A Miracle Happens When the Natural Man Comes to Christ

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9 NKJV).

Beloved, many believers are confused about the verse quoted above, but they shouldn’t be. First John 1:9 is talking about when the natural (or unregenerate) man first comes to Christ. The natural man (or the man who has not yet accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior) is a sinner, regardless of how much good he does. In fact, he was born a sinner  (see Psalm 51:5), and is thus programmed to sin, because he has the devil working in him (see Ephesians 2:2-3). When Adam fell into sin (see Genesis 3), we were all still in Adam’s loins. So we all became sinners through one man’s (or Adam’s) disobedience. (see Romans 5:18-19). By virtue of us being “in Adam,” all die. (see 1 Corinthians 15:22, NKJV). So sin entered the world through Adam, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (see Romans 5:12-14). Hence, the natural man has Adam’s sin nature in him. The natural man has no fellowship with God, which is why John is inviting him into fellowship with God. (see 1 John 1:3). The Bible says the natural man is alienated or cut off from God. (see Colossians 1:21-23). The Bible calls the natural man a child of disobedience and a child of wrath. (see Ephesians 2:2-3; Colossians 3:6). And so when the natural man comes to Christ, he must first acknowledge that he is a sinner. He must confess his sins or confess that he is a sinner who needs forgiveness. And when that confession is made sincerely from the heart, God is faithful and just to forgive that man his sins and to cleanse him from ALL unrighteousness. Notice that God chooses His words very carefully. He says He will cleanse that man of ALL unrighteousness. ALL means ALL. This is a one-time thing. When ALL is cleansed, there’s none left to be cleansed. Even a child can understand this. And yet, Satan has blinded many people's understanding on this.

From that point forward after the natural man comes to Christ to confess that he is a sinner, and thus accepts and confesses Jesus as his Lord and Savior, that man is forgiven of ALL sins; he is eternally forgiven; he has eternal (not temporary) redemption (see Hebrews 9:12; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Colossians 2:13). God, who is faithful and just, fulfills His promise and cleanses him from ALL unrighteousness. He is born again, or born from above (see John 3:3, 7) or re-created according to the righteous and holy nature of God. (see Ephesians 4:24; 2 Peter 1:4). God Himself gives birth to him out of His own will through the Word of truth. (see James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23), and He becomes the begotten son of God (see John 1:12, James 1:18, 1 John 5:) who is accepted in the Beloved (see Ephesians 1:6). He becomes a member of God’s Family -- an heir of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. (see Romans 8:16-17). He becomes Jesus’ brother, and Jesus is not ashamed to call him a brother. (see Hebrews 2:11). So from the moment a person comes to Christ, he is a new creation. (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). He is a partaker of God's divine nature. (see 2 Peter 1:4). He has the life of God. (see 1 John 5:11-12). He has eternal life. (see 1 John 5:13, John 6:47). And He has fellowship with God and with Jesus Christ. (see 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 John 1:3). He dies to Adam and his sin nature, and is made alive in Christ and receives His righteous nature, so that just as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, all are made alive. (see 1 Corinthians 15:22). Just as by one man's (or Adam's) disobedience you were made (or became) a sinner, even so through one Man’s (or Christ's) obedience, you are made (or become) righteous. (see Romans 5:19). Hence, even though there are sinners in the natural world (unbelievers), there are no sinners in Christ or in the Body of Christ. In Christ, all are saints. (see 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 2:19). All are righteous. (see Romans 5:19). And sin cannot change that. This is why First John 3:9 says, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." This is a spiritual fact. It is a spiritual reality. You can't understand it with your natural mind. God sees the believer as so righteous that he cannot sin. In God’s eyes, as Jesus is, so are we in this world. (see 1 John 4:17). God sees the believer as righteous and sinless as Jesus. God sees the believer as His own righteousness. We are the righteousness of God in Christ. (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). Just ask yourself this question: how pure is the righteousness of God? Well, that is you, my dear believer.

A believer is the righteousness of God in Christ. It is God Himself who has established the believer in righteousness, just as He promised long ago that He would do. (see Isaiah 54:14). And when God justifies, who is he that condemns? (see Romans 8:33-34). Jesus Himself is the believer's righteousness (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). This is why every believer should have dominion over sin. Sin shouldn't have dominion over the believer, because the believer is not under law, but under grace. (see Romans 6:14). Satan is the author of sin. He has been sinning from the beginning. (see 1 John 3:8). Sin exists in Satan’s kingdom (of darkness); it doesn’t exist in God’s Kingdom (of Light). And the Bible says that the believer has been rescued or delivered by God from the power of darkness, and been translated or conveyed into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. (see Colossians 1:13). So Satan (and sin) has no power over the believer. Satan (and sin) used to be our master before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. But now, since we are in Christ, we are in the Kingdom of Light and we are seated in the heavenly realms (on the right hand of God) with Christ and in Christ (see Ephesians 2:4-6) “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” (Ephesians 1:21 NKJV). The believer is now a master over Satan and sin. We have transitioned from being slaves of Satan and sin to being Masters over Satan and sin, thanks to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All believers need to catch a revelation of this truth.

