My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 2:1-2
When I was a little child, I thought of sinning and salvation as represented by little red and green lights. When I sinned, the red light came on, and I was lost. When I prayed and asked for forgiveness, the green light came on, and I was saved!
Once Saved, Always Saved?
Most New-Age "Christian" gurus claim that "once you are saved, you cannot be lost," and that you do not have to repent of your sins because Jesus got rid of them, once and for all, at the cross (so why repent about something that is literally gone and forgotten?); they claim that obeying God is legalism, turning upside-down the Biblical caution that if you break even the smallest law, you are in spirit breaking all of God's laws.
Shouldn't God handle it?
Is there such a thing?
Can we be perfect?
Is it legalistic to worry?
Is it legalistic to struggle?
Without law, there is no sin!
Is the law gone?
Does prayer cure sin?
Does prayer help?
Do I take authority over sin?
Am I dead to sin?
Why is resisting so hard?
Didn't Jesus cure sin?
Can Christians sin?
The Ten Commandments?
Does the Holy Spirit lead us into sin, or empower us to stay away from sin?
Can a sinner be saved?
Am I lost if I sin?
What is the truth about sinning? Is there truth on this subject, or is it all relative? Some of the experts say a "Christian" cannot even sin, that it is impossible. Some of the gurus say that Jesus cancelled out all sin, at least for the "good guys" and so sin is no longer even an option. Others claim that when we sin we are sinners, and sinners cannot be saved. What is the truth?
You will meet people, they say they are Christian, and they will tell you that they are perfect, that they have not sinned in years.
What is the truth?
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"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin..."
So we are addressed by John, in 1 John 2:1-2, and yes, he is talking to us, today. Jesus said, you must become like little children. And little children listen to their parents. One of our elders tells us that he is writing to us because he doesn't want us to sin. More than that, when we do sin, the Good News is that we have an advocate with the Father, our Heavenly Father, Yahweh. Not only is this advocate pleading our case (which is what advocates do), but He also paid the penalty for our crimes, our sins, and not only did He pay the penalty, the fines, for us, His little children, but also for the sins of the whole, entire world.
I just told you what the Bible says. The Bible says this clearly. Very clearly. And yet, saying this direct quotation, this direct explanation, straight from the Bible, will cause many so-called christians to start arguing. The will become livid. They might even threaten you, or tell you they are placing a curse upon you (and so you know, from the beginning, you are not talking to Christians, but another form of religion, what that is very close to Christianity, following Christ, you might even call it "Lamblike," or "like a lamb." The only problem is, this religion speaks with the voice of a dragon. And if you do not know who the dragon is, you have a lot to think about, and study, and search, and seek.
Seek the truth.
Seek Truth. Seek Truth with Your whole Heart. It is promised. You will find Him.
Seek Truth. Seek Truth with Your whole Heart. It is promised. You will find Him.
Is Sin Real? Is the Law of God still in Effect? Can there be sin without law?
Who is Jesus talking about when He calls them: "Workers of Iniquity?"
What does "Iniquity" mean? Jesus will say this to a group of people, at the very end of time, so what He says makes crucial import for us today. Do you believe Him? Will there be a group of people that He says something amazingly scary: "I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity!" If this is true, that Jesus says this to people who consider themselves to be "Christian," and Jesus calls them workers of iniquity, then what is being taught by so-called christians just is not the Truth, is it?
The next day John seeth Jesus coming
unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the
world.
John 1:29
Jesus takes away the sin of the world. I don't think I'm taking this verse out of context. It is what John the Baptist said when he saw Jesus walking toward the place when John was baptizing sinners with water. John made quite a few amazing statements. He claimed that Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit. John claimed:
In him was life; and the life was the
light of men. And the light shineth in
darkness; and the darkness
comprehended it not.
John 1:4-5
John said that life was in Jesus, and this life is the light of men, a light that shines in the middle of the darkness of this world, and those of the darkness cannot understand it, cannot even comprehend what light is, nor what is its purpose.
Do you prefer the dark, or the light? Do you desire light in the world, or darkness?
Some willingly choose the darkness, and the odd thing is, they openly think and express and talk about their darkness as if it were the light. They call error truth. And they call truth, error.
