing.

Grace.

It’s a gift.

It’s yours through faith.

The Gift

It’s a special occasion for someone special.

A family member,

a good friend,

a love interest,

a life partner,

you know; someone you love—you hold dear.

For that person: money is no object. (we’re pretending here)

You find them something that is perfect.

It’s gonna bless their socks off.

You take it to the counter. Pay for it. Have it gift wrapped. You’re excited. You can’t wait to give it to them. You know they will love it.

The moment arrives. You present the gift to them.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have,” they gush.

You smile and say, “Go ahead, open it.”

They are shocked, amazed, ecstatic; it’s perfect. They stare at the gift in wonder. Huge smile. Then they look you in the eye and say,

“How much do I owe you?”

(Huh!? Insert sound of a needle scratching over the surface of a record on a turntable)

New scenario:

Same thing as above; only this time they look you in the eye and say, “Wow, this is so wonderful. I can’t believe you got this for me. Thank you!”

As they give you a hug you say, “You’re welcome. Now you owe me. From now on I want you to…”

(Huh!? again: same needle scratch sound)

We all know the idea of a gift is that it’s something you give away without expecting anything back, except perhaps a thank you.

It’s a great feeling to bless someone with a perfect gift.

It’s a great feeling to be blessed when you are the receiver of a perfect gift.

The first reply above is as good as an insult to the giver.

It robs the great feeling and negates the blessing.

The second reply above is as good as an insult to the receiver.

It also robs the great feeling and negates the blessing.

Both put a price on a gift completely removing the entire concept of the item being a gift.

The first needs to learn how to receive a gift.

The second needs to learn how to give a gift.

Both need to learn what a gift really is.

Even the words “free gift” put together like this seems odd.

A gift is a gift.

Add anything to it like a cost or a stipulation and it’s no longer free or a gift.

It’s something else entirely.

It’s a debt,

an obligation.

Hardly a “blessing,” that’s for sure.

Not even close.

So much for free.

Who would want a gift like that?

Who would give a gift like that?

Who would want to accept a gift like that?

The following is a short synopsis of how a lot of believers see the Bible.

It is very brief and rough.

God created man in His image including being an eternal creation.

Man messed it up by disobeying God.

Death was the punishment: the end of living eternally on earth.

God provided a way for man to regain his eternal life: keep His commands.

God instructed man to sacrifice an animal on an altar, shedding its blood whenever we mess up; whenever we sin.

This keeps us in good stead with God.

Everyone sinned. Everyone sacrificed.

God told man that He didn’t like the sacrifice of animals and told man that He would provide a perfect sacrifice that would remove all Sin once for all.

Jesus, the Savior, was born.

He lived a perfect life keeping all of God’s commands.

God allowed Jesus to be put to death and as He died, God put all the sins of mankind on Him.

Jesus took all the sins of mankind upon Himself and suffered the full punishment in our place and died.

Jesus was then raised from the dead.

We now have a living Savior who reigns in Heaven and intercedes for us with the Father.

If we believe in Jesus, we have eternal life.

We are good with God once more.

Eternal life is God’s gift to mankind.

We deserved death; for all have sinned.

Jesus shed His blood and died in our place: the Lamb of God on the altar of the cross.

We believe in Jesus: we get the gift of God.

Simple.

Simple enough to confound the wise.

But…

(uh, oh… the ‘but’)

Many teach (and believe) we are now obligated to do something to get the gift.

(huh!?)

Many teach (and believe) God requires something back when we receive the gift.

(huh!?)

The now you musts.

The now you need tos.

The now you’re supposed tos.

But isn’t a gift free?

Are you saying even with God, there’s no such thing as a free lunch?

How can you trust a god who’s like that?

How can anyone trust a god who’s like that?

The gift is either free, or it isn’t.

Which one?

It isn’t possible to be both.

It’s no wonder Unbelievers have such a hard time believing. A lot of things Believers say and teach and believe sound—and frankly are—contradictory and confusing.

Most Believers have a hard time sharing the Good News not because they are timid, or don’t know how, or haven’t completed a course, or say they are not ‘called’ to ‘that’ ministry.

Lots of Believers see these same contradictions and are just as confused.

They don’t feel equipped to deal with these things when they come up:
and they will come up.

They themselves chalk these things up to ‘faith’ issues
and hope they hear a sermon or teaching someday
that will clear things up.

In the meantime

they stay
silent.

Sad,

because so many need to hear the message.

The message of the Gift.

The free Gift

of God’s grace.