Paid in Full!
Sin is sin!
Eventually, sin must be
completely and utterly eliminated!
Let’s discuss it.
On the cross, Christ Jesus
washed our sins away, but He did not deal with our human sin nature.
Paul addressed the sin nature
in his letter to the Romans.
Rom 7:15-20
15 For that which I do I allow not:
for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is
good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin {nature} that dwelleth in
me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:
for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find
not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that
I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin
{nature} that dwelleth in me.
The entire sixth and seventh
chapters of Romans deal with man’s sin nature.
Our salvation does not
eliminate the sin nature!
Christ dealt with sin at
Heb 9:28 So
Christ was once offered to bear the sins of {the} many; and unto them that look
for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
On the cross, Christ took
personal responsibility for our sins!
Paul’s letter to the
Galatians could have been written to any Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, or
In that letter, Paul dealt
with a common issue.
Gal 3:1-3
1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the
truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified
among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the
law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the
flesh?
Salvation by grace was not an
issue, but as with so many, having received the grace of God, the Galatians sought
to maintain salvation by human works.
They followed the same path
that the ancient Israelites followed.
Having been freed from
oppression by God, they rejected Him and asked for a human ruler.
1 Sam 8:7
And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that
they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me,
that I should not reign over them.
Having begun in the Spirit,
many Christians seek to grow spiritually by means of following human rules and
regulations, codes of social conduct.
That is the result of the sin
nature.
On the cross, Christ Jesus
fulfilled all righteousness!
He has imputed His
righteousness to us as a gift!
And yet, those saved by grace
through faith many times reject the Holy Spirit in favor of humanly inspired
codes of conduct that are ruled by the sin nature.
Rom 8:14 For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
All Christians must deal with
the human sin nature until Christ returns.
Not long ago, I heard a
Charismatic, Spirit-filled Preacher-Teacher begin to expound on the power of
the human imagination.
Were you saved by
imagination?
No!
You were saved by grace
through faith in Christ!
Were you healed physically or
spiritually by imagination?
No!
You were healed by grace
through faith in Christ!
Do you have victory through
imagination?
No!
That too is by grace through
faith in Christ!
The power of the Holy Spirit
working in you far exceeds anything your human imagination can manufacture!
When you acknowledge Christ
in faith, God the Holy Spirit begins to work within you!
Phil 2:13
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
At that point, the sin nature
is diminished but not eliminated.
Reliance on human imagination
is human endeavor, and for a Christian non-reliance on Christ is sin!
Rom 14:23b
for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
That Charismatic,
Spirit-filled Preacher-Teacher told those who were listening that our most
important thoughts began in the human imagination, and if we can imagine it we
can do it.
That is false!
You cannot imagine your way
to Salvation!
Our most important thoughts
are God-given, grace and faith based gifts!
The thought of salvation did
not originate from your imagination!
Turning our lives over to
human imagination is a sin-filled new age deception!
God is not a figment of your
imagination!
You are the result of His
creative work!
God will not tolerate sin
existing within His creation.
Ephesians 5:5 For this
ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an
idolater, hath any inheritance in the
And, consider:
Rev 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second
death.
Those verses are explicit
and undeniable. All those atrocities are
the result of man’s rebellion, the sin nature.
Those sins demand God’s
wrath!
However:
In dealing with physical
laws, we learn that some laws supersede other laws.
The law of gravity is
overcome by using the law of aerodynamic lift.
God’s wrath is overcome or
superseded by His loving kindness.
While wrath may fail, love
never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8a)!
The dominate theme of the
Bible is redemption!
Man falls! And, man is
redeemed!
God’s wrath is a fact, but
His wrath is superseded by His loving mercy!
That concept may be seen in
a single verse.
James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed
no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. (KJV)
James 2:13 For judgment {will be} merciless to one who has shown no
mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (NASB)
Negative judgment is the
destiny of ALL who reject
Christ Jesus, and yet ALL
shall willingly, joyfully, and openly confess that Jesus is Lord!
God’s judgment is not
nullified!
But, we must understand it!
Heb 9:27
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
That is true and accurate as
far as it goes!
But to put it in context,
James 2:13b mercy triumphs over judgment. (NASB)
The reason that is the
correct context is:
Isa 45:23
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and
shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
And:
Rom 14:11
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and
every tongue shall confess to God.
Phil 2:9-11
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should (may) bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should (may) confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.
Those three verses are just
as emphatic and just as explicit.
Ultimately, every one and
everything shall bow to God the Father and His Son Christ Jesus and submit to
His Lordship!
To be sure, Philippians
offers a subjective tense look. But,
that is for a reason that is not understood by most.
We will discuss that later
in this article.
The fact remains that no
whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is actually an idolater,
has any inheritance in the
The fearful (i.e. the
faithless), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone!
That
Those found guilty before
God of engaging in less than exemplary behavior are doomed, until we read that
all shall bow and confess, “Jesus is Lord.”
God's grace does not
"excuse" any sin in any person at any time.
The Father did not even
condone sin when Jesus took the sins of the world upon Himself on the cross.
On the cross, Jesus took
responsibility for our sins, and He died!
On the cross, Jesus saw the
plight of sinful man first-hand.
It was at that time that he
cried out,
"My God, my God, why
have You forsaken me?"
Then, as His last act on
earth, Jesus proclaimed, “It is finished.”
That phrase comes from a
single Greek word Tetelestai-Tetelestai.
It means Paid in full!
We only pay a bill in full
once!
Have you ever bought a loaf
of bread?
What do you think would
happen if you took that loaf of bread to the cashier, and paid for it, and then
told the cashier, “I must pay for it, again!”
The response would probably
be, “Are you crazy?”
On the cross, Christ paid
the full and complete price for the sins of the world!