Let's face it. Life is complicated. This is a complicated and confusing world. It is a truth not only for today, but even way back in the days of the Apostles. The Apostle Paul said, and note he said this long after he had given up the legalism of man-made traditions to become a Holy Spirit-filled follower of Yahshua the Messiah, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world -- this was the Apostle Paul, who manifested the gift of the Holy Spirit in miraculously healing people, who miraculously communicated to other people in their own languages even when he did not know these languages, who went all over the face of the known globe to preach the Good News -- this man of God declared:
For we know that the law is spiritual:
but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that
which I do I allow not: for what I would,
that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
If then I do that which I would not, I
consent unto the law that it is good. Now
then it is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelleth in me.
Romans 7:14-17
Paul declares that it is the natural "law" (very similar to gravity) that we are born into this world already slaves, without even a choice in the matter. We are sold to sin. Slaves of sin. And it is our natural condition that the things I know I should do, despite knowing I should do it, I don't do it! What's wrong with me, anyway? And then, it is just as natural, that the things I hate, the things I detest and never want to do, despite my best intentions, I end up doing those things! So in our own minds, by doing the things we should not do, we are makign up our own laws, and calling what we know to be "evil" -- we call it good.
Is it me doing these things?
It is my natural condition, born into slavery, and the sin that course through me, so naturally, it is what I do. I am born into darkness, and I end up calling it "good," because it IS who I am. I am carnal. I am made of meat. I desire meat. We all do, even the most chaste, gentle vegetarian among us, we want to sink deep our teeth and rip and tear and sigh desperately as we are washed in the warm blood of this world.
It is who we are.
Do you know what the false teachers do? They take this admonitions of the Apostle Paul and they turn it into: "The Law of God is bad, the Law of God makes me sin." It does not matter that Paul begins with: "For we know that the law is spiritual."
Take note: The Law of God is Spiritual. It is from God. Of God. It is not of sin, or of man. God gave us His own laws, preexisting, eternal, forever laws, something not of this earth, something not of Moses or any man, something heavenly. Something from the Spiritual realm, something outside of time and space.
We are but shadows. But the Spiritual realm IS reality. We are not reality, but only shadows of reality. The hope we cling to is that like Pinnocchio, a poor wooden boy with no real life inside of him, will someday be made into reality, a part of the Spiritual realm, and we will be more real than we are today, we will actually LIVE in eternal life, with that eternal life inside of us, and not know death or its sting. Only THEN, when we are changed and made like, will the law be kept perfectly. And do you know what?
When the law is kept perfectly, there is absolutely no reason for the law! Think about it. If everyone is driving 65 miles per hour, and that is the posted speed limit, and they NATURALLY are all maintaining that speed and never exceeding it, then there is absolutely no reason for that law, is there? The law is still there, but we do not have to remind ourselves, oops, I better not drive too fast.
Because the life that is in us, the light shining in the darkness, is our governor, it keeps us from breaking the law, it keeps us at the proper speed. That is why the Apostle Paul states:
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must put
on immortality. So when this corruptible
shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying
that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting
of death is sin; and the strength of sin
is the law. But thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be ye stedfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the
work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye
know that your labour is not in vain
in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:52-58
Paul tells us, repetitiously, that we ARE mortal, that we ARE corrupt, that we will and do die. Notice, this is not at all what "teachers" teach today. They teach that we are immortal. Haven't you heard this, almost endlessly? That we are immortal? But Paul tells us here, strongly, powerfully, clearly, that we are carnal, nasty, creature of the dirt, and we must be CHANGED, and this final change has not happened yet, and it will not happen until the last trumpet, when the dead shall be raised incorruptible (meaning, they will be different than ever they were), and we who are alive and remain (in short, we who have not been "taken away," or we that have "been left behind") shall be changed. We are mortal now. Meaning, we have no eternal life in and of ourselves. But when we are changed, we shall finally be changed INTO immortality.
Paul says it here, only THEN, when we are perfect, will the strength of sin be busted in half, it will be broken and destroyed and burned into ash, and that ash shall be ground underfoot. The sting of death is sin -- we are told here that SIN leads to death. Nothing else does. It is the sin inside of us that causes us to die. It is sin that brings on the "second death." And the what makes SIN so very powerful and strong is that you and I, my friend, my brother or my sister, you and I cannot keep the law. We break the law, whether intentionally, or unintentionally. We break it to pieces.
