A 'clear' conscience & a 'clean' conscience:

• "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you." John 15:3

'Wrath' & 'Mercy':• For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from

faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Roms 1:17-18

The judgment of wrath precedes the judgment of mercy:

I stand under His wrath to stand in His mercy!

• 'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.' John 3:36

• 'Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.'

Roms 11:22

The Judgment of Wrath:

As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Roms 3:10-18

His Judgments are perfectly Righteous & True:

• And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!"

Rev 16:7

• 'For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.' Roms 3:20

• 'Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.' Roms 3:19

The Judgment of Mercy:

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?" Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him he said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments." And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by. Zech 3:1-5

The 'Divine Exchange':

• 'He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.'

Col 1:13

The work of Christ is complete and finished, it is 'perfectly perfect' and once for all!

• 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' Roms 8:1

But the Divine Exchange that takes place 'once & for all' also takes place progressively!

The Work of the Holy Spirit:

"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you." John 16:12-15

The failure to distinguish between the 'work of Christ' and the 'work of the Spirit'.

The 1st is 'finished'! the 2nd is still 'progressing'!

'For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been

fully known.' 1Cor 13:12

Co-operating with the Holy Spirit:

• We co-operate with the 'Work of Christ' - by repenting of our sins & rebellion against God and putting our trust in Jesus and in His finished work on the Cross. No-one can add anything to this!

• We co-operate with the 'Work of the Holy Spirit' - by working out that finished work:

• 'Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.' Php 2:12-13

‘Working Out’ our Salvation:

• 'For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.' 2Peter 1:5-7

• With a Promise: 'For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.' 2Peter 1:8-10

Saved by His Life: The 'outworking' of salvation in the Holy Spirit has the same character as the initial act of salvation through Jesus. Just as we stood in His judgment and the 'divine exchange' declared us 'not guilty', in the same way we work out our salvation by continuing to stand in His courts and that same 'divine exchange', with which we began the Christian walk, now progressively works out His salvation in us.

'Once saved, always being saved' - Salvation is a 'process' as well as an event!

'For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled,

shall we be saved by his life.' Roms 5:10

'Discipline'

"And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." …… Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Heb 12:5-11

'Discipline' is 'Judgment' on the Redeemed:

• 'But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.' 1Cor 11:31-32

• For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" 1Peter 4:17-18

Elements of Judgment & Discipline:

• Conviction - By the Holy Spirit bring Light• Confession - Our agreement with Him• Repentance - God's gift to confession of sin• Forgiveness & - Through walking in His Light

Cleansing

• 'But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.' 1John 1:7

• 'If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.' 1Jn 1:8-10

Identity: • The fact that Christ's work is 'finished' in the Cross tells

us something about our identity in Him! But the fact that the Holy Spirit's work is 'not finished' yet also tells us something about that identity!

• 'Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.' Php 3:12-14

'For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.'

1Cor 13:9-10

The Perfect and the still Imperfect live in tension:

'For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.' 2Cor 5:2-7

'My Identity in Christ!' Where is the 'accent'?

Upon 'My Identity' or upon 'In Christ' ? The foundation of 'Identity in Christ' is the cross -

'crucifixion':

• 'I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.' Gal 2:20

Who we are 'in Christ' precedes who He is in me! Salvation is not first about Christ coming into Me

but about me coming into Him! Eph 1: