The Finished Work Doesn't Need Your Appropriation

A Loving Call Back to the Cross.

There’s a popular teaching in many healing and deliverance circles that says:

"Yes, Jesus accomplished everything on the cross, but it must now be appropriated to become real in your life."

It sounds spiritual. It sounds wise. But it’s not found in Scripture.

As someone who once believed and taught this very thing, I want to speak gently but clearly: this idea is not biblical. In fact, it keeps people striving for what Jesus already gave, delaying their freedom while trying to earn what has already been freely provided. My heart is not to condemn anyone who teaches this, but to help us all come back to the simplicity and power of the gospel.

Let’s take a look at why the concept of "appropriating the finished work" doesn't hold up in light of Scripture, and what the Word actually says instead.

1. The Cross Was Not Partial—It Was Final

John 19:30 – "It is finished."

Hebrews 10:14 – "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."

Jesus didn’t say, "It is made possible." He said, it is finished. The work of redemption, healing, freedom, and reconciliation was completed. If we must "appropriate" it in layers or steps, then it wasn't truly finished.

The phrase "being sanctified" in Hebrews 10:14 refers to the ongoing awakening of our minds to what He already accomplished in our spirits. It's not progressive salvation or layered freedom. It's transformation by revelation of what has been done. This transformation brings inner healing and deliverance with it.

Colossians 1:13-14 – "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

This is past tense. This isn’t something we still need to activate. We have redemption. We have been transferred.

2. You Are Already Complete in Him

Colossians 2:9-10 – "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness."

We don't get more of Him by doing more. We don't gain pieces of the cross as we become more holy. In Him, we are already full.

2 Peter 1:3 – "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him."

Ephesians 1:3 – "He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."

What more is left to be appropriated when He says you've already been given everything? His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him - this is saying that we have everything we need through our understanding of Him, who He is, and what He's done. There's no searching for this, it comes through relationship with Him.

3. Freedom Comes by Belief, Not Appropriation

John 8:32 – "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

Romans 10:9-10 – "If you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Galatians 3:2-3 – "Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?"

Freedom doesn’t come through a formula, a method, a protocol, or a checklist. It comes by believing the truth of what Jesus did. That belief is not an activation code. It’s the response of the heart to a completed gift.

4. Commonly Misused Scriptures (and What They Actually Mean)

Philippians 2:12 – "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling."

Some interpret this to mean we must labor to apply salvation piece by piece. But the next verse clarifies:

Philippians 2:13 – "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

We aren’t working for salvation. We’re working out what He already worked in. This is the natural fruit of salvation, not the means to obtain it.

James 2:17 – "Faith without works is dead."

This verse is often used to argue that we must "apply" the cross through works. But James is speaking of the evidence of faith—not its creation. Real faith naturally produces fruit. But works do not cause salvation, freedom, or healing. Jesus does.

Romans 12:2 – "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Absolutely true—but this isn't about appropriating the cross layer by layer. It's about coming into alignment with what's already true. We are not becoming free slowly; we're awakening to the freedom already purchased.

Ephesians 4:23-24 – "Be made new in the attitude of your minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God."

We don't become new. We have been made new. The mind is just catching up.

5. You’re Not Cursed in Christ

1 Corinthians 6:17 – "He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him."

Galatians 3:13 – "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us."

Colossians 2:13-15 – "He forgave us all our trespasses... disarmed the powers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them."

You are not still under generational bondage (unless you believe you are). You are not halfway saved or partially redeemed. In Christ, you are whole, free, and sealed with His Spirit.

6. The Enemy Is Already Judged

A common reason people think they must "appropriate" their freedom is because they believe the enemy still has legal access or power that must be actively revoked. But Jesus has already judged him.

John 16:11 – "The ruler of this world has been judged."

Hebrews 2:14 – "That through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil."

1 John 3:8 – "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil."

Satan is not waiting to be defeated when we say the right prayer or the right session. He was defeated at the cross. His lies can still influence if we believe them—but his authority was shattered. We don’t need to war for freedom. We need to rest in the victory of Jesus.

7. Rest, Don’t Strive

Hebrews 4:10 – "For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His."

Matthew 11:28-30 – "Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

We don’t rest after we finish the process. We rest because the process is finished. The call now is not to strive for breakthrough but to live from what has already broken through.

8. Yes, We Still Walk Things Out With Jesus

None of this means that we never walk through anything difficult, or that we never experience pain, grief, or even moments of confusion. Healing can still be a process—not because the cross is incomplete, but because our souls are still unlearning lies and being renewed.

Walking something out with Jesus is not the same as striving to receive what He's already given. It's walking in intimacy with Truth Himself. Sometimes, our emotions or circumstances don't instantly shift—but the foundation never changes: we are whole in Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:16 – "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

Psalm 23:4 – "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me."

This whole journey is about relationship. The only true process we are in is learning, through that relationship, to trust Him more. That’s it. There is no spiritual ladder to climb, no set of steps to complete—just deeper trust in the One who finished it all. And it all flows from rest.

Matthew 6:33 – "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

When our eyes are fixed on Jesus and our hearts are resting in Him, everything we need follows. Our transformation is the fruit of fellowship, not formula. The "process" often taught in deliverance culture is not the true journey. The real journey is simply knowing Him more, keeping our eyes focused on Him, and letting that relationship transform every area of our lives.

A Final Word of Grace

If you’ve found yourself tangled in the striving of appropriation theology, take heart-you haven't failed. You are not beyond hope or too deceived to be reached. You don't have to untangle every thread of your past. You simply need to see Jesus again.

Lay down the weight. Surrender the process. Come sit at the feet of the One who declared, "It is Finished." And let those words be enough.

With love,

~ Mason Ledbetter

& Rebecca Black

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