Joseph Prince - Made Right In His Sight

Praise the Lord. Let's continue in the Word of God, where we left off last week. We touch on Romans chapter 1, verse 16 and 17. "For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek". Just pause here and look at what Paul says about the gospel, the good news. "I'm not ashamed of the gospel, the good news of Christ". Why did Paul say "I'm not ashamed"? Are there forces trying to make Paul feel ashamed? Yes. It must be a gospel that is so good that there are forces, and usually it is those people that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. They are busy going about to establish their own righteousness and therefore have not submitted to the righteousness of God. These are the people that hounded Paul down. Paul wasn't hounded down by sinners, you know, out to get him or atheists, you know, out to stone him. He was hounded by people who were busy establishing their own self-righteousness. That they didn't like this message of the righteousness of God is given to you as a gift because you cannot save yourself.

"For by grace are you saved through faith; and that is not of your own doing". It is not of your works. "Not of works, lest any man should boast". They don't like that message, and there are people who don't like that message. And there are forces trying to make Paul feel ashamed, but Paul says, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ". And don't forget the gospel of Christ is the gospel of grace. We saw in Galatians chapter 1 where Paul says, "I marvel," I'm surprised, I'm shocked, "that you are so soon removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel". Notice he calls the grace of Christ, and then he illustrates with another gospel, right? God called you into the grace of Christ, but you people have gone to another gospel. In other words, the grace of Christ is the gospel that Paul preached, hallelujah.

Even in Acts, Paul says, "I testify of the gospel of the grace of God," amen? The gospel is the gospel of grace. Grace is not a subject. Grace is not a teaching. Grace is the person of Jesus Christ, and when we preach grace we are preaching Jesus, the beauties of his person, the excellencies of all that he is, and also it's the perfection of his work at the cross. And what he did at the cross is so great that we are still discovering. I pray in Jesus's name, especially, this revelation will transform us, amen, into people that will glorify Jesus, hallelujah. Praise the Lord. So, it says here, "I'm not ashamed the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God". We have shared that the gospel is the power of God to salvation, and salvation is not just saved from hell. It's not just saved from eternal damnation, but also saved in the here and now. It's the same word used for healing, welfare, prosperity, protection, and that's how "Strong's" defines them, salvation. "For everyone who believes," so the power of God to your salvation is released, amen?

The power of God to your salvation, to your wholeness, to your preservation. You want God's power to be released in that area, to effect it in your life. It comes in through the gospel of Christ, through the preaching of the gospel of Christ, the more you hear the gospel of Christ. Now, when I say the gospel of Christ, there are people who think that "Well, you know what? I believe the gospel. I'm now saved". Well, many a-times we hear the gospel, but we forget how we heard it, what was the part that convicted us, and we think it's all about a revelation of our sins. But if you keep on reading it says, "For in that gospel," in it, "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'" Or the idea of the just shall live by faith from Revised Standard Version, "He who through faith is righteous shall live". And that's the crux of the gospel.

In the gospel, Paul didn't say in the gospel the sinfulness of man is revealed. No, of course, it is implied. Man needs a savior. If we preach the gospel it's because man is lost in sin. It is implied, but the gospel is not a revelation of man's sin. The gospel is a revelation of the gift of righteousness that God makes available to every man because of what Christ did at the cross, hallelujah. Hallelujah. You know, I think that this is the challenge we have many a-times. That people feel like, you know, that there needs to be more preaching of sin in the church, needs more preaching of sin, and yet the Bible says that if all the sacrifices in the Old Testament worked, we, the worshipers today, should have no more consciousness of sins.

That's how Paul says it in Hebrews 10, verse 1. He says, "For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, the law can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect," in their conscience, "those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins"? Look at that. Once you are cleansed, amen, the word "hapax," once you're cleansed, once, you should have no more consciousness of sin. So, this idea of consciousness of sins, seems like that is the badge of holiness in a church, you know? That the more conscious you are of your sins, that means you can do something about it. The more conscious you are of your sins, that means you can be delivered from it. Nothing could be further from the truth.

You can be conscious of your sins and because you're conscious of your sins, you can see the reality of the fall, that you cannot overcome your sins in and of yourself. It comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ. It comes by accepting the gift of righteousness, and you will see that where sin increase, grace will super abound. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord Jesus, amen. So, in the gospel is a revelation of his righteousness. Now, if you look at 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, it says here, "For God made Jesus to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him".

Have you noticed that there are two "mades" here? One is God made Jesus to be sin for us, and the other is that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So, there are two "mades" here, but do you know that they are both different Greek words? And it's very interesting, because the first "made", and that's why in the New King James translate it as "he has made him to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him," but these two words for "made" actually is different in the Greek. And in the Greek, the first one, God made Jesus to be sin for us, that word there is the word "poieó". Poieó. Poieó means "to fashion," especially a work of art, amen? To fashion. It has idea of something, to create something lovely, but in the context of what we see here, that God made Jesus to be sin for us, it seems like the opposite. But actually, it takes great, almost like, you know, saying great artistry. An aspect of beauty of the Lord, to love us so much that he poured our sins into Jesus and made Jesus to be sin for us at the cross.

In fact, this word "poieó" is the founding word for the word "poiéma," where we get our English word "poem," and this is used by the apostle Paul in the verse I just quoted just now, "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast". And then he goes on to say, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them". God has foreordained that we should walk in the good works that he has destined for all of us. And your good work and my good work could be different, amen? But God has foreordination for all of us, that we should walk in the good works, but notice this verse here. We are his workmanship. The Greek there is the word "poiéma" from "poieó," a work of art, a poetry, amen?

