Sin

Part 1
All of us who have spent time in service to the great King and Master of our souls long for the day and time when this can be a truth. It is sometimes seemed impossible to obtain, yet it is a promise given to all those of us who have obtained membership in the “body of the Redeemed”.
The last living witness wrote a summary of the effects of the blood of Christ on all those who had met that blood and walked “in the light”. In concluding his writings, the apostle, being directed by the Holy Spirit, wrote these words: “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
We see phrases repeated over and over again in Holy Writ that define themselves when studied. The phrase “born of God” is one of those phrases. We first run into this phrase in John’s first letter directed by the Holy Spirit in John 1:13. It reads “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” How many times have we had to defend the scriptures to those who think they are “born again” showing them they are just “deceived again”!! Often we hear them tell us of their “born again experience” in which they relate something not even heard of nor mentioned in the Scriptures. Jesus in his discussion with Nicodemus mentions the subject and here again; those who claim such a deep knowledge of God tell men and women something the Scriptures never relate. Yet, there are those who CAN and HAVE been “born of God” or the apostle John and the Holy Spirit, his director, lied!!
There are some who unfortunately think they have sinned beyond the bounds of God’s ability to forgive. These poor, unfortunate folk have done very terrible things, but to go beyond God’s ability to forgive, is something that is not true!! When God decided to go into the saving business, He knew what He was getting into, and NO SIN would stop, alter, or cause Him to be un-successful. The apostle Paul wrote: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15 Just so no one would get excited about his or her abilities to sin, Paul went on to write: “For this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.” Some have argued that Paul was forgiven because he sinned “ignorantly in unbelief”, verse 13. The apostle John replies: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
Some of my brethren think sin exists in a STATE OF CONTINUITY, when the scriptures teach sin is COMMITTED, one at a time. When the Jew committed sin, theirs were rolled ahead a year at a time, never actually forgiven. They kept on “piling up”, yet they remained individual. When Christ blood was shed, Paul tells us: “the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?... for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” IF the blood forgave ALL their sin, cannot it not forgive ALL of ours?? Have we come up with new sins?

 

Part 2
Only God could have come up with this idea. Man has had a propensity to sin ever since the Garden of Eden. It seems as though we just cannot restrain ourselves from this practice. Has it ever occurred to you that God knew what He was making, how we would act and re-act, and also knew we would have trouble with sin? Since God hates sin so much, gave His only begotten Son to allow its forgiveness; made man knowing his weakness to sin; why did He not make man so he would and could not sin? Before you get too far involved with this question, you had better consider the angels that sinned before man sinned! Could God not make a being that could not sin?? Emphatically—every other creature, plant life, or heavenly body God has made will not and cannot SIN!!
Why did God make man? Why did He not satisfy Himself and make man so we too cannot or will not sin??
All creatures that can think, reason, choose, and understand can sin, but there were angels who did not sin!. All creatures that cannot chose, do not sin. How does this make sense? All creatures that can communicate, feel, and respond to God (for He is spirit) are given the ability to chose, have and are sinning. How can this be? Is it that the higher the intelligence achieved, the less the Creator can control His creation? Or is choice the great uncontrollable factor? Would we not have the right to feel sorry for ourselves if we just had not had that group of angels who kept their first estate?? Did man and angels get away from God or could He not have made them as He made all other creatures—to not sin?? Have you ever seen a dog sin? Does a dog chose or does he react to instinct? Who gave him that thing called instinct? You are so right—God!! Have you ever seen a planet go against He who put her in orbit? Have you ever heard or have you ever seen a molecule or atom disobey God’s law? How many horses have been tried for breaking God’s rules and spent time in horse prison? Did God create man with instinct? Then why do we sin?
So far we are in a dilemma. We have all creatures of God who cannot reason, chose between good and evil, and go against instinct remain sinless while all creatures who can over-ride their instinct, chose, and reason; commit sin: WHY? Can angels choose, do they have instinct, can they reason? Does Satan have a small splinter group or small minority of the angels that sinned after they were created or are there a small group of angels that remained faithful that serve God after Satan and his angels fell? Were the angels that remained faithful brain-washed, were they made a better deal by God than those who sinned, or was their right of choice impeded??
We know so very little about the pre-creation events so the only thing we can learn about those times is by inference or reference to the age before time began. Of all the things we know one is all we need to hold us in check before God for our entire life-time---they never sinned!! All things being equal, opportunities remaining the same-they NEVER SINNED!! This gives us hope that what they accomplished, we can follow. John tells who can do such a feat of wonder: “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches him not”. 1 John 5:18 The question then comes, ‘are you and I born of God and has the nature called God begotten us”??
“Born of God” or being “born again” was what Jesus promised Nicodemus would be an ear-mark of His kingdom. Has that come about, are we able to be “born again”? Peter writes: “Being born again, by the word of God…the gospel preached unto you.”