Some of us claim: "We ain't undah de law!" Never knowing what "not under the law" even means. Fools parade and scamper and sin: "We're not under the law!" meaning that they are above the law. You've probably seen some of the hokey video shows where rubes with cameras accost college students and attempt to convince them that they are going to burn in hell forever because they are lying, cheating, murderous, blasphemous, disrespecters of parents, but if you feel sad, and then say a few magic words: PUFF! You ain't undah de law! Oh boy howdy, no you'ze gotz de magical fireproof suit, and let them suckah-MCs laugh at you! They gonna burn, while you not undah de law!
In short what they are telling you is that if you say a few magical words, you won't be under the law. You won't be able to sin. Because without law there is no sin, and since they have alleviated you, magically, from the law, bingo-bango, now you don't have to obey God anymore! You got your own powah, yo own glow ray, yo own magic!
Paul says here: "Thank God, because He gave us victory over sin through Jesus!" Because Jesus kept the law perfectly, and died for us, He was our propitiation for sin.
Think about it. Only when Jesus appears in the skies, when we are changed in the twinkling of an eye, will the grave lose its victory, only then will death lose its sting, only THEN will we be made perfect and thus make "the law" obsolete! And why will the law of God be obsolete on that day?
Simple! Because at that point we will not sin. In other words, at that point, when God changes us in the twinkling of an eye, we will be able to keep the law perfectly! We will no longer be carnal, but Spiritual, actual members of the Spiritual realm.
Remember, the Spiritual realm is reality. We are only shadows of that reality:
Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
For we are strangers before thee, and
sojourners, as were all our fathers:
our days on the earth are as a shadow,
and there is none abiding.
1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are but of yesterday, and know
nothing, because our days upon earth
are a shadow
Job 8:9
The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light: they that dwell
in the land of the shadow of death, upon
them hath the light shined.
Isaiah 9:2
For the law having a shadow of good
things to come, and not the very image
of the things, can never with those
sacrifices which they offered year by
year continually make the comers
thereunto perfect.
Hebrews 10:1
For who knoweth what is good for man
in this life, all the days of his vain life
which he spendeth as a shadow? for
who can tell a man what shall be after
him under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 6:12
He that dwelleth in the secret place of
the most High shall abide under the
shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the
Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:
my God; in him will I trust.
Psalms 91:1-2
The people which sat in darkness saw
great light; and to them which sat in
the region and shadow of death light
is sprung up.
Matthew 4:16
To give light to them that sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, to guide our
feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1:79
Over and over, repeating in various ways, the Bible ensures us that we are not real. That we are only shadows of reality. That our entire lives here on this dark planet are whirling shadows, devoid of light. That in and of ourselves, there is no hope, no more hope than Pinnocchio has of ever changing himself into a real boy. The best Pinnocchio could ever do by himself was turn himself into a bizarre hybrid donkey, which the Bible commonly refers to as an ass.
The religion we practice here, when it is good, is only a means of grasping at the reality, which is far beyond us, out of our ken, beyond our humanly discernment. Every thought we think, no matter how holy we think it is, is mere shadow. Everything we see and taste is mere shadow.
[But these offer] service [merely] as a
pattern and as a foreshadowing of [what
has its true existence and reality in] the
heavenly sanctuary. For when Moses
was about to erect the tabernacle, he
was warned by God, saying, See to it
that you make it all [exactly] according
to the copy (the model) which was
shown to you on the mountain.
Hebrews 8:5 (Amplified Bible)
Moses himself, that great and Godly man, was only a shadow. He climbed a shadow mountain, and God showed him REALITY. Moses glimpsed something outside of time, outside of space, outside of molecules and string theories. Moses, a shadow standing in a shadow world, glimpsed reality.
Moses brought down, in his seared memory, that glimpse of eternity, and what he instructed the people to make was the earthly Sanctuary, with all its vessels, including the Ark of the Covenant, and the seven-branched Menorah. These were just poor copies made out of gold of what is real and forever and existing in heaven. The Ten Commandments, graven on tablets of stone by the very finger of God, they were just shadows of what is forever outside of time and space, shadows of what God has in the Spiritual realm, which is completely apart from us.
