DON’T BE JUDGMENT-FOCUSED

On which two ancient cities did God rain brimstone and fire? If your answer is Sodom and Gomorrah, you are right. But if you think that God was all eager to destroy the two cities, you are wrong!

God wasn’t willing at all. He was not on a sin hunt. He was on a righteousness hunt so that He could spare the cities (see Genesis 18:23–32). And I believe that if Abraham had asked God, “What if You can find just one righteous man?” God’s answer would have been the same: “I will not destroy the place for the sake of one righteous man.”

Today, the righteousness of one Man—Jesus—has come. Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us!

Therefore, no judgment will fall on you today because it fell on Jesus 2,000 years ago at Calvary. And if God was gracious enough to remove Lot and his family before the judgment fell (see Genesis 19:12–22), how much more will He do for you who are no longer under judgment!

And because God does not judge you, don’t be like Lot’s wife, who became a pillar of salt when she turned around to look at the brimstone and fire (see Genesis 19:24–26). She wanted to see God’s judgment, even though the angels had warned, “Don’t look back, lest you be destroyed” (see Genesis 19:17).

So don’t be judgment-focused and look back at the sins you have committed. God is not against you. He is for you and on your side. He remembers that He has already judged and punished your sins in the body of His Son. And because He is faithful to His Son and to what His Son has done, He will never judge or punish you. Any trouble that you might have today is not from Him. But He will show you a way of escape because He is on your side. He loves you and has your best interests at heart.

Beloved, God is not out to get you. He is out to bless you. And He wants you blessed more than you can ever ask or imagine (see Ephesians 3:20)!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

ENCOUNTER THE PERSON OF GRACE, JESUS CHRIST

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!  Romans 6:15

When I share—even from the Bible—the gift of righteousness we have through Christ, someone will inevitably ask, “But, Pastor Prince, if you preach that one is forever righteous before the Lord apart from his works and law keeping, won’t people go out and live a licentious life? Won’t it give people a license to sin?”

In addressing this question that today’s Scripture deals with superbly, allow me to make this explicitly clear in black and white, so there is no doubt in anyone’s mind: I, Joseph Prince, am vehemently, completely, aggressively, and irrevocably against sin! Sin is evil. I do not condone sin. A lifestyle of sin leads only to defeat and destruction. My goal is for people to live a life of victory over sin, but I do not believe a victorious life comes by preaching the law. I am convicted that it happens by preaching the grace of God.

When you visit our church, you won’t find a congregation that, having received the good news of the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, wants to run off and start living in sin. In fact, some of the top business people, management executives, entrepreneurs, lawyers, accountants, and consultants in my country attend our church, and you will find a congregation that is deeply in love with the person of Jesus. You will hear wonderful and amazing testimonies of how marriages have been restored, how terminal diseases have been miraculously healed, how long-term addictions and bondages have been supernaturally overcome, and other awesome testimonies that the good news of Jesus brings.

What you will see in our congregation is that sin loses its appeal when you encounter the person of grace, Jesus Christ, and realize all that He has done for you on the cross and blessed you with. You will begin to realize that you have been given this great gift of righteousness and that you did nothing to deserve it. You did nothing to earn it and you did nothing to merit it.

Now, will such an encounter with Jesus cause you to want to go out and sin? Of course not! On the contrary, it will cause you to fall in love with Jesus all over again. It will make you a better husband, a better father, a better housewife, a better student. It will make you someone who desires with all your heart to guard the glory of our Lord Jesus by living a life that is victorious over sin, by His grace and strength. The preoccupation with Christ instead of self will cause you to start reigning in life through the one, Jesus Christ. That is what we call the Grace Revolution!

The Word of God says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not…” (1 Cor. 15:34, KJV). The more you realize that you are righteous, the more you will experience victory over sin! So wake up every morning and give thanks that you are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).