The Power of Right Believing: 7 Keys to Freedom from Fear, Guilt, and Addiction (16 page)

Let’s take a step back to examine what Jesus did. Jesus saved the woman righteously. He didn’t say, “Don’t stone her. Show mercy to her.” What He said was, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” And on their own accord, the Pharisees and religious mob all left one by one.

Notice how, after that, Jesus did not ask the woman, “Why did you sin?” No, what He asked was, “Where are those who accuse you? Has no one condemned you?” It seems as if Jesus was more preoccupied with the
condemnation
of the sin than the sin itself. He made sure that she walked away not feeling the condemnation and shame. Let’s not reverse God’s order. When God says something comes first, it must come first. What God puts first, man cannot put last. God says “no condemnation” comes first, and then you can “go and sin no more.”

Christian religion has it in reverse. We say, “Go and sin no more first, then we won’t condemn you.” What we need to understand is that when there is no condemnation, people are empowered to live victorious lives, lives that glorify Jesus. This is where our empowerment comes from. Grace produces an effortless empowerment through the revelation of no condemnation. It is unmerited and completely undeserved. But we can receive it—this gift of no condemnation—because Jesus paid for it at the cross.

Truth be told, none of us could have cast the first stone at this woman. We have all sinned and fallen short. Our confidence today is not in our ability to keep God’s laws perfectly, but in the only one, Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the law itself. In Christ, we are all on equal ground. If a brother or sister gets tangled in sin, our place is not to judge them, but to restore them by pointing them to the forgiveness and gift of no condemnation that is found in Jesus.

The only person who is without sin and could have exercised judicial punishment on the woman was Jesus. Only He was qualified to cast the first stone, and He did not. Jesus was in the flesh to represent what was in God’s heart. It wasn’t judgment. His heart is unveiled in His grace and His forgiveness. I like to say it this way when describing what happened as the Pharisees waited to stone the woman: The Pharisees
would
if they
could
, but they could not. Jesus
could
if He
would
, but He would not. That’s our Jesus!

The Law Cannot Condemn You Today

Interestingly, the Bible is silent on what Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger. But I believe that when He stooped down, He was writing the Law of Moses. I have been to Jerusalem many times. During one of my visits many years ago to the temple precinct where Jesus would have met this woman, the Lord opened my eyes to see that the floor of the temple precinct was made of hard stone. This means Jesus was not writing on dirt ground. He was writing with His finger on stone.

When Jesus wrote with His finger on the ground, He was writing on stone, not dirt ground.

Then, in a flash, I saw that Jesus was writing
the law
on stone. He was effectively saying to the Pharisees, “You presume to teach Me about the Law of Moses? I am He who wrote the law.” Jesus wrote twice on the ground with His finger, thus completing the typology, as we know that God wrote the Ten Commandments with His finger twice.

The first set of the Ten Commandments was destroyed by Moses when he saw the Israelites worshiping the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. God then wrote another set on stones and gave it to Moses for it to be placed under the mercy seat in the ark of the covenant. I had never heard anyone preach this before—it was a fresh revelation straight from heaven. I love it when the Lord opens my eyes to see His grace!

Do you know why it’s so exciting to know what Jesus wrote on the ground that day? It’s so significant because it shows us that the very author of God’s perfect law does
not
use the law to judge and condemn us today. And it’s not because God simply decided to be merciful on us. No! It’s because Jesus Himself fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf and took upon Himself every curse and stroke of punishment for our sins on His own body at the cross. We are forgiven because He was judged. We are accepted because He was condemned!

Forgiveness and Healing Go Hand in Hand

There is another reason we can rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus has borne the punishment that was due us: forgiveness and healing go hand in hand. The Bible says that He who never broke a single law of God “… was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). Do you see how healing and the price for our forgiveness are so closely intertwined in God’s Word?

Many today are struggling to heal themselves from their sicknesses, diseases, mental dysfunctions, and addictions. I want to announce to you today that our part is to
receive
forgiveness from
Jesus and to believe that we are forgiven every single day. The more forgiveness-conscious we are, the more easily we will experience healing and liberty from every bodily ailment, mental oppression, and destructive habit.

One of my favorite psalms goes like this: “Bless the L
ORD
, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the L
ORD
, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases” (Ps. 103:1–3). Now which comes first? The consciousness that all your sins are forgiven precedes the healing of all your diseases!