Do you understand this? Before Moses ever brought down instructions for building an earthly Tabernacle, the reality was in heaven. In the Spiritual realm. Before the children of Israel ever heard the voice of God speak the Ten Commandments, those Ten Commandments were eternal, with God, forever, a part of God, the very apple of His eye, given to us, to be the apple of our own eye:
Keep my Commandments, and live;
and my Law as the apple of thine eye.
Proverbs 7:2
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
Psalm 17:8
God's commandments are the apple of His eye, and to be the apple of our eye. In other words, God's people cannot be separated from His Word, from His Law. Even living in shadow, as shadow creatures, we can still live in the shadow of His wings.
For thus saith the Lord of hosts; after
the glory hath he sent me unto the
nations which spoiled you: for he that
toucheth you toucheth the apple of
His eye.
Zechariah 2:8
The teachers, the false shepherds of today, they are waving their hands before a dim light, a dim light they have blocked with all the coiled and twined strings of their man-made religion, their "old-time traditions" that should be good enough for you, and they are making shapes with their hands, shadows repeating shadows, and these shadows they claim are much more to be desired than what is plainly spoken in God's Word. Yes, sure, the Bible says this, over and over again, but you don't need to hear that. Watch our shadows! We our masters of shadow, and we have been anointed, and we know, we perform miracles, signs and wonders! Follow us.
Will you follow them? Will you pay attention to the TRUTH, or to shadow lies?
SINCE ALL this is true, we ought to
pay much closer attention than ever
to the truths that we have heard, lest
in any way we drift past [them] and
slip away. For if the message given
through angels [the Law spoken by
them to Moses] was authentic and
proved sure, and every violation and
disobedience received an appropriate
(just and adequate) penalty, How
shall we escape [appropriate
retribution] if we neglect and refuse to
pay attention to such a great salvation
[as is now offered to us, letting it drift
past us forever]? For it was declared
at first by the Lord [Himself], and it
was confirmed to us and proved to be
real and genuine by those who
personally heard [Him speak].
Hebrews 2:1-3 (Amplifed Bible)
The first thing is, start paying attention to the truth. And you cannot pay attention to the truth if you haven't ever heard the truth. The truth is, even when you have heard the truth, even when you know the truth, even when you practice the truth, as the Bible says, we can start drifting away from the truth, and finally, slip away altogether.
We have to pay attention. We have to be on our guard. The truth is, there is no verse in the Bible that says you are safe from deception. If you have been taught that you are safe from deception, and that you cannot be deceived, then sadly, you are deceived. You have to go to Jesus, kneel before Him, and apologize. I know that scratches your pride to hear that. But lay your pride at His feet. Tell Him you are sorry, and you want His truth, not the shadow puppets of the dark shadows. Tell Him you want His truth, even if it isn't a whole bunch of fun, parties, laughing and falling over backward and yammering, yapping, squealing and giggling.
Tell the Master, the Savior, the Good Shepherd, the Great Physician, Yahshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, that you want His Truth. For He IS Truth. He is the Way. He is the Light. He is the Door. He is the Gate. He is the Strong Tower. He is your way to REALITY.
And no man hath ascended up to
heaven, but He that came down from
heaven, even the Son of man which
is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of man be lifted up:
that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have eternal
life. For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but
that the world through Him might be
saved. He that believeth on Him is
not condemned: but he that believeth
not is condemned already, because
he hath not believed in the Name of
the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that
light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. For
every one that doeth evil hateth the
light, neither cometh to the light, lest
his deeds should be reproved. But
he that doeth Truth cometh to the
light, that his deeds may be made
manifest, that they are wrought in
God.
John 3:13-21
Here you have it. Truth. Light. Love. And Darkness. Condemnation. But think about it, God did not send His very Son to condemn the world. That's what most of the false teachers "teach" when you scratch down to their RTUHT, they will claim that Jesus came to save THEM, and perhaps you, if you join their club, say their oaths, learn their secret handshake, and put your left foot in and shake it all about.
