| Partner Letter September 2011 |
Jesus Christ is Lord!  Andrew Shreeve Ministries  Partner Letter – September 2011 ‘Bringing good tidings, publishing peace and salvation’ (Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:15)  Sow a seed this month and partner with Andrew in proclaiming peace and salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ to all nations.  Contents Â
 Welcome  Dear partners and friends, I pray the Lord will strengthen you to discipline your life to spend time every day planting and watering God's honourable promises in your heart (Psalm 1:2, 2 Peter 1:4, Proverbs 4:23) . When we acknowledge the good things which are in us in Christ Jesus, the communication of our faith will be more effectual (Philemon 1:6).  This month I was led by the Holy Spirit to go to the city of Sengiggi, Lombok, Indonesia where I divinely met a long, praying, elderly, Catholic woman, whom I was able to bring the Word of the Lord to. She led me to more Christians on the island of Lombok, Indonesia where further doors opened in Lombok and future ministry to the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia.  It is such an adventure when we trust in the Lord to lead and to guide our lives. Bless you as you go from strength to strength by the power of the Lord! With love, Andrew  Teaching - Understanding Sin Copyright © Andrew J. Shreeve 2011 This teaching will soon be available in video format on my YouTube channel - AndrewJShreeve  To correctly understand any subject in the bible we should first examine the subject through the lenses of the main themes of the bible - one of which is the completed, redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many erroneous, 'biblical' ideas about sin would be eradicated if we would interpret the Scriptures concerning sin through the lens of the great, redeeming work of God incarnate - the Lord Jesus Christ.  Saul of Tarsus (who was renamed the Apostle Paul) was called and anointed by God to bring forth, by the Holy Spirit, the details of the revelation of the completed work of the redemption of humanity from the judgment of their sins, which Jesus of Nazareth accomplished through His death on the Cross of Calvary (Acts 9:3-6, 15-16, Galatians 1:11-12, 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, 7). Through Paul's writings we learn the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, particularly, concerning how the good news relates to our sins.  Let us first, however, take a brief overview of a main theme of the bible, which is the remission of the sin of humanity, achieved through the sinless, human, blood sacrifice of Jesus of Nazareth:
 The word remission has the meaning of freedom, pardon, deliverance, forgiveness and liberty (Strong's Dictionary). To remit is to: forgive, pardon, resign, send back and transmit something (Webster's Dictionary). Through the shedding of Jesus' blood on the Cross of Calvary, all the sins of the world have been pardoned, forgiven and sent away! A good example is when we remit money. We take our money to the bank, make the payment, and the bank remits the money to our chosen beneficiary. We no longer have the money. The money has gone, as it has been remitted. Similarly, when we exercise our faith in Jesus' blood all our sins are remitted, they are no longer in our account or in our possession. As the Apostle Paul explains:  God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them 2 Corinthians 5:19  The word 'impute' has the meaning of: take an inventory, account or count (Strong's Dictionary). In other words, God does not keep a record of the sins of the person who has faith in Jesus Christ!  To correctly understand the subject of sin, we must first, firmly lay-down the foundation of the revelation that Jesus Christ has remitted all our sins. Remission of our sins is received, and maintained, through faith in Christ alone (Romans 5:1, Galatians 3:16, Ephesians 2:8, Philippians 3:9). This foundation always needs to be at the forefront of our understanding, as this revelation enables us to read; the law, the prophets, and the teachings of Jesus concerning sin, with correct understanding. We must also keep in mind that the teachings of law and the prophets (including Jesus' teaching) were primarily addressing people who were living in a different dispensation, and who were under different spiritual laws than we are today.  It is extremely important to hold the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, which includes the remission of our sins, central in our thinking as we consider the subject of sin. This enables us to accept and rejoice in such Scriptures as: behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29); I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more (Hebrews 8:12); how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14); He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26); Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many (Hebrews 9:28); by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14); their sins and iniquities will I remember no more (Hebrews 10:17); and where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin (Hebrews 10:18). As we joyfully meditate upon and accept these Scriptures we gain deeper revelation