When the believer catches a revelation of who he truly is, when the believer comes to know that he is truly righteous in Christ, that is when he is empowered to live a righteous life free of sin's dominion. The believer has to know his true identity. He has to become righteousness-conscious and not sin-conscious. He has to be "Christ-in-me"-conscious. Sin-consciousness is for the unbeliever. The body of Christ hasn't caught a full revelation of what Christ did and has done for us. Many are yet to catch the revelation of what we have become in Christ. This is why so many believers are so preoccupied with sin-consciousness and are living in sin. Every time they hear someone preach about the believer’s righteous identity, the only thing they think about is, "What about sin?" People are still in bondage to sin and sin-consciousness. But it shouldn't be that way. The blood of Jesus that washed us from our sins (see Revelation 1:5) is more powerful than sin, and the Bible says it (continually) cleanses us. (see 1 John 1:7). This is like standing under the waterfall of Jesus’ precious blood; it never stops cleansing you. Christ who is in you is greater than all the sin in the world (see 1 John 4:4), and He is in you to help you live a life of dominion over sin. Acknowledge Him always. Be conscious of Him. Christ is in you; that is the hope of glory. (see Colossians 1:27). It is the glory of the believer. It is the secret of Christianity. Without that revelation, you can call yourself a believer or a Christian all you want, but you are nothing. Satan will never be scared of you, and he will rob you and make a mockery of you. Satan is only scared of believers who truly know who they are. Satan cannot condemn a believer who knows that he is the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He can never condemn a believer who knows and believes that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (see Romans 8:1). He cannot condemn a believer who knows that no one can bring a charge against God’s elect  (see Romans 8:33). You can be that believer. Renew your mind with the Word of God. (see Romans 12:2). And by the way, it is just stupid for a believer to live in sin. Sin is beneath the dignity of a true child of God.  Sinning is submitting to Satan. (see Romans 6:16). No true child of God wants to submit to Satan by sinning, because we're masters over Satan. You just need to have this revelation!

Unfortunately there are many ministers behind the pulpit today who don't have the true revelation of the gospel. They themselves don't even believe (the good news) that they have received the remission of sins through the one-time sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and so they themselves are not saved, since salvation is for only those who believe the gospel. (see Mark 16:15-16). Jesus told the disciples “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (see Luke 24:47 NKJV). That is the core message of the gospel. And so Peter, in response, preached on the day of Pentecost saying, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 NKJV). “Repent” simply means change your mind. In another sermon, Peter proclaims: “For Christ also hath ONCE suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18, emphasis mine). And Paul adds, "In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RICHES OF GOD'S GRACE.” (Ephesians 1:7, brackets and emphasis mine). Peter and Paul could boldly preach this gospel because they believed it. They believed they had received the remission of their sins in the name of Jesus. Thus, Peter and Paul were no hypocrites. They believed the gospel and preached it. But today, there are many preachers behind the pulpit who don't believe the gospel. How can you preach repentance and remission of sins to unbelievers when you yourself don't believe you have received it? How can you preach salvation to all nations when you yourself don't believe you're saved? Such is the sad state of many preachers today in our churches, and they are sadly self-deceived. They have been ordained by men, but they are certainly not ordained by God. They themselves live in sin, so all they preach about is sin, condemnation and death. Paul said such people walk as enemies of the cross of Christ  (see Philippians 3:18). Jesus said, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13 NKJV). Indeed, such preachers are not saved; nor are they saving any souls. They must as well just become shoe repairers. Perhaps then, they might at least save some soles.