And the operative word here is
all.
Some of us are comfortable with receiving partial forgiveness in certain areas of our lives. But we refuse to allow Jesus’ forgiveness to touch some dark areas—areas that we can’t let go of and that we can’t forgive ourselves for. Whatever those mistakes may be, I encourage you to allow Jesus to forgive you of
all
your sins and receive healing for
all
your diseases. My friend, let the past go. Let the mistakes go. Allow yourself to be free, and learn to forgive yourself by receiving with an open heart Jesus’ total and complete forgiveness.

Jesus further reinforced this correlation between forgiveness and healing in His encounter with the man paralyzed with palsy. It was obvious that the man’s great need was to be healed in his body. Desiring his healing, his four friends had even removed the tiling of the roof and lowered him down on a stretcher to get him to Jesus. But what was Jesus’ first statement to him? Jesus said, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you,” before healing him by saying, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (Matt. 9:2,
6). Jesus knew that the man needed to receive forgiveness for all his sins before his body could experience total healing.

What are you paralyzed by today? Fear? An addiction to antidepressants? Anxiety attacks? Perhaps it’s some bodily sickness? Whatever your challenge, your answer is found in receiving a fresh revelation of just how much you are forgiven in Christ and believing that you are no longer under condemnation (see Romans 8:1)!

The Transforming Power of Believing the Gospel

I want to share with you a wonderful praise report from Pat, who lives in Ohio and wrote me this email:

Amazing changes in my life have started ever since I fed on the truths you taught. I now have a joy and appreciation for life that I never had since my teen years (and I am in my fifties). I have a permeating peace that manifests in every area of my life—from parenting to my finances to my health.

Initially, when I started listening to you, I did not believe what you taught regarding holiness, fullness of
blessings, and righteousness through faith in the finished work of Christ. When I got sick and bedridden, I continued to watch you as I was unable to do more. You supported your teachings with Scriptures and evidence from the Old Testament. I began to realize that what you were teaching was true. I began to read the Gospels and epistles with an enlightened mind and could clearly see that you were presenting the gospel.

Once I embraced these truths, my physical condition began to change. I had been suffering from a spinal cord and disc injury for which there was no cure. Spine specialists refused to operate on me unless I came to the stage when part of my body became paralyzed, which is the usual course of events. I had been in a state of pain and was physically incapacitated for more than two years.

Since feeding on your teachings, I have regained use of my body and most of the previously excruciating pain has subsided. Now I am able to relax and be confident and trust in the willingness and availability of the power and grace of God to heal me. This came as a result of increased faith, the elimination of condemnation, an understanding of the Holy Communion, and an increased awareness of God’s love for me.

I have also been freed from a ten-year habit of smoking cigarettes. I used to only smoke at night just before going to bed in order to calm my nerves. I tried for years to break the habit but could not. I always felt so guilty for having such a weakness. But once I realized that God did
not hold my weakness against me and that He accepted me unconditionally and would still bless me, I let go of all the worry and struggle over my habit. I began to experience peace and rest.

A few months later, I was able to quit smoking. It’s as if the habit was effortlessly removed from my life, like it just dropped off me. I know that it was the Spirit of God working in me to perfect me and give me the power to no longer crave for cigarettes.

Truly, my life has been transformed. The gospel is what this world is hungry for and much in need of. I have been a believer for more than twenty-five years and have never heard it presented the way you teach it. Thank you for everything. Keep awakening the world to the love and grace of God, as well as the hope of salvation, blessing, and glory in Christ Jesus!

Only Receive

Dear reader, you too can experience this victory. It’s time to stop hurting yourself. Jesus was hurt for all your sins. It’s time to stop beating yourself. Jesus has taken all your beatings at the cross. It’s time to stop cutting and punishing yourself because Jesus has received all the cutting and punishment on your behalf. It’s time to stop asking yourself if you have done enough to earn God’s forgiveness and acceptance. His forgiveness and grace are undeserved—they cannot be achieved; they can only be received. Have you ever given loved
ones a gift for Christmas or for their birthday? All you want them to do is to take it from you and enjoy it. That’s exactly how God wants you to receive His love and gift of no condemnation today.

Look to the cross today and say:

Thank You, Jesus, for loving me. Today I receive Your complete forgiveness in my life, and I forgive myself for all my sins, mistakes, and failings. I release them all into Your loving hands. I declare that in You, I am completely forgiven, free, accepted, favored, righteous, blessed, and healed from every sickness and disease. Amen!

The more you let the waterfall of God’s forgiveness and unmerited favor wash over you like this every day, the more you’ll receive His health for your body and soundness for your mind. Whatever may have happened in the past, and whatever may be staring you in the face now, I encourage you to remember and believe that God loves you and has forgiven you. Now begin to enjoy His love and let His grace work in you and for you, to bring you to a place of greater health, emotional strength, peace, and enjoyment in life.