February 18, 2001

Monica,

I am wondering how much of an epignosis you have received concerning the truth that you are spotlessly clean and have a free gift of Christ’s righteousness. [Epignosis is the Greek word for knowing that you know." In the Greek just knowing is gnosis--knowledge that could be based in truth or in falsehood. When I studied Greek the definition I was given for epignosis was, "actual direction of the spirit to a definite object and of a real grasping of the same." It is a shame that the English language is so watered down when it comes to words like love, goodness, and knowledge.]

Hebrews 10 talks about the way sin was dealt with under the Old Covenant (which Hebrews 8:13 says has been made obsolete by the our new and better covenant) and compares that dealing with the way Christ dealt with sin on the cross. It points out that our sins could never be taken away but only covered over by the old covenant. Verse 18 says, "And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin." As Jesus said, "It is finished."

Then in Romans 5, as I pointed out in another letter, Paul explains that Jesus took all our sin on himself (was made sin for us) and gave us a free gift of righteousness. Hence, Jeremiah prophesied that Jesus would be called "the LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS," not "our Righteous Lord." When you accepted him inside you, you accepted the fact that he bore your sins and he is your righteousness. It is on the basis of that righteousness that we pray to and praise the living God.

It is as if you were carrying a heavy sack of horse feed. Under the old covenant, when I saw you weighed down by your heavy load, all I could do was offer you a drug that would cause you to not feel the burden anymore. You would say, "I know I am still carrying this heavy sack of horse feed, but I no longer feel its weight." Under the new and better covenant, Jesus came along and said, "Let me carry that load for you." Now you should say, "I am free! I do not have the burden on me anymore."

However, the deceiver has fooled the church for years into confessing the load is still there even though they also say Jesus bore their sin at Calvary. When the church sings about what a wretch we are and says, "We are all just sinners saved by grace," they are confessing the Old Covenant, not the new. Jesus did not just cover our sins; he took them on himself and gave us his righteousness as a replacement.

Never confess the load back onto yourself. Confess the truth. You are spotlessly clean; you have Christ’s righteousness. You are a spirit, not your flesh in which you live. You will read much in the New Testament about the struggle between the spirit and the flesh. But the worst thing you can do in fighting the flesh is confess sin onto yourself. Even when your flesh does that which you shouldn’t do, continue to confess the truth. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. It is just like other areas of confession. You know by now that when you sneeze, the worst thing you can do is say, "I must be getting a cold." No! Say, "Thank God, I am healed by the wounds of Jesus." Similarly, when your flesh nature sins, don’t say, "I am just a sinner saved by grace." Say, "I am spotlessly clean; I have a free gift of righteousness." You will be pleased with how soon your flesh begins to line up with the confession of your spirit. The cold will be defeated, and the sin will be defeated.

We have a wonderful covenant. Too long the church has accepted little variations from truth, robbing us of the full joy of Christ’s victory at Calvary. The Holy Spirit is in you as the river that flows from the throne of God. Let it flow! Let it flow! Let it flow!

Love,

Dad