Fallen And Can’t Get Up

I want to share something that many of us may not be unaware of. For me I was blinded to this truth for many years. But now it has given me more victory and passion for Jesus!

It’s one of the main reasons Christians struggle or backslide. Actually many pastors, ministers, evangelists and leaders are entangled in this and might not know it.

When we think of backsliding or being cold with our relationship with God most of us think it’s because we have compromised with the world. Example, we have one foot in the world and one foot in the church. Compromising with the world is the result of falling away from God but not the root of what’s really happening.

When we first got saved most of us are very passionate for Jesus. Then as years go by we became less passionate for Christ. What happened? Why was the things of God exciting for us but not anymore? Where did our passion go?

Galatians 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from grace.

The meaning of “Christ having no effect” is to stop working or to unemploy. According to this verse there is something far worse than falling in sin. Actually it’s the very reason and root of why we backslide. It’s when we come under the conditional demands of the law. By coming under the demands of the law we place our faith in ourself instead of Christ.

When we do this we activate self-righteous flesh and become cold towards God. One of the signs of self-righteous flesh is attacking other ministries and churches. Another sign is that Jesus becomes less interesting to us and we become more interested in the failures and sins of others. The topic and the revelation of Jesus is no more of a joy it’s replaced with sin consciousness. If this continues long enough we will eventually have more revelation and knowledge about sin than the cross.

Grace gives us a consciousness and focus of Jesus as being the center of our life. The law gives us a consciousness and focus of sin. Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

We do not overcome sin by focusing on sin. We overcome sin by focusing on Jesus! Let’s take our eyes off of the law which reveals ourselves (sin) and place our eyes on Jesus who reveals our righteousness in Him!

The Holy Spirit is now the replacement of the law. His conviction is better than the law. The law can only condemn and bring death (2 Corinth 3:7,8). The Holy Spirit brings salvation and life.

Notice in Galatians 5:4 it never said it was sin that caused us to fall from grace but being under the law. In the new covenant when we sin it never deactivates grace but activates the grace of God in our lives. Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

This is not so we can sin more, God forbid! but sin less! When a person is drowning in water it activates the life guards to jump into the water and rescue them. When we sin grace activates to rescue us! It’s not so we can live in bondage but live in victory.

I remember one time I heard a minister say, “the reason why America is not experiencing revival is because of sin”. I thought, “is not that the very reason for revival is to save sinners from sin? Jesus never came for the righteous but for the sinner. So if more people around the world are sinning God will increase His grace and send a wave of the power of the Holy Spirit like we have never seen before.

When sin and grace meets together for battle, grace is activated and wins! When Peter started to sink as he walked on water Jesus ran to Peter and caught him, grace was activated . The woman who was caught in adultery was waiting to die because the Pharisees wanted to stone her but Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and forgave her, grace was activated.

When we sin our Father in heaven runs towards His child to help and rescue them. If a child runs in front of a car what does an earthy father do? He will push his child out of the way and be willing to take the impact of the car. How much more our Father in heaven!

In order to defeat sin in our lives we must focus on the root not the fruit. What is the root? It’s trying to be justified by rules, the law or ten commandments.

The law was given not so we can overcome sin but so sin will overcome us. The law creates the opposite effect what many of us think. Even Paul encountered this opposite effect. Romans 7:9-11 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.

The law deactivates grace in our lives but faith in Christ activates the grace of God. Where there is no grace we fall. If we want to have victory, rule and reign in life we must receive the abundance of grace. Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

Are We Under Law Or Grace ?

What does it mean to be under the law? Coming under the law means we come under the conditions and demands that the law requires from us in order to be holy and have the promises of God. Therefore we end up with a slave mentality.

What does it mean to come under grace? It means we come under Christ who provides righteous and the promises of God to us because He fulfilled the law on our behalf. This causes us to think and identify as children of God. If we want to obtain the promises of God the law must be fulfilled 100% perfectly and 100% all the time. It’s impossible for us to do this but possible for Jesus. Therefore in the new covenant all the promises of God are no longer obtain by our obedience to the law but by our faith in Christ! 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

Is our obedience based on the works of the law or the works of faith? Is our obedience based on the upgrade in the new covenant? The difference is under the law we obey to have life and blessing. Under grace we obey because we already have life and blessing. Under the law we obey to be complete. Under grace we obey because we are already complete because of what Christ did on the cross. Do you see the difference between the demand of the law vs supply of grace ?

Conditions and demands means more than obeying the ten commandments. It could be our denominational teaching that places demands on us. It could be the way we approach ministry and we end up under great pressure to perform. It could be the wrong way we relate to God. The new covenant is not about a rule we keep but a life that keeps us.

When we are under conditions and demands it sucks the life and strength out of us. We were not created by God to live under demand but under the supply. When we live under demand we are broken down, burned out, defeated, depressed and become weak. If we remain in this condition long enough it begins to impact our physical health.

By living under demand the confusion we encounter is when we serve Christ it produces the opposite results such as stress and defeat . The reason is because we do not understand law and grace, old covenant vs new covenant. Doing ministry is not a demand to perform but a supply of our overflow of grace. This was also the same frustration in the Galatians church. Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

The good news is we can come out of this demand and come under the supply of grace. We can live in this life giving grace and strength every day. When we have no strength we sin and fulfill the desires of the flesh. The law’s strength is the flesh and eventually death. This is why we must come out from under the law and come under grace. Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

The demands of the law produces stress. The provision of grace produces rest. It’s impossible to backslide under supply. We can only backslide under demand. As we get older in the Lord our supply of grace should be increasing not decreasing.

The Supply Of Faith

Faith also is not demanded from us but supplied to us. The word of God enables us to believe the word of God. Faith is abundantly given to us and it’s received not achieved. Why is faith important? It’s the only way to connect to our power source who is God.

Many times we got the wrong image of living by faith. We tend to think that living by faith is about having nothing, struggling and surviving in order to please God. But the reality is faith and abundance go together. Yes, God does test our faith not so we can prove how faithful we are to Him but so He can prove how faithful He is to us! When God tests our faith He always supplies our faith with more faith. An example would be Abraham. God instructed Abraham to sacrifice His son. Why did God do this? To prove to Abraham that He cannot lie because God promised Abraham that Isaac will be the offspring of a nation.

Abraham knew Isaac would not die but God would provide the sacrifice. Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

When we walk by faith it’s a place of rest and power. Walking by faith does not drain us or make us weary. No! It gives us more energy and life. Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The problem with coming under the demands and conditions is that the law cannot produce faith. Even if we obey the law perfectly it still cannot produce faith in us. If our obedience can produce faith Jesus would never had to come. Galatians 3:11-12 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”

What pleases God is not our obedience to the law but our faith in Christ. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Is God Angry At You?

God is not angry because all of His righteous anger was poured out on Jesus at the cross. Isaiah 54:9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.

When we sin God is not ready to strike us or kill us with anger. Why? Because Jesus took upon Himself all the just judgment and anger God had towards sin on Himself. We are no longer living in the days where God will judge the world like He did in the old testament but we are now living in better days where God wants to save the world! Luke 9:56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

We are no longer sinners in the hands of an angry God but sinners in the hands of a loving God! What is hated cannot be saved but only what is loved. For God so loved the world…( John 3:16). Notice in the following verse how God demonstrated His love towards sinners, not anger. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

What About Judgment?

Yes, there will be a judgment but only for those who reject Christ in the last day. John 12:47-48 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

In the verse above when the law entered the world it increased offense(sin). Although the ten commandments are holy, just and good it can never make anyone holy, just and good. Only Jesus can do this.

The greatest sin we can commit is rejecting Jesus. It’s like rejecting water, food or air. When we reject Jesus we only have the opposite of who He is. Jesus is life so when we reject Him we have death. Jesus is light when we reject Him we have darkness. Jesus is peace when we reject Him we have the torments of hell.

We only hurt ourselves when we do this. All God wants to do is do good things for us. He wants to forgive, save, heal and bless us. Will you allow Him to do this in your life?

I have great news you can receive Christ as your savior right now. Christ gave His life for you. Ask Him into your life and He will give you a new heart and life. You will never be the same!