The Good News

Do I have free will, am I free to choose? We all have freedom of choice, but we have made choices that end us up in a bind. For instance, some have gotten themselves into debt and are slaves to their debtor. Some have errored and are locked up in prison. Some have yielded themselves to their captors and are sold into captivity. Some have sold themselves to drunkenness, uncleanness, immorality, gluttony, or illicit drugs; and they have become slaves to their master; “For by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” (2 Peter 2:19) For they have sold themselves to it. So there are some who have free will and some who don’t. And without question a slave does not have free will, but a freeman does.

Free-will exists when there are two choices. If there is only one choice, then free will wouldn’t exist. In the Garden, there were two choices; if there were only one choice then free will wouldn’t exist; but there were two choices. Adam chose the left rather than the right, the bad instead of the good. We have been made slaves of sin because of one man, because sin passed from man to man. We all have two choices, but we are compelled into the one choice because of one man. We want to do good, but the good we want, we don’t do. We don’t want to do evil, but we do what we do not want; and “If I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” (Romans 7:20) Therefore sin rules in the flesh of all men, for all sin; and ”Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” (John 8:34)

The one locked up in prison wants to go outside, but he can’t since he is behind bars — he must wait until his time is up. The one addicted to alcohol wants to quit, but he can’t; he wants to spend time with his kids, but alcohol carries him somewhere else. The one who is a glutton wants to be healthy, but his eats himself into sickness. (All of these are forced into choosing something they don’t want, which is slavery.) People don’t go to prison for a good deed, do they? An alcoholic isn’t enslaved because he hates wine, does he? But rather, a person is locked up for an evil deed, and a person is an alcoholic because he drinks. A person’s actions make him what he is; and so the one who sins makes himself a sinner; the one who walks in the ways of sinners ends up in slavery. 

But I am free to make my own choice; yes, I desire good in my mind, but I chose evil in my flesh. So “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” (Romans 7:21) I am made a captive to this body of sin; for “I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.” (Romans 7:22-23) “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24) 

(Before we discuss Who it is, we must first see what we must do.)

What we must do: nothing. I say again: what we must do is nothing. Yes, doing nothing is doing something. Since we cannot do anything good, we must do nothing. We cannot save ourselves; we need to be set free by Another. In the Law, the men of Israel did nothing on the Sabbath and were justified according to the Law of Moses. For what reason? “That you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” (Exodus 31:13) For it is our job to humble ourselves and do no work; it’s the LORD’s work to sanctify us. This goes for all the holy days: the men of Israel did no work. On the Day of Atonement the men of Israel were commanded to do no work and afflict themselves (fasting). In the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the men also ate “the bread of affliction.” (Deuteronomy 16:3) So our work, if we do any, is against ourselves to humble ourselves.

And this humbling of ourselves is of faith — “He should cease trying forever.” (Psalms 49:8) That is, stop striving and believe the Message. Humility makes us prime for the saving grace of the LORD; as it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6) For “To the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.” (Romans 4:5) So then, if I do no work and believe upon Him who justifies the ungodly, can I boast about my faith? Of course not! What boasting is there in weakness? What boasting is there in humility? What boasting does a worm have? Or a maggot? That it grovels in the dust and eats mud? (Job 25:4-6)

Rather, as Christ says, ”My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) So when we are made weak, then we are strong; for God’s grace is perfected in weakness. When does food work best? When one is hungry or when one is full? Is it not when he is hungry? “A sated man loathes honey, But to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet.” (Proverbs 27:7) So likewise, the meek is full of God’s grace, but the proud one is full of himself. So knowing that we are made strong by God’s grace, we follow the apostle of the Lord’s example, as he says, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) So therefore, labor diligently to do no work, a work of the Spirit.

For this Good News is for the poor one, for the one who knows there is no good in himself. As it speaks about the Preacher, "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” (Luke 4:18-19) In the Jubilee year, captives were release, debts were forgiven, and lands returned to their owner; and it came with the blasts of trumpets; but with the “Favorable year of the LORD” does not come with blasts of trumpets, but with the preaching of the Gospel to the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed.

So it is clear that this Favorable Year is similar to the Jubilee Year; but the Jubilee is as a shadow coming first and not the substance itself. For “The spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 15:46) This is the Favorable Year which Jesus Christ introduced; He is the one who came to set us free from this body of death — the slavery of sin. The Law only made guideposts in the case of a neighbor being blind, but did nothing for the recovery of sight to the blind. And for this reason the Favorable Year which is spoken about is greater and more better than the Jubilee; for Christ gave sight to the blind. And through the preaching of the Gospel, the captives were released, and the oppressed were set free; as it is written, “HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL,” and “TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD”. For Christ performed all these miracles through His spoken Word.

So it is evident: those who were enslaved were set free, during the Jubilee Year, the 50th. So at this Favorable Year, which comes after, which is greater, God’s favor is introduced through the preaching of the Gospel to everybody who believes. In the former, men who were enslaved were forgiven of their debts; but in the latter, men were forgiven of their sins. Just as a man is enslaved to his debtor, so he who sins sells himself to sin, making himself enslaved thereby and held accountable to God. But at the Favorable Year which is spoken about, “THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD”, men are remised of their sins by God’s Son and are set free “from the house of bondage” (Joshua 24:17). As Jesus spoke about this Scripture, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21) For He is the One spoken about, “HE ANOINTED ME”. 

And this freedom which the apostles spoke about saying, "Let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39) For the Law of Moses gave sin its strength; but Jesus Christ justifies apart from the law by grace, rendering the Law ineffective for justification; as the apostle says, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:4) For faith is contrary to the works of the Law. Through faith we uphold the Law, not through works of the flesh, but by the Spirit of faith; so by faith works are established — not by striving after them, but through the faith of Christ. The one who works in the flesh, strengthens the flesh; but the one who resists the flesh, strengthens the Spirit.

It’s by the loosing the restraint of the Law that we are set free, justified by the grace given at the appointed time; for the law is obligation, but grace is freedom; work produces wages, but no work merits the free gift; works bring forth slaves, but sons are free; the law begets children of wrath, but grace, children of peace. So our work is to do no work, which is the work of faith, humbling ourselves “under the mighty hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6), so that we may be justified by the grace of God in due time. The law produces insincerity and hypocrisy, but grace makes willing servants of Jesus Christ. 

To express this in another way: the law charged everybody with commandments. And we were not able to keep them. When a law is not kept, the charge is not absolved and we are indebted; as it says, “The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” (Proverbs 13:13) So “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (Romans 5:20) For when grace came, God forgave our debts — just as the debtors forgave those indebted to them in the Jubilee Year. And not only was the debt forgiven, but the charges taken away, since “sin is not imputed when there is no law.” (Romans 5:13) For the law is passing away, but the Word of the Lord remains forever. 

So we are no longer slaves, enslaved to that which we are indebted to — that is, the law. As it says, “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave.” (Proverbs 22:7) But we are sons of God made free by the Spirit of the Son; and “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) So now, speaking allegorically, the sons of the king are exempt from such things as polls and taxes, since they are only imposed on strangers; as Christ says, “Then the sons are exempt.” (Matthew 17:26) So they are not charged because they are sons. So if it is so with physical things, why not spiritual? “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14) And, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” (Galatians 5:18) For “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17) 

And because we are free, the apostles did not command nor compel us by law, rule, or regulation; they instead urged us “by the mercies of God” (Romans 12:1) or another place, saying, “for love's sake I rather appeal to you” (Philemon 1:8-9). And again, in another place, they said, “as each person has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion” (2 Corinthians 9:7); or in another place, “not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God” (1 Peter 5:2); and yet again, saying, “we beg you on behalf of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20), or “I beg of you, brethren” (Galatians 4:12), or even, “I ask you, lady,” (2 John 1:5) or simply, “I ask you” (Philippians 4:3); and another time, “we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:1), or “we request of you” (1 Thessalonians 5:12). For although the apostles had been given authority, even to command and order for us to do what is proper, they instead appealed on the basis of love, which is the new commandment.

Does not the law testify the same thing? For in the law if a person made a “binding oath to humble” (Numbers 30:13), they were obligated to keep it — they were bound by the words of their mouth. There was no law that required one to make an oath, but they did it voluntarily, even though it bound them (This is why we are exhorted not to make vows by Christ and the apostles). Also in the law, Israel gave free-will offering to the LORD in the wilderness for the building of the tent of meeting; and they gave more than enough that was required! Similarly, the materials for the temple with foundations in the earth were given by the freewill of David and the people; and the materials far surpassed the materials needed! This shows that although we are free from the law for righteousness, our contributions by our own freewill exceed what is required of the law. “Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O LORD, for it is good.” (Psalms 54:6)

Because of these things, Jesus taught to “make no oath at all” (Matthew 5:34): so that we would remain free. Likewise, regarding the oath of marriage, it is taught that it is better not to marry, “not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:35) For “It was for freedom that Christ set us free.” (Galatians 5:1) And the apostles also taught: “do not become slaves of men.” (1 Corinthians 7:23) “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8) And if you were a slave when Christ called you, “If you are able to become free, rather do that.” (1 Corinthians 7:21) Paul also wrote to the Galatian church warning them, so that they would not be enslaved all over again to the law; for they were being circumcised and observing “days and months and seasons and years.” (Galatians 4:10) And because of freedom, the Corinthians church proclaimed, “All things are lawful for me.” (1 Corinthians 6:12)

Then arises the question: what is profitable and edifying to do with our freedom? And here lies the truth: “You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13) And, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” (1 Peter 2:16) For in the law, a man willingly serves his master because he loves him; and “his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.” (Exodus 21:6) So how much more should we offer ourselves as bondservants of God saying, "I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man” (Exodus 21:5)? As the Psalmist says, “My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law.” (Psalms 119:109)

Therefore, remain free! Although All things are lawful for me, “I will not be mastered by anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12) “For by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” (2 Peter 2:19) If you are overcome by a sin, you are a slave of sin; as Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” (John 8:34) Wisdom also says, “Evil will not deliver those who are given to it.” (Ecclesiastes 8:8) For evil never delivered any of its subservients. However, offer yourself as “slaves of righteousness,” (Romans 6:18) slaves of God, for He delivers from the wrath to come. And, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) Look to the apostles who used their freedom to do good: he said, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.” (1 Corinthians 9:19) And again he said, “We did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 9:12)

Gold is mined in the depths of darkness; in hidden places, it is brought up to light. In deep depths does the treasure lie; when one finds it, he buries it again. Gems found in the midst of rocks; one that sparkles when the light hits it; the others do not sparkle and are the same. A star in the night sky, who will bring it down? Pearls inside the mouth of a clam, hidden from the eyes of man. Crack a parable. Excavate a dark saying. Dig up a mystery. Find the gem which sparkles in the light. Put your light in dark places. With your eye, light up the depths. Bring heaven down. 

In this dark world, although it is illuminated in light for 12 hours a day, it is dark. There is no knowledge of the truth, for our minds are darkened. We have no light. Our minds are darkened by the ignorance within us. Who knows truth? If we seen it go by, we would say, “What was that?” Yet we all know it, deep down in the depths of our soul; yet no-one perceives it. Many have proclaimed it, bringing it to the light, but no-one acknowledges it. We are dimmed by darkness, and the sayings have not illuminated us. We think we already know, yet we know nothing. We’ve heard it before and we say, “I have known it already,” yet we have not understood it; so the light has not entered us, otherwise we would have joy in eternal riches. 

“There are thousands of translations of the Text, and the divisions over them. The denominations? Are there not thousands of sects of Christianity? And they all believe different things! Oh, and all the atrocities done in the name of God: beheadings, murder, and wars. Is religion such a good thing? Oh, and observe the Christians themselves! They are heady, high-minded, snobby, and act better than me. If I were to become a Christian, I would be like them! Oh, how many churches on the street corners and how famous religion is; wouldn’t truth be hidden? In the depths of darkness like a gem or a jewel. And if they have it, they’re not zealous for it!” Says the unbeliever. 

These things are true, and many speak this way against Christianity; for religion to them is what they see, rather than what they don’t see. Is gold of Ophir in plain sight for all to find? Does a gem come from a stalk of wheat? Or do pearls grow on trees? Rather, these are hidden, in the depths of the earth, and require searching after. There is a strong concentration of rock amidst gold, a dense darkness amidst truth. Does one get to the water of a coconut from the outer layer? Does someone search for something they don’t believe is there?

These observed things surrounding Christianity are the darkness; these are the rocks of human kind, and are, as rocks from the earth, prevalent amidst the children of men; these things are pride, divisions, factions, envy, murder, strife, laziness, love of self, apathy. And these saturate the truth, as a layer of rock around the gem. For they are seen, but the gem is unseen. Where then is the gem? Where is humility, unity, love, peace, empathy, and self-abasement? Would not these be considered as jewels in the midst of us? But just as these “rocks” are from the earth, their opposites must come from heaven; for they resemble the stars in the midst of heaven. And these virtues are greater than gold, for they persist after death. 

But whether above or below, “Who will descend into the deep,” or “who will ascend into heaven”? But rather it is Christ Jesus who descended to earth, and further still, to Hades; He it is who ascended from the dead, and higher yet still, to heaven, seated at the right hand of God. And yet you say, “I have known it already.” Have you understood it already? For we all have knowledge of it, but have we understood to search it out? If I know He is, and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, then I will seek Him, not expecting to find nothing, but through understanding, expecting to find Him. For He has promised, “Seek and you will find, Knock and it will be opened, Give and you will receive.” 

I wrote expressly about all these “rocks” in the world which are grounds for stumbling; but if you can’t get past those rocks, how will you succeed past the Rock? For Christ is "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE.” (1 Peter 2:8) But, “HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." (Romans 9:33) For the way of earth to find earthly treasure is to dig by toil and sweat; but the way of heaven to find heavenly treasure is the way of faith, which is no work at all. For just as earth is opposite of heaven, so work is contrary to faith; and the ways of the Lord are not our ways; as it is written, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

So therefore, pursue Christ, not through works, but through faith — searching and seeking the living God, although not seeing Him. For it is not through observing the things of the world, that you come to Him; but through observing Him by faith, the written Word of God. For the things which are seen are not from faith, for they are opposites to faith; and they lead you not to Christ, but away from Him; for this reason we walk by faith, not by sight. 

Circumcision represents a man leaving the covering of his flesh and finding refuge in God, being covered by Him. For the one covering has authority over the one who is covered; the one above is greater than the one below. So man leaves the covering of the flesh and is recognized as God’s possession; for his flesh is uncovered, he is circumcised. Circumcision is the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham; so the sign of a believer is one who does not submit to the passions of the flesh, but humbles himself under the rule of Christ. This procedure is done by Christ Jesus, “and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” (Colossians 2:11)

Although circumcision is outward and physical, it is hidden and private. As the Spirit indicates “a Jew is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” (Romans 2:29) For obedience is worked from the heart, not the letter. The flesh prospers nothing; but “we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh;” (Philippians 3:3) Even the uncircumcised are reckoned as circumcised if they keep the law; for they submit to God’s law, being covered by Him; and their flesh is truly uncovered, although physically covered, for they serve God in the Spirit and obey from the heart; their flesh is no longer their ruler, but God; they are no longer covered by the flesh, but the Spirit.

The concept of coverings as authority is seen in clothing, especially head coverings. A woman’s head is covered to symbolize authority on her head. Whereas a man has authority over his household, so he does not have a covering; for he himself is the covering — he is head of the household. But a woman wears a covering on her head, for she is covered by man and came from man. In the law, when a woman is suspected of breaking the marriage covenant, it says “let the hair of the woman's head go loose.” (Numbers 5:18) For, if guilty, she has left her authority and broken the covenant of marriage; and as a result, her “thigh waste away” and her “abdomen swell.” (Numbers 5:21) For under the thigh the covenant was made, and in the abdomen a child grows.

Furthermore, the prophet speaks, "I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine," declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 16:8) When he says, “So I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness,” this is an idiom referring to marriage. This is the same when Boaz covered Ruth, as she said, “Spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative." (Ruth 3:9) So Boaz was to provide children for her deceased husband according to the law of Moses; and Ruth sought refuge in Boaz. And as a euphemism in the law, it says “uncover nakedness”: as it says, “If there is a man who lies with his uncle's wife he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they will bear their sin.” (Leviticus 20:20) So we see that the husband is the covering for the wife. And when someone usurps this authority, they uncover nakedness.

As it was seen with Jonathan, when his father said, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?” (1 Samuel 20:30) For Jonathan was covered by his father, and in rebellion, he was uncovered; and with nakedness comes shame. But Jonathan did not rebel against his father, this was only Saul’s point of view. Jonathan was covered by His eternal Father, trusting in God’s choice of David. In this way, he found a true refuge in God and separated himself from the lawless deeds of his father. And his mother was reckoned “naked” too, for just as the head covers the body, so a husband is a cover for the wife — the king is a cover for the kingdom.

For when the kings of Israel sinned, it is said, “they made Israel to sin.” (1 Kings 14:16, 15:20, 16:2, 16:3, 21:22) For when the head is given over to wickedness, the members of the body do likewise. However Jonathan, although a member of the body, he did not submit to his head, but he revolted against him and sided with David. And in his father’s words, “to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness.” But he was not left uncovered, but found an eternal refuge in God and received promises from David whose dynasty would be forever. But Saul left the covering of God and was rejected as king of Israel forever.

Of this Refuge the prophets spoke in the name of the Lord: as Ezekiel said, "On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will perform it." (Ezekiel 17:23-24) For just as a tree is a shadow from the sun, so God is a refuge from the striking of tribulation. And in such ways did the Christ compare the kingdom of heaven, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES." (Matthew 13:31-32)

And also, as the Christ laments, “How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” (Matthew 23:37) For “Christ is the head of every man.” (1 Corinthians 11:3) And, “Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.” (Ephesians 5:23) We are all subject to someone, but the church is subject to Christ, being His body. For just as Eve was taken from Adam’s body, so the church was taken from Christ’s body, which was broken for her; and just as the two become one flesh in marriage, “the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:17) And He is our Lord, our Teacher; our Leader and Shepherd; and we are bond-slaves, disciples, followers — His sheep. “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

Christ Jesus is our sacrificial covering to hide our nakedness and shame; from Him come our righteous deeds, which is fine white linen. And through observance of Him in love, do we have fellowship in righteousness with Him and the Father. For if the kings of Israel made the people to sin, how much more do you suppose our Head will make us to do right under His lordship? For Ahaz “made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD,” (2 Chronicles 28:19) and Aaron “made them [Israel] naked unto their shame among their enemies,” (Exodus 32:25) but Christ clothes us with boldness of righteous deeds through grace. For if the wicked make their subjects wicked, how much more do you suppose the Righteous, King of kings, will make righteous His subservients?

Let us therefore, submit to Christ and His authority, giving heed to the instruction which He has ordained within the church: for “Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:3) 

As his apostles, who speak in His name, wrote in the holy epistles. To children, it says: “Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:20) “HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise).” (Ephesians 6:2) And to wives, it says: “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:22) And to husbands, it says: “Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.” (Colossians 3:19) And fathers: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.” (Colossians 3:21)

To women, it says: “A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.” (1 Timothy 2:11-12) And to men, it says: “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

To slaves, it says: “Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.” (Ephesians 6:5-8) And to masters: “And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.” (Ephesians 6:9)

And to disciples, it says: “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.” (Galatians 6:6) And to young men, “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” (1 Peter 5:5) And to teachers, it says: “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:2-3)

And to civilians, it says: “Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.” (1 Peter 2:13-14) And, “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:17) And, “Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:7-8)

Therefore, know where you reside — and obey, “not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake.” (Romans 13:5) For those with authority have power to execute judgement. They do “not bear the sword for nothing.” (Romans 13:4) But just as a father is grieved when discipling his child, so Jesus is not made glad when discipling. For the authority given to the apostles is “for building you up and not for destroying you,” (2 Corinthians 10:8) for they are “a minister of God to you for good.” (Romans 13:4) So accept their word, as it truly is: the Word of God. For He wills to lead you to a place flowing with milk and honey for your own good always.

And look to the men of old, which are written for our warning, who usurped God’s authority. Did they fair well? Absalom “went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.” (2 Samuel 16:22) And he died in his revolt against his father; he was suspended by his long hair in the forest. And Israel played the harlot “under every green tree and under every leafy oak—the places where they offered soothing aroma to all their idols.” (Ezekiel 6:13) And they were exiled into Babylon; while in famine they ate their own sons and daughters; they became servants of a nation they did not know. And Ham “saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.” (Genesis 9:22) And he was cursed with a curse; and he was made a servant to his own brothers. And the children who mocked the prophet, saying, ”Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!" (2 Kings 2:23) For they mocked the prophet’s head; and they were cursed — and bears mauled them. And Reuben “went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine.” (Genesis 35:22) And although he was firstborn, he became last.

Or how did they fair who exalted themselves as king over Israel? As Adonijah, son of David, who exalted himself; nevertheless the kingdom was given to Solomon. And when he asked for David’s concubine, Solomon replied, “Why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him also the kingdom—for he is my older brother—even for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!" (1 Kings 2:22) And he was put to death that day by King Solomon. For "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12) For Solomon humbled himself and waited for the exaltation from his father David. So “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

Now, reprove, rebuke, and correct in a manner of love; for one who does such things exposes shame and nakedness that Jesus may cover them. As it is written in the law, ’You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.” (Leviticus 19:17) For if you know your sin, then you can repent of it, then find a true cloak for your sin. It is a loving thing to reprove! But to the wicked: “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you.” (Proverbs 9:8) Rather, “Reprove a wise man and he will love you.” (Proverbs 9:8) Therefore, "Son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.” (Ezekiel 22:2) Otherwise, prophets would not have “exposed your iniquity So as to restore you from captivity.” (Lamentations 2:14)

But as for false prophets, which rise up among you, “they have seen for you false and misleading oracles.” (Lamentation 2:14) And, “His watchmen are blind, All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber.” (Isaiah 56:10) Therefore, “Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; It is oil upon the head; Do not let my head refuse it.” (Psalms 141:5) Otherwise, “the cup will come around to you as well, You will become drunk and make yourself naked.” (Lamentations 4:21) And the LORD says, “Your nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame also will be exposed; I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.” (Isaiah 47:3)

When you are reproved, acknowledge your sin and seek forgiveness in Christ. As it is promised, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) And when you reprove, you are exposing hidden shameful things, and bringing them to the light; as it says, “all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.” (Ephesians 5:13) So know that you are aspiring to do a good work. “Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

Without transgression, there is no need for forgiveness; without nakedness, there is no need for a covering. So show your fellow countrymen their nakedness and shame. As Paul exposed the nakedness of the Corinthian church, and said, “I say this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 6:5) And again, “Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34) Seek their justification, not their condemnation. Show them their sin, but show them God’s grace. For “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.” (Proverbs 10:12)

Be not a fault-finder, but patiently endure faults in a spirit of meekness. For “A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.” (Proverbs 19:11) For love “does not take into account a wrong suffered.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) Instead overlook faults, hiding them from your eyes. As Noah’s sons “took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father's nakedness.” (Genesis 9:23) Or like Abimelech who acted wisely and said, ”Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is a covering of the eyes before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared." (Genesis 20:16) Or like Jacob who meekly endured Laban’s treachery for twenty years.

