​

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Lifeworks   CURRENT TV SERIES All Things New

Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.   --Philippians 1:27 Character is something you can’t fake or manufacture on the spot. We can try to cover up and act like someone we really aren’t, but it doesn’t work.  In fact, Jesus called the fake and pious masks that people wear hypocrisy. I’ve been a pastor for over 45 years, and I’ve met many people who claimed to be righteous men and women of character. But the truth always comes out sooner or later, because life has a way of revealing what we really are on the inside. That’s why if you’re a person of solid Christian character, your life will ring true. Have you ever wondered what happens to people who seem to have this very sudden fall from grace as they get caught up in sinful and immoral behavior? The truth is that the fall was probably not all that sudden. Instead, it was probably the culmination of a long line of small compromises that were made in secret before the problem ever became public knowledge. That’s why personal character is such a big issue. One small compromise can lead to another, which in turn leads to another, and so on. Eventually, these small lapses in character turn into a full-fledged scandal. Our lives are to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ attractive to others, and one of the best ways to do that is to exhibit true Christ-like character. This means we need to pay attention to how we live each day, since character is not something you can pick up quickly when you need it; it’s a way of life you develop and keep. Commit to be a person of solid Christ-like character!

Free from Condemnation

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”
Romans 8:1–3

One of the rights we enjoy as citizens of the United States that not everyone in the world has is a legal protection against being tried twice for the same crime. The prohibition against “double jeopardy” is found in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. The principle, which apparently dates back to ancient Roman law, holds that once having been acquitted of a criminal charge, a person can never again face punishment for it.
When we accept the salvation from sin Christ offers to us through grace, it changes our legal standing. No longer are we in jeopardy because of our sin. Though Satan still accuses us to God, the righteousness of Christ which is applied to our account is all that God sees. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
Many Christians are held back from being as fruitful and productive for God as they should be because of guilt over something they did or failed to do in the past. While there may be ongoing repercussions and consequences from past sins, there is no more guilt. We can never be judged for sins that are covered by the blood of Jesus. “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Our standing as children of God does not only insure us eternity in Heaven but also freedom from condemnation.