You and I are a work of art. Praise the Lord. We are living poems, living, breathing poems, amen, declaring the beauties and the excellencies of our Lord Jesus everywhere we go, amen? Amen. We are proclaiming the glory of God by our life, so we are his workmanship, amen? We are not our own creation. We are not our own workmanship, so stop trying to better yourself by your own efforts, amen? Look to the Lord. And when the Lord creates, it is something beautiful, amen? But here it says he poieó. He made Jesus to be sin for us, so there must be some sort of artistry that God would put all our sins upon Jesus. And Jesus became sin for us and there is a truth there where in the Leviticus it says the sin offering is actually a most holy offering as compared, for example, with the burnt offering. The burnt offering is known as a holy offering. It's all the one work of Jesus, okay? But the way God says it, if gonna be involved in the particulars of it, the burnt offering is not called most holy. It's called holy offering, and the sin offering is called most holy offering, as well as the guilt offering. It's most holy offering, why? Because when we see Jesus dying on the cross as the burnt offering, it is all for the glory of God.

We know that a burnt offering is Jesus laying down his life, number one. We always think about in terms of our benefit. He did it to die for our sins, so we can receive forgiveness, we can receive the gift, but, actually, the primary reason that Jesus died on the cross is to glorify God in all his attributes, in all his person, in all the claims of his divine righteousness upon you and I. Jesus's blood has fully met all the claims, all the holy claims, of a thrice-holy God, and, friend, that's the primary reason for the burnt offering. But when it come to the sin offering we see Jesus becoming sin at the cross, so that's why sometimes our thoughts can become a bit lowly about our Lord when he's at the cross bearing our sins. We may have thoughts that are not scriptural and we think of him in ways that is not what the Father wants us to view him as, so the Father put this word "most holy". When he became sin, it is a most holy offering to God, the portrayal of his Son as sin on the cross, so that we know that even though at the moment when he became sin at the cross, it is a most holy offering. And anyone that touches it becomes holy, hallelujah.

So, Jesus became sin at the cross, yet it is a most holy offering to the Lord. Then we look at the next part of the verse, the next "made". We are made the righteousness of God in him. That made is the word "ginomai". Ginomai. Ginomai means "to come into being," "to come into existence". In other words, it is like something never existed, but now it exists. It also has the connotation of born, being brought into birth, to birth forth, amen? And that brings us to the idea of being born again, amen? Do you know when you're born again you are born the righteousness of God? The Bible says in Ephesians that we are created in righteousness and true holiness. And notice the way we move away from the bad habits and the former conduct of the old man into the new man, who we really are, is by the renewing of our minds. "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind". And how do you do it? By focusing on the new man. That's how you put off the former conduct of all the old man. His sinful habits, amen, his destructive ways, we put them all away by focusing on the fact that today you and I, in our minds we must focus on this, and the transition is made by focusing on the fact that we are today created in righteousness and true holiness. Hallelujah.

So, at the cross God poieó. God made Jesus to be sin for us at the cross that you and I might become, like brought forth, a new species that never existed, amen? Brought forth a new creation, created in righteousness and true holiness. You have become the righteousness of God in Christ and all hell shudders to find out that the day that you know not just by your head, amen? But in your heart that you have become the righteousness of God. And even though you feel unrighteous, even when you are failing, even when you are far away from God, if you've truly been born again, you are still the righteousness of God in Christ, amen? You just need to shake off that sinful habit. You need to walk out of it, because that's not who you are. You are the righteousness of God in Christ, amen? Praise the name of Jesus. It just thrills my soul to preach on the righteousness of God, because so many out there, just like during the time of the apostle Paul. He says the people of his day, the Jews of his day, "They being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness". Can you see that?

How many today are saying, "Yes, teaching God's righteousness and all that is okay, but we must not forget to go about to establish our own righteousness"? In other words, you cannot have both, friend? It's like water and oil. They cannot mix. Either you receive God's righteousness, which is what? A gift. Or you go about to establish your own righteousness. Which would you have? One is a downward spiral into failure, amen, depression, and darkness. The other brings joy, peace. The fruit of the Spirit literally. The more you are conscious of that, the more you receive that. Praise the Lord. The Bible says "they being ignorant of God's righteousness," the gift of, it comes by, why should they be ignorant? Because it's something that never existed before, but it came into being when Jesus died on the cross, when God poieó, made Jesus to be sin for you and I. You and I became the righteousness of God in Christ. Hallelujah, amen?

And today God wants us to be conscious of that. Will it make you proud? Will it make you stuck up and feeling like holier than thou? No, no, no. The other attitude, going about to establish your own righteousness, the moment you feel like you have done some parts right, you feel, that is the thing that will produce this holier-than-thou attitude, not the gift of righteousness. When you receive a gift, you feel humbled, amen? You are full of thanksgiving. And that word "thanksgiving" in the Greek is also "charis," the word for grace, amen? When you receive grace, hallelujah, you are full of thankfulness, amen? You give thanks to God, hallelujah, because you know it's not of your own doing. You can only become proud if you know you achieve something yourself. You achieve this moral thing and someone praise you for it, man, you feel really good. And then, you look at somebody else, you feel that's immoral, somebody else who's not, you know, and you compare yourself horizontally, you will find someone you can always be up on, okay? But compare yourself with God's righteousness, we all fail, okay? God's standard. That's why God gave the law. Not for men to be justified by. God gave the law that the offense might abound.

Now, that might be shocking for you to hear that. I repeat again. God did not give the law so that man can keep it. God gave the law so that the offense might abound, that man might see his sinful nature. The more he tried to keep it, the more, not because of the law, but because of who he is. But the sinful nature needs the law, amen, to sort of, like, raise its pride and to say, "I can keep this. I can do this". And the more you try to do it, you will see that your sinful nature can only produce corruption, can only produce moral degradation. And we have a verse here that the apostle Paul shares. Let me finish this verse. "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God". So, you see, you can't do it both ways. Either you receive God's righteousness, that means you submit to it, or you go about to establish your own righteousness. If you do that, you cannot submit yourself to the righteousness of God, okay? So, it's very clear there are no two ways about it.