The God of our father is slow to anger and quick to forgive; so how ought His sons conduct themselves? The time is near: “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.” (Revelation 16:15) As it is written, “I am filled with power—With the Spirit of the LORD—And with justice and courage To make known to Jacob his rebellious act, Even to Israel his sin.” (Micah 3:8)

Without doubt, a man loses strength when he is overcome. “For by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” (2 Peter 2:19) And without question, a man who is overcome by a woman is weaker than a woman — however that may look. For her beauty is stronger than his strength. And as a result, she is in the position of a man in the household. For she has overcome him. How does she overcome him except by her beauty? As it says, “Turn your eyes away from me, For they have overcome me;” (Song of Solomon 6:5) And, “You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, With a single strand of your necklace.” (Song of Solomon 4:9) So we see the power a woman has over a man. As wisdom says, “Do not give your strength to women, Or your ways to that which destroys kings.” (Proverbs 31:3) God gave us marriage between man and woman. But beware of sexual immorality. 

Recognize what a great warrior Samson was! He was strong with the strength of God. Yet he was overcome by foreign woman and harlots. And without question, if anyone wishes to overcome lust, they need strength. But look how strong Samson’s strength, yet he fell to women. Now the wisest man once said, "Wisdom is better than strength.” (Ecclesiastes 9:16) And Solomon was the wisest man on earth at the time. But was he not also overcome by women? For he had “seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines.” (1 Kings 11:3) And his many wives led his heart astray to worship idols. Furthermore, if anyone is perfect and blameless, it would be his father, David. Yet he saw the beauty of a woman and sinned. He took Bathsheba for his wife although she was married. And weren’t even the angels overcome by women? They are not flesh and blood as we, but mighty spirits. Yet they were overcome by the beauty of women. Consider how great a fall these had because of women.

Without question, no-one on earth is stronger than the king. Even yet, the king Herod swore to give up to half of his kingdom for the sake of a woman. And did not the king Ahasuerus, in the days of Ester, promise to give her up to half of the kingdom? And without doubt, no matter how powerful a man is, no man comes into the world except through a woman. And does not a man leave father and mother to be joined to his wife? So we see, there is no greater strength over a man than a woman.

God made women beautiful. But consider God, who is more beautiful, having created the beauty of all things. Should you really lust after her beauty? Rather seek the visible image of the invisible God in Jesus Christ and set your affections on Him, and pray that you may not sin. For lust is the beginning of sin; for “when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin.” (James 1:10) Men who are overcome by women lose their masculinity. They depart from their role as head in the household of marriage. And as a result, like a four-footed animal, the head and the body are on level plain. Is not the fear great? Consider how great the sin of sexual immorality is. For “Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18) And, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God,” (1 Corinthians 6:19) and “you are not your own.” (1 Corinthians 6:19) “If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:17) “Flee from sexual immorality.” (1 Corinthians 6:19) For God is the Avenger of all such sins (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7). 

I am writing concerning the man, Joseph, son of Israel; how he pertains to Christ Jesus: firstly, Joseph was beloved of his father “because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.” (Genesis 37:3) So Joseph was beloved by the father, and his brethren hated him, as Cain hated his brother Abel. “And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.” (1 John 3:12) And was Joseph beloved of his earthly father only? No, but of His heavenly Father too. For God prophesied many things concerning him, which made his brothers hate him even more. For on two occasions God gave Joseph dreams concerning them.

Similarly concerning Jesus, “a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."” (Mark 1:11) For Jesus is the Beloved of the Father. And God proves to us in Him is salvation through the writings; through many prophecies and testimonies, He predicts the things to come concerning Him, so that there would be no surprise when the things came, so that we may know it was brought about by the foreknowledge and predetermined plan of God. Yet Jesus was hated by his brethren, the Jews; and they sought to kill Him “because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” (John 5:18) So they hated Him because He was the Son of God. So Joseph is like Jesus in this way: he was hated because he was the beloved son of the father.

If there be hate, then let it be for a good cause. But “without cause they hid their net for me; Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.” (Psalms 35:7) “They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul.” (Psalms 35:12) And “Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously.” (Psalms 35:19)“And those who repay evil for good, They oppose me, because I follow what is good.” (Psalms 38:20) “They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without cause.” (Psalms 109:3) “Thus they have repaid me evil for good And hatred for my love.” (Psalms 109:5) For Jesus was perfect and He was hated for being good “to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, 'THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.'” (John 15:25) "The world hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.” (John 7:7) "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:20)

They hated Joseph and said, "Come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, 'A wild beast devoured him.' Then let us see what will become of his dreams!"” (Genesis 37:20) And they said of Christ, "Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!" (Mark 15:29-30) Or in other words, “Let us see what will become of Your prophecies.” But just as Joseph remembered the dreams when they were fulfilled, when he seen his brothers bowing down to him; so the disciples were constantly remembering the Scriptures concerning Christ when they were fulfilled (Luke 24:8, John 2:17, John 2:22, John 12:16). And Jesus often was fulfilling Scripture and henceforth declaring it (Matthew 13:14, Matthew 26:54, Luke 4:21, Luke 22,37, John 13:18, John 17:12). And after He was raised, He said, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." (Luke 24:44) For “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.” (Luke 16:17)

Secondly, Joseph’s brothers did not want to kill Joseph, but they decided, "Let us not take his life.” (Genesis 37:21) And they said, "What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?” (Genesis 37:26) And in the same way, Christ’s betrayer said, "Why this waste?” (Matthew 26:8) When the ointment was poured out upon Him. And seeking profit, he asked His enemies, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" (Matthew 26:15) As it is written in Zechariah, “So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.” (Zechariah 11:12) “Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them." So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.” (Zechariah 11:13) 

So then, Joseph’s beautiful robe was taken from him; they put him into the pit; his father’s splendor was dipped in blood; and he was sold into the land of Egypt. And likewise, concerning Jesus, “You have spurned the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown in the dust.” (Psalms 89:39) “You have made his splendor to cease And cast his throne to the ground.” (Psalms 89:44) “And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.” (Matthew 27:35) However “The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.” (Genesis 39:2) But when Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, he was thrown into the dungeon; however “The LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.” (Genesis 39:21) And when he was proven wise before Pharaoh, he was exalted as second in command over all Egypt, and only Pharaoh was higher than he. Likewise, concerning Christ, “GOD HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:27-28) For Christ received a name higher than David’s name, “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11) So Joseph was exalted from the pit, and Jesus was raised from the dead because there was no fault found in Him.

Now concerning the remainder of this writing, I will take a more subjective approach: in times past God has revealed Himself in numerous ways to the people of Israel. To Moses He appeared in a burning bush, to Israel He appeared on the mountain top of Sinai in a burning flame and pillar of smoke, and to Israel in the wilderness, He appeared to them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. As it is written, “The LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4:24) And “God is a righteous judge,” (Psalm 7:11) and ”Holy is He” (Psalm 99:5). Without question a man fears fire because of its power; how much more should we revere a holy and righteous God and live? For the LORD God is a consuming fire. If we fear to be out in the sun too long, even when it is millions of miles away; how much more should we revere a holy and living God as we draw near unto Him? 

For this reason, Joseph “disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly.” (Genesis 42:7) For his brothers came to him as he was ruler in Egypt, and he disguised himself and spoke to them as a fierce king; but behind closed doors “He turned away from them and wept.” (Genesis 42:24) For outwardly he appeared one way, and disguised his true identity to his brothers for a time. For Joseph perceived it was from God that his brothers would bow down to him; and without question people only prostrate themselves to those they revere, who they reckoned powerful, who they reckoned as mighty. It was necessary that these things occurred before Joseph revealed himself to his brothers.

So you see, Joseph's brothers were blind to the goodness they received; for many good things happened to them from Joseph's hand. For Joseph returned the money into their sacks, but it says, "Their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"” (Genesis 42:28) For they considered this good thing to be a judgement from God because of their sin. And another time they were brought into Joseph’s house and feasted; but it says, “The men were afraid,” (Genesis 43:18) despite the good things that were occurring to them, even in a time of famine. 

Now, these things were necessary just as it was necessary for God to first give the covenant at Horeb in the fearful manner that it was; but then later to reveal Himself in His Son as He truly is. For when the same God appeared to Elijah at the same mountain, mount Horeb, there was “a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.” (1 Kings 19:11-12) For we now know God and His likeness; as it says, "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31:34) For “God is love,” (1 John 4:8) And “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) “God is spirit,” (John 4:24) “God is true,” (John 3:33) and “God is a compassionate God,” (Deuteronomy 4:31) “God is gracious and compassionate.” (2 Chronicles 30:9)

Yet for a time, He appeared unto Israel in a dark cloud; as it says, “The mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom.” (Deuteronomy 4:11) And then it says, “He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.” (Psalms 18:11) For although God is light, He encompasses Himself in a dark cloud so that He may be revealed in Christ at the proper time; for it is God’s pleasure to reveal Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Righteous, at the set time. And that time is now, that day is today.

Just as the skilled writer writes about such things; as he was saying:

 “You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, "IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED." And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, "I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling." But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:18-24) 

And if the gospel be veiled, “it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) And this god of the world is the devil, who “disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14) For Joseph’s brethren did not know Joseph until the veil was removed; and while they did not see their brother, they were still in their sins; as they were saying, “God has found out the iniquity of your servants,” (Genesis 44:16) And, "Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us." (Genesis 42:21) And they also said, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy'; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood."” (Genesis 42:22) So they had guilt as long as they thought Joseph was dead.

But when Joseph was revealed as “alive from the dead”, they had no blood-guiltiness on his account, for he was alive. And these comforting words from Joseph were given to them, “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Genesis 45:5) And, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:7-8) 

So you see, we may lament and cry and be angry with ourselves because of our sins and the penalty Christ bore on our behalf, saying, “Oh, Jesus died for me! How miserable am I! Even for my sins that He died!” And this good thing may appear unto us as an evil thing, a judgement from God; but it was according to God’s good plan that it occurred, to save life rather than destroy it. For “The LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief;” (Isaiah 53:10) And you see! Your Savior, Your Redeemer, Your Master, Your Lord, He is not dead, He is living; for He died for three days, but He is alive forevermore! So do not be unbelieving, but believing. As Joseph said, “Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you.” (Genesis 45:12) Likewise Christ said, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." (John 20:27)

The first report given to Jacob from his sons was an ill report, but the second a good report. Likewise, the first covenant was given to shut everyone up so that they may be accountable to God, but the latter covenant is the good news. For “God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.” (Romans 11:32) For without the first covenant there would be no transgression to forgive. “But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Galatians 3:22)

So therefore, unveil your eyes and see that your brother is very much alive, Second in command, Mediator between you and God; and “He always lives to make intercession for” you (Hebrews 7:25). So draw near to God in reverence and awe, knowing His great love for you. And do not neglect fear, for the men who were irreverent previously, they did not live to tell the story of it; but they testify from the dead the truth of the words: “By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.” (Leviticus 10:3) I remind you when God spoke to Israel from the mountain and they trembled with fear, Moses said, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin." (Exodus 20:20)

So let us draw near unto God in reverence, without neglecting fear, but not with fear which renders a men ineffective of any sort of movement, but coming to God through Jesus Christ knowing that He loves you and cares for your soul, that He was given over for your trespasses and was raised for your justification, to the result that you would return to Him and be healed. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." (Luke 9:56) And “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20)

Joseph was not slain, but a young goat was slaughtered instead; Isaac was not sacrificed, but a ram was given; Judah was to give his life for his brother Benjamin, but Joseph was revealed unto them; and Christ is the young goat, Jesus, the ram, Jesus Christ is like the man Joseph.

Surely we know how to read God’s Word. Doesn’t He teach us? Surely He does: through His Word. How to read His Word: a brief exhortation.

Surely we know how not to read His Word. As it was with Jehoiakim, king of Judah, when the scroll of Jeremiah the prophet was read before him, “The king cut it with a scribe's knife and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier.” (Jeremiah 36:23) For it says, “The king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments.” (Jeremiah 36:24) For they did not fear the Word of the LORD and the desolation He promised to pour out on Jerusalem. But as the LORD declares, ”To this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.” (Isaiah 66:2) And worse yet is to read God’s Word and pervert it; as it says, “The untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:16) For they do not humble themselves before the LORD, nor did they fear His Word; instead they twist His Words to suit their own lusts. 

Do you not know that Satan quotes the Bible too? So “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (James 1:22) For the Lord Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” (Matthew 7:26) When does a man only listen and do not heed to what is said? Is God’s Word as a sensual song to you? As it says, “Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them.” (Ezekiel 33:32) So be a doer of the Word and not merely a hearer only. For if you do not do, why read at all? Does that not make your reading in vain? For, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) But if you are a hearer only and do not do, what profit is there? “Are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” (James 2:20) 

But if you continue in the Word of God, “not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer” (James 1:25), you will be blessed. As “Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."” (John 8:31-32) For “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9) And God who is faithful has promised us righteousness through this very faith. So abide!

For this is the very Word which divides; as the Word did in the beginning, dividing light from darkness, sea from land, water from water; and is able to pierce “as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) And the same Word which divides, created all things; for “We understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3) And the same Word which causes us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead; “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23)

“Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21) And “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.” (1 Timothy 4:16) For, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead." (Luke 16:31) So then, listen to this Word which is spoken from heaven; for these are heavenly Words sent to save your soul from the coming destruction.

For in times past, God sent His sweet manna from heaven; “and its taste was like wafers with honey.” (Exodus 16:31) And they were to collect manna every morning for one day, but on the sabbath they were to collect enough for two days. “But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.” (Exodus 16:20) For to the people who obeyed the Word of God, the manna was sweet; but to those who disobeyed, the manna bred worms and became foul. As the LORD God says, “Do not My words do good To the one walking uprightly?” (Micah 2:7) For God’s Word is sweet to those who obey, but foul and like death to those who disobey. “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) “To the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.” (2 Corinthians 2:16) But if we repent and hear the same Word, will it not be sweet unto us? So there is nothing wrong with God’s Word, but with us; as it says, “With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.” (Psalms 18:26)

Do you want to be blessed? Do you want to be happy? Then obey God’s Word. For the blessing lies not in the hearing of God’s Word, but in the doing. As the Lord Jesus says, "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17) And then the apostle says, “One who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:25) If we do what God asks, then what we ask, God will do. For, “Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” (1 John 3:22) And we will store up for ourselves great assurance on the day of visitation; as it says, “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17) And then it says, “Those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 3:13)

As the Lord Jesus says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25) So imitate the men of old who read God’s Word with humility and weeping and sackcloth and ashes. As the Psalmist says, “You save an afflicted people, But haughty eyes You abase.” (Psalms 18:27) And, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." (James 4:6) So we ought to humble ourselves before the LORD and submit to Him; for they who were greatly distressed in times past upon reading His Word, found favor in His eyes:

As it was with Josiah, He obtained favor with the Lord; as the LORD declares, "Regarding the words which you have heard, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you," declares the LORD. "Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.” (2Ki 22:18-20) And as it was with Daniel, who read the words spoken by Jeremiah the prophet; and as soon as he prayed and blessed the Lord his God, angels were sent to visit him. Because upon reading the Word of God, he sought the Lord God “by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3) And he received insight about future events and was encouraged by the words, “You are highly esteemed.” (Daniel 9:23) And when the scribe Ezra read the book of the law of Moses to the people, “all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.” (Nehemiah 8:9) For they humbled themselves before the LORD God and were terrified by the Words which were written, which came to pass, which their ancestors did not give heed. But they were encouraged by the governor, Nehemiah, when he said, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) And when the people continued in the Word, they found out that they were to live in booths that month; so they obeyed the Word of the Lord and settled in booths; for they trembled at His Word.

Likewise, to us whom these last days have arrived, we have been given Scripture which is being fulfilled before our very eyes. As the apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ says, “Realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) And again, “The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3)

One may say, “Ah this evil! It is surely from the devil!” But if it is from the devil, then seek him for deliverance! Since you fear him so much why don’t you serve him? But if it be from the Lord, "Behold, this evil is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?" (2 Kings 6:33) So that the LORD may be feared. In accordance with what is written, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) For the fear is due to Him who is highly respected; and without question, men subject themselves to one in authority; does anyone subject themselves to anyone who is taken lightly? This is certainly why idolatry is so abominable! Does a man fall down to the work of his own hands? Does a man exalt excrement? Or love their filth to their own destruction? Surely not! But man ought to fear God for from Him come both good and ill.

And this is according to the teaching: as the LORD God says, “That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.” (Isaiah 45:6-7) Furthermore He says, “See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39) And as it says of Him, “Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That both good and ill go forth?” (Lamentations 3:37-38) And then it says, "The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He set the world on them.” (1 Samuel 2:6-8) And again, “The LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11) So, “If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?” (Amos 3:6)

"Will you speak what is unjust for God, And speak what is deceitful for Him? Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God?” (Job 13:7-8) For we know very well the LORD will contend for Himself; He appeared to Job in a whirlwind. He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the third and forth generations. So who are we you quarrel with our Maker? Or even question Him? Does He not question us? And aren’t we the ones who must answer? As He says, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know.” (Job 38:2-5) And then He says, “Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me. Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified? Or do you have an arm like God, And can you thunder with a voice like His?” (Job 40:7-9)

So if anyone is contentious about their sufferings, saying, “Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9) We ought to say, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10) However it may be, the LORD does not execute evil, for “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor.” (Habakkuk 1:13) But He sends ministers of darkness to execute ill; as it was in Egypt, for the LORD sent “the destroyer” (Exodus 12:23) to strike the firstborn of the Egyptians; and He sent a destroying angel when David sinned by taking a census (2 Samuel 24:16). The LORD also sent an evil spirit to judge Abimelech for slaying his brothers on one stone (Judges 9:23). And He sent a deceiving angel to seduce Ahab (1 Kings 22:21-22); and He sent an evil spirit to torment Saul, son of Kish (1 Samuel 16:15); And when God, Most High, brings about the end of the world, He will release destroying angels from the abyss; as it says of them, “The four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.” (Revelation 9:15) 

So much so that in one account of Scripture it states: “Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah."” (2 Samuel 24:1) But in another account of the same event, it says, “Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.” (1 Chronicles 21:1) For the LORD God protects from evil, and if He so wills, He hands over to evil. He uses satan for His own good purposes, and sends him unto nations to execute judgement. “Now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare to you. Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?” (Job 12:7-10) For even the animals know, so we also ought to know these things.

Although these are so, evil spirits cannot be released without His permission, and they cannot do more than what He wills; as it says of them, “They were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man.” (Revelation 9:5) And, “The LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” (Job 1:12) Then, “The LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life."” (Job 2:6) Although these spirits are subject to the will of God, in times past God sent nations to execute His judgements; as He did with the Babylonians, as He did with the Assyrians; but they exceeded His wrath, and went beyond His will (Zechariah 1:15); and David seeing this said, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man." (2 Samuel 24:14) So we see that these spirits do not execute evil by their own will, but they are subject to the will of God. So it is not they who we should fear, but God Almighty who executes righteous judgment through them. 

“Why should any living mortal, or any man, Offer complaint in view of his sins?” (Lamentations 3:39) For, “You our God have requited us less than our iniquities deserve;” (Ezra 9:13) “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (Psalms 103:10) For even today, God has left a remnant chosen by grace; for “Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.” (Isaiah 1:9) For “Your hands fashioned and made me altogether, And would You destroy me?” (Job 10:8) So death was never the will of God, but death came about because of the disobedience of sin, and reigned throughout all creation. “But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.” (Psalms 130:4) 

Furthermore these angels used to execute judgment will not escape the judgement of God; for God oftentimes uses ministers of evil to execute His purpose, but then destroys them. As it is pronounced against Babylon, who God used as instruments of destruction, “Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai The spirit of a destroyer.” (Jeremiah 51:1) And as it says of the angels in the abyss, “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;” (2 Peter 2:4) But in regard to Israel it says, “'Therefore thus says the LORD, "I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it," declares the LORD of hosts, "and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem."' Again, proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’” (Zechariah 1:16-17)

For now, God has been gracious to us. Yes, He has inflicted us, but will He not heal? He has bruised, will He not also bandage? He breaks, will He not repair? “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.” (Romans 11:32) “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21) For He has broken so that He may heal; He has bruised so that He may bandage; and He has broken, to repair. He has taken into account sin, so that He may forgive us all. He has sent evil spirits, and He sends forth His Holy Spirit. He makes blind, but gives sight to the blind. He makes deaf, but He gives hearing to their ears. The LORD God does all these things; and He came down: Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. He worked miracles, healing those who were born blind that the glory of God might be displayed in them (John 9:3). Men who died from illness were raised from their tombs because of the life of the Son of God; as He said to the dead man, "Lazarus, come forth." (John 11:43) And “The man who had died came forth.” (John 11:44) For God puts to death, as it says, “It is appointed for men to die once,” (Hebrews 9:27) but through Christ, all will be made alive; “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

For in times past God worked miracles of death to the people of Egypt, who did not believe in Him. Yes, He worked miracles of death in their midst and made His fame renown through them. But how much more now, as He works miracles of life to everyone who believes? For the Israelites were spared from the plagues and only witnessed them with their eyes. They were preserved, but Egypt was left in ruins. How much more today? For those who do not believe, they are cursed with plagues, but to those who do believe, they are blessed with life and peace with God. For when Moses put his hand in his cloak, “Behold, his hand was leprous like snow.” (Exodus 4:6) But when Christ came into the world, “A leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matthew 8:2-3) For the signs God gave to Moses were signs of death, but when Christ came into the world, His signs were life and restoration.

For when Moses took water from the Nile and poured it upon the ground, “The water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” (Exodus 4:9) But when Christ came into the world, He turned the water into wine (John 2:1-10). And without question, if water is blood, men should fear; but here, Jesus turned the water into wine for a joyous festival. For the good news of God has come, the righteousness which is from faith to faith in the Son of God. For just as Moses’ staff became a serpent (Exodus 7:8-13), so Christ judged the serpent on that cross “That through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)

And Aaron stretched out his hand over the Nile and out came swarms of frogs which came up on all the Egyptians (Exodus 8:1-7). As a result of these plagues, it says of Pharaoh, “He hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.” (Exodus 8:15) But without question, when Jesus performed a miraculous catch of fish, making them come up out of water by the disciple’s net, Peter fell down on his face and said, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8) “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10) So the plagues of death caused worldly sorrow in Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but the signs that Christ performed led to godly sorrow to repentance to life. 

In regard to Aaron striking the dust and turning it into gnats (Exodus 8:16-32), I say that in Christ, the promise given to Abraham is made full; as stated, "I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.” (Genesis 13:16) For we who believe in Jesus Christ are Abraham’s descendants, sons of God by the Spirit of the Son. For, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:29) And what’s more miraculous than one man, and as good as dead, turning into a multitude of nations by the promise and fulfillment of God? And are we all not but dust? As it is written, “The LORD God formed man of dust from the ground.” (Genesis 2:7) “For I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.” (Luke 3:8) 

Furthermore the livestock and the crops of the Egyptians were destroyed. Their very food was taken away from them as punishment. Their crops were stripped by locusts (Exodus 10:14-15); and their livestock died of pestilence (Exodus 9:1-7). But when Christ came into the world, those that were hungry were fed, even a great multitude, He fed them with “only five loaves and two fish.” (Matthew 14:17) Multiplying the few provisions for the great multitude and leaving with more bread than they originally had! And He was doing this on more than one occasion for those who believed in Him and followed Him. He fed them with spiritual food, bread from heaven, and fed them with provisions for the flesh. 

