Podcast appearances and mentions of christ jesus rom

Nothing in all the world is as wonderful as a gift. It may be the sunrise, wrapped in rose and gold, delivered to our eastern window. It may be the stick-figure drawing by a three year-old that bears the ribbon, “I love you, Mommy.” It may be the unexpected offer of the trip we've always dreamed of, to that place we sense has always been our home. Gifts make us conscious of the love beyond ourselves—the deep, rich kindness in the heart of God. “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:22-24). What but our foolish pride could keep us from enjoying God's good gift? It's not our worthiness that matters: it is His great, untiring love that moves Him to keep giving. “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done” (Eph 2:8-9). So open up your hands, your heart. Receive the grace Christ offers. And stay in it. -Bill Knott

Nothing in all the world is as wonderful as a gift. It may be the sunrise, wrapped in rose and gold, delivered to our eastern window. It may be the stick-figure drawing by a three year-old that bears the ribbon, “I love you, Mommy.” It may be the unexpected offer of the trip we've always dreamed of, to that place we sense has always been our home. Gifts make us conscious of the love beyond ourselves—the deep, rich kindness in the heart of God. “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:22-24). What but our foolish pride could keep us from enjoying God's good gift? It's not our worthiness that matters: it is His great, untiring love that moves Him to keep giving. “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done” (Eph 2:8-9). So open up your hands, your heart. Receive the grace Christ offers. And stay in it. -Bill Knott  

I understand that Ephesians 5:1-13 is a difficult section in the Bible, for at least 50% of the men and about 25% of the women in churches across America view porn at least once a month. To listen to three weeks of sermons on Bible verses that address sexual sins when you already feel defeated is surely discouraging. According to one study, 43 percent of Christian men and 20 percent of Christian women acknowledge that your exposure to porn (and any sexual sin for that matter) has worsened their relationship with God.[1] What that means is that some of you not only feel stuck and defeated, but you also believe that you are far from God and that He is so disgusted by you he wants little or nothing to do with you. I want you to know that if I just described you, you have bought into a lie! One of the titles given to the devil is the accuser and what is said of him is that he is, the accuser of our brothers and sisters... the one who accuses them before our God day and night (Rev. 12:10). Jesus said of the devil that, He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). The devil is both master accuser and master liar, and he wants nothing more than for you to believe that your ongoing pattern of sins is making you more inaccessible to a Holy God whose wrath is being stored up against humanity for sins such as sexual immorality, impurity, and greed (v. 3). It is for the above reasons that I wanted to spend so much more time on Ephesians 5:14 then we were able to last week. What you must remember is that Paul is not writing to non-Christians in his epistle to the Ephesians, but to Christians whose most dangerous adversary exists in their own flesh. It is the thing that the apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 7:14-23, For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into bondage to sin. For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good. But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person, but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my bodys parts. What is important to point out is that Paul was not paralyzed by the tension and struggle he experienced with sin in light of his relationship with Jesus, for it is in what he wrote in response to the war he experienced within that should help us to appreciate Ephesians 5:14-21. What are we to do with the evil that is present within? Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 7:24-25, Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. I have four points that really serve as a plan to keep you from spiritual apathy that can result in the atrophy of your faith and relationship with Jesus. I will spend all this sermon on the first point and next week, we will look at the remaining three. However, I want to list my four points so that you know where we are going in Ephesians 5:14-21. Here is a pathway I believe the apostle gives us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that will keep you from spiritual apathy and atrophy: Run to Jesus as your only advocate (v. 14) Use your time wisely for what matters (vv. 15-16) Live with an awareness of Gods will for your life (v. 17) Be intentional about what you consume into your mind, soul, and heart (vv. 18-21) Apathy is the kind of thing that happens when you are so paralyzed by shame that you stay in your shame instead of allowing it to motivate you into repentance. Repentance is never stagnant but always mobile in the direction where Jesus can be found. Apathy is what happens when you give up and are no longer interested in moving forward. Spiritual apathy, if left untreated, will lead to spiritual atrophy. Spiritual atrophy happens when your shame renders you spiritually immobile. Run to Jesus as Your Only Advocate (v. 14) Ephesians 5:14 is not so much an appeal to non-Christians to find Jesus, but for Christians. Most commentators/scholars agree that verse 14 is most likely a verse from an early church hymn quoted by Paul that was familiar to the Christians in Ephesus. What I find so fascinating about the placement of verse 14 is that it is sandwiched between verses 3-13 that address the need to refuse to participate in the useless deeds of darkness and 15-21 that encourages the Christian to live wisely as children of light. Here is what I think was going on and why I believe Paul felt the need to write what he wrote in Ephesians 5:3-13. I believe that there were some Christians who were spiritually and morally apathetic towards certain forms of sexual immorality, impurity, greed, filthy and foolish talk, and vulgar joking. Not only were they apathetic, but their apathy resulted in a type of spiritual atrophy resulting in their participation in certain forms of sin, which Paul listed. In a very real sense, there were some in the Ephesian Church, as is true in churches today, who were slumbering in certain sins. One of the many reasons why I believe this is the case is what is written in Romans 13:11-14, Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore lets rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Lets behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. As is true with many of the hymns and praise songs you are familiar with, the one quoted in verse 14 is infused with language from the Bible. In fact, there is so much packed into verse 14, that I could preach multiple sermons just on this one short verse, but I will not do that. What I will do is share four scripture passages with you that will open Ephesians 5:14 up to you in the same way they probably did for the Christians in Ephesus. I am not going to say a whole lot about the verses, I only want you to see them for reasons I believe will be obvious. So, here we go: Here are two passages on what is waiting for those who have been redeemed by Jesus: Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. (Isa. 60:1-2) And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. (Dan. 12:2) Here is a passage on how the redeemed should respond to God as a Father who loving disciplines His children: Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will endure the rage of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will look at His righteousness. (Mic. 7:8-9) There is a fourth scripture passage I believe is tied to Ephesians 5:14, and it is found in Jonah 1:6. Before we look at that verse, you need to consider the story of Jonah and how he got into trouble after being commanded by God to go to Ninevah (the capital of Assyria) to preach about the coming wrath of God upon Ninevah; Jonah got on a boat to go the opposite direction from where God told Him to go. While in disobedience, we are told, the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea... (Jon. 1:4) which made life very difficult for everyone on the boat. While everyone on the boat desperately threw stuff off the boat to lighten it in hopes of surviving the storm, Jonah was sound asleep in the stern of the ship. Put another way: The prophet Jonah was asleep in his sin of rebellion. Finally the captain of the ship found Jonah sleeping and had some words for Jonah: How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish (Jonah 1:6). In summary, it became obvious to the sailors that Jonah was running from His God (1:7-14). When they asked what they needed to do to get Jonahs God to calm the storm, the prophet told them that they needed to throw him overboard (vv. 15-16). They tried to avoid throwing Jonah overboard, but it became clear that it was their only option, so they threw him into the sea, and while in the sea, the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights (1:17). While in the belly of the great fish Jonah endured the rage and discipline of his heavenly Father because he sinned against Him. Jonah called out to the Lord for help (Jon. 2:1-9), and God delivered His prophet by commanding the fish to vomit Jonah up onto the dry land (v. 10). Awakened from his proverbial slumber from the stern of the ship to the belly of the great fish, Jonah obeyed Gods will upon his life by going to Nineveh to preach the word of God to a people walking in the darkness of their sins and idols (3:1-9). The whole reason why Jonah fled for Tarshish when God told him to go to Nineveh is because of what Nineveh represented. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire whose army has been credited with some of the earliest forms of psychological warfare. Nineveh was filled with violent people who were guilty of some of the most horrible things against humanity. After Jonah preached his very brief message about Gods coming wrath, the entire city repented (see Jonah 3:5-10). Jonahs response was resentment and anger; this is what he prayed after God spared Nineveh from His wrath: Please Lord, was this not what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster (4:1-2). Against the backdrop of Gods promise of redemption for His people because of the shed blood of Jesus (Isa. 60:1-2; Dan. 12:2), how His redeemed people ought to respond to His loving discipline (Mic. 7:8-9), and Jonahs story of his rebellion and repentance, consider Ephesians 5:14 again: Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Conclusion Maybe you are like Jonah, while in your sin, you are asleep in it. Maybe you have slipped back into certain sins due to your spiritual apathy. Maybe your apathy has become spiritual atrophy. If you are truly a Christian, this 2 Corinthians 4:6 describes how it is you have been made alive with Christ: For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. You are here today, not by accident, but because it is time to wake up! The enemy of your soul wants nothing more for you than to remain in your spiritual apathy and atrophy, but today your heavenly Father summons you from the stern of your rebellious slumber: Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. So, how do you get up from your slumber? You must repent by calling your sin for what it is and by turning from it to Jesus. Listen to what the Bible says about your sin: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2) The Devil is a liar and the great accuser, but Jesus is a great savior and our all-sufficient advocate! We can run to Him in the spirit of Micah 7:8-9 and we can respond to our sins, failures, and even the devil himself: Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will endure the rage of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will look at His righteousness (Mic. 7:8-9). One more thing I would like to point out that I find ironic about Jonahs story and ours. It is possible that the great fish that swallowed Jonah was some other creature rather than a whale, but in my opinion that is doubtful. I do believe that the great fish that swallowed Jonah was most likely a whale. A species of whale that is large enough to swallow a human and swam in the same waters where Jonah most likely would have been tossed overboard is the sperm whale which can grow up to 60 feet long. Do you want to know what else the sperm whale is known for? It is known for both being one of the few whales that vomit, and it is also known for what it vomits! The sperm whales vomit is called Ambergris (aka liquid gold). In the water, it is a dung-like smelly substance, but once exposed to the sunlight and saltwater, it develops a muskier (perfumed) odor. After Jonah was vomited up onto the shore, covered in Ambergris and saltwater under the Arabic sun, it was not the stench of death and dung that Jonah was covered in, but a fragrant aroma that was the result of the forgiveness of his heavenly Father that he did not deserve that resulted in his redemption! Oh dear Christian! Can you see the parallels of Jonahs story and ours? Jesus said, ...for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40). Jesus died a death we deserved for our sins, was buried in the belly of the earth, and three days later... He came out of the tomb for our redemption! Unlike Jonah, we are not covered by Ambergris and salt water under the hot sun! No, we are covered in something infinitely better! If you are a Christian, it is in Jesus, that you have redemption; listen again to Ephesians 1:7-8, In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. If you are a Christian, you are covered in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and according to the apostle Peter: ...you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. My appeal to you is the appeal of Ephesians 5:14; do not slumber in your sin and do not stay there! Do not be apathetic towards those sins that the wrath of God is coming for and those sins for which Jesus endured that wrath you deserved. You are covered under the blood of Jesus and because that is the case, There is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). So turn, Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. [1] Keith Rose, How Porn Affects Church Attendance (Covenant Eyes; 2023)

I understand that Ephesians 5:1-13 is a difficult section in the Bible, for at least 50% of the men and about 25% of the women in churches across America view porn at least once a month. To listen to three weeks of sermons on Bible verses that address sexual sins when you already feel defeated is surely discouraging. According to one study, 43 percent of Christian men and 20 percent of Christian women acknowledge that your exposure to porn (and any sexual sin for that matter) has worsened their relationship with God.[1] What that means is that some of you not only feel stuck and defeated, but you also believe that you are far from God and that He is so disgusted by you he wants little or nothing to do with you. I want you to know that if I just described you, you have bought into a lie! One of the titles given to the devil is the accuser and what is said of him is that he is, the accuser of our brothers and sisters... the one who accuses them before our God day and night (Rev. 12:10). Jesus said of the devil that, He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). The devil is both master accuser and master liar, and he wants nothing more than for you to believe that your ongoing pattern of sins is making you more inaccessible to a Holy God whose wrath is being stored up against humanity for sins such as sexual immorality, impurity, and greed (v. 3). It is for the above reasons that I wanted to spend so much more time on Ephesians 5:14 then we were able to last week. What you must remember is that Paul is not writing to non-Christians in his epistle to the Ephesians, but to Christians whose most dangerous adversary exists in their own flesh. It is the thing that the apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 7:14-23, For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into bondage to sin. For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good. But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person, but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my bodys parts. What is important to point out is that Paul was not paralyzed by the tension and struggle he experienced with sin in light of his relationship with Jesus, for it is in what he wrote in response to the war he experienced within that should help us to appreciate Ephesians 5:14-21. What are we to do with the evil that is present within? Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 7:24-25, Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. I have four points that really serve as a plan to keep you from spiritual apathy that can result in the atrophy of your faith and relationship with Jesus. I will spend all this sermon on the first point and next week, we will look at the remaining three. However, I want to list my four points so that you know where we are going in Ephesians 5:14-21. Here is a pathway I believe the apostle gives us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that will keep you from spiritual apathy and atrophy: Run to Jesus as your only advocate (v. 14) Use your time wisely for what matters (vv. 15-16) Live with an awareness of Gods will for your life (v. 17) Be intentional about what you consume into your mind, soul, and heart (vv. 18-21) Apathy is the kind of thing that happens when you are so paralyzed by shame that you stay in your shame instead of allowing it to motivate you into repentance. Repentance is never stagnant but always mobile in the direction where Jesus can be found. Apathy is what happens when you give up and are no longer interested in moving forward. Spiritual apathy, if left untreated, will lead to spiritual atrophy. Spiritual atrophy happens when your shame renders you spiritually immobile. Run to Jesus as Your Only Advocate (v. 14) Ephesians 5:14 is not so much an appeal to non-Christians to find Jesus, but for Christians. Most commentators/scholars agree that verse 14 is most likely a verse from an early church hymn quoted by Paul that was familiar to the Christians in Ephesus. What I find so fascinating about the placement of verse 14 is that it is sandwiched between verses 3-13 that address the need to refuse to participate in the useless deeds of darkness and 15-21 that encourages the Christian to live wisely as children of light. Here is what I think was going on and why I believe Paul felt the need to write what he wrote in Ephesians 5:3-13. I believe that there were some Christians who were spiritually and morally apathetic towards certain forms of sexual immorality, impurity, greed, filthy and foolish talk, and vulgar joking. Not only were they apathetic, but their apathy resulted in a type of spiritual atrophy resulting in their participation in certain forms of sin, which Paul listed. In a very real sense, there were some in the Ephesian Church, as is true in churches today, who were slumbering in certain sins. One of the many reasons why I believe this is the case is what is written in Romans 13:11-14, Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore lets rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Lets behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. As is true with many of the hymns and praise songs you are familiar with, the one quoted in verse 14 is infused with language from the Bible. In fact, there is so much packed into verse 14, that I could preach multiple sermons just on this one short verse, but I will not do that. What I will do is share four scripture passages with you that will open Ephesians 5:14 up to you in the same way they probably did for the Christians in Ephesus. I am not going to say a whole lot about the verses, I only want you to see them for reasons I believe will be obvious. So, here we go: Here are two passages on what is waiting for those who have been redeemed by Jesus: Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. (Isa. 60:1-2) And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. (Dan. 12:2) Here is a passage on how the redeemed should respond to God as a Father who loving disciplines His children: Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will endure the rage of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will look at His righteousness. (Mic. 7:8-9) There is a fourth scripture passage I believe is tied to Ephesians 5:14, and it is found in Jonah 1:6. Before we look at that verse, you need to consider the story of Jonah and how he got into trouble after being commanded by God to go to Ninevah (the capital of Assyria) to preach about the coming wrath of God upon Ninevah; Jonah got on a boat to go the opposite direction from where God told Him to go. While in disobedience, we are told, the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea... (Jon. 1:4) which made life very difficult for everyone on the boat. While everyone on the boat desperately threw stuff off the boat to lighten it in hopes of surviving the storm, Jonah was sound asleep in the stern of the ship. Put another way: The prophet Jonah was asleep in his sin of rebellion. Finally the captain of the ship found Jonah sleeping and had some words for Jonah: How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish (Jonah 1:6). In summary, it became obvious to the sailors that Jonah was running from His God (1:7-14). When they asked what they needed to do to get Jonahs God to calm the storm, the prophet told them that they needed to throw him overboard (vv. 15-16). They tried to avoid throwing Jonah overboard, but it became clear that it was their only option, so they threw him into the sea, and while in the sea, the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights (1:17). While in the belly of the great fish Jonah endured the rage and discipline of his heavenly Father because he sinned against Him. Jonah called out to the Lord for help (Jon. 2:1-9), and God delivered His prophet by commanding the fish to vomit Jonah up onto the dry land (v. 10). Awakened from his proverbial slumber from the stern of the ship to the belly of the great fish, Jonah obeyed Gods will upon his life by going to Nineveh to preach the word of God to a people walking in the darkness of their sins and idols (3:1-9). The whole reason why Jonah fled for Tarshish when God told him to go to Nineveh is because of what Nineveh represented. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire whose army has been credited with some of the earliest forms of psychological warfare. Nineveh was filled with violent people who were guilty of some of the most horrible things against humanity. After Jonah preached his very brief message about Gods coming wrath, the entire city repented (see Jonah 3:5-10). Jonahs response was resentment and anger; this is what he prayed after God spared Nineveh from His wrath: Please Lord, was this not what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster (4:1-2). Against the backdrop of Gods promise of redemption for His people because of the shed blood of Jesus (Isa. 60:1-2; Dan. 12:2), how His redeemed people ought to respond to His loving discipline (Mic. 7:8-9), and Jonahs story of his rebellion and repentance, consider Ephesians 5:14 again: Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Conclusion Maybe you are like Jonah, while in your sin, you are asleep in it. Maybe you have slipped back into certain sins due to your spiritual apathy. Maybe your apathy has become spiritual atrophy. If you are truly a Christian, this 2 Corinthians 4:6 describes how it is you have been made alive with Christ: For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. You are here today, not by accident, but because it is time to wake up! The enemy of your soul wants nothing more for you than to remain in your spiritual apathy and atrophy, but today your heavenly Father summons you from the stern of your rebellious slumber: Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. So, how do you get up from your slumber? You must repent by calling your sin for what it is and by turning from it to Jesus. Listen to what the Bible says about your sin: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2) The Devil is a liar and the great accuser, but Jesus is a great savior and our all-sufficient advocate! We can run to Him in the spirit of Micah 7:8-9 and we can respond to our sins, failures, and even the devil himself: Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will endure the rage of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will look at His righteousness (Mic. 7:8-9). One more thing I would like to point out that I find ironic about Jonahs story and ours. It is possible that the great fish that swallowed Jonah was some other creature rather than a whale, but in my opinion that is doubtful. I do believe that the great fish that swallowed Jonah was most likely a whale. A species of whale that is large enough to swallow a human and swam in the same waters where Jonah most likely would have been tossed overboard is the sperm whale which can grow up to 60 feet long. Do you want to know what else the sperm whale is known for? It is known for both being one of the few whales that vomit, and it is also known for what it vomits! The sperm whales vomit is called Ambergris (aka liquid gold). In the water, it is a dung-like smelly substance, but once exposed to the sunlight and saltwater, it develops a muskier (perfumed) odor. After Jonah was vomited up onto the shore, covered in Ambergris and saltwater under the Arabic sun, it was not the stench of death and dung that Jonah was covered in, but a fragrant aroma that was the result of the forgiveness of his heavenly Father that he did not deserve that resulted in his redemption! Oh dear Christian! Can you see the parallels of Jonahs story and ours? Jesus said, ...for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40). Jesus died a death we deserved for our sins, was buried in the belly of the earth, and three days later... He came out of the tomb for our redemption! Unlike Jonah, we are not covered by Ambergris and salt water under the hot sun! No, we are covered in something infinitely better! If you are a Christian, it is in Jesus, that you have redemption; listen again to Ephesians 1:7-8, In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. If you are a Christian, you are covered in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and according to the apostle Peter: ...you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. My appeal to you is the appeal of Ephesians 5:14; do not slumber in your sin and do not stay there! Do not be apathetic towards those sins that the wrath of God is coming for and those sins for which Jesus endured that wrath you deserved. You are covered under the blood of Jesus and because that is the case, There is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). So turn, Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. [1] Keith Rose, How Porn Affects Church Attendance (Covenant Eyes; 2023)

I understand that Ephesians 5:1-13 is a difficult section in the Bible, for at least 50% of the men and about 25% of the women in churches across America view porn at least once a month. To listen to three weeks of sermons on Bible verses that address sexual sins when you already feel defeated is surely discouraging. According to one study, 43 percent of Christian men and 20 percent of Christian women acknowledge that your exposure to porn (and any sexual sin for that matter) has worsened their relationship with God.[1] What that means is that some of you not only feel stuck and defeated, but you also believe that you are far from God and that He is so disgusted by you he wants little or nothing to do with you. I want you to know that if I just described you, you have bought into a lie! One of the titles given to the devil is the accuser and what is said of him is that he is, the accuser of our brothers and sisters... the one who accuses them before our God day and night (Rev. 12:10). Jesus said of the devil that, He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). The devil is both master accuser and master liar, and he wants nothing more than for you to believe that your ongoing pattern of sins is making you more inaccessible to a Holy God whose wrath is being stored up against humanity for sins such as sexual immorality, impurity, and greed (v. 3). It is for the above reasons that I wanted to spend so much more time on Ephesians 5:14 then we were able to last week. What you must remember is that Paul is not writing to non-Christians in his epistle to the Ephesians, but to Christians whose most dangerous adversary exists in their own flesh. It is the thing that the apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 7:14-23, For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into bondage to sin. For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good. But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person, but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my bodys parts. What is important to point out is that Paul was not paralyzed by the tension and struggle he experienced with sin in light of his relationship with Jesus, for it is in what he wrote in response to the war he experienced within that should help us to appreciate Ephesians 5:14-21. What are we to do with the evil that is present within? Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 7:24-25, Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. I have four points that really serve as a plan to keep you from spiritual apathy that can result in the atrophy of your faith and relationship with Jesus. I will spend all this sermon on the first point and next week, we will look at the remaining three. However, I want to list my four points so that you know where we are going in Ephesians 5:14-21. Here is a pathway I believe the apostle gives us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that will keep you from spiritual apathy and atrophy: Run to Jesus as your only advocate (v. 14) Use your time wisely for what matters (vv. 15-16) Live with an awareness of Gods will for your life (v. 17) Be intentional about what you consume into your mind, soul, and heart (vv. 18-21) Apathy is the kind of thing that happens when you are so paralyzed by shame that you stay in your shame instead of allowing it to motivate you into repentance. Repentance is never stagnant but always mobile in the direction where Jesus can be found. Apathy is what happens when you give up and are no longer interested in moving forward. Spiritual apathy, if left untreated, will lead to spiritual atrophy. Spiritual atrophy happens when your shame renders you spiritually immobile. Run to Jesus as Your Only Advocate (v. 14) Ephesians 5:14 is not so much an appeal to non-Christians to find Jesus, but for Christians. Most commentators/scholars agree that verse 14 is most likely a verse from an early church hymn quoted by Paul that was familiar to the Christians in Ephesus. What I find so fascinating about the placement of verse 14 is that it is sandwiched between verses 3-13 that address the need to refuse to participate in the useless deeds of darkness and 15-21 that encourages the Christian to live wisely as children of light. Here is what I think was going on and why I believe Paul felt the need to write what he wrote in Ephesians 5:3-13. I believe that there were some Christians who were spiritually and morally apathetic towards certain forms of sexual immorality, impurity, greed, filthy and foolish talk, and vulgar joking. Not only were they apathetic, but their apathy resulted in a type of spiritual atrophy resulting in their participation in certain forms of sin, which Paul listed. In a very real sense, there were some in the Ephesian Church, as is true in churches today, who were slumbering in certain sins. One of the many reasons why I believe this is the case is what is written in Romans 13:11-14, Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore lets rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Lets behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. As is true with many of the hymns and praise songs you are familiar with, the one quoted in verse 14 is infused with language from the Bible. In fact, there is so much packed into verse 14, that I could preach multiple sermons just on this one short verse, but I will not do that. What I will do is share four scripture passages with you that will open Ephesians 5:14 up to you in the same way they probably did for the Christians in Ephesus. I am not going to say a whole lot about the verses, I only want you to see them for reasons I believe will be obvious. So, here we go: Here are two passages on what is waiting for those who have been redeemed by Jesus: Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. (Isa. 60:1-2) And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. (Dan. 12:2) Here is a passage on how the redeemed should respond to God as a Father who loving disciplines His children: Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will endure the rage of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will look at His righteousness. (Mic. 7:8-9) There is a fourth scripture passage I believe is tied to Ephesians 5:14, and it is found in Jonah 1:6. Before we look at that verse, you need to consider the story of Jonah and how he got into trouble after being commanded by God to go to Ninevah (the capital of Assyria) to preach about the coming wrath of God upon Ninevah; Jonah got on a boat to go the opposite direction from where God told Him to go. While in disobedience, we are told, the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea... (Jon. 1:4) which made life very difficult for everyone on the boat. While everyone on the boat desperately threw stuff off the boat to lighten it in hopes of surviving the storm, Jonah was sound asleep in the stern of the ship. Put another way: The prophet Jonah was asleep in his sin of rebellion. Finally the captain of the ship found Jonah sleeping and had some words for Jonah: How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish (Jonah 1:6). In summary, it became obvious to the sailors that Jonah was running from His God (1:7-14). When they asked what they needed to do to get Jonahs God to calm the storm, the prophet told them that they needed to throw him overboard (vv. 15-16). They tried to avoid throwing Jonah overboard, but it became clear that it was their only option, so they threw him into the sea, and while in the sea, the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights (1:17). While in the belly of the great fish Jonah endured the rage and discipline of his heavenly Father because he sinned against Him. Jonah called out to the Lord for help (Jon. 2:1-9), and God delivered His prophet by commanding the fish to vomit Jonah up onto the dry land (v. 10). Awakened from his proverbial slumber from the stern of the ship to the belly of the great fish, Jonah obeyed Gods will upon his life by going to Nineveh to preach the word of God to a people walking in the darkness of their sins and idols (3:1-9). The whole reason why Jonah fled for Tarshish when God told him to go to Nineveh is because of what Nineveh represented. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire whose army has been credited with some of the earliest forms of psychological warfare. Nineveh was filled with violent people who were guilty of some of the most horrible things against humanity. After Jonah preached his very brief message about Gods coming wrath, the entire city repented (see Jonah 3:5-10). Jonahs response was resentment and anger; this is what he prayed after God spared Nineveh from His wrath: Please Lord, was this not what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster (4:1-2). Against the backdrop of Gods promise of redemption for His people because of the shed blood of Jesus (Isa. 60:1-2; Dan. 12:2), how His redeemed people ought to respond to His loving discipline (Mic. 7:8-9), and Jonahs story of his rebellion and repentance, consider Ephesians 5:14 again: Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Conclusion Maybe you are like Jonah, while in your sin, you are asleep in it. Maybe you have slipped back into certain sins due to your spiritual apathy. Maybe your apathy has become spiritual atrophy. If you are truly a Christian, this 2 Corinthians 4:6 describes how it is you have been made alive with Christ: For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. You are here today, not by accident, but because it is time to wake up! The enemy of your soul wants nothing more for you than to remain in your spiritual apathy and atrophy, but today your heavenly Father summons you from the stern of your rebellious slumber: Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. So, how do you get up from your slumber? You must repent by calling your sin for what it is and by turning from it to Jesus. Listen to what the Bible says about your sin: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2) The Devil is a liar and the great accuser, but Jesus is a great savior and our all-sufficient advocate! We can run to Him in the spirit of Micah 7:8-9 and we can respond to our sins, failures, and even the devil himself: Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will endure the rage of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will look at His righteousness (Mic. 7:8-9). One more thing I would like to point out that I find ironic about Jonahs story and ours. It is possible that the great fish that swallowed Jonah was some other creature rather than a whale, but in my opinion that is doubtful. I do believe that the great fish that swallowed Jonah was most likely a whale. A species of whale that is large enough to swallow a human and swam in the same waters where Jonah most likely would have been tossed overboard is the sperm whale which can grow up to 60 feet long. Do you want to know what else the sperm whale is known for? It is known for both being one of the few whales that vomit, and it is also known for what it vomits! The sperm whales vomit is called Ambergris (aka liquid gold). In the water, it is a dung-like smelly substance, but once exposed to the sunlight and saltwater, it develops a muskier (perfumed) odor. After Jonah was vomited up onto the shore, covered in Ambergris and saltwater under the Arabic sun, it was not the stench of death and dung that Jonah was covered in, but a fragrant aroma that was the result of the forgiveness of his heavenly Father that he did not deserve that resulted in his redemption! Oh dear Christian! Can you see the parallels of Jonahs story and ours? Jesus said, ...for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40). Jesus died a death we deserved for our sins, was buried in the belly of the earth, and three days later... He came out of the tomb for our redemption! Unlike Jonah, we are not covered by Ambergris and salt water under the hot sun! No, we are covered in something infinitely better! If you are a Christian, it is in Jesus, that you have redemption; listen again to Ephesians 1:7-8, In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. If you are a Christian, you are covered in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and according to the apostle Peter: ...you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. My appeal to you is the appeal of Ephesians 5:14; do not slumber in your sin and do not stay there! Do not be apathetic towards those sins that the wrath of God is coming for and those sins for which Jesus endured that wrath you deserved. You are covered under the blood of Jesus and because that is the case, There is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). So turn, Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. [1] Keith Rose, How Porn Affects Church Attendance (Covenant Eyes; 2023)

     For Christians, dedication to God is the starting point for the spiritual life and the advance to Christian maturity. Dedication is a synonym for commitment, devotion, loyalty, and positive volition. According to Charles Ryrie, “There is perhaps no more important matter in relation to the spiritual life than dedication.”[1] In another place he states, “Dedication concerns the subjection of my life to Jesus Christ as long as I live.”[2] For the Christian, dedication starts at a moment in time, and continues, ideally, for the rest of one's life, as the child of God walks in ongoing obedience to the Lord.[3] After being born again, some believers quickly dedicate themselves to the Lord and begin their journey of spiritual growth. For other Christians, this dedication may come later, perhaps even years later (as it did with me).      Dedication is not a requirement for salvation. That would add works to the gospel message (1 Cor 15:3-4), and that's wrong. Salvation is a free gift (Rom 6:23), given by God as an act of grace (Eph 2:8-9). Initial salvation is about justification, which is a one-and-done event that occurs at the moment of faith in Christ (Rom 3: 28; 4:4-5; 5:1; 8:33). Paul said we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). Justification is a single act that occurs at salvation and is not to be confused with our experiential sanctification, which occurs over time. According to Norman Geisler, “Justification is an instantaneous, past act of God by which one is saved from the guilt of sin—his record is cleared and he is guiltless before the Judge (Rom 8:1).”[4] As Christians, we are justified in God's sight because Christ  has born all our sin upon the cross and paid our sin debt in full (John 19:30; Col 2:14), and after we trust in Christ as our Savior, God freely gives His righteousness to us (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). After we are saved eternally, God calls us into a lifelong walk with Him. Dedication happens after we are saved, when we present ourselves to God for service (Rom 6:13; 12:1-2; Jam 4:7), and walk in obedience to His will (1 Pet 1:14-15). This relates to our sanctification, which is ongoing, as long as we live. In the sanctification process, the Christian is constantly recalibrating his/her thinking, values, words and actions to conform to the character and will of God. Dedication is a requirement for spiritual growth, as the believer with positive volition is yielded to God the Holy Spirit and is willing to learn and live God's Word. Spirituality is unhindered as long as there is positive volition to God.      God has provided everything we need to live the spiritual life. He has redeemed us by the blood of Christ (1 Pet 1:18-19; 1 Cor 6:20), forgiven our sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), caused us to be born again (John 1:12-13; 1 Pet 1:3, 23), given us eternal life (John 3:16; 10:28), adopted us as His children (Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5), made us saints in Christ (Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2), given the Holy Spirit to indwell us (1 Cor 3:16), brought us into “the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13), given us a new spiritual nature (Rom 7:22; Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:9-10), provided a spiritual gift (Rom 12:6; 1 Pet 4:10), blessed us “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3), and provided divine revelation in the Bible to educate us on how to live righteously (2 Tim 3:16-17; cf. Psa 1:1-3). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Charles C. Ryrie, Balancing the Christian life (Chicago Ill., Moody Press, 1994), 77. [2] Ibid., 80. [3] I say “ideally” because some believers, like Solomon, deviate in their walk with the Lord. Some will return to their walk of faith. Others will not. Whatever the final outcome of one's life, any spiritual advancement must begin with a moment of dedication. [4] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 235.

Color: Green Old Testament: Exodus 20:1–17 Psalm: Psalm 19; antiphon: v. 8 Epistle: Romans 6:3–11 Epistle: Romans 6:1–11 Gospel: Matthew 5:20–26 Gospel: Matthew 5:17–26 Introit: Psalm 28:1–2, 7; antiphon: vv. 8–9 Gradual: Psalm 90:13, 1, 2b Verse: Psalm 31:1 Our Only Hope Is in Christ's Righteousness   “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:20). God demands nothing less than perfection and holiness from you in regard to His commandments (Ex. 20:1–17). Your only hope, then, is not in your own goodness but in the goodness of Christ, who did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them for you. In Christ, your righteousness does indeed exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. For you have been baptized into Christ's death and your sinful nature crucified. Therefore, he who has died has been freed from sin (Rom. 6:1–11). You are now raised with Christ to walk in newness of life and to share in His resurrection on the Last Day. Christ has brought you through the baptismal sea “out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Ex. 20:2). Therefore, “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11). Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Introduction (Full Notes Here)      The debate over James 2:14-26 revolves around how to reconcile faith and works in the context of salvation.[1] Catholics and Arminians traditionally see faith and works as both essential for eternal salvation. Reformed theologians see James as setting forth a litmus test for authentic faith, contending that true saving faith is evidenced by a life of obedience and good works. In other words, while salvation is by grace through faith, genuine faith results in a transformed life marked by obedience to Christ as Lord. According to John Frame, “James 2:24, which speaks of justification by works, tells us that a faith without works is not saving faith, not true faith. So, works are evidence of a true, saving faith.”[2] John MacArthur adds, “Good works are inevitable in the life of one who truly believes. These works have no part in bringing about salvation (Eph 2:9; Rom 3:20, 24; 4:5; Tit 3:5), but they show that salvation is indeed present (Eph 2:10; 5:9; 1 John 2:5).”[3] R. C. Sproul states, “every true believer bears some fruit. If he does not, he's not a believer.”[4] Even some of my favorite Bible teachers hold this view. For example, Arnold Fruchtenbaum says, “Is a faith that produces no work whatsoever really a saving faith? The obvious answer is, ‘No.' The issue here is saving faith.”[5] And Charles Ryrie states, “Can a nonworking, dead, spurious faith save a person? James is not saying that we are saved by works but that a faith that does not produce good works is a dead faith…Genuine faith cannot be ‘dead' to morality or barren to works.”[6] According to Warren Wiersbe, “Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration. That kind of faith is dead faith…Dead faith is not saving faith. Dead faith is counterfeit faith and lulls the person into a false confidence of eternal life.”[7] William MacDonald states, “works are not the root of salvation but the fruit; they are not the cause but the effect. Calvin put it tersely: ‘We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.'”[8]      Many proponents of this view assert that merely professing faith without a corresponding life of obedience can lead to self-deception and a false sense of security regarding one's salvation. One of the flaws of this view is that Christians spend much of their time looking at themselves and wondering if their works are genuine, or if they've done enough to prove their eternal salvation. Because sin continues in the lives of all Christians, and this to varying degrees, it leaves the believer in a state of uncertainty about their eternal destiny because they never know if their works represent a genuine saving faith.      In James 2:14-26; James is not distinguishing genuine from false faith; but rather, a useful faith that works to bless others, versus a useless faith that cannot save the Christian from divine discipline and loss of reward at the bema seat of Christ. For James, a dead faith is a useless faith that benefits no one, and his reference to salvation is from divine discipline, not the lake of fire. It's noteworthy that James 2:14-26 is sandwiched between two sections concerning divine judgement (Jam 2:12-13; 3:1). Biblically, disobedient Christians face God's judgment in this life as they are subject to divine discipline (Heb 12:6), which can eventuate in physical death (1 Cor 11:30; Jam 1:15, 21; 5:19-20; 1 John 5:16), as well as future judgment before the bema seat of Christ in heaven (Rom 14:10-12; 2 Cor 5:10). At the judgment seat of Christ, all Christians will stand before the Lord Jesus, not to determine if they have eternal life, for that is already secure for them (John 5:24; 10:28; 1 John 5:13), but to be evaluated on how they lived and rewards given for obedience to Him (1 Cor 3:10-15). This is important to understand, for when James poses the question, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (Jam 2:14), he's talking about a useful faith that benefits others and saves the Christian from divine discipline in this life, which can eventuate in physical death, and loss of reward at the bema seat of Christ. The Usefulness of Faith      For James, faith must be put into use to be beneficial to others. In one sentence, James said, “faith, if it has no works, is dead” (Jam 2:17), and in another sentence, said, “faith without works is useless” (Jam 2:20). A dead faith is a useless faith. It is useless to God and others, being of no benefit to the needy. We use similar language when we talk about a “dead battery,” we're talking about a battery that is useless. And when we talk about Latin being a “dead language,” we mean it's no longer in use. Likewise, a dead faith is a useless faith. However, unlike a dead battery or a dead language, we have volition and the ability to put our faith into practice, making it useful to others. Which is why James previously wrote, “prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves” (Jam 1:22).      The teaching of Scripture is that sinners are saved totally apart from works. Paul wrote, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28), and salvation comes “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5). We are “not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), for “by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works” (2 Tim 1:9a), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness” (Tit 3:5a). Good works do not save us eternally. They never have and never will.      James is not contradicting Paul. They are addressing two different matters. Paul addresses justification before God, which is based entirely on the work of Christ at the cross and the imputed righteousness that comes to the one who trusts in Christ alone for salvation (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). James addresses justification in the sight of others, what we might call vindication. God does not need to see our faith. He knows it's there. But others cannot see our faith, so good works help them to see what we claim to be true. Once saved, we are called to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). God said, “My righteous one shall live by faith” (Heb 10:38), for “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb 11:6). And we know that “whatever is not from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). Furthermore, Christians are commanded to love others (John 13:34; Gal 5:13; 1 Th 4:9). This love is to be actionable and tangible (Jam 2:15-16; 1 John 3:17-18). Also, we are directed to do good works, which glorify God and edify others. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16; cf. Eph 2:10). God's Word directs us to “do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal 6:10), “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Tim 6:18), to be “zealous for good deeds” (Tit 2:14b), to “learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs” (Tit 3:14a), “to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24). Failure of Christians to put their faith into action means they are disobedient to the Lord and subject to divine discipline. Scripture reveals, “those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and chastises every son whom He receives” (Heb 12:6). Jesus said, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline” (Rev 3:19a). Paul wrote, “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world” (1 Cor 11:32).[9] With these doctrines in mind, let's look at James 2:14-26. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] James clearly wrote to saved persons, Jewish believers, whom he called “brethren” (Jam 1:2, 16, 19; 2:1, 5, 14; 3:1, 10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9-10, 12, 19), confirmed they were born from above (Jam 1:17-18), and said they had “faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (Jam 2:1). He said the Holy Spirit dwelled in them (Jam 4:5), which proved they were Christians, for “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Rom 8:9). The main purpose of James' letter was to exhort Christians to spiritual maturity (Jam 1:4), which manifests itself in practical righteousness. James in no way contradicts Paul. Paul wrote about justification in the sight of God (Rom 3:28; 4:1-5; Gal 2:16), whereas James wrote about being justified in the sight of others (Jam 2:18, 24). [2] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 205. [3] John F. Macarthur, Jr., “Faith According To The Apostle James” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Vol 33/1: March 1990, 18. [4] R. C. Sproul, Can I Be Sure I'm Saved?, vol. 7, The Crucial Questions Series (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2010), 15. [5] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Jewish Epistles: Hebrews, James, First Peter, Second Peter, Jude, 1st ed., (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2005), 253 [6] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, Expanded ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995, 1970), 1970. [7] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 354. [8] William MacDonald, Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 2229. [9] He gave to us It is never the will of God that we sin (1 John 2:1), but all saints commit sin, and there is no such thing as a sinless saint. David wrote, “my sins have overtaken me…they are more numerous than the hairs of my head” (Psa 40:12), and “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psa 51:3). Paul said of himself, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want…I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good” (Rom 7:19, 21). And the John wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us…If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10). James said, “we all stumble in many ways” (Jam 3:2a). Though forgiven all our sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), and saved (Eph 2:8), Christians continue to possess a sin nature (Rom 6:6; 7:14-25; 13:14; Col 3:9; Gal 5:16-17, 19-22; 1 John 1:8), and commit personal acts of sin (Eccl 7:20; 1 John 1:10; 2:1). Though the power of the sin nature is broken (Rom 6:11-14), the presence of the sin nature is never removed from us until God takes us from this world and gives us a new body like the body of Jesus (Phil 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2, 5). It is possible for saints to commit any sin an unbeliever can commit, to the same degree, and for the same duration of time. That's not what God wants from us. He wants righteousness. It's possible for Christians to live sinfully, though not without consequences. Living sinfully does not mean loss of eternal salvation, for that is not possible. Jesus said, the one who believes in Him “has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24), and “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). Paul wrote, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). But if Christians choose to operate by the sinful flesh (1 Cor 3:1-3), love the world (1 John 2:15-16), and live sinfully, like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24), they open the door to divine discipline and great suffering (Heb 12:5-11), which can eventuate in physical death (1 Cor 11:30; Jam 1:15, 21; 5:19-20; 1 John 5:16), and the loss of eternal rewards (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 John 1:8).  

