I John 1;7-2;2--[Turn]
Verse 7-[Reads]--''If we walk''--keep on walking in The Light with God--
''If we walk in the light as he is in the light''--God is Light. [vERSE 5]-And D\dwells in Light Unapproachable-I Timothy 6;16--[Turn].
''We have fellowship one with another''--but, as we cannot have it, unless we have it with God in Christ, and to do that, we must walk in the light with Christ.
''And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.''
This clause co-ordinates with the preceding one. Walking in the light with God makes
possible fellowship with one another, and is made possible also, by the blood of
Jesus Christ.
The blood alone, cleanses the conscience and life of God's Child.
VERSE 8--[READ]. ''If we say that we have no sin''--that is, we have no personal
guilt, no principle of Sin.
This, some of the Gnostics held, since to them, matter was evil, and the soul was
not contaminated by the sinful flesh, a thin delusion,which The Christian Scientist
cult delude themselves with, today.
''We deceive ourselves''--we lead ourselves astray. We don't deceive others, who
know us. The negative truth of the same idea-''And the truth is not in us.''
Verse 9--[READ].--If we keep on saying the same thing about our sins as God does
[homo-lo-geo].
''He is faithful.''--Jesus made confession of sin necessary to forgiveness.
It is God's Promise,and He is ''RIGHTEOUS,'' to forgive and to cleanse.
Verse 10--[Read]--If we say, we have not sinned--This is the denial of any specific
act of sin.
The claim to personal perfection--two causes;
1. The stifling of the conscience, in making God, a liar.
2. Ignorance of God's Word, which is not in us, else, we should not make the claim.
I John 2;1--[Read]--''My little children''--JJohn is now an old man, and regards
his readers as little children.
''that ye sin not''--that you may not sin.
John has no patience with professing Perfectionists [1;8-10], but has still less,
with loose lives,like some of the Gnostics, who went to all sorts of excesses,
without shame.
''If one commits sin''. We have an Advocate, The Holy Spirit is God's Advocate on
Earth,while Christ is Man's Advocate with The Father.
Being Righteous, Jesus is qualified, to plead our case, and to enter into The
Father's Presence. Hebrews 2;18--[Turn].
Verse 2-''and he''--He, Himself, in His Own PERSON. Both Priest and Sacrifice.
Hebrews 9;14-[TURN].
He is the satisfaction for our sins,and sins of the whole world of the elect--
2 Corinthians 5;19-21--[Turn].
Zechariah 3;1-10-[Turn].
God's Restorative FORGIVENESS IS MECESSARY, FOR EVERY PERSON, BORN OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT.
The Blood of The LORD JESUS CHRIST IS EFFICACIOUS TO CLEANSE God's chosen ones, FROM
ALL SIN--I JOHN 1;7
Now, I want to clearly state; CHRIST'S BLOOD IS NOT ONLY COMPETENT TO FORGIVE A
PERSON'S SIN,BUT IT CONTINUALLY CLEANSES HIM FROM ALL SIN--PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
You see, all the believer's sins were future, when Christ died for them, on the
cross. He atoned for them, when he became the sinner's substitute, for His blood has
CLEANSING PROPERTY...
HIS DEATH WAS OBJECTIVE--It judicially put away sin, from before The Lord.
IF His blood had been incompetent, to atone for ALL SIN, Believers could not plead
The Mercy of God.
God's Word shows that, justification and sanctification are so bound together,
that THEY CAN'T BE SEPARATED.
Justification DOES PRECEDE Sanctification, that is, the sins of the believer were
JUDICIALLY ATONED FOR, in Christ's Death.
Sanctification is God's Work in the believer, to make him suitable, for GOD'S
PRESENCE.
What Jesus Christ objectively wrought on the cross, The Holy Spirit objectively
applies,to the hearts of believers.
Hence there is an initial cleansing, and there is a continual cleansing.
The Tear Ducts of The Eye are a good example.
In the same way, The Blood of Christ is always there, continually cleansing the
redeemed sinner, from impurities that intrude.
The Prophet Zechariah taught Restorative Forgiveness;
Jesus Advocacy is portrayed in chapter 3.
The Holy Spirit's message to Israel, proceeded from cleansing to obedience to
service.
Joshua was one of the priests, among the exiles, who returned to Babylon, with
Zerubbabel--the dirty garments in which, he was clothed,SIGNIFIED ISRAEL'S DESPICABLE
STATE, at that time.
ISRAEL NEEDED RESTORATIVE FORGIVENESS. Even the priesthood had become defiled, and
unsuited,for holy service.
The Prophet Malachi described Israel's Priests, as a sad contrast, to the
original priesthood, represented by Phinehas [Numbers 25].
Joshua stood before The Lord--
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
GOD'S EVERLASTING FORGIVENESS
MARK 2;1-11--[TURN]. VERSE 1 [READ]-After the first tour in Galilee, Jesus is back in the city, which is His Headquarters, for the work in Galilee.
''He was in the house''--phrase means that He was at home, in the home of Peter, now the home of
Jesus.
People spread the rumor--''He is at home; He is indoors.''
Verse 2--[Read]-The house door opened into the street, not into a court, as did larger houses.
The house was packed inside, and there was a jam outside.
Verses 3-4--[Read--Verse 4--They uncovered the roof;
They un-roofed the roof [only time used in The New Testament].
They climbed up a stairway, on the outside, or ladder, to the flat tile roof, and broke up the tiles.
There tiles of lath and plaster, and even slabs of stone, stuck in, for strength, that had to be dug out.
The roofs were a composition of mortar, tar, ashes and sand, spread on the roofs, and rotted hard and grass grew in the crevices.
On the roofs, of The Poor, in the country, grass grew readily, and goats could be seen, on the roof, cropping it.
''They let down the bed''--The Greek Verb means to lower from a higher place, as from a boat.
Each Man had a rope, tied to the corner of the bed [pallet].
Verse 5 [Read]--''Their Faith''--The Faith of The 4 men, and that, of the man, himself.
There is no reason, for excluding his faith.
They all had confidence, in the power and willingness of Jesus to heal this desperate case.
''Forgiven''--his sins had caused the paralysis.
Verse 6--[Read]-- These Scribes [and Pharisees-Luke 5;21] were there, to cause trouble, to pick flaws in Jesus' Teaching and Conduct.
His Popularity and Power had aroused their jealousy.
Their looks gave them away--Jesus knew their thoughts, and perceived their reasoning--no sound had come, but feeling did.
Verse 7--[Read]--''He blasphemes''--This is The Charge in their hearts, which Jesus read, like an open book;
They justify the charge, with the conviction that God Alone, has the power, to forgive sins.
The Greek Word for ''Blasphemy'' means injurious speech, or, slander.
They held, it was blasphemy for Jesus, to assume this Divine Prerogative.
Their logic was correct.
The only one flaw in it, was The Possibility that Jesus had a peculiar relation to God, which justified His Claim.
So the 2 forces clash here, as now, on The Deity of Christ Jesus.
KNOWING FULL WELL THAT He had exercised The Prerogative of God, in forgiving the man's sins, He proceeds to justify His Claim, by healing the man.
Verses 8-10 [read]--The Scribes could have said, either of the alternatives in verse 9.
Jesus could say either with equal effectiveness.
He chose the harder first--the forgiveness which they could not see.
So, He now performs the miracle of healing, which, all could see, that all could know He really had the authority and power, Here and now, on Earth, to forgive sins, without waiting for The Day of Judgment.
Now, There are three aspects to God's Forgiveness of Sinners, whom He has elected to
Salvation;
[1] Everlasting Forgiveness
[2] Restorative Forgiveness
[3] Governmental Forgiveness.
Everlasting Forgiveness occurs at Regeneration.
Restorative Forgiveness is for the continual cleansing of The Believer.
Governmental Forgiveness is for The Children of God, who have sinned, and been restored to
Fellowship.
EPHESIANS 2;1-3--[TURN]. Verse 1--We were spiritually dead.
Verse 2--For a period of Time, We walked after The World System.
''According to the prince of the power of the air''--Satan is pictured Here, as the ruler of devils, and other forces of Evil.
In John 16;11, Jesus called him, ''The Prince of this World.''
''The spirit that now worketh''--Those who deny the existence of A Personal God successively deny the vicious tendencies, the crime waves, in modern men.
The power of the devil, in men's lives, explains the evil at work, ''in the sons of disobedience.''
Verse 3--[Read] ''Among also we all had our conversation''==''We all once lived.''
''Desires''= wishes, will of the flesh, or, of the mind.
''OBJECTS OF WRATH''--This is the condition of every man outside of Christ.
Yet, God intervenes, and He everlastingly forgives those, He elected to Salvation--
Ephesians 2;4-5--[Turn].
It is all of Grace, because All were dead.
Jesus' Blood is The Foundation of that forgiveness--Ephesians 1;7--[Turn].
David, a child of God, cried to The Lord, for Restorative Forgiveness, recognizing that, None can stand, in The Presence of The Lord, if God marks iniquities--
Psalm 130;3-4--''If thou, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand/ But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.''
But Sin is not necessarily done with, when it is confessed, and when the sinner is restoratively
forgiven.
David yielded to his flesh, when he committed Sin, with Bathsheba, and had Uriah killed;
thus, he experienced Governmental Forgiveness.
The Sword never departed from his house--
2 Samuel 12;10--''Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.''
Just so, even though Christ's Blood cleanses from all Sin, if One sows to his flesh, he shall reap Corruption--
Galatians 6;8a--''For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;'' ''Corruption''--Nature writes in One's Body, The Penalty of Sin.
The Lord Jesus has the power to forgive Sin. In Mark 2;5, He told the palsied man, ''Thy sins be forgiven Thee.''
In Verses 6-7, The Scribes knew, that God Alone, could forgive Sin, but didn't recognize Christ's Deity.
It is beautifully appropriate, that the designation, ''Son of Man'' is used in Verse 10--
Verse 10--''The Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins.''
The Saviour has has power to forgive sin, not only as The Son of God, but as The Son of Man,
Who came, to be The Surety of The Elect.
The Eternal Son of God assumed a human nature, and was given the title, ''Son of Man.''
He was more than ''A'' Son of Man--He was ''THE Son of Man.''
Acts 5;31--''Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.''
Jesus Christ does NOT set the sinner free, by a simple exercise of His own authority.
That would violate obligations of Law and Demands of Justice, and Holiness.
The LORD Jesus paid the penalty for sin.
He fulfilled The Law, and satisfied Justice double, or, twice--
Isaiah 40;2--''Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and say unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the LORD double for all her sins.''
Let's contrast this with the lost--Revelation 18;1-6--[Turn].
It's either double forgiveness, or, double punishment.
In Mark 2;7, The Scribes accused The Lord of blasphemy, because they did not recognize that He is The Eternal Son of God.
But because, Jesus Christ is The Only Mediator between God and Man, HE WAS NOT
BLASPHEMOUS.
Ha He not been Divine, their accusations, would have been true.
To help men make the equation between The Man, Jesus Christ, and The Godhead, Christ performed a miracle, to prove He was The God-Man.
JOHN 20;23--''Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.''
The Lord Jesus spake this, to His Disciples, BEFORE The Holy Spirit came, in His Abiding Presence on Pentecost.
NOW, PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION.
The Disciples WERE NOT GIVEN the Power, to effectually, or, to authoritatively remit sins;
THEY COULD ONLY DECLARATIVELY REMIT THEM.
NO MAN, HAS EVER HAD THE POWER, TO EFFECTIVELY, OR TO AUTHORITATIVELY PARDON SIN. . .
GOD, ALONE, CAN DO THAT. . .
Under The Law, The Priest ONLY PRONOUNCED A Cleansed Leper Clean.
The Priest was God's Representative on Earth, to declare that God had cleansed The Leper.
Likewise, NEW TESTAMENT MINISTERS, ONLY PRONOUNCE, THAT A PENITENT
BELIEVER'S SINS, HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, BY THE SOVEREIGN GOD.
DIVINE FORGIVENESS IS THE ETERNAL, IMMUTABLE PLAN OF GOD.
It IS NOT an act of excited sympathy.
Man's Forgiveness is generally excited by sympathy for The Offender.
DIVINE FORGIVENESS IS IRREVERSIBLE, WITHOUT LIMITATION.
Every Sin, A Christian shall commit is abundantly pardoned by The Lord.
In Contrast--Man's Forgiveness is limited;
It is not an irreversible plan.
DIVINE FORGIVENESS OCCURS WITHIN A BELIEVER--Grace works a change, in his heart.
Man's Forgiveness, however, is outside an offender.
When God forgives, He forgets the forgiven one's sin.
Forgetfulness with Man, is a defect.
With God, It is an attribute.
God never compares His Forgiveness with Human Forgiveness.
Scriptures state instead, that He puts The Forgiven Person's Sin, BEHIND His Back, as far as the east is from the west, and cats The Sin into the depths of the sea--
Psalm 103;12--''As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Isaiah 38;17--''Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.''
Micah 7;19--''He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.''
Divine Forgiveness so far excels Human Forgiveness, that no human analogy, can illustrate it.
Now, Get This Truth; THE NON-REMEMBRANCE OF SIN IMPLIES FORGIVENESS--
Hebrews 8;12--''For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.''
God's Forgiveness is so complete, that He describes it, as not remembering The Forgiven Man's Sin, iniquities, and transgressions.
With God, Forgiveness is tantamount to forgetting A Person's Sins.
He does not store remembrance of it, in His Mind;
He does not think over The Sins of His People.
Their iniquity is removed, and The Righteous Judge has no judicial memory of it.
Man, however, exercises his memory, to meditate on it, and to lay up in his mind.
He may have almost forgotten a certain thing, but then, some incident occurs, and it recalls the event to his mind.
Now Get This Truth; DIVINE FORGIVENESS SIGNIFIES THAT, GOD WILL NEVER SEEK ANY FURTHER ATONEMENT--
Hebrews 10;18--''Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.''
God will never again punish what He has already punished.
What He has forgotten, CANNOT BE REMEMBERED.
