Justification by Christ's Blood and the New Covenant - Zac Poonen & Brother Danish

 

Justification by Christ's Blood and the New Covenant

🎯 Chapter 1: Foundations: Old Covenant vs. New Covenant

Introduction and Purpose

This message begins by sharing a clip about forgiveness and justification, originally shared by Brother Zach. The intent is not only to teach the doctrine of justification but also to share how the Lord helped in one's own life and heart.

Key Differences Between the Covenants

Recalling the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant offers a quick revision:

💡 1. Knowing God as Father:

• In the Old Covenant, believers did not know God as Father.

• In the New Covenant, we know Him as Father. This must be known as a reality every day, not just a theory known from a textbook.

💡 2. Satan's Defeat:

• In the Old Covenant, Satan was not defeated.

• Any Christian who lives in fear of the devil is living in the Old Covenant, not believing that Satan has been defeated.

• Satan was defeated on the cross and has absolutely no power over believers. This truth has nothing to do with age or experience; if an enemy is defeated, it is defeated.

• However, if you do not believe it, the promise will not work. Unbelief can prevent the Lord from doing mighty works.

💡 3. The Purpose of Scripture:

• In the New Covenant, we are meant to look into the Bible to see the glory of Jesus, not just verses, texts, and doctrines.

• A Christian who is still studying texts and doctrines to prepare sermons has not truly understood why God gave us the Bible.

• Many good Christians are living in the Old Covenant in this area because they do not see the glory of Jesus when they read the scriptures.

• The Holy Spirit shows us the glory of Jesus in order to conform us to that image, not to taunt us for not being like Him. He makes us like Him.

🎯 Chapter 2: The Blood of Christ and Conscience Cleansing

The Importance of Christ's Blood

The subject of the blood of Christ and justification is very important to understand.

The word new covenant was first used in the New Testament by Jesus at the last supper (Luke 22:20). He said, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood".

The Cleansing of Conscience (Hebrews 9:13-14)

The scriptures draw a contrast between the blood sacrifices of the Old Covenant and the sacrifice of Christ:

• Old Covenant: The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could sanctify those who were defiled for the cleansing of the flesh.

• New Covenant: How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

It is very clear that you cannot serve the living God if you have not understood what the blood of Christ can do for your conscience. Nobody could have this clear conscience in the Old Covenant. Christians living without a clear conscience are living under the Old Covenant, resulting in a miserable and defeated life.

The Eternal Covenant and Resurrection

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is connected with the blood of the eternal covenant (Hebrews 13:20).

When Jesus died on the cross, His blood completely drained from His body. When He appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, He noted that a spirit does not have flesh and bones, which He possessed, but not blood (Luke 24).

• The draining out of all His blood was not only an atonement for sins and to satisfy God's wrath.

• It was accepted by God so that He could redeem man. Man could stand before God not only as if he had never sinned, but as if he has been totally righteous from day one of his life. This is the power of Christ's blood.

The Life is in the Blood

In the Old Covenant law, God stated that the life of the flesh (in animals or human beings) is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). The blood was given on the altar as an atonement for souls.

🎯 Chapter 3: Justification: Declared Righteous

Justification vs. Forgiveness

In Romans 5:9, we read that we are justified by His blood. While we are forgiven because Christ's blood was shed, justified is a bigger word than forgiven.

• Forgiveness: This blots out all our sins, clears the record, and looks at us as if we never sinned. The result is a "forgiven criminal," happy but potentially hanging their head in shame.

• Justification: This is related to the word righteous (just). It means declared righteous.

    ◦ The blood of Christ not only forgives sins but declares the believer as having lived in righteousness from day one.

    ◦ Righteousness "fills it up" where just "clears out the record".

    ◦ Christ is our righteousness. We stand before God because Christ has become our righteousness, not just because our sins are blotted out.

Boldness Before God

Understanding justification is crucial, as many Christians lack boldness before the Lord. They wonder, "Is God angry with me? Has He accepted me?".