 

Part 3
All of us who have spent time in service to the great King and Master of our souls long for the day and time when this can be a truth. It is sometimes seemed impossible to obtain, yet it is a promise given to all those of us who have obtained membership in the “body of the Redeemed”.
The last living witness wrote a summary of the effects of the blood of Christ on all those who had met that blood and walked “in the light”. In concluding his writings, the apostle, being directed by the Holy Spirit, wrote these words: “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
We see phrases repeated over and over again in Holy Writ that define themselves when studied. The phrase “born of God” is one of those phrases. We first run into this phrase in John’s first letter directed by the Holy Spirit in John 1:13. It reads “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” How many times have we had to defend the scriptures to those who think they are “born again” showing them they are just “deceived again”!! Often we hear them tell us of their “born again experience” in which they relate something not even heard of nor mentioned in the Scriptures. Jesus in his discussion with Nicodemus mentions the subject and here again; those who claim such a deep knowledge of God tell men and women something the Scriptures never relate. Yet, there are those who CAN and HAVE been “born of God” or the apostle John and the Holy Spirit, his director, lied!!
There are some who unfortunately think they have sinned beyond the bounds of God’s ability to forgive. These poor, unfortunate folk have done very terrible things, but to go beyond God’s ability to forgive, is something that is not true!! When God decided to go into the saving business, He knew what He was getting into, and NO SIN would stop, alter, or cause Him to be un-successful. The apostle Paul wrote: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15 Just so no one would get excited about his or her abilities to sin, Paul went on to write: “For this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.” Some have argued that Paul was forgiven because he sinned “ignorantly in unbelief”, verse 13. The apostle John replies: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
Some of my brethren think sin exists in a STATE OF CONTINUITY, when the scriptures teach sin is COMMITTED, one at a time. When the Jew committed sin, theirs were rolled ahead a year at a time, never actually forgiven. They kept on “piling up”, yet they remained individual. When Christ blood was shed, Paul tells us: “the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?... for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” IF the blood forgave ALL their sin, cannot it not forgive ALL of ours?? Have we come up with new sins?

 