Those, WHO DO NOT HOLD to The Biblical Theology, say, that any father would forgive his child.
That statement is based upon a misunderstood and mis-appreciated concept of The Fatherhood Of God and The Brotherhood of Man.
2 Flaws are apparent in this Liberal View;
First of all, GOD IS NOT The Father of all sinning, wicked Rebels--
John 8;44--'' Ye are of your father, the devil.''
Second, GOD IS MORE THAN The Creative father of Individuals.
A Private Being may forgive private wrong, irrespective of The Settlement of Judgment.
However, God is The Great Public Governor of The Universe.
Sin against His Government cannot be forgiven, APART FROM SACRIFICE.
Now Get This Truth; FORGIVENESS DOES NOT INDICATE REMISSION OF PUNISHMENT.
Jesus Christ was punished, in the place, of those elected in Him.
He became Surety for those, The Father gave Him, in The Covenant of Redemption.
Every recipient of Grace knows that GOD'S FORGIVENESS IS THAT, OF RECONCILIATION.
Now, Listen, to This;
THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY, that God forgives, because He is Loving and Merciful.
The Scriptures testify, that He is Faithful, and Just, and He forgives, on that basis--I John 1;9--[Quote].
God's Justice must be satisfied, and it is satisfied, in The Person of The Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, GOD FORGIVES IN LOVE, BECAUSE HE PARDONS IN JUSTICE.
Gracious Forgiveness harmonizes with The Wrath of The Sovereign.
Sin must be punished, and God's Wrath, must be poured out.
Jesus Christ was made an offering for sin.
He stood in the place of sinners, bearing their justice punishment.
Gracious Forgiveness harmonizes with The Love of The Holy Father.
Since Justice was satisfied in Christ's Sacrifice, Love can be extended to God's Chosen Ones, and
Mercy can operate, to bring them to Christ.
The Greek Verb for Forgiveness signifies A Sending Forth, or, A Sending Away.
The Greek Noun indicates Dismissal, or Release.
Divine Forgiveness enables the believer to know, with full assurance of Faith, that his sins are forgiven.
The Grace of God reigns, and The Riches of Grace are seen in Divine Forgiveness.
It is absolutely perfect.
The Following make it so;
[1] The Repentant Sinner is fully forgiven.
[2] He is freely forgiven.
[3] He is everlastingly forgiven.
[4] The Forgiveness extends to all, for whom Christ died.
[5] Forgiveness is by faith.
[6] It is irreversible.
Now, Get this; A SINNER WHO KNOWS, HE IS EVERLASTINGLY FORGIVEN WILL AVOID ANTINOMINISM-HE WANTS TO PLEASE GOD-NOT HIMSELF.
END
''He was in the house''--phrase means that He was at home, in the home of Peter, now the home of
Jesus.
People spread the rumor--''He is at home; He is indoors.''
Verse 2--[Read]-The house door opened into the street, not into a court, as did larger houses.
The house was packed inside, and there was a jam outside.
Verses 3-4--[Read--Verse 4--They uncovered the roof;
They un-roofed the roof [only time used in The New Testament].
They climbed up a stairway, on the outside, or ladder, to the flat tile roof, and broke up the tiles.
There tiles of lath and plaster, and even slabs of stone, stuck in, for strength, that had to be dug out.
The roofs were a composition of mortar, tar, ashes and sand, spread on the roofs, and rotted hard and grass grew in the crevices.
On the roofs, of The Poor, in the country, grass grew readily, and goats could be seen, on the roof, cropping it.
''They let down the bed''--The Greek Verb means to lower from a higher place, as from a boat.
Each Man had a rope, tied to the corner of the bed [pallet].
Verse 5 [Read]--''Their Faith''--The Faith of The 4 men, and that, of the man, himself.
There is no reason, for excluding his faith.
They all had confidence, in the power and willingness of Jesus to heal this desperate case.
''Forgiven''--his sins had caused the paralysis.
Verse 6--[Read]-- These Scribes [and Pharisees-Luke 5;21] were there, to cause trouble, to pick flaws in Jesus' Teaching and Conduct.
His Popularity and Power had aroused their jealousy.
Their looks gave them away--Jesus knew their thoughts, and perceived their reasoning--no sound had come, but feeling did.
Verse 7--[Read]--''He blasphemes''--This is The Charge in their hearts, which Jesus read, like an open book;
They justify the charge, with the conviction that God Alone, has the power, to forgive sins.
The Greek Word for ''Blasphemy'' means injurious speech, or, slander.
They held, it was blasphemy for Jesus, to assume this Divine Prerogative.
Their logic was correct.
The only one flaw in it, was The Possibility that Jesus had a peculiar relation to God, which justified His Claim.
So the 2 forces clash here, as now, on The Deity of Christ Jesus.
KNOWING FULL WELL THAT He had exercised The Prerogative of God, in forgiving the man's sins, He proceeds to justify His Claim, by healing the man.
Verses 8-10 [read]--The Scribes could have said, either of the alternatives in verse 9.
Jesus could say either with equal effectiveness.
He chose the harder first--the forgiveness which they could not see.
So, He now performs the miracle of healing, which, all could see, that all could know He really had the authority and power, Here and now, on Earth, to forgive sins, without waiting for The Day of Judgment.
Now, There are three aspects to God's Forgiveness of Sinners, whom He has elected to
Salvation;
[1] Everlasting Forgiveness
[2] Restorative Forgiveness
[3] Governmental Forgiveness.
Everlasting Forgiveness occurs at Regeneration.
Restorative Forgiveness is for the continual cleansing of The Believer.
Governmental Forgiveness is for The Children of God, who have sinned, and been restored to
Fellowship.
EPHESIANS 2;1-3--[TURN]. Verse 1--We were spiritually dead.
Verse 2--For a period of Time, We walked after The World System.
''According to the prince of the power of the air''--Satan is pictured Here, as the ruler of devils, and other forces of Evil.
In John 16;11, Jesus called him, ''The Prince of this World.''
''The spirit that now worketh''--Those who deny the existence of A Personal God successively deny the vicious tendencies, the crime waves, in modern men.
The power of the devil, in men's lives, explains the evil at work, ''in the sons of disobedience.''
Verse 3--[Read] ''Among also we all had our conversation''==''We all once lived.''
''Desires''= wishes, will of the flesh, or, of the mind.
''OBJECTS OF WRATH''--This is the condition of every man outside of Christ.
Yet, God intervenes, and He everlastingly forgives those, He elected to Salvation--
Ephesians 2;4-5--[Turn].
It is all of Grace, because All were dead.
Jesus' Blood is The Foundation of that forgiveness--Ephesians 1;7--[Turn].
David, a child of God, cried to The Lord, for Restorative Forgiveness, recognizing that, None can stand, in The Presence of The Lord, if God marks iniquities--
Psalm 130;3-4--''If thou, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand/ But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.''
But Sin is not necessarily done with, when it is confessed, and when the sinner is restoratively
forgiven.
David yielded to his flesh, when he committed Sin, with Bathsheba, and had Uriah killed;
thus, he experienced Governmental Forgiveness.
The Sword never departed from his house--
2 Samuel 12;10--''Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.''
Just so, even though Christ's Blood cleanses from all Sin, if One sows to his flesh, he shall reap Corruption--
Galatians 6;8a--''For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;'' ''Corruption''--Nature writes in One's Body, The Penalty of Sin.
The Lord Jesus has the power to forgive Sin. In Mark 2;5, He told the palsied man, ''Thy sins be forgiven Thee.''
In Verses 6-7, The Scribes knew, that God Alone, could forgive Sin, but didn't recognize Christ's Deity.
It is beautifully appropriate, that the designation, ''Son of Man'' is used in Verse 10--
Verse 10--''The Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins.''
The Saviour has has power to forgive sin, not only as The Son of God, but as The Son of Man,
Who came, to be The Surety of The Elect.
The Eternal Son of God assumed a human nature, and was given the title, ''Son of Man.''
He was more than ''A'' Son of Man--He was ''THE Son of Man.''
Acts 5;31--''Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.''
Jesus Christ does NOT set the sinner free, by a simple exercise of His own authority.
That would violate obligations of Law and Demands of Justice, and Holiness.
The LORD Jesus paid the penalty for sin.
He fulfilled The Law, and satisfied Justice double, or, twice--
Isaiah 40;2--''Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and say unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the LORD double for all her sins.''
Let's contrast this with the lost--Revelation 18;1-6--[Turn].
It's either double forgiveness, or, double punishment.
In Mark 2;7, The Scribes accused The Lord of blasphemy, because they did not recognize that He is The Eternal Son of God.
But because, Jesus Christ is The Only Mediator between God and Man, HE WAS NOT
BLASPHEMOUS.
Ha He not been Divine, their accusations, would have been true.
To help men make the equation between The Man, Jesus Christ, and The Godhead, Christ performed a miracle, to prove He was The God-Man.
JOHN 20;23--''Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.''
The Lord Jesus spake this, to His Disciples, BEFORE The Holy Spirit came, in His Abiding Presence on Pentecost.
NOW, PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION.
The Disciples WERE NOT GIVEN the Power, to effectually, or, to authoritatively remit sins;
THEY COULD ONLY DECLARATIVELY REMIT THEM.
NO MAN, HAS EVER HAD THE POWER, TO EFFECTIVELY, OR TO AUTHORITATIVELY PARDON SIN. . .
GOD, ALONE, CAN DO THAT. . .
Under The Law, The Priest ONLY PRONOUNCED A Cleansed Leper Clean.
The Priest was God's Representative on Earth, to declare that God had cleansed The Leper.
Likewise, NEW TESTAMENT MINISTERS, ONLY PRONOUNCE, THAT A PENITENT
BELIEVER'S SINS, HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, BY THE SOVEREIGN GOD.
DIVINE FORGIVENESS IS THE ETERNAL, IMMUTABLE PLAN OF GOD.
It IS NOT an act of excited sympathy.
Man's Forgiveness is generally excited by sympathy for The Offender.
DIVINE FORGIVENESS IS IRREVERSIBLE, WITHOUT LIMITATION.
Every Sin, A Christian shall commit is abundantly pardoned by The Lord.
In Contrast--Man's Forgiveness is limited;
It is not an irreversible plan.
DIVINE FORGIVENESS OCCURS WITHIN A BELIEVER--Grace works a change, in his heart.
Man's Forgiveness, however, is outside an offender.
When God forgives, He forgets the forgiven one's sin.
Forgetfulness with Man, is a defect.
With God, It is an attribute.
God never compares His Forgiveness with Human Forgiveness.
Scriptures state instead, that He puts The Forgiven Person's Sin, BEHIND His Back, as far as the east is from the west, and cats The Sin into the depths of the sea--
Psalm 103;12--''As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Isaiah 38;17--''Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.''
Micah 7;19--''He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.''
Divine Forgiveness so far excels Human Forgiveness, that no human analogy, can illustrate it.
Now, Get This Truth; THE NON-REMEMBRANCE OF SIN IMPLIES FORGIVENESS--
Hebrews 8;12--''For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.''
God's Forgiveness is so complete, that He describes it, as not remembering The Forgiven Man's Sin, iniquities, and transgressions.
With God, Forgiveness is tantamount to forgetting A Person's Sins.
He does not store remembrance of it, in His Mind;
He does not think over The Sins of His People.
Their iniquity is removed, and The Righteous Judge has no judicial memory of it.
Man, however, exercises his memory, to meditate on it, and to lay up in his mind.
He may have almost forgotten a certain thing, but then, some incident occurs, and it recalls the event to his mind.
Now Get This Truth; DIVINE FORGIVENESS SIGNIFIES THAT, GOD WILL NEVER SEEK ANY FURTHER ATONEMENT--
Hebrews 10;18--''Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.''
God will never again punish what He has already punished.
What He has forgotten, CANNOT BE REMEMBERED.
Those, WHO DO NOT HOLD to The Biblical Theology, say, that any father would forgive his child.
That statement is based upon a misunderstood and mis-appreciated concept of The Fatherhood Of God and The Brotherhood of Man.
2 Flaws are apparent in this Liberal View;
First of all, GOD IS NOT The Father of all sinning, wicked Rebels--
John 8;44--'' Ye are of your father, the devil.''
Second, GOD IS MORE THAN The Creative father of Individuals.
A Private Being may forgive private wrong, irrespective of The Settlement of Judgment.
However, God is The Great Public Governor of The Universe.
Sin against His Government cannot be forgiven, APART FROM SACRIFICE.
Now Get This Truth; FORGIVENESS DOES NOT INDICATE REMISSION OF PUNISHMENT.
Jesus Christ was punished, in the place, of those elected in Him.
He became Surety for those, The Father gave Him, in The Covenant of Redemption.
Every recipient of Grace knows that GOD'S FORGIVENESS IS THAT, OF RECONCILIATION.
Now, Listen, to This;
THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY, that God forgives, because He is Loving and Merciful.
The Scriptures testify, that He is Faithful, and Just, and He forgives, on that basis--I John 1;9--[Quote].
God's Justice must be satisfied, and it is satisfied, in The Person of The Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, GOD FORGIVES IN LOVE, BECAUSE HE PARDONS IN JUSTICE.
Gracious Forgiveness harmonizes with The Wrath of The Sovereign.
Sin must be punished, and God's Wrath, must be poured out.
Jesus Christ was made an offering for sin.
He stood in the place of sinners, bearing their justice punishment.
Gracious Forgiveness harmonizes with The Love of The Holy Father.
Since Justice was satisfied in Christ's Sacrifice, Love can be extended to God's Chosen Ones, and
Mercy can operate, to bring them to Christ.
The Greek Verb for Forgiveness signifies A Sending Forth, or, A Sending Away.
The Greek Noun indicates Dismissal, or Release.
Divine Forgiveness enables the believer to know, with full assurance of Faith, that his sins are forgiven.
The Grace of God reigns, and The Riches of Grace are seen in Divine Forgiveness.
It is absolutely perfect.
The Following make it so;
[1] The Repentant Sinner is fully forgiven.
