Finding Courage in Christ's Forgiveness

Unlock the secret to walking in faith with boldness and courage, even during life's most challenging moments. Have you ever wondered how to maintain your spiritual ambition and zest when the going gets tough? Join us on this empowering episode of Guilt-Free Faith as we explore the profound lessons embedded in Ephesians 3:11-12 and Acts 9:27. We guarantee you'll come away with a fresh perspective on rooting your confidence in God, understanding that while achieving Christ-like perfection is aspirational, the Holy Spirit and Christ's finished work on the cross see us as redeemed and continually growing in our faith journey.

We dive deep into the liberating truth of Christ's finished work and how it frees us from the relentless pursuit of earning our salvation. Imagine viewing your life's journey as an adventure filled with complexities that you don't need to fully understand to trust in Christ's grace. By recognizing that our past, present, and future sins are covered, we discuss how this certainty empowers us to move forward with confidence, knowing that it is Christ's perfection, and not our brokenness, that sustains us. Tune in to embrace the mystery, find courage, and walk with unshakable faith.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Walking with boldness and courage with God is what
we're covering today, about howwe can incorporate more zest,
more ambition into our walk andnotion, but one that most of us
strive to attain Because, let'sface it, life is hard, it's

(00:38):
challenging, it can be sad,frightening.
And how do we continue to walkwith our heads up high and
having the ultimate courage toact boldly and ambitiously in
God?
Hi, jimmy James Johnson, hereanother episode of Guilt-Free

(01:00):
Faith, where we of little faithgather to discuss our doubts and
differences and how to improveour walk with God.
We'll start out with a moreconventional view from my mentor
and then we'll move on to theJimmy James Johnson uncensored
commentary, and I believe thatbetween these two messages you

(01:27):
will find some insight, somepeace that other people do
understand where you're at andare going through what you're
going through.
And this is an opportunity toreally be very candid about what
the Christian walk is like andthe difficulties of it, and
really just create this safespace where we can remove the

(01:50):
judgment and talk about thingsthat are bothering us.
Realistically, having boldnessin Christ is no trivial matter

(02:11):
is no trivial matter For onething every day, with all of its
challenges, requires a sense ofstrength, a sense of ambition,
a sense of optimism and all ofthese are offspring of boldness
and courage in Christ.
But it's much easier said thandone when we're at church or

(02:33):
with other believers.
Frequently it's the party lineto put on a certain face of
courage, to insist that you'rejust trusting God, you're just
giving it over to the Lord andeverything's great.
And I may not understand now,but I understand in God's time,

(02:56):
and God's time's not our time.
And we could go on and on withall of like the right verses to
say right, with all of the rightverses to say right.
But for many of us,particularly in a time of need,
that's just not that helpful.
The emotions of being terrifiedand looking around you and

(03:16):
seeing circumstances of despairand dismay, that's not something
you can just wipe away with ahappy thought.
So first let's talk a littlebit about what the Bible says
and what the conventionaltreatment is on that, and then
I'll come in and give you somespace to breathe by just being

(03:39):
honest about how just nuts andhow challenging, just how
forbidding and how we don't havethat type of courage every day.
And, as we talked about in thelast video here, sometimes we

(03:59):
have to just put one foot infront of the other.
But let's see what the Word says.
Ephesians 3, 11 and 12 says"this was according to the
eternal purpose which he hasrealized in Christ Jesus, our

(04:20):
Lord", in whom we have boldnessand confidence of access through
our faith in him.
Wow, okay, be confident, butlet your confidence be rooted in
God.
We are what we are due to hisgrace and his mercy.

(04:46):
Confidence breeds confidence.
You don't have to keep tellingpeople over and over again that
you are nothing without God, butkeep repeating that regularly
to God, regularly to God.

