Divine Sugar Sticks for March 2001

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Saturday, March 3, 2001

Principles on Physical Death

1. Physical death was the means of terminating a revolution. Num 16:25-31.
   
2. Physical death is a matter of the sovereignty of God based upon His perfect integrity and omniscient knowledge of all the facts. Psa 68:19, 20.
   
3. God prolongs life for certain believers who change their attitude towards the Word of God and begin the daily advance toward maturity. Psa 102:19, 20, 23, 24, 118:18; Prov 14:27.
   
4. Love is stronger than death. S.O.S. 8:6.
   
5. Women must be taught to face the death of loved ones. Jer 9:20-25.
   
6. The sin unto death does not bring glory to God. Isa 38:18.
   
7. Death cannot be faced when the norm and standard function of the soulish mind is destroyed. Lam 1:19-20.
   
8. Dying in Grace makes death a promotion for the mature believer. Phil 1:21.
   
9. God provides in dying Grace. Amos 5:8.
   
10. God delivers the Grace believer from death. John 5:20, Psa 33:19, Psa 116:8.
    

The Doctrine of the Classification of Death

1. Spiritual death is no relationship with God in time. We are born physically alive, but spiritually dead, possessing an old sin nature and the imputed sin of Adam.
   Gen 2:17, Prov 14:12, Ezek 18:20, Rom 5:12, 6:23, 1 Cor 15:22, Eph 2:1, 5.
   
2. Physical death is separation of the human soul, and in the case of the believer, the human spirit also, from the body.
   Matt 8:22, Rom 8:38-39, 2 Cor 5:1-8, Phil 1:20-21.
   
3. Second death is the perpetuation of spiritual death into eternity or eternal separation from God. It is the final judgment of the unbelievers in the human race and fallen angels whereby they are cast into the Lake of Fire forever.
   Matt 25:41, Heb 9:27, Rev 20:12-15.
   
4. Positional death is part of the baptism of the Holy Spirit which identifies all believers with Christ in His death on the Cross and specifically with the rejection of human good and evil.
   Rom 6:3-4, Col 2:12, 3:3.
   
5. Operational death is failure to produce Divine Good on the part of the negative believer under the influence of evil.
   James 2:26, 1 Tim 5:6, Eph 5:14, Rev 3:1.
   
6. Temporal death is the status of carnality or the believer out of fellowship through personal sin.
   Rom 8:6, 13; Eph 5:14, 1 Tim 5:6, James 1:15, Luke 15:24.
   
7. Sexual death is the inability to copulate.
   Rom 4:17-21, Heb 11:11, 12.
   

   

Old Testament Offerings

Burnt offering: Salvation, propitiation, the work of Christ.

Gift offering: No blood, salvation, propitiation, the Person of Christ.

Peace offering: Salvation, reconciliation.

Sin offering: Restoration of unknown sins.

Trespass offering: Restoration of known sins.

1. The promotion of Grace believers.
   A. The Grace believer is God’s man for a crisis. 1 Sam 17
   B. Unless God promotes the believer, he is not promoted. Psa 75:6-7
   
2. Areas of Grace capacity.
   A. Freedom. Rom 8:21, 2 Cor 3:17, Gal 5:1
   B. Life. 1 Sam 17:47, 18:5, 14
   C. Love.
   1. Category one: Love toward God. Deut 6:5, 30:20, Josh 23:10, 11, 1 John 2:5, 1 John 4:19
   2. Category two: Love toward the Right-Man or Right-Woman. S.O.S. 8:6-7
   3. Category three: Friendship. 2 Sam 1:26
   D. Happiness. Psa 9:1-2, 21:1, 31:7, 43:4, 97:12, John 17:13, 1 John 1:4
   E. Suffering. 2 Cor 12:7-10
   

Categories of Grace Represented by Jewish Heroes!

1. Abraham: Grace prosperity – foundation of a new race.
   
2. Joseph: Grace promotion and prosperity in a Gentile periphery.
   
3. Moses: Grace leadership – the father of the Jewish nation.
   
4. David: Grace leadership – both in the military and national setting.
   
5. Isaiah: Grace leadership in communication of the Word of God, the greatest prophet and Bible teacher in the period the Southern Kingdom.
   
6. Jeremiah: Grace in the time of national disaster – a monument to the sufficiency of Grace resources under maximum pressure.
   
7. Daniel: Grace blessing to a Jew in time of Israel’s dispersion under the last administration of the fifth cycle of discipline in 70 A.D. The Jewish Age is interrupted, but Abraham’s progeny, Paul, holds the all-time record for doctrinal blessing and communication of Divinely-revealed Truths.

Notice all the resources of Grace that are depicted in these believers!

Second Childhood!

You often hear of old men going through their second childhood and actually becoming senile. But that problem exists in Christianity. Most Christians are in their second childhood. Where there is supposed to be growth, there is retrogression.

The process of Christian growth is depicted for us in 1 John 2:13-14, where we have listed children, young men, and fathers. That is the normal cycle of growth, but what do we find? Second childhood!

1 Cor 13:11, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, and thought as a child, But when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Nothing wrong with children, but they have to grow up. Most women marry children and find out they have another child they have to raise. 1 Cor 3:1, And I brethren, could not speak unto you as spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” No growth!

Heb 5:12, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.”

That is why this command is so imperative:

“Grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Sunday, March 4, 2001

Confidence

Many young people today lack confidence. Because of a lack of confidence, they sublimate and end up with a false sense of confidence. They do this by taking drugs, etc. and getting high. Even when they ask a girl out on a date, they are afraid that they may be rejected, so they get high so they don’t know they are rejected.

One of the by-products of the Word of God is confidence. It is explained over and over again in the Bible. Here is a simple illustration:

“We know” “We know” “Knowing this we have confidence.”

2 Cor 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.”

2 Cor 5:6, “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord.”

2 Cor 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and face-to-face with the Lord.”

Knowledge of the Word of God builds confidence.

The Cure of Impotency!

Faith is a transitive verb, which means all the merit is not in faith, but the Object of faith.

For example, faith in Jesus Christ as personal Saviour brings eternal life. It is Christ where all the merit is. “Jesus Christ, the power of God.”

Faith in the Word of God as believers produces power in the Christian’s life because “the Word of God is alive and powerful.”

That is why three times in Scripture the believer is told that “the just shall live by faith.” “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.”

When the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ does not exercise His faith in the Word of God, he is without power and he is impotent. Power is another word for faith.

”O ye of little faith” = O ye of little power.

”A faithless generation” = A powerless generation.

”I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation; to everyone who believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Most Christians are impotent and there is only one cure: “Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

The Secret to Divine Guidance!

1. Three categories of will in history.
   A. Divine will
   B. Angelic will
   C. Human will
   
2. Cardinal principles of Divine Guidance.
   1 John 3:23, “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” This is the will of God.
   A. For the unbeliever: Salvation, 2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
   B. For the believer: Spirituality. Eph 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
   
3. The humanity of Jesus Christ had free will.
   Matt 26:42, “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”
   Heb 10:7, 9, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the Book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God.” “Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second.”
   A. No free will in mankind would imply no free will in the humanity of Christ.
   B. The basic principle of Divine Guidance, however, is based on the fact that man possesses volition of the soul or free will.
   
4. Types of the will of God related to the human race, i.e., Balaam.
   A. Directive will. Num 22:12, “And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.”
   B. Permissive will. Num 22:20, “And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.”
   C. Overruling will. Num 23.
   
5. Academic principles of guidance.
   A. Knowledge of the Word of God in the human spirit.
   Psa 32:8, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye.”
   Prov 3:1-6, “My son, forget not My law; but let thine heart keep My commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and Truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
   Isa 58:11, “And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
   Rom 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
   B. Yieldedness, which is the filling of the Spirit.
   Rom 6:13, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
   Rom 12:1, 2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
   Eph 5:17-18, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
   1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
   C. Growth toward maturity and edification.
   2 Pet 3:18, “But grow in Grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”
   James 4:6, “But He giveth more Grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth Grace unto the humble.”
   

Monday, March 5, 2001

Secret of Divine Guidance – Part Two

1. Categories of the will of God for the believer in Christ.
   A. Viewpoint will of God. What does God want me to think?
   B. Operational will of God. What does God want me to do?
   C. Geographical will of God. Where does God want me to be?
   
2. Mechanics of the will of God. Acts 11.
   A. Guidance through prayer, verse 5.
   B. Guidance through the mind, verse 6.
   C. Guidance through the Word, verses 7-10.
   D. Guidance through providential circumstances, verse 11.
   E. Guidance through the filling of the Spirit, verse 12.
   F. Guidance through fellowship and comparison of data, verses 13-15.
   G. Guidance through remembering Scriptures, verse 16.
   

The Doctrine of the Importance of the Military

1. Protection of the national entity is two-fold.
   A. Interior – The objectivity of law and good law enforcement.
   B. Exterior – The military establishment. Neh 4:14-15.
   
2. In spite of man’s efforts for peace, warfare will continue until the Millennium. Matt 24:6, Mark 13:7, Luke 21:9. Therefore, warfare is not only a bona fide part of history, Ecc 3:8, Num 21:14, but very necessary for the maintenance of national sovereignty and freedom.
   
3. In both the struggle for and perpetuation of Jewish freedom after the Exodus, Jesus Christ Himself was the Lord of the Armies under the title, “Lord of hosts.” Joshua 5:13-6:2, Isa 1:24.
   
4. Armies both defend freedom and destroy freedom. In Jeremiah 34:7 the Jewish army fought to defend Jewish freedom while the Chaldean army fought to destroy Jewish freedom.
   
5. The issue of national sovereignty, integrity, and freedom depends upon which army wins. The Chaldean army won, and the Jews lost their freedom. Jer 40:1.
   
6. God uses the military in action to demonstrate the degeneracy of a nation. Failure of the military on the battlefield indicates the lack of self-discipline, spiritual incentive, motivation for courage, and respect for authority, which are so basic in perpetuating freedom.
   Failure of the military indicates lack of character and stability among the citizens of the national entity. Jewish military failure in 587-586 B.C. can be attributed to both a spiritual and moral decline of the people.
   
   More to follow …
   

   

   The Doctrine of the Importance of the Military – Part Two

7. Since the battlefield decides freedom, universal military training is an important function in national life. Num 31:3-5, Luke 14:31.
   
8. Importance of military leadership is an index of national character. Prov 24:1-6.
   Characteristics of leadership demand character:
   A. Self and group discipline.
   B. Relaxed mental attitude plus mental attitude dynamics, ability to think under pressure.
   C. Sense of responsibility and character to fulfill responsibility.
   D. Knowledge of military science, strategy and tactics, or whatever one’s part is within the military establishment. Confidence of leadership resides in the knowledge of the job.
   E. Common sense and good judgment.
   F. Loyalty and recognition of authority.
   G. Fairness to all personnel under one’s command in spite of personal prejudice.
   H. Understanding of others.
   I. Executive ability. Ability to organize, categorize, synthesize, systematize, delegate authority.
   J. Health. Endurance and emotional stability.
   K. Presence, poise, dress, carriage, courtesy, flair.
   
9. Importance of military training is useless if men of the nation are apostate, full of seared consciences, and emotional revolt, degenerate, and addicted to drugs.
   
10. Part of Divine judgment against a nation is military defeat, which precedes the fifth cycle of discipline.
    Ephram – 721 B.C. Assyria – 612 B.C. Judah – 586 B.C. Chaldea – 539 B.C.
    

The Biblical Perspective of Tongues!

1. The prophecy of tongues. Isa 28:8-11.
   A. A warning to the Jews of the fifth cycle of discipline. Lev 26:14-39, Acts 2:8-11 .
   B. The purpose of the warning was to turn the cursing of the fifth cycle of discipline into the blessing of regeneration. Acts 2:14-41.
   
2. Initial fulfillment of the prophecy of tongues. Acts 2:1-11.
   
3. Fulfillment interpreted. 1 Cor 14:21-22.
   
4. Operation of tongues. 1 Cor 13.
   
5. Regulation of tongues. 1 Cor 14.
   
6. Tongues abused. 1 Cor 1:1-18, 12.
   
7. Proper use of tongues as a sign of the fifth cycle of discipline set forth in “three Pentecosts of Acts.”
   A. Jewish. Acts 2:3-11.
   B. Gentile. Acts 10:44-46.
   C. Transitional. Acts 19:2-7.
   
8. Discontinuance of tongues after the fall of Jerusalem and the beginning of the fifth cycle of discipline. 1 Cor 13:8, 10.
   A. ‘That which is perfect” is a nominative singular, neuter gender, that indicates a “thing,” not a Person.
   B. It is a reference to the Word of God.
   C. Replacement of the gift of tongues by the Word of God written in Gentile languages.
   
9. Tongues perpetuated as a satanic operation. 2 Thes 2:7-12.
   
10. Mechanics of tongues as a satanic operation. Isa 8:18-19, 29:4, Rev 16:13-14.
    
11. Pseudo tongues as a false criterion for spirituality and the Christian way of life. Rom 16:17-18, 2 Cor 6:11-12.
    
12. The gift of tongues – its Biblical perspective:
    A. Not necessary for salvation. 1 Cor 12:3.
    B. Never a sign of spirituality. 1 Cor 12:11.
    C. Must not be confused with the baptism of the Spirit. 1 Cor 12:13.
    D. Should not cause other believers without the gift to have an inferiority complex. 1 Cor 12:15-16.
    E. Should not cause the user to have a superiority complex. 1 Cor 12:21.
    F. The least of all spiritual gifts. 1 Cor 12:28.
    G. Effectively used only when believers are exercising the gift if filled with the Spirit. 1 Cor 13.
    H. Temporary, therefore, not extant today. 1 Cor 13:8.
    I. Need for regulation because of its abuse. 1 Cor 14.
    

“From Henceforth Thou Shalt Have Wars,” 2 Chronicles 16:9

Apostasy always precedes Divine judgment. Apostasy weakens the military. God judges that nation with war.

All three factors are present in Judges 5:8. “They chose” – by their own volition. “New gods” – apostasy. “Then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?” There was not. Why? Because apostasy (religion) had destroyed the military.

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole Earth” – omnipresence. “To show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars,” 2 Chr 16:9.

God is on a constant reconnaissance to protect believers whose heart (mind) is perfect (mature, has Divine viewpoint) toward Him.

Our hope in this country today lies with you as a believer. But you are no asset unless you function daily under the principle of growing in Grace. You cannot glorify God in the angelic conflict without the Word of God. The Jews had rejected the Word of God. “Therefore from henceforth, continually, thou shalt have wars,” 2 Chr 16:9.

Women – The Casualties of Warfare!

“Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty (i.e., mental attitude sins) and walk with stretched forth necks (literally, proudly elevated, pride) and wanton eyes (the result of pride, they flirt with everyone) walking and mincing as they go (short, sexy steps), and making a tinkling with their feet,” Isa 3:16.

In those days, certain women wore bells on their ankles to call attention to their beauty. As they walked with short, sexy steps, the little bells rang. These women had wiped out their mind, Titus 1:15b, with mental attitude sins. “Haughty and wanton eyes” is a prelude to “operation fornication.”

”Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion (discipline), and the Lord will discover their secret parts,” Isa 3:17. As a part of warfare, the women will be the recipients of violence. “Their secret parts” is simply a way of describing rape by invading armies.

”In that day the Lord will take away the bravery (glamour) of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls (hairnets), and their round tires (necklaces), like the moon,” Isa 3:18.

”And it shall come to pass, instead of a sweet smell (perfume), there shall be stink (of death); and instead of a girdle, a rent (a tear).” The result of rape, and instead of well set hair, baldness. In the violence of being raped, the hair has been ripped out of their heads, and instead of a stomacher (dress coat), a girdling of sackcloth (slavery); and burning (scars) instead of beauty,” Isa 3:24.

A flirting empty-headed woman can bring about her own destruction.

Women – the casualties of warfare.

Men – Casualties of Warfare!

“The men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war (literally, your heroes shall die in battle). And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground (slavery),” Isa 3:25-26.

This is a description of national discipline. So don’t let any woman ever do or say anything that would turn your husbands or sons into cowards. Such as “Oh Honey, I don’t want you to go into combat. You might get hurt.” They are protecting you!

In this country, the women have always had courage with regard to their men, and even though they may never see them again, they do not send them off to war with a weakened mentality. May it ever be so!

Jeremiah presents another aspect:
”My bowels, my bowels!” This is Hebrew for extreme, excruciating pain. “I am pained at my very heart” (description of mental anguish). “My heart (my mind) maketh a noise in me (his mind screams). I cannot hold my peace (stability), because Thou hast heard. O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war (of the enemy),” Jer 4:19.

This is a cry of a soldier who is wounded, who has battle fatigue, and who is about to go completely psychotic. What has happened to him? He keeps hearing the sound of the enemy’s trumpet and the alarm of war.

Tuesday, March 6, 2001

“By His Stripes Ye Are Healed”

There are many things that happen to us in the physical realm which teach spiritual lessons.

1 Pet 2:24 – “By Whose stripes ye are healed.”
Isa 53:5 – “And with His stripes we are healed.”

Now many interpret and teach this passage incorrectly, teaching that there is healing in the atonement. But that is incorrect. Having a physical ailment before salvation does not remove the physical ailment after salvation.

Recently I underwent surgery and incisions were made in my body. This passage brings out this principle of the application of the physical to the spiritual. The incisions that were made in my body have come together of their own accord. The incisions separated one part of my body from another and made a gap, and began to slowly come together.

The spiritual application is that there is an incision, a gulf between man and God, “and by His stripes we are healed,” is that the Cross has reconciled us back to God, just as when you have an incision and you are drawn together again.

Truly the body is wondrously made.

God Prepares Believers for War!

David is speaking in Psalm 18:34, “He (God) teacheth my hands to war.” 2 Sam 22:35, “He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.”

David was a shepherd. He knew nothing about war. But during his shepherd years, he learned the Word of God. This shepherd with the Word of God went to war. And he made a fantastic beginning. In single combat he dispatched the arrogant challenger to the Israelite army, Goliath And after that he learned war.

God taught him! He took basic training from the Lord. The Lord was his drill sergeant. But please notice. God does not teach us to murder!

When war is legitimate, killing is necessary. When it is not, then killing becomes murder.

”He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms,” Psa 18:34. The “breaking of the bow” is an idiom for the annihilation of the enemy. The same passage is found in Psalm 144:1.

This is dedicated to those believers and unbelievers who still think of themselves as “conscientious objectors.” ”Blessed is the Lord, my Strength (the Source of my military training) which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” ”The Strength of the Lord” is the Word of God and therefore, the believer’s fortification.

Nevertheless, at certain times it is necessary, for the protection of our freedoms, to go to war. But since some cannot put on a uniform and stand at attention and salute, and automatically become a soldier, the art of war must be learned.

And so, “God teacheth my hands to war (which is combat) and my fingers to fight (strategy, the drawing up of the plan of battle).”

Believers Are Protected in Time of War

Job 5:20, “In famine He shall redeem thee from death, and in war, from the power of the sword.”

God is omnipotent and therefore able to protect the believer in any situation. You are just as safe in combat as you are anywhere else. If God’s plan is for you to continue to live, then God’s plan will go on.

”Knowest thou it (the Word of God), because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?” The Word has to be learned.

”Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” Have you ever seen the design of a snowflake? You may have, but Job did not. He did not realize that every snowflake had been given a perfect design.

”Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?” Do you, Job, understand the composition of the hail “which I have reserves against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” Job 38:21-23.

In other words, this passage explains that if God can design a snowflake, one different from any other, or hold the universe together, “God can preserve you against the day of battle and war!”

At this time there is a snow storm in the Northeast and also here in Indiana. So look outside at the snow and hail and snowflakes and relate.

Wednesday, March 7, 2001

You Have a Choice – Heaven or Hell!

“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe is judged already, because he does not believe in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God,” John 3:18.

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not believe in the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him,” John 3:36.

“These have I written unto you that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His Name,” John 20:31.

“He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son does not have life,” 1 John 5:12.

“I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but by Me,” John 14:6.

“Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life,” John 6:47.

“I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone who believeth, to the Jew first and also the Greek,” Rom 1:16.

“We are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus,” Gal 3:26.

“He came unto His own, and His own received Him not; but as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God,” John 1:11-12.

“For there is salvation in no other, for there is no other Name under Heaven given to men whereby we may have eternal life,” Acts 4:12.

Jesus Christ Died For You!

“He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the Cross,” 1 Pet 2:24.

“God demonstrated His love towards us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” Rom 5:8.

“He made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Cor 5:21.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil world, according to the will of God our Father,” Gal 1:3-4.

“He died for all that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died,” 2 Cor 5:15.

“Our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us,” Titus 2:13-14.

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus who gave Himself as a ransom for all,” 1 Tim 2:5-6.

“For if we while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by His life,” Rom 5:10.