The devil seeks to take away this boldness by ensuring we never fully understand justification, forcing us to live with "a little hesitation". A true Christian who understands justification comes before God with great boldness, not out of arrogance, but because they have kept their conscience clear.

🎯 Chapter 4: The Absolute Necessity of a Clear Conscience

Conscience and Service

You cannot serve the living God if your conscience is not clear. God will not accept your service if there is even one unsettled thing on your conscience.

• Multitudes of believers fool themselves, thinking they can serve God despite unsettled matters, such as failing to forgive someone or ask someone’s forgiveness.

• All service is wasting time if you are not absolutely sure that Christ’s blood has dealt with your past and declared you righteous before God. Your conscience must be clear to serve the living God.

Clear Conscience Before God and Men

The Apostle Paul stated his desire to be in the resurrection of the righteous (Acts 24:15). Therefore, he did his best to keep his conscience 100% blameless before God and before men.

• Pride Check: It is easier to confess sin to God than to confess to men. For example, asking forgiveness from God after losing one's temper is easy, but asking forgiveness from the person offended is much more difficult, showing tremendous pride.

• Deception: It is a deception to think you can confess sin before a holy God while refusing to ask forgiveness from an unholy person you injured.

• The proof that you have truly come before a holy God is your readiness to go before an unholy man and ask forgiveness. If you do not ask forgiveness from the person you injured, do not imagine God has forgiven you.

🎯 Chapter 5: Walking in the Light and Cleansing from All Sin

Keeping the conscience blameless is possible because the blood of Christ was shed for us, and we are declared righteous.

Addressing Conscious Sin (1 John 1:9)

If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us all our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This addresses sin that is known or conscious.

Addressing Unconscious Sin (1 John 1:7)

One of the most misquoted verses in scripture is 1 John 1:7. It says: "If we walk in the light as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin".

• The Condition: The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin only if we walk in the light. Christians often try to claim the promise while ignoring the condition.

• Walking in the Light: This means having confessed all known sin, ensuring the conscience is absolutely clear.

• The Purpose of Cleansing: If the conscience is clear of known sin, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from unconscious sin. This is the sin still present in our lives that could prevent us from standing before a holy God.

• If we are honest about the areas we know, the Lord will take care of the areas we do not know.

The Primary Condition for Boldness

The emphasis on a clear conscience is to take away Satan's power over your life, which he wields by stealing your boldness.

• The main condition for coming before God is a clear conscience, more than anything else.

• We should start our day, live our whole day, and end our day with a clear conscience.

• When we walk in the light with a clear conscience, we have boldness knowing that not only the conscious sin, but the unconscious sin, is also cleansed in the blood of Christ.

Justification and Sanctification

Walking in the light is a process (not standing still). As we walk, we gain more light on ourselves. If we picture our flesh as a big black circle, as we walk in the light, the unconscious black area gets reduced, and the life of Christ enters, making the circle more and more white until we are completely like Christ. This process highlights the difference between justification and sanctification.

🎯 Chapter 6: Faith, Gratitude, and Warnings

Acceptance and Gratitude

We are accepted before God not on the basis of what we try to do, but by the blood of Christ and what He has done for us on the cross. We must walk in the light God has given us.

The truth of justification should liberate and change us. It should take away all complaints and grumblings and make us overflow with gratitude. We should be happy that we are blessed and recognized that we have the same standing before the Lord as anyone else.

Spiritual Obesity

There is a danger of spiritual obesity: understanding the truth and doctrine, but it having no effect on our lives. Historically, some individuals whose doctrines were even wrong had lives that were far ahead, challenging our hearts.

Preserving the Gospel (Galatians)

The Apostle Paul showed intense passion to preserve the truth of the gospel.

• Paul preached the gospel to the Galatians, who received him with immense love, despite his bodily illness.

• Later, others tried to bring them into bondage by teaching they must be circumcised to be accepted, thereby trying to fulfill in the flesh what was started in the Spirit.