The false shepherds teach that you are already immortal, that you already have eternal life, that every living soul and ever dead soul on the face of the earth that has ever existed has an IMMORTAL soul, never even for a second thinking you will see the contradiction in the very terms. They teach, and I say "teach" very loosely, that you are a spirit being, that you are an immortal soul ball, that will live forever, either in heaven or hell. They teach, many of the very worst do, that "soul" is bad while "spirit" is good.
For "soul" means "life," and "spirit" means "breath," not your thoughts, not your memories, not your carnal and carnivorous delights and desires, not your fears and hopes and narrow-mindedness, and pettiness, your vanity, your sins. Soul/Spirit is neither good nor bad, but LIFE, breathed by God.
In Jesus' own Words, only those who accept the Light will have eternal life. Only those who let the light in, and abide in the light, only those will live forever. Only those who are Enlightened. Only those who experience Renaissance.
It is joy to the just to do judgment: but
destruction shall be to the workers of
iniquity. The man that wandereth out
of the way of understanding shall
remain in the congregation of the dead.
Proverbs 21:15-16
We know from what the Bible says that sin will be around until the Second Coming of Christ, and we know from the same verse that it is only then that death will finally lose its sting, and only then, finally then, that we won't have to worry about sinning. We will be changed, in the twinkling of an eye.
There will be absolutely no perfect people. There will be no sinless people. If there were, then Paul would have stated that not all would have to be changed. In fact, a good sign that someone has achieved immortality, is when they can't die, they can't get sick. Could it happen that someone might achieve this, by walking with God, and praying, and paying tithe, and reading the Bible? If so, the Apostle Paul and the Beloved Disciple John were never shown it in their prophecies, and they in turn never told us about it in the Bible.
When I was a little child, I thought of sinning and salvation as represented by little red and green lights. When I sinned, the red light came on, and I was lost. When I prayed and asked for forgiveness, the green light came on, and I was saved!
Of course, the Bible does not present it that way, although it has, or "doctrines" very similar, been presented that way throughout church history. We know that a person can leave God, if he so chooses. This is not what is taught in the "churches" today, of course. The "great teachers" of today instead teach the opposite of my childhood fear AND the Truth as presented in the Bible. They teach that you can say a few magic words and then suddenly be changed forever, and nothing you do or say or choose or want or ultimately even the way you run your life or end your life, can change the magic words you spoke. It might be comforting to believe in "Once Saved Always Saved," but the Bible presents a very different case:
For it is impossible to bring back to
repentance those who were once
enlightened—those who have
experienced the good things of
heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,
who have tasted the goodness of the
Word of God and the power of the
age to come—and who then turn
away from God. It is impossible to
bring such people back to repentance;
by rejecting the Son of God, they
themselves are nailing him to the
cross once again and holding him
up to public shame.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NLT)
But we are not like those who turn
away from God to their own destruction.
We are the faithful ones, whose souls
will be saved.
Hebrews 10:39
If you read the parables of Jesus, it is overwhelmingly clear, that the false teachers of today have mounded up false doctrine after false doctrine, to prove that sin doesn't exist, to prove that the Law of God doesn't exist, and to prove that free will does not exist, and of course, they have to trash the Bible to push these poisonous doctrines of demons on their acolytes and deceived minions.
In The Prodigal Son, Jesus almost shouts it out, a boy leaves his family (this is someone IN the family, to pursue the world). Jesus portrays someone IN the light, who chooses darkness.
And this is the condemnation, that
light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. For
every one that doeth evil hateth the
light, neither cometh to the light, lest
his deeds should be reproved. But
he that doeth truth cometh to the
light, that his deeds may be made
manifest, that they are wrought in God.
John 3:19-21
The father in the parable sums up his son's condition while out in the world, away from the father:
For this my son was dead, and is alive
again; he was lost, and is found. And
they began to be merry.