“He was delivered up for our transgressions and was raised because of our justification,” Rom 4:25.

“He who spared not His Son, but gave Him up for us, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?” Rom 8:32.

“He is the Satisfaction for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world,” 1 John 2:2.

The Doctrine of Imputation!

1. Abraham is the pattern of imputation of Divine righteousness. Gen 15:6.
   
2. Divine righteousness is imputed only on the basis of faith in Christ. Rom 3:22.
   
3. Many Gentiles of Old Testament times found God’s righteousness by believing in Christ, while many Jews, hung up on the law, missed imputation. Rom 9:30-33.
   
4. Imputation is the basis of justification. Rom 4:22, 5:1.
   
5. Imputation encourages faith in Christ. Rom 4:24-25.
   
6. Imputation is a motivator for the Grace means for understanding and utilizing the Word of God. Phil 3:8-9.
   
7. Imputation is based on the work of Christ on the Cross.

“He made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Cor 5:21.

The Doctrine of Justification!

1. Definition: Justification means “vindication,” therefore, it is the judicial act of God whereby He imputes His righteousness to the new believer at the point of salvation, thereby vindicating, or justifying him.
   
2. The meaning is derived from three Greek words:
   A. DIKAIOO – To justify, to vindicate.
   B. DIKAIOSOS – justification, vindication.
   C. DIKAIOMA – An act of acquittal or justification.
   
3. Stage one justification or vindication occurs at the moment of faith in Christ. Rom 3:28, 5:1, Gal 3:24.
   
4. Stage one justification is based on the doctrinal principle of Grace. Rom 3:24, Titus 3:7.
   
5. Therefore, stage one justification does not occur through the Mosaic Law. Rom 3:20, 28, Gal 2:16.
   
6. The mechanics of stage one justification is the imputation of Divine righteousness to the one believing in Christ. Gen 15:6, Rom 3:22, 4:4, 5, Rom 9:30-32.
   
7. The work of justification was accomplished by Christ on the Cross. Rom 5:8-9.
   
8. Because the work for our justification was accomplished on the Cross, Christ was resurrected to relate justification, the strategic victory. Rom 4:25.
   
9. Stage two: The Christian way of life – justification or vindication is the function and production of the Grace life. James 2:21-25.
   
10. The means of stage two justification or vindication is the daily function of growing in Grace. Wisdom is the utilization of the Word of God resident in the mind. Matt 11:19, Luke 7:35.
    

Thursday, March 8, 2001

Doctrine of Positional Truth – Part One

1. Positional truth is one of the five ministries of God the Holy Spirit which occur at the point of salvation.
   A. Regeneration: John 3:1-16, Titus 3:5
   B. Sealing: 2 Cor 1:22, Eph 1:13, 4:30
   C. Indwelling: John 7:37-39, Rom 8:9, 1 Cor 6:19-20, Gal 3:2, 4:6
   D. Baptism: 1 Cor 12:13.
   E. Spiritual gifts: 1 Cor 12:11.
   
2. The baptism of the Spirit is the mechanics of positional truth.
   Acts 1:5, 1 Cor 12:13, Eph 4:5.
   The Holy Spirit places the believer in union with Christ.
   
3. Positional truth belongs to the carnal believer as well as the spiritual believer, and to the apostate believer, as well as to the believer growing in Grace.
   1 Cor 1:2, 30.
   
4. Positional truth protects the believer from Divine judgment in eternity. Rom 8:1.
   
5. Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever.
   A. Eternal life: 1 John 5:11, 12.
   B. Imputation of God’s righteousness: 2 Cor 5:21.
   
6. Positional truth is the key to both election and predestination.
   Eph 1:3-6.
   
7. Positional truth creates a new creature – 2 Cor 6:17, Eph 2:10 – based on who and what Christ is, therefore, what Grace accomplishes. It’s not what changes we make at salvation or thereafter.
   
8. Positional truth guarantees the eternal security of the believer. Rom 8:38, 39.
   
9. Positional truth is classified under two categories:
   A. Retroactive – identification with Christ in His death, which connotes rejection of human good. Rom 6. Col 2:12, 3:3.
   B. Current – Identification with Christ in His victory, resurrection, ascension, and session.
   
   More to come ...
   

   

   Doctrine of Positional Truth – Part Two

10. Current positional truth implies that the believer shares certain things in union with Christ.
    A. Eternal life: 1 John 5:11, 12
    B. Righteousness of God: 2 Cor 5:21
    C. Election: Eph 1:4
    D. Destiny: Eph 1:5
    E. Sonship: John 1:12, 1 John 3:1, 2
    F. Heirship: Rom 8:16, 17
    G. Sanctification: 1 Cor 1:2, 30
    H. Kingdom: 2 Pet 1:11
    I. Priesthood: Heb 10:10-14
    
11. The characteristics of positional truth are six-fold:
    A. It is not an experience – neither emotional or ecstatic.
    B. It is not progressive – cannot be improved in time or eternity.
    C. It is not related to human merit, ability, or human good.
    Here are the implications of retroactive positional truth: there is no place in the plan of God for human good.
    D. It is eternal in nature, it cannot be changed by God, angels, or mankind.
    E. It is known only through the Word of God.
    F. It is obtained in toto at the moment of salvation.
    

    

The Doctrine of Reconciliation – Part One

1. Definition: Reconciliation is the removal of the barrier between God and man, or peace between God and man. While redemption is sinward, and propitiation is Godward, reconciliation is manward. 2 Cor 5:18, Eph 2:16, Col 1:20-21.
   
2. Reconciliation and the blood of Christ.
   A. The blood of Christ is a synonym for the saving work of Christ on the Cross and the basis for reconciliation. Col 1:20.
   B. Therefore, the work of the Cross is associated with reconciliation. Eph 2:16.
   
3. Reconciliation and mankind under the concept of reconciliation – Mankind is regarded as the enemy of God. Rom 5:10, Col 1:21.
   
4. Peace, a synonym for reconciliation – Reconciliation finds man the enemy of God, but the saving work of Christ on the Cross connotes peace between God and man. Eph 2:14, cf 2:16, cf Col 1:20.
   
5. Reconciliation portrayed in the Levitical offerings – the peace offering of Leviticus 3 depicts the Doctrine of reconciliation or Christ’s removing the barrier between God and man. Lev 7:11-38, 8:15.
   
6. Application of reconciliation to the royal family of God – Every member of the royal family of God, the Church Age believer, is an ambassador representing Christ on Earth. Therefore, each member of the royal family has the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor 5:18-20.
   
7. The prophecy of reconciliation. Isa 57:19.
   
   More to come ...
   

   

   The Doctrine of Reconciliation – Part Two

8. The mechanics of reconciliation – The removal of the barrier.
   A. Sin removed by unlimited atonement. 2 Cor 5:14-15, 19; 1 Tim 2:6, 4:10; Titus 2:11, Heb 2:9; 2 Pet 2:1; 1 John 2:2.
   Redemption: Gal 3:13; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; 1 Pet 1:18-19.
   
   B. Penalty of sin – Removed by expiation. Psa 22:16; Col 2:14.
   
   C. Problem of physical birth – Removed by regeneration. John 3:1-18; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 1:23.
   
   D. Relative righteousness – Or human good removed by imputation. Rom 3:22, 9:30-10:10; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9; Heb 10:14.
   And justification Rom 4:1-5, 4:25, 5:1, 8:29-30; Gal 2:16; Titus 3:7.
   
   E. The barrier of God’s perfect character – Removed by propitiation. Rom 3:22-26; 1 John 2:1, 2.
   
   F. Problem of position in Adam – Removed by positional sanctification. 1 Cor 15:22; 2 Cor 5:17; Eph 1:3-6.

”We have peace with God.”

Science and the Bible!

1. The pre-chaotic Earth, which abounded with animals and plant life, was apparently the headquarters for Satan.
   
2. The fall of Satan and the resultant angelic conflict led to the destruction of planet Earth with its animals (TOHU) and its plant life (BOHU) – “Became empty and desolate” – no animals, no plant life.
   
3. The Earth, for a time, was covered with an ice pack. The ice pack was the result of freezing waters by darkness ( the complete absence of heat).
   
4. With regard to the antiquity of the Earth, neither science nor the Bible gives us a clear picture. We have some methods of measuring age, such as carbon dating and carbon 14, but these are not accurate in determining the antiquity of the Earth.
   
5. There is never a conflict between what the Bible says in the original language and the true observations of such sciences as cosmology, geology, astronomy, chemistry, anatomy, anthropology, and even psychology.
   
6. However, actual scientific data and information in the Bible is extremely limited. The Bible is not a scientific textbook, nor was it designed to be.
   
7. Being a book of God’s Doctrines and filled with spiritual phenomena, it is obvious that the Bible will occasionally allude to or comment on what we classify as scientific subjects.
   
8. Wherever the Bible comments on scientific subjects, the Bible is always accurate in the original languages. God is the origin of all the laws and all the phenomena which science seeks to categorize and classify.
   
9. Therefore, science does not confirm the Bible, but occasionally the Bible confirms scientific data or some scientific classification.
   
10. If scientific speculation does not line up with the Bible, then such speculation is inaccurate. If there is a true conflict between scientific speculation, not observation, but speculation, and what the Bible says, then the Bible is right. Just as when there is a conflict between some historical interpretation and what the Bible says, the Bible is right. In other words, where the Bible comments on science, science must agree with the Bible. The Bible is not required to agree with science.
    

    

The Doctrine of Scientific Laws and the Universe

1. The continuation of the Earth and the universe, including homo sapiens, animal life, plant life, the stable state of our atmosphere with its various components, all depend on the “omnipotence” and the “immutability” of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col 1:17, Heb 1:3.
   
2. “Scientific laws” is a misnomer. Scientific laws, as such, do not exist because science did not develop these laws and science cannot enforce them. For example, in chemistry, God promises that when certain elements are combined, certain results will follow. This is a “Divine law” not a scientific law.
   
3. So-called scientific laws are based on the statistical assumption that the universe, which operates according to a fixed norm, will continue to do so. Science can “observe” and science can “apply.” Learn how to distinguish between “observation,” “classification,” and the “speculation” of science. Science can observe and classify certain Divine laws and then apply them productively, but only God in His sovereignty can guarantee the continuation of these laws.
   
4. The universe, with the function of matter and energy, will not always exist as it does at the present time. 2 Pet 3:10-12, Rev 20:11.
   
5. Known scientific laws and phenomena which man has been able to observe, classify, and apply, depend entirely upon the “faithfulness of God.” Jesus Christ at this present time is guaranteeing the function of every bona fide scientific law. Col 1:17.
   
6. The reason for preserving the universe is to resolve the angelic conflict in human history, “and to bring many sons into glory.” Heb 2:10.
   
7. The Word of God will survive the destruction of the universe. 2 Pet 3:10, for the Word of God will exist forever.
   
8. Regenerate man in a resurrection body will live forever and survive the changes in the universe, even surviving the destruction of this present universe. Heb 12:26-28.
   
9. It is Jesus Christ who holds the universe together by the power of His Word, Heb 1:3, at the same time He is holding back eternity in order for the human race to have the opportunity to appropriate the Grace of God. This begins at the point of faith in Jesus Christ, so that the angelic conflict will be resolved and ultimately God will be glorified forever and ever and ever.
   

   

The Doctrine of Days!

The word “day” is used in the Bible in three different ways. If you study the six days of “restoration,” you must learn to differentiate among them.

1. The day which is less than 24 hours.
   A. The day of salvation – This is the moment of time when an individual believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and refers to that moment of faith in Christ. Act 16:31, 2 Cor 6:2.
   
   B. The “day of Christ” is the Rapture of the Church, which will be instantaneous, “in the twinkling of an eye.” 1 Cor 15:52, Phil 1:10, 2:16.
   
   C. The “day of wrath” is the Great White Throne Judgment, which is described as “a day of wrath” in Rom 2:5. That will be the moment when the unbeliever is judged by Jesus Christ and is cast into the Lake of Fire. Rev 20:11-15.
   
   D. A “day of declaration” refers to the judgment seat of Christ. 1 Cor 3:13. It will be the judgment of the Church Age believer’s human good. 2 Cor 5:10.
   

   

   The Doctrine of Days – Part Two

2. The day that is more than 24 hours.
   A. The day of redemption – which refers to the believer in eternity in a resurrection body, Eph 4:30.
   B. The day of the Lord can have one of two meanings, depending on the context.
   1. It can refer to the Tribulation, Second Advent, and Millennium – a combined period of approximately 1007 years. Or,
   2. It can refer to any one segment of the Tribulation, Second Advent, or Millennium. Isa 2:12; 1 Thes 5:2; 2 Pet 3:10.
   C. The day of God – which refers to eternity, 2 Pet 3:12.
   
3. The 24 hour day – which is a solar day.
   A. The six days of the Earth’s restoration were literal 24-hour days, Gen 1:3-31.
   B. The Sabbath. Ex 20:11, a holy day in the dispensation of Israel.
   C. The Lord’s day – which is Sunday, Rev 1:10.
   D. “One day at a time” concept in the Christian way of life, Rom 14:5-6.
   E. Taking in the Word of God daily, Psa 119:97, functioning under growing in Grace in every 24-hour period.

Some people don’t know what day it is!!

Friday, March 9, 2001

The Process of the Hardening of the Heart!

1. While the believer is commanded to persist in the daily intake of the Word of God, there are certain attitudes and moods that hinder persistence and become enemies of positive volition to the Word of God. These attitudes are disillusion, boredom, discouragement, self-pity, loneliness, frustration, bitterness, and jealousy.
   
2. The believer often caters to these attitudes by reacting with a frantic search for happiness, be it a system of self-righteousness or lasciviousness.
   
3. The frantic search always upsets the balance of the soul – emotion takes over from the mind, the mind becomes hardened because the emotion does not respond to it. Remember that the soulish mind is the “right man” and the emotion is the “right woman”. It is called the emotional revolt of the soul, which supplies additional intensity to the frantic search for happiness.
   
4. The status of the soul results in a changed attitude toward the Word of God and it may be apathy, indifference, or antagonism, but all lead to a negative volition toward the Word of God.
   
5. Negative volition toward the Word of God produces calluses on the soul. The mind has already been hardened and a vacuum is formed in the soul and it draws in the doctrine of demons, 1 Tim 4:1. This is how we get the “cup of demons” in the devil’s communion table, 1 Cor 10:21. You cannot drink of the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons at the same time. To drink of the cup of the Lord is Grace. To drink of the cup of demons is disgrace and negative volition toward the Word of God. This is not demon possession but demon influence. Only unbelievers can be demon possessed, for the believer’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor 6:19. Therefore, a believer cannot be demon possessed.
   
6. Demon influence shorts out all systems of the soul and results in “blackness of the soul.” This is immediately followed by a complete change of life, a blackout of the soul.
   
7. Under the hardening process, the believer begins to reap what he sows. First in the category of self-induced misery, second in the category of Divine discipline – warning, intensive, and dying stages.
   

   

Why Suffering?

1. General causes for suffering.
   A. Health.
   B. Justice, imprisonment, etc.
   C. People, gossip, war, social conflict, etc.
   D. Privation, hunger, thirst, etc.
   E. Weather, heat, cold, tornado, hurricanes, etc.
   F. Mental pressure, worry, fear, jealousy, etc.
   G. Isolation by society, loneliness, ostracism, etc.
   H. Mental attitude sins, self-induced misery.
   I. Negative volition toward the Word of God – reaping what you sow.
   
2. Categories of suffering.
   A. Time.
   1. Unbelievers in two categories.
   A. Violation of Divine laws.
   B. Self-induced suffering.
   B. Eternity.
   1. Believer has no more suffering, Rev 21:4.
   2. Unbeliever, Lake of Fire, Rev 20:12-15.
   
3. Premise of suffering.
   A. All suffering is designed for blessing in the Christian life. 1 Pet 1:7, 8, 1 Pet 4:14.
   B. The exception is discipline, Heb 12:6.
   C. The exception is removed by restoration, 1 Cor 11:31, 1 John 1:9.
   D. Suffering follows is the principle of Grace, Rom 8:28, 1 Thes 5:18.
   
4. Purpose of Christian suffering.
   A. To receive discipline for carnality or negative volition, Psa 38.
   B. To glorify God, Job 1-4, Luke 15:20-21.
   C. To illustrate Doctrine – the Book of Hosea.
   D. To learn obedience, Phil 2:8, Heb 5:8.
   E. To keep down pride, 2 Cor 12:1-7.
   F. To develop faith, 1 Pet 1:7-8.
   G. To witness for Christ, 2 Cor 3:4.
   H. To demonstrate the power of God, 2 Cor 11:24-33, 12:7-10.
   I. To manifest the fruit of the Spirit, 2 Cor 4:8-11.
   J. To help others who suffer, 2 Cor 1:3-5.
   K. From indirect action, because other believers get out of fellowship, Rom 14:7; 1 Cor 12:12, 13, 26; 1 Sam 21; 1 Chron 21.
   

   

“He Restoreth My Soul,” Psa 23:3

1. Restoration must be understood in light of relationship with God, Jer 3:13, or in the light of positional Truth. Rom 8:1.
   
2. The frame of reference for restoration is the efficacious death of Christ on the Cross where He paid for our sins. 2 Cor 5:21, 1 Pet 2:4, 1 John 1:7.
   
3. Eternal security is the prerequisite to understanding the restoration technique, Rom 8:38-39. The believer sins after salvation but such sin is categorized as “carnality,” not loss of salvation. 1 Cor 3:1-3, 1 John 1:8, 10.
   
4. Restoration means fellowship with God and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Prov 1:23, Eph 5:14 compared with Eph 5:18.
   
5. The alternative to restoration is Divine discipline. 1 Cor 11:31, Heb 12:6.
   
6. The mechanics of restoration is to confess your sin, 1 John 1:9. Forget it, Phil 3:13, 14. Isolate it, Heb 12:15.
   
7. The discouragement to restoration is legalism and other Christians, Luke 15:11-32.
   
8. The Grace provision for helping others to be restored:
   A. The mechanics, Gal 6:1 .
   B. A mental attitude of Grace, Matt 18:23-35.
   C. Grace orientation, Col 3:13.
   D. Reward for assisting others, James 5:19-20.
   
9. Biblical synonyms for restoration.
   A. Confess, 1 John 1:9.
   B. Judge self, 1 Cor 11:31.
   C. Yield – an aorist tense, Rom 6:13, 12:1.
   D. Lay aside every weight, Heb 12:1.
   E. Be in subjection to the Father, Heb 12:9.
   F. Lift up the hands that hang down, Heb 12:12.
   G. Make straight paths for your feet, Heb 12:13, Matt 3:3.
   H. Arise from the dead, or literally, “Stand up again out from deaths,” Eph 5:14.
   I. Put off the old man, Eph 4:22.
   J. Acknowledge thine iniquity, Jer 3:13.
   
10. Old Testament restoration commands. Psa 32:5, 38:18, 51:3, 4; Prov 18:13.
    

    

What Christians Believe!

Christians believe that He who had no beginning ...

Had a beginning!!!

What Christians Believe!

Christians believe that Mary had a baby Boy …

And the baby Boy was older than His mother!!!

Saturday, March 10, 2001

The Doctrine of Divine Discipline!

1. Divine discipline from God is designed for the believer only, Heb 12:5.
   
2. Divine discipline is based on God’s love for the believer, Heb 12:6, Rev 3:19.
   
3. Divine discipline, no matter how severe, does not mean loss of salvation, Gal 3:26, 2 Tim 2:12-13.
   
4. Discipline is related to the Grace principle of turning cursing into blessing. Discipline may be removed by confession, 1 Cor 11:31. Exception is found in recession of any stage of growth to total apostasy. The negative believer manufactures his own discipline, Psa 7:14-16, through his negative volition and only his positive volition toward the Word of God can reverse the trend of the intensification of discipline.
   
5. If suffering continues after the believer is restored back to fellowship, the purpose of that suffering is no longer for discipline, but for blessing, Job 5:17-18.
   
6. All Divine discipline is confined to time. There is no discipline for the believer in eternity Rev 21:4.
   
7. Triple-compound discipline combines self-induced misery with Divine judgment.
   A. Mental attitude sins motivate sins of the tongue. These mental attitude sins are subject to discipline.
   B. Sins of the tongue are the basis for further punitive action from God, Matt 7:1.
   C. Whatever sins are attributed to the victim of sins of the tongue are also added to the maligner, Matt 7:2.
   
8. There are three categories of discipline in negative volition.
   A. “The knocking at the door,” James 5:9, Rev 3:20. A general category of discipline which may be removed by confession.
   B. The intensified stage, which includes loss of heath and other extreme types of discipline, the sphere of strong delusion.
   C. The dying stage, the believer is under the sin unto death. 1 John 5:16.
   