[2] He is freely forgiven.
[3] He is everlastingly forgiven.
[4] The Forgiveness extends to all, for whom Christ died.
[5] Forgiveness is by faith.
[6] It is irreversible.
Now, Get this; A SINNER WHO KNOWS, HE IS EVERLASTINGLY FORGIVEN WILL AVOID ANTINOMINISM-HE WANTS TO PLEASE GOD-NOT HIMSELF.
END
Friday, November 21, 2008
THE NECESSITY OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS--PART 4
Now, We come to a list of adjectives, that describe their inner life--
DESTITUTE OF MORAL UNDERSTANDING, QUARRELSOME [Covenant Breakers, men whose word means nothing];
DESTITUTE OF NATURAL AFFECTION [Heartless];
IMPLACABLE [Irreconcilable--breach widens];
UNMERCIFUL [Un-pitiful, without pity, or compassion].
In closing the list of crimes, Paul describes the highest Moral Degradation and Abandonment of
God, I.E. Demonic Pleasure in those, who not only know God's Judgment on Sin, but, who deliberately commit these sins, and encourage others in sin.
Sinners, who consent to commit these sins, are in the last stage of Reprobation--are in The End of The Way--Ready and Ripe for God's Judgment--This is The Depths of Satan.
God does not infuse any new evil principle;
Those, who continue to pursue evil, fulfill that which is ALREADY in their hearts.
He, who commits Sin, transgresses The Law--
I John 3;4--''Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.''
God's Standard is His Holy Law, and He is, His Own Law.
Now, Listen to This; Sin and Reprobation go hand in hand.
They stand or fall together.
Because of Sin, God provided Redemption for His people.
Sin and Redemption become measurements of each other. When Sin is minimized, Redemption becomes automatically impoverished.
You see, God's Law is the only true standard for measurement.
Sin, defined best, by the phrase. ''mossing the mark,'' obviously exists.
Its existence can be proved by The Revelation of Scripture, and it can also be verified, apart from any knowledge of God's Word.
God reveals Sin to Men, by The Word, by Jesus Christ, and General Revelation.
The Unclean Lives, lived by men today, are THE RESULT of their turning from The Light, unveiled in Creation.
Death did not exist, until Adam's Fall, in The Garden of Eden.
Death is the consequence of Sin--Romans 5;12--[Turn].
The Whole Creation groans, because It is under God's Wrath.
EVERY PERSON, WHO DIES, MANIFESTS THE REALITY OF SIN.
SIN IS SINFUL, BECAUSE IT IS UNLIKE GOD, WHO IS HOLY.
God describes Sin as Transgression, in that, It oversteps His Marked Boundaries.
God describes Sin as Iniquity, in that, It is altogether wrong.
As Error, in that, It disregards Light, and goes astray.
As Wickedness, in that, It lacks The Fear of God.
As Evil, because It opposes all things of God.
As Disobedience, because It is unwilling to be guided by God's Will.
As Unbelief, in that, It fails to trust God.
As Lawlessness, because It has contempt for God's Law.
And as Universal, since none are exempt.
All have sinned-Romans 3;23.
Everyone has always been A Sinner.
Each one sinned in Adam.
There is Solidarity of Mankind in Adam's Fall.
Sin is A Fact, an obvious Reality.
The Knowledge of Sin comes by The Law--
Romans 3;20--''Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.''
By the works of The Law, or, out of the works of The Law--The Mosaic Law and any law, as the source of being right with God.
''The knowledge of sin''--The Effect of The Law universally, is rebellion against It.
I Corinthians 15;56--''The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.'' Galatians 3;19-22--[Turn]. Hebrews 10;3-4--''But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.''
Salvation comes only through The Righteousness provided by God--
Romans 3;21-23--''But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. 22. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference; 23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.'' Verse 21--''But now the righteousness of God APART FROM THE LAW.''
The God-kind of Righteousness, which Paul has shown from 1;18-3;20, is ''apart from the law'' of any kind, and is all of Grace,
But, It is not a new discovery to Paul, but it is witnessed by The Law and the Prophets--it is made plain continuously, by God Himself.
Verse 22-the Righteousness of God is through faith in Christ--IE. The immediate agency of The
Righteousness of God is faith in Christ.
The Justification, or, Getting Right with God, is offered to Jew and Gentile, on the same terms--
Verse 23-All men have sinned [missed the mark] of God's Righteousness, and come short of
God's Glory.
Man's coming short of God's Glory issues from his fallen condition.
Falling short denotes the sinful habit--an act, flowing from The Fall.
When men fall short, they do not value God's Name, or, His Attributes.
They value themselves above God, and exchange His Truth, for a lie.
Overwhelming data proves that man is a fallen creature.
Every person has some sense of Rightness and Wrongness--Romans 2;21-[Turn].
A Person must have a sense of RIGHT and WRONG, to judge Another's actions.
Man's confused drives, urges, and impulses demonstrate that he is fallen.
Before The Fall, those forces in Adam, were all perfectly balanced.
His desire for food, and self-preservation, before The Fall were harmonious.
However, when he fell, they were contaminated with Sin;
Perverted and Corrupted.
And since then, Man's drive for food, hid drive for self-preservation, and his urge for love are
Today, unbalanced.
Sin is A Fact, whether it is dormant, like a slumbering volcano, or, evidenced in the devastaing lava, of a man's fiery missions.
Sin is There, and One's evil nature, will, at times, manifest itself, in the hot lava of thoughts and deeds.
The Reality of Sin has many witnesses.
The Law of God was given, to uncover The Fact of Sin--Romans 3;20--''Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.''
The Law is A Standard, to measure Man's Shortcomings.
It is The Scale, on which, Man must weigh His Deficiency;
A Looking Glass, which shows Man, his sinfulness;
A Stethoscope, which shows the condition of Man's heart;
A Rule, which evidences Man's Crookedness;
An Officer, which demands Man's condemnation;
and A Judge, that condemns Man to death, for his disobedience.
Scripture, The Highest Court of Appeal, declares The Fact of Sin.
Sin is a grievous malady--
Genesis 18;20--''And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gommorah is great, and because their sin is very grievous.''
Sin contaminates The Whole Man--
Isaiah 1;5-6--''Why should ye be stricken any more/ ye will revolt more and more; the whole head is sick, and the heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.''
Sin is an obscuring cloud, that hides God's Face from Man--
Isaiah 59;2--''But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, anf your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.''
Sin is a crouching Beast--
Genesis 4;7--''If thou doest well, shall thou not be accepted/ and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.''
Sin is a binding Cord--
Proverbs 5;22--''His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.''
Sin is A Written Record, An Accusing Witness--
Isaiah 59;12--''For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them.''
Sin is a sum of additional sin-Sin added to Sin.
The Coming of Jesus Christ also reveals The Fact of Sin.
His followers confessed their sin, as they beheld His Holiness.
Next, We find that, SIN IS A STATE OF DELUSION AND DECEPTION.
It is NOT merely a deed.
There can bev no act, apart from Principle, and Sin is The Source, from which, The Act proceeds.
Sin is A Quality of Being,
There is no sin, separated from a sinner, and there is no act apart from an actor.
The Fact that Man sins, verifies The Fact that he is a sinner.
One Who knows, what he should do, and does not do it, reveals that, he is a sinner-his disobedient heart proves he sinned.
James 4;17--''Therefore to him that knoweth to do Good, and doeth it not, to him, it is sin.'' ''To him that knoweth''=''to one knowing how'' ''to do Good''=To do a good deed.
''And doeth it not''-and to one not doing it.
Not A Doer-James 1;23-24--[Turn].
Matthew 7;26-27--[Turn].
Unused Knowledge of one's duty is sin--The Sin of Omission--Matthew 23;23--[Turn].
Man's disobedient heart proves he has sinned.
Although his sin is not manifested, it comes from the source, or principle, of his being.
Sin is A State of The Heart--
Jeremiah 17;9--''The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it/''
Sin, that cannot be known by Man, IS NOT A Sin of Action.
Many sins are committed, of which, others are unaware-they are committed in the heart.
Sin exists in the soul PRIOR to One's consciousness of it.
Paul said, Sin lay dormant in his heart, until The Commandment came, causing him, to become conscious of it--
Romans 7;9--''For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.''
A Momentary act of Sin cannot dwell, or reign, in the heart, but The Principle of Sin DOES.
''For I was alive without the law once''--Before The Conscience awoke, and Moral Responsibility came.
''But when the commandment came, sin revived''--Sin came back to life, waked up.
''And I died''--my seeming life was over, for I was conscious of sin, of violating The Law.
I was dead therefore, but didn't know it, now I found out, I am spiritually dead.
Sin covers the heart's deepest intentions, while it masquerades as Good.
The goal of every sin is to deceive, and Sin's Penalty is Death--Romans 6;23--[Quote].
Death is Separation.
Physical Death is separation of the soul, from the body.
Spiritual Death is separation of the soul from God.
Eternal Death is separation of bothy soul and body from God, throughout Eternity.
There are three kinds of life;
Physical, Spiritual, and Eternal.
The element of union is common to all three.
Physical life is union of the soul with the body.
Spiritual Life is union of the soul with God.
Eternal life is union of soul and body with God throughout All Eternity.
Faith does not flee from Responsibility, and it never explains guilt in any way, but as proceeding from Man's own depraved heart.
The Sun causes a foul odor, to proceed from a dunghill, but it doesn't cause the dunghill.
It is only the occasion of drawing forth the scent.
The LORD forced Pharoah to an issue, causing him to manifest the hardness of his heart.
God was not The Author of his hardness;
He only left him, to his unrestrained, deopraved nature.
In like manner,God's proclaimed Word, becomes the occasion for people, to manifest their depraved natures.
Hence, Man's Condition Before God proves The Necessity of his sin, by God.
DESTITUTE OF MORAL UNDERSTANDING, QUARRELSOME [Covenant Breakers, men whose word means nothing];
DESTITUTE OF NATURAL AFFECTION [Heartless];
IMPLACABLE [Irreconcilable--breach widens];
UNMERCIFUL [Un-pitiful, without pity, or compassion].
In closing the list of crimes, Paul describes the highest Moral Degradation and Abandonment of
God, I.E. Demonic Pleasure in those, who not only know God's Judgment on Sin, but, who deliberately commit these sins, and encourage others in sin.
Sinners, who consent to commit these sins, are in the last stage of Reprobation--are in The End of The Way--Ready and Ripe for God's Judgment--This is The Depths of Satan.
God does not infuse any new evil principle;
Those, who continue to pursue evil, fulfill that which is ALREADY in their hearts.
He, who commits Sin, transgresses The Law--
I John 3;4--''Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.''
God's Standard is His Holy Law, and He is, His Own Law.
Now, Listen to This; Sin and Reprobation go hand in hand.
They stand or fall together.
Because of Sin, God provided Redemption for His people.
Sin and Redemption become measurements of each other. When Sin is minimized, Redemption becomes automatically impoverished.
You see, God's Law is the only true standard for measurement.
Sin, defined best, by the phrase. ''mossing the mark,'' obviously exists.
Its existence can be proved by The Revelation of Scripture, and it can also be verified, apart from any knowledge of God's Word.
God reveals Sin to Men, by The Word, by Jesus Christ, and General Revelation.
The Unclean Lives, lived by men today, are THE RESULT of their turning from The Light, unveiled in Creation.
Death did not exist, until Adam's Fall, in The Garden of Eden.
Death is the consequence of Sin--Romans 5;12--[Turn].
The Whole Creation groans, because It is under God's Wrath.
EVERY PERSON, WHO DIES, MANIFESTS THE REALITY OF SIN.
SIN IS SINFUL, BECAUSE IT IS UNLIKE GOD, WHO IS HOLY.
God describes Sin as Transgression, in that, It oversteps His Marked Boundaries.
God describes Sin as Iniquity, in that, It is altogether wrong.
As Error, in that, It disregards Light, and goes astray.
As Wickedness, in that, It lacks The Fear of God.
As Evil, because It opposes all things of God.
As Disobedience, because It is unwilling to be guided by God's Will.
As Unbelief, in that, It fails to trust God.
As Lawlessness, because It has contempt for God's Law.
And as Universal, since none are exempt.
All have sinned-Romans 3;23.
Everyone has always been A Sinner.
Each one sinned in Adam.
There is Solidarity of Mankind in Adam's Fall.
Sin is A Fact, an obvious Reality.
The Knowledge of Sin comes by The Law--
Romans 3;20--''Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.''
By the works of The Law, or, out of the works of The Law--The Mosaic Law and any law, as the source of being right with God.
''The knowledge of sin''--The Effect of The Law universally, is rebellion against It.
I Corinthians 15;56--''The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.'' Galatians 3;19-22--[Turn]. Hebrews 10;3-4--''But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.''
Salvation comes only through The Righteousness provided by God--
Romans 3;21-23--''But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. 22. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference; 23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.'' Verse 21--''But now the righteousness of God APART FROM THE LAW.''
The God-kind of Righteousness, which Paul has shown from 1;18-3;20, is ''apart from the law'' of any kind, and is all of Grace,
But, It is not a new discovery to Paul, but it is witnessed by The Law and the Prophets--it is made plain continuously, by God Himself.
Verse 22-the Righteousness of God is through faith in Christ--IE. The immediate agency of The
Righteousness of God is faith in Christ.
The Justification, or, Getting Right with God, is offered to Jew and Gentile, on the same terms--
Verse 23-All men have sinned [missed the mark] of God's Righteousness, and come short of
God's Glory.
Man's coming short of God's Glory issues from his fallen condition.
Falling short denotes the sinful habit--an act, flowing from The Fall.
When men fall short, they do not value God's Name, or, His Attributes.
They value themselves above God, and exchange His Truth, for a lie.
Overwhelming data proves that man is a fallen creature.
Every person has some sense of Rightness and Wrongness--Romans 2;21-[Turn].
A Person must have a sense of RIGHT and WRONG, to judge Another's actions.
Man's confused drives, urges, and impulses demonstrate that he is fallen.