     The gospel is the good news that addresses the bad news of human sinfulness and separation from a holy God. Despite our helplessness and deserving of eternal punishment, God's solution is the gospel of grace, which reveals Jesus Christ took our sins upon Himself, died, was buried, and resurrected on the third day (1 Cor 15:3-4). At the cross, God judged our sin as His righteousness required, and pardons the sinner as His love desires. Salvation from eternal damnation is a free gift offered to all who trust in Christ alone, which emphasizes God's infinite grace rather than our human effort. This ultimate gift, paid for by Jesus's sacrifice, underscores the Bible's message that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23), highlighting God's generosity and the completeness of Christ's work on the cross. God is Holy      The Bible reveals God is holy. God declares of Himself, “I am holy” (Lev 11:44), the psalmist says, “holy is the LORD our God” (Psa 99:9), and the Seraphim declare, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts” (Isa 6:3). In her prayer, Hannah said, “There is no one holy like the LORD” (1 Sam 2:2). In these verses, the word “holy” translates the Hebrew word qadōsh (קָדוֹשׁ), which, according to James Swanson, refers “to being unique and pure in the sense of superior moral qualities.”[1] God's holiness is closely linked with His righteousness, justice, and perfection. Holiness denotes moral purity. J. Carl Laney states, “When we say ‘God is holy,' we mean He is totally separated from all that is unholy, defiling, or contrary to His nature. God's holiness is unique and distinctive in that it is without any contamination or impurity.”[2] Because God is absolutely holy, it is written, “no evil dwells with You” (Psa 5:4), “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13), and “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Evil is any thought, word, or act that is contrary to the character and will of God. According to Merrill F. Unger, moral evil “is the failure of rational and free beings to conform in character and conduct to the will of God.”[3]George Howley states, “God is separate from all evil and is in no way responsible for it…[and] It can only be attributed to the abuse of free-will on the part of created beings, angelic and human.”[4] Evil originates in the heart (Gen 6:5; Zech 8:17), is part of our nature (Matt 7:11), and results in evil actions (Neh 13:17; Prov 24:8; 1 Pet 3:12).[5] According to Scripture, “the LORD is righteous and He loves righteousness” (Psa 11:7). There is a time when “He is coming to judge the earth; and He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness” (Psa 96:13), and He will “judge the living and the dead” (2 Tim 4:1). Everyone is a Sinner      Sin is the failure to conform to God's perfect righteousness. Scripture reveals we are sinners “in Adam” (Rom 5:12-13; 1 Cor 15:21-22), sinners by nature (Psa 51:5; Jer 17:9; Rom 7:14-25; 13:12-14), sinners by choice (Eccl 7:20; Isa 59:2; Jam 1:14-15; 1 John 1:8, 10), born as “sons of disobedience” (Eph 2:2), and are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3). The Bible reveals “there is no one who does not sin” (1 Ki 8:46), and “there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins” (Eccl 7:20). Isaiah wrote, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isa 53:6a). Paul stated that we “are all under sin” (Rom 3:9), and “there is none righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10), for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). James wrote, “we all stumble in many ways” (Jam 3:2a), and John declared, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us... If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10). This means everyone stands guilty before God. Good Works Do Not Save      Good works have no saving merit before God. Isaiah wrote, “all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isa 64:6a). Paul wrote, “a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), for “by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), and God “saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works” (2 Tim 1:9), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness” (Tit 3:5a). Though human good works may have value in the sight of other people, they have absolutely no saving merit in God's sight. None at all! The Solution of the Cross      We are helpless to save ourselves, but God made a way, and this because He loves us and desires our salvation. He loves us so much that He sent His Son into the world to pay the sin debt we cannot pay. We're told, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). Nearly 2,000 years ago, God the Father sent God the Son into the world to take upon Himself humanity (Isa 7:14; Luke 1:30-35; John 1:1; 14; Heb 10:5), to be free from sin (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5) and to live a perfectly righteous life. Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38; cf., John 7:29; 8:29; Gal 4:4). Jesus was sent by the Father to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), for “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).      Jesus willingly went to the cross and paid our sin-debt (John 10:18). His death was a penal substitutionary sacrifice for us, as the Son of Man came “to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Paul wrote, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Peter said, “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). His death on the cross was for all sins for all time, for “the death that He died, He died to sin once for all” (Rom 6:10), He “offered one sacrifice for sins for all time” (Heb 10:12), and “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Because of Jesus' death on the cross, God “canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:14). There's nothing for us to add to Jesus' work on the cross. Having paid our sin debt in full on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), and then He died.      After Jesus died for our sins, He was buried in a grave, and raised on the third day, as Scripture reveals (1 Cor 15:3-4). And “Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again” (Rom 6:9). After Jesus's resurrection, He was seen alive by hundreds of people (1 Cor 15:5-8), and those eye witnesses provided a written record of what they saw and heard (Luke 1:1-4; John 20:30-31; 2 Pet 1:16-18). God's offer of salvation is available for everyone. The Bible speaks of “God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:3b-4), who has brought “salvation to all men” (Tit 2:11), and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9).      The cross is God's righteous solution to the problem of sin, as well as His greatest display of love toward sinners. At the cross, God judged our sin as His righteousness required, and pardons the sinner as His love desires. To understand the cross of Christ is to understand the heart of God toward a fallen world He wants to save. If someone perishes eternally, it is because they failed to respond to God and His drawing them to Himself (John 3:18; 5:39-40; Acts 7:51). All who end up in the lake of fire are there by personal choice, not because God failed to love them or make provision for their eternal salvation.      Once we hear the good news about what Christ accomplished for us, we are asked to place our faith in Him, to “Believe in the Lord Jesus” for salvation (Acts 16:31). Jesus is the object of our faith. To believe in Christ as our Savior means we trust Him to accomplish for us what we cannot accomplish ourselves: eternal salvation from the lake of fire. Faith in Christ is the only condition for salvation. Faith does not save. Christ saves. Faith is merely the instrument by which we receive the gift of God. Only the empty hand of faith accepts the gift. It offers nothing, but is open to receive that which is offered by another. No payment is required by us to receive it. Christ alone saves. No one else can save us, including ourselves. Salvation is a Free Gift from God      Salvation is a gift from the Lord. It is the most precious gift ever offered. And though the gift was very expensive to God, it is absolutely free to us. The precious gift of our salvation was paid in full by the Lord Jesus Christ who died for our sins, who hung between heaven and earth and paid our sin-debt. According to God's Word, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). The words “free gift” translate the Geek noun charisma (χάρισμα) which, according to BDAG, refers to “that which is freely and graciously given, favor bestowed, gift.”[6] And Joseph Thayer defines it as “a gift of grace; a favor which one receives without any merit of his own.”[7] Paul, when writing to the Christians at Ephesus, said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9; cf., Rom 4:4-5; Tit 3:5). To say we are saved by grace means our salvation is unearned and undeserved in any way. God's gift of salvation is totally apart from any good works we may produce, and since good works do not save, bad works cannot unsave (though they can bring divine discipline). A gift focuses on the graciousness of the giver, whereas a reward focuses on the work of the recipient. Salvation is NOT a reward for work we've accomplished; rather, it is a free gift from God and based totally on the finished work of Christ. We pay nothing. Jesus paid it all.      The realization that salvation is offered freely, based solely on the perfect work of Jesus on the cross, offers profound relief to the person who has been laboring under the yoke of a works-based system. Those who operate under a works-based system of salvation will never reach a place of certainty in their relationship with God, for they will never know whether they have done enough to gain entrance into heaven. But the truth that salvation is a grace-gift from God, received by faith alone, liberates those who accept it. When properly grasped, God's gospel of grace alleviates the pressure to perform and the fear of falling short and brings a deep sense of peace and joy, knowing our salvation is secure, not because of our own efforts, but because of Christ's finished work. Peace comes when we look to Christ and the promises of Scripture and not ourselves. This gospel of grace message transforms our relationship with God from one of fear and striving to one of gratitude and love, as the focus moves from what we must do to what Christ has already done on our behalf. This grace-based approach encourages us to live out our faith from a place of thankfulness rather than obligation, resulting in a more authentic and joyful Christian life. The Benefits of the Cross      At the moment of faith in Christ, the benefits of the cross are applied to us. Scripture reveals we are forgiven all our sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), given “eternal life” (John 5:24; 10:28; Rom 6:23), the “gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9), have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1), become “children of God” (John 1:12; Gal 3:26), are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24), are “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13), and are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). Furthermore, as Christians, we are among those “whose names are in the book of life” (Phil 4:3). As a result, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). We will never experience the lake of fire. Never. As Christians, “our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20). Good Works Should Follow Salvation      To be eternally saved, the only condition is faith alone in Christ alone (John 3:16; 20:31; Acts 4:14; 16:31). That's all. Once saved and justified in God's sight, the Lord expects us to submit to Him in total obedience in all areas of life (Matt 28:20; Rom 12:1-2; Jam 4:7), and to learn His Word in order to live His will in every particular (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2).      After salvation-justification, the Lord directs us to begin a lifelong journey of faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), and to “press on to maturity” (Heb 6:1). This glorifies God, edifies others, and results in the best life possible in this world. Good works is what God expects of His people. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16). Paul wrote, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph 2:10). The Lord instructs us “to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (Tit 2:12) and to be “zealous for good deeds” (Tit 2:14). We agree with Paul who wrote, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal 6:10). God clearly calls His people to a life of obedience and good works. There is no question about this. The Scriptures are plain on the matter, instructing us, “like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior” (1 Pet 1:15). It is never the will of God that we sin; however, when we sin (and there is no Christian who does not sin), it is always His will that we handle it biblically by means of confession (1 John 1:9), which always results in forgiveness and restoration of fellowship. If we fail to walk in regular obedience to the Lord, we are subject to divine discipline in time (Heb 12:5-11), and loss of rewards in eternity (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 John 1:8). Though believers may turn from the Lord and pursue a life of sin, these will also experience divine punishment, even to the point of physical death (1 Cor 11:30; 1 John 5:16-17), but will not forfeit their salvation, which is not possible (John 10:28).      In summary, salvation is free. The Lord Jesus purchased it for us on the cross, and He offers it without cost to those who place their trust in Him. It is freely offered and freely received, and there's nothing for us to pay. That's grace. Our justification before God is a one-and-done event that happens at the moment of faith in Christ. Good works are not a prerequisite, corequisite, or postrequisite to salvation. That is, beyond simple faith in Christ, nothing is required of us before, during, or after we believe in Him as our Savior. We are saved by grace alone (we don't deserve it), through faith alone (not by works), in Christ alone. Good works should follow salvation (Eph 2:10; Gal 6:10), but they are never the condition of it.      Once saved, God calls us to a lifelong process of sanctification. Sanctification is the life we live after being justified, and this process continues until we leave this world, either by death or rapture. The sanctified life requires us to learn and live God's Word (2 Tim 2:15; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38), be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16), and make ongoing good choices to stay on the path of God's will. Dr. Steven R. Cook     [1] James Swanson, “קָדוֹשׁ”, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). [2] J. Carl Laney Jr., eds. Charles Swindoll and Roy Zuck, “God is Holy”, Understanding Christian Theology (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003), 188. [3] Merrill Frederick Unger, “Evil” The New Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 382. [4] George Howley, “Evil,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 349. [5] To be evil means we conform ourselves to Satan's world-system (1 John 2:15-16), and that we, by default, are self-centered and not God-centered. To be righteous means we are conformed to God's character and will, both in a salvific and sanctified way. [6] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1081. [7] Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Being Grimm's Wilke's Clavis Novi Testamenti (New York: Harper & Brothers., 1889), 667.

Election      Election derives from the Greek verb eklegō (ἐκλέγω) which, according to BDAG, means “to make a choice in accordance with significant preference, select someone or something for oneself.”[1] According to Norman Geisler, “The word election (or elect) occurs fourteen times in the New Testament. An elect person is a chosen one; election (or elect) is used of Israel (Rom 9:11; 11:28), of angels (1 Tim 5:21), and of believers. In relation to believers, election is the decision of God from all eternity whereby He chose those who would be saved.”[2] Geisler further states, “The words chosen and chose are used numerous times. The terms are employed of Christ (Luke 23:35; 1 Pet 1:20; 2:4, 6), of a disciple (Acts 1:2, 24; 10:41; 22:14; John 15:10), and even of Judas (John 6:70; 13:18), who was chosen to be an apostle. Soteriologically, a chosen one is a person elected to salvation by God.”[3]      Election is that free choice of God from eternity past in which He chose to save and bless some (Eph 1:4-5). The elect are the ones chosen. God elects groups (Luke 6:13-16; John 6:70) and individuals (1 Ch 28:5; Acts 9:15). Election is to salvation (Acts 13:48; Eph 1:4-6; 2 Th 2:13), spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3), holy and righteous living (Col 3:12; 1 Pet 2:9), and service for the Lord (Jer 1:4-5; Gal 1:15-16; cf. Acts 9:15). In election, God is sovereign and people are free. Both are true. This is why Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). Here we observe the coalescence of God's sovereignty and positive human volition as the Father gives and people come of their own choice.[4] We observe something similar in Acts where Luke wrote, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). Here we observe Gentiles who were appointed to eternal life, and that they personally exercised their volition and believed in the Lord for salvation.[5] Robert B. Thieme Jr., states: "[Election is] the recognition by God, before the foundation of the world, of those who would believe in Christ; the sovereign act of God in eternity past to choose, to set apart, certain members of the human race for privilege, based on His knowledge of every person's freewill decisions in time. While God is sovereign, having the right to do with His creatures as He pleases, never has He hindered or tampered with human free will. He did not choose some to be saved and others to be condemned. Instead, in eternity past, God first chose to accomplish the work of man's salvation through the Son. Then, He looked down the corridors of time and elected for salvation everyone He knew would believe in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:4). God elected believers in the sense that He knew ahead of time that their free will would choose for Christ….Moreover, God did not elect anyone to hell: unbelievers are condemned to eternally reside in hell only because they have used their volition toward unbelief (John 3:18)."[6] Predestined by God      When writing to the Christians at Ephesus, Paul said, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph 1:4-5). The word predestined translates the Greek word proorizō (προορίζω), which means, to “decide upon beforehand,  predetermine.”[7] Harold Hoehner defines the word similarly as, “to determine beforehand, mark out beforehand, predestine.”[8] Geisler notes, “Just as God predetermined from all eternity that Christ would die for our sins (Acts 2:23), He also predestined who would be saved. As Paul says, ‘Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son' (Rom 8:29).”[9] According to Paul Enns, “Even though election and predestination are clearly taught in Scripture, man is still held accountable for his choices. Scripture never suggests that man is lost because he is not elect or has not been predestined; the emphasis of Scripture is that man is lost because he refuses to believe the gospel.”[10]      Predestination refers to what God purposes for us. The Bible reveals that God has predestined us to adoption as His children (Eph 1:5), to our ultimate conformity to Christ (Rom 8:29–30), and to the blessings of our future inheritance (Eph 1:11). Warren Wiersbe states, “This word, as it is used in the Bible, refers primarily to what God does for saved people. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that people are predestined to hell, because this word refers only to God's people. Election seems to refer to people, while predestination refers to purposes.”[11] According to Robert B. Thieme Jr., predestination refers to “God's predetermined, sovereign provisioning of every believer for the purpose of executing His plan, purpose, and will in time (Eph 1:4-6, 11).”[12] Thieme further states: "In eternity past God decreed, or established with certainty, the believer's destiny for time and eternity. However, the divine act of predestination is never to be confused with the ideas of kismet [the idea of fate] or any other human-viewpoint system of fatalism. God did not negate free will or force anyone into a course of action. Rather, He only decreed and provisioned what He knew would actually happen. He predestined believers based on His eternal knowledge that they would, by their own free will, accept Jesus Christ as Savior. Long before human history began, sovereign God determined that every Church Age believer would be united with the resurrected Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Those who believe are predestined as heirs of God and joint heirs with the Son of God—sharing the eternal destiny of Jesus Christ Himself (Eph 1:5). Furthermore, God predestined believers with everything necessary to fulfill His plan in time. No Christian is dependent upon human energy, personality, or human effort, because God established a grace way of life and furnished the divine means of execution (2 Tim 1:9). Every believer in this age has equal opportunity to either accept or reject God's predestined provision. Regardless of personal failure or success in time, all believers are predestined to be completely “conformed to the image of His Son” in resurrection bodies in heaven (Rom 8:29)."[13] Foreknowledge      Peter wrote of God's elect as those “who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Pet 1:1-2). Here, the word foreknowledge translates the Greek noun prognōsis (πρόγνωσις), which means “to know beforehand, know in advance”[14] Foreknowledge simply means that omniscient God, from eternity past, knew in advance all that would happen in time and space, and He knew the actions of every person and whether they would be saved or not. Jesus communicated His foreknowledge when He said to His disciples, ‘“There are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him” (John 6:64). God also knew His own actions in time and space, either to direct, permit, or overrule human or angelic decisions, and to judge everyone fairly for their actions. According to Norman Geisler: "Being omniscient, God also eternally foreknew those who would be saved: “Those God foreknew he also predestined” (Rom 8:29). Indeed, they were “elect according to the foreknowledge of God” (1 Pet 1:2). Since His foreknowledge is infallible (He is omniscient), whatever God foreknows will indeed come to pass. Hence, His foreknowledge of who would be saved assures that they will be."[15]      In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29). The word “foreknew” translates the Greek verb proginōskō (προγινώσκω) which, according to BDAG, means “to know beforehand or in advance, have foreknowledge.”[16] Here, the word connotes God's knowing people in an intimate sense and not merely what they will do. This speaks to the richness of the relationship God has with each individual. Though we exist in time and space and live our lives in a chronological manner with one experience sequentially following the next, God exists in the eternal realm, beyond time and space, in the eternal now. This means that God is present at all times and places in human history simultaneously. Scripture speaks of what God foreknew from eternity past as it relates to the choices of His elect, but His foreknowledge is not detached or impersonal; rather, it is intimately connected to the formation of His family and the execution of His purposes in the world (see Jer 1:4-5). Prevenient Grace      Prevenient grace refers to the grace of God that precedes and prepares a person's heart and will for salvation. The term “prevenient” means “preceding” or “coming before.” According to Geisler, “Prevenient means ‘before,' and prevenient grace refers to God's unmerited work in the human heart prior to salvation, which directs people to this end through Christ…This grace is also seen in the fact that ‘the goodness of God leads you to repentance' (Rom 2:4). Thus, prevenient grace is God's grace exerted on our behalf even before He bestows salvation on us.”[17]      Because God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9), He works in a preparatory manner to convince the fallen human heart to welcome Christ (2 Tim 1:9). Jesus spoke of the role of the Holy Spirit in the dispensation of the church age, saying, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:8-9). According to Geisler, “The act of convicting, then, is that by which God persuades a person that he is a sinner and, thus, is in need of the Savior.”[18] This prevenient work of God is necessary because of the sinfulness of mankind. It is not considered to be salvific in itself but rather a preparatory grace that allows individuals to cooperate with God's saving work in Christ. In this perspective, salvation is seen as a cooperative process where individuals have the ability to accept or reject God's offer of grace. Christians are Elect in Christ      From eternity past, God intended for His grand plan of salvation for all humanity to be achieved through His Son. Scripture reveals “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14), and “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and He is “the Lamb who has been slain” from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). Jesus is the Father's Chosen One. God said, “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen One in whom My soul delights” (Isa 42:1). And He said of Jesus, “This is My Son, My Chosen One” (Luke 9:35). And Peter describes Jesus as “chosen and precious in the sight of God” (1 Pet 2:4). Jesus was chosen by God before the foundation of the world to be the Savior of all mankind, and Christians are elect because we are in Christ. Geisler states: "Christ is eternal, and the universal church was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4); hence, in the mind of God, the church of God is eternal. Further, Christ is the elect of God (Matt 3:16–17), and we are elect in Him; not only is Christ the elect One, but in the New Testament those “in Christ,” the church, the members of His body, were elect in Him before time began."[19]      Scripture reveals that Christians “are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Pet 1:1-2), that Christ “was foreknown before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet 1:20), was “chosen and precious” in His sight (1 Pet 2:4), and that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4). The prepositional phrase “in Him” (ἐν αὐτῷ) speaks to our election and union with Christ (Eph 1:4). According to L. B. Smedes, “This strongly suggests that God elects people for salvation in the same decision that He elected Christ as their Savior.”[20] Because Jesus is God's Chosen One, it is asserted that we, God's elect, were chosen at the same time as Christ, and He “saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:9). When we believed in Jesus as our Savior, God placed us into union with Christ, for “by His doing you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:30). Paul wrote, “I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen [eklektos], so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory” (2 Tim 2:10).      The prepositional phrase, “in Christ” (ἐν Χριστῷ), emphasizes the idea of believers being in union with Christ. This union is not merely a metaphorical expression but signifies a profound spiritual reality. The Apostle Paul frequently uses this expression to convey the intimate and transformative relationship that believers have with Christ (Rom 8:1; 12:5; 1 Cor 1:2, 30; Gal 3:28; Eph 1:3-4; Phil 1:1; Col 1:2; 2 Tim 1:9; 2:10). Being “in Christ” signifies that believers are, in a real spiritual sense, united with Him. This identification includes sharing in His death, burial, and resurrection, for we have been “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20), and “we died with Christ” (Rom 6:8), were “buried with Him” (Rom 6:4), and “have been raised up with Christ” (Col 3:1). In a real way, we were with Him on the cross, in the grave, and at His resurrection. In the eyes of God, His experience has become our experience. This identification with Jesus is real, even though we were not physically alive at the time of His crucifixion, burial, resurrection, or ascension into heaven. Furthermore, “In Him we have…forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph 1:7), “have been sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:2), have “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23), and are told there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). This kind of identification in and with another is true in other instances. For example, it was said of Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb” (Gen 25:23), even before Israel was called into being as a nation. Similarly, the writer of Hebrews speaks of Levi who “paid tithes” (Heb 7:9), and this while “he was still in the loins of his father” Abraham (Heb 7:10). This means that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek, even before he existed, as he was in the loins of his father, Abraham.[21]      Furthermore, being “in Christ” reflects a believer's new position before God. It signifies that, through faith in Christ, believers are accepted and justified before God. Their sins are forgiven (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), and they are seen through the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). The phrase also emphasizes that believers participate in the benefits of Christ's redemptive work. This includes reconciliation with God (Rom 5:10), adoption as children (Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5), the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16), and the status of being a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). Believers are seen as co-heirs with Christ, sharing in the inheritance of eternal life (Eph 1:3-14; Rom 8:17). This positional truth is foundational to the concept of salvation by grace through faith. While being “in Christ” has personal implications, it also has a corporate dimension. It speaks to the collective identity of the Church as the body of Christ, with believers being interconnected and sharing a common life “in Christ.” Robert B. Thieme Jr., states: "Through the baptism of the Spirit at salvation, every believer of this age is removed from his position in Adam and secured in his position “in Christ” (1 Cor 15:22; Eph 2:5–6; cf. Gal 3:27). The believer, no longer spiritually dead, is made a “new creature” with a totally unprecedented relationship with God (2 Cor 5:17a). The “old things” that once kept him alienated from God have passed away; phenomenal “new things” have come by virtue of his position in Christ (2 Cor 5:17b). The believer shares Christ's eternal life (1 John 5:11–12), His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21), His election (Eph 1:3–4), His destiny (Eph 1:5), His sonship (John 1:12; Gal 3:26; 1 John 3:1–2), His heirship (Rom 8:16–17), His sanctification (1 Cor 1:2, 30), His kingdom (2 Pet 1:11), His priesthood (Heb 10:10–14), and His royalty (2 Tim 2:11–12). This new position can never be forfeited."[22]      In summary, the prepositional phrase “in Christ” encapsulates profound theological truths about the believer's union with Christ, identification with His redemptive work, a new positional standing before God, and the communal identity of the Church as the body of Christ. It serves as a key concept in understanding the richness of Christian salvation and the transformative impact of faith in Jesus Christ. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 305. [2] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2004), 220–221. [3] Ibid., 221. [4] Other passages that emphasize God's sovereign choice: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44), and “no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:65). Paul wrote, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph 1:4-5). And to Christians living in Thessalonica, Paul wrote, “We should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth” (2 Th 2:13). [5] Romans 9:1-18 is often cited when discussing election to salvation; however, when one looks at the context of Roman 9, it does not pertain to salvation, but to God's selection of the progenitors of the nation of Israel. In a similar way, God sovereignly selected Nebuchadnezzar to be the king over Babylon (Dan 2:37-38; 5:18), and Cyrus as king over Persia (Ezra 1:2). In fact, God's sovereignty is supreme when it comes to selecting all human rulers, for “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Dan 2:21), and “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Dan 4:17). At times, He even raises up young foolish kings to discipline His people, as He told Isaiah the prophet, “I will make mere lads their princes, and capricious children will rule over them” (Isa 3:4). [6] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Election”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, (Houston, TX., R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, 2022), 81. [7] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 873. [8] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 193. [9] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 221. [10] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 329. [11] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 11. [12] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Predestination”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 203. [13] Ibid., 203-204 [14] Moisés Silva, ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 138. [15] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 221. [16] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 866. [17] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 222. [18] Ibid., 222. [19] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Four: Church, Last Things, 50–51. [20] L. B. Smedes, “Grace,” ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 551. [21] These two analogies with Rebekah and Levi help convey the idea of a connection or representation that transcends mere physical existence. In the case of Rebekah, the passage refers to the statement, “Two nations are in your womb” (Gen 25:23), highlighting that this declaration occurred before Israel was called into being as a nation. This serves as an example of a connection that existed before the actual historical formation of the nation. Likewise, the reference to Levi paying tithes while still in the loins of his father, Abraham (Heb 7:9-10), is another analogy used to illustrate a connection that goes beyond the immediate physical existence of the individual. It suggests a representation or identification that precedes the individual's own existence. [22] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Position in Christ”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 200.

In this episode, Cliff talks about how now that we are God's children, Jesus always intercedes for us and that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:33-39).

Penal Substitution      Penal substitution is the idea that Jesus bore the penalty for our sins on the cross. He was judged in our place and bore the wrath of God that rightfully belongs to us. The record of Scripture is that “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed” (Isa 53:5), and “the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him” (Isa 53:6), for “by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11), and “the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering” (Isa 53:10a). Jesus is presented in the NT as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). We're also told that God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf” (2 Cor 5:21), and that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us” (Gal 3:13), and that “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet 2:24). In this way, the sins of all humanity were imputed to Christ while He was on the cross, suffering as our substitute. And we must always remember that the sacrifice of Christ was purely voluntary, as He said, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11), and “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative” (John 10:18). And Jesus has “been offered once to bear the sins of many” (Heb 9:28), and “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust” (1 Pet 3:18).      Louis Berkhof states, “The Bible certainly teaches that the sufferings and death of Christ were vicarious, and vicarious in the strict sense of the word that He took the place of sinners, and that their guilt was imputed, and their punishment transferred, to Him.”[1] And Charles Ryrie adds, “Only the substitutionary death of Christ can provide that which God's justice demands and thereby become the basis for the gift of eternal life to those who believe.”[2] And according to Lewis Chafer, “The doctrine of satisfaction embodies the conception of Christ's death, that it was a penal substitution which had the objective purpose of providing a just and righteous ground for God to remit the sins of those for whom Christ died.”[3] John Walvoord agrees, saying: "This point of view, variously described as vicarious or penal, holds that the atonement is objectively directed toward God and the satisfaction of His holy character and demands upon the sinner. It is vicarious in the sense that Christ is the Substitute who bears the punishment rightly due sinners, their guilt being imputed to Him in such a way that He representatively bore their punishment. This is in keeping with the general idea of sacrifices in the Old Testament and is explicitly taught in the New Testament (see John 1:29; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 2:24)."[4] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. states: "The punishment incurred by Adam when he sinned—spiritual death—is passed down to the entire human race. Everyone is born under this penalty of sin, hopelessly in debt to God. The debt has been paid by the perfect humanity of Christ, whose substitutionary spiritual death on the cross “canceled out the certificate of debt” (Col 2:14). Man now stands free to accept Jesus Christ and receive the gift of an eternal relationship with God."[5]      What's unique about Jesus is that He is both our High Priest as well as the sacrifice for our sins. In the OT, priests would offer animals to die as the sacrifice, but Jesus offered “Himself as a guilt offering” (Isa 53:10) in order to take away sins. The writer to the Hebrews states, “Christ appeared as a high priest” (Heb 9:11), and this in order “to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb 9:26), and this was a once-for-all sacrifice, as He “offered one sacrifice for sins for all time” (Heb 10:12).      Sin is the breaking of God's law, for “Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law” (1 John 3:4 CSB). The penalty for breaking God's law is death, for “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Jesus took our sins upon Himself and “bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet 2:24), and He “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). And He died for the sins of everyone, for “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Though Christ died for everyone, the benefits of the cross are applied only to those who believe, and “everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7). Additionally, we receive “the gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17), and “eternal life” (John 10:28). At the moment of faith in Christ, we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).   Propitiation      Jesus' death on the cross was a satisfactory sacrifice to God which completely paid the price for our sin. We owed a debt to God that we could never pay, and Jesus paid that debt in full when He died on the cross and bore the punishment that rightfully belonged to us. In Romans, Paul states that we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith (Rom 3:24-25a ESV). Here, Paul used the Greek word hilasterion (ἱλαστήριον)—translated propitiation—to show that Jesus' shed blood completely satisfied God's righteous demands toward our sin, with the result that there is nothing more for the sinner to pay to God. Jesus paid our sin-debt in full. The Apostle John tells us “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2; cf., 4:10). Jesus' death on the cross forever satisfied God's righteous demands toward the sins of everyone for all time! God has “canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:14). Regarding Christ's death, J. Dwight Pentecost states: "You can be adjusted to God's standard, because God made Christ to become sin for us. The One who knew no sin, the One in whose lips had never been found guile, took upon Himself our sin in order that He might bear our sins to the cross and offer Himself as an acceptable substitute to God for us—on our behalf, in our place. And when Jesus Christ identified Himself with sinners and went to the cross on their behalf and in their place, He was making possible the doctrine of reconciliation. He was making it possible for God to conform the world to Himself, to adjust the world to His standard so that sinners in the world might find salvation because “Jesus paid it all.” You can be adjusted to God, to God's standard, through Christ, by His death, by His cross, by His blood, and by His identification with sinners."[6] John Walvoord adds: "The work of Christ in salvation has still another major aspect of what is called in the Bible “propitiation,” “the sacrifice of atonement,” or satisfying God's righteous demands or judgment upon a sinner. Illustrations of this can be found in Romans 3:25 and 1 John 2:2; 4:10. The idea of propitiation is that God as a righteous God must demand punishment for those who sin against Him. Christ in His death on the cross provided propitiation, atonement, or satisfaction of that claim, so that God is fully satisfied now in saving a person who does not deserve to be saved."[7] Robert Lightner states: "The death of Christ satisfied the righteous demands of God the Father. Because of sin His holiness had been offended, and only a sinless sacrifice could meet His righteous demands. Jesus Christ the Righteous One provided in Himself the perfect sacrifice. Paul set forth Christ as the propitiation for the remission of sins (Rom 3:25). Because of the blood He shed Christ provided in Himself the appointed place where a holy God could meet sinful man. Christ is now our place of meeting—our mercy seat (cf. 1 John 2:2; 4:10). The need for propitiation stems from the sin of man and the holiness of God. It is man who needs to be reinstated or reconciled with God. God's holiness and righteous demands remain unchanged. Since there must be a basis upon which God may receive sinners, satisfaction must be made for sin: propitiation provided just such a basis through the death of Christ."[8] Paul Enns states: "Propitiation means that the death of Christ fully satisfied all the righteous demands of God toward the sinner. Because God is holy and righteous He cannot overlook sin; through the work of Jesus Christ God is fully satisfied that His righteous standard has been met. Through union with Christ the believer can now be accepted by God and be spared from the wrath of God."[9]      There are several concepts at work in the doctrine of propitiation. First, God is holy which means He is completely set apart from sin and cannot look on wickedness with favor. The Scripture states, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13), and “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Because all mankind is marked by sin, we are all in danger of the fires of hell, unless we turn to Christ as our Savior. Second, God made a way for His righteousness to be satisfied, and this through the cross of Christ. As Christians, we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Rom 3:24-25a ESV). And John tells us “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2a; cf., 4:10). God is forever satisfied with the death of Christ. Third, the wrath of God is removed because Jesus was judged in our place and bore the punishment that rightfully belongs to us. Paul wrote, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom 5:8-9). Dr. Steven R. Cook     ___ [1] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 376. [2] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 357. [3] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3, 143. [4] John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord, 157. [5] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Barrier”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 22. [6] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things Which Become Sound Doctrine, 89. [7] John F. Walvoord, What We Believe (Galaxie Software, 2007), 76. [8] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology, 195. [9] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, 325.

In this episode, Cliff talks about the importance of considering ourselves dead to the power of sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11).