9. Continuation in the status of negative volition results in the sin unto death, 1 John 5:16.
   

The Importance of Bible Doctrine – Part One

1. Definition.
   
   A. Bible Doctrine is the content of the Canon of Scripture with emphasis on communication of that content by teaching and instruction.
   
   B. The communication of Bible information on the basis of exegesis of the original languages or an analysis and classification of the English text.
   
   C. Doctrine is “the mind of Christ,” 1 Cor 2:16, and must be communicated by authorized personnel – prophets and Levitical priesthood in the age of Israel and pastor-teachers in the Church Age.
   
2. Biblical nomenclature for Doctrine.
   
   A. Hebrew noun, “EMETH,” Psa 31:5, emphasizes true Doctrine as apposed to false Doctrine, Psa 25:5, 26:3, 86:11, 119:142, Prov 22:21.
   
   B. Hebrew noun “CHAKMAH” refers to Doctrine with emphasis on its residence in the soul, Prov 8:1.
   
   C. Hebrew noun “SHEMUAH” translated “Doctrine” in Isa 28:9 means “What is heard” which emphasizes growing in Grace from the standpoint of concentration.
   
   D. Hebrew noun “MUSAR” means, “instruction” and stressed the communication of Doctrine from the disciplinary aspect of learning, Jer 10:8, Prov 1:2, 4:13, 23:23.
   
   E. Derivates of Greek verb “GINOSKO” which denotes intelligent comprehension
   of an object or a matter, therefore “to perceive” related to the function of growing in Grace.
   
   1. “GNOSIS” Doctrine in the mind comprehended as objective reality.
   2. “EPIGNOSIS” Doctrine in the human spirit cycled into the mind where it is useable.
   3.”PROGNOSIS” Doctrine in the mind of God billions of years ago, therefore, an extension of God’s omniscience sometimes translated “foreknowledge,” 1 Pet 1:2.
   4. “GNOSTOS” “Known, capable of being known intelligible" emphasizes the potentiality of learning Doctrine, Rom 1:19.
   5. “GNOSTES” an expert in Doctrine, Acts 26:3.
   
   F. Hebrew noun “LEQACH” translated “Doctrine” actually connotes the poise and self-discipline necessary to consistently assimilate Doctrine and to fulfill the tactical objective of victory in the spiritual life, Deut 32:2, Job 11:4, Prov 4:2.
   
   G. Greek word “DIDASKALIA” used for both the teaching of Doctrine and what is taught, Matt 15:9, Eph 4:14, Col 2:22, 1 Tim 1:10, 4:1, 6, 13, 16, 2 Tim 3:10, 16, 4:3
   
   H. Greek word “DIDACHE” means “act of teaching or what is taught,” Matt 7:28; 22:33; Mark 1:22, 27; Acts 2:41, 5:28; Rom 6:17; 1 Cor 14:6; 2 Tim 4:2; Heb 6:2.
   
   I. Greek “LOGOS” often used for Doctrine, Heb 6:1.
   
   J. Doctrine bequeathed to royal family of God as their spiritual legacy in the dying words of the Lord Jesus Christ, Psa 31:5, Luke 23:46.
   

   

   The Importance of Bible Doctrine – Part Two

3. Doctrine bequeathed to the royal family of God as their spiritual legacy in the dying Words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
   
   Psa 31:5, “Into thine hand I commit My Spirit: Thou hast redeemed Me, O Lord God of Truth.”
   Luke 23:46, “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the Spirit.”
   
4. Existence of this legacy in Old Testament times.
   
   Psa 138:2, “For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.”
   
   A. God the Father attaches the highest importance to Doctrine because it expresses Who and What Christ is.
   B. God the Father attaches the highest honor to the Person and the Work of Christ on the Cross.
   
5. Pre-existence of Bible Doctrine to the human race, Prov 8.
   
6. Believer’s attitude toward Doctrine – the basis for blessing or discipline.
   
   Prov 8:33-36, “Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors. For whoso findeth Me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death.”
   
7. Doctrine resident in the soul – the basis for the distribution of Grace blessings.
   
   Isa 53:12, “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
   
8. Doctrine is the basis for the distribution of surpassing Grace blessings in eternity.
   
   Heb 11:9-10, “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
   Compared with Heb 11:13, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the Earth.”
   James 1:25, But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
   Compared with James 2:12-13, “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”
   
9. Reality of Doctrine over empirical knowledge, 2 Pet 1:12-21.
   
10. Destruction of a nation through lack of Doctrine.
    
    Hosea 4:1-6, “Hear the Word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no Truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
    
11. Bible doctrine is part of the principle of living Grace for the believer in time.
    
    A. Under living Grace, God provides temporal and spiritual factors to keep the believer alive in time.
    B. Temporal factors include food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities.
    C. Spiritual factors are in the realm of academics. A text book, the Word of God, a classroom, the local Church, a communicator, the Pastor-Teacher.
    Eph 4:11-13, “And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
    Col 1:25-29, “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the Word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.”
    Heb 13:7, 17, “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
    
12. Advancement and vindication of the plan of God through Bible Doctrine.
    Isa 53:10, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”
    Rom 3:4, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
    
    More to come ...
    

    

    The Importance of Bible Doctrine – Part Three

13. Balance of residency established in the soul of the believer through the communication of Doctrine by the Pastor-Teacher:
    
    A. Balance of residency based on the fact that believers in the Church Age comprise the royal family of God.
    B. Doctrine is transferred from the written page of the Bible to the soul of the believer under the function of Grace. 2 Cor 2.
    C. The purpose of this transfer is to establish in the soul of the believer a balance of residency.
    D. As a badge of royalty, the body of every Church Age believer is indwelt by God the Holy Spirit.
    E. When the believer is filled with the Spirit in compliance with Eph 5:18, a residency of the Third Person of the Trinity is established in the soul of the believer.
    F. Since the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God, the filling of the Spirit creates a vacancy of residency in the soul.
    G. The vacancy is filled by the daily function of growing in Grace, which creates a balance of residency necessary for the function of the royal family of God on Earth.
    
14. The importance of consistency in the function of growth.
    Heb 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Heb 10:35, 36, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”
    Col 2:6-7, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
    
    A. Every believer has a “paragraph” of Grace blessings in the Divine Decrees promised by God in eternity past.
    B. Consistency is the secret of growing up spiritually and taking the highest ground of a Grace status.
    C. Therefore the believer must function in Grace growth daily.
    

    

    The Importance of Bible Doctrine – Part Four

15. Results of Doctrine resident in the soul.
    
    A. Produces confidence for the believer in time.
    Job 5:24-27, “And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the Earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.”
    2 Cor 5:6-8, “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
    Heb 10:35, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.”
    
    B. Orients the believer to the plan of God.
    Isa 26:3, 4, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.”
    Rom 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
    
    C. Causes Divine viewpoint in the mind and therefore mental attitude dynamics.
    Isa 55:7-9, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
    2 Cor 10:5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
    
    D. Produces stability of soul.
    James 1:8, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
    
    E. Basis for Divine guidance and execution of the will of God.
    Rom 12:2, 3, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the Grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
    
    F. Leads to maximum capacity to love God and occupation with Christ.
    Eph 3:19, “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
    Phil 3:10, “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.”
    Heb 12:2-3, “Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
    
    G. Enables believers to attain and hold a Grace status.
    Phil 3:12-14, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
    
    H. Means of attaining surpassing Grace for eternity.
    Heb 11:9, 10, 13, “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the Earth.
    James 1:15, “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death,” compared with James 2:12, 13, “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”
    
16. Synonyms for Bible Doctrine resident in the soul:
    
    A. Crucifixion synonym – Taking up the Cross and following Christ.
    Matt 10:38, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, 14:27.
    
    B. Priestly synonym – Construction of an altar in the soul.
    Heb 13:10.
    
    C. Building synonym – Edification of the soul.
    Eph 4:12, 16.
    
    D. Theological synonym – More or greater Grace.
    James 4:6
    
    E. Military synonym –
    1. Putting on the full armour of God.
    Eph 6:11, 13.
    
    2. Following the colors to the high ground of Grace.
    Heb 12:1-2.
    
    3. The establishment of a “command post” in the soul.
    Col 2:5-8.
    
    F. Language synonyms –
    1. Hebrew noun “CHAKMAH”
    2. Greek noun “EPIGNOSIS”
    3. Greek verb “EPIGINOSKO”
    
    G. Time synonym – Redeeming the time.
    1. Toward God.
    Eph 5:16-18.
    2. Toward the unbeliever.
    Col 4:5.
    
    H. Chemical synonym – Salt, used for maximum Doctrine resident in the soul which results in Grace status.
    Matt 5:13, Mark 9:50, Luke 14:34a. Col 4:6.
    
    I. Central control synonym – Having your own control system rather than being a drone.
    Eph 6:10.
    

A Marriage Made in Heaven – What God Has Joined Together …

“The Marriage of Grace and Faith”

1. Grace and faith are like the Right-Man and the Right-Woman in Category Two Love.
   1 Cor 11:7 – Grace is analogous to the Right-Man and faith to the Right-Woman. “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.”
   
2. Therefore, Grace is the initiator and faith is the responder.
   
3. Just as there is one Right-Man for one Right-Woman, so Grace is the only match for faith.
   
4. Grace and faith meet at the Cross. Grace and faith “marry” in salvation. Acts 16:31, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Just as marriage is the framework for Category Two Love, so salvation is the framework for Grace and faith.
   1 John 5:4-5, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
   
5. At the Cross, faith responds to Grace and results in salvation.
   Eph 2:8-9 , “For by Grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
   
6. As in marriage, faith in the Christian life continues to respond to Grace.
   2 Cor 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight:”
   Col 2:6, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.”
   The faith response is both inhale of the Word of God and the exhale of faith in the Promises of God.
   
7. Conclusion: We are saved by faith and we live by faith.
   2 Cor 5:7, Col 2:6,
   Heb 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
   
8. Faith excludes both human merit and works. Works is the wrong woman. Works is the harem with which faith will not coexist.
   Eph 2:9 , “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
   Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
   
   Neither will Grace tolerate works. Faith is the only bride acceptable to Grace. Therefore, faith must come alone to the Cross.
   John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.”
   
   Grace as the Right-Man rejects the harem of works.
   Gal 2:16 , “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
   
   Faith is the only true responder to Grace.
   
9. Since faith is the only true responder to Grace, faith is a part of the Grace apparatus for perception.
   A. For the Old Testament saints, faith was the basis of intellectual comprehension in the mind and transfer of the Word to the human spirit.
   Heb 4:2, “For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”
   Heb 11.
   
   B. For the Church Age believer-priest, faith is the basis for the transfer of the Word to the human spirit.
   Eph 3:17 , “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,”
   
   More to come …
   

   

   Marriage of Grace and Faith – Part Two

10. Since Grace and faith become one at the Cross, they live together in the Christian way of life. Divorce occurs when the believer switches to legalism.
    
11. In growing in Grace, all systems of works-perception are excluded. Works is to Grace what calluses are to the lungs of the soul.
    
12. The marriage of Grace and faith in the Christian way of life demands production. And this is the subject of James. Human reproduction is based on the sex apparatus. Spiritual production is based on the union of Grace and faith. The Word is the seed, just as only human seed can conceive in the womb. So the Word, the Seed, only conceives in the believer’s human spirit.
    
13. For conception and production of Divine Good, faith transfers the Seed, from the mind to the human spirit, where there is conception.
    
14. Therefore, perception only becomes conception by means of faith. Faith, therefore, is the key to growing in Grace.
    
15. Conception of the Seed of the Word in the human spirit results in Category Four – children.
    
    A. Frame of reference progeny – Doctrine in the human spirit is cycled into the mind as a frame of reference, and Doctrine is built upon Doctrine.
    
    B. Application children – Exhale of Doctrine out of the left and right banks of the soul is comparable to application and resting in faith.
    
    C. The edification children – This is a building built up in the soul, a “super structure.”
    
    D. The Divine Good children – Bona fide production in the Christian’s life.
    
16. This explains how man becomes the image and the glory of God. 1 Cor 11:7, “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.”
    

    

What Christians Believe!

Christians believe that Mary gave birth to a Baby Boy

And the Baby Boy whom she held in her arms was older than His mother!

Sunday, March 11, 2001

How a Catholic Became a Christian

I grew up in the Catholic Church and I am familiar with the low and high masses and the confessional box and the absolution slips and the Hail Marys and the our Fathers. More Hail Marys than our Fathers???

I met a group called “The Christian Anti-Communism Crusade when I lived in Miami. Cuba was only 90 miles away and I was concerned with the evils of Communism.

One day there was an announcement in the paper that one of the members of “The Christian Anti-Communism Crusade” was going to speak at a “Protestant” Church in Miami. While growing up in the Catholic Church, I knew I could not be seen in a Protestant Church. But because my wife wanted to go and since she was dying of cancer, I went to oblige her.

I sat on the last seat on the last row expecting all hell to break loose. As soon as I sat down, the lights went out and I thought I was doomed.

The man got up and said that his mother didn’t raise any crazy children. He said he had a beautiful home in Houston, but it was nothing compared to his mansion in Heaven. That caught my attention. So, I followed him outside and asked him to show me where that statement appeared. He said it was in the Bible. But I had never seen a Bible. So, he
showed it to me and it really did say what he said it did.

It was John 14:1-6 and on the basis of that verse, along with John 3:16 and Eph 2:8-9, this Catholic became a Christian.

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me,” John 14:1-6.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” John 3:16.

“For by Grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast,” Ephesians 2:8, 9.

Try it you will like it!

The Doctrine of the Human Spirit!

1. Definition: The human spirit is that immaterial part of man designed by God to store and utilize spiritual phenomena.
   
   A. In original creation, man received the human spirit along with the soul, Gen 2:7, “Breath of lives” including both soul and spirit.
   
   B. The human spirit is not the same as the soul. It is distinguished in the Bible. Heb 4:12, “dividing of the soul and the spirit.”
   
2. Variations in the spiritual status of mankind.
   
   A. Original man was trichotomous, Gen 2:7.
   
   B. At the time of the fall, Gen 3:6, both Adam and the woman suffered immediate spiritual death, Rom 5:12. This entailed the loss of the human spirit plus the acquired permanent residence of the old sin nature in the soul.
   
   C. From the time of the fall, the unbeliever is dichotomous, 1 Cor 2:14, Jude 19.
   
   D. The believer is trichotomous – possessing, spirit, soul, and body. 1 Thes 5:23.
   
   E. Therefore, the believer receives the human spirit at the point of salvation simultaneously with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And the two spirits are the Grace keys to growing in Grace.
   
3. Perception by means of two spirits. 1 Cor 2:12-16.
   
4. The reality of spiritual phenomena resident in the two spirits, Rom 8:16.
   
   A. The Holy Spirit is the Teacher of Doctrine. John 14:26, 16:12-16, 1 Cor 2:9-16, 1 John 2:27.
   
   B. The human spirit is the target for Doctrine – the converter and dispenser of Doctrine – and the foundation for edification. Eph 4:20-24.
   
5. The storage of Doctrine in the human spirit.
   
   A. The area of refreshment, 2 Cor 7:13.
   
   B. The basis for Grace orientation, Philemon 25.
   
   C. Spiritual I.Q. related to Doctrine stored in the human spirit, Job 32:8, Rom 8:16.
   
6. The human spirit as the storage and distribution center of categorical Doctrine, Eph 3:18-19.
   
7. The Holy Spirit as the substitute for the human spirit in the comprehension of the Gospel, Gen 6:3, John 16:8-11, 1 Cor 2:14, 16.
   

Monday, March 12, 2001

The Doctrine of the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit!

1. The Scriptural documentation of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age.
   John 7:37, 39, 14:16-17; Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19-20, Gal 3:2.
   
2. The purpose of the universal indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
   A. The unique characteristic of the Church Age, which is necessary because of the strategic victory of Christ through His death, resurrection, ascension, and session.
   B. The intensification of the angelic conflict with the new dispensation.
   John 7:37-39.
   C. The sign of escutcheon of royalty.
   
3. The distinction between salvation and post-salvation ministry of the Holy Spirit.
   A. The indwelling or residency occurs at the moment of salvation. It is permanent and immutable.
   B. The Holy Spirit accomplishes five things for every Church Age believer at the point of salvation – baptism, regeneration, sealing, indwelling, and providing a spiritual gift.
   C. The post-salvation ministry of the Holy Spirit is the inner control of the believer’s soul known as “filling” or “walking.”
   D. The vocabulary Paul. Eph 5:18, Gal 5:16.
   The vocabulary of John. 1 John 2:27, 28.
   E. Both carnality and negative volition result in loss of the “filling” but not the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
   F. Personal sin in the life “grieves” the Spirit, Eph 4:30, while human good “quenches” the Spirit. 1 Thes 5:19.
   
4. Nomenclature for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
   A. Anointing.
   Acts 4:27, 10:38, 2 Cor 1:21, 1 John 2:20, 27.
   B. Unction.
   1 John 2:20.
   
5. The prophecy of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
   John 7:37-39, 14:16, 17.
   
6. The distinction between the indwelling of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
   A. Christ indwells the believer for the purpose of fellowship on the road to maturity.
   Rom 8:10, 2 Cor 13:5, Gal 2:20, Eph 3:17.
   B. The believer who is in negative volition is not indwelt by Christ.
   2 Cor 13:5.
   C. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling of the royal priesthood of the Church Age is both permanent and functional.
   Gal 5:22-23.
   
7. The primary objective of the indwelling.
   A. The function of growing in Grace in learning the Word.
   John 14:26, John 16:12-15, 1 Cor 2:9-16, 1 John 2:27.
   B. The universal priesthood of the believer demands the permanent indwelling or residency of the Holy Spirit for achieving the tactical objective of the Grace life.
   
8. The suppression, control, and neutralization of the functions emanating from the old sin nature in the believer. Gal 5:17.
   

   

The Doctrine of Redemption!

1. Etymology of redemption.
   
   A. A compound Greek word “ANTILUTRON,” the substitution of money for a slave or a prisoner. Therefore, payment for the freedom of a slave or a prisoner, translated “ransom.”
   
   B. “LUTROTOS,” Redeemer, deliverer. “LUTROSIS,” Redemption, deliverance. “LUTROO” to release for a ransom, to redeem “AGOPAZO” to redeem, to buy, “EXZAGORAZO” to redeem, to purchase from a slave market, to set free are cognate words.
   
2. Definition.
   
   A. The work of Christ on the Cross directed toward sin.
   
   B. The saving work of Christ by which He purchased the freedom of the human race, born spiritually dead and in the slave market of sin, and set them free.
   
3. Jesus Christ, the only qualified Redeemer.
   
   A. By the virgin birth. Matt 1:23, 1 Tim 3:16, Heb 1:3.
   
   B. By the impeccability of his humanity. Isa 53:9, John 8:46, 19:4, 2 Cor 5:21.
   
4. The positive volition of Jesus Christ.
   
   A. The redemptive work of Christ on the Cross was an act of His own free will. Luke 22:42.
   
   B. Christ was obedient to the Father’s plan. Rom 5:19, Phil 2:8.
   
5. Animal blood – the means of teaching the Doctrine of redemption in the Old Testament. Job 19:25, 26, Heb 9:22.
   
6. Blood of Christ – the ransom money or purchase price of redemption. Eph 1:7, Col 1:1.
   
   A. The “coin of the realm” – 1 Pet 1:18-19 – by which the purchase was made.
   
   B. Depicts by representative analogy the saving work of Christ on the Cross or spiritual death in which He was judged for our sins. 2 Cor 5:21, 1 Pet 2:24.
   
   C. A real analogy would be a literal death compared to a literal death.
   
   D. In a real analogy, the physical death of the animal would be compared to the physical death of Christ.
   
   E. However, Christ did not die by bleeding to death.
   
   F. Here, therefore, we have a representative analogy in which the physical death of the animal on the altar represents the spiritual death of Christ on the Cross – Two deaths of Christ on the Cross. Isa 53:9, “Deaths,” plural.
   
   G. The representative analogy demands that the blood of Christ be taken figuratively.
   
   More to come …
   

   

   The Doctrine of Redemption – Part Two

7. The soul of the believer is redeemed in salvation. Psa 34:22.
   
8. Condemnation by the Mosaic Law resolved by redemption. Gal 3:10, 13.
   
9. Results of redemption.
   
   A. Forgiveness of sin. Isa 44:22, Eph 1:7, Col 1:14, Heb 9:15.
   
   B. Basis for justification. Rom 3:24.
   
   C. Basis for sanctification. Eph 5:25-27.
   
   D. Basis for the eternal inheritance of the believer. Heb 9:15.
   
   E. Basis for strategic victory of Christ in the angelic conflict. Col 2:14, Col 2:15, Heb 2:14, 15.
   
   F. Redemption of the soul in salvation leads to redemption of the body in resurrection. Eph 1:14.
   
   G. Redemption of the body is the ultimate or stage three status of the royal family of God forever. Rom 8:23, Eph 4:30.
   
10. Redemption related to the Mediatorship of Christ. 1 Tim 1:5, 6, Heb 9:14, Heb 9:15.
    

The Four Enslavements!