Now let's go to Romans chapter 5, verse 19. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous". So, if I ask you the question: Why are you righteous today? Is it because of your obedience? No, it's because of the one man's obedience. Who is that? Jesus. And the Bible says this is warfare in 2 Corinthians 10. It says we're to bring our thoughts to the obedience of Christ. Always focus on the fact that it is his obedience that made you righteous. It is his work that made you righteous, hallelujah. And that obedience there is referring to his obeying the Father by dying on that cross, amen? That obedience made me righteous, because once upon a time it was Adam's disobedience that made me a sinner. Very clear by one man's disobedience many were made sinners.

I know there are many watching here today and you have never encountered this gospel before. You have been told that you need to obey, you need to live your life in a way that God will be pleased, and then when you die he'll bring you to heaven. But that's not the gospel. The gospel is actually this: that the fact that you're a sinner. You know why you're a sinner? Because Adam's sin, the first man sin, and sin has been in the blood of mankind ever since, right? You are born a sinner. And you say it's unfair. Well, you know, actually, you think about it, if your grandfather died when he was three years old, you wouldn't be here today. You won't be saying unfair. It's just a matter of, it's a fact of life, okay? But by the same token, God sent his Son to be the second Adam, amen, the federal head of the human race. Just like the first Adam came to be the federal head of the human race, God sent the second Adam. Jesus known as the second Adam, and when he died on that cross his obedience made me righteous.

Now, listen carefully. Sometimes you and I, we still fail, which means we don't obey God as we should, but guess what? Our obedience did not make us righteous, neither does our disobedience make us unrighteous. It is his obedience that made me righteous. God put it out of the equation, all right, where man can boast of their own works and efforts. God put it out of man's efforts, amen, into a realm where it cannot be touched even by the devil. Hallelujah. Unless the devil can remove Jesus today from the throne, then you and I can be unrighteous. But no way. God has put it in a way that Jesus sits down because his work is once and for all. He offered one sacrifice for sins forever. In Hebrews 10, it tells us one sacrifice for sins forever, not like the priests of old standing daily, offering repeatedly, standing daily, offering repeatedly. Then came Jesus, and it tells us that this man offered one sacrifice, not repeatedly. One sacrifice, himself, on the cross, amen? And then, instead of standing daily like the priests of old, he sat down once and for all, hallelujah. He sat down because his work is finished. Praise the name of Jesus, amen?

We need to relish that. We need to meditate on it. We need to savor it. We need to enjoy the truths of it, amen, and give God the glory. You know, when you appreciate the gift that someone gives you, the giver is satisfied. The giver is pleased, right? Praise the Lord. We need to give thanks to God. We need also giving thanks to God by believing it and living like it, amen? Enjoying the fact that you are a forgiven man, you're a justified man in the eyes of God, hallelujah. Even if there's some nagging temptation or sin that's always getting at you, friend, just keep on confessing who you are. The devil wants to define you by your habit. The devil wants to define you by your failures, yeah, even the recent failure. The devil wants to define you by your sinful thoughts, but that's not who you are. You're still in a journey, but the fact is you have been made the righteousness of God. The moment you are born again, you are born the righteousness of God, and you need to confess who you are. And when you confess that, who you are will overcome what you do, amen? Praise the Lord.

Always remember this principle. Who you are is your standing. What you do is your state. Sometimes you are depressed, okay? Sometimes you are sad. Sometimes you feel rebellious, you want to rebel. Sometimes you feel, you know, good, you wanna do something good, but that is your state. Your state fluctuates. Your standing don't. Your standing remains forever. Who you are is the righteousness of God. That is your standing. Never, never judge your standing by your state. Your state fluctuates. Can be good. It can be bad another day, okay? But your state doesn't define who you are, your real person, your standing. That is permanent. Always judge your state by your standing. Look at your sin square in the eye. Don't deny it. Don't excuse it. Look at it and say, "This is not who I am. I am not a resentful person. I'm not an angry person. I'm not a depressed person. I'm not a fearful person. This is not who I am. I am the righteousness of God in Christ". Judge your state by your standing. Never let the devil tell you that you are your state, that your state defines you. Never judge your standing by your state, and this is something we need to remember every day. Okay, church?

So, let's look at Romans 5 again. Right after that it tells us in verse 20, "Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound". Let me just stop here first and just say this, "Moreover the law entered". So, in other words, the law came in on the... this word "entered" is not entering by the front door. It's the word for para, the word on the side. It's like it came on the side. Literally, literally, the Greek word here, "The law entered" is the law came beside. The law was added, an addendum. It was added, to what? To the promise God made to Abraham, and that's the promise of grace, unconditional promise, unconditional covenant. You know, Abraham did not have to behave to earn the blessings of the covenant. God gave it to him by promise. God gave it to him by an unconditional covenant, which means it's all God. God says, "I will," Abraham just have to believe, and that's why when something is a unconditional covenant, that means the only party that is active, the only party that will execute it is God, and our part is to believe, amen, in his work.

Another way to define a grace is like this. Grace is God doing. Law is man doing. Grace is God doing. Law is man doing. So, whenever you find that you feel like the demands are on you and you need to do this, you need to come up the answers, you need to, you're under law. I don't care whether you understand law and grace and the fact you are no more under law but under grace. If your mentality in that particular day is that "I'm supposed to be doing this, I'm supposed to meet the expectation and all that," yes, in a sense that, you know, even God does things through us, but we need to look to him. It's all our perspective, our minds, how we look to the Lord. If we look to the Lord as a God of supply, another way to define grace and law is like this: grace is supply; law is demand. On Mount Sinai when God gave the Ten Commandments, the law, God demanded, right? Thou shall not commit adultery. Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not lie. Thou shall not kill.