How To Have Victory Over Our Enemies (1) David Eells - 7/31/19 (Audio) Transcription Thank you, Father, for blessing us today, giving us wisdom, especially in the matter of warfare against enemies. Thank you, Father, for giving us the victory. It's already done in Jesus Name. We praise you for it and we thank you for wisdom today to help us to agree with You in this battle and win and be overcomers!  Amen.  You know, the first thing you have to do in this warfare is to sanctify yourselves for the battle. We're told in 1Jn 3:21-22 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; 22 and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.  So you need this boldness of heart or otherwise the devil will come and accuse you and you'll lose faith. We are told in 1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So then you can have boldness towards God if you do that honestly and believe the promise that He will cleanse you of all unrighteousness, then you can have that boldness towards God.  And we're told in Rom 6:11-14 Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. This is where justification by faith comes from. Jesus took away your sins and so you can believe it and stand on it. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, If you don't believe it, you will not have victory over it. That you should obey the lust thereof. 13 Neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves unto God as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. In other words, don't put yourself in a position to sin, don't willfully do that. 14For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace.  I'm sure you can do a lot more studying on this and especially justification by faith. The devil always comes to condemn you for things from your past, or he comes to condemn you for something he spoke into your mind. There's no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).  You put it under the blood by confessing it and being cleansed from all unrighteousness. And if he comes back, you have to do warfare against condemnation. Lots of people are dealing with this. The devil knows how to do this; he's been doing it for a long, long time. My suggestion to you is that when he comes and it's something you've already confessed and already put under the blood, go on the attack against him, and run off condemnation, run off fear, run off doubt.  And one of your best weapons against him is to know that the victory is already accomplished. It says in Col 1:13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of the son of his love. We are not under the power of darkness. If you're walking according to your conscience, or even if you failed and confessed your sin and got back on track, you are not under the power of darkness, and you should act that way and speak that way and think that way or you'll lose the battle.  Joh 16:33 These things have I spoken unto you that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Well notice, we're to be happy because he's already overcome the world for us. We're entering into His works through faith, Paul said. So if you want to do His works, you must believe that your sins were taken away and that you've been given the victory. Also, Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. Well, was he cast out? He was cast out by faith. Faith at what happened at the cross. And we still claim it. He has no authority and no power. He's here to deceive people who don't believe the Gospel. They don't believe the Good News. He has no authority and no power. You need to exercise your authority over him. The promises are put there so we can use them as a two-edged sword.   Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said it is finished: and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. It is finished. He knew that He had overcome the world. He had conquered the enemy by that sacrifice and everybody who has faith in that sacrifice will have that victory. And also Luk 1:68-75 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.  For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people. It's done, 69 and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the House of his servant David 70 (And as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old), 71 Salvation, from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To show mercy towards our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant. Yes, He made that covenant with Abraham and this covenant is still with us. The law did not supersede that covenant. It was a meantime thing until the seed should come to whom the promise was made, and that was Christ. And of course, everybody who is in Christ has this, if you abide in Him. 73 The oath which he swear unto Abraham, our father, 74 To grant unto us that we being delivered out of thy hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear,… Notice this is a promise from a long time ago, and it's still true today. 75 In holiness and righteousness before him all our days. It's our right to walk in holiness and righteousness and overcome the enemies. It's already been accomplished for us. We're simply stepping into the works of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and His word.  Another thing you're going to want to do the whole time you're doing warfare against an enemy or want your victory over an enemy, and that is to pray always at all times. Ask for everything. God knows you're depending upon Him when you're asking Him. You're not depending upon yourself, your ingenuity, your strength, your money, whatever, and on and on.  1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing. Heb 4:16 And Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need. Go boldly before the throne and do it all the time. You can go boldly, you don't have to be ashamed to go and ask God. You shouldn't come up with cliches, “that God's too busy for this,” or whatever. This is what He says, and we have to honor Him by what He says. He wants us to go boldly before the throne of grace so that we can receive mercy and find that grace and help in any time of need against an enemy that's already been conquered. It's good to remember the Good News, the Gospel! The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes it. (Rom 1:16) So that's what we're talking about today.  And of course, we always talk a lot about exercising your authority. If you don't, the devil will exercise his. Luk 10:17-19 And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. So we have this authority. If we exercise it, will it automatically come to pass? Why no, it won't. We have this authority, we are to exercise it over Satan and over all of his angels; all of his demons.  The demons are subject unto us, and Jesus said, I saw Satan falling from heaven; well, who was doing that? They were, and the Saints ultimately will figure this out, and they will do it. But we can do this anytime and should be all the time. It's our authority to cast down Satan and his angels. That means cast down their authority over us, their power. He's the prince of the power of the air, but he has no authority or power over us. So we should be exercising our authority over him.  And then and also says Rev 12:7-11, which is a principle that is true for now, but what he's talking about is this being manifested in the time when God's people get the revelation and start acting upon it. So since it's good for now, I'm going to share it with you. Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; Remember, even before this the dragon was seeking to destroy the Man-child and failed. The Man-child was caught up to the throne, which is authority. He does not want that to happen. He doesn't want you to be caught up to the throne of authority. He doesn't mind lukewarm Christians because they are no problem to him. They are no threat to him. When you find out you have been sanctified through the work of Jesus Christ, delivered from sin, and capable of throwing him down, that's when he worries.  …Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon and the dragon warred with his angels. Notice the dragon who is said to be the devil, has angels. Some people say they're not angels; they are angels; the Bible says so. 8 and they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; Everybody is deceived by him, except for those who get these revelations. he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. 10 And I heard a great voice in heaven saying now has come the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down,   He's the Accuser of our brethren. You know, there's a lot of little accusers out there that work for him and that's all they do is accuse others. I know you've seen this in the political realm, how the very left wing is accusing the people on the right, including Trump, of doing the very thing that they are doing. And they do it all the time. That's the devil in them, that is demon possession. That is what the devil does. He's always accusing the brethren. Always! These are not like people that get offended with you and go away. No, they are demon possessed and that demon in them is wanting very badly to accuse you and to lie and to slander you and to bring you down. Don't you accept it in your mind. You're not supposed to accept his accusations against you. Don't accept his slander against you in your mind, nor through other people. Don't accept it.  And he said …the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him... (Now this is the same way we're going to overcome.) because of the blood of the Lamb... (You see, Jesus took away our sins. We're delivered by the blood, we're washed and cleansed by the blood.) And because of the word of their testimony, (because they held fast their confession. We have to “hold fast the confession of our hope firm until the end.”) Hold fast, the word of their testimony and they love not their life, even unto death. In other words, they were willing to give up the old life, the old man. Those that are not willing to give this up, they will be your enemy; they will fight against you. They will be on the side of the dragon. They will seek to devour you, so pity them. Don't worry about them but pity them and pray for them, that they will see through it and come through it but resist them and be honest with them just the way Paul and Peter and Jesus were. Tell them who they are so that they can repent; tell them where they are going to go if they don't repent.   That brings to mind that we're to wrestle with the demons and not the people. Eph 6:10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. (Well, that's what we need right there. Now, how do you get that? Where is it?) 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. He's a deceiver and his people are deceivers. Notice the people who persecuted the Saints all the way through the Bible were people who called themselves Christians, but they were not. They were the devil's little accusers.   12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. So we're dealing with demons; these enemies that come against us. These are demon possessed people and that's what we deal with, it is the demons. They don't have the power to overcome them anymore because they lost their authority over them; they lost the knowledge of the Gospel. They lost everything they were taught and so they're totally given over to this and they think it's righteous and true.   Notice the left wing in the political side. We've noticed and been told by the Lord that the same thing is going on in the political side is going on in the spiritual side. There is a parallel, a perfect parallel.  So the demons through the left are constantly trying to drag Trump down. And the demons in the church are constantly trying to, first of all, drag the Man-child down, like the dragon in Revelation 12. But we know they fail. They failed because the Man-child is caught up to the throne. He exercises this authority, in other words, and we do too. We always have to exercise our authority over the wicked demons; we have authority over the demons in the people, that's how you deal with it.  So, he says, 13 Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, Hold on to the truth. See, the truth that we're talking about here will give you authority over the demons, and will give you authority over the wicked who are ruled by the demons. …and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. So your heart, your innards are protected from the enemy's arrows, spears, whatever, if you're walking righteously. How do you get there? We already spoke about that; you confess your sins and then confess your Savior. Once you've confessed your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you. And then you confess your Savior.  And of course the devil is coming to condemn you. He does it through people. He does it through spirits. He speaks it in your ear. But don't let him deceive you.  15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; The Good News of peace. Where do we find that? We just spoke about it; how that it was given to us by Jesus. He gave us peace from our enemies. He gave us deliverance from our enemies. Praise be to God! They'll never have peace. There is no peace to the wicked, says the Lord. They'll never have peace until they repent, but you can have peace.  16 withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one… Yes, you know the way to protect yourself is, don't let any of the fiery darts of the wicked one come into your heart or come into your mind. Because you have this shield of the knowledge that you were delivered; that you have authority over them; that you were saved, healed, whatever. Whatever it is you want from God, you know the promises are there.…Take up your shield of faith. He kills many people because they don't hold on to the faith in the promises of God. Many people's lives are shortened and they die before their time because they don't have the shield of faith.  …wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one; Yes, he's coming against you and making war against you. He speaks against the Word. If you need a healing, he speaks against it, constantly. If you need a resurrection, he speaks against it, constantly. And yes, well-meaning Christians around you will try to talk you out of it too. We were healed by His stripes, so we are healed.  17 And take the helmet of salvation, which is to protect your mind, because he comes against your mind. He wants to tell you that you are not sozo which is saved, or Soteria, which is salvation. Jesus saved you, but the devil wants to tell you don't have that. And he wants to put fear in you that you aren't saved from sin, sickness, the curse, etc. That you don't have any salvation from these things. But you have this helmet on, so cast it down. …and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: And you've got to swing it against the devil. He is a real enemy, but he can't do anything against the Sword of the Spirit.  18 with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons… There it is again praying at all seasons in the Spirit. You know, praying in the Spirit is so powerful, you will cast down the works of Satan by praying in the spirit. Keep it up. Don't give it up. Keep it up.  …Praying at all seasons in the spirit… You know, I will pray with the spirit and with my understanding also, Paul said. So praying with the Spirit is not praying with your understanding. It's praying in tongues. If you don't have that gift so that the Holy Spirit can pray through you according to the will of God and with faith, you're missing something very important. Go and ask God for this gift and receive it. Receive it by faith. Have people pray over you, whatever, but receive this gift; you need this when you're in war against the enemy.  …and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints… In other words, pray for you your brothers and sisters' back; pray for your brother and sister in the Lord because God will bless you. Remember when Job prayed for his persecutors; the faction that was against him? God delivered him and gave him grace because he was giving grace. And while you're doing all this, be sure and do not trust in the strength of man because God's offended about that. His power is made perfect in our weakness.  Psa 44:3-7 For they gat not the land in possession by their own sword,… Now if you know and understand, and you've been studying with us a while, you know that the land is us, who drink the rain from heaven. We are God's tilled land, the Bible says. And if we bring forth thorns and thistles, we're nigh unto a curse. We are not to be bringing forth the curse. We're to be bringing forth the fruit of Jesus.  For they gat not the land in possession by their own sword, Neither did their own arm save them; But thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, Because thou wast favorable unto them. We want the favor of God. There's the grace that you can go boldly with to the throne for favor.   4 Thou art my King, O God: Command deliverance for Jacob. 5 Through thee will we push down our adversaries: Notice there's lots of adversaries, not just the adversary called the devil. He's got lots of children out there to do his work. …Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. 6 For I will not trust in my bow, Neither shall my sword save me. 7 But thou hast saved us from our adversaries, And hast put them to shame that hate us. There it is. It's already done. Thou hast saved us from our adversaries. You have to have this knowledge. That's part of the Sword of the Spirit, …and hast put them to shame that hate us.   Psa 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. God has a vessel; President Trump is a vessel for instance. But you're not to put your trust in him or what he can do or what he can't do. You're to pray for him. Your trust is not in him. People can think that he is a very wise and very smart man. I'm not taking anything from him. He is all these things, but this does not give you victory over a spiritual enemy. It does not; it cannot. No amount of natural wisdom will conquer any of these spiritual enemies. It has to be God's wisdom and God's wisdom given to him and God's wisdom given to us who pray for him and others.  So, put not your trust in Princess, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. God is offended about this. He doesn't want this. If you want to see somebody fail, trust in them. God's not going to permit you to do that. And by the way, in the battle, fear not, as Jesus said.  Deu 20:1-4 When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And it shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, 3 and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint; fear not, nor tremble,… You remember Gideon's army? Anybody that was fearful was to go home because they weren't going to be anything but a weight for everybody else and could cause you to lose the battle. Notice when Jesus went to resurrect the dead, He took three of the most faithful disciples with Him in there. He didn't want any of the people that were crying, moaning and groaning. He only wanted faith in the room. Not saying that God can't do it; He does do it in front of people like the widow's son. But in general, He does it quite often when the fear and the unbelief are not in the room. …neither be ye affrighted at them; 4 for Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.  If He spoke it to them, He spoke it to us, we who are born from above. And you know, a great battle was fought. And God gave the victory to those that just praised Him.  2Ch 20:1-24 And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Syria; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (the same is En-gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto Jehovah; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek help of Jehovah: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah.5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Jehovah, before the new court;   6 and he said, O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee. Remember this, God is sovereign; He is over the enemy. When the enemy came against God's people, especially when they were in sin, God said that He sent them over and over, all through the scriptures. He is an authority. He can send them and He can send them against you so you can clobber them.  7 Didst not thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? (He gave you your land, for your spiritual man to live in and rule in. You need to conquer the old man, the Canaanite, to take away that land from him and live in his house!) 8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, 9 If evil come upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, (like the DS will bring against Apostate Christianity, and you will have to stand against this.) we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save. Call upon the name of the Lord, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Amen.  10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not; That's the Edomites, who are coming against their brother. These are factious people who are coming against Jacob.  11 behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. 13 And all Judah stood before Jehovah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of Jehovah in the midst of the assembly; 15 and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: Thus saith Jehovah unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.   It is God's battle. He's already told you what He's done. And you want to see Him move, so continue to believe what He has done concerning your enemies. 16 To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed: to-morrow go out against them: for Jehovah is with you.   So you have to know that you have to believe that the Lord is with you, you're justified by faith. That means you're counted righteous by your faith that the Lord has taken away your sins. And of course, if you forgive, you're forgiven. So you can't take part in that unless you forgive.  18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Jehovah, worshipping Jehovah. 19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice. 20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in Jehovah your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.    21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto Jehovah, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto Jehovah; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever. 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 24 And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.  So Praise means bragging on God and this will give you victory over enemies, like in Psa 149:1-9 Praise ye Jehovah. Sing unto Jehovah a new song, And his praise in the assembly of the saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. (Lord, we praise You! We thank You for the absolute victory You've given us over the enemy, Lord in Jesus name. Hallelujah!) 3 Let them praise his name in the dance: Let them sing praises unto him with timbrel and harp. 4 For Jehovah taketh pleasure in his people: He will beautify the meek with salvation. Notice salvation is salvation from enemies too. Some people narrow salvation down a lot. They don't see what it covers. It covers everything you need. Soteria means salvation from our enemies in every form and fashion, all our needs provided.   5 Let the saints exult in glory: Let them sing for joy upon their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand; 7 To execute vengeance upon the nations, And punishments upon the peoples; So they're executing this by coming against the very demons that are upholding these people; that's what we're doing, that is what we're told to do. You know in the Old Testament they did wrestle with flesh and blood, but it was a type of wrestling with principalities and powers and rulers of darkness. 8 To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To execute upon them the judgment written: This honor have all his saints. Praise ye Jehovah.  Why does He say, Praise ye the Lord? Because that's what you're doing. Praising God is binding their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron. You're scattering the enemy. You're turning what they sow back on top of them, so that they reap what they have sown.   2Co 2:14 But thanks be unto God, who always leadeth us in triumph in Christ, (What is triumph? Triumph is the celebration of the victory. You do this before you get in the battle.) …and maketh manifest through us the savor of his knowledge in every place. So, believe and speak the end from the beginning. And of course, while you're doing it, be sure and forgive any who are against you. Mar 11:23-25 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, (I believe He was talking about the Mount of Olives, or the “Mount of Corruption.” It represents a mountain by Jerusalem that is corrupt in its doctrine, and in its people. It represents corruption,) …say unto this mountain, be thou taken up and cast into the sea. (A mountain is a kingdom.) …cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. 24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25 And whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.  Let me say something about forgiveness. Personal forgiveness, you always owe to everybody, no matter what they've done. Governmental forgiveness is a different thing. The Bible says if he repent forgive him. That's talking about people in the body, people who are wanting to come back into the body like 1 Corinthians 5, Paul talked about casting somebody out of the body. Later he asked him to bring him back because he had repented. He was exercising dominion over the wickedness in the body; this is necessary. Forgiveness can be governmental, or it can be personal. When it is personal, we always owe it. When it is governmental, we only owe it when a person repents; if he repents forgive him, that's what he said.  And Joseph said in Gen 50:20 And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,… He believed in a sovereign God, so he was able to forgive his factious brothers who sent him into captivity and lied about him and the harlot also lied about him it represents the same parable. And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.  Notice you are to speak to the mountain. You are to believe you have received. We're supposed to speak the victory first. Which is what David did here in, 1Sa 17:44-47 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field. 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: (He saved with a little boy! LOL) for the battle is Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hand.   He was showing them how to do it, I mean, they were all running away from the giant, but he was very bold and he spoke it ahead of time and it came to pass. I have this little saying I heard from many, many, many years ago, “Right song, wrong side.” The Israelites, celebrated after the Red Sea destruction of their enemies. And before they were anxious and troubled and fearful and spoke against God. But He saved them for His namesake. So I call it “Right song, Wrong side.” Exo 15:1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto Jehovah, and spake, saying, I will sing unto Jehovah, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.  Well, shouldn't they have been doing that on the other side? That's what the Lord has taught us. You're the mouthpiece of God. You speak for Him. He will bring down your enemies. You speak it, He will bring them down. And of course, the thing about bringing down enemies is if you bring down the demons that control them, they are then free. That is if God decides that these are the elect. Sometimes they're not the elect and they're going to their disaster. I mean it's forever; Hell is forever, as I told somebody just yesterday. We want to be sure that everyone makes it; that is, the elect of God. And otherwise, at least their demons are conquered, and they can do nothing to you.  Rev 19:1-2 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: 2 for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. They're celebrating, but I want to tell you we are always being led in triumph, which is the celebration of the victory, we're doing that now. Notice the verse I just shared Exodus 15:1, notice, triumphed gloriously. So again right song, wrong side. Let's do it now. And another thing, while you're in the battle, you must be sure to obey your King and General.  Exo 23:20-23 Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 21 Take ye heed before him, and hearken unto his voice; provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgression: for my name is in him. (In other words, He won't permit it. You can repent of anything and get forgiven. But he's not going to pardon you while you're in the midst of it. And that's why people got left in the hands of the devil.) 22 But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, (Notice, He said, “If thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice,” that's the Angel, “and do what I speak.” God speaks through angels. They are perfect prophets, because when they speak in the name of the Lord, they are speaking the Lord's word.) and an adversary unto thine adversaries. 23 For mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: and I will cut them off.  Those in the land that are the old man, and they are not the new man, they don't belong there. They were to continue walking through the whole land destroying these enemies. You are to do that too. We are doing it on a larger scale in the government we are doing it on a smaller scale in our individual lives because this land like Hebrew 6 says is us. The old man is not to rule this house; the spiritual man is to rule this house.  Num 14:41-43 And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of Jehovah, seeing it shall not prosper? (You won't prosper if you're breaking the word of the Lord.) 42 Go not up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be not smitten down before your enemies. (Some people go up against their enemies and they're smitten down because they've sinned, and in this case they had.) 43 For there the Amalekite and the Canaanite are before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned back from following Jehovah, therefore Jehovah will not be with you. (So if you're not following the Lord, don't think you're going to go up against the enemy and win against the enemy. You can go boldly before the enemy if your conscience is clear.)  2Ch 24:20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of Jehovah, so that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken Jehovah, he hath also forsaken you.   So we can't win against our enemies if we've forsaken the Lord. But if you confess your sins and you turn to the Lord and repent and then He delivers you of all unrighteousness, and then you're able to conquer the enemy.   Jos 6:2-5 And Jehovah said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thy hand Jericho, (That's the beginning of their promised land. It was defended by the old man.) and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor. 3 And ye shall compass the city, all the men of war, going about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. (See remember it may not sound correct to you in your natural mind, but obey your General. Whatever He tells you to do. He told me today to talk on this. I asked Him very plainly and He told me very plainly. So I'm just obeying.) 4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 And it shall be, that, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.  And why a trumpet? You know, breath can be turned to intelligible, something heard. And a trumpet represents that, turning breath into something that is heard, something righteous that is heard. Like Gideon's army, they blew the trumpet and the enemy went all out to kill each other. So it's the voice of the Spirit because breath and spirit is the same word. The voice of Spirit spoken through the trumpet brought down the enemy. How awesome!   So thank you, Father, for this in Jesus name…

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus- Rom. 8:1

     At the moment of faith in Christ, God's righteousness is gifted to the believer (Rom 5:17; cf. 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9), and he is at once made right with God and declared just in His sight. Divine justification is not by human works at all, “for there is none righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10), “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Rather, Paul reveals we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). Like our spiritual birth, justification is a one-and-done event, perfect in itself, not to be confused with our experiential sanctification, which occurs over time. According to Norman Geisler, “Justification is an instantaneous, past act of God by which one is saved from the guilt of sin—his record is cleared and he is guiltless before the Judge” (Rom 8:1).”[1] And Charles Bing states, “Justification is the act of God that declares a sinner righteous in God's sight. It is a legal term that speaks of one's right standing in God's court of justice.”[2]      Being justified in God's sight is by faith alone and not by any human works, for “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (Rom 3:20a). Rather, “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom 4:5), for “a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16).[3] J. I. Packer states: "Justification is a judicial act of God pardoning sinners (wicked and ungodly persons, Rom 3:9–24; 4:5), accepting them as just, and so putting permanently right their previously estranged relationship with himself. This justifying sentence is God's gift of righteousness (Rom 5:15–17), his bestowal of a status of acceptance for Jesus' sake (2 Cor 5:21)."[4] Louis Berkhof agrees, stating: "Justification is a judicial act of God, in which He declares, on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that all the claims of the law are satisfied with respect to the sinner. It is unique in the application of the work of redemption in that it is a judicial act of God, a declaration respecting the sinner, and not an act or process of renewal, such as regeneration, conversion, and sanctification. While it has respect to the sinner, it does not change his inner life. It does not affect his condition, but his state."[5] Merrill F. Unger adds: "Justification is a divine act whereby an infinitely Holy God judicially declares a believing sinner to be righteous and acceptable before Him because Christ has borne the sinner's sin on the cross and has become “to us … righteousness” (1 Cor 1:30; Rom 3:24). A justified believer emerges from God's great courtroom with a consciousness that another, his Substitute, has borne his guilt and that he stands without accusation before God (Rom 8:1, 33–34)."[6] Paul Enns states: Whereas forgiveness is the negative side of salvation, justification is the positive side. To justify is to declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus Christ. It is a forensic (legal) act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous on the basis of the blood of Christ. The major emphasis of justification is positive and involves two main aspects. It involves the pardon and removal of all sins and the end of separation from God (Acts 13:39; Rom 4:6–7; 5:9–11; 2 Cor 5:19). It also involves the bestowal of righteousness upon the believing person and a title to all the blessings promised to the just. Justification is a gift given through the grace of God (Rom 3:24) and takes place the moment the individual has faith in Christ (Rom 4:2; 5:1). The ground of justification is the death of Christ (Rom 5:9), apart from any works (Rom 4:5). The means of justification is faith (Rom 5:1). Through justification God maintains His integrity and His standard, yet is able to enter into fellowship with sinners because they have the very righteousness of Christ imputed to them.[7]      The process is faith in Christ (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31), imputed righteousness (Rom 5:17; cf. 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9), and the declaration by God that the believer is now justified in God's sight (Rom 3:24; 4:5; Gal 2:16). Robert B. Thieme Jr., states: "Anyone who expresses faith alone in Christ alone is instantly justified before the bench of God's justice. The mechanics of justification follow three logical steps, though they all occur simultaneously. First, the person believes in Christ; second, God the Father credits, or imputes, His righteousness to that person; and third, God recognizes His righteousness in the believer and pronounces him “justified”— vindicated, righteous (Rom 5)."[8]      The imputation of God's righteousness to believers means we are declared righteous, but not made righteous in conduct. To be righteous in conduct is the lifelong process of sanctification whereby the believer advances to spiritual maturity and lives in conformity with the character and will of God as revealed in His Word. This is the walk of faith. But though we are righteous in God's sight because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, at the same time we continue to possess a sin nature that continually causes internal temptation and conflict (Rom 6:6; 7:14-25; 13:14; Col 3:9; Gal 5:16-17, 19-22; 1 John 1:8), and we commit personal acts of sin (1 Ki 8:46; Eccl 7:20; 1 John 1:10; 2:1). Though the power of the sin nature is broken (Rom 6:11-14), the presence of the sin nature is never removed from us until God takes us from this world and gives us a new body like the body of Jesus (Phil 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2, 5). Martin Luther understood this duality and coined the Latin phrase simul iustus et peccator, which translates as, “simultaneously righteous and a sinner.” Though Christians are declared righteous in God's sight, sin will constantly be present (Eccl 7:20; 1 John 1:8, 10), to varying degrees, depending on the status of the believer's spiritual walk with the Lord. Timothy George states: "The believer is not only both righteous and sinful at the same time but is also always or completely both righteous and sinful at the same time. What does this mean? With respect to our fallen human condition, we are, and always will be in this life, sinners. However, for believers, life in this world is no longer a period of doubtful candidacy for God's acceptance. In a sense we have already been before God's judgment seat and have been acquitted on account of Christ. Hence we are also always righteous."[9]      I agree with the phrase simul iustus et peccator, that a Christian is “simultaneously righteous and a sinner.” I think a better phrase is semper iustus et peccator, that we are “always righteous and a sinner.” Both are true. Always. As a Christian, I am righteous because I have received God's “gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17). This is “the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” in Christ (Phil 3:9). God gave me His righteousness at the moment I trusted Christ as my Savior, and like all of God's gifts, it can't be given back, “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29). As one who possesses God's righteousness, I am forever justified in His sight. The matter is settled in heaven. God has made it so. After being saved, the issue for every Christian is to advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1), which glorifies God and edifies others. Dr. Steven R. Cook ------- [1] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 235. [2] Charles C. Bing, Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship: How to Understand Some Difficult Bible Passages (Brenham, TX: Lucid Books, 2015). [3] Some in the early church thought righteousness came through adherence to the Mosaic Law. The apostle Paul dealt with this, saying, “if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Gal 2:21), for “if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law” (Gal 3:21).    Salvation comes to the one who simply trusts in Christ as Savior and receives it as a free gift, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). [4] J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs, 164. [5] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 513. [6] E. McChesney and Merrill F. Unger, “Justification,” The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, 729. [7] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, 326. [8] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Justification”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 153. [9] Timothy George, Theology of the Reformers (Nashville, Tenn., Broadman and Holman publishers, 2013), 72.

     The Bible reveals that God imputes His righteousness to the believer at the moment of salvation. The word imputation itself is an accounting term used both in the Old Testament and the New Testament (Gen 15:6; Psa 32:2; Rom 4:3-8; Gal 3:6). Biblically, there are three major imputations that relate to our standing before God.      First is the imputation of Adam's original sin to every member of the human race. Paul wrote, “through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12), for “through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men” (Rom 5:18a), for “by a man came death” (1 Co 15:21a), and “in Adam all die” (1 Cor 15:22a). This means every biological descendant of Adam is charged/credited with the sin he committed in the Garden of Eden which plunged the human race into spiritual and physical death. Jesus is the only exception, for though He is truly human (Matt 1:1; Luke 3:23-38), He was born without original sin, without a sin nature, and committed no personal sin during His time on earth (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5). Adam is the head of the human race and his fall became our fall. This is the basis for death and for being estranged from God. Robert B. Thieme states: "[Adam's Original Sin refers to] the initial act of willful, cognitive disobedience to God committed by the first man, Adam, when he violated God's mandate to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:17; 3:6). The initial human sin resulted in Adam's immediate spiritual death, the formation of the sin nature, and loss of his relationship with God (Gen 3:7; Rom 6:23). Since Adam is the physical and representative head of the human race, his corrupt sin nature is genetically passed on through procreation to all his descendants (Rom 5:12). At each person's physical birth, God imputes Adam's original sin to the sin nature, resulting in the condemnation of spiritual death (Rom 5:19; 1 Cor 15:21-22). The only exception is the humanity of Jesus Christ, who was conceived by means of the Holy Spirit, born without the sin nature, and thus did not receive the imputation of Adam's original sin."[1]      Second is the imputation of all sin to Jesus on the cross (Isa 53:4-6, 10; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 2:9; 1 Pet 2:21-24; 1 John 2:2). God the Father judged Jesus in our place (Mark 10:45; 1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Pet 3:18), cancelling our sin debt by the death of Christ (Col 2:13-14; 2 Cor 5:18-19). This was a voluntary imputation on the part of Christ who freely went to the cross and took our sins upon Himself (John 1:29; 10:11, 15, 17-18). Thieme explains: "On the cross, the justice of God the Father imputed all the sins of mankind to His beloved Son, Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:24). This was a judicial imputation because sin has no affinity with the impeccable humanity of Christ, no home in Him. To complete the judicial action, the Father's justice immediately judged every one of those sins in Christ. Our personal sins are never imputed to us for judgment. Rather, the perfect humanity of Christ was “pierced through for our transgressions,” taking upon Himself the penalty that rightfully belonged to all men (Isa 53:5). This substitutionary work satisfied God's righteousness and justice and made possible our so-great salvation (2 Cor 5:21; 1 John 2:2)."[2]      Third is the imputation of God's righteousness to those who believe in Jesus for salvation (Rom 4:3-5; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:8-9). The righteousness of God imputed to the believer at the moment of faith in Christ results in the believer being justified before God (Rom 3:22, 24, 28; 4:1-5). Moses wrote of Abraham, saying, “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned [חָשַׁב chashab] it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). David writes, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute [חָשַׁב chashab] iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Psa 32:1-2). Moses and David both use the Hebrew chashab (חָשַׁב) which, according to HALOT, means “to impute, reckon to.”[3] Moses uses the verb in a positive sense of that which God imputes to Abraham, namely righteousness, and David uses the verb negatively, of that which God does not credit to a person, namely iniquity. Allen P. Ross comments on the meaning of chashab (חָשַׁב) in Psalm 32:2 and Genesis 15:6: "Not only does forgiveness mean that God takes away the sins, but it also means that God does not “impute” iniquity to the penitent: “Blessed is the one to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity.” The verb (חָשַׁב) means “impute, reckon, credit”; it is the language of records, or accounting—in fact, in modern usage the word is related to “computer.” Here the psalm is using an implied comparison, as if there were record books in heaven that would record the sins. If the forgiven sins are not imputed, it means that there is no record of them—they are gone and forgotten. Because God does not mark iniquities (Psa 130:4), there is great joy. The same verb is used in Genesis 15:6 as well, which says that Abram “believed in the LORD, and he reckoned it (וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ) to him as righteousness.” The apostle Paul brings that verse and Psalm 32:2 together in Romans 4 to explain the meaning of justification by faith: when people believe in the Lord, God reckons or credits them with righteousness (Paul will say, the righteousness of Jesus Christ), and does not reckon their sin to them."[4]      The apostle Paul cites Abraham's faith in God as the basis upon which he was declared righteous before Him, saying, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited [logizomai] to him as righteousness'” (Rom 4:3).[5] Paul uses the Greek verb logizomai (λογίζομαι) which, according to BDAG, means “to determine by mathematical process, reckon, calculate, frequently in a transferred sense.”[6] Abraham believed God's Word, and God reckoned, or transferred His righteousness to him. After pointing to Abraham as the example of justification by faith, Paul then extrapolates that we are justified in the same way, saying, “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited [logizomai] as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited [logizomai] as righteousness” (Rom 4:4-5; cf. Gal 3:6). Paul then references David, saying, “David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits [logizomai] righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. ‘Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account [logizomai]'” (Rom 4:6-8).      Paul twice used the Greek verb ellogeō (ἐλλογέω) to communicate the idea of an exchange between persons (Rom 5:13; Phm 1:18). According to BDAG, the verb ellogeō (ἐλλογέω) means “to charge with a financial obligation, charge to the account of someone.”[7] Paul told his friend, Philemon, concerning his runaway slave Onesimus, “if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge [ellogeō] that to my account” (Phlm 1:18). Paul had not wronged Philemon, nor did he owe him anything; however, Paul was willing to pay for any wrong or debt Onesimus may have incurred. J. Dwight Pentecost notes: "Paul is giving us an illustration of that which God has done for us in Christ Jesus. As the Apostle assumed the debt of Onesimus and invited Philemon—who had been wronged—to charge that debt to him, so the Lord Jesus Christ took the debt that we owed to the injured One—to God—and He charged Himself with our debt and set His righteousness down to our account."[8]      In a similar way, Jesus paid for our sin so that we don't have to, and in exchange, we receive God's righteousness. This idea of an exchange between persons means that one person is credited with something not antecedently his/her own. Our sin is our sin, and Christ's righteousness is His righteousness. When Jesus took our sin upon himself at the cross, He voluntarily accepted something that belonged to another, namely us. Jesus took our sin upon Himself. On the other hand, when we receive God's righteousness as a gift, we are accepting something that belonged to another, namely God. By faith, we accept that which belongs to God, namely, His righteousness. God's righteousness becomes our righteousness. Paul references the exchange that occurred at the cross when Jesus died for our sin, saying, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21), and he personally spoke of the righteousness “which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Phil 3:9).[9] Once we receive God's righteousness, we are instantaneously justified in God's sight.      Some might raise the question: how can a holy God justify unworthy sinners? How can He give something to someone who deserves the opposite? How is this just? The answer is found in Jesus and what He accomplished for us at the cross. At the cross, God judged our sin as His righteousness requires, and saves the sinner as His love desires. At the cross Jesus voluntarily died a penal substitutionary death. He willingly died in our place and bore the punishment that was rightfully ours. Our guilt became His guilt. Our shame became His shame. The result of the cross is that God is forever satisfied with the death of Christ. There's no additional sacrifice or payment needed. Jesus paid it all. When we believe in Jesus, we are forgiven all our sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; 2:13; Heb 10:10-14), and then God imputes His righteousness to us. The apostle Paul calls it “the gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17; cf. 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). God's righteousness is not earned; rather, it is freely gifted to us who believe in Jesus as our Savior.      It is sometimes difficult to accept this biblical teaching, because our behavior does not always reflect our righteous standing before God. However, God's Word defines reality, and we are justified in His sight because His righteousness has been gifted to our account. The righteousness of God is credited to us who have trusted in Jesus as our Savior. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Adam's Original Sin”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 1-2. [2] Ibid., 137. [3] Ludwig Koehler, Walter Baumgartner, M. E. J. Richardson, et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 360. [4] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, Mich., Kregel Publications, 2011), 710-711. [5] The translators of the Septuagint use logizomai (λογίζομαι) as a reliable synonym for chashab (חָשַׁב) both in Genesis 15:6 and Psalm 32:2. Paul then uses logizomai (λογίζομαι) when making his argument that justification is by faith alone in God (Rom 4:3-5; Gal 3:6). [6] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 597. [7] Ibid., 319. [8] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things Which Become Sound Doctrine, 40. [9] Though the word “impute” is not used in some passages, the idea is implied. Isaiah writes of the Suffering Servant Who “will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11), and of God as the One Who “has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness” (Isa 61:10). And Paul writes of “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe” (Rom 3:22), and of being “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24; cf. 5:17; 9:30; 10:3-4; 1 Cor 1:30; Gal 2:16; 3:11, 24).

I sing the solo grace “that saved a wretch like me,”—and so I should. Without it, I would be forever lost and never found. But grace is more than what God does for me, though there may never be a hymn to fully capture that. Grace is the Spirit moving in a hundred hearts when reconciliation is proclaimed from pulpits or on hillsides. “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:22-24). Grace is the grip of someone I've offended who offers a forgiving hug, even when I haven't gotten to “I'm sorry.” Grace is the circle of believers, certain of their brokenness, who willingly embrace the addict, the obnoxious, the pariah. Just like the Child who was born to us, grace is God's truth for all of us—on us; for us; with us; through us. “To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). We teach each other of this shareable redemption by not insisting on our rights; by silencing our cutting words; by holding those who seem intent on pushing us away. We live this grace together in a fellowship encouraging forgiveness. Pray for the eyes to see this wider grace, to sing this fuller song. And you will stay in grace. -Bill Knott

I sing the solo grace “that saved a wretch like me,”—and so I should. Without it, I would be forever lost and never found. But grace is more than what God does for me, though there may never be a hymn to fully capture that. Grace is the Spirit moving in a hundred hearts when reconciliation is proclaimed from pulpits or on hillsides. “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:22-24). Grace is the grip of someone I've offended who offers a forgiving hug, even when I haven't gotten to “I'm sorry.” Grace is the circle of believers, certain of their brokenness, who willingly embrace the addict, the obnoxious, the pariah. Just like the Child who was born to us, grace is God's truth for all of us—on us; for us; with us; through us. “To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). We teach each other of this shareable redemption by not insisting on our rights; by silencing our cutting words; by holding those who seem intent on pushing us away. We live this grace together in a fellowship encouraging forgiveness. Pray for the eyes to see this wider grace, to sing this fuller song. And you will stay in grace. -Bill Knott  

I sing the solo grace “that saved a wretch like me,”—and so I should. Without it, I would be forever lost and never found. But grace is more than what God does for me, though there may never be a hymn to fully capture that. Grace is the Spirit moving in a hundred hearts when reconciliation is proclaimed from pulpits or on hillsides. “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:22-24). Grace is the grip of someone I've offended who offers a forgiving hug, even when I haven't gotten to “I'm sorry.” Grace is the circle of believers, certain of their brokenness, who willingly embrace the addict, the obnoxious, the pariah. Just like the Child who was born to us, grace is God's truth for all of us—on us; for us; with us; through us. “To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). We teach each other of this shareable redemption by not insisting on our rights; by silencing our cutting words; by holding those who seem intent on pushing us away. We live this grace together in a fellowship encouraging forgiveness. Pray for the eyes to see this wider grace, to sing this fuller song. And you will stay in grace. -Bill Knott

     The gospel is the solution to a problem. The problem for us is that God is holy, mankind is sinful, and we cannot save ourselves. Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it's what He's done for us through the Person and work of Jesus who is the Son of God incarnate (John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Heb 1:8; 1 John 4:2), whose sacrificial death on the cross atoned for our sins (Rom 6:10; 1 Pet 3:18; 1 John 2:2), who was resurrected (Rom 6:9; 1 Cor 15:3-4), and who grants eternal life to those who place their trust solely in Him (John 3:16-18; 10:28; Acts 4:12; 16:31). Jesus died for everyone (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2), but the benefits of the cross, such as forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), and eternal life (John 10:28), are applied only to those who believe in Him as Savior. God is Absolutely Righteous and Hates Sin      The Bible reveals God is holy, which means He is righteous and set apart from all that is sinful and can have nothing to do with sin except to condemn it. It is written, “For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness” (Psa 11:7), and “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy hill, for holy is the LORD our God” (Psa 99:9; cf. Isa 6:3). Habakkuk wrote, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13). And, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). This means God is pure and free from all that is sinful.      Being absolutely righteous, God can only hate and condemn sin. God Himself said, “Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate” (Prov 8:13b), and “let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate, declares the LORD” (Zech 8:17). And of God is it written, “everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the LORD your God” (Deut 25:16b), and “You hate all who do iniquity” (Psa 5:5), and “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness” (Psa 45:7), and “the way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD” (Prov 15:9a), and “evil plans are an abomination to the LORD” (Prov 15:26), and “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness” (Heb 1:9a).[1] All Mankind is Sinful      To be saved, a person must accept the divine viewpoint estimation of himself as sinful before God. The Bible reveals “there is no man who does not sin” (1 Ki 8:46), and “no man living is righteous” (Psa 143:2), and “there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins” (Eccl 7:20), and “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (Isa 59:2), and “all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isa 64:6), and “there is none righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10), and “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23), and “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8), and “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). Solomon asked, “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?'” (Prov 20:9). The answer is: no one! God is righteous and we are guilty sinners. Biblically, we are sinners in Adam (Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22), sinners by nature (Rom 7:18-21; Gal 5:17; Eph 2:1-3), and sinners by choice (1 Ki 8:46; Prov 20:9; Isa 53:6; Rom 3:9-23). Sin separates us from God and renders us helpless to merit God's approval. We Cannot Save Ourselves      All humanity is quite competent to produce sin, but utterly inept and powerless to produce the righteousness God requires for acceptance. Scripture reveals we are helpless, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God (Rom 5:6-10), and prior to our salvation, we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). We cannot save ourselves. Only God can forgive sins (Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14), and only God can give the gifts of righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9) and eternal life (John 10:28) that make us acceptable in His sight. Our good works have no saving merit, as God declares righteous “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5a), for “a man is not justified by the works of the Law…since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), for “by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), and God saves us, but “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness” (Tit 3:5a). We cannot save ourselves any more than we can stop the rotation of the earth, jump across the Grand Canyon, or run at the speed of light. Christ alone saves. No one else. Nothing more. Salvation is by Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone      The Bible teaches that we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24), and “justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28). Salvation is free, and it is received freely by “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom 4:5). Our salvation was accomplished entirely by Jesus at the cross when He shed His blood at Calvary, for we are redeemed “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:19). And because our salvation was accomplished in full at the cross, it means there's nothing for us to pay. Nothing at all. Salvation is a gift, given freely to us who don't deserve it. That's grace, which is unmerited favor, underserved kindness, unwarranted love, unearned generosity, and unprovoked goodness. Scripture reveals, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it's what He's done for us by sending His Son into the world to live a righteous life and die a penal substitutionary death on the cross in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18).      Our faith needs to be in Jesus alone. This, of course, is the Jesus of the Bible, for no other Jesus will do. A false Jesus does not save anyone, such as the Jesus of Mormonism or Jehovah's Witness. The Jesus of Scripture is the second member of the Trinity, God the Son (John 1:1; Heb 1:8), who added perfect humanity to Himself two thousand years ago (John 1:14; 1 John 4:2), was born of a virgin (Isa 7:14; Luke 1:26-35), in the prophesied city of Bethlehem (Mic 5:2; Matt 2:1, 6), a descendant of Abraham and David (Matt 1:1), as the Jewish Messiah (Matt 1:1, 17), who lived a sinless life (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5), and willingly went to the cross and died for us (John 10:18; Rom 5:8; 1 Pet 3:18), atoning for our sins (Rom 6:10; Heb 7:27; 1 Pet 1:18-19), and was raised again on the third day (Acts 10:40-41; 1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Th 4:14), never to die again (Rom 6:9). This is the Jesus of Scripture, the One who saves those who trust solely in Him for salvation. No one else can save. Scripture says of Jesus, “whoever believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 3:15), and “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and “He who believes in Him is not judged” (John 3:18), and “He who believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47), and “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25), and “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9), and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6), The apostle John wrote, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1 John 5:12). These passages emphasize that eternal life is obtained through belief in Jesus Christ. Salvation is exclusively in Jesus. Those who reject Jesus as Savior will spend eternity away from God in the lake of fire, for “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Th 1:9; cf., Rev 20:15).      To be saved, one must turn to Christ alone for salvation and trust Him 100% to accomplish what we cannot – to rescue us from eternal damnation. We must believe the gospel message, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Knowing the good news of what God accomplished for us, we must then “Believe in the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:31), and trust exclusively in Him, for “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). We should not look to ourselves for salvation, for there is nothing in us that can save us. Nothing at all. Christ alone saves. No one else. Nothing more. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Walk Worthy of the Lord      God's children are called “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph 4:1), to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil 1:27), to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10), and to “walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Th 2:12). In biblical language, the term “walk” often represents one's way of life or conduct. It's a metaphor for the journey of life and how one navigates it. To walk “worthy” emphasizes the importance of living in a manner that is fitting or appropriate for the calling we have received as Christians. We are children of God by faith in Christ (Gal 3:26), adopted brothers and sisters to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and our performance in life should match our position in Christ. Salvation is free. It's a gift, paid in full by the Lord Jesus who died on Calvary. God's gift is received freely, by grace, no strings attached, and is received by faith alone in Christ alone (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Eph 2:8-9). That's all. However, living the sanctified life as a new Christian is radical and calls for commitment to God. This requires positive volition and dedication to learning and living God's Word on a daily basis. It means prioritizing and structuring our lives in a way that factors God and His Word into everything. It means bringing all aspects of our lives—marriage, family, education, work, finances, resources, entertainment, etc.—under the authority of Christ. This is the sanctified life when we learn Scripture (Psa 1:2-3; Jer 15:16; Ezra 7:10; 2 Tim 2:15; 3 :16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), and advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1). As we advance, God's Word will saturate our thinking and govern our thoughts, values, words, and actions. A sign of maturity is when God and His Word are more real and dominant than our experiences, feelings, or circumstances. This is the place of spiritual maturity and stability.      Unfortunately, not everyone answers the call to Christian service, as our justification does not guarantee sanctification. But for those who have positive volition and who answer the call, there is no better life, no higher calling, no nobler pursuit, than that which we live in our daily walk with the God of the universe who has called us “out of darkness and into His marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9; cf. Eph 4:8-9). As those who are now “the saints in Light” (Col 1:12), we need to act like it, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light; for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph 5:8-10). And we are to “lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom 13:12), and learn to function “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Phil 2:15). Being a light in the world means helping those who are positive to God to know Him. It means sharing Scripture with them. It means sharing the gospel of grace to the lost who want to know God so they might be saved (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31; 1 Cor 15:3-4; Eph 2:8-9). And for Christians who want to grow spiritually, it means helping them know God's Word so they can advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1; cf., 2 Tim 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18). This life honors the Lord, edifies others, and creates within us a personal sense of destiny that is tied to the infinite, personal, creator God who has called us into a relationship and walk with Him. Dr. Steven R. Cook     [1] The atheist rejects the existence of God; therefore, in his mind, there is no One to whom he must account for his life. In the mind of the atheist, good and evil are merely artificial constructs that can be arbitrarily adjusted to suit one's life. Apart from the atheists, there are many who desire to be religious, but do not acknowledge or accept the true God, which was the case with the scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees. Religion is man, by man's efforts, trying to win the approval of God. Worldly religion is a works-based salvation where a person tries to live a good-enough-life to gain entrance into heaven. A false god is always self-serving and rarely condemns. And if the man feels condemned by his false god, there's always a way for him to correct his wrong, pay some penance, and save himself by his own good works. Salvation by good works tells you the person worships a false god and not the God of the Bible.