John 8:33, “They answered Him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man, How sayest Thou, ye shall be made free?”

At this point, the religious Kibitizers answered Him in pride, in egocentricity, “We are Abraham’s seed.”

Remember that religion is the devil’s ace trump, and when a religious man opens his mouth, what he says is often wrong. You can visualize the Pharisees as they swelled with pride and boasted of their lineage. They were very proud of their Jewish heritage and the fact that they were descended from one of the greatest men of all times. They were
counting heavily on their human relationship with Abraham. Heaven would be wide open to them, since the Pearly Gates would never shut on any of Abraham’s seed.

They go on to make a statement that is typical of anyone who has lost touch with reality and is distorted in his perspective. “We were never in bondage to any man.”

It is interesting to note that at the time this phrase was uttered, they were under four different systems of bondage:

1. They were in bondage to the Mosaic Law.
   
2. They were in bondage to their religious system.
   
3. They were in bondage to the Roman Empire.
   
4. They were in bondage to sin.
   

Grace Found A Way!

John 8:31, “Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on Him, ‘IF ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed.”

Once a person has received Christ as personal Saviour, He must constantly study the Word of God if He is to discover and utilize the Divine operating assets available to Him.

Jesus Christ was emphasizing this point when He said, “If ye continue in My Word.”

Based on the technical structure of the Koine Greek language, every time you find the word “if” in the New Testament, it means one of four things.

First class condition – “If and it is true”
Second class condition – “If and it is not true”
Third class condition – “If maybe yes or maybe not”
Fourth class condition – “If I wish it were true, but it is not”

The “if” in our passage, John 8:31, is a third-class condition and it is the expression of free will and volition. Maybe you will and maybe you won’t. You have a choice to make whether or not you want to take in the Word of God.

Catholic Prayers I Was Taught!

There is a prayer in the Catholic Church where you are sure to get what you want. The name of that prayer is “Fatigue Deos,” which means to tire out God. In other words, if you don’t get what you want, just keep on asking Him and He will be tired and finally answer you. You fatigue Him.

What a malign that is to God’s character!

Then I was told to pray to Mary and Mary will ask her Son, and what Son wouldn’t listen to His mother and give her what she asks. Well, first we don’t pray to Mary – ever. We always pray and address God our Father. But Jesus Christ doesn’t take orders from Mary.

”He told her, know you not that I am about My Father’s business.”

He also said to Mary, “What have I to do with thee.”

He said to His disciples, “Behold your mother and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”

I was also told that in 1954 Mary ascended up into Heaven in a physical body. So that now we have a co-redeemer. And co-mediator.

But the only Person in Heaven with a resurrection body is the Lord Jesus Christ.

”And there is one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.”

But listen to what Mary says, “His mother said unto the servants.” “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.”

”Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord.”

”And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”

Her body produced the Lord Jesus Christ, being overpowered by God the Holy Spirit. She magnified God in her spirit and soul and body.

Tuesday, March 13, 2001

The Doctrine of Polygamy!

1. Polygamy was never authorized by the Word of God. Lev 18:18, Deut 17:17.
   A. Polygamy is never the permissive will of God.
   B. Only a man in negative volition or human viewpoint rationalism condones polygamy.
   
2. Polygamy is related to negative volition and is an expression of negative volition.
   A. Found in the line Lamech because of negative volition. Gen 4:19.
   B. Jacob’s polygamy, Gen 29, set a precedent for the Jews, but was not approved by God.
   
3. Polygamy violates the doctrine of “Right-Man, Right-Woman.”
   A. By an act of violation, a man can destroy his Right-Woman.
   B. Man is not designed for an intimate relationship with more than one woman.
   
4. Polygamy is a form of self-induced misery and unhappiness for man.
   
5. Monogamy is God’s order under the laws of Divine establishment. It weakens a man to violate the laws of establishment.
   
6. Many great believers had one wife, therefore, understood the Doctrine of “Right-Man, Right-Woman.” Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, etc.
   
7. Trouble related to polygamy.
   A. Concentration of jealousy of wives under one roof, illustrated by Jacob’s wives in Gen 29, 30 and Elkanah’s wives in 1 Sam 6:1 ff.
   B. Gideon’s polygamy caused trouble among his children. Judges 9.
   C. David’s polygamy compounded the problems in the children, and the discipline carried to the second generation. 1 Chron 3:1-9.
   

   

The Prohibition of Adultery!

Prov 5:15, “Drink waters of pleasure from your own cistern, and flowing waters from your own well.”

First – a command to drink water. Water as an analogy of Grace is used three ways in the Word of God. Here the water is the “Right Woman.”

In Isa 55:1 water is used as salvation. In Eph 5:26, water is used for the Word of God.

So, we have here three great gifts from God to man. The command to drink indicates that all Grace gifts must be received. However, this word means, “to drink and enjoy it,” or “to drink and have your thirst quenched.” It has the meaning of “living it up” in a good sense.

In this context it is used for the man who is thirsty for his Right Woman. His thirst is quenched and he is gratified in his relationship with her. This is one of the greatest happinesses of life.

All of the great happinesses of life are related to the gifts of Grace.

”Waters of pleasure” is plural because there are many acts of the relationship between Right Man and Right Woman. But please notice:
”From your own well.”

There are many acts of drinking but “one well,” one Right Woman. A cistern in Hebrew phraseology refers to a covered well. 2 Kings 18:31. The Right Woman is covered to everyone else. Who pulls the cover off the well? Only the Right Man. She is designed to be appreciated by one man only.

Proverbs 5:15, “Flowing Waters From Your Own Well.”

“Flowing waters” repeats the same principle as before. However, this time, since the waters are running, the well is not covered.

So we have a different Hebrew word. The first word indicates the outside, “The well is covered.” But where the Right Man is, the well is “not covered.”

The “flowing waters” describe the response of the woman to her Right Man. “Flowing” has another beautiful connotation. When you are in water, it always accommodates itself perfectly to your body. And that is the key here. In Divine Design there is a perfect physical coalescence, Divine Design programmed the Right Woman for the Right Man only.

Therefore, adultery is prohibited. If either the man or the woman fornicates under negative volition to the Word of God, they destroy their Divine programming for each other.

As the waters flow to slack the thirst of the man, so the response of the woman gives complete satisfaction. Nothing really quenches the thirst like plain, cold water, no matter how plain a woman may appear overtly.

She was designed by God to satisfy the thirst of one man. David is here once again trying to teach Solomon to wait for his Right Woman. She is the only one who can slake his thirst. And he blew it!

Proverbs 5:15, “Drink Waters of Pleasure From Your Own Cistern, and Flowing Waters From Your Own Well.”

When anyone swallows cool, or cold water, the body heat immediately takes care of it. By the time it reaches the stomach, it is warmer than it was before. It adjusts itself to the body temperature.

Just so, in the relationship between Right Man and Right Woman. The woman is also satisfied. However, the danger is that if she enters into fornication or adultery, she becomes dissatisfied and frustrated. In her frustration she is willing to give herself to anyone in the hope that just around the corner there will be some man who will satisfy her physically.

She is trying to find Divine Design. But she is going about it in the wrong way. It is like water jumping out of the well and splashing itself on every stranger who walks by. A well is not designed to do that.

The water waits in the well for the one who has the right to drink there. If the water is all splashed out through fornication, by the time the Right One comes along, there is nothing in the well but sand. I have never yet seen anyone who was satisfied with a bucket of sand when he wanted water.

There is a similar passage in S.O.S 4:12, “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.” The “fountain sealed” is a virgin. Here is a woman who is holding all her water for the quenching of the thirst of her Right Man.

"A Deep Ditch”

Another verse which is closely related to the analogy in Prov 5:15 – “Drink waters of pleasure from your own cistern and flowing waters from your own well” – is this passage

Prov 23:27, “For a whore is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow pit.”

It is impossible to get water out of a deep ditch. Therefore, the person who goes to the deep ditch or the narrow pit for the alleviation of thirst never succeeds.

In other words, a person who goes to a whore to satisfy his libido is not going to have his soul thirst satisfied. The water cannot be reached. It was also dangerous to drink from an open ditches. The water was polluted.

Therefore, not only does one not receive the quenching of the thirst from the deep ditch, but one might pick up a disease. By analogy, of course, this would be venereal disease. It was safe only to drink from your own cistern, which was covered storage for rainwater, or to drink running water, which was pure.

The whore has made what water she had for her Right Man unavailable to him, and he has spent so much time exploiting sex, they simply become “ships that pass in the night.” Both of them have destroyed that wonderful thing which is one of the greatest happinesses in life.

When God forbids adultery, He is not being unkind. He is trying to save something that is really great for every one.

”Thine own well” means the Right Woman that God has designed for you only. Every time you go to another well you are trying to make it your own. You are trying to program that well to you, to manufacture your Right Woman out of everyone with whom you have a relationship. You will never slake your thirst at anyone else’s well.

Many a man goes through life being totally frustrated because he is drinking at everyone else’s well. Prov 9:17, “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant,” verse 18, “But he knoweth not that the dead are there and that her guests are in the depths of hell.”

“Not Good”

When Jesus Christ looked at Adam, before the woman was “built,” He said, “LO TOBH.” “Not good” that man should be alone. So Jesus Christ provided a Right Woman, a partner, for the first Adam.

Grace takes care of loneliness. And a Gracious gift was provided. The Right Woman cancelled out “LO TOBH.”

Now, it was not good that Jesus Christ should be alone on the Cross. But just as man had to be alone after he was created so that the Grace gift could come, so the Last Adam had to be alone so that the gift of salvation could come to mankind.

While bearing our sins on the Cross, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit forsook Jesus Christ. Matt 27:46. When Christ came out from the grave He was alone in a resurrection body.

Today Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, alone. He is waiting for His bride.

As Christ gave Adam a Right Woman, so the Father gave the Son a “Right Woman,” the Church, the bride of Christ. The bride, which is being prepared during the Church Age, is called “a body” because it is being “built.” Eph 4:16.

It was not good for man to be alone!
And it was not good for the God-man to be alone!

The Father gives the bride away!

A No Verb Verse on the Fulfillment of a Marriage Made in Heaven

1 Cor 11:11, “Besides, neither woman apart from man, nor man apart from woman, by the Lord.”

This is a very interesting verse. There are no verbs. Therefore, this puts great emphasis on this point of Doctrine.

“Besides” is an adverb, designed to qualify man’s authority over the woman. What is the qualification? Man’s authority over his Right Woman was never designed to be a tyranny, but a mutual fulfillment.

When two become one, Right Man/Right Woman, they are totally depended upon each other. “They will never be anything without the other again.” Each is incomplete without the other.

But notice, this is not just a hit-or-miss thing, because one more point is added. “By means of the Lord.” It is the Lord’s design.

The only exception to this is the gift or the consecration of celibacy under the principle of supreme sacrifice, as in the case of the apostle Paul .

”For just as the woman out from the source of man, even so also the man through the woman, but all things out from the source of God.” 1 Cor 11:2. Just as before the fall, man was incomplete without his Right Woman, so after the fall man cannot exist without the woman. Since the fall, man owes his origin, his existence, and his fulfillment to womanhood.

First there is his mother – Divine Institution Number Three. Then the time comes when the man must leave his father and mother to go to his Right Woman. Man’s fulfillment from the source of his Right Woman is part of Divine Institution Number Two.

One of the greatest problems in marriage is not the woman who goes home to her mother, but the boy who never cut the umbilical cord.

The “all things out from the source of God” here are the parents and Right Man and Right Woman, but the emphasis is on “all things” in the life of the man, his mother, and his Right Woman.

This is something which is fantastic, absolutely fantastic, a Grace gift from God to the human race. The only things that keep man from becoming an animal are the two women in his life, his mother and his Right Woman.

The Creation of the Woman!

“For also man was not created because of the woman, but woman because of the man,” 1 Cor 11:9.

The woman was created for the man. Whatever man lacks, she makes up for it. And although man is the authority, he is still incomplete. A general may be in command, but he is incomplete without an army.

So, man “wearing his rank on his head” is incomplete without “ISHAH.” God did a very humorous thing. He put the long hair on the woman, to remind man that while he has authority over her, he is nothing without her. He is a little short on hair to remind him that he comes up short without her. God’s Grace package in flesh form.

The greatest form of human happiness for a woman is to be fulfilled by her Right Man and the greatest in human happiness for a man is to be completed by his Right Woman.

There is nothing to compare with this happiness outside of the spiritual realm.

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” “My beloved is mine and I am his.”

Wednesday, March 14, 2001

The Doctrine of Unlimited Atonement!

1. Definition:
   A. The efficacious work of Christ on the Cross on behalf of mankind.
   B. Atonement as a noun means reconciliation after enmity or controversy and includes satisfaction or reparation made for wrong or injury.
   C. The verb has several related meanings such as “to be at one, to be in accordance, to make amends, reparation, to make up for errors or deficiencies, to reconcile.”
   D. In the Old Testament the meaning of “atonement” is related to the Hebrew verb “to pass over, to cover.”
   
2. In the Old Testament times animal sacrifices were used to cover for sin.
   A. God forgave and restored where sin was covered by the blood of animal sacrifices.
   B. However, the true basis for “atonement” was not found in these animal sacrifices.
   C. Animal sacrifices were used as a cover for sin until God the Father could be propitiated by the efficacious judgment of Christ for our sins on the Cross and the establishment of reconciliation between God and man.
   D. Therefore, “atonement” in the Old Testament refers to the use of animal sacrifices to represent the saving work of Christ.
   E. The two concepts of “atonement,” Old and New Testaments, are brought together in Rom 3:23-26.
   
3. “Atonement is unlimited.”
   A. When Christ was judged on the Cross for sins, He paid for the sins of the entire human race, not just for the elect. Rom 5:6; 2 Cor 5:14, 15, 19; 1 Tim 2:6, 4:10; Titus 2:11, Heb 2:9, 2 Pet 2:1, 1 John 2:2.
   B. “Limited atonement” – the concept that Christ died for believers only is totally fallacious.
   
4. Unlimited atonement eliminates sin in the unbeliever’s indictment at the Last Judgment.
   A. When Christ died on the Cross, He was judged for all sins of the human race.
   B. At the Cross, human good was rejected to be judged later.
   C. Human good will be part of the unbeliever’s indictment at the Last Judgment. Rev 20:12-15.
   D. Since sins have been judged at the Cross, under the law of double jeopardy they cannot be mentioned at the Last Judgment.
   E. Unlimited atonement covers sins only.
   
   More to follow …
   

The Pressures of Payment!

“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?

“Why are Thou so far from helping Me?
”And from the words of My roaring?” Psa 22:1.

These words were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.

The first vocative, “My God” was addressed to the First Person of the trinity, the Father. Christ is God. He is also man. But He was speaking from His humanity in this case.

The second vocative was addressed to the Holy Spirit and then the question,
”Why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

At that moment on the Cross, as Christ bore our sins, the First and the Third Persons of the Trinity forsook the Lord Jesus Christ. They turned their backs on Him. And Jesus Christ was so stating it in this question, “Why art Thou so far from helping Me?”

The Father wasn’t helping, and the Holy Spirit wasn’t helping. In spite of the fact that Jesus Christ was screaming, “roaring,” which is a Hebrew word for “screaming.”

You must remember just why Jesus Christ was screaming. You must have some picture of what happened to our Lord. Prior to the time, Jesus Christ had just endured six trials. During this time, men had lied about Him. No one enjoys being maligned. And yet Jesus Christ kept quiet

He did not answer or fight back. When the court finished taking the testimony, they could not draw an indictment because the false witnesses did not agree. Men began to step up and have a little fun at His expense. They took turns slugging, cursing, and spitting on Him.

Jesus Christ was hit dozens and dozens of times. As the Bible says, “He was buffeted,” which is simply the Greek word for “slugged.” Matt 26:67, Mark 14:65.

Isa 52:14 tells us that He was so badly beaten that the features of His face were completely destroyed. And yet He stood up and took it all and lived.

Literal Translation of Colossians 2:14

“Having once and for all cancelled the I.O.U.”

It is once and for all because the aorist tense in the Greek is a point of time, divorced from time, and perpetuated forever. That was the historic event of the Cross.

”Took” is the perfect tense. Christ took sin out of the way in the past with a result that God’s I.O.U. against us has been taken away forever. Where once there was a barrier, there is now nothing between us and God except the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He blotted out the debt by nailing it to the Cross.

”There is one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,” 1 Tim 2:5.

“Blotting Out the Handwriting of Ordinances That Was Against Us, Which Was Contrary to Us, and Took it Out of the Way, Nailing it to His Cross,” Colossians 2:14.

The genius of the Holy Spirit in His inspiration of Scriptures uses Words of accommodation.

In the passage before us we have one of the more significant metaphors in the Bible and one of the most descriptive is:
”Blotting out handwriting.” In the Greek it is a gambler’s term for the cancellation of an I.O.U. Now what do I owe God as a member of the human race? I owe Him perfect righteousness, absolute righteousness, and the big question is, can I pay it?

Every member of the human race has this I.O.U. of perfect righteousness out against him. When we check our assets, we find that we might be in the same boat with Charlie Brown – one million plus deeds, but they will never be enough.

That all add up to minus God’s righteousness. “We all come short of the glory of God,” and this will not pay off the debt. Someone must pay the debt. “Blotting out” means that the I.O.U. is cancelled.

”He made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Cor 5:21. Righteousness must be imputed.

A Worm!

Psa 22:6, “I am a worm.” That is what Jesus Christ said.

There are many different Hebrew words for “worm,” but this one is the rarest of them all. This was a special type of worm whose blood was gathered and used in making the crimson dye of the ancient world. This most valuable dye was used for the robes of kings.

Psa 22:6 pictures Jesus Christ as the Worm crushed on the Cross by our sins. And as a result of His being crushed, we now wear the robes of kings.

The first six verses of Psa 22 actually constitute a picture of expiation. Christ was separated and forsaken by the Father and the Holy Spirit so that you and I might never be separated from God again.

Another passage on expiation is found in the New Testament:

Col 2:14, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His Cross.”

Thursday, March 15, 2001

The Unpardonable Sin!

There is just one sin for which Christ could not die – one unpardonable sin! It is not suicide. It is not calling your brother a fool.

It is the rejection of Christ as your personal Saviour!

He is the salvation “package” and if you reject Him, there is no other way. Christ could not die for rejection of Himself.

Redemption Pays the Price!

Psa 34:22, “The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.”

The word “redeem” means, “to buy, to purchase.” In the case of a slave, it means, “to purchase his freedom from a slave market.” One of the words for “redemption” means not only to purchase the freedom of a slave, “but to free him after you purchased his freedom.”

This is the word used here. Notice the fact that “the Lord” and no one else does the redeeming.

”Since it is the soul that sinned,” Ezek 18:4, it is the soul that must be saved. Psa 19:7, Heb 10:39. Jesus Christ paid for “the soul’s redemption” “and set it free.”

From now on, when you read the Bible, every time you see the verb “to redeem” or its cognate, “redemption,” you should understand that these words refer to “purchasing the freedom of a slave.”

Christ Has Redeemed Us!

Revelation 1:5, Hebrews 9:11-14, and many other passages deal with the fact that Jesus Christ has already redeemed us.

We have been redeemed. For Christ is our Redeemer.

Contrary to Some Religious Beliefs, Money Won’t Buy Our Salvation

Peter clarifies some of the mechanics of our redemption. “Forasmuch as you know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from your empty manner of life, received by tradition from your fathers,” 1 Pet 1:18.

”Forasmuch” is literally, “because you know.” ”You know” should become your motto, since knowledge of the Word of God is the most important single factor in the Christian way of life.

God has made provision for every believer to know and understand every Doctrine in the Word of God.

You can neither orient to the Grace of God nor advance to spiritual maturity apart from “knowing the Word of God.” We are now commanded to “know” the Doctrine related to “redemption.”

First, a negative. “We are not redeemed by corruptible things,” “commodities which are perishable,” subject to decay or destruction. These are defined more specifically here as “silver and gold,” but in the Greek it is actually “silver and gold coins,” money, in other words.

Money will buy some things and there are many things people will do for money. However, money will not buy happiness, love, or friends. And above all money will not buy salvation.

Money will not liberate anyone from the slave market of sin. Nor will materialistic possessions free us from a worthless, futile life.

The Jews had inherited a legalistic tradition of salvation and spirituality by works that was in total conflict with both the Word of God and the Grace principle of His plan. They had a glorious heritage of Grace provided from their Scriptures, but religion and legalism had destroyed it.

The Big Three! What is Sin?

What exactly is sin? When used in Scripture as a singular noun, the word “sin” refers to the old sin nature. As in Rom 7:14 and 1 John 1:8.