• Paul was amazed that they were so quickly deserting the one who called them by the grace of Christ.

• Paul used strong words, declaring that if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to what was preached, he is to be accursed (Galatians 1:8-9).

Salvation by Faith Alone

The plan of salvation, justification, and sanctification was designed by God so that we would never boast in our hearts. Paul declared, "I labored more than all but not me but Christ in me".

We must know that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 2:16). No flesh will be justified by the works of the law. If we could be saved by our own works, Christ died needlessly.

🎯 Chapter 7: Abraham: Righteousness Credited by Faith

Abraham's Example

Abraham believed in God, and it was reckoned (credited) to him as righteousness (Galatians 3:6). Those who are of faith are the sons of Abraham.

After Abraham's victory in war, the Lord came to him in a vision, saying, "Do not fear Abraham. I am a shield to you and your reward shall be very great". Abraham was fully transparent, expressing his fear about being childless. The Lord then showed him the stars and promised countless descendants.

• "Then he believed in the Lord, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6).

• This means it was credited to Abraham's account as righteousness.

In Romans 4:21, we see that Abraham was fully assured that what God has promised he was able also to perform, even though his body (and Sarah's condition) was "as good as dead". He did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, and therefore, it was credited to him as righteousness.

Genuine Faith (The Book of James)

The Book of James is not a contradiction to justification by faith, but rather it complements the doctrine by explaining genuine faith.

• Faith without works is dead.

• The demons also believe God is one and shudder. Genuine faith is not just faith in a doctrine or truth; it is faith in the person of Christ that changes our life and direction.

🎯 Chapter 8: Conviction vs. Condemnation and Final Hope

Specific Conviction

Sometimes, believers are concerned about their past, feeling something is still wrong even after forgiveness.

The Holy Spirit's conviction is very specific. When the Lord addresses the churches (in Revelation), He points out specific issues (e.g., losing the first love). God is not a God of confusion. We can ask the Lord to examine our hearts and show us any hurtful way.

Temptation vs. Sin

In the story Pilgrim's Progress, the Christian emerging from the Valley of the Shadow of Death hears evil spirits whispering blasphemies. Because it is dark, he mistakes these thoughts (which are temptation) for his own voice and beats his breast. When he comes into the light, he realizes it was the demon's voice.

Even Jesus, after His baptism, faced the temptation to worship the devil, but He opposed the devil with God's Word instead of becoming grieved. We must learn to recognize our rights so we do not lose our boldness.

The Hope of Repentance

The knowledge of justification removes gloom from the heart. We must not look down on any human being, as no one is out of reach of God if they are willing to repent (like the Apostle Paul, who persecuted the church but was turned into a mighty apostle). As long as we have breath, there is hope.

🎯 Chapter 9: The Verdict from the Court of Heaven

Standing Blameless

God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world so that we would be holy and blameless before Him (Ephesians 1:4). Our sin being forgiven does not automatically qualify us to stand before the Lord, especially since we have unseen sins and areas we have not yet occupied.

In the Old Covenant, the high priest could only enter the Most Holy Place once a year, illustrating the fear and cost involved in approaching God.

Christ, however, appeared as the High Priest of the good things to come. He entered the holy place once for all, not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood. The Lord opened the way for us through His blood, allowing us to be blameless and stand before Him.

Justification: Lifting Your Head

Justification is the verdict received from the court of heaven: the one who puts faith in Christ, repents of known sins, and walks in the light is justified.

Concept	Forgiveness	Justification
Debt/Guilt	Removed; debt is cleared.	Removed.
Status	A forgiven criminal. You are happy, but hang your head in shame.	Declared righteous. The judge declares, "You're not a criminal at all".
Boldness	There is still shame or a sense of being a criminal.	You lift your head high, happy, because you are declared righteous.

God declares you righteous, and that is the basis for us to lift our head when we come before God and when we stand before people.