     At the moment of faith in Christ, we have eternal life. This is a fact, even if we don't fully understand it. In truth, most people will not understand what they have from God or find assurance of their salvation until they've studied God's Word and learned to live by faith. Doctrinal ignorance and/or false teaching will lead to fear and doubt. For those who have trusted Christ as their Savior, subsequent knowledge of God's Word and trust in it will yield assurance of their salvation. And, as one advances spiritually, there will also be a noticeable change within, and this too may provide a subjective assurance of salvation. Objective Assurance of Salvation      The Bible reveals God is absolutely righteous and set apart from all that is sinful (Psa 11:7; 99:9; Hab 1:13; 1 John 1:5) and He hates and condemns sin (Deut 25:16; Psa 5:5; 45:7; Prov 8:13; 15:9, 26; 20:9; Zech 8:17; Rom 1:18; Col 3:6; Heb 1:9). The problem for us is that all mankind is sinful (Gen 6:5; 8:21; 1 Ki 8:46; Psa 143:2; Eccl 7:20; Isa 59:2; 64:6; Jer 17:9; Rom 3:10; 3:23; Eph 2:1-2; 1 John 1:8, 10). Not only are we sinful, but our good works have no saving merit (Rom 4:4-5; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). Our salvation was accomplished 100% by Jesus who died on the cross for our sins. Salvation is never what we do for God, but what He's done for us at the cross (Rom 5:8; 6:10; 1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Pet 3:18). God offers to justify and save us freely as a gift, totally apart from any good works we may perform (Rom 3:24, 28, 4:5; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5; 1 Pet 3:18). God's salvation comes to us who have trusted in Christ as our Savior (John 3:15-18; 6:40; 10:28; 11:25; 14:6; Acts 4:12; 16:31; 1 John 5:12). Salvation means we have forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9), eternal life (John 10:28), are part of the family of God (Gal 3:26; 1 John 3:1), are blessed with many spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3), and will never face condemnation (Rom 8:1, 33).      When we understand these truths by studying Scripture and accept them by faith, we have assurance of our salvation because we trust in God and His Word (Psa 119:160; John 17:17). The apostle Paul wrote, “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim 1:12). The apostle John wrote, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1 John 5:11-12). The assurance of salvation does not come by looking to ourselves, but to the One who saved us. John also wrote, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Assurance of salvation is not a guessing game for those who have trusted in Jesus as their Savior, but is a confidence that is rooted in the revelation of God's Word. For those of us who have trusted in Jesus as our Savior—believing He died for our sins, was buried, and raised again on the third day—we have eternal life. According to Zane Hodges, “It should be said here that all true assurance of salvation and eternal life must rest on the ‘testimony of God,' for only that testimony has full reliability and solidity.”[1] What Calvinists and Arminians Generally Believe      Arminians are those who believe they are eternally secure in Christ, as long as they remain faithful in their walk with God. Like Catholics, they believe faith + works = salvation. They believe their salvation can be lost due to intentional, egregious, ongoing sin; therefore, they cannot have assurance of salvation because there's always the chance they may turn away from God and forfeit their salvation. This stands in contrast to the Calvinistic doctrine of perseverance of the saints, which teaches that those whom God has chosen will persevere in faith until the end.      Calvinists believe God gives His elect a special kind of faith that guarantees they will persevere to the end of their lives and be saved eternally; however, knowing they are among the elect is always a question in their minds that cannot be finally answered until they die. If they have persevered until the end, not having denied the Lord, and continued in good works, then they can know they were among the elect. If they fall into serious and prolonged sin, especially to the end of their lives, it strongly argues they were not among the elect who are said to persevere to the end. Kenneth D. Keathley notes, “Arminians know they are saved but are afraid they cannot keep it, while Calvinists know they cannot lose their salvation but are afraid they do not have it.”[2] Norman Geisler correctly notes: "Arminians and strong Calvinists have much in common on this issue. Both assert that professing believers living in gross, unrepentant sin are not truly saved. Both insist that a person cannot be living in serious sin at the end of his life if he is truly saved. And both maintain that no one living in grave sin can be sure of his salvation."[3]      Though Christians may, to some degree, advance spiritually by learning and living God's Word, and bear the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, this will never be consistent, because the taint of sin is also present in the life of every Christian, and this to varying degrees. Christians are never free from sin (1 John 1:8, 10), and God never promises to make us completely sinless during our time on earth, so consistency of performance is lacking. Because of our imperfect knowledge and imperfect life, our ability to analyze ourselves accurately will not always be consistent. John Walvoord notes: "The difficulty is that human experience may be far from a norm, may be inaccurately analyzed, and may be made the basis of an induction which in the last analysis is based only on fragmentary evidence…The only sure basis for salvation is the promise of God in the inspired Word of God which properly accepted by faith gives validity to assurance. One clear promise sustained by “Thus saith the Lord” is better than a thousand testimonies of human conviction without a specific ground. A proper doctrine of assurance of salvation is therefore inseparable from a belief in the inspired Word of God."[4]      The Word of God is the objective basis for what we believe, and our focus should always be on learning and living His Word so that we can expunge any false ideas and properly calibrate our thinking to align with His divine revelation. Jesus said we have “eternal life…and will never perish” (John 10:28); therefore, there is no danger of us losing our salvation, for there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1), and “Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies” (Rom 8:33). The matter of our eternal destiny was settled at the cross when Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins. And Jesus' work on the cross was perfectly applied to us at the moment we trusted in Him as our Savior.[5] Subjective Assurance of Salvation      Christians who are advancing spiritually may enjoy a subjective assurance of their salvation. Paul wrote, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8:16). According to William MacDonald, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with the believer's spirit that he is a member of God's family. He does it primarily through the Word of God. As a Christian reads the Bible, the Spirit confirms the truth that, because he has trusted the Savior, he is now a child of God.”[6] This experience is valid only for believers who are in submission to God (Rom 12:1-2), learning and living Scripture (2 Tim 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2), walking by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), and advancing to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1).      As believers, we have been “born again” (1 Pet 1:23), “made alive” spiritually (1 Cor 15:22), and are a “new creature” in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17). At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us a new nature that, for the first time in our lives, has the capacity and desire to obey God. Paul wrote of his new nature in Christ when he said, “I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man” (Rom 7:22). Since we have the Spirit within us, as well as new spiritual life, it is natural to expect there will be some change in attitude and behavior. The degree to which this change occurs, in part, depends on our staying positive to the Lord. According to John Walvoord adds: "The ground of assurance as stated in Scripture is something more than an intellectual comprehension of the theology of salvation and more than a conviction that the terms of salvation have been met. Scriptures make plain that there is a corresponding experience of transformation which attends the work of salvation in a believer. Some aspects of this are nonexperimental, but the new life in Christ is manifested in many ways. The believer in Christ possesses eternal life and a new divine nature which tends to change his whole viewpoint. He is indeed “a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new” (2 Cor 5:17). The believer in Christ is indwelt by the Spirit of God, which opens a whole new field of spiritual experience. He now knows what it is to have fellowship with his heavenly Father and with His Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. His eyes are opened to spiritual truth, and the Scriptures take on a true living character as the Spirit of God illuminates the written Word. He experiences a new relationship to other believers as he is bound to them by ties of love and common faith and life. The believer is relieved from the load of condemnation for sin and experiences hope and peace such as is impossible for the unbeliever. His experiences include deliverance from the power of sin and from opposition of Satan. He enters into the joy of intercessory prayer and experiences answers to prayer. The new life in Christ, therefore, provides a satisfying and Biblical new experience which is a confirming evidence of the fact of his salvation and a vital and true basis for assurance."[7]      As Christians, our assurance of eternal life is, first and foremost, based on the salvific work of Jesus on the cross (Acts 4:12; Rom 5:8; 1 Cor 15:3-4), and the revelation of Scripture that we, who have trusted in Christ as our Savior (Acts 4:12, 16:31), “may know that [we] have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). This assurance is objective and constant, because God's Word is sure and does not change. Dr. Steven R. Cook     [1] Zane Clark Hodges, The Epistle of John: Walking in the Light of God's Love (Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999), 228. [2] Kenneth D. Keathley, “Perseverance and Assurance of the Saints,” in Whosoever Will, ed. David L. Allen and Steve W Lemke (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2010). [3] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2004), 302. [4] John F. Walvoord, “The Doctrine of Assurance in Contemporary Theology,” Bibliotheca Sacra 116 (1959): 198. [5] The Bible reveals that when we sin, we are walking in darkness and have broken fellowship with God (1 John 1:5-6), and stifled the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us (Eph 4:30; 1 Th 5:19). If we continue in sin, or leave our sin unconfessed, we are in real danger of divine discipline from God (Psa 32:3-4; Heb 12:5-11; 1 John 5:16-17; cf. Dan 4:37), which can eventuate in physical death (1 John 5:16; cf., Lev 10:1-2; Acts 5:3-5; 1 Cor 11:30), and the loss of eternal rewards (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 John 1:8). If we confess our sin directly to God, He will immediately forgive it and restore us to fellowship (1 John 1:9; cf. Psa 32:5). Being in fellowship with God means learning and living His Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2), walking by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), being honest with Him about our sin (1 John 1:8, 10), and coming before His “throne of grace” (Heb 4:16) in transparent humility and confessing it in order to be forgiven (1 John 1:9; cf. Heb. 4:16). God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins every time we confess them because of the atoning work of Christ who shed His blood on the cross for us (1 John 1:9; 2:1-2). [6] William MacDonald, Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1711. [7] John F. Walvoord, “The Doctrine of Assurance in Contemporary Theology,” Bibliotheca Sacra 116 (1959): 201–202.

     Jesus' suffering and death on the cross has both infinite and eternal value for both God the Father as well as those trust in Christ as their Savior. According to Francis Schaeffer, “Christ's death in space-time history is completely adequate to meet our need for refuge from the true moral guilt that we have. It is final because of who He is. He is the infinite second person of the Trinity; therefore, His death has infinite value.”[1]Though Jesus suffered for our sins for only a few hours on the cross, His death had infinite and eternal value and saves forever those who trust in Him as Savior. Geisler states, “Being by nature the infinite God, Christ's death had infinite value, even though His suffering and death occurred in a finite amount of time. Time is not a mandatory measure of worth—birth, for instance, happens over a relatively short span but produces something of extraordinary value. One death in limited time achieved something of limitless value for all eternity.”[2] Paul Enns states, “At the heart of orthodox belief is the recognition that Christ died a substitutionary death to provide salvation for a lost humanity. If Jesus were only a man He could not have died to save the world, but because of His deity, His death had infinite value whereby He could die for the entire world.”[3]      As a result of what Christ accomplished, there is great benefit for us who have trusted in Him as our Savior. By His work on the cross, Christians become the recipients of great blessings, both in time and eternity. Though He blesses some Christians materially (1 Tim 6:17-19), His main focus is on giving us spiritual blessings which are far better. Paul wrote that God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). According to Harold Hoehner, “Every spiritual blessing (eulogia) refers to every spiritual enrichment needed for the spiritual life. Since these benefits have already been bestowed on believers, they should not ask for them but rather appropriate them by faith.”[4] Some of the spiritual blessings mentioned in Scripture are as follows: We are the special objects of His love: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8), and “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). We are forgiven all our sins: “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:13-14; cf. Eph 1:7; Heb 10:10-14). We are given eternal life: Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand (John 10:27-28; cf. John 3:16; 6:40; 20:31). We are made alive together with Christ: “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph 2:4-5). We are raised up and seated with Christ: God “raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). We are the recipients of God's grace: “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16), “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). We are created to perform good works: “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal 6:10), and “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph 2:10; cf., Tit 2:11-4). We are given freedom in Christ: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1), “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal 5:13; cf., 1 Pet 2:16). We are given a spiritual gift to serve others: “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet 4:10; cf. Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11). We are children of God: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are” (1 John 3:1a), “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26). We are made ambassadors for Christ: “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). We are gifted with God's righteousness: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21), “and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Phil 3:9; cf. Rom 4:3-5; 5:17). We are justified before God: “Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:24, 28), and “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16). We have peace with God: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). We will never be condemned: “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18), “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24), “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). We are given citizenship in heaven: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20). We are transferred to the kingdom of Christ: “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13; cf. Acts 26:18), and “walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Th 2:12). We are all saints in Christ Jesus: we are “saints by calling” (1 Cor 1:2), and “saints in Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:1), and “are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household” (Eph 2:19). We are made priests to God: “He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Rev 1:6). We are God's chosen: “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph 1:4), “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col 3:12). We are the recipients of His faithfulness: “He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you'” (Heb 13:5), and even “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim 2:13). We have been called to walk in newness of life: “We have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4), and “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love” (Eph 4:1-2). We are members of the Church, the body of Christ: “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom 12:4-5), and “He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph 1:22-23; cf. Col 1:18). We are indwelt with the Holy Spirit: “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16), “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” (1 Cor 6:19). We are sealed with the Holy Spirit: “having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph 1:13b; cf. 2 Cor 5:5). We are enabled to walk with God: “I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5:16), and “Since we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Gal 5:25). We are empowered to live godly: “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Pet 1:3). We have Scripture to train us in righteousness: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). We are guaranteed a new home in heaven: “In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). We are guaranteed resurrection bodies: “I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:51-53). We have special access to God's throne of grace: “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). We will be glorified in eternity: “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Col 3:4), for Christ “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself” (Phil 3:21). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Francis A. Schaeffer, Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History, Second U.S. edition. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 206. [2] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Four: Church, Last Things (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2005), 403. [3] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 225. [4] Harold W. Hoehner, “Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 616.

No condemnation in Christ--Text- Romans 8 vs 1-4--1.What is non condemnation---2..What is to be in Christ---3..How does one get into Christ ---4..What is walking according to the flesh---5.What is walking according to the Spirit---6..What is the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ---7..What is the righteous requirement of the Law----Many nuggets to glean and it is free..

No condemnation in Christ--Text- Romans 8 vs 1-4--1.What is non condemnation---2..What is to be in Christ---3..How does one get into Christ ---4..What is walking according to the flesh---5.What is walking according to the Spirit---6..What is the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ---7..What is the righteous requirement of the Law----Many nuggets to glean and it is free..

No condemnation in ChristText: Romans 8 vs 1-41.What is non condemnation?2..What is to be in Christ?3..How does one get into Christ ?4..What is walking according to the flesh?5.What is walking according to the Spirit?6..What is the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ?7..What is the righteous requirement of the Law?Many nuggets to glean and it is free..

Introit: Ps. 28:1-2, 7; antiphon: Ps. 28:8-9 Gradual: Ps. 90:13, 1, 2b Old Testament: Ex. 20:1-17 Psalm 19 (antiphon: v. 8) Epistle: Rom. 6:(1-2) 3-11 ProperVerse: Ps. 31:1 Gospel: Matt. 5:(17-19) 20-26 Our Only Hope Is in Christ's Righteousness  "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:20). God demands nothing less than perfection and holiness from you in regard to His commandments (Ex. 20:1-17). Your only hope, then, is not in your own goodness but in the goodness of Christ, who did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them for you. In Christ, your righteousness does indeed exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. For you have been baptized into Christ's death and your sinful nature crucified. Therefore, he who has died has been freed from sin (Rom. 6:1-11). You are now raised with Christ to walk in newness of life and to share in His resurrection on the Last Day. Christ has brought you through the baptismal sea "out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Ex. 20:2). Therefore, "consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11).

     There are four basic views concerning who saves. First is autosoterism (auto = self + soter = savior) which is a belief that entrance into heaven is entirely by good works. Autosoterists don't feel they need salvation from an outside source. Their good works are enough. Second is syntheosoterism (syn = with + theo = God + soter = savior) which is a belief that people partner with God and contribute to their initial salvation by good works, or a promise to perform them. These frontload the gospel with some human requirement in addition to faith in Jesus (i.e., turn from all their sin, keep the Sabbath, water baptism, etc.). Third is posttheosoterism (post – after + theo = God + soter = savior) which is the belief that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, but later, after being saved, the Christians are persuaded they must perform good works to keep themselves saved (like the Christians in Galatia). Last is solatheosoterism (sola = alone + theo = God + soter = savior), which is the belief that salvation is entirely a work of God through Christ and is provided by grace alone, though faith alone, in christ alone, plus nothing more. In this view, salvation is a gift from God, freely given and freely received with no requirement of good works before, during, or after receiving salvation. These understand that good works should follow salvation (Eph 2:10), but they are never the condition of it.      The autosoterists believe that, from beginning to end, they save themselves by adhering to a moral code that will secure their entrance into heaven. In this system of thought, the Bible becomes a moral guide to one's path to heaven (perhaps among other guides). I've personally heard people say, “I'll keep the Ten Commandments and hope God lets me into heaven”, or “I'll love God and my neighbor and trust that He will let me into His kingdom when I die.” Historically, this would be similar to Pelagianism, a teaching derived from a British monk named Pelagius who lived and preached in Rome circa A.D. 400. According to Ryrie, Pelagius “believed that since God would not command anything that was not possible, and that since He has commanded men to be holy, everyone therefore can live a life that is free from sin.”[1] In this teaching, a person needs only follow God's laws to be saved from hell and accepted into heaven. From beginning to end, this is a works-salvation.      The problem with autosoterism—among several—is that those who think they can save themselves by works fail to grasp God's absolute standard of righteousness to gain entrance into heaven. The Bible reveals God is holy (Psa 99:9; Isa 6:3), which means He is perfectly righteous and completely set apart from sin (Psa 99:9; 1 Pet 1:14-16). Because God is holy, He cannot have anything to do with sin except to condemn it. The Scripture states, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13), and “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Autosoterists also fail to understand the biblical teaching about sin and total depravity, in which sin permeates every aspect of our being—intellect, body, will, and sensibilities—and that we are helpless to correct our fallen position. The biblical teaching is that all mankind is sinful and separated from God (Rom 3:10-23). We are sinners in Adam (Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22), sinners by nature (Rom 7:14-25; 13:12-14), sinners by choice (Isa 59:2; Jam 1:14-15), and completely helpless to solve the sin problem and save ourselves (Rom 5:6-10; Eph 2:1-3). Good works have no saving merit before God (Isa 64:6; Rom 4:4-5; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). Paul wrote, “we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28), and “a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16).      Furthermore, autosoterists are trapped in a vague system of rules-for-salvation that can never provide assurance of their salvation. No matter how much good they do, there is always that nagging question, “have I done enough?” The reason they can never have assurance of their salvation is because the Bible does not teach that salvation is by human works, either in total or in part. Those who approach God by their works are in want of any passage of Scripture that can provide them assurance they've done enough to secure their place in heaven. For if one performs a hundred good works during a lifetime, how do  they know that God doesn't require a hundred and one, or a hundred and two? They don't, because the Bible does not teach salvation by works. Autosoterists are not saved, as they trust entirely in their good works to save them.      The syntheosoterists are those who think good works are required in addition to their initial act of faith in Jesus. These teach faith in Christ, but then muddy the gospel by adding something we do, such as turning from sins, keeping the Sabbath, water baptism, promising to live a moral life, joining a church, receiving sacraments, etc. I don't believe these persons are saved, as human activity is added to the gospel message from the beginning. We observe an example of this in the early church in which “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved'” (Acts 15:1). This teaching caused a huge reaction in Paul and Barnabas, who had “great dissension and debate with them” (Acts 15:2). The simple gospel message was: “we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11). But some Judaizers from Judea were presenting a false gospel which frontloaded the message with a requirement to follow to the Law of Moses; specifically, circumcision. Concerning Acts 15:1, Arnold Fruchtenbaum states: "Verse 1 describes the issue that led to the debate: Gentile circumcision. After their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas gave a report to the church of Antioch and spent some time with the Believers there. Eventually, certain men came down from Judea. They were members of the “circumcision party,” mentioned earlier, in Acts 11:2, who had challenged Peter about going into the home of an uncircumcised Gentile. Acts 15:24 makes it clear that these men had not been sent by the church of Jerusalem, but that they simply came down to Antioch of their own accord. In Galatians 2:4, Paul made reference to this same Jerusalem Council and describe these men as false brethren. They came to Antioch to teach. The Greek tense of the verb “teach” means they began to teach, and they kept at it with determination. The false teachers picked on the brethren, meaning the Gentile believers, because they were not circumcised. To these Gentile believers, they said: except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. This was the Judaizers dictum: Believing Gentiles are not saved until they are circumcised. Today certain groups teach another heresy, namely, that believers are not saved until they have been baptized. Both statements are equally wrong. Both involve salvation by works and salvation through ritual."[2]      If any human works or religious rituals are added to the simple gospel message, it is rendered null and void. A gospel message that includes human works is no gospel at all. Such a message saves no one. Warren Wiersbe states: "God pronounces a solemn anathema on anyone who preaches any other Gospel than the Gospel of the grace of God found in Jesus Christ His Son (Gal 1:1–9). When any religious leader says, “Unless you belong to our group, you cannot be saved!” or, “Unless you participate in our ceremonies and keep our rules, you cannot be saved!” he is adding to the Gospel and denying the finished work of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote his Epistle to the Galatians to make it clear that salvation is wholly by God's grace, through faith in Christ, plus nothing!"[3]      The posttheosoterists are those who believe they are saved initially by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, but then later adopt a works-system to continue to be saved. I think many in this camp were saved when they heard and responded positively to the simple gospel message (perhaps as a child), placing their faith in Christ alone for salvation, but then later were persuaded to accept a system of legalistic teaching that told them they must do good works to continue to be saved. These would be similar to the Christians Paul wrote to in Galatia, who said, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel” (Gal 1:6). These were believers whom Paul called brethren (Gal 1:11; 2:4; 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18), declaring they were “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26). The Christians in Galatia had trusted in Christ as their Savior; however, some “false brethren” (Gal 2:4) came among them and taught they must adhere to the Law of Moses to be saved. These were false teachers. According to Fruchtenbaum, “The problem that Paul was dealing with in his epistle to the Galatians concerns a group that has come to be known as ‘the Judaizers.' These people felt that the Gentiles must obey the Law of Moses in order to be saved (Acts 15:1 and 5).”[4]Paul, in an effort to correct the false teaching, posed a few simple questions to the Galatian Christians, saying, “This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal 3:2-3). The Christians in Galatia had trusted in Christ as their Savior and had received the Holy Spirit. They were saved. Yet, the legalism of the Judaizers had corrupted the concept of faith alone in Christ alone. Fruchtenbaum notes, “Too many believers think they can and need to add to their salvation. By grace through faith alone does not seem to satisfy. People add the keeping of some of the laws of Moses to their salvation. Others believe their baptism plays a role in it. Again others throw what is commonly known as Lordship salvation into the mix.”[5] I think posttheosoterism describes many Christians today, who truly trusted Christ as their Savior, but then later were led to believe they needed good works to keep themselves saved. Chafer states, “True salvation is wholly a work of God. It is said to be both a finished work and a gift, and, therefore, it lays no obligation upon the saved one to complete it himself, or to make after payments of service for it.”[6]      I personally trusted Christ as my Savior at age eight; however, shortly afterwards I was taught I needed to keep myself saved by ceasing to sin and also by doing good works. Though I did not lose my salvation (which is impossible), the joy I had when I trusted Christ as my Savior was lost, as I became trapped in a vicious system of trying to keep my salvation by good works. Subsequently, I believed I lost my salvation every time I sinned (which  was daily), and felt I needed to come groveling back to God as a failure, and trusting Christ over and over again in order to be saved. Eventually, exhaustion took its toll, and after several years I walked away from God, thinking the Christian life was impossible. It was not until roughly fifteen years later that my assurance of salvation rested in Christ alone, and the joy of my salvation was restored.      Because pride is the default setting of the human heart; it's our natural proclivity to think we can fix the problem of sin and righteousness and either earn God's approval by our own efforts, or at least participate in the effort. Pride must die for salvation to occur, as we come to God with the empty hands of faith, offering nothing, but only receiving the salvation which He offers to us by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Human efforts to save are useless. Lewis Chafer notes, “No one under any circumstances could forgive his own sin, impart eternal life to himself, clothe himself in the righteousness of God, or write his name in heaven.”[7]      Solatheosoterism is the correct biblical view. This teaches that our spiritual salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, plus nothing more. No good works are required for our salvation before, during, or after we trust in Christ. As stated before, good works should follow salvation (Eph 2:10), but they are never the condition of it. This is the record of Scripture in the OT, as “Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Psa 3:8), and “Our God is a God of salvation” (Psa 68:20 CSB), and “Salvation is from the LORD” (Jon 2:9). In the NT we read about Jesus, and that “He will save His people from their sins” (Matt 1:21), and “He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13a), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5), and it is “God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:8b-9). In these verses, salvation is always in one direction, from God to us.      Scripture reveals we are helpless, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God (Rom 5:6-10), and prior to our salvation, we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it's what He's done for us through the death of His Son, who paid the full penalty for all our sins on the cross at Calvary. Having paid the full price for our sins, there is nothing that remains for us to pay. Christ paid it all, and our spiritual salvation was completed at the cross, where Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). According to Francis Schaeffer, “Salvation is the whole process that results from the finished work of Jesus Christ as He died in space and time upon the cross.”[8]And Lewis Chafer notes, “As for revelation, it is the testimony of the Scriptures, without exception, that every feature of man's salvation from its inception to the final perfection in heaven is a work of God for man and not a work of man for God.”[9]      No one has the means to redeem his own soul, nor the soul of another. Jesus asked, “what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt 16:26). The answer is nothing! If Jesus had not paid our sin-debt to God, there would be no hope of ever being liberated from spiritual slavery, for “no man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him—for the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever” (Psa 49:7-8). However, Paul writes of the “redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24b), and this speaks to the payment He made on behalf of sinners. The word redemption translates the Greek apolutrosis which means to “release from a captive condition.”[10] Redemption refers to the payment of a debt that one gives in order to liberate another from slavery. Jesus declared “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), and the apostle Paul tells us that Jesus “gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:6). When we turn to Christ as our only Savior “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph 1:7; cf. Col 1:13-14). Because Jesus died in our place, He is able to set us free from our spiritual bondage and give us eternal life, but it is only because of His shed blood on the cross that He can do this, for we “were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:18-19). The blood of Christ is necessary, for “without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb 9:22). And the blood of Christ is the coin of the heavenly realm that paid our sin debt. He paid it all, and there's nothing more for us to pay. Salvation is a gift from God. If we have to pay for it, it ceases to be a gift. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 254. [2] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Book of Acts (San Antonio, TX, Published by Ariel Ministries, 2022), 316. [3] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 461. [4] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Faith Alone: The Condition of Our Salvation: An Exposition of the Book of Galatians and Other Relevant Topics, ed. Christiane Jurik, Second Edition. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2016), 9. [5] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Faith Alone: The Condition of Our Salvation: An Exposition of the Book of Galatians and Other Relevant Topics, ed. Christiane Jurik, Second Edition. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2016), 1. [6] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Satan (New York: Gospel Publishing House, 1909), 111. [7] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 7. [8] Francis A. Schaeffer, Death in the City (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002), 100. [9] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 6. [10] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, rev. and ed. Frederick W. Danker, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 117.

     Election is another doctrine within the scope of soteriology. Election is a biblical teaching that every serious student of the Bible must address at some time. It addresses issues related to God's sovereignty and human volition, sin and salvation, justice and mercy, foreknowledge and faith. Election is a difficult doctrine to fully understand. And, when discussing it with others, it's always best to keep love and grace in the discussion. Lewis Chafer states, “The doctrine of Election is a cardinal teaching of the Scriptures. Doubtless, it is attended with difficulties which are a burden upon all systems of theology alike. However, no word of God may be altered or neglected. No little help is gained when it is remembered that revelation and not reason is the guide to faith. When the former has spoken the latter is appointed to listen and acquiesce.”[1] Charles Ryrie adds, “No human mind will ever harmonize sovereignty and free will, but ignoring or downplaying one or the other in the interests of a supposed harmony will solve nothing.”[2] From the doctrinal statement of Tyndale Theological Seminary, it is noted, “The sovereignty of God also extends to the doctrine of divine election whereby those chosen by the council of the Lord's own will, shall come to Him in faith. And yet, even though difficult to reconcile in human understanding, the sovereignty of God does not remove the responsibility of man.”[3] Election does not remove the responsibility to believe in Christ as Savior (Rom 10:13-14). Faith is non-meritorious, having no saving value in itself. Christ alone saves. In order for people to be saved, they must believe in Jesus as the Savior (1 Cor 15:3-4). From the human side of salvation, faith in Jesus is the necessary response to God's call, and no one can be saved any other way (John 14:6; Acts 16:31).      God's gospel message is simple in its presentation (1 Cor 15:3-4). It is a message of love and grace (John 3:16-17; Eph 2:8-9). It centers at the cross where Jesus died for all our sins (1 Cor 1:18, 21; 15:3-4; Col 2:13-14; 1 Pet 2:24). The gospel message only makes sense when we understand that God is holy, all mankind is sinful, and that Jesus necessarily died as our substitute. When presenting the gospel it is essential to proclaim that salvation is completely the work of God. Salvation is a free gift to us, paid in full by the Lord Jesus, who died in our place, the “just for the unjust” (1 Pet 3:18), and bore the punishment that rightfully belongs to us. This means we bring nothing to God. Nothing at all! Scripture reveals we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24), and “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). Paul states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). The good news is that we are saved completely by what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross and not by any good works we produce before, during, or after salvation. Chafer states, “Most emphatic is the truth thus declared, that salvation is a divine undertaking on the basis of pure grace in which no human works or merit may enter.”[4]      We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Grace is God's unmerited favor toward us. Grace is sometimes used as an acronym for God's Riches At Christ's Expense. The challenge for us is to turn from human works, whatever they may be, and to cast ourselves completely on Christ as our Savior. Fruchtenbaum states, “In more than two hundred cases where the Scriptures give a condition for salvation, faith or belief is the one and only condition. This is important to remember. If there are ‘problem passages,' one should not interpret the two hundred clear passages by the few minor problem passages. Rather, one should try to interpret the few problem passages by the two hundred clear passages.”[5] Salvation is “the gift of God” (Eph 2:8), “according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:9), and “according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5). God has prepared good works to follow our salvation (Eph 2:10), but they are never the condition of it. The matter is simple: Salvation comes to those who believe in Christ as their Savior (John 3:16; 20:31; Acts 16:30-31). And when we trust in Christ as our Savior, God saves from the penalty of sin (John 5:24; Rom 6:23; 8:1), the power of sin (Rom 6:11; 8:13), and ultimately the presence of sin (Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:2, 5).      The gospel that saves spiritually is specific in its content. And to preach any other gospel will not only result in a failure for the lost to obtain that which is necessary for entrance into heaven, but it will bring great judgment upon the one who proclaims it. The apostle Paul wrote, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:8-9). It is noteworthy that Paul includes himself in this warning, as the gospel that was delivered to him, once it was received, could not be changed, even by one so great as the apostle Paul himself. Concerning this verse, Arnold Fruchtenbaum comments: "In verses 8–9, Paul pronounces the anathema, which is a rebuke against false teachers. Anyone who teaches a gospel that is different from the gospel they have received is to be anathema. Another gospel is any gospel other than the gospel of the grace of God. Any addition to the simple statement that salvation is by grace through faith is another gospel. Any addition to the gospel—be it baptism, tongues, ceremonies, church membership, repentance—perverts the gospel and is anathema."[6] Lewis Chafer adds: "This anathema has never been revoked, nor could it be so long as the saving grace of God is to be proclaimed to a lost world. From the human point of view, a misrepresentation of the gospel might so misguide a soul that the way of life is missed forever. It behooves the doctor of souls to know the precise remedy he is appointed to administer. A medical doctor may, by an error, terminate what at best is only a brief life on earth. The doctor of souls is dealing with eternal destiny. Having given His Son to die for lost men, God cannot but be exacting about how that great benefit is presented, nor should He be deemed unjust if He pronounces an anathema on those who pervert the one and only way of salvation which was purchased at so great a cost. A sensitive man, when realizing these eternal issues, might shrink from so great a responsibility, but God has not called His messengers to such a failure. He enjoins them to “preach the word” and assures them of His unfailing presence and enabling power. Probably at no point in the whole field of theological truth is the injunction more applicable which says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15).[7]      In conclusion, the gospel is the solution to a problem. There are two parts to the problem. First, God is holy (Psa 99:9; Isa 6:3), which means He is positively righteous and completely set apart from sin (Psa 99:9; 1 Pet 1:14-16). Because God is holy, He cannot have anything to with sin except to condemn it. The Scripture states, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13), and “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Second, all mankind is sinful and separated from God (Rom 3:10-23). We are sinners in Adam (Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22), sinners by nature (Rom 7:14-25; 13:12-14), and sinners by choice (Isa 59:2; Jam 1:14-15). To further complicate the problem, we are helpless to solve the sin problem and save ourselves (Rom 5:6-10; Eph 2:1-3). Good works have no saving merit before God (Isa 64:6; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). We cannot save ourselves any more than we can jump across the Grand Canyon or throw rocks and hit the moon. But God, because of His mercy and love toward us (John 3:16; Eph 2:3-7), did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He provided a solution to the problem of sin, and that solution is the cross of Christ (1 Cor 1:18). God the Son—the second Person of the Trinity—came into the world by virgin human birth (Luke 1:26-38; cf., John 1:1, 14), lived a perfectly righteous life (Matt 5:17; John 17:4), and willingly died in our place and bore the punishment for our sins. Jesus solved both problems: 1) He lived the righteous life that God demands and committed no sin (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5), and 2) He died for us on the cross and paid the penalty for all our sins (Mark 10:45; Rom 5:6-10; 1 John 2:2). The gospel message is that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4).  Jesus died in our place, “the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). In order for us to be reconciled to God, we must simply trust in Jesus as our Savior (John 3:16; Acts 16:30-31). When we trust in Christ as our Savior, we are forgiven all our sins (Eph 1:7; Col. 1:14), given eternal life (John 3:16; 10:27-28), and receive the righteousness of God as a free gift (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). And when we trust in Christ as our Savior, God saves us from the penalty of sin (John 5:24; Rom 6:23; 8:1), the power of sin (Rom 6:11; 8:13), and ultimately the presence of sin (Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:2, 5).      Soteriology touches a number of biblical topics such as the holiness of God, the sinfulness of mankind, election, atonement, penal substitution, redemption, faith, regeneration, forgiveness, expiation, justification, propitiation, and reconciliation, just to name a few. These and other topics will be addressed throughout this volume.   [1] Lewis S. Chafer, “Biblical Theism Divine Decrees” Bibliotheca Sacra, 96 (1939): 268. [2] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 359. [3] Doctrinal Statement, Tyndale Theological Seminary and Biblical Institute, https://tyndale.edu/about/doctrine/ [4] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3, 7. [5] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Faith Alone: The Condition of Our Salvation: An Exposition of the Book of Galatians and Other Relevant Topics, ed. Christiane Jurik, Second Edition. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2016), 5. [6] Ibid., 12–13. [7] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3, p. 10.