So, that is a demand on sinful men, but men could not. You know, here and there, they tried to keep some things even outwardly, but inwardly, they are sinning. That's what Jesus said. So, why was the law given then? So, once again, grace is supply. Law is demand. So, why was the law given? It tells us, "Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound". Wow. You don't hear that preached often in many seminaries, and it's just like they pass by this line very fast because many of us we, you know, if the truth was known, we don't fully understand this, and we are afraid to preach it because we might be misunderstood because we, ourselves, are misunderstanding this truth. The law entered that the offense, the sin, might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.

So, we see where sin pleonazo, where sin increased, the word there abound for sin is not the same as grace abounded. It's a different word. Again, two separate Greek words. Where sin abounds is the word "pleonazo," which means you can quantify it, increase. It's actually the word for increase, increase. Where sin increased. Now watch this, the other word for "abound". Grace much more abound, this word "huperperisseuo". "Perperisseuo" is already overflowing. "Perisseuo" is to fill your cup until the cup keeps on flowing, overflowing. Already that's the word for "perisseuo". Perisseuo is more than increase. Increase you can quantify. Perisseuo you cannot quantify. It is like the stars in the heaven, no one can count them, amen, except God. God telleth the number of the stars. It's like the dust, you know, in the ground, no one can count them. You know, things that you cannot quantify, this is what the word "perisseuo" is used for, and it's used for the idea of something overflowing, but then the word "huper" in the Greek is added to the word "perisseuo," "huperperisseuo".

Now, "huper" is where we get our English word today: "hyper". So, in other words, it's already overflowing. "Perisseuo" is already overflowing, but "huper" is this, on top of it. It's added on top of it. On top of what? On top of the overflow. Wow. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. So, where sin increased, location where sin increased. Look at your own life where sin increased, where there was the greatest difficulty in that area, right? That is the area God's grace superabounds, amen. Even in the area of weakness. "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness," right? God said that.

My challenge has always been, even in secondary school, I would stutter. I would stammer. For as long as I can remember, I'm always stuttering and stammering, and I mean, I can't even string a sentence together. Don't talk about, you know, standing up and giving a speech. So, a teacher will come to the class and always make me stand up and make me read for the sheer joy of seeing my ears turn red, and the girls in the class laughing, and I felt so, you know, I felt so ashamed of this weakness that I had, but when I got born again, I didn't know much about, you know, my inheritance in Christ, but I did tell the Lord whatever, and I felt pity for the Lord in a sense that I felt that he didn't get much when he saved me.

I felt like he can't do much with me because of my stuttering, and I told him, "I stutter. I stutter a lot, and I don't think I can even share the gospel with the people you want me to share with," and I never dreamed that I'll be standing in the pulpit to share his Word one day, but just to share with a friend, "I don't think I can," I told the Lord. "So, you don't mind, Lord, I will serve you in other ways, but anyway, Lord," I said, "I give you my whole life, plus my stuttering, plus my weakness," and the very area of my weakness, to define sin is actually falling short. The very area of my falling short, that's the area God's grace superabounds. And sometimes it superabounds, man, I just wanna go on and on and on, but don't worry, all right, I have the time, the clock right in front of me, so I'm gonna let you off, I'm saying that the grace is so, you know, superabounding that many a-times, you just feel being born along by another, the wonderful Holy Spirit, and I feel like that sometimes, and I know what this verse is saying, but if you've preach like this, won't people say, "Well, you're saying where sin increased, grace superabounds. You're encouraging people to sin".

No, that's a logical reasoning, right? That's a logical conclusion, but it's logical. It's from the human mind. It is not divine. It's not divine logic. It's not divine reasoning. Look at this verse. This verse, it's because of this verse. Where sin abounded, grace abandoned. I just feel like I wanna just stop here and just tell you this. Look at the stories in the Bible. David had so many sons, more than ten sons, but of all the sons, who did God choose? God chose the one from Bathsheba, Solomon, to become king. Where? Of all the women, all the wives that David had, of all the sons that he had, more than ten, who is the one that God chose? The one who came from Bathsheba. Now, who is Bathsheba? The lady that David committed adultery with.

Now, we are definitely not saying commit adultery and then grace will superabound, neither is the apostle Paul, but he's saying where there is sin and the sin increases, where? The location. Grace superabounds. It will look to the Lord. Instead of being downcast and looking at our sin and saying that our sin disqualifies us and there's no hope for our future, we look to the Lord, and that's what David did. Even though he sinned against God, right, he looked to the Lord. And you know what? From that woman, same woman. Of all the sons, God chose Solomon to become king, amen. Who was the one among the 12 disciples that denied knowing Jesus? Who was the one, with cursing and swearing, he denied he ever knew the Lord? Peter. Three times he denied knowing the Lord. The same mouth that denied the Lord, a few days later, because he turned to the Lord, amen, God used that same mouth that denied him.

Just a matter of days, God used that same mouth to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost, hallelujah, and we have it written down in the book of Acts, his entire sermon, and the Bible says 3,000 people were saved. Hallelujah. That's the mouth of grace, people. Come on, amen. When the law came on Mount Sinai, 3,000 people died. Now grace has been proclaimed where? At Mount Zion. When grace was proclaimed on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was given, not the law, the Spirit was given, what happened? Three thousand people were saved. The law kills; the Spirit gives life. Hallelujah. So, instead of looking at your weakness as a minus in your life and you wish that you never had this weakness, or you are feeling depressed over your weakness or over your sins, sinful habits, you know, you have a sinful habit that you don't seem to be able to break.

Have you ever rejoiced in the superabounding grace that covers the entire situation? Because you have that weakness, you have something that no one else had. That's superabounding grace in that area, and if you receive that superabounding grace, your testimony we be such, you'll glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, amen, and people say, "Are you sure that's the same girl that had that fears? She looks so bold today when she shared God's Word. Are you sure it's the same man who was hooked on drugs"? And we have so many testimonies of people, you know, partying and being addicted to drugs. I shared some of that past few weeks and all that. And you go to JosephPrince.com on our praise reports, you can read at your leisure. So many people bound in addictions and sinful habits, especially pornography. Today, they are clean, hallelujah. They are sanctified. They have no desire even, and that's a testimony we keep on hearing because true deliverance is not wanting something, but you are no more doing it. It is not even wanting it. Hallelujah. Praise be to God.