(05:13):
With God's influence coveringus, we can all learn to take a
risk much more often than weusually do, as our boldness
increases gradually andprogressively under the nurture
of God and His Word anddirection.
Acts 9.27 says but Barnabastook him and brought him to the

(05:33):
apostles and declared to themhow, on the road, he had seen
the Lord who spoke to him, andhow, at Damascus, he had
preached boldly in the name ofJesus.
He had preached boldly in thename of Jesus.
So we know that quite literally, the word bold or boldly is

(06:01):
used numerous times in the Bible.
Let me start out by sayingsomething pretty controversial.
The Bible is aspirational andChrist is an aspirational figure
.
And what do I mean by that?

(06:34):
I mean that we are never goingto reach the state of perfection
that the Bible calls for.
We will never reach the levelof perfection that Christ
embodies in the Word.
There's only one way that wecan take on the characteristics
of that type of sinless,guiltless perfection.
I had heard somebody phrasethis as walking on a

(06:58):
technicality.
So we all know in criminal lawthat sometimes someone will be
arrested in charge and would beotherwise convicted.
But they're quote left off fora technicality.
And I'm not minimizing that,because we need those rights and

(07:24):
those various protections andconsiderations to live in a free
society and to aspire to somedegree of fairness.
When I say the Bible isaspirational, when I say
Christ's example is aspirational, I mean that's something that
we're striving to attain right.

(07:46):
It's something that werecognize as superlative,
wonderful, worthwhile,dedicating our lives to, as laid
out in the Bible, as a way totake hold of and activate the

(08:10):
power that comes through theHoly Spirit working through us.
Only because of the HolySpirit's power working through
us do we ever reach any of thoseheights.
So the blessings we have, thepowers, the gifts.
As Christians we believe, thoseare given to us by God, and

(08:36):
what I'd like to tack on to thatsimilarly is the most important
thing to keep in mind.
The biggest technicality in theBible, in the New Testament
specifically, is that Christ'sfinished work on the cross is

(08:58):
what has redeemed us.
And now, when our HeavenlyFather looks at us, he sees
Christ.
Our Heavenly Father looks at us, he sees Christ.
So that perfect example ofselflessness, of obedience, of
forgiveness, of generosity andcompassion.

(09:20):
We become that when we put ourtrust in Christ's death and
resurrection.
And so that's what I mean byaspirational.
And the reason why that's soimportant is because that's
supposed to be something thatputs us at rest.

(09:40):
Right, that's not somethingthat is supposed to inspire us
or encourage us to work harderat it.
That's the whole point is thatit's Christ's work and it's a
finished work.
That means it covers everythingpast, present and future so we

(10:05):
can just, oh just let thatweight off of us.
And how does that relate toboldness?
How does that relate to courage?
Well, it's hard to be very boldand courageous, walking in God,
walking in the power of theHoly Spirit, if we don't

(10:29):
understand that.
It's not us, it's not ourbrokenness, our desperation, our
base character that enables usto walk with a sense of
confidence, to walk thetightrope of life, accepting

(10:56):
that wow, for a reason that is abit mysterious.
And let's face it Christianity,religion, this whole life we're
in is mysterious and I'll bethe first to tell you I don't
have the answers.
I'm the consummate the more Ilearn, the less I know person.

(11:20):
And whether that's religion,that's the bible, that's
anything, career, health,finances, there's too much to
know and it's all a mystery.
And if we can embrace themysterious aspect of life, we

(11:42):
can enjoy it.
Life becomes much more of anadventure when we recognize how
overwhelmingly complex whateverthis arrangement is.

(12:15):
That, I would argue, is quite anintellectual and emotional
challenge to consider a story ofsomebody that lived so long ago
and who took on the sins andthe wages of sin, which is death
, so that we would be free, andthat today, no matter what we
did, no matter how we messed up,we still walk with that same

(12:38):
mantle of courage, that sameswag, that same sense of
certainty.
Why?
Because it's not on us, it's onChrist.
Christ was the perfect lamb whowas sacrificed for all of our
sakes.
There's nothing we can do toexceed that.