     Those who have trusted Christ as Savior are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).      It's important to understand that Christ died for only one kind of person: the lost sinner who stands condemned before a holy and righteous God. If we don't see ourselves from the divine perspective, as lost and in need of a Savior, then Christ and His work on the cross will be rejected. The cross is God's righteous solution to the problem of sin, as well as His greatest display of love toward sinners. At the cross, God judged our sin as His righteousness required, and pardons the sinner as His love desires. To understand the cross of Christ is to understand the heart of God toward a fallen world He wants to save.      We don't earn or deserve God's kindness in any way, for the record of Scripture is that we are helpless, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God (Rom 5:6-10) who were reconciled to Him “through the death of His Son” (Rom 5:10). Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it's what He's done for us through the death of His Son, who paid the full penalty for all our sins on the cross at Calvary. Salvation is a work of God alone. We bring nothing of worth to God. Nothing at all. Our contribution to salvation is sin and death, both of which Christ bore on the cross. Jesus freely took our sins upon Himself on the cross, and paid the penalty for our sins and died the death we deserve. That's love. That's grace. If we got what we deserved in this life, we would all be dead and forever condemned in the lake of fire. Salvation is based entirely on the merit of Christ, not on anything we do. It is the work of Christ and nothing else. Robert B. Thieme Jr. states: "Every human being needs to be saved, because everyone enters this world in a state of spiritual death, total depravity, and total separation from God. Because man is born hopelessly lost from God and helpless to do anything about it, God, in His grace, designed a perfect plan to reconcile man to Himself. God the Son took the burden of responsibility: He became true humanity and remained sinless so that He could be judged for the sins of the world (1 Pet 3:18). While Jesus Christ hung on the cross, God the Father poured the full wrath of His justice upon the Son He loved so perfectly (Matt 27:46; Rom 5:8–10; 2 Cor 5:21). Christ “bore our sins in His body” (1 Pet 2:24) and took the punishment in our place. God's righteous standard approved of Jesus' sacrifice as payment for all human sins. Hence, when every last transgression had been judged, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Salvation work was complete."[2]      Some erroneously think salvation is offered to those who are worthy, who live a good life and please God through good works. The Bible does not teach this. The claim of Scripture is that “there are none righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10), “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Sin is anything that is contrary to the holy character of God. The Bible teaches that everyone is a sinner (1 Ki 8:46; Prov 20:9; Eccl 7:20; Isa 53:6; 64:6; Jer 17:9; Mark 7:20-23; Rom 3:9-23; 7:18-21; Gal 3:22; Eph 2:1-3; 1 John 1:8-10). Sin separates us from God and renders us helpless to save ourselves (Isa 59:2; Rom 5:6-10; Eph 2:1-3). Lightner states, “Man's need of salvation is occasioned by his sin and God's estimate of him. Since it is God who must be pleased, it does not matter what man thinks of himself or how he proposes to be acceptable to God. What really matters is what God thinks, what he has done to save man, and what he expects, and in fact, demands of man.”[3] When the subject of sin is studied, it results in a basic threefold classification that we are sinners in Adam (Psa 51:5; Rom 5:12, 19; 1 Cor 15:21-22), sinners by nature (Rom 7:14-25; Gal 5:17), and sinners by choice (Jam 1:14-15).      To be sinners in Adam means his original sin, the sin that was committed in the garden of Eden, is transmitted to all his descendants (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-24). Adam is the head of the human race. When Adam sinned, we all sinned with him. His fallen position is our fallen position. His guilt is our guilt. Adam's sin is imputed to all his offspring, for “through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12; cf., 1 Cor 15:21-22). David wrote, “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psa 51:5). Concerning this verse, Allen Ross states, David “was affirming that from the very beginning of his existence there had never been a time that he had not been in a sinful state—he was human after all. The verse does not mean that a little baby is a wicked sinner; but it does mean that everyone who is born is born in a state or condition of sin, and that state unchecked will naturally lead to acts of sin.”[4] Being born in Adam means we are born with a sinful nature. Ryrie notes, “Adam's original sin produced that moral corruption of nature that was transmitted by inheritance to each succeeding generation.”[5] The sin nature is resident in every person; both saved and unsaved, and is the source of internal temptation. Warren Wiersbe states, “The flesh refers to that fallen nature that we were born with, that wants to control the body and the mind and make us disobey God.”[6] Since the fall of Adam, every person is born with a sin nature, and it is this nature that internally motivates us to rebel against all legitimate forms of authority, both human and divine. When we yield to temptation, we produce personal sin, which is any thought, word, or action that is contrary to the holy character of God. James wrote, “each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (Jam 1:14-15a). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [2] R. B. Thieme, Jr. “Salvation”,  Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, (Houston, TX., R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, 2022), 232. [3] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology: A Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995), 189. [4] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 2, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2011–2013), 187. [5] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 252. [6] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament, Vol. 2 (Colorado Springs, Col., Victor Publishing, 2001), 18.

Introduction to Soteriology      Soteriology is the study of salvation. The word soteriology is derived from the Greek words soter, which means savior, and logos, which means a word about, or the study of something. The word salvation is used throughout the Bible of physical deliverance as well as spiritual deliverance. It means one is saved from a real harm or danger, and rescued to a safe place. Salvation in all forms is necessary because of our weakness and inability to help ourselves in a dangerous situation. According to Lewis S. Chafer, “With respect to the meaning of the word salvation, the Old and New Testaments are much alike. The word communicates the thought of deliverance, safety, preservation, soundness, restoration, and healing; but though so wide a range of human experience is expressed by the word salvation, its specific, major use is to denote a work of God in behalf of man.”[1] And McChesney adds: "In the OT the term refers to various forms of deliverance, both temporal and spiritual. God delivers His people from their enemies and from the snares of the wicked (see Psa 37:40; 59:2; 106:4). He also saves by granting forgiveness of sins, answers to prayer, joy, and peace (Psa 79:9; 69:13; 51:12)…In the NT salvation is regarded almost exclusively as from the power and dominion of sin. And of this Jesus Christ is the author (see Matt 1:21; Acts 4:12; Heb 2:10; 5:9)."[2]      The most notable act of salvation in the OT was Yahweh's deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian army that was marching against them. Moses told his people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today” (Ex 14:13). The salvation was entirely of the Lord, as Moses said, “The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent” (Ex 14:14). This was a physical deliverance from a military attack. In the NT, we observe Peter being delivered from a physical drowning when he cried out to Jesus, saying, “Lord, save me!” (Matt 14:30). As Peter was sinking into the water, he was not asking for forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. He was asking to be delivered from physical drowning. We're told “Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him” (Matt 14:31) and brought him safely into the boat. Thus, Peter was physically saved from harm.      As Christians, when we think of salvation, it most often pertains to our spiritual deliverance from the lake of fire in which we are eternally separated from God, to which all humanity is destined unless we turn to Christ and are rescued. John tells us, “if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). Spiritual salvation is the most important kind of salvation mentioned in the Bible, for it matters little if one is rescued a thousand times from physical danger, but ultimately fails to receive deliverance from the danger of hell. God loves everyone and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). And He has made a way for lost sinners to be saved from hell and brought to heaven, and this through His Son, Jesus, for “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Charles Ryrie notes: "The Bible indicates at least three reasons that God wanted to save sinners. (1) This was the greatest and most concrete demonstration of the love of God. His good gifts in nature and through His providential care (great as they are) do not hold a candle to the gift of His Son to be our Savior. John 3:16 reminds us that His love was shown in His gift, and Romans 5:8 says that God proved conclusively that He loved us by the death of Christ. (2) Salvation also gives God a display of His grace throughout all eternity (Eph 2:7). Each saved person will be a special trophy of God's grace forever. Only redeemed human beings can provide this display. (3) God also wanted a people who would do good works in this life and thus give the world a glimpse, albeit imperfect, of God who is good (Eph 2:10). Without the salvation Christ provided, these things would not be possible."[3]      God's love for lost humanity is what motivated Him to act. Scripture reveals, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). And, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Chafer states, “The greatest of all motives which actuates God in the exercise of His saving grace is the satisfying of His own infinite love for those ruined by sin. In this may be seen the truth that the salvation of a soul means infinitely more to God than it could ever mean to the one who is saved.”[4]      God saves us because we are lost in sin and helpless to save ourselves. If we could save ourselves, then the death of Christ would have been unnecessary. But we cannot save ourselves, as our sin renders us helpless before God. According to Norman Geisler, “Sin is the precondition for salvation; salvation isn't necessary unless there are sinners in need of being saved. As to the origin of salvation, there is universal agreement among orthodox theologians: God is the author of our salvation, for whereas human sin originated with human beings on earth, salvation originated with God in heaven.”[5] A weak understanding of God's work in salvation will produce a weak gospel, one that tends to emphasize human good and man's ability to save himself, or to participate in that salvation. When we understand the total depravity of all mankind, and that we are totally lost and unable to save ourselves, only then does the work of God through Christ come into its full glory, and love and grace become so pronounced, that lost sinners realize their utterly helpless condition, and turn to Christ alone for that salvation which cannot be secured by any other means. According to Robert Lightner, “The Bible is explicit about the condition of all who have not been born again. They are lost (Luke 19:10), condemned (John 3:18), under God's wrath (John 3:36), dead in trespasses and sin (Eph 2:1), having no hope, and without God in the world (Eph 2:12), and unrighteous (Rom 1:19-32).”[6]      The price of our salvation was very costly to God. It cost Him His Son, Who came into the world and took upon Himself humanity (Matt 1:1, 18; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1, 14), lived a sinless life (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5), willingly went to the cross and bore our sin (Isa 53:4-11; John 10:17-18; 1 Pet 2:24), was buried and raised again on the third day (Luke 24:46; 1 Cor 15:3-4), never to die again (Rom 6:9). Jesus paid our sin debt in full (Rom 6:10; Heb 9:28; 10:12, 14), and now salvation is offered as a free gift to all who will accept it by faith alone in Christ alone. Lightner states, “Salvation is the most wonderful gift in all the world. To be saved, or born again, is to be translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son (Col 1:13). It is to be made acceptable before God. His salvation is complete and without cost to the sinner. The total price has been paid. The work is finished!”[7]Those who have trusted Christ as Savior are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).      It's important to understand that Christ died for only one kind of person: the lost sinner who stands condemned before a holy and righteous God. If we don't see ourselves from the divine perspective, as lost and in need of a Savior, then Christ and His work on the cross will be rejected. The cross is God's righteous solution to the problem of sin, as well as His greatest display of love toward sinners. At the cross, God judged our sin as His righteousness required, and pardons the sinner as His love desires. To understand the cross of Christ is to understand the heart of God toward a fallen world He wants to save.   [1] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 5. [2] E. McChesney, “Salvation,” ed. Merrill F. Unger and R.K. Harrison, The New Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 1114. [3] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 318–320. [4] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3, 7. [5] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2004), 181. [6] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology: A Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995), 188. [7] Ibid., 185.

     The apostle Paul made a clear presentation of the gospel message when he wrote to the church at Corinth. He stated, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel [εὐαγγέλιον euaggelion – good news message] which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain” (1 Cor 15:1-2).[1] The gospel is information that is communicable from one person to another, whether by spoken or written means. It is received as factual information that benefits the recipient who accepts it by faith. Paul then provided the content of the gospel, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4).      The gospel is best understood as the solution to a problem. There are two parts to the problem. First, God is holy (Psa 99:9; Isa 6:3), which means He is positively righteous and can have nothing to do with sin except to condemn it. The Scripture states, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13), and “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Second, all mankind is sinful and separated from God (Rom 3:10-23). This separation occurred when Adam sinned and brought death into the world. Scripture informs us that “through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12; cf. 18-19; 1 Cor 15:21-22).[2] The idea is that Adam served as the federal and seminal head of the human race, and when he fell, we fell with him. Because of sin, every person is spiritually separated from God and helpless to change their situation (Rom 5:6-10; Eph 2:1), and good works have no saving merit before the Lord (Isa 64:6; Rom 4:1-5; Gal 2:16; 3:21; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). We cannot save ourselves any more than we can jump across the Grand Canyon or throw rocks and hit the moon. But God, because of His mercy and love toward us (John 3:16; Eph 2:4-7), did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He provided His own solution to the problem of sin, and this was worked out through His Son, Jesus, who became human and accomplished what we could not.      Jesus solved both problems: 1) He lived the righteous life that God demands and committed no sin, and 2) He died for us on the cross, as our substitute, and paid the penalty for all our sins. God the Son—the second Person of the Trinity—came into the world by human birth (Luke 1:26-35), and lived a perfectly righteous life (Matt 5:17-21). Scripture informs us that Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), “has been tempted in all things as we are, yet He did not sin” (Heb 4:15), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Being sinless qualified Him to go to the cross and die for us. No one forced Jesus to go to the cross; rather, He willingly laid down His life and died in our place, “the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). Jesus said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). We are redeemed, not by anything this world can offer or by anything we can do, but His “precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:19). The blood of Christ is the coin of the heavenly realm that pays our sin debt and liberates us from the slave-market of sin. But we must trust in Jesus as our Savior. We must accept His good work on our behalf. Though Jesus' atoning work on the cross is sufficient for all (John 1:29; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2; 4:10), it is effectual only for those who believe in Him (John 3:16-18; 20:31; Acts 4:12; 16:30-31). If we reject Christ as Savior, the result is that we will be forever separated from the Lord (Rev 20:11-15). For “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). At the cross, He judged our sin as His righteousness requires, and saves us, the sinners, as His love desires. He did this out of His own goodness and mercy, and not because of any worth found in us. To comprehend the cross of Christ is to understand the heart of God toward a fallen world He wants to save.      Salvation is completely the work of God, and comes to us as a free gift from God (Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5), as we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). When we trust in Christ as our Savior, we are forgiven all our sins (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14), positionally identified with Him (Rom 5:14-18; 1 Cor 15:22), given eternal life (John 3:16; 10:27-28), given the gift of God's righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9), and have the power to live righteously (Rom 6:1-13). God saves us from the penalty of sin (John 5:24; Rom 6:23; 8:1), the power of sin (Rom 6:11; 8:13; 2 Cor 5:17), and ultimately the presence of sin (Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:2). God has prepared good works to follow our salvation (Eph 2:10), but they are never the condition of it. The matter is simple: Salvation comes to us who believe in Christ as our Savior, believing He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day.     [1] The word vain translates the Greek word εἰκῇ eike, which denotes, “being without careful thought, without due consideration, in a haphazard manner” (BDAG, p. 281). The main thrust of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 concerns the resurrection of Jesus, which is an essential part of the gospel message. Yet, there were some within the church who were saying “there is no resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor 15:12). Paul asserts, “if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain” (1 Cor 15:13-14). The point is, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; [and] you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:17). Denying the resurrection of Jesus meant they had believed in a Jesus that could not save them, because the object of their faith was dead, and therefore powerless to help them. Getting the gospel message right matters. [2] Being born in Adam, we also possess a sin nature which is the source of our rebellious heart (Rom 7:14-25; 13:12-14), and we produce personal sin each time we yield to temptation (Jam 1:14-15).

Restoration of the Saints (12) (Audio) David Eells - 11/13/22 Destroying Your DNA or Restoring Your DNA As we have seen the confession of the curse brings destruction of the DNA. This is what men do everyday as a norm as they see their natural face in the mirror instead of the Gospel face of Jesus as in 2Co 3:18. As a narrow example of  this very broad principle of the DNA curse, the medical establishment demonstrates this phenomena by pointing out specifically all of man's curses and making sure they fear them so that they can control the people.   As Job said in Job 3:25  For the thing which I fear cometh upon me, And that which I am afraid of cometh unto me.  Jesus confirmed this saying in Mat 8:13 ... as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. Fear is faith in the curse. The medical establishment confesses the curses and demands that we do so also but they always ultimately lose the patient to the curse. Their pharmakeia actually brings more curses as side effects.  They made sure everyone who would listen feared C-19 enough to take the vaccine which people are dying of in a geometric progression. Before this man-made curse the Journal of the American Medical Association said, 450,000 people were dying a year in the US from Iatropic [healer related] causes. The Angels told us that the Lord would return in His Man-child body and completely restore the DNA of his Holy People who confess Him before men. The angel Baruch said, “There is much busyness happening in the Kingdom of our Lord; Much excitement is among the saints and the angels. Everything is prepared and ready for His return.” And then after a moment he said, “The Son is waiting for the Father's command.” David asked, “So the Man-child is coming?” Baruch said, “Surely.” David asked, “What does the coming restoration involve personally?” The angel Jeruel  answered, “Restoration on a DNA cellular level. Faith and power will be imputed to receive healing and restoration. It will be complete restoration not partial. The first fruits are first. They will be the trail blazers. There will be a mighty supernatural outpouring of spiritual restoration of closeness to God through His Holy Spirit.” Science is pointing this out.  It appears to me that the Lord, through the spoken Words of His Man-child, will bring the frequency needed to restore DNA, and all we need to supply is the Words of Faith in the promises of God which we have known is the cure for the curse. Jesus through His sacrifice took away the devil's power of death (Heb.2:14) for those who believe. He never had the authority of death. Authority is the right to use power. (1Sa.2:6) The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up. Death and life are in the hand of the Lord, not any other. But again, that does not negate our responsibility. (Pro.18:21) Death and life are in the power of the tongue… We need to be careful to agree with God's Word that we fall not under the curse (Rev.22:18-19). (Num.14:28)… As ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you. (Mat.12:37) For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. God reacts to the way we react to His Word. Everything is subject to the Word God has spoken, even His own will. (Psa.138:2)… thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. God puts the Word first, as a standard to trust even above His own name, which in Hebrew means “character and authority.” God wants us to know that He puts His Word above any desire or purpose that we might think He has. But His Word is His desire and purpose.   Words Heal or Curse Your DNA Deb Horton - 10/26/11 (David's notes in red) Below are Cliffs Notes by Deb Horton of an article which reports that science has finally acknowledged that words have physical power. After removing all the New Age gobbledygook, the article acknowledges that Russian scientists have discovered that spoken words alone can and do reprogram DNA. So the tongue conquers the curse or the tongue can bring the curse. Key points quoted from the article, which is translated from German, so the terminology will sound a little strange in English (my comments in parentheses): 1. DNA can be influenced and reprogrammed by words and frequencies WITHOUT cutting out and replacing single genes. 2. The Russian linguists found that the genetic code, especially in the apparently useless 90% (which has been called "junk DNA"), follows the same rules as all our human languages...(and that) human languages ... are a reflection of our inherent DNA. 3. One can simply use words and sentences of the human language ... to influence genetic information! (i.e. agreeing with the Words that we are not under the curse, that by His stripes we were healed, etc.) This, too, was experimentally proven! Living DNA substance (in living tissue, not in vitro) will always react to language-modulated laser rays and even to radio waves, if the proper frequencies are being used. 4. This finally and scientifically explains why affirmations ...(can) repair genetic defects.(Our confessions of the positive promises of God concerning us and our circumstances change us. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Pro 18:21  Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.) 5. ...our body is programmable by language, words and thought. This has now been scientifically proven and explained....The individual person must work on the inner processes and maturity in order to establish a conscious communication with the DNA. (i.e., 2Co. 10:5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;) 6. The Russian scientists also found out that our DNA can cause disturbing patterns ....Stress, worries or a hyperactive intellect prevent (or) distort the communication (and) make it useless. (Isa. 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.) 7. An ordered group consciousness creates order in its whole surroundings! When a great number of people get together very closely, potentials of violence also dissolve. (Coming into one accord is powerful especially when we come into one accord with God. Rom. 15:5 Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus:  Rom. 10:10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.) Researchers think that if humans with full individuality would regain group consciousness, they would have a god-like power to create, alter and shape things on Earth! (That would be Christ in us, the hope of glory. Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven.) …   Verbal First Aid and the Power of Words: (Natural News) by Dani Veracity - 5/16/06 (David's notes in red) …According to Professor Judith Simon Prager, what you say to a person in a crisis is just as important as what you do. "How a person experiences an illness or injury is important to both the healing process and the person not developing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)," says Professor Prager, who travels worldwide training people in what she calls "verbal first aid." The technique she teaches takes “Fight-or-flight" response into account and incorporates two systems largely ignored by mainstream medicine: The body's powerful self-healing system and its extremely influential belief system. (Jesus said, “As you have believed so be it done unto you.” and when you believe Him, it comes out of your mouth. Hence, there is a positive vibrational frequency.) Furthermore, this mind-body approach can make the difference between life and death for someone suffering from a major illness or injury. (Pro.18:21) Death and life are in the power of the tongue…) ...Unfortunately, Fight-or-flight response does more harm than good ... because, in Professor Prager's words, it "makes you stupid.” (When we forget God's Word and His promises, Demons will take advantage of fear, anxiety, and negativity in order to make people "stupid.”) Though no one can doubt the power of intuition, Fight-or-flight response does in fact hinder complex thought, (which occurs in the frontal lobe) because it makes the blood nourishing the frontal brain go to the mid-brain. This mid-brain thinking is an altered state that Professor Prager calls the "Healing Zone." This is a highly susceptible position or state, in which, the injured or ill person is unable to exercise personal judgment; therefore, the words others say around that person weigh heavily on his or her emotions and, because all emotions illicit a physical response, physical well-being. This mind-body connection is core to verbal first aid. "Our thoughts give rise to physical manifestations," explains Professor Prager. The mind-body link is not just a theory, either, as studies show that words alone can influence automatic nervous system activities, such as heart rate and breathing rate. Furthermore, she cites two former medical “mysteries": doctor-induced illness and the placebo effect -- as proof that the mind-body connection exists. Many of us have experienced some form of doctor-induced illness. For example, when a doctor says, "This medication may make you sick," most people will perceive some form of negative side effect. The placebo effect is a similar phenomenon, in which we feel what we believe we are supposed to feel. The fact that the placebo works as well or better than the tested pharmaceuticals 33 percent of the time concerns some and mystifies others. It's certainly not information that Big Pharma would like you to think about, but nevertheless, it is the truth. So how can it be? Well, the body makes its own chemicals, Professor Prager reasons, so if you think a pill will help you, it often will, even if it's just a sugar pill masquerading as a pharmaceutical drug. (Think how much better it would be to not have the bad side effects of drugs or "trusting in the arm of the flesh.” Jer 17:5-8 Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah, and whose trust Jehovah is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat cometh, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.) University of Kansas professor M. Eric Wright discovered verbal first aid in 1990, when he experimented with two groups of emergency medical technicians. The control group was told to continue normal emergency response procedure, but the other group was given a set of parameters to follow: 1. Minimize extraneous input, such as witnesses' reactions. 2. Say a specific paragraph that includes: "The worst is over...[Tell your body to preserve itself. Encourage healing and limited blood loss]... You're in a safe position. The worst is over." 3. Don't talk too much about anything else. After six months of following these parameters, the trained group's patients ... experienced a much lower mortality rate. (How much more powerful it would be if we spoke the Words of Life over people! This is going beyond the natural to the supernatural. Jesus said in Joh 6:63,  It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. And Mar. 11:23-24 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. 24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.)    “Diagnostitis" and the Power of Words (NaturalNews) by Dr. Carolyn Dean - 5/11/11 (David's notes in red) “Diagnostitis" is a new disease that I invented, I'm sure many others have had the same idea. It's a condition caused by health professionals declaring that you have something wrong with you that's incurable … [and] the symptoms can only be treated with drugs or surgery. “Diagnostitis" is an inflammation and irritation that you feel when you are given the wrong diagnosis. Or it could be a diagnosis callously embellished with all the horrors of the disease. (i.e. “The bad report”. How many wrong diagnosis' come to pass because they had so much faith in the doctors? Or a true diagnosis that came to pass because the person acted upon it by faith.) (Years ago, in one week, two women associated with our fellowship were told they had breast cancer. We prayed for them and told them that they were healed and to believe Jesus' words. We warned them not to believe any other words. In both cases, the doctors convinced them otherwise. They both ended up having Mastectomies and the lab results showed that there was no cancer in the breast tissues.) Back to the article: When I was a second-year medical student doing rounds with an orthopedic surgeon and my clinical group, I witnessed our surgeon describing the terrible fate awaiting a young man recently diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (a deforming arthritic condition), in front of the patient. I was appalled! At the end of rounds the doctor started to criticize me for sitting on another patient's bed to obtain … their history. I said, “No, I want to talk to you!" I immediately launched into his incredible insensitivity for dashing any hope of recovery from Adam, the spondylitis patient. “Diagnostitis" can be the result of being given a diagnosis. ... The doctor may not have the tools to help his patient but he dashes any hope that something else or someone else might have answers. (That someone we know is Jesus Christ. “By His stripes ye were healed.”) Here's another cause of diagnostitis. I've had clients who tell me doctors have blurted out, "I can't believe you're still alive!" Or the doctor simply says, "I can't believe you are doing so well." This statement to some can be a triumph that you've surpassed your doctor's expectations. But to another it could reactivate the feeling that you didn't have a very good chance of surviving and initiate a setback. (Doubt and unbelief will always cause us set backs whether it is our own or that of someone else's.) That recently happened to a client of mine. After extensive back surgery he went for his two-week check up and x-rays. The x-ray technician was shocked at the major work that had been done. The technician's genuine surprise that he was doing so well in the face of such extensive surgery threw my client into irrational fears that his recovery was probably tenuous and wouldn't last. I remember when I first went to medical school, doctors didn't tell patients how sick they were or whether or not they had cancer. Then came the era of the "informed consent”. Now Doctors felt obliged to tell patients if there was even a 5 percent chance that they had cancer. You may not agree, but I think telling a person they may have cancer can actually sow the seeds of cancer in their vulnerable mind and body. (Pro. 23:7 For as he thinketh within himself, so is he… Jesus said, "As you have believed so be it done unto you.”) I recently wrote a foreword for a soon-to-be-published book called Become a Wellness Champion by Pam Bartha, a science teacher and writer. In 1988, at age 28, Pam was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She was told by her neurologist that it was only a matter of time before she would land in a wheelchair and then be completely disabled. This doctor was playing God. He was adamant there was nothing she could do to change the prognosis of her disease. He even warned her against snake oil cures, saying they were useless. He put nails in her coffin and added the stress of "incurability" to her list of symptoms. He added diagnositis and the fear of never recovering from her MS diagnosis. ... How cruel are these doctors who so often sentence their patients to a life of illness. ... Doctors issue a divine proclamation that keeps many people … discouraged and hopeless. With their presumed authority and their words, they pass judgment on … people. Doctors have indeed become the priesthood and wield terrible authority over their patients. And some of them don't even realize the power of their words. They know very little … and yet they never state their ignorance. They just pass on their hopelessness to their patients. ... The words they say are geared to fit into the standard practice of medicine. Any words outside that box can get them in trouble. (This is part of the Rockefeller population control agenda. The Rockefellers' bought out and funded all the medical schools in the 20th century and began teaching and brain washing all the upcoming medical students with Allopathic pharmaceutical treatment methods.) In the comments section below the article is a moving story by a reader who says, "I am a burn survivor and was advised to not use insect repellent, perfume, shampoo, soap, aftershave, shaving cream, sunscreen, etc. When I asked my doctor why he wasn't telling the world about the crap (harmful substances) in all these products he looked me in the eye and said, 'I have a wife, children, a mortgage and other patients to help. If I told the world what I told you I wouldn't have any of it.' I felt sorry for him, he had a tear in his eye, but I understood why he didn't tell the world.” (Many doctors who have come out publicly speaking against the Covid and vaccine agendas have lost their medical license; most recently like the famous Dr. Peter McCullough.) What's my message? Make your own words be "the tell" of how you want your world to be and how you want your health to be. Don't let anyone else's words take away from your power. No authority on earth can do that. For an example of this, read my Natural News article, "The Medical Monopoly" (http://www.naturalnews.com/Author_Dr_Carolyn...).     The Power of Words are HUGE! YouTube – A&O Productions (David's notes in red)   [Editors notes italicized or in red] ...God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. I want to remind you of the power of the mind. You can think yourself into a depression. You can think your way into stress. You can think your way into misery and frustration. There's so much more power in the mind than you probably would like to give yourself credit for. Change your mind. Decide that you love yourself enough to not surround yourself with people, things and situations that can have your mind continuing to spiral down this negative and dysfunctional train. “Once …you are fed with an idea ... you are susceptible to, … like an idea that this pill that we just got from the pharmaceutical company, it's the greatest, best thing for your issue, and I give you this pill and you get better, and then later you find out it was a sugar pill, and everybody says, ‘Yeah, that's called the placebo effect.'” ... “What does it really mean?” ... “You didn't get healed by the pill, you got healed by the belief in the pill.” “Well, ... that's what placebo's all about,” and ... a minimum of one-third, of all medical intervention is the placebo effect, that's where the healing comes from. (Imagine how the power would be multiplied beyond the natural if we put our faith in the Word of God.) …That's the result of positive thinking. But what about negative thinking?” This is what we don't talk about, but the reality is that it's equally powerful in regard to affecting your biology as is positive thinking, but it works in the opposite direction. A negative thought is called the nocebo effect. It can cause any disease and you can die. If you believe you're going to die, you can die from the belief. So, we really have to watch out because, as psychologists would tell us, 70% or more of our thoughts are negative and redundant and we're replaying the same negative thoughts. I say, “If thoughts have nothing to do with it, fine, but thoughts, positive or negative, shape our biology.” …It's time to wake up because our negative thinking is manifesting in negative life experiences.” (Again, we should enter the supernatural power by faith in God's promises.) Words are extremely powerful. You actually create your own laws and limitations for yourself, using the words that you say most often. The greatest teacher to ever live, the Carpenter from the plains of Galilee once said, “By your words you are justified and by your words you are condemned.” He understood the spiritual properties words possess. (Faith makes us justified but unbelief is a sin.) …God actually spoke the universe into existence, also known as cymatics or vibration. And remember, you are a piece [rather, we are made in the likeness] of the Creator and possess the same creative qualities. Never use phrases like, “This is killing me,” or “This makes me sick.” Though lighthearted, those are actual commands that are stirring energy in motion. “From the fruit of their mouth, a person's stomach is filled. With the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:20-21) There are high energy words and there are low energy words. High energy words attract to you positive people, positive situations, positive outcomes, positive circumstances. They also raise your health and the health and wellness of those listening. “From the fruit of their lips, people are filled with good things and the work of their hands brings them reward. An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies. The words of the reckless pierce like swords but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.” (Proverbs 15:14-19) Low energy words do the exact opposite. They attract all manner of negative situations and circumstances. And they have also been proven to lower your immune system, making you more susceptible to illness. Dr. Emoto's water experiment proved that words and intention actually have a physical impact on water. Dr. Emoto's laboratory does research on water samples which are subjected to various forms of outside influence. The impressions made upon the water are recorded by swiftly freezing it in a cryogenic chamber. Somebody said, “Thank you,” to this water, or “Excuse me,” or “You disgust me,” or, “Idiot,” or, “I hate you,” or, “love,” “hope,” and “soul.” (Pictures in video show that the positive words created beautiful designs and the negative words made the water form chaotic and disorganized blobs.) In Dr. Emoto's numerous experiments, aimed at finding the word that cleanses the water most powerfully, have shown that it's not just one word, but a combination of two: "love and gratitude. “For whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.”  (1 Peter 3:8-10) And Jesus said that your words are spirit. “The Spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing. The words I've spoken to you, they are full of the Spirit and life. It is the Spirit that quickeneth. [Which means, “gives life to”] The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not.” (John 6:63-64) Faith comes by hearing. Like when we say, “I can do this,” and set out to accomplish it. That it is the very words, when heard, because faith comes by hearing, that when you hear yourself saying these words, “I can do this,” that you actually can get the courage and strength and the wherewithal to get something done. That's why it's not just important to think good thoughts, you have to speak those thoughts. If you want things to come out and you want them to be manifested into the world, if you have a thought within you, you need to speak that thought out. You need to create by speaking the very thing that you have within you. You need to bring it, somehow, into this world and make it so. Think of it this way: a thought that is within you is not in this world. The thought that is in you is within you. It is only until you speak that thought and you give it a vibration in this world that it actually manifests. The Scriptures say that God spoke and everything became. The Scriptures say that every word that we speak will be judged accordingly, that we will be held accountable for everything that we say and everything that we think. This is why we must take every thought captive. Every thought that comes into our mind, it has the potential to create that thought in the world, if manifested by the words that you speak. Your thoughts create, your words make them become the very thing that you believe that they will be. “We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships, as an example, although they are so large and driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire. A world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body. It sets the whole course of one's life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse human beings who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.” (James 3:1-12) Dr. Emoto has conducted another interesting experiment. He placed rice into three glass beakers and covered it with water and then every day for a month, he said, “Thank you,” to one beaker, “You're an idiot,” to the second, and the third one, he completely ignored. After one month, the rice that had been thanked, began to ferment, giving off a strong, pleasant aroma. The rice in the second beaker turned black. And the rice that was ignored began to rot. …Another experiment was to say good, beautiful, positive things to the good apple and nasty things to the bad apple. So, I just took out my apples from the bad apple jar and the good apple jar, and ... it's just amazing. …(The bad apple had brown spots all over it and the good apple was preserved with no spots.) Try using 25 containers, or even 50 containers, this works, and it shows that our thoughts literally shape our lives. (Another experiment was to put two strawberries in two plastic baggies and label one bag, “Love” and the other bag, “Hate” The individual said, “I love you, strawberry.” to the baggie labeled Love and “I hate you, strawberry.” to the baggie labeled “Hate.” …The “Love” strawberry looks completely normal. …And the hate berry had mold all over it.) ...People do things that annoy, disappoint and anger. Though we cannot look into another's heart, we assume that we know a bad motive or even a bad person when we see one. This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it! “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful to building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those that listen.” (Ephesians 4:29) Haven't we all at one time or another meekly approached the mercy seat and pleaded for grace? Haven't we wished with all the energy of our souls for mercy to be forgiven for the mistakes we have made, and the sins we have committed? Forgiving ourselves and others is not easy. In fact, for most of us, it requires a major change in our attitude and way of thinking, even a change of heart. This mighty change of heart is exactly what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to bring about. Let us be kind. Let us forgive. Let us talk peacefully with each other. Let us do good unto all men. Allowing us to see others the way our heavenly Father sees us, as flawed and imperfect mortals who have potential and worth, far beyond our capacity to imagine. Because God loves us so much, we too must love and forgive. Remember, in the end, it is the merciful who obtain mercy. Believe it or not, each word that you speak is an affirmation. You are always affirming that you want more of it into your life by speaking it, by placing your attention on it, by talking about it. Since that's the case, only talk about the joyous things that you would like to have and experience. And before you know it, those words will become an everyday part of your vocabulary and your life will soon follow suit. Our confession forbids or permits, and determines who will win the battle in the heavens. Victory in the battle in heaven has nothing to do with the power of the angels or demons, but our authority. One angel will easily bind Satan and cast him into the abyss as in Rev.20:1-2. It says in Rev.12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels [going forth] to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; (8) and they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. Even though the angels and demons carry out the warfare, the saints give authority by the words of their mouth to the winning side. (11) And they (saints) overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death. The saints forbid or permit angels and demons according to the “word of their testimony.” This is according to Jesus in, (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind (forbid) on earth shall be bound (forbidden) in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose (permit) on earth shall be loosed (permitted) in heaven. Because of this, we are motivated to agree with the Word even when it is contrary to the sight realm or human sentiment. The Word of God in us gives authority to the angels to conquer Satan. Many say, “I bind the demons,” or “I loose the angels,” while they continue to disagree with the Word. This is only hot air. It accomplishes nothing. Neither Jesus nor His disciples made these statements. We do not have to either; just agree with the Word in our everyday thinking, speech, and actions. Demons will be forbidden while angels will be permitted. I include actions here because we cannot confess Christ while living in willful sin and expect the demons to be forbidden. It is imperative that we repent, change our mind, in order to cast down Satan's ability to rule us. (2Co.10:4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds); (5) casting down imaginations (Greek: “reasonings”), and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. If we want to win the battle in the heavens, we must first win it in our mind and with our tongue. (Pro.18:21) Death and life are in the power of the tongue…   The Ultimate Fate of Slanderers and Railers David Eells {Psa.11:2} For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string, That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.   God says in His Word that slanderers and revilers (or railers) will not be saved without repentance, but in these days many will not return from this path, just as when Jesus came the first time. The word "slanderer" in Greek is diablos, meaning, "accuser" or "devil" and is, in fact, the Spanish translation of "devil". According to Vines Expository Dictionary, these are "those who are given to finding fault with the demeanor and conduct of others, and spreading their innuendos and criticisms in the Church". In a similar way, the word "reviler" or "railer" in Greek is often blasphemeo, meaning "to blaspheme or speak against God or the brethren or both". Those who blaspheme are obviously of the same nature and controlled by the devil and not God. Whenever you see a person or group of people abusing some person like this, remember that these are demons speaking. Demons slander and rail against the righteous. So, you can suspect that their victim is righteous. The only exception to this rule is when God turns their venom onto one another in judgment. You cannot associate with such people without a little leaven leavening the whole lump, so we are commanded in 1 Corinthians 5 to separate from them. Paul, by God, turned blasphemers, who have fallen away from the faith and defiled their conscience, over to Satan. {1Ti.1:19} holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust from them made shipwreck concerning the faith: {20} of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered unto Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme. God still does this. Revilers or railers are placed with the worst of men and rejected by all good men. {1Co.6:9} Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, {10} nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers [railers], nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. "Faction" here is the purpose of slander and railing. It means to separate followers for selfish ambition. We are commanded to separate from such after just two instances because it will leaven you so quickly. {Tit.3: 9-11} but shun foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and fightings about law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 10 A factious man after a first and second admonition refuse; 11 knowing that such a one is perverted, and sinneth, being self-condemned. Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20  idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, 21 envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. "Parties" here is very similar. It means a self-willed opinion leading into dividing into sects or denominations. Slander and faction are always associated with lying spirits and other forms of deceit, like subtle innuendos. {Psa.50:19} Thou givest thy mouth to evil, And thy tongue frameth deceit. {20} Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; Thou slanderest thine own mother's son. {21} These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: [But] I will reprove thee, and set [them] in order before thine eyes. None of these enter the kingdom of God without repentance. {Rev.21:8} But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. We must endure the cross of death to fleshly lusts of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, faction, strife, slander, railing, lying, criticism, judging others, etc. and cast them off as the weights that hold us back from winning this race. {Heb.12:1} Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, {2} looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The one who receives the prize is the true body of Christ in whom Christ Himself lives. Those who live after these lusts cannot receive the prize, for the race is to bear the fruit of Christ, 30-, 60- and 100-fold before our time is up. {1Co.9:24} Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. If there is no cross, there is no crown. All who indulge their flesh in unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, faction, strife, criticism, judging others, will not inherit the prize of Christ. {25} And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. The flesh that desires these lusts must be crucified or the person will be rejected, no matter how much they think they have done for God. {26} I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected. Again, if they refuse to deny their flesh to obey God's Word, they will be destroyed. Paul said in Romans 8 that if we walk after the flesh, we must die. We have watched these people over the years lose their health, the respect of all righteous people, their ministries and often their lives. The Lord takes no pleasure in the strength of the beastly flesh or the walk of man. {Psa.147:10} He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man. God forbade Israel to use horses from Egypt because of what they represented. Those full of slander, railing/reviling, criticism, unforgiveness, delusion, paranoia, gossip, Jezebel, are often judged because they refuse to forgive anyone and are turned over to the tormentors, as Jesus said in Matthew 18:34,35. Rejection and self-will and lust for position is the common denominator and root of most slanderers and railers/revilers. There is deliverance from rejection and its fear. These people are not qualified to judge, for they themselves are sinners. {2Co.10:6} and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be made full. These people usually do not prefer to face the ones they accuse in front of the righteous because they know they cannot stand up in the light of the truth of the Word they would be faced with. {Psa.11:2} For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string, That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. They are "Christian" Snipers. We must forgive these people of all of their backstabbing attacks. Like Judas, they are necessary for the crucifixion of the body of Christ but also like Judas they hang themselves with their own hands and woe be to them, as Paul said. We may plead with them for peace but they consistently refuse. Therefore, they are turned over to the tormentors, as Jesus said. {120:6} My soul hath long had her dwelling With him that hateth peace. {7} I am [for] peace: But when I speak, they are for war. ...{Isa.48:22} There is no peace, saith the Lord, to the wicked. Here are some verses the Lord gave me about the constant slander and railing we endure from these kinds of people: {Jud.8} Yet in like manner these also in their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities [or glories]. {9} But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. {10} But these rail at whatsoever things they know not: and what they understand Naturally [in the letter], like the creatures without reason, in these things are they destroyed. {11} Woe unto them! For they went in the way of Cain [to kill their more spiritual brother], and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire [paid by their flesh to do evil], and perished in the gainsaying of Korah [who usurped authority not his]. {12} These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed Themselves [feed their own flesh]; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; {13} Wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars [not keeping their position in the heavenlies], for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved forever. {Psa.50:19} Thou givest thy mouth to evil, And thy tongue frameth deceit. {20} Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; Thou slanderest thine own mother's son. {21} These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: [But] I will reprove thee, and set [them] in order before thine eyes. {52:1} Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The lovingkindness of God [endureth] continually. {2} Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. {3} Thou lovest evil more than good, And lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah {4} Thou lovest all devouring words, thou deceitful tongue. {5} God will likewise destroy thee for ever; He will take thee up, and pluck thee out of thy tent, And root thee out of the land of the living. {55:18} He hath redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me; For they were many [that strove] with me. {19} God will hear, and answer them, Even he that abideth of old, Selah [The men] who have no changes (They are not born from above by the Word), And who fear not God. {20} He hath put forth his hands against such as were at peace with him: He hath profaned his covenant. {21} His mouth was smooth as butter, But his heart was war: His words were softer than oil, Yet were they drawn swords. {22} Cast thy burden upon Jehovah, and he will sustain thee: He will never suffer the righteous to be moved. {23} But thou, O God, wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction: Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in thee. {3Jn.9} I wrote somewhat unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. {10} Therefore, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works which he doeth, prating against us with wicked words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them that would he forbiddeth and casteth [them] out of the church. {11} Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: he that doeth evil hath not seen God. If you or anyone you know has fallen into blasphemy or speaking against others must repent to be saved. Slanderers or railers usually have rejection and selfish ambition that perverts their thinking so quickly. I would caution anyone who has witnessed these spirits in action to look at the facts. They most often offer slander without witnesses of sin. What do the witnesses say? {Pro.18:17} He that pleadeth his cause first [seemeth] just; But his neighbor cometh and searcheth him out. Many times God draws vessels of dishonor against us for a purpose. {Mic.4:11} And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye see [our desire] upon Zion. {12} But they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor. {13} Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain unto Jehovah, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. We pray in each case that this is not for the destruction of souls but the flesh of the old man. We pray that souls will walk away from this being better for the experience. But those who do not repent will die spiritually and/or physically. Get your swords, saints, and fight on the side of the Lord and His Word! Don't be afraid of a few arrows shot out of darkness into your back! {Psa.11:2} For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string, That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. What they do to the least of Jesus' brethren they do to Him. {Psa.22:12,13,16}  ... {12} Many bulls have compassed me; Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. {13} They gape upon me with their mouth, [As] a ravening and a roaring lion. ... {16} For dogs have compassed me: A company of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. As we can see, their problem is being a hearer of the Word while not doing the Word. This is what separates the Judases from the disciples, as tares from the wheat. The tares will walk after their lusts of defilement because they cannot bear the fruit of Christ. Even though we all hate to see them fall away, it is necessary for the body to be sanctified. Read The Son of Perdition. As we have seen, slanderers, railers and liars cannot enter the Kingdom of God. It is my Father who wrote these words of Scripture, Whom they do not fear, believe, nor obey. On the other hand, saints, or "sanctified ones", dwell in the Kingdom of God for they abide in Jesus Who is the Word. When corrected by the Word, Judas went to Jezebel to crucify Jesus. History always repeats. The only people who would believe Judases are evil, for "An evil doer giveth heed to lying lips". We have no fear that righteous people will follow the Judases and Jezebels. It cannot happen, for they are not born of the same father and therefore they look quite different. Let us see if this is true. I have been criticized by Judases because I have pointed out, by dreams and the Word, that they will die. I have said that this is happening spiritually and can end up in physical death. Whereas they have been ministered to in love, some for years; nevertheless, they have chosen lies, unforgiveness and hatred when corrected. The righteous see these things and they are exceedingly sorry and go to their Father. {Mat.18:31} So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were exceeding sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. {32} Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me: {33} shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee? {34} And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. {35} So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. Notice that their unforgiveness turns them over to demons who in turn HATE the righteous and cannot have peace with them. So these spirits will be manifested in them as HATRED towards the righteous. {1Jn.3:13} Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. {14} We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. {15} Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. But like Judas, it is themselves they are killing, for they "abideth in death" and as we have seen they cannot enter life with those sins. This death is increasingly manifesting them, for everything they learned by Word and example has been forgotten through criticism and hatred. Historically, I have seen this happen with every railer. They fall away and are sick in their bodies and dying or dead. Only those who love and know God are born of Him. The rest have a different father and his nature is in them. {4:7} Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. {8} He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. {9} Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. {10} Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. {11} Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. {12} No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us ... {16} And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. Notice that God is not in those who hate and cannot love. This hatred in them twists everything into a lie. They cannot tell the truth for they cannot keep the commandment of love. {2:4} He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. These people do not love God but their true father from whom they are being begotten. As in the parable of the sower, the Word from heaven is the seed of God in us and the word from Hell is the seed of Satan in them. {4:20} If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen. {21} And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also. Look at their fruit and you can tell if they are lying. If there is hatred and their mouth is opened, they are liars. Lying witnesses, who claimed to be the people of God, sent Jesus and the apostles to their deaths. You cannot feed at the table of Satan's lies without being affected or infected. Don't worry, when they are through separating the tares unto themselves through their lies, we will shine forth in the kingdom of our Father as a spotless and blemishless bride. They who are "forsaking the right way" are the "spots and blemishes" among us.   {2Pe.2:12} But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed, {13} suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; [men] that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you; {14} having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing; {15} forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing. ... {21} For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. {22} It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire. Those who work so hard to divide people unto themselves for lustful purposes are doing the kingdom a service. {1Co.11:19} For there must be also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you. Birds of a feather flock together. "An evil doer giveth heed to lying lips". By these liars, God is first separating the tares into bundles to burn them so that the righteous will then shine forth in the kingdom of our Father. {Mat.13:30} Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. ... {37} And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; {38} and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil [one]; {39} and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. {40} As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. {41} The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, {42} and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. {43} Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear. Notice that Father is gathering out of His Kingdom those that do iniquity and cause others to stumble. The Bride will not be finished until this process completed. Take courage and the sword of the Spirit to fight the good fight of the faith. {Mat.5:11} Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.   Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Assamese Aymara Azerbaijani Bambara Basque Belarusian Bengali Bhojpuri Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Cebuano Chichewa Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Corsican Croatian Czech Danish Dhivehi Dogri Dutch Esperanto Estonian Ewe Filipino Finnish French Frisian Galician Georgian German Greek Guarani Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hmong Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Ilocano Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Kinyarwanda Konkani Korean Krio Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kurdish (Sorani) Kyrgyz Lao Latin Latvian Lingala Lithuanian Luganda Luxembourgish Macedonian Maithili Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Meiteilon (Manipuri) Mizo Mongolian Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Odia (Oriya) Oromo Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Quechua Romanian Russian Samoan Sanskrit Scots Gaelic Sepedi Serbian Sesotho Shona Sindhi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Spanish Sundanese Swahili Swedish Tajik Tamil Tatar Telugu Thai Tigrinya Tsonga Turkish Turkmen Twi Ukrainian Urdu Uyghur Uzbek Vietnamese Welsh Xhosa Yiddish Yoruba Zulu Powered by Translate Printer-friendly version