of the most important theme in the bible - the redemption from our sins through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The New Covenant Even though all our sins are remitted through faith, there is still a negative consequence when we sin. But to properly understand the consequences for sin, we also first need to understand how the New Covenant was established and is maintained. The New Covenant was cut, or made, with us in mind but not with our personal involvement - it was made between God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The New Covenant stands complete whether we personally choose to enter into it or not; and whether we sin or don't sin. In other words, the New Covenant is bigger than us personally, and our individual sins have no bearing upon whether the New Covenant is in force, or not in force. The New Covenant has been established and is maintained completely independently of our individual actions. Both parties to the New Covenant, Jesus and the Father, are perfect; so the New Covenant is an eternal and unbreakable covenant. An aspect, however, of the New Covenant is that an individual can enter into it through faith; at which time remission of their personal sin is received, or appropriated. The only criteria, or qualification, for entering into the benefits of the New Covenant is faith, and the receiving of Jesus as Lord. The New Covenant remits our sins whilst not demanding that we be sinless to step into it and its benefits. In fact, the Scripture says that nobody who is in the New Covenant is sinless:  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us 1 John 1:8  Sin means to miss the mark, like when an archer misses the bull's eye with his arrow. None of us are perfect in all our thoughts and actions, and though we strive for sinless perfection it is not 100% attainable in our soul and flesh realms, this side of heaven. Even though we miss the bull's eye many times, our faith in the work of Jesus, through the New Covenant, graciously maintains us in God's family and assures us of the remission of our sins. The critical emphasis for remaining in the New Covenant is to maintain faith in Jesus Christ. Our remaining in the New Covenant is not based upon the degree, or amount, of our sin or error - but upon our faith (Romans 5:1).  Consequences for sin There are, however, consequences for sin such as: a hardening of the heart which makes it more difficult to bear the fruits of God's kingdom, deception, difficulty in receiving God's promises or inheritance, a grieving of the Holy Spirit, reaping corruption, and destruction of the flesh (Hebrews 3: 13, Galatians 5:21, 6:8, Ephesians 4:30, 5:5, 1 Corinthians 5:5). When we sin, however, we are not removed from the New Covenant. We were received into the New Covenant through faith; not because of our ability to be sinless: likewise we are maintained in the New Covenant by faith; not because of our ability to be sinless (Galatians 3:2-6). The only way we can be removed from the New Covenant is if we exercise our will to renounce our faith in Jesus' blood - counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing (Hebrews 10:29). A serious danger of sin is that it deceives and hardens our heart, and continuing in sin could lead us to the place of being deluded and renouncing our faith, thereby leaving the New Covenant. Once a person leaves the New Covenant there remains no more place of repentance, and it were better that they never entered in the first place (Hebrews 6:6), as they become eternally condemned.  Pray with me: "Father God, thank you for the finished redemptive work of your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you that all my sins, past, present and future have been remitted and are no longer held to my account. Thank you that you forgive and forget all my sins. Thank you that through faith I am in the New Covenant of your love and grace. Help me, however, to understand the serious consequences and danger of sin. Strengthen me to resist sin and to always walk in love towards others by your Holy Spirit; so that I can maintain a good heart and bring forth the eternal and temporal fruits of your kingdom. I pray this in Jesus Christ name, Amen."  Study Resources  The meditation books - "Strength and Power", "The Sword of the Spirit", "In Christ Meditations", and "God's Covenant of Healing" are available in hard copy through my website e-shop: go to - www.andrewshreeve.org "The Sword of the Spirit" is also available as a multi format e-book: go to - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/24226  View more than 60 short videos (each less than 15 minutes) by Andrew; go to - www.andrewshreeve.org or http://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewJShreeve  Freely listen to anointed audio teachings in the following languages: Burmese, English, Indonesian, Karen, Khmer, Mandarin, Thai, Spanish, Tamil, Urdu and Vietnamese. Go to - www.andrewshreeve.org home page - Audio Messages.  Study more than 100 short written teachings. Go to - www.andrewshreeve.org - Teaching Written; and also - www.andrewshreeve.org Partner Letters. You may freely copy and print the teachings for easier study.  Itinerary Â
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