Part 4
Something thought an un-believable goal can truly by ours. We can live without sinning. Sounds un-believable? Some have derided the concept therefore never making it a personnel goal, so they have never attained such a state of being. If it were impossible, God would have never demanded it of His children: “But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Because it is written, Be ye holy for I Am holy.” I Peter 1:17 The “holy ones” are the “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever.” 1 Peter 1:23 To this the apostle John adds in chorus: “We know that whosoever is “born of God” does not continue to sin, but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches him not. 1 John 5:18
How does one “keep himself”? The same way one “works out his salvation, with fear and trembling,” “saves himself from this untoward generation”, or “puts on the whole armour of God….that he may, by having done all, be able to stand”, or “works out his own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Nothing ever comes by laying your head on a pillow at night and sleeping. This takes WORK. As Jesus said: “you must work the work of God”. What is the “work of God?” “Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He has sent”. John 6:29 You guessed it and you are right, the work of God is in the continueth tense of the Greek language---it is to continue to believe/obey Christ whom God had sent!! How does one “continue” to obey Christ? By continuing to “walk in the light as He is in the light, so we can have fellowship one with another, and the blood of God’s son continues to cleanse us from sin.” 1 John 1:7 THE value word in this discussion is continuing! This does not describe one of those half-hearted efforts so many come up with, knowing they are cheating God out of what is rightfully His, yet, denying Him the control to allow “Christ to be formed in you.” Galatians 4:19 How does one “form Christ in themselves”? Simple, do all you can, all the time, every time you don’t have time!! A lot of Christians do as little as they think they can get by with, when in fact it must be the OTHER way. “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done ALL those things which are commanded you, say, “We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our DUTY to do.” Luke 17:10
In Jesus earthly ministry there were some who had the idea they could “fit Christ in” somewhere in their busy schedule. One man Christ gave the invitation to “come, and follow Me” who cried out: “my father is dead, let me first go and bury my father”. Jesus retorted: ”Let the dead, bury the dead, come, take up your cross and follow Me.” Heaven will not be filled with the ‘lucky’, it will be filled with the purposeful!! Those who INTENDED TO do the will of Christ, INTENDED TO spend and be spent for the kingdom’s sake, those who never COUNTED THEIR LIFE DEAR UNTO THEMSELVES that thy might finish their assigned road to receive a crown of life which will fade not away!! These, “never is it too much to ask, if it is for Christ or His Church” Christians will always be busy, too busy to mess with the trivial, but NEVER too busy for the Master or one of His children!! Their attitude is never “do I have to”; it is always “why can I not do more”. This saint will never argue about coming back on Sunday night, they will never think it too many mid-week services, never the class ran too long, This is the saint who “will never be too busy to hear the trumpet sound”!!

Part 5
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then are you My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you FREE”. John 8:32 The verb “free”, eleutheroo, is used in the secular Greek of freeing slaves. Paul used the word to specify that from which one is set free: “from sin”.
Romans. 6:18, 22, “But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made FREE from sin, you have become the servants of righteousness…..”But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me FREE from the law of sin and death.”Romans 8:2 “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered (FREE) from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Romans 8:21 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you FREE, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1
In the Greek mind there were only two understandings of “freedom”: political and philosophical. The political concept of freedom included freedom from slavery as well as the social freedom enjoyed because of a government and its laws. The philosophical ideal of freedom particularly that expressed in Stoicism meant freedom of the individual “set apart from others under the law of his own nature or of human nature generally.” It can readily be seen that these two concepts would collide. One sees freedom in the context of the community, because he is apart of a group, the other views freedom as the attainment of autonomy based his own likes and dislikes owing nothing to no other being (this is the view of many today in the “freedom movements”).
In Galatians 4:22-31 we have the allegory of Sarah and Hagar. Paul concludes: “So then, brethren, we are not of the bondwoman, but of the FREE.” Paul particularly pictured the “freedom in Christ” as a prize which the Law of Moses could not even conceive. OF WHAT ARE WE FREE? We have lost the meaning of what the Spirit inspired the apostle to write if we do not understand we are NOT free when we are “bound” by something beyond our ability to gain release. Under the Law of Moses, those who had sinned were bound, could not be released, and had no hope of escaping from its grasp..NO SACRIFICE under the law could ALLOW God to remove sin so man could again be His. Paul would cry out; “Oh wretched man that I am! who (what sacrifice) shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:24 The answer came in the next verse--: “I thank God (it is) through (the sacrifice) of Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Like “becoming” and “being” a child of God “being made free” and “remaining free to serve” as a child are not the same thing!! One “becomes” a child of God by repenting and being baptized FOR the remission of sins. One “remains free” by two gifts Christ gives to all who have “become”: the Word of God and the Spirit of God!! If I have not been ‘born again’ I cannot receive the ‘gift of the Holy Spirit’. In this position I must remain a “slave” of my father, the Devil. I cannot break his binding neither could I continue “free” IF it had been broken!! Jesus knew that some of the Jews had believed in Him; therefore He built on that faith. “As you now believe (obey My commandments), one day you shall be able to remain “free” and the devil cannot overtake you!!” True disciples are those who continue in the Word, but if that were all we had, we would fall back into the clutches of Satan, Christ gives us MORE!!