     As God's children, we simultaneously live and operate in two realms. Physically, we live in the material world that God created (though damaged by our sin), and it is here we spend our time learning, working, playing, resting, and touching the lives of those whom God places in our path. It is here we must advance by learning God's Word and living wisely in His will (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18). Making good choices from day to day—rooted in God's Word—is paramount to this life, as well as the one to come. As believers, we are to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matt 6:33), and trust that “God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). This requires faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6). But we also live in a spiritual realm that touches things real, but unseen. As Christians, we are to be led by God the Holy Spirit, to be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18), and to “walk by the Spirit” (Gal 5:16). Furthermore, we face attacks from the spiritual realm, as Paul warns us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). As advancing Christians, we are to “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col 1:9). And because the mind is the primary battleground, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). Knowledge of God and His Word provides a basis for living effectively in both the physical and spiritual realm. God's Word reveals He's provided us a portfolio of spiritual blessings that benefit us in this life and, if understood and applied, will result in great rewards in the eternal state (1 Cor 3:14-15; 2 Cor 5:10).      Living in the dispensation of the church age, God has bestowed on us many good things. Though He blesses some Christians materially (1 Tim 6:17-19), His main focus is on giving us spiritual blessings which are far better. Paul wrote that God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). According to Harold Hoehner, “Every spiritual blessing (eulogia) refers to every spiritual enrichment needed for the spiritual life. Since these benefits have already been bestowed on believers, they should not ask for them but rather appropriate them by faith.”[1]Warren Wiersbe states: "In the Old Testament, God promised His earthly people, Israel, material blessings as a reward for their obedience (Deut 28:1–13). Today, He promises to supply all our needs “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19), but He does not promise to shield us from either poverty or pain. The Father has given us every blessing of the Spirit, everything we need for a successful, satisfying Christian life. The spiritual is far more important than the material."[2] Some of our spiritual blessings are as follows: We are the special objects of His love: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8), and “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). We are forgiven all our sins: “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:13-14; cf. Eph 1:7; Heb 10:10-14). We are given eternal life: Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand (John 10:27-28; cf. John 3:16; 20:31). We are made alive together with Christ: “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph 2:4-5). We are raised up and seated with Christ: God “raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). We are the recipients of God's grace: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). We are created to perform good works: “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph 2:10). We are given freedom in Christ: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1; cf. Gal 5:13; 1 Pet 2:16). We are given a spiritual gift to serve others: “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet 4:10; cf. Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11). We are children of God: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are” (1 John 3:1a; cf. John 3:6; Gal 3:26; 1 Pet 1:23; Tit 3:5). We are made ambassadors for Christ: “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). We are gifted with God's righteousness: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21; cf. Rom 4:3-5; 5:17; Phil 3:9). We are justified before God: “Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:24, 28). We have peace with God: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). We will never be condemned: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). We are given citizenship in heaven: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20). We are transferred to the kingdom of Christ: “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13; cf. Acts 26:18; 1 Th 2:12). We are all saints in Christ Jesus: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household” (Eph 2:19; cf. Eph 1:18-19). We are made priests to God: “He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev 1:6). We are God's chosen: “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph 1:4; cf. Rom 8:29-33). We are the recipients of His faithfulness: “He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you'” (Heb 13:5; cf. Phil 1:6; 1 Th 5:24). We have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life: “We have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4; cf. Rom 6:10-13). We are members of the Church, the body of Christ: “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom 12:4-5), and “He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph 1:22-23; cf. Col 1:18). We are indwelt with the Holy Spirit: “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Cor 3:16; cf. 1 Cor 6:19). We are sealed with the Holy Spirit: “having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph 1:13b; cf. 2 Cor 5:5). We are enabled to walk with God: “I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). We are empowered to live godly: “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Pet 1:3). We have Scripture to train us in righteousness: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). We are guaranteed a new home in heaven: “In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). We are guaranteed resurrection bodies: “I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:51-53). We have special access to God's throne of grace: “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). We will be glorified in eternity: “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Col 3:4), for Christ “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself” (Phil 3:21)      In these blessings from God we observe “the riches of His grace” (Eph 1:7). These are bestowed on us at the moment we trusted Christ as our Savior, and we come to know and appreciate them the more we study God's Word and grasp His goodness toward us. Such blessings are intended to motivate us to service, to live a life in appreciation for all God has done for us. With Paul, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph 1:18-19a).     [1] Harold W. Hoehner, “Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 616. [2] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 9.

1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us. Love and Sound Doctrine (vv. 13–16) In the last verse of the preceding section, John has concluded that if we love one another, two things may be said to follow: first, that God abides in us, and second, that God's love is perfected in us. These two conclusions give the outline for the next two sections of this chapter. In the first section (vv. 13–16) God's indwelling of the Christian is discussed in greater detail; in the second (vv. 17–21) the perfection of love is analyzed. That the indwelling of the Christian by God is the theme of the first section is evident from the threefold repetition of the idea: once in verse 13 (“we live in him and he in us”), once in verse 15 (“God lives in him and he in God”), and once in verse 16 (“whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him”). It is not easy to give a simple outline to this section of the chapter, however, as it was, for instance, for verses 7–12 on the basis of the threefold repetition of the phrase “love one another.” Still, the major ideas are obvious. First, we know that we dwell in God and God in us because of the Spirit, whom he has given to us (v. 13). Then, second, we know that he has given us the Spirit because we have come to believe in Christ and love the brethren (vv. 14–16).[1] v13-16 But fourthly, we are to love one another because love is the assurance of our salvation Here's how we know we're saved.  Here's how we know we abide in Him and He in us, again emphasizing He is in us.  How do we know we're in Him and He's in us?  One, because He's given us His Spirit. You say, "I can't see the Holy Spirit.  I can't feel the Holy Spirit.  I don't know that I can say for sure I've received the Holy Spirit.  How can I say that I'm sure I'm saved because He's given us the Spirit?  John's first point is that believers know that they dwell in God and God in them because of the Holy Spirit whom God has given to them. By this John emphasizes that God is always first in spiritual things and that apart from his gracious activity by the Holy Spirit to open blind eyes to perceive the truth and move rebellious wills to turn from sin to the Savior, no one would believe in Christ or love the brethren. In the next few verses John is going to talk of belief in Christ and love of the brethren, but we must not think, as some commentators have, that these are conditions by which we are enabled to dwell in God or remain in him. To believe in Christ and to love the brethren are not conditions by which we may dwell in God but rather are evidences of the fact that God has already taken possession of our lives to make this possible.[1] V14 Here is how you know that you've been given the Spirit.  "Because you believe the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world and you confess Jesus is the Son of God."  In other words, it is your belief in the gospel that is evidence of the ministry and presence of the Holy Spirit, right?  Because you couldn't know that apart from the Spirit, is that not so?  Sinners are dead in trespasses and sin, they are blind, you have no capacity, it's not of him who wills or him who runs, it's not according to the will of man or the will of the flesh, you can't know God, God is not known by human wisdom.  He's not known by human intelligence.  "Natural man understands not the things of God, they are foolishness to him. 4:14. The apostle now reached a climactic point in his argument. He had just written that “if we love each other,” then the God whom no one has seen abides “in us and His love is made complete in us.” The result of this experience is that we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Since the first person plural in verses 7–13 is clearly meant to include the readers, the “we” of this verse includes them as well. The indwelling God, whose presence is manifested in the midst of a loving Christian community, thus becomes in a sense truly visible to the eye of faith. Though no one “has seen” (tetheatai, “beheld”) God (v. 12), believers who abide in Him (v. 13) “have seen” (tetheametha, “behold”) the Son as He is manifested among loving Christians. Christians who behold this manifestation have in fact “seen” and can “testify” to the fundamental truth that “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” This great truth can be put on display through the instrumentality of Christian love. With these words, John reached the goal he had announced in the prologue (1:1–4), namely, that his readers might share the apostles' experience. The apostles had “seen” (heōrakamen) the “life which was with the Father and … appeared to us” (1:2). In a loving Christian community, the believers can see that too. The term “Life” in 1:2, though it refers to Christ incarnate, nevertheless was carefully chosen by the writer. What his readers could witness is the renewed manifestation of that Life in their fellow Christians. But, as he had argued ever since 2:29, the “life” which Christians possess by new birth is inherently sinless and can only be manifested through righteousness and Christlike love. But when that occurs, Christ whom the apostles saw in the flesh is, in a real but spiritual sense, “seen” again (4:14).[1] The Holy Spirit's Gifts This leads directly to John's next point, for, having said that it is always God who is first in spiritual things, the question with which he next wants to deal is this: Is God thus at work spiritually in me? In answer to this question he therefore now argues that if God is at work, the evidences for it will be seen in a combination of love and sound doctrine. In other words, we may know that we have the Spirit because we have come to confess Christ and dwell in love.[1] The confession of Christ is mentioned first because it is at the point of confession that the Christian life may properly be said to begin. “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God” (vv. 14–15). Once again, as in numerous spots throughout the letter, John phrases his confession of Christ in words that would be especially challenging to those faced with the Gnostic heresies. He emphasizes that God the Father sent the eternal Son to be the Savior and that the historical Jesus is that eternal Son. This should not obscure the fact that there are additional theological riches in the verses, however. For one thing, there is the doctrine of a lost world that needs a Savior. This “world,” as was pointed out in the earlier discussion of 2:15–17, means the world of men as it is in rebellion against God. A second doctrine is the full deity of Jesus Christ. A third is the focal point of his mission, which was to be the “Savior of the world.” It was for this that God “sent” him, says John. A fourth is the matter of God's own motivation in the work of salvation, which is “the love God has for us” (v. 16).[1] He comes to the point in verse 16.  "And we have come to know and believed the love which God has for us."  This is just really the conclusion of this flow here.  How do I know I'm a Christian?  Because God gave me His Spirit.  And He only gives His Spirit to those that are His.  He only takes up residency in those that are His.  How do I know He gave me His Spirit?  Because I believe the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.  And I confess that Jesus is the Son of God.  In other words, I believe the gospel which I can't believe apart from the work of the Spirit. Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, You look at your life, is that what you see?  If it is, if you love Christ even though you're not always faithful as you should be, if you love God the Father, and you love to worship Him, and you love to honor Him, and you cherish His glory, and if you find yourself drawn to the brethren and the fellowship, sacrificially serving one another, and even compassionately, lovingly caring for those outside the gospel so that you give them the saving truth of Jesus Christ, this is evidence that God is in you, the God of love because of the work of the Holy Spirit. The second evidence of the Spirit's activity is love for God and one another, for John concludes by saying, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” In other words, the love to which Christians were exhorted in verses 7–12 is now said not only to be a most solemn duty but also to be a striking evidence of the Spirit's activity. Here certainly, in a combination of the ideas of the internal work of the Holy Spirit, belief in Christ as the Son of God and Savior, and the supreme point of Christian ethics which is a two-pronged love both for God and man, is a high point of the epistle. John is dealing with the subject of assurance (as he has been throughout) and has expressed it under several aspects. There is a subjective side, but it is without those unreliable, so-called spiritual experiences on which so many depend: tongues, miracles, feelings, and so forth. There is also an objective side, but this is not without those tender expressions of love that temper mere orthodoxy and validate it. Dodd writes of these verses: This closely knit statement therefore places the reality of the Christian experience of God beyond question, guarding against the dangers of subjectivism on the one hand, and of mere traditionalism on the other; placing equal and co-ordinate stress on love to God, which is the heart of religion, and love to man, which is the foundation of morality, without allowing religion to sink to the level of mere moralism, or morality to be dissolved in mysticism. The passage is the high-water mark of the thought of the epistle.[1] Love's Perfection (vv. 17–21) 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. If people are afraid, it is because of something in the past that haunts them, or something in the present that upsets them, or something in the future that they feel threatens them. Or it may be a combination of all three. A believer in Jesus Christ does not have to fear the past, present, or future, for he has experienced the love of God and this love is being perfected in him day by day. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). But a Christian does not fear future judgment, because Christ has suffered his judgment for him on the cross. “Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24, nasb). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1, nasb). For a Christian, judgment is not future; it is past. His sins have been judged already at the cross, and they will never be brought against him again. V17 because as He is, so are we in this world. This means that the Father deals with us as He deals with His own beloved Son. How, then, can we ever be afraid? We do not have to be afraid of the future, because our sins were judged in Christ when He died on the cross. The Father cannot judge our sins again without judging His Son, for “as He is, so are we in this world.”[1] In verses 13–16 John has developed the first of two ideas introduced for the first time in verse 12, the indwelling of the Christian by God. Now he returns to the second of those two ideas, the perfection of love, and explains what he means practically. Earlier, when he had said, “If we love each other, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us,” the reader might well have been left with the question of how such a thing could be possible. God's attributes are perfection; he is perfection. Consequently, we might wonder how God's love could be perfected in us, or anywhere else for that matter. Now John explains his meaning, showing that his emphasis was not so much upon that love that God has in himself (which obviously is already perfect) but rather upon our love both for God and one another. This has its source in God and is brought to completion by him. “Made complete” here does not mean totally without flaw in a moral or any other sense. It means “whole” or “mature,” and it refers to that state of mind and activity in which the Christian is to find himself when the love of God within him, expressing itself in the believer's own love, has accomplished that which God fully intends it to accomplish. No doubt there are many aspects of love's perfection, but from this greater number John singles out two. First, there is confidence in view of God's coming judgment (vv. 17–18). Second, there is love of the brethren (vv. 19–21).[1] Confidence This is the third time in the letter that the word “confidence” (parrēsia) occurs, and it will occur once more. In two of the four instances it refers to confidence before God in reference to prayer (3:21; 5:14). In the other two instances, one of which is this text, it refers to confidence before God in view of Christ's return and the execution of his righteous judgment against sin (2:28; 4:17). The idea of God's judgment is an unpopular one today, but it is not necessarily less popular than it was in John's time. The problem is simply that men and women do not like the idea of having to account to God for their actions. So they tend to discount the idea, hoping that the day of judgment might just go away. But judgment is the only logical idea of the three ideas usually associated with the end times. In most systems of theology the end events focus around three things: the return of Christ, the resurrection, and the judgment.[1] V17-18 Number five, we are commanded to love because love is our confidence in judgment.  I look ahead at judgment and I would...I might say to myself, "Well I don't have any fear of judgment, after all, I believe in Jesus."  Some people would say that.  You hear people say that all the time.  "Oh, I'm not worried about death, I'm a good guy and I believe in Jesus, God certainly will let me into His heaven." 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  It's not just the theology that is the issue.  Confidence in the anticipation of the day of judgment comes from perfect love being your experience.  The day of judgment simply looks at the final reckoning, the final in the broadest sense.  In chapter 2 verse 28 it says, "Now, little children, abide in Him so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming."  It just looks at the end and says you can live your life with no fear, never fearing the coming of Jesus Christ, never fearing standing before the throne of God, before the judgment.  In fact, it says here in verse 17, "You may have confidence," it actually means, boldness. Go back to chapter 3 verse 21, "If our heart does not condemn us, we have...same word...boldness before God," the kind of boldness that whatever we ask we receive from Him.  If you know you're God's, if your heart assures you by this love and obedience that characterizes your life, you can go into the presence of God with boldness and confidence and ask what you will and receive it.  That's chapter 3.  Here in chapter 4 you can look ahead at judgment without fear.  How wonderful is that?  You can live without fear.  1 John chapter 3, you remember this, verse 2?  "Beloved, now are we children of God."  He's the Son of God, and we're children of God.  "It has not appeared yet what we shall be," you can't tell right now what we are, "we know that when He appears we shall be like Him."  We can be confident in looking ahead at the judgment because when we get to that place, we're going to be made like Jesus Christ.   And so, we can live this life with that absolute confidence verse 18 explains it further.  "So there is no fear in love."  If you love like this, if you love in this perfect love, this mature, this whole love, there's no fear.  You don't fear judgment.  You don't fear the return of Christ, you long for it.  You say with John, "Even so, come Lord Jesus, come quickly."  We have no fear of judgment.  Fear connects with punishment.  And if you're afraid of that day, and you're afraid of the coming of Christ, and you're afraid of the Rapture, then you are not perfected in love because where this love is shed abroad in your heart, this love exists, there's no fear...there's no fear. Heb 2:15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.  Luke 1:74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, Ro 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. a disobedient Christian, a Christian who is sinful and fallen into some kind of pattern of sin, even though it goes against the grain of his nature, even though it's contrary to what he longs for and desires in his truest and purest self, it's a sort of Romans 7 battle and he's losing it, that Christian can lose that confidence Moreover, the day of judgment is as fixed in God's eternal timetable as any other day in world history. This is the significance of the word “day.” Technically speaking, the day of judgment is not necessarily a twenty-four-hour period. At all events, it certainly includes a series of judgments upon the earth (Revelation 6–16), the beast and the false prophet (Rev. 19:20), the gentile nations (Joel 3:14; Matt. 25:31–46), Israel (Ezek. 20:33–44), and all individuals at the judgment of the great white throne (Rev. 20:11–15). The reason it is called a “day” is that it is fixed in God's timetable and will surely come. In view of this logical and unalterable day in which the thoughts and deeds of men and women are to be judged, an individual might well fear. But John says that in the case of Christians perfect love casts out terror. This does not mean that love for God is the ground of our acceptance before him. The only possible ground is the death of Christ for us and faith in him. It means rather that by love for God any unreasonable fears are quieted and we come to rest in the fact that the one who was for us in Christ will allow nothing to destroy the eternal relationship that the death of Christ established (Rom. 8:31–39).[1] The sinner must begin by fearing the God against whom he has sinned; but, having believed in Christ who has atoned for sin, he may put away fear and grow in confidence before him 19 We love Him because He first loved us. Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.  hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

We make our lists of opposites: love and hate; trust and fear; carnivores and vegans. And sometimes we assume that the truth God knows about us is at odds with how He saves us, as if the Father must close one eye—or both—in order to embrace us. How can He keep the ones who break His law? So here it is—the good news in one line: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor 5:21). The Father sees our hate and fear, and weeps when we devour each other. He knows the awful truth. But when we trust in Jesus, He looks only at the love and goodness of the One who never sinned. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). In grace, God is both just and merciful. Jesus took our penalty: we get His reward. “We have seen His glory, the glory as of a Father's only son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). So stay in grace—and truth. -Bill Knott

We make our lists of opposites: love and hate; trust and fear; carnivores and vegans. And sometimes we assume that the truth God knows about us is at odds with how He saves us, as if the Father must close one eye—or both—in order to embrace us. How can He keep the ones who break His law? So here it is—the good news in one line: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor 5:21). The Father sees our hate and fear, and weeps when we devour each other. He knows the awful truth. But when we trust in Jesus, He looks only at the love and goodness of the One who never sinned. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). In grace, God is both just and merciful. Jesus took our penalty: we get His reward. “We have seen His glory, the glory as of a Father's only son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). So stay in grace—and truth. -Bill Knott

We make our lists of opposites: love and hate; trust and fear; carnivores and vegans. And sometimes we assume that the truth God knows about us is at odds with how He saves us, as if the Father must close one eye—or both—in order to embrace us. How can He keep the ones who break His law? So here it is—the good news in one line: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor 5:21). The Father sees our hate and fear, and weeps when we devour each other. He knows the awful truth. But when we trust in Jesus, He looks only at the love and goodness of the One who never sinned. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). In grace, God is both just and merciful. Jesus took our penalty: we get His reward. “We have seen His glory, the glory as of a Father's only son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). So stay in grace—and truth. -Bill Knott