Luke 15:24
The Bible presents the case here that there is ALWAYS hope, for the worst of sinner. No, someone who throws away their relationship with God by their own choice is in no way "Once Saved Always Saved." It is true, the "saved" person who walks away from God does not stop being a family member of God, but Jesus presents their state here in the parable: "My son was dead." But the Good News is that someone who walks away from God can come back (the negative side is that when people finally have enough and throw in the towel, they rarely come back). As we read in Hebrews 6:4-6, you cannot reason someone back to God, you cannot force them back to God. In most cases people who walk away from God will not allow themselves to come back (a lot of it is pride, in the same way someone who cuts themselves off from their parents, whether for good reasons or bad reasons, willfully choose, day by day, to "be dead" to their parents). They choose to be away from God. But as revealed here in the parable of Jesus, someone lost CAN choose to be found. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
What does it mean, they began to be merry?
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall
be in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth, more than over ninety and
nine just persons, which need no
repentance.
Luke 15:7
This is the conclusion to another parable told by Jesus, just prior to the Prodigal Son. This is about a shepherd who leaves his 99 sheep to go after one that is lost in the wilderness, and how he rejoices when he finds it, he invites his neighbors and family to celebrate with him (most Christians today would slay the sheep for the celebration!). Jesus makes the touching comparison that heaven rejoices when one sinner repents.
The parable of the lost sheep is immediately followed by the lost piece of silver, how the woman sweeps her house to find the coin, and when she finds it she calls her friend and neighbors together to celebrate. Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece of silver I lost! Jesus concludes with:
Likewise, I say unto you, there is
joy in the presence of the angels
of God over one sinner that
repenteth.
Luke 15:10
This is Good News, because even a sinner can repent. To repent means to turn around and go the other way. Repenting is like someone heading for a cliff that chooses to stop, turn around, and retreat from his certain death.
Do you know what the unpardonable sin is? It is not as complicated as you think. When we sin, the Holy Spirit pushes in and whispers: "This was wrong. You know it was. Turn away from it. Ask forgiveness." The unpardonable sin is to push the Holy Spirit away, to refuse to hear His voice, to refuse to allow Him to do His duty, which is to tap on us and wake us up, to point us back to the source of the light, the Father of Lights, and His Son. Refusing to hear Him, the Holy Spirit, is a very dangerous thing to do, and it is why the "doctrine of demons" that New Age gurus are pushing today, that you don't need to ask forgiveness, that you don't need to repent, well, it could be the most dangerous false doctrine to date, because it attempts to teach people that it is good to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
Yes, sin is a struggle. It is tough to resist sin because sin can be alluring, attractive. We are told that even Satan himself appears as an angel of light. Jesus says: "Go, and sin no more."
And yes, we are still human. AS much as you don't want to hear it, you are fallible, weak, and fallen. You are not a god, little "g" or otherwise. You are a created being, a mortal. As the Apostle Paul says, we do what we know we should not do, and we do not do what we know we should do. In short, humans are messed up. That's what it means to be born into sin. That's what it means to be born into slavery. To be born in darkness. To be born onto a prison world, in the chains of darkness.
But light has come. And we can either turn toward the light, run toward the light, or turn and run away from the light, and hide. We are told that the light exposes our sins, and that is pretty humiliating, isn't it? Embarrassing. Who in the world wants our darkest, deepest filth exposed?
It is as if God is walking in a dark ghetto with a flashlight, calling our names. We are filthy and slimed, and the light hurts our eyes. The chains on our arms and legs have always been there, and we call them "bling," or accessories. But we hear in His voice, this God approaching, love and compassion. We hear what we have always desired in our hearts, deep down. His voice resonates and we almost feel like a bell, vibrating at His call. He's been searching for us all our lives. We are lost, and possibly for most of our lives we did not even realize that. And we are fearful to approach this dark, looming shape with the beautiful voice, because once He sees us in the bright beam of His light, it will be revealed how loathsome and horrible we are. He will know everything.
But if we crawl out of the pool of excrement and slither toward Him, that shape in the light, and if we just hold up our hand and call: "I'm here," the light will swing toward us. As we draw nigh to God, He will draw nigh to us, and soon His footsteps will be loud and echoing as He runs to us, seizes us in His embrace, and kisses us repeatedly, laughing: "I have found you! I have found you!" And far away we hear the echo of the angels singing.
You can do this today, despite your sins. Yes, it is a struggle. It seems uncool. Degrading. But when we realize what is really going on we finally understand that we are being delivered from an existence that is degrading and uncool. We have been coddled by a being that is not our friend, does not love us, and only wants to hurt that God with the beautiful voice, that God with the saving light.
