In the beginning, God created everything and said it was "good", meaning
it was exactly what he wanted to create, and had no flaws in that
regard. Humanly speaking, what God created followed the blueprint exactly.
Man, having a mind of his own, made the choice to try and do something
that was outside the design of himself.
By doing this, man created a distance between himself and his function
with God. Man sinned.
Going outside of the design of God is called apostasy, and apostasy is
an ever growing, ever widening and ever advancing and ever dividing
departure from his own purpose in the plan and design of God.
Eventually, God gave to Moses what man's departure consisted of in ten
violations known as the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments, or law,
were given to man to impose a forced control at the penalty of death.
Man was as a wild animal; never conforming to his created purpose, but
always against it. God came against man's new unnatural and discordant
behavior in giving him the law to restrain him.
The law is never given to people of promise, but to people of no
promise. This is revealed in 1Timothy, chapter 1.
1 Timothy 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous
man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for
sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers
of mothers, for manslayers,
I Timothy 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with
mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there
be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine
We see that the law is only given to sinners, not to people who can
improve their sinfulness.
Forest rangers do not nail up a sign saying "Do Not Feed The Bears"
where no bears exist. There needs to be a purpose for a law in making
the inconsiderate conform.
As the printed inserts from inspectors we get in items we purchase at
the store, God "inspected" man and gave the results of man's deformity.
If a car on the assembly line has a cracked windshield, the inspector,
upon writing down this defect for correction, has created a law: "Thou
Shalt Not have a cracked windshield". Nothing about the inspector's
findings can be used to correct the windshield, but rather, has made
possible the repair of the windshield BY SUBSTITUTIONAL or REPLACEMENT
new windshield.
Men who attempt to make themselves better people by the conformity to
the restraints of law, attempt the impossible: They use the evidence of
their malady to promote the evidence of no malady at all. 1Timothy
points out that those who do this don't understand what they are doing,
and don't understand what they are talking about.
1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure
heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
I Timothy 1:6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain
jangling;
I Timothy 1:7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither
what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
Eventually, God became a man named Jesus, born on the earth for the
purpose of becoming this substitution for man. Jesus became the
substitutional holy, or appropriate and unswerving in purpose of God's
design for man, lifetime that we could never achieve ourselves, Jesus
became the death to please the justice for a man and every man who puts
faith in him, in a death sentence to please the need for justice of the
court of heaven, thirdly, Jesus became the substitutional inner
conscience of man, which is called the rebirth: born again.
The ministry of Jesus upon the earth is comprised of two points. The
first point he gave to man was that if he wanted to go to heaven and
escape eternal punishment, he needed to be perfectly free from sin; if
it was necessary, man needed to cut off his hands or pluck out his eye,
for the purpose of being holy or of appropriate conduct.
This first point of Jesus' two-point earthly sermon was given for
effect. Jesus drew-out the desired affect in his listeners, and next
delivered his second and final point to his earthly ministry: Jesus next
said to his troubled audience that became all men through Scripture
throughout history: "Blessed [or HAPPY]" are you who mourn, hunger and
thirst for righteousness"; the righteousness needed to go to heaven,
"...for I will be your substitutional life". One only hungers and
thirsts for what he does not have. This is also what he meant when he
said:
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and
I will give your rest.
Rest from the futile effort of producing holiness from our original
resources; our own best efforts.
Jesus said: "He who loses his life for my sake will find it". We who
believe become partakers in the life of Christ.
Not INFLUENCED by the life of Christ, as a side life working together in
Christ, but OF the life of Christ who does every good thing in and
through the person he inhabits.
Christians are known as followers of Christ, but Christians are not in
any way Jesus impersonators. Christians are representation of Jesus by
himself personally. Christians do not dress up to go and meet with
Jesus, Christians are those who go to Jesus to be dressed and prepared
by him for his purpose in and through those he inhabits. So we see,
Jesus is not an INFLUENCE on the life of the Christian, but is the very
life of the Christian without separation.
One can only hunger and thirst for what one does not have. If one has
food and water he will not hunger and thirst; if one has no
righteousness and knows it is required of him, he will hunger and thirst
for it.
Jesus wanted man to understand that man was not the answer to his
dilemma, but the reason for it; man does not have the ability to improve
or conform to any kind of spirituality, but it is because of the
remnants of man's own self after being filled with the spirit of Christ,
that are the exclusive resource of his sin. The difficulty with man's
sin comes from man's new nature from the rebirth into Christ. This is
the undying conscience of Christ that lives to guide the believer
through the present and through all eternity.
This rebirth is a thing that separates man without God into man with
God; man with no holiness or spiritual good, to a man with God and all
spiritual good.
Rebirth therefore, becomes the most important asset for man's quest to
be acceptable for heaven.
How then do we gain this rebirth?