Is there fault with the LORD? Are not His judgements just and fair? As it says, “The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal them.” (Isaiah 19:22) "For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” (Isaiah 26:9) For His wounds are so that men would “RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.” (Matthew 13:15) And He breaks so that they may come; as it says, “Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, And let them be humiliated and perish, That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.” (Psalms 83:16-18) For when they find Him, “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.” (Psalms 147:3)

And furthermore Moses threw soot from a kiln into the air and it became boils breaking out with sores on man and beast. But when Christ came into the world, He healed 10 lepers, saying to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they were going, they were cleansed.” (Luke 17:14) For they came to Him and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" (Luke 17:13) And because they trusted in His mercy, they received their hope. And not without cost, for just as God sent a “darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt." (Exodus 10:21) He also sent His Son into the world to be the light of the world; and just as God took the lives of the firstborn of the Egyptians, He gave His firstborn Son as a ransom for sin, even the sins of the whole world, to work life in everyone who believes.

“The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.” (Exodus 15:3) "They will say of Me, 'Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.'” (Isaiah 45:24) The men of old errored, they trusted in the strength of Egypt; as it says, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!” (Isaiah 31:1) For they did not look to Him for strength, for they did not believe in Him. Instead they committed harlotry with other nations, trusting in their shadow. They were not saved. As it says, “Now the Egyptians are men and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; So the LORD will stretch out His hand, And he who helps will stumble And he who is helped will fall, And all of them will come to an end together.” (Isaiah 31:3)

As the man of God, David says, “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.” (Psalms 20:7) Did he merely say this? No! For with horses did he come to Goliath, or with chariots. No, not even with a sword! In what strength did he come then? "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.” (1 Samuel 17:45) David came with a sling and a staff in his hand, for he knew the victory belongs to the LORD. As he taught Solomon, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the LORD.” (Proverbs 21:31)

And the son of God, Jesus Christ, did not work victory for the whole world with weapons of war, but in the name of God, He came with a cross, which is wood. As David came with a staff in hand, Christ worked victory for all with wood. And Moses delivered Israel from Egypt with staff in hand, by which God worked acts of power. For David appeared as no threat to Goliath, and Moses as a sport to Pharaoh; and in Christ’s weakness, He was never considered a threat to the enemy, but He nevertheless worked victory for the whole world. In this, God shows His incredible strength; for, “the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25) And in His weakness, He gained the victory, not only for Himself, raising from the dead, but for the whole world, for all who put their trust in His name. 

God shows forth this victory in His name through the great acts in times past. He worked victory for Israel as they trusted in Him. As Hezekiah king of Judah spoke, "Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” (2 Chronicles 32:7-8) And since they trusted in Hezekiah’s words, they trusted in the Lord, and what was the outcome? As it says, “And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria.” (2 Chronicles 32:21) And what did Israel do but rely upon the LORD their God? And God worked the victory and the deliverance for them. For our hand is not strong to save.

What about what Jehoshaphat said? As he said, “Put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed." (2 Chronicles 20:20) And then he said, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." (2 Chronicles 20:21) And what was the outcome? As it says, “When they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed.” (2 Chronicles 20:22) For they believed the word of Jehoshaphat which was in accordance with the Psalms and the Prophets which say, “Seek the LORD,” and “Take refuge in God.” For seeking the LORD is faith, and taking refuge in Him is trust.

Consider when Israel and Judah were fighting against one another: Israel’s trust was in two golden calves which Jeroboam made for them, but Judah’s trust was in the LORD. Did Israel conquer their brethren? For they worked abominations and distrusted the LORD their God. Will the strength of wickedness deliver them? Or will the lies which they made for themselves be a goodly foundation? A stronghold in the day of trouble? Of course not! As the truth says, “Then the men of Judah raised a war cry, and when the men of Judah raised the war cry, then it was that God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. When the sons of Israel fled before Judah, God gave them into their hand.” (2 Chronicles 13:15-16) And for what reason? “The sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah conquered because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their fathers.” (2 Chronicles 13:18)

And when Samaria was under siege by the king of Aram, how were they delivered? By their own strength? Did they submit themselves to the king? No! But by God’s grace the prophet Elisha gave the promise of God, saying, “Listen to the word of the LORD; thus says the LORD, 'Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.'” (2 Kings 7:1) And God worked deliverance; as it says, “For the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great army; (…) Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life.” (2 Kings 7:6-7)

And the man who disbelieved the promise of Elisha perished, for he did not believe God was able to do what He promised. He resembled Israel in the wilderness, for they said in their hearts, “Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat for His people?" (Psalms 78:20) And likewise the man said, “If the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this things be?” (2 Kings 7:2) And as a result, he was trampled by the feet of them who hurried after the fulfillment of the promise. And he seen God’s power with his own eyes, but he was not able to taste of it. As the LORD says, “Is the LORD'S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not." (Numbers 11:23)

In a similar way, they who did not believe God in the wilderness perished; they seen the land with their eyes and the signs which God performed, but they did not enter the land. As the LORD testifies about them, "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?” (Numbers 14:11) For although they saw signs, they did not believe in Him, and in their much seeing, they perished. For “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) As the writer writes about us and them, “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.” (Hebrews 4:2) For the good news we have preached to us is Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

And those spies which gave an ill report, perverting the gospel of the promise of God, and all who believed their corrupted report, disbelieved in God — and all of them perished in their wanderings in the wilderness; they did not inherit the promise because of their unbelief. But Caleb and Joshua trusted in God and believed He was able to give the inhabitants over into their hands, despite the bad report, despite the giants of the land. As the LORD God testified of Caleb, “My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.” (Numbers 14:24) 

What about when they were to inherit the promised land? Did they do so by their own strength? Did God promise and leave the fulfillment up to them? Of course not! God fought for them. When five of their kings and their armies of the land came against Israel to fight; He gave the promise, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand before you." (Joshua 10:8) And Joshua believed the promise, for “Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night from Gilgal.” (Joshua 10:9) And God fulfilled what He promised; as it says, “The LORD confounded them before Israel, and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.” (Joshua 10:10-11) 

Then Israel had rest on every side because God subdued their enemies before them. As Joshua testifies, “The LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.” (Joshua 23:9-10) And the promise given through Moses says, “The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes.” (Deuteronomy 1:30) And the LORD God fought Egypt with plague after plague because they did not let His people go. And He delivered them from Egypt. And when the Egyptians pursued them, “The LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from Israel, for the LORD is fighting for them against the Egyptians." (Exodus 14:24-25)

These things testify to the work of Jesus, the Christ, which He worked on our behalf at the cross on Calvary. He saves us apart from works which we have done. He fights for us and delivers us from the slavery of sin through His body. For true slavery is not captivity to nations. No. For if that were so, then Christ would have come to deliver Israel from the Romans; but instead, He came and died to deliver from the slavery of sin by justifying us freely through His blood. He delivers us from Egypt by His work. For our works produce wrath, but the work of Christ, deliverance. By our works, we work sin into slavery, but by the work of the eternal Spirit, He works righteousness unto salvation to everyone who believes. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4) “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)

For if they were not able to prevail against God in times past, how will anyone today? If God justifies us, who then can condemn us? Did they succeed who fought against Israel? Did the rulers succeed who fought against Christ and His apostles? As it says, “The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed.” (Psalms 2:2) If they succeeded, how is the Message standing today? How is Christ proclaimed throughout the earth? For “If it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” (Acts 5:39) And, “O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you will not succeed." (2 Chronicles 13:12) For true Israel puts their faith in God, believing in Him; they put no confidence in the flesh, they put their trust in God. 

So since we have such great promises, let us submit ourselves to God and learn from Him the righteous warfare; as it says, "He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” (2 Samuel 22:35) And, “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle;” (Psalms 144:1) For David was a man of war. He fought a righteous warfare, for the cause of God: the peace of righteousness and the rest of holiness. For the LORD says, “There is no peace for the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22) And contention is between the righteous and the wicked. As Jeremiah was called a man of contentions; but he was speaking the word of the LORD in righteousness; as it says, “Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me As a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land! I have not lent, nor have men lent money to me, Yet everyone curses me.” (Jeremiah 15:10) So he was righteous, but they were wicked.

What fellowship is there between good and evil? As it says, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14) Furthermore it says, “I am for peace, but when I speak, They are for war.” (Psalms 120:7) For the lips of the righteous are righteousness. If we keep quiet, we will be subdued by the enemy. Where there is no resistance, there is submission and troubles of many kinds; as it says, “If you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live.” (Numbers 33:55) As it was with Rebekah, who was troubled by the inhabitants of the land: "I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?" (Genesis 27:46)

As David says about his commander Joab, “he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt about his waist, and on his sandals on his feet.” (1 Kings 2:5) For David’s enemies were submitting to him, to righteousness, but Joab slew them; for although Joab was David’s commander, although he was on David’s side, he was fighting against the cause which David was upholding; and Joab fought for the enemy in unrighteousness. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) For this is the true warfare, not merely flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces; and the weapons of our warfare are Spirit and truth; as it says, “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)  

For the belt of the wicked are splattered with blood and the feet of the contentious are with blood; but the feet of them who bring good news, “WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;” (Ephesians 6:15) And the belt of them, “GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH.” (Ephesians 6:14) But to the men of unrighteousness, “He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.” (Psalms 68:30) But if the wicked do not repent, Christ’s feet will be shod, with peace? No. Blood. As it says, “And He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15) And with what will His garments be? “I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment.” (Isaiah 63:3) For in the time of God’s grace and peace, they reject it; instead they delighted in wickedness and wrongdoing. Children of strife! Their judgement comes swiftly; for the children of wrath will inherit wrath in the day of God’s fierce wrath. 

As Christ says, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER IN LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER IN LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.” (Matthew 10:34-36) For this is the warfare which Christ fought; and David, and the prophets, and the men of God, and the apostles and believers in the Lord Jesus. As it says, "Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) This is the fight of peace, the fight of righteousness, the fight of the faith of grace and peace in the Lord Christ. As Christ says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) For God is the God of peace. 

Now let us look to those before us who fought this fight, which is not by human hands. Do you remember Lot? How he contended with the wicked in Sodom, saying, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.” (Genesis 19:7) As it says of him, he was “oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men. (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)” (2 Peter 2:7-8) And he even sought to hand over his two daughters for the sake of the men he gathered to himself. And for what cause was the contention? He contended for the cause of righteousness, the cause of peace. For if he would not contend, he would become just like them! The evil around him would have subdued him. For when one does not fight, he becomes a prey and is overcome.  

Or Abraham, for example, in regard to the same city, he interceded on their behalf, saying, “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?” (Genesis 18:24) For he sought not their condemnation or destruction, but their salvation. And the apostle Paul was saying the same thing when he says, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4) For what is the purpose? As it says, “that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” So it is for the cause of peace.

Or the man traveling through Gibeah, who found a refuge in an old man’s home; and when the men of that town, the men of darkness, came to the door to work heinous acts of darkness in the dark, the old man said, “No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly.” (Judges 19:23) And he even sought to give his virgin daughter. And what was the judgement of Sodom and this town? Did God say, “Peace to you”? But rather, “The work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.” (Isaiah 32:17) And the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel has said, "In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15) But they were unwilling. So judgement came from heaven, from the LORD. 

Or do you remember when Abraham who made a covenant with the inhabitants of Canaan? As one spoke to Abraham, "God is with you in all that you do; now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.” (Genesis 21:22-23) And they made a covenant of peace together; for righteousness walks hand in hand; as it says, “Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?” (Amos 3:3) And, “Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (Psalms 85:10) 

For these reasons it says, “the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” (2 Chronicles 15:2) For the LORD will never deviate from His right way to pursue us in crooked ways; we must turn to Him and He will turn to us. If He is with us, He will fight for us; but if He is not with us, we will be subdued. As it says to those who were rebelling, who were moving when the LORD God did not move, “Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the LORD is not among you. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following the LORD. And the LORD will not be with you."” (Numbers 14:42-43) Yes, Jesus ate with sinners, but He wasn’t a friend of them; He did not walk with them in their sin; He called them to Himself through repentance and faith.

And Isaac made a covenant with Abimelech; for he came to him and said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.'" (Genesis 26:28-29) For these sought their favor because they seen God was with them. And they sought for their peace, doing good to them. When a dispute was brought up, they addressed it. And they received a blessing; as the promise says, “I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)

Do you remember when David sent consolers to the king of the Ammonites, Hanun, on behalf of his father’s death? David certainly did not seek war at that time, did he? But, “Hanun took David's servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away.” (2 Samuel 10:4) Then they went out to battle against David. And David sent out the hosts against them. Certainly the Ammonites weren’t fighting for peace, were they? For they were opposing David, the man of righteousness. But when they were defeated, they made peace with Israel and served them. For “The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, But the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1)

Or when David was cursed by Shimei and threw stones at him, did he fight back? No. But rather it says, "Behold, my son who came out from me seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him.” (2 Samuel 16:11) For he did not fight against God’s will, but he humbly accepted it. For David was being punished by God for his sins with Bathsheba, so he sought for peace with God even though the LORD’s hand was against him; for who can strive against God and succeed? And isn’t it similar when his son, Solomon, sinned against the Lord and the kingdom was split because of it? Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, was going to battle against Israel to restore the kingdom to himself, but the word of the LORD came to the prophet saying, “You shall not go up or fight against your relatives; return every man to his house, for this thing is from Me." So they listened to the words of the LORD and returned from going against Jeroboam.” (2 Chronicles 11:4) 

As it says, “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience?” (1 Peter 2:20)  These did not retaliate even though they suffered for wrong-doing; instead they endured it, hoping not to make an evil matter worse. They sought for peace with the LORD by patiently enduring suffering. And through their actions they became a type of Christ, except He was without sin; as it says, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:21-24)

Who knows? Perhaps the Lord would look upon with favor; if there is retaliation, perhaps it would be worse with them. As it says, “Why should any living mortal, or any man, Offer complaint in view of his sins?” (Lamentations 3:39) What peace comes from contending with God? Are we stronger than He? Are we more perfect than He? The LORD is not quick to bring about the day of punishment; but rather, as it says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) For He extends the days of His grace and delays the day of His judgement for the sake of salvation.

And the apostle Paul with wisdom says, “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4) For he casted down every refuge which men find themselves in, which are not Christ through the Word of truth. And he continues, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-6) For our warfare is spiritual, our enemies are erroneous thoughts, lies, lofty imaginations, and everything which is contrary to the true knowledge of God in Christ Jesus. And he says, “By the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left.” (2 Corinthians 6:7) For only one hand is dominant, but God helps both hands for righteousness by which we may “overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?” (1 Peter 3:13)

So let us think seriously of the fight of faith; for those who fought in times past and lost, their bodies died, but the faithful fight is for eternity, for the soul and the body. For the men of God also slew men. If those who disobeyed back then suffered death, how much more those who disobey Christ suffer eternal death? For fire flashed forth from heaven by the word of Elijah; as it says, “The fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.” (2 Kings 1:12) And furthermore, he slew 450 of Baal’s prophets in the name of the LORD; as it says, “and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.” (1 Kings 18:40) And Elisha, his successor, bore the sword as well; as it says, "It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.” (1 Kings 19:17) So if these prophets were men of war in the flesh, how much more when they come with raging fire with Christ Jesus?

And the same Elijah stood against 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel according to the Word of the Lord. He is one prophet, but he stood against 450 in the name of the LORD. As he said, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal's prophets are 450 men.” (1 Kings 18:22) Yet he stood against them and the LORD God flashed forth fire from heaven; and Elijah gave the command to slay all the prophets of Baal; as it says, “Then Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape." So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.” (1 Kings 18:40) For he was one man, yet he was strong in the Lord, defeating many in the name of the LORD; through weakness, he was made strong.

And Joshua as a man of God, a man of war, killed the men and women of Jericho and Ai, and burnt the city with fire. The Israelites did other such things to the people of Canaan, all according to the Word of the Lord; for He was patient with them; as He said of them to Abraham, “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” (Genesis 15:16) For He did not send Israel into the land until the wickedness of the land was made full; as Moses also says of this, “It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 9:5) For God does not slay the innocent.

And the prophet Samuel was a man of God who slew; as it says, “Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.” (1 Samuel 15:33) He did not slay him in unrighteousness, but it was according to the Lord’s judgement. And the tribe of Judah fought against his enemies, and mutilated the king of his enemies; as it says, “But the king fled; and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. The king said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me." So they brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.” (Judges 1:6-7) For as these did to others, it was done to them according to the righteous judgement of God.

And do you not remember what David did to his enemies? As it says, “He also brought out the people who were in it, and set them under saws, sharp iron instruments, and iron axes, and made them pass through the brickkiln. And thus he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon.” (2 Samuel 12:31) And look what he did to the men who killed the innocent: “David commanded the young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them up beside the pool in Hebron.” (2 Samuel 4:12) He also hamstrung horses in war. For if these men were prophets of God and did these things, how much more terrifying will Christ’s coming be, when He comes as a Warrior in strength to reign with His saints, to recompense His enemies who fight against Him in unrighteousness?

And David, a man of war, as one man, defeating Goliath, a giant; David fought against him with no weapon at all; he only had a staff and a sling and stones. Yet, he trusted in God and fought the good fight, overtaking his enemy. He stood alone against the giant; but he was not alone, for the LORD God was with him; he trusted in the LORD and He delivered Israel. As it says, “The LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few." (1 Samuel 14:6) For “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." (2 Kings 6:16) David’s mighty men imitated him; as it says of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, “He killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature five cubits tall. Now in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.” (1 Chronicles 11:23)

And Samson, who slayed a thousand men with a jawbone of a donkey; he had no weapon at all, but fought in the strength of God. A sword is a weapon, and so is a spear; but God works through the weak things, and shows His strength. Samson as one man killing a thousand. How is it so, except by His God? For the LORD brought about that great victory. As it was with Adino the Eznite, who “slain eight hundred at one time;” (2 Samuel 23:8) And this might man slayed 800 with a sword; who could imagine killing a thousand without a sword, but a jawbone of a donkey? So it is, these are mighty men of God. They held down fortresses alone, and fought against multitudes; their hands clung to the spear and did not let go. They were made strong in God and fought against unrighteousness in the flesh.

For all these took up the sword, pointing to the time of Christ’s return when they will also rule with Him; all these look toward to the future reign of the righteous. Christ Jesus is coming. And it says of Him, “You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.” (Psalms 2:9) And, "I trod down the peoples in My anger And made them drunk in My wrath, And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth." (Isaiah 63:6) And regarding the saints it says, "Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, For your horn I will make iron And your hoofs I will make bronze, That you may pulverize many peoples, That you may devote to the LORD their unjust gain And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.” (Micah 4:13)

And all of these look to Christ, for they are types of Christ. For Christ Jesus is the ultimate Warrior. He is one and He stood up against a host of enemies. He stood up against the religious Pharisees and Sadducees. He stood in the truth, fighting against them with the truth. Yes, He is one, yet he withstood them all. There was not a righteous man on earth to help Him, but He entrusted Himself to God. As it says, “Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:24-25) And so, He clung to the Father; as it says of the warriors in times past, “He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword.” (2 Samuel 23:10) So God’s grace is our strength.

And Christ did not fight against His enemies with a sword or a spear; no, He fought against them with a weapon which is no weapon at all. He fought with “a staff”, a piece of wood: the cross. And with it, even in His death, He subdued more of His enemies than He did in His life. As it says, “The dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life.” (Judges 16:30) For, “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” (Colossians 2:15) And He, being one man, with no weapon at all, subdued the powers and principalities which govern this world by freely justifying us through the cross. He fought against them, and worked the victory on our behalf; being one, He wins justification for the whole world. “The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.” (Exodus 15:3)

I don’t want to do evil, but I do it anyway; I want to do good, but I don’t do it. I’m living in slavery, for the things I will to do, I can’t do, and the things I will not to do, I do. I am compelled to do what I hate; I am forced into doing what I don’t want to do. I am a man in prison; I would rather be outside; I would much rather sleep in; I want to read now or watch a cartoon; however, I am compelled to be inside; I am forced to wake up early and make my bed; I must clean rather than read books. I dream about having my own home and my own wife and my own children; but I am forced into laboring for another man’s family, for plans and objectives which are not mine. “Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” (John 8:34)

Does anyone say, “I wish not to be free?” Is it a good thing to be shackled? Why would anyone want chains about them? Which is better: obligation or free-will? Is not obligation slavery? And free-will, well… freedom? Are you free if you’re free to sin? Of course not! One is not free who is delivered from the oppression of nations, or masters, or principalities; no! For if he is free’d from these and sins, he is a slave to sin. There is no such thing as free to sin; there is such things as freewill, but there is no freedom in sin; "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” (John 8:34) There is only freedom from sin; deliverance is from sin into true freedom.

How does repentance come about? I want it, but I don’t know how to obtain it. Furthermore, God’s wrath is against sin; He abhors it; and He will judge sin with eternal damnation. Why would anyone want sin? I affirm: if anyone wants sin, sin has deceived them. If sin were truthful, no-one would willingly choose it. If sin were truthful, it would say, “You can have me now, but you’ll have everlasting disgrace later; I am far less superior than anything, but anyway, I am now; you’ll need me again quickly later, for I am fleeting. There is no good in me, and if you taste me, you’ll taste sickness, pain, and burnings; the wrath of the Almighty is right behind me, and He has prepared a place ahead of me. Everyone who tastes me, tastes death; taste a little bit of me and I have full reign in you. Everyone who loves me, hates their own self.”

But instead sin lying says, “Surely you will not die; you will feel good; did not God create you for me and me for you? Besides, you will love me! Can anything this bad taste this good? If you feel bad later, I can speak to you more and relieve your guilt — I will give you more of me so that you will forget. I offer you wisdom and superior knowledge, others do not know what I know — I only offer you the best! Don’t you hear me already? Don’t you recognize the knowledge even in these sayings? Yes, the Almighty says, “Beware of me”, but I know what He really means. I am good; look how happy they are who taste me!”

So then, how does repentance happen? What is it? Repentance is change of mind. For example: A man goes down a wrong path, and sees many warning signs which say, “Dead End”; but he continues down the wrong path anyway. Later, he sees from a distance: the path is leading to death. Then he comes to his senses and changes his mind, and he turns back; he didn’t want to die, he wants to live. He didn’t believe the signs; he figured, “They’re old signs, very ancient writings; I know the way I’m going, the very way of my ancestors. Were they all wrong too?” But the truth came to him, and he came to his senses. He very well could have said to himself, “My eyes are deceiving me!” And continued down his way; but when he seen death from afar, he remembered the signs and came to his senses, “Even the distant sight of it terrifies me! The many signs were frightening, and I ignored them all! And they all sang the same dirge! How foolish am I! I will return back with my head laid low.” 