Yes, you sin. And right afterward you feel terrible. Nasty business. How in the world can God love something like YOU? But even at your very worst, that's when He died for you, to save you from your sins. Yes, after accepting the Savior, you feel far from Him when you have sinned.
But here is a secret. The closer you come to the Beloved holding the light, the Beloved calling your name, the more the light illuminates you, it is true, the more and the more you will realize how unworthy you are, how filthy you are. But the beauty is that He loves you even like this, caked with the worst things imaginable. He is that big and that good. Yes, feel bad about your sins, your mistakes, but He is so very quick to forgive you.
So though you feel separated. Put out your arms and run to Him. Just run to Him, and He will meet you so much closer than halfway. He will run so much faster than you do, despite your sin.
You adulterers! Don't you realize that
friendship with the world makes you
an enemy of God? I say it again: If you
want to be a friend of the world, you
make yourself an enemy of God. What
do you think the Scriptures mean
when they say that the spirit God has
placed within us is filled with envy?
But he gives us even more grace to
stand against such evil desires. As the
Scriptures say, "God opposes the
proud but favors the humble."
So humble yourselves before God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you. Come close to God, and God will
come close to you. Wash your hands,
you sinners; purify your hearts, for
your loyalty is divided between God
and the world.
Let there be tears for what you have
done. Let there be sorrow and deep
grief. Let there be sadness instead of
laughter, and gloom instead of joy.
Humble yourselves before the Lord,
and he will lift you up in honor.
James 4:4-10 (NLT)
James wrote these words to Christians, not to pagans, not fallen people who had never heard of the Savior. He wrote these words to Christians, telling them to humble themselves. To cry in sorrow, in deepest grief for what they have done.
James, the Brother of Jesus, tells us: "Humble yourselves before the Lord..."
If My people, which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
2 Chronicles 7:14-15
Yes, we stumble. Yes, we fall. But get back up again. Go toward the light. Go toward His voice. He is the Father of Light. Regardless of your sin, draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Repent, ask His forgiveness.
Finally:
That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that ye also may
have fellowship with us: and truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with
His Son Jesus Christ. And these
things write we unto you, that your
joy may be full.
This then is the message which we
have heard of Him, and declare unto
you, that God is light, and in Him is
no darkness at all. If we say that we
have fellowship with Him, and walk
in darkness, we lie, and do not the
truth: but if we walk in the light, as
He is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us. If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. If we say that we
have not sinned, we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.
1 John 1:3-10
My little children, these things write I
unto you, that ye sin not. And if any
man sin, we have an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
And he is the propitiation for our sins:
and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world.
And hereby we do know that we know
Him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth
not His commandments, is a liar, and
the truth is not in him. But whoso
keepeth his word, in him verily is the
love of God perfected: hereby know
we that we are in him. He that saith He
abideth in him ought himself also so
to walk, even as he walked.
1 John 2:1-6
The Bible is full of Good News. The Word of God is not meant to beat you down, but to build you up, The Lord came to save the world, not condemn the world. And that is Gospel. God is love, not hatred. The God behind the light searching for you is not angry, despite what rotund preacher men bellow at the top of their pork-fed bellies. He is seeking for you, desperately, regardless of what bad group you're mixed up with, regardless of all the horrible things you've done (even if those horrible things were done in the Name of Jesus, which is about the worst crime any sinner can manage). God loves you, and wants you, and you may not know it right now, but it is liberating in the light. There is peace beyond understanding in the light.
Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
And you have not His word (His thought) living in your hearts, because you do not believe and adhere to and trust in and rely on Him Whom He has sent. [That is why you do not keep His message living in you, because you do not believe in the Messenger Whom He has sent.] You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them. And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me! And still you are not willing [but refuse] to come to Me, so that you might have life. I receive not glory from men [I crave no human honor, I look for no mortal fame], But I know you and recognize and understand that you have not the love of God in you. I have come in My Father's name and with His power, and you do not receive Me [your hearts are not open to Me, you give Me no welcome]; but if another comes in his own name and his own power and with no other authority but himself, you will receive him and give him your approval.