So, it's very easy for people to jump to the wrong conclusion and say that you are saying, "Let us sin more that grace may abound". And that's exactly the accusation that was leveled against the apostle Paul. In Romans 6, they say Paul says it. Now, Romans 6 comes right after what we read just now, "Where sin increased, grace superabounds," in Romans 5. So here, Paul says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin". Now, that's an aorist tense, which means it happened in the past. It cannot be repeated. "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it"?

Now, most people, when they quote this verse, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound"? They will say don't do it. Don't do it. As if, you know, it is in your power to not do it, but God's way is like this. No, God says it's impossibility. How can we, how can we who died to sin live any longer in it? In other words, you may commit it, but you cannot live in it, amen. You may fall here and there, but you'll never live in it. I believe people living in sin were never born again to start with. All right, living means you continue as a protracted lifestyle of being in that sin, then you need to be born again, okay? But he is saying, "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it"? Amen?

Now, why is the apostle Paul answering this? "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound"? Because this is the accusation they leveled against Paul. I think it was Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, many years ago, the famous pastor of Westminster, who shared this, that he said this: "Why is it that people are accusing Paul of preaching, 'Let us sin more that grace may abound,' that Paul had to answer, 'Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Is that what I'm teaching? No, certainly not,'" he says. He said, "Why is it that people accused Paul of that, and they don't accuse us today of this"? But he says, but he says this: "I submit to you we're not preaching the same grace, the gospel of grace that Paul is preaching". If we are preaching the same gospel of grace that Paul preached, we'll have the same accusations, hallelujah.

Another accusation that was leveled against the apostle Paul is found here in Romans 3 in Paul's own words. Paul says, "And why not say, 'Let us do evil that good may come'? as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just". So, Paul is saying, "People are slandering us, saying, 'Let us do evil that good may come.'" So, Paul is saying, "You know, there are people who are slandering us. They accuse us of saying, 'Let us do evil that good may come.'" It was most likely because he says, "Where sin increased, grace superabounds". So much so that people say, "Oh, you are saying, 'Let us do evil, let us sin so that good can abound, that good may come.'" And that's not what Paul is saying, and that's not what I am saying. But where there is evil, there is a grace that's superabounding, ready to be received in that area, hallelujah. And because the devil messed you up in that area, hallelujah, when restoration comes, it's gonna be 120%, praise the Lord, based on the principle of the guilt offering. And that's why this is the fundamental flaw.

In fact, Paul wasn't nice about these people who said these things about him. Notice that he says that "They slanderously report and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just". He condemned them. He says that their condemnation is just, which means Paul doesn't mince words. Let me say, something bad is gonna happen for these kind of false accusations because these kind of things hinder the gospel. You'll find that many of the things, like, bad things happening can happen to people who try to hinder the gospel. Even there are people living in sin, and you don't see bad things happening to them. Come on, church, I'm just being real here. There are people living in sin. We want them to turn around. We don't want them to live in sin, wanna see a transformation in the area, but you know what? I've seen people, and it seems that nothing seems to happen, nothing bad, that we wish can just turn them around, something bad would just have to turn them around. It doesn't happen. But then we see sometimes believers, believers who seem to have it all together, but then they come against the gospel of grace, and you see bad things happening.

So, I think that's what Paul meant by "their condemnation is just". You know, one time Paul was preaching to an important man, and the Bible tells us that there was a sorcerer. A sorcerer tried to stop Paul from preaching to this VIP of that city, and Paul was preaching to him, and he was being open to the gospel of Jesus Christ when this guy was interrupting, and he tried to stop Paul from preaching. Notice he's trying to hinder the gospel from being preached. You know what Paul says to him? "The hand of the Lord be upon you. You shall be blind for a season". This is the apostle of grace. But notice that the judgments are severe for people who come against grace.

Notice that Paul, for example, even the most carnal church that I would think of in the New Testament would be the church of Corinth. There are all kinds of things going on, all kinds of orgies, all kinds of going to the temple prostitutes, all kinds of being drunk during the Lord's Supper, all kinds of brother suing brother in court, all kinds of carnality are going on in that church; and yet, Paul opens up in chapter 1 in his greeting by saying, "To all the saints, God is faithful, whom he has called you into the fellowship of his Son. You are lacking behind in no gift". He affirms them. He confesses they are still saints, hallelujah, in spite of all that's happening, and then he starts correcting them later on. But even the manner in which he corrects, it's full of grace. "Know you not that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit"? He tells them, "Probably you do not know; I'm letting you know. If you know, you need to realize a greater consciousness of who you are. You are the temple of God". Hallelujah.

So, here we see Paul affirming them, Paul reminding them they come behind in no gift. And yet, in Galatians, what was the crime? What was the sin in Galatians? They were turning away from the gospel of grace to try to keep the law, or they're trying to add the law to the gospel of grace, and that is something that Paul will not compromise on. Paul opens up the chapter; there is no, like, the typical greeting that you find in Paul's letters, even to the most carnal church, Corinth. You find Paul getting to the point. He says, "I marvel you are so soon removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel". Then Paul pronounced a double curse on anyone who preaches any other gospel than the gospel of grace. The whole context in that portion there is about being removed from the grace of Christ, the gospel of grace, into another gospel. And then Paul says there's a double anathema, a double curse on anyone that preaches any other gospel than the gospel of grace.

