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17 If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through
that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and
the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man,
Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:17 NRSV
We all know that because
of Adam’s sin, we were all born sinners. Adam and Eve’s failure to obey God’s
simple instruction of not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, plunged the entire human race that proceeded from them into sin. The Word
of God declares “there is no one righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10) and “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God” (Romans 3:23).
Sin brought separation
from God, Adam and Eve lost the glory of God that was on them and with it their
ability to properly carry out the responsibilities they were entrusted with
when they were created. They no longer had dominion over all creatures, they no
longer could subdue the earth and they could no longer tend the garden as they
were kicked out of it. Child bearing was to be accompanied with pain, they went
from ruling and reigning over every created thing, they went from face to face
fellowship and communion with God, they went from living a worry free, doubt
free and care free life to a shame filled, guilt filled, fear filled, worry
filled and pain filled life. In short, death entered the picture and with it every negative
thing.
Jesus is the Second Adam,
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, a
perfect sinless man; He lived a sinless life and took upon Himself all the sin
of the human race on His body on the cross and atoned for them once and for all.
He died, was buried and rose again so that anyone who believes in Him and what
He has done receives this awesome free gift of God’s righteousness, that is,
when we put our trust in Jesus and what He did to save us, God makes us
righteous just like Himself – think about that! Now, that’s Good News!
We do not work to become
righteous before God, we cannot earn right standing with God by our actions,
however “holy” they may be – His righteousness is a FREE GIFT to us. It is by
grace that we are saved, not of works so we cannot boast. Just as sin came in
through one man – Adam, Righteousness comes through one man, the Last Adam –
Jesus Christ. Just as we were born sinners and didn't have any say in the
condition in which we were born, in Christ we are made
perfectly righteous before God, not because of anything we have done, it is all by His grace and the result? We are empowered to walk in dominion over our circumstances.
Now that we have been
made righteous before God, not because of anything we have done but because of
what Jesus has done, as we receive His grace can reign in this life. It is not
a question of willpower or self-effort or determination, no it is by His grace.
His grace is sufficient. The Holy Spirit encourages us to boldly come before
the Throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our
time of need (Hebrews 4:16) for God
knows the more grace we receive from Him, the more we will be able to walk in
dominion.
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Beloved, if you are being
challenged in any specific area in your life, you don’t need to keep on
struggling on your own, following formula after formula to no avail. Stop accepting the enemy’s condemnation, stop wallowing in guilt and condemnation, stop the pity
party, stop feeling sorry for yourself – that’s not humility, it actually is a
form of pride. Remember, you are your Father's beloved and in Christ you are His righteousness. Your spirit is there already, your soul and body need to catch up. So rise up and by faith come and receive an abundance of grace and your
Father’s free gift of righteousness. Only then will you be able to exercise the
dominion that is yours in Christ over every situation that has held you captive.
By faith keep coming to
the Throne of Grace, keep receiving His grace and His free gift of
righteousness, the more you receive the more you’ll reign in life.
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