The presence of a sin nature in all members of the human race makes it impossible for anyone to measure up to the perfect righteousness of God. Personal sins which emanate from the sin nature are always directed against God, even though they may involve wrongs towards oneself or others. Psa 61:4.

The Bible defines personal sin by means of several synonyms:

1. Missing the mark, Rom 3:23.
   
2. Transgression – rebellion against or overstepping the law, Psa 51:1.
   
3. Trespass – self-will over God’s will, Joshua 22:20.
   
4. Falling aside, Eph 2:1.
   
5. Lawless – Failure in relation to the Mosaic Law, 1 Tim 1:9.
   
6. Unbelief – the only unpardonable sin. John 8:24, John 16:9.

So, we miss the mark and we are in revolt and we are perverted.
Yet, saved.

“I Was shapen in Iniquity,” Psalm 51:5

Man is born with three strikes against him:

1. He inherits Adam’s sin.
   
2. He possesses the nature to sin.
   
3. And eventually he commits personal sins.

The sin of Adam was passed on to the human race, and it is called imputed sin. Through physical birth we inherit an old sin nature. That is what David meant when he said, “I was shapen in iniquity,” Psa 51:5.

Not that there was anything wrong with his parentage, but it simply means that being born through natural procreation, he inherited an old sin nature, which made him a sinner.

In contrast, by means of the virgin birth, Jesus Christ came into the world without imputed sin, and without an old sin nature. In addition, He lived a life free from personal sins in order to be qualified to redeem mankind.

”He made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Cor 5:21.

“One For All”

There is another way of looking at the payment for sin, called “unlimited atonement,” which simply means that Christ died for the sins of every person who ever lived.

”For the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge (conclude) that if One died for all (first class condition – and He did) then were all dead. And that He died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him that died for them and rose again.” 2 Cor 5:14-15.

Twice we read that Christ “died for all.”

In a moment of time, the sins of “every person” who ever lived, about three hundred, million, billion, quadrillion of infinitum, number of sins, were borne by Jesus Christ. He carried them in His own body. Atonement simply means that the sins of everyone in the world were borne by Christ on the Cross.

Let’s not worry about Adam’s and Eve’s, or Cain’s or Abel’s sins. Just think about your sins for a minute. What sins have you committed in the past? How many are you committing right now? Are there any lined up for the future? Can you remember your first sin?

Don’t say yes, because this might make you a liar, and add one more to your list. Everyone has committed hundreds and thousands of sins. And you say, I haven’t committed that many. Maybe you don’t recognize all of the sins that there are.

The point is that every sin you ever will commit was borne by Christ as He hung on the Cross. Sin is no longer the issue. God’s Son is the issue.

What think ye of Christ?

“The Joy That Was Set Before Him”

In Hebrews 12:2 we read “Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross.”

Now, you are the joy that was set before Christ.

He could look down the corridor of time and see you personally and He did the same thing for every other member of the human race.

2 Pet 2:1 teaches us that Christ even died for the false teachers. Our Saviour left no one out. The payment was complete. That is unlimited atonement.

1 John 2:2, “And He is the propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins, and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

He had you in mind when He went to the Cross.

He also had me in mind, which is hard both for you and me to believe.

Creation in Light of Four Hebrew Verbs!

“And God said let Us make man.”

There are four Hebrew verbs which are used in placing man and woman on this Earth in their physical bodies, and with souls inside their bodies.

1. “ASAH” means to manufacture something out of existing materials. Gen 1:26, Isa 43:7, 57:16.
   
2. “BARA” means to make something out of nothing, the creation of the invisible essence. Gen 1:27, 5:1, 2, Isa 43:7.
   
3. “JATSAR” is used for the creation of the male body only. Gen 2:7.
   
4. “BANAH” is used for the creation of the female body only. Gen 2:22.
   

Friday, March 16, 2001

United States in Light of the Four Cycles of Discipline!

1. First cycle of discipline:
   Lack of health, decline in agricultural prosperity, terror, fear and death, loss of personal freedoms due to negative volition toward the Word of God. Lev 26:14-17.
   
2. Second cycle of discipline:
   Economic recession and depression, increased personal and individual discipline for a continued negative attitude toward the Word in spite of the first warning. Lev 26:18-20.
   
3. Third cycle of discipline:
   Violence and breakdown of law and order, cities broken up. Lev 26:21, 22.
   
4. The fourth cycle of discipline:
   Military conquest and foreign occupation, scarcity of food, reduced to one tenth of the normal supply, and the breaking up of the families. Lev 26:23-26.
   
5. The fifth cycle of discipline:
   Destruction of a nation due to maximum rejection of Biblical principles. Lev 26:27-31.

The five cycles of discipline are also covered in Deut 28:15-68.

United States in Light of Biblical Conspiracies!

1. Conspiracy was the basis of the Absalom rebellion. 2 Sam 15:12-13.
   
2. Conspiracy brought about upheaval in Judah, the Southern Kingdom.
   A. Assassination of Joash. 2 Kings 12:19-21.
   B. Assassination of Amaziah, 2 Kings 14:17-19, 2 Chron 25:27.
   
3. Conspiracy destroyed the northern kingdom. 2 Kings 15:30, 17:4-16.
   A. Hosea, the last king of Israel, came to the throne on the basis of conspiracy in 732 B.C.
   B. He was also removed from the throne because of his conspiracy against Assyria.
   C. The conspiracy became the basis of the fifth cycle of discipline in 721 B.C.
   D. The principle is that if you build your house on conspiracy, it can be destroyed by a greater conspiracy.
   
4. Conspiracy also destroyed the Southern Kingdom under Zedekiah. 2 Chron 36:13, Jer 11:9.
   
5. Jeremiah was the object of conspiracy from three sources.
   A. Friends, his home town. Jer 11:19-23.
   B. Family. Jer 12:6.
   C. Right woman. Jer 12:7.
   
6. Gedeliah was the object of conspiracy. Jer 40:13-16, 41:1-3.
   
7. Paul was the victim of a religious conspiracy. Acts 23:13.
   A. The plotters, scribes, and Pharisees.
   B. The intriguers: young men who took a vow to assassinate Paul.
   C. Machination crowd: leaders of Jerusalem Church who advised Paul to enter into the temple to take a vow.
   
8. Religious conspiracy involves every category of humanity. Ezek 22:25-31.
   

Grace Provision for Learning the Word of God!

1. The formation and preservation of the Canon of Scripture.
   Every believer in the Church age has access to God’s Word in written form as his textbook for learning the Word of God. 1 Pet 1:23, Matt 24:35.
   
   In the formation of the Canon of Scripture, God the Holy Spirit took the pertinent information and brought into the perceptive mind of the human authors, who, in the filling of the Holy Spirit, understood it.
   
   From there through the function of growing in Grace and within the framework of their own personality and individuality, they exhaled it in writing.
   
   This is called “THEOPNEUSTOS” or “God breathed” – the inhale and exhale of the Word of God, of inspiration. 2 Tim 3:16. In this way, God’s complete and coherent thought toward man was recorded so that we now have a completed Canon of Scripture in writing.
   
   Throughout the ages, the Canon has been subjected to fantastic Satan-inspired attacks, yet God has preserved His Word from destruction. And that is Grace. None of us earns or deserves such Grace. The Bible continues to be the world’s best seller and the only Book to date which has been translated into over 1000 languages.
   
   ”Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
   

   

   Grace Provision for Learning the Word of God – Part Two

2. Divine authorization of the Local Church as a classroom for learning the Word of God. Col 2:7, Heb 10:25.
   
   The Church Age is the first period in history where the principle of the Local Church is Divinely authorized. You must remember that prior to this dispensation there were bona fide sacred buildings – the temple and the tabernacle – and there were sacred ceremonies – the Levitical offerings and feasts – and the sacred modus operandi of the priesthood in which the Word was communicated.
   
   With this new dispensation and the completion of the Canon of Scripture, the modus vivendi for believers has radically changed. We now have, under a Grace principle, the authorization of the Local Church for the authoritative communication of the Word of God.
   
   Why is this so important?
   
   All worship is now centered in the learning of the Word of God. Whereas before, Christ was the direct target in the angelic conflict, the believer is now the object of satanic attack. The Word of God is the only garrison for the believer’s soul in this intensified stage of the angelic conflict. Eph 6;10-17
   
   Therefore, the provision of the Local Church and its continued existence is vitally important for the protection of the believer. No believer earns or deserves such Grace. Believers assembled in the Local Church are students without portfolio and must submit to strict academic discipline under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
   
   If there is no Local Church that provides consistent and accurate Bible teaching, then the believer must avail himself of other sources. This may be in the form of printed material or information from taped Bible classes or now on a website. It is up to each individual to discover the method best for him for the daily intake of the Word of God.
   
   ”Search the Scriptures, for in them they speak of Me and in them you may have eternal life.”
   

   

   Grace Provision for Learning the Word of God – Part Three

3. The spiritual gift of Pastor-Teacher for the authoritative communication of the Word of God. Eph 4:11, 1 Tim 1:11.
   
   The spiritual gift, which is restricted to males, includes both authority and ability to communicate the Word of God to a congregation in a Local Church. According to this principle, there is a Right Pastor for a right congregation.
   
   The Pastor-Teacher does not receive some mysterious “call.” God the Holy Spirit sovereignly bestows this gift at the point of salvation. No man has ever earned or deserved the right to be a Pastor-Teacher. This is Grace! His gift becomes discernable as he learns the Word of God and it functions through proper preparation.
   
   The spiritual gift of Pastor-Teacher must be exercised with authority, Titus 2:15. Therefore, monologue, not dialogue, is the order of teaching. By dialogue we are referring to the current method of “sharing” where you put in a little bit, and the teacher puts in a little bit, and you walk out with nothing but “two bits.”
   
   The Biblical concept of teaching is set forth in the Greek verb “DIDASKO,” which is public speaking of the Word of God. Only in the communication of the Word of God in a public assembly does the believer have the privacy to learn the Word and to use it as unto the Lord and advance to spiritual maturity.
   
   A Local Church is a private organization under God, which affords the public a means to come and hear, but the principle of teaching by monologue must be maintained.
   

   

   Grace Provision for Learning the Word of God – Part Four

4. The royal priesthood of the believer for freedom and privacy of reception of the Word of God. 1 Pet 2:9.
   
   Each believer is a member of the royal family of God, therefore, a royal priest. The royalty of the priesthood demands that the believer, through the function of growing in Grace, achieve the Grace status of maturity, which is the normal status of the believer-priest’s royalty.
   
   The priesthood is designed to provide privacy and freedom to obtain that objective. It is extremely difficult for believers to realize that they can accept or reject what they hear. The whole purpose of public assembly is that you can hear along with other believers and then make your own decision without interference.
   
   Privacy, the principle of “live and let live,” is a great principle found in the Word of God. Neither the Pastor, nor any other member of the congregation, has a right to tell you how to live your life. The Pastor merely transfers the Word of God to your soul through teaching. As the Word of God becomes resident in your soul, it dictates your course of
   action, and you become spiritually self-sustaining.
   
   ”One-on-one” is an intrusion on the privacy of the priesthood of the believer. In a “one-on-one” situation, the preacher picks key people for personal instruction. Such a system usually involves a check list operation. “Have you witnessed today? To how many?” “Did you pray? How long?” “Have your read your Bible? Why not?”
   
   This constitutes bullying and coercion and promotes pseudo-spirituality. A believer’s functioning as unto the personality and requirements of another rather than as unto the Lord, you must live your life before the Lord only! This is why it is not the business of a Church to organize programs or to provide a social life.
   
   ”Feed the flock that is among you.”
   

   

   Grace Provision for Learning the Word of God – Part Five

5. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit for the proper function of growing in Grace, 1 Cor 2:9-16, 6:19, 1 John 2:27.
   
   The Grace apparatus for perception operates on the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. This is our fuel. And we will never have an energy crisis.
   
   For the first time in history, in the dispensation of the Church, the Holy Spirit indwells the body of every believer. He functions in the soul to form an apparatus for understanding the Word of God. Eph 3:16.
   
   However, merely to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit is not sufficient for the function of growing in Grace. The Holy Spirit must control the soul through the elimination of any type of carnality.
   
   Therefore, the next point must follow.
   

   

   Grace provision for learning the Word of God – Part Six

6. The technique of restoration to fellowship is the Grace means of the filling of the Spirit. Eph 5:18, 1 John 1:9. This is the restoration of the believer’s temporal fellowship with God through confession of sin.
   
   Therefore, this technique becomes the means of recovery of the filling of the Spirit. Eph 5:14. Without being restored, you can not be filled with the Spirit. And without the filling of the Spirit, you cannot develop your spiritual I.Q.
   
   The restoration technique leading to the filling of the Spirit is the Grace procedure that triggers the function of growing in Grace. Just as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a gracious gift from God, so the means by which you are filled with the Spirit is Grace function.
   
   ”Confession,” 1 John 1:9, “HOMOLOGEO,” is simply naming your sins. You are not required to feel sorry for your sins nor to agonize or to do penance for them. When you cite your sins privately to God, you are forgiven immediately, and that is totally Grace!
   
   ”If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” 1 John 1:9.
   

Saturday, March 17, 2001

The Finger Work of the Creation of the Universe!

Col 1:16, “For by Him (Jesus Christ) were all things created, that are in Heaven (space) and that are in Earth (physical universe), visible and invisible (material and spiritual realms) whether they be thrones, or dominions (humanity), or principalities, or powers (angels); all things were created by Him and for Him.”

Goodbye theory of evolution!!

Jesus Christ is omnipotent and omniscient – the One responsible for creating the original universe. “His fingers” moved and everything came into existence.

”When I consider Thy Heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained,” Psa 8:3. Creation was “finger work.” Salvation was “arm work.”

He created everything from the individual atom to galaxies of stars with the snap of His fingers.

The aorist tense tells us that it was accomplished in a moment of time less than a second. But when it came to providing our salvation, the Scripture declares that this was arm work, Isa 59:16. The creation of the universe was as nothing in comparison.

In Isa 53:1 we read “Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed?" The “Arm of the Lord” is the Messianic title in connection with our salvation. It was “arm” work to go to the Cross and die for us.

If He had the power to create the universe by snapping His fingers, and if He were able to accomplish the even greater work of salvation, then certainly He has the power to provide a new creation, a kingdom of born-again believers, and to continue that kingdom forever and ever.

In the second occurrence of the word “created” in Col. 1:16, the tense changes to the perfect tense. Literally, “Created in the past with results that go on forever.”

Actually, in this tense the universe becomes an exhibit, or an evidence of the power and the might of the King of kings, and Lord of lords. And it was “created for Him,” to glorify Him.

Man Has Free Will! He Has the Ability to Make Choices!

One of the greatest choices man can make is where to spend eternity. Prov 14:12, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

John 14:6, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one cometh unto the Father but by Me.”

”The way of the wise is from above.”

”Ye must be born from above.”

The Truth About St. Patrick’s Day!

1. Saint Patrick was a saint in that he was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
   
2. St. Patrick was not Irish, but he was from Scotland.
   
3. He was taken prisoner by the Irish and brought to Ireland.
   
4. In Ireland he didn’t drive the “snakes” out, but he lead Catholics to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
   
5. We paint everything green on St. Patrick’s Day.
   
6. But the color green represents only the Irish Catholics.
   
7. There is another segment of Irishmen and they are Protestants.
   
8. Their color is orange and they are called “orange men,” meaning Protestants.
   
9. Why not have an “Orange men’s Day”? Protestant’s Day?
   
10. The problem that exists in Ireland is the Catholics are trying to run the Protestant Irish out of Ireland.

It is another holy war!

Sunday, March 18, 2001

A Personal Challenge! “And You”

“And having peace through the blood of His Cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him, I say, whether they be things in Earth, or things in Heaven, and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet hath He now reconciled,” Col 1:20-21.

Alienated from God and in a continuous state of estrangement since the time of Adam’s sin, all mankind is under the condemnation and wrath of God, and therefore separated from fellowship with Him.

This verse even goes a step further, to indict the thoughts of mankind as at enmity with God. The area of the unbeliever’s hostility is in the mind. Human viewpoint is hostile to God.

Further, no work of the unbeliever is acceptable to God. All human good is relegated to the category of “wicked works.” ”We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags,” Isa 64:6.

There are six strikes against every person born into the world, which constitute an impassable barrier between God and man:

1. Sin, imputed
2. The penalty of sin.
3. Physical birth.
4. Relative righteousness.
5. The character of God.
6. Position in Adam.

”Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.”

Christ is Not Only the Creator But He is Also the Sustainer

“And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist,” Col 1:17.

Jesus Christ sustains the universe. When you understand this tremendous principle, you can see that the scientific laws can not be true laws because science has no way of enforcing them or even guaranteeing that they will continue to operate.

Science is merely an observation of the consistency of Jesus Christ.

But Scripture affirms that the universe, with its matter, energy, and laws, will not always exist. 2 Pet 3:10-12. Rev 20:11. Known scientific laws depend entirely on the omnipotence and immutability of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every text on the pattern of the universe and the “laws of science” is a treatise on the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, Who holds all things together “by the Word of His power,” Heb 1:3.

The reason for holding all the galaxies in their place, for keeping the traffic of the universe on its course, is so that He “might bring many sons into glory,” Heb 2:10. So that Grace might run its full course, Jesus Christ is keeping the universe together.

The law’s of the universe define God’s faithfulness in time. They can be changed, overruled, or removed, and have been. But the believer in Jesus Christ, under the promises of God, will survive the destruction of the universe. Thus, scientific laws are simply the faithfulness of Jesus Christ holding back eternity so that the human race will have the opportunity to appropriate the Grace of God at the point of the Cross.

The completion of the plan of God will bring glory to God forever.

The Rules of the Church!

“And He is the Head of the body, the Church; Who is the beginning, the First Born from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence,” Col 1:18.

This verse presents the Lord Jesus Christ as the Sovereign Ruler of the Church and sets forth a three-fold description of His rulership.

1. The Head of the body, the Church, referring here to the universal Church (Rom 12:5, 1 Cor 12:12, 13, Eph 1:22, 23, Eph 5:23), made up of all believers in Jesus Christ, is often described as a “body” because the body has function and action.
   
   The human body also produces power, and in carrying out the analogy, the body of Christ, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, has power and impact for the Lord Jesus Christ.
   
   The head is the area where the brain is located, and while the body has function and motion, coordination and power, each of these depends upon certain parts of the brain. Not only the right and the left lobes, but the motor parts of the brain as well.
   
   In like manner, Jesus Christ, as the Ruler of the Church, sets up the policy and provides the power whereby the body functions to the glory of God.
   
2. The origin of the Church: Jesus Christ is called, literally, “The Beginning who is the beginning.” The word for “beginning” here means “origin.” Christ is the origin of the Church through His death, burial, and resurrection, ascension, and session. These formed the foundation for the Church.
   
3. “The Firstborn from the dead.” “Firstborn” denotes three responsibilities and privileges of leadership: sovereignty, priesthood, and heirship, or the double portion.
   
   By resurrection, the humanity of Jesus Christ became the Sovereign Ruler of the Church, emphasizing His ministry of intercession for the saints. He became the Heir of the new creation, the Church, in the sense of providing for the existence of the Church as a regenerate kingdom which will always exist.
   
   ”On this Rock I will build my Church” – the Rock is Christ.
   

“The King of Kings Preeminent”

Col 1:18 concludes with a purpose clause, “that in all things He might have the preeminence.”

In the Plan of God it is the purpose of the Father for the Lord Jesus Christ to have the place of “preeminence.” “Preeminence” is translated as a noun. But it is actually a present, active, participle, meaning, “the one who holds first place.”

It was used to describe athletes who had won the various events at the Olympic, Pythian, Isthmian, or Nemean games, which were the great athletic events of the ancient world. The winners were those “who held first place.” It was occasionally used to describe the mayor of a city or a ruler of a country. It is used here for the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who constantly holds first place.

The Scripture declares Jesus Christ to be preeminent. But whether or not He is preeminent in the life of the individual believer depends upon the technique called “occupation with the Person of Jesus Christ.”

The believer who is not occupied with Christ is a very miserable person, no matter who he is or what he has. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and you have your eyes on yourself, you are guaranteed misery.

A close companion of “eyes on self” is “eyes on other people.” These two usually coordinate and run together. If you have your eyes on yourself, you also have a tendency to get your eyes on other people, for you interpret people in the light of your sensibility.

How may a believer be occupied with Christ so that he constantly holds first place in your life? First, occupation with Christ is based on knowledge of the Word of God. You can neither know nor love the Lord Jesus Christ unless you know the Word of God and are filled with the Spirit.

”Looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.”

The Possessor of Divine Attributes!

“For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.”

Here is where the preeminence of Christ begins. The Father is pleased that “all fullness” should dwell in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Fullness” is the sum total of all Divine power and attributes of God residing in the Person of Christ.

