Grace, the Forbidden Gospel - Online Christian Library

The following verse sheds some light on what it means to “do” the will of the Father and “work” the works of
God:
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent”.
(John 6:29 NKJV)
As before we see that these expressions, even though they appear to imply that we have to do some
external action or work, actually refers to an action of faith, of placing our trust in Jesus Christ. This is what it
means to do the will of the Father.
Then in Matthew 7:23 Jesus tells those who “practice lawlessness” to depart from Him, referring to the
unsaved again, just like we previously saw John do in his epistles. Jesus also said to them “I never knew
you”. Can it be any clearer that in fact He was referring to unbelievers? Practicing lawlessness does not
mean breaking the 10 Commandments: it means not being saved.
Obeying Commandments
Let’s slam another nail in the coffin and prove to the legalists just how fully the grace of God has made
provision for our natural human insufficiencies. Let’s try and figure this one out together. Remembering all
that we have just learnt about those who “practice righteousness” and previously also about those who
“commit sin”, it is obvious that John could also be talking about something else than obeying the 10
Commandments when he says that we need to “obey God’s commandments”. This is in fact a big favorite
with those who still preach that we should live according to the Old Testament Laws. Let’s take a look and
see what John really meant:
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,”
and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:3-4 NKJV)
Some other verses address this same issue and the aforementioned “abiding in Him” issue as well:
Now he [someone] who keeps His [God’s] commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this
we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3:24 NKJV, annotations
added)
From Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we know that every believer receives and is sealed with the Holy Spirit as
a guarantee that they are indeed saved:
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also,
having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Eph 1:13-14
NKJV)
We can therefore see that believers receive the Holy Spirit as a guarantee after they are born again and
because He is sealed inside them He naturally will also “abide” with them and they with Him. Now in this
context, read 1 John 3:24 (above) again. Clearly John is saying that whosoever has the Holy Spirit (a
believer), such a person also keeps God’s commandments. What “commandments” is he talking about?
And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love
one another, as He gave us commandment. (1 John 3:23 NKJV)
When the very nature and character of the person of the Holy Spirit resides within a person, a natural result
will be that they begin to change in their outward behavior. People will begin to notice a difference in the way
they live. It can’t happen the other way round – somebody that acts in a well behaving manner can never
through their good actions be changed on the inside – they need to receive the Holy Spirit first. This is
exactly what the apostle John is talking about: When we believe in God and are born again, we will love one
another more and more as a fruit of the Holy Spirit that abides within us. Obeying God’s commandments in
the New Testament therefore means to believe in Jesus.
Walking in the Light
135