Part 6
“If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever you might be profited by me; he shall be free.” Mark 7:11 Jesus here sanctions the Decalogue as one of divine origin and Moses as an inspired teacher and lawgiver. God gave the law through Moses. When one has the message from God there is not higher authority they can go to for information. Jesus was introducing an example where the scribes and Pharisees had set aside God’s law for their tradition. In verse nine Christ had said; “Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition.” You cannot do both!! To keep the traditions of men as taught in denominationalism demands the rejection of God and His Word!! Jesus did not deny the charge leveled against His disciples, He simply ignored it, as in fact, it was not even worth mentioning. Jesus had come down from Heaven, not to do the will of the ‘elders,’ He came to do the “will of the Father who sent Him”. John 6:38 The “precepts of men” are no part of the will of God. Jesus did not keep them, because they were not commandments of God.
There are some who think they have to have their babies “sprinkled” when they are first born ‘because of the traditions of their family’. They personally have no faith in the practice, but they think it is ‘the thing to do’. Like the example shown in the text, traditions are allowable EXCEPT when they violate the law of God!! Jesus attacked tradition itself and charged His accusers with three things: hypocrisy, vanity, and conceit. It6 was hypocritical to pretend to honor God by obeying commandments He had never demanded man to obey. Such is still true today and we are free FROM THESE PRACTICES. Your heart cannot be close to God’s heart IF you continually make rules and regulations He has not made. Worshipping God ‘in vain’ meant keeping the doctrines of men instead of the commandments of the Holy One. I am often shown many of our own brotherhood have ‘Easter egg hunts’ on what is called Easter Sunday. It seems we may look a little backward by not allowing a ‘little bit of fun, when it would hurt no one’!! No, they do not remember what verse allowed them this rite; they are just being like their fellow ‘religions round about them’. Sure, the ‘egg hunt’ seems to honor Christ, but, does it? Where did this ‘rite’ come from, who started it, and what does it teach? When looked at from this prospective, we see that not only do we NOT keep the ‘hunt’; we teach our children WHY we do not keep it!! “Wherefore the Lord said, ‘Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precepts of men.” Isaiah 29:13 They still think God needs help!!
According to the Mosaic Law, persons could devote certain things to God with certain limitations (Leviticus 27:2-33; Numbers 30:30:2-15; Judges 13:7). To these regulations were added those of the traditions by the scribes and Pharisees. They carried it so far as even pronouncing of the word Corban over one’s property and taught it absolved him from the obligation of caring for his parents, even if this was done in anger. They who had been trusted to expound and enforce the Law had under false pretence of using that power, dissolved the bonds of the Law. If his parents were in need and their children could relieve them, this practice allowed them to annul Moses’ precepts and discharge themselves from their duty. Corban was the gold of the temple, in other words, they had already given; that meant they were not legally obligated to their parents. Was it more religious to murder or starve these old folks?