And I decided a long time ago, amen, my mama didn't raise no fool. I'm not gonna come under the curse, that double curse, especially for a preacher, the double curse there is for the preacher that preaches any other gospel than the gospel of grace. For me, I want to preach the gospel of grace, the same gospel that Paul preached is the only hope for this lost, dying world. You know, this world that, right now, we see all kinds of immorality as they plunge into deeper darkness. And yet, you know, we feel like we see those overt sins and all that, and we are coming against those sins; but actually, the answer to all this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, people, and the gospel will resolve the matter, amen, amen, amen, amen.

So, if I preach the gospel of grace, I'll be doubly blessed, hallelujah, instead of doubly cursed, amen? So, the Bible says, where sin increased, pleonazó, grace huperperisseuó. So, yes, I believe in hyper grace, because the Bible says grace hyper-increased, amen? That's hyper grace. Praise the Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus. We are so conscious of the dark side than the glory of God. We are so conscious of evil than good. We are so conscious of sins than his righteousness. We are so conscious of the devil many a times even than Jesus. And your confidence in this area shows in our preaching, our focus, our emphasis, amen? So, let's go on. I wanna share with you a testimony. You know, I said time and time again that the world needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me just share this. This is a brother from Texas:

And like many others, my story begins with growing up in church; however, I never really had a true, intimate relationship with Jesus. As my senior year approached, I began to get more involved with girls, drinking, and partying. By that time, I had completely ditched church. When I turned 21, I started going to bars five to six times a week, went from relationship to relationship, and got involved in fights. One night, after coming home late, I walked into the room I shared with my 11-year-old brother, and I thought to myself, "How can I be the man I am now and expect my brother to look up to me"?

I knew I needed to change. I started spending more time with my family and being more intentional with who I pursued in terms of relationships and friendships. Around this time, I had just been introduced to Pastor Joseph Prince and was still trying to wrap my head around the message of grace. While waiting for my friends to pick me up for a night out, I would find myself watching Pastor Prince's sermons on my phone. I just couldn't seem to get away from the small, quiet whisper that was calling out to me. My heart was crying out for the only love that satisfies: Jesus.

A few months later, I was introduced to Pastor Prince's book, "Destined to Reign". As I read, I began to see Pastor Prince unveil the simplicity of the gospel of grace in a way I had never experienced. He showed me the beauty of Jesus and the perfection of his finished work in a way that caused my heart to melt all over again for my Savior. I'd stay up 'til 2 a.m. reading and hanging out with like-minded people rather than driving home after a long night of partying.

I began to see a transformation take place in my heart that eventually led to a transformation in my life. I found out that Pastor Prince has a church planted here in Texas, so I decided to spend one Resurrection Sunday at Grace Revolution Church. I walked out of that service completely changed from the way I walked in that day, and immediately knew this was the house God wanted to plant me in. So, I started going to service every Sunday, joined the young adult ministry, and eventually started serving. The Lord has transformed me from who I once was to who I am today by his grace. So, I give thanks to Pastor Prince and his ministry for showing me the unadulterated gospel of grace that has changed my life forever.

Hallelujah, to God be the glory. And a shout-out to all those in Grace Revolution Church. Yay! Praise the Lord. So, here we have a fundamental flaw in theology, in that we think that Jesus came just to cancel all the things that Adam did and then to complete what Adam failed to do. Let me say that again. We think that Jesus just came, God sent Jesus just to cancel all that Adam did, all the sins and all that Adam did. Instead of adding the one fifth more, we don't even talk about that. We think that he just came to cancel all that Adam did and to complete what Adam failed to do. But friend, God is not satisfied with a mere restoration of something that's lost. If God has been robbed, we see this principle in Leviticus chapter 5 and chapter 6. The Bible tells us in Leviticus 5, so, the Lord said this to Moses. "If a person acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against the Lord's holy things, then he shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord. And he shall make restitution for that which he has sinned against the holy thing, and shall add to it a fifth part of it and give it to the priest".

Now, these are sins, these are sins against the Lord's holy things. Okay, now, let's look at sins against man. It's also the same. This is another category of guilt offering. "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord, and disavows the rightful claim of his neighbor regarding a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or regarding robbery, or he has extorted from his neighbor, or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins regarding any of the things that people do'", so, as you can see, these are sins against a fellow man. "Then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or acquired by extortion". Notice, in verse 5, "Or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it a fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering". Okay?

So, it's very clear that the one who has wronged his fellow man, he must bring a ram. He must bring a guilt offering, a picture of Jesus, and then he's got to restore, make reparations, make amends, amen, make restitution, like, the full price or the full thing of what he has stolen, add a fifth to it, which means 20%, 20%. A fifth is 20% added to it. Now, because it talks about the guilt offering, this whole thing, these two categories of sin against the Lord and sin against man is all talking about the guilt offering, the nature of the guilt offering. We know who is the guilt offering, your guilt offering and mine: our Lord Jesus Christ. At the cross, he became our guilt offering. In fact, Isaiah tells us this in Isaiah, the famous passage about the work of Jesus at the cross. It says, "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief". Young's translation says, "He has made him sick". "When his soul," notice this, "when his soul makes an offering for guilt".

So, this is a guilt offering, because the word "asham" is there for "guilt". The word "guilt offering" is "asham". So, this is the word used by Isaiah, "asham". So, Jesus, his soul became the guilt offering for you and I. And friend, don't forget, if Jesus became the guilt offering to the Lord, then Jesus makes himself liable. He makes himself accountable, amen, to restore to God all that we have robbed God of, and then restore to us all that we have sinned and lost, amen, or our sins against someone else. He is the one that will restore not just the full price, but 120%. Now, God ordained this whole guilt offering in such a way that his Son will be glorified. We know that Jesus is the guilt offering, also, that restores to all of us because of Psalms 69.