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Rebirth, as we have seen, is not based on man's ability to conform, but
through the recognition that conformity is impossible for man through
his own depravity of holy resources, but is based on the holiness of an
indwelling Christ.
It is as a man who comes to you with tape across his mouth who writes on
his tablet that he is a habitual liar, and understands that no liar will
ever enter heaven, so he is restraining himself from ever having
opportunity to lie again with the tape. Further, the man opportunes you
that he will pay you handsomely if you would be interested in watching
him 24 hours a day, making sure that after he eats the tape be reapplied
to make sure of no lies escaping. The reason this effort for
self-imposed holiness will never work is because of the sad fact that he
is merely a liar with tape on his mouth. The tape, which is the
representation of LAW, is a restraint of one who is otherwise
uncooperative and untrustable. Definitely NOT heaven material. The
tape, as the law, proves by its existence that the person wearing the
tape is a liar. The law of God proves by its existence that man is a
sinner.
The law of God goes back to that blueprint that I mentioned in the
beginning: The original plan for man, and man's departure from it; the
law is the means from which we see the violation. The tape is a perfect
sign that a man is a liar.
What it is that happens to the liar when he partakes of the Divine
Nature, the Mind of Christ, the Holy Spirit of God, is: He no longer is
comfortable with lying, for he loves THE TRUTH! This removal of
unnecessary tape from the mouth of a former liar is known as CHRISTIAN
LIBERTY. It is like getting the keys to the car because the owner
trusts where you will go and how you will go with the car. Christian
liberty is where the necessity of law becomes obviously unnecessary.
Since Jesus is the life, there is not possibility of sinful influence,
Jesus has the controls of the innermost man; the conscience of right and
wrong. It is what the term: "No longer under law" refers to, and what
"law written in the heart" refers to.
This Christian liberty is mentioned wherever we see we are "not under
law", and particularly where we read that "all things are permissible".
How is this possible that God who came to earth to die for payment for
our sins would then permit us to do the same things again? It is part
of God's excellent wisdom, in that he made all things common and equal
before us.
1Corintians 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not
expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under
the power of any.
God crashed the "stock market" of our lusts by taking away the rarity of
what would be special as a result of this rarity. As a result of having
all things permissible, there no longer exists a delicacy or a craving
for what we do not have. There no longer is a value system based on
"supply and demand", which always go hand in hand.
Solomon had everything permissible to him, and because of it, he sought
more and more fiercely for everything and anything he could obtain to
satisfy his hunger and lusts, only to find it a "meaningless" bore. As
the Christian goes through maturing, in his sin and obedience, he learns
progressively in his thinking that sin is meaningless. With the mind of
Christ within, God then shows us what things have great meaning indeed,
and we naturally seek these things. It is what the Apostle Paul meant
when he said "Behold, all things are new"
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Why is it, how is it, that a born-again Christian, with the mind and the
Divine nature of God within him yet sins?
It is because there are TWO MINDS at work in the Believer, his own, and
Christ's.
This is why Scripture tells us we need the continual renewal of our own
mind through Jesus' mind.
Romans 12:2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the
good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Whenever Scripture admonishes us to behave a certain way, it is the
request that we act like ourselves; our new self that is of the life of
Christ.
James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is
like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror;
James 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway
forgetteth what manner of man he was.
This passage is about Christians, for we know by Scripture that the
natural man without Christ cannot do one right thing.
Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.
The face seen in the mirror is therefore of the one who is in Christ.
The passage makes it clear: When we sin, we behave in a manner unlike
ourselves; our new selves. When we "be transformed" by the renewing of
our minds, it is part of this process of renewing our minds: The
accepting and respecting for what we now cannot escape from being true
about ourselves anyway.
Admonishment from Scripture concerning our conduct is always a request
to remember who we are in reality; the things we love and cherish and
are inseparably based within now: holy living, and holy life. The
Admonishment of Scripture to behave a certain way just saves us the time
from finding out anew that we cannot continue going in the wrong
direction without great discomfort.
The unregenerate, those who are not reborn, find little if any
discomfort in doing wrong, but are pleased with it, and wish others to
join them in their error.
The fellowship with the mind of Jesus is where maturity comes from. We
do not, once again, make something better of ourselves, but permit the
unerring mind of Christ to have its way with our new person, knowing
that Jesus is our actual reality of who we are now.
Should any Christian head into the pirate ship of sin, he will sicken
and jump overboard and swim to shore, without fail. The heart jumps
overboard to escape first: It actually isn't possible for a Christian
to benefit or profit from sin.
When a Christian sins, he is miserable and uncomfortable in it.
This is a very useful observance in ones self to know if they are saved:
How do we feel about our sin.
2Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove
your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is
in you, except ye be reprobates?
There is an inescapable truth about the proper conduct of our new man in
Christ.
If it were not for the mind of Christ within us, we would have no
understanding, no compass within us to know the difference between right
and wrong choices.