Our happiness begins with the fact that God the Father is pleased with one Member of the human race and since the believer is “in Him,” this would mean potential happiness for every Christian.

All believers have the potential to possess happiness. There is no excuse why every believer should not have perfect orientation, peace, and happiness under every circumstance of life, whether it be success or failure, difficulty or blessing.

The joy or happiness which belongs to Christ is available, but it depends upon our understanding and use of the Word of God. Positionally, this fullness belongs to you and me, but experientially it depends upon the techniques of the filling of the Spirit and
occupation with Christ through the Word of God, which results in edification of the soul.

Can we look back over the past week and say, “In every set of circumstances Christ has been preeminent? If we cannot, it is time to get back into fellowship and the filling of the Spirit, followed by occupation with Christ. Only then can He be preeminent, only then can He be glorified. Christ cannot be glorified before the unbeliever until He is glorified in our lives. 2 Cor 3:3.

Six Strikes Against Man – Six Doctrines by Which the Barrier is Removed

1. Redemption – Removal of the barrier of bondage to sin and slavery to the old sin nature. The price being the valuable work of Christ. 1 Pet 1:18-19, Gal 313, Eph 1:7.
   
2. Expiation – The payment demanded for sin was paid by the death of Christ. “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances was against us.” Col 2:14.
   
3. Regeneration – The new birth quickens or gives life to those who were “dead in trespasses and sins,” enabling us to be born into the family of God.
   
4. Imputation and justification – The solution to the problem of relative righteousness. The perfect righteousness of Christ is credited to the account of the believer, Rom 3:22, 2 Cor 5:21. On the basis of imputation, God is free to justify the believer as he has the righteousness of God. Rom 4:25, Rom 5:1, Gal 2:16.
   
5. Propitiation – The death of Christ satisfied the righteousness and justice of God, making it possible for God to be just in justifying the sinner and allowing Him to be righteously free to act for those whom He loves. Rom 3:23-25, 1 John 2:1, 2 ... 4:10.
   
6. Position in Christ – The death of Christ enables man be placed in a new position, “in Christ,” severing his old relationship to Adam.
   Eph 1:3-6, 2 Cor 5:17, 1 Cor 15:22. Thus the last barrier is removed and man is reconciled.

”There is one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.”

Monday, March 19, 2001

The Superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Heb 1:4, “Having become so much better (more prominent) than the angels as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent Name than they.” This passage goes on to develop Christ’s superiority.

The angel creation is used as the norm, for they are the highest of all created beings. God is superior to angels. Man was created vastly inferior. But he becomes positionally higher than angels at the point of salvation through union with Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father. And experientially higher at the Rapture when the Church Age believers receive their resurrection bodies.

Although angels were created superior to the human race, in the realm of His humanity Jesus Christ “became” superior to angels by means of His ascension and session at the right hand of the Father.

In His glorified body He has obtained, or inherited, a better name, a supremacy of character over angels, because the Father said to the Son, “Sit Thou at My right hand.”

We as believers and joint-heirs with the Son, also inherit the supremacy of Christ. Heb 1:5-13 reveals seven ways in which Christ is superior to angels.

Christ Superior in His Relationship!

Heb 1:5, “For unto which of the angels said He at any time, ‘Thou art My Son, this day, (the day of incarnation) have I begotten Thee.” This is a quotation from Psalm 2:7 and is a part of the eternal decrees, which were a declaration made by God the Father in eternity past.

”Son” is used for Jesus Christ in the New Testament only for Christ as a Member of the human race, and for those regenerate members of the human race in union with Him, who are the body of Christ.

Although angels are collectively know as “sons of God” in the plural, Gen 6:2, Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7, they are never individually or personally called “a son.”

”And again I will be to Him a Father and He shall be to me a Son,” Heb 1:5.

The last half of this verse is a quotation from 2 Sam 7:14. We understand that the words “Father” and “Son” form a part of the language of accommodation. They are words of relationship in the human race, and while they do not adequately express relationship between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity, they do give us some idea.

The First Person is the Father, and the Second Person is the Son. In eternity past when salvation was prepared, the First Person made the Second Person the heir of all things. This statement in Heb 1:5 is one of the things He said. It establishes the fact for us that there is a relationship between the First and the Second Persons of the Trinity.

This means that we can also have a relationship with the First Person of the Trinity on the basis of relationship with Jesus Christ. We were entered into union with the Son of God by faith in Him, and as the Father and the Son are one, so we are one with the Son and the Father, John 17:20-24.

We now have a relationship with God the Father, the First Person of the Trinity, because of our position in Christ.

”Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature,” 2 Cor 5:17.

”Wherein He hath made us acceptable in the Beloved,” Eph 1:6.

Time after time we are brought face to face with this phrase. Always it refers to our union with Him. It further demonstrates to us that Christianity is not a religion.” “Christianity is a relationship with a Person,” “the Son of God.”

Christ is Superior in His Second Advent!

Heb 1:6, “And again when He bringeth in the First Begotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

”When He bringeth in” – the author of Hebrews is quoting Psa 97:7, which refers to the Second Advent. The Greek word indicates “someone brought back into something,” therefore, Jesus Christ is brought back into the world by God the Father.

When Christ is brought back into the world at the Second Advent, believers will be brought with Him, Heb 1:13. The subjunctive mood, with the aorist tense, indicates an indefinite temporal clause in the Greek. This means an event in the future certain to come, but the time of the advent is unknown.

There are three points connected with “the First Begotten,” or the “Firstborn.”

1. Rulership or sovereignty. Christ is the Ruler of the family of God.
   
2. Priesthood. Christ is the Royal High Priest forever after the order of Melchisedek.
   
3. The double portion. Christ is the heir of all things, including two regenerate kingdoms – the kingdom of the Old Testament, the regenerate of Israel, and the Church.

”He saith” – God the Father commands that all the elect angels will worship Christ at the Second Advent, because “operation footstool” will be completed. Fallen angels will be removed from the Earth and Satan will be bound, and the angelic conflict will be suspended.

Christ Superior in His Ministry!

When God the Father called Jesus Christ God!!

Heb 1:7-8, “’And of the angels He saith, who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire,” quotation from Psa 104:4, “But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of the kingdom,” quotation from Psa 45:6.

Angels are servants of God as indicated by the word “ministers.” As servants of God, they are also used to administer judgment, “flame of fire.”

But verse 8 introduces a contrast between Christ as Sovereign and the angels as servants. Jesus Christ, by becoming the Servant of JEHOVAH, actually became superior to the servants in the angelic realm. Angels are servants, but Christ has a throne at the right hand of the Father.

Christ is Ruler over the Church. When God the First Person addresses God the Second Person, He addresses Him as Deity. Jesus Christ is God. God the Father said so. This was addressed to Jesus Christ after He became flesh and dwelt among us. He is called God. Christ rules forever while elect angels serve forever. Just as Jesus Christ reigns forever, so every believer in Jesus Christ will reign with Him.

“A Sceptre of Righteousness,” Heb 1:8

In His humanity He was “a sceptre of righteousness,” perfect righteousness. This is the Doctrine of “impeccability.” The perfect righteousness of Christ is contrasted to the unrighteousness of Satan, who attempts to rule the world.

Satan’s world policy, first represented by the tree in the Garden, is human good and evil. Gen 2:17. His “good” – religion, socialism, altruism – is actually evil and in the promoting the improvement of his domain, he seeks to displace God and create a “counterfeit Millennium” before Christ returns.

The misery and depravity in the world are not by the devil’s design. Sin is an embarrassment to him. They prove his inability to execute his plan. He is doomed to failure because he disregards the reality of God’s plan and opposes the Truth of the Word of God.

”The world is passing away, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Tuesday, March 20, 2001

We are approaching the baseball season, coming up in April. Here are some Biblical baseball principles to think about:

1. Eve stole first.
   
2. Adam stole second.
   
3. Cain struck out Abel.
   
4. The prodigal son stole home.
   
5. The giants and the angels were rained out.

And that was in the “big-inning” i.e., Genesis 1:1.

The Superiority of Christ in His Appointment!

“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity, therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows,” Heb 1:9.

”Thou hast loved righteousness” – the Divine plan.

”And hated iniquity” – the plan of Satan.

”Therefore God” – the Author of the Divine plan.

”Even Thy God hath anointed Thee” – the incarnate Christ.

”With the oil of gladness” – the sustaining ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

”Above Thy fellows.”

While the Lord Jesus Christ was here on Earth in the flesh, He also chose the righteous plan of God the Father rather than the iniquitous plan of Satan.

As revealed by the satanic temptation of Matt. 4, the plan of Satan was to persuade the incarnate Christ to act independently of the Father’s plan, by-pass the Cross, and take the crown.

In God’s plan the Cross must come before the crown. But because Jesus Christ “set His face like a flint,” Isa 50:7, and would not be moved from the plan of the Cross, God the Father gave Him a superior appointment above His fellows, i.e., mankind.

The Superiority of Jesus Christ in His Appointment – Part Two

During the ministry of Christ on Earth, God the Holy Spirit indwelt His humanity. Christ voluntarily restricted the use of His own Divine attributes, depending completely upon the power of the Holy Spirit to perform miracles and to live in a manner as a man pleasing to God.

His used His omniscience, but not to benefit Himself. He was “empowered above Thy fellows,” that is, the Lord Jesus Christ was the first Person who was literally and completely controlled by God the Holy Spirit.

No one in all of time was ever indwelt and filled with the Spirit as was the Lord Jesus Christ. Having the same Holy Spirit indwelling us, we can be empowered and controlled by the “oil of gladness” also, which is joy. “The fruit of the Spirit is, love, joy ...”

Hebrews 1:10, “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hath laid the foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the work of Thine hands.”

This is a quotation from Psa 102:25, one of the many passages on creation. All that you can see, as well as all you cannot see, came into existence by the Lord Jesus Christ. Isa 44:24, John 1:3, Col 1:6 are other passages on creation.

Furthermore, it says that they came into existence by His hands. It was His hands that created the universe. It was His hands that moved, and everything came into being. Evolution?????

Yet those same hands were nailed to Calvary’s Cross that you and I might have eternal life. It is beyond explanation. It is amazing Grace. How could Jesus Christ do that for me?

How could the hand that created the universe be nailed to Calvary’s Cross? Jesus Christ Himself cried, “They have pierced My hands and My feet.” He did it because He loved you and me. Jesus Christ had an appointment with death so that you and I might have life. Every member of the human race has an appointment with death.

Christ kept His appointment. Will you?

”It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” Heb 9:27. If you accept Christ’s judgment as a substitute for your own before you die, you will never have to keep the appointment to judgment after you die.

Thursday, March 22, 2001

The Superiority of Jesus Christ in His Character!

“They shall perish, but Thou remainest, and they all shall wax old, as doth a garment,” Heb 1:11 – quotation from Psa 102:26.

After the Millennial Age of Christ, the heavens in their present form will be destroyed. Matt 24:35, 2 Pet 3:10-12, Rev 20:11, 21:1.

But “The Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” Heb 13:8. As clothes wear out, so shall creation, but not the Lord Jesus Christ.

”From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God,” Psa 90:2.

Heb 1:12, “As a vesture shall Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail” – quotation from Psa 102:27.

A time is coming when the universe as we know it now will be destroyed, and the Lord Jesus Christ will bring a new one into existence. “Nature is at the mercy of Christ,” but He is never at the mercy of nature.

”For I am the Lord, I change not,” Mal 3:6.

The Superiority of Jesus Christ in His Position!

Heb 1:13, “But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on My right hand, and I will make Thine enemies Thy footstool.”

The answer is none. Since He did not say this to any of the angels, here is almost a paradox. Man is an inferior creation to angels, but Jesus Christ, “the Man,” is superior to angels. We know this because the Father never said to any angel “Sit on My right hand.” He said it to a “man,” the Lord Jesus Christ.

”On My right hand” is the place of highest honor. Christ “the Man” is placed above the angels – the most dramatic moment in the history of the universe, for the angelic conflict was won by Jesus Christ.

”The man” – 1 Pet 3:22, He is to sit there until the Second Advent at which time “Operation Footstool” will be completed. His enemies, Satan and all fallen angels, will be removed from the Earth – Zech 13:2, Col 2:15, 1 Cor 15:24, 25 – paving the way for the “perfect environment” of the Millennium.

”Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister, for them who shall be heirs of salvation,” Heb 1:14.

Angels who were created superior to us now minister to those who are believers in Christ, because of our position in Christ, in union with Him. Because we are heirs with Him, the angels who were once superior to us are now inferior. The angels serve us, even as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

That introduces a most interesting subject. The Doctrine of the guardian angels. This passage indicates that every believer has at least one guardian angel. I don’t know about you, but there are times when I would like to converse with my guardian angel. I will have a talk with him some day in Heaven. I would like to find out how many ”close shaves” that I have had that I was not aware of, like in World War II. It should prove to be very interesting.

“The Kingdom of God”

The superiority of Jesus Christ and its many ramifications are manifest throughout the entire book of Hebrews. But let us move now to a closely related portion of Scripture, Col 1:12-21, which reveals the exaltation of Jesus Christ, the “King of kings,” the preeminent Ruler over the Kingdom of God.

Col 1:12, “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet (qualified) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.”

Union with Christ is the foundation for every spiritual blessing in the Christian life and is the basis on which we become children of God the Father.

”Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus,” Gal 3:26. There is no such thing as “the universal Fatherhood of God,” or the “universal brotherhood of man.”

”Giving thanks unto the Father” is for believers only. As believers we have much for which to be thankful. Jesus Christ is “the Heir of all things,” Heb 1:2, and by virtue of our salvation, the Father qualifies us to be partners in His inheritance.

Col 1:13, “Who (the Father) hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”

In addition to qualifying us for a share in Christ’s inheritance, the Father is able to take people from one kingdom, “the kingdom of darkness” (spiritually dead), and transfer them into another kingdom, “the kingdom of Christ” (spiritually alive) and members of the family of God.

Russia in a sense has tried the same thing. They have taken people from one nationality, and transplanted them into another place, in an attempt to completely change their pattern of thinking and behavior.

But you cannot change an individual’s characteristics begun at birth. That is the point here. You cannot completely transform a person “without birth.” We are transferred to a new kingdom by a “new birth.”

“Hath Translated,” Colossians 1:13

If you could only understand the aorist tense of “hath translated” as well as the true meaning of the verb in the Greek, you would understand eternal security without going to another passage.

We are translated once and for all, which means that we cannot be transferred back again. The Greek word also conveys the idea of removing people from their native land and putting them in a colony which is better location, not Siberia.

So we have been transferred “once and for all” out of our native state of sin and place of “no fellowship” with God into a perfect place, a perfect kingdom, where we have the righteousness of God credited to our account. Where we possess eternal life, where our sins, past, present, and future, have been blotted out, removed by the Son of God on the Cross. Where we are sure of a resurrection body. Where we are certain of living in His presence and reigning with the King of kings forever and ever. Where we can be sure of peace and power and stability and security in this life as well. We have been transferred out of a situation that is hopeless and desperate to a status that is wonderful and secure.

It is called, literally “the Kingdom of the Son of His love.”

As long as there has ever been anything in existence, and there has always been God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the First Person has loved the Second Person. God the Father has loved the Son eternally. He has always been the focal point His love.

The infinite love of the Father has always been poured out upon His Son. This kingdom into which we have been translated is a kingdom of regenerate creatures in union with Christ. “Accepted in the Beloved.”

“The King of Kings”

We might very well wonder how it is possible for the Father to translate us into such a marvelous kingdom. The answer is found in the nature of “The King of kings.” Beginning with Col 1:14 we have several facts concerning the incomparable, preeminent Person of the “King of kings.”

”In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sin,” Col 1:14.

To be the Redeemer, Jesus Christ had to come to this Earth. He had to become the “Last Adam.” He came as a Perfect Man through the virgin birth. The sin nature or “old man” of Col 3:9 originated with Adam and it is passed down through the man, therefore, to be born without the old sin nature, one must be virgin born.

The virgin born Son of God is the only Person who has ever lived upon the face of this Earth since Adam sinned, who was a perfect, sinless Man. Therefore, under the Doctrine of redemption, He was a free Man. He was the only Person who was not born in the slave market of sin. Therefore, the only Person qualified to purchase the freedom of slaves on the inside of the slave market of sin.

Only a free man can free a slave, and the only “Free Man” is Jesus Christ. He came as a Free Man. He went to the Cross as a Free Man and as a sinless Man bore our sins. He paid in full for every sin we could ever commit. Those who accept His ransom can now be in a new kingdom because He purchased their freedom.

We are free from the bondage of sin. We have been transferred as those who are free men because Jesus Christ paid for our freedom. We are therefore in a new kingdom today because “the King of kings” is our Redeemer.

1 Pet 1:18-19, “We were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a Lamb without blemish and without spot.”

”When Christ sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

The Importance of Understanding the Bible From the Original Language of the Greek

Just take one small little word ...“If.” There are four different ”ifs” in the Greek language.

Matt 4:6, “And said unto Him, if Thou be the Son of God …”
If is a first class condition and it means if and it is true.

1 John 1:9, “If you confess your sins ...”
If here is a third class condition and it means, if maybe you will and maybe your won’t.

Matt 4:9, “And said unto Him, all these thing will I give thee if Thou will fall down and worship me.”
If here is a second class condition and it means if, and I know you won’t.

Acts 17:27, “That they should seek the Lord if happily they may feel after Him.”
This is a fourth class condition, if, I wish it were true but it is not true.

Now you don’t get this in any of our English translations.

America’s Alienation From God and the Word of God!

Recent headlines reveal that America is heading towards atheism.

We read where children in elementary school can no longer exchange Valentine’s Day cards with “Jesus loves you” on them.

A man puts up a billboard that says, “Read the Bible” and is charged with not separating church from state.

What a ploy that is! Separation of church and state came from countries like Germany where the state controlled the Church. You had to worship at the shrine of the state and in their established churches.

Stalin was no doubt Satan possessed and out of the mouth of Satan came this prophecy which is being unfolded today. I quote ...

”In one generation the United States will become atheistic.”
Signed,
Joseph Stalin Satanic prophecy coming true.

Christ said, “Perilous times shall come when they will not endure sound Doctrine.”

America is alienating itself from God and the Word of God. Stay with us in our ministry of spreading the Word of Truth.

The Visible Image of God!

Col 1:15, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of every creation.”

Here is the remarkable character of the Lord Jesus Christ – Deity and humanity in one Person.

The first phrase asserts His Deity, while the second is the expression of His humanity. He is said to be the “exact image of the invisible God.” The absence of the definite article calls attention to and emphasizes the character of the Person.

Thus, it declares emphatically and unequivocally that Jesus Christ is eternal God, coequal with the Father and coequal with the Spirit. He is exactly the same in essence. Only God can be the image of God. Therefore, Jesus Christ is eternal God.

”All things are delivered unto Me of My Father and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him,” Matt 11:27.

In the second phrase of Col 1:15, “Firstborn” indicates rank. It does not imply that Jesus Christ was created. This word is not related to creation or birth, but a title for rank. It was a designation for the sovereign of the head of a family. Heb 1:5.

The brothers of the firstborn were always to take their orders from him. Christ is the Firstborn, or the Sovereign, not “of” the new creation, but the Koine Greek says literally, “with reference to the new creation.”

Jesus Christ is the Sovereign of the new creation of regenerate people.

Friday, March 23, 2001

Psalm 145:8-20

In this 145^th Psalm, we find some of the attributes or essence of our Lord.

Notice the eighth verse: “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy.” Literally, “Great in mercy.” Certainly if we find One that we can depend on, One that we can expect to understand us, One that we can go to in time of need, expecting help because we know that He is “gracious, full of compassion,” meaning that He suffers with us, and He is slow to anger, and is of great mercy.

We find He is One we can depend on and we find that we have the right to go to Him expecting help.

In the ninth verse is another attribute: “The Lord is good to all and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Christ is no respecter of persons. Notice that great invitation to the individual in Matthew, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” He said. “All” – not “Come unto Me those of a particular group.”

This is to all. God is “respective” of persons. It is your need that brings Christ close to you. He loves us and wants to help us.

Notice another attribute in verse 14: “The Lord upholdeth all that fall and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” In a moment of weakness we can depend upon the Lord. He is the Almighty One. He is the One that we can go to. He is the all-important One. He will do for us everything that we need.

Notice the 18^th verse: “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in Truth.” Whenever you are in need, your need brings the Lord close to you. Just as the cry of your child in need brings you close to your child, He will help you because He loves you. He is full of compassion. He is Gracious and of great mercy.

”He will fulfill the desires of them that fear Him.” He also will hear their cry, and will save them, verse 19. You can depend upon the Lord. Not only does your cry of need bring Him to you, but it also guarantees that He will help you.

”The Lord preserveth all them that love Him, but all the wicked will He destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy Name for ever and ever.”