If you look at Psalm 69, in fact, Psalm 69 is the second most quoted from Psalm in the New Testament. Of all the psalms that's the most frequently quoted is this psalm; this psalm and Psalms 22. Psalm 22 is the number one quotations, the number of quotations from there is numerous in New Testament. The second is this psalm. In fact, I counted there are six quotations in the New Testament just from this psalm. So, but over here it says in verse 4, "They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head". Notice this phrase, "They that hate me without a cause". Jesus said that of him, of himself. Jesus said, on the night in the upper room, he says this: "But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'" So, Jesus talking about himself, he referred this psalm to himself.

Now, let's go back to Psalm 69. Therefore, let's go right to the last line. "Then I restored," I, the Lord, "restored that which I took not away. I restored that which I took not away". So, the Lord became the guilt offering, and he restored what he did not take away. He made restitution of what he did not steal or robbed. He made reparations for those things that he did not do wrong. So, the Lord Jesus took the place of the perpetrator. The perpetrator, the one who did the wrong, has to pay not only the full price, the full value, but also one-fifth on it, means 20%. So, he has to bring 120%. So, friend, you and I, we have robbed God. We have robbed God of his glory, of obedience, of worship, of his love, that we are supposed, we are created to worship God, to love God, amen, to be his people, and we have robbed him of that pleasure. We have robbed him of what is due him.

But even what we robbed God of, Jesus came and died on the cross. And because he is our guilt offering, amen, Jesus has restored on your behalf all the obedience, all the worship, all the reverence, all the fear of the Lord, all the love, to "love God with all your heart, all your soul," on your behalf. It's as if God gave you an A-plus. Whatever Jesus did, God set the account to you, and God gave you the benefits of it. It's as if you did it. Do you understand the principle here? So, notice the two categories of guilt offering. One is towards the Lord and one is against man. So, both Jesus restored to God. So, actually, you can say that God has become a gainer through what Jesus has done.

If you think about it, you know, simple theology says, oh, Jesus just came and canceled, you know, removed all the sins that Adam brought in, and then to just complete what Adam failed to do. No, it's more than that. God cannot just be satisfied with the mere restoration of what is lost. God wants greater blessing for man. Even what he's robbed of, God is saying, "Much more than that. I want him to be blessed beyond and above that". And, of course, a greater glory to him. So, God cannot just be satisfied with just a restoration of the thing that was stolen. God wants more, amen, for men, amen, and God has become a gainer because of what Jesus did. Jesus restored to God on your behalf all that has been robbed of God. See, God is the injured party, the one that has been robbed by us through our sins, right? But now, Jesus has restored to God on your behalf. So, rest in the Lord, amen? Rest in his finished works. Love him, amen. Thank him. Praise the Lord for all that he has done for you. Praise the name of Jesus.

What about towards man? We have also robbed man. We have robbed man of stuff, literally robbed them as well, amen. Down through the years, you know, we have robbed them of the time our loved ones, you know, the appreciation, the obedience to our parents. And maybe even right now, you know, your parent is no more with you, but you regret that you have robbed them of the obedience that they longed to see and the honor and the respect and the love that they craved to see from you. But, you know, you had your wild days and now they're gone. They have gone to be with the Lord. And here you are, you're regretting. You are regretting, you know, those moments that you could have shown them appreciation. But friend, listen, even in moments like this, you can stop and pause. It's all covered in the guilt offering. Jesus has done something, even for them, because you are born again, because you are the righteousness of God in Christ.

And because you look to Jesus as your Savior and he is your guilt offering, he has done something about this. Just know that he has done something about this, and your loved one is more pleased than if you had rendered your appreciation back in those days. Somehow all this is covered in the guilt offering, amen. And the things that we have robbed from each other, or you have been robbed, you feel like, you know, people have robbed you of this and that kind of thing. And you look to the person for the restoration, many a times it doesn't come from the person. But here we have the Scripture telling us that the guilt offering, when Jesus began the guilt offering, he restored what he did not take away. So, even though the person took away from you, but Jesus will restore it to you, not in the same full value, but 120% of it. Praise the name of Jesus, amen.

It's like Pharaoh, you know, Pharaoh of Egypt, when Joseph was in front of him, and Joseph is a type of Christ. You know, Joseph advised him in Genesis, Joseph says, "Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years". By the way, this is the first time the word "one-fifth" appears in the Bible. The law of first mention, something significant. So, Joseph told Pharaoh to collect the seven years of plenty, collect 20% out of it and store it, 20% store it, store the 20%, the one-fifth. And this is a principle here that, because of Joseph's wisdom, Pharaoh was enriched, in the next following years of famine, he was enriched. In fact, because of the famine, he was enriched. He became a gainer through Joseph's wisdom, right? So, it's a picture of Jesus.

Even during this time of the pandemic, praise the Lord, we are gaining. Hallelujah. We have more souls saved during this time than ever. I just want to tell you that we are in the midst of a revival. Souls are, even souls coming to the Zoom meeting right after the service asking to be saved, asking, "How can I embrace Christianity"? You know, we are in the midst of a revival, church, and it's so exciting to be living during this time. Yet on the other hand, you see the pandemic. You see the times that we are in. So, what's gonna happen right now? Well, God always wants to show his glory, amen, during the time of famine, right? So, here we have the famine, and Pharaoh benefiting, Pharaoh gaining from the famine. In fact, he says that, "You know, I can appreciate that the famine happened because had it not been for the famine, I would not be enriched the way I am today".

So, it's the same thing. If you look at the principle of restoration, even in the prodigal son, you know the prodigal son left home, led a licentious lifestyle, and finally found himself in the pigpen. But when he came home to the father, the father says, "Bring forth the best robe, put ring on his finger, and sandals on his feet". Think about it. The son, "And kill the fatted calf". The son was never given that ring. And from what we know, he never had the best robe because the older brother also said, "You know, I never had the fatted calf". But the son that came home, the son who came home from a life of sin, a life that was reckless, he couldn't care but his father's feelings for him, he came back, broken, empty and yet received because of the fatted calf, the picture of the offering Jesus Christ. Because of the guilt offering, he became a gainer that where sin increased, grace superabounds.

