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Chapter 7
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Death in Our Place
Doing your own will is the evidence of Sin called rebellion. I don’t like the word rebellion -- it is to general. Self-rule is rebellion and you could be doing a very good thing and it would still be rebellion if the Lord didn’t ok it before you did it. Believing you will be blessed and not die in doing that -- is The Lie. Believing The Lie makes you become Sin. Jesus the Christ died on the Cross denying His own will by doing the will of His Father.
(Mat 26:42 KJV) He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
Jesus could have said -- No Father; I am going out to bless the world -- heal them and do many mighty miracles for them. Those very actions would have been rebellion against His Father’s will. That would have been self-rule out of control and the more successful He would have been -- the more He would have been trapped in self-rule.
No -- our Lord did always those things that pleased His Father and was according to His will.
Therefore -- Jesus died in the place of those that do their own will to be blessed. He died as a substitute for -- and in the place of -- all those that believe that they can do their own will and be blessed. By dying on Cross -- He also showed that believing that Lie of self-rule will bring you to the place of both spiritual and physical death.
At this point I want to talk about how Abraham was called out of that Lie and so -- left Ur and began to live the life where God was his only supply. He lived by inheritance from that point on. As we trace his life through each step he took -- as he confirmed his choice to live by inheritance only -- we see that God added years to his life so that he could fulfill his destiny. He was a man that believed in blessings by inheritance rather than being his own lord and living the life of buying and selling and storing up.
Abraham was a rich man -- but he claimed none of the riches as his own. We see that when he refused to take any of the spoils of war -- although -- by right of conquest -- he could have taken it. He put increase by inheritance as his only means to be blessed: Abraham lived on land that God alone gave him and would only accept increase that came to him by a gift of inheritance from God.
He showed forth that if you believe The Lie you will die because of Sin. He also showed that if I don’t believe The Lie that tells me that I can bless myself -- then I believe The Truth. The Truth tells me that I can only be blessed by making Jesus Christ Lord of my life and dying to my own way to be blessed.
Abraham believed what God had told him about letting God supply all his needs and God counted him righteous because he ordered his life around that promise he believed.
Death to self-rule is necessary for me to pass through the Door that says “Jesus is Lord” and to enter the eternal Omega Kingdom of God. Me doing sins isn’t the reason for death; Me being my own lord is the reason for having to die. Doing sins are merely the evidence that I believe The Lie that I can bless myself. Every decision I make is based on either self-rule or Jesus’ Lordship over me.
When the Bible says we have to repent it doesn’t mean to repent for sins. It means -- repent for believing that I can be my own lord and still get blessed.
To decide who will be Lord over me is the reason for life.
To choose the wrong lord is the beginning of all sin; To choose Jesus Christ as my Lord is the beginning of all righteousness. Who is Lord? That is the decision all living beings have to make before they can enter the final and eternal Kingdom of God.
Sins or righteousness are merely the evidence of the choice I have made. Submitting to Jesus as Lord is the choice before all of us. The evidence that I have given up lordship over myself is shown forth by how I handle what the Lord has given me of His things. Jesus said He would add all things to those that seek His Kingdom first. When His Kingdom is first in my life and He is Lord and King -- He declares me righteous because I only receive things by inheritance or a gift from Him.
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