Eight Stubborn Statements

by Timothy Klaver

Here are eight stubborn, biblical declarations rooted in the finished work of Christ, the New Covenant, and the pure Gospel of grace. They go right to the heart of true Christianity. There is no middle ground on these realities. There is no room for compromise on any of these eight points.

1. Either the Bible is in its entirety the holy, inspired, infallible Word of Yahweh God — our final authority for faith and life — or it is unreliable and unworthy of our trust. If it is Yahweh God’s Word, as it repeatedly claims, then we must submit every thought, doctrine, and practice to it. It must be our only rule of faith and practice.
   (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
    
2. Either Yahweh God is absolutely sovereign over all things, working out His eternal purpose — or He is not God. Yet this same sovereign God genuinely offers salvation to all and calls every sinner to repent and believe the Gospel. There is no contradiction: His sovereignty includes the real responsibility He has given to man.
   (Ephesians 1:11; John 3:16; Acts 17:30-31)
    
3. Either man is born spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, utterly unable to save themselves — or humanity needs no Saviour. All have sinned and fall short of Yahweh God’s glory. Therefore every sinner desperately needs the grace of Yahweh God and the new birth provided in the New Covenant.
   (Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12)
    
4. Either salvation is entirely by Yahweh God’s sovereign grace, chosen for us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world — or it is not of grace at all. Yet this same grace is freely offered to whosoever will believe in Jesus. Salvation is Yahweh God’s gift from start to finish; the Gospel invitation is real and universal in its call.
   (Ephesians 1:4-5; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16)
    
5. Either the Lord Christ Jesus is the all-sufficient, effectual Saviour who has perfectly redeemed His people by His blood — or He is no Saviour at all. On the cross He cried “It is finished!” His one offering has forever put away the sins of all who believe. He is the Saviour of the world — mighty to save all who come to Yahweh God through Him.
   (John 19:30; Hebrews 9:12,26; 1 John 2:2; Hebrews 7:25)
    
6. Either the Holy Spirit must sovereignly quicken the dead sinner and draw him to Christ Jesus — or there is no salvation. This same omnipotent grace is not coercive but powerfully persuasive, enabling the sinner to respond in faith. No one is saved by their own willpower, but by the irresistible pull of Yahweh God’s love made effective through the Gospel.
   (John 6:44; Ephesians 2:4-5; Titus 3:5)
    
7. Either Yahweh God’s people are completely free from the Law as a covenant and system of righteousness — or we remain in bondage. The New Covenant declares that we died to the Law through the body of Christ Jesus. We are not under Law but under grace. The Spirit within us fulfills the righteous requirement of the Law as we walk in newness of life.
   (Romans 7:4-6; Romans 6:14; Galatians 3:25; Hebrews 8:10)
    
8. Either every true believer shall be preserved and kept by Yahweh God’s power unto final salvation — or the Gospel offers no lasting security. Because of the unbreakable purpose of Yahweh God, the perfect atonement of Christ Jesus, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit, those who are in Christ Jesus will persevere. Yahweh God’s grace not only saves — it keeps.
   (John 10:28-29; Philippians 1:6; Jude 24; Romans 8:38-39)

How God SEES and What God SAYS About the Christian

Yahweh God sees the Christian as united with Christ Jesus—fully accepted, transformed, and secure because of Jesus' finished work on the cross. This is our new identity in Him, not based on our performance but on what Jesus has done. The New Testament repeatedly describes believers as "in Christ," a profound union that changes everything.

Here are key truths about who Yahweh says you are as a Christian, drawn directly from Scripture. These reflect practical (not "positional") realities true for every believer through faith in Jesus; they are actual realities and not "legal fictions":

Accepted and Righteous

• I am righteous (2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:8-9). God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
• I am justified [declared righteous] (Romans 5:1). We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• I am forgiven (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 John 1:9).
• I am accepted (Eph. 1:6; Rom. 15:7).

New and Transformed

• I am a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). The old has gone; the new has come.
• I am alive with Christ (Eph. 2:4-5; Col. 2:13).
• I am crucified with Christ—I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20).
• I am free from condemnation (Rom. 8:1).

