From the desk of Steve Shultz:
We are saints! Yes, that's you and me. This is a great word and teaching by John Belt on living as saints of light and what it means. So many times we live under condemnation, not realizing that we are saved by GRACE and can come boldly to the Throne of GRACE, repenting of our sins.
Read this word and let it help you recognize how much of a saint, saved by grace, that you are.
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John Belt:
Living as Saints of Light
God has qualified us as saints, "holy ones," through the Blood of Christ. We are no longer sinners but saints. Every time the people of God are addressed in Paul's letters, it is to the "saints" because this is our new identity in Christ.?Old things have passed away and, behold, all things have become new!
Holy Ones of God
God has made us saints through the Blood of Christ and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. We were sinners, but now we are saints. The Scriptures make a distinction between saints and sinners. Even David, with only Old Covenant perspective, understood the different between saints and sinners. The reason David had understanding and revelation concerning saints was the same as Moses: He had experienced the Presence of God.
God's Presence was tangible to David because he learned of the grace and mercy of God through revelation in His worship life to God. Moses, in a different way and though a different experience, came into the Presence of God on the Mountain of God and through the tabernacle. The glory of God's Presence came with the revelation of His goodness. God wanted every person to come into His Presence on the Mountain. All were invited. God has called us saints, because we are set apart. We are holy ones, who no longer live against the flow of God's Spirit but flow with God's Spirit. We are called sons of God because we are led by the Spirit of God.
Many would say that Paul said "...sinners, of who I am chief." But actually, the single word "am" here can also be translated "was," indicating the life that he came out of. If we look at the weight of Scripture, we see that Paul never addresses the people of God as "sinners" but as "saints." Paul makes it even clearer that we are no longer "sinners" in the Book of Romans using the word in past tense for every person, showing us that Christ demonstrated His love for us "while we WERE still sinners." This obviously explicitly showing us that we are NO LONGER sinners but rather saints.
He Must Increase
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
A sinner is someone who is living under the guilt, condemnation and judgment of God. We came from a place of being sinners, but we no longer are in that same place. God has done complete transformation with us, taking us back before the fall of man.
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.
He has put us in perfect standing with Him through the Blood of Christ, giving us robes of righteousness. A saint is one who is free from guilt, condemnation and has been translated into the Kingdom of Light where no darkness dwells.
God takes delight in His saints, for they rejoice in God, loving to do His will. Saints are not foreign to the glory of God and the freedom of the Spirit. When we walk in the light as He is in the Light, there is a continual washing of His Blood and renewing of the Holy Spirit that takes place. It has nothing to do with our works but has everything to do with our taking joy in His Presence, loving to be with Him. In Him we have maximum enjoyment, finding our life hidden in Him. It is not about us trying to die daily. As Christ increases in us, our lives are hidden in Him. It is Christ in us, the hope of glory. He must increase in our lives. When His Presence increases in our lives darkness must flee.
For someone who has been saved by grace to then begin to live through their own works, their emphasis is more on what they have to do to please God. This would be the guilty mindset of someone who is saved but had not understood that God's grace has made them a saint. Therefore their focus is still on themselves to solve all their shortcomings. A person with this kind of thinking still has not crossed over into a living intimacy with God, receiving the free washing of his mind and heart.
Good News is "Good News"!
It is in the Light of His Presence that darkness is cast out. Even the Word of God must be accompanied by the Holy Spirit for it to have life and effect upon us. It is the Word and the Spirit that come together just like detergent and water and clean our clothes. The mind of man is always trying to fix things that only God can fix. It only ends up in frustration, confusion, guilt, shame and defeat. To be able to pray in the Holy Spirit is to be able to release your spirit to pray more than words you can understand with the natural mind. It releases us into a place of no limitation, bypassing the natural mind that tries to control and fix things without God.
For someone who believes in Jesus Christ to call himself a sinner, or to relate themselves as some kind of muddy dirt ball on the ground is to not recognize that power of what Jesus has done through the Cross. That sinner's state is what He has delivered us from. We all were sinners before we knew Christ, but now we are saints. All things become new in Christ. To say that we are just a humble piece of mud is to try to be humble in someone's own self-effort, not having revelation of God's grace and transforming power ? false humility.
True humility receives the work of Christ by faith with the transformation that accompanies it. We glorify Christ in His power through our testimony of transformation, not the lack thereof. We need to recognize where He has brought us from, but even greater recognize where He has lifted us to! We are saints seated with Christ in heavenly places, given authority, given power, given grace to overcome and live in victory in every arena of life. This is called GOOD NEWS, the true Gospel that has power.
His riches are unfathomable!
John Belt
Live In His Presence Ministries
Email: admin@liveinhispresence.com