Ministering Angels Through UBM (4) (Audio) David Eells - 8/21/22 Father Confirms the Angels Isaac Payne - 8/18/22 (Eve's notes in green | David's notes in Red) I just wanted to share a confirmation dream that I had prayed for. After listening to the first broadcast about angels and receiving the 8 day fast email, I asked Father to confirm all this to me and Father surely did! He gave me a dream that was "to the point" and exactly correlating to all the events taking place concerning the angels. After I woke up, I had to repent for any unbelief. I'm thankful for a Father who just wants us to believe and gave me such strong answers to rid me from any unbelief. I believe! In this dream I was with the local UBM body and a few from the UBM Outreach body. We were standing outside in the country and the sun was out and it was a very beautiful, bright day. There were large trees around with beautiful green foliage. Standing next to me was Eve Brast. In front of us was a white, four door car with some type of special painting on it. All over the car was what seemed like a lot of the “&" signs. (Meaning a constant addition of revelations and gifts of the Spirit through the angels.) The "&" sign was a beautiful turquoise color. (Turquoise is one of the stones in the high priests breastplate. The turquoise stone represents the tribe of Judah who had the headship in Jerusalem, the Bride.)  Eve said, "I really like this color." I responded, "So do I." After that, Eve and Missy Pollock grabbed a car cover and draped it over the car. (The cover represents a hiding of the vehicle; the angelic ministers.) However, this car cover had a key to it that could be unlocked or locked and Eve was the only one with the key. (I don't know what this means, but I remember, in the dream, this was a very wonderful and powerful ability that Eve had.) (This ability is the ability to see and converse with the angels for UBM ministry.)  Suddenly, the UBM local body, and some of the UBM Outreach, were in an antique store. (Representing the life of the early Church.) Again, standing next to me was Eve. All of the UBM local and some of the Outreach were huddled around conversing in the store. There was a counter and a cash register in front of all of us. And behind it was David Eells. It looked like a typical counter and cash register at a restaurant. (Representing those who will pay the price of denying themselves to draw close to the Lord and partake of HIs food.) I was still standing next to Eve and suddenly the Lord began to reveal to me, through supernatural knowledge, confirming my prayers. It wasn't as if I was hearing His voice audibly, but it was just this intense feeling. Father was explaining everything to me in my heart. It was all encompassing knowledge as Father's words entered my heart.  Father said, "Eve witnesses all such things because she is first born of the new creation.” (Meaning, Jerusalem, the Bride, of the last Adam, Jesus, is first in the kingdom including her head which is the Man-child David. This is the first fruits of the Body of Christ.) (Col. 1:15-16 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (After reading verse 15, I read on to verse 16 and it fits so perfectly with all this that it is truly remarkable.) 16 For in him were all things created: things in heaven and on earth, visible or invisible, whether throned or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.) I looked up this verse because He showed me she was firstborn of all creation. (Meaning, the new creation of Christ manifested in His Body.)   Still standing there, the Lord spoke to my heart again saying, "This is why I have named her Eve." (Biblically Eve was the first mother.) And I knew in the dream it represented this verse. Mar 3:34-35 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother.  I believe this means she is birthing Christ in her. John 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her time has come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world.) (Eve said, "When Father said in your dream, "This is why I have named her Eve.”  This is true because both of my parents had agreed to name me, “Nina”. Back when I was born the nurses came out to my Dad, who was in the waiting room, and asked him, “What are you going to name her?” (For the birth certificate)  He was about to tell them, “Nina”, but (he told me that) he heard an audible voice say, “You will name her Eve.” (He told me this is how I got my name; That God had named me and not them.) This was before my dad was saved, but he knew it was the voice of God that had spoken to him and he feared to tell them anything else so he told the nurses that my name was “Eve”. My mother was shocked when she found out that my dad had changed my name and that's what they had put on the birth certificate. He told her that God had spoken to him and that he had to obey. But she was happy because she thought it was a nice name too. :o) Back to Isaac: Still standing next to Eve, I looked around and saw arguing going on amongst some people. I did not recognize them. One was a man who was short, pudgy, and bald. I looked on past the bickering and saw Missy Pollock who was very happy and she said, "I want dreams and visions". I then said, "I too want dreams and visions." I looked at David as he was standing behind the counter and cash register and he said, "I too want visions." Then I woke up. I knew that we weren't talking about just dreams and visions, but visions into the spiritual world to see the angels as Eve does. Mat 13:31-32 Another parable set he before them, The kingdom of Heaven is like unto to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed into his field: 32.) which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is full grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heavens come in lodge in the branches thereof.  The Lord showed me that the birds that lodge in the full grown tree are the angels. Earlier in Matt 13 Jesus speaks about the parable of the sower and the birds devoured the seed which Jesus later explains are demonic angels. I believe the heavenly angels are ready for our maturity to dispatch them through the spoken word coupled with faith.)    Angels visit Shepherds and Man-child Comes David Eells Luk 2:8-21 And there were shepherds (this is the Greek word “poimen” which also is pastor.) in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. 9 And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. (Notice, that the angels visited the pastors and gave them instructions when the Man-child came.)  10 And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: 11 for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  12 And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased. (The angels have visited us and given us instructions and telling us that the Man-child's coming is close.) 15 And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  16 And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child. 18 And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them. (And we were instructed to worship and praise God in a fast with all of our hearts and on the 8th day we would assemble and He would visit us in worship with spiritual anointings, giftings, healings, and deliverances.) 21 And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising him, his name was called JESUS, which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And the angels also visited Jesus, the Man-child, after his fast and temptation in His personal wilderness and ministered unto him. Mar 1:13  And he was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.   Confirmation of Jeruel's Word About the Fast and assemble on the 8th Day. Pat McKnight - 8/17/22 (David's notes in red) Just dropping you a note of the Lord confirming with me the message that the angel Jeruel gave us.  Upon receiving the email from you Sunday night 14th with Jeruel's message from the Lord and I immediately responded that I was in and started my fast. The message aligned up with the message David gave last Wednesday 10th on "Ministering Angels through UBM" where he described Jeruel as being the angel with the anointing jar.  The next morning I was in my prayer and study time I asked the Lord for a verse by faith at random for today and my finger landed on 2 Ch 7:6 (6-10 for context)  2      Ch 7:6  And the priests stood, according to their offices; the Levites also with instruments of music of Jehovah (Which we were also commanded to do.), which David the king had made to give thanks unto Jehovah, (for his lovingkindness endureth for ever,) when David praised by their ministry: and the priests sounded trumpets before them; and all Israel stood.  7  Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offerings (and we also were commanded to fast by offering up all flesh and attending to the Lord in worship.), and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat. 8  So Solomon held the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt. 9  And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly: (Like us) for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. 10  And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away unto their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that Jehovah had showed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people. This was great confirmation to me that the Lord is pouring out His spirit to meet the crisis of the present and coming environment and I want to be ready to receive it.  I believe that the writing is about to be written on the wall of the Babylonian Spirit Empire and great fear will follow when people wake up in the face of great destructions. This is where 2 Ch 7:11-16 comes into play where God's response is to sweep as many souls into His kingdom as a result of peoples hearts being turned, through the fear of God to the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you Father for your grace unto us to participate in your marvelous plan of redemption and salvation for your people.  God Bless and even so come Lord Jesus!    Behold your King Dirk Oelofsen - 8/15/22 (David's notes in red) Thank you for passing on this message for the 8 day fast.A month ago, the morning of 7/16/22 I was busy with quiet time before leaving for work. I was reading in John 19 and as I got to verse 14 which reads “Now it was the Preparation of the passover: it was about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, Behold, your King!”  I paused there for a moment pondering the verse and as I looked up I noticed the clock was exactly on 06:00 am.I felt that the Lord is showing me now is the time of anointing, our King manifesting in His first fruits. I asked Father for the meaning of this and I received two verses; Isaiah 23:12 with my finger on “...arise, pass over to Kittim…” and 1 Chronicles 16:11 “Seek ye the LORD and his strength; seek his face evermore.” The following morning I began reading in Acts 1 and 2 and as I was reading of the disciple's anointing at Pentecost, I went to Father in prayer asking Him for His anointing, to pour out His Spirit on His people.  My eye then caught a small card sticking out of another part of my Bible. As I opened there it happen to be two cards each with two verses on them. The verses are as follow: Isaiah 65:24 “And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”1 John 5:14-15  And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: 15  and if we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him.Matthew 6:33  But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.Proverbs 11:25  The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.I then looked in the Bible where the cards were placed and it was at 2 Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1 Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? (16) And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  (17) Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, (18) And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 7:1  Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. I just wanted to share this with you as for me it fits in with the call for the sacrificial fast and the anointing that will follow. I praise and thank Father for this wondrous time. The cleansing, victory and anointing we are to have in Jesus  :)   Father Said, “Continue in Sacrificial Living Unto Him." Debbie Fenske - 8/17/22 (David's notes in red)  I prayed, and feel the Lord okayed me to share this.  I was meditating on Rom. 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And during the night, The Lord led me in praying that we would have a “changed” sacrificial aroma unto Him even after these 8 days, as we continue daily in sacrificial living unto Him. And He said, “Be sure not to go back into old habits, but love Me and one another.” (Jeruel said that the new method of worship should also continue on after the 8 days.) After that, two times throughout the night, as I would finally start to drift off to sleep, I was awakened hearing a word spoken, very clearly.  The first time, I heard “Coronation”, and the 2nd time I heard, “Revival”. This morning the Lord said, “Be sure to not go back to your old habits, but loving, and serving Me and one another.” (So after the 8th day stay in close relationship to the Lord and the crucified life and then the crowning comes and the revival. Woo Hoo !! Eve said she had heard this very same message spoken to her the same morning of 8/17/22.)   The Bride has the Fear of the Lord and an Understanding Heart Marie Kelton - 8/12/22 (David's notes in red) (Marie is being used to represent the Bride in this revelation.) During the meeting, I had an open vision of the Lord and he put a gold necklace around my neck with a key on it. (Representing the Key of David which the Lord gave to the Bride Church of Philadelphia. Rev 3:7, And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth. (In the revelation below Anna Rountree explains this golden necklace. "A golden necklace (represents) the fear of the Lord. (12. In the Bible a golden necklace is an emblem of authority for a person who is under greater authority (Gen. 41:42; Eze. 16:11). An example is King “Belshazzar [who] gave orders and they…put a necklace of gold around his [Daniel's] neck giving him “authority as the third ruler in the kingdom” (Dan. 5:29). The neck represents the human will, either in yieldedness to authority or in being obstinate and stiff-necked (Pro. 1:8-9; Matt. 8:8-9; Acts 7:51).  The Father gave His son authority over all things (Matt. 28:18; John 3:35). However, the Lord Jesus humbled Himself always to the authority of the Father's will (John 5:30). Because of His love and respect for the Father, Jesus feared to ever act independently of Him, but found delight in obeying Him (Psa. 40:8; Isa. 11:3; John 5:19-20). Christians will find rest only in having the same yoke about their necks (Matt. 11:28-30).) Marie: He then put another gold necklace on me with a heart on it. (Anna was presented these two gifts and she explains this golden heart necklace. "The gifts these angels presented included a golden heart that hung on a chain over my own heart―understanding; (8. The human definition of understanding is insight or comprehension with the mind of the meaning or the significance of something. The golden heart hung on a chain over a disciple's heart represents the spiritual heart of Christ being reproduced in that person (Song of Sol. 8:6). King Solomon asked God for an understanding heart to administer justice in the natural realm (1 Kings 3:9, 11).  The Christian is given a spiritually-minded heart to understand things of God in the supernatural sphere (Eze. 11:19; 1 Cor. 2:14; Isa. 6:10). The renewed human spirit is to know intuitively in the conscience when some thought, word, or act is from God or not, but the heart is to understand its meaning. What the mind or the spirit cannot understand, the heart does because it is the seat of faith by which we understand spiritual things not seen" (Heb. 11:3; Rom. 10:9-10). The Priestly Bride - Published in 2001 by Anna Rountree  https://annarountree.com/?page_id=184 (We obtained this excerpt freely from the internet and believe we are not in any copyright violations. We give full credit and sources here.) Often men identify with the priesthood of Christ and women with the bride of Christ. But in reality, neither the priest nor the bride has anything to do with our own gender. Our heavenly Father is looking only for His Son in us. He is looking to see if we exhibit the holiness and righteousness that was to be displayed in the lives of His biblical priests.  He is looking to see if we exhibit that single- eyed devotion so apparent in a loving bride―the one who wishes nothing more than to live in perfect union with her husband―even as Christ lives in perfect union with His Father. Since only perfect union will satisfy our Father, He created us so that only perfect union will satisfy His children.   The Visitation The edges of the air were on fire. I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the searing light. The very molecules of the air within our apartment were burning white-hot from a central point. Swiftly the Holy Spirit spoke: “Rise, Anna.” At the time I was down on my knees in prayer asking for more of God. Now, however, I had stopped praying, for I was struck by the wonder materializing before my eyes. The air sizzled and curled. From the center of this phenomenon, the fiery glory of the Lord began to burn through the wall of our apartment. The Holy Spirit had to set me on my feet for I could not stand. Seeing the Lord's glory while on Earth and in one's body is very different from seeing Him above while in the spirit. His glory is almost more than the physical body can bear.  (1. The Lord Jesus visited the apostle John in a vision while he remained on the earth at the Island of Patmos (Rev. 1:9). He was so overcome that he “fell at His [Christ's] feet as a dead man” (v. 17; cf. Acts 9:3-5). But later John was taken up into heaven in spirit where he was able to look upon the Lord Jesus as well as the Father on His throne without being physically overcome (Rev. 4-5).   Angels of His Presence As I rose to my feet, stately angels of His Presence stepped through the center of the blazing light to enter the room. (2. The apostle John saw “seven [of the] angels who stand before God” to do His bidding (Rev. 8:2). We know that among the angels of His presence is Gabriel, who told Zacharias that he “stands in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19). These angels are chosen for this special responsibility (1 Tim. 5:21).  They came in pairs but separated as they touched the room's atmosphere. Four angels stood before me in a semicircle to my left, four angels in a semicircle to my right. They wore pale lavender robes embroidered with deep purple and gold on the sleeves and hem. Golden girdles bound these garments across their chests. (3. The colors of their robes signify that these angels stand in the presence of Christ the King (John 19:2-3). The golden girdles across their chests indicate their priestly service to God (Rev. 15:6). Each angel carried something in his hands in the manner of an emissary. Then four additional angels, similarly dressed, entered the room through the burning air. Each of these held one pole of a canopy, the sort one might see in a Jewish wedding. As they moved forward, the word LOVE could be seen at times in the canopy's fabric. (4. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me,” Jesus said (John 6:37). The Father “gives” or betroths His children to His Son here on Earth at the time when each one is born again of the Spirit and enters the kingdom (John 3:3, 5-6). For the Christian, the chuppah is “in the bosom of the Father” Himself. The Lord calls this “My Father's house” where His own on Earth are to abide in spirit even now (John 1:18; 14:2-3; 17:24; Col. 3:3). The presence of the canopy symbolizes the fact that Jesus is coming from His Father's house in this instance. The chuppah itself represents the Father as signified by the word love.)   King Jesus The Holy Spirit stirred and swelled into a whirlwind in response to the One who now stepped beneath the canopy. King Jesus, brighter than the sun, entered the room.  Through the shock of unbelievable light, I could see faintly that He was wearing a rich purple cloak that opened in the front and hung in folds to the ground. It had long sleeves and was edged with a wide, gold brocaded border. Beneath this garment was a white robe that also reached to His feet. The robe was grappled across His chest with a golden girdle. On His head was a golden crown that was similar in some respects to the crowns used to cap Torah scrolls.  (5. Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High eternally (Gen 14:18; Heb. 7:1-3). The purple robe attests to Christ's royalty (John 19:2-3). The white robe with the golden girdle across His chest signifies His priesthood. Jesus appeared to the apostle John in the same white robe with the golden girdle. (Rev. 1:13). The crown He wears covers the top of His head in filigree work of gold. It is similar to the ornamental crowns placed on top of the Torah scrolls, the written Word of God in synagogues. The Lord Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1). He was terrible in majesty, awesome in holiness, splendid in beauty.  The Holy Spirit swirled around me to strengthen me, for the intense light and power emanating from the Lord made it difficult for me to stand.   The Gifts Then, as if by some silent command from Jesus, the nearest angel in the semicircle stepped toward me. In his hands he held a golden crown, which he carefully placed upon my head. “Wisdom,” he said, smiling slightly. (6. The dictionary gives the meaning of human wisdom as knowledge of what is true or right, coupled with just judgement in applying it to obtain the desired results. But “the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God,” for natural wisdom is hopelessly flawed by sin (1 Cor. 3:19; 1:20).  The wisdom of God the Father from the beginning has been encapsulated in the person of His son (1 Cor. 1:24; John 1:2). Those who receive Christ Jesus are put into Him by God, so that the Son becomes for them all things including divine wisdom (John 1:12; 1Cor. 1:30; Rom. 8:32). Then crossing his arms over his chest, he nodded respectfully and stepped back into the semicircle.) The angel opposite him in the semicircle stepped forward with the gift he was carrying. He placed golden earrings on my ears. “Knowledge,” he said. (7. The dictionary defines human knowledge as acquaintance with information learned from study or from experience. Golden earrings signify the divine knowledge from the Father that Jesus receives for the Christian. Christ said that “He [God] awakens My ear to listen as a disciple…and I was not disobedient” (Isa. 50:4-5).  The Holy Spirit reveals to the disciple the knowledge the Lord Jesus has received for that person (1 Cor. 2:10-11). One category of such knowledge is the spiritual gift called the word of knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8). It is a direct disclosure of knowledge that was not seen, heard, or thought by the Christian (1 Cor. 2:9). Another area of supernatural knowledge is the disciple's conscience where the Spirit reveals what is in accord or not in accord with the life of Christ in that person (Rom. 9:1). Then he too folded his arms over his chest and moved back to join the other angels.) One by one each of the remaining angels of His presence brought the gift that he held in his hands. After the physical gift was placed upon me, the angel named the spiritual gift it symbolized. The gifts these angels presented included a golden heart that hung on a chain over my own heart―understanding; (8. The human definition of understanding is insight or comprehension with the mind of the meaning or the significance of something.  The golden heart hung on a chain over a disciple's heart represents the spiritual heart of Christ being reproduced in that person (Song of Sol. 8:6). King Solomon asked God for an understanding heart to administer justice in the natural realm (1 Kings 3:9, 11). The Christian is given a spiritually-minded heart to understand things of God in the supernatural sphere (Eze. 11:19; 1 Co. 2:14; Isa. 6:10). The renewed human spirit is to know intuitively in the conscience when some thought, word, or act is from God or not, but the heart is to understand its meaning. What the mind or the spirit cannot understand, the heart does because it is the seat of faith by which we understand spiritual things not seen (Heb. 11:3; Rom. 10:9-10).) Golden bracelets on each wrist―discretion; (9. One of the meanings of human discretion is the capacity to act judiciously, being circumspect in exercising sensitivity regarding the effect of one's conduct. The main Hebrew word for bracelets is derived from a root word meaning “to bind or join”. Bracelets on the wrists of the Christian signify being bound or attached to The Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 6:15, 17).  In New Testament times, prisoners were bound to their guard by a chain around their wrists (Acts 12:6-7). Paul considered consecrated disciples to be willing prisoners of Christ Jesus (Rom 16:7). As such we are to be restrained by the Spirit in not being able to do or say what we please, but are to act as the Spirit leads (Gal. 5:17-18).) A golden nose ornament―discernment; (10. The dictionary defines discernment as the faculty to make distinctions accurately between things. The nose ornament is a symbol of spiritual discernment because the nose instantly recognizes the presence of an odor. It distinguishes between pleasant and offensive smells without reference to the mind or to sight (Eze. 16:12; 1 Sam. 3:9). Discernment is meant by the common expression, “Sniffing out a matter”.  The first thing to determine in spiritual discernment is whether the matter at hand is of God or not. If it is not of God, the next distinction is whether it is of the flesh (coming from the natural person) or of Satan (demonic). This spiritual gift can be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit called the distinguishing of spirits. It enables believers to identify the kind of spirit that is operating in a particular situation, group or person (1 Cor. 12:7, 10).) Golden rings on each finger―the ability to communicate; (11. In ancient Jewish betrothals, for the right to marry the girl, the groom's family gave gifts – called the bridal price (Gen. 24:53; 29:18, 26-27; 34:11-12). The giving of money or some other gift of value constituted the engagement to be married. In more recent Jewish betrothal ceremonies, the groom gives the bride a ring and says “Behold! You are consecrated to me with this ring according to the Law of Moses and Israel.”  When one is betrothed to the Lord Jesus, a spiritual ring on the finger is a constant reminder that one is consecrated (set apart) unto Him. It also represents His pledge of faithfulness to endow the person with spiritual gifts and grace needful to carry out the Father's calling upon that person.) A golden necklace―the fear of the Lord. (12. In the Bible a golden necklace is an emblem of authority for a person who is under greater authority (Gen. 41:42; Eze. 16:11). An example is King “Belshazzar [who] gave orders and they…put a necklace of gold around his [Daniel's] neck giving him “authority as the third ruler in the kingdom” (Dan. 5:29). The neck represents the human will, either in yieldedness to authority or in being obstinate and stiff-necked (Pro. 1:8-9; Matt. 8:8-9; Acts 7:51).  The Father gave His son authority over all things (Matt. 28:18; John 3:35). However, the Lord Jesus humbled Himself always to the authority of the Father's will (John 5:30). Because of His love and respect for the Father, Jesus feared to ever act independently of Him, but found delight in obeying Him (Psa. 40:8; Isa. 11:3; John 5:19-20). Christians will find rest only in having the same yoke about their necks (Matt. 11:28-30).) The eighth angel stepped forward and blew a mist of gold over me. It covered me like a veil from my head to my feet. “Favor,” he said as he smiled. (13. The betrothed, Rebekah, asked the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “He [Isaac] is my master. Then she took her veil and uncovered herself” (Gen. 24:65). It was a custom in early times in the East for a future bride to be, set apart until she was married. A disciple of Christ accepts the spiritual veiling of one's whole being in consecration to Him (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The word for favor is usually translated as “grace” in the Bible. The veil of divine favor (grace) surrounds those who embrace their consecration to Jesus. Each can say (with David) “You surround [me] with favor as with a shield” (Psa. 5:12).) He too nodded and stepped back into the semicircle.   The Response I was stunned. I had never received such an immediate and extravagant answer to prayer. I looked down at the gifts that I was able to see. They were princely―gifts of my Father from my Father. (14. Through his servant, Abraham gave gifts to Rebekah, the betrothed of his son Isaac (Gen. 24-53). Our Father God gives gifts of His splendor through His Son to those who welcome their betrothal to Christ Jesus (James 1:17). These presents cause the bride to be “exceedingly beautiful” in God's eyes. He said that the “Beauty [is] perfect because of My splendor which I bestow on you” (Eze. 16:13-14). But why the canopy? “Lord,” I said, “let all of these gifts be within for Your pleasure.” (15. The author of the Book of Hebrews says that Psalm 45 is about God's son (Heb. 1:8-9). It is a wedding song of the marriage of Christ the King and His bride. In Psalm 45:13 the bride is described as “all glorious within”. This refers to the “hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God” (1 Pet. 3:4).) He smiled at me. “Because you have asked that these be for My pleasure, they will be [for My pleasure] and will also be experienced by others. (16. King Solomon asked God to “give Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people to discern between good and evil.” God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked [things] for yourself…I have done according to your words… [and] I have also given you what you have not asked” (1 Kings 3:9, 11-13).) These gifts will unlock My heart to you and to My body. All mysteries are bound up, locked away in Me, Anna. But the mystery of My love is the greatest revelation of all.” (17. The supreme mystery of God is Christ who incorporates all other divine mysteries within Him (Col. 2:2-3). The mystery of the ever-expanding love that is manifested in Christ is the greatest mystery of God. It can never be fully known (Eph. 3:17-19; Luke 10:22).) Moving toward me, He said, “My chosen one, My love, a fruitful bough, an orchard of fruitfulness.” “Lord,” I replied, “I am barren.” (I had never borne physical children.) He smiled again as He answered, “You will bear and be more fruitful than if you had borne physical children. I have withheld your bearing. But now I place My hands upon you that you might bring forth good fruit―many children, all heirs, kings and priests to their Father.” (18. “Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; For more numerous are the children of the desolate, than of the one who has a husband” (Gal. 4:27; cf. Isa. 54:1).) He placed His hands upon me. Fire and power surged through me. He continued to speak, “No longer will you bear shame because of unfruitfulness.”   Ratification of Betrothal “Cleave to Me,” He said. “I am your Husband. (19. Adam was “a type of Him [Christ] who was to come” (Rom. 5:14; cf. Gen. 2:24). Husbands and wives on earth are to become “one flesh,” meaning that the two think and act as one. In full union with Christ, the betrothed one becomes one heart, one soul and one spirit with Him (Eze. 11:19; Acts 4:32; 1 Cor. 6:17). The Bible calls Joseph the “husband” of Mary. After their betrothal they were considered married but without the physical consummation (Matt. 1:19). This is also true with the betrothal to the Lord Jesus. (2 Cor. 11:2).) Let My covering be on your head.” (20. In two instances of betrothal in Scripture, the groom places his garment over the intended bride. (a) God spread His skirt over His people of Jerusalem that His love might cover their nakedness (the exposure of their sinful nature) (Eze. 16:8; 1 Pet. 4:8). (b) The widow Ruth asked her relative Boaz to spread his covering over her as a sign of his willingness to be her protector as redeemer (Ruth 3:9, 12-13; Deu. 25:5-7). Jesus as our head covering in betrothal means that we walk under His favor, protection and authority. This is so that our “minds should [not] be lead astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). His eyes burned into me as He continued, “I am the Lord your God, and none is like Me. I am the beginning and the end. I am your health, your protection and your fruitfulness. Thousands upon thousands of heirs will you bear, those who will walk right into My kingdom, those who will be at home in My chambers. “Anna,” He said in a more intimate tone, “you are more beautiful now than earlier. My heart is turned toward you. My desire is for you. You have captured My heart. Lock this away in your heart, for My promises are true and sure.” (21. The passionate heart of Christ for His betrothed ones is represented by the ardor of the shepherd for the maiden in Song of Solomon 4:9. “You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride. You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes.”) I could hardly breathe. “Lord,” I whispered, “let it be soon.” “It is already accomplished,” He said. “Bear fruit for the kingdom. Shun pride. (22. “…the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world [system ruled by Satan]” (1 John 2:16). Pride is claiming for oneself glory that belongs to God (John 5:44). All glory belongs to God. He has said, “I will not give My glory to another” (Isa. 42:8). The Son of God “is the radiance of His [Father's] glory,” but He did not claim that glory as His own (Heb. 1:3). It remains the Father's alone. The light of God's glory shines within the hearts of disciples, but it is not their possession (2 Cor. 4:6). They are “reflecting” it, as in 2 Corinthians 3:18, where “reflecting” is the better meaning of the Greek word usually translated “beholding”.) Point not the finger.” (23. Isaiah spoke of abstaining from the pointing of the finger,” which means passing judgement on other people (Isa. 58:9).)   The Departure He bowed at the waist as a sign of His departure and stepped back under the canopy. Once under the canopy, He turned and walked through the burning opening in the wall of the apartment. The four angels holding the poles of the canopy also bowed and walked out with Him, holding the canopy over His head as He disappeared. The angels of His presence also signified their departure, and two by two they followed the Lord. Then the Holy Spirit swirled before me again, this time gathering up all of the remaining fire and light. He too passed through the apartment wall. Instantly, the gifts became internal and no longer adorned me externally. The wall closed. Silence. (I encourage everyone listening to click the free download link here and read and acquaint yourselves with the heavenly wisdom and revelations of who the Bride is and what qualities she possesses.)   Angel Messages From the 8th Day Anointing Eve Brast (David's notes in red) Last night when David asked if the angels had anything to say in our meeting, I was able to hear a few sentences and much more was inferred in my mind. This morning as I meditated on each one's message they each added more to complete them for us. I will incorporate it all for us below:  Jeruel spoke first, since he had the privilege of bringing us the message about the fast and the honor of pouring out the anointing  gifts, healings and deliverances upon us last night. He said, “Your Father is very pleased with your sacrifice of praise tonight. Many anointings have been poured out on the hungry saints of UBM who were faithful to humble and empty themselves and believe our message spoken unto you. This must become your new Way (of meeting and being.)  (Eve said, "While I was typing this message, I was given a vision of something else that Jeruel did once the anointings were finished being poured out upon us at our 8th day meeting. In the vision the scene was at dusk. I saw him grow very large, as tall as David's Son-shine Mountain. He no longer had the anointing jug. His sword was now drawn and he wore his black, velvet belt. I saw him elevated, 50 feet above the ground, in a large valley between two mountain ranges. He was violently swinging his golden sword back and forth with both hands and his face looked fierce. I saw many small, dark figures of people running and scattering for their lives, but they all fell because there was no hope of outrunning his sword.)  (This is confirmation that the factions have fallen. I asked Shemuel, who coordinates with the angels over the foreign missionaries, specifically, “Has their faction been conquered as well as ours?” Shemuel said, “The others who have charge of the missionaries overseas have put down their factions also. But they too will need to know and understand the conditions of continued protection and success.”) Back to Jeruel: From this night and onward, all the saints of UBM both near and far who hunger to be united with you (UBM local) in the worship and praise of our Great God shall be invited every Friday meeting to participate with you in one accord, to the reviving and restoration of their souls in greater Body ministry. This is the desire and the command of your Father and our sovereign General, Jesus, your Master and Savior." Baruch was then asked if he had anything to say and he said, “Your enemy has been defeated THIS NIGHT and has been placed under your feet. The power of your praise and worship to our God and your Savior Jesus has gone down to the very foundations of hell and has shaken it to its core. And they have risen to the throne room of our Great God and were incorporated with the praises of your brethren, the saints of Heaven, around His throne. Do not go back to the old ways. Be very vigilant not to fall backwards and lose the ground you've taken back from the enemy tonight or he will penetrate your ranks once more. Continue to walk in the Way and the re-dedication of yourselves in faithfulness to Jesus, your Master and Savior. You have put the enemy to flight this night. Do NOT cease from pursuing him and overtaking him. Do not give him time to re-group by relenting in the fight.  Our Great General and your Savior, Jesus, is ordering His soldier Bride to report for duty. The training for the greatest revival ever witnessed by man-kind is now beginning. Don't fail to show up." (Eve said, i.e. don't go “AWOL” (absent without leave). We've been chosen or “drafted” to report for basic training at Ft. Revival. The Lord will be our strength and faithful to get us all in shape with His “Drill Sergeant angels”.  I understood that they are all using military terms and imagery in order to stress the revelation of a soldier Bride to us, so that we can begin viewing ourselves in this way because the battle comes before the wedding. So we need to view the Bride as a warrior at the Man-child's side, fighting with the angels and not so much as the dainty, demure, passive figure in her wedding garments.) Then David invited Shemuel to say something and he said, “I have really enjoyed praising, worshipping, and lifting up our God and His Son, our Great General and King of all Kings with you all tonight. Many of the angels have joined in celebrating this event with you. I concur with Baruch's report to you all. Do not fall back. You all have orders to press forward.  Also, remember to never leave your fellow soldiers (brethren) behind, struggling to keep up or wounded on the battlefield. This is a disgrace and a blot among earthly soldiers. It would never happen within our own ranks in the heavenly realms. We all follow the Code of Honor (the Word of God) in battle, laid down by our Great General and yours, Jesus, the Word of our God made flesh.  Every one of you, from now on, will be on the “buddy system”. Choose a buddy or form a squad (a squad is a small group of 4 soldiers within a platoon of 30-35.) and make contingency plans for mutual help and support to strengthen your ranks. A platoon of soldiers is only as strong as its weakest member. Give of your time and gifts sacrificially in order to uphold one another in daily training and on the battlefield. Do not let any fall through the cracks. When the Holy Spirit of God places someone on your heart, get in touch with them as soon as possible. Don't hesitate to communicate with one another because, the enemy lurks and hides where the communications have broken down.  Don't forget to deploy me abroad to continue fighting the enemies of UBM and all God's elect “both foreign and domestic.” This is my charge concerning UBM and all that pertains to her. I am also assigned to coordinate the with the angels in charge of the UBM missionaries overseas and have been given permission to introduce their names and their functions for the benefit of your greater understanding and their edification and understanding.  David: We are no longer worried about the factions, but due to the fact that some of our missionaries are in countries that are strongly antichrist, we will hide their identity and nation in the following instructions from the angels. The angels who are over our missionaries in the Middle East are, Hananiah and Thaddeus. (Hananiah means, “Grace, Mercy, Gift of the Lord.” And Thaddeus means “God's gift”) Both of these are guardians as well as angels in charge of administering the gifts and provisions for the leadership and the saints in the Middle East.)  The Angels over our missionaries in Africa are Uriah, Mengari, and Abijah, who is especially in charge over the orphanage and the children. He is in charge of ministering to their individual needs and protecting them. (Abijah means, "My Father is YAH (or God)”. Uriah is over the main UBM ministry there as a guardian angel of preservation and oversees the safe distribution and provision for the materials. (His name means, "The Lord is my light or fire.”) Mengari is an angel who administers the teaching anointing over the Pastor/teacher and those who are being raised up by him to be teachers also.”   Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Assamese Aymara Azerbaijani Bambara Basque Belarusian Bengali Bhojpuri Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Cebuano Chichewa Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Corsican Croatian Czech Danish Dhivehi Dogri Dutch Esperanto Estonian Ewe Filipino Finnish French Frisian Galician Georgian German Greek Guarani Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hmong Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Ilocano Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Kinyarwanda Konkani Korean Krio Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kurdish (Sorani) Kyrgyz Lao Latin Latvian Lingala Lithuanian Luganda Luxembourgish Macedonian Maithili Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Meiteilon (Manipuri) Mizo Mongolian Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Odia (Oriya) Oromo Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Quechua Romanian Russian Samoan Sanskrit Scots Gaelic Sepedi Serbian Sesotho Shona Sindhi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Spanish Sundanese Swahili Swedish Tajik Tamil Tatar Telugu Thai Tigrinya Tsonga Turkish Turkmen Twi Ukrainian Urdu Uyghur Uzbek Vietnamese Welsh Xhosa Yiddish Yoruba Zulu Powered by Translate Printer-friendly version

Introit: Ps. 28:1-2, 7; antiphon: Ps. 28:8-9 Gradual: Ps. 90:13, 1, 2b Old Testament: Ex. 20:1-17 Psalm 19 (antiphon: v. 8) Epistle: Rom. 6:(1-2) 3-11 ProperVerse: Ps. 31:1 Gospel: Matt. 5:(17-19) 20-26 Our Only Hope Is in Christ's Righteousness  "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:20). God demands nothing less than perfection and holiness from you in regard to His commandments (Ex. 20:1-17). Your only hope, then, is not in your own goodness but in the goodness of Christ, who did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them for you. In Christ, your righteousness does indeed exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. For you have been baptized into Christ's death and your sinful nature crucified. Therefore, he who has died has been freed from sin (Rom. 6:1-11). You are now raised with Christ to walk in newness of life and to share in His resurrection on the Last Day. Christ has brought you through the baptismal sea "out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Ex. 20:2). Therefore, "consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11).

Taming your tongue will improve your relationships and your life #5. Watch lest your negativity begins to destroy your positivity.(Your tongue is a powerful tool) #  The positive tongue. We need to train our tongues – forming good habits so that what comes out of our mouths will be: Positive Up-lifting Up-building Encouraging Exhorting Inspiring A blessing Just “Ooze-positive” Will it be like this 24/7? I'm sure you won't but we need to train our tongues to be positive at least 80% of the time. Proverbs 22:11 (Amp) - He who loves purity and the pure in heart and who is gracious in speech - because of the grace of his lips will he have the King for his friend. We really need to tame our tongues in the area of our confession. Matthew 12:34b (NIV) - … for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The word of God conceived in the human spirit, formed by the tongue and spoken out of the mouth will become a creative power that will work for you. Our tongues should always rise to the level of the Word of God. As Christians we should be known as people who speak positively – speaking the Word of God into situations. Story of the man that joined the monastery: They were allowed to speak only 2 words every 7 years. After the 1st 7 years, he met with Father Superior who asked him what his 2 words were. “Food's bad”, said the man. After another 7 years, he was asked what are your 2 words? “Bed's hard”. Another 7 years pass (21 years in the monastery) he was asked for his 2 words. “I quit!” Well, I'm not surprised”, said the disgusted Father Superior.  “All you've done since you got here is complain!” The power of our words: A careless word may ignite strife. A cruel word may wreck a life. A bitter word may he instil. A brutal word may smile & kill. BUT A gracious word may smooth the way. A joyous word may light the day. A timely word may lessen stress. A loving word may heal and bless. Contrary to what we've heard: “Talk is not cheap” Talk is very expensive. Our words are powerful. What we say affects what we get from others and what others get from us. A list of POSITIVE ways to train your tongue each day - if you make these a habit in your life, you & others will see an awesome life change! Pray Share your faith Express gratitude Tell the truth Admit a mistake Confess your faults or weaknesses Comfort someone who is hurting Give a sincere compliment Pledge your support and carry it through Defend someone against negative criticism Discourage gossip Express appreciation Express hope or enthusiasm Encourage someone to persevere Express concern for another Speak of God's goodness A positive tongue is a sure sign of true spiritual growth and maturity. James 3:2 (Amp) – For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things. And if anyone does not offend in speech [never says the wrong things], he is a fully developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature. Our ultimate aim is:  1 Peter 2:21-22 (Amp) – 21For even to this were you called [it is inseparable from your vocation]. For Christ also suffered for you, leaving you [His personal] example, so that you should follow in His footsteps.   22He was guilty of no sin, neither was deceit (guile) ever found on His lips. *Guile – Dishonest / Underhanded / Devious Make a godly decision for your life to speak positively. Only you can do it. Maybe you have held onto your weakness and failures because of having an untamed, negative tongue. God's message to you today: Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Ephesians 3:20 (Amp) – Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] God wants you to trust Him. His strength is just waiting for your positive confession. You are what you say and the confession you make. Revelation 12:11 (NIV) – They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. “If we understood the power of our thoughts, we would guard them more closely. If we understood the awesome power of our words, we would prefer silence to almost anything negative. In our thoughts and words, we create our own weaknesses and our own strengths. Our limitations and joys begin in our hearts. We can always replace negative with positive.”   – Betty Eadie My Never again list: Never again will I confess  “I can't,” for I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil.4: 13) Never again will I confess lack, for my God shall supply all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.(Phil.4:19) Never again will I confess fear, for God hath not given me the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of  a sound mind. (2 Tim. 1:7) Never again will I confess doubt and lack of faith, for God hath given to every man the measure of faith. (Rom 12:3) Never again will I confess weakness, for the Lord is the strength of my life (Ps 27:1) and the people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. (Dan 11:32) Never again will I confess supremacy of Satan over my life, for greater is He that is within me than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4) Never again will I confess defeat, for thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ. (2 Cor 2:14) Never again will I confess lack of wisdom for Christ Jesus has made unto me wisdom from God. (1 Cor 1:30) Never again will I confess sickness, for with His stripes I am healed (Isa 53:5) and Jesus Himself took my infirmities and bore my sicknesses. (Math 8:17) Never again will I confess worries and frustration, for I am casting all my cares upon Him who cares for me (1 Peter 5:7).  In Christ I am “carefree”. Never again will I confess bondage, for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Cor 3:17).  My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Never again will I confess condemnation, for there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).  I am in Christ  :therefore, I am free from condemnation. - o 0 o -

     John opens his letter with a statement about personal knowledge pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ, saying, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life” (1 John 1:1). The phrase, from the beginning likely refers to Jesus' ministry (1 John 2:7, 24; 3:11). The reason for this understanding is that John connects the phrase with his personal experience as one who had heard, seen, and touched the Lord Jesus. This emphasizes that Jesus existed bodily and not merely as a spirit (cf. Luke 24:39). This makes the content of the letter a deposition born out of John's eyewitness account (cf. John 21:24). The phrase, the Word of Life (τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς), refers to Jesus, whom John had described with similar language in his Gospel (John 1:1, 4, 14; 11:25; 14:6).      Concerning Jesus, John said, “and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us” (1 John 1:2). Manifested (φανερόω phaneroo) means to make visible or clear.[1] Jesus repeatedly revealed Himself as the Messiah. What John had seen concerning Jesus, he then testified and proclaimed to his readers via the written word. This assumes the integrity of the text and the use of language as a reliable vehicle for the transmission divine truth. Furthermore, what John is proclaiming pertains to eternal life (τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον), which believers can never lose (John 10:28).      What John had seen and heard concerning Jesus was true, and that truth was proclaimed to his audience and was the basis for their fellowship with God and each other. John said, “what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Fellowship (κοινωνία koinonia) for the Christian has both a vertical and horizontal aspect to it. It is tri-relational and involves fellowship with God and other Christians. Fellowship with God is the dominant theme of John's letter. Though eternal life can never be lost, our fellowship with God can be forfeited if we operate by false teaching or sinful living. For this reason, Christians must be careful to know and live by God's Word (Psa 119:160; Prov 4:20-23; John 17:17; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18). False doctrine will not undo our salvation, but can wreck our fellowship with God and other Christians. For this reason, we must “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3).      John concludes his prologue by saying, “These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete” (1 John 1:4). What John wrote in his letter is the basis for Christian joy. God wants us, His children, to have joy. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).      It's interesting that most who saw and heard Jesus rejected Him (John 3:19; 12:37). Jesus said this would happen (Matt 7:13-14). And now many who have never seen or heard Jesus personally accept Him and His message (John 20:29; 1 Pet 1:8). Those with positive volition will accept Christ, and this as a revelation from God the Father (Matt 16:15-17; Luke 24:44-45; Acts 16:14).      What John reveals is important for Christian fellowship with God, saying, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Here, John reveals God is light (ὁ θεὸς φῶς ἐστιν). Elsewhere, he reveals that God is love (1 John 4:16) and truth (1 John 5:20). For John to say that God is Light means He is morally pure, free sin, and in whom there is no darkness at all. Light reveals what is in the darkness (John 1:4-5) and those who love the darkness will turn away from the Light (John 3:19-20), but those who love God are open and honest with what He reveals (John 3:21). Jesus is the perfect expression of God's Light, and those who follow Jesus will walk in that light (John 8:12; 12:35-36). For John, light and darkness are ethical terms that refer to one's heart and behavior (1 John 2:8-11). Paul used the terms as well (Eph 5:8-10).      John continues, saying, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7). A Christian can be in a right relationship with God through faith in Christ (John 3:16; 20:21; Acts 4:12; Eph 2:8-9), and not be in fellowship with Him because of a choice to pursue sinful behavior. Being in fellowship (κοινωνία koinonia) with God refers to phase two of the Christian life, in which we are growing spiritually in our walk with the Lord. Earl Radmacher states, “Walk refers to a way of life or daily practice. To walk in darkness means to live contrary to the moral character of God, to live a sinful life. To claim fellowship with God without living a moral life or practicing the truth is to live a lie, since God cannot compromise His holiness to accommodate sin.”[2]      At any moment, the Christian is either filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18) and walking in the Spirit (Gal 5:16), or is grieving (Eph 4:30) or quenching the Spirit (1 Th 5:19) and operating by the sin nature (Rom 7:14-25; Gal 5:17). The believer who walks in sin is out of touch with God who resides in perpetual holiness. To walk in the light (ἐν τῷ φωτὶ περιπατῶμεν) means we abide in the sphere of moral purity where God Himself resides, and there we have fellowship with Him. Zane Hodges states: "How do we do this? If I enter a lighted room and walk around in it, I am walking in the light; I am moving in a sphere which the light illuminates as it shines not only on me but upon everything around me. If I were to personalize the light, I could also say that I was walking in the presence of the light. Since according to this passage God not only is light (verse 5), but He is also in the light, to walk in the light must mean essentially to live in God's presence, exposed to what He has revealed about Himself. This, of course, is done through openness in prayer and through openness to the Word of God in which He is revealed."[3]      To walk in the light of God and His revelation does not mean we attain sinless perfection. Certainly, John does not want his readers to sin, but understands there will be times when they do sin (1 John 2:1). To walk in the darkness means we refuse to acknowledge what God says about us and our sin. We are not being open and honest with Him; therefore, we are not willing to confess our sin to Him nor to walk in conformity with His Word. The question might be asked, how can a holy God have fellowship with us since we remain sinful? The answer is, “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7b). The word cleanse translates the Greek verb καθαρίζω katharizo, which here is in the present tense, implying ongoing action. Zane Hodges states, “This simply means that as we maintain an open and honest relationship with God, the many sinful failures and habits that still cling to us do not prevent this fellowship, because God treats us as those who are clean by virtue of the Savior's shed blood.”[4]      Being honest about sin with his readers, John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Sin in this passage translates the noun ἁμαρτία hamartia, which refers to the sin nature we continue to possess after salvation. Biblically, we know every person born into this world—with the exception of Jesus—is a sinner. We are sinners in Adam (Psa 51:5; Rom 5:12, 19; 1 Cor 15:21-22), sinners by nature (Rom 7:14-25; Gal 5:17), and sinners by choice (Jam 1:14-15). Sin is anything that is contrary to the holy character of God. Though we have our new nature in Christ at the moment of salvation, we continue to possess our sinful nature, and this produces internal conflict throughout our Christian life (Rom 6:6; 7:14-25; 13:14; Col 3:9; Gal 5:16-17). This reality explains why Paul tells the Christians at Rome to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:14; cf. Rom 6:6; Col 3:9), and to the Christians at Galatia to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). Though we struggle with sin, we are assured that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1), for we are “the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21; cf. Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9). Both are true. We are perfectly righteous in God's sight because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and we continue to possess a sin nature and commit sin. Martin Luther understood this and coined the Latin phrase, simul iustus et peccator, which means we are simultaneously righteous and a sinner. Timothy George states: "Luther described [Christians] as “at once righteous and a sinner” (simul iustus et peccator). Formerly he had understood this term in the Augustinian sense of “partly” a sinner and “partly” righteous. … Now, however, while retaining the paradox of simultaneity, he sharpened each of the clashing concepts into a sovereign, total realm. Luther continued to use simul iustus et peccator after 1518-19, but he did so in the sense of semper (always) iustus et peccator. The believer is not only both righteous and sinful at the same time but is also always or completely both righteous and sinful at the same time [emphasis added]. What does this mean? With respect to our fallen human condition, we are, and always will be in this life, sinners. However, for believers, life in this world is no longer a period of doubtful candidacy for God's acceptance. In a sense we have already been before God's judgment seat and have been acquitted on account of Christ. Hence, we are also always righteous."[5]      As Christians, we are righteous in God's eyes because of the righteousness of Christ that is imputed to us as a free gift (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). And, we continue to possess a sin nature that continually causes internal temptation and conflict (Rom 6:6; 7:14-25; 13:14; Col 3:9; Gal 5:16-17, 19). Though the power of the sin nature is broken (Rom 6:11-14), the presence of the sin nature is never removed from us until God takes us from this world and gives us a new body like the body of Jesus (Phil 3:20-21).      But even though we possess a sinful nature and sometimes yield to it, there is always forgiveness. John states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The word if in this passage is a third-class condition, meaning it's up to us to confess our sins to God. Furthermore, confession (ὁμολογέω homologeo) is a legal term that means we say the same thing about our sin that God says about it. To walk in the light means we are continually confessing our sins to God when we commit them, and that we keep short accounts. God's forgiveness here is not that which justifies the lost sinner at the moment of faith in Christ (Rom 3:28; 4:4-5), but the familial forgiveness that restores fellowship.      When John states that God is faithful (πιστός pistos), it means He always keeps His promise to do what He said. God has integrity and cannot lie (Num 23:19; Tit 1:2; Heb 6:18). And God is completely righteous (δίκαιος dikaios) when He forgives our sins. Sin always incurs a debt, and forgiveness cancels the debt. But such righteous behavior in God to forgive is never based on our worthiness. Rather, it's based on the worth and finished work of Christ who shed His blood to atone for our sins (1 John 2:1-2). Furthermore, God not only forgives the sins we name to Him, but is also faithful “to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9b). Later on, John will state that “All unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17a). The point here is that when we confess the sins we know about, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us of those sins, as well as all the sins we may have not known about or forgotten. God is perfect, and His forgiveness is always perfect. William MacDonald states: "The forgiveness John speaks about here is parental, not judicial. Judicial forgiveness means forgiveness from the penalty of sins, which the sinner receives when he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is called judicial because it is granted by God acting as Judge. But what about sins which a person commits after conversion? As far as the penalty is concerned, the price has already been paid by the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. But as far as fellowship in the family of God is concerned, the sinning saint needs parental forgiveness, that is, the forgiveness of His Father. He obtains it by confessing his sin. We need judicial forgiveness only once; that takes care of the penalty of all our sins—past, present, and future. But we need parental forgiveness throughout our Christian life. When we confess our sins, we must believe, on the authority of the word of God, that He forgives us. And if He forgives us, we must be willing to forgive ourselves."[6]      John closes this pericope by saying, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). Sin in this passage translates the Greek verb ἁμαρτάνω hamartano which refers to acts of disobedience to God. The form of the verb is perfect, which refers to past action with abiding results. That is, a denial we sinned in the past that continues into the present. By refusing to call sin for what it is, we are, in effect, calling God a liar, because He says we have sinned. Such behavior is indicative that “His word is not in us” (1 John 10:10b).      In summary, John wrote to fellow Christians with the desire that they have fellowship with God and other believers. John also made clear that fellowship with God means walking in moral purity. However, because we have sinful natures and commit sinful acts, there's an ongoing need for us to confess our sins to God in order to be restored to fellowship with Him. And when we confess our sins to God, He is always faithful and righteous to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness that we may not be aware of.     [1] God has revealed Himself through nature (Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:18-20), the writings of His apostles and prophets (Eph 2:19-20; 3:4-5; 1 Th 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16), and through His Son (Heb 1:1-2). [2] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 1705. [3] Zane Clark Hodges, The Epistle of John: Walking in the Light of God's Love (Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999), 60–61. [4] Ibid., 61. [5] Timothy George, Theology of the Reformers (Nashville, Tenn., Broadman and Holman publishers, 2013), 72. [6] William MacDonald, Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 2310–2311.