We all have one face and one back. If we wish to change direction, from south to north, we must first put our back to the south and face the north. So we turn. If we had no back, but two faces, we wouldn’t need to turn around. We would just walk in the other direction. But we do not have two faces, so we must put our back to what we face, and face what we’ve turned our back to. Repentance is change. Change of what? Ways, actions, motives? Yes. “But how? I want to change, but I can’t. I want to do good, but I don’t. I don’t want to die; but I am following sin unto death!” Repentance is a change of mind.

When the mind is changed, then all the members which are governed by the mind also change. My hand does what my mind says; and my foot does the command of my head. I tell it, “Pick it up” and they do it; and I tell the others, “Go over there” and they go. I send the command and the left works with the right and the right with the left, and they accomplish my command — all according to my direction, which I supposed in my mind. So if I will for my members to change from doing one thing to another, the command must come from my mind. “But my mind is perverse! It is evil; there is no good thing it thinks. It is set on evil! And my members follow its direction!”

So then how does repentance come about? “How can I change my mind?” You cannot change your mind. There is nothing good in it; can that which is evil reform itself? Can dirty water purify? Our mind is sinful, so it can’t change itself; if it does, it is for the worse. Therefore, the message is not within ourselves, but it is outside; it is from Another. Words change the mind. Persuasion. Debate. Speaking. These are words which are consumed by the mind. Words are not for the stomach are they? No! Words are for the mind: whether spoken or read. The mind contains words: whether spoken or unspoken. So it is by words, our minds are changed. And if it’s not by our own words, then whose?

The Word of God brings about conviction, persuasion, and assurance. Namely, the Word of God concerning His Son, Jesus. He was sent for us, for our good; He loved us to death, even on the cross; His love is great for us, even though we’re sinners. He loved us to die for us, for our sins. He became the atonement for our sins to wash us from our sins. The message is received by faith, by believing the message of the cross, which purifies our minds and hearts. The love of God made known to all through the message of the cross of Christ, the gospel of peace. He has made peace with us through His Son Jesus Christ. He has justified us freely, apart from our works, by His blood on the cross; He makes us right with Himself through the sanctifying work of His sacrifice, through faith in His name. 

Through the conviction of the Word of the testimony of God, which He has given concerning His Son, our minds are changed, they are renewed, by continually setting our minds on Christ in the heavens. Remembering Christ crucified for us by which we are saved through faith. He died for us, shedding His blood, the Innocent for the guilty, to reconcile us to God by faith. God’s compassion and mercy towards man to die for us on the cross, loving us in shedding His blood for us. We must die for our sins, but Christ died in our stead to reconcile us to God, heavenward.

Repentance comes about by setting your mind on these things. And your members, being servants of your mind, will soon follow. Does our repentance precede God’s kindness? Rather God’s grace has appeared to all men, and, “the kindness of God leads you to repentance.” (Romans 2:4) Therefore, continue in the Word of Christ, setting your mind on Him, and the Word of God will renew and wash and cleanse your mind, granting you repentance to life with faith in the truth, through the true knowledge of Him; call upon His name with a pure heart, and He will deliver you. 

Scripture: Setting the Mind on Things Above

• “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” (Romans 8:5-9) 

• “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

• “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

• “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

• “But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” (Ephesians 4:20-24)

Scripture: Sanctification by Faith

• “To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'” (Acts 26:18)

• “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17:17-19)

• “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13)

• “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)

• “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.” (Hebrews 13:12)

• “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,” (1 Corinthians 1:30)

• “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5)

Scripture: God grants Repentance

• "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:31)

• “When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."” (Acts 11:18)

• “The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-25)

• “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

• “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)

Scripture: We Turn to God and He Turns to us

• "Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Return to Me," declares the LORD of hosts, "that I may return to you," says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 1:3)

• "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?’" (Malachi 3:7)

• "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you." (Isaiah 44:22)

• “namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

• “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8)

Scripture: We Change our Mind and God Changes His Mind

• “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.” (Jonah 3:10)

• “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son's days." (1 Kings 21:29)

• "Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against ourselves."” (Jeremiah 26:19)

• “Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, "Go and say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.” (Isaiah 38:2-5)

• "because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you," declares the LORD. “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place." So they brought back word to the king.” (2 Kings 22:20)

• “When he was in distress, he entreated the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.” (2 Chronicles 33:12-13)

• "Now therefore amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you.” (Jeremiah 26:13)

Listen! The LORD God says, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"” (Exodus 33:20) For God is holy; so holy that they who peered into the ark of His covenant were slain; saying, “He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter.” (1 Samuel 6:19) His voice is terrifying, His appearance fire; they seen the fire and said, “'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.'” (Deuteronomy 18:16)

Therefore, God has removed the sight of Him that we may not die; for even while He came down on Sinai, they “heard the sound of words, but saw no form—only a voice.” (Deuteronomy 4:12) And furthermore, when the high priest entered through the veil into the most holy, he, even he, needed a veil of incense to diminish the sight of the ark; as it says, “He shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die.” (Leviticus 16:13) 

Who is it that can ascend to the mount of God, to continual burning and fire, to see God and live? As it says, "Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” (Isaiah 33:14) It was Moses who went up to God in Sinai; saying, “The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” (Exodus 19:20) "So I (Moses) turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.” (Deuteronomy 9:15) 

So likewise now God has raised up Another, like Moses, that abides and speaks with God face to face, who dwells with consuming fire; as it is written of Moses, “Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10); and the Prophet which was to come, came, Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who lives with the consuming fire and who abides in the bosom of the Father; as it is written of Him, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (John 1:18)

And as Moses writes of Christ, “The LORD said to me, 'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command him.” (Deuteronomy 18:17-18) Those who believe Moses, believe Christ, for Moses wrote of the Christ; as Christ was saying, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46-47) So Moses is a shadow to Christ and wrote about Him.

And Christ’s speech is not booming like God; as it says of Him, “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street.” (Isaiah 42:2) And His appearance is not the consuming fire like God; as it is written of Him, “He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” (Isaiah 53:2) And the Spirit of Him is a gentle whisper; as it says, “After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.” (1 Kings 19:12) Albeit these are so, “It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which He shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:19) So “Be on your guard before Him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in Him.” (Exodus 23:21)

Even as these are so, He is the Son of God, in God and apart from God. As the saying goes, “Like father, like son”, so Christ is like the Father. But how much so? When men have children, the child has an attribute or two of the father and some of the mother; so much so, people may say, “I see his father’s creativity in him; and I see his mother’s temperance in him.” But not so with Christ, for Christ doesn’t have an attribute or two of the Father, but resembles Him in His exact likeness, every attribute and every likeness, every work and every deed; as He says, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?” (John 14:9)

Furthermore, the apostle says, “For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6) And by His Light He creates us anew in Himself for Himself. Furthermore, it is said of Jesus, “For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) For He is God with us: the Eternal Father.

Under the Old Covenant, those who seen the Father, or even the Ark of His Covenant, died; but in the New Testament, those who see God in the face of Christ live. Those who see the face of God die, but those who seek the face of God through Christ live; as David wrote in the Psalms, “When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.” (Psalms 27:8) But he did not know the Son, he did not know His name; as it says, “What is His Name or His Son's name? Surely you know!” (Proverbs 30:4) But surely David knew faith, otherwise He would seek God’s face to death; for whoever sees God perishes, but He gives grace to those who see Christ.

However, many did see God in the Old and did not die — they did not see a fire, but an angel, the angel of God’s Presence; as Isaiah writes of Him, “In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.” (Isaiah 63:9) One who did see Him was Gideon; as it says, “When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face." The LORD said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die."” (Judges 6:22-23) As it says, “Peace to you, do not fear;” For with sight of Christ Jesus comes grace and peace with God. 

Another who saw Him and even wrestled with Him was Jacob; as it says, “Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved." (Genesis 32:28-30) For it was the angel of the LORD that wrestled with him, and He is God, yet he did not die — only the socket of his thigh was rent out of place. And like Moses, Jacob saw God face to face and spoke with Him.

And another example is Manoah and his wife; as it says of them, “Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. So Manoah said to his wife, "We will surely die, for we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time."” (Judges 13:21-23) And their lives were spared; they received the favor of God, receiving the promise of a son, Samson, the deliverer and judge of Israel. And what about Hagar who seen the angel of the Lord and called Him, “The God who sees”.

But all of these did not know the Angel's name; they only seen the Angel, for His name had not yet been disclosed to them; as it says in the account, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” (Judges 13:18) And, “Why is it that you ask my name?” (Genesis 32:29) Therefore, no name was given; thus the answer to the question, “What is His Son’s name?” was not known during those days. Just as it was in the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for the patriarchs did not know the Father God’s name; as God says, “I am the LORD; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them.” (Exodus 6:2-3) 

But when He revealed Himself to Moses, “God said to Moses, "I AM who I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.’” God furthermore said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” (Exodus 3:14-15) Then the LORD made for Himself a glorious name; as it says, “Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, Who led them through the depths? Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble; As the cattle which go down into the valley, The Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So You led Your people, To make for Yourself a glorious name.” (Isaiah 63:12-14) And when God ceased, His name remained on earth, sanctified.

So likewise, when the Son of God, the Angel of the LORD, was to be revealed, His name was made known; saying, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:31-33) And His name was made great by many signs and miracles and wonders by the power of the mighty hand of God, as it is even to this day. 

For the Father God visited and left, leaving His great name to be called upon through faith; and Christ Jesus came and left, sanctifying His name for salvation to everyone who believes; saying, “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) Therefore, if on earth they do not revere His holy name, certainly they will not revere Him when He comes in great power and glory to execute wrath on His enemies. Unless you, oh man, think otherwise? But I ask you, who know the Scriptures, who is it that will gather together to battle against the Son of God on the day of His visitation (Revelation 19:19)? Is it not they who do not fear His name? Won’t they not revere Him when He comes even in great glory? 

Therefore, “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” (1 Peter 3:15) For when a person is absent, it is necessary to come or another to come in his name; and Jesus Christ has come in the Father’s name, working His works and speaking His words; and He has left, leaving His name for us to call upon for salvation; as it says, “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” (Romans 10:13)

And now, Christ is absent until He comes again; and where His absence is, there is given His Spirit and righteousness by faith; as He says, “I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7) And, “concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;” (John 16:10) For if He were here, we would see Him and the righteousness thereof could not come by faith, for faith is the conviction of things unseen. But we who see Him, do so by faith to life; for who can call on Him unless they believe in Him?

So therefore, seek faith! I ask you, know you not the eyes of faith? As the writer of Hebrews says, “fixing our eyes on Jesus.” (Hebrews 12:2) Is it our physical eyes that he is talking about? Of course not! Who of us has seen Him risen, except the apostles? He is speaking of the eyes of our mind; just as Paul says about those who have no faith, “even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) And we can now only see God through the image of God, that is Christ; and even so now, only through faith, through the image of our mind, through the vision of our head, do we see Him; as Solomon says, “And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.” (Ecclesiastes 2:13-14)

For even the Holy Son of God needs to be sought after through this kind of vision; and this is the vision we preach: faith. It is sight without seeing, for God is terrifying, a consuming fire; who can see Him? So thus, we need Christ, our Mediator, and furthermore, faith. For while Christ dwelt with them, they were constantly terrified, even of Him, putting even great kings to fright. And this is the vessel of faith: the eye of our understanding. As it was with Adam and Eve, their eyes were opened; or do you think Adam and Eve were led by the hand being blind before they ate of the fruit? As it says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.” (Genesis 3:7) Rather, it was the eye of their understanding that was opened, for although they were naked, they did not perceive it. God makes humans physically blind that we would see this; as He says, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11)

Just as Paul was physically blind when he seen the living Christ; as it says, “Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.” (Acts 9:8) For those who are blind need to be led by someone who can see. Likewise, the spiritually blind also need leading, as Paul was saying, “and are confident that you (teachers of the Law) yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness.” (Romans 2:19) Or even the Lord, “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39) And, “Let them (Pharisees) alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." (Matthew 15:14)

Concerning spiritual vision: how did Paul see when he was blind? As it says later, “and he (Paul) has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” (Acts 9:12) If he were blind, how could he see? Therefore, anyone who seeks God must seek Him through spiritual means, which is faith, for God is Spirit. The one who sees God in spirit sees more than the one seeing only in the flesh; the one who is physically blind and believes has more sight than the one who is sees. As it says, “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.” (Ecclesiastes 1:8) But, “whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” (John 3:15)

Who led the multitude of soldiers by the hand when Elisha struck them with blindness? As it says, “When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, "Strike this people with blindness, I pray." So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:18) But no-one led them by the hand, for it was their understanding that was blinded, and they became blind in mind; and they needed a leader. It was Elisha who they sought after, it was Elisha who led them right into the enemy territory; as it says, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." And he brought them to Samaria.” (2 Kings 6:19) “Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, "My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?"” (2 Kings 6:21) So there was none to lead them by the hand, for they were not physically blind.

Furthermore Christ says, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." (John 9:39) For true blindness is unbelief; and true sight is faith; and Christ making the physically blind see, gives true sight as well, but to those who do not believe are hardened; as He says, “WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.” (Mark 4:12) For many who were hardened by unbelief, although having eyes, they did not see, nor perceive; as Christ says, “HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR?” (Mark 8:18)

Give us, Oh Lord, “eye salve” (Revelation 3:18) that we may see! For, “When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.” (John 9:6-7) And help us with our unbelief; saying, “Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."” (Mark 9:24) Help us to see Your works that we may see You; saying, “let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight.” (Exodus 33:13) For we know You are gracious and merciful, abounding in lovingkindness and truth!

Therefore, whoever you are, open up your eyes, and awake! Circumcise your hearts and ears; come to the Light! For, “We grope along the wall like blind men, We grope like those who have no eyes; We stumble at midday as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.” (Isaiah 59:10) “By day they meet with darkness, And grope at noon as in the night.” (Job 5:14) For the one who walks in the darkness “does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2:11) But Christ has become to us who are blind, the great Shepherd and Leader of the sheep, the Light of the World, and the Way to life.

Come to the knowledge of Christ! Jesus Christ crucified for you! The love of God in Christ Jesus. See! Not with eyes of flesh, but with eyes of spirit; as it says, “before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” (Galatians 3:1) For “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) Just as a blind dolphin can see by triangulating noises in water through hearing, and a submarine by echolocation, so we can see Christ through hearing the testimony of Him; and by seeing Him through faith, the righteousness of God comes; saying, “The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.” (3 John 1:11) So the one who does good has seen Him.

Open up your eyes and see where you have come to! “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:20-24) For even Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And God answered the man of God with a physical sight to see, “And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17)

“All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.” (Ecclesiastes 6:7) For the gut growls within us like a dog, and it is never satisfied; as it says, “They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. They wander about for food And growl if they are not satisfied.” (Psalms 59:14-15) Our appetite is like a dog which is never satisfied. 

Oh, the power of food! Is not a roaring lion tamed with even a little bit of food? And a crying baby pacified with milk? And when an animal is trained, is it not because of food? And God, Himself being a consuming fire, is pacified, or appeased, by the smell of sacrifice; as it says, “The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.” (Genesis 8:21) And is not the sacrifice on the altar considered food? As it says, “Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to the LORD.” (Leviticus 3:11)

Or what about Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal? (Genesis 25:29-34) Was he not overpowered by food? And did not his father Isaac love him more because of his cooking? As it says, “Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:28) Can’t it also be a stumbling block? As for the Israelites in the wilderness, craving food, said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna." (Numbers 11:4-6) Or Rachel who sold her husband to Leah for mandrakes; as it says, “But she said to her, "Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son's mandrakes also?" So Rachel said, "Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."” (Genesis 30:15) Or what about the atrocities that happened in Israel when they were in famine and besieged by an army? “So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son, that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son." (2 Kings 6:29) For they ate their own children because of hunger.

Did not sin come into the world through eating forbidden food? As it says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6) As the Proverb says, “To show partiality is not good, Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.” (Proverbs 28:21) But in this case, a piece of fruit. And can’t our appetite even be a god to some? As Paul warns, “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19) And earlier he says, “Beware of the dogs…” (Philippians 3:2) And then in Romans, “For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” (Romans 16:18) 

Just as some of the early disciples came to Christ, following Him, but not for Him, but their appetites; as He says to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” (John 6:26) And what good comes from this? As it is written, “Outside [the city] are the dogs…” (Revelation 22:15) For nothing unclean can enter into the kingdom of God; and a dog is declared unclean by the Law of Moses (Leviticus 11:27) Remember Esau? Who “When he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” (Hebrews 12:17) And outside the City, it is said, “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For Esau sought the blessing, but did not obtain it and wept; and so it will be in the end: outside the city there will be weeping. And all these things are written in the Word of God so that we would fear and not be among those who do not enter the City of God,  but among those who do enter by perseverance.

So knowing that God’s kindness works repentance (Romans 2:4), and that godly sorrow works repentance without regret (2 Corinthians 7:10), and that the fear of the Lord is to depart from iniquity (Proverbs 16:6), we can be encouraged by the Word of God which leads us away from godlessness to Christ. For we have great encouragement through the Holy Scriptures concerning our needs; as Christ promises, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) For Elijah was fed by the Lord God, even by ravens; as it says, “The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.” (1 Kings 17:6) And the angel, sent by God, later appeared to him, feeding him; as it says, “Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.” (1 Kings 19:6) Or even Obediah, who feared the Lord, who “Took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.” (1 Kings 18:4) Did he not provide for them in the fear of the LORD? Or even the widow, who God provided for, so that she should provide for Elijah (1 Kings 17:9).

What about the 600,000 men fed by God in the wilderness in the days of Moses? As it says, “Now there went forth a wind from the LORD and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp…” (Numbers 11:18-35) Or Christ feeding the multitudes of people with a few loaves of bread and small fish; as it says, “And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 15:38) For God can use even our little for big works. So, as Jesus says, “Do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.” (Luke 12:29-30) And since He knows our needs, He will provide for us, considering we seek not them, but His kingdom first. For His work is truly our food indeed. For our stomach can never be satisfied, but in regard to righteousness, He says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6)

For this is the greater food; as He also says, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” (John 6:27) But later, He says, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:48) And, “For My flesh is true food, and My blood true drink.” (John 6:55) For Jesus gives Himself for us to eat as Food by the will of the Father; as He says, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:54) For by the Father’s will, He became Food for us to partake. For in the time of Moses, the sacrifices on the altar were consumed by God through fire and also eaten by the offerer; so the sacrifices were shared by God and man; so the sacrifice mediated between God and man through consumption. Likewise it is today, for Christ is our Sacrifice, He is our Mediator. By Him we have reconciliation with God, for He is our Peace Offering, making peace between us and God. 

As He says, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (John 4:34) The will of Him was to make atonement on the cross for us; as He says, right before the hour, “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.” (John 12:27) “That by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9) This word “Taste” also means to eat, for He tasted the bitterness of death for us by the grace of God so that we wouldn’t have to. And He is received by us through faith for our strengthening in righteousness.

For He was sent by the Father bearing the Message of His death, foretelling His death, before the cross many times; and for this reason He came into the world. Just as Uriah was sent by David with the letter of his death in his own hand (1 Samuel 11:14), so the Father sent Christ into the world bearing the Message of His death. But it was impossible for Christ to bear bad news, but only good; for Christ is good through the Father, who alone is Good. As He says, “Why do you call me good? There is no-one good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18)

And so, by this Good News we have reconciliation with the Father by the death of His Son. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10) For He was raised from the dead and now lives, for God raised Him from the dead. This is why He says, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” (John 6:51) For although He seen His death beforehand, He also seen His resurrection and exaltation. 

You see, those who consume the things of this world, which are necessary for the body, eat death. For an animal is first slain, then eaten; and a plant is first plucked from the soil, which is its life, then eaten. For that which no longer grows undergoes decay; and decay is death. And we eat such dying things for nourishment for the body. How much more do you suppose we live who eat Christ, who lives forevermore? If we eat death and die, how much more do we eat Life and live? As He says, "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” (John 6:49-50)

But you may ask, “How do we eat Him?" As they asked, ”What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." (John 6:28-29) And if it is by faith, then it is counted as grace; as it says, “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace.” (Romans 4:16) And, “If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” (Romans 11:6) So we consume Him through faith, hearing the Word about Christ.

As it also says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) And Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1-3); even, “The Word of Life” (1 John 1:1) “For the word of God is living and active…” (Hebrews 4:12) It is the Word of Christ that we eat for strength; so, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

Those who eat, do so for strength, that they might do work. And so do we eat God’s grace so that we might be strengthened in spirit to do His will. As Paul says, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10) For when we eat food, it abides with us for some time; and by the strength of it, we labor. How much more God’s grace, which is true food, which is for our hearts, and His love, which builds us up, strengthen us for the good work which He has for us to do?

For we consume grace through faith; as the apostle says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” (Ephesians 2:8) And food works best when hungry and weak; as it says, “A full man loathes honey, But to the hungry man any bitter thing is sweet.” (Proverbs 27:7) So He says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) And also, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6) So our hunger and weakness is turned to fullness and strength in Christ Jesus, our Lord, by the grace of God.

Therefore, Be weak! “Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (James 4:9-10) Fast from physical food, abstaining for a little while, for the men of old, while doing so, found true food from God; as it is written about Elijah, “So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.” (1 Kings 19:8) And we know the revelation he received by God’s grace at that time.

And what about Moses, who went to the Mount of God and fasted twice for 40 days and 40 nights? Did he not live by God in those times? A man can go some time without food, but without water, he is sure to die. But he lived thereafter, eating and drinking Christ. And as Jesus Christ was in the wilderness for the same amount of time, He found strength in God, even enduring temptation from the enemy. And these things are written in the Word of God so that we would be weak in the flesh and be strengthened in the spirit by God’s grace.

“Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.” (Hebrews 13:9) For Christ came to us in love, which edifies; however, the Pharisees judged Him in regard to trivial food: the disciples picked grain on the Sabbath, and they said, "Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" (Luke 6:2) So they judged when they prepared food and ate. And then they said, “This man receives sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:2) For they judged who He ate with. And, “When the Pharisee saw, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.” (Luke 11:38) For they even judged how He ate. And then they asked, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" (Mark 2:18) For they judged why He even ate in the first place. But, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

Therefore, it says, “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.” (Romans 14:14-15) And again, “Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:20-23)

Eating is sin, if we eat food sacrificed to idols, which is fellowship with darkness (1 Corinthians 10:14-22), or if we consume blood, which is the life of the body (Leviticus 17:13-14), or if we eat the Lord’s supper unworthily, which is sin against His Body and Blood (1 Corinthians 11:27), or if our eating is not from faith, which is sin (Romans 14:23), or if our eating causes another brother to stumble, which is not acting in love (Romans 14:15), or if our eating is in any way corrupted by sin, for food is a good and pure gift given from above. “Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness.” (Ecclesiastes 10:17)

Therefore, “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.” (Luke 21:34-35) “For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.” (Proverbs 23:21) Drunkenness is a friend to sleep, and both dwell in darkness; as it says, “For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:7) Now, the sleep mentioned is unawareness; for a man may sleep even while awake; so the opposite of drunkenness is soberness, and the opposite of sleep is alertness; as the apostle says, “For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6) So that we may overcome the devil; as Peter says, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

If we be of the day, we will not be surprised by the coming of the Lord Jesus; for that day will come like a thief in the night; as the Proverb says, “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest— Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:10-11) “But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:48-51) And then it says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;” (Ephesians 5:18-20) For if we are alert and sober, we are made good unto prayer; and prayer is our weapon in which we may overcome temptation, with thankfulness.