Part 7
“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, ‘this is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” I used to hear Rex Humbard cite this passage and wonder why no one corrected him as he abused it. Rex inferred a truth many of the New Testament Church has not reckoned; God has prophesied a way by which those who are ‘born from above’ stay in the realm of fellowship with God, sin-free!!
“God shall choose Jerusalem, again.” The imagery of Zechariah is beyond the development of man’s mind. Its beauty is replete with references the child of God should know. The horses of Zechariah were messengers (John and Jesus), their message was salvation “sent to walk to and fro through the earth” (Zechariah 1:10) with the message called Grace, a deliverance for sin to the Jews. Jerusalem had been measured and found wanting (Revelations 11:1-2) but God was announcing a “day” in which Jerusalem “should be chosen, again”. The priesthood of Aaron had fallen into disrepute, the sacrifices were nauseating to the nose of the great one of Zion, but God was to bring a “Fellow’ in that day and remove the iniquity of that land.” Zechariah 3:10 The manner of means (the way this was to be accomplished) was by the establishment of the Church of Christ on that great day of salvation with the proclamation that “whosoever will may drink of the Tree of Life”. Revelations 21:1-8, 22:14-17 He who was to deliver us to this pre-established time was the great I AM, the two who were One, who was to “lay the foundation of this house’ for His hands shall finish (bring to finality) it(the plan or grace of God)…” chapter 4:9 When He was to “usher in” His new Kingdom, Christ would allow those who were to be “born again” the gift of the Holy Spirit (drinking of the water of life) which enables ALL who have been baptized into Christ the TRUE possibility of “remaining faithful unto death to receive the crown of righteousness which will never fade away” 2 Timothy 4:6 We can be sin-free---not by might (military control), not by power (a governmental control like the Sanhedrin) but by My Spirit (the gift given all who ‘obey from the heart that form of doctrine”)!! The man “whose name is the BRANCH shall rule as king and priest upon His throne in that day…and they that afar off (the Gentiles) shall come and build in the temple of the Lord because of the day the sun went down at noon on a clear day”. Zechariah 6:12-14, Amos 8:9 (Only God could make a tree!!)
We can be saved “to the uttermost”, Hebrews 7:25 Uttermost is a word translated from the Greek phrase eis to panteles which means until completed, the journey is over!!! When it seems to be unbelievably good, it just gets better!! The “gift of the Holy Spirit” can never be appreciated, BUT, the intercession of our Friend, Master, Older Brother, and King adds more to the providential love bestowed us by the plan of the Grand Artificer of Salvation. The chief purpose of the Priest is summed up by the word entunchanein. This term means that Jesus meets with God the Father in order to represent believers and to ask God the Father to act graciously on our behalf. As a living, eternal Priest, He intercedes for believers. The power of His indissoluble life enables Him to keep on delivering those who are His BECAUSE, unlike the priests who stopped functioning at death, He never dies!! The staggering relevance of Jesus’ eternal priesthood just now comes into view!! Jesus is forever, He is able to function as the believers’ Priest, eternally!! Maybe we cannot grasp this as we should—because men die, their intercession had lack of continuity, and they had to re-learn the weaknesses!!