Before The Fall, those forces in Adam, were all perfectly balanced.
His desire for food, and self-preservation, before The Fall were harmonious.
However, when he fell, they were contaminated with Sin;
Perverted and Corrupted.
And since then, Man's drive for food, hid drive for self-preservation, and his urge for love are
Today, unbalanced.
Sin is A Fact, whether it is dormant, like a slumbering volcano, or, evidenced in the devastaing lava, of a man's fiery missions.
Sin is There, and One's evil nature, will, at times, manifest itself, in the hot lava of thoughts and deeds.
The Reality of Sin has many witnesses.
The Law of God was given, to uncover The Fact of Sin--Romans 3;20--''Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.''
The Law is A Standard, to measure Man's Shortcomings.
It is The Scale, on which, Man must weigh His Deficiency;
A Looking Glass, which shows Man, his sinfulness;
A Stethoscope, which shows the condition of Man's heart;
A Rule, which evidences Man's Crookedness;
An Officer, which demands Man's condemnation;
and A Judge, that condemns Man to death, for his disobedience.
Scripture, The Highest Court of Appeal, declares The Fact of Sin.
Sin is a grievous malady--
Genesis 18;20--''And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gommorah is great, and because their sin is very grievous.''
Sin contaminates The Whole Man--
Isaiah 1;5-6--''Why should ye be stricken any more/ ye will revolt more and more; the whole head is sick, and the heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.''
Sin is an obscuring cloud, that hides God's Face from Man--
Isaiah 59;2--''But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, anf your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.''
Sin is a crouching Beast--
Genesis 4;7--''If thou doest well, shall thou not be accepted/ and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.''
Sin is a binding Cord--
Proverbs 5;22--''His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.''
Sin is A Written Record, An Accusing Witness--
Isaiah 59;12--''For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them.''
Sin is a sum of additional sin-Sin added to Sin.
The Coming of Jesus Christ also reveals The Fact of Sin.
His followers confessed their sin, as they beheld His Holiness.
Next, We find that, SIN IS A STATE OF DELUSION AND DECEPTION.
It is NOT merely a deed.
There can bev no act, apart from Principle, and Sin is The Source, from which, The Act proceeds.
Sin is A Quality of Being,
There is no sin, separated from a sinner, and there is no act apart from an actor.
The Fact that Man sins, verifies The Fact that he is a sinner.
One Who knows, what he should do, and does not do it, reveals that, he is a sinner-his disobedient heart proves he sinned.
James 4;17--''Therefore to him that knoweth to do Good, and doeth it not, to him, it is sin.'' ''To him that knoweth''=''to one knowing how'' ''to do Good''=To do a good deed.
''And doeth it not''-and to one not doing it.
Not A Doer-James 1;23-24--[Turn].
Matthew 7;26-27--[Turn].
Unused Knowledge of one's duty is sin--The Sin of Omission--Matthew 23;23--[Turn].
Man's disobedient heart proves he has sinned.
Although his sin is not manifested, it comes from the source, or principle, of his being.
Sin is A State of The Heart--
Jeremiah 17;9--''The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it/''
Sin, that cannot be known by Man, IS NOT A Sin of Action.
Many sins are committed, of which, others are unaware-they are committed in the heart.
Sin exists in the soul PRIOR to One's consciousness of it.
Paul said, Sin lay dormant in his heart, until The Commandment came, causing him, to become conscious of it--
Romans 7;9--''For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.''
A Momentary act of Sin cannot dwell, or reign, in the heart, but The Principle of Sin DOES.
''For I was alive without the law once''--Before The Conscience awoke, and Moral Responsibility came.
''But when the commandment came, sin revived''--Sin came back to life, waked up.
''And I died''--my seeming life was over, for I was conscious of sin, of violating The Law.
I was dead therefore, but didn't know it, now I found out, I am spiritually dead.
Sin covers the heart's deepest intentions, while it masquerades as Good.
The goal of every sin is to deceive, and Sin's Penalty is Death--Romans 6;23--[Quote].
Death is Separation.
Physical Death is separation of the soul, from the body.
Spiritual Death is separation of the soul from God.
Eternal Death is separation of bothy soul and body from God, throughout Eternity.
There are three kinds of life;
Physical, Spiritual, and Eternal.
The element of union is common to all three.
Physical life is union of the soul with the body.
Spiritual Life is union of the soul with God.
Eternal life is union of soul and body with God throughout All Eternity.
Faith does not flee from Responsibility, and it never explains guilt in any way, but as proceeding from Man's own depraved heart.
The Sun causes a foul odor, to proceed from a dunghill, but it doesn't cause the dunghill.
It is only the occasion of drawing forth the scent.
The LORD forced Pharoah to an issue, causing him to manifest the hardness of his heart.
God was not The Author of his hardness;
He only left him, to his unrestrained, deopraved nature.
In like manner,God's proclaimed Word, becomes the occasion for people, to manifest their depraved natures.
Hence, Man's Condition Before God proves The Necessity of his sin, by God.
Monday, November 17, 2008
THE NECESSITY OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS--PART 3
Now, let's see, What The Bible says about The Doctrine of Sin--
Romans 1;18-32--[Turn].
When God gives people up, He does not simply permit them, to stray from Him.
Romans 1;24 speaks of God's Positive Withdrawal.
God withdraws all restraint.
Romans 1;24--''Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves.'' ''WHEREFORE''=''AND SO.'' Here We have Paul's blameless logic.
''GOD GAVE THEM UP''= God gave them over, to their own power--
These people had already deserted God, Who merely left them, to their own self-determination and self-destruction, part of the price of man's moral freedom,
The withdrawal of God's Restraint sent men deeper down.
Three times, Paul says, God gave them up-[24, 26, 28]--not 3 stages, in the giving over, but a repetition of the same withdrawal.
The words sound to us, like clods, on the coffin, as God leaves men, to work their wicked Will.
''that their bodies should be dishonoured''--Christians have a new sense of dignity, for the body-
I Thessalonians 4;4--''That everyone of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.'' I Corinthians 6;13--''Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats; but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the LORD, and The LORD for the body.''
Heathenism left its stamp on the bodies of men and women.
Romans 1;25--''Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever amen.'' ''Changed''=''Exchanged''--for exchanging trade--What a bargain they made, The Truth of God, for The Lie;
is the price of Mythology.
''They worshipped the creature rather than the creator''--even when placed side by side.
All God has to do, is to let The Sinner alone, and he will drink the dregs of sin, of uncleanness and lust.
Man's Natural Heart is only evil continually, and the first stage of apostasy, or God giving up The
Sinner, is his abandonment, to the natural forms of Sensuality.
Romans 1;26-27-[Turn]. ''Unto vile passions''= Passions of Dishonor.
Natural Lusts degenerate to Unnatural lusts, when the restraint, is taken off.
''That which is against Nature''--The Degradation of Sex is the result of Heathenism [The loss of God in the life of Man].
Verse 27--'' burned in their lust''--inflamed with their lust.
Romans 1;18-32--[Turn].
When God gives people up, He does not simply permit them, to stray from Him.
Romans 1;24 speaks of God's Positive Withdrawal.
God withdraws all restraint.
Romans 1;24--''Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves.'' ''WHEREFORE''=''AND SO.'' Here We have Paul's blameless logic.
''GOD GAVE THEM UP''= God gave them over, to their own power--
These people had already deserted God, Who merely left them, to their own self-determination and self-destruction, part of the price of man's moral freedom,
The withdrawal of God's Restraint sent men deeper down.
Three times, Paul says, God gave them up-[24, 26, 28]--not 3 stages, in the giving over, but a repetition of the same withdrawal.
The words sound to us, like clods, on the coffin, as God leaves men, to work their wicked Will.
''that their bodies should be dishonoured''--Christians have a new sense of dignity, for the body-
I Thessalonians 4;4--''That everyone of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.'' I Corinthians 6;13--''Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats; but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the LORD, and The LORD for the body.''
Heathenism left its stamp on the bodies of men and women.
Romans 1;25--''Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever amen.'' ''Changed''=''Exchanged''--for exchanging trade--What a bargain they made, The Truth of God, for The Lie;
is the price of Mythology.
''They worshipped the creature rather than the creator''--even when placed side by side.
All God has to do, is to let The Sinner alone, and he will drink the dregs of sin, of uncleanness and lust.
Man's Natural Heart is only evil continually, and the first stage of apostasy, or God giving up The
Sinner, is his abandonment, to the natural forms of Sensuality.
Romans 1;26-27-[Turn]. ''Unto vile passions''= Passions of Dishonor.
Natural Lusts degenerate to Unnatural lusts, when the restraint, is taken off.
''That which is against Nature''--The Degradation of Sex is the result of Heathenism [The loss of God in the life of Man].
Verse 27--'' burned in their lust''--inflamed with their lust.
''The recompence which was meet''=the recompense which was due.
Romans 1;28--God gave them over, because they did not like, to retain God in their knowledge.
The Ancient, Wise Heathen knew that morality is dependent upon religion, whereas Today's
Average Religionist doesn't even think so.
This means, The One, who does not approve of God enough, to receive The Knowledge of Him, into his inner heart and life, and rule over him as Sovereign, that God turns him over, to his un-approving mind, to common things, that are morally held in abhorrence by people, not reprobated.
Then verses 29-32 describe the condition of the reprobate heart.
''Being filled with all unrighteousness''--Unrighteousness is Injustice;
Righteousness is JUSTICE.
In other words, they break every commandment in The Law, and have no shame, or, sense of guilt, or, FEAR OF GOD.
Let's look at the list of Injustices;
FORNICATION [Referring to the seductor, or seductress, who tempt to sin];
COVETOUSNESS [Greed, Grasping after another's possessions];
MALICE [The Spring of Ill-will, and desire to injure];
Full of ENVY [Envy makes one sick of another's health];
Envy is The Fountainhead of MURDER.
STRIFE [Or Contention];
DECEIT [Fraud];
MALIGNITY [Which is trearcherous conduct, or habit of the mind];
WHISPERERS [Gain-sayers, Defamers, Revilers, False Accusers];
HATERS OF GOD;
INSOLENT [Over-Bearing;said of those, who perpetrate criminal outrage];
PROUD [Self-Conceited. who conduct themselves arrogantly above others];
BOASTERS [Those who brag about bringing others down];
DISOBEDIENT TO PARENTS [Apostasy from the piety and affection due to parents is a Fountain of Corruption].
Romans 1;28--God gave them over, because they did not like, to retain God in their knowledge.
The Ancient, Wise Heathen knew that morality is dependent upon religion, whereas Today's
Average Religionist doesn't even think so.
This means, The One, who does not approve of God enough, to receive The Knowledge of Him, into his inner heart and life, and rule over him as Sovereign, that God turns him over, to his un-approving mind, to common things, that are morally held in abhorrence by people, not reprobated.
Then verses 29-32 describe the condition of the reprobate heart.
''Being filled with all unrighteousness''--Unrighteousness is Injustice;
Righteousness is JUSTICE.
In other words, they break every commandment in The Law, and have no shame, or, sense of guilt, or, FEAR OF GOD.
Let's look at the list of Injustices;
FORNICATION [Referring to the seductor, or seductress, who tempt to sin];
COVETOUSNESS [Greed, Grasping after another's possessions];
MALICE [The Spring of Ill-will, and desire to injure];
Full of ENVY [Envy makes one sick of another's health];
Envy is The Fountainhead of MURDER.
STRIFE [Or Contention];
DECEIT [Fraud];
MALIGNITY [Which is trearcherous conduct, or habit of the mind];
WHISPERERS [Gain-sayers, Defamers, Revilers, False Accusers];
HATERS OF GOD;
INSOLENT [Over-Bearing;said of those, who perpetrate criminal outrage];
PROUD [Self-Conceited. who conduct themselves arrogantly above others];
BOASTERS [Those who brag about bringing others down];
DISOBEDIENT TO PARENTS [Apostasy from the piety and affection due to parents is a Fountain of Corruption].
Thursday, November 13, 2008
THE NECESSITY OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS--PART 2
All Men, even The Unsaved, have some principles;
but they don't abide by them.
GOD IS HIS OWN PRINCIPLE, HIS OWN LAW.
Arbitrariness cannot be attributed to Him.
HE IS HIS OWN STANDARD.
Romans 1;16-18--[Turn].
Paul knew by experience, that The Gospel is The Power of God.
He had seen The Dynamite of God, at work.
''to the Jew first, and also to the Greek''--The Jew is first in Privilege, and in Penalty [Romans 2;
9].
Verse 17--In The Gospel, of which, Paul was not ashamed, was revealed, A God-kind of Righteousness, that One must have, and can only obtain it, by means of ''faith to faith.''
Faith is The Starting Point, and Faith is The Goal.
This God-kind of Righteousness is revealed by God--Man unaided,could never have attained it, or, conceived it.
By RIGHTEOUSNESS, Paul meant both Justification and Sanctification.
This God-kind of Righteousness, revealed in The Gospel, has 2 ideas;
1. The Righteousness God has, and
2. The Righteousness God gives.
Verse 18-''For the wrath of God is revealed''
There is A Parallel and Antecedent Revelation of God's Wrath corresponding to The Revelation of God's Righteousness--This is an Un-written Revelation, but It is plainly known.
It is The Temper of God towards Sin.
It is not Rage, but is The Wrath of Reason and Law.
The Revelation of God's Righteousness, in The Gospel, was necessary, because of Man's Failure to attain It,for God's Wrath rested upon All--Jews and Gentiles.
Ungodliness=Irreligion, lack of Reverence toward God--
UNRIGHTEOUSNESS-Lack of Right Conduct towards men--Injustice.
This naturally follows Irreverence.
The basis of ethical conduct rests upon The Nature of God, and our attitude toward Him, otherwise we have The Law of The Jungle [MIGHT MAKES RIGHT].
''Hold down The Truth''-Truth is out, in the open, but wicked men put it, into a box, and sit, on the lid,, and hold it down, in their un-righteousness--Their evil deeds conceal The Open Truth of
God from Men--
God's Wrath is perpetually revealed.