What a wonderful blessing it is that God has given us the permission to go to Him in hour of need. As long as we keep our minds on Him, He is going to keep us in peace, peace. Therefore, like the psalmist, we shall praise Him continually.

If you only had this Psalm, it would be sufficient.

Psalm 25:6-7

“Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies and Thy lovingkindness for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. According to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness sake, O Lord.”

The psalmist is praying to the Lord and asking the Lord to remember His tender mercies and His lovingkindness rather than the sins of the psalmist when he was young, and his transgressions when he was old.

He wanted God to remember that God’s love and mercy are from generation to generation. I imagine there are many like this. They want the Lord to remember that He loves them, that He is merciful toward them, that His mercy and Grace endure through all generations.

But they don’t want the Lord to remember their sins, their mistakes, and transgressions. Therefore, it is a wonderful thing to know that God tells us we are His children under a new covenant.

”Wherefore the Holy Spirit also is Witness to us, for after He had said before this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, said the Lord, I will put My laws into their minds and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

We are under the covenant that God said. “I will write My laws in their minds.” Under the old covenant, the covenant of works, the law, the covenant was written on tables of stone. But in the new covenant, God writes His laws in our minds. He said, “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

I think that is one the greatest truths for a child of God if he is going to enjoy his salvation. He must realize that God has forgotten his sins and iniquities. Remember the word “forgive” means to forget. God has forgotten our sins. And if He has forgotten them, why don’t you forget them also? Join Him in forgetting your sins.

”I will remember them no more.”

Psalm 61

David went through a time for many years in his life that was very distressing to him. Yet through it he learned something. After all, the way to learn is through experience.

”Hear my cry, O God, attend unto my prayer,” Psa 61. He was crying out to the Lord because he wanted the Lord to pay attention to him. ”From the end of the Earth will I cry unto Thee, when my mind is overwhelmed.”

Regardless of where he was going, he was going to cry to the Lord. The first thing we see is that he wanted God to hear his cry and to attend to it. His mind was overwhelmed. There is nothing frivolous about this prayer.

Maybe your mind is overwhelmed and you have reached the point spiritually and emotionally that you feel as thou you can’t go on any further. I just spoke to a person the other day in this self same condition.

When we cry out to the Lord with a burdened soul, an overwhelming sorrow and grief in our minds, God hears, and that condition brings Him close to you.

”The Lord is nigh to all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in Truth.” That means those that cry out in need really meaning business and really depending upon the Lord, Psa 145:18. When you cry out to the Lord in sincerity, it has the same effect the cry of your child has to you.

In the middle of the night your child may have a bad dream and cry out, immediately you hear and rush to the child because that is the cry of one you love. That cry of need, of fear, of pain, of bewilderment, touches your heart. Even though you may be asleep, it wakens you and you go to them.

That cry from your child in need brings you to her and the cry of one of God’s children with an overwhelmed mind, a distressed soul, a fearful mind, brings Him close to us.

”The Lord is nigh to all that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in Truth.”

“The Comfort That Only Comes From the Scriptures”

There is a unique comfort and hope that comes only from the Scriptures Therefore, those who are not interested in taking in the Word of God destroy the opportunity that they might have of the comfort that comes from the Scriptures.

Rom 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetimes were written for our learning.”

In other words, those things under the old covenant were written for our learning. The Old Testament Scriptures, the things in the Pauline epistles, and the Gospels were written that we might learn them.

Why? “That we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” I have in my lifetime talked to people where they had reached the point of having no hope at all in the Word of God. They were in deep distress spiritually, but when they turned to the Word of God and saw some of the blessed promises in God’s word, a great change came into their lives as they were patient and meditated on them quietly.

We find in the Psalms, “Quicken Thou me according to Thy Word.”

Revived hope is possible. In fact, it is guaranteed, through God’s Word. “These things were written aforetime for our learning so that we might learn.” Things that God has given us in His Word that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures we would have hope.

Learn to relax and wait patiently for Him. Rest in the Lord. We need patience and in order to have patience, we need to rest. We need to relax in the Lord and wait for Him.

Don’t be distressed. Don’t run around and get into such a thither as so many people do. Learn to be still and know that He is the Lord. The Lord Himself tells us to do that. We should begin each day being quiet and calm and going to the Word of God, letting Him speak to us.

Then we need to relax and wait patiently for Him. There is comfort. Comfort comes with the assurance that God is faithful. If we will learn to relax and rest in the Lord and recognize the comfort of the Word of God, we will find into our souls will come that blessed, wonderful hope that God gives us in His Word.

A soul cleaving unto the dust is revived and quickened with hope through the study of God’s Word.

Saturday, March 24, 2001

Rejoicing in the Word of God!

“I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches,” Psa 119:14. The psalmist said “Blessed art Thou, O Lord. Teach me Thy statutes.”

A person whose soul is filled with the love for God and one that wants to find God’s way with his whole soul, wants the Lord to teach him. He rejoices in the Word of God and desires to learn more about it.

Here is something we need to think about a moment. Where do we find the greatest joy? Let us be honest with ourselves. You are in your home. You are by yourself or with someone you love and you don’t have to be “on guard.” Which thrills you the most? When you have made additional money or when you have learned some wonderful new Truth in the Word of God regarding your relationship to Him?

Do you get greater joy out of having closed a big business deal or knowing that you will make more money, than you do out of finding in God’s Word that you are His child, that He loves you with an everlasting love, and will supply your needs? That He is interceding for you? That He is compassionate and faithful?

Which gives you the greatest thrill?

The psalmist says “I have rejoiced in the way of Thy Testimonies, as much as in all riches.”

A soul that would be moved by the blessings that one finds in the Word of God, a soul that would be moved by the great Truths of the Word of God is a soul that is filled with the love for God. But to have that joy in God’s Word, one must have confidence in the Lord Himself.

We can only rejoice in the promises of people whom we have explicit trust in. It is ridiculous to try to rejoice and find assurance and joy in God’s Word unless we have complete dependence on God, knowing that He cannot lie, knowing that He will not lie, because He would lose everything. He doesn’t have to lie.

So, when you are distressed and you go to the Bible for help and you don’t get it, remember you have lost confidence in the Lord. Remember the Lord loves you, therefore He wants to help you. He is almighty, therefore He can help you. He is altogether faithful, therefore He will help you.

“Many Are the Afflictions of the Righteous, But the Lord Delivereth Him Out of Them All,” Psa 34:19

God has promised us trouble. We know that. We will get persecution and we will get trouble. And yet we know that while the righteous may have many afflictions, they don’t give up.

Prov 24:16, “For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”

There are those that believe that a just man can’t fail, but he can. The Lord picks him up. He is never cast off. He may go through very difficult times, but God always sees that he gets back on his feet.

Some people exhibit a very strange characteristic when affliction hits others. There are always those who think and some with less control of their tongues who say, “He brought this upon himself” and they seem to feel happy that it happened.

Some may make a big pretense of saying, “Poor, dear soul” yet all of the time they are tickled to death. That is the reason that we find in Prov 24:17, “Rejoice not when thy enemy falleth and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth, lest the Lord see it, and it displeases Him. And He turneth away His wrath from him.”

Let’s not rejoice in the failure of our enemies. They need our prayers. When you see a Christian stumble, don’t say, “There is the government of God. Just look at what God is doing.” Don’t do that because it will displease God. We know the righteous are going to have many afflictions. Lots of people don’t seem to understand that.

Did you ever realize that the afflictions that come into a Christian’s life come because of “God’s faithfulness?” We find in Psa 119:75, “I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hath afflicted me.”

Afflictions come into our lives because God is faithful and knows that we need them. There are many of them, but God always delivers us out of them when we have learned their lesson.

“Taste and See That the Lord is Good, Blessed is the Man That Trusteth in Him,” Psa 34:8

Why is one blessed that trusts in Him? We find two reasons.

In Isaiah 26:3 we have the guarantee that God Himself will keep you in perfect peace, literally peace peace, because you trust in Him. This is a promise to each of His children.

Of course, you can’t trust in the Lord until you have accepted Christ as your personal Saviour and become one of His children. The word “keep” means to keep continually. It means that every desire, every hope will be fulfilled. There will be no fear, no sorrow, or doubt, and God guarantees to keep you in that condition.

If God says He will do it, then it is His responsibility and not ours. Therefore, the condition you may be in today cannot hinder this peace if you will trust Him. When we trust in someone, we make that one the responsible party. When we turn our lives over to the Lord, we cannot trust Him and still be disturbed.

When we put our lives into His hands He removes the causes of fear. This is the experience of thousands of God’s children who have turned to the Lord to trust Him. This is not trust for salvation only, but for all conditions.

In Jer 17:7 we find the second result of trusting in the Lord.

”Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord. And whose hope the Lord is, for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”

Any one who will trust the Lord will have a fruitful life. They shall be as a tree planted by the waters. They will know that there is a purpose in their life. They shall not cease from yielding fruit. The happy person is the one whose life is fruitful.

The cause of most despair is because there is no purpose in life. Once you trust in the Lord, you will have a purpose in life and bear fruit. The fruitful life causes rejoicing.

“We Know That All Things Work Together for Good to Them That Love God, to Them That are Called According to His Purpose,” Romans 8:28.

We need to have faith in God’s motives. Too many of us wonder why certain things happen to us. We are very prone to forget the great love He has for His children.

Notice it says, “We know.” It doesn’t read “We hope” or “We think,” but “We know.” This is a Truth we all ought to have in our minds. How do we know that? The statement itself should be enough. But Paul goes on and explains why we know that all things are working together for good.

Notice “for” in the next verse. It is an answer to that which has gone before. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate.” We notice foreknowledge. Nothing happens by chance. God is never taken by surprise. He knew the beginning from the end. He knew the condition you are in today and what was going to happen. He knew it was going to happen and permitted it.

Second notice, “predestination,” which is nothing but God’s plan and purpose for those He has chosen. He chooses those who have chosen Christ as their personal Saviour. God arranged the destiny for them.

We do the same with our children. Before our children come, we make arrangements for them to the best of our ability. God has all power and certainly can arrange our destiny. With this understanding, can we not see that His motives are for our good?

And, if it is for our good, then it must be for His glory. So the condition you are in, whether it is sorrow, confusion, or heartaches, God understands. And He knows and permits it for your good. “For all things work together for good.”

Sunday, March 25, 2001

Why Should We Trust the Lord?

We can trust the Lord because He can be depended upon. But we cannot depend upon man. We trust the Lord because we cannot trust man. We cannot depend upon man.

We find in Jeremiah 17:5-6, “Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart is departed from the Lord …”

Secondly, we cannot depend or trust the way we feel. There is another thing too many people are doing today. Too many people feel that they have lost their salvation because they don’t feel good. They get a little sick and they feel that God has forsaken them.

They feel miserable. They depend entirely upon the way they feel. Yet we find in the 9th verse, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?”

The word “wicked” is the word ANASH, which means sickly. The heart is so easily influenced, don’t depend on the way you feel. Don’t do that. You cannot depend upon your feelings, because there are many things that govern and control your feelings.

Why Trust the Lord? – Part Two

We cannot depend upon our feelings, or man, and we certainly cannot depend upon our understanding because the Lord tells us very plainly in Prov 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

Our understanding depends entirely upon our background, our culture, our education, and a great deal upon the geography of where we live. Some things we didn’t understand a few years ago that we do understand today.

Don’t depend upon your understanding because it is limited. Don’t depend upon man and don’t depend upon the way you feel.

Also, we certainly should never depend upon what we possess because in Luke 12 the Lord tells us very plainly a man’s life consists not in the things, or the abundance of things, which he possesses.

A lot of people spend a lifetime accumulating riches and fortunes. The minute they die they are paupers. They have to leave everything behind. You can’t take anything away. Whole lives are wasted. They feel that because they are successful in life, they will be successful in Heaven. Yet the Lord said that a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.

In Romans chapter seven we find that man cannot depend upon himself. We cannot depend upon ourselves.

Why Should We Trust the Lord? – Part Three

So we can’t depend on man. We can’t depend on the way we feel. We cannot depend upon our understanding. And we cannot depend upon ourselves.

But thank God we can depend upon God.

Psa 84:12, “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.” Yes, we can depend upon God. Why should we depend upon God? Well, first, we should depend upon Him because He loves us.

1 John 4, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the Satisfaction for our sins.”

We can depend upon Him because He loves us. We know we can depend upon people that love us because we know they want to do what they say. When we love someone we want to help them.

Now we know that God loves us. We know and believe the love of God for us because God is love. God cannot help but love us because it is His nature. He is love, therefore, it is His nature to love us.

We know He loves us because He has proven that by the “love gift” of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, if He loves us, He wants to help us. So, the first reason why we can trust the Lord is that He loves us. Therefore, He wants to help us.

When we love someone, we want to help that person. When someone really loves us, he wants to help us. Love means “preference.” When we love someone, “we prefer that person over ourselves, over anyone else.”

Monday, March 26, 2001

Why We Should Trust the Lord! – Part Four

The reason why we should depend upon Him is because He is all powerful, therefore, He can help us.

In Matt 28 we hear our Lord saying, “All power in Heaven and Earth is given to Me.” The word “power” implies more than physical power. It also means authority, “EXOUSIA.”

He not only wants to help us, but He has the power and the right to help us.

We trust Him because He loves us, and He wants to help us. We should also trust Him because He is all powerful and He can help us.

Why Should We Trust the Lord – Part Five

We can trust the Lord because He is faithful, therefore, He will help us.

2 Tim 2:13, “Though we believe not, yet He abideth faithful. He cannot deny Himself.”

What would God gain by lying? What would God accomplish by lying?

He is the infinite God and the Almighty and Eternal God. What would He gain by misrepresenting anything?

He would be unrighteous. He couldn’t be. It is not in God to do that. It is impossible. In the first place, not only it is impossible, but also it is unnecessary.

He is faithful. He would do everything He promised.

2 Tim 1:12, “For I know whom I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”

He is faithful in keeping us saved. And how we need to appreciate that and learn to trust that.

He is faithful in answering prayer. The joy that comes in the assurance of knowing we are kept saved and the joy there is in answered prayer.

Matt 7:11, “If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him.”

If we could just learn to depend upon Him in answered prayer, we could use prayer to protect ourselves against our own desires.

Why Should We Trust the Lord? – Part Six

So we see that we can’t depend on man.
And we can’t depend on the way we feel.
And we can’t depend upon our understanding.
And we can’t depend upon ourselves.

1. But you can depend upon the Lord because He loves you. Therefore, He wants to help you.
   
2. He is all powerful. Therefore, He can help you.
   
3. He is altogether faithful. Therefore, He will help you.
   
4. We can depend upon Him in not only keeping us saved.
   
5. We can depend upon Him for answered prayer.
   
6. And He is faithful in supplying our needs, too.

Psa 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” “I shall not want.” John 10, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”

Let me ask you a question. If He loved you and me enough to give His life for us, certainly He loves us enough to supply our needs. Doesn’t He?

”I know that my God shall supply all our needs through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Isn’t that right?

God sent His “Holy Dove”
To come upon His “Holy Son”
To manifest His Grace and love.

God sent His “Holy Spirit”
To indwell His “Holy Son,”
The Saviour of us all
To redeem man from original fall.

We All Come Into This World as Babies, and Our First Expression is to Cry

An indication of the condition we find ourselves in – aliens and enemies of God and without hope and Christ and without eternal life.

Christ, as the Holy Child comes into the world but He doesn’t cry. But instead He speaks and this is what He said,

”When He cometh into the world He saith, ‘Sacrifice and offerings Thou wouldst not, but a body Thou has prepared for Me’.”

Unique baby talk!

Tuesday, March 27, 2001

What Will be the Result of Putting Our Trust in the Lord?

We will find the answer very plainly in Psa 36:7, “How excellent ...” The word “excellent” should be translated “precious.” “How precious is Thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.”

We see here that it is because of the lovingkindness of the Lord that men put their trust under the shadow of His wings, under the protection of His power.

Now what will be the result? ”They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house.” There and only there is where we find a satisfied life.

”And Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures.” It is only in Christ. The only reason that we have that men really trust the Lord is that they know that the Lord loves them, and therefore, we know that He wants to.

When you trust the Lord because the Lord loves you, then you will find satisfaction because the Lord will meet all your needs.

If you trust the Lord because of His lovingkindness, you will be contented with the Lord. We will be contented with what the Lord wants us to have.

Too many of us are influenced by our desires other than our Lord when we shouldn’t be. A lot of people say they are trusting the Lord, but they are not trusting the Lord. They are not trusting the Lord for the things that are good for them.

A lot of people bring the will of God down to their own personal likes and dislikes. They feel that if they want something, then God wants them to have it. It is God’s will for them to have it or they wouldn’t want it. Therefore, they go out and try to get it, and they don’t get it. They are disturbed and disappointed and their faith becomes weak.

The Difference Between a Curse and a Blessing

Jer 17:7, “Blessed (happiness) is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.”
Jer 17:5, “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.”

Notice the difference between a curse and a blessing.

Now you have to make the decision yourself. I can’t make it for you. It is entirely up to you. Are you going to continue to depend upon man? Are you going to depend upon the way you feel? Are you going to depend upon your understanding? Upon what you possess? Are you going to depend upon yourself? Your ability? Then God says you are going to be cursed. Evil is going to come on you.

Or, are you going to trust the Lord?

Then He says, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord.” The choice is yours. Choose this day whom you will trust!

The Jewish Messiah!

As foretold by the Old Testament prophets!

1. Micah said where the Messiah would be born and that He was from eternity past and that He would be the Ruler.
   Micah 5:2, “But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting.”
   
2. Isaiah said how the Messiah would be born and what His name will be.
   Isa 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel,” meaning “God with us.”
   
3. Abraham said that the Lord would provide Himself a Lamb as a sacrifice.
   Gen 22:8, “And Abraham said, My son, “God will provide Himself a Lamb for a burnt offering.”
   
4. Zechariah said that they would identify the Messiah because they would see that He was pierced through crucifixion.
   Zech 12:10, “And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of Grace and supplication, and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness of his firstborn.”
   
5. David tells us that the Messiah, while being crucified will cry out because He will be forsaken by God the Father.
   Psa 22:1, “My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou far from helping Me, and from the words of My roaring?”
   
6. Isaiah says that the Messiah’s grave will be with the wicked and the rich and that He was innocent and without sin.
   Isa 53:9, “And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.”
   
7. Solomon said that the Jewish Messiah would be God’s Only Son.
   Prov 30:4, “Who hath ascended up into Heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in His fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the Earth? What is His name? And what is His Son’s name?”

These seven prophecies were fulfilled in only one Person, God’s Only Begotten Son, our Messiah and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

”Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”

Why Will the Man Who Trusts in the Lord be Blessed?

“For (or because) he shall be as a tree planted by the waters,” Jer 17.

First, he is going to be like a tree, meaning he is going to have a sense of purpose in life. A tree planted has a purpose behind it. It just didn’t grow up. It was planted for a purpose.

How many of God’s children have no sense of purpose in life? Yet we know that every born again child of God has a definite purpose in life.

”For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works,” Eph 2:1. Literally, “For the purpose of good works which God had hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Yes, we have a purpose. A man without a purpose in life is like a ship without a rudder, floating down with the tide. It has great power within itself, but no way to direct it because it has no place to go.

What a shame it is when you trust the Lord. The first thing you are going to find is contentment and satisfaction because you are going to have a sense of purpose in life.

“And Shall Not See When Heat Cometh,” Jeremiah 17

Which means your life is not going to be affected by the circumstances. This “tree planted by the waters spread out the roots by the rivers” means they are not going to see when heat comes.

”But her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought.” Why? Because it has strength to draw upon. The conditions and circumstances around it and drought do not affect this tree.

The circumstances and the conditions surrounding a Christian don’t affect him if he is depending upon the Lord. He has a sense of purpose in life. He draws each day upon the Lord’s strength. And the Lord is able to give him strength.

You are not going to be affected by friends, or by people, or by circumstances. Those things are not going to affect you a bit. Why? Because you are not influenced by conditions because you are depending upon the Lord.

There are many who say, “Halleluja” and “Praise the Lord” as long as everything is going their way. But the minute adverse circumstances hit them, immediately they begin to retract and to worry. Why?

The Lord is the same. He hasn’t changed any. Why should they become distressed? They say they are trusting the Lord. They say they are depending upon the Lord. The Lord is the same as He was before, but the circumstances have changed. Then they started to worry. Which means what?

They were not depending upon the Lord. They were depending upon the circumstances. So they change when the circumstances change.

Wednesday, March 28, 2001

Prayer Request

A good Christian friend has just gone into the hospital and has had a serious surgery – a quadruple by-pass surgery. So I would appreciate if you would pray for Bill and his wife and his two sons.

I know they would appreciate it and be encouraged if they knew that other Christians were at the throne of Grace for them.

Thank you in Christ.