4 Steps of Interpretation (Grasping God's Word) Grasping the Text in Their Town Question: What did the text mean to the biblical audience? Measuring the Width of the River to Cross Question: What are the differences between the biblical audience and us? Crossing the Principalizing Bridge Question: What is the meaning in this text? Grasping the Text in our Town Question: How should individual Christians today apply the meaning in their town? Laws of Study #1: Definition Words Mean Something When we read the Scriptures, it is important to remember that we're reading a book that was written for us, but not to us. What do I mean? The OT is written by, to, about the Israelites. The NT, like Paul's letter, were written to a specific church or group of people. - (Eph 1:1) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: - (Rom 1:7) To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. - (Jas 1:1) James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. This is illustrated well by this illustration. We have no doubt that the Bible was written for us to teach us about God and how we should live according to His will. But we must see that it was also written to another group of people in a different time, culture, location, in the OT an old covenant, and language.

“It is no longer I but Christ in me” (Gal 10:20). Satan is always quick to counterattack after a personal spiritual victory. Expect it. Satan is a master at counterattacking. He does it to shift your attention away from God and put your eyes on yourself. Satan and his cosmic system will try to distract you, to discourage you and to defeat you. He will try to knock you off course in your spiritual advancement. Satan knows your weakest point and that's where he will attack. He will attack your lust pattern for power, or approbation, or acquiring material things, whatever your weakness is. Focusing on your problem, rather than the divine solution, is never the answer. Once you're distracted you'll get into a frantic search for happiness. Be alert to the distractions of Satan's world and keep your focus on God. “Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus” (Rom 12:3). Click for Full Transcript If the hotlink doesn't work copy the full link, below, and paste it into your search engine finder: https://www.dropbox.com/s/64mfgty7ir8h97q/318-Counterattack-transcript.pdf?dl=0 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rick-hughes/message

In the center of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians of first-century Rome, we find one of the greatest chapters of the Bible, Romans 8. In this first of three sermons on that chapter, Pastor Court leads us to examine the LOVE that is not only at the heart of the book of Romans but is indeed the very heart of God towards those who love Him & are called according to His PURPOSE (Rom 8:28). This love we find IN Christ overcomes all our sin, guilt, & bondage to death, for "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1). -SERMON BEGINS AT 0:40:09 SUNDAY SERVICE PREACHER: Lead Pastor Courtney Hall DATE: May 2, 2021 SERIES: ROMANS (Part 9) SERMON TITLE: "No Condemnation in Christ: Receiving the Love That Overcomes" SCRIPTURE TEXT: Romans 8:1-17 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pcflosangeles/message

How is it that Paul can confidently proclaim that -there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus- -Rom 8-1-- In verses 2 - 4 he begins this chapter-long explanation of this monumental and saving truth. Join us as Pastor Gene Crow continues his study through Romans 8.

The Apostle Paul's letter to the churches of Rome is indeed a message for all people at all times, for though "all have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God, all [can be] justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Rom 3:23-24). It is for the cause of this Christ, for this very purpose, that Paul understood himself to be called & "cut out" for Christ in a way that we can also follow today. -TEXT: Romans 1:1-15 SUNDAY SERVICE PREACHER: Lead Pastor Courtney Hall DATE: Feb. 7, 2021 JOIN US LIVE ONLINE AT 10AM* SERVICE TIMES: 10:00am (Online)* SERIES: ROMANS - Part 2 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pcflosangeles/message

Almost everything in Romans 3:21–26 is disputed. There is no space for justifying a particular exegesis. But in my view, these are some of the more important conclusions to be drawn:(1) “But now” (Rom. 3:21): the expression is temporal, not merely logical. Paul has devoted Romans 1:18–3:20 to demonstrating that all of the human race, Jews and Gentiles alike—i.e., those who have the Mosaic Law and those who do not—are guilty before God. But now, at this point in redemptive history, something new has happened. A “righteousness from God” has been made known.(2) The phrase “apart from law” probably modifies “has been made known”—i.e., “a righteousness from God has been made known apart from law.”(3) “The law” does not here mean “legalism,” as if Paul were saying that now a righteousness has been made known apart from legalism. Paul’s point, rather, is that now, with the death and resurrection of Jesus, a righteousness from God has been made known apart from the law-covenant, the Law of Moses. This does not mean that such righteousness was unanticipated. Far from it: “the Law and the Prophets” (i.e., holy Scripture) had testified to it, had borne witness to it. In other words, “the righteousness of God” that has come to us through Jesus appeared independently from the law-covenant, but nevertheless the old law—indeed, the entire Hebrew Bible—bore witness to it and anticipated it.(4) This “righteousness from God” comes to all who believe (Rom. 3:22–24). It cannot come to those who are good, for Paul has just spent two chapters proving that all are bad. It comes therefore to those who believe, and it comes freely by the grace of God “through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).(5) This redemption was achieved by God setting forth Christ Jesus as “a sacrifice of atonement” (Rom. 3:25) or, more precisely, as “a propitiation” (KJV). God so brought about Jesus’ death that, in his crucifixion, Jesus died “the just for the unjust” (1 Pet. 3:18, KJV) and thereby made God favorable or “propitious” to those who would otherwise face only his wrath. Thus Christ’s death is not only an “expiation” (it cancels our sin) but a “propitiation” (it thereby makes God propitious). Of course, since it is God himself who provides the sacrifice, there is a profound sense in which God propitiates himself—i.e., he graciously provides the sacrifice that pacifies his own wrath.(6) Stated otherwise, God offers up Christ not only to justify ungodly sinners such as ourselves, who have faith in Jesus, but also to maintain his own justice, to be just, in the face of all the sins ever committed (Rom. 3:25–26). This podcast is designed to be used alongside TGC's Read The Bible initiative (TGC.org/readthebible). The podcast features devotional commentaries from D.A. Carson’s book For the Love of God (vol. 2) that follow the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan.

The Apostle Paul's letter to the churches of Rome stands as a pinnacle presentation of the Gospel in all its glory, a towering testimony to the righteousness of God & His redeeming grace. It is indeed a message for all people at all times, for though "all have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God, all [can be] justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Rom 3:23​-24). It is for the cause of this Christ, for this very purpose, that Paul understand himself to be called & "cut out"for Christ. -​SCRIPTURE TEXT: Romans 1-8 SUNDAY SERVICE PREACHER: Lead Pastor Courtney Hall DATE: Jan. 31, 2021 JOIN US LIVE ONLINE AT 10AM* SERVICE TIME: 10:00am (Online ONLY)* SERIES: THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pcflosangeles/message

     God gives law to humans living in every age. He gave commands to Adam and Eve living in the sinless environment of the Garden of Eden (Gen 1:26-30; 2:15-17). He gave commands to Noah (Gen 6-9). He gave commands to Abraham (Gen 12:1; 17:10-14). He gave commands to the Israelites—known as the Mosaic Law—after delivering them from their bondage in Egypt (Ex 20 - Deut 34). He has given commands to Christians (Romans 1 to Revelation 3). These biblical distinctions are important, for though all Scripture is written for the benefit of Christians, only some portions of it speak specifically to us and command our walk with the Lord. Just as Christians would not try to obey the commands God gave to Adam in Genesis 1-2, or the commands God gave to Noah in Genesis 6-9, so they should not try to obey the commands God gave to Israel in Exodus through Deuteronomy. Romans chapter 1 through Revelation chapter 3 roughly mark the body of Scripture that directs the Christian. Charles Ryrie states: "Adam lived under laws, the sum of which may be called the code of Adam or the code of Eden. Noah was expected to obey the laws of God, so there was a Noahic code. We know that God revealed many commands and laws to Abraham (Gen 26:5). They may be called the Abrahamic code. The Mosaic code contained all the laws of the Law. And today we live under the law of Christ (Gal 6:2) or the law of the Spirit of life in Christ (Rom 8:2). This code contains the hundreds of specific commandments recorded in the New Testament."[1]      The Mosaic Law refers to “the statutes and ordinances and laws which the LORD established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai” (Lev 26:46). The Mosaic Law revealed the holy character of God (Lev 11:45; cf. Rom 7:12), was given specifically to Israel circa 1445 BC (Lev 26:46), was regarded as a unit of laws (613 total), and had to be taken as a whole (Gal 3:10; 5:3; Jam 2:10), and existed for nearly 1500 years before being rendered inoperative (Heb 7:18; 8:13; cf. Rom 7:1-4).       The Mosaic Law is typically viewed in three parts: 1) The moral law consisting of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:2-17; Deut 5:6-21), 2) The civil law which addressed slavery, marriage, property rights, economics, etc., (Ex 21:1–24:18), and 3) The ceremonial law which addressed the tabernacle, priests, worship and the sacrificial system as a whole (Ex 25:1–40:38). Paul Enns states, “It should be noted that these categories are intermingled in the text of Exodus–Deuteronomy; within a given context, all three aspects of the law may be described. Nor is it always a simple matter to distinguish between the three aspects of the law. In any case, the law was Israel’s constitution with the Lord, the King.”[2]      The Mosaic Law was never a means of justification before God, as that has always been by faith alone in God and His promises (Gal 2:16). Over time, the Mosaic Law became perverted into a system of works whereby men sought to earn their salvation before God (Luke 18:9-14). Regarding the fact that the Mosaic Law never justifies anyone, Merrill F. Unger comments: "By nature the Law is not grace (Rom 10:5; Gal 3:10; Heb 10:28). It is holy, righteous, good, and spiritual (Rom 7:12, 14). In its ministry it declares and proves all men guilty (Rom 3:19). Yet it justifies no one (Rom 3:20). It cannot impart righteousness or life (Gal 3:21). It causes offenses to abound (Rom 5:20; 7:7-13; 1 Cor 15:56). It served as an instructor until Christ appeared (Gal 3:24). In relationship to the believer, the Law emphatically does not save anyone (Gal 2:21). A believer does not live under the Law (Rom 6:14; 8:4), but he stands and grows in grace (Rom 5:2; 2 Pet 3:18). The nation, Israel, alone was the recipient of the Law (Ex 20:2)."[3]      The New Testament reveals the Mosaic Law was regarded as a “yoke” which Israel had not “been able to bear” because their sinful flesh was weak (Acts 15:1-11; cf. Rom 8:2-3). There is no fault with the Mosaic Law, for it “is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). The Mosaic Law is holy because it comes from God who is holy. Because the Mosaic Law is holy, it exposes the faults of people and shows them to be sinful (Rom 3:20). More so, because people are inherently sinful and bent toward sin, when they come into contact with God’s holy Law, it actually stimulates their sinful nature and influences them to sin even more (Rom 5:20; 7:7-8).       Paul made clear that the Mosaic Law was not the rule of life for the Christian. He even referred to it as a ministry of “death” and “condemnation” (2 Cor 3:5-11). Paul stated that it was intended to be temporary (Gal 3:19), that it was never the basis for justification (Gal 2:16, 21; 3:21; cf. Rom 4:1-5), but was intended to lead people to Christ that they may be justified by faith (Gal 3:24). Now that Christ has come and fulfilled every aspect of the Law and died on the cross, the Mosaic Law, in its entirety, has been rendered inoperative as a rule of life (Matt 5:17-18; Rom 8:2-4; 10:4; 2 Cor 3:7, 11; Heb 8:13). “As a rule of life, the Law of Moses was temporary … [and] came to an end with the death of the Messiah.”[4]      God is the Author of both the Mosaic Law as well as the Law of Christ; therefore, it is not surprising that He chose to incorporate some of the laws He gave to Israel into the law-code which He has given to the Church. When trying to understand which laws have carried over and which have not, the general rule to follow is: what God has not restated, has been altogether abrogated.  Charles Ryrie states, “The Mosaic Law was done away in its entirety as a code. It has been replaced by the law of Christ. The law of Christ contains some new commands (1 Tim 4:4), some old ones (Rom 13:9), and some revised ones (Rom 13:4, with reference to capital punishment).”[5] The Church is no more under the Mosaic Law than a Canadian is under US law, as laws only have authority to its citizenry. Thomas Constable states: "The law of Christ is the code of commandments under which Christians live. Some of the commandments Christ and His apostles gave us are the same as those that Moses gave the Israelites. However, this does not mean that we are under the Mosaic Code. Residents of the United States live under a code of laws that is similar to, but different from, the code of laws that govern residents of England. Some of our laws are the same as theirs, and others are different. Because some laws are the same we should not conclude that the codes are the same. Christians no longer live under the Mosaic Law; we live under a new code, the law of Christ (cf. 5:1)."[6]      Though rendered inoperative as a rule of life, the Mosaic Law can be used to teach such things as God’s holiness, people’s sinfulness, the need for atonement, and the ultimate need for people to trust in Christ for salvation (Rom 3:10-25; 5:20; 10:1-4). All Scripture is for us, though not all Scripture is to us (1 Cor 10:11). And, being under the grace-system does not mean believers are without law and can therefore sin as they please (Rom 6:14-16; Tit 2:11-12). The New Testament speaks of “the perfect law of liberty” (Jam 1:25), “the royal law” (Jam 2:8), the “Law of Christ” (Gal 6:2), and “the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2). Henry Thiessen states: "The believer has been made free from the law, but liberty does not mean license. To offset this danger of antinomianism, the Scriptures teach that we have not only been delivered from the law, but also “joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God” (Rom 7:4). We are thus not “without the law of God but under the law of Christ” (1 Cor 9:21; cf. Gal 6:2). Freedom from law should not result in license, but love (Gal 5:13; cf. 1 Pet 2:16). The believer is, consequently, to keep his eyes on Christ as his example and teacher, and by the Holy Spirit to fulfill his law (Rom 8:4; Gal 5:18)."[7] Arnold Fruchtenbaum adds: "The Law of Moses has been disannulled and we are now under a new law. This new law is called the Law of Christ in Galatians 6:2 and the Law of the Spirit of Life in Romans 8:2. This is a brand new law, totally separate from the Law of Moses. The Law of Christ contains all the individual commandments from Christ and the Apostles applicable to a New Testament believer. A simple comparison of the details will show that it is not and cannot be the same as the Law of Moses. Four observations are worth noting. First, many commandments are the same as those of the Law of Moses. For example, nine of the Ten Commandments are also in the Law of Christ. But, second, many are different from the Law of Moses. For example, there is no Sabbath law now (Rom 14:5; Col 2:16) and no dietary code (Mark 7:19; Rom 14:20). Third, some commandments in the Law of Moses are intensified by the Law of Christ. The Law of Moses said: love thy neighbor as thyself (Lev 19:18). This made man the standard. The Law of Christ said: love one another, even as I have loved you (John 15:12). This makes the Messiah the standard and He loved us enough to die for us. Fourth, the Law of the Messiah provides a new motivation. The Law of Moses was based on the conditional Mosaic Covenant and so the motivation was: do, in order to be blessed. The Law of Christ is based on the unconditional New Covenant and so the motivation is: you have been and are blessed, therefore, do. The reason there is so much confusion over the relationship of the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ is that many commandments are similar to those found in the Mosaic Law, and many have concluded that certain sections of the law have, therefore, been retained."[8]      The Church is not Israel, and is not under the Mosaic Law as the rule for life. Just as OT saints had a clear body of Scripture which guided their walk with the Lord (Exodus 20 through Deuteronomy 34), so NT saints have a body of Scripture that guides us (Romans 1 through Revelation 3). “The rule of life for the saint today is found in the epistles of the New Testament. As with the Law of Moses, instructions and commandments of the New Testament are not the means of salvation but they are a ‘heavenly rule of life’ for those who are heavenly citizens through the power of God.”[9] Some of the distinctions between Israel and the Church are as follows:      Christians living under the Law of Christ have both positive and negative commands that direct their lives. Where the Scripture does not provide specific commands, it gives divine principles that guide the Christian’s walk (i.e., to walk in love, to glorify God in all things, etc.).   [1] Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 351. [2] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, Ill.; Moody Press, 2008), 59. [3] Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN., AMG Publishers, 2002), 125. [4] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, Rev. ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1994), 373. [5] Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology, 351-52. [6] Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Gal. 6:2. [7] Henry Clarence Thiessen and Vernon D. Doerksen, Lectures in Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), 171. [8] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, 650-51. [9] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, 379.

“Church ABC’s” is a year-long journey dedicated to understanding God’s calling upon His holy people—what it means to be a vibrant, mission-driven body of faith. We believe that God has called us to know Him and to make Him known to others in the world by living a life of service for the benefit of our neighbors. Our second sermon series is called, “A Sojourner’s Life,” which will be an exploration of God’s unique call upon our lives. In John 17:14, Jesus stated that we are “in the world” but not “of the world”. We live in this present age but recognize that our true citizenship is in God’s kingdom. Similarly, a sojourner is not a permanent resident, but someone who temporarily resides in a location foreign to them where they feel very much out of place. The apostle Peter implores: “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:11-12). Today we celebrate the Reformation of the Church by taking a closer look at the unearned grace we have in Jesus—our true Lord and Savior. Contrary to the idea of working harder and performing perfectly to earn a better reward, our spot in heaven is not earned by our merit but paid for with the blood of Jesus and His work on the cross. We are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).

“Church ABC’s” is a year-long journey dedicated to understanding God’s calling upon His holy people—what it means to be a vibrant, mission-driven body of faith. We believe that God has called us to know Him and to make Him known to others in the world by living a life of service for the benefit of our neighbors. Our second sermon series is called, “A Sojourner’s Life,” which will be an exploration of God’s unique call upon our lives. In John 17:14, Jesus stated that we are “in the world” but not “of the world”. We live in this present age but recognize that our true citizenship is in God’s kingdom. Similarly, a sojourner is not a permanent resident, but someone who temporarily resides in a location foreign to them where they feel very much out of place. The apostle Peter implores: “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:11-12). Today we celebrate the Reformation of the Church by taking a closer look at the unearned grace we have in Jesus—our true Lord and Savior. Contrary to the idea of working harder and performing perfectly to earn a better reward, our spot in heaven is not earned by our merit but paid for with the blood of Jesus and His work on the cross. We are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).

“Church ABC’s” is a year-long journey dedicated to understanding God’s calling upon His holy people—what it means to be a vibrant, mission-driven body of faith. We believe that God has called us to know Him and to make Him known to others in the world by living a life of service for the benefit of our neighbors. Our second sermon series is called, “A Sojourner’s Life,” which will be an exploration of God’s unique call upon our lives. In John 17:14, Jesus stated that we are “in the world” but not “of the world”. We live in this present age but recognize that our true citizenship is in God’s kingdom. Similarly, a sojourner is not a permanent resident, but someone who temporarily resides in a location foreign to them where they feel very much out of place. The apostle Peter implores: “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:11-12). Today we celebrate the Reformation of the Church by taking a closer look at the unearned grace we have in Jesus—our true Lord and Savior. Contrary to the idea of working harder and performing perfectly to earn a better reward, our spot in heaven is not earned by our merit but paid for with the blood of Jesus and His work on the cross. We are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).

     The apostle Paul made a clear presentation of the gospel message when he wrote to the church at Corinth. He stated, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel [εὐαγγέλιον euaggelion – good news message] which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain” (1 Cor 15:1-2).[1] The gospel is information that is communicable from one person to another, whether by spoken or written means. It is received as factual information that benefits the recipient who accepts it by faith. Paul then provided the content of the gospel, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4).      The gospel is best understood as the solution to a problem. There are two parts to the problem. First, God is holy (Ps. 99:9; Isa. 6:3), which means He is positively righteous and can have nothing to do with sin except to condemn it. The Scripture states, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13), and “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Second, all mankind is sinful and separated from God (Rom. 3:10-23). This separation occurred when Adam sinned and brought death into the world. Scripture informs us that “through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12; cf. 18-19; 1 Cor 15:21-22).[2] The idea is that Adam served as the federal and seminal head of the human race, and when he fell, we fell with him. Because of sin, every person is spiritually separated from God and helpless to change their situation (Rom 5:6-10; Eph 2:1), and good works have no saving merit before the Lord (Isa 64:6; Rom 4:1-5; Gal 2:16; 3:21; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). We cannot save ourselves any more than we can jump across the Grand Canyon or throw rocks and hit the moon. But God, because of His mercy and love toward us (John 3:16; Eph 2:4-7), did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He provided His own solution to the problem of sin, and this was worked out through His Son, Jesus, who became human and accomplished what we could not.      Jesus solved both problems: 1) He lived the righteous life that God demands and committed no sin, and 2) He died for us on the cross, as our substitute, and paid the penalty for all our sins. God the Son—the second Person of the Trinity—came into the world by human birth (Luke 1:26-35), and lived a perfectly righteous life (Matt 5:17-21). Scripture informs us that Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), “has been tempted in all things as we are, yet He did not sin” (Heb 4:15), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Being sinless qualified Him to go to the cross and die for us. No one forced Jesus to go to the cross; rather, He willingly laid down His life and died in our place, “the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). Jesus said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). We are redeemed, not by anything this world can offer or by anything we can do, but His “precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:19). The blood of Christ is the coin of the heavenly realm that pays our sin debt and liberates us from the slave-market of sin. But we must trust in Jesus as our Savior. We must accept His good work on our behalf. Though Jesus’ atoning work on the cross is sufficient for all (John 1:29; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2; 4:10), it is effectual only for those who believe in Him (John 3:16-18; 20:31; Acts 4:12; 16:30-31). If we reject Christ as Savior, the result is that we will be forever separated from the Lord (Rev 20:11-15). For “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). At the cross, He judged my sin as His righteousness requires, and saves me, the sinner, as His love desires. He did this out of His own goodness and mercy, and not because of any worth found in me. To comprehend the cross of Christ is to understand the heart of God toward a fallen world He wants to save.      Salvation is completely the work of God, comes to us as a free gift from God (Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5), as we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). When we trust in Christ as our Savior, we are forgiven all our sins (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14), positionally identified with Him (Rom 5:14-18; 1 Cor 15:22), given eternal life (John 3:16; 10:27-28), given the gift of God’s righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9), and have the power to live righteously (Rom 6:1-13). God saves us from the penalty of sin (John 5:24; Rom 6:23; 8:1), the power of sin (Rom 6:11; 8:13; 2 Cor 5:17), and ultimately the presence of sin (Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:2). God has prepared good works to follow our salvation (Eph 2:10), but they are never the condition of it. The matter is simple: Salvation comes to us who believe in Christ as our Savior, believing He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third.   [1] The word vain translates the Greek word εἰκῇ eike, which denotes, “being without careful thought, without due consideration, in a haphazard manner” (BDAG, p. 281). The main thrust of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 concerns the resurrection of Jesus, which is an essential part of the gospel message. Yet, there were some within the church who were saying “there is no resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor 15:12). Paul asserts, “if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain” (1 Cor 15:13-14). The point is, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; [and] you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:17). Denying the resurrection of Jesus meant they had believed in a Jesus that could not save them, because the object of their faith was dead, and therefore powerless to help them. Getting the gospel message right matters. [2] Being born in Adam, we also possess a sin nature which is the source of our rebellious heart (Rom 7:14-25; 13:12-14), and we produce personal sin each time we yield to temptation (Jam 1:14-15).

Testifying With AssuranceRead 1 John 5:11–13; Hebrews 10:19–22; and 1 Corinthians 15:1, 2.What assurance of eternal life do the Scriptures give us that allowsus to testify of our salvation in Christ with certainty?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________If we do not have the personal assurance of salvation in Jesus, itis not possible to share it with someone else. We cannot share whatwe do not have ourselves. There are conscientious Christians wholive in a state of perpetual uncertainty, wondering whether they willever be good enough to be saved. As a wise, old preacher once said,“When I look at myself, I see no possibility of being saved. WhenI look at Jesus, I see no possibility of being lost.” The Lord’s wordsring with certainty down through the ages: “ ‘Look to Me, and besaved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other’ ”(Isa. 45:22).Our Lord wants each one of us to rejoice in the salvation that He sofreely offers. He longs for us to experience what it means to be justi-fied by His grace and be free from the condemnation that the guilt ofsin brings. As Paul says in Romans 5, “Therefore, having been justi-fied by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”(Rom. 5:1, NKJV). He adds that we can have the assurance that “there istherefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom.8:1, NKJV). The apostle John confirms that “he who has the Son haslife; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John5:12, NKJV).If by faith we have accepted Jesus, and He lives in our hearts throughHis Holy Spirit, the gift of eternal life is ours today. This is not to saythat once we have experienced the grace of God and salvation in Christ,we can never lose it (2 Pet. 2:18–22, Heb. 3:6, Rev. 3:5). We alwayshave the free choice to walk away from Him; but once we have expe-rienced His love and understood the depths of His sacrifice, we shouldnever choose to walk away from One who loves us so much. Day byday we should look for opportunities to share with others the gracegiven us in Jesus.Do you have assurance of salvation in Jesus? If so, on what do youbase it? Why do you have that assurance? Where is it found? Onthe other hand, if you are not sure, why are you not sure? Howcan you find that assurance?

Rev. Jeremey Graham; Acts 14:24-15:11 This good news raises some big questions for the young Church: Who belongs to God’s people? Can someone be saved simply by believing in Jesus? Some Jewish converts insist that Gentile believers also need to follow the Law of Moses to be saved and welcomed into the fellowship of God’s people (15:1). Paul and Barnabas are summoned to Jerusalem to address this pivotal question. Peter’s testimony silences the assembly: “God, who knows the heart, bore witness to [the Gentiles], by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us…we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” (15:8-11) All people are made in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27); All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23a). All are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:23b). There one name, given for the salvation of ALL nations and peoples, Jesus!

Acts 14:1-23; Rev. Aaron Roberts This good news raises some big questions for the young Church: Who belongs to God’s people? Can someone be saved simply by believing in Jesus? Some Jewish converts insist that Gentile believers also need to follow the Law of Moses to be saved and welcomed into the fellowship of God’s people (15:1). Paul and Barnabas are summoned to Jerusalem to address this pivotal question. Peter’s testimony silences the assembly: “God, who knows the heart, bore witness to [the Gentiles], by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us…we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” (15:8-11) All people are made in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27); All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23a). All are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:23b). There one name, given for the salvation of ALL nations and peoples, Jesus!

Rev.12:1 And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars; Eph.2:6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: Rom.13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Rev.12:2 and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. 3And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. 4And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child. 5And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: 27and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father: Rev 3:21 He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. Luke 8:21 But he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these that hear the word of God, and do it. 2Cor.4:16 Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. Heb.4:2 For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. Lk.1:45 And blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord. Lk.1:31 And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Matthew 13:18-23 18Hear then ye the parable of the sower. 19When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side. 20And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; 21yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. 22And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Mat.13:37-38 37And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; Genesis 1:11-12 11And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. Joh.16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you. Lk.1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God. Joh.16:19 Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me? Php.3:10-15 10that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death; 11if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead. 12Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. 13Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, 14I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye are otherwise minded, this also shall God reveal unto you: Joh.16:20-22 20Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. 22And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. 2Cor.3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. Col.1:22-23 22yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: 23if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister. Gal.2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. 2 Corinthians 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or if ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with him. Jas.1:23 For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: Eph.4:13 till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 2Cor.4:10-11 10always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. 11For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Gal.4:19 My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you 1Cor.12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof. Heb.13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, yea and for ever. Amos 3:3 Shall two walk together, except they have agreed? 2Jn.1:7 For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the anti-christ. Col.1:27-28 27to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ; Col.3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. Phm.1:6 that the fellowship of thy faith may become effectual, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in you, unto Christ. Rom.8:16-17 The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: 17and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him. Jas.1:21Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves. 1Cor.15:1-2 Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, 2by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain. 1Pet.1:22-23,9 22Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: 23having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. 9 receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Rom.8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Isa.3:4-5,12 4And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. 5And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable. 12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. Mat.10:6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Rom.8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Rom.1:3 concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, Heb.5:8-9 8But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. Rom.8:23 And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Rom.4:17 (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were. Gal.3:26 For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. Galatians 4:1-5 1But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all; 2but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed of the father. 3So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world: 4but when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Gal.5:4 Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you Gal 2:16 yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Gal 3:6-7 6Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. 7Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham Gal 4:6-7 6And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7So that thou art no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Pr.29:21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last. 1Jn.2:28 And now, my little children, abide in him; that, if he shall be manifested, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 2Cor.4:11 For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (6) Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ 1Jn.3:2 Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. 1Jn.4:17 Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world. 1Jn.3:3 And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Titus 2:11-15 11For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; 13looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works. 15These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no man despise thee. 2Tim.4:7-8 have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: 8henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.

Originally Presented: January 11th, 2009 Scripture Reading: Romans 15:1-6 The first section of Romans 15 is a continuation of the subject introduced in chapter 14, namely how Christians view each other and treat each other in the face of disagreement concerning non-essential matters.  (Remember that originally there were no chapter and verse divisions in the Biblical manuscripts.  The  chapter divisions were added in 1205 and verse divisions were added in the 1500's.) Romans 15:1-6 is another call for unity in the church when differences regarding practice in life are present.  The call to tender consideration of the views of others is seen in Romans 15:1,2.  This is not new.  We see the same call in Romans 14.  What is new in this passage are two results of harmony within the church. "Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus" (Rom 15:5).  We experience greater encouragement and are able to better persevere when we live in harmony with each other. We see a second result of church harmony in verse 6.  ". . . that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."  God is honored by our unity.  Corporate church life is never to be an end in itself.  The glory of God is always the final and ultimate result and purpose.

On our best days, we just can’t save ourselves. And on our worst, the story is the same. When all our words are moderate and cheerful; when every deed is generous and sweet; when all our weaknesses recede, and all our strengths are trending up—we need God’s grace to save us from unholy satisfaction with ourselves. And when we’re stuck in bitterness and hurt; when we’ve got nothing good to say about ourselves or any of our peers; when we seem chained to old, destructive habits like prisoners to a wall—we need God’s grace to save us from dejection. The acts that save us all belong to Jesus. We offer nothing—deed or word, good or ill—that makes us more entitled to His love, or threatens His affection for the broken and the lost. “For there is no distinction,” the Word of God reminds us, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:22). Remember now the great unchanging, undeterred, and undeserved love of Christ. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

On our best days, we just can’t save ourselves. And on our worst, the story is the same. When all our words are moderate and cheerful; when every deed is generous and sweet; when all our weaknesses recede, and all our strengths are trending up—we need God’s grace to save us from unholy satisfaction with ourselves. And when we’re stuck in bitterness and hurt; when we’ve got nothing good to say about ourselves or any of our peers; when we seem chained to old, destructive habits like prisoners to a wall—we need God’s grace to save us from dejection. The acts that save us all belong to Jesus. We offer nothing—deed or word, good or ill—that makes us more entitled to His love, or threatens His affection for the broken and the lost. “For there is no distinction,” the Word of God reminds us, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:22). Remember now the great unchanging, undeterred, and undeserved love of Christ. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

On our best days, we just can’t save ourselves. And on our worst, the story is the same. When all our words are moderate and cheerful; when every deed is generous and sweet; when all our weaknesses recede, and all our strengths are trending up—we need God’s grace to save us from unholy satisfaction with ourselves. And when we’re stuck in bitterness and hurt; when we’ve got nothing good to say about ourselves or any of our peers; when we seem chained to old, destructive habits like prisoners to a wall—we need God’s grace to save us from dejection. The acts that save us all belong to Jesus. We offer nothing—deed or word, good or ill—that makes us more entitled to His love, or threatens His affection for the broken and the lost. “For there is no distinction,” the Word of God reminds us, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:22). Remember now the great unchanging, undeterred, and undeserved love of Christ. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

Good news is only good because the other news isn’t good. It’s the contrast between light and darkness that makes us glad for everything that’s lit and bright and warm. And the Bible is unsparingly honest about our real condition—about the bad news—of our lostness and our darkness. We got what we deserved: we reaped what we sowed. The news couldn’t get any worse. We were the people sitting in darkness. But then a great light dawned. The gospel of the Father’s unending, untiring affection for us is seen in everything Jesus did to bring us healing, joy, and abundance. “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also give us all things with Him?” (Rom 8:32). Jesus is the proof of heaven’s favor, the certainty that we are still loved—have always been loved, will always be loved. In Him, we learn the news we didn’t know: that our lives can be free, and fun, and filled with meaning. “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them” (Heb 7:25). Grace headlines every day’s edition. “Now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). “His life brought light to everyone” (John 1:4). Enjoy the news. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott   Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

Good news is only good because the other news isn’t good. It’s the contrast between light and darkness that makes us glad for everything that’s lit and bright and warm. And the Bible is unsparingly honest about our real condition—about the bad news—of our lostness and our darkness. We got what we deserved: we reaped what we sowed. The news couldn’t get any worse. We were the people sitting in darkness. But then a great light dawned. The gospel of the Father’s unending, untiring affection for us is seen in everything Jesus did to bring us healing, joy, and abundance. “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also give us all things with Him?” (Rom 8:32). Jesus is the proof of heaven’s favor, the certainty that we are still loved—have always been loved, will always be loved. In Him, we learn the news we didn’t know: that our lives can be free, and fun, and filled with meaning. “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them” (Heb 7:25). Grace headlines every day’s edition. “Now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). “His life brought light to everyone” (John 1:4). Enjoy the news. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

Good news is only good because the other news isn’t good. It’s the contrast between light and darkness that makes us glad for everything that’s lit and bright and warm. And the Bible is unsparingly honest about our real condition—about the bad news—of our lostness and our darkness. We got what we deserved: we reaped what we sowed. The news couldn’t get any worse. We were the people sitting in darkness. But then a great light dawned. The gospel of the Father’s unending, untiring affection for us is seen in everything Jesus did to bring us healing, joy, and abundance. “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also give us all things with Him?” (Rom 8:32). Jesus is the proof of heaven’s favor, the certainty that we are still loved—have always been loved, will always be loved. In Him, we learn the news we didn’t know: that our lives can be free, and fun, and filled with meaning. “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them” (Heb 7:25). Grace headlines every day’s edition. “Now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). “His life brought light to everyone” (John 1:4). Enjoy the news. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott   Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

The Psalmist is describing God’s arrival at the court He is convening. God calls everyone together and says, “I am going to have judgment.” Why does God judge His people? Shouldn’t the wicked be judged instead? There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:1), But our works will be judged at the judgement seat of Christ. If you need a motivation For faithful service, remember that God will judge and will reward those who are faithful. God will one-day judge all His people. Have you been faithful to the Lord? Have a glorified Him with your life? If you are obeying Him today, you won’t have to fear your “court summons.” Make your “court appearance” a time that will glorify Him.

An overview of Romans chapters 1-11. Paul is writing to reunite the church, bringing together Jews and Gentiles with the Gospel of Jesus. Despite all of their differing opinions, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and all justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Rom 3:23-24).

An overview of Romans chapters 1-11. Paul is writing to reunite the church, bringing together Jews and Gentiles with the Gospel of Jesus. Despite all of their differing opinions, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and all justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Rom 3:23-24).

Introit: Ps. 28:1-2, 7; antiphon: Ps. 28:8-9 Gradual: Ps. 90:13, 1, 2b Old Testament: Ex. 20:1-17 Psalm 19 (antiphon: v. 8) Epistle: Rom. 6:(1-2) 3-11 ProperVerse: Ps. 31:1 Gospel: Matt. 5:(17-19) 20-26 Our Only Hope Is in Christ's Righteousness "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:20). God demands nothing less than perfection and holiness from you in regard to His commandments (Ex. 20:1_17). Your only hope, then, is not in your own goodness but in the goodness of Christ, who did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them for you. In Christ, your righteousness does indeed exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. For you have been baptized into Christ's death and your sinful nature crucified. Therefore, he who has died has been freed from sin (Rom. 6:1_11). You are now raised with Christ to walk in newness of life and to share in His resurrection on the Last Day. Christ has brought you through the baptismal sea "out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Ex. 20:2). Therefore, "consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11).