Therefore, we ought not to be like the disciples who could not watch in prayer for even an hour; as it says, “And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."” (Mark 14:37-38) And fasting is often accompanied with prayer; and what is more sober than fasting? Nor should we be like the church who was asleep; as Christ says to the Church, “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.” (Revelation 3:2-3)

For sleep is akin to death; “For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you."” (Ephesians 5:14) And as Christ says to her who died in the Lord, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” (Matthew 9:24) So let us escape from the snare of spiritual sleep, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11)

Hear the promise of the Lord Jesus! “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.” (Luke 12:37) And by the angel, “Then he said to me, “Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These are true words of God." (Revelation 19:9) And, "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.” (Isaiah 55:1-2)

The leper covers his mouth and uncovers his head. All of his hair was to be shaven, except the place of the leprosy. The covering of the hair on the dead flesh did not hide the leprosy, but exposed it, for the hair is white like an aged man; although God has given hair as a covering, for the leper it did not conceal, but exposed the flesh of leprosy. For if the hair in the mark is white, it is leprosy. The man is unclean. 

Nevertheless, his uncleanliness is in him, for his mouth is covered; as it says, “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’” (Lev 13:45) For it is what comes out of a man which defiles him; the source of his defilement is not physical, but rather spiritual — not flesh, but within. As Isaiah exclaims, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isa 6:5). For uncleanness is within, and comes out of a man, namely by his speech, this is what defiles him.

The covering of the mouth, uncovering of the head, and uncovering of the body comes with mourning; as it says, “Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.” (Ezek 24:17) And then it says, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people.” (Lev 10:6) For the men of God were commanded contrarily not to mourn in these ways, showing these are signs of mourning. 

A covering hides what is shameful, sinful, and improper; it is still there, but merely covered. The nakedness of the flesh is covered with a garment and our most improper parts even doubly covered. That is also why sin cloaks itself in darkness, in deep isolation, for it hides itself, for it is improper. That which is proper does not need to be covered, for it is comely, for everybody to see; it is light. This is why it says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Prov 28:1) Even if the light is concealed for a little while, it is not so forever; as He says, "A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.” (Mrk 4:21-22)

In like manner, the leper is destined to an unclean place outside the camp: “He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” (Lev 13:46) The leper bears his sin because he refused the unblemished lamb; he then bears the blemish on his own flesh, not accepting the LORD God’s atonement by bringing the lamb to the tent for a sin offering. He is left uncovered and bare, because he neglected the covering of God’s sacrifice. And furthermore, that which does cover him, exposes him, even as a leper. How much more ought we to fear lest we neglect acknowledging sin and neglect a much greater salvation, a greater unblemished Sacrifice, a greater covering of atonement which has been revealed to us from heaven? All these things are written to us as a warning so that we do not reject the covering of atonement that God has ordained: Jesus Christ.

A hypocrite is one who makes a covering for himself, not only rejecting the covering of atonement that God has ordained, but also making a covering which is pleasing in his own sight; these receive a greater damnation, just as Christ says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.” (Mat 23:14) For their pretense, or covering, was their long prayer. As the apostle Paul says about them, “They being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” (Rom 10:3) For they reject faith in Jesus; as it says, “The Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.” (Luk 7:30)

For who can come to Christ without first acknowledging sin? Is it not sin that Christ died for? And not His own but yours? But if you claim you have no sin, then He did not die for you, since your sin is nothing and you are perfect; in such a case, you should be saving us! But Christ came for those who know they are sinners, not them who think they are righteous; none of us are righteous — only God is righteous; and if we be in Him, we partake in the righteousness of Him, which is by believing through grace. This is the new covenant, the new testament, and the new law, from start to finish.

For we all have sin, and none of us is exempt from the power of sin. As it says, “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin’?” (Prov 20:9) Or, “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.” (Ecc 7:20) And even, “If even the moon has no brightness and the stars are not pure in His sight, how much less man, that maggot and the son of man, that worm!” (Job 25:6) And sin is so evil, and deceptive, that it makes us believe we are righteous! This is surely sin living within us: it will blame others, but will never take accountability; it will judge others, then claim grace while still in sin. As Peter warns, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” (1 Pet 2:16) For sin is exceeding evil that it uses even Christ as a cover up for further evil.

Is that not of the old creation? Is that not of the first man? As Job testifies, “If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom.” (Job 31:34) And, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (Gen 3:6,7) For if the covering of the first man, Adam, had been sufficient, he would have no reason to hide; but a greater covering was needed.

And likewise, did not Haman do the same? “Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried home, mourning, with his head covered.” (Esther 6:12) For to him, he was naked, without covering, so he fled home to hide, to be covered by his home, by darkness, even covering his head while hurrying home. For his sin was revealed, and he was uncovered, and he was exposed; just as it is written, “If all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.” (1 Corinthians 14:24-25) For when the naked (who are made naked by sin) are exposed, they hide; but they who acknowledge their sin, seek a covering for their sin and come to the saving light which exposed them to salvation.

This is the way of salvation for us who believe, even confessing our sin, our nakedness: as it says, “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” (Psa 32:5). And then it says, “To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins; (…)” (Luk 1:77) As David speaks of the blessedness, in the same Psalm, of the man whose sin is forgiven, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!” (Psa 32:1-2) A deceitful man will attempt to hide his sin from the Lord, covering it up; but here his sins are forgiven apart from his works, by only dwelling in truth — that his sins are always before the Lord.

For sin is first acknowledged, then it is forgiven; and this is not one time, but continually; as it says, “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life.” (Proverbs 6:23) And also, the Lord God says, “Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice' declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 3:13) For the Spirit brings conviction, and we acknowledge the truth about our sins.

Even as Christ warns, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luk 12:1-3) For a little bit of this yeast spreads throughout; that is why the leper covers his mouth, for his uncleanliness is within him. As it says, “Their talk will spread like gangrene.” (2 Timothy 2:17) But we, justified by grace, are to “Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph 4:22-24) These things are written as a warning to us that we do not make a covering of atonement for ourselves, acting godly when our hearts are far from the truth.

Let us be greatly encouraged: the extraordinary kindness of our God and Father who sent forth His Son to preform His will. He no longer imputes sin against us who believe, but makes atonement for us by His blood, removing our sin from us. As John, the Baptist, says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) And the apostle, "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Cor 5:19) If the blood of lambs and goats pacified sin for a time, how much more the Son of God who purges our conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For those sacrifices covered sin for a short while, but Jesus, after one sacrifice, takes away the sin of the whole world.

Just as Joseph, the firstborn of the beloved and the highly favored of his father, was stripped of his colorful robe by his brothers and was given over to death, so Christ, for a time, put off willingly His brilliant garb and was found like one of us; as it says, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” (Php 2:5-7) And was handed over by His own people, the Jews, to death, even on a cross: “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Php 2:8)

For He found not a righteous person on earth, and goodness had become outcast; as it says, “Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands far away; For truth has stumbled in the street, And uprightness cannot enter. Yes, truth is lacking; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.” (Isa 59:14,15) And despite His foreknowledge, despite Him becoming prey to the wicked, “He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.” (Isa 59:17) For Christ Jesus was clothed in these; as it says of Him, ”A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, declares the LORD.” (Isa 59:20)

For He put off His Godly splendor for our sakes and put on our sins for a short while; just as the Psalmist says, “You have cast off and rejected, You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.” (Psa 89:38) Although there was found no fault in Him, “You have made His splendor to cease And cast His throne to the ground. You have shortened the days of His youth; You have covered Him with shame.” (Psa 89:44,45) And for what purpose? As Joseph says to his brethren, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Gen 50:20) Likewise, it is said of the Messiah, “The LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” (Isa 53:10)

For He bore our sin, without a covering, being found blameless, yet with the fault of us all, being put to open shame: “I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.” (Isa 50:6) Upon Him was the suffering deserved by us all. He endured the cross, so that we would no longer be covered with a mantel of sin, but with Himself, the living hide — as it says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Gal 3:27) For He, on the third, rose from the grave, being made alive by the Spirit and reigns forever by an indestructible life.

For when a burnt offering is slain, the hide is kept by the priest: “And the priest who offers anyone’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered.” (Lev 7:8) And those skins came from the sacrifice; but we, putting on the living Sacrifice, Him who died, rather who now lives, makes us, like Isaac, into a living sacrifice unto God by the living Sacrifice of Himself, being made and fashioned and found among the first-fruits of the new creation by the work of Himself. For Isaac was presented to God as a sacrifice, but lived thereafter. And he is the first to be circumcised on the eighth day, which now refers to this new creation, this new life in Christ.

Sacrifice means death; therefore we ought to mind ourselves with the same attitude, being dead to our own will, living for the will of God. For revival happens when one is first dead, then by the power of God, reviving. And baptism is into Christ’s death, so that we would be made alive through faith in Christ Jesus; as it says, “So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.” (2 Ki 13:21) So how much more do we who “Were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4)? For we have been baptized into the tomb of Christ.

For that which was supposed to bring forth life, instead brought forth death; I am speaking of the law, which was supposed to bring life, but brought death instead, which was rendered ineffectual because of the limitation of our human flesh. But that tomb, which was supposed to inhabit death, brought forth life instead, for Christ rose from it on the third day. And everyone who dies with Him will live with Him. For even the death of Sarah’s womb could not hold back the promise of God — through her, Isaac was born to Abraham according to the promise. And the Law, being a fertile womb as it is, did not produce children of life, but children still-born of death; as it says, "While we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.” (Rom 7:5) But the tomb of Christ produces children of the promise and children of life.

Therefore, we obtain to life through death; as it says, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” (Luk 9:24) And then He says, “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Mat 10:38) For we give ourselves over to death, filling up what is lacking in our bodies of the afflictions of Christ, so that His life would reign in our mortal bodies, that we might bear fruit unto eternal life by the Holy Spirit. 

So let us also fear, for there is a day of judgement in which Christ will recompense the living and the dead according to their works; and He shows no partiality. He first came to make covering for sin, and deliverance from sin, blotting them out of remembrance, and not counting them against us; but in that day which is set by the Father, all coverings will be removed and all things which are hidden will be revealed. If man can deceive man with trickery and guile, how can we, ever so even dare, let alone be successful, to deceive the living God? (“Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?” (Job 13:9)) As it says, “Sheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has no covering.” (Job 26:6) And, “Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of men!” (Prov 15:11) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Today only you know your thoughts. But if there is a God, He would certainly know your thoughts. We can conceal our blasphemy, hatred, envy, lust, from men for a time, but they are not hidden from the Lord, not now nor forever. If we shut our mouth and become mute, not exposing anything, even our inner thoughts are known by Him. “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will cover me, And the light around me will be night,’ Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.” (Psa 139:11-12) For He sees the deep darkness of the human heart as day; as it says, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5) For He beholds the wicked and the good alike.

I say, “Only you know your thoughts”, but you do not comprehend your own thoughts, nor can you trust them. You do not know the source of your own thoughts. For sin is deceptive, and flatters us concerning sin and the hatred of it. And this world is filled with spirits, deceptive spirits, which make their home in the sons of men. Therefore, in truth, only the LORD God knows your heart; as it says, “Whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men.” (1 Kings 8:39) If we say we know, we do not know; just as a man cannot see in darkness, so man cannot comprehend his own heart, for it is darkness.

There is no place the eyes of the Lord cannot see; no darkness can amply cover from the eyes of the Lord. If we hide sin, know certainly that Christ sees and will expose it in that day. Everything secret will be made known to all. For that day will expose everything in the light — that is why it is called, “the Day of the Lord”. And the light has already come; as it says, "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (Jhn 3:19-21) For all light exposes and illuminates.

And in that day, “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.” (1 Cor 3:13) Men will seek for refuge, for covering, in the cleft of the rock, seeking death more than even looking at the face of the Son of Man. Heaven will flee: as it says, “I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.” (Rev 20:11) How much more should we fear now, knowing that not even a shadow of a cloud will be a covering or a hiding place for us? Therefore, as long as we have time, let us make use of that time and repent. “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” (Rev 16:15)

If He struck fear in the king Herod being only a new born at that time — as he commanded to put to death a multitude of infants on His account — how much more affright will they be when He comes exalted in power and glory, when He comes riding on a white horse with a sharp double-edge sword, with an indestructible life? If His first coming was met with hostility, how much more His second? If He rebuked a fig tree and it withered, what will be the outcome of those that He rebukes that gather together against Him? If they delivered the Christ over to death and God raised Him up, how much less will they prevail against Him who comes with countless thousands of hosts and an indestructible life? And if they put the apostles in prison and God released them (for “the word of God is not imprisoned.” (2Ti 2:9)), then who are they who hate their own lives more than those who even try to fight against God?

Therefore, let us make our good confession with our heads uncovered, honoring our God, presenting the Gospel of truth without a cover of pretense, but in sincerity and truth speaking the Word of life which has power to save. And praying to our God, without making for ourselves a covering for sin, but confessing our sin with open heart to Him who is faithful to forgive. And not being ashamed of our Head, but always giving a reason for the hope that lies within us. For the man who covers His head is ashamed; as it says, “Because the ground is cracked, For there has been no rain on the land; The farmers have been put to shame, They have covered their heads.” (Jer 14:4)

Those who are under the law, submitting to it, are also under hypocrisy, for there is not a man who can keep the whole Law; as it says, “Why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Act 15:10) These, being evil, cover their evil with a covering which they have made, with obedience to the law, as Adam did in the garden; and as Christ warns, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luk 12:1) These, while claiming the law, are lawless, hypocritical, content with their sin, even living with it, and hating it from afar in others. The law begets children like these, not because of the ineffectiveness of the Law, but because of the weakness of the human flesh. 

Is this not what by the apostle of the Lord says? “But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Cor 3:14-16). And that veil is a mask, covering one’s sight, even blinding; the mask is their hiding place as they act as someone they’re not, even remaining godless in heart; but when the Law is taken away by Christ, then even so the veil. So this is a hypocrite: one who wears a mask, and acts. This is the false circumcision, even of the flesh; but the true circumcision is of the heart, the cutting away of the covering of hypocrisy, that of the sinful nature.

Blessed are those who in truth confess their sin, bringing it to the light, then being covered with Christ! As it is written, “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” (Gen 3:21) For they came to God and He covered them with animal skins; and we, having a better covering, namely that of Christ Jesus, are sufficiently clothed. Just as Jacob was clothed with Esau and received a blessing; the Gentiles also have found the blessing of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — not through fraud, but by putting on Christ Jesus, the Son of God, for the Father shows no partiality, but makes sons after Himself. As Peter, the apostle, says, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.” (Act 10:34-35)

Therefore, we must face the sin within us! The hatred of good, the blasphemy, the immoral thoughts! Do not make a covering for yourself saying, “That is not me, I am better than that.” Covering one’s mouth is what the unclean do, bottling up sin. Know that in the days of John, the Baptist, the people confessed their sins in the wilderness and washed away their sins in baptism. This is the way of salvation through which we have the forgiveness of sins. For where sin is forgiven, there is no wrath for sin. And we, being baptized into Christ, have confessed and put off the secret and shameful hidden things of darkness and have put on Christ like new clothes.

So be truthful, uncovered, sincere. This is what it means to be circumcised. “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” (Phil 3:3) Everyone who covers himself outside of Christ is a hypocrite, covering only with a mask to appear differently; he is insincere. But as the apostle says, “We have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Cor 4:3)

Christ came, appearing differently for a time, to make us in the likeness of His true appearance: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor 3:18) And He, emptying Himself of His glory, was found among us to be in the likeness of man; but when He appears in glory, He will be seen as He really is; as some have seen while on earth, as it says, “As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.” (Luk 9:29) But even later all of us will see, as it says, “We are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1Jn 3:2)

Therefore, be no longer a thief in the night, lest the Lord come to you as a thief; but rather, be of the day. For a thief is only one at night, during the day he acts virtuous. Christ did not come for those who think they are righteous, but for them who know they are sinners; as it says, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Luk 5:32) Only God is righteous. So do not keep sin hidden within you as a thief; for it says, “When I would have healed Israel, Then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, And the wickedness of Samaria. For they have committed fraud; A thief comes in; A band of robbers takes spoil outside. They do not consider in their hearts That I remember all their wickedness; Now their own deeds have surrounded them; They are before My face.” (Hos 7:1,2) 

Instead, like a bandit, expose your sins always before the Lord, confessing them without hiding. For a bandit does crime in the light, unlike a thief who robs during the night. And the bandit does not need to be told he is a sinner, for he knows; but the thief is surprised when he gets caught, and he only feels shame when he is caught. And the thief receives the greater condemnation; as it says, “If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.” (Exodus 22:2-3) Hence, the thief at night dies, but the bandit pays back for his theft. “As the thief is shamed when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed.” (Jeremiah 2:26)

So then, do not find a covering, a refuge, in this world. For this is the place that unclean spirits find their home; as it says, “And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.” (Rev 18:2) For Christ, your God, is your Refuge and Stronghold and Rock. Flee for refuge to Him! He is your Place of Refuge; as it says in the Law, “Until the death of the high priest”, which is also to say, until the old things pass and the New High Priesthood is setup forever, which is after the order of Melchizedek.

And cover not your hearts with drunkenness lest that day catch you unaware: “Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law.” (Ps 119:70); and, “They have closed up their fat hearts; With their mouths they speak proudly.” (Ps 17:10) With sin comes shame and guilt, but you, confess it to the Lord, your Maker, instead of smearing it with pleasure which does not take away, but only covers. A covering only hardens, leading to a lack of feeling to greater sensuality; and they who are unfeeling, stimulate themselves through sensuality; as it says, “They, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.” (Eph 4:19) But when one is circumcised by the Lord, their heart becomes flesh, which is the only good flesh, that of the flesh of the heart.

For drunkenness is akin to sleep; as it says, “For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.” (Pro 23:21) However, “You are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.” (1Th 5:5-7) This sleep is spiritual; just as Zechariah wrote, “Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.” (Zec 4:1) For he was in the spirit, even in a vision, and the angel came to him while he was sleeping in spirit.

Instead, find your refuge in the Lord God and receive rest for your souls. Through the cross, all pretense and hypocrisy is taken away; for around the time of Christ’s death, a young man was stripped of his garment and fled (Mrk 14:51); and the disciples all likewise fled, having confessed they were ready to die for the Lord moments earlier. For they sinned, uncovering themselves; as it says, “Moses saw that the people were naked. (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies)” (Exodus 32:24) Now, they were made naked by sinning with the golden calf, but they were not physically naked. And Christ saying, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin.” (Joh 15:22) For the Son came to testify to their works, that they are evil, that they may confess their sin and be found clothed in Christ.

Therefore, seek not the justification of men, but the righteousness of God; as it says, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luk 16:15); and, “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” (Rom 2:29) For the new nature is of God, not man. So be in the same manner of heart as King David, who received the testimony from God, “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” (Acts 13:22) For he regarded the sight of God more important than what men esteem. Therefore, be among his descendants, imitating what he did, for this is of faith.

And beware of them who are not of the flock, which cover themselves deceitfully; as it says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” (Matt 7:15) Who do good to be seen by men, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” (Isa 64:6) As the Lord found some in Sardis, "I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” (Rev 3:1) For to men, they were alive, but in truth, they were dead.

Rather seek love. For this is a garment fitting for God’s saints; even with love, we may be covered; as it says, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.” (1 Pet 4:8) And, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” (Jam 5:20) I have written to you in regard to sin done in the past; but “By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.” (Prov 16:6) Therefore, seek the fear of the LORD so that you will not continue in sin.

And neglect not charity. For men of old atoned for great faults with it, appeasing anger. As it was with Jacob, “For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” (Gen 32:20) And again, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is a covering before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.” (Gen 20:16) And, “We have brought an offering for the LORD, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” (Num 31:50)

And veil not your light, as Christ says, “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” (Mat 5:5) Let your everlasting brightness shine before men, for “We are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away.” (2 Cor 3:13)  Cover and cherish your chastity like pure virgins, as it says, “She had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.” (Gen 24:65) 

Remember and be encouraged with these heavenly words: “We know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.” (2Co 5:1-5) And, “For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Co 15:53-57)

Sin is deception, a darkness by which one is easily deceived, for where there is darkness there is no sight. In sin we are deceived, for from sin comes deception; as the writer says, “So that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13) With sin comes shame which causes one to hide, covering up guilt; and that which is covered is not confessed, but hidden away; as Job says, "Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom.” (Job 31:33) But when one comes to the light, he has his deeds reproved, to receive salvation, to receive the forgiveness of sins; he passes from deception to truth and enters into God’s grace; as it says, "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." (John 3:21)

And with every lie, a man first deceives himself in order to convince others; as the Scriptures warn, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” (James 1:22) And, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) But if we deceive ourselves, or even others, can it be so with God? "Will it be well when He examines you? Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?” (Job 13:9) For man may deceive a man, but he cannot with God.

Beware of the deception of sin; as Jesus says, “If then the light that is in you is darkness, then how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:23) For many people deceive themselves, thinking “I am light”, but dwell in darkness. As it says, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.” (John 9:41) For “Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes. For it flatters him in his own eyes Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.” (Psalms 36:1-2) Therefore, fear God!

Just as Saul, even the King of Israel, said, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD.” (1 Samuel 15:13) Nevertheless he did sin, even a great sin, even to the punishment of him being rejected as king of Israel; but he says again, “I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.” (1 Samuel 15:20) For he was deceived by sin, thinking he obeyed the Lord, but did not, even to the rejecting of God’s commandment and the LORD God rejecting him as king over all Israel.

And later, Saul persecuted David, following after him to the wilderness to kill him, for he thought David was his enemy; but David writes, “Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me.” (Ps 35:19) Even in Saul’s deception, he was saying, "For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day." (1 Samuel 22:8) For he was deceived into thinking David was trying to slay him when he was not.

For David did not stretch forth his hand to kill the king, even when Saul was in his power, because he had no such intention and never did; as David says, “Now, my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it.” (1 Samuel 24:11) And yet, despite all these things, the king was deceived and hardened to chase after David to slay him; and even another time after this, he persecuted David (1 Samuel 26).

Or even Ahab, when he saw Elijah: “When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is this you, you troubler of Israel?" He said, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and you have followed the Baals.” (1 Kings 18:17-18) “Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.” (1 John 3:12) And, "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19) For Saul, who was wicked, pursued David, who was righteous. For sin had deceived him, thinking David was his enemy, although David looked out for his welfare, even lamenting when he died with a great cry and great lament (2 Samuel 1:17-27).