”Come boldly to the throne of Grace that you may find help in time of need.”

Thursday, March 29, 2001

Why Should We Trust the Lord?

He is the only One we can depend on. The only dependable thing on this Earth is the Lord’s love for us. If you depend upon it, you will find joy and you will find a satisfied life. And you will have a sense of purpose in your life.

Your life will not be influenced by circumstances and conditions and your life will be fruitful.

It is absolutely great to be a Christian. “Delight thyself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

”Trust in the Lord, and again I say, Trust in the Lord, and lean not to your own understanding.”

Fear Ye Not!

Fear and doubt is very prevalent among all Chrisitans. We know that a Christian should not fear, but they do occasionally.

These are some of the ones I have heard.

What is behind these fears? Or, should we say fear in general? We know that these fears do not come from our Lord and Saviour.

1 Tim 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and a sound mind.” Then if it is not of God, it must be of the flesh, or of Satan.

It is true, and there is one thing which we should remember, it takes a very sensitive Christian to fear some of these things we have just mentioned.

What is behind fear? Coming up next time ...

What is Behind Fear?

Let’s go back to the beginning and find the first fear that man had that is recorded in God’s Word. Here we find one of the causes of fear which is, of course, a guilt complex because of sin. Gen 3:1-10.

”The Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou?” Literally, Why are you where you are? “And he said I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid.” Literally, I was fearful. “Because I was naked and I hid myself.”

Now we find here that he was afraid because of sin. Notice that Adam changed the reason for his fear and said he was “afraid because he was naked.” He didn’t face the realities of his sin.

In verse 11 God tells him the cause, but Adam doesn’t answer him. ”And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hath thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”

Here we find the first fear connected with the first sin. But the first sinner, Adam, refused to accept his sin as the cause of his fear.

That is one of the basic faults today with Christians, that they are fearing. They will not accept the fact that they themselves have sinned.

Adam blamed the condition he was in, “not the act he had committed.” He blamed his fearfulness on the fact that he was naked. He was naked before and he was not ashamed.

God told him the cause was that he had disobeyed God. But no, Adam wouldn’t accept it. In fact, he tried to change the subject and put the blame on his wife.

”And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat,” verse 12.

In other words, “God, it is not my sin. It is the woman you gave me. You had no business giving her to me. She is the one who did it.” He was placing the blame on another. Sounds familiar!

Two Basic Troubles or Causes Why it is Hard For Some Christians to Get Fear Out of Their Minds

First, they will not accept the fact that it was their act. They blame the condition for their fear not the act for their fear.

Secondly, they will not assume the responsibility themselves, but they are ever willing and usually blame other people. As long as one does that, he will never in this world be delivered from fear. If you are fearful, chances are that fear is due to a guilt complex of sin.

Therefore, you have to recognize that you, yourself, have sinned, and that fear is a result of your sin, an act which you committed, not a condition that you are in.

The first sin ... The first fear … Illustration: Adam in Gen 3.

The Ideal Woman, The Ideal Wife, The Ideal Mother!

In Proverbs 31 we have a picture of the ideal woman, wife, and mother. God the Holy Spirit has set the text in a unique way so you can actually see what the ideal woman, wife, and mother emphasizes.

1. Verse 11, her husband – Trust.
2. Verse 13, her occupation – Willingly.
3. Verse 20, her character – Gracious.
4. Verse 21, her household – Her interest.
5. Verse 22, herself, last – Personal witness.

1. Verse 23, her husband – Trust.
2. Verse 24, her occupation – Willingly.
3. Verse 26, her character – Gracious.
4. Verse 27, her household – Her interest.
5. Verse 28, herself, last, personal witness.

You will notice her emphasis and where it is focused. She is unselfish in putting herself last.

Her husband, her household, herself.

”Her price if far above rubies.”

Fear – “Adam Was Afraid” – Genesis 3

Adam was naked before and was not afraid before he sinned. The worst part about it was that he didn’t turn to the Lord when he had sinned, but he tried to cover up his sin.

”And the eyes of them were both opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.”

Here we have three principles:
People try to cover up their sins. If you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit convicts you and it is your conviction that brings about consciousness of sin, which in turn produces a guilt complex that produces fear.

Now there are three things:
Blaming a condition. Blaming others. And trying to cover up one’s sin.

That prevents the Lord from comforting you.

Friday, March 30, 2001

Fear Thou Not! Adam Was Fearful!

Fear naturally produces things in our mind that are bad.

First, fear due to a guilt complex, due to sin, always binds one to himself. A person who is fearful is more mindful of himself than he is of God. Eyes on self.

We have a perfect example in Romans chapter seven, verses 14-24. We find the words “I,” “me,” “my,” and “mine” used over 20 times. Paul used the personal pronoun here probably more times than he did in his entire epistles. He was conscious of himself.

”For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” He recognized that he was under the power of sin, the sin nature.

”For that which I do, I allow not, for what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I.”

There is the expression of new tendencies. He wanted to do that which was good. There were certain things he didn’t want to do, things he hated, but he did them. He recognized it. Although we see an expression of new tendencies here on his part, yet we see that he was bound to himself.

”If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.”

He recognized not only new tendencies, but that he had a new outlook on life. The fact that he didn’t want to do the things he did shows that he recognized the law was good. The law told him not to do them. And the fact that he didn’t want to do them even though he did, shows that he agreed to the fact that the law was good.

But that didn’t help him. It did not help him a bit. The fact that he knew the commandments of God were right and the commandments of God were good, did not prevent Paul from sinning. If only we could recognize that.

So he recognized something, ”Now then it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” There is a recognition of an old possession. The old sin nature is there.

Fear and the Focus on Self!

The word “I” again

”For I know that in me dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not,” Rom 7:14-24.

How we need to understand this. You can see that he is bound up entirely in himself.

”For the good that I would do, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”

He recognized the old sin nature was still there.

”I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.”

He recognized the man born of God wanted to please God. He delighted in the law of God. But the old sin nature was still there. He couldn’t separate himself from it. He was bound up in it.

Fear does that. Guilt consciousness does that. A guilt complex because of sin binds one to self and makes one miserable.

“O Wretched Man That I Am, Who Shall Deliver Me From the Body of This Death”

You can see the wretchedness in this portion of Romans seven. How distressed he is. Here we see the cry of an agonized soul crying out in spiritual agony. ”O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death.”

You can see that he is bound up in himself. But then he says, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Then he recognized something. “So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Then he goes on to a great revelation. “There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” Rom 8:1.

We can certainly see that fear brought out by a guilt complex of sin binds one to self, makes one see himself in his weakest condition. He sees himself as helpless and hopeless. It does that.

Now, sometimes it is good to get to this point because we can learn to really trust the Lord. ”When I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.”

”Body of death” is an interesting metaphor. When a prisoner was sentenced to death, they tied a dead body on the prisoner and he walked around with this dead body tied to him. An illustration of the old sin nature.

Fear not only causes you to focus your eyes on self instead of on the Lord. When you have eyes on self you are disappointed, you disappoint yourself.

But fear also shows a lack of faith! There is no question about that. If we had faith in the Lord, we just wouldn’t fear.

1 John 4:15, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God dwelleth in Him, and he in God. And we know and believe the love that God hath to us. God is love and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

We know that God loves us. We know that and we trust that.

”Herein is love for us made perfect. That we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as He is, so are we in this world.”

The perfect love of God sent His Son to die on Calvary’s Cross, bearing our sins. This perfect love that we see on the Cross should give us boldness, and we shouldn’t fear, because “As He is, so are we in this world.”

”There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment.” “He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us.”

We see here the perfect love of God should cast fear out of our minds because we should trust Him.

”The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit.”

Fear and Love Are Mutually Exclusive!

If God loved me enough to send His Son down here to die on Calvary’s Cross for me, then God loved me enough to take care of me now.

There are those people who feel that they will not make enough money to be able to pay their bills. If God loved me enough to send His Son to die for me, He certainly loves me enough to supply my needs.

If God loved me enough to save my soul from hell tomorrow, He loves me enough to save my soul from trouble today.

Eternity solved. Results in time solved.

If God is able to deliver from hell tomorrow, He is certainly able to deliver my soul from trouble today. If He can’t do the one, He can’t do the other.

”In a day of trouble call upon Me and I will deliver thee.”

“Man is Born to Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward”

What is Trouble?

The trouble lies within ourselves. On one side you have consciousness of your weakness. And on the other side you should have consciousness of God’s power. Now which of the two are you going to be influenced by?

Your mind is going to be influenced by one or the other, and there is no use kidding ourselves. “As a man thinketh in his mind, so is he.”

”Guard your mind with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

Man’s life is governed by his thoughts. Science has proved that beyond a particle of doubt. We know that. If you are going to think along the lines of weakness, if you are going to let your mind be influenced by this weakness, by your past mistakes, you are not going to be conscious of God’s power.

Whatsoever things are of virtue, pure, of a good report, think on those things.

”I will keep him in peace, peace, whose mind is stayed on Me, because he trusteth in Me.”

”With the mind man believeth unto salvation.”

Many People Today Are Fearful Because of the Sins of Yesterday

In Hebrews 10 the Lord says, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I will put My laws into their minds, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

He has forgotten them. Forgiveness of sin means the bearing away. God has borne them away ... He has forgotten our sins as if they had never been committed.

We who are in Christ are in a new creation. “Old things have been passed away, behold all things have become new.” We are a new creation, entirely new.

Paul said that he wasn’t perfect, nor had he apprehended everything that God had for him. He was not perfect then. “But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, I press on,” Phil 3:13.

If God says He has forgotten our sins of yesterday and Paul says that there is one thing he is going to do, and that is to forget all the things which are behind. Then why can’t we forget them?

You are never going to have peace of mind, you are never going to have tranquility of life, as long as you permit your mind to dwell upon your weaknesses or your failures of yesterday and today. It is so unnecessary.

”Your mind may deceive you, but God is greater than your mind and knoweth all things.”

Fear and Faith!

What is the only escape from fear?

Naturally, faith is the only antidote. But with that faith must come something else. There are two things that cure fear:
Faith and prayer.

You have to confess your sins. We find that in 1 John 1:8, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us.”

The Truth is not in anyone who says he has no sin, and he is deceived. If you feel that you have reached the point where you have no sin, then God said you are deceived and the Truth is not in you.

What are you to do then?

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is addressed to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who sin.

If your soul is troubled because your life is influenced by your mistakes of yesterday, by your failures of today, well here is the solution. Just believe in 1 John 1:9 and just believe it because it is the same from Genesis 3, right straight through to the last chapter of Revelation.

Now, to confess our sins, we must do one thing. We must judge our self. “If we judge ourselves, we will not be judged with the world,” 1 Cor 11.

You have to judge yourself as having committed a sin and then go to your heavenly Father and confess that sin. Just name it. He doesn’t tell you to ask for forgiveness. He will forgive you if you will confess your sin.

You can’t judge an act as being sinful unless you have judged it as sin. And no matter how great the sin, we are still under the Grace of God.

”And where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound.”

True Spirituality!

“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and not fainted.”

One would be very prone to think that there is a very godly Church. Certainly one would say it is a spiritual Church.

1. First they worked hard. They laboured and they had patience.
   ”And how thou canst not bear them that are evil.”
   
2. They would have nothing to do with the ungodly.
   ”And had tried them which say they are apostles and are not and hast found them liars.”
   
3. They were orthodox. They insisted upon the fundamental doctrines of that day.
   Here is a Church with a great deal of labour and work, a Church with a separated life, a Church with orthodoxy.
   ”And hast borne and hast patience, and for My Name’s sake hast laboured and hast not fainted.”
   
4. They continued for His Name’s sake.
   There is a very spiritual Church. But it is not!!

This Church, even in the face of what it was doing, was in a fallen condition. Notice the next two verses,

”Nevertheless” ... “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first Love.”

There is the answer. All of this that they were doing was not from a motivation of love, but from a motivation of selfishness, self-exaltation, and pride.

”Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen.”

1. Here was an energetic Church.
2. They laboured hard and long.
3. They were patient and lived a separated life.
4. They demanded orthodoxy.

Yet, they were in a fallen condition because the motive behind their work was not love, which is the filling of the Spirit.

They had left their first love, love for the Lord. They were not doing those things because of love for the Lord, but for themselves.

Love is the Greatest!

In 1 Corinthians 13 we find some blessed truths about love. The 12^th chapter begins the study of spirituality. Then in the 13^th chapter, he begins to speak on that which is the most important of all. We find that now abideth three virtues:

”Faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.”

There are now three virtues in the eyes of the Lord that are still in existence that are continuous: Faith, hope, and love.

”Without faith it is impossible to please Him.”

We have a hope, “a Blessed Hope,” the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we have love, “The love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”

Which is the greatest??

Now what does the Lord say is the greatest?

”Now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love,” the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Why is Love the Greatest!

We may not be great workers. Some Christians do not have time to deal with a great deal of work. And you feel very inadequate and you may even feel insecure.

You may feel because you can’t do the work that others are doing in your Church, that you are not as good a Christian. But there is one thing you can do and that is, love.

Because this love is produced by the Lord, “It is the love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit.”

Love is the greatest, for five basic reasons if you have time.

A Basic Reason Why Love is the Greatest!

First, love is the greatest because love fulfills the whole law.

Matt 22:36-40, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

What do we find? We find love is the greatest of all – love for the Lord and love for man.

Why? Because love fulfills the entire law. Our Lord said that upon these two hang all the law and the prophets. Everything that the law or the prophets taught hangs on love.

”For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” Gal 5:14. ”Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ,” Gal 6:2.

So, we find very plainly and very definitely that love fulfills the whole law. Everything that the law taught and that the prophets taught hung on these two commandments – love for God and love for man.

Love is the filling of the Spirit. So we are under a new law, the law of the Spirit-filled life. Gal 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love.”

Eph 5:18, “Be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.”

Saturday, March 31, 2001

The Second and Third Reason Why Love is the Greatest

Love is the bond of perfection or perfectness as we find in Col 3:14. “And above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfectness or the bond of perfection.”

What is the bond of perfection? God says love is the bond of perfection. Love not only fulfills the whole law, but also is the bond of perfection. So, you see there is not a great deal of work there. But it is the motive behind the work that counts. Love, AGAPE, is a mental attitude void of anger, bitterness, hatred. The motive is the reason.

Why should love be the bond of perfection? If you love someone you are not going to hurt them.

Thirdly, what do we find in Romans 13:10: “Love worketh no ill to his neigbour, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Now we can all love because this love is given to us by God.

”Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God,” 1 John 4. This love is the love that is given to man when he is born again. “It is shed abroad in our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit,” Rom 5:5. It is the love of God.

God loves man and we can also love man if we will get self out of the way. The filling of the Holy Spirit does that. There are those people who are trying to keep the Ten Commandments, trying to do things for one purpose alone. That is, so they themselves might feel secure.

There others that forget self entirely. When they see others in trouble, they pray for them because they feel sorry for them. They have a burden for them. They pity them and try to go to see them.

They go to see them to see if there is anything they can do to help them and ask, Is there anything I can do for you? Love causes us to want to help others. We want to help, but we can’t help.

The Fourth Reason Why Love is the Greatest!

1 John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth (the word “hateth” means to be indifferent to) his brother, is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

”But whosoever hath this world’s good and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

”My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in Truth.”

Using the vernacular of the street, “Put your money where your mouth is.”

Love reveals an attitude towards others of concern. Love fulfills the entire law, because love is the bond of perfection. And, because love keeps us from hurting others and because love causes us to want to help our neighbor.

So we can see the importance of love. The filling of the Spirit is love.

Love is the greatest.

“The Fullness of Joy”

“These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you. And that your joy might be full.”

First, we find the joy of loving.

Eph 5:2, “Be ye therefore imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us; an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

It says “Walk in love.” That is the basis of the Christian walk. It is a walk of love, which is the filling of the Spirit. Gal 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love.”

”These things have I said unto you that your joy might be full.”

First, we find the joy of loving. Anyone who looks back in his life and has never loved anybody is the most selfish, the most pathetic person on Earth. A person who has never known what love is, a person who has never experienced love for others, is a very selfish person. Because his love has been for self. He preferred self above others.

”In the last days perilous times shall come, men shall be lovers of themselves more than lovers of God.”

Consequently, their lives are very lean. They have a great lean soul. He is influenced by everything. He is greatly influenced by anything that he wants and can’t get. He goes into deep depressive conditions. Anxiety, nervousness, irritability are common conditions to one wrapped up in himself. There is a joy in loving others.

Wouldn’t you hate to live a life and suddenly wake up to realize that you had never loved anybody?

Yet there is joy in loving.

The Fullness of the Joy of Loving

Love is certainly essential to a well-organized and ordained life.

A home that is healthy is a home where everyone loves each other. That is a healthy home. Some say I have a boy or a girl seven or eight years old. How can I tell her or him, about sex?

It is a strange thing that so many mothers and fathers are timid in talking to their children and explaining to them the great miracle of life, the great mystery of life. I can’t understand it.

When a home is healthy, when you have a healthy condition in the home, there is no hesitancy about telling the children the mystery of life. It is because the home is unhealthy and because there is no love radiating from that home that there is difficulty.

One of the great joys that God has given man is the ability to love one another.

”Walk in love.” “Walk in Truth.” “Walk worthy of your vocation.”

“And Now Abideth These, Faith, Hope, and Love, But the Greatest of These is Love.”

How many people pride themselves on the very opposite? They pride themselves on their standing within themselves. They pride themselves on this, and they pride themselves on that.

Of course, we know “without faith it is impossible to please Him” and that “the just shall live by faith.”

But, there is something greater than that. There is hope. People pride themselves on the Blessed Hope. The “Blessed Hope is a wonderful thing,” but there is something greater than that.

God says so in 1 Cor 13:13. There is love.

Love is the greatest of all abiding virtues. Love is not only the focal point of a healthy home life and a healthy personality, but it is also the greatest abiding virtue today in the very eyes of God.

”Walk in love” “As I have loved you.”

Love is Obedient to the Word of God

John 14:21, “He that hath My commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth Me.” “And he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.”

If you are not interested in the Word of God, then you can’t say you love the Lord Jesus Christ. But, if you are interested in the Word of God, then you love the Lord and you are loved of the Father, and Christ will love you and manifest Himself to you.

Do you see what you miss in not taking in the Word of God on a daily basis?

John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said unto him if a man love Me, he will guard My Words, and My Father will love him. And We will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” “He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My Sayings and the Word which ye hear is not Mine but My Father’s which sent Me.”

Here we find love is the basis of obedience to the Word of God. The more we love the Lord, the more we want to obey His Word.

”Love worketh no ill to his neighbor.”

The more we love the Lord and His Word, the more we love people and the less we want to hurt people. If you love your neighbor, you are not going to hurt them or steal from them. You are not going to lie to him. You are not going to slander him, or gossip about him.

If you love Him and His Word, you are not going to hurt Him at all.

Love will solve the crime problem.

Love is the greatest. Walk in love. Walk in Truth.

The Fruit of Loving is Joy!

Love is not only the focal point of a healthy constitution, a healthy life, a healthy home, but it is also the greatest of the three abiding virtues today.

Love fulfills the law. It is the basis of obedience to the Word. ”If a man love Me, he will keep My commandments.”

This is very plain. You can see the value of love here. And when you do, you will see that joy will come into your soul.

Now, a question. When do you feel better? When you love someone or when you dislike someone?

Be frank. If you are a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will never get any joy out of disliking people. But, when you love people, you want to be around the people you love. And you want to see them. And you want to talk with them.

There is a great joy in your soul. Certainly there is the joy of loving.

The fulness of joy depends first upon the joy of loving.

Gal 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love ... joy ...”

Your Joy May be Full in Loving and in Answered Prayer!

The joy of answered prayer

John 16:23, “And in that day you shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it to you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

We find the joy in answered prayer. There is joy in crying out unto our heavenly Father and have Him answer us.

Our argument to God that He should answer our prayer is as David said in Psa 86 and Psa 88. “Bow down Thy ear to me, and hear my cry, for I am poor and needy. I am in trouble.”

The Lord said in the day of trouble to call upon Me and I will deliver thee.

There is joy in answered prayer. There is joy in being able to go to our heavenly Father knowing that we have One there at His right hand who intercedes on our behalf and in whose name we pray.

The joy there is in loving and the joy there is in answered prayer.

Why Pray? What is the Value of Prayer?

What can we get out of praying?

Matt 7:11, “If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him.”

We can expect things which are good for us through prayer because God loves us and is not going to give us anything that is not good for us.

Use prayer to protect yourself against yourself.
Use prayer to protect yourself against desires that you do not know whether or not are good for you.

There are too many people who don’t. We find that we receive things that are good for us. And we saw that we would have fullness of joy through answered prayer.

”The Lord God is a Sun and a Shield and He gives Grace and glory. There is no good thing that He will withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

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Page updated 06/26/05 04:48 PM.