God's Child and Heir

• I am a child of God (John 1:12; Gal. 3:26; 1 John 3:1).
• I am adopted as a son/daughter (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:15).
• I am an heir of God and co-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:7).

Chosen, Loved, and Treasured

• I am chosen (Eph. 1:4; Col. 3:12; 1 Pet. 2:9).
• I am dearly loved (Col. 3:12; 1 John 3:1; Eph. 5:1-2).
• I am God's special possession / a royal priesthood / a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9).

United and Empowered

• I am a member of Christ's body (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:30).
• I am united (one spirit) with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17).
• I am the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
• I am a friend of Jesus (John 15:15).
• I am a branch abiding in the Vine (John 15:5)—able to bear fruit.

Secure and Victorious

• I am sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 1:21-22).
• I am more than a conqueror (Rom. 8:37).
• I am a citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20).
• I have eternal life (John 3:16; 1 John 5:11-13).

Holy and Purposeful

• I am a saint (holy one) (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1).
• I am holy and blameless in His sight (Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:22).
• I am God's workmanship / masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2:10).
• I am sanctified (set apart / made holy) in Christ (1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11).

Additional Realities

• I am complete in Christ (Colossians 2:9-10).
• I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).
• I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
• I have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
• I am a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).
• I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
• I am an overcomer (1 John 5:4-5; Revelation 12:11).
• I am led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14).
• I am kept by the power of God (1 Peter 1:5).
• I am strengthened with all power according to His glorious might (Colossians 1:11).
• I am confident that He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).
• I am an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).
• I have boldness and confident access to God (Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:16).
• I am rooted and built up in Him (Colossians 2:7).
• I am light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8).
• I am victorious through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57).
• I have been redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13).
• I am filled with the Holy Spirit (the promise belongs to every believer – Ephesians 5:18; Acts 2:38-39).

These truths are not "future hopes" or rewards for good behaviour—they are present realities for everyone who is "in Christ" by faith. The cross accomplished a great exchange: Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness, life, and standing before the Father.

How God sees the Christian: He sees you as He sees His beloved Son—fully pleasing, accepted, and complete in Him (Col. 2:10). Your failures and struggles do not change this core identity; they are opportunities to live out who you already are by the Spirit's power.

Yahweh God's Extreme Grace

RELIGIOUS PERSON: "If you go around talking about God's radical grace and telling people they're completely forgiven and free, they're just going to go out and use it as an excuse to commit world records in sinning!"

The accusation leveled against modern grace teachers is nothing new! It is mind blowing how we have missed the fact that the apostle Paul dealt with these accusations 2,000 years ago. Read Romans 3:5-8 and 6:1 and 15! Paul's message was so radical that the religious leaders of his day were accusing him of saying that we should just go wild with sin. The religious leaders of today sling around the same bogus, nonsensical accusation.

If you want to disprove Yahweh God's extreme grace or hyper-grace (huperperisseuó), do not read the book of Romans. Paul’s letter to the Romans is absolutely dripping with the doctrine of grace, and it is unequivocal, irrefutable, and crystal clear.

• Crystal clear that grace is a free gift. (Romans 3:24; 5:15)
   
• Crystal clear that faith is about receiving from Yahweh, not doing more for Him. (Romans 4:5)
   
• Crystal clear that grace is radical. (Romans 5:20-22)
   
• Crystal clear that forgiveness is finished. (Romans 6:10)
   
• Crystal clear that grace gives us power over sin (Romans 6:14)
   
• Crystal clear that Yahweh is for me. (Romans 8:31)
   
• Crystal clear that grace needs nothing, expects nothing, and gives everything. (Romans 8:32)
   
• Crystal clear that closeness with Yahweh is not conditional. (Romans 8:38-39)
   
• Crystal clear that I am filled with goodness. (Romans 15:14)

Once you rightly understand the New Covenant, the Gospel, and grace, it changes EVERYTHING! Once you know the TRUTH about how good Yahweh God’s grace truly is, it will ruin you for anything else!

Consider this your warning shot!

For this very reason, I can no longer step foot inside organized religious institutions. Everything that comes out of the performer’s mouth sets off red flags left, right, and center as I discern the legalism and religion dripping from their lips to keep people enslaved in bondage.