The ability to sin comes from an imagination that is left behind from
the old nature; the old man. The Apostle Paul stated in Romans that if
we do not like our sin, it is a divine revelation from an indwelling
Jesus, and because we agree with Jesus, and have a conscience about it,
it is no longer ourselves that is sinning, but sin dwelling in us.
Romans 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me.
Upon first-faith, we were changed instantly and eternally by this
rebirth, having Jesus in us. Through Scripture, we are able to explore
this new creation, as though the Scriptures were a flashlight, and our
new man a seemingly endless cave of beauty and delight. When we explore
who we are in Christ, it is about Jesus in us.
Because we partake in the life of Christ in our rebirth, we have his
righteousness and his destiny as our own too.
We do not become the eternal God, as Jesus is, but we partake of his
life. We are not indwelt and saved gradually, but our minds gradually
come into better understanding and cooperation.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
This verse clearly shows that we are created unto good works.
Obviously, in our original state we could do no good works, so it refers
to our next, reborn state, to do good works. It is to say that we are
REBORN unto good works, which indicates that one must be indwelt by
Christ and SAVED first, in order to do a good work. It is not
progressional or gradual salvation.
When we do sin, we have an advocate in Jesus, to help us get back on
track, and to forgive us from all unrighteousness.
This sinfulness, though paid for in advance by Jesus Christ, is
detrimental to our usefulness to God on the earth.
The issue of our eternal salvation was taken care of by Jesus on the
cross. What the sin of a Christian creates is a waste of time.
The Christian cannot be comfortable with sin, and only enters into it
through forgetfulness or through discouragement. This is why God
ordained fellowship and ministry. Ministry is 100% about the utter
protection and care from God through his promises to us. It is the
encouragement needed to keep us from behaving other than like our new
natures in Christ.
James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is
like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:
James 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway
forgetteth what manner of man he was.
This is to say that we see ourselves in a mirror and understand whom we
are, and then go off and forget, and do things that are entirely unlike
ourselves; to sin like the sinners we are not.
A sinner is someone who has no conscience. Christians sin, but feel
badly about their sin by the mind of Christ being his conscience inside
himself.
This is what is meant when God said:
John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his
word is not in us.
We are instructed to come boldly to the Throne of Grace so we will not
dwell in our failure and identify with that, but more to the point to
dwell on Jesus for the good.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
How is it we begin to have this rebirth and the new life in Christ?
Jesus said we must become like little children:
Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted,
and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven.
What is it that little children possess that we must obtain?: Children
have an unquestioning FAITH or TRUST, in God.
We are saved through the generosity of God, through Faith in it. Faith,
we see, has no thought that God will play any tricks on us concerning
the salvation he promises us for simply trusting him on it.
It is a simple and plain, though magnificent, gesture of generosity from
God.
When we seek Jesus for this life in sincerity, he will simply and surely
give it to us. We will be in the life of Christ through all eternity in
heaven by trusting Jesus when he says he wants to and will do it
immediately for us upon request.
Judgment Day will not be about the judgment of Jesus, but the judgment
of MEN. Did men judge to trust God or not concerning his salvation.
God will grant the earthly wishes in this regard after death. There is
no changing of the choice after death.
And it must be pointed out, that upon accepting Jesus' choice of us for
salvation, which is extended to everyone, we are saved by that faith, or
trust, alone. We are not saved by any form of our own perceived
accomplishment, but exclusively by the accomplishment of Jesus. We are
not saved by having a good cooperative life in Christ, but by Christ.
We are saved today upon acceptance, entirely by the generosity of God,
in spite of us, in spite of our sinful inclination, and because of our
sinful inclination. We are overpowered by the new man in Christ, and
the things of Christ are all that will ever be comfortable and true to us.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment.
Will Jesus judge us trusting?
This trust is a gift from God as well.
The Scriptures were given to the writer by the Holy Spirit of God. The
understanding of what Scripture says is also given to man, the hearer,
by the Holy Spirit of God. The Word of God never returns void, giving
every man the ability for the first time in his life to understand the
spiritual circumstance and what choices are available.
Isaiah 55:11 ...so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
We have all been personally responsible for the costs of the affairs of
our own lives. We have worked, clothed and fed our children, paid our
rent and utilities all our lives, in order to have some semblance of
comfort and ease.
Now, for the unimaginable wonders of heaven, we are simply given it as a
gift.
It is assumed by some that heaven is given by the whim of God toward
unsuspecting men. It is also assumed that upon Judgment Day that those
who achieved a good walk with Jesus will enter in. This is the false
gospel of
ENTITLEMENT.
Be assured, that heaven will not be given to those who have personal
achievements, which is a great impossibility. Heaven will be given to
man by the generosity of God, in spite of who man is, and because of the
achievement of Jesus on his behalf.
It is a gift.
If we are wise, we will take it.
---firefly
|