Sin tastes sweet in the mouth, but turns bitter in the stomach; as one might say, “How can something that tastes so good be so evil?” It is deceptive; if it were truthful, no-one would willingly choose it — a moment of pleasure for everlasting torment. For, “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

For Nabal, a worthless fellow, after he sinned against David, repaying him evil for good, was about to be slayed; however, he did not know about his error, nor did he see his coming destruction; instead, “He was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk;” (1 Samuel 25:36) Then, a day later, he lay as a stone in bed, since the Lord struck him on account of David, His servant. For sin had deceived him into thinking, “All is well”; nevertheless he was in great danger; as it says, “In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.” (1 Samuel 25:37) Just as David says, “May their table before them become a snare; And when they are in peace, may it become a trap.” (Psalms 69:22) For Nabal’s table was a snare; and his peace was a trap, thinking all was well.

Likewise, “Just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:26-30) For they were all deceived by their fullness and fatness, and their worries, even while destruction was near; that is why He says, “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:33)

Therefore, “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.” (Luke 21:34-35) For, “These are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth.” (Psalm 73:12) But, “Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.” (Psalm 73:17) For if we walk by sight, we may be inclined to think, “The wicked are righteous and the righteous are wicked”, for the wicked are well off and the righteous are in rags. However, the Lord Jesus will come and recompense all according to their work in the end.

“Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties.” (2 Peter 2:10) Just as the Amalekite was self-willed, who slew the Lord’s anointed, even Saul, and brought his crown and bracelet to David, thinking he was doing a good deed for the king; however, “David said to him, "How is it you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?" And David called one of the young men and said, "Go, cut him down." So he struck him and he died.” (2 Samuel 1:14-15) And again it says, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, when one told me, saying, 'Behold, Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.” (2 Samuel 4:9-10) For sin deceived him, tricking him and beguiling him; he thought he did righteousness unto reward, but sinned unto death. And the same happened to the sons of Rimmon (2 Samuel 4).

Likewise, "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'” (Matthew 7:22-23) At the Lord’s coming, thinking they will obtain reward from the Lord for their righteousness, they will instead go to their own place, that of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Luke 13:27), that of eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Since they were deceived by sin, flattering themselves, counting themselves righteous, all while being lawless; they lied against the truth, against their own life.

Therefore, beware of all lies in which we may lie; and flee for the refuge which is in Christ! For such denial of sins are unforgivable; as it says, "It shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will boast, saying, 'I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered land with the dry.' The LORD shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.” (Deuteronomy 29:19-20) And it says, “In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die." But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself to me, "Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you Until you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts.” (Isaiah 22:13-14) And again it says, “I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever." (1 Samuel 3:14) For what reason? “For the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them.” (1 Samuel 3:13) For although knowing, he denied the truth and did not rebuke them.

The Holy Spirit brings conviction to repentance to forgiveness; but when one continuously stifles Him, this leads to committing the unforgivable sin. For this is an eternal sin, a blasphemy against the Spirit of truth, lying against Him, saying “No sin” while having sin. Such a sin in which prayer will not be heard nor find place for atonement; as John says, “There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.” (1 John 5:16) For Jeremiah, the prophet, prayed for such, even three times, and the Lord God answered him, “As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you.” (Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14; 14:11)

And what was the reason of this prohibition? "How can you say, 'I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals'? Look at your way in the valley! Know what you have done! You are a swift young camel entangling her ways.” (Jeremiah 2:23) And, “Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor; You did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things, Yet you said, 'I am innocent; Surely His anger is turned away from me.' Behold, I will enter into judgment with you Because you say, 'I have not sinned.'” (Jeremiah 2:34-35) Or even, "Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!'—that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 7:9-11) For they lived in sin, yet claimed God’s grace, closing their ears to the conviction of their sins by the Holy Spirit.

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.” (Hebrews 10:26-27) So why keep lying to yourself? Do you love death? Confess your iniquity! Hide no more! Come into the light and receive the forgiveness of sins! Then the God of truth will see you, and you will become a child of the light. Confess! Deny not!

The Lord God is not your enemy, neither Jesus Christ, His Son. "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." For they hated Him, but He died for them. And Jesus Christ is for you. Come!

God worked many miracles in many ways, not limited by any means, by man or otherwise; rather, “Perhaps the LORD will work for us, for the LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few.” [1 Samuel 14:6] For the LORD conquered the Midians with 300 men in the time of Gideon; and with what weapons? “They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands” [Judges 7:20], for they had no weapon. And Abraham, saving his relative Lot with 318 men, defeating four kings and their armies; and who was credited with the victory? “And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” [Genesis 14:20] 

And Jonathan, being stirred up with zeal, being one man with his armor bearer, went out to fight the Philistines; and with what weapons did the armies of Israel have at that time? “All Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his hoe.” [1 Samuel 13:20] For the LORD is not restrained to save, even with no weapon at all. As it was in the days of Moses, who delivered the nation of Israel with a shepherd’s staff; Moses, working great miracles of God, called it, “The Staff of God”, for he worked with God and God worked with his hand with a weapon which is no weapon.

And Goliath, being the Philistine’s champion, called for a battle — the winner of one conquered for all. For, as he says, “If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” [1 Samuel 17:9] And David, being the anointed one of God, the one to later receive the Kingdom of Israel, heard the taunts of him and fought him; and with what weapons? “He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook.” [1 Samuel 17:40] And the Philistine, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” [1 Samuel 17:43] Then David slew Goliath with the stone and sling, and then with the sword of Goliath, but he had only a staff in his hand to approach Goliath at the time; and David, being one, wrought deliverance that day for the whole nation of Israel. For, “That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’s and He will give you into our hands.” [1 Samuel 17:46,47] 

And now, not by many, but One, and not by sword, neither by spear, but a cross, even a piece of wood, did Jesus, the Anointed one of God, gain us the victory — once for all. David, with staff, sling and stone, defeated Goliath; how much more Christ, being the Son of God, with wood only, which is no weapon at all, work victory for the whole world? Jesus, being one, wrought victory for all, being put up against a whole host of enemies, defeating them by the cross. And Jesus, with an act, rendered powerless the enemy with his own weapon: death. Even in His weakness, gains us the victory; even in His defeat, conquers the enemy; for the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men; and it is by the hand of Christ that God wrought for us this victory; for He made Him who knew no sin to taste death for all by the grace of God, that we may die to sin and live for righteousness. He will appear again to receive the Kingdom due to Him, having been anointed by the Father as Messiah, Priest, and King. 

By the so-called foolishness of the Gospel, He works salvation in the hearts of men, converting from the power of satan unto God; for the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men. For Naaman, the Gentile, considering God, thought, “He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.” [1 Kings 6:11] Instead, he was called to dip into the river Jordan seven times, which was foolishness to him; for who wouldn’t consider to dip into the water to be clean? And it’s foolishness to the Gentiles to be saved by the cross, or even words of the cross, for they understand not the power of God.

One may ask, “How is it so?” Just as Jonathan delivered Israel as a single man working with God, and by the oath of Jonathan’s father, which said, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” [1 Samuel 14:24] Jonathan became accursed, for he ate some honey, not knowing of his father’s oath. And Saul, being zealous for his oath, said, “For as the LORD lives, who delivers Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” [1 Samuel 14:39] But by another oath, which said, “As the LORD lives, not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day” [1 Samuel 14:45], so he was saved from death.

And Jesus, working with God, being hung on a tree, became a curse for us; as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” [Galatians 3:13] For the curse of the law stands, even if it be God’s Son. However, by the oath of an indestructible life, of eternal blessing, the oath of the curse of death is nullified; for the power of the law of the Spirit of life is greater than the law of sin and death. And Christ, having once been cursed for us, was raised from the dead to eternal life; for it was impossible for death to hold him. Like Isaac, who was destined to die on the altar, but was received back from the dead, and like Joseph, who was handed over to death and thought to be dead, but was revealed as alive from the dead, and like Benjamin, who was given up by his father, being his one and only son from his beloved Rachel at the time, but was received back from the dead; so in Christ is found the fulfillment, for He who died, rose from the grave, making us alive to God by faith in His name; as it says, “Then my enemies will turn back in the day I call; this I know, that God is for me.” [Psalms 56:9]

As Rehab, the prostitute, was under a curse, being devoted to destruction, but by her faith was saved, her and all her family, so we too are saved from the curse of the law by faith in Jesus Christ. As the curse which condemns us says, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them.” [Galatians 3:10] So just as Saul was pleased to allow the Kenites to depart from among the accursed, so we too are pleased to depart from this world which is under God’s curse, which is set for His wrath: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues.” [Revelation 18:4] And there is no need to deceive anybody for us, with an oath or covenant, as the Gibeonites did, who deceived Israel into making a covenant with them by dressing in rags, although they were accursed, to save themselves — no. But rather, if we put on Christ like new clothes, we will inherit the blessing; just as Jacob dressed as Esau and inherited the blessing that was due for Esau, so we too will inherit the reward of Christ, if we walk in the footsteps of Him — not imitating Him in costume only, but in word and in deed; and that not of guile, but by the promise of God, Who for it is impossible to lie.

Lust is the evil brewing within a man which leads to sin. All sin ends in corruption; for sin is a dysfunction, unnatural, taking the natural use of a thing and corrupting it and perverting it.

For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. [1 John 2:16]

God has created all things for our benefit and for our good; but man has corrupted it out of the context of its intended use into another shape, another form which is ungodly. Even man’s own-self has become corrupted because of lust; as the apostle says,

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. (…) Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. [Romas 1:24-32]

God has made man upright, but we have all turned to our own devices. No corruption can inherit the kingdom of God; for that which has been rendered useless is not useful anymore, even to the Father. And all such uselessness, awaits to be burned.

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. [1 Corinthians 15:50]

However, He has opened up a way of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we would be born again of the Spirit of God, through His incorruptible and eternal Word, by which we can only inherit an incorruptible kingdom, the kingdom of God, which is beyond all sin and decay, where no moth can destroy nor thief can break in and steal.

By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. [2 Peter 1:4]

By believing, we escape the corruption of this world, and believing in the Son of God. Know for certain: salvation is the salvaging from the corrupted and useless things of this world to being renewed in the spirit of our mind, being made useful once again unto God unto eternal life.

Know also this: coveting is the same as lust; and it doesn't always pertain to sexuality. And all coveting is certainly sin:

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” [Exodus 20:18]

This is the first command which pertains to one’s thoughts; for the same Lord who made the inside, made the outside as well.

When we believed (we who have put our faith in Christ), our consciences were purged from all filth and moral defilement; and through our baptism, we have been united in Christ’s death, which is made effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we are descendants of David when we maintain a pure heart before God, as he received the testimony from God: “A man after My own heart”. So God sees man’s heart, and does not see as man sees, looking at the flesh of a man. Therefore, we neglect not faith and a pure conscience.

Even the thought of lust is sin in the law of God; how much more when the act of disobedience is produced from it? Wasn’t the first sin produced from lust? As it says,

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. [Genesis 3:6]

When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. [James 1:15]

So we see in the beginning, before sin, lust is there. But in the time of Adam, there was no commandment against lust given, only a commandment against eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But in the law of God, lust comes to light as being sinful; as Paul says,

If it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” [Romans 7:7]

So lust was not imputed against Adam in the beginning; but his one transgression against the one law was; for sin can only ever be imputed where there is law.

And likewise, we who have believed have been grafted into the law of faith, which is to believe in the Son. Know for sure: the law of faith is not many laws, but one law. “For whatsoever is not from faith is sin.” [Romans 14:23] And in regard to many works, the apostle says,

Not of works, lest any man should boast. [Ephesians 2:9]

Indeed, not of works, which is more than one, but of one work. As the Lord says,

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.

And if it is by faith, then it is credited as grace. If it is obtained by works, it’s no longer grace, but a due payment. The one who trusts and believes enters into grace through the Son; whoever does not, enters in through another way; for “No one comes to the Father except through Me.“ [John 14:6] So we who walk by faith, not by sight, have escaped the lusts of this world; for all lust has to do with the eyes, and faith is not sight; therefore the eyes are blinded to lust while walking in faith since faith is without sight.

To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. [Titus 1:15]

And our consciences have been purified by Christ through faith. Through faith, there is love; through lust, there is sin; one pertains to the eyes, and the other not. The Father has restored to us one law, as it was in the beginning, to walk in; and we ought not to fall into the transgression of Adam, disobeying even the one command, having a sinful and unbelieving heart.

Therefore persevere: walk in faith and love always as fruit that you know Him. Know this for certain: where there is faith, there is rest. And we who come to God through faith enter into His rest. Know this: we can sit and meditate, praying in the Spirit, doing the work of faith, and be justified apart from works, as it was for the Israelites, who, on the Sabbath day, did no work and were blameless in the sight of the Law. However, there remains six other days to do work. So, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.“ [Philippians 2:12]

Quenching the Spirit is to bring about injustice; for "He (the Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;” [John 16:8] and Christ spoke, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.” [John 7:7] To quench the Spirit is to hold back the Words of the Lord, to smother a burning wick; as the Psalmist said,

I said, “I will guard my ways,

Lest I sin with my tongue;

I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,

While the wicked are before me.”

I was mute with silence,

I held my peace even from good;

And my sorrow was stirred up.

My heart was hot within me;

While I was musing, the fire burned. [Psalm 39]

Or as Jeremiah the prophet said, as he was refusing to speak,

For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. [Jeremiah 20:9]

So fire smothered and held in, burns. And it’s unjust because evil must be rebuked and rendered good through judgement; however,

He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass. [Proverbs 16:30]

As the Apostle of the Lord says,

Do not quench the Spirit; [1 Thessalonians 5:19]

And what does the Father say?

Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness? [Psalm 94:16]

A prophet is one who “bubbles up” the words of the Lord from within. The confession of Christ is life; for “with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” [Romans 10:10] And it says, “The water that I will give to him will become in him a spring of water, bubbling up into life eternal.“ [John 4:14] Or even it says, “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.“ [Proverbs 18:4]

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” (Romans 1:18) and the fire is unquenchable of hell for they who quench; but salvation is for they who confess.

The message Jesus, the Christ, the Holy one of God preached was one of faith. Not of the Law of Moses, but of the Law of Christ. For with the end of the former, comes an establishing of the latter. However, the Law of faith does not work against the Law of God: the law of faith confirms the law of God, just as the Spirit of God never works contrary to the Word of God.

You see, there was an ending of the former to establish the latter; as He preached, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court’. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool’ shall be guilty into the fiery hell.“ [Matthew 5:21,22] (From the gospel of Matthew 5:21 to 48 you can see many more examples.) So you see, Christ takes away the law of God to establish the law of faith. He takes it away when saying “You have heard that it was said”, and then He established a law of faith by saying “But I say to you.“ And if it be of faith then “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.” [Romans 3:27]

Does the law of faith nullify the law of God then? No! The law of faith is more grand than the law of God for the things required by the Spirit are much more than the letter of the law. But the letter of the Law is accomplished through the strength of the flesh whereas the law of Christ, the strength of the Spirit. And to differentiate further, Paul says, “To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.” [1 Corinthians 9:21]

But still, the yoke of faith is less than that of the law of Moses, albeit the requirements of faith are more; for one can say it is harder to not be angry than it is to commit murder. But the yoke of faith is still less because faith is spiritual and not fleshly; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is rest. But still we see the requirements of faith are greater; as my Lord says, preaching faith, “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.“ [Matthew 5:20] However, that which is of faith is assisted by the Helper, the Holy Spirit; for the law does not impart the Spirit of God, but hearing with faith does. And as Christ says concerning the Pharisees of the law, “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.“ [Matthew 23:4] But Christ, laying upon a heavier burden, which is a righteousness that surpasses even the scribes and Pharisees, and preaching faith, says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.“ [Matthew 11:28]

So then, how can it be? How is it that Christ lays a heavier requirement upon us and yet the burden is lighter?

For Christ did more than lift a finger; for He was lifted upon a Cross for the sins of the world, and bore on Himself the sins of us, for all who will come to Him through faith. And by hearing with faith, imparts to us the first installment of the promise of God — the Holy Spirit, the Helper. For, says the LORD God, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” [Jeremiah 31:33]

As the prophet Jeremiah says, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.” [Jeremiah 7:12] For where there are sacrifices, also the offerer eats of them as directed by the Law. But the apostle says, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” [Romans 14:17] So the sacrifices according to the law were taken down in order to establish another Sacrifice to be received by faith to those who believe. For the law required sacrifices, but the law of faith gives a Sacrifice. As the writer of Hebrews says, “‘Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them, (which are offered according to the Law)’ then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will‘. He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” [Hebrews 10:9,10]

And furthermore the man of faith, the man of the Spirit, Samson, prophesied of the Lord’s Sacrifice when he said, “Out of the Eater came something to eat, out of the strong comes something sweet“. Now the eater of sacrifices is God as it says in the Psalms, “If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all that it contains. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of male goats?“ And the Lord is a Consuming Fire; just as fire flashed forth from the tabernacle at the time of ordination and consumed the sacrifices; so thus the LORD God consumes sacrifices through fire. So it is not by our sacrifices that we obtain favor; but we obtain favor by the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ who gave Himself, once for all, and obtained eternal redemption for those ordained to be sons of God.

The people of the Tabernacle under the former covenant had no right to eat the sin offerings that were sacrifices for the whole congregation of people, that entered into the Most Holy place. However, “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.” [Hebrews 13:10] As my Lord says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” [John 6: 53] For He entered into the heavenly Tabernacle with His own blood, and gives His flesh to eat, which is contrary to the law of sacrifice, establishing a greater law with a greater Sacrifice.

Just as the body is nourished with food when hungry, so God’s grace strengthens us in weakness. When one is full of pride, full of oneself, God’s grace is of no use to such a one. As the Proverbs say, “A satisfied soul tramples the honeycomb, But to a hungry soul any bitter thing is sweet.“ [27:7] And then it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” So prime yourselves for God’s grace with a heart of humility. For “My grace is sufficient for you, My kindness works best in weakness.” [2 Corinthians 12:9]

Therefore be humble. Fast, weep and mourn because of your sin. Confess your sins and they will be forgiven; for this in truth is faith by which we enter into Covenant with a Holy God. The one who believes the words of this writing surely will confess their sins before God and pray to Him, acknowledging his deeds of darkness. It will be forgiven him through the name of Christ.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” [Galatians 6:2] This is a brief exhortation. Confess! I say again, confess and forsake. The one who does not confess his sins, does not believe the Message about Christ. But the one who does confess, believes the Message and the Message lives in him. He will also call His name, the name of his God, and He will answer him.

Why work and toil by the sweat of your brow to be seen by men, all the while your heart is rotten? Do you not know, the sweat of your brow is a punishment given to you by God? Why think you, that you can earn His favor through it? Favor is bestowed upon you through Jesus Christ according to the election of Him, so that truly, it would be by grace. Yet you pile up your works before Him to earn favor with Him without an ounce of faith. As it says, “The one who wishes to please God must first believe He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Without faith, it is impossible to be pleasing to Him.” And as Jesus says, “The flesh prospers nothing, but the Spirit gives life.”

Are you still willing to think otherwise? Perhaps the flesh can do a good work; perhaps it can please God slightly, for the flesh does great boasts, and launch rockets in the air, and searches the depths of the sea, and much other things. Do you not know, in the end, it is not faith that is judged, but one’s works? Yet not works alone: for if faith without works is dead, how much more is works without faith death? For our works complete our faith. As many of us that are perfect: we perfect our faith with works and our love of God with obedience to His commands. As the Lord says, “And all the churches will know that I am the One searching minds and hearts, and I will give to you, to each one, according to your works.“

So why work in vain? And pray in vain, read in vain, and serve Christ in vain? Why not have faith that produces works from the sincerity of your heart? Where “No work you do in the Lord is in vain.” Rather, how many times do we go through the motions of reading and praying and church attendance because they are simply good things to do? How many times do we do a thing to be seen by men rather than the living God, He who judges from the mind and heart and outward to our works? As the apostle says, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.“ These are all great things to do, but are done in vain if they are without the heart, without love. Who likes to work and profit nothing? Would you go to your job to work for free? How much more should we watch, lest we do in vain?

Oh, how I often pray out of a rudimentary nature instead of God’s nature! Before a meal, before bed, when I awake, when I go out, and when I come in, but yet I do not do it from a sincere heart; but rather, it’s what I am compelled to do because it’s what a Christian is to do. Oh, and how I would rather tell others of such a revelation, rather than falling on my face in prayer before Him now! Look, do you do for the sake of men, or God? Isn’t that a sign that your nature has changed? For it is written, “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.“ For it is impossible to believe when seeking the honor that comes from men rather than the Living God; for He says, “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” Flee from this trap!

For God is alive to such a one that believes, rather you are alive to Him, but to the one who disbelieves, he has cut himself off from God. If He has cut away the foreskin of our heart, we will not be cut off from Him, lest we disbelieve. As I say, “The one who believes in God lives godly, but the one who does not believe in God lives godless because he has not the Living God.” Monitor your heart and your thoughts, in which you and your heavenly Father know; pay attention to the heart, for is that not of faith? Or are your actions clean, but inwardly you are defiled? As The Commander commands, “Clean the inside of the cup and dish, and the outside will be clean.” Judge yourselves in this matter. Lest the time comes and all the secrets of you be made public before all and you be cast out from His Presence where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

On that day, not even the covering of the heavens will be there,

The covering of the rocks will not be sufficient.

He will lift up all skirts and rags and aprons, which humans have covered themselves with,

and make known all the nakedness.

But, “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”

As faith also says, “Close the door behind you and pray, so that the Father who sees in secret will reward you.” In the areas in which only God sees, strive. That is faith. Lest you be only receiving your reward in this life, where the corrupter corrupts and perishes, having only your reward for a moment before man; but rather store up for yourself a treasure in heaven by faith, where no corruption lives, having it for eternity. Let your mind be under the control of you and let you be sober and vigilant.

Oh, how many who are outwardly pure will be revealed as inwardly defiled! For they will be clearly seen as ugly. Today, there are some beautiful who are ugly, and some ugly who are clothed with the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, and others as it is seen. Let the spirit prevail, for the Lord looks at the heart; let your fruit be brought forth in a worthy manner for one claiming the Son of God as Lord. Surely if no one can confess Jesus as Lord except by the Holy Spirit, so will He prevent our confession if our lives are not lived in a manner worthy of Him. Hypocrites are they who cloak themselves with religion, but inwardly are godless because they do not believe in truth.

Test yourself! If you are reading, praying, meditating, praising, worshipping because that’s what a Christian is supposed to do, rather than because of your sincere love for God, then you may have fallen into hypocrisy, which is acting out a script. We have been set free from the world and its rudimentary nature and insincerity; we have been quickened in spirit, not so we can worship God in the same task-driven manner. No! Love God, for He loves you.

Praise be to God.

Today, Independence Day, is proof that God is the father of the spirits of all flesh — and not just the nation of Israel. As He rescued our nation from the British hundreds of years ago, even as the inscription on our money says, "In God we trust"; and the declaration of our independence, "With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence." For just as God rescued the nation of Israel from the Egyptians, so He did to our nation from the British. As it says, "Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me, O sons of Israel?" Declares the LORD. “Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt, And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?" [Amos 9:7] And then it says, "The Horites formerly lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the LORD gave them." [Deu 2:12] So Israel is God’s special choice, but He has rescued other nations and planted them in other lands.