This is the theology of the gospel of grace. It is not this idea that Jesus came and just restored, you know, where Adam left. No, no, no, it's much more than that. That's why the word "much more" appears in Romans 5, five times the number of grace. Five times it appears much more, much more, much more. For example, for if by one man's offense, that is Adam. Death reigned by that one man, and we see how death reigns. You know, it's total. A hundred years from now, not a single person watching me will still be alive. Either you're with Jesus, or the Rapture has happened that is, or, you know, you won't be around. You won't be alive on earth, right? Death is total. Yet, Jesus has conquered death. Praise the Lord. For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, Adam, much more, hallelujah, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ. Amen?

So, if you receive abundance of grace, and you know what? It's not a little dab of grace. "Yeah, I do listen to grace, Pastor Prince. I do, you know, talk about grace". No friend, we need to have an abundance of preaching of grace to receive, for people to receive abundance of grace, amen. Those who receive abundance of grace and the gift, it's not a reward for something you do. It's the gift of righteousness. What's gonna happen? They will reign in life through Jesus Christ. And I pray that that will define you, amen, from this day forth, in Jesus's name. Praise the Lord, hallelujah.

I want to pray for those of you who have never received Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, but you feel like God is calling you right now to put your trust in the truth. The Bible says the truth will set you free. Hallelujah. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Praise the name of Jesus. You've heard the truth, my friend. And now get ready for your freedom. If that is you, you're gonna put your trust in Christ and you believe that Christ died in your place, amen, he took your sins upon himself, if that is you, then pray this prayer with me right now. Amen. Say this from your heart. Say:

Heavenly Father, I confess Jesus Christ is my Lord. I believe Christ died on the cross for all my sins. He was condemned that I might be justified. He was forsaken that I might be forever accepted. Father, I thank you that you raised Christ from the dead when you declared me righteous. Thank you, Father God, I am now the righteousness of God in Christ. In Jesus's name, amen.

If you prayed that prayer, my friend, you are now a child of God, amen. If you prayed that prayer from your heart, you are now translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, from the power of Satan to the power of God. You are now a brand-new creation in Christ. You are born, literally born again the righteousness of God in Christ. Welcome to God's family. Praise the name of Jesus.

Now, I want to pray for those of you, you may have some challenges in your body right now and you have some, some diagnosis that doctors gave you, and now you're concerned about that area of your life. But friend, listen, it's all covered at the cross. Because the devil attacked you in this area, because of this weakness that you have in your body even, right, that area, when grace touches it, it's superabounds with a benefit. In other words, you have greater health. Believe God for it. It's in the principle of the guilt offering. Praise the name of Jesus.

Stand to your feet, if you can. In the name of a Lord Jesus Christ, I command the spirit of infirmity that afflicts that area of your body right now, to loose you and let you go in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I pronounce healing, in the name of Jesus, upon your body from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet. Father, release, Lord, right now, the healing power, the healing virtue of Jesus Christ, amen, from the top of their head to the soles of their feet, effecting a cure, effecting healing, wholeness in every part that was weak or infirmed or diseased. Right now, restore 120% of superabounding health and life in that body in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Quickly, quickly, those with joint conditions... I see someone with a back condition in the middle of your back here, if you will just move around where you've previously felt pain, move in that way right now and see what the Lord has done. All those with joint conditions in your knees and your elbows, your wrists, your neck, just move those areas right now and see what the Lord has done. Praise the Lord. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus.

Someone with a waist condition, it's like this pain comes on you on and off. And just now you felt it. And sometimes you feel it when you're sitting down for some time. And it's like a pain that comes on and off. Right now you feel like a warmth in that area. God has healed you of that condition. Thank you, Father God in Jesus's wonderful name. Praise the name of Jesus. Thank You, Lord.

I see a child that is feverish, a child that is sick. And I see the mother really concerned about the child. I see the mother sponging the child. And right now the power of God has been released upon that child. The child is well, you can feel it. Go touch your child right now in Jesus's name, and see what the Lord has done. Praise the name of Jesus. In fact, you were praying just now that the Lord would touch your child. He's heard your cry, mother. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank You, Lord Jesus. In the name of Jesus, thank you, Lord, for effecting that healing. Hallelujah. Praise the name of Jesus.

I see someone with like a blurred vision, and you've been diagnosed that you have a condition in your eyes. And God is healing your eyes right now because you see your eyes clearing up. You see that the blurriness is gone. It's like everything you're seeing live and in color. You know, you're seeing clearly, and God has healed you. Praise the name of Jesus. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen, amen. Come on. Do what you cannot do before. You cannot move your back, move your back. You cannot move your toe, move your toe. See what the Lord has done. Thank you, Lord Jesus, amen. Is it confirmed by the doctors? Hallelujah. Please send us the report, amen, so we can rejoice with you and that your testimony might be the impetus for that faith in another person to believe the Lord, amen, for his healing or her healing as well in Jesus's name.

Stand to your feet. This coming week, let's believe that God will open doors of favor for us, something special will happen this week. I just feel like something is gonna happen this week, and that's why I just can't just pray the normal prayer. Something's gonna happen that you will know. And when you know about it, something favorable, something good out of the ordinary, please let us know about it. Praise the Lord. Lift up your hands with all your families.

This coming week, the Lord bless you with the blessings of Abraham, the blessings of Deuteronomy 28. The Lord bless you and the Lord keep you and your families throughout this week from the COVID-19 virus, from every sickness and disease, from harm and danger, and from all the powers of darkness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gives his angels charge over you. No evil will befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling. He will prosper you. He will keep you in all your ways. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and your families, grant to use supernatural favor everywhere you go and grant to you and yours his wonderful, shalom peace. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And all the people said, amen. God bless you.