Beloved, all true ministers have been called to be ministers of the new Covenant. (see 2 Corinthians 3:6). We have been called to be ministers of the Spirit and of righteousness, and not ministers of death and condemnation. (see 2 Corinthians 3:7-9). We have been called to be ministers of reconciliation. And we are to preach the message of reconciliation, that God is no longer angry at us; that He is at peace with the world and has forgiven us all our sins because of the propitiation of the blood of Jesus Christ; and that He is calling on us to accept His offer of reconciliation through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was and is the culmination of God's peace project. He is the Prince of Peace, and He has brought peace between God and man. Hence, the angels who announced the birth of Jesus were  joyous, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE, GOODWILL toward men!” (Luke 2:14 NKJV, emphasis mine). And Paul declares that, "having been justified by faith, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1 NKJV, emphasis mine). The Bible further states that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, NOT IMPUTING THEIR TRESPASSES TO THEM, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (II Corinthians 5:19 NKJV, emphasis mine). This is the message we are to preach. It is the message all the early apostles preached. John preached that Jesus Christ “Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (I John 2:2 NKJV). Paul, in preaching the message of reconciliation also said, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to  be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Corinthians 5:20‭-‬21 NKJV). Now, this sounds like good news to me. We are being implored to accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins and accept that we have become the righteousness of God in Christ. We are to accept that just as Christ became sin without committing any sin, we have also become righteous (through faith in Christ) without doing anything righteous. And so living in the consciousness of this truth, we can now practice righteousness. This is the good news. It is also summarized in Paul’s letter to the Romans as follows: “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are JUSTIFIED FREELY by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:21‭-‬24 NIV, emphasis mine). Thus, the good news is not the depressing and scary fact that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23), and that the wages of sin is death. (see Romans 6:23). In fact, that is the bad news. But the good news, which immediately follows the bad news, is the liberating and joyful fact that all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (see Romans 3:24), and that the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (see Romans 6:23). Hallelujah! I know, without a doubt, that most of you have been going to church for a long time, and yet, this is the first time many of you have actually heard the gospel (or the good news). The question then is, do you believe this good news? Unfortunately, many so-called Christians today don't believe it. But this is your chance to believe it, and be saved.

Christians today just need to believe the Word of God and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. There is a big problem of unbelief in the church today, which is quite unfortunate, because without faith, it is impossible to please God. (see Hebrews 11:6). Just as the message that was preached to the Israelites did not profit them or do them any good because it was not mixed with faith (see Hebrews 4:2), so is the gospel of Christ not benefiting many people today because they are not mixing it with faith. In fact, I find it difficult to use the word "believers" to describe all Christians, because many so-called Christians don't truly believe the good news of Christ. Unless they can sense something that sounds like bad news in your preaching, they won't accept it. They just want to hear you preaching about sin, condemnation and death, about how they are all going to burn in hell if they don't stop sinning. But that is not the good news. That is not the gospel of Christ. The gospel of Christ doesn’t just name the problem of sin; it offers Jesus Christ as the solution. So the truth is that sin is not the problem in the church today; faith is. You know why? Because Jesus has taken care of the sin problem already; people just don't want to believe it. People crave for something they can also do to "earn" their salvation so that they can boast in themselves. The natural man is predisposed to pride, and is driven by a lust for achievement through self-effort. So, No, they don't want to accept salvation as a gift by faith. They prefer to work for it. And that's all the problem I see in the church today, and I believe God sees the faith problem also, as revealed in His letters to the 7 churches. (see Revelation 2 - 3). It is only by (faith in) the blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of our testimony that we overcome. (Revelation 12:11, with 1 John 5:4). When we believe right, we will definitely live right. Knowledge of the truth of the gospel makes the believer truly free (see John 8:32) -- free from every form of bondage and oppression of the devil, including the dominion of sin.

I admonish you, therefore, to believe what Jesus has accomplished for you at the cross, and be saved. And yet, I know some of you wouldn’t believe or accept this message. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (I Corinthians 1:18‭-‬25 NKJV). Today, you have heard His voice, may you not harden your hearts. (see Hebrews 4:6-7). If you believe in Jesus Christ and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, He will come to live in your heart, and you too will have eternal life. “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (I John 5:11-12 NKJV). If you desire to receive Jesus and make HIM your Lord and Savior today, pray this prayer from your heart: “Almighty God, Your Word says that if I confess my sins, You are faithful and just to forgive me my sins and to cleanse me from ALL unrighteousness. Today I acknowledge and confess that I am a sinner in need of salvation, and I thank you for sending your beloved Son, Jesus Christ to die for me and to bear the judgment for my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ was crucified for my sins and was raised from the dead for my justification. I accept Jesus today as my Lord and Savior. And I thank You that I have received eternal life in the name of Jesus. Amen.” 

If you prayed this prayer sincerely from your heart, I’m happy for you. Welcome to God’s Family. I encourage you to join a local church that preaches the gospel of grace so that you can grow further in your knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. You’re now God’s beloved child. You're now a new creation in Christ. The devil had a hold over your old man because of sin, but he has no hold over you as a new creation – because of righteousness. I thank God that you have been born again as a new creation in Christ. Stop regarding yourself according to the flesh (see 2 Corinthians 5:16). You are no longer a sinner. There is a permanent change in your spirit. You have the life of God in you. You have the new nature of Christ in you. You have His ability in you. You are no longer held back by the past and you can live for the future in Christ, according to all His promises. You are an overcomer. (see 1 John 5:4-5). You can experience the overcoming life by walking in faith and by allowing Jesus to live through you. (see Galatians 2:20). The victory that overcomes is your faith. Remain blessed.

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