Part 8
With all the Bible teaches about the priesthood of believers, most have not considered the High Priest of our profession, Jesus Christ. He is ETERNAL. This means much more when we consider the continuity of His work as priest. In the Old Law the priest lived as normal men, dies as mortals, and left behind all the secrets they had learned about those for whom they interceded. The next priest had to “re-learn” the weaknesses and failures of each person he served. This would create a weakness in effort, intercession, and blessing rendered by the service. In our covenant, Christ, lives eternally. There is no cessation of effort, understanding, or service. He always knows His subjects, their weaknesses, and their strengths. He is far better able to serve our needs before the Father.
He speaks the language of the spirit. No such language is in the reach of mortal man. How often have you and I been misunderstood when it was so vitally important to be understood? How many ways have words been abused and mis-defined by those who mean so much to us and the inability to express ourselves as we desire is just not possible? When was the last time you were in front of someone who could determine your happiness, safety, and your ability to make it financially and you could not speak the “technical” language you needed to speak and because of this inability, failed? What a representative!! God, the Father needs to know our hearts and minds. He, of all with whom we deal, needs to have a clear comprehension of what we are all about!! Your soul’s habitation for eternity depends on this communication!! Who could you trust? Your parents? Your mate? Your best friends? With all their sincerity can we trust our souls to their abilities to communicate to our Heavenly Parent?? Who knows you that well?? Remembering that there is no ranking of greatness between God, the Spirit and God the Son, we must understand why each speaks to God, the Father on our behalf! God, the Spirit speaks as He reads our hearts. He intercedes while God, the Son speaks the words God, the Father wants His children to speak when addressing Him!! Talk about the “Dream Team ”!! Who could ever have conceived of such Help for we who are so un-worthy?? And the world got mad when O.J. got off when everybody knew he was guilty!! What about you and me?? Don’t get me wrong. Our salvation will NOT be dependent of their abilities to express our needs, we will not be able to blame Them if we are lost, but it WILL depend on just how well this need is expressed!! Even the best lawyer cannot win for you acquittal if you are insincere, but just imagine the Mind-Trust at our disposal!! Is there any reason to wonder WHY we can have so much “power with God”?? It is almost unfair!! Every time we absent ourselves from this sacred place of strength we are limiting what God, the Father had in mind for those who obey Him!!
He represents perfection. Given the task of coming and dieing for the sins of we who make up His Bride, Christ is the most beautiful, living example of a job well done!! No failures, no oops, no let Me try it again, I just was not up for it—perfection has never been better defined as it is when it describes the work completed on Calvary’s tree by Jesus Christ!! He NEVER MADE A MISTAKE!! I know some like to tell the world Jesus was half-man and half-God and when the Man-part overtook the God-part Christ was at His best; but this junk is all man’s theory. Jesus did not come to this world to TRY and do what He was sent to accomplish. For Him, it was not a valiant attempt!! Christ is, was, and forever more shall be God. When He arrived in Mary’s womb, He was/is God: when He ridiculed the sin of man He was/is God!! JESUS IS GOD. Part 9
There never was nor shall there ever be a being of such grandeur and majesty on this planet as was Jesus Christ!! What a thrill it must have been to have “heard, to have seen with our eyes, to have looked upon, and our hands have handled Him, even the Word of Life.” 1 John 1:1 Man could never have appreciated Him for what He DID while in this tabernacle, how could man be expected to have appreciated Him for what He did DO?? As He was far beyond our reasoning and understanding, just how far was what God the Father gave Him to do beyond our reach of reason? Who could have conceived such a plan? Who could have counseled God in making His plan perfected in His Son? To intimate that we understand Deity is just a big a joke we do not understand man!! For man to put himself in God’s place and say God would have acted in just this or that fashion is man taking too much on himself. The glories of eternity will never be long enough to satisfy the explanation deserved for each step He took that led Him to proclaim: “It is finished.” Kept in the hallowed halls of Heaven is the total message intended and haughty is the man or men who think themselves wise enough to completely understand all this meant. We do not even know to whom this message was intended!!
What was finished? The plan was brought to completion that garnered salvation for the Church of Christ while there was NO plan for the rest of the human race! Looking at the word finished we see a familiar word in the Greek, teleo. For many of us this word reminds us of 1 Corinthians 13:10. Here, in 1 Corinthians 13:10, the actual word is teleios which is the perfect (adult, full-age, full-grown) from teleo. Telos is neuter gender, talking about a thing, not a person and usually defines the end, goal, limit at which a person or thing ceases to be, what he or it was up to that point or at which previous activities ceased. It does not mean the termination of what went before-the goal has been reached! It never denotes the end of time, a termination in or for itself. Based on the definition of the word, one would think Christ is speaking about Genesis 3:15- to Satan!! That it was said with a “loud voice” indicates it to be an announcement that came from a being in full strength, not in the weakness of human frailty. The voice of dying men is one of the first things that fails; with a panting breath and a faltering tongue, a few broken words are hardly spoken, and more hardly heard. Christ, just before He expired, spoke like a man in his full strength. This would indicate that His life was not forced from Him, but was freely delivered!! The earthly audience did not comprehend what He meant nor did they give it the significance deserved.
Creation got the message! The upheaval is described as “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;” Matthew 27:51 At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, the veil was rent by an invisible power; that veil which parted the holy place and the most holy- indicating that the mysteries of the Old Covenant could now be revealed. . Jesus had before said, at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem: “if the children should cease to cry Hosanna, the stones would immediately cry out”; and now they were in unison busting their ear drums!! Jesus Christ is that Rock; and the rending of these rocks, signified the rending of that Rock that we may be hid, as Moses in the cleft of the rock at Horeb. As Moses was allowed to see the glory of the Lord pass by, we see the glory of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. When we celebrate the memorial of Christ death, our hard and rocky hearts must be rent--that heart is harder than a rock that will not yield, that will not melt, where Jesus Christ is evidently set forth before us, crucified!! AGAIN, TO BE SIN-FREE!!