John 5:38-43 (AMP)
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Matthew 25:31-46
And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants."
John 3:19-21 (NLT)
For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NLT)
He taught me and said to me, Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live. [1 Chron 28:9; Eph 6:4.] Get skillful and godly Wisdom, get understanding (discernment, comprehension, and interpretation); do not forget and do not turn back from the words of my mouth.
Proverbs 4:4-5 (AMP)
It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
Proverbs 21:15-16
Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
Luke 13:24-30
For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the Lord, but then they worship Molech, too.6 And I will destroy those who used to worship me but now no longer do. They no longer ask for the Lord's guidance or seek my blessings." Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord's judgment is near. The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners. "On that day of judgment," says the Lord, "I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs. Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit. "On that day," says the Lord, "a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city. And a great crash will sound from the hills. Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area, for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed. "I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem's darkest corners to punish those who sit complacent in their sins. They think the Lord will do nothing to them, either good or bad. So their property will be plundered, their homes will be ransacked. They will build new homes but never live in them. They will plant vineyards but never drink wine from them. "That terrible day of the Lord is near. Swiftly it comes— a day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will cry out. It will be a day when the Lord's anger is poured out— a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet calls and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and the strongest battlements! "Because you have sinned against the Lord, I will make you grope around like the blind. Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground." Your silver and gold will not save you on that day of the Lord's anger. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a terrifying end of all the people on earth.
Zephaniah 1:5-18 (NLT)
Likewise,
I say unto you,
there is joy in
the presence of
the angels of God
over one sinner
that repenteth.
Luke 15:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 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; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
1 John 2:7-29
"This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Then he says, "I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds." And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to us.
For we know the one who said, "I will take revenge. I will pay them back." He also said, "The Lord will judge his own people." It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.
So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
"For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away." But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.
The Law brings down God's anger; but where there is no law, there is no disobeying of the law.
Romans 4:15 (GNT)
Sin was in the world before the law of Moses, but sin is not counted against us as breaking a command when there is no law.
Romans 5:13 (NCV)
for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
Romans 5:13 (NIV)
But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.
Romans 7:8 (NASU)
At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law's commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.
Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not!
Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commands for its own evil purposes. So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.
So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.
Romans 7:9-19 (NLT)
The Law is Not Bad.
The Law is Good.
Sin is Bad.
The Law does not cause us to sin.
The Law exposes our sin.
The Law clues us as to what is wrong to do, and what is right to do. The whole law can be summed up in the Ten Commandments, with Commandments 1-4 pertaining to Loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, spirit and strength, and Commandments 5-10 pertaining to loving your neighbor as yourself.
When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
Exodus 31:18 (NIV)
If they have taught you that God's Law is bad, how can you trust them? If they have taught you that Jesus destroyed the Law, when He outright promised He did not come to destroy the Law, but fulfill it, can't you see there is a different between "destroy" and "fulfill?" How can you trust such teachers that would alter and seek to destroy the very Word of God Himself? Wake up! The Time is Short. Draw Nigh to God.
It is time to read the whole Bible for yourself. Stop relying on other people to interpret scripture. Read and pray while you read. Do it!
If you have trouble understanding the Bible, buy yourself at least four cheap versions, just pick up paperbacks, and while reading, if you don't understand something, compare the various versions while praying. And always compare scripture to scripture. Get a good Strong's Concordance. I would suggest reading: 1. The King James Version (note, NOT the NEW King James Version, stay away from the NKJV, it is false in many ways). 2. The New Living Translation, which is a real translation. 3. The Amplified Bible which is almost worthless by itself, but wonderful for comparing verses. 4. The Good News Version, which is modern and easy to read, and yet almost a direct parallel to the KJV. I also love the New Jerusalem Bible (it is Catholic, but great). Another great alternative Bible is the English Standard Version. If you have poor reading skills, try one of these: The Living Bible, The New Century Version, God's Word Translation, and again, The Good News Translation.
It is time to read the whole Bible for yourself. Stop relying on other people to interpret scripture. Read and pray while you read. Do it!
You will meet people, they say they are Christian, and they will tell you that they are perfect, that they have not sinned in years.