Yet, He was not pleased with most of them; for in their freedom, "Jeshurun grew fat and kicked — becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation." [Deu 32:15] And "Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth." [Amos 9:8] For they did not know, they did not understand, that true freedom is not from the captivity of nations, but is from sin to righteousness, for in doing right there is no law. (For who can say, "Do not do much goodness.") And the one who sins is a slave to sin. And they did not understand that the kingdom of righteousness is the one Christ came to bring, as the Lord said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." [John 18:36] So it is certain, that true independence is from this present evil age, from the kingdom of darkness, of satan, into the Kingdom of God and His Christ and of righteousness and uprightness and light. Yes, captivity is in darkness; and freedom is in the light of life; from one kingdom to another is deliverance. This is for all nations until His kingdom comes to reign on earth.

Through Christ Jesus is the only admittance into the Kingdom; and the door being opened unto all, as He says "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes enter into the kingdom of God before you." [Matt 21:31] That of grace through faith in the Word of God: for the Word of God is a map to a destination given by grace; the pilgrim is one who receives the map and believes the map and follows the map to the end; and the end is eternal life. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.” [Matt 21:32] And what was the message John preached? "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." [Matt 3:2, Matt 4:17, Mark 1:15] So turn into the heavenly kingdom, fleeing for refuge in Christ Jesus. Repent and believe.

Therefore, flee for refuge to the heavenly kingdom, setting your mind on the things above and not on the things below. The one who minds Christ’s earthly life alone is not acquitted of guilt, for because of sins Christ paid the penalty and died; blood guiltiness is on the slayer’s head: that’s you. (This is the importance of the resurrection of Christ which also implies His death: “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.“ [Rom 4:25] and “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you— not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience— through the resurrection of Jesus Christ“ [1 Pet 3:21] also “and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.“ [1 Cor 15:17]) When one’s eyes are set on one’s self and the things of this world, a knowledge of sin and death is much alive. Such a one, flees, not for refuge, but to wanderings as Cain, destined to be a fugitive and vagabond on the earth. As wisdom says, “A man who is laden with the guilt of human blood will be a fugitive until death; let no one support him.” [Prov 28:17] But a better thought I have towards you, as it says “I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.” [Acts 3:17]

Therefore, you must flee to Him for refuge, setting your eyes on Christ, seated in the heavenly places next to the throne of God at His right hand, where He lives, having conquered sin and death on your behalf, so that you would not walk according to the flesh (minding earthly things), but according to the Spirit (minding heavenly things). And we know Christ came to take away sins and in Him there is no sin. Such a one minding heavenly things proves himself innocent in the matter of Christ; as it says, “For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.” [2 Cor 7:11]

All by the kindness and forgiveness of our God, Who instead of avenging us to slay us for our sins, He forgives us — seven times alone? No, up to seventy times seven in a single day, just as we’re also called to forgive our righteous brethren. Trust in the kindness of God, seeking Him with all your being. Where there is vengeance in the law, there is forgiveness in the grace of our Lord Jesus. As it says according to the law, “If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” [Gen 4:23] And according to grace, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? And Jesus answered, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.“ [Matt 18:22]

As it says in the law, “Life shall be for a life,” [Deu 19:21] and by the life of Christ Jesus we are justified before God, Who was given up to death to rescue us from death and was raised to life to give us life. His life for ours; we have been ransomed by His blood for those of us in Christ Jesus; and if you're not in Christ, you do not have the life.

Listen, the one who sets His eyes on Christ in the heavens and takes his eyes off Him, as it says in the law, “But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge to which he may flee, and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest.” [Num 35:26-28] And as the prophet also says, “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.“ [Eze 18:24] So we must not lose sight of Him, but remain abiding in Him in fellowship until the end, until His arrival or our death.

In regard to “until the death of the high priest“, it is so to say, until the earthly priesthood is brought to an end and the heavenly priesthood of Christ is brought to fulfillment. In regard to remaining in Him, our Lord says, “Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come,” [Rev 2:25] and the apostle, “[the Gospel] by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.” [1 Cor 15:2] And by this Word, He is willing to keep you, unless you disbelieve and slumber in watchfulness, departing from Him to the lusts of your eyes, being led away from your obedience of the faith. Therefore, watch and pray brethren. Abide.

Remember, that Christ came not to the heathen, but to the nation of Israel, who is a type of the heavenly kingdom to come; for the heavenly kingdom will be for true Israel, those circumcised in spirit; no uncircumcised will enter. As it says, “I will dwell among them.” Wasn't the tabernacle set up with the cleansing of blood and the sanctification of oil? So likewise only those with clean hands and a pure heart will ascend to the hill of the Lord and stand in the holy place. He will come the second time for His people, which are a people mingled of both nations; Christ will come again for His people on that day, the rest will be harvested for wrath. His people will be with Him; “they will be My people and I will be their God.”

In the book of the law, sin was forgiven when a clean animal bore the guilt of the offerer. The animal was spotless, without blemish, and the offerer had the blemish. The animal without blemish was given for the man with blemish. The animal acted as a substitute for the offerer. The sacrifice also became holy when offered on the alter, meaning whatever touched the altar became holy. This is a type of Christ, who by a single touch, many were healed of their infirmities. He is the holy Sacrifice, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

The animal was from one’s own flock or herd; as David says, “I will not offer to the Lord that has cost me nothing.” However, the system of sacrifice has been done away with, but the teachings have not gone away for us who are under the new covenant, but they lead us to Christ; they become a teacher to us through the Spirit of Christ. As John says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins.“

The offerers needed to acknowledge that they had unintentionally sinned and bring the appropriate offering to the priests: Aaron's sons. They could have refused to acknowledge sin and stayed in their tent saying, 'I have not sinned.' As it says by Jeremiah: "Also on your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor; you did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things, yet you said 'I am innocent, surely His anger is turned away from me.' Behold, I will enter into judgement with you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'" The Israelite who did not bring in the offering of sin, but stayed indoors, did not have a lamb to bear his sin, so he bore his own sin. For God gave the offering to take away sins as long as they acknowledged sin and brought the appropriate sacrifice to the priests.

The leper, who did not bring sacrifice to the temple, but hid his sin like Adam — as Job says, "Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, and kept silent and did not go out of doors?" — God judged. And the leper bore the sin of himself, not in secret, but on the flesh, since he did not confess his sin, his sin was made public and clung to him. The unblemished lamb was to bear his blemish, but he instead bears his own blemish because he did not obey. Let it be known to confess our sins just as John, the apostle, who seen the risen Lord, who did not hide his sin in his bosom, but ate with Christ at His bosom, said in his epistle quoted above.

He (the leper) was forced then to make his home outside the camp, out of the fellowship of his countrymen and his God. He lived alone. As Job says, "And kept silent and did not go out of doors?" And John, "If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." And elsewhere, "So that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." For they were cut off from the people and the fellowship of God’s saints because they loved darkness more than the light.

Let us beware that we do not love the wages of wickedness more than right-doing, "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God" And, “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproof for discipline are the way of life”.

Therefore, as Yahweh the Eternal of the heavenly armies says through Jeremiah the prophet, "Return faithless Israel, I will not look upon you in anger, for I am gracious, I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity that you have transgressed against the LORD your God and have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice." As it says, “The One who conceals a transgression seeks love”, for our God will hide our sins from His sight; for love is what He seeks, only acknowledge your sins, turning from them to Him.

Oh, if only we would not destroy ourselves, but seek God's Way of salvation through His Son! As Isaiah prophesies, “In repentance and peace you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.” As David confesses after not confessing for some time, "When I kept silent, my body wasted away through my groanings all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away with the fever heat of summer." And also, "There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. My wounds grow fowl and fester because of my folly. I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long. For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am benumbed and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart. My heart throbs, my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me. My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; and my kinsmen stand afar off. But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; and I like a mute man who does not open his mouth. Yes, I am like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no arguments. For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin."

And afterward he confessed and said, "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD'; And you forgave the guilt of my sin."

Beware, ye proud! "It shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will boast, saying 'I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered with the dry' The LORD shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven. Then the LORD will single him out for adversity from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant which are written in this book of the law." And, "In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, to shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die'. But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself to me, Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you until you die, says the LORD God of hosts." So beware of unforgivable sins which will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come, for they are eternal sins. Only confess.

Know therefore, there is no grace outside of truth and in the land you are entering, it is a land of milk and honey, not honey alone and not milk alone. Under the old system of law, the Israelites merely covered iniquities and hid them from sight for a time by the blood of bulls and goats. In the new covenant system, Christ Jesus, the Son of God, takes away sins, removing them, cutting away the body of flesh, and removing it as far as the east is from the west. Forsake your sin to death, and weep, and gnash, and hate yourself for your sin and find deliverance and salvation for your souls which is in Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Great Shepherd of the Sheep. He has forgiven us our sins, laying them aside through faith in His name. And this is faith living: believing in the true Son and true God who is living.

Listen! The Most High ate the sacrifices offered to Him by the Israelites. He consumed them by fire, for God is a consuming fire. As it says,

So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the LORD, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw [this,] they fell on their faces to the ground. (Judges 13:19-20 NASB95)

And it also says,

"Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and [that] You have turned their heart back again." Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God." (1 Kings 18:37-39 NASB95)

Listen! What can man sacrifice for the Most High? As it says,

"Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? (Psalm 50:7-14 NASB95)

But rather,

So he said to them, "Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet." But they could not tell the riddle in three days. (Judges 14:14 NASB95)

You see, the Eater of sacrifices gave a sacrifice for us to eat. For when the Christ came He said,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. (John 6:53-55 NASB95)

Therefore,

"Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me." (Psalm 50:14-15 NASB95)

We know in these last days, the Father has revealed Himself through His Son to all creation, specifically those who are His chosen; and we are all waiting eagerly for the coming of the great King. How great is the King which is to come? We see through pictures from the Father, written and prophesied to us, at the end of the age to be received by faith in the holy Scriptures: words of enlightenment, foreshadowing what the Christ would come to be. We have pictures from Samson, who is a great man of faith, who conquered nations of the Philistines single handedly through the strengthening of the Spirit of grace. And David, of the same Spirit, conquering nations and becoming a great king of Israel. Also Abraham, a great man of faith, who received promises in the hope of an everlasting home and a Kingdom that is forever. Let me mention John, the Baptist, from whom the Lord said, “of all men born of a women there is none greater than John the Baptist.” And John said of the Lord, “I am not worthy to be a slave and stoop to be a slave and untie the strap of His sandal.“ Imagine how great this man is; but how much greater is Christ! Also Melchizedek, who is a priest and king of God Most High, who Abraham offered to him a tenth of all his spoil when he overthrew the 5 kings with an army of 316 trained men.

As great all these men were, they were laid in a tomb, some, having gone away by extraordinary means as Samson did, who in his death killed more Philistines than he did in his life. But look how great my King is, Who died and stayed in a tomb for three days and raised from it without seeing decay. All of these men, who are mere pictures of an attribute of the King, Jesus Christ, but Christ being the fulfillment of all these men of faith with the accumulation of all their attributes and attributes manifested in a single Person; and He is without fault, whereas these men had fault; glory be to the One who gives all heavenly gifts, through Whom and by Whom all things were created, visible and invisible. How great is the Lord Jesus!

Consider this. Even at the present time, all things are subjected underneath His feet by the One who subjected them: the Father of the Heavenly Lights. And the Son, being the visible image of the invisible God, and the One who all things prophesied to, even with the patriarch’s lives they prophesied to Him (they prophesied to Jesus; as it was with Joseph who was led into captivity to save the lives of many, and time would fail me to tell of all the others); yet He was seen by many in the flesh even after His resurrection; but with the Father, it says of Him, NO ONE CAN SEE MY FACE, FOR NO ONE CAN SEE ME AND LIVE. And it was the Father to grant all these testimonies concerning His Son in the holy Scriptures. Many heard the Word of the Son, which brought about much cleansing and life to all those who heard, to all those who received the Word through faith; but with the Father, it says, “SPEAK WITH US YOURSELF, AND WE WILL LISTEN; BUT DO NOT LET GOD SPEAK WITH US, LEST WE DIE”. And it was the Father who sent the Son.

Consider how great the Father is! From Whom are all things and for Whom we exist, Who sent His Son into the world & pours out His Holy Spirit onto all mankind, slaves and free, who obey Him. For consider the Living Beings under the throne of the Father, the cherubim, who are so extraordinarily living because of their name given: “the living ones”. Consider how they were created by God, yet they are living with all living eyes covering their wings inside and out. How much more living is the Living Father, Whose Name renders “I AM” and Who was pleased that the fullness of Himself would dwell in His Son? And even these angels are less than the Son, as they fall on their faces before Him and cry out, “Holy! Holy! Holy!” For His Name is higher than any given among the angels. Such angels that the apostles fell on their faces, and women trembled at the sight of them; they were compelled to worship them by the sight of them! How much more do the eyes of God see? How much more His ears hear? He who gives hearing and stops up the ears of those He wills. He is much more worthy of reverence and honor which is due Him.

Therefore, let us petition the Father in prayer, knowing He sees us and hears us, through the name of His Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit; let us be sure He sees us, He Who created the eye; and let us be sure He hears us, He Who created the ear; and let us revere the Father and His Beloved Son with all reverence and fear and awe and glory, being strengthened to do good by the grace of His Son and by the will of the Father in Heaven.

There is sin of commission (doing what you should not be doing) and sin of omission (not doing what you should be doing). Every event of sin is produced from the flesh; sin living within us is the power of satan. 

After the Gospel is preached and understood (on good soil) the proper response is to repent and believe in God. Repentance is the act of not doing what should not be done in the first place; believing in God is the act of doing what should be done (our faith produces in us good works).

This is why our repentance cannot earn us eternal life, because we should not have been doing those things that should not have been done in the first place. How can God reward us for not doing what we shouldn't have done to begin with? 

If we stop doing the things we know we shouldn't be doing but fail to start doing the things we know we should be doing, we will inevitably once again start doing the things we know we shouldn't be doing. This is why it is necessary to repent and believe, instead of just repentance. If we fail to turn to the living God in faith, we will slide back into what we've known from the beginning. 

Although, we all have the power of sin living within us, which is the power of the devil, we who believe also have another power living within us which is much more powerful than that of the devil: the power of God through the Holy Spirit. Our mind is the battle field where these two powers fight.  

"The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." (Galatians 5)

"If you live by its (the flesh) dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live." (Romans 8)

These two powers operate by a set of laws: the law of sin and death and the law of the Spirit and life. The law of sin and death, which first began in the Garden, is established firm in us. The only way to rectify the law of sin and death is for another law to be established — a much better law. The better law is the law of faith, the law of the Spirit and life. 

In Ester, we see that a law was given by the king to kill all Jews on a certain day. The king's law could not be revoked. So Mordecai with the king's signet established another law. This law brought life to the Jews because they could now defend themselves from the enemy's attack. These two laws fought against one another, but the second law, to fend for their lives, was more powerful than the first. The first law was established on hatred; the latter was established on love. 

It is written: "Over 75,000 people are killed by the Jews, who are careful to take no plunder." (Ester 9) And the Bible makes no mention of any Jews being killed by their enemies! So here is my point: our Lord Jesus has rectified us and established us in His Spirit; and we are more than conquerors in Christ. The misdeeds of the flesh and its power and laws do not have any power over us who are led by the Spirit.

"You are of God, my little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." (1 John 4).

God's grace be with you.

We have four different kinds of tastes (mostly): bitter, sweet, salty, and sour. Usually the greens are bitter, fruit is sweet, fermented things are sour, and salt is… salty.

God’s Word is our food as it is written, “Man does not live by bread alone. Rather, he lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the Eternal One.” So we should ask, what is the flavor of God’s Word? As it is written, “I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter." (Revelation 10) And “I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, 'Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.' Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.” (Ezekiel 3) So we see that God’s Word is sweet in the mouth and bitter in the stomach. Sin has an effect similar as spoken about in Job, “Though evil is sweet in his mouth, And he hides it under his tongue,Though he spares it and does not forsake it, But still keeps it in his mouth, Yet his food in his stomach turns sour; It becomes cobra venom within him. He swallows down riches And vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly.” (Job 20) But how is God’s Word sweet and bitter?

The Word is sweet to us because of our obedience to the Word, otherwise it is like death with worms and a stench to us. Is there anything wrong with God’s Word? Of course not! It’s becomes this way because we are disobedient; but if we repent and hear the same Word later, it will be sweet, having obeyed His Word. “Moses told them, “Don’t save that food to eat the next day.” But some of the people did not obey Moses. They saved their food for the next day. But worms got into the food and it began to stink. Moses was angry with the people who did this.” (Exodus 16) For the bread from heaven they ate was sweet only when they ate it in obedience; as it says, “The house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” And as one of the prophets says, “This Word would be an encouragement to you if you obeyed.” And Paul says, “The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.” (1 Corinthians 3) Because the law through sin only condemns us but through the Spirit gives life; as James says, “The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1) So we see there is nothing wrong with the Word, but with us, specifically our sin. Can the sin be inseparable from the sinner? No, because the sinner is judged because of the sin, but it’s sin in us that is evil, even when we want to do good. Therefore, we need the power of living bread, Jesus Christ, to separate sin from us, doing what we cannot do, by believing in Him, entrusting ourselves to Him to live according to His Spirit; and by His power we can put to death the misdeeds of the flesh.

God’s Word is bitter in our stomachs since it means we will be hated by the world by the message in us and in our stomachs; we know we will be hated because Christ was crucified being the Son of God. “Those who try to live a godly life because they believe in Christ will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3) But yet, we have encouragement through the Word of grace; and persecution only enhances the sweetness of God’s Word. As Peter says, “Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.” (2 Peter 3) And it says, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.” (Romans 14) And this is the salt, making even the bitter palatable! Since we have been accepted by God through Christ, we live acceptable to God then we will be approved of men as well. Who hates righteous deeds? But even if we are hated, we are blessed. We are not worthy to be a slave and tie the strap of His sandal, yet we can prove ourselves worthy by living an honorable and blameless life. Yes, we are not even worthy to be a slave and tie the strap of one of His slave’s sandals, but He has given us this honor of serving Him as He served us.

We get into now, the mystery of salt. Salt enhances the flavor of sweetness, reduces the bitter flavor, by itself it is sour, and added with sour becomes even more sour! Behold the mystery of salt. In the Tabernacle days, all offerings to God were salted; and now, we are the living sacrifice to God. “Everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.” (Mark 10) And it says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” (Matthew 5) And then it says, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7) “It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Luke 14) And finally,

Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces,

even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. (…)

For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,
And people should seek the law from his mouth;
For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
But you have departed from the way;
You have caused many to stumble at the law. (Malachi 2)

So we see if salt has lost its flavor, it is rendered useless and discarded, not even fit for the manure pile or the soil because it has no flavor. Or it could be trampled under foot because it has been given to the unclean who act like swine or dogs; in this case, the salt has flavor, but the person is impure. On the other hand, if we have flavor,

My covenant was with him, one of life and peace,
And I gave them to him that he might fear Me;
So he feared Me
And was reverent before My name.
The law of truth was in his mouth,
And injustice was not found on his lips.
He walked with Me in peace and equity,
And turned many away from iniquity. (Malachi 2)

“Let your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.” (Colossians 4) For this is how our flavor ought to be, seasoned with salt by the word of grace and truth. For table salt is also good for preserving foods and such. We also keep the truth, preserving it, through our knowledge and obedience to it. With grace, the bitterness of the Word becomes lesser and the sweetness of the Word of hope is enhanced. Salt is also good for melting the hardness of food. Likewise, we soften the hardness of human hearts by the gracious word of God.

If we have no flavor or grace in our speech, our words are useless, cast underfoot and not received by anyone. If we speak lies, our flavor is sour, if we add salt to our sour, how disgusting and repugnant our flavor! If we are bitter and add salt, we will be not so bitter. With an excess of sweets, there is cavities of all kinds and an unnatural craving and hyperactivity that is evil and demonic.

Therefore, let us not be picky, but give the full Gospel of truth, with the bitterness of tribulation and the sweetness of the hope in Christ, eating our whole meal, having craved like newborn babes pure spiritual milk and grown up to have the teeth of discernment, distinguishing between flavors with our tongues. Let us not be deceived by every wind of new doctrine, because Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let us never lose hope, and let us keep strong in the faith, fervent in prayer, rejoicing in Spirit, and peaceful to all people. Let us eat until we are full, having removed all impurity and lawlessness, expelling it into the sewer. Let us salt the soil and manure so it will be fit for growth with good seed, breaking up also all hardness of soil with the toil of admonishment and rebuke. Be fearful lest you over salt the field and cause it to be desolate. “For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3)

God is all in all and nothing exists except by Him - the earth and heavens and waters and everything in them belongs to Him, He created them by His Word, by Christ and for Christ. He is the Word - living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing both soul and spirit, joint and marrow, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Nothing in all of creation is hidden from His sight, but everything lay bear and naked before Him to whom we must give account.

In the beginning when God created, He divided light from darkness, day from night, the water above (the Holy Spirit, living water) from the water below (the common spirit, dead water). Through His divine Word all such was created and through the Word all such was divided. We being His new creation in Christ are also being split apart through the dividing asunder right from left, heavenly from earthly, functional from dysfunctional, as a sacrifice unto God, through the sharp sword of His Word by which we too were created anew when He preformed a spiritual circumcision, cutting away the body of flesh when we believed.

God in His wisdom has created twins, some attached to one another and some that are not, by which He shows that one of the left and the other of the right. There is always a better of the identical twins for when there are two that are identical, there will be a comparison. For example, when there is a copy and a real, there always is an inspection of the two to find the authentic because they are so similar. Likewise, we have our mind and our spirit, and these constantly are battling inside us. One side destined for death and another for life (if indeed we have eaten from the tree of Life, who is Christ; otherwise, we have not entered into any war). We see the both of these as similar because the soul and the spirit are alike. At the fall when all humanity gained autonomy in deciding good from evil, we stood in the middle of the two, deciding, but the Word of God is our Truth, and we are undiscerning without Him.

In the case of conjoined twins, it is sometimes necessary for there to be separation to gain life of the one, but the weaker of the two is more susceptible to death after the procedure. Likewise, we put to death the weaker of our nature that results in death by the power of the Spirit so that we may live; for those who live in step with their sinful nature will die, and those who live together with their sin will also likewise perish, but they who crucify the flesh, and the flesh of the mind, will live; so division needs to be had for life. If there is no division, they will live together for some time, but in the end both will perish.

The Word of God is in all the exact likeness of God in all His majesty; Jesus Christ is the living Word. God seen to it that no-one make an image of Him (or any beast in the sky or on the earth) because when He spoke from Mount Sinai, a voice was heard, but no-one seen a figure; when Elijah seen the whirlwind and the fire and the earthquake, He did not see a figure, but only heard a voice — a still soft voice. When the Israelites heard the voice from the mount, they asked Moses to speak to them instead, so that they would not die because the voice was terrifying. Even Moses, later, seen the Lord of Glory but only partially through the cleft of a rock; he fell to His face in terrified reverence. If anyone sees God, they shall surely die because no-one can behold God and live; but the angel of the Lord seen God and revealed Him to us; He has even been seen by some and they have lived to tell about Him; they exclaimed, “We have seen God and yet live!”

Later in the wilderness, God commanded Moses to create an image of a fiery serpent, so that they who had been bitten by the snake may live. And we also know that the image of God is seen in mankind because man is created in the image of God. This brings us to the time at hand now: Jesus Christ, born in the likeness of sinful flesh, to put to death sinful flesh in His flesh, being the perfect image of the invisible God; He is so much so in the Father’s image that we see the Father through Him. He Himself obeyed the Father fully even to death, even death on a cross, so that we would now behold Him through the eyes of faith lest our natural eyes see Him and we die; and to hear Him in our spirit lest our natural ears hear Him and we perish. The Christ — the King of Glory and the Lord of Lords! Without holiness no one shall see Him; and He has created us anew by His Word and is dividing us asunder by His Word for our sanctification.

Just like a stillborn baby from its mother’s womb, so is the Law which was supposed to bring life, but brought forth death. Like a mother’s lively womb, the Law was given so that we would obey and have life. But sin used even what is holy for its evil purposes, showing us how utterly sinful sin really is. It causes death in us. That which was supposed to bring forth life, kills. All that toiling by the woman, pushing and pushing in labor, to bring forth death; all our labor to receive the wages of death; yea, so are we who seek to get right with God by our own human effort.

However the Tomb, which is meant to inhabit death, brought forth life. Jesus Christ died, was buried in a tomb, and rose from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit; it was impossible for death to hold Him; His death brought forth life. Your repentance causes you to live. You loosing your life will cause you to keep it. All for His name’s sake.

As Jonah was in the womb of a great fish for three days, so was the Son of Man in the matrix of the earth. The gestation period, which was only three days, brought forth life to all who believe on His name: which is the birth of new life from a dead tomb. We are all dead in our tombs, but Christ brings forth the dead in their tombs to life. A thing only the Father can do.

From the innermost of God came tender mercies and love and grace abounding in steadfast love and compassion, poured out through Jesus Christ. No mind can fathom the height and breadth and width and length and depth of God’s love. The riches of God’s grace causes us to dump our earthly riches and pursue with both hands the riches of God.

We think by the sweat of our brow we can earn favor with God. We can labor doing good works, but all our good works cannot forgive even a single sin. Our sweat or labor is a punishment for our sin; as the Scriptures say,

"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3)

God seen to it, that by this sweat, no one can boast in His sight; but it's by believing in Christ and His one work, dying on the cross, that we are saved. The Scriptures say,

"In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9)

That's the undeserved grace of God: That He bore our sins and took our punishment so that we would walk in righteousness. Our sweat then turns to tears when we realize how far and deep and wide and long the love of God is for us.

Believe and toil no more. Why work meaninglessly when you know the Way? All your toil is like a woman pushing and pushing in labor all to have a stillborn. Stop your pride and repent to Christ!

It’s one thing to have our desires focused on God; It’s another to have your will aligned with His will. Our desires are that which we have internally, in our spirits; whereas our will is what we actually do from our beliefs. In order to change our desires, we need truth. If our wills are out of line with our desires, then we only need to fix what we believe. Our beliefs are rooted in either a lie or truth; if we are held captive, it’s likely we believe a lie, because the truth sets us free. We have an encouraging message about doing the will of God. We will know the doctrine is from God, because God will make it known to us.

Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. (John 7:16-18)

We also know, it’s not sufficient enough for salvation to only desire to do the will of God, but to actually do the will of God.

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:17)

This is the same paradigm with faith and action. Faith can often express itself as a desire, but desire alone is not enough since it produces no action. Where there is desire and no power, there is no result; where there is desire and power, there, faith comes alive, and salvation is worked out of us. It’s God’s job to work salvation in us; we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Not everyone who keeps saying to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will get into the kingdom from heaven, but only the person who keeps doing the will of my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. (Matthew 12:50)

Let us know the will of God and desire after it; then do the will of the Father through believing in the Son, through His Spirit, we will do God’s will. Where God’s will is our will, we will experience salvation here on earth. Many of us do not experience salvation today because we do not know His desire nor do His will. We are full of head knowledge with desire and no action. How then do we produce actions? Let us beware of all sorts of pretense, hypocrisy or deceit, but let our actions come from a sincere faith. Let us re-assure ourselves with the doctrine of God about His Son Jesus Christ. He is our strength.

Beware of taking the easy road which is making our desires “real” by manifesting them in “make believe land”, which is this current simulation, the internet. There are many traps here. People can desire to be any such person and put on a different skin (or mask), simulating another life based on their own desires on how they want to appear to be. This is the easy road because their will is not involved at all. Having desire is the easy part; manifesting that desire in reality is the hard part since we have so many deep rooted lies in us. The truth of Jesus Christ sets us free from all bondages that have their reign in us through the lies of the enemy. Video games are an example of this: you have avatars, skins, appearances; you make yourself be who you desire to be; this is a fantasy world that has no basis in reality besides the fact you have to be in reality to play the game. It’s a much better use of our time to focus on our life outside of such playgrounds. In fact, any play is considered a waste, where-as work is beneficial because progress (or money) is made.

The world is filled with inaction. Act. Do. Believe first. Believe and in your believing, believe some more. Believe in the Son. Desire alone is like a dream. You dream in your hunger and eat in your dream, but awake to your hunger again. Do. Be the one in this generation that does; no-one else does; but you, I call you to do! Have faith, but with faith: do! Faith alone is like a desire; but you must have faith and action.

On the cross, it looked like to the world that Jesus, the Messiah, was defeated. Jesus however, did not die by human hands, but He laid down His life in accordance with the Scriptures which said that He would die and suffer and after three days, rise from the dead. "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Corinthians 2) However, what happened in the Spirit, as the Scriptures say, "He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Colossians 2) They made a public spectacle of Him as they mocked Him and hung Him on a cross, but He made a public spectacle of them, stripping them of their power which is in the Law. 

The serpent is the shrewdest of all wild animals God had created; he uses our own sinful desires to kill us; these are his wiles. The power he had over us is in punishment, fear and death. But that power was stripped from him by the Cross: Jesus Christ took our punishment; fear is resolved because love has been shown to us; and perfect love casts out all fear; also the fear of death is erased because of the promise God has given to us: the promise of eternal life through Jesus. "How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house." (Matthew 12) On the cross was the stripping of the devil’s power. In order to bind, you must take away their strength then you can bind; Scripture foretells satan will be bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Revelation 20), later he will be released for a little while, then destroyed after deceiving the nations. Therefore, by the judgement on the Cross, satan’s power has been stripped from him. His power is in his lies, if we believe them.

To reaffirm my point using the book of Ester: there were two who were impaled on a pole. These were the ones who sought to kill the King. They were the ones who deserved their punishment which was inflicted upon them. Then an innocent one Mordecai, was set to be impaled on a pole by an evil one, Haman, the enemy of the Jews; Haman wanted to kill Mordecai because he held on to the commands of the Lord and feared God and did not stand in ovation to Haman as he came by. Haman spoke with the King one night and the King agreed to a date in which the people would kill all the Jews. Later the King asked Haman, "What should i do for the one who pleases the King?" Haman thinking the king was speaking about himself, spoke favorably saying, "He should be put on the King's horse and put in the royal robes and one whom is highest in the kingdom to announce, 'This is one whom the King is pleased'. So the King said, 'Let this all be done for Mordecai the Jew!' So Haman was set in charge of announcing ‘This is one whom the King is pleased’ as Mordecai rode on a horse. Embittered Haman then had a pole set up for Mordecai to be impaled on, but later at the banquet, Queen Ester said to the King, "Wicked Haman has desired to kill me (a Jew) and all my people of the land." So instead, the King, being furious, had Haman impaled on the pole that he had set up for Mordecai. Haman wished for himself good, but his enemy got it instead; the evil he wished upon his enemy’s head, he got instead on his own head.

Here's the point: Jesus was crucified on the cross. The enemy planned for the Son of God to be killed and for himself to keep rule and power and dominion. However, the good the enemy planned for himself, Jesus received; the evil the enemy planned for Jesus, he received upon himself. Jesus died and rose from the dead and was exalted to the right hand of God and received a royal robe and a crown on His head as Second in command of everything with God the Father as His head. All the evil the enemy planned for Jesus fell upon his own head for he was the one who was stripped of his power by the cross, crushed on his head. Jesus' wound was temporary, but the enemies wound is permanent and the ruler of this age now stands judged. As the Scripture says, "The prince of this world hath been and remaineth judged." (John 16) Also elsewhere, it states: "Her Seed will crush your head, and you will bite her Seed’s heel." (Genesis 3) One an unrecoverable wound and the other a wound that has been healed. To those that Jesus appeared to after He rose from the dead who later became the apostles, He showed them His wounds, which had been healed and He spoke freely about them saying, “Put your finger here and your hand in My side”. The war was fought and won and victory has been given to us in Christ.

Stand firm against the enemy brothers. The only power the devil currently has is in lies specifically if we believe in those lies. The enemy is stripped of his power and is powerless. Can we war against a powerless foe? We stand FIRM against the enemy and understand the wiles of the devil in order to protect ourselves from his attacks. We are justified by faith in the Truth, by His Blood and His Sacrifice we have been set free, “Those who the Son sets free is free indeed,” and “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The enemy's power is in doubt and lies; he wants us to believe he has power; but he is powerless before us who believe; as the Scripture says, “You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.“ (Mark 16) Our foe was judged in the beginning, destined to grovel in the dust on his belly. How much more powerless is he now after being judged on the Cross?

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12 )

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Ephesians 6)

Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

The war is to protect what we already have and if we do not have, our battle is to believe in Him with the conviction of things not seen. Our Sword is the Word of God, standing on what is written, doing good, winning over the doubters.

“In truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;” (2 Cor 6:7)

“And they have conquered him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Revelation 12:11)

“For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4)

We sit with Christ in heavenly places, resting with Him from our work as He rested from His work on the Seventh day; we also walk in the Light as children of the light as He is in the light; and stand against the wiles of the devil. We run the race of faith with endurance, removing every hindrance and sin that so easily trips us up and keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Remember, if the devil were truthful, he would have a hard time selling us sin, so he needs to deceive us with trickery to get us to sin; he uses us to accomplish his own evil desire and then blames us for the work he has done through us. Resist him.

Paul mentioned, we should always conduct ourselves worthy in church, not with elaborate hairstyles or fancy jewelry, but with a kind and gentle spirit. He went into hair regulations: men should have short hair and women should have long hair. He said this, ‘because the angels are watching’. The angels are sent by God to watch us, how we conduct ourselves in God’s house and outside God’s house. God’s throne has eyes everywhere around: on the wheels underneath his presence, on the wings of the Cherubim, all over their bodies. God sees!

Do we think the One who created the eye, does not see? Nor the One who created the ear, not hear? No matter the darkness, God sees in the dark. No matter where we run and hide, God knows where we are. How? Can God give us the breath of life and not know where even His breath is? Is He not looking out through our very eyes with us? (these are all just speculations) For Jonah ran from God and God found him on a ship sleeping. He caused the sea to stir up and wail; the people on the ship knew it was the anger of God. When they threw Jonah alive into the sea, it went calm. And Jesus was sleeping on the boat and He commanded the waves, ‘Be still’ and they were.

When we think God doesn’t see us, He sees. Even while we are sleeping, He watches over us. No one is a thief in God’s presence, trying to do evil in the cover of the night. No! We are all bandits, doing evil in broad daylight — for God is unapproachable Light and in the Light there is truth. Even if our consciences are clear, God is the one to judge our motives.

Do you remember seeing someone who is unlike the others; one who is so experienced in one area of life; one who we tend to become jealous of because of their great talent or ability; one who is so unlike the 6 billion other people in this world. We tend to be jealous of such people. We say in our hearts, “only if I were like that person; only if I had such an ability.” These people are typically celebrities in this world and people flock to them, they put their name and faces on their t shirts, everyone is so joyful and happy to see the person or for them to talk to them. People typically worship these people because of their great talent or ability.

Instead, look at these people and praise God for showing us apart of Himself that was given to a human. All good things come from God and all supernatural abilities come from God. It is a true statement: we can only give what we have. God has all glory and power and majesty and wisdom and He chooses to give it to those He sees fit. God has created everyone and has given exceptional wisdom to those He chooses. Does someone have wisdom? Praise God for showing us His wisdom through a man! Does someone have musical talent? Praise God that God who created music has expressed Himself through a human who is here today and gone tomorrow! Does someone have great authority? Praise God that He has shown us a glimpse of His great power! In all circumstances, Praise God!

He even created the blacksmiths, who make weapons of destruction. He has created armies that destroy. He created satan who is the god of this world. He gives us our good times and our bad times. Who are we to ask, ‘Why is there such bad times and evil people in this world?’ Do we not trust our Creator? Do we not know that He is much more than we are?

“My thoughts,” says the LORD, “are not like yours,

and my ways are different from yours.

As high as the heavens are above the earth,

so high are my ways and thoughts above yours. (Isaiah 55)

“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,
    those who are nothing but potsherds
    among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
    ‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
    ‘The potter has no hands’?
Woe to the one who says to a father,
    ‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
    ‘What have you brought to birth?’

“This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
    do you question me about my children,
    or give me orders about the work of my hands?
It is I who made the earth
    and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;
    I marshaled their starry hosts. (Isaiah 45)

Also see God’s response to His servant Job in Job chapters 38 to 42.

Asking “Why” to God shows that you lack trust. Just as fear and worry shows that you lack faith.

Constantly test yourself in these two areas. Also jealousy shows that you lack knowledge of who has given these people their gifts. Remember all things come from God. He is the only God and there is no one like Him. There is no one whom you can compare Him to. He has no image except for His Son, Jesus, who is the visible image of the invisible God shown to mankind. There is no one greater or mightier than the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. No one has seen His face except for the Son. In Him all the invisible attributes of the Father have been made manifest. Praise the Father for His Son. Amen.

We will be judge by our words and our works; what we do and what we say. We are truly insignificant when compared to the glorious angels and God and the holy ones who’s spirits are now in heaven. When comparing this life with the next one, this life is truly insignificant; but it is very significant since it determines where we will spend eternity. This place is not our home, it is temporary.

When a man goes camping, he does so for only a little while. He goes and sets up his tent and lives in there for only a little while: a week, or maybe two weeks. Then, the man will take down his tent and go to his permanent home, where he lives all the rest of his days.

Here on earth, we live in a tent. This place is not our home; we will one day die and go to our permanent home. Whether it is a place of glory or a place of shame; either one of these is everlasting and is prepared for us ahead of time by God. Jesus goes to prepare a place for us. There will not be some magical potion that will come out in the future that will allow us to live forever here on earth. However there is a food you can eat and a drink that you can drink to have eternal life. This food and this drink is true food and true drink; Jesus is the bread of life, he who comes to Him will never hunger and he who believes in Him will never thirst. His food is His flesh that was broken to give us life. His drink is His blood that was spilled to give us life. God helps us to remember and understand by taking communion which is drinking wine (representing Jesus’ blood) and eating bread (representing Jesus’ flesh).

The food and drink that God offers to us is free. It is not like the food of the world where you must spend money in order to get some; the food that you have to buy from the world, you will need to buy again when you’re hungry again. It does not sustain you forever. Same with the drink. But God has freely given us this food and this drink from Jesus who is the meaning to life because He is life. All who believe in Him will be given the Holy Spirit to live inside. This is the first installment of the promise of everlasting life to come.

There is one creator, God; and one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is one Helper, the Holy Spirit. There are many things in this world that people would rather trust than God. They would rather trust in money that has not ears or eyes in which to hear or see. The same goes with many other idols. They are not alive and they do not know. They cannot tell us what will happen in the future nor what has happened in the past. They do not save their people that worship them.

God has proved Himself time and time again as being the only God. He has shown us what will happen in the future. He has rescued His people from harms way. He has saved His people from sin and death by trusting in Him alone. Idols pollute those who worship them. Pollution is impurity. We are to be pure and holy as God is holy. Impurity is having more than one kind. We are supposed to be pure and holy devoted to our God, who redeemed us, we who have believed.

Adultery is pollution because of mixture with more than one sexual partner. A husband and wife is joined together as one. No one ought to separate what God has joined together. In the same way, there is also spiritual adultery. If we have been redeemed by Jesus Christ, we have been bought with a price. We are His and we are united together with Him into His Body which is the church; He is our head. Therefore, if we pollute ourselves with idols, we are committing spiritual adultery. We dare not arouse the Lord’s jealousy. His very name is Jealous. May no one try to separate what God has united.

Today, the devil tries to start arguments within the church. Balaam caused the Israelites to stumble by sexual immorality and eating foods sacrificed to idols. The devil used Balaam to trick the people of Israel into sinning against God and themselves. For sexual immorality is a sin against one’s own body. Run from these sins that lead to death! Sexual immorality and idol worship are sins that lead to death. They cause you to sin against your own body — which is part of the Body of Christ. Idol worship causes pollution to your body — which is part of the Body of Christ.

Let there be no division in the church. Let there be no arguing among members of the body. Does the arm say to the foot, “I don’t need you, be gone”? Of course not! All the members of the body are unique in their own way and they are all pivotal to the overall function of the body, doing whatever the head, which is Christ, commands them to do. The devil causes division with pride. He causes arguments among brothers over trivial matters. Let us be one body and let us build one another up, strengthening each other.

Do you go to the gym and train just your right arm? Of course not! You train both arms and then you train legs the next day. In the same way, Jesus builds up the church and does not weaken it. It is the devil who weakens the church, just like McDonalds cheese burgers weaken the body. Train for the race set before you. Train not your body only, but your spirit in doing the things your Spiritual Father commands. Just as you train your physical body. This is supposed to be helpful.

God gives what He has. He has life, and He has given it to us. In the beginning, God formed man from the dust of the earth and then breathed His breath into us, and we became living souls. We are the human race. He also breathes His breath of eternal Life into us, which is His Holy Spirit. Jesus breathed on His disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. Everything God has, He chooses to give to us. Believers in Jesus will share His glory when He is revealed when He returns. We will also sit on His throne as He sits on His Father’s throne. Eternal life is available to all who come to Christ. He is the Light, and in Him there is truth! Glory to God, the eternal Giver, who lavishes His infinite love and grace on all of us.

How do we check if we are alive today? We check if the person is breathing. If they are breathing, they are alive. If you want to feel more alive, then breathe more. How does one breathe more? Exercise. Physical exercise is good, but spiritual exercise is better. Physical exercise is good only while you have your body. A day will come when you will not have our body. Spiritual exercise is better because we will have our spirit after death. Train your spirit in godly things just like you train your physical body for military, to run a race, or sports.

The test for an abundance of life is if you’re breathing. But are you breathing the Holy Spirit? This is the true breath from God and the true Life He gives. Jesus breathed on His disciples before returning to heaven and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” If you have not received, then believe in Jesus who God sent. He will give you the Spirit to live inside of you. He will give you power and authority over your thoughts. He will lead you into all knowledge and all truth about Himself. He will guide you. Amen.

The world gives what it has. The world provides temporary wealth, false security, and fragile power. The thing that all of these have in common is falsehood. The world is darkness, and there is no light in it at all. The ruler of this world is satan, who lied from the beginning. God has given satan authority to rule over this world temporarily. The wealth here is a lie since it does not last. When we die, it is given to someone else. Our wealth cannot save us — it cannot even talk nor hear nor see, yet we trust it so much. These things are obvious, but we fall for these wiles of the devil. The power of this world is pride. God will test our boasts and see if they measure up. He will place them on a scale: on one side, your boastful speech and on the other, your actual strength. Pride believes in a lie. Do not let your love of lies keep you from eternal life.

The truth is we all will die, and even death comes from God. Death is utter weakness. This is the final destination of all flesh. Our flesh is nothing to be prideful in. There is no way around this fate. Young people die and so do the old; there will be no new technology that comes out that will save us from death. There is an elephant in the room, and many people dare not look at it. That elephant is death. In psychology, the way you overcome your fear is to face it head-on and flood yourself with that fear. Think about death, and that fear will drive you to the Cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the answer to all questions. I’ll say that again: Jesus is the answer to all questions. Everything is revealed through Jesus Christ. He is the meaning of life. He is the key to life. He is Life. When all is said and done, what will truly matter? The wise think about death, and a fool only about having a good time.

This world is darkness, and in darkness, you cannot see. That is why we are so easily fooled. The Light of Jesus Christ is not preached in this world, for then the darkness would have no power. The only power the darkness has is the power to lie and manipulate. Turn off the lights and watch how your thoughts fool you: “I saw something move,” “There could be something over there,” “There is something dangerous and evil out there.” The darkness uses fear to sterilize you. In the darkness, it is easy not to move because you don’t know where you’re going. Jesus is the Light that shows you all paths. He will show you where to go and where not to go. He will show you that all paths apart from Him lead to death. There is One path that leads to life — Jesus is the Way to Life.

In the Light, there is truth. No one dares tell you a lie in the light. Imagine if someone said, “I look like Tom Cruise. That is how handsome I am!” If a person said this on the computer, where all sorts of lies are told, then they could get away with it; or if these things are told in the darkness, they could also get away with it since you cannot see the truth. But no one dares declare that sort of statement in the light if it weren’t true. Since in the light, everything is clear and visible. Jesus is the Light. In the Light, you can see the truth. God’s Word is the mirror. In order to see truly who you are, you must go into the Light and evaluate yourself through the Mirror. If you do not do these two things or if these two things are not in the picture, there will be falsehood in your evaluation of yourself, for the heart is deceitfully wicked.

To believe is to repent, and to turn to God is to be baptized!

There is an internal or spiritual aspect and also an external or physical aspect. The internal is believing and turning to God. The external is repenting and being baptized. The internal you cannot physically see except by the external. Likewise Jesus spoke of such a distinction:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23)

Then He says,

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.” (Matthew 15)

The law was given to wash outwardly the things that defile a person, but they did not help with one’s desires. Jesus was turned over to the Gentiles to wash inwardly the things that defile a person. How? Not by conquering His enemies but by dying for His enemies. As God incarnate He could have avoided the Cross, but by His death many would have life after death—eternal life.

“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” (Matthew 26)

By believing, your heart or spirit is dealt with— the hard exterior which has been hardened by life and the world will expose itself and become sensitive. Your desires will be fixed on things above and things that are eternal — not things that are perishing.

The Jews wanted a savior that would rescue them from the Romans. But Jesus came to fight the spiritual battle of sin, not the physical of the Romans. He came to fulfill the law by dealing with the thoughts and desires of a person. Jesus fought the battle where the battle starts. The evil and good we see are the things that have been brewing in the hearts of a person for years. If we deal with simply the outcome of the evil of the inward person, it does no good; the inward is a sin factory, always producing more and more sin in the world. Jesus dealt with the inward condition of each and every one of us by His work on the Cross and by the Love of God, by the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

By His Blood, we have been cleansed of all sins; by His Body, sin has been put to death on the Cross.