Part 10
We have often under-estimated the intensity emotion brings to words. At the right times in the right places the emotion far outweighs words. Hypocrisy is the Greek word for play-acting. Many play-act when they pray. Their words sound pretty good but their lives do not match what they say when they pray. Prayer is not for the passer-by. When we speak to the Ancient of Days (through this medium called prayer) we unleash far more than ourselves. Our language needs to be correct, that is true, but how we live determines the effectiveness of They who await our approach to that throne!! The “They” I am writing about are Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for what a man sows that shall he also reap”. There are some who “mock” God when they pray. “Influence peddling” will not work with God. He DEMANDS sincerity, conscientiousness, and heart-felt repentance. A cry to the Father is not a flippant thing; it is a prayer for HELP!! What we say with our lips had better come from the soul! The prayer originates with our lives long before it is prayed, it is not lip service!! It had better have a place from which it springs and not be just a knee-jerk reaction that fills a demand, request, or necessity. Kept within the heart, not on the lips, there is a tenderness that the world cannot approach and it becomes real. We pray sometimes when we say not a word with our lips and our whole being is altered while sometimes we speak out loud and nothing and no one is affected, truly not God! Alone in our own little world or when a crowd attends our desires He whom we approach will not be mocked with insincerity nor will He be punctual to answer!!
The world cannot understand our hearts and will surely sneer at our words. Abraham’s tenderness to Isaac also made Ishmael jealous. The world cannot understand the response we who are children of God receive when we pray!! Ishmael laughed when Isaac cried before he was weaned but Isaac had no cause for shame. The mocker is robbed of the blessing not being apart of the covenant. He cannot understand nor can he be privy to Abraham as was Ishmael. The saint who cries to God is blessed. “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free.” Galatians 4:30 The reverberating rage from the lips of Sarah reacted to this mockery and raised the intensity to such a level that her words were not the catalyst that removed Ishmael and Hagar from their stations; it was the communication of one heart to the other, it was the understanding brought about by a relationship of a much higher level accorded she who spoke, and it was the power she had with Abraham that demanded such earnest response!! Abraham did not react with indifference, he did not put off his decision until the morrow; he reacted with the same intensity declared in Sarah’s heart!! The earnestness of her plea did not produce the thought in Abraham’s mind “who does she think she is”, it demanded the reality of her position. When we pray to the Father we must grasp the same earnestness and desire to receive the same reception to our words!! When we pray as directed no worlds or kingdoms, no sneering or mockery, no jealousness or envy can stop the response our words have affected!! What saith the scriptures: “But let that man ask in faith, nothing wavering: For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” James 1:6 We then can join in in singing the old hymn “There’s a blessing in Prayer”.
Wake up in the morning, during the trail, when the soul is burdened—know the “Father Himself loveth you”, John 16:27. Avail yourself of the power given the faithful son of God; understand He has appointed you a defense attorney outweighing all others!!

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