Some may not appreciate the
“bread” example, but paid in full is paid in full!
The principle is accurate
even if we use a suit of clothes, a dress, a car, a house, a loaf of bread, or
personal sins!
Christ Jesus paid the full
and complete price for our sins!
Once for all!
Heb 10:10
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all.
I John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
If Christ paid the full and
complete price for the sins of the world, why are some bound for Hell/the
Why must many go into the
lake of fire to pay for sins that have already been paid for by Christ?
Those two (Hell and the
Those who will be cast into
the
Again, we will further
discuss that point later.
Christ Jesus is our example.
He is our example of God's
plan for the ages.
Was His earthly life pure
before the Law and pure before God until He took upon Himself the sins of
humanity?
Yes!
Did He take upon Himself the
sin of the world?
Yes!
Having taken the sin of
world, did He die on the cross?
Yes!
The Bible says, "The
wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
The Bible never says that
the wages of sin are eternal torment!
It also says that the soul
that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:20).
Jesus took our sin and died!
Did He pay the full and
complete price for sin that we should have paid?
Yes!
In fact, He proclaimed our
sins, “Paid in full!”
According to Thayer's
Lexicon, those sins can never be punished again because that would violate
God's justice.
Our sins may only be paid in
full once!
And, Jesus paid the
price---in full!
According to the Old and New
Testaments, the punishment for sin may be received either by the one committing
the sin or by a substitute.
On the cross Jesus became
our substitute.
Having taken the sins of
humanity upon Himself, Christ Jesus paid our debt in full!
He paid the full and compete
price for those sins!
So, where is Christ?
He has been reconciled to
God the Father, restored to His rightful place at the right hand of the Father.
That is incontestable, and
obvious to those who have received the revelation of His glory.
Christ suffered for us.
He died for us.
He was reconciled to the
Father to demonstrate and fulfill all righteousness.
Now, again, why do many seem
headed for the
It is obvious that some (or many)
will be thrown into the
So, there are only two
reasons we would think that they will suffer to pay for their sins.
First, we don’t understand!
And second, we don’t
understand!
If the sins are paid for, and
they are!
Why would people be thrown
into the
If not for punishment, why?
If the punishment was applied
to Christ Jesus, the reason for the
Some soldiers came to John
the baptizer and asked what they should do.
John did not tell them to
quit the army.
Serving in a nation’s
military is honorable employment.
Luke 3:16
John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one
mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose:
he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire:
All people shall be baptized
with fire!
That baptism is not for the
purpose of punishment!
Fire is a form of
purification!
Even if saved, we still must
deal with the sin nature that is part of the flesh.
Christians are baptized with
fire as part of the Christian experience.
Those who do not accept
Christ now (perhaps at the Great White Throne, or after a time in the
The
No rebellion shall be left
when God brings down the New Jerusalem!
It is only after that baptism
that:
Rev 7:9-12
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great
multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people,
and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders
and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped
God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and
honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Am I telling you that all
mankind is now saved, but just doesn’t know it?
Absolutely Not!
That story is an
anti-biblical tall tale!
We must also consider this.
The offering of the Gift of
life in Christ Jesus is predicated on faith/belief and confession!
Rom 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Salvation is the result of
being led to believe and confess!
Without belief and
confession, God’s gift to us in Christ remains fallow!
Belief is not just in the
fact that there once was a man named Jesus.
Belief is the spiritual
knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and a faith-trust-belief in Him and Him
alone as your Savior!
Rom 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Phil 2:9-11
9 Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should (may) bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should (may) confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
As I said before, the Greek
subjective tense is used in Philippians 2:10-11.
But why?
Subjective tense as it comes
from Greek to English in today’s understanding is “may or may not.”
That is how we express tense
subjective today.
Notice that all may bow and
may confess Jesus as Lord!
The Greek word used for
“Lord” indicates an owner.
It was on the cross that
Jesus became the official owner of mankind!
He paid the price!
He declared, “Paid in full!”
At that point, He became our
owner!
And, as a result we may bow,
and may confess “Jesus is Lord!”
We became His “purchased
possession!”
Eph 1:14
[The Holy Spirit] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession,
unto the praise of his glory.
We who now believe are the
purchased possession and will be fully redeemed at His second coming!
It was only as the result of
the cross that we could properly call Him Owner/Lord!
Where there is no belief and
no confession, there is also no salvation or reconciliation!
We must also look at another
very large group.
But, there is another group!
Rev 14:3-4
3 And they sung as it were a new song
before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could
learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were
redeemed from the earth.
4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.
These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were
redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
The 144,000 listed in
Revelation, chapter 7, are often spoken of as being 144,000 Jewish evangelists.
They are 12,000 from each
Israeli tribe.
However, the 144,000 listed
in Chapter 14 are expressly described as “the redeemed from the earth.”
Whether Jewish or not, if you
have been saved by grace though faith, you have been redeemed from the earth!
The two groups represent two
groups!
The group in Revelation 14
represents the complete number of those of us that have been declared to be
“the redeemed from the earth!”
That does not indicate Jews
(Israelites) alone!
It speaks of the redeemed of
the Lord, regardless of being Jew or Gentile by physical birth!
Eventually
all shall be reconciled to God!
You may not agree with what I
have written.
And, I am not asking you to
agree.
In this matter, as with all
godly teaching of future events: Be patient.
God’s plan for the ages is
coming to fruition in the correct sequence, and at the correct time!
Wait and see!
Is God now calling you, or
has He called you to come to Christ?
If so, do not hesitate!
Christ Jesus paid the full
and complete price for your sins.
Your heart-felt confession of faith in Him is all that is
required to reap the benefits of His sacrifice!
With His sacrifice, your debt
was declared, “Paid in full!”