It was the fear of God's Wrath that caused Adam and Eve, to flee from God's Presence'
Genesis 3;8-10--[Turn].
The same fear caused Judas, to hang himself.
Conscience has compelled man, to reveal secret sins, although no torture could extort such confessions.
God's Wrath is perpetually revealed, in the general, moral sentiment of Mankind.
The Perpetual Revelation of God's Wrath is Preparatory and Predictive.
''REVEAL'' in Romans 1;18 means to uncover, bring to light;
Hence, to make known.
SOMETHING IS REVEALED, WHEN IT BECOMES KNOWN, BY ITS EFFECT.
Thus, The Thoughts of The Heart are revealed, in an expression from Man. That which proceeds from the heart, reveals Man's Character.
The Human Heart has always had an indwelling sense of God's Justice.
All Men know The Righteous Judgment of God.
Consequently, they know, that those who practice Sin, are Worthy of Death, and are of The Devil--
I John 3;8--''He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning; for this purpose the Son of God was manifested,m that he might destroy the works of the devil.'' ''committeth sin''= doeth sin-''He that keeps on doing Sin [habit] is of the devil''--
When One acts like the devil, he shows that he is not a true child of God.
There is eternal conflict with certain victory over Satan.
Men also know, that there is A Righteous Wrath Against Sin--
Romans 1;32--''Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.''
The Repentant Malefactor, suspended on the cross, knew that his punishment was just--
Luke 23;39-41--[Turn].
Now, Get This Truth; ALL SIN IS AGAINST GOD.
Men will continue to commit Sin against The Sovereign God, until The Last Enemy is destroyed.
Sin against a person, is actually Sin against God.
All Unrighteousness is Sin--
I John 5;17--''All unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin unto death.''
Whatever that is not of faith is sin [Romans 14;23].
''Ungodliness'' denotes irreverence for God, and pertains to one's religious character.
''Unrighteousness'' denotes that which is immoral.
Ungodliness has no fear of God--Romans 3;18--''There is no fear of God before their eyes.''
Unrighteousness has no standard for Man.
Ungodliness denies God's character.
Unrighteousness, which is Injustice, destroys man's character.
Ungodliness attacks The Godhead.
Unrighteousness attacks God's Government.
Ungodliness condemns Good.
Unrighteousness seeks to justify Man.
but they don't abide by them.
GOD IS HIS OWN PRINCIPLE, HIS OWN LAW.
Arbitrariness cannot be attributed to Him.
HE IS HIS OWN STANDARD.
Romans 1;16-18--[Turn].
Paul knew by experience, that The Gospel is The Power of God.
He had seen The Dynamite of God, at work.
''to the Jew first, and also to the Greek''--The Jew is first in Privilege, and in Penalty [Romans 2;
9].
Verse 17--In The Gospel, of which, Paul was not ashamed, was revealed, A God-kind of Righteousness, that One must have, and can only obtain it, by means of ''faith to faith.''
Faith is The Starting Point, and Faith is The Goal.
This God-kind of Righteousness is revealed by God--Man unaided,could never have attained it, or, conceived it.
By RIGHTEOUSNESS, Paul meant both Justification and Sanctification.
This God-kind of Righteousness, revealed in The Gospel, has 2 ideas;
1. The Righteousness God has, and
2. The Righteousness God gives.
Verse 18-''For the wrath of God is revealed''
There is A Parallel and Antecedent Revelation of God's Wrath corresponding to The Revelation of God's Righteousness--This is an Un-written Revelation, but It is plainly known.
It is The Temper of God towards Sin.
It is not Rage, but is The Wrath of Reason and Law.
The Revelation of God's Righteousness, in The Gospel, was necessary, because of Man's Failure to attain It,for God's Wrath rested upon All--Jews and Gentiles.
Ungodliness=Irreligion, lack of Reverence toward God--
UNRIGHTEOUSNESS-Lack of Right Conduct towards men--Injustice.
This naturally follows Irreverence.
The basis of ethical conduct rests upon The Nature of God, and our attitude toward Him, otherwise we have The Law of The Jungle [MIGHT MAKES RIGHT].
''Hold down The Truth''-Truth is out, in the open, but wicked men put it, into a box, and sit, on the lid,, and hold it down, in their un-righteousness--Their evil deeds conceal The Open Truth of
God from Men--
God's Wrath is perpetually revealed.
It was the fear of God's Wrath that caused Adam and Eve, to flee from God's Presence'
Genesis 3;8-10--[Turn].
The same fear caused Judas, to hang himself.
Conscience has compelled man, to reveal secret sins, although no torture could extort such confessions.
God's Wrath is perpetually revealed, in the general, moral sentiment of Mankind.
The Perpetual Revelation of God's Wrath is Preparatory and Predictive.
''REVEAL'' in Romans 1;18 means to uncover, bring to light;
Hence, to make known.
SOMETHING IS REVEALED, WHEN IT BECOMES KNOWN, BY ITS EFFECT.
Thus, The Thoughts of The Heart are revealed, in an expression from Man. That which proceeds from the heart, reveals Man's Character.
The Human Heart has always had an indwelling sense of God's Justice.
All Men know The Righteous Judgment of God.
Consequently, they know, that those who practice Sin, are Worthy of Death, and are of The Devil--
I John 3;8--''He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning; for this purpose the Son of God was manifested,m that he might destroy the works of the devil.'' ''committeth sin''= doeth sin-''He that keeps on doing Sin [habit] is of the devil''--
When One acts like the devil, he shows that he is not a true child of God.
There is eternal conflict with certain victory over Satan.
Men also know, that there is A Righteous Wrath Against Sin--
Romans 1;32--''Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.''
The Repentant Malefactor, suspended on the cross, knew that his punishment was just--
Luke 23;39-41--[Turn].
Now, Get This Truth; ALL SIN IS AGAINST GOD.
Men will continue to commit Sin against The Sovereign God, until The Last Enemy is destroyed.
Sin against a person, is actually Sin against God.
All Unrighteousness is Sin--
I John 5;17--''All unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin unto death.''
Whatever that is not of faith is sin [Romans 14;23].
''Ungodliness'' denotes irreverence for God, and pertains to one's religious character.
''Unrighteousness'' denotes that which is immoral.
Ungodliness has no fear of God--Romans 3;18--''There is no fear of God before their eyes.''
Unrighteousness has no standard for Man.
Ungodliness denies God's character.
Unrighteousness, which is Injustice, destroys man's character.
Ungodliness attacks The Godhead.
Unrighteousness attacks God's Government.
Ungodliness condemns Good.
Unrighteousness seeks to justify Man.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
THE NECESSITY OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS--PART 1
Romans 5;12--''Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.''
We have seen, that Sin was decreed by The Forgiver;
now we want to look at;
''THE NECESSITY OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS.''
Sin's Beginning has a character, that is qualitatively different from that of all origins.
Only one verse in The Bible speaks of its exact source--
Ezekiel 28;15--''Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.''
Some interpret Ezekiel 28, by applying it only, to the King of Tyrus.
The prophet was speaking, of a particular king, but it was Lucifer, who directed that wicked king.
But Verses 13 and 15 refute the idea, that this portion of Scripture refers to the king of Tyrus.
The king was not a created person. He came into the world by Generation.
Scripture goes beyond him, to speak of Lucifer, Who became SATAN.
Adam fell, when he was tempted, in The Garden of Eden.
Sin then began, in the human family, in The Garden of Eden.
However, Sin actually had its beginning, in Lucifer, The Son of The Morning.
Lucifer was finitely, not infinitely perfect, until iniquity was found in him.
Finite Perfection is capable of sinning;
Whereas, Infinite Perfection is incapable of sinning.
Infinite Perfection belongs to God Alone.
The primary difference between Lucifer's Sin and Adam's Sin, is that Lucifer's Sin originated solely with himself, without any evil, outside of himself.
Adam, however, was entered from without. He had a weakness within himself, to respond to
temptation.
Since Sin came into The World, it is the motive for all man's thoughts and actions.
Each man must see himself, in complete solidarity with Adam, recognizing sin as his own.
Not until then, will he genuinely confess.
Sin is the biggest of all contradictions. It affects all things.
However, God uses it, in the ways of righteousness and justice, as an instrument, of His Own
Glory.
Nevertheless, God does not tolerate sin;
He condemns it.
There is an unusual relation between seeking to know The Origin of Sin, an An Exculpation of One's Guilt.
That search is not as innocent, as it might appear, for the motive may be, to blame another.
Sin must be considered as ONE'S OWN.
No Genuine Confession of Sin will be made, by a person, so long as he looks for Sin's Origin.
It is only, as One recognizes his Sin, that He cries for Forgiveness.
Sin began neither with God's Creation of Lucifer, and the angelic host, or with Adam's fall in Eden.
Sin is related to Reality's Destruction and Disruption, whether with Lucifer's Fall, or with Adam's Fall in Eden.
Now Get this Truth; THE REALITY OF SIN CAN NEVER BE ASSIGNED TO GOD'S GOODNESS IN CREATION.
All things God created were pronounced Good [Genesis 1].
Sin took place as an event.
Anyone who says, God made Man Sinful, denies The Holiness and Love of God.
The person, who says that Moral Purity is Man's Goal, instead of his starting point, attributes to
God, The Principle, Paul condemned--
Romans 3;8--''And not rather [as we be slanderously reported; and as some affirm that we say], Let us do evil, that good may come. . .whose damnation is just.''
Sin is Man's Fall, not his exaltation. It is his disguise, not his dignity.
Now, in Romans 3;8, we have two lines of thought, set forth;
Line Number One--The excuse brought forward by the unbeliever.
Line Number Two--The Accusation, that Paul affirms, that very excuse that we may do evil, that good may come.
We find that, it was The Accusation of Antinominism, because Paul had preached Justification by
Faith, and not by Works.
Satan subtly lured Eve, and then, Eve tempted Adam. Satan deceived Eve, by making her believe, that God had withheld something from her.
The Devil continues to use the same technique, making people believe, that God has deprived them of something.
Eve's reaction to Satan's temptation is common among Mankind.
She allowed Satan to subtract from, add to, alter, and misapply God's Word--Genesis 3;1-6-[Turn]; 2;16-17--[Turn], 3;4-5--[Turn] I Peter 3;16; 2 Timothy 2l;15--[Turn].
Because Eve's tragic mistakes are followed, by all men, in all ages, SATAN'S METHODS OF
TEMPTING MEN TO SIN, HAVE NEVER CHANGED.
Eve responded to Satan's Persuasion and sought higher knowledge.
Instead of finding it, she lost her God knowledge, and fellowship with God.
Then she persuaded her husband, and he did likewise.
FREEDOM WAS GOD'S GIFT to Adam, and ADAM'S ABUSE OF THAT GIFT, WAS HIS SIN.
When he fell, every man without exception, became enslaved.
QUESTION; Does Man have the ability to choose/
Yes. . .However, he freely chooses evil, in the same manner, that a motor-less car chooses to run downhill, or Niagra Falls chooses to go only one direction-Down.
Adam's Original Uprightness was not achieved by his own ability.
God gave it, when He created Him.
Adam's Original Position before God, meant that he bore within himself, the possibility, but NOT The Actuality of Sin and Death.
Man is A Sinner--his ungodly, unrighteous, depraved condition prevents his standing in The
Presence of The Holy, Righteous God.
Man needs Righteousness. Since none are righteous, A Righteousness must be provided by The
LORD, to meet human need.
Philippians 3;9--''And be found him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.'' 2 Corinthians 5;21-Quote.
Now, The Objective Revelation of God in Nature, is sufficient, to render every man under heaven, Inexcusable before God--
Romans 1;19-20--''Because which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things og him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.''
Man is not Righteous--
Romans 3;10--''As it is written, there is none Righteous, no, not one.''
All are under The Wrath of God. . . God's Wrath stands in apparent antithesis to His Righteousness.
However, God's Justice is Retributive.
In reference to sin, God's Wrath is A PRINCIPLE, NOT A PASSION.
Wrath and Love are complimentary attributes in God.
The Wrath of God differs from The Wrath, existing in A Man.
No Man, outside of Jesus Christ has Perfect Hatred.
In Man, Wrath is an exciting passion. In God, It is A Principle, which makes no ripple in on The
Infinite Rivers of His Holy Being.
With Man, Wrath is a malignant passion, burning with the desire, to make its object miserable.
With God, Wrath is the natural reaction of God's Justice-God has no evil disposition.
In Man, Wrath is a selfish passion.
In God, It is a unselfish principle.
In Man, Wrath is a painful passion.
In God, Wrath is a necessary principle.
Now, Get This Truth; One could neither esteem, nor love God, if he viewed honestly and dishonestly, cruelty and benevolence ALIKE....
The Truth that Wrath is just as much a part of God's Character as Love, emphasizes 3 important points;
One--It corrects the theological error that Christ's Death appeased Divine Vengeance.
According to God's Word, Christ's Death was THE EFFECT, not the cause, of God's Love and
Wrath.
God loved His Own in Christ, BEFORE The Foundation of The World.
The effect of that love, was He sent His Son, to die for All, that God gave Him, in The Eternal Covenant of Redemption.
TWO--It supplies a warning to Sinners--''Be sure your sin will find you out''--All Sin shall be brought to light.
THREE--It urges the necessity for Regeneration.
The only way to avoid God's Wrath, is to avoid Sin.
The only way to avoid Sin, is through Christ's Redemptive Work, which is applied by The Holy
Spirit in Regeneration.
We have seen, that Sin was decreed by The Forgiver;
now we want to look at;
''THE NECESSITY OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS.''
Sin's Beginning has a character, that is qualitatively different from that of all origins.
Only one verse in The Bible speaks of its exact source--
Ezekiel 28;15--''Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.''
Some interpret Ezekiel 28, by applying it only, to the King of Tyrus.
The prophet was speaking, of a particular king, but it was Lucifer, who directed that wicked king.
But Verses 13 and 15 refute the idea, that this portion of Scripture refers to the king of Tyrus.
The king was not a created person. He came into the world by Generation.
Scripture goes beyond him, to speak of Lucifer, Who became SATAN.
Adam fell, when he was tempted, in The Garden of Eden.
Sin then began, in the human family, in The Garden of Eden.
However, Sin actually had its beginning, in Lucifer, The Son of The Morning.
Lucifer was finitely, not infinitely perfect, until iniquity was found in him.
Finite Perfection is capable of sinning;
Whereas, Infinite Perfection is incapable of sinning.
Infinite Perfection belongs to God Alone.
The primary difference between Lucifer's Sin and Adam's Sin, is that Lucifer's Sin originated solely with himself, without any evil, outside of himself.
Adam, however, was entered from without. He had a weakness within himself, to respond to
temptation.
Since Sin came into The World, it is the motive for all man's thoughts and actions.
Each man must see himself, in complete solidarity with Adam, recognizing sin as his own.
Not until then, will he genuinely confess.
Sin is the biggest of all contradictions. It affects all things.
However, God uses it, in the ways of righteousness and justice, as an instrument, of His Own
Glory.
Nevertheless, God does not tolerate sin;
He condemns it.
There is an unusual relation between seeking to know The Origin of Sin, an An Exculpation of One's Guilt.
That search is not as innocent, as it might appear, for the motive may be, to blame another.
Sin must be considered as ONE'S OWN.
No Genuine Confession of Sin will be made, by a person, so long as he looks for Sin's Origin.
It is only, as One recognizes his Sin, that He cries for Forgiveness.
Sin began neither with God's Creation of Lucifer, and the angelic host, or with Adam's fall in Eden.
Sin is related to Reality's Destruction and Disruption, whether with Lucifer's Fall, or with Adam's Fall in Eden.
Now Get this Truth; THE REALITY OF SIN CAN NEVER BE ASSIGNED TO GOD'S GOODNESS IN CREATION.
All things God created were pronounced Good [Genesis 1].
Sin took place as an event.
Anyone who says, God made Man Sinful, denies The Holiness and Love of God.
The person, who says that Moral Purity is Man's Goal, instead of his starting point, attributes to
God, The Principle, Paul condemned--
Romans 3;8--''And not rather [as we be slanderously reported; and as some affirm that we say], Let us do evil, that good may come. . .whose damnation is just.''
Sin is Man's Fall, not his exaltation. It is his disguise, not his dignity.
Now, in Romans 3;8, we have two lines of thought, set forth;
Line Number One--The excuse brought forward by the unbeliever.
Line Number Two--The Accusation, that Paul affirms, that very excuse that we may do evil, that good may come.
We find that, it was The Accusation of Antinominism, because Paul had preached Justification by
Faith, and not by Works.
Satan subtly lured Eve, and then, Eve tempted Adam. Satan deceived Eve, by making her believe, that God had withheld something from her.
The Devil continues to use the same technique, making people believe, that God has deprived them of something.
Eve's reaction to Satan's temptation is common among Mankind.
She allowed Satan to subtract from, add to, alter, and misapply God's Word--Genesis 3;1-6-[Turn]; 2;16-17--[Turn], 3;4-5--[Turn] I Peter 3;16; 2 Timothy 2l;15--[Turn].
Because Eve's tragic mistakes are followed, by all men, in all ages, SATAN'S METHODS OF
TEMPTING MEN TO SIN, HAVE NEVER CHANGED.
Eve responded to Satan's Persuasion and sought higher knowledge.
Instead of finding it, she lost her God knowledge, and fellowship with God.
Then she persuaded her husband, and he did likewise.
FREEDOM WAS GOD'S GIFT to Adam, and ADAM'S ABUSE OF THAT GIFT, WAS HIS SIN.
When he fell, every man without exception, became enslaved.
QUESTION; Does Man have the ability to choose/
Yes. . .However, he freely chooses evil, in the same manner, that a motor-less car chooses to run downhill, or Niagra Falls chooses to go only one direction-Down.
Adam's Original Uprightness was not achieved by his own ability.
God gave it, when He created Him.
Adam's Original Position before God, meant that he bore within himself, the possibility, but NOT The Actuality of Sin and Death.
Man is A Sinner--his ungodly, unrighteous, depraved condition prevents his standing in The
Presence of The Holy, Righteous God.
Man needs Righteousness. Since none are righteous, A Righteousness must be provided by The
LORD, to meet human need.
Philippians 3;9--''And be found him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.'' 2 Corinthians 5;21-Quote.
Now, The Objective Revelation of God in Nature, is sufficient, to render every man under heaven, Inexcusable before God--
Romans 1;19-20--''Because which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things og him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.''
Man is not Righteous--
Romans 3;10--''As it is written, there is none Righteous, no, not one.''
All are under The Wrath of God. . . God's Wrath stands in apparent antithesis to His Righteousness.
However, God's Justice is Retributive.
In reference to sin, God's Wrath is A PRINCIPLE, NOT A PASSION.
Wrath and Love are complimentary attributes in God.
The Wrath of God differs from The Wrath, existing in A Man.
No Man, outside of Jesus Christ has Perfect Hatred.
In Man, Wrath is an exciting passion. In God, It is A Principle, which makes no ripple in on The
Infinite Rivers of His Holy Being.
With Man, Wrath is a malignant passion, burning with the desire, to make its object miserable.
With God, Wrath is the natural reaction of God's Justice-God has no evil disposition.
In Man, Wrath is a selfish passion.
In God, It is a unselfish principle.
In Man, Wrath is a painful passion.
In God, Wrath is a necessary principle.
Now, Get This Truth; One could neither esteem, nor love God, if he viewed honestly and dishonestly, cruelty and benevolence ALIKE....
The Truth that Wrath is just as much a part of God's Character as Love, emphasizes 3 important points;
One--It corrects the theological error that Christ's Death appeased Divine Vengeance.
According to God's Word, Christ's Death was THE EFFECT, not the cause, of God's Love and
Wrath.
God loved His Own in Christ, BEFORE The Foundation of The World.
The effect of that love, was He sent His Son, to die for All, that God gave Him, in The Eternal Covenant of Redemption.
TWO--It supplies a warning to Sinners--''Be sure your sin will find you out''--All Sin shall be brought to light.
THREE--It urges the necessity for Regeneration.
The only way to avoid God's Wrath, is to avoid Sin.
The only way to avoid Sin, is through Christ's Redemptive Work, which is applied by The Holy
Spirit in Regeneration.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
GOD FORGIVES SINNERS--PART 5
In our last post we closed by saying;
God not only allows men, to walk in their own ways, but He gives them up to uncleanness and vile affection, and over to a reprobate mind.
He also sens them strong delusion, to believe a lie--
2 Thessalonians 2;11--''And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.''
God punishes Sin with Sin.
God may put things, that are good, in themselves, in the way of people. For instance, The Law and
The Gospel become occasions for drawing out, the corruptions of men's hearts.
Paul said, he would not have known sin, but by The Law--
Romans 7;7--''What shall we say then/ Is the law sin/ God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet.''
The Law and The Gospel Themselves, are good.
However, The Law draws corruptions out of the heart, and The Gospel becomes The Savor of Death to those who disbelieve--2 Corinthians 2;14-16-[Turn].
God allows Sin, but sometimes overrules Sin for Good.
He overruled Adam's Sin for his Perfection in Grace.
He overruled The Sin of Joseph's Brothers, ''. . .to save much people alive'' [Genesis 50;20].
He overruled The Sin of wicked men, who crucified Christ, and made His Soul, an offering for sin, for the good of His Elect--
Isaiah 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.''
God is not responsible for Man's Sin--
Isaiah 45;7--''I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I the LORD do these things.''
God did not originate moral evil.
Darkness did not proceed from God, Who is Light, nor the evil of sin from God, Who is Holy.
Here in Isaiah 45;7, Light is contrasted with Darkness, and Peace with Evil.
Darkness is the privation of Light, and the evil of punishment is the privation of peace.
God forms Light, and creates Darkness.
He forms the Light of Nature and Rational Understanding.
John 1;9--''That was the true light which lighteth every man, that cometh into the world.''
Darkness is also God's Creation--Natural Darkness results from the absence of The Sun.
Deprivation of Spiritual Light causes Spiritual Darkness.
The Lord makes Peace, and creates Evil [Isaiah 45;7].
He now makes peace, among His Saints.
At His Revelation, He will make universal peace.
The Evil, that God creates, is The Evil of Punishment for Sin, not The Evil of Sin itself.
Sin is not found among God's Creatures in Genesis 1.
Sin didn't begin with God's Original Creation.
The Lord doesn't infuse any evil into men.
But He subjects depraved men in various providential dealings;
He allows Sin, and overrules It, for the good of His People.
Sin began among The Angelic Host with Lucifer;
and with Mankind, It began in Adam.
God purposed The Fall of Both. If He had not, Neither could have fallen.
The Lord also purposed to prepare Redemption for His Elect, through the sacrifice of The Lord
Jesus Christ.
Although evil hands were associated with the preparation of that Redemptive Work, they were only instruments, that God used, to fulfill His Purpose.
God made Christ's Soul, An Offering for Sin--
Isaiah 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.''
We must distinguish between the words, Purpose and Author.
God purposed Sin;
otherwise, It could not exist.
According to God's Determinate Counsel and Foreknowledge, The Sins of Wicked Men nailed
The Lord Jesus Christ, to The Cross--
Acts 2;23--''Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands hath crucified and slain.''
God purposed to order events, so that evil should come to pass, to fulfill His Purpose.
Nevertheless, He hates evil.
To say that, God is The Author of Sin--that is, The Agent, Actor, or Doer, of a wicked thing, would be Blasphemy.
Sin had no actual existence, before it was committed by creatures, Which God pronounced
''Good'' after His Act of creating them.
Therefore, Sin's Beginning cannot be attributed to God.
God's Foreknowledge of Sin, does not make Him, The Author of Sin;
Anticipated Sin and Actual Sin are entirely different.
Just A Divine Election, or Fore-ordination, does not cause One's Actual Redemption, so Foreknowledge of Sin's Occurrence does not cause that Sin.
Sin became a reality, only as God's creatures perverted His Will.
It has no original substance in itself. Sin has no thesis. It has only antithesis.
Since sin came by God's creatures, it is a secondary, and not a primary consideration.
People seek to excuse their own sin, by asking, ''Why did God make Adam, capable of falling/''
They refuse to admit A Personal Sinful Condition. For that reason, considering The Origin of Sin, is not as innocent, as it may appear.
Now, Listen; GOD CREATED MAN, CAPABLE OF FALLING, BECAUSE HE COULD NOT MAKE MAN, IN ANY OTHER CONDITION--GOD CANNOT CREATE GOD.
Whatever He creates, must be inferior to Himself;
Immutability cannot create itself-only mutability.
Man was created Upright [Ecclesiastes 7;29], but he was created with two principles;
Inferior and Superior.
The Inferior Principle was related to Man's Flesh, and the superior principle was related to his fellowship with God.
When Adam fell, he lost the superior principle, and kept the inferior [which had become corrupted].
Adam could no longer fellowship with God;
so he fled, seeking to hide himself from God.
The Inferior Principle became The Reigning Principle in the lives of Adam, and his descendants.
When The Superior Principle was forfeited through Sin, Man was alienated from The Life of God.
Every Person since Adam comes into The World, dead in trespasses and sins.
Adam's Trial was ordained of God, because Probation is an essential part of self-determination.
However, God's Ordination of Adam's trial was benevolent, not unjust.
And God provided hope for Adam and All His Elect Ones.
The Lord Jesus Christ could never be tempted, the same way Adam was. He had no inferior principle, no weakness within, to yield to temptation.
He had only The Divine Principle--He couldn't yield to external temptation.
Temptation Itself, cannot pervert the soul.
Only An Evil Will, self-determined against God, can turn temptation into an occasion for ruin.
Satan was The First Actor in Sin, and The First Tempter to Sin;
when he approached Eve, he concealed the fact, of his own fall, and his enmity against God.
Sin began with Lucifer.
God pronounced it evil--
Ezekiel 28;15--''Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, til iniquity was found in thee.''
Now, I ask you, If Adam, Who possessed the strength of uprightness, yielded to temptation, how can Adam's descendants, who only have an inferior principle, resist it/
All men react in only one way, until God's Grace intervenes.
None can overcome temptation, apart from God's Grace.
So, to summarize; God, in His Plan, to glorify Himself, allowed sin to exist, but He was not its author--He only allowed it.
Man is responsible for his own sin because of his Depraved Will and Nature--Romans 5;12-[Turn].
''Therefore''=''for this reason.'' What reason/
The argument made in verses 1-11, assuming our Justification, and urging joy in Christ, because of the present reconciliation by Christ's Death, and the certainty of future salvation, by His Life.
''As by [through] one man''--Paul begins a comparison between the effects of Adam's Sin, and the effects of Christ's REDEMPTIVE Work, but did not see the 2nd Member of the comparison.
Instead, he discusses some problems of Sin and Death, and starts over again, in verse 15.
The Effects of Adam's Sin were transmitted to his descendants, by both his Natural and
Federal Headships.
Christ is Head of all believers, as Adam is Head of the race. In this was Adam ''the figure of him to come.''
''Sin entered the world''--Here, We have The Personification of Sin.
Sin came from outside, into the race of man.
''And Death by Sin''--Physical and Spiritual to all men.
''For that all have sinned''--transmission from Adam became the fact of experience.
END OF POINT ONE-GOD FORGIVES SINNERS
God not only allows men, to walk in their own ways, but He gives them up to uncleanness and vile affection, and over to a reprobate mind.
He also sens them strong delusion, to believe a lie--
2 Thessalonians 2;11--''And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.''
God punishes Sin with Sin.
God may put things, that are good, in themselves, in the way of people. For instance, The Law and
The Gospel become occasions for drawing out, the corruptions of men's hearts.
Paul said, he would not have known sin, but by The Law--
Romans 7;7--''What shall we say then/ Is the law sin/ God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet.''
The Law and The Gospel Themselves, are good.
However, The Law draws corruptions out of the heart, and The Gospel becomes The Savor of Death to those who disbelieve--2 Corinthians 2;14-16-[Turn].
God allows Sin, but sometimes overrules Sin for Good.
He overruled Adam's Sin for his Perfection in Grace.
He overruled The Sin of Joseph's Brothers, ''. . .to save much people alive'' [Genesis 50;20].
He overruled The Sin of wicked men, who crucified Christ, and made His Soul, an offering for sin, for the good of His Elect--
Isaiah 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.''
God is not responsible for Man's Sin--
Isaiah 45;7--''I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I the LORD do these things.''
God did not originate moral evil.
Darkness did not proceed from God, Who is Light, nor the evil of sin from God, Who is Holy.
Here in Isaiah 45;7, Light is contrasted with Darkness, and Peace with Evil.
Darkness is the privation of Light, and the evil of punishment is the privation of peace.
God forms Light, and creates Darkness.
He forms the Light of Nature and Rational Understanding.
John 1;9--''That was the true light which lighteth every man, that cometh into the world.''
Darkness is also God's Creation--Natural Darkness results from the absence of The Sun.
Deprivation of Spiritual Light causes Spiritual Darkness.
The Lord makes Peace, and creates Evil [Isaiah 45;7].
He now makes peace, among His Saints.
At His Revelation, He will make universal peace.
The Evil, that God creates, is The Evil of Punishment for Sin, not The Evil of Sin itself.
Sin is not found among God's Creatures in Genesis 1.
Sin didn't begin with God's Original Creation.
The Lord doesn't infuse any evil into men.
But He subjects depraved men in various providential dealings;
He allows Sin, and overrules It, for the good of His People.
Sin began among The Angelic Host with Lucifer;
and with Mankind, It began in Adam.
God purposed The Fall of Both. If He had not, Neither could have fallen.
The Lord also purposed to prepare Redemption for His Elect, through the sacrifice of The Lord
Jesus Christ.
Although evil hands were associated with the preparation of that Redemptive Work, they were only instruments, that God used, to fulfill His Purpose.
God made Christ's Soul, An Offering for Sin--
Isaiah 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.''
We must distinguish between the words, Purpose and Author.
God purposed Sin;
otherwise, It could not exist.
According to God's Determinate Counsel and Foreknowledge, The Sins of Wicked Men nailed
The Lord Jesus Christ, to The Cross--
Acts 2;23--''Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands hath crucified and slain.''
God purposed to order events, so that evil should come to pass, to fulfill His Purpose.
Nevertheless, He hates evil.
To say that, God is The Author of Sin--that is, The Agent, Actor, or Doer, of a wicked thing, would be Blasphemy.
Sin had no actual existence, before it was committed by creatures, Which God pronounced
''Good'' after His Act of creating them.
Therefore, Sin's Beginning cannot be attributed to God.
God's Foreknowledge of Sin, does not make Him, The Author of Sin;
Anticipated Sin and Actual Sin are entirely different.
Just A Divine Election, or Fore-ordination, does not cause One's Actual Redemption, so Foreknowledge of Sin's Occurrence does not cause that Sin.
Sin became a reality, only as God's creatures perverted His Will.
It has no original substance in itself. Sin has no thesis. It has only antithesis.
Since sin came by God's creatures, it is a secondary, and not a primary consideration.
People seek to excuse their own sin, by asking, ''Why did God make Adam, capable of falling/''
They refuse to admit A Personal Sinful Condition. For that reason, considering The Origin of Sin, is not as innocent, as it may appear.
Now, Listen; GOD CREATED MAN, CAPABLE OF FALLING, BECAUSE HE COULD NOT MAKE MAN, IN ANY OTHER CONDITION--GOD CANNOT CREATE GOD.
Whatever He creates, must be inferior to Himself;
Immutability cannot create itself-only mutability.
Man was created Upright [Ecclesiastes 7;29], but he was created with two principles;
Inferior and Superior.
The Inferior Principle was related to Man's Flesh, and the superior principle was related to his fellowship with God.
When Adam fell, he lost the superior principle, and kept the inferior [which had become corrupted].
Adam could no longer fellowship with God;
so he fled, seeking to hide himself from God.
The Inferior Principle became The Reigning Principle in the lives of Adam, and his descendants.
When The Superior Principle was forfeited through Sin, Man was alienated from The Life of God.
Every Person since Adam comes into The World, dead in trespasses and sins.
Adam's Trial was ordained of God, because Probation is an essential part of self-determination.
However, God's Ordination of Adam's trial was benevolent, not unjust.
And God provided hope for Adam and All His Elect Ones.
The Lord Jesus Christ could never be tempted, the same way Adam was. He had no inferior principle, no weakness within, to yield to temptation.
He had only The Divine Principle--He couldn't yield to external temptation.
Temptation Itself, cannot pervert the soul.
Only An Evil Will, self-determined against God, can turn temptation into an occasion for ruin.
Satan was The First Actor in Sin, and The First Tempter to Sin;
when he approached Eve, he concealed the fact, of his own fall, and his enmity against God.
Sin began with Lucifer.
God pronounced it evil--
Ezekiel 28;15--''Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, til iniquity was found in thee.''
Now, I ask you, If Adam, Who possessed the strength of uprightness, yielded to temptation, how can Adam's descendants, who only have an inferior principle, resist it/
All men react in only one way, until God's Grace intervenes.
None can overcome temptation, apart from God's Grace.
So, to summarize; God, in His Plan, to glorify Himself, allowed sin to exist, but He was not its author--He only allowed it.
Man is responsible for his own sin because of his Depraved Will and Nature--Romans 5;12-[Turn].
''Therefore''=''for this reason.'' What reason/
The argument made in verses 1-11, assuming our Justification, and urging joy in Christ, because of the present reconciliation by Christ's Death, and the certainty of future salvation, by His Life.
''As by [through] one man''--Paul begins a comparison between the effects of Adam's Sin, and the effects of Christ's REDEMPTIVE Work, but did not see the 2nd Member of the comparison.
Instead, he discusses some problems of Sin and Death, and starts over again, in verse 15.
The Effects of Adam's Sin were transmitted to his descendants, by both his Natural and
Federal Headships.
Christ is Head of all believers, as Adam is Head of the race. In this was Adam ''the figure of him to come.''
''Sin entered the world''--Here, We have The Personification of Sin.
Sin came from outside, into the race of man.
''And Death by Sin''--Physical and Spiritual to all men.
''For that all have sinned''--transmission from Adam became the fact of experience.
END OF POINT ONE-GOD FORGIVES SINNERS
Saturday, November 1, 2008
GOD FORGIVES SINNERS--PART 4
Last time we closed out, with this question;
How can the two aspects of God's Providence--God's Sustenance and Government, leave room for Human Responsibility/
LISTEN--In God's Word, both God's Sovereignty and Man's Responsibility are taught.
But Divine Revelation doesn't allow penetration, into The Mystery of The Harmony between
God's Sovereignty and Man's Responsibility.
Scripture always presents Providence-God's Invincible Power, and Man's Continued
Responsibility.
God's Enemies are portrayed as Enterprisers, unable to escape God's Supremacy.
Although God's Enemies nailed Christ, to the cross, they did what God's Disposing Power had determined--
Acts 2;23--''Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands hath crucified and slain.''
God permits Sin--but, He does not allow The Sinner, to decide, free from His Command.
If He did,God would merely be, an observer, of a contest, with a uncertain outcome.
To sin, or not to sin, would ultimately lie in Man's Power of Decision, and God could only react accordingly.
God's non-intervention is always a positive action, not helpless, or frustrated inaction.
Every Act of Sin is committed by a Individual, whose life, God sustains.
Acts 17;28A--''For him we live, and move, and have our being;''
Ananias and Sapphira were being sustained by God, when they lied to Him--Acts 5;4--[Turn].
God restrained Abimelech from sinning against Sarah, but He did not restrain King David from conspiring against Bathsheba and Uriah--
Genesis 20;6--''And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou did this in the integrity of thine heart; For I also withstood thee from sinning against me; therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.''
Adam, and many others, were unrestrained, but God did restrain Laban from harming Jacob--
Genesis 31;7--''And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages 10 times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.''
God also prevented Balaam, from cursing Israel in Numbers 23.
God allows Sin to be committed. However, Suffering is not connivance with, approbation of, or mere permission of Sin.
God not only allows men, to walk in their own ways, but He gives them up, to uncleanness and vile affections, and over to a reprobate mind.
[Continued next time]
How can the two aspects of God's Providence--God's Sustenance and Government, leave room for Human Responsibility/
LISTEN--In God's Word, both God's Sovereignty and Man's Responsibility are taught.
But Divine Revelation doesn't allow penetration, into The Mystery of The Harmony between
God's Sovereignty and Man's Responsibility.
Scripture always presents Providence-God's Invincible Power, and Man's Continued
Responsibility.
God's Enemies are portrayed as Enterprisers, unable to escape God's Supremacy.
Although God's Enemies nailed Christ, to the cross, they did what God's Disposing Power had determined--
Acts 2;23--''Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands hath crucified and slain.''
God permits Sin--but, He does not allow The Sinner, to decide, free from His Command.
If He did,God would merely be, an observer, of a contest, with a uncertain outcome.
To sin, or not to sin, would ultimately lie in Man's Power of Decision, and God could only react accordingly.
God's non-intervention is always a positive action, not helpless, or frustrated inaction.
Every Act of Sin is committed by a Individual, whose life, God sustains.
Acts 17;28A--''For him we live, and move, and have our being;''
Ananias and Sapphira were being sustained by God, when they lied to Him--Acts 5;4--[Turn].
God restrained Abimelech from sinning against Sarah, but He did not restrain King David from conspiring against Bathsheba and Uriah--
Genesis 20;6--''And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou did this in the integrity of thine heart; For I also withstood thee from sinning against me; therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.''
Adam, and many others, were unrestrained, but God did restrain Laban from harming Jacob--
Genesis 31;7--''And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages 10 times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.''
God also prevented Balaam, from cursing Israel in Numbers 23.
God allows Sin to be committed. However, Suffering is not connivance with, approbation of, or mere permission of Sin.
God not only allows men, to walk in their own ways, but He gives them up, to uncleanness and vile affections, and over to a reprobate mind.
[Continued next time]
Friday, October 31, 2008
GOD FORGIVES SINNERS--PART 3
Now, I want you, to get This Truth;
GOD USES CREATURES, AS SECOND CAUSES, TO FULFILL HIS WILL.
He accomplishes His Purpose through men and demons.
He used Egypt, to cause His People, to cry to Him, for Deliverance.
Later, when Israel became disobedient, God used Assyria, to scourge the nation, for its shortcomings.
Isaiah 10;5-6--''O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, ans to tread them down like the mire of the streets.''
In 2 Samuel 16;5-13, God used Shimei, to chasten David, to accomplish His Purpose.
Satan and unbelievers are instruments, used by God, but not to the extent, that they are devoid of power, to act for themselves.
Men are motivated by their own plans.
But their affections are wretchedly misplaced, and their actions manifest their inward conditions.
Romans 1;18-32--[Turn].
God enters into every secondary cause, but He does not co-operate in Sin.
God gives life, ans man misuses the ability, He gives him.
Acts 17;24-31--[Turn].
Sustenance and Government are two aspects of The One Almighty and Omnipotent God--
Romans 11;36--''For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen.''
Colossians 1;16--''For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him.''
Proverbs 16;9--''A man's heart deviseth his way, but the LORD directeth his steps.''
Psalm 146;10--''The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.''
Now, how can the two aspects of Providence--God's Sustenance and
Government, leave room for Human Responsibility/
we will answer this on our next post.
GOD USES CREATURES, AS SECOND CAUSES, TO FULFILL HIS WILL.
He accomplishes His Purpose through men and demons.
He used Egypt, to cause His People, to cry to Him, for Deliverance.
Later, when Israel became disobedient, God used Assyria, to scourge the nation, for its shortcomings.
Isaiah 10;5-6--''O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, ans to tread them down like the mire of the streets.''
In 2 Samuel 16;5-13, God used Shimei, to chasten David, to accomplish His Purpose.
Satan and unbelievers are instruments, used by God, but not to the extent, that they are devoid of power, to act for themselves.
Men are motivated by their own plans.
But their affections are wretchedly misplaced, and their actions manifest their inward conditions.
Romans 1;18-32--[Turn].
God enters into every secondary cause, but He does not co-operate in Sin.
God gives life, ans man misuses the ability, He gives him.
Acts 17;24-31--[Turn].
Sustenance and Government are two aspects of The One Almighty and Omnipotent God--
Romans 11;36--''For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen.''
Colossians 1;16--''For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him.''
Proverbs 16;9--''A man's heart deviseth his way, but the LORD directeth his steps.''
Psalm 146;10--''The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.''
Now, how can the two aspects of Providence--God's Sustenance and
Government, leave room for Human Responsibility/
we will answer this on our next post.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
GOD FORGIVES SINNERS--PART 2
To study God's Forgiveness, we must first examine The Biblical Concept of Sin;
Its Origin and Its Consequences.
A Person cannot fully appreciate forgiveness unless he knows Who has forgiven him, and of What he has been forgiven.
Now, I want you to notice carefully this first main point;
SIN DECREED BY THE FORGIVER
God DOES NOT have 2 Wills;
Job 23;13-''But he is in one mind, and who can turn him/ and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.''
There is in God's one will, a revealed and a concealed hemisphere;
Deuteronomy 29;29--''The secret things belong unto the LORD our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever; that we may do all the words of this law.''
God has seen fit, not to reveal His Complete Will to men.
He reveals only what is needed by Man, while they are Pilgrims on The Earth.
When the saints stand before the Lord, in their new bodies, they shall learn more about The Mysteries, associated with The Godhead.
There, they shall understand Predestination, Imputation, and every Bible Doctrine.
Throughout the ceaseless ages of Eternity, The LORD will continue to reveal, unto His Own,
The Exceeding Riches of His Grace.
But Now, we can't know, or, see, all of God''s Will.
God's Will can be compared to a sphere.
One can only see part of a sphere, at a time.
We can only see one side of The Moon.
The same is true, with The Sun and Earth.
Truth is like A Sphere.
No One sees, or knows, All The Truth.
Men are responsible to know and obey the revealed part of Truth, but, they are not responsible, for that which is concealed.
God is Omniscient;
His Understanding is Infinite;
Psalm 147;5--''Great is our LORD, and of great power; his understanding is infinite,''
God's Will, or, Purpose, or, Decree, is one sphere.
God's Decree to permit Sin, was included, in the secret part of His Will.
But Man's Sin, in a sense, was necessary to God's Purpose in Christ.
God did allow Sin, but that, DOES NOT make Him, Its Author.
Now, Get This Truth; YOU CANNOT BELIEVE THAT, GOD IS SOVEREIGN, WITHOUT ALSO BELIEVING, THAT HE ALLOWED SIN.
You see, If God had not allowed Adam's Fall, It could not have occurred.
He also purposed that, Jesus Christ should come, and die for sin.
The Lord Jesus Christ is The Lamb, that was slain, from The Foundation of The World--
Revelation 13;8--''And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.''
Jesus Christ died for the sins of The Elect, according to The Purpose of God.
God created Man, Upright. Adam had no sin within, but he was capable of sinning.
His uprightness was finite.
Ecclesiastes 7;29--''Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought many inventions.''
Now, the apparent inconsistency of God decreeing Sin, yet not being The Author of Sin, is
explained, when one realizes that, God's Purpose, is not The Originating Cause of Man's Sin.
Since God created Man, in His Own Image, and after His Likeness, Sin could not have been a part of Man's Nature. If Sin had been a part, Adam as a being, didn't have God, as his Author.
Since Sin came into the world, It has become The Motive, for all thoughts and actions of Men.
The Bible describes Man's Condition as Personal--Each individual is responsible for his own sin-
Hosea 7;2--''. . .their own doings have beset them about.'' Sin is Personal, and blame for it, cannot be shifted to Parents, Environment, or anything, but One's Self.
Sin proceeds from within individual hearts--Mark 7;21-23--[Turn].
Man needs to be reconciled to God--Reconciliation is The Act of God--
2 Corinthians 5;19--''To wit, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.''
THE NECESSITY for Reconciliation attests Man's Guilt before God.
Jesus Christ became The Surety for The Elect.
The Elect become reconciled to God, through His Son, and God, in His Grace, forgives them for their sins.
The LORD controls every move and heartbeat, on Earth--
Acts 17;28A--''For in him we live, and move, and have our being;''
God allows Man, to commit sin, but, HE DOES NOT CO-OPERATE in The Evil, committed by any person;
He only allows it.
All things work according to God's Plan;
Providence is God's Plan in execution.
The Lord is working out, His Own Purpose in Time, for The Believer's Good, and God's Own
Glory.
Now, the fact that all things work according to God's Pleasure, is frequently misunderstood.
We see many, who appear to be masters of their own conduct, acting by their knowledge and choice.
They are governed, sometimes by principle, sometimes by example, sometimes by pride,
and sometimes, by peer pressure.
Since Man cannot distinguish The First Cause from The Subordinate Issue, The Chief Agent from The Instrument, The Creator's Perfection from The Creature's Weakness, they attribute Man's
Action to himself, without acknowledging that, God presides over All.
Wicked Governments and Rulers have risen, and shall rise;
Yet God is on the throne, governing everything;
Revelation 17;17--''For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his word, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.''
Although Sin is very Real, God is actively governing The World.
God did not just create The Heavens and The Earth, and then step back, to watch The World run by The Laws of Nature, that He instituted.
God is not A Balcony Observer, sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see, What will happen.
But God, actively and in sovereignty, governs The World--
Proverbs 21;1--''The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water; he turneth it whithersoever he will.''
Kings are ruled and overruled by Him--
Ecclesiastes 5;6--''If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter; for he that is highest than the highest regardeth; and there is higher than they.''
Its Origin and Its Consequences.
A Person cannot fully appreciate forgiveness unless he knows Who has forgiven him, and of What he has been forgiven.
Now, I want you to notice carefully this first main point;
SIN DECREED BY THE FORGIVER
God DOES NOT have 2 Wills;
Job 23;13-''But he is in one mind, and who can turn him/ and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.''
There is in God's one will, a revealed and a concealed hemisphere;
Deuteronomy 29;29--''The secret things belong unto the LORD our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever; that we may do all the words of this law.''
God has seen fit, not to reveal His Complete Will to men.
He reveals only what is needed by Man, while they are Pilgrims on The Earth.
When the saints stand before the Lord, in their new bodies, they shall learn more about The Mysteries, associated with The Godhead.
There, they shall understand Predestination, Imputation, and every Bible Doctrine.
Throughout the ceaseless ages of Eternity, The LORD will continue to reveal, unto His Own,
The Exceeding Riches of His Grace.
But Now, we can't know, or, see, all of God''s Will.
God's Will can be compared to a sphere.
One can only see part of a sphere, at a time.
We can only see one side of The Moon.
The same is true, with The Sun and Earth.
Truth is like A Sphere.
No One sees, or knows, All The Truth.
Men are responsible to know and obey the revealed part of Truth, but, they are not responsible, for that which is concealed.
God is Omniscient;
His Understanding is Infinite;
Psalm 147;5--''Great is our LORD, and of great power; his understanding is infinite,''
God's Will, or, Purpose, or, Decree, is one sphere.
God's Decree to permit Sin, was included, in the secret part of His Will.
But Man's Sin, in a sense, was necessary to God's Purpose in Christ.
God did allow Sin, but that, DOES NOT make Him, Its Author.
Now, Get This Truth; YOU CANNOT BELIEVE THAT, GOD IS SOVEREIGN, WITHOUT ALSO BELIEVING, THAT HE ALLOWED SIN.
You see, If God had not allowed Adam's Fall, It could not have occurred.
He also purposed that, Jesus Christ should come, and die for sin.
The Lord Jesus Christ is The Lamb, that was slain, from The Foundation of The World--
Revelation 13;8--''And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.''
Jesus Christ died for the sins of The Elect, according to The Purpose of God.
God created Man, Upright. Adam had no sin within, but he was capable of sinning.
His uprightness was finite.
Ecclesiastes 7;29--''Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought many inventions.''
Now, the apparent inconsistency of God decreeing Sin, yet not being The Author of Sin, is
explained, when one realizes that, God's Purpose, is not The Originating Cause of Man's Sin.
Since God created Man, in His Own Image, and after His Likeness, Sin could not have been a part of Man's Nature. If Sin had been a part, Adam as a being, didn't have God, as his Author.
Since Sin came into the world, It has become The Motive, for all thoughts and actions of Men.
The Bible describes Man's Condition as Personal--Each individual is responsible for his own sin-
Hosea 7;2--''. . .their own doings have beset them about.'' Sin is Personal, and blame for it, cannot be shifted to Parents, Environment, or anything, but One's Self.
Sin proceeds from within individual hearts--Mark 7;21-23--[Turn].
Man needs to be reconciled to God--Reconciliation is The Act of God--
2 Corinthians 5;19--''To wit, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.''
THE NECESSITY for Reconciliation attests Man's Guilt before God.
Jesus Christ became The Surety for The Elect.
The Elect become reconciled to God, through His Son, and God, in His Grace, forgives them for their sins.
The LORD controls every move and heartbeat, on Earth--
Acts 17;28A--''For in him we live, and move, and have our being;''
God allows Man, to commit sin, but, HE DOES NOT CO-OPERATE in The Evil, committed by any person;
He only allows it.
All things work according to God's Plan;
Providence is God's Plan in execution.
The Lord is working out, His Own Purpose in Time, for The Believer's Good, and God's Own
Glory.
Now, the fact that all things work according to God's Pleasure, is frequently misunderstood.
We see many, who appear to be masters of their own conduct, acting by their knowledge and choice.
They are governed, sometimes by principle, sometimes by example, sometimes by pride,
and sometimes, by peer pressure.
Since Man cannot distinguish The First Cause from The Subordinate Issue, The Chief Agent from The Instrument, The Creator's Perfection from The Creature's Weakness, they attribute Man's
Action to himself, without acknowledging that, God presides over All.
Wicked Governments and Rulers have risen, and shall rise;
Yet God is on the throne, governing everything;
Revelation 17;17--''For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his word, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.''
Although Sin is very Real, God is actively governing The World.
God did not just create The Heavens and The Earth, and then step back, to watch The World run by The Laws of Nature, that He instituted.
God is not A Balcony Observer, sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see, What will happen.
But God, actively and in sovereignty, governs The World--
Proverbs 21;1--''The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water; he turneth it whithersoever he will.''
Kings are ruled and overruled by Him--
Ecclesiastes 5;6--''If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter; for he that is highest than the highest regardeth; and there is higher than they.''
God forgives sinners--part 1
Sinners are at enmity with God, Whose Name is ''Holy and Reverend'' [Psalm 111;9].
Now, I want to say, that as Omnipotence is the power of God's Attributes, Holiness is their beauty.
Holiness is self-affirming purity.
God's Omnipotence declares Him Mighty, and His Holiness declares Him Glorious. Just as The
Sun's loss of light would cause it, to lose its heat and quickening virtue, God's loss of Holiness would cause Him to lose His Quickening Power.
Sinners want God, to satisfy their lusts on Earth;
They would dethrone God, and degrade His Character.
Holiness is God's chief attribute, and it can never be attained by any man--[Who can equal God/]
Now, God's Love is important, but it is not His Fundamental Attribute. Love requires a standard, and its standard is Holiness.
God's love is regulated not by sentiment, but by Principle.
Grace reigns, not at the expense of Righteousness, but through Righteousness.
Romans 5;21--''That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ, our Lord.''
You see, God's Grace stems from His Love, and God's Love never conflicts with His Holiness.
God is The God of Order. There is order in The Godhead, in Salvation, in Service, and in the local church, and the home.
The Order in The Godhead is God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That Order does not imply The Father's Character is greater to those of The Son, or The Holy Spirit.
Order in The Godhead is revealed in Authority.
The Father so loved His Own Elect among sinners, that He sent His Son into The World--Jesus came.
The Lord Jesus Christ ascended after His Death, and Resurrection, and sent The Holy Spirit--
The Spirit came.
The One sent, was not less in Character, but in Authority.
The Father planned eternal salvation for the elect in Eternity Past;
The Son purchased The Elects' Salvation, when He died, on the cross;
The Holy Spirit applies The Salvation, that The Father planned, and The Son purchased, to the hearts, of The Elect, in Time.
There is Order also, in the application of Salvation, to The Elect.
First comes Regeneration, then Conversion.
Regeneration, which comes from God alone, occurs when The Holy Spirit enters the heart of A
Person, and gives him, a desire for Spiritual Things.
Regeneration is identical in every individual sinner, Conversion experiences vary.
There is Order also, in the true Conversion experience of a man, Who has been Regenerated,
We see that his mind, emotions and will, are affected.
His Regeneration by The Holy Spirit gives him a disposition for the things of God.
When such a person hears The Gospel, his mind is set into motion, he hears and understands.
In this way the intellectual part of man is engaged in a true conversion experience.
His God-given disposition enables him to recognize truth, when he hears it.
John 10;4-5-[Turn].
God's Forgiveness falls into 3 categories;
1. Everlasting Forgiveness
2. Restorative Forgiveness
3. Governmental Forgiveness
Now, I want to say, that as Omnipotence is the power of God's Attributes, Holiness is their beauty.
Holiness is self-affirming purity.
God's Omnipotence declares Him Mighty, and His Holiness declares Him Glorious. Just as The
Sun's loss of light would cause it, to lose its heat and quickening virtue, God's loss of Holiness would cause Him to lose His Quickening Power.
Sinners want God, to satisfy their lusts on Earth;
They would dethrone God, and degrade His Character.
Holiness is God's chief attribute, and it can never be attained by any man--[Who can equal God/]
Now, God's Love is important, but it is not His Fundamental Attribute. Love requires a standard, and its standard is Holiness.
God's love is regulated not by sentiment, but by Principle.
Grace reigns, not at the expense of Righteousness, but through Righteousness.
Romans 5;21--''That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ, our Lord.''
You see, God's Grace stems from His Love, and God's Love never conflicts with His Holiness.
God is The God of Order. There is order in The Godhead, in Salvation, in Service, and in the local church, and the home.
The Order in The Godhead is God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That Order does not imply The Father's Character is greater to those of The Son, or The Holy Spirit.
Order in The Godhead is revealed in Authority.
The Father so loved His Own Elect among sinners, that He sent His Son into The World--Jesus came.
The Lord Jesus Christ ascended after His Death, and Resurrection, and sent The Holy Spirit--
The Spirit came.
The One sent, was not less in Character, but in Authority.
The Father planned eternal salvation for the elect in Eternity Past;
The Son purchased The Elects' Salvation, when He died, on the cross;
The Holy Spirit applies The Salvation, that The Father planned, and The Son purchased, to the hearts, of The Elect, in Time.
There is Order also, in the application of Salvation, to The Elect.
First comes Regeneration, then Conversion.
Regeneration, which comes from God alone, occurs when The Holy Spirit enters the heart of A
Person, and gives him, a desire for Spiritual Things.
Regeneration is identical in every individual sinner, Conversion experiences vary.
There is Order also, in the true Conversion experience of a man, Who has been Regenerated,
We see that his mind, emotions and will, are affected.
His Regeneration by The Holy Spirit gives him a disposition for the things of God.
When such a person hears The Gospel, his mind is set into motion, he hears and understands.
In this way the intellectual part of man is engaged in a true conversion experience.
His God-given disposition enables him to recognize truth, when he hears it.
John 10;4-5-[Turn].
God's Forgiveness falls into 3 categories;
1. Everlasting Forgiveness
2. Restorative Forgiveness